Page 57 of Cursed Shadows

Thoradin immediately goes after Dravon, a fight that doesn’t appear fair as Thoradin is clearly the larger of the two. But Dravon has a surprise—a shortsword. With one arm still covering his burned face, Dravon plunges the blade deep into the abdomen of the gargoyle.

“No!” Eilish shouts behind me.

Thoradin falls to the ground, his expression entirely blank. I watch in disbelief, but Baron is quick to take action. He reaches into Anona’s lap to grab his bag of poisons and, as he does, several of the bottles scatter to the ground. There’s a loud yell as Dragan releases the man from over fifty feet in the sky. He lands on the remains of the motorized wagon and is killed instantly. Anona and Dravon still furiously wipe at their faces and the smell of singed hair and skin is thick in the air, their howls of pain echoing through the forest.

“Run!” shouts Baron, turning to me and motioning to Eilish, as if I should be the one to see to her safety. I don’t argue, much though I also don’t consider myself her protector. That position is reserved for the idiot gargoyle.

Thoradin remains lifeless on the ground, but we don’t have time to worry for him now.

I reach for Eilish’s hand, ignoring the flash of light I see behind my eyelids which means a vision is threatening to overtake us both. Instead, we take off down the road. My legs scream in pain, but we don’t stop. She’s also staggering slightly. I urge her to run faster.

“Stop them! They can’t escape!” Anona cries from behind us, her voice dissolving into little more than a sob.

Her cries slowly recede as we flee deeper into the forest. Finally, when Eilish comes to a halt behind me, I stop running.

“Please, no more,” she pants, her arms tucked into her sides. I, too, pause. My breath is coming in short, labored gasps, and my lungs burn with every inhalation. Flumph flutters down to the ground and catches his own breath.

Beside us, Dragan lands heavily, his huge form creating a thud that moves the forest.

“Where’s Thoradin and Baron?” he asks.

No one answers.

“Where’s Thoradin?” he repeats, more forcefully this time.

“He… He…” Eilish struggles to speak between her labored gasps.

“Dravon killed him.” Baron suddenly appears behind her to answer Dragan’s question. Baron’s calm, not struggling to breathe like the rest of us. Because he’s vampire, he possesses no circulatory system.

Dragan stares at Baron for a moment, as if he’s processing Baron’s words. And then, his knees bend beneath him and he launches himself once more into the air. His wings tight to his side, he soars like a rocket to the tops of the trees, where he lets loose a yell so intense, it feels as though the entire forest echoes. With a large gust of wind, his wings spread open, fanning air through the trees like a cyclone, spilling leaves to the forest floor. He hangs, immobile, above us. So high, his abnormally large body looks small and far away.

When Dragan returns to the ground, more gently this time, his face is stony and unyielding. His thick, intense brows are knotted together. “We must get his body.”

“Are you kidding?” I ask him, incredulous. “We just barely made it out alive! None of us are going back!”

“Cambion is right. It’s too dangerous,” Baron agrees. “Thoradin is dead. There’s nothing we can do for him now.”

Dragan’s eyebrows furrow even more furiously. He grunts, then begins to walk away from the group. Eilish starts after him, but Baron puts out a hand to stop her.

“Let him go,” he says. His voice is gentle and I wonder why. Perhaps it’s just my imagination but it seems Baron has softened towards the mystery angel. I’m not certain why and I believe it foolish on his part. We still know nothing about her and it’s for that exact reason that I don’t trust her.

Reluctantly, she obeys. Dragan’s figure disappears into the darkness of the trees before us. We stand in silence for a moment, staring at the ground, and I begin to replay everything that just happened. I can’t unsee the image of the blade plunging deep into Thoradin’s chest. My time with him has been short, yes, but his loyalty to his king was something I admired.

“He was a good man,” I say aloud. The group somberly nods.

“Shouldn’t we go and look for Dragan?” Eilish worries. I want to lean in and touch her, though I can’t explain why. Regardless, I resist, and instead just stare into the shadows where Dragan disappeared, shaking my head no.

“Thoradin was a loyal friend. He won’t take the loss easily,” I tell her. “And now, he needs time to himself. To grieve.”

Baron nods somberly.

“Don’t worry, angel,” the sprite says as he manifests from nowhere. The bloody thing is beyond irritating. “I got somethin’ that’ll cheer you up!” He flies to a nearby tree, where he picks upsomething that’s obviously heavy—his wings struggle with the new weight of whatever it is he’s carrying.

As he returns, I have to squint to see the object in the dim. But, when he comes closer, I make out the turquoise blue ofRiverine. He triumphantly brings the rock into the circle and offers it to Eilish, who extends her palm.

He drops the stone into her hand and places his hands on his hips. “Just when youze was startin’ to think I wasn’t worth nothin’!”

Baron and I exchange a look.

---