“I’m not sure,” Shadow replied. “Probably around the time I lost my humanity, but it’s a clear sign that the realm is out of balance.”
“Possibly even dying,” Angel added without inflection. It was often hard to tell if she was concerned or afraid when she was in super warrior mode. Today it was probably both.
At least it was for me.
No one said anything else about the worrying shade of grey on the door, already well aware we were stepping into a different realm to the one we’d left weeks ago. That poor world had already been suffering thanks to Ixana, and now it seemed Dannie had stepped up to make it worse.
We had to set it right, or the land of our birth would become a mere shell of itself.
Shadow wrapped an arm around me, holding me close to his side as we crossed through the portal into the realm. “I’m taking us straight to the Nexus,” he said as he stepped into the mistiness that surrounded the realm entrance.
The mist lasted for about a minute, and as it faded, the land fell out from under us and I didn’t even have time to shriek when we dropped into the water. Icy cold stole my breath as I plunged deep. From my last time in the realm, I remembered that the bodies of water here were called “The Depths,” and they were filled with many scary-ass creatures I never wanted to meet.
Shadow and I popped up at the same time, and he looked around, his brow furrowed. I followed as well, noticing that the waters were dark and murky, vastly different to the last time I’d seen them, and the sky above was gloomier as well, almost as if the light were fading.
“I directed us to the Nexus,” Shadow growled, his jaw rigid. “This isn’t right.”
Angel burst out of the water nearby, her wings shooting wide, droplets scattering as she flew about twenty feet above. In the same instant, a huge creature followed her up and out of the water, looking like one of those dinosaur crocodiles with a body as big as a blue whale and a long snout filled with razor-sharp teeth.
It tried to snap my friend up like a tasty dinner treat, but Angel was having none of that shit, smacking it down like a naughty toddler. The creature fell back into the water, learning its lesson about taking on my friend.
“What the fuck?” I gasped, my eyes drawn down to the very murky water beneath us. I couldn’t see anything, and my mind immediately went to the worst-case scenario of what lay below.
Shadow laughed, his power wrapping around me as he drew us up and out of the water. “They know better than to try me,” he said with confidence. “Even if this world is following none of its regular rules, I am still the Supreme Bein—”
He was cut off by a snapping sound, and we both looked down to see the baby version of what had just attacked Angel hanging from his leg. The pause was near comical; the look on Shadow’s face one of pure astonishment.
I really shouldn’t have laughed, but a snorting chuckle escaped before I could stop it. Shadow glared at me, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t keep my amusement on the inside.
“Are you okay?” I choked out, trying to force my lips into a straight line as we both looked down again.
If Shadow hadn’t beenShadow,the creature would have bitten his leg clear off. As it was, when it started trying to gnaw on it like an old bone, more laughter escaped from my tightly pressed lips.
The beast shot me an annoyed stare, and I held both hands up, my lips now pressed so tightly that they were starting to go numb. “You do you, Supreme Being,” I managed to get out.
He shook his head like I was a supreme idiot, all the while attempting to shake off the baby croc-o-saur. In the midst of that drama, we were joined by his friends, each of them able to float above the mass of water, except for Alistair, who was helped out by Inky.
“Aw, look, Shadow got himself a friend,” Lucien said, smiling at the carnivorous creature straight out of Jurassic Park.
“We should keep him,” Reece drawled, his lips twitching. “He’s cute.”
“Let’s call him ‘Chomp,’” Lucien added.
“I vote for ‘Champ’ because look at him go,” Len added. “Little fighter never gives up.”
Shadow, who was apparently done with all of our bullshit today, gave up trying to “gently” remove the attachment. He burst into flames, which did exactly as he hoped. With a squeak, the creature of the deep released its hold, dropping back into the water, and as an added bonus, all of us were dried in a blast of fiery hot air.
The moment of amusement had been welcome, but there was no more time to avoid the reality of the fucked-up situation we were facing. “What did Dannie do?” I asked, searching the skyline but finding nothing but water.
“The Depths have risen,” Angel said shortly, the gold of her molded armor barely visible in the unnatural twilight of the sky above us. “She’s using the creatures of the deep to hide and protect the Nexus and its power.”
The reality of this slammed into me like a bullet. “Are all of my land shadow creatures gone?” I managed to ask through my burning throat, laughter now far from my mind.
Shadow lifted his head, his eyes closing as he sent power into the world. “I feel a gathering of power to the east. Maybe close to the lava chasm in the Concordes. There’s a decent chance that Dannie has taken the creatures there since they’re her children. It would be a last resort to destroy them.”
“You’reher child,” I shot back at him, rage welling up faster than I could stem it. “I was all but a daughter to her. And she thrust us out of her world and away from each other without a second thought.”
She didn’t kill you,Galleli reminded me.And shecouldhave without a second thought.
