Born of Shadow - Book 1 (complete)

Chapter 56

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Kami stared at Liam incredulously.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

He held up a finger. She waited impatiently for about thirty seconds, then he peeled the wax off.

“Interesting,” he said. “You can breathe through it just fine. I wonder if it would still work if I were to stick my head underwater.”

“Well before you run off trying to find a magical lake in the desert, tell me what happened in there? Did you see Neina? What are we up against? And who’s this poor girl you brought out of there?”

Liam tried to smile, but his face still hurt. He groaned.

“You sound like Yasmin now with all your questions. Better get everyone over here. We’ve got a lot to talk about if we’re going to pull this off.”

“I wanted to talk to you about something,” Kami said hesitantly.

Liam nodded, obviously distracted.

“Fair enough,” he said. “As soon as we get everyone up to speed, we’ll talk.”

She called the others over, and Liam explained everything.

“So she forms the creatures from wax, casts their shadows on the wall, chants some crazy voodoo, and the shadows transform into a shadow creature?” Samuel asked, scratching his cheek. “I consider myself a fairly open-minded kinda guy, but you do realize this sounds mad, right?”

“There’s nothing sane about the concept of shadow creatures,” Kami said. “Count me in. I’m ready to kick some shadow butt and get Neina out of there.”

Something flashed in Liam’s eyes.

“It’s too dangerous,” he shook his head. “You heard what I saw.”

“You’re going back in, aren’t you?”

“Well, yes. I have to. I know my way around now. You heard what happened. There are terrible things in there.”

“I can do this. You’re just as likely to get caught as I am. Why should I sit out here and let complete strangers risk their lives for my family? She’s my grandmother, Liam, my flesh and blood.”

“If I had any clue it would be half that dangerous, I wouldn’t have volunteered so eagerly, especially to go alone. I could have really used Chris or Samuel in there, someone with more experience using the laser sabers. Besides, you always act so nervous about fighting with a laser saber.”

“So what? It’s good to be a little nervous. Keeps you on your toes. Just because I’m nervous doesn’t mean I shouldn’t fight.”

He didn’t seem to know what to say to that and appeared relieved when Chris changed the subject.

“So do you think they’ll come after us? Once they discover the shadow creature, the girl, and the whip are missing, I mean?”

Liam shrugged.

“Perhaps.”

“We’ll need to keep a sharp lookout,” Samuel said. “And I say we return as soon as Liam gets a little rest. We need to get back in there before they notice anything’s missing. So how do we do it, Liam?”

All eyes turned to him. He seemed a little nervous, especially around Gedo. She wondered if Gedo suspected anything about Liam and her. She didn’t think he knew about the kiss at the fire. She probably would have heard an earful if he did.

“Does anyone have paper? And a pencil or pen?” Liam asked.

He sketched out the hive and showed them the location of the dungeon. As they plotted their plan, Liam asked about the girl from the cave. When Chris checked on her, he discovered she was still unconscious. Samuel was right. It was better to go back as soon as possible. At least Liam knew a crucial bit of information—where Neina was likely being held if she was still alive.

As the conversation dwindled, Liam kept nodding off again and again, until at last Yasmin kindly suggested he get some rest. He stumbled to his bedroll and passed out.

The others rested as well, but not for long. Their window of opportunity was slim. There was so much riding on getting the plan right.

A few hours later when they assembled and informed Kami of her role in the rescue, she was furious. Gedo had suggested this plan, and Liam, seeing it was safer for her, had the audacity to agree with her grandfather. She reluctantly admitted the plan made sense. One group went in first, the other waited in the tunnel leading to the “hive” to assist as needed.

Still, she felt betrayed by Liam’s defection. She wanted to be on the other team, with Yasmin, Liam, and Chris. The decision hadn’t been made because she was a girl because Yasmin had been allowed to go. She wanted to help free Neina. Instead, she was being babysat by a scowling Gedo and a distracted Samuel, who was lying flat on his stomach gathering wax samples. Trust the mad scientist to be gathering samples in the middle of a rescue attempt.

Kami knew she should be glad to be allowed to go along. Liam had insinuated she shouldn’t even come. Kami had tried to argue that her necklace might help ward off the shadow creatures, but everyone thought it was too risky when they didn’t fully understand its power. They were constantly underestimating her. A freaking eleven year old was in there and she was stuck on the outside!

She felt like kicking something, but there was nothing to kick but a stone wall and the opaque waxy formations Liam had warned her about. The first would only hurt her foot (and her pride), and the second would trap her. They were both stupid options. She thought about Liam, his hand trapped in the stalagmite as a shadow creature drew near. She shivered at the thought. How lucky he had thought up a way to escape in time!

Haji had offered to stay at the campsite with the injured girl. His father had trained him as a healer, and he hoped to save her life. He was with her now. Her foot and ankle had turned a mottled purple-black and had swollen to twice its size where the shadow creature had bitten her. Kami had peeked in on her before she left. The girl was feverish and writhing in pain. She had regained partial consciousness, but was so delirious that questioning would have been impossible. Kami figured the shadow injuries must be poisoning her body.

She pulled out Yasmin’s cell phone and dutifully recorded Samuel near the wax river as she had promised. Yasmin knew she couldn’t upload the footage yet, but she was hoping when it was all over and Neina was with them, she would have quite the story.

The heady fragrance was giving her a headache. She rubbed her temples, then glanced down to notice her scarab glowing brightly.

Kami heard a blood-chilling roar in the distance, and her eyes flew to Gedo’s startled face.

“Wait,” he said, but she didn’t listen. She pocketed the phone, whipped out her laser saber and ran toward the cave entrance.

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Last chapter for Born of Shadow goes up this Friday. As I promised, the fan book "The World of Born of Shadow" is now up for you to check out. I am so excited to come up with a character cast, put together a playlist and host fun contests with your help. Please drop in and introduce yourself, give us a few facts about yourself, share special skills and provide a link to one of your stories. Link below - hope to see you there!

The dedication for this chapter goes out to a lovely Born of Shadow reader @rosemarie151999! It has been a blast having her read this story and be part of our group! :)