Page 107 of Shadow Kissed

Way to go Reya! Now you're imagining noises.

I fight my way through the trees, keeping as near to the road as I can without being in view. A long, deep howl echoes through the night, and I pause on hearing it, trying to work out the direction it came from. I question my sanity as I head toward thehowling mutt. This will either be the most stupid decision I will ever make, or it will finally give me some answers.

As I trek towards the howling, more mutts join in, and the night fills with the eery echoes of its nightly predators. I spot glowing purple eyes in the distance and my heart pounds in my chest as I realise I’m getting closer. Two large eyes move through the trees and emerge about a hundred yards in front of me.

“Reya! watch out,” screams a voice behind me and I turn to see a small pack of mutts racing in from the east towards me. My eyes must be deceiving me, as Saveya is standing across the clearing from me, yelling at me that there’s a mutt gunning for me.

It all happens in slow motion. The mutts change their course, veering toward where Saveya is standing instead. My mouth drops open in utter horror as I scream for her to run. She spins on her heel and runs back in the direction she came from, but one mutt is faster than the others and it leaps and knocks her to the ground.

“Stop! No!” I scream as I race after them. I see the moment the mutt latches on to her and searches her mind for her fears. I reach out and grab at the back of the mutt’s large, muscled head and it turns snarling.

“Leave her! Let go!” I order it firmly as I physically shake. It could take my hand off in one swift bite. “Please, don’t hurt her,” I beg.

The mutt tilts its head and sniffs my way, before it releases Saveya and backs away from us.

“Saveya!” I cry out, as I fall to my knees beside her and lift her torso onto my lap. “Saveya!” I scan her body and my heart falls when I see where the mutt has bitten her. “No, no!” I gaze towards the sky and pray for a miracle

“Raegal!” I scream out into the night. “I need you!” It’s futile, I know it is. He’s far away, so how can he possibly hear me outhere in the woods? Yet, I still feel the need to call out for him. “Mother Goddess, I beg you to save her for me. I’ll give you anything.”

Saveya whimpers and her eyes flutter open. “It hurts,” she cries out as her body contorts in pain. I can’t go through this again. I can’t watch someone I care about die like this. I’m transported back to my mother’s final moments and Raegal telling me that only a Night Borne can extract the venom.

That’s it! “Saveya, I’m going to make it better. I promise,” I assure her. Even if this could work, I have no idea how to go about it. I think back to the time Arkynn was bitten by a snake and the labourer who came to our aid sucked the venom out with his mouth. But if that worked, Raegal would have saved my mother.

Think Reya!

How would someone with night magic remove the venom?

I place my hands over the wound, and I close my eyes.

“Asterin, the god of night and stars, if you can hear me and I’m one of your kin. Please help me heal her. I’ll do anything you ask of me.”

I clear my mind and picture entering her bloodstream. I picture the dark, thick venom and tell my mind to search for it. My breath stutters when a vision of the venom travelling up her shoulders towards her chest enters my thoughts; so I can reach out for the venom with my mind, pulling it towards me. It resists at first and it takes all my mental will to keep a grasp on it and pull it through her veins towards me. Slowly, it moves back through her body towards the point of entry. My brain hurts from concentrating so hard. It resists me every inch of the way and as it leaves her body; it pounces towards me, causing me to roll to my side and jump to my feet to avoid it. I watch, my heart pounding in my chest, as it slithers into the soil beneath us. Rushing back to Saveya’s side, I check her veins for any signof the dark venom; thankfully there is none. Leaning down and placing my ear above her heart, I listen, whimpering in relief when I hear it beating, albeit sluggishly. I think she’s going to be okay. It’s only then that I realise I am not alone. In fact, we are surrounded by a pack of mutts. They face outward into the dark forest as if they are protecting us. The adrenaline is wearing off, and I slump forward as exhaustion floors me. I blink, fighting my body’s attempt to shut down. I need to get us out of here! As my eyes flutter shut and I slump forward onto Saveya’s chest, I see a slither of shadows out of the corner of my eyes.

41

RAEGAL

We shadow weave one by one into the small town of Wymondale in the East District. It’s late, but there are still villagers going about their business and stumbling drunkenly out of the whorehouses and inns.

Jasiel and I have barely had chance to speak to each other since he returned from visiting the town in the district where Eretreya’s mother was reportedly born. I was eager to know what he’d found out. Right now, however, we have other important matters to deal with.

Our intelligence suggests that the girls are being held in an outbuilding at the back of a woodman’s yard. He lives at the outer edge of the village, where it’s quieter and the girls are less likely to be seen and heard. On first appearances, he appears a normal law-abiding member of his community, but when you dig a little deeper, you discover he lost his son to our war. His son died fighting for us at just nineteen years old. He also was openly vocal about our presence here in Asen when he’d had a few too many drinks at the local inn. We’d had a couple of ourmen stake out the yard to watch the comings and goings and to see if they could spot any signs of the girls. They’d had no sightings of the girls, but they had seen various men coming and going from the property. We will just have to trust that our source is reliable and that the girls are here.

We surround the property, camouflaged by the trees surrounding the home and workshop. I reach out my hearing and, sure enough, I can hear two heartbeats coming from the old wooden outbuilding. They beat steadily and strong so it would appear the girls are unharmed. Jasiel signals from across the yard for him and two of his troop to move in closer. He looks over his shoulder and gives me the signal that says everyone is in place and we are ready to strike. A loud, high-pitch whistles rings across the silence of the night and everyone moves simultaneously, some breaking into the house where the rebels are and Jasiel and his men ripping the door of the old outhouse off its hinges and striding inside, their shadow magic ready to attack. A few seconds later, Jasiel sticks his head out of the hut and beckons me over. I move towards the hut and when I enter; I am relieved to see two girls huddled together on a pile of blankets on the dirty wooden floor. Jasiel is crouched down in front of them, talking softly and reassuring them we are here to take them to safety. Knowing they are in expert hands, I make my way to the main house, where my soldiers march a solid man out with a receding hairline and eyes as wide as saucers. They drag him to me and force him to his knees in front of me. I release my shadows, holding them within the palm of my hands, and he gulps nervously. My shadows snake out and wrap around his body, hurling him off his feet and into the air. I pull him closer to me as he fights the tight grip holding him prisoner.

“You will answer for your crimes and then will journey to Shadow Valley for trial.” I hiss as he wriggles where he dangles in the air, completely at my mercy.

“Search the place top to bottom for any intelligence,” I order my men. The two girls are being given the once over by our healer and Jasiel joins me at my side. They don’t look like they’ve been mistreated, but it’s better that we check before we attempt to escort them back to the valley.

“Raegal!”Her voice screams in my head and I stagger back, almost losing my tight grip on the prisoner.“Raegal, I need you!”

I blink as the realisation hits me. I can hear her in my mind. “Cursed gods,” I mutter. “Jasiel, take him,” I urgently order my friend.

“Everything okay, Commander?”

“Take him. I need to go now. Eretreya is in danger,” I inform him as I release the terrified looking woodman from my shadows and Jasiel takes a hold of him.

“How do you know she’s in danger?”

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