The Shadowed Land Read online

  The Shadowed land

  World in Chains: Book 2

  Contents

  Chapter 1: The Shadowed Land

  Chapter 2: A Dangerous New World

  Chapter 3: The Perils of Freedom

  Chapter 4: The Sunset Army

  Chapter 5: Dwindling Hopes

  Chapter 6: Clan Mountain Eagle

  Chapter 7: The Battle of Millersville

  Chapter 8: The Mountain Passage

  Chapter 9: Tales of a Cure

  Chapter 10: The Clan War

  Chapter 11: The New Mission

  Chapter 12: A Strange Revelation

  Chapter 13: Back into the Empire

  Chapter 14: Unfamiliar Paths

  Chapter 15: No Family of Mine

  Chapter 16: The Right Decision

  Chapter 17: Lure of the Wisp

  Chapter 18: The Path Out

  Chapter 19: The Fire Mountains

  Chapter 20: The Dragon's Lair

  Chapter 21: Separate Paths

  Chapter 22: The Dragon

  Chapter 23: Prisoners

  Chapter 24: Eyes of the Serpent

  Chapter 25: Danger in the Mountains

  Chapter 26: The Secret Passage

  Chapter 27: Creatures of the Forest

  Chapter 28: The Wanderer

  Chapter 29: The Battle of Sierra City

  Chapter 30: The Sorcerer

  Chapter 31: An Attempted Rescue

  Chapter 32: The Goblin Lair

  Chapter 33: Flight from Danger

  Chapter 34: No Rest

  Chapter 35: Flight to the Land of Storms

  Chapter 36: Not the Same

  Chapter 37: Into the Ruins

  Chapter 38: The Great Challenge

  Chapter 39: New Companions

  Chapter 40: Beneath the Ruins

  Chapter 41: The Journey to Taylorville

  Chapter 42: The Prison City

  Chapter 43: Faces from the Past

  Chapter 44: Prison Break

  Chapter 45: The Cure

  Chapter 46: The Coming War

  Chapter 47: The End of a Quest

  Chapter 48: In the Tunnels

  Chapter 49: The Journey Begins

  Chapter 50: Clan Blue Fish

  Chapter 51: A Dangerous New Companion

  Chapter 52: Where the Road Leads

  Chapter 53: On the Open Sea

  Chapter 54: The Pirates

  Chapter 55: A Deadly Path

  Chapter 56: The Labyrinth

  Chapter 57: The Bridge

  Chapter 58: The Nexus

  Chapter 59: City of Light

  Chapter 60: Captive

  Epilogue: Two More to the Shadowed Land

  Part I

  Lands Unknown

  Chapter 1: The Shadowed Land

  Kara stood in a land of mist and shadows. The air felt cool and damp, and there was no sun, only this gloomy gray light. Where the hell was she? One second, she'd shoved Rik away from that silvery being. The next, she'd found herself in this alien place. Alone.

  She took tentative steps, small rocks shifting beneath her, jagged and unforgiving. The ground was barren of life.

  She was no longer in Woodsville, no longer in the Empire, perhaps not even in the same world. Did a path home exist, or was she stranded here forever?

  She felt lost. Terrified.

  No one would come looking for her. She had to take matters into her own hands, as she always had. She wasn't the type of person to sit around and allow others to save her.

  She would find her own way home.

  Mist drifted all around, preventing her from seeing more than ten feet. As the mist moved, it cast strange and ominous shadows upon the uneven ground. She felt as if that mist were choking her, as if she were trapped with the walls closing in on her.

  Deep breaths, she told herself. Deep breaths.

  She'd never been an anxious person, but a situation like this was enough to make anyone panic. Already, she felt as if her old life were a distant memory. Her eyes welled with tears, but she steeled herself against her fear. It would only be a hindrance in her quest to get home.

  She stepped carefully among the loose rock. Every sound seemed amplified in the silence, and her chest felt tight. What if she truly was alone here? What if there was nothing to eat or drink?

  As she walked in the gloomy light, the mist drifted in clouds of varying thickness.

  Hours passed with no signs of life, and she held back tears, vowing to remain strong like Nadia.

  Would Kara ever see Nadia again? They'd been friends for so long, and despite their many arguments, Kara loved Nadia like a sister. How would Nadia do without her? Would she succeed in killing Warrick?

  Kara wished now that she'd told Nadia the truth. After Woodsville, Kara would have accompanied Nadia on her insane quest. The destruction of Crayden had changed everything.

  With no sun to mark the time, Kara had no idea how many hours were passing, and she had nothing to guide her path. Perhaps she was walking in circles. Everything looked the same. Barren rocks. Stunted trees. That horrible mist that seeped into her bones, making her shiver.

  She decided to rest awhile on the jagged rocks. Though she peered into the distance, squinting against the mist, she couldn't see anything.

  The world felt lonelier than ever. Even the sound of her footsteps had gone. She shivered in her light traveling clothes, listening to the silence, praying for some evidence that she wouldn't die here. She heard nothing.

  Once she felt rested enough, she resumed marching. Her steps echoed, and she felt as if she were losing her mind.

  Later, she finally heard a sound apart from her own. Someone, or something, walked nearby, dislodging rocks. She froze, chest tight, wondering if she should call out. If it was a monster, it would mean her death. If it was a person, she had no idea how they'd react.

  But she had to take the chance.

  Her voice sounded strange and harsh. "Hello?"

  A low growl sounded. She shivered, backing away, feeling lost and vulnerable in the chilling mist. She had her sword, but would that be enough against whatever beasts lived in this strange land?

  Rocks shifted nearby. Another growl. She peered through the mist, and a shadow appeared, prowling closer. The beast looked as large as a bear, but she couldn't discern much else. She felt as if she'd been doused in icy water. There were other sounds, soft and farther away, but she couldn’t determine the source.

  Her sword felt insubstantial. Her death was only moments away.

  She leaned against a stunted, gnarled tree with no leaves, her breathing labored and loud enough that the beast would hear her. Heart pounding, she tightened her grip on her sword.

  The monster emerged from the shadows, standing maybe fifteen feet away. It was indeed the size of a bear, but it looked more like a predatory cat. It moved with easy grace and casual deadliness. It had a cat's lean face, but its eyes were bright red, glowing in the misty gloom.

  The cat lunged at her. She ducked around the other side of the tree as if that could save her. The monster scratched her arm with one of its claws. She felt searing pain and retaliated with a swipe of her sword.

  The cat was too quick, retreating and preparing its next assault. It lunged again, leaping atop her. She held her sword out and tried to plunge it through the cat's chest, but the cat's weight pinned her to the ground. It began tearing at her with its claws. Using all the strength she had, she held its jaws away.

  The beast's putrid breath filled her nostrils as it growled and snarled, snapping at her, wearing her down.

  A brilliant orange glow lit up the mist. The cat shrieked and recoiled, giving her a chance to breathe. One of her ribs felt cracked. Sharp pain crisscr
ossed her body, coming from dozens of scratches, some of which looked deep.

  The air filled with more of these glowing colors, orange and yellow. The monster's shrieks continued, but the sound seemed distant. Was she going into shock?

  She felt colder than ever. Weak. Unable to move.

  As her vision blurred, the sounds of battle grew distant, then stopped altogether. She lost all track of time.

  The next thing she knew, a blond woman was running a damp cloth along her cuts. Pain flared across her chest, and she gritted her teeth against it, letting out a low groan.

  "Good," the woman said. "You're awake."

  Kara was relieved to hear the woman speaking her language. Perhaps this place wasn't as strange as she'd thought. She glanced to her left and saw the body of the monster that had attacked her. Blood had soaked the ground around it.

  "Where am I?" she asked, feeling woozy.

  The woman continued tending to her cuts. "You're near Millersville."

  A man stepped into view, his expression stern. "What're you doing outside the wards?"

  "The wards?" Kara said. "Millersville? I don't understand."

  "You not from around here?" the man asked. He had dark hair and a neatly-groomed beard. His expression had relaxed, and despite the stern exterior, something about him put her at ease.

  She liked him instinctively. "I don't even know what this place is."

  The man's expression became grave, and his eyes filled with pity. "This is the Shadowed Land."

  Kara had never heard of the Shadowed Land, but the words filled her with unease. She sat up, grimacing against the pain of her scratches. "What's the Shadowed Land?"

  The man ran a hand through his dark beard. "You might say it's your prison, as it is for all of us. Many years ago, Lionar sent many of the world's sorcerers to this place. This was at the end of the Great War, when the forces of Lionar defeated the forces of Krinir."

  "I have no idea who those people are," Kara said.

  "You are from Terra, aren't you?"

  "Yes, but where I live, we know very little of history. My friend Nadia might know of these things, but I've never had much patience for books."

  "I suppose that doesn't matter now," said the man. "You're stuck here in the Shadowed Land, just like the rest of us." He turned to the woman nursing Kara's injuries. "You think she's okay to walk?"

  "Ask Alia," the woman said. "She's the healer."

  The man turned to a dark-haired woman. "Well?"

  "I've healed worse," Alia said. "She'll have to be careful for a couple of days, but the injuries should fade with time." She peered down at Kara. "You feel ready to stand?"

  Kara nodded and took Alia's hand. The scratches burned as she moved, but Alia was right; the pain was fading. Alia had to be a healer like Markus. The rest of the group carried magical staffs like Ander's.

  They all introduced themselves. The woman who'd been wiping Kara's forehead was Lena. She had blond hair and looked perhaps five to ten years older than Kara. The leader of the group, the dark-bearded man, was Aren.

  Kara barely registered the rest of the names. Her thoughts drifted like the mist. "How do I get home?"

  "You don't," Aren said. He put a hand on her shoulder.

  "What do you mean? If there was a way to get here, then there has to be a way home."

  "This place was created as a prison," Aren said. "We're not meant to find our way out." He scuffed at the rocky ground with his boot. "We've been trying to find a way for a long time. If there was a way, we'd have found it by now."

  "I still don't understand why you were imprisoned here," Kara said. She didn't want to think that she might be trapped here. There had to be a way home.

  "I wasn't imprisoned here," Aren said. "The Great War took place hundreds of years ago. My ancestors were imprisoned here because they were sorcerers and channelers who supported Krinir. That's what happens when you lose a war."

  Kara grimaced again as she tested her range of movement. "That seems unfair. Why should someone like you be punished for what people did hundreds of years ago?"

  "I ask myself the same question every day."

  "But how could God allow something like this to happen?" Kara asked. "Why didn't he stop this Lionar from sending people here? The God I believe in is fair and just and merciful. He would not let innocent people suffer in a place like this. This Lionar must be a terrible person. What he did sounds like something Warrick would do."

  "Who's Warrick?" Aren asked.

  Kara hadn't considered that these people wouldn't know of her world, of anything that had happened in hundreds and hundreds of years. "It doesn't matter."

  "I can tell you're struggling to accept this right now. Since we've been here our whole lives, it's all we know. Every child comes to accept that early in life. But I've read accounts of Terra. I always wonder how it would feel to stand beneath a sun, to see great fields of grass."

  Kara fought against a rush of tears. "You mean I'll never see those things again?"

  "I'm afraid not." He kept his hand on her shoulder. Despite his grave pronouncement about her fate, she found herself liking him more and more. He seemed a good man, reminding her of Aric, and how many good men would she find in a place like this?

  She peered around the small group consisting of three men and three women. Their clothes were ragged, their faces scarred.

  She glanced at the dead monster. "What exactly are you doing out here?"

  "We hunt monsters like these," Aren said. "It keeps the roads safe. Wards fail sometimes. Also gives us something to eat. There's little food in the Shadowed Land. I'm not sure how such beasts survive when there's so little to be hunted. Some say that such dark creatures have no need of nourishment. The dark magic that created them sustains them. I have no idea what to think."

  Lena stepped closer, her expression stern. She seemed colder than Aren and much more distant. "We're called trackers. Dealing with monsters like these is just one of our tasks. We also keep an eye out for the Sunset Army."

  "The Sunset Army?" Kara asked.

  Aren removed his hand from her shoulder. "To the east of here lies the Sunset Empire. They aim to control all of the Shadowed Land. We're resisting them."

  "Are they evil?" Kara asked.

  Aren laughed. "In a place like this, good and evil aren't so simple. They crave power and control. We crave freedom. That puts us on opposite sides. We're part of the Kingdom of Sierra. It's a small kingdom, but we've resisted so far."

  Kara felt adrift in a sea of new names and places, and she fought against tears again. These trackers wouldn't blame her for crying, but she didn't want to look weak. She had never been the type to cry. "Are you sure no one can help me escape?"

  "It's doubtful," Aren said, "but I won't say it's impossible."

  Kara felt a tiny surge of hope, but a thick shroud of despair hung over her. How could she spend the rest of her life here without Nadia, without Aric and Ander, without the sun and the stars and all the comforts of home?

  "Somebody has to have an answer for me," she said. "I can't stay here."

  "Well, I know of a sorcerer in Sierra City," Lena said. "If anyone knows a way out of the Shadowed Land, it's him."

  "Then that's where I need to go," Kara said.

  Alia rested a gentle hand on her shoulder. "You're not ready to travel so far. I can only heal a person so much."

  "Besides, you're not going anywhere without us," Aren said.

  Kara gave him a sharp look. "I can handle myself."

  "Forgive me if I doubt your abilities. That monster nearly killed you."

  True. Maybe she did need them, but she couldn't ask them to join her on such a doubtful quest. Now she understood what drove Nadia. Sometimes life forced you into accepting that you must do the impossible.

  It was a strange feeling, and Kara didn't like it. "You're right. I need your protection. But why would you want to come with me? I'm pursuing a foolish dream. I don't want anyone to die becaus
e of that."

  "I'm not sure what we intend to do," Aren said. "We have duties to Millersville, and you're right. We can't abandon those duties to help you." He shook his head. "But I hate to see someone stranded here. It's hardest on those who come here like you."

  "You mean I'm not the first person to end up here like this?"

  "It's rare," Aren said, "but not unheard of. For the most part, they learn to adjust to life here. Some of them die. Some even lose the will to live."

  Kara could hear the pity in his voice. Pity for her. She hated being pitied, hated feeling useless, like she wasn't in control. Right now, she felt trapped, as if a swift river were carrying her farther and farther from home.

  "We should return to Millersville," Lena said. "You can figure out the future later."

  Kara wiped away a tear, cursing herself for shedding it. "I will find a way home."

  Chapter 2: A Dangerous New World

  Markus glanced back at the mountains forming the edge of the Empire. It was strange to think that they stood outside those mountains and Warrick belonged to their past. But Markus still felt the sting of failure.

  As he, Nadia, and Rik walked farther from the mountains, his left arm began to throb. Over the last few days, it had hurt occasionally, but now the pain was stronger. He winced.

  Nadia frowned with concern as they crested a gently rolling hill dotted with colorful wildflowers. "Are you all right, Markus?"

  "It's nothing. Just some pain left over from that snake bite." He thought back to the terrifying moments when the snake had swallowed him. He'd been sure, then, that he would die. Only a last-second surge of energy had saved him, allowing him to cut his way out.

  Nadia narrowed her eyes. "It isn't nothing, Markus. I can tell."

  "I'm fine," Markus said, exasperated. "And if I'm not, what can we do about it? You know I can't heal myself. We'll have to find a town or city, and we can't do that if we stop and rest."

  The thought of rest was tantalizing, however.

  "You're right," Nadia said. "But how can we know if there's anything out here?"

  "There's gotta be," Rik said.

  Markus was glad to hear that Rik had regained his usual cheer. He wasn't the young man he'd been before the journey, but he was close enough.