Soul Shade (Soul Stones Book 2) Read online

  “Jasper?” she called out once more.

  Still, he gave no indication of hearing her. It was too dark inside to tell whether or not he was in there, but, despite his wounded pride, he should have come to her when she called. Sowena turned around and looked out into the night.

  A dark lump lay on the ground a few feet away. It looked like her father’s old coat, crumpled in a ball. Sowena frowned. He was always leaving his stuff lying around, forcing Sowena to clean up his messes.

  Her father wasn’t a cruel man, but neither was he an overly affectionate one. Strong and silent, that was his type. Yet, if it weren’t for him, Sowena would probably be working the mills instead of holding on to the last years of her childhood—or worse yet, she might have been married off to some baker or tailor twenty years her senior. She couldn’t help but love her father despite his shortcomings.

  She was reaching down to pick up the coat when a hole in the clouds allowed the moon to peek through, illuminating the ground in front of her.

  Jasper lay there, motionless, his body contorted in an unnatural position, his tongue lolled to the side.

  Sowena bit back a cry and clapped her hands to her mouth.

  The clouds rolled back over the moon and the area was plunged into darkness again.

  She fell to her knees and cradled Jasper in her arms.

  “Wake up, boy,” Sowena said. “Come on, wake up.”

  She held him tight and gave him a gentle shake, but Jasper didn’t move.

  Before she could shed a tear, another shriek filled the air. She dropped Jasper’s body and stood once more, glancing all around for the source of the sound.

  Something big and black slammed into Sowena, knocking her onto her back and pushing the air from her lungs.

  A monstrous, black creature that moved like a living shadow stood over her. It threw back its gangly arms, shrieked in victory, then opened its maw and descended.

  Sowena tried to scream, but found no air. She supposed it was for the best. Her parents wouldn’t have to hear her wailing as she died.

  When the creature was only inches from her face, the clouds rolled away again, revealing the bright moon in all its grandeur. The creature recoiled, howled as if in pain, then bounded away… right into her house, walking through the walls like some demon straight from her nightmares.

  Her eyes went wide. As air once again filled her lungs, she gasped, “Mother and father! I have to warn them.”

  Sowena scrambled to her feet and ran toward the front door as fast as she could. Before she could reach it, the creature let out its otherworldly howl from within the house.

  Her father shouted, and a loud crash shook the house.

  “Run, Janine!” her father yelled.

  Sowena’s mother screamed.

  The creature shrieked in reply.

  Her father cried out in pain, followed by yet another loud crash.

  Silence followed.

  Sowena finally reached the door and stretched out her hand to grasp the door knob slowly, her heart beating wildly. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, steeling herself to face whatever lay beyond.

  The creature’s shriek of pain sounded once more. A black mass erupted from the far side of her home and it bounded off into the forest, an eerie orange glow following after it.

  Shoving open the door with abandon, she rushed in, ran up the stairs, and flung open the door to her parents’ room.

  A powerful force blew Sowena backward several feet before she crashed to the ground. Flames filled the doorway, leaping out and devouring the old, dry wood all around her.

  4

  Khate followed Bryn onto the gangplank leading to his ship.

  “River Raider?” Khate asked, seeing the ship’s name painted on the side.

  “We do cargo runs mostly,” Bryn said. “Back and forth between major cities and smaller villages up the Trident and the Estes.”

  Khate paused halfway up the plank. Turning, Bryn gave her a curious look.

  “Is she seaworthy?” Khate asked.

  Bryn scoffed. “Is she seaworthy? She’s floating, isn’t she?”

  That did not give Khate any added confidence. “You have taken her out to sea, correct? Are you aware Kent is out in the ocean and you’ll have to leave the bay?”

  “I may be old, but I’ve not lost my mind just yet,” Bryn said with a huff. “She’ll hold up, I think.”

  “You think?” Khate asked incredulously.

  “She’ll hold,” he reiterated. “I know it. Besides, we’ll stick to the shallows of the mainland as we head north, and we’ll only need to worry about crossing the channel to the isle.”

  “Won’t that take longer?” Khate asked, crossing her arms.

  “Are you in a hurry, missy?” Bryn asked. “Mightn’t be you’d like to stay here for another week or two until you find some other fool willing to take you on?”

  Khate opened her mouth to speak, but a strong voice rose above them and said, “Who’s a fool?”

  “I am!” Bryn said, spinning around to address the man.

  A hulking beast of a man appeared at the top of the gangplank. He reminded her of Ocken, a friend from another time in another place. Khate hadn’t thought of him in nearly a decade. She wondered where he was now.

  It didn’t matter. The man before her was not Ocken. Where Ocken was muscular, this man closer resembled a barrel. His chest, arms, and legs were large and thick, not with excess fat, but neither were they chiseled.

  “What’d you go and do this time?” he asked.

  “Khate, meet PD,” Bryn said, extending his arm toward the big man.

  “PD?” Khate asked, cocking her head.

  “Short for Peadaran, ma’am,” PD said, bowing.

  “I’ll have none of that aboard my ship,” Bryn said, slapping the man’s face before he rose. “Up, up, up, go on now, tell the others we’ve got a guest on board.”

  “Aye, Cap’n,” PD said and marched out of sight.

  “Come on, let’s show where you’ll be staying,” Bryn said, waving for Khate to follow.

  She ascended the last few paces and stepped off the gangplank onto the ship. The River Raider was a decent-sized ship with enough space on either side of the mast to easily accommodate two or three people walking side by side.

  It looked to be about fifteen meters front to back, with at least one deck below and the Captain’s quarters on the main deck. Two sets of stairs sat adjacent to the Captain’s quarters: one that led down into the hold and another up onto the quarterdeck.

  “Right this way,” Bryn said, heading for the Captain’s quarters.

  Khate stopped once again. “I think you might have the wrong idea of me. I’m married. Wedding band, remember?”

  “I think it is you who’s got the wrong idea,” Bryn said. “I’m not as much of a fool as I may seem, and no less a gentleman. I’d be remiss if I made my guest sleep with the crew. You’ll be staying here, and I’ll be sleeping below deck.”

  Khate’s mouth dropped open.

  “No need to be thanking me, miss,” Bryn said with a smile. “And for the record, the way I see it you’re either divorced or a widow.”

  “Oh?” Khate asked, curious.

  “A man would either have to be crazy, gone, or dead to not be here with you, helping with whatever is you’re doing with that map. And since you’re still wearing the ring, I’m going with dead. Am I right?”

  “You’re not wrong,” Khate said.

  Bryn snorted, shaking his head. “I knew you were trouble from the minute I saw you. What with all those non-answers and cryptic redirects. Can’t even admit it’s possible for a man to be right from time to time.”

  Khate chuckled.

  “What?” he asked.

  “You’re a strange man, Bryn Sanders,” Khate replied.

  “Been saying that for twelve years,” PD chimed in, coming up from below deck with three men in tow.

  “Shut it, PD,” Bryn said. “Or you�
��ll find yourself sleeping with the cargo.”

  “Fine by me,” PD said. “I won’t have to deal with Kaeden’s snoring.”

  Two of the men snickered. Khate guessed the one who hadn’t reacted was Kaeden. He was almost as tall as PD, but looked to be a third of his weight. There was no meat on Kaeden’s bones, making Khate wonder what kind of role he could play on a ship like this where each man was certainly performing multiple duties.

  “Gents, listen up,” Bryn said. “This here is Khate, and she’s our guest. I want you treating her like one, you hear?”

  A hearty “aye” rose up from all four men.

  Bryn indicated the man farthest on the left as he said, “This is Sylas.”

  Sylas was about as average as average could get. He was younger than Khate, but too old to be her son. He dipped his head and said, “My pleasure.”

  Bryn continued left to right. “And Aden.”

  Aden was a short and stocky man with a round nose. He crossed his arms and grunted, “Hello.”

  “And you’ve probably guessed this is Kaeden,” Bryn said with a wave.

  Kaeden gave a sheepish smile and waved as he said, “W-welcome.”

  Khate nodded to all of them.

  “All right, hop to it, gents,” Bryn said. “Make ready to sail. We leave first thing in the morning.”

  “Where we headed, Cap?” asked Sylas.

  “Isle ‘o Kent,” Bryn replied.

  Aden’s attention snapped to Bryn. “Kent?” he asked in confusion. “What in the high seas are we going there for?”

  “The lady requires passage,” Bryn said, as if that should be all the answer he needed.

  “So we’re a taxi service now, are we?” Aden replied. “And for a woman? Cap’n, you know it’s bad luck—”

  “I’ll not hear another word of it,” Bryn said. “My mind’s made up. We’re going to Kent. If you don’t like it, you can stay here and I’ll pay some other sop to fill your spot.”

  Aden walked away grumbling.

  “Speaking of pay, miss,” Bryn said, turning to her.

  “I can give you two gold,” Khate replied.

  She’d been wondering when they’d have this conversation. She had hoped perhaps he had agreed to it out of kindness, but of course he had a crew to pay.

  Problem was, Khate didn’t have a lot of money. Her husband had passed nearly fifteen years ago now, and she’d raised her children by herself. That didn’t leave her with a whole lot. She’d gotten by just fine feeding off of farms as she traveled on foot, but she knew there’d come a time where she would need to enlist help.

  She brought her life savings with her, six gold and thirty silver. It wasn’t much, but she’d hope it would be enough.

  “Two?” Bryn asked incredulous. “Maybe this was a bad idea.”

  “I thought you told me you wanted an adventure,” she said.

  “Aye,” he said. “But I don’t want to starve in the process.”

  “Three?” Khate offered.

  Bryn puckered his lip and bobbled his head as if debating the decision.

  “I’ll add in an extra ten silver if you’ll guarantee me return passage,” Khate said.

  “Deal,” he said, a little too quickly.

  Khate couldn’t help but feel slightly swindled. Perhaps she should have bartered harder. She really was losing her touch. What choice did she have, though? This and the return journey would nearly drain her entire coin purse, but if she found the soul stone it would be worth it.

  “Now you’re best getting off to bed,” Bryn said, ushering her toward the Captain’s quarters. “Leave the preparations to us.”

  Sowena sat on the ground a stone’s throw away from what was left of her house. She shivered in the cold night wind and pulled the blanket around her shoulders tighter.

  Her neighbors, the Pendleys, had seen the blaze and come rushing over.

  Sowena didn’t remember much about what happened after the fire had blown her back. She was lucky to be alive. Somehow, she’d managed to crawl her way out before the whole house had gone up.

  Her parents were dead, though either before or after the fire, Sowena didn’t know. But they were gone. Her mind could only see one thing over and over again: that shadow creature. She’d neither seen nor heard of anything like it in her life.

  It did this. It had killed her parents. She didn’t know how, and she didn’t know why, but that beast had ruined her life.

  So much had changed in so little time. Just two hours ago she had been dreaming of being a princess. How childish those aspirations seemed now.

  She finally understood why her mother had wanted her to grow up and accept reality. Because reality was harsh and bitter and there was no room for fairy tales and princesses.

  There was only her, the cold air around her, and the dark of the night.

  “Are you all right, dearie?” Maggie Pendley asked.

  “Yes,” she said, devoid of emotion as she stared into the night. Then her shoulders started to shake and she began to sob. “No,” she squeaked out through the tears.

  Maggie sat beside her and held her tight.

  After several minutes had passed, Sowena calmed down, but didn’t feel any better. Maggie’s hand massaged her shoulder as she rested her head against the woman.

  “Come on,” Maggie said at last. “Let’s get you back to the house so you can rest. There’s nothing more we can do tonight.”

  Rest? Sowena thought. There would be no rest for her. No rest for anyone while that creature roamed the countryside.

  “There’s something I need to tell you,” Sowena said.

  Maggie narrowed her eyebrows. “Yes?”

  Sowena open her mouth—

  A loud shriek filled the night air from somewhere in the forest.

  “Run!” Sowena cried.

  5

  A loud thump echoed through Maya’s room. She awoke with a start and sat up in bed. Maya looked out the window, but it was still dark.

  The soft, slow cadence of footsteps drew closer. No one should be awake at this time of night. Maya’s breathing grew heavy.

  Flipping over, she grabbed the dagger that lay on the windowsill, then climbed out of bed. Maya crept to the door of her room and reached for the handle, but froze in place when the footsteps stopped just outside.

  Maya flattened her back against the wall beside the door and raised the dagger, ready to strike.

  The door opened, and a dark figure slipped into the room.

  Maya swung the blade.

  The figure turned and his face caught the firelight from outside. It was Will—his eyes going wide with shock.

  Maya gasped and dropped the dagger, which clattered on the floor. She placed one hand on her chest and used the other to steady herself as she stepped back, horrified at what she’d almost done.

  “Whoa!” Will said. “What are you doing?”

  “What am I doing?” she asked.

  Will chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head. “Sorry. I needed to talk to you and I couldn’t sleep after our conversation. I thought maybe you couldn’t either.”

  “I was sleeping just fine until you came along,” she said. After her words sunk in, she winced. “I’m sorry, too. I—”

  “You are?” he asked, surprised.

  Maya sighed and struggled to speak.

  “Never mind,” Will said. “This was stupid, I shouldn’t have come.”

  “You’re right, it could have waited,” Maya said.

  Maya, Merva scolded.

  Then Maya added, “But I’m awake and you’re here.”

  Maya waved him outside. Will left her room and Maya followed, closing the door behind her. She walked past Will and out onto the deck of the Wave Wraith. Placing her hands on the railing, she looked out over the water. Will stopped beside her and stood in silence.

  “You wanted to talk, so let’s talk,” Maya said.

  “I thought about what you said,” Will started, “and what
ever differences of opinion we might have, I will support you and your choices.”

  Maya didn’t respond.

  “You aren’t your father, you know,” Will said. “You don’t need to—”

  “That’s what frightens me most,” Maya said softly.

  “That you’re like your father?” Will asked.

  “No,” Maya said, shaking her head. “That I can’t be like him.”

  Will furrowed his brow in confusion.

  “I don’t mean cruel or ruthless,” Maya said. “For all his faults, he was strong, he was decisive, and he had a charisma about him. Look at all these men we’ve executed these last few days. Each of them were loyal to my father. Why?”

  “I’m afraid I don’t understand,” Will said.

  “I thought the people would be happy he was gone,” Maya said. “But they’re not. They’re worried, they’re frightened. There’s more unrest now than before. We shouldn’t have had to execute anyone—I didn’t want to execute anyone—I just don’t understand it.”

  “People are afraid of change,” Will said. “Even if—”

  A hand came around and covered Will’s mouth. The assailant’s other hand flung out from the shadows with a dagger and slit Will’s throat before Maya could process what was happening.

  Maya screamed as Will’s blood sprayed out all over her nightclothes. Stepping back, she leaned against the railing.

  A second assassin hanging on the side of the ship grabbed Maya’s wrist and pulled her over. He tried to hold her weight, but as she reached the bottom of her fall, her wrist slipped out of his hand and she continued the rest of the way down, plunging into the water.

  Instead of panicking, Maya took a brief second to collect her thoughts. Someone had just tried to kill her.

  Maya reached within herself and accessed her illusion magic. While she swam to the shore, an identical Maya pulled herself up onto the dock next to the ship.

  The assassin leapt off the side of the boat, landing in the water. He appeared on the dock a second later, drew his blade, and gave chase as ‘illusion Maya’ ran toward the city.