The Shadows That Dwell Within (The Warrior Queens book #1) (#Wattys2016)

Chapter 1 - Adelaide

Another imp sprang from the building's broken windows, making Adelaide screech. It had the body of a beetle, the hind legs of a grasshopper, allowing it to spring forward and claim its victim. Adelaide didn't stop to gape before she threw her chakram. She didn't stay long enough to witness the effect, but as she spun in the other direction, she felt the blood splatter and scorch her skin.

Adelaide searched the alley but found she was alone. She looked back on the building she just came from in disgust. The warehouse was in a dilapidated state, which was to be expected as it sat on the end of a narrow street on the lower east side of Boswick. The windows were caved in, the paint was peeling off and some of the bricks were rotting away. Inside wasn't much better. Dust and mould gathered in every corner, like a disease festering in every crevice of the room. The warehouse was once a workshop where people made clothing, but now the work stations stood unattended. Nothing more than ghost's toys.

A familiar voice cried out cutting through her thoughts. Adelaide followed the voice into the warehouse. The voice belonged to Rosaline Larendof, another Anti-Insurgence agent like Adelaide. Along with Victoria Elderwen, the three made a trio infamous for their ability to capture criminals on the run. Killing imps wasn't usually in the job description, but tonight someone had unleashed them on the defenceless town of Boswick. The Warrior Queens, as they were nicknamed, were called in to destroy the imps.

Rosaline slashed at the creature that looked like a snake, but had legs protruding from its body. Rosaline was quick, dodging the venom the snake was spewing, making the right incisions. But the snake was relentless. It was Victoria that put an end to it, stabbing its abdomen with a sword. The snake let out a whine and disintegrated.

"How many are they?" Rosaline cried.

"I think that was the last one" Victoria replied.

Victoria helped Rosaline to her feet, all the while scanning the entrances. Victoria was always vigilant but obviously not vigilant enough as she jumped when Adelaide stepped out of the shadows.

"Just a bunch of imps. Nothing we can't handle" Adelaide said.

"What happened to you?" Rosaline said, eying the slime that covered Adelaide.

"Apparently if you throw a chakram at a vexer, they explode" she said.

"I see" Victoria said. "Well, anyway most of the imps came from this building-"

"We don't know that" Adelaide interrupted. "The whole street is infested with them. They could've came from anywhere".

"But they didn't. There are ashes everywhere. The imps were summoned here" Victoria said.

Adelaide's gaze fell on the ground. It was now slick with blood but nothing that even eluded to the horror that was creating those monsters. Contrary to popular belief, they were not summoned. The imps, beasts and behemoths were created with magic and animal remains. The animals were resurrected with the ability to do magic and their only intent was to cause chaos and harm.

"Let's search this warehouse and move onto the next one".

Victoria sheathed her sword but kept her hand on the hilt. Just in case. Rosaline wiped black sludge off her blade with the bottom of her shirt. They both took such care of their weapons. With a throwing weapon like Adelaide's chakram it was best not to get too attached. It was likely that you were going to lose it. So far, Adelaide had managed not to lose this one. Three months she'd had it. That was something of a record. Adelaide had even named it. Kakabael -  After the demon of revenge.

Kakabael had saved Adelaide's life more times that she could count. And she had left it to explode in a sludgy mess. Adelaide rushed out the emergency exit.

"Where are you going? We've already searched that alley" Rosaline said.

"Relax. I'm just going to find my chakram. Hopefully it didn't explode with the vexer" Adelaide said. "Go ahead I'll catch up".

Sure enough Kakabael lay in a puddle of black blood. The alley was deserted. That was until a dark figure flitted across it, quicker than a blink of an eye. Could that be the culprit? Only those blessed by the angels or "Enchanters" as they were called, could do magic. To move that quick you'd have to be an Enchanter. Or at least have the help of an Enchanter. That didn't exactly narrow it down. 1 in 5 people were born an Enchanter.

Adelaide grabbed her chakram, ran into the building and made her way up the twisting stairs after it. When Adelaide made it to the top floor, she was met with deafening silence. The room was covered in cob webs and she choked on the amount of dust that cloaked the room.

Just as Adelaide was about to hurry back downstairs, she noticed the hatch on a window was undone. With a pounding heart, Adelaide climbed up a metal pipe and pushed the window open. Careful to make minimal noise, she hauled herself onto the roof.

It was not just the moon's gleaming whiteness that would've made it a pleasant night for a stroll. There was also a calmness in the air. Adelaide hated the calm. It almost always meant a storm was coming.

The dark figure must've sense she was there. It ran to the end of the roof, red cape billowing behind. Perfect. Adelaide had him cornered. Could he be the Erebus? The supposed mastermind behind the recent attacks in Concordia. There had been numerous "sightings" but the trouble was no one really knew what he looked like. Adelaide had no choice but to assume if he ran away from an AIA agent he was some sort of criminal.

Adelaide unclipped a throwing star from her ankle and aimed it at the culprit. Instead of the throwing star landing in his shoulder, he caught it. When he turned around his face was visible in the glow of the moonlight. A tremor of fear jolted Adelaide.

"It couldn't be. Impossible" Adelaide said.

 The ghost of her past stared back at her. Adelaide nearly pinched herself. It was all she could do not to scream.

He flung the throwing star, not at Adelaide but in the other direction. Adelaide was so baffled, she didn't anticipate his next move - to swing his foot around and kick her. If it were any other person, she would've moved out the way. Instead she tumbled off the slanted roof, and if it weren't for Victoria and Rosaline catching her arm, she would have certainly fell. Although the girls pulled Adelaide to safety, she still felt the ice cold fear pulse though her. And it wasn't because she nearly fell to her death. The man who may or may not be Erebus was nowhere to be seen.

Do you think it was Erebus on the roof? Don't forgot to like/comment if you like what you read.