ShadowSong [Book 1 & 2: Complete] [NaNoWriMo16/17]

Chapter 11 - What It Means

Only when Cryo left the room and disappeared from sight did Banshee release the gasp of pain she'd been biting down on.

Despite Cryo's ice, the wound where the Shimmer had stabbed her burned. It went beyond the scope of any pain she'd ever experienced as Banshee or Olivia. This wound wasn't just on her body. It was seared on something deeper, a part of her that might have been invisible, but one that she needed just as much as her head and heart.

Banshee exhaled, long and slow, unfurling herself from her hunch. She could handle it. Her legs were shaking as she forced them to stand up. If she hadn't been virtually weightless shifted into her shadow, she doubted they'd have been able to hold her up. One foot joined the next, and with a hand still pressed to her side, she sheathed her daggers. Cryo's ice held firm at her side, the skin it touched slowly going numb.

Her fingers tightened against it. She could only hope that he'd get out before he revealed and went Dark.

Banshee made sure she was steady before she moved over to where Ella stood, waiting for Andrew to finish exchanging a few words with a dark-haired beauty still sitting inside one of the cells.

Her shoulders were straight and her voice strong when she spoke--she was a Luminary, not Olivia. "Is everyone okay?"

Andrew's eyes were shaded with concern as he took in the sight of her. "Are you? A Shimmer injured me once. I can't say it was a pleasant experience." He glanced at Ella. "I think Ella had to carry me back to a skyshrine from that one. I'm surprised you're still standing, if I'm honest."

"I was shadow-shifted when the Shimmer stabbed me," said Banshee, managing a tight smile. She just had to keep breathing. "I think that helps."

"Perhaps," said Andrew. "Just keep in mind that a Shimmer's attack isn't like a regular Manifested's. It may not completely disappear from your civilian form for a while. Mine took two weeks before it didn't cause me pain."

If that were true, that was going to cause her a whole lot of grief in the coming days. "Not much I can do about it now," she said, looking around the room. "For now, we need to get everyone in this nest to the nearest skyshrine."

Ella balked. "Everyone?"

"Yes, everyone," said Banshee. "Are there more prison rooms? More Shimmers?"

"No," said Andrew. "That was the only Shimmer that I've seen around here. The Serpent didn't exactly expect a Luminary to find the nest. The Shimmer was there to keep the rest of us in line."

Ella folded her arms. "If we were still Luminaries, we could have dealt with it ourselves."

Andrew placed a hand on her shoulder. "Well, we aren't anymore, El. We did our part. Now it's our chance to help in other ways, starting with getting everyone out of here." He looked to Banshee. "What did you have in mind?"

Banshee jumped on the task, quickly splitting the group into teams and assigning them tasks. Aside from one or two kids who needed reassurances that the Serpent wouldn't eat them if they left, everyone obeyed her words without question. She oversaw it all, moving from room to room, ensuring everything was going smoothly, hesitating only once during the process--three minutes after it'd begun when her tattoo lost its warmth.

Her fingers crept over her sternum at that moment, her footsteps stilling on the ground below. She just had to keep telling herself that if he'd been Dark instead of dim, she would have known. She would have sensed it--wouldn't she?

Banshee shook it off and kept moving, ignoring the throbbing at her side.

It took the better part of thirty minutes, but with Ella and Andrew's help, the evacuation of the nest went smoothly. Above ground, among the trees and maroon starstone huts, nearly a hundred people of varying ages stood above ground for what might have been the first time in weeks--and it was all because of her and Cryo. Because they'd saved them, exactly like Lumi's were supposed to do.