CHAPTER 7
Tal leapt to his feet and readied his sunstone, but the shadows had stopped, they just stared at him.
"What is this?" Milla asked.
Then she saw why. In the distance there was even more shadows, free shadows. Her eyes picked it up first, but Tal and Crow saw it shortly after. There was too many to fight off, but none of them were going to back down.
They stood ready for battle, Tal with the Violet Sunstone swirling with red light, Crow with his dagger held high and the sunstone at the blade also swirling with red light and Milla with the Talons of Danir slowly lengthening and her Merwin Horn Sword in her hand.
They would fight as many as they could but they all knew there was too many.
Do it!
No!
You know you want to!
No!
Tals conscience battled.
When the two groups of shadows met they charged. And so did Crow, Milla and Tal.
Tal shot red rays at every shadow in his way and they exploded in front of him. Crow stabbed and shot red rays but when 5 shadows leapt at him he was overcome, and knocked out.
"I guess it's just us again" Tal said to Milla who was backed up against his back as shadows surrounded them.
"Yes" Milla said and then she pulled out a dagger and cut her wrist then Tals in the same spot as the crone had right at the start of their adventure together, then they pressed bleeding wrists together.
Milla let out her war cry and Tal yelled.
Then they started to kill each shadow that opposed them, but there was still too many.
2 shadows jumped onto Tal and wound themselves around him, and he slowly drifted into unconscious. His last sight was Milla fighting off the shadows around him.
They were after Tal, Milla thought, but she wouldn't let him down if she could help it.
But the sheer numbers of shadows overwhelmed her and they soon knocked out Milla too.
But Milla still had some parts of consciousness and she heard parts of the shadows conversations as they dragged her, Tal and Crow away. But what surprised her was that they also dragged a shadow, the snake shadow.
One shadow was talking about what their reward would be for bringing these people to their master Sharrakor.
"Maybe we will be given permission to devour these others" one said in as hopeful voice.
"I sure hope so; we haven't had a good meal in weeks! But those shadows down at the Castle have had meals each day!" Another answered.
Then Milla slipped back into full unconsciousness.
When Tal woke up he was tied to someone on the ground that he guessed was Milla, since Crow was tied up against the wall that was visible.
Where were they?
Then Tal recognized where they were. They were in an Underfolk level in a great chamber. Every exit was guarded by shadows, too many to overcome.
Then a dragon shadow walked in, and Sharrakor let out a roar of triumphant laughter.
"So you have been defeated! But I do not long to be in this world, that is why I will give you a choice, either you give up and let me destroy your world and watch as I torture the Emperor of this pitiful society. Or you could kill me, but there is a catch." Sharrakor reasoned.
"What is the catch?" Milla asked suspiciously as she had woken up beside Tal.
"You will do the killing, Icecarl girl, and I shall be inside this boy" Sharrakor said pointing at Tal, "When you kill him I shall die."
"No" Milla replied firmly.
"Now wait to decide until the Emperor boy has said what he prefers.
"Either way I will die, so I would prefer for you to go down with me!" Tal said staring at Sharrakor.
"No" Milla repeated, this time a bit of desperation in her voice, "There has to be another way!"
Sharrakor just laughed and then untied them, picked up Tal and threw him into the wall.
"This is the only other way" he chuckled.
Sharrakor pulled Tals arm out and made a long and painful cut with his claw, right from the shoulder to wrist.
Tal screamed in pain and dropped to his knees.
"Stop!" Both Milla and Crow yelled.
Sharrakor laughed again and said, "So which do you prefer, you killing us both quickly, or me killing him slowly?"
Then a loud explosion distracted everyone, and two people walked through a newly made hole in the wall.
When the dust cleared Ebitt and Malen stood in front of the hole looking around.
A surprised look passed onto their faces as they saw Crow tied up and slumped against a wall, Milla tied up and on her knees and Tal on his knees with blood pouring from his arm.
Milla took this moment to act, she took out her dagger and cut the ropes, than quickly grabbed Tal and ran to Ebitt and Malen, and Crow followed her example.
"You may get away this time, but mark my words you won't ever be safe unless you give in to me. Everywhere you turn there will be someone who is working for me.!" Sharrakor yelled then flew out one of the exits.
Milla looked down at Tal who she was carrying, his eyes were closed and he looked to be asleep, though she knew he was in immeasurable pain.
Milla, carrying Tal, Crow, Ebitt and Malen walked out through the hole they had made.
"How did you find us, and how did you get here from the ice so fast?" Milla asked Ebitt.
"Well, I had a bit of help…" Ebitt replied.
"In other words he asked the Codex" Malen explained, "It said he should get me and gave him a map to follow so he could find you."
Then they all walked quietly for a few minutes. Then Ebitt asked, "What happened to Tal?"
"Sharrakor cut him with his claw" Milla replied.
"What! His shadow claw! How come you didn't tell me before?" Ebitt yelled.
Then Milla looked down at Tals arm, it was still bleeding.
"Set him down, thingamabob come and use your power thingies to heal him" Ebitt ordered.
Milla set Tal down on the ground and Malen came over to see his arm. Then her eyes went cloudy as she started to talk to the other crones.
A few nervous seconds passed then Malens eyes came back to their normal colour. "The crones say that we should get him up to a bed for rest, and that he will recover. But I told them of what Sharrakor said and they told me to tell you that we should watch out for everyone" She said.
Milla picked Tal up and they walked back up through the levels.
When they reached the Violet levels they found his room and put him onto his bed. Then his eyes slowly opened.
"How are you feeling?" Milla asked Tal.
"Want to play colours?" Ebitt asked.
"I don't think he wants to…" Milla started but Tal was smiling.
"Sure Ebitt" he said in a quiet voice.
Ebitt flashed orange and Tal flashed blue, and they played colours. Tal won in the end and he leant back against his pillow.
"Best of three?" Ebitt hoped.
"I'm feeling OK, but very tired." Tal told Milla, ignoring Ebitt.
Then a man walked in and went over to Tal with a glass of water in his hand.
"Thank you" Tal said quietly.
Then Milla caught a flash of silver and tackled the man to the ground as he threw his knife, it narrowly missed Tal and embedded itself into the wall only inches from Tals head.
The man then disappeared in a puff of black smoke.
"Are you alright Tal?" Milla asked but Tal and his eyes closed and he was asleep again.
"So Sharrakor wasn't lying…" Crow started.
"So we need to be with him at all times, in shifts" Milla finished. "And where did that snake shadow go?"
As if on cue something dark slithered through the open door with a tear through one side of it.