The early morning train to the city was standing room only. Most of the commuters were suits headed to their office jobs. Huddled together, it felt like being trapped in the middle of a colony of Emperor penguins.
Shilpy couldn't shake the queasy and soiled feeling in the pit of her stomach. Denise was a good person, and perhaps her only true friend. What sort of person leaves her lying on the floor while they run off to save their own skin?
Had she made the right choice? Maybe Denise was right, and Angela could use the Star to revive Thomas. If so she should have left it with her.
No. If she handed it over, she might lose it forever. The Moirai would be the only ones who understood how it worked. Shilpy needed to have another vision. Get them to tell her how to heal Thomas.
Angela would already be on her way to Denise's. She would know where to find the Star of Fate, especially if Denise gave her Shilpy's home address. Any chance for a normal life was gone now. They'd found her. It was time to run.
Shilpy had to warn Dusk, and together they could escape before Keres Ter Nyx arrived. How was she going to explain this all? If he'd been fighting Keres Ter Nyx, how would he react?
The train arrived on the familiar streets of Newtown all too quickly. Shilpy sprinted from the station with Denise's bag wrapped over her shoulder. She bolted through the narrow streets of parked cars and picket fenced terraces; past white walls covered with layer after layer of spaghetti-like graffiti, until she finally reach their two-story building. She took the stairs two at a time and burst through the door.
"Dusk!"
Hond looked up from the couch. His appearance was worse than the previous night. He looked as though he was rotting from the inside like overripe fruit. What sort of drugs do that to a man?
"Shilpy," he said. "Your home."
She shook her head. He wasn't the priority. "Where's Dusk?" she asked.
Hond's head turned towards the bedroom. Shilpy rushed past him but never made it. In one deft move, Hond found his feet. Something hard hit her on the back of the head. The world exploded in pain. Shilpy collapsed to her hands and knees. Stunned, she noticed something warm and red staining her hand. She struggled to climb back up, but Hond struck her again, and everything went black.
#
The world slipped slowly and painfully back into view. Where was she? Keres Ter Nyx must already be on their way? How long did it take them to clear up the mess at Denise's?
Her head cleared and she realized her hands were fastened behind her back, and each leg was secured to the chair using zip-ties. Shilpy's head was pounding, and everything looked fuzzy. Something struck her cheek, and the stinging pain brought reality rushing back into view.
Hond sat opposite. Both hands were pressed together until his fingers formed a steeple. Shilpy frantically surveyed the room trying to get her bearings. She was still in the apartment. The warm orange glow of the evening sun lighted the curtains. She couldn't tell how much time had passed. Maybe a few hours.
Dusk? Where was Dusk?
"You've been a bad girl, my friend," Hond said bringing Shilpy back to the present.
Hond grinned at her, and for the first time, Shilpy noticed he was missing teeth. "Looking for this?" He pulled the sword of Ponos from behind the couch. "How did you get this?"
Shit.
"I can explain, but I need to see Dusk-" Hond struck her with the back of his fist. Shilpy's head snapped around, and stars fill her vision. She shook her head and licked the blood from her split lip.
"How did you get this?" Hond repeated his voice dripping with malice and a smile tugging at his lips. He was enjoying this, the sick bastard.
Shilpy felt a familiar rush within her head, and when her lips move, it was like someone else was talking.
"They beat you, didn't they?" Shilpy said.
"What?" he frowned.
"Ctlu and his friends. They beat you with long sticks down by the river when you were eight. They said it would make you stronger, but really it was because they enjoyed it. They didn't like you." Hond's eyes widened. "They enjoyed it, and they knew you couldn't stop them because you're so weak."
Hond struck her again. Harder this time. But, the sense of watching herself from the outside dulls the pain. Her cheek stung, but the pain seemed far away. Like it was happening to someone else. She laughed.
"Who are you?" Hond stepped backward. Shilpy noted with a perverse satisfaction he wasn't smiling anymore.
"I'm the owner of that sword. I see things."
"What sort of things?" he leaned forward in his chair.
"The past, the future, whatever the Moirai choose to show me," Shilpy said. Her voice sounded dreamy and far away. Without warning, Shilpy felt another rush and the vision was over. She collapsed into the chair exhausted and sore.
"You're Keres Ter Nyx," Hond replied in a cold voice.
"No."
He raised his hand to strike her once more, but Dusk grabbed Hond by the wrist and silenced him with a look. Where did he come from? The bedroom. He must have been listening from the bedroom.
"You agreed to let me question her," Hond said.
"Question, not beat."
Shilpy could barely believe her ears. Was he here the whole time? He must have overheard everything, and yet he let Hond strike her.
Dusk crossed to the other side of the room and stood in front of the window. The glow behind the curtains formed a bright silhouette of his body. With a shock, she realized night was about to fall.
"Where did you find the sword?" Dusk asked.
"You know where I found it," she replied. "I bought it at the auction."
"Did Keres Ter Nyx fund this?"
"No, the Moirai showed me how to get the money. Although, Keres Ter Nyx are coming here, soon."
Dusk and Hond exchanged a look. Something passed between them, and she was partly surprised to see they believed her.
"They're coming for the sword?"
"No, for something else," Shilpy replied, looking away.
"What are they coming here for?" Dusk asked.
Before she could stop them, her eyes lock onto the handbag. Hond crossed the room and opens it. The room was bathed in a green glow from the orb within. For a brief moment, Shilpy felt a surge of hope and despair. Despair, that she'd failed both Thomas and Denise and still hadn't been able to protect the Star from either Keres Ter Nyx or the Erisians. She felt a glimmer of hope that maybe the Star will do to Hond what it did to Thomas. He reached for it
"Don't!" Dusk snapped. Hond's hand froze.
He crossed to Hond and looked inside the bag. Both men's eyes flicked back to Shilpy. "What is it?" he asked.
"It's called the Star of fate," Shilpy said.
"Star of what?" Dusk asked.
"Star of Fate, it belongs to the Moirai. They gave it to me."
"The Moirai must like you to give you all these gifts," Hond muttered, eyeing the ball greedily. "What does it do?"
"It changes a person's fate. It makes them extraordinary, blessed. Except when Thomas touched it, he fell into a coma."
"The Morai gave this to you?" Dusk asked.
Shilpy nodded. "I didn't want to take it, but the Moirai said people would die if I didn't." Her eyes lock onto Dusk. "Including you."
"They gave this to you," Dusk repeated his voice cracking. "Why buy the sword?"
Shilpy closed her eyes and sighed. "In a vision, I saw the man you called Wolf fighting you in the street with the sword. The shadow dogs were there, and I thought the sword controlled them. They were, or are going to kill you, the shadows." Both men stared at her with incredulous looks on their faces.
"Dusk, these items. There is power in them. They have come to you for a reason," Hond said.
"Hond-"
"You cannot deny this. These are your birthright."
"Mestor wanted the sword."
"Screw Mestor. You should be in charge of the Erisians. You've seen it. You know it." Hond pulled a gun from his back pocket and cocked it, but Dusk put a hand over the weapon and shook his head. Oh for goodness sake. They didn't have time for this.
"You didn't hear me before. I said Keres Ter Nyx is coming. Denise will bring them here."
Both men turned to her when she said Denise's name. Finally, they understood.
"How soon?"
"How long have I been unconscious?" Dusk licked his lips and looked sideways at Hond.
"You know what to do."
Hond nodded and lifted a backpack from behind the couch. He rummaged through the contents for half a minute before pulling a black wooden box from the bag. Inside was a small statuette of a harpy, Eris. With reverence, Hond carried the box and figurine into the bedroom and shut the door behind him.
"What is he doing?" Shilpy asked.
"Calling for reinforcements," Dusk replied.
He paced back and forth in front of the window. This was the most agitated she'd ever seen Dusk look.
"I came back for you," Shilpy said. Dusk stopped pacing. He couldn't meet her eye.
"Things might get ugly. It will be better if you stay here."
"Tied up?" she said. Dusk grimaced.
"It won't be for long. I don't want anyone to hurt you."
"Did you tell that to Hond?"
His hands clenched into fists. He looked like he was going to say something. Probably make an excuse, but she wasn't interested. "How do you think this is going to end? With us together? You have to let me go sometime."
Dusk sighed heavily. He pursed his lips deep in thought, considering, and then nodded. He moved into the kitchen and started searching the drawers for a knife or scissors to free her with. Where had Hond gone? Was he on the phone to the Erisians?
"We need to run."
"Where?" Dusk scoffed. "They will hunt us down unless we stop them."
"Something bad will happen to you if you don't run."
"Maybe," Dusk said pulling out a knife at last. He moved back around the counter and kneeled behind the chair to undo the zip ties. "Do you think I want this? People are counting on me. It's better if we fight. It's what I'm good at." Her left leg came free. Dusk went to work on her right.
"It's not the only thing you are good at. You are so much more than that. Let me show you while..."
"While what?"
"While I still have time."
Dusk freed her leg but stopped. He stood and circled around until he was in front of her. "What do you mean, while you still have time."
The sound of glass smashing interrupted them. Dusk spun. "Get down!" He leaped across the room, grabbed her chair and pulled her to the ground. The glass from the balcony door exploded inwards. A series of thwhip, thwhip, thwhip noises struck the wall above them.
Whoever was shooting had to be on the roof opposite their apartment. What was Angela doing? It wasn't even night yet. Bullets left countless holes in the wall. A landscape picture Shilpy bought at the markets was shredded to pieces and a small shelf came crashing down. But the gunshots themselves were silent. The shooter must be using a silencer. Perhaps Angela thought that would be enough to avoid alerting the surrounding residents.
"Hond, hurry!" Dusk shouted.
The barrage of bullets took a break and Dusk rolled off her. Their curtains billowed in the breeze from the space of their now non-existent balcony door. The sounds of destruction petered off. The room descended into an uneasy silence.
Shilpy kicked and shimmied, but her arms were still tightly bound. Pulling at them several times only succeeded at tearing the skin. Every attempt to roll out of the chair was met with similar success.
Dusk crawled to the balcony door and positioned himself to one side. With one quick movement, he stole a glance before retaking cover. Shilpy half expected a bullet to follow him, but none came.
Had Dusk seen the shooter? Could the shooter see him?
Each moment dragged out with neither saying anything and nor sensing any movement from their attacker. The silence lasted so long, Shilpy irrationally wondered if the sniper had gone home. Of course, she wasn't game to test that. All he or she needed was one clean shot, and she was dead.
The phone rang.
Dusk and Shilpy exchanged a look. "Answer it," he said.
"Untie me," she shot back.
Dusk picked up a long shard of broken glass with a sharp edge. He slid it across the floor to her. Of course. Why hadn't she thought of that? Shilpy shuffled across the rubble that used to be their apartment.
The phone stopped ringing, just when I reach the glass shard. Shilpy lay where she was. Nothing. She beat her head against the floor. Cursing herself for being too slow. A moment later, it restarted. After an eternity of fierce struggling, she freed a hand and grabbed for the phone.
"Hello?" she said, out of breath.
"Shilpy Chopra," after all these years, Angela Wick's voice was unmistakable.
"It's me."
"Thank the gods. Have they hurt you? We'll get you out of there."
What the actual –
"I'm not sure what to say."
"Are the men listening?"
"No."
"Then we have a few moments. I've spoken with Denise Richards. I understand your... misgivings toward me. Despite what happened, you're one of us. You're blessed Shilpy. I could never hurt one of the blessed. Do you still have the Star?"
Shilpy frowned. Angela didn't want to hurt her? Had she forgotten that she'd ordered a sniper to shoot up her apartment not a minute before?
Dusk signaled Shilpy with his hand, and mouths the words "stall her." She frowned wondering what he was up to, and whether she wanted to support him.
"It's here," Shilpy replied.
"To think, a gift from the Moirai themselves. Together we will train you to master this gift. All we need is time."
"The Moirai told me that I'm out of time." Dusk's head snapped around and his eyes widened.
"I see, well if we can master the Star maybe we can fix that. But enough, the men – tell them the apartment is surrounded."
"What if they don't?"
Dusk's phone beeped. After a moment of confusion, he reached into his pocket stared at the text and then replaced the phone. He looked off into the distance.
"Let's avoid a noisy confrontation, Ms. Chopra. No need to alert the public."
Shilpy's mind was racing in every direction. Dusk and Hond were up to something. It was a fair bet Angela was stalling her while her warriors move into position.
Shilpy had no doubt the apartment was surrounded. Running was out of the question. If Dusk chose to fight people were going to die. Maybe that was what Angela was counting on. Why she chose to make her move now.
"I'll tell Dusk your conditions."
"I'm not surrendering," Dusk said, eying the bedroom door. Hond's voice chanted in that language she doesn't understand. He repeated the same words over and over, and with each repetition, his voice grew louder and more passionate.
"Shilpy," the voice on the phone was Denise's. "Give up, please. I'm begging you. You don't understand how many of... of our sisters are out here, and they're all carrying weapons. The things they've been telling me about Dusk, and what he has done to them... to us, you need to get out of there. Surrender the Star to Angela. We can use it to cure Thomas. Please, Shilps. Please."
"Denise, I haven't given up on Thomas." It broke Shilpy's heart to hear Denise refer to Keres Ter Nyx as her sisters. Shilpy edged toward the couch and sword. "Angela can't heal him."
Denise is on the verge of tears. "I don't want to fight you Shilps, but if you don't come out then you'll have to fight on Dusk's side, and they'll kill you. Don't make us do this. Please –"
Before Shilpy could reply, a low, fierce growl built in volume and anger from the bedroom. The first noise was joined by a second, and then a third. Shilpy frowned in confusion. Was that... dogs? How did they get in here?
The door opened, and Hond staggered out. His eyes were bloodshot, and the skin hung loosely off his face. Shilpy couldn't see any animals behind him, but the noise grew louder. There was nothing behind him except shadows. Shilpy's eyes returned to the bag with the star inside.
"I make six outside," Dusk said, all business. "There is one on the roof, three covering the back door, and two at the stairs. Expect more out front. There are two further down the street. Also, Wolf and Terry are here."
"Well then, my friend," Hond replied with an evil smile. "It's playtime."
Shilpy watched in horror as a dozen shadows, all in the shape of dogs leaped from the bedroom.
Oh no.
The Shadows served Hond.
Hond worked for Dusk.
But that made no sense, she saw them leaping into his chest. She saw them killing him.
She didn't understand, but for now, the Shadows were working for Dusk. She'd brought the Star of Fate back to stop the Shadows, which meant it was also here to stop him.
The shadow dogs grew so loud that the noise drowned out everything else: Barking, snarling, growling and gnashing of teeth, each more feral, vicious and terrifying than the last filled the room. If Shilpy hadn't already had the phone to her ear, she would never have heard Angela's voice. "Kill them."