My face is hot as I turn to him. “Danial, will you go with Meredy to the harbor?” I sound stupidly breathless and hope that he doesn’t notice.
Danial nods, tying his long raven hair back from his face. He leans over the dead man I tripped on when I first stumbled into the alley and rifles through his belongings. When he straightens, he’s clutching a handsome dagger. “This time, I want to try stabbing them with something bigger than a steak knife.”
I bite my lip, taking a moment to study him as I get to my feet. I never knew there was a fighter hiding beneath Danial’s pristine healer’s robes and gentle smile. I clearly wasn’t looking hard enough.
“Where’d you learn how to wield one of those?” Meredy asks him, fighting back a grin that surfaces despite the weary look in her eyes. “They teach you how to kill people during your healer’s training?”
“It’s just healing in reverse,” Danial says quickly. It’s the kind of joke Simeon would make, and perhaps he realizes it, because as soon as he utters the words, his face falls. “Actually,” he murmurs to his boots, “I didn’t know I could handle any kind of weapon until today. I always thought I’d be the one in need of rescuing in a fight. But . . .” He shrugs. “When someone I knew was in danger, instinct took over. And it turns out my instincts are almost as good at hurting people as they are curing them.”
I wrap my arms around him, stealing his breath. “You’re stronger than you think, Danial. I’ll come find you and Meredy after . . .”
“Hadrien,” Meredy finishes. “He’s locked himself in the throne room with some of his guards, last we heard. He didn’t want to take any chances until the Shades were all gone.” She rolls her eyes, then grows solemn again. “I’m sending Lysander with you, so you won’t have to fight him alone.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” I take both her hands, remembering what happened after she possessed Lysander during our fight against the Shade-baiters.
She squeezes my fingers. “Good idea or not, you can’t talk me out of it. I can split my attention between my body and Lysander’s,” Meredy says confidently. Her voice wavers slightly as she adds, “At least, I think I can . . . I’ve only tried it once before, and that was over a year ago.”
There’s no way I’m letting her experiment at a time like this. “Meredy—”
“If it’s too much, I’ll pop out of Lysander’s mind like that.” She snaps her fingers and raises her head, looking determined. Her eyes linger on my face. “Do you trust me?”
“Of course.” I sigh. She’s too stubborn, too much like me once she’s made up her mind. “Just be careful. I need you.” Cringing at how that sounded, I hurry to add, “I mean, I need you to have your wits about you for whatever happens next.”
Mustering a grin, Meredy nudges my shoulder with hers. “Surely you forget who you’re dealing with, master necromancer. I’m the youngest beast master in almost a century.”
“I could never forget anything about you, Master Crowther.” I grin back. “Even if I wanted to.”
I drop her hands and stride out of the alley, looking for anything I can use as a weapon. I feel exposed without my sword and can’t rely on Lysander alone—especially if we get separated.
I break into a run, Lysander easily keeping pace with me. Meredy and Danial are already out of sight, no doubt on their way toward the harbor.
“You’re better than a sword anyway,” I tell the grizzly. “Just look for something sharp I can grab as backup, all right?”
He snarls, his eyes glowing a familiar shade of green.
“That’s the spirit,” I mutter, patting his massive shaggy head. “Now let’s go overthrow the king.”
But instead, Lysander stops in his tracks. He growls again, deeper, the bone-chilling sound I’ve come to think of as a warning signal. I follow his glowing eyes up the narrow road leading out of the city and spot what’s filled him with such rage.
A Shade stumbles toward us, scenting the air, a victim half-dangling out of its cavernous mouth.
XXX
The Shade snarls at us as it chokes down the last of its meal, boots and all. There’s no way to tell if it was once King Wylding, but in my mind it was, which makes it more difficult to pick up a jagged piece of wood from the road and take a swing at its skeletal face.
It’s a new Shade, so it’s clumsier than the one that killed Evander, but it’s already grown strong feeding on Grenwyr’s citizens today. It effortlessly dodges my attack, lashing out with a rotting gray arm and grabbing the other end of the wooden beam.
I grip my end of the beam with both hands, but playing tug-of-war with the Shade is like playing against several grown men. Gritting my teeth, I struggle to hang on, my fingernails tearing, until Lysander breaks the Shade’s hold with a swipe of his deadly claws.
“Thanks,” I murmur, reminding myself that it’s really Meredy in there.
As Lysander roars in the Shade’s face, I look around at the empty buildings of Merchant Square, hoping to spot a flicker of flame I can drive the monster toward. But everything is soaked thanks to Hadrien’s weather mage.
I take another hasty look around as the Shade tosses Lysander across the road. The bear groans but staggers upright almost at once.
There’s a fountain at the center of this square. The pretty teal and gold mosaic tiles around it glisten with overflowing water. Since Shades rely on scent to hunt, it shouldn’t be able to find us if we’re submerged. It’ll smell something else in the air and move on.
“Into the fountain!” I shout at Lysander.
The bear turns, bounding toward the fountain with the Shade on his heels.
Bracing myself for the cold, I climb over the edge and take a huge breath before dunking my head underwater. This would never work in the Deadlands, where the water would strip my memories away before I could say Karthia. But maybe here, in the land of the living, my quick thinking could save us.
The cold stings at first, forcing itself up my nose and under my eyelids.
Lysander crashes into the water as the breath I’ve been holding starts to burn.
Howling, the Shade plunges its bony arm into the fountain, and I squirm to keep it from grabbing my leg.
Too late, I realize that the fountain, deep as it is, may not entirely cover Lysander. The bear does his best to flatten himself against the bottom as the Shade hisses and spits, trying to catch a piece of our flesh.
Any moment now, I’m going to have to come up for air. Then we’ll really be in trouble.
Forcing my eyes to stay open in the clear water, I nearly touch noses with Lysander. Lysander’s glowing green eyes hold mine. We don’t have time to waste on this Shade, not with each second meaning Meredy might lose control of her senses.
My head is spinning. My body’s getting lighter.
My lungs are on fire.
Blinking an apology at Lysander, I push myself off the fountain floor and emerge into the brisk afternoon air, gasping and shaking.
The Shade is nowhere to be seen.