Of course, we don’t leave the castle without stopping by the armory first. Killian and Rowan dress in bulletproof vests and retrieve three guns each, while Juniper and Maeve do the same. I’m pretty sure the vests are useless, considering we’re going up against a soul sucking Tethered Mythic, but I dress in one anyway.
Maeve marches across the room and slams a fist on a lone black door. The door falls open, revealing gray cases lined neatly in black foam. She unzips one, and inside are golden bullets with stark white tips.
“If we’re to go into the Rukane Forest, we cannot do so without ash from Luxor Mountains,” she declares. “They’re the only thing that can stop those wretched shadows, and these weapons are filled with them.”
Killian walks up to her, opening one of the other cases to reveal daggers. He takes two for himself, and Rowan and Juniper follow his lead before venturing to the bullets and loading their guns.
“Here.” Maeve places one of the daggers in my hand.
“These weapons won’t kill Decius,” I tell her as they all grab last minute things like grenades and round silver discs with blades on the end. I’m not sure what the discs are, but when Rowan switches one of them on and a red light flashes in the center, I figure they must be equally as lethal as the grenades.
“Hassha said only wood from a Trench tree can kill him,” I go on. “She gave Caz wooden bullets.”
“Hassha?” Maeve’s eyes widen as she stops everything she’s doing to pin her focus on me. Her green eyes are bold beneath the blinding light of the armory. “Where did you see her?”
“I was with her on an island called Kessel. Me and Caz were.”
Maeve continues staring at me as if I’ve lost my mind. “She still lives,” she murmurs. “And she’s allowing this bloody Mournwrath creature to go around killing people? How could she? We believed in her. I believed in her.”
Her voice cracks, and I’m not sure what to say to her. I know that Hassha hasn’t gone after Decius because it wasn’t her creation, and because Decius could never harm her or the people she loves. Kessel is a quiet place that goes undisturbed, and I’m certain Hassha has worked hard to keep it that way, but ever since my and Caz’s visit, I believe all of that has changed.
Regardless, if I tell Maeve that Hassha has been in hiding for hundreds of thousands of years and that she has, in fact, been avoiding Decius and the commoners to protect her peace, it might further upset her. I can’t say I blame Hassha, really. She has a family, and the women of Kessel rely on her to thrive.
I try coming up with a viable answer for Maeve because it seems she genuinely wants an answer, but I have none, and I’m relieved when Killian speaks up.
“We can talk about Hassha and all that bloody Regal stuff later. If we don’t get after Caz, we’ll never get the answers we need.”
I press my lips as Maeve shifts her gaze to Killian, then she shakes her head furiously, picking up a thick handgun with a silver handle and tucking it into the sheath attached to her hip. “Our bullets aren’t for Decius. They’re for the creatures who’ll come before we reach Decius.”
When we step outside, Silvera is already sitting by the door, waiting. She stands at my side as everyone else walks past, going toward an inclining hill. I can see the forest they’re heading toward from here, the tips of the pointed trees buried beneath thick clouds. The trees seem to run infinitely, and I shudder at the thought. Still, I follow along, hiking up the hill. The ground shifts from grass to gravel the closer we get, and Killian cocks one of his guns as we approach the steel barricade Maeve mentioned. It’s a silver wall that goes higher than I can see. There are no doors to be found; however, Killian takes a step ahead and jabs at a spot on the barricade. Red lights emit in the shape of symbols, and he taps in the code, then the lights blink white followed by a clunking noise. A rectangular gap appears, spreading just enough for a single person to walk through. The other side is so very dark, as if the leaves are bunched together, refusing to allow any light. My heart beats faster, but I swallow some courage because I have to go with them. I have to do this for Caz.
“Mum, you don’t think it’d be best if the ladies stay outside the wall?” Killian asks after peering in. “Me and Row can find Caz, kill that Decius character, and bring him back.”
Maeve sucks her teeth and walks past him. “Not on your life. You forget that before I ever had you, I was a leader of The Watchwomen. The only reason I stopped taking part is because I met your father, got pregnant, and ended up with you three.” She slips through the entryway, disappearing into the darkness. Killian works his jaw but goes right after her, as well as Rowan.
“The Watchwomen?” I ask, glancing at Juniper.
“Yeah. They were a group of women back in the day who sought their own peace and justice,” Juniper explains. “They mostly went after men who assaulted or raped women and children. If they heard about it, or someone came to them for help, they killed the man. It was a whole thing before I was ever born, but my mother told me all about her missions.”
“Oh.” A thought crosses my mind. “But what about…Tom? That teacher who…” The teacher who molested Juniper.
Juniper raises her chin, nearing the entryway. “I made her promise not to go after him.”
“Why?” I ask as I follow her.
“Because karma is a beautiful bitch and she’s twice as powerful.”
This, I suppose, is true. Caz took care of it and blew Tom to smithereens.
“Come on. You ready?” Juniper is already stepping through, so I nod, following after her. As soon as we’re on the other side of the barricade, we’re immediately swallowed in darkness. Silvera brushes against my side, fully aware something isn’t right about this place. Ahead, there is nothing but dense fog and curving tree branches hovering over a slim footpath ahead. Maeve, Killian, and Rowan are already on the path, venturing deeper into darkness with flashlights and guns aimed ahead. Everything inside me goes against moving forward, but I stay by Juniper’s side, my feet moving while my mind revolts.
The deeper we go, the less light there is. I look back, and the light from our entry point is turning into a speck.
“Did Caz tell you what he did to Tom?” I ask, aiming for a distraction.
“No. But Rowan did. I rather admire the idea of that wretched man being blown to bits instead of shot in the head.”
“Wait.” Killian stops abruptly, raising his gun, and I freeze in my tracks.
Rowan’s gun has a red laser on the end, and he swings it left when a tree branch snaps. Maeve and Juniper stand behind the men, shoulders hunched, eyes wide, fingers wrapped around the triggers. I reach for my Trench tree dagger, though I’m not sure it’ll stop whatever’s in this forest.
“Up ahead,” Killian says in a low voice.
I peer over his shoulder, and ahead are dark figures hanging from sloping trees. At first glance, the figures look like people hanging from rope by the throat, and I’m instantly reminded of the story Maeve told. The general lost his mind, sought a Mythic to murder his fleet. There is Mythic energy in this place—dark energy that hums in the soil beneath my feet. I can feel it.
When Killian raises a flashlight, pointing it at one of the silhouettes, I see that it’s not a person, but a thick bundle of branches wrapped in pale moss. Some of the moss drips onto the floor of the forest, and the branches they hang from creak and moan, almost in warning.
“They look like people,” Juniper whispers.
“Probably were,” Rowan mumbles, visibly shuddering.
Killian lowers the flashlight, moving ahead again as Maeve says, “Try not to touch them.”
We carefully move through the path, weapons in hand, avoiding the hanging moss. A twig snaps again, followed by a heavy crunch, and Killian and Rowan swing their guns, pointing the barrels to the right this time. “That’s the second time. Something’s out here,” Rowan breathes, and my heart drops.
When several seconds tick by and nothing appears, they face forward again, picking up the pace this time. I stay close to the group, gripping the handle of my knife tighter, relieved when I spot the light of an opening ahead.
“Not far to the cliffs,” Killian murmurs.
I can taste the salty ocean, hear the waves crashing. There’s water on the other side of this forest and light. My heart beats faster the closer we get, but then Juniper lets out a bloodcurdling scream and her gun goes off, the fired shots echoing through the forest.
Killian grunts, and his gun is knocked out of his hand. He’s shoved to the ground, and a pair of dark hands grip him by the ankles, dragging him away. Maeve gasps when something wraps its arms around her from behind and yanks her back, just as dark as the hands that grabbed Killian’s ankles. Then it takes Juniper too.
My heart beats so hard and fast, I can hardly hear a thing. But I see it all. Something has taken them.
Rowan points the gun in the direction his family were taken, but it’s too late. The dark figure behind her shoots into the air with her locked in its arms, and her scream carries through the forest.
“Shit!” Rowan hisses, pointing up with his gun, the laser bouncing off the thick, dark trunks. “Willow, stand behind me,” he orders, and I rush his way, taking out my other dagger with the Luxor ash.
“What are those things?” I ask.
Rowan remains quiet, slowly swinging the gun ahead of him. His ear twitches, and with rapidness, he spins around and says, “Duck.”
I drop, and he points his gun behind me, sending a bullet flying. Silvera stands over me, growling as something screeches. When I look up, one of those shadowy figures is there. It has no face, no true form. It’s like a black ghost, however not transparent. The bullet is lodged into the heart of its chest, glowing now like fire embers. The creature continues screeching until finally, it explodes. Black ashes scatter around us, drifting with the stiff breeze.
Rowan grabs me by the arm, helping me to a stand again. “You all right, Willow?”
“What the hell was that?”
“One of those dead soldiers, I presume. I need all the eyes I can get. Press your back to mine, keep a lookout.” He turns away, and I press my back to his, my breaths pouring out raggedly. “What have they done with my family?” he mutters.
Just as he says that, more gunshots go off. They’re close by, but I can’t see where they’re coming from because of the fog.
“Keep that eye out, Willow,” Rowan orders. “More are coming, I’m sure.”
My breathing becomes shallow as Silvera growls, baring her teeth while looking at the other end of the path.
Another dark figure appears, and I can’t bring myself to call Rowan’s name because this one is massive compared to the first one, and I swear to God it has two heads.
It moves at rapid speed toward me, and I finally find it in me to scream Rowan’s name. He spins around me, shooting at it, but the figure dodges the bullet and zigzags behind the trees. In seconds, Rowans’ gun is knocked out of his hand, flying away, and the shadow shoves him backwards.
Rowan hits the nearest tree trunk with a grunt, and I back away until my back is pressed against a trunk too. The shadow’s head turns, and though it has no eyes, I know it’s coming for me next. I grip the handle of the dagger tighter, ready to slash at it.
Silvera continues a growl, a fair warning to make the thing stop, but it doesn’t. It inches closer, drifting across the forest floor, and Silvera pounces forward, biting into it. As she bites, black liquid spills, dripping onto her chest and paws. The shadow makes no noise as it shakes Silvera off, flinging her several feet away.
“No!” I scream, and I raise my dagger, aiming for its heart, but the figure grips my arm and slams me into a curved tree trunk. The dagger flies out of my hand and slams on the ground as the shadow’s grip on my arm grows tighter. It’s other hand wraps around my throat, ice-cold and menacing, and it’s because of the cold grip that I realize I’ve felt it before. It’s the type of cold that sinks into your bones and tries robbing your soul. Sure, the shadows may want to claim us, but Decius also has control of them right now, and he’s trying to stop us from reaching Caz.
“I’ll kill his family first,” the creature croaks. “Then I’ll drain every drop of blood and energy from his body.”
I grit my teeth as the figure tightens its claws around my throat. My eyes shift to Rowan who shakes his head, sluggishly pulling out another gun that’s tucked into a strap around his ankle. Something knocks the gun out of his hand, then grips him by the throat too, pinning him to a tree. It’s another shadow.
More shadows appear, carrying the Blackwater clan in our direction and slamming their backs to tree trunks. Each of us is pinned and struggling for breath while Silvera barks at them all, unsure where to attack.
My vision grows blurry as I watch them all fight, and it hits me that they’re suffering because of a Tether Caz and I share. I think to myself, there’s no way this is it. There’s no way we’ve gotten this far just for a handful of shadows to end it all. Decius deserves to die. He can’t win.
As quickly as the thought forms, a bold lavender light appears in the forest—so bright that it’s damn near blinding. The shadow with its grip on me hisses as it jerks away. I fall to the ground, sucking in breaths and looking up. The shadow attempts to flee, but a beam of the lavender light hurtles right after it, blasting the shadow to ash.
The rest of the shadows drop their captives and attempt an escape, but more beams race through the forest, slamming into each of them. The shadows screech all at once, their wails ringing through the forest like screams from lost souls.
I rub my throat as Juniper and Maeve suck in breaths and Killian and Rowan pant raggedly. The lavender beams circle back to where we are, hovering above us. I study the one in front of me shaped like a spear with tiny bolts of lightning crackling through it.
Someone approaches, their feet crunching over sticks and gravel. The spheres surrounding us race back to the person and settle into their palms, and when I can finally see this familiar individual, I gasp.
