Shadow floated down the river while Tania watched from the banks. She would teleport each time Shadow ended up someone new. She watched him struggle; she watched him grasp for air. She chuckled. It was funny to her because if Sous hadn't killed Randali, she would be one fierce Alpha.
But Sous...Sous was weak now. Stronger than any wolf or Alpha but could she really fight against a witch, or even a wizard? No, of course not. All she would be able to do would be run.
Tany shook her head. Not likely. Sous had so much potential but turned into a family woman.
Shadow reached for a branch that was sticking out and grabbed onto it. The branch snapped and he found himself continuing to row down the river.
The Omega heard the laughter from the witch, the only time it was deafening was when he was submerged under water. He gasped for air and allowed the river to take him down stream toward the territory of Canas.
Shadow's fingers brushed against slick river stones as he fought to keep his head above the churning surface. The water tasted of silt and decaying leaves, cold enough to make his teeth chatter despite the summer heat.
He could still feel Tania's mocking gaze burning into his back, a phantom pressure between his shoulder blades. Each desperate stroke away from her felt like swimming through honey, heavy, slow, punishing. His muscles screamed, but the thought of her amused smirk, the way her eyes glittered like chips of obsidian when he choked on river water, pushed him harder.
The current dragged him toward the jagged rocks downstream, where white foam hissed like a cornered animal.
Shadow's lungs burned, each breath a ragged gasp that scraped his throat raw. He kicked against the undertow, muscles screaming in protest, his soaked clothes clinging like a second skin of lead.
The riverbank blurred, a smear of green and brown, but he fixed his eyes on a moss-slick boulder jutting near the Canas border. Survival narrowed to this: the scrape of stone against his palm, the icy bite of water in his nostrils, the drumbeat of his own heart thudding against his ribs.
Tania's laughter echoed in his skull, not as sound but as vibration, a phantom tremor in his bones. He'd seen her smirk when the branch snapped, a predator amused by prey's futile struggle. Now, only the river's roar answered him.
Shadow finally managed to claw his way to the bank where he coughed up water. He turned over onto his side to make the process easier.
Click!
Tany landed next to him. He attempted to grab for his guns but when he reached down, his guns were snacks slithering out of their holsters. He scrambled to his feet, brushing the snacks off of him.
"Shadow, Shadow, Shadow, I expected more," she said to the Omega.
"Witches are so stubborn. You open that portal and all demons will be set loose. Mediums can only adequately open and close portals to the other side," he argued, stepping away from her. "You could easily have asked that friend of yours, Faye, to reach out to the spirits-"
"Hacate isn't a spirit, you dimwit!" She yelled glaring at the man.
Shadow scrambled backwards, boots sinking into the muddy bank. Tania advanced, her movements fluid and predatory, the air crackling with unspoken power.
Her eyes, dark as obsidian shards, locked onto his, stripping away any illusion of escape. The river's roar faded to a dull thrum beneath the sudden pressure building in Shadow's skull, a psychic vise tightening with each step she took.
Mud sucked at his boots as he scrambled backward, the slick bank offering no purchase. Tania moved like liquid shadow, her form blurring against the riot of green foliage. No words passed between them now, only the raw language of threat and survival.
Her fingers curled, not into fists, but into claws that seemed to elongate, catching the dappled sunlight in a way that hurt the eyes. Shadow felt the air thicken, tasting of ozone and damp earth, as if the forest itself held its breath.
Sous woke up that night. Her breathing erratic, sweat dripping over her body. She shoved Kara, practically knocking her off the bed. "I NEED TO GET TO SHADOW! I NEED TO GET TO SHADOW!" The Alpha yelled.
Kara got up, unsure of what was happening around her. Her heart beated with so much exertion, making her scared. But when she calmed down, she looked at Sous. She got up and sat back on the bed, trying to calm Sous down.
The Alpha jumped out of bed and paced about. She leaned over, letting out a yelp. She landed on the ground with Sous running to her. Kara got down on her knees.
"SOUS!"
"Teleport-me-to-Shad-ow!" She said through gritted teeth.
Kara placed a hand on Sous' shoulder and then they were gone.
Tany threw her hand up to slash Shadow but Sous twisted into the air, slapping Tany. She kicked the witch using a round house, Tany slid back and glared at Sous.
"Sous!" Tany yelled at the Alpha. "We could have avoided all of this!"
Sous turned to Shadow. "Why didn't you give her the relic?!"
"SO SHE CAN OPEN A PORTAL SHE CAN'T CLOSE?" Shadow yelled.
The words hung suspended, sharp as broken glass. Sous saw it then, the flicker of doubt in Tania's obsidian eyes, the microscopic tremor in her clawed hand. The witch hadn't considered the consequences, only the power.
"Tany?"
"Sacrifices must be made for the good of the whole," Tany said to Sous. She disappeared and appeared next to Shadow. She took him by the collar of the shirt. Kara knew Tany was going to teleport again so she quickly entered into Tany's mind to read the coordinates.
Tany and Shadow were gone. Kara ran to Sous and grabbed her by the hand, teleporting her.
Thud!
The two landed kn marble floor in front of a throne. They quickly got up, hundreds of eyes on them.
"Where are we?" Sous asked.
"A covenant meeting," Kara answered.