I didn’t trust those beady, black eyes, but if I wanted to free my aether magic sooner rather than later, I didn’t have much of a choice.
I nodded and reached out for the claw. “We’ll do it.”
Chapter 17
“How can we be sure we can trust him?” Dee’s voice was even more high-pitched than normal, riddled with fear and tension.
“We can’t. We just have to hope that he stands by his word.”
I thought about Xavier, how he only gave people the information that they needed and nothing more, but always kept his promise. The caterpillar reminded me so much of my vampire overlord.
“Creatures like him usually do,” I assured her. “It’s one of the few reasons others trust them.”
“Still, Dee’s right,” Hatter said. “I can’t help but think there’s something off about this scenario. He’s trapped himself in the forest. If he’s so powerful, couldn’t he magic his way out?”
“Just keep your eyes open.” My fingers grazed the claw in my cloak pocket. “He said that the shadow would seek the claw, so there’s no telling when he’ll show up.”
Hatter came up beside me. “I bet that means that the barrier around the caterpillar, the one that stopped the other monster, is the only thing keeping it out of the shadow’s hands.”
Although the stipulations of the barrier were unknown to us, I figured Henri was probably right. I suspected that it had only let us past because we bore no ill will toward the caterpillar.
We walked through the ward that the caterpillar had up. As we went deeper into the woods everyone took careful, quiet steps. My gaze pierced the darkness, searching. A part of me hoped the shadow monster would appear so we could get this over with. Another part, however, dreaded meeting the creature. If the caterpillar, one of the most powerful beings on the island, couldn’t deal with the shadow, then how would we?
A twig cracked.
“Did you hear that?” Dee squeaked.
“Yeah,” Hatter said. “Ready your weapons.”
My dagger was already out, and I pulled the claw from my pocket with my other hand. The pixies’ fangs descended, and Hatter unsheathed his short sword.
I turned inch by inch to examine our surroundings. I’d almost made a full revolution when I spotted something that made my hands tighten around my weapons.
Red eyes glowed in the darkness. The shadow creature had already found us.
I extended my dagger to point at the creature. “I know you’re out there. And you know what I have, what I mean to do with it.” I wasn’t privy to the details between the monster and the caterpillar’s hostilities, but I’d been involved in enough deadly feuds to be sure that each party was aware of the hate simmering between them. “So if you don’t mind, I’d like to get out of here. Let’s finish this.”
At my invitation, the beast flew into motion, red eyes barreling closer. Snarls ripped from the beast’s throat, and dozens of trees fell as he neared.
I lowered into a fighting stance. I could only see his eyes, but judging by the size of the glowing white trees that hit the ground, he must be massive. When he appeared, I needed to be ready.
“Oberon’s ears,” Dum moaned. “This was a terrible idea.”
“Don’t think like that.” In moments of danger, there was nothing more dangerous than negative thinking. “We’ve already killed the beast. We’re already victorious.”
Henri’s eyes glittered, and he gave a stiff nod.
Before anyone could attempt to bolster morale further, the monster was upon us, bursting through the trees to land in front of us.
I gaped. I could see how someone might think this beast was made of shadows, especially in this bleak forest. He looked a bit like a werewolf, although with a human nose. Save for the creature’s eyes, which glimmered like red jewels, it was black and necrotic. Even its clothes, little more than rags, were black. It reminded me very much of a zombie.
Like he’s dead, or close to it . . .
Dee let out a war cry that shattered my blossoming thought. The pixie then soared toward the fifteen-foot-tall creature.
“Dee! No—”
My scream died in my throat as the shadow swatted her to the side and straight into a tree, before lunging at me.
