Shadows Book 1 in the World of Shadows (6 page)

Sunlight flashed off metal weapons that
silenced the Sathen in a way I had worked hard to match the night
before. Axon and Dathien fought side by side; Dathien threw his
prince a grin that said retaliating for the night before felt even
better than he had hoped. Axon nodded and turned, slicing off the
leg of a nearby Sathen and spinning to send the creature's head to
join its leg.

Axon then thrust his sword deep into another
Sathen's chest. A second Sathen ducked under his guard while he was
occupied and I cried out when the creature latched onto his arm and
bit down with rows of serrated teeth. My ankle throbbed in memory
of similar teeth lacerating down to the bone, but Axon merely
grabbed the Sathen’s head with his other hand and smashed it
against his knee. The creature fell lifeless to the ground and I
glimpsed the top of leather gauntlets that had been hidden under
Axon’s desert robes. I leaned back against the packs in relief.

The fight was over only heartbeats after it
had begun. No Sathen was left alive, and the stench of the scaled
bodies in the sun rose to tangle the air with the putrid scent of
death. The Luminos warriors clustered around the packs joking and
jostling each other while they boasted about their own parts in the
battle.

“
My only complaint is that
there weren’t more of them,” Dyloth said; he slid his sword back
into the sheath on his pack, then glanced at me and grinned. “A bit
easier when you don’t have to take them all on by yourself,
right?”
I nodded and the others laughed.

“
Well, hopefully there
won’t be a next time,” Marken said. It was obvious by his tone he
wouldn't mind another attack in sunlight, but he was saying it to
comfort me.

I rose gingerly to walk, but Dathien stopped
me. “Just where do you think you’re going?”

“
You just fought for our
lives,” I pointed out. “You shouldn’t have to carry me.”

Dathien chuckled. “There were barely enough
Sathen to go around. You just take a seat, little minx, and enjoy
your ride.” Jatha grinned at me and nodded, his enthusiasm
contagious.

I stared at them both for a minute, and when
I saw they weren’t going to give in, I let my breath out in a sigh
and climbed back onto the stretcher. It was a long time before the
gentle sway of their walking lulled me back to sleep.

Chapter 7

“
Nexa.”

I awoke to find Axon walking beside me. He
smiled, his ice-blue eyes tired but clear, and pointed to something
beyond my shoulder. “Welcome to Lysus.”

I turned on the stretcher, wincing at the
way the movement pulled at the healing wounds along my back, then
stared at the sight before us.

From our vantage point at the top of a hill,
a city of red rocks spread below us at the edge of the desert like
a crouching, spiky beast. Spires and towers reminiscent of
stalagmites stretched toward the darkening blue sky while more
structures than I could count faded into the distance. A tall wall
covered in hundreds of metal blades that winked in the setting sun
surrounded the city to protect it from the Sathen. Luminos armed
with bows and swords walked along the top of the wall with their
eyes on the desert sands. More people than I ever imagined even
existed walked through the streets and alleyways, finishing their
business of the day. I couldn’t grasp how many more must already be
safely housed from the coming night.

“
There are so many
Luminos,” I breathed quietly.

Axon nodded. “And at nightfall, the Nathos
take their place. The markets never sleep, the walls are never left
unguarded, and the streets aren’t empty even at dusk or dawn
because that’s when the Duskies have their time.”

I turned to him. “Their time?”

He smiled as though knowing the answer would
please me. “Duskies are not prisoners here. They have families,
jobs, and lives separate from the Luminos and Nathos around them.
They guard the walls during dusk and dawn, care for their animals,
and watch over the city the way the other races do when they
sleep.”

I tried to let that sink in, but it didn’t
seem possible. “Care for their animals?” I asked, my mind
reeling.

He nodded. “Luminos are gatherers, like they
were at your caves. They farm at the back of the city where the
river runs, and grow the crops that are then traded for meat that
the Nathos, the hunters, catch at night on the desert. The Duskies
tend to the animals that provide other forms of food and goods,
chickens for their eggs, cows for milk, sheep for wool, and lamak
for their horns. Duskies are also the barterers. They are in charge
of the trade between all three races.”

I stared at him. “Duskies are considered
their own race?”

His brows rose in surprise. “Of course. What
else would they be?”
“Well, I. . .” But I didn’t have an answer. At Firen Caves, we were
raised with the understanding that Duskies were the mutts of the
races, the castoffs when Luminos and Nathos mated. We were
disgusting half-breeds who watered down the races and were good for
nothing but guarding between dusk and dawn and doing the other
chores no one else at the Caves wanted.

Axon’s voice lowered and he met my eyes.
“You have to stop thinking of yourself as inferior, Nexa. It isn’t
true, and I hope you realize that here.” He waved at Rasa and
Marken who waited at the front of the group. “Let’s go.”

I rolled off the stretcher before Dathien
could stop me. “I’ll be fine,” I promised at his disapproving look.
He glanced at Axon, then gathered up the staffs and put the canvas
in his backpack.

The red rock wall loomed over us when we
drew near. The metal spikes glittered in the last light of the sun,
and the shrunken, sun-dried heads of several Sathen had been
impaled on blades around the gates as a warning to others who would
dare to attack. Though at the sight of the armed Luminos that
walked the top of the wall, I marveled that any creature would
think it could breach such a perimeter.

We passed under the massive gates and I
could only stare. Huge cloven-hoofed animals with two sets of wide
horns on either side of their heads pulled carts laden with plants
from the day’s gathering. Luminos lined the streets bartering with
Duskies. I couldn’t help gawking at the way the Duskies haggled
instead of dropping their eyes and staring at the ground
submissively like we were supposed to in the Caves, and for which I
had been whipped on multiple occasions for not doing.

The Duskies looked like the ones I knew at
the caves, their skin a swirled mix of the gray skin of the Luminos
and the pale skin of the Nathos. Their hair was either pale white
or dark black depending on which race ran dominant through their
blood. Usually, a Duskie took on the characteristics most similar
to their mother. If she was a Nathos, they had dark hair and eyes,
and if she was Luminos, they had light hair and pale eyes, though
all Duskies had the swirled skin that represented both races. The
Duskies I saw held their own among the Luminos, comfortable in
their position in the city. I felt a biting longing in my stomach
to be a part of them.

Dathien patted the nose of one of the big
beasts we passed.

I leaned toward him. “What are those?” I
whispered.

“
Lamak. Their horns are
used to cure stomachaches, headaches, and reduce
fevers.”

“
You mean they’re killed
for their horns?” I asked, horrified. One of the beasts nuzzled my
shirt and I petted its soft brown nose.

“
Oh, no,” Dathien shook his
head. “Lamak are gentle creatures. The horns fall off twice a year,
and when they’re not used to pull carts, they wander through the
streets and eat whatever they want.” Small, fluffy creatures with
red and black fur ran between the crowds and dodged the feet of the
horned animals.

I tried to imagine how much food one of the
beasts would eat, but my thoughts were interrupted when one of the
small, fluffy creatures bumped into the back of Dathien’s leg. He
turned and kicked at it. Before I could say anything, the
creature’s fur slicked back and its mouth opened wide as though
hinged. It let out a loud hiss, showing a green, curled tongue and
tiny, needle-like teeth. The animal coughed repeatedly, then turned
and ran away.

“
What was that about?” I
asked.

Dathien glared after it. “That was a
foth.”

“
Doesn’t look too
dangerous.”

He snorted. “Don’t let its looks fool you.
That cough it was doing would have spit acid on us potent enough to
melt the skin from our bones.”

I stared at him in horror. “Why didn’t
it?”

“
The collar. It’s a pet.
The ones with collars have had their poison glands removed. It’s
the ones that don’t have collars you have to worry
about.”

I couldn’t fathom turning a creature into a
pet that could potentially kill a person if not surgically altered,
but then I remembered the basbats of the Caves. They were like huge
bats, big enough to carry away small children, but their claws and
teeth were removed at birth, and the skin of their wings was
clipped, turning them into needy creatures dependent upon their
owners for feeding and care. I had only seen a couple of the
hulking animals, but I felt sorry for them. Without their claws,
they were unable to hang upside down where they were comfortable.
Instead, they slept in tiny caves carved into the walls of their
owners’ dwellings. It was a sad existence, and one I had felt a
kinship to.

The buildings around us had all been created
from the same red rock as the wall that surrounded the city. The
rocks that formed the structures on either side of the path stood
out in sharp spikes like the skewer slugs that lived in the lower
levels of the caves and curled up into a ball when startled, their
needle spines coated in black poison that caused instant numbness
and lethargy if stepped on. The houses and shops followed the
strange protrusions so that they loomed at odd angles over the path
we traveled. Flags of different colors hung from the end of every
spike and when a breeze blew there were so many flags that the
buildings themselves appeared to move with the flapping.

“
Those are the house
crests,” Dathien explained, pointing to a contorted house covered
in purple and blue flags. “The wife keeps her family color and
joins it with her husband's when they get married. That way you can
tell who belongs to what family.” He gestured down the road where
hundreds of multi-colored flags flapped. “Although by now, there
are so many colors it doesn't really matter. I think they just like
the look of it.”

I smiled and touched one of the flags we
passed, then dropped my hand when a Luminos going into the house
gave me a strange look.

As I followed Axon's men through the city,
something began to happen. Other Luminos along the streets began to
take notice of our group. Several pointed at Axon, who had his hood
set back on his shoulders and walked down the road as though he
didn’t notice the commotion he caused. His men, his guards, I
realized, positioned themselves around him so that he walked at
their center. But it was their bearing that separated them from the
peddlers of the city.

The warriors walked with straight shoulders,
firm steps, and eyes straight ahead. Their swords, which were now
strapped to their sides instead of on their packs, caught the
fading light of the sun. Dathien was the only one who was not in
formation. He walked back beside me but still held himself with the
proud bearing of a soldier.

“
Do you need to be with
them?” I asked quietly.

Dathien looked ahead at the crowds now
parting for our group. He smiled and shook his head. “No, little
minx. We’re safe now that they’ve recognized the Prince.”

I followed his gaze and watched the people
to each side of the street drop to their knees with their eyes on
the ground as Axon passed. Word spread faster than I ever realized
it could, and when we turned up the next street, the people were
already kneeling. Axon glanced back at us once to make sure we were
still following. His eyebrow lifted and a slight smile quirked the
corner of his lips when our eyes met. I widened my own eyes to show
my surprise and his smile tightened as though he held in a laugh
before he turned back to the solemn procession.

We made our way through the red rock maze
toward the two massive, multi-towered monstrosities at the center
of the city. Spires rose at odd angles from all sides of both
structures with no apparent order. Huge, iron-worked fences even
taller than the wall around the city surrounded both castles and a
massive flag flew from the top of each. One was black and bore a
crescent moon with stars winking in the background, while the other
was gold with an orange sun on one side, and the great red rock
city on the other. Axon's men led us the castle with the sun
flag.

“
Who lives over there?” I
asked Dathien quietly, pointing at the other red rock
castle.

“
The Nathos King.” At my
raised eyebrows, he shrugged. “After the outbreak of the Sathen,
the Luminos and Nathos had to reach an understanding. Here, they
take care of their own people, but protect each other in the city.
It's different in Lumini. Axon's father, King Adexo, rules over
all, but he has both Luminos and Nathos advisors.”

Luminos soldiers guarded the front of both
castles. They looked sharp in their red and gold finery, weapons
glinting in the fading sunlight. “Why do the Luminos guard their
castle, then?” I pressed.

“
When night falls, the
Nathos guard the Luminos castle, but neither people are allowed
inside. A Luminos has never set foot in the Nathos castle, and vice
versa. It's a pact they made long ago that protects them both.” His
voice lowered, “But it also furthers the dividing lines between
both races, keeping total peace at bay. I think the arrangements at
Lumini make much more sense.”