Darkness Rising: A Shadow Realm novel (Reclaiming the Shadow Realm Book 2) Page 4

  Kailah cowered a bit under the scrutiny of his harsh stare, but Sayen stared right back with confidence. Once again, Sayen’s mind was rushing around in circles, but it suddenly stopped. She knew what she had to do to save Taima.

  “My only doubt is the worry I have for Taima, for my new family,” she said. “I do not wish to bring the wrath of my old family down upon any of you. I should do this alone. I accept the consequences. I accept that I will be doomed to a human life with blackness in my spirit.”

  Taima opened his mouth to protest, but Sayen smiled sadly and shook her head. “Please. Do not fight this. If you love me, you will allow me to live my life without guilt. You have given me love, something I never believed I would possess. Allow me to give you this gift in return. You will never suffer at the hands of Khia if you are not involved.”

  There was a moment of hesitation from the Shaman, but he nodded and lifted the bone-handled dagger. It didn’t look like anything a Native American would have, though they frequently used such materials for weapons. Instead, this style was different. It looked Egyptian. Sayen’s thoughts confirmed as much when she recognized it as the one she had given to him for the occasion.

  The Shaman quickly explained the ritual, and Kailah sat and stared into Taima’s wet eyes as Sayen listened to every instruction. Kailah could see her great-great-grandfather fighting the sobs brewing, though the tears fell anyway. It was so painful to watch. His heart was being ripped out, and she could actually feel Sayen’s breaking just as much.

  Their sacrifice to one another—her breaking her promise to be with him to save his life, and him staying silent and allowing her to go on so she lived guilt free—was what love was supposed to be about. Selflessness. If Kailah would have been able to right then, she would have bawled her eyes out.

  Sayen closed her eyes and focused hard on everything she wished to purge from her life. She lifted the clay cup to her lips and took a drink of the elixir before continuing.

  Khia. Mothers. Powers. Khia. Mothers. Powers. Khia. Mothers. Powers. Please, Anubis. Hear my cries. Spirits of the ancestors of these forest people, hear me. The Immortals can see me. They can see my power like a beacon, calling to them. Take it from me. Take it all. I will gladly pay whatever price there is. Please don’t let them use me to kill. Please don’t let them use me as a tool to destroy innocent people and enslave others.

  I know I am guilty. I know I have hurt innocent people—but I swear on everything I have ever held dear, I had no idea. I was led to believe they were evil creatures. I have been awoken to what I am and where I come from. Please take this burden from me.

  Khia. Mothers. Powers. Take my ties to Khia and the Mothers. Take all my power. Leave me human. I will live an honest human life, and I will help people when I can. If you have it in your power, if you can lend me enough of your power, please strip me of everything that ties us together.

  Kailah shook as Sayen did. A presence filled the air, and chills ran through her body. As Sayen opened her eyes, she realized time had stopped. Nothing around them moved or even breathed. Even a mosquito just a foot away was frozen in flight, but that was hardly the most terrifying.

  Standing not ten feet behind Taima was a beast that was no less than twelve feet tall. His fur was sleek and as black as the darkest night. His ears were tall and his muzzle long.

  “Anubis,” Sayen whispered.

  She wasn’t sure if it was the elixir she’d taken a drink of or if Anubis was truly standing there, but Kailah was in just as much shock.

  This is what you want? Anubis asked.

  Sayen nodded, tears spilling down her cheeks. “Take it. Please. I know you hate us. I know you hate Immortals—because of her. Khia.”

  Anubis growled, his lips pulling back to reveal perfectly white jagged teeth. She disrupts the balance. You all do.

  “The queens help to restore balance, just as you asked them to. I swear, I will do whatever I can to help. Please! Name your price!”

  Anubis stared at her. I cannot take your power. You are beyond my abilities in life, although I take great pride in collecting the blackened souls of the immortal beings in the Shadow Realm once they are dead. My coat was once grey. It is the blackness of their hatred that has turned my fur so obsidian.

  His eyes narrowed as he stared longer. I cannot take your powers, but I can tell you that your friends here have magic that transcends all barriers. Their magic is pure. It is of the earth. If you do this, you will become a child of the earth. Khia will never find you, but you will fulfill your destiny. A child will be born. A child who even I cannot see. All I know is she makes us very curious.

  Sayen looked at him with curiosity of her own. “You mean the child Khia wanted to take from me? The child that she and I saw in a vision that would end the war?”

  Anubis nodded. Yes. And you must protect her. Keep her away from the others.

  Sayen had always wanted to have children but knowing she would give birth to the most powerful Shadow Realm creature to walk the earth didn’t sit well with her. She couldn’t doom a child to the life she’d led. If Khia ever got hold of her, the child could be used just as Sayen had.

  “You might not be able to take my powers, but you can take my ability to have children once I am human. Humans pray to the gods for mercy, fertility, for many reasons. Sometimes you grant miracles, so I know you can do this.”

  I can… but I will not. The child must be born.

  Kailah was devastated for Sayen. The woman was doing all she could to save her love and to prevent herself from destroying the life of a future child, but nothing was working.

  “This is my price? And for what? You have no power to take mine away. You would have me carry on as nothing had changed. I would marry this man and risk his life, we would then have children, and I would wait for one of them to transition?”

  Yes. This is my price. I cannot see the future surrounding this child. Other Reapers have given me only bits and pieces of what they have seen, Death most of all. He is very interested in her. Her greatness will reach far and wide. She will affect every corner of the world. But if she lands in Khia’s grip, she will bring hell to anything and everything she touches. No life will be safe.

  You must protect her, keep her from her destiny as long as possible. If she grows, lives, and dies a human death, so be it. But if she transitions, you must protect her. Keep her away from Khia, and perhaps she will restore the balance to this world. The apocalypse is upon us. It will happen within the next couple centuries. You should know that it will be Khia who begins it.

  Kailah had chills, but so did Sayen’s body which she currently inhabited. What Kailah didn’t know, but what was going through Sayen’s head, was exactly who and what he was and why this was so important.

  Anubis was the god of death, but in the Shadow Realm, he was known only as a Reaper. He was not the only one, however. There were many gods of death worshipped by humans all over the world, all of which were Reaper lords. Each one had a territory, and Anubis was currently in Death’s.

  Anubis, Death, Hades, and other Reaper lords were ancient and far more powerful than other soul collectors. None of them liked anything residing within the Shadow Realm. Those creatures disturbed the balance between life and death. Vampires killed and their victims died early, messing up the Reaper’s clock. This left spirits to wander in purgatory, only making Immortals stronger.

  “I will do this, but not for you,” Sayen said finally. “If I am meant to have a family, I will protect them with my life. I would do that anyway, regardless of what you asked of me.”

  He nodded. I accept that. You are rare among your people, and I believe that future child will be well placed in your hands. This man will be a good mate. He was never going to let you go through life alone. He is selfless. He will help raise the child with light in her heart.

  That warmed Sayen to know. She didn’t like that Taima was so willing to throw his life away for her, but it seemed they were destined to meet an
d create a family together. If she was still destined to have that same child she had seen, it was Taima who was meant to be the father all along.

  For your sacrifice, I will make certain you live peacefully. No harm will come to you in this lifetime.

  Sayen looked at him curiously. “Are you allowed to do that? I thought you were creatures bound by neutrality. You couldn’t meddle in human affairs.”

  Hmph. Child, I am very old. I am very powerful. I know my boundaries, and yes, this is crossing one of them. But if I do not, this world will end in less than two centuries. Besides… I know my way around rules when the time comes. It will not be me who protects you. I have found Khanae. It has been quite some time since we have spoken, but she was more than happy to come back for you. Aneksi will also be at your disposal. Goodbye for now. I am certain we will meet again.

  Before Sayen could respond, Anubis was gone, and time had begun again. Taima looked at her with confusion, and she could see he knew something was off.

  “Has the spirit taker of your people blessed this ritual?”

  Sayen turned to look at the shaman who expectantly awaited her answer. Her eyes were still wide, but she finally managed to nod. “Yes, he did. It seems this was destined to be.”

  He nodded. “Then the spirits are with us, and you will be successful.”

  She took the blade from the shaman. She was supposed to drag it across her left breast, symbolizing bleeding blood directly from her heart. She would then drip that blood into the elixir and drink it.

  But she had other plans.

  When it came time to drag the knife across her chest, she plunged it directly into her own heart. Kailah felt herself jerk, even in the vision. She couldn’t believe Sayen had just done that, and she could feel every ounce of agony.

  The people around them gasped in shock as they watched her. They had heard of what she was, and they had seen her power, but never anything like that.

  “I’m not taking any chances,” Sayen grunted out as she pulled the blade from her heart.

  She dripped three drops of blood into the cup before reciting the words the shaman had told her to say. She was about to lift the cup and drink when Taima reached out, just as Anubis had said he would. He took the knife and wiped it on his pants. Then, he dragged it across his chest before dripping his blood into the cup as well.

  Just as Sayen had, Taima spoke the words, and Sayen took the first sip. Taima took the cup from her and took a drink as the shaman loudly chanted from the side. The entire tribe joined along, and Kailah could hear the spirits of their ancestors joining in as well.

  There were others, however, who were not so happy.

  The spirits who had been present but invisible and silent suddenly made themselves known. They were angry with Sayen, screaming at her and begging her to stop. They could feel her hold on them slipping away, and they would soon fade into nothingness.

  Another cold chill ripped through her as time once again stood still—only this time, Sayen was frozen, too. The spell had worked. Her power was slipping away. So much so, that when Death arrived, Sayen was affected by his power.

  Kailah, however, was not.

  I see you, he said, and Kailah realized that he was talking to her.

  Though she was still in Sayen’s body, she began to hyperventilate. She couldn’t move because Sayen couldn’t, but she could see everything, and she could feel fear.

  Death was almost as tall as Anubis, but he was shrouded in a cloak that pulsed with energy. Like Anubis, it was blacker than black. It, too, was made from immortal souls.

  How can you see me? This happened more than a hundred years ago.

  Death reached out and touched one of the angry souls. The spirit illuminated before shrinking down to a small, white orb. He opened his cloak and inside, she saw nothing. One would assume a person—however demonic looking—would be inside, but it was empty.

  The spirit floated from his hand and absorbed into the cloak before he closed it again, his long, bony fingers letting go as he turned his attention back to her. She couldn’t see a face, though dark smoky energy wafted from the spot where his eyes would be.

  Time means nothing to us. I know who you are. Prepare yourself, child. This won’t be the last time we see one another.

  If you know so much about me, tell me how to end this war, Kailah said to him telepathically.

  He shook his head. Kailah was about to protest, but a blast of energy surrounded her as Death transformed every spirit that belonged to Sayen—expertly avoiding those of the Natives—and pulled them into his cloak. Then, he was gone, and she could feel herself being pulled back to the waking world.

  Chapter Four

  Khia sat in a thick, luxurious robe in a chair that was worth more than anything the woman doing her nails possessed. She was sure of that. The queen’s feet were elevated, and she leaned back at a slight angle while the woman sat on one side of the chair, shaping her new acrylic nails.

  Several had been cracked, and one had even broken in her last fight with the Vampire twins. She had to give them credit—they’d come a long way since she first faced them.

  And Kailah!

  Oh, sweet, innocent Kailah.

  Khia was impressed with just how fearlessly her descendant had stood up to her. The girl should have broken by then, but she hadn’t. To Khia, that meant it was entirely possible she was exactly who everyone believed her to be.

  “How is this shape?” The small woman trembled as she brushed away the acrylic dust.

  Khia held up her hand, her lips pursed as she closely inspected them. As an Immortal, she had naturally strong nails and could grow them with no problem, but she just enjoyed the added strength of the acrylic.

  “Hmm. Impressive. They are nearly perfect. Certainly done well enough the average human would never be able to see the imperfections. I suppose that’s why you didn’t.” Khia slapped her hand back down on the arm of the chair. “They’ll do. Nice work.”

  The spa employee visibly relaxed as she sighed in relief and smiled at the same time. “Thank you, Your Highness! Thank you! I brought several colors for you. Only the brightest, like you asked for.”

  She handed Khia a small case filled with polish. There were twenty colors inside. Bright yellows, oranges, pinks, greens, blues, and purples. There were also a few deep, dark colors that she found stunning.

  “You know, I told myself I would do something bright and exciting, but this deep, blackish red… I don’t know if I can resist it,” Khia said.

  “May I make a suggestion or two?” Her voice was just as weak as before, but she knew making the queen happy was absolutely necessary.

  “Very well.”

  The woman gave a cautious smile. “We could do tips. It wouldn’t be so overwhelming and dark if you’re after a ‘brighter’ look. We could also do accent nails with something different. Or we could do tips of another color, and I could individually paint designs on the nails using this dark red.”

  Khia’s eyes lit up. She liked this woman. Even though she was weak and pathetic, she had beautiful ideas. The staff at the hotel had been very attentive, and she found she enjoyed them. Each one working with her directly had transitioned to her way of doing things quite nicely. She’d only had minor problems.

  “I love that idea. Tips it is. White. Dark red designs,” Khia replied.

  The Immortal handed the polishes over and relaxed back in her chair, closing her eyes.

  “Would you like a glass of wine or a warm, wet cloth?”

  “Carolyn, you know me too well.” Khia never opened her eyes as she replied, simply expecting her words to punctuate her desire for that very thing to happen.

  Carolyn stepped away and returned a few moments later. “Sean will bring both for you momentarily. He knows it’s for you.”

  That was code for “he knows to move his ass, or he will suffer a painful death for his insolence.”

  “Wonderful! Thank you.”

  Khia allowed her p
ower to wrap around her as she tried to peer into the future. She needed to find an opening to get to Kailah, but she’d learned her lesson. Subtlety was best. She couldn’t do it herself anymore. She would need help.

  The smell of fingernail polish wafted into the air as a low level of unconsciousness took hold of Khia. She was still fully aware of everything around her, but that would fade momentarily. Her spirits stood guard and would warn her if anything was amiss.

  Khia suddenly found herself standing inside of a hospital. She recognized the nurses station. It was the very one Kailah worked at—or had worked at. She wasn’t quite certain. She had checked back every day for weeks, and Kailah still hadn’t returned.

  She mentally scolded herself. Had she not been so impulsive with attacking Kailah not once but twice in a single day, the girl might have been lulled into a false sense of safety and returned to work.

  Everything seemed normal in the nurse’s station, so she wasn’t quite certain what pulled her there. That was, until she saw him. Sam. He was an attractive young man, and she remembered him from Kailah’s thoughts. Kailah had liked him.

  Khia smiled.

  She crossed the room and looked at the computer screen. She was not looking into the future—this was the present. Perfect, she thought.

  Her mouth had barely opened, ready to speak into Sam’s mind when she was reminded of a cold truth. She and Sayen were linked. All Immortals were. If she were to plan anything, Sayen would be able to figure it out if she looked at the right time.

  She quickly pulled out of the vision and looked at the woman working away to make her nails look good. Off to the right was a bowl of hot water with two wash cloths laid tri-folded across its rim and a chilled bottle of wine that had already been opened.