Part 21 (2/2)

Annja flicked the sword up in front of her and, from behind her bed, tracked the shadow. It was bathed in black cloth, invisible in the dim twilight of the room. There was no moon, making the landscape even darker.

But the shadow that stalked Annja seemed to simply bleed across the floor toward her, its hands upraised in a fighting stance vaguely reminiscent to Annja. She'd seen it somewhere before, but where?

The figure in black didn't scream or jerk its body in any fas.h.i.+on. One second it was coolly regarding Annja as a cat might look at a mouse.

The next instant, it attacked.

Annja was almost stunned by the sudden ferocity of the attack. The figure slashed at Annja's face with its claws.

Annja deftly flicked her sword up, intending to cut the attacker's hands, but she heard something she didn't expect. It was the clang of metal against metal.

Annja moved back for more room. Swinging a sword in a confined s.p.a.ce wasn't the best use of it as a weapon. The shadow had the advantage of a smaller tool used in a close environment.

But Annja didn't intend to go down without a fight.

As the shadow advanced again, Annja could see that the skin around the eyes had been darkened, as well, rendering the figure nearly invisible save for the whites of the eyeb.a.l.l.s themselves.

Again and again it came at Annja. Annja used the sword to ward off the attacks, but her own offensive struggled to get off the ground. Annja stabbed and took short cuts at the shadow, but the figure merely moved out of the way and out of range.

Annja shook her head. She needed open s.p.a.ce to use her sword to its fullest advantage. But how would she convince the shadow to pursue her? She had to a.s.sume the shadow knew how to fight and do so extremely well. There was no way it would simply follow Annja if it meant giving up its advantage in the room.

Annja attacked savagely and thought she felt her blade slide into a piece of flesh. But the shadow never once uttered a sound.

Instead, it came back at Annja, swinging its claws with full force. Annja was driven back to the doorway and then beyond into the corridor.

Instead of continuing the fight, though, Annja ran.

She dashed down the steps back into the open pavilion. She had no idea if the shadow had followed her or not. She couldn't hear anything. Even her own footsteps had been virtually silent thanks to the thick stone steps.

Annja whirled in time to see the shadow floating down from the second floor bedroom window of Annja's quarters.

It flies, Annja thought. How is that possible?

But she had no time to think it through. The shadow attacked again, this time kicking Annja in the stomach.

Annja flew back, feeling her wind rush out of her body.

The shadow followed up with a resounding punch to Annja's chin. Annja saw stars and tried to blink away the tears that welled up in her eyes.

Annja crouched, pivoting on her knee, trying to cut the shadow open at the midsection.

But the shadow backflipped away, tumbling across the pavilion and disappearing into the corridors beyond.

Annja stood there with her sword gleaming in the night.

Stay or follow?

She'd tricked the shadow into coming down here where she could better use the blade. Now the shadow probably wanted to return the favor.

Annja shook her head. No way was she following.

From the darkness across the courtyard, Annja heard a soft whisper cut through the night air. She jerked her sword up and cut it across her face, severing the arrow that had been fired at her from somewhere beyond the range of her sight.

The two pieces fell and skittered across the stone floor.

Annja heard another series of whispers and twisted to avoid the bolts that flew at her.

Again and again, arrows flew at her body and Annja found her lungs heaving as she struggled to avoid them. I'm silhouetted out here in the dim light, she thought. I need to be invisible, too.

Annja ran toward the darkness where the shadow had fled. Rus.h.i.+ng through the doorway, she cut right and left and above and below, trying to score a direct hit with her offense.

But she cut nothing.

She heard a soft peal of laughter ring out, carried to her ears on the breeze that brushed past her face.

Annja pivoted and sliced nothing but air.

But she'd sensed movement.

Something had rushed past her back into the open courtyard of the pavilion.

Annja raced back out, still keeping the sword in front of her to protect her if need be.

Perched atop one of the stone walls leading up toward Annja's quarters, the shadow was hunched. Against the night sky, it looked like a feral cat.

And it cast one final look at Annja before leaping off into the night.

24.

The ringing of the phone echoed in Tuk's ears as he pitched and fell headlong through the doorway into the blackness beyond. His hands instinctively shot out, reaching, grabbing for anything to help break his fall. He felt a weird fabric brush against his hands and he clutched at the material before it gave way under his body weight. It enshrouded him as he continued to fall forward until he hit his face against something hard.

For a moment, he lay there unsure of what had just happened. His phone had rung and then he'd been shoved from behind. But had his own father pushed him through the doorway? That didn't make any sense.

Tuk heard a heavy rumbling sound and yanked off the black material in time to see a giant slab of stone slam shut, enclosing him in a small ten-by-ten-foot room.

”Hey!”

Tuk's voice echoed back at him. He could tell the walls must have been exceedingly thick. He didn't think any bit of sound would escape this room no matter how hard he tried to shout.

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