Chapter Ninety-one

“I told you. You never should have allowed her free reign. All of this will come back on you. You should have paid better attention to Corvino while he was alive. Toward the end, the devil with the silver tongue convinced him they were more righteous than the church and his loyalty was swayed. You should have seen the writing on the wall as his shadow.” The hunter’s eyes turned toward the corner of the room where Izabella was standing. His brow drew down as he squinted hard in her direction.

Gasping, Izabella fell to her knees, hurriedly clicking the password into the shadow between the books. Was Eudom’s magic faltering because he’d been gone so long? She hoped she didn’t just make a huge mistake. Overall, the sensation of being sucked into a tiny whirlwind was similar to when Scarlet used her portal magic. Though, this time, it was intensely cold instead of warm. The same dizzying nausea crept in over her and when she landed, she fell to her knees, heaving. Luckily, her stomach was empty. Otherwise, there would have been a terrible mess. It was good that didn’t happen. The room she was in was small. No more than twelve feet by twelve feet.

Eudom was standing over her. The black candle he held burned a ruby red flame atop it now. His head was cocked to the side, any trace of a smile gone. His eyes burned that same red as the candle. In the dark of this shadow room, the glowing red eyes and red flamed candle left everything looking like it was bathed in blood. Two small stools sat in opposite corners. Large chests lined every open and available space around the square room. Shelves were built into the top part of the wall, and hundreds of books were crammed into every available space, some stood up, some were piled sideways, others were pressed kitty-corner on top of other books. A pile sat under one of the stools in the corner too, one was left open on the chest closest to that seat. There was a section of wall between the chests and the hanging bookshelves of about three feet that went around the entire room like everything else. Though, in this space, the walls were covered with newspaper clippings, demon like drawings, ruins and script she couldn’t even read and even the occasional page ripped from one book or another. Different colored string led to other pictures, twirled on a pin sticking out from the wall to shoot off in another direction.

It looked like an unorganized crime chart you would see some crazy detective in a horror movie obsessing over. Izabella stood, wrapping her arms around her chest and rubbing her goose-flesh to try to keep the chill at bay. “It took your father three years to trust me enough to enter anyplace that he couldn’t leave without the use of my magic. I must wonder, are all unicorns this trusting, or is it just you?”

Izabella swallowed hard. The lack of amusement now in his visage was starting to scare her. “I wouldn’t know. I’ve never met another unicorn. But, I mean, my father told me to find you while on his death bed. I just didn’t know who you were then or how to find you. He’d said you would help me protect the key?”

Eudom waved his hand, as if dismissing the key all together. “Yes, yes. We’ll get there. First things first. Little misses who enter shadow realms shouldn’t do so without the proper covering. I forgot humans get cold.” He opened one of the large chests on the other side of the room. There were clothes folded neatly in the chest, though the smell of mothballs was a bit overwhelming as she leaned over to look in with Eudom. “Careful to touch, now.” His wiggled over the fabric in the chest as if he were trying to remember what was what. His voice was even deeper and huskier now than before. Though his silhouette was easier to see here in this room than it had been previously, which was weird to Izabella because it was so much darker. “Some things are here to help. Some are here to hurt. And others are here simply to hide them from those who want to use them.” Eudom turned. There was a smile plastered to his face, but it was cold and horrifying.

Izabella took a number of steps back, needing to put distance between him and her. He was watching her with those eyes that felt like they would burrow through her very soul as he reached into the chest and pulled out a shining silver cloak. “Magic is as magic does, and is not inherently good or evil. Like many objects, it takes on the intent of the user.” His head turned back into the chest. “With the right magic, our little Izzy can hide in the shadows like Eudom does. Even without the shadows.”

Izabella watched the cloak extended toward her, even though she was further than his arm should have been able to reach. She would never be able to get used to the way he stretched out of proportion like that. “What kind of magic does this cloak have?” She asked, looking at it like it was a poisonous snake about to strike.

“It will help hide you from view when you wear it. Magic users will know you’re there, but the eye will not distinguish you.” Eudom looked over at her as if annoyed he was still holding the object out to her.

“So, it’s basically a cloak of invisibility?” His riddles were getting to be too much. Why couldn’t he just answer her straight?

Eudom shrugged, shaking the shimmering material at her. “A rose is a rose, no matter what you call it.” He snapped.

Izabella took the item from Eudom finally, afraid to annoy him too much. Honestly, if he wanted to, he could probably make sure she never left this room. “There’s no other spells on it?” The question slipped out, and she covered her mouth quickly. How many questions had she asked in a row? Was that why he was getting annoyed with her?

Eudom’s red eyes flashed as he closed the chest. His fingers click, click, clicket-y, clicking on the top. His teeth chattered a moment as he spoke under his breath. It was like he believed she couldn’t hear him or something. “So many questions. She understands the game but doesn’t follow the rules. Rude. Rude. Even unicorns are not perfect.” He grumbled more.

Izabella wrapped the cloak around her shoulders. The moment it covered her exposed skin, she instantly felt warmer. As if Bram had walked up behind her and pulled her into his embrace. “I’m sorry, Eudom. I didn’t mean to skip your questions.” Her voice sounded small in the already tiny room. The shadowy figure of Eudom turned toward her, a look of surprise on his face.

He frowned. “Could the unicorn love the protector instead of the destroyer?” His eyes took on a deep burgundy color and he seemed unusually sad as he moved slowly toward her, closing the space between them.

“Eudom,” she said carefully, “I think it’s unfair to ask a question I likely don’t understand in full. I can’t really answer that.” The real problem was, Izabella was worried she did understand the question, but she didn’t like what it insinuated. This made Eudom smirk, but it wasn’t the same as his other smiles had been. She decided it was best to ignore this and continue the game. “So, you said you would tell me the last part of the promise when we got here, what is it?” A breeze swept through the room as Eudom was suddenly standing in front of a different chest.

He waved for her to follow, so she did. As he lifted the top of the chest, pointing in. His smile was back in full, and he giggled as she peered over the side. “I am to ensure you become the new protector of your father’s knowledge, deary. Little miss Izzy is the benefactor of daddy’s magical hoard.” This chest was filled with daggers, swords, axes, and all sorts of other weaponry. Of all the items he could have removed from the chest, he selected a small box and held it out to her. “Deary, you trust old Eudom. His most precious promise is to protect the safety of sweet Iz. Lest she will be ripped to shreds from the inside out if left to the future path she’s on. She will be mad. And she will feel betrayed. But it is for the best, even if she can’t see it now. Like with the rabbits.” Eudom opened the top of the box, revealing a number of little darts. “These will stop a magic user from being able to connect. Use them to protect yourself from the magic that will pour out soon. Once a dart has been used, add a drop of this and let it dry on the dart. And you will have all the protection you need from the newest.”

Izabella watched him, feeling anxious. “There are an awful lot of layers to this promise. And I’m very confused by your answer.” She practically had to bite her tongue to keep from asking another question, instead waiting for Eudom to take his turn.

His eyes held hers for what felt like a long time. Then he smiled that bright, slightly creepy smile of his. “Just remember. It will make sense soonish. If my deary, miss Izzy, the sweet Iz, had a seedling, would she allow Eudom to take it so that he can protect her?”

Izabella couldn’t help but laugh. He was a strange one for sure. But the promise he made to her dad seemed innocent enough. He may be an odd duck, but he truly didn’t seem to hold any ill feelings toward her. “Sure, Eudom. I have a few plants in my room. When we get back up there, you can take any seedling you can find.”

Eudom clapped and jumped up and down like an excited child, and she couldn’t help but smile about something so simple making him so happy.

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**Happy reading! I'd be curious to know what others think of Eudom at this time? Drop me a comment and let me know.**