As they struggled on the ground, the shadow creature raced from where it stood over Ciardis Weathervane and maneuvered to defend its master.
“Barren!” cried Ciardis. “Watch out! That shadow is coming and it’s got a sword.”
Barren was too busy trying to unwrap the mage’s fingers from around his neck to answer.
The mage stared down at the boy in confusion in the meantime.
Narrowing his eyes the Shadow Mage spat out, “Who are you?”
Barren smiled through a bloody mouth—courtesy of the mage on top of him—and said, “What? Don’t recognize me? You nearly killed me.”
When recognition flowed into the mage’s eyes, Barren head-butted him, sending him tumbling back and clutching his forehead in pain.
Unfortunately that didn’t take care of the shadow creature; it was almost on top of him. Ready to defend its master.
And then their world dissolved into a high-pitched screech.
*****
On the other side of the barrier, Terris had used one large push to force herself into the wendigo creature’s mind. It was sentient, but not much smarter than a dog. Which made this easier. Without too much effort, she located its consciousness and sent it to sleep with a whispered command. Unfortunately she had underestimated it. It might have been as simple-minded as a dog, but it also had the resilience of a caged tiger. It did not want her to take over its mind, and since she hadn’t done this before, she was having a hell of a time doing so.
Trying to halt the attack, it dug its back claws into her ankle. Terris screamed in agony but it couldn’t go any further. The control she’d already asserted halted its mobility and she knew if she lost that control she’d lose her life. Anger, rage, and desperation began to fuel her attempts. As they struggled for domination, Terris started to clear its mind, inch-by-inch. She managed to push the consciousness of the wendigo in a corner temporarily and lock it into the back of its mind. After assuring herself that she commanded the creature’s movements now, she ordered it to get off of her and stood up.
Staring at the nightmarish vision less than a foot from her, Terris felt her stomach flip. It was just as she remembered, with multiple rows of sharp teeth in its mouth and long, dirty claws on its paws. It stood four feet tall on two legs. Its skin was gray and wrinkled, with loose flesh hanging in odd places. Its eyes were bloodshot and clumps of straggly hair hung from its head.
Feeling its dormant consciousness one more time, she made it turn around.
“Screech!” she commanded it.
For a long moment, the wendigo did nothing. Its mind was empty and it didn’t recognize the command, so Terris called up a memory of the terror she’d felt when they’d first heard the creature’s call echo in the midnight air. Following her example, it let out a loud, echoing screech at the shadow barrier.
Terris could physically see the shock of the screech hit the barrier of twisting shadow vines. On impact it forced the shadow vines to dissipate.
“Now,” she said directing its mind for another screech, “get that stupid shadow creature.”
With no further imagery needed, her wendigo leapt into the air on its powerful hind legs and emitted a long, loud screech echo directly at the shadow man. The shadow put up its hand in defense as if to ward off the screech and disappeared into thin air.
Smiling in relief at Ciardis, who was standing up, Terris ran over to her friend.
“Are you okay?”
“Are you?”
“Hello, ladies,” said Barren from the other side of the clearing.
When they looked over at him in irritation for interrupting their reunion, he sighed and said, “Anybody seen the shadow man?”
They looked around, but Barren was right. The man who’d caused all of this...was gone.
Terris let loose a string of curses that her brothers would have been proud of.
And then the cavalry arrived.
Out of the darkness of the trees, Panen warriors materialized. The wendigo melted into the trees with a final screech – Terris’s hold gone from its mind. With a little more noise, Lady Vana, Meres Kinsight, and Alexandra also showed up. Surrounding the empty glade, Vana, Meres, and Alexandra were armed to the teeth and looked like avenging angels in the night.
Holding up his hands as if in surrender, Barren said, “I can explain.”
From behind him, his mother stepped out of the bushes with a look on her face that promised murder. “You’d better.”
Ignoring the tensions between the young people and their guardians, Alexandra’s brother Julius stepped forward and declared, “The perimeter is secure. I think we should get a full account of this evening’s activities from the youth and
When Vana and Barren’s mother leveled a glare at him, he quickly amended that to, “Or you can skin them alive now.”
Meres Kinsight sighed. “All of you. Everything. Spill it.”
Ciardis, Terris, and Barren jumped all over themselves to detail all of the events that had occurred from the time Ciardis and Terris had followed Barren into the forest until the shadow vine barrier had come tumbling down.
“And he never told you his name?” demanded Alexandra while looking at Ciardis.
“Or where he was from?” This query was from Vana.
“No, I tried,” said Ciardis, shaking. The night’s events were beginning to overwhelm her. The man had tried to kill her. Not that she wasn’t used to it, but hell, he didn’t even know her!
Terris wrapped a comforting and slimy hand around Ciardis’s shoulder and leveled a glare at all of the people upsetting her.
“Well,” said Meres, “this is unfortunate. The shadow mage wants to kill Ciardis. I guess the plan to spread outrage and eventually start a human-
“I’m not a Companion,” muttered Ciardis half-heartedly.
Vana laughed bitterly. “He’s a Shadowwalker; all we need now is for him to manifest necromancy or telekinesis and we’ll be right back where we started during the Initiate Wars.”
And uneasy look passed across Terris’s face as they walked back. Ciardis nudged her to get her to talk, but whatever it was was troubling her too much for her to speak. When she turned to look behind them at Vana and Meres, who were bringing up the rear, the look on her face stopped them in their tracks.
“Something you haven’t told us, child?” Meres asked.
Terris stiffened imperceptibly when Meres spoke. Ciardis knew she wasn’t afraid of Lord Kinsight. They’d gone toe-to-toe on several occasions while living with the Panen. There was something else going on, but she didn’t have time to find out what right now.
“There’s one other thing,” said Terris, her face a mask of guilt as she looked over at Barren.
Sighing, she continued, “When Barren faced me in the forest just after Ciardis had been taken, his eyes were black...as black as night.”
Meres didn’t question her, didn’t hesitate. “Vana,” he shouted. Before Ciardis had managed to turn Terris and herself fully around to face the boy, Vana had his head pulled back at an awkward angle and a silver knife at his throat.
Meres was furious. He moved to stand in front of the two young women while eyeing the boy that Vana held with a knife at his throat. He was furious at himself for letting a threat anywhere near Terris and Ciardis as well as furious at them for not thinking to warn them of this sooner.
Ciardis asked, “What does the darkness in his eyes mean?”
“It means that he could be shadow-touched,” said Meres grimly.
“Is that right, Barren? Are you being controlled even now?” Vana crooned in his ear, her blade grazing the skin on his neck, prepared to cut it at any second.
He was scared and crying as he shouted back, “No! No, I was. But I’m not now. He’s gone. I swear.”
