Shadows Book 1 in the World of Shadows (17 page)

My gaze was locked on the beautiful dark
blue eyes that stared at me from between the crib bars. One tiny
gray and white swirled hand held a bar with amazingly small
fingers. The baby’s petite mouth lifted in a toothless smile and
she let out a gurgle of delight. I took another step closer,
mesmerized by her smile and the way my arms ached to hold her.

I had never held a baby before, or even
wanted to. I had accepted before my life changed so abruptly that I
would never marry and would never bear children, and the thought
was made easier at the Caves when I saw the way Duskie children
were torn from their mothers after they were born and trained in a
life of defense for the Caves. I had vowed long ago to never have a
child if it meant that it would lead the same life as mine.

But now, looking at the Duskie baby in soft
white and yellow clothes, her shock of dark hair poking out from
beneath a white woven cap, I couldn’t help but wonder. I touched
the fingers that held the bar and the baby’s smile widened.

“
Do you want to hold her?”
the old woman asked. She met my eyes with a knowing, gentle smile,
and before I could protest, she scooped the baby out of the crib
and placed her softly in my arms.

I kept my arms locked how the woman had
placed them, afraid of moving and breaking the delicate infant. She
babbled at me and reached up toward my face. Before I could think
to move, she had one of my uneven locks entwined in her chubby
fingers. The bright white stood out against her soft gray hands.
She tried to put it in her mouth and when I jerked my head back in
surprise, she laughed and let the hair go.

“
She likes you,” the old
woman said with an air of satisfaction. “Isletta has good taste
when it comes to people.”

I dared to let my eyes leave the baby’s face
and met the woman’s gaze. “The baby has good taste?” I had never
heard such a thing and it made me smile.

The old woman nodded knowingly. “She cries
if anyone comes into my shop with cruel intentions. But she took to
you from the moment you walked in.”

“
She’s so little,” I said,
stating the obvious because I couldn’t think of anything else to
say.

The woman merely nodded, her eyes crinkling
at the corners.

“
I-I’d better give her
back.”

The Duskie woman took her with a smile. The
baby curled against her chest, one hand firmly entwined in the
cloth of her shirt. I stared at her for a moment longer and,
feeling emboldened by her presence, decided to trust the woman who
had been so kind to me.

“
Why don’t the Duskies
fight?” I asked, and my heart pounded as though such a question was
forbidden.

The woman’s eyebrows rose. “We’ve never been
asked. Where are you from, darling?”

I dropped my eyes. “Firen Caves.”

She nodded as though that explained
everything and motioned for me to take a seat by the baby’s
crib.

I shook my head. “I’d better go.”

The old woman nodded again. “As you wish.”
She picked up a pastry from the table and handed it to me. “For
you. It’s a gift. From Isletta.”

“
I can't pay,” I
protested.

“
It wouldn’t be much of a
gift then, would it?” she asked, the wrinkles from her smiling eyes
spanning out across her face. The baby peeked at me, her dark blue
eyes so beautiful it took an effort to look away.

“
I-uh, thank you.” I
accepted the pastry and made my way to the door. Just before I
exited, the woman’s voice stopped me.

“
The Duskies would fight,
you know.”

I turned back slowly. The woman nodded, her
eyes bright. “They would fight. They want to fight. No one wants to
leave the fate of their home in someone else’s hands.”

“
What’s stopping them?” I
dared to ask, my voice barely above a whisper.

“
Someone to lead them,” she
replied.

The words sent a tremor of truth through my
body, as if I had known all along that was what I had come to hear.
I nodded and ducked my head against the understanding in those worn
dark eyes and left.

Chapter 19

I hurried along the streets with racing
thoughts. The sun was almost through its descent. They would have
to change the shift to Nathos soon, and I knew my chance of
catching Axon before he reached the palace would be slim. I asked
around in several places and met incredulous stares from Duskies
when I asked for direction to the heart of the battle. One friendly
Duskie, a young man who looked like he also yearned to be heading
into war but was kept home by the stern glances of his mother and
the worried gaze of the young woman checking the quality of grain
they were planning to purchase, gave me directions and even walked
the first block with me.

“
Take care,” he said,
turning to go back to his family.

“
And you do the same,” I
replied. I took a step away, then realized it would be a good
opportunity to test the old woman's theory. “Can I ask you a
question?”

He paused and turned back. “Ask away.”

I hesitated a moment, not sure how to phrase
it carefully, and settled for, “Would you fight, if they asked you
to?”

He studied me for the length of several
heartbeats and I appreciated the fact that he took my question
seriously. He then nodded. “I would fight, if I knew what I was
fighting for.”

“
It's not enough just to
fight?” I pressed, curious at the answer he had given.

He tipped his head toward the corner where
his family waited. “It might be for me, but not for them. If it was
worth it, I would go.”

I nodded thoughtfully. “Thank you. I
appreciate your time.”

He held out a hand. “It was my pleasure. And
my name's Pyth.”

I followed the Duskie’s directions to the
heart of the fighting, the docks and beaches around Lumini’s gulf
port. As I drew closer to the water, the river stone and sparkling
mortar houses gave way to wooden warehouses and smaller wooden
shacks. The cobblestones turned into roads paved with smaller
pebbles and dirt that made for unsure footing and would be a mess
of mud after a rainstorm.

The sounds of swords clashing and men
yelling increased with each step. The streets in between the market
and the port were empty and the board houses and warehouses stood
vacant. Several bore shattered windows and burn marks as though the
fighting had broken through and had been pushed back. I wondered if
that happened at the shift change between Luminos and Nathos, or if
the Lysus army had Duskies fighting for them.

I climbed a flight of wooden steps to the
top of one of the port warehouses and stared at the scene below.
Hundreds of Luminos wearing the green and gold of Lumini fought
from horses and hand to hand against red and gold clothed Lysus
soldiers. Blood covered the streets in so many places it looked
like it was paved in dark, liquid red. I watched helplessly as two
Lysus soldiers backed a Lumini into a corner and proceeded to hack
him apart. The next street away, Lumini warriors pushed Lysus
soldiers into a warehouse, then followed them into the darkening
depths. Screams followed along with the sounds of a harsh, quick
battle; eventually, only one Lumini warrior emerged breathing hard
and bleeding from several wounds.

A dozen ships filled the gulf, and several
more waited beyond the mouth. As I watched, boats of Lysus Luminos
were rowed back to their ships by Duskies while other boats of
still sleeping Nathos were rowed to the shore. But none of the
Duskies were armed and it was clear they weren’t fighting for
Lysus.

Several of the wooden warehouses along the
docks smoldered while others burned brightly against the setting
sun. The cries of fighting and wounded men echoed along the
streets. Soldiers ran in companies, looking for what damage they
could do before they left for the shift change. A couple of streets
over, men carrying stretchers made their slow way back to the
soldiers' quarters and hospital. By the looks of things, it would
be a very long siege.

I hurried down the stairs and quickened my
pace, running down alleys and pausing only long enough to make sure
the way was clear before darting across the main roads. Two more
streets away, I met a group of Luminos on their way back to the
palace.

“
Where can I find Prince
Axon?” I shouted as they thundered by on magnificent
horses.

One rider in the rear turned his mount with
an impressive short halt and stared at down me as though amazed
that I would dare ask. His gaze softened when he saw that I was
just a lone girl, not some stealth group intent on killing his
prince. “Still at battle, but they should be following shortly. The
King’s party is behind us.” He turned his horse before I could
thank him and spurred it to catch up with his companions.

I waited a few seconds, wondering if I truly
dared to do what I intended. I hovered in a dark doorway and pulled
the hood of the soft gray cloak up to hide my face. The sound of
hoof beats neared. My heart thundered in my chest and I took a deep
breath, then stepped out just before the horses passed.

“
Whoa!” The lead soldier
cried out. He pulled up his horse just before it trampled me. “Out
of the way!”

“
I need to speak to the
King,” I said. “It’s urgent!”

The soldiers in front circled me on their
horses with swords pointing at my head and chest.

“
It’s alright,” a deeper
voice called from the back. “Anyone alone who dares to find me in
the midst of battle gets a chance to talk just for having guts.”
The soldiers parted and the King urged his magnificent white steed
forward.

Where Axon’s mother resembled her son, his
father was the mirror image with good aging that made his white
blond hair even whiter and his pale blue eyes sharp and intense.
His gold armor and green cloak were outlined in silver and seemed
to glow in the setting sun. He glanced at that same sun and his
gaze tightened. “You have my attention, but only for a short
moment, so I would suggest stating your business quickly.” I pushed
the hood back from my head and his eyes widened slightly. A touch
of humor deepened them and he nodded. “I think this might be
interesting.”

“
You recognize me?” I
asked, just to make sure.

He smiled and it touched his eyes like
Axon’s. I was grateful he had gotten most of his mannerisms from
his father instead of his mother. “You are my son’s friend. You
saved his life.”

I nodded. “And he saved mine.” It said a lot
of the King that he gave me the chance to speak. I took a deep
breath. “I know how you can defeat the Lysus.”

His mouth twisted into a thoughtful frown
and the humor in his eyes intensified. “Not exactly what I expected
to hear, but I’m listening.”

I watched him closely, unsure how he would
react to my next words. “The Duskies need to fight. They’ll turn
the tide of battle.”

Instead of laughing like I had expected, he
glanced around, silencing the chuckles of the soldiers around him,
then turned and looked back down at me. “You understand that arming
Duskies is a risky venture, especially at dusk and dawn when we're
unable to defend ourselves?”

I nodded. “But the Lysus soldiers will be
unable to defend themselves as well. I’ve been watching their
ships. They brought Duskies, but they’re also unarmed and used only
to man the small boats.”

The King glanced at the sun which
disappeared slowly behind the buildings. “How do we know we can
trust them?”

“
They have as much to lose
as you do. Any differences can be settled after the Lysus
leave.”

He rubbed his grizzled chin and his eyes
took on the distant gaze I was used to seeing from Axon. He glanced
at the reddening sky, the sun no longer visible, and shook himself.
“Let’s move this conversation to the palace.” He gestured to one of
his men.

Before I could move, the soldier bent down
and scooped me up onto the front of his horse. The guards fell back
around their King and spurred their horses as one. I held onto the
mane of the light brown horse and we thundered up the road to the
palace. My hood wouldn’t stay up and I caught several surprised
glances from Duskies at their shops. I turned to look back at the
pastry store where I met the old woman, but the main shutter was
down and the curtains closed. I willed my thundering heart to slow
and watched the ground be eaten up quickly by the horses'
hooves.

We pulled up in the courtyard and several
stable hands ran out and caught the reins of the horses before we
even had a chance to dismount. The King hurried into the palace
with his guard still around him in tight formation. I was swept
along with them up a flight of stairs and down a long hall to what
appeared to be a war room. Giant maps of the land and ocean
channels were spread along the walls. One map was marked with red
and yellow pins. I walked over to get a closer look and a voice
spoke behind my shoulder.

“
Sathen attacks. They’ve
gotten more aggressive lately.”

I turned to find a white-bearded older
Luminos with light golden eyes and tight lips. His skin was darker
gray than most of the Luminos I had seen. Something about his
countenance said that I could trust him. “Tell me about it,” I
responded. “I didn’t know they could survive underwater.”

He nodded. “A new trait they’ve developed,
apparently. Deadly for ships, especially at anchor.”

I studied the red pins dotting the ocean
just outside the gulf. “If Duskies worked on the ships, they
wouldn’t have to anchor.”