A Shade of Vampire 41: A Tide of War(34)

“How close, physically, do you need to be to close the portal?” I asked.

Ibrahim glanced over at Nuriya.

“We’re not sure,” the warlock replied. “It took the stones to open it, and a great deal of power. It will take time to seal it – and if we’re at a greater distance, it will be harder.”

“So what do we do now?” Sherus asked impatiently.

“I’m wondering if we take our chances and attack the shadow now—maybe we call for back-up. If we could act swiftly then we might be able to give you enough time to get to the portal before the entity sends reinforcements,” I replied, thinking that even if we could take on the shadow, the entity’s response would be too swift for the warlock and jinn to accomplish their task.

“Do you think that’s wise?” Nuriya looked at me steadily. “When the entity is watching everything that we do?”

I heard the sound of someone approaching behind us. I motioned for them all to be silent. A few moments later, Lucas stepped into view and crouched down behind the rocks next to me.

“How’s the palace?” I asked.

“Secure. They’re ready to move at a moment’s notice.”

I nodded my thanks, then told my brother what I was planning. Lucas seemed to accept the risk, but the fae king balked.

“This is suicide,” he muttered angrily. “The shadow is waiting for us to attack. We’d be playing right into the entity’s hands.”

“I’m not sure we have a choice anymore,” Tejus murmured. I looked over at him. His gaze was fixed on the shadow above the portal—it was moving.

“It’s approaching us,” Tejus asserted. “If we don’t stand and fight, then we’re done for anyway.”

The sentry rose in one swift movement, unsheathing the Hellswan sword from his belt. He faced the approaching shadow, his muscles poised to strike, waiting for the black form to get close enough.

We all followed his lead. I watched as the shadow crept over the cove, leaving the portal unwatched. This was our chance.

“Ibrahim, Nuriya—try to go further around,” I commanded. “See if you can reach the portal while we distract the army.”

They left, vanishing entirely from view. All we needed to do was provide enough of a distraction that their magic wouldn’t be noticed…we didn’t know if the shadow could see behind their spells or evasion tactics. Considering the team I had with me, distraction should be an easy enough task.

Soon the gray, cloying blackness had surrounded us. I felt the strange sense of dread creep up my spine, the way it always did when the shadow was near—my theory was that the creatures tried to make us feel separate and alone, to instill a sense of hopelessness in their enemies before they struck. It was an effective strategy, unless you were facing a group of fighters who were family—or potential family, in the case of Tejus. My brother and I had seen too much together, fought side by side too many times through the centuries for us to ever feel that we didn’t have one another’s back. We knew we did, and we always would.

Tejus was the first to make a direct hit on the encroaching shadow. The form of the soldier appeared, its ashen face twisted in pain and fury before it turned to smoke-like ashes.

The battle had begun.

I ripped my claws into the dark smoke. I wounded one of them, but he reached out and grabbed me around the neck, claws digging into me, his strength at odds with his shadowy appearance. I struggled against the vice he created, one hand prying off his grip, the other retrieving an immortal water-infused dagger from my belt. Before he became aware of what I was doing, I slashed the dagger upward along his chest. He bellowed—a sound that didn’t seem like it had just come from him, but the entire army. In the next moment he was ash, and another bit of shadow moved in to take his place.

I swiftly glanced over at my son. He and Tejus were taking on groups at a time. Back to back, they spun swords at a rapid speed, their aim at neck height—the heads of the soldiers flying upward a split second before their bodies crumbled to nothing.

They actually looked like they were enjoying themselves, and they weren’t the only ones. Lucas and Aiden seemed to be reveling in the attack, using claws (in Aiden’s case) and swords to cast fatal blows at the enemy. Lethe attacked from above, bellowing ice to freeze the shadow, swooping down to snap at shoulders and heads, then dropping them back onto the ground. It was an effective method of attack, but it still wasn’t enough. The shadow continued to grow; for each dead ashen soldier, another would appear in its place. I continued to slice through my fair share, conscious of keeping one eye on the portal, waiting for a sign that Ibrahim and Nuriya were making progress.