“It’s a portal key,” Blaise said instantly. “I can feel it on him.”
“The mandrake would be correct. Varian sent me to escort the lot of you out of here.”
“We need to get back to Sanctuary,” Medea rose to her feet. “We’ve wasted enough time.”
“First we have to free the dragons at Camelot,” Blaise reminded her.
Yeah, Urian was definitely on Blaise’s side with this one.
Medea rolled her eyes. “They’re statues, right? Been that way for centuries. What’s a few more days? Meanwhile my people are dying even as we speak. We need to save them!”
Blaise approached her with angry strides. He stopped right in front of her so that he could speak in sharp staccato beats. “If they free the dragons, they’ll tear through your Daimons. They’ll die anyway.”
Brandor growled at her. “And Falcyn’s sister is among those being held. She’ll be the first slaughtered should she wake her. Would you condemn her, too?”
Urian’s heart stopped at those words.
Shit. He was being asked to choose between Davyn and Xyn. He couldn’t make that call.
If either died because of him, he’d never be able to live with himself.
Shadow frowned as he listened to them arguing. After a second round of their escalating pitches, he whistled. “While this argument is really unamusing and unproductive, and I couldn’t care less about the outcome, I feel obligated to mention something you might find interesting.” He waited until all of them were facing him before he spoke again. “Why would Maddor be summoned for this? Seems a massive waste of his talents, if you ask me.”
The color faded from Falcyn’s face. “What delusions are you suffering?”
“No delusions, friend. Right before I left, they sent a guard after him and I’m sure it wasn’t for coffee or tea, or for an afternoon snack. They usually only call him out for war.”
Medea cursed under her breath and turned to face Falcyn. “They’re planning to use him to lure you, aren’t they?”
Falcyn nodded. “So it’s a trap.”
“Urian?” She pulled the ring from her pinkie and held it out to him. “Go to Davyn and make sure he’s all right. Tell him I’ll be there with the dragonstone as soon as I can. Please keep him safe for me.”
Yeah, right. And leave Xyn alone? Was she insane?
No chance in hell.
Falcyn gave her a puzzled stare. “What are you doing?”
“I’m not about to let you walk into that nightmare without someone at your back. God or whatever you are, you’ll still need some support.”
“What about your people?”
“They’re not my son. But Maddor is yours.” Tears blurred her vision. “For that, we march to hell itself.” Urian suddenly realized just how deep Medea’s feelings were for Falcyn, and he honestly didn’t know how to feel at that moment.
Falcyn stepped around her. “Shadow, get Urian back to Sanctuary. We’ll—”
“Ah, no,” Urian said, interrupting him. “We stay together.” He wasn’t going any place until he knew Xyn was safe.
Shadow grimaced. “Oh yeah, ’cause a large, unfamiliar motley group sneaking through a castle would never get noticed. By anyone. Or get reported. Sounds like a great suicide plan to me. So glad Varian volunteered me for this happy venture into torture and hell. Bastard fey rat that he is!”
Falcyn draped his arm over Medea. “You sure about this? Shadow’s right. Heading in there with us isn’t the sanest bet.”
She nodded.
“All right then, demon, off to see what trouble we can find.”
Shadow let out a fierce groan. “Why do I always end up with the crazy ones?”
Urian smirked. “Birds of a feather?”
Shadow didn’t appear the least bit amused. “Now I remember why I don’t like you.” He swept his gaze to Blaise and Falcyn. “Any of you, as far as that goes.”
With a deep breath, Shadow cracked his knuckles. “All right, kids. Last chance. Those who want a ticket to Sanity, raise your hand and we go out the portal to your home realm.”
He waited a full minute before he let out an exaggerated groan. “Okay then, suicide it is. Buckle up, buttercups. Keep your hands inside the cart at all times and try not to get your heads chopped off. Thank you for choosing to ride the Grand Stupidity today, and for dragging me into this when I’d much rather be at home, sorting my dirty underwear and watching the grass grow.”
“Oh, stop whining.” Blaise clapped him on the arm. “You love the excitement.”
“Yeah, you keep believing those lies, mandrake, and inhaling those fumes.” Shadow manifested a long rope.
Medea frowned as he stepped toward Brogan with it. “What are you doing?”
He paused to give her an irritated grimace. “Well, punkin, if we march in through the front doors, your enemies will descend on us like vultures on nummy roadkill. And while I do have more stupidity than the average man and a certain flair for theatrics, I can really do without a thorough gutting. Fact is, I’m doing my best to avoid the experience for the entirety of my exceptionally long life.” He knotted the rope around Brogan’s waist.
“You plan to take us through the Shadows.” Brogan’s voice was scarcely more than a whisper.
He nodded. “If we teleport in, Morgen will know instantly. Only safe way in or out is through my realm.”
Medea was even more confused as Shadow moved to loop and tie Brogan to Brandor. “And so I ask again … why the rope?”
“Keeps you from getting lost in the dark, princess.” Shadow moved next to Blaise.
Her heart stopped beating as she finally understood. “The thread between the worlds?”
Shadow nodded. “Home sweet fucking home. The rope is to keep anything from snatching one of you away from me while we move through it.”
Because to get lost there was to never be seen again. The darkness was ever hungry and sought any nourishment it could find.
Life being its number one sustenance.
Shadow roped everyone together and then double-checked the knots to make sure everyone was linked together.
He then lifted his arm and drew a series of symbols, reminiscent of an orchestra conductor directing a band only he could hear, and began a melancholic humming from deep inside his chest, haunting and thrumming. He picked up the crescendo and as he did so, the air around them stirred.
One moment they were standing outside, and in the next they were in a blurry, swirling world of dark sepia. It was like being trapped inside an old nickelodeon machine. Everything had a jerky, surreal feel to it, leaving them disoriented and a bit queasy.
“It’ll take a few minutes to get your bearings.” Shadow’s voice sounded as distorted as the scenery.
“Why is everything so weird here?” Brogan asked.
“You’re in the lining of the worlds. Think of it like a hollow realm.” Shadow held his left hand up and a small porthole appeared to show them a bright sunny park where children played a game of chase. “From here, you can venture anywhere. Past. Present. Future. In all the worlds.” He closed the porthole and opened one on his right that showed a storming sea.
It was both beautiful and terrifying.
Shadow walked forward, leading them through his eerie domain.
Time truly had no meaning here, and they couldn’t tell if they had been walking for minutes or days when Shadow suddenly stopped and let out a foul curse as the sound of a howling came through the air.
They all turned and could suddenly now make out the sounds of the Crom’s horse as he rushed toward them.
And he wasn’t alone.
What appeared to be a hundred shadow dogs followed in his wake, with their yellow eyes glowing.
Urian curled his lip at the sight of them.
Shadow handed the rope to Falcyn. “Stay on the road. Move forward and I’ll join you as soon as I can.”
“What are you—”
“Go!” he roared at Falcyn. “Forward. Don’t stop! If the barking dogs get to you, you’re finished.”
Falcyn rushed forward, dragging them in his wake. They ran up a small hill and turned back just in time to see Shadow overrun by the demonic dogs he’d sought to hold back from their heels.