Chapter 2 Shadowsworn
SOUNDTRACK: Shadows by Tommee Profitt and Sam Tinnesz
~ brEN ~
Every childish nightmare came to life in my mind as the stairs crawled endlessly down, down, down into that oppressive dark, without any sign of light or life.
A few months ago, when something crawled across my hand as I placed it on the wall, I might have run screaming back up the stairs and out into the night, orders be damned.
But the rumble under my feet had grown louder.
And my training kicked in. Shaking the unseen passenger off my hand with a hiss, praying it didn’t cling to my clothes, I continued down where the tiniest glow of light made it clear the tunnel opened out.
Yet, when I finally reached the bottom, it was a dead end.
I drew up short, my nose scraping on what felt like another tree-bark wall.
After blinking a moment, I made out a whisper of light on the stone near my toes.
When the wall in front of me didn’t give under my hand, I searched the nearby walls looking for another knot or protruding formation—and found the latch of a lock similar to those my father used on his farm gates.
A simple press on the lever at the top, and sure enough, the door swung free, easing open in front of me to reveal a dimly lit tunnel.
The rounded ceiling and notched walls looked like they’d been carved out of stone. A soft glow emanated from deeper within, revealing that the tunnel curved first to my right, then sharply around to my left and out of sight.
Cursing the order not to bring weapons, I pressed the door closed, but struggled to make it latch. When I pushed it hard, it finally gave—and I winced as it gave a mighty boom, latched into place, and stayed.
The vibration I felt under my feet when the man had disappeared.
At least I wasn’t the only one who’d made that noise.
Taking a deep breath, I turned and followed the tunnel towards the light, the rumbling sound I’d been hearing growing to a deep hum, then the distant murmur of male voices punctuated by popping and crackling, the two sounds blending together as if the earth were unhappy.
But as the light grew, my steps quickened, and I turned a final corner to slide to a halt at the sight of two men dressed just as the one who’d guided me here had been: Thick leathers, a half-cloak, deep hoods that shrouded their entire face except their mouths and chins.
I froze at the sight of them and sank into a defensive stance, my mind whirling with grappling moves, and searching desperately for ways to fight two men by myself—until one of them smiled.
“At least you didn’t leave the door open like shit-for-brains over here,” a familiar voice said as he tipped his head towards the other man standing to his right. Then they both threw back their hoods.
I sighed with relief. It was my squad brothers. Voski, and Gil.
“What are you doing here?” I started, but Gil, who’d recently cut his hair so short it was little more than dark velvet on his scalp, turned on Voski, scowling.
“What the fuck are you talking about? I never left the door open—that was you!”
Voski shrugged. He was trimmer than Gil, but taller. He flipped his straight, jet-black hair back out of eyes, which were almost as dark as the stairwell I’d just walked down. But his thin lips tipped up on one side. “So you say.”
“Voski—”
“Is the whole squad here?” I asked, relieved to see them both, my heart thudding.
Both of them turned to me, brows high. “No!” they barked in unison.
“And you don’t talk to them about this. Ever,” Voski said quickly. Sternly. All hint of humor gone.
I nodded. “Got it. Got it... But Ronen said—”
“Ronen knows you’re with us, and you have duties today. But that’s all he knows. He won’t ask, and you don’t tell,” Gil said firmly.
“Right.” I licked my lips. “But you’re both here… because?”
They glanced at each other. Gil smiled, but stifled it quickly as they turned towards the tunnel behind them, Gil beckoning me forward.
Because Gil was our Wing Lieutenant, I’d assumed he was in charge. So, it was a surprise when Voski was the one to fall in step with me and begin speaking quietly, firmly. It was the same tone Ronen used when giving orders I was expected to remember first time.
“You’ve been invited, Bren,” Voski said grimly, his eyes cutting to the side to me, to make sure I was listening, then back to Gill a couple steps ahead of us.
“Invited to what?”
He continued as if I hadn’t even spoken. “Every Furyknight in attendance tonight has proven their loyalty and pure-hearted integrity to our leaders more than once. What is spoken tonight can never be repeated, except to other members who were present—and then only in dire need.”
“Okay, but, dire need of what?”
“This is your only choice,” Voski said, his eyes flashing as the light ahead of us, and the murmuring echo of a small crowd, grew.
“What lies on the other side of this is intense responsibility, isolation in duty, and thankless toil. You will be given more assignments, above and beyond your Furyknight duties. It will require your utmost discretion, and you will likely never be acknowledged for the work you do with us. If you’re caught, you’ll be expected to maintain silence, even to death.
But it’s important work, and you’ll never go to sleep at night wondering if you’ve made a difference.
If you join us, you’ll save lives. But you’ll never be able to tell another soul that you did so. ”
“No,” Gil grunted, turning to face me and stop walking. “The king will tell everyone he did it.”
Voski shot him a disapproving look as we stopped with him, but didn’t reply.
“There’s only one chance for retreat, and that’s now.
You can turn around and go back the way you came.
You never saw anything, or heard anything.
And if anyone ever asks us, we don’t know what they’re talking about.
You don’t have to take this on,” he said, leaning in intently.
“And you should ask yourself if you want to. If we take one step around that corner, it’s an agreement that you’ll walk this path until the day of your death.
We will stand with you. We’ll help you. And the others will too—just as you’ll help us.
But you’ll never walk away. Your life is forfeit to this mission. ”
What about Donavyn?! I swallowed hard. “What’s the mission?”
Both men’s faces went grim. “Selfless pursuit. Leadership in humility. Integrity at all costs. But ultimately… victory.”
I stared, expecting more detail, but both of them merely stared back, waiting.
There was a single moment—a flutter of nerves because I didn’t know what was around this corner, nor who was there. I was already exhausted, and had only just earned my Furyknight pin a week earlier. How would I find time for more duties?
But, apart from Ronen, these men were the two I’d most admired and respected in my squad. They were dark, and capable, and strong.
If they were in on this, I wanted in, too.
I looked back and forth between them, and shrugged. “What are we waiting for?” I asked, trying to make the words sound stronger than I felt.
They both grinned. Voski offered me a hand to clasp first, then Gil, then they both hugged me.
Voski was the one who murmured in my ear, “Welcome to the Shadowfang, Bren.” Then he clapped me on the back and pulled me with him towards the light and sound coming from around the corner.
They’d lied—it wasn’t one more step. We continued walking through the serpentine cave with water trickling down the walls and the growing sounds and light ahead. They offered a few more hurried explanations.
“The Shadowfang are secret, even from the Furyknights. We don’t mention the name aboveground, and we never speak about our instructions at all. We don’t even hint that this society exists. You’ll be told which leaders know of it so you know who to approach if there’s a problem.
“You’ll be training intensely for a few weeks—outside of your normal patrol hours. Then any duties undertaken are on top of your normal duties. If your Shadowfang responsibilities ever overlap with normal duties, you take instruction from me, or Ronen,” Voski said.
“You? You’re the leader here?” I asked carefully, glancing at Gil.
They both nodded.
“Rankings in Shadowfang are separate to those in our squads and Wings outside it, and must be respected implicitly when you’re on duty.
Out there, I’m a Fang Wing Furyknight, and Gil outranks me.
We both take orders as members of Fang Wing, or the Seventh Squad.
In here, we’re both Shadowfang, but I outrank him.
We both outrank you.” Voski softened the dig with a small wink. “But you’re already used to that.”
I rolled my eyes, but appreciated the reminder. I was still so new to all of this.
The Flameborne who were pinned and became fully-fledged Furyknights were all assigned a Wing: Flyer, Flame, or Fang.
Out there, I was Fang. We focused on stealth. Our roles could be anything from flying scouting lines over an unknown landscape, to setting up an ambush for enemy ranks on the ground. Like me, Gil and Voski were also Fang wing.
“But, wait,” I whispered hurriedly. “You’re saying I could be sent on mission with our squad and from here?”
“It’s rare—we usually know which duties you’ve been assigned and will work around them. Or within them. But sometimes, yes. Sometimes your Shadowfang orders will remove you from normal duties. When that happens, you let us, the leaders, figure out how to excuse you without suspicion.”
I chewed on that, trying to remember times I’d seen my brothers given extra duties, or taken off normal patrols. I couldn’t. But was that because it hadn’t happened, or because they’d just kept it all quiet and I hadn’t noticed?
“Is Einar here too?” I asked. Einar was our other squad brother in the Fang wing.