Kelia had never been to the badlands before. She never even knew they existed. But as she looked across the flat, rural portion of this island, a shiver of fear slid down her back.
She walked close to Drew, trying to use his presence to make herself feel safe. She didn’t like to admit that even as a Sea Shadow, she was afraid, but she was.
There was something about this place that lent itself to the idea that evil came in all shapes and sizes. Why they would knowingly walk through a place like this, she could not fathom.
Each footstep she took seemed to shake the ground, alerting everything in the badlands of her presence. She could feel the witches behind her, and she had a feeling they felt the same way. At least, Wendy and Daniella did. Perhaps Emma was familiar enough with this place to not feel afraid.
“Why would your aunt go this way?” Kelia asked softly.
“Grayson’s Shadows currently populate the land, and it is clear they are after revenge because of his untimely death,” Drew replied without looking at Kelia. “If they are the ones who discovered my aunt —”
“They’re not,” Emma corrected from behind them. “I told you. It was a witch, not a Shadow.”
“Well, perhaps the Shadows paid a good sum of money to the witch in order to get my aunt to leave her cottage,” Drew put in, glancing over his shoulder and giving Emma a look.
Emma didn’t seem convinced, but she made no move to argue. Instead, she cleared her throat and looked out in front of her.
“Should we be worried about this witch?” Wendy asked in a low voice. “If she can break my aunt’s spells—”
“The witch is sloppy,” Emma said. “If anything, she did not complete her apprenticeship with Adelaide. Perhaps she thought she could learn through a book. That, or she is not in practice.”
“She broke a spell,” Daniella pointed out. “How does that make her sloppy?”
“Because we know
she broke a spell,” Emma countered. “She may be powerful, but she is raw and untrained. A talented witch would never have let others realize the spell no longer worked.”
Kelia let Emma’s words sink in as the dirt beneath her shoes softened. It was not mud, exactly, but it was easier to walk through compared to the hard alternative that seemed to make up the majority of the island, as though this portion saw more rain than everywhere else.
The night was still crisp, and her new heightened senses afforded her sights she never thought she would see from the distance she was currently at, but it did not bring her any useful information. She didn’t know if there was something she should be frightened of or not.
“It looks like rain,” Drew said.
Kelia scrunched her nose, surprised by the casual topic of conversation. Really? Rain? She had nearly been killed by a Shadow trying to get revenge for the fallen Mage, they were now walking through something called the ‘badlands,’ and all he wanted to do was speak about the weather?
Yet she could not bring herself to find a more appropriate topic. She didn’t want to say something akin to I almost died and all you can speak about is the rain?
She didn’t like the attention and didn’t want to get riled up over Drew’s lack of concern regarding her. After all, all this time, she’d wanted to be treated as an equal. That’s what he was doing now, right? So she clenched her teeth to keep any words from slipping out.
“Are we sure this is safe?” Daniella asked. “This place seems unnatural. What lives out here anyway?”
“Of course it’s not safe,” Drew said, a flare of impatience in his voice. “I’ve said as much already. These are the badlands.
Things that are bad live here. But we had no choice.”
“So if I saw a beast…”Daniella pushed.
Drew stopped walking and turned toward her. Kelia did the same.
“Beast?” he asked, not bothering to hide his disbelief. “Explain.”
Daniella snapped her fingers so a small ball of fire popped up and she gracefully pointed at the dirt. Kelia’s eyes widened when she saw what Daniella was referring to. Large footprints, much bigger than an ordinary wolf’s, littered the majority of the dirt that made up the badlands.
Kelia swallowed. She shouldn’t be afraid. She was a Shadow. But still she took a step back and then another. She turned and saw more tracks, all from the same monster. Granted, she could not decipher if it belonged to one or if there were more, but they were everywhere, as though Kelia and her small group of supernatural entities were surrounded by invisible beasts, waiting to pounce on them.
“Is there a reason the Shadows from before refuse to come here?” Daniella asked. She was not looking at Drew, however. Her eyes were fixed on Emma.
“Shadows do not dare cross the badlands,” Emma said. “There are things worse than Shadows who live in the earth.”
“Yet we’re crossing?” Kelia asked, her voice sharper than she intended.
“Adelaide is on the other side,” Emma snapped. “She knows she’ll be safe there. And so will we.”
“If we make it there,” Daniella said under her breath.
“Do we even know she
made it to the other side?” Kelia asked, taking another step back. “Perhaps we should go to the—”
“Need I remind you we’re here because of you
?" Emma shot a glare at Kelia. “You are the one who ingested the Siren. You are the one who requires a potion that will rid you of the poison eating away your insides. This is our only hope of getting that.”
“I feel fine now.” Kelia took another step back. She nearly lost her footing, but her quick reflexes allowed her to catch herself before she fell. “I’m sure it’ll pass through.”
“It won’t,” Wendy said.
Emma tilted her head to the side. “Are you afraid?”
“Shouldn’t I be?” she asked. "Why am I ridiculed for being afraid of the unknown?"
She opened her mouth, ready to continue her argument, when something wrapped around her ankle and yanked hard, pulling her down to her butt. It darted, and her head slammed back against the ground as it dragged her across the open area.
Kelia let out an uncharacteristic scream. Something was coiled around her ankle and pulling her across the field. Branches poked into her back and scratched her skin; dirt flew into her mouth and burned her eyes. She wiggled, pinching her eyes shut and trying to spit out the dirt.
“Kelia?” Drew shouted. He raced to catch up to her, but despite his speed and agility, whatever had Kelia was faster than even he was.
Kelia grunted, trying to sit up, to reach the sliver of whatever was around her ankle. She kicked out but nothing seemed to work.
It was only when something stomped on the tendril that Kelia flew into the air and landed on something large and furry. Something alive. Something tense. Something angry and dark. Something with eyes that glowed like the moon.
Kelia let go as she fell, landing on her back. One paw pressed on her shoulder.
“Was it you?” she managed to get out, scared for her life.
The beast roared. But she didn’t think it was this beast who had grabbed her. Someone else must have. However, that didn’t mean the beast wouldn’t harm her. Considering the way his odd yellow eyes looked at her, saliva dripping from its mouth and landing on her face, he’d simply stolen a meal from one creature for himself.
The wretched smell of old meat left in the sun and something rankous accosted her, seeming to rot his large, sharp fangs.
Without warning, the beast turned his head and roared again.
Drew appeared on its back, attacking the wolf-like creature. Kelia tried to pull away. She thought she wouldn’t be able to because of the invisible tether, but she moved just fine, as though it hadn’t been there at all.
She rolled away and picked herself up just as the beast reached behind him and threw Drew across the way. He landed in a clump.
The beast turned back to Kelia and lunged. Suddenly, fire blasted at him, a gust of wind blowing the flames in a faster rush. He snapped his jaw as though it was impervious to the heat, but the blast of fire was enough to allow Kelia to back up.
“What are we to do?” Wendy asked Emma.
Drew had not picked himself up. Kelia had to do something.
She leapt into the sky and landed on the creature’s back. Again, she nearly lost her footing but grabbed onto the thick, unruly hair that made up the beast.
As she pulled, he roared in pain. Kelia’s first instinct was to rip into it. She raised her claws.
“No!” Emma shouted.
Kelia stopped. She didn’t want what had happened with the Siren to happen again.
Without warning, the beast threw Kelia off of him before she could attack. She hit the ground hard. She tried to stand up, but couldn’t. When she glanced around, Drew was gone.
Again, Kelia tried to stand. This time, she was successful. She needed a moment to find her balance. When she looked up, Drew was standing on the beast. Daniella was holding onto her flames. Wendy and Emma were on the floor, trying to pick themselves up.
This didn’t look good.
Drew pulled out a good chunk of the beast’s hair, and the creature roared, bucking to throw Drew off of him.
Daniella screamed. The beast had whacked her and her fire away effortlessly.
They were not going to win this. Kelia moved to run to Drew’s side and help, but her brain fogged up. Sluggishness slowed her. The sudden urge to vomit tossed her stomach.
The Siren poison
.
Kelia forced her steps forward in a hobbled run for the beast. She didn’t even make it to his back before he whacked her with his tail. Her nausea rocked harder. She rolled over and emptied her stomach beside a nearby pit of some kind.
The beast whined. Something pulled the beast’s paws together and dragged it. The ground shook and suddenly split open. Without warning, the beast was swallowed up, and the ground came back together.
“Why am I not surprised that I constantly have to save your arse, Drew and Wendy Knight? You would think with your abilities, you would be more than capable of doing it yourself."
Drew heaved a sigh and plastered on a fake smile as he pulled himself up. He turned on the heel of his boot.
"Auntie Adelaide," he said. "So good to see you again."
Adelaide Knight was a hard woman with a hooked nose, a pointed chin, and the same dark eyes Drew and Wendy possessed.
A shudder of intimidation rolled down Kelia’s back as she regarded the woman who had just helped them against the Sea Shadows. Judging by the pursed lips and the narrowed eyes, she did not look amused in the slightest.
“Don’t give me that bollocks,” she muttered to Drew, ignoring everybody else. “I know you’d prefer to see me dead.” She rested her eyes on Kelia. “And you. If only you wouldn’t stop squirming, you could have crossed the dip without waking the beastie.”
“That was you?” Kelia asked. “You were pulling me with the invisible thread?”
“Saving you,” Adelaide said. “I was saving you. Or trying to. One at a time was the plan. He made good protection, you know. Seems you’re the troublemaker in the group.”
Drew opened his mouth before jutting out his bottom lip and nodding. Kelia’s mouth dropped open and she quickly elbowed him in the side, as if to say he should not admit such a thing, even if it was an accurate portrayal of what he was feeling.
“Not surprised I have to come out and clean up your mess,” she continued, eyeing Drew this time. “Shadows roaming everywhere. I was glad when they burned this place to the ground some two, three days past. Less entities for me to deal with. And then you go and come over here.”
Drew’s eyebrows pulled together. “You left a note.”
“So you’d know not to come looking for me, boy! To let you know if I made it, I’m safe, and if I didn’t, I’d be dead. Which very well could have been your fate, too. Have I taught you nothing? No sane person would cross the badlands.”
“But we needed your help.”
Adelaide eyed Kelia. “Let me guess. This one.”
When Drew said nothing, Adelaide added, “I see…”
Kelia wanted to ask what she saw exactly, but the woman turned her back and headed the way she’d come.
“Follow me,” she called over her shoulder. “It’s not far from here.”
“Do you still have your dwelling?” Wendy asked, going to her aunt’s side.
Adelaide stopped walking so she could give her niece a ferocious look. “What sort of question is that, Wendy?” she asked. “I always assumed Drew had the beauty and you had the brains, but now I am entirely unsure. Where else would I be living in the badlands?”
“All I meant was,” Wendy said, “if it survived or not.”
“Ha.” Adelaide shook her head and proceeded to start her trek back to wherever her cottage was kept. “Like anyone could get rid of me so easily. Sorry to disappoint you!”
There was a garbled sound that seemed to come from Daniella. Kelia didn’t know if her hearing was sensitive enough where she could clearly distinguish it or if Daniella was not as quiet as she thought she was being. Either way, Adelaide paused and turned to regard Kelia’s former schoolmate with a wary eye and an unamused look.
“Who brought the fire bitch?” she asked, one hand on her wide hip. “Still wet behind the ears, I’d say.” There was a pause; Daniella grunted with offense, but no one came to defend her, and even Daniella had nothing to say besides the sound she made. “But there’s a power there. Strong. Yearning. A lot to prove.”
“That’s all very nice,” Drew said quickly, brushing past the group he came with in order to stand next to his aunt. “Auntie, I’ve come to ask you a favor.”
“I figured as much,” Adelaide remarked, her voice dry. “”I already know your earth witch wants ingredients. It’s the only reason she comes to see me anymore even though I mentored her.”
“You, yourself, said you were done with me,” Emma commented. Her tone was crisp and stoic, but when Kelia looked at her, Kelia noticed a reserved affection for the grouchy witch in Emma’s eyes.
“And you listened?” She made a clicking sound with her tongue against the back of her teeth. “What is it that you want, nephew? From what I hear, you’ve gotten yourself into quite a bit of trouble, haven’t you? That Shadow wench certainly thinks she loves you.”
“If you call wanting to control my feelings and murdering everyone who’s close to me ‘love,’ then I’d say you’re spot on.”
Despite the darkness, Adelaide moved comfortably across the dirt, pushing past the bushes and whacking low-hanging branches out of her face. It didn’t seem to concern her that she was elderly and could trip. In fact, she moved like she could see everything in front of her.
“Should we move along from the badlands, perhaps?” Wendy interjected. “In case some other beast wants to feast on us?”
“Smartest thing I’ve heard out of your lips,” Adelaide said before fixing her eyes on Drew. “What else could love mean? I never took you as a man to lose your heart to some wench. Amused me to watch her go insane when she realized she lost you.”
She barked out a laugh that did not sound entirely amused. Kelia picked up the rustle of bird wings up above.
“I take it the blonde is the one you’ve fixated on, then?” Adelaide continued. “Lie to me all you want, boy, but I’ve barely looked at you for a minute or two and you can’t keep your bloody eyes off of her. I’ve never seen you so pathetic. Serves you right.”
Kelia continued across the open expanse. She smelled her own vomit lingering in her mouth. She wanted to swallow, but she was worried about throwing up once more.
“If I’m being honest,” Adelaide continued, as though she needed to break the silence, “she looks too smart for you, boy. What did you do, manipulate her to fall in love with you?”
“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Wendy quipped.
Kelia’s eyes shot over to the wind witch, surprised to hear the happiness in her voice. It was nice to see her smile—even the small one currently playing on her lips—after the bleak period of mourning following Christopher’s death.
“I was wondering how soon it would be until you started kissing Auntie’s arse,” Drew muttered.
“You realize you are the only one who still calls her Auntie, right?” Wendy asked.
“Stop bickering, you two,” Adelaide said. It was only then that Kelia realized the hefty woman was frozen in front of them, arm up so it made a ninety-degree angle with her elbow.
When Kelia looked in front of her, she was astounded to see a small wooden house surrounded by woods, which seemed to come out of nowhere.
“Take your shoes off before coming inside,” Adelaide said. “I’d like to keep my new home fresh.”
Kelia swallowed.
“And don’t you dare think of throwing up on my floors.”