Page 24 of Moonlit Guardians
“So, you see, wearevulnerable in daylight.”
“I wasn’t arguing that point.”
He nods. “I’m not suggesting we give up our nocturnal lives, but we should be given the opportunity to defend ourselves properly should another attack happen.”
My soul is heavy with guilt. “I should have been there to fight for you all.”
Myerdoth cocks his head inquisitively. “You would have been killed beside us. That would have resulted in the extinction of our race entirely. The sole reason I fought to survive was because there was still hope in the Gorge that you were still alive,” he confesses. “And don’t you think the continuation of our race is more important than winning a fight?”
I stand up with my glass. “Of course. Let’s uphold our end of the bargain.” He clicks his glass against mine and we walk out of the bar.
***
DRAGAN
We find a patch of stone on the ground surrounded by the sands of the Desolate Border. I kneel on the still warm rocks and Myerdoth kneels in front of me. I spread my fingers and rest my palms against the ground, pulling them back up slowly as shadow begins to well beneath my hands. Myerdoth channels his energy into me, fueling my power as I begin to forge the mirror of pure shadow.
I speak slowly in a voice barely a whisper. The language is ancient and, though I don’t know its origins, the words still flow from me with ease. I feel the frame solidifying, morphing into an ornate pattern so intricate, my sensitive eyes begin to blur if I look at it too closely. Though I am the one wielding the power, the shadows are an entity in their own right. The secrets of the mirror are not mine to know.
Myerdoth breaks into a sweat as the shadows pool into the center of the frame, becoming so black, I fear I may fall into the darkness and never return. There’s no reflection. I can’t see myself in the surface of the mirror. Theren will be pleased.
I break the spell and Myerdoth falls back, bracing himself on his hands. “Is it always that exhausting?”
“Yes,” I answer with a chuckle.
He continues to heave in breaths. “Not even a fight to the death has left me so winded.”
“Now imagine maintaining that energy in order to shadow walk while carrying Baron’s heavy ass.”
The gargoyle scowls. “I’d rather not imagine anything involving Baron’s or any other vampire’s ass.”
I chuckle at Myerdoth’s dry humor and lift the impossibly heavy mirror from the ground. With a lunge, we vault into the sky. Our wings spread wide as we glide towards the stronghold. However, I sense Theren outside the walls. Instead of hunkering down for the night, it seems the former Unseelie King has gone for a stroll through the camp where the soldiers recover from the last fight.
I motion to Myerdoth and we both land beside Theren with hardly a sound. Theren appears surprised. But not as surprised as I am to find he’s been aiding the soldiers’ healing. “What the hell are you doing?” I demand.
He stops at the sound of my voice and the radius of the healing spell returns to his body. Theren almost looks embarrassed by his act of kindness. “Noni and I were discussing…”
I lift my hand to cut him off. Myerdoth and I move closer to him and he raises himself to his full, impressive height, as if he’s afraid we’re both going to attack him. Not that I blame him. I’ve had to discourage such thoughts more than once.
But, seeing as how we’re outside the walls of the stronghold, we’d be foolish to attack him when he can freely rely on his taboo magics. “Easy, asshole. We come bearing gifts,” I say as I present him with the mirror.
Theren narrows his eyes at me and I smirk to myself as I hand it over, wanting to see him crumble beneath the weight. My satisfaction never comes as the large mirror seems light as a feather in Theren’s hold.
He looks at it and is clearly impressed. “It’s a quality mirror. Such power would have been greatly honored in Oronrel before all the corruption.”
Something inside me snaps at the look of sadness in Theren’s eyes and a flood of sympathy washes over me. “Youwere controlled for much longer than we all knew, Theren,” I offer. “Only Eilish was able to see the real you.”
“She did.”
I nod. “And not only that, but, you woke to find you were no longer the king of your people, but someone you trusted had taken everything.” I take a deep breath and amaze myself at the words that come from my mouth next. “No one understands you more than we do. It may take time for everyone to come around, but you’ve earned my sympathy for now.”
He looks at me in surprise. “And you have mine. I’m aware of what’s become of your home as well, Dragan,” he replies. “I hope with the help of the Shadow Grimoire, your kind will be able to prosper once more.”
Theren turns away from me and sets the mirror upright on the ground and it begins to float. A dark ring of magic surrounds the mirror as Theren stares into the surface. His reflection appears, but his eyes are black and hollow.
I take a step back and watch the strange interaction. When Theren breaks the spell, something flies out of the mirror and lands in his hand. He turns back to me and offers an unusual skeleton key.
“What is it?” I ask.
