Niyx by Samantha Kroese (websites to read books for free TXT) 📕

Onyx should have returned to Aderaan right away. Instead, he found himself backtracking through the halls of the Den to where he’d last seen Callistra. Callistra smelled like fresh flowers and he could still follow it among the odors of rot and undeath that plagued the Den. It drove him crazy. He summoned more of his blood magic to make the scents stronger and followed their path that wound out of the Den. Night had fallen on the forest now, and he slipped through the darkness like a ghost, tracking the Templars. They had quite a lead on him, but he was supernaturally fast, and the weakened Raijin had not been moving quickly.

Their scent led him to a small cave. He could hear their heartbeats now, the blood racing through their veins. Strong, fast heartbeats that indicated unease. Onyx crept to the door of the cave. He could tell they were farther inside, so he used his magic to slip into the shadows, becoming invisible to their elven eyes in the darkness. He moved slowly so he would not disturb any loose rock or twig beneath his feet. As he entered the main room he could see Raijin lying prone, asleep, his rapid breaths shallow. Callistra sat next to him with her head bowed over her knees, but she was not asleep.

Onyx crept closer to her, close enough to lean over and yank her to him in the shadows. He covered her mouth with his gloved hand before she could make a sound. “Don’t say a word,” Onyx hissed into Callistra’s ear. She struggled at first, but realizing it was him, relaxed and nodded her head in agreement. Onyx slowly let her go and turned her around to face him. “I came to see you and Raijin to the safety of Ruel’s manor. It’ll be a challenge sneaking you into the city, but I think I can do it.”

“We’re outcasts there now,” Callistra whispered, close to his ear. Her breath was warm and welcoming, and it brought a shiver to Onyx’s spine.

“So? I’m an assassin and a Night Creature. You know the right people for the job,” Onyx grinned at her with a wink.

“If you get us safely into the city, I will have to thank you,” Callistra murmured, her hand tugging at Onyx’s belt suggestively. “I don’t think you can do it, fang boy.”

Onyx bared his fangs at that. “Watch me. Wake him up. We have to be there before daybreak. I don’t like the sunlight much.”

Callistra pulled away from Onyx and hurried to her father’s side, kneeling to shake him awake. “Father, wake up.”

Raijin stirred and sat up, but he frowned when Onyx stepped from the shadows. “What is he doing here?”

“He’s going to help us again,” Callistra grumbled as she helped her father to his feet. “Don’t argue, just follow him.”

“You know who he is…” Raijin started to say, but grunted and went silent when Callistra elbowed him.

Onyx rolled his eyes. “It’s okay, sir. I’m the Night Creature you didn’t try to murder as a child. I don’t have a grudge. I just want to see you and Callistra safe in King Ruel’s manor until we can figure this out.”

Raijin glared daggers at Onyx, but kept his mouth shut as he and Callistra followed Onyx out into the forest. They moved slower than he did, so Onyx had to keep pausing for them to catch up. Once at the gates of Aderaan, Onyx had them pause in the underbrush of the forest while he considered the guards at the gate. He took a pouch of midnight blue from his belt and pulled several golden coins from it as he approached the gates of the city. The guards drew their swords immediately but relaxed when they saw who it was. Luckily, he knew them and they were easily bribed.

“Lord Onyx, out for a nightly stroll yet again?” One of the guards asked with a cocked eyebrow, eyeing the gold coins.

“Of course not, Byron. You never saw me. I was safely home with my brother Ruel, sleeping.” Onyx handed the coins to the guard then waved for Callistra and Raijin to move past him. He grinned at the startled guards and gave them a few more coins as the Templars ran past them and into the city. “You certainly didn’t see them either.”

Byron scowled at him but quickly pocketed the extra coins. “Get going, Lord Onyx. I want no trouble with the Templars. I’d suggest you find less dangerous friends in the future.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Onyx winked at him. “Thanks, Byron. I’ll remember this when I purge the guards.”

The other young guard shivered and looked back out at the forest as if Onyx didn’t exist. Byron snorted then waved Onyx away. Onyx hurried to catch up with Callistra and Raijin where they waited in a nearby alley. Shadows spilled into the brightly lit streets, so it was easier than he expected to lead them through.

The guards at Ruel’s manor let them through with no contest. They were so used to Onyx coming and going with a variety of people in the night, the trio didn’t even get a second glance. The guardians that prowled Ruel’s yard, on the other hand, snarled and circled restlessly as Callistra and Raijin followed Onyx to the manor. Onyx hissed back at them in warning, and the giant shadow cats reluctantly laid back down, though their glowing eyes stayed locked on the odd group.

Onyx slipped them in the back door through the kitchen and darted ahead of them to look into the main house. “Ruel? Are you here?”

A displeased snarl sounded at Onyx’s feet. The shadows coalesced into a fluffy black cat. Floof, of course. Onyx rolled his eyes at the cat. “Hello, Floof. Will you bring Ruel here, please?”

Floof sat and waved his tail back and forth in his obstinate cat way. Anyone who did not know Floof was a shadow monster and not truly a cat would surely be fooled