Page 7 of Sword & Shadow
“It isn’t that simple,” Ilain said, despite her grin.
“It never is,” Evylin muttered.
Ilain tossed her an amused glance. “It takes focus to kill a Guardian, likeallmagic. Walking through and grabbing the Relic will help, but Auden and I will need to focus on connecting with Night to destroy the Guardian. Then we’ll have to fight our way out.”
“Why couldn’t he just control the Shades again?” Thom suggested.
Auden took over with a shake of his head. “I have two theories,” he said. “First, we are returning with the Relic. There is nothing for the creatures to defend now. But with the Night Relic still in its Keep, the Shades will be tasked with reclaiming it. My second theory is that I could control them because I’m a Day Mage with the Day Relic. Neither may be true, but I think we should assume that we need to be on our guard.”
“Very well,” Deckard said, then motioned to the gates. “We made our plans last night. Let’s not squabble about them any longer.”
Rafferty and Thom stepped up behind Auden and Ilain as the Mages prepared to open the gates. Ethenn held the back, with Evylin and Deckard just before him. She didn’t like the planany more now than last night, but she didn’t have any better suggestions either.
The plan was simple: The Ephrians would distract the Guardian while the Calders found the Relic and channeled their connection to Night. Not elegant, but hopefully successful enough to avoid death.
Evylin’s throat tightened. Eyes locked on the metalwork of the gates before them, she tipped her head toward Deckard. “Do me a favor?” she said, voice low.
“Anything,” he returned.
Auden and Ilain lifted their hands to the gates.
“Try not to get severely injured this time,” Evylin said. “I’d rather not carry you out of another Keep.”
The warm, breathy sound of Deckard’s laugh seeped into Evylin’s core, and her muscles instinctively relaxed. “I’ll do my best,” he promised.
The sun and moons on the gates began to glow, forming a radiant globe of light. Pure yellow light pulsed out from the sun, and deep purple beamed from the moons. The gates opened soundlessly as the light beyond grew brighter, and the metal doors swung inward.
“Quickly,” Auden summoned before grabbing his sister’s arm and disappearing into the light.
Thom and Rafferty disappeared next, Deckard and Ethenn hurrying at Evylin’s side. Golden light enveloped them, covering every inch of her skin in warmth and blinding her entirely. For one terrifying second, she lost track of Deckard. For one heart-stopping moment, she thought she’d lost him too. But just as quickly, the awareness of his presence returned, and she could breathe again.
It only took four steps to pass from Day into Night: two to walk through the gates and two to leave it.
Evylin was no longer blinded by light beyond comprehension. Now, she lost her vision to an all-consuming darkness that smothered her.
CHAPTER THREE
“So,” Rafferty remarked, his voice echoing somewhere to Evylin’s left, “this is the Night Keep, huh? Seems a little on the nose, if you ask me.”
Darkness wholly surrounded Evylin. She felt like she’d had a blanket thrown over her head, engulfing her in black. Then she realized it wasn’t black at all.
The deepest, most saturated purple beamed around her. The shift from unfathomable brightness into the deepest depths of darkness felt like hitting a wall head-on. All her senses were out of order, trying to make sense of this collision.
Evylin tried to gather her bearings, working to form some concept of where she was and what surrounded her, but she struggled to trust her senses.
“I can’t see a damn thing,” Thom grumbled toward the front of the group.
A cautious step sounded to Evylin’s immediate left. “The pedestal should be right before us,” Deckard whispered.
“Don’t move,” Auden hissed. “I can sense the Guardian.”
Ethenn’s bow creaked as he drew it back. “Where?” he whispered.
“I’m not sure,” Auden replied. “Its presence is here, but I can’t pinpoint it.”
Grappling for control of her magic, Evylin tried to reach out and sense the Guardian’s location. Surely if Auden could feel it, she could too. But as she stared into the dark of Night, all she saw was more of that all-encompassing purple pitch.
“You know,” Rafferty murmured, “you’ll have to move at some point. If you want to get that Relic, I mean.”
