Out of the Shadows

By Shana Stephens

It's crazy to think that just a month ago a super volcano erupting was my biggest concern. Little did I know what was in store for me in the aftermath. Actions have consequences I suppose. Breaking the pact freed the Shadow Walkers but made me enemy number one. In the ash filled remains of the world outside, I'm on a mission to bring peace. Too bad the world has other plans for me.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Shana Stephens
• Release date: Oct 10, 2022
• ISBN: 9798887963013

Shana Stephens

Hello! I'm Shana, author of my debut series, The Rising Shadows series. When I'm not reading or writing, I enjoy cuddling with my cats, watching anime and gaming. I also am a nature lover and enjoy walks and hikes. If you enjoy my books, please leave a review!

Book preview

Out of the Shadows by Shana Stephens

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and events portrayed in this book are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any character resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Out of the Shadows Book 2 of Rising Shadows Series

Copyright © 2022 by Shana Stephens

Published by Shana Stephens

Cover art by harbingerdesign

To my parents, who always supported my writing goals and dreams. Thank you.

Chapter 1

Ash danced before my eyes. The air was always dust-filled now, but this was darker. Heavier. I made sure the mask around my nose and mouth was secure. Hot air trickled up my nostrils as I slowed my breathing. Death's presence warmed my shoulder as he moved up to me. He motioned with two fingers and I followed as he slipped off to the right. So far, the boulders were sheltering us, but there was supposed to be a town right around this . . .

Bend . . .

I halted in my tracks as the town became visible at the bottom of the valley. Houses, buildings, schools, and trees were ablaze. And had been ablaze for quite some time by the look of it. The trees were reduced to stumps, and most of the buildings were just black skeletons with red tendrils of flame.

Shit, I whispered as Death stopped as well. We were out to get supplies. This was the closest town to the base. It was my first mission, damn it, and it was on fire.

Our group started mumbling behind me as they reached us. We were traveling light with only six members. Just enough to haul a good load back and get as much Intel as possible.

Death turned. His dark hair was slicked back and tied into a neat bun at the nape of his neck. A couple of wisps had come loose to trail down and disappear into the darkness of his robe. The filter mask was a startling spot of beige but his eyes, when they met mine, were almost fully black. His pupils were dilated with adrenaline, but I knew from spending a lot of time with him that even without his pupils dilated his eyes were still dark as hell. He looked creepier than any Goth kid I had ever seen, and I dutifully stood at attention for his orders. The rest of his kind weren't as polite.

The next town isn't for another 40 clicks! Praed said, his irritation apparent. I turned to shoot the younger boy a withering stare. It's not like we had any choice. Go to the next town, or go back empty handed. We weren't allowed to fail missions.

This is why I protested a youngin' being brought along. He's going to complain the whole way, Zephon said with a groan. He was an older one of Death's kind. The dark hair that was their trade mark was lightly faded, though not yet gray. Unlike the others, Zephon allowed his facial hair to grow to a short stubble. It peeked out over the top of his filter mask.

Anym bumped into his shoulder lightly. Leave the kid alone. We all started somewhere. She winked at me when I met her eyes and I smiled, though she couldn't see it. She wasn't usually so nice, but being outside had brought out a softer side to her than what I had seen in the mountain. Though before we left, we were all getting a little cranky.

Eremiel, I’d like a word, came a soft voice behind me. I glanced over my shoulder, wondering who Eremiel was for a second until remembering that it was Death's name. He still had never formally introduced himself to me by that name, but I had heard them call him by that name quite a few times now.

Remiel was the one speaking with Death. He always lowered his voice when I was around, but my hearing was better than he thought. I wasn't about to let him know that, though. He was a slender man, also robed like Death which meant he could use magic.

I sighed softly, the taste of my own breath bouncing immediately back into my mouth. The air wouldn't kill us, but it would give us a bad cough. That meant no clean air, or even much food or water until the next town. And 40 clicks was a long ways.

Tuning out the muted conversation behind me, I moved to stand near Praed who was trying not to sulk. His kind weren't supposed to let emotions get to them. We had both been lectured on that before leaving, in the same classroom, by the same teacher. But after spending a month with the teenager I could pick up his subtle facial expressions. His brow was slightly creased in the center and he shot me a quick sideways look. He was embarrassed.

I might be too tired to spar tonight, I said, trying to distract him. His gaze snapped back to me.

Sounds to me like you're afraid to lose again, Praed said. Even though I couldn't see his mouth, I knew he was grinning.

I am bound to beat you one of these times. It's a simple matter of probability.

Ha! In your dreams, human girl.

I smiled. The crease in his brow had vanished. He drew an imaginary sword to salute me with and I chuckled.

Attention everyone, Death said, his voice raised to reach us. My smile faded as I turned around.

We need to make it to the next town, which is approximately 40 clicks away. We should be able to accomplish this by nightfall. In the direct path between the two towns there is only one outfitting station. We will break there to clean off and eat a quick meal. We are fortunate that it happens to be an underground station. We will move out in delta formation. Any questions?

Silence stretched in the air, and then everyone shifted. Delta formation involved Zephon taking the lead position with Remiel close behind. The strategy was to have muscle and magic to take care of any forward opposition. Myself and Praed fell into step behind them, with Death moving diagonally behind me. Anym was positioned for rear guard. She was skilled in fighting, and was quicker on her toes and with her senses than the rest of the party. She would be the one to prevent an ambush from the back.

Not that I was expecting us to be ambushed. It had been part of the mission to learn formations and make everyone moderately combat ready, but it seemed like more of a precaution than a necessity. All hell had broken loose outside. Who was possibly going to be equipped to go after us?

****

Kitten, are you taking this seriously? Death said, his voice dark. I looked up from the 'study materials' he had given me with a sigh.

"How can I take this seriously? 'The human is known to use camouflage. The human is very crafty and has the use of firearms including sniper rifles.' I know what humans are capable of so why do I need to read this garbage?"

Death moved closer to me. Firelight from our shared hut danced back in his dark as pitch eyes.

If I say you need to know something, then you better learn it, he said. Ice ran through my blood at his tone and I flushed. He hadn't taken that tone with me in a long time. The hairs along my neck pricked up in an uncomfortable fashion.

You think we are going to be attacked just going from here to town?

Anything is possible, Kitten. This is real life.

As opposed to fake life?

As opposed to all the simple, easy stories you read, and see on television, and play in games. We very well could be attacked. Don't you remember my mission?

I cooled down almost immediately. My stomach began to churn unpleasantly at the thought of his mission. It had happened almost immediately after the pact was broken. He had been given the choice to accept or decline, which was an unusual offer. He had chosen to accept the mission to protect me. From anything and everything since I was the one who revoked the pact. They thought the government wasn't going to be pleased with me.

Death had then told me that a division in our government had always known about them, and their potential to take one of our kind for the mission. It was part of their pact to be informed. Not only had the magic been binding, but they had been aware of every move Death's kind had made. Which meant they were aware when I had been taken and that I had the ability to break the pact.

And I had broken the pact. It was possible every human would come to learn that it was me who had made the decision for us all.

I'm sorry; I will read it carefully, I said. Death let out an exhausted sigh and turned the page in my hand. It was a page devoted to common weaponry that the humans had at their disposal. I forced myself to carefully examine the first picture of a standard pistol.

****

Dried debris and leaves cracked lightly under our boots as we moved through the forest. I could hear the sound of my own light breathing echoing back from the mask, but no one else made a peep. Not even a clearing of the throat. Unlike my previous venture with Death, we had been instructed to move with as much silence and secrecy as possible.

When I had even smiled at the thought the elders had scolded me fiercely about the importance of the mission and not to take my life so lightly. My teeth clenched together at the memory. Me, take my life lightly? For finding some humor in something? As if.

Black ash danced around us as we moved. It was most likely from the burning town and not the crazily toxic volcano, but better safe than sorry. Death's kind had various illustrations about what would happen in the aftermath of a volcano. It hadn't been pretty.

Images of bleeding lungs filled my mind. Until Praed jostled into me. I glanced over. He motioned with a finger to Zephon, and then puffed his chest out and started walking bow legged with his eyes creased in an expression of gruffness. I bit back my chuckle.

Remiel snapped around immediately at my slight noise. His cold eyes swept over me, then over Praed who was trying to look inconspicuous. He was better at being silent than any teenager I had seen but it wasn't quite good enough with their kind. Remiel's eyes stayed on him for five of the longest seconds I could count before the mage turned back around.

Death's eyes bored into my cheek but I didn't look. It's not like he could say anything to me. We were hiding from something, after all. Humans, probably. A soft sigh escaped my lips that wasn't loud enough to draw any further attention.

It had been a lot more fun to travel with Death when we could talk. Even if the majority of the talking had been biting comments about me, or manipulative statements to gauge my emotional responses. There weren't even any animals out. According to the reports that had been accumulated from radio announcements and other groups, a lot of animals had fled south, died, or gone into early hibernation. A few carcasses had been recovered with an attempt to salvage the meat. Probable cause of death appeared to be the toxic air or drinking polluted water. That’s all we could determine since there weren’t any visible physical signs of attack.

I glanced around, trying to spot any sign of life. There weren’t any birds in the trees, any chirping or clicking sounds to indicate insect life, or any droppings or scat to mark their presence. A lot of the trees were damaged. It was possible some storms had blown through, though it didn’t seem like they contained much rain, or any usable rain since everything was still dry.

A soft wind swept up and made crackling noises from the dried trees. The heat wave from the volcano shouldn't have spread this far. Maybe the burning town dried some of the closer foliage out. Thin branches swayed in the wind, eerily creaking like the steps of a haunted house. As I watched, one snapped in half and fell, making me startle for a moment.

I looked over at Praed to make sure he hadn't seen me flinch. He rolled his eyes at me. Great. Now he thought I was a baby. Peeking over my shoulder I caught Anym's eye. They were alight with amusement. That meant Death had probably seen, too. Forcing myself to look straight ahead, I concentrated on placing one foot softly in front of the other. Just like I was trained to do.

****

Zephon gave us the thumbs up as he watched Remiel in the distance with a small scope. The base must be safe and intact. I bit back my exhausted sigh as relief filled me. The journey so far was less strenuous than when I had been kidnapped, but after a month on the inside it was taking its toll.

Alright, Kitten? Death asked.

I fell into step beside him. We were almost there and the area was declared safe so it was pointless to keep up formation.

My first instinct was to lie and tell him I was fine. But I forced it down. Just tired. I'll be fine after I sit for a little bit. It sounded weak to my own ears but since Death was in charge of my safety he needed to know. Pride wouldn't do me any good now.

Me too. This mask is so hot and itchy, and my boots are cramping my feet, Praed said, his tone bordering on whiny. I smiled. At least I wasn't the only one.

You can take the mask off and die if you want to. Won't be any skin off my back, Zephon said loudly over his shoulder.

Praed glared with the heated fury that only a teenager could manage.

A cool wind picked up as we reached Remiel. He was standing over what looked like a common boulder. Well, common out here in the freaking mountains. They certainly weren't common in my home town.

Remiel pushed against a crack in the rock, applying pressure at a slight angle so that the rock slowly began to move. Grinding stone set my teeth on edge as it shifted inside itself, forming a stone stairway into the dark.

Zephon slipped inside with Anym right behind him. I cast one last look around. Nothing seemed out of place. I slid in after Praed with Death at my elbow, leaving Remiel to close it back up.

Darkness more complete than I had seen in a month settled around us. I could hear Zephon bumping around, hopefully looking for candles.

Ow! Anym said as I walked right into her. Her hair tickled my eyes for a second and I squinted against the little daggers of pain. Death's hand met my back before an orb flew upwards to hang near the ceiling. It didn't have very high to go. Light illuminated every tiny wall and corner of the small box that certainly was not meant to hold a party of six in it. Remiel moved closer to us and pushed the stairwell back up, sealing us in. I swallowed, hard.

Death's hand squeezed my shoulder reassuringly.

Can we take these masks off now? It's safe in here, right? Praed asked.

Give me a moment. Some ash probably entered with us, Remiel said. He moved to investigate the air holes that were in the room. Death had mentioned before that they had filtration systems built in to all their air tubes, but he hadn't explained what they were or how they worked.

All right, these seem to be intact. We will just need to purify the room and then it will be safe, Remiel said.

I shot Death a glance. His eyes were fixed on Remiel. I moved until my back butted against a wall. Remiel smirked as Praed moved to stand close next to me, and then cupped one of his hands over the other. He made a soft noise as his knuckles clenched. Something flashed between his fingers. As he opened his hands a purple spark of lighting leapt from one palm to the other.

It crackled and grew as he spread his arms. Suddenly an entire arc of the lightning was humming in the space between. My breath caught and I felt the hair on my arms and neck rise, and to my surprise, I could see dust moving towards the charge. Particles shook and jumped until they gained speed, and rushed to his hands, seemingly attracted to the charge. My eyes began to burn but I didn't want to blink as I stared, fixated, at where the lightning began and ended.

Purple sparks were distorted by the dancing dust, and Remiel began to close the gap between his palms. I finally blinked as the bolt shrank, bringing the dust with it. Sweat was gleaming at his temples as he finally collapsed his hands over the dust ball. Zephon stepped forward with a bowl of water and Remiel submerged his hands. I watched as it grew dark from the dust before he withdrew his fingers. Zephon cordially passed him a rag to dry them on. What a pair those two made.

Then the arrogant mage removed his filter mask and let out a breath in the stale air. Praed let out an audible sigh of relief next to me as he removed his, and I followed suit. My face felt weirdly cold with it gone, but Anym was already collecting them. Another bowl of water was passed to her and she began to scrub the masks out as I stood there dumbly.

Death rustled into the cabinet in the corner and began removing what looked like homemade meal bars. He pushed one into my hands and I unwrapped the strange waxy paper. It looked kind of like a granola bar. If granola bars had bigger oats, no chocolate, and were just stuck together with honey. I bit into it anyway. It was bearable.

Praed passed me a canteen and I took a swig to wash down the sticky mess.

Is this all there is in here? I asked Death.

Unfortunately, yes. It looks like we already took back most of the food from this site to keep at the main camp, Death said.

It'll be enough to get us to the next town, Zephon said sharply. I glared at his back. For some reason the man really did not like me or Praed. And he didn't mind showing it.

How were the surrounding woods, Remiel? Did you get a good look? Death asked.

The area appeared clear. I didn't sense anything, but it is harder to sense with all the animals gone. They were a good indicator of trouble. With them gone, everything feels uneasy.

I've been having difficulty as well. We will have just to have to rely on our eyes and ears, Death said.

Kitten, do you have any tips for eluding humans? Anym asked as she moved to lean against the wall with me, snack bar in hand.

Pre-apocalypse, sure. But now? No clue, I said.

Don't be so dramatic. I've read about the apocalypse your kind foretold of, and if this was it there'd be a seven headed dragon out there right now, Praed smirked.

I made a face at the teenager that made him snicker, and then took my last bite of snack bar. The honey was a sweet stimulant that cleared my head, but the food itself was just a tease for my mostly empty stomach. A final swig of water chased it down.

It's already midday. As soon as everyone is finished, we should head out. At this rate we will have to camp at the next town at nightfall. That is assuming it is still standing, Death said cryptically.

Anym handed me my cleaned and damp mask and I placed it back over my mouth. My breath immediately bounced back into my face hotly, making my nose itch and my mood worsen. An empty stomach, an itchy face, and sore feet were not a great way to spend a day.

Grinding rock made me cringe as Remiel opened the way. Sunlight trickled in, then illuminated the grainy walls and metallic ceiling in more clarity than Death's globe had done. I followed him out and crouched down when he did outside. He was scanning the area so I pretended to do the same.

Trees, trees, a rock, some dead stuff, and more trees. About what I had expected. I looked back over to see him motioning the others out. Zephon had to pull the rock back into place to get it looking like a regular boulder again, and then we headed out.

Chapter 2

Are we sure it's even in this direction? Praed whispered to me. His skinny arm