Gaster arrived soon after this, and since I wasn’t ready to be naked in front of the world again, I was still in wolf form. “Oh my.” He gasped, looking down at what remained of the cloaks. “You defeated them on your own!”
Angel grimaced. “Is the Shadow Realm door still sealed?”
He nodded in a rapid, nervous manner. “That was the first thing I checked, because if the doorway was open, we’d have a lot more to worry about than a few hunters.”
They were talking about the doorway that Shadow was desperate to get open… right? Apparently, no one was privy to that information and it didn’t sound like they’d be happy about it if they knew. But Shadow did what Shadow wanted here, that much was clear, with no one brave or strong enough to go up against him.
But it would have been interesting to see their reactions if they knew.
Might drop that little fact at some stage, just to stir the pot.
“Are there any more hunters, do you think?” Gaster asked nervously. “I’ve sent out an alert through the lands, and I’ll await their replies and advice.”
Angel shook her head. “There are no more in the library. I’ve attuned myself to their energy, and it’s resonating empty now that they’ve been dispatched.”
Gaster looked down again like he couldn’t quite believe they were dead. “We would have been in trouble without you. Kind blessings, royal one.”
He bowed low then, holding the pose respectfully.
I tilted my head back to see her face, and even in the grey-scale vision of the wolf, it was clear she was annoyed by the title and genuflecting. “I did what any in my position would have, and honestly, if it wasn’t for Mera-wolf, I might not have had a chance to take them both down.”
My wolf preened a little. We’d been a damn good distraction, all without suffering from touching their cloaks.
Gaster, who was almost face to face with me in this form, stepped closer, peering into my eyes. “How were you able to help, Ms. Mera? The shadow hunters are greatly feared, and to touch them is to touch death for a mortal. Your soul forfeit to them. You must have been very lucky to avoid their touch.”
Wow, okay. So now we knew what was supposed to happen when a mortal touched them.
Angel arched an eyebrow at me. “Yes, very lucky,” she said. “I wrongly assumed she would know about them. I forgot that all knowledge of the Shadow Realm has been long suppressed by the beast himself.”
Hence why her warning had been too late to stop me from half-eating a hunter. Being some weird shadow magnet had come in handy today, preventing me from forfeiting my soul… which sounded a little scary.
“Did you find Shadow?” Angel asked, shifting the focus from me, like the true friend she was. “Surely, he would be interested in a little invasion of shadow folk.”
Gaster did another of those rapid head movements. “I tried to find him, but there’s no sign of him at all.”
A trickle of fear stirred deep inside, in the place where I couldn’t quite hate Shadow. Had Igorna done what I thought was impossible? Had he hurt or killed Shadow, leaving shifters at the mercy of a life with no god? I had no idea if Shadow had ever done anything beneficial for us, but it was nice to know that he’d existed in the background.
I had to check on him.
As we took off toward the room, Angel shouted after me: “Be careful. Trust your instincts.”
My wolf let out a yip of agreement before sprinting into the Library of Knowledge, which was no longer a peaceful and tranquil room. It looked like a tornado had gone through it; the hunters had caused a shit ton of damage before they’d entered the dining hall.
Once again, a shadow creature had sought me out. And once again, I had no damn idea why.
Entering the lair moments later, we found it quiet and still, unlike the chaos of the library. Whatever magic of Shadow’s that kept this place a sanctuary appeared to still be intact. Just silence, and a chilly crisp air—
Wait, chilly? It was never cold in here…
Changing direction, my wolf detoured toward my favorite place with its soft couches and roaring fire. A fire that to my knowledge had never gone out or even burned low.
Until right now.
Not a speck of flame was visible, the darkened interior looking like it had been cold for days. My wolf nosed us forward, whimpering as a true fear slunk its way into our chest.
Shadow was gone. If the fire had burned out, then did that mean his energy was no longer present to keep it going? Had he found a way to return to the Shadow Realm with Igorna? Or had the creature managed to destroy him?
The questions spun in my head, and even in my wolf form, with muted human emotions, we were afraid. Heading toward my room, we moved slowly, not wanting to be ambushed. Creeping through the stacks of books, I noted that nothing was disturbed, so other than the lack of fire, there was no way to tell anything was amiss. But deep in my soul, the place where I believed gut instinct arose, I felt the change.
And I didn’t like it.
When we reached my room, the door was ajar—it was never ajar. So now we had two disturbances to the status quo, and that was all I needed to know that we were completely and totally screwed. Creeping inside, I allowed my senses to roam free first.
There was nothing. No scent, heartbeat, power resonance, or physical presence. Pushing farther into the room, I was relieved to see it looking empty and untouched. No massive fight had happened here, that much was clear, and I wasted no more time shifting back and changing into new clothes.
Thankful that I’d had a chance to eat and my energy wasn’t completely depleted, even after a rapid shift, I threw a jacket over my tank and pulled my boots on. Hurrying from the room, my aim was to return to the Library of Knowledge, find Gaster, and force him to tell me everything about the Shadow Realm. No longer would I put up with his bullshit response of that’s not my business.
Yeah, sorry, bro, when two worlds started to collide, it was everyone’s business.
The library had regained some of its composure upon my return, the goblins righting anything that had been disturbed by the hunters. Those two had cut a path of destruction through the shelves in their journey toward Angel and me. And one of my biggest pending questions was why they had targeted us… me.
Unless it had been Angel who’d been the first point of elimination, as one of the few beings who could kick their asses. It felt narcissistic to keep thinking this shadow drama shit was all centered around me, but fuck, it just kept coming my way.
“Mera!”
I expected that call to come from Angel, but it was actually Len, the silver-cloaked and silver-tongued friend of Shadow.
“You need to come with me,” he said in a rush.
I shook my head. “No, I can’t. I have to find Gaster or Angel. I have so many questions that need answers…”
He reached out and placed a hand on my forehead, and almost immediately, darkness clouded my mind.
“You bastard,” I slurred before whatever he’d done took full effect, and I collapsed into his arms.
