The Shadow of the Serpent

By Elena Kathleen Moriarty

Tabitha has returned - but at what cost?

Thirteen years after she disappeared, the youngblood is back. In Tabitha's absence, her world has turned upside down and now, everything is as it shouldn't be. The world has moved on without her. Even

• Language: English
• Publisher: Elena Moriarty
• Release date: Oct 30, 2022
• ISBN: 9780648851738

Book preview

PROLOGUE

The wind howled as rain battered against the manor’s windows. Inside the room, the candle wicks flickered with bright flames and shadows cast from the fire danced up the walls. Blackcurrant-coloured wax dripped down to the altar. The candles had been burning for hours.

I sat cross legged in front of the altar, inhaling the scents of cashmere and licorice. A faint waft of cinnamon from the fragments scattered over the altar made my nostrils itch. With my hands clasped in front of my chest, I let my thumbs rest on my chest and felt the thudding of my own heart beneath the muscle and bone.

I had not eaten in two days. My mouth was bone dry and my tongue was salty against my gums. Nausea rolled through me like a wave crashing to shore. I desperately wanted to eat but the magic required a level of concentration that a full belly could not give. To eat was to be weak, and I was stronger than my need for sustenance. So, I drew a breath in past my aching teeth and straightened my back, looking at the altar.

My cuticles were peeling and scratched back from hours spent chewing at the skin, wanting to taste the tang of blood press against my tongue. I hadn’t had blood in a week, and although I craved mundane food, I craved a mundane as food more. I salivated at the thought of some mundane thrashing against my body as I pinned them down and drank their blood, but I knew it was forbidden. When the magic was layered this thickly over my soul, I had no chance at tearing it off me. Not anymore.

It’s far too late to save me.

FELIX

‘I t’s just for a few minutes, okay?’

Tabitha gave me a heart-wrenching grin. I stared at the girl I loved before I had to let her go. Her hand slipped from mine as she turned away to look forward to the portal. Volker guided her to its circling edges and soon enough she was clambering inside. She didn’t turn back as she stood tall inside the portal. Her purple tendrils of hair caught the sunset glow. A soft wind brushed over the shadows cast by the setting sun with trees rustling in front of her slight frame. The forest beyond her looked serene and I felt peace watching my girlfriend, knowing she was about to find out who she really was.

And then suddenly, the image of Tabitha inside the portal went black. She disappeared as the darkness washed over the portal, and in a moment, the entire portal had snapped shut. It folded in on itself as green sparks flew out. In a blink, it was entirely gone, like it had never been there to begin with. Volker stepped forward and pressed his hands to the wall where the portal had just been. Purple wisps of magic seeped like smoke from between his fingers. He trailed his hands over the brick wall but there was nothing to be found. He looked back at Angel and she cowered beneath his glare. Why is she afraid?

Angel took a deep breath and peered at Volker. Volker’s jaw was locked in place. He stalked towards the other warlock but stopped as she skittered back. Her wild eyes flicked around the room, settling on the place where the portal had just been. Gold magic circled her slender hands. Volker’s trembling hands created a ball of purple magic and he shot it at her feet. Angel jumped back and hissed.

‘What was that for?’ she snapped.

His voice was like thunder. ‘Where is the portal?’

‘How should I know!’ Angel said.

‘What have you done?’ he asked, his voice cracking. ‘Where is she?’

Angel pressed herself closer into the corner of the room and huffed. ‘What did I do?’ she asked. ‘What did you do?’

‘Stop avoiding my question,’ he said. He threw another blast of magic at her feet, unflinching when Angel cried out. The magic burst like a firecracker against the floor. ‘Tell me what you did, witch.’

I looked from one warlock to the other. ‘What’s going on?’

They both ignored me.

‘I have nothing to confess,’ Angel hissed at Volker. ‘I did what the girl asked and summoned the Fae goddess. That was my promise, nothing more.’

‘And the portal?’ he asked, creeping closer.

‘Cyra must have closed it to protect her realm.’

‘Realm?’ I echoed.

Angel spared me a glance. ‘Shut up, deathskin. This does not concern you.’

Volker frowned at Angel. ‘No, it does. What realm do you speak of?’

‘Volker, do not mock me. Surely you know.’

‘Know what?’ I stepped towards her, feeling my heart thrum harder in my chest. ‘Where is Tabitha?’

The whites of Angel’s eyes flashed. Sweat prickled at her forehead and she appeared frazzled. When Volker drew another ball of magic and aimed it at her feet, she began to babble. ‘Don’t harm me. I did nothing wrong!’

‘Answer me or answer to the Selket Siblings for your crimes,’ Volker said. Magic swirled around his hands.

She receded further into the wall. ‘Cyra exists in another realm of reality. It is separate to ours. Her realm is where spirits go to pass on to their final destination through her valley of death. This realm is not within what we perceive as our reality. Cyra has used her goddess magic to sever the connection we have with her realm. She closed the portal to protect the forests and the spirits that wander through them. This is to ensure no spirits are let loose into our reality and gives her time to speak with the intruding youngblood.’

I felt like I was choking. ‘Wait, wait. Are you telling me Tabitha is in another realm?’

Angel nodded. ‘Cyra has the halfling.’

‘Okay. So, how do we get her back?’

‘We don’t.’

I frowned as all the air left my lungs. ‘Wait. What do you mean?’

Volker trembled in every limb. He looked ghostly pale and the glamour that covered his secondary set of eyes peeled off, revealing another two green-brown coloured irises. His teeth gleamed like stars as he sneered at Angel. She no longer looked afraid. Her back was to the wall but she wore a cunning smirk. It curled the edges of her mouth as she batted her eyelashes at Volker.

‘You knew,’ Volker whispered. ‘You knew we would lose her.’

Angel’s smile was cruel. ‘The girl wanted to know her mother. But a goddess always asks for a price. I thought you would have known better, Volky.’

‘You knew this and said nothing. You let us let her go.’

‘I did as I was asked. Nobody mentioned bringing the halfling home.’

Volker swore.

I moved towards Angel. ‘What did you do with Tabitha?’

‘I did nothing,’ she said.

‘How do we get her back from Cyra’s realm?’

Volker’s eyelashes were damp with tears. ‘Felix,’ he rasped.

‘What?’ I glanced between them, starting to sweat. ‘Someone tell me what’s going on right now.’

‘Tabitha is gone. She is in Cyra’s reality now. Time passes differently in the spirit realm. For her, an hour in their reality could be a year here. We cannot be sure of when she will return.’ His eyes fell to the chalk dusting the floor. ‘Or even if she returns. Cyra could keep Tabitha for all eternity.’

I felt the blood drain from my face. ‘No.’

Angel laughed. ‘Yes. Your lovely little youngblood is as good as dead.’

My mouth was as dry as bone. I felt my canines pierce through my bottom lip as they slid from my gums. A bitter, coppery taste filled my mouth as my blood wept from the wounds. I stalked forward, prepared to bite the warlock and feed on her until she was no more, but Volker threw out his magic. It coiled around my body like vines and glued me to the spot. I bellowed against the restraints as Angel watched me, fear etched on her face.

Volker stepped closer to the warlock. He was unusually pale and his mouth was twisted into a grimace.

‘You knew,’ he repeated.

She jerked her chin up, holding her head high. ‘So what if I did?’

‘Bring the youngblood back or I’ll turn you in to the Selket Siblings myself.’

Her face fell. ‘You wouldn’t.’

‘You betrayed the laws protecting youngbloods. Our rules state no harm must come to any halfling, regardless of which realm they reside within. You abandoned a halfling in a goddess’ valley of death and now she is unprotected and alone. Our code is void. The Selket Siblings will strip you of your magic and banish you from the Fabled. There will be no protection, for you - or from your enemies - once they have finished with you.’

Angel’s eyes went wide. ‘I-I can’t bring her back! Cyra severed the magic to our portal. We are blocked, Volker.’ She ceased her spells and her gold magic sparked as it withdrew into her hands. Suddenly, she lunged towards him and grabbed at his shirt as her hands fumbled against the fabric. ‘Please. I beg of you. Don’t let them take my power.’

He pushed her off him, watching her stumble. His gaze was cold. ‘You should have thought of the consequences before forgetting to mention Cyra’s realm and letting us lose the youngblood.’

‘Please!’ Angel cried, gold tears brimming around her eyelashes.

‘Volker,’ I said, making him turn to me. His gaze softened and he released me from his magic. ‘Bring her back. Please. I don’t—’

‘I can’t. I’m sorry, Felix. Angel is telling us the truth.’

‘Then make another portal. Do something! Anything.’

Volker sniffed back tears. ‘Cyra’s block extends to all. We must wait until the goddess is finished with Tabitha.’

Angel licked her lips. ‘Tabitha will not even know she is within another pocket of reality, if it helps. The youngblood will be safe.’

Volker threw a magic ball at her and it struck her in the chest. She moaned in agony. ‘Shut up!’ he cried.

Angel clamped her mouth closed.

I blinked away the tears dripping down my cheeks, the salt mixing with the blood in my mouth. Volker rested a shaking hand on my shoulder. I felt my jaw go slack. ‘Use your magic,’ I pleaded. ‘Seek her out. Maybe we can—’

‘My magic is drained from summoning a portal to a goddess’ realm. It will take me weeks before I am able to gather enough magic to call upon a portal spell.’

‘But—’

‘It cannot be done, Felix. I’m sorry.’

‘But Tabs will think we’ve abandoned her! We can’t just leave her there.’

Angel spoke quietly. ‘Tabitha won’t know. Time works strange in a goddess’ realm. It will be as if she never left.’

I gasped and clutched at my chest. Volker’s hand slipped off my shoulder as my knees buckled. I leant heavily against the wall, gasping for breath. ‘No. She was just here. She was right here and I let her go.’

Tears began rolling down Volker’s cheeks. ‘I’m so sorry, Felix. We will find her. I promise you.’

I sank to the floor, my head knocking the bricks. The pain that flooded my system reminded me I wasn’t dreaming.

Tabitha was gone.

Calum’s hand rested on my shoulder as we watched the funeral parade leave the cemetery grounds. Angie, Tabitha’s human mother, wept as she walked back to the procession of cars. The gathering of people that followed her all had tear-stained cheeks. I looked away from them all to stare at the coffin that was being lowered into the ground. White roses sat on the oak wood like an angel’s halo. But only our family knew it was empty, that a secret was being buried today.

We stood on top of a hill with Blanche and Talora beside us. All three of my family members were wiping their eyes dry. And all had their heads bowed out of respect. Calum shuddered as he struggled to breathe. We watched Angie enter her car and break down. Her sobs became pleas and her cries were unanswered. I couldn’t move as the cars peeled out of the cemetery grounds and departed out to the main road. They were heading for the wake.

We hadn’t been invited to the wake. Volker had ensured I, along with any knowledge of the Fabled, were wiped from Angie’s memory. We’d entrusted the warlock to tell the mundane mother that Tabitha had died in a four-car pileup. He had used a glamoured faerie for Tabitha’s body and Angie had believed the lie. Now, six months after Tabitha’s disappearance, we had all but lost hope of ever getting Tabitha back.

Telling Calum had been the worst. Having to tell him we’d lost Tabitha to Cyra’s reality had crushed him. What was worse was seeing Calum regress into a shell of the person he had once been. He’d thrown himself into the guest cottage and spent his days watching re-runs of reality television. His lack of humour had stripped the walls bare. I missed the brother I had once had.

After the cars had long gone and the grounds were clear, we walked down to the grave plot. Blanche and Talora hung back, letting us have our brotherly moment. My gaze fell upon the coffin. How strange it was to know she wasn’t in there. And that I’d been the one to lose Tabitha. The petals of the roses on the coffin gleamed from the spatter of rain. I felt the rain stain my black suit jacket, but I couldn’t have cared. All I wanted was Tabitha to come home.

Calum drew closer to the edge of the grave. ‘I can feel her.’ I noticed his fingers were trembling and he had been chewing on his nails until they were raw and red. ‘It’s like she’s here with us.’

‘She isn’t.’

He shivered at my dark tone. ‘I know that.’

‘Then don’t say it.’

‘What would you have me say?’ he asked.

When he looked at me, I saw blame in his eyes. My tongue was a dead weight in my mouth. From across the field, I saw Volker striding towards us. His cane squelched in the rich dirt and he was dressed in a beautiful black suit, bowtie and an ebony-coloured cloak. His eyes moved to the grave plot and I watched him gulp.

‘Good afternoon,’ he said. ‘I see the glamour served its purpose.’

Calum sighed. ‘What are you doing here, Volker?’

‘It’s about Cyra’s realm.’

‘And?’ I said. Hope flared within me but it lacked warmth. ‘Any luck?’

‘A Selket Sibling and I tried to create a portal to the realm.’ He exhaled and cursed. ‘There is no change. We are still blocked. I’m sorry.’

Calum began to cry. I flinched at the sounds of his shaky breath. He reached out for me but I leant away so his hand caught only air. My eyes were on the coffin. I could feel them both staring at me, the weight of their gazes making my skin prickle. Volker struck the ground and purple magic wafted from the fox skull atop his cane. Dirt at the side of the grave plot started tossing itself on top of the coffin. We all heard it hit the wood and I shivered.

‘I will try again soon,’ Volker said. ‘But until then, we must have hope.’

‘There is no hope,’ I snapped. The look in his eyes was as hollow as my chest felt. ‘She’s gone. We lost her.’

‘Fifi—’ Calum said.

‘Don’t you dare!’ I turned on him, my eyes brimming with unshed tears. ‘Don’t you call me that. That isn’t me anymore, Cal. So quit acting like I’m still him.’

‘Don’t shut me out too. Not now.’

Volker nodded. ‘He is right, Felix. We need to rely on each other. Fighting will only bring us misery.’

‘I caused this,’ I said, running a hand through my messy hair. ‘It’s my fault we lost Tabitha.’

‘Felix, you did nothing wrong—’

‘Yes, I did. I let her go in that portal alone.’

‘That is not your fault,’ Calum said, touching my shoulder. But his touch didn’t linger. ‘The only person we should be blaming is Angel.’

Volker cut in, sweeping in closer. ‘Angel has suffered at the hand of the Selket Siblings for her untruth. She was punished according to the law and been stripped bare of her power. I made sure justice was served.’

‘How grand,’ I spat, turning back to them. Darkness tainted my words. ‘I’m sure justice will bring Tabitha back.’

Calum sighed. His hands were shaking. ‘I know you think being bitter will help you get through this, but you’re pushing everyone away. Please don’t shut me out. Not now. I need you.’

Volker nodded. ‘The Selket Siblings have assured me Tabitha will return. Maybe not for some time, but Cyra will not hurt her own daughter.’

‘Just stop,’ I said. I closed my eyes for a moment. ‘I have to go. I can’t stay here.’

Volker and Calum both exhaled curses. The warlock asked me, ‘Where will you go?’

‘I don’t know yet. But it doesn’t matter. I just need to be far away from here.’

‘You can’t leave me,’ Calum said, his voice a plea. ‘You need to be here when Tabitha returns.’

‘She would want you to be here when she comes back,’ Volker said.

‘I can’t wait around for something that may never happen,’ I said.

Calum caught my attention. He ran a hand over his shaved head and swore at me. I saw the anger flash in his dark eyes. ‘I feel like I don’t know who you are anymore. It’s like reasoning with a dead man.’ When I said nothing, he audibly swallowed and shook his head. With a dark, sad laugh, he snapped, ‘You know what? Fine. Go ahead. Run away. It’s what you do best.’

I remained silent.

Volker swore. ‘Not you too. Calum, we cannot give up.’

‘I’m not giving up; he is.’

I kicked at the ground, scuffing my shoes. ‘Say what you need.’

‘Then how’s this?’ He glared at me. ‘Even if you can’t believe it, I know Tabitha will come back. She has to. She’d never leave us.’

I smiled grimly. ‘Cyra has her.’ A shiver raced down my back. ‘I have to leave. I-I can’t stay here knowing she’s gone. It’s too much for me.’

Volker said, ‘Tabitha could come back any moment and we all need to be here for her. She needs you both. You can’t just go.’

I have to,’ I said.

‘Calum, tell him—'

Calum shook his head, silencing the warlock. ‘Let him go, Volker. He doesn’t want to stay and we can’t make him.’

I shrugged. ‘It’s better that you hate me. Makes leaving easier. I need to be alone.’

Volker sighed. ‘Tabitha wouldn’t want this for you, Felix. That girl needs you. You are the anchor that ties her to the Fabled and I’ll be dammed if you abandon her.’

‘I’m not abandoning her,’ I said. ‘Call me when … if she returns and I will be there. But right now, I need to leave. I can’t stay here.’

Calum scoffed. ‘That’s it, then.’

‘I guess so.’

Calum shouldered past me with a shuddering breath. He quickly pressed his hand to my jacket sleeve and squeezed. ‘I love you, brother. I’m sorry I can’t save you this time.’

And then he was gone, walking up the hill to Blanche and Talora. I looked back at them and they both nodded and blew a kiss. The moment felt final. Their car disappeared a few minutes later and it was just Volker and I standing at the burial site. I studied the coffin again. My mouth felt full of cotton wool as I stared at the dirt coating the wood. I miss you, Tabs. Please come home to me.

Volker caught my eye. ‘I will go with you.’

‘No. I don’t want company.’

‘Felix, you mustn’t lose hope. I promised you we would find Tabitha and I made that vow with every intention of keeping it. With the help of the Selket Siblings, one day soon I hope to break Cyra’s block and free Tabitha from her realm. But until then, I need you to stay.’

‘Volker, please.’ My voice was weak. I trembled as I blinked away hot, sticky tears. ‘I’m not leaving. I’ll search for other possibilities into Cyra’s realm while we wait. But I have to work alone.’

‘Why would you possibly need to do that alone? I can help you.’

‘I will call you when I can, and if I find anything.’

‘Felix—’

‘Let me go, Volker. I don’t want to ask again.’

‘But …’ Volker paused, his shoulders hunched. He stared at me for a moment, then relaxed his stance.

I looked back up to the hill my brother had just stood upon as the rain began to pour. I miss you already, brother. Like the sky was splitting in half, the rain bucketed down. Crows cawed from tree branches as the wind howled through the leaves. I turned back and saw that I was alone. Volker was nowhere to be seen.

I shifted my gaze to stare at the flowers sitting on the coffin, now almost completely covered in dirt. Their petals did not wilt and they did not move as the rain pelted down. It was as if Tabitha herself was saying not to give up hope.

But all the same, I turned away from all that I knew and hurled myself into the storm, desperate to feel clean.

CHAPTER ONE

It was a quarter to six in the evening when Melo knocked on the door to my bedroom. ‘Miss Stian, might I come in?’ he asked. ‘I’m here to retrieve your dinner.’

I barely looked at the butler. ‘Okay.’

He glanced at the untouched plate that was my dinner. ‘Was the food unsatisfactory?’

‘No.’

‘Right. Well, I have brought you your request.’

I swung my legs off the window seat and took what I had been waiting for. Melo pursed his lips as I took the teacup from him and downed the steaming hot liquid in one swallow. The tea burned my throat and I bit back a cry. I passed it back to Melo and stalked back to my seat at the window.

Melo sighed. ‘Miss Stian.’

‘Thank you for the tea.’

He took my dinner and returned to the door. Beneath his breath, he said, ‘Smelly little halfling.’

I pretended not to hear his ridicule and instead looked back at the countryside even when tears stung my eyes. It had been five weeks since I’d returned to my reality. After Raoul had found me wandering the streets with cut hands and damp eyelashes, he’d taken me back to his manor nestled in Rye, England.

Raoul was Volker’s older brother, and the two warlocks had much in common. But where Volker was stubborn and sometimes too sharp-tongued for his own good, Raoul was giving and careful to watch what he told me. They had similar features, both bearing hair like that of a brightly coloured crystal, but Raoul’s was a beautiful green that he kept short and expertly gelled. And ever since we had arrived in his manor since my return to this reality, he had been nothing short of kind to me.

Since returning with Raoul to his manor, he had given me my own bedroom and access to the whole estate. He had even gone so far as to give me Melo, his person butler. Although Melo was less than pleased at having to wait on me, he was the only person within the manor I would listen to. Apart from Raoul, of course.

For the first few days of being in the manor, I had peppered Raoul with questions, begging him to search for everyone I had lost. In my time, it had been just under two hours since I’d been gone to Cyra’s realm. But I’d returned thirteen years in the future. The knowledge of this had begun to chew at my insides. I wondered what had become of my life and the people in it. Most of my waking moments were spent worrying.

Raoul never said a word to me during the day. He tucked himself away in his study and promised me when the time came, he would reveal all. I only saw him on occasional evenings and he never let me know what his research led him to. So after five weeks and no news, I’d begun to believe there was nothing left to come home to. I spent my days alone by the window in my bedroom, looking out to the meadows and farmland. My thoughts were of Angie, Calum, and Volker. But the one person I wanted to remember the most caused me the most pain to when I thought about him.

Felix.

My blood ran cold at the very thought of his messy brown hair and intoxicating silver eyes. I missed him with every fibre of my being but the doubts had soon crept in. He won’t want me now that I’m back. It’s been too long. He’ll have moved on and started a life without me. I quickly shook the thoughts away, fighting the urge to cry. The guilt that rolled over in my stomach