A Memory Shade Hunt

  The home on Zom was an ancient structure carved out of the lava rock layer of the planet. It was surrounded by a massive, honeycomb warren of tunnels, caves, and vast, coiling corridors. Only two of the almost infinite paths actually led to the house.

  Both Yana and DD instantly perceived the intruders. They stepped from the void, and Yana's Shadow Create filled the broad corridor with dozens of forms—some amorphous, others humanoid, all shivering with inert power. They immediately split into three tactical groups, moving to intercept. Yana suddenly felt a jolt of power as tactical information slipped into place.

  [System Alert]

  (Shadow Create) has increased

  (Shadow Create) has increased

  (Shadow Create) has increased

  Yana ignored the alerts, her smile broad. She instantly targeted two groups; DD proceeded to the third. Her staff moved with her as if it were an extension of her will, striking down one Shadow entity instantly. At the second location, the entity that had emerged paralyzed, its eyes bulging with fear and surprise under the force of her Shadow Control.

  Yana stepped to the shadow she struck down and ensured it was still alive. Just as she did, DD used Shadow Kill, and the shadow dissolved into nothingness.

  Yana looked up with a frown and used Shadow Manipulate and Shadow Call together to bring the shadow’s soul to her. She looked at DD. He shrugged. "Sometimes I do not know how to hold back. I never know how to hold back."

  Yana shook her head and called the petrified Shadow to her. She freed his mouth. "Why would you work for someone such as Simms?"

  As she asked, she indicated to DD to kill the unconscious shadow. He did so, but this time he allowed the shadow soul to rise up before he obliterated the body. Once Yana had the soul, he destroyed the body and looked serenely at the immobile Shadow.

  Shadows were unique beings. They were essentially immortal as long as both their souls and bodies remained intact and within the control of their own consciousness. If their body was obliterated, they could not recall it. Only very powerful shadows, like Yana, could recreate their bodies from nothing.

  This immobile shadow understood his fate. As he looked to Yana, his eyes widened. "You are the Fatetress."

  Yana said nothing, so DD answered. "Yes. Your new Mistress is the Fatetress."

  The Shadow closed his eyes and sighed. "Our cousin warned us."

  "The Wao that works for Simms?"

  "Yes, Mistress. And we do not work for Simms. Not even Ka truly works for him. We are just mercenaries."

  Yana nodded as she literally ripped his soul from his being. She both loved and hated shadows, but those driven purely by money, like these, filled her with insurmountable anger. DD once again used Shadow Kill, and the shadow form dissipated.

  Yana looked at him. "You truly have a distaste for my kind." DD frowned deeply. "You are not of them. You're the Boss."

  Yana nodded, the distinction being the only thing that mattered. They blinked to the next presence: a human bounty hunter. She allowed DD to handle him, as she counted the shadows she was able to obtain. She was not in the mood for punishments. DD knew that Yana wanted the soul, so he refrained from killing him as he liked to—burning him from the inside out.

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  As the human fell, and Yana pulled the soul toward herself, the System lit up before her eyes:

  FOUR BOUNTY HUNTERS KILLED

  FOUR BOUNTY HUNTERS KILLED

  FOUR BOUNTY HUNTERS KILLED

  THREE SHADOWS OBTAINED

  THREE SHADOWS OBTAINED

  THREE SHADOWS OBTAINED

  YOU HAVE OBTAINED A NEW PET

  YOU HAVE OBTAINED A NEW PET

  YOUR HAVE OBTAINED A NEW PET

  “You can now access secret items on your screen.”

  She called up the System:

  Her eyes lit up. First, Shadow Call had risen an entire level. Second, she loved this new pet. She had been planning to feed all the souls to Jasmine, but now she thought better of it.

  "Jasmine, Mag. To me."

  SOUL SYSTEM

  Name: Yana Pallindrone

  Age: ????

  Location: Shi Dimension

  Soul Depth: Seer Soul

  Rank: Shadow Novice

  ABILITIES

  Dimensional step: Adept

  Shadow call: Adept +5

  Shadow Walk: Adept

  Shadow control: Adept

  Shadow step: Adept

  Shadow dispersal: Adept

  Discernment: Adept

  Seer: Adept

  MAGICS

  Spell weave: level 2

  Shadow manipulate: level 2

  Shadow create: level 4

  Fate: level 2.5

  Illusion: level 2.5

  Dimensional door: level 2.5

  Pets: 3

  Starguide

  Name: Starlight

  Abilities: Star Walk, Star Void Magic

  Level: Advanced

  Dimension Wraith

  Name: Jasmine

  Abilities: Wraith Walk

  Level: Advanced

  Shadow Spark

  Name: Mag

  Abilities: Shadow Attack, Shadow Embrace, Shadow Spice, Shadow Refill

  Level: Intermediate

  Familiars: 4

  Shadow cat

  Name: Amber

  Abilities: Shadow Step, Shadow Weave

  Level: Adept

  Dark Fae

  Name: Tasha

  Abilities: Shadow Dimension Walk, Void Step

  Level: Advanced

  Marked Demon

  Name: Demon Dust (DD)

  Abilities: Shadow Kill, Void Rip

  Level: Intermediate

  Shadow Doll

  Name: Alisha

  Abilities: Shape Shifter, Shadow Flame, Shadow Weave

  Level: Intermediate

  Secret Items:

  Dark Heart : third Unbroken Soul Depth needed

  Winter Soul : Soul of Truth Depth needed

  Diamond Shadow Case: Clairvoyant Soul Depth needed

  Missions:

  Hidden Mission – 3 Memory Shades Found Timer: 10 day 10 hours

  Secret Mission – 4 Bounty Hunters Killed, Three Shadows Obtained 0 Hearts shipped; Simms lives (No Timer)

  Next to Jasmine, a black flame with flowing sparks of red, purple, and green materialized. Yana smiled and nodded. She gave Jasmine one shadow soul and the human soul, and she gave Mag the remaining two shadow souls. She could sense Jasmine’s abilities change and evolve.

  Mag actually put on a grander show. The little flame grew, and two of its sparks—red and purple—intensified. Yana felt the subtle shift in Mag's intrinsic abilities but did not yet know the exact upgrade.

  She nodded in satisfaction. Both Jasmine and Mag understood instantly and entered her soul.

  She took the human heart from DD and wrapped it in a shadow seal that would only open when Simms or Ka held it.

  "Starlight. To me." The beautiful ball of light appeared before her. "Please take this to Shi. Either Simms or Ka can receive it." Starlight pulsed a few times and vanished. Yana looked up at the ceiling of the cavern. Even without stars, she could Star Step. Yana wondered if she had always been fascinated by that.

  She looked to DD, and they both returned to the house. Inside the house she looked to the secret items. She already knew Clarvoyant was after Seer and Soul of Truth after that. She nodded. One more level and she could find the diamond shadow case.

  She looked at the list again, her eyes narrowing, she was not sure but she felt the secret items were once her belongings.

  Planet Tilla of Lem Dimension

  Tilla was a planet of lava. There were six volcanic peaks above this massive flow, but they were merely the peaks with no real land mass; all of the land was below the lava. In some parts of the planet, the lava flowed serenely, and in other parts, it flowed quickly and fiercely.

  Most shadows here lived deep below ground, but even there, lava flowed in small streams and dripped from cavern ceilings and walls. The culture here was modern, almost futuristic. Yana was impressed to see spherical homes, encased in obsidian, levitating high in the main cavern of a great city. She’d thought they were communications spheres, but Tasha rudely explained they were just homes, giving Yana a look of disdain when Yana voiced her awe.

  But the memory shades were not below ground. They were deep within the lava. So Yana once again found herself on a shadow ship. It took them two days to sail to the position, and in this time, she began to understand why Illusion had increased and she began to understand Mag’s abilities.