A Walk Amongst Shadows (Book 2)

I took a deep breath as I attempted to gather my bearings. Retrace your steps. I told myself as I turned around to walk back to where I had come from. I was positive I had just missed my street by a block or two. Surely, going back towards the pub would help me reset. It certainly made more sense than wandering around aimlessly and getting further lost. The last thing I wanted was to end up in a strange part of town at night. The longer I walked the quieter the world around me seemed to become. Am I getting closer? I looked around for any signs of familiarity. I picked up the pace, determined to make my way out of the city. Only instead of turning onto familiar streets I found only foreign alleyways. I cursed under my breath. This was hopeless. I was just about to reach out to Aris when I heard a voice from behind me.

“Well, now, isn’t this a treat.”

I gasped and spun around, startled by the sudden presence behind me. I saw a familiar face staring at me. “Hello, Stellan,” I greeted. “You scared me.” I laughed nervously, catching my breath.

Stellan hung his arm heavily across my shoulder and began walking alongside me. “Now what, pray tell, brings a sweet thing like yourself to Naog’s end?” he asked.

I tensed under the weight of his touch. “Um, Naog’s end?” I had no idea what he was talking about.

Stellan let out a gruff laugh. “Oh my dear brother. Has he not warned you about this place?”

I shook my head and wished desperately Aris were with me now. I didn’t trust Stellan for a moment. “I got lost,” was all I could think to say.

“Then allow me to show you the way out,” he offered.

I tried to shrug his hand off my shoulder, but he paid me no mind. I tried sensing to see if Aris was anywhere near us. I suddenly felt lightheaded. We walked down the vacant street then made a right, his arm never left my shoulder. As I gazed down the road ahead, I saw even fewer signs of life. I felt the hairs on my neck standing on end. He’s not leading me out.

“Stellan, I don’t think th-” I felt myself slurring my words ever so slightly, as if my tongue had suddenly gotten heavy. What’s wrong with me?

“So, tell me dear Rose,” he said, cutting me off, “what is it about you that has my dear brother so out of sorts?”

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I stated each word slowly and deliberately, coming to a stop. I finally managed to get out from under his grip and faced him directly. The world spun a little. His eyes flashed and he took a step closer to me.

“I mean I understand wanting to lay with mortals,” he winked at me and traced the side of my face with his index finger. I felt a wave of disgust wash over me. “Maybe it’s your magic…” he continued, “that makes you taste so extraordinary.” He took another step towards me and pulled my face towards his as if he meant to kiss me. Only instead of meeting my lips, he made a motion as if he were smelling me, like his prey. Where are you Aris?

“Stellan, stop.” I tried pulling away, but he was strong. Or perhaps you are weak. I attempted to sense his life force but felt nothing. Not surprising, I’ve never been able to sense a life force in Aris unless he was trying to be found. I felt myself panic against his restraining arm. I searched the area wildly for someone, anyone, who could hear me if I screamed. But all I could see were dark buildings, either abandoned or locked tightly. I was on my own. Sensing my fear, he changed up his tone.

“Oh, come now, we’re just having a little fun.” He made a move to slide his hand under my shirt. As soon as he made contact with my skin, I felt a strong wave of magic flowing into me. I immediately felt my panic subside as a warm euphoria took its place.

“S-Stop I-” I felt myself begin to swoon towards him. He had me at his mercy. The last thing I saw were his black eyes staring longingly into mine. Then, just like that, a rush of wind so strong it nearly knocked me off my feet threw Stellan away from me and onto the ground. He popped back up, his stance widened and fists ready to fight.

“Took you long enough!” he called into the night sky.

I instantly felt two arms wrap around and pull me to the corner of a nearby building. Disoriented by the sudden shift, I looked up to see Aris. He kept his face concealed and leaned into me.

“Stay here. Don’t move from this spot.” He vanished in another gust of wind. I heard another loud cracking sound and more shouting. My curiosity instantly got the better of me and I chanced a glance around the corner. What I saw next was unlike anything I had ever witnessed before in my life, or my nightmares. Two solid black figures stood where Stellan and I had been mere moments ago. One of them was incredibly broad chested with hands like hammers hanging at his side. His jaw appeared unhinged and hung slack to accommodate his long, jagged teeth, which jutted forward aggressively from his mouth. His eyes were empty sockets in his face. Equally terrifying was the figure that stood in front of him. Long and skeletal with the same rotted black skin and empty eye sockets. He was taller than the other figure and loomed over him, back hunched at an awkward angle. Unnaturally long fingers curled menacingly as the figure poised to strike. The tall figure opened his mouth and let out a screech that nearly shattered my eardrums. I clamped my hands hard over my ears as the tall figure landed a blow with his claw-like fingers. The shorter figure staggered back and let out a lower growl that reverberated in my chest. Blood, or whatever it was that flowed through their veins, dripped down his face as he raised an enormous fist to counterstrike. A loud WHACK broke the air as the stout figure connected with the rib cage of the other. The scream that emanated from the tall figure was even more terrible than before and I gasped in horror. I must have been loud enough to catch their attention as their heads snapped towards me. A red glow emanated from where their eyes should’ve been. I felt ice running through my veins as I locked onto their stares. I screamed a blood curdling scream I didn’t realize I was capable as I spun around broke into a sprint. I didn’t know where I was going, and I didn’t care. I felt hot tears on my face. That’s not him, it can’t be him. But in my heart, I knew that was a lie. I had seen, truly seen, the horror that everyone else had been warning me about all this time. Shadow walkers. I ran until I felt like my lungs were about to explode before ducking behind another building. I hadn’t been followed, but this was hardly consolation. I still had no clue where I was. I sunk into the ground, my back against the wall and pulled my knees into my chest. I buried my face in my arms and attempted to calm myself down. He won’t hurt me., He said he’d never hurt me, I repeated inwardly. But I had no idea how much of my Aris I had seen back there. Was he even in control of himself at this moment? My thoughts raced as I sat there in the dark alley. I don’t know how long I sat frozen in place before I heard movement.

“Rose?” I heard a voice softly call me.

I bolted up and felt my pulse quicken, prepared to run again. “Who’s there?” I demanded, but my quavering voice betrayed my brave façade. I saw Aris walk slowly towards me. His eyes were back to their normal black color and shone with sadness. I noticed his clothes hung in tatters around him. I clutched my hand to my heart, feeling the slightest twinge of relief.

“It’s alright,” he said as he walked closer to me. “It’s just me now.”

I felt myself flinch as he made a move towards me. I tried to blink back the tears I felt welling up. I knew it was killing him to see me so scared of him. But my attempts were in vain as more and more tears poured down my face and my body trembled in fear. I hid my face in my shaking hands.

“I’m sorry,” was all I managed to blurt out. “You told me stay put, I-I should’ve listened.”

He closed what little space remained between us and tentatively put his arms around me. Almost instinctively, I returned his embrace, tightening my arms around him. Realizing I wasn’t going to try and break away, he tightened his grip as well. I wasn’t sure who was consoling whom.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered, his voice catching ever so slightly as he spoke. “I never wanted you to see me like that.”

I steadied myself against him before breaking away. “What happened to Stellan?” I asked.

“I dealt with him,” he shrugged. Then upon seeing my expression clarified, “He went back to the shadow realm. He got what he wanted.” He sounded bitter.

“And what was that?” I asked.

“He wanted me to scare you away,” he explained. “He has a habit of stirring up dissent.”

“I’m not afraid of you, Aris,” I started.

He narrowed his eyes. “You’re a terrible liar, Rose.” His tone was glum, but I saw the slightest twinge of a smile playing across his lips.

“You know what I mean,” I smiled weakly back at him.

“Come, it’s late. Let’s go home.”

I nodded, relieved to finally get out of the city and away from Stellan. The walk home was painfully silent. I had managed to steady my breathing, but I was still reeling from everything I had just witnessed. I could tell it was killing Aris.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked awkwardly when we were about halfway home.

I shook my head, keeping my eyes to the ground. In truth, I did want to talk about it, but my mind was numb. I must have been in a sort of shock from it all.

“What was Stellan doing to me? Back there… it was like I couldn’t pull away.” I didn’t want to pull away. I thought, but couldn’t bring myself to say the words out loud.

“You didn’t want to pull away,” he stated as if reading my mind, “it’s fine,” he assured me, as I snapped my eyes onto his, “you wanted to, but your body was being pumped full of magic, it clouds your will power…” he trailed off. “I’m glad I got there when I did,” he added.

“But he didn’t use magic until right before you showed up.” I wasn’t following.

“Did he have any point of contact with you before then?”

I nodded, remembering how firmly he had held me under his arm.

“It’s a common tactic shadow walkers use for persuasion. Maintain a point of contact letting undetectable amounts of magic pass from you to the other until they become agreeable. I know-” he held up his hand at my disgusted expression, “I know how bad it sounds.”

“Did you ever do that to me?”

He recoiled as though I had struck him. “Seriously? Do you really think I’d do something like that to you?”

“I-” I sighed, “I didn’t mean it like that. I know you’d never-” I cut myself off, “I’m sorry.”

“You get it now, don’t you…” he stated, “why everyone despises us. Why they all fear us?”

“Aris-” I attempted to console, but he stopped me.

“It’s alright love, you needed to know, to see it for yourself. I’m glad you did.”

“You should tell that to your face,” I joked, managing to crack a smile.

He laughed. I was relieved to have the tension between us lighten a bit. I linked my arm with his as we continued our way home.

“So, tell me,” I asked after a few moments of silence, “when you’re like uh, that, are you still you? Like, did you still know me?”

He nodded. “Of course.”

“What’s it like?” I prodded, seeing that he wasn’t upset by my question.

He thought for a moment. “Do you remember how you explained the way you felt back in the village that night you escaped?”

I nodded. “Yeah, like I was in a daze. I was controlling my body but not the same way I normally do. Like a disconnect between my mind and my body.”

“Yeah, it’s a lot like that. I could see you and thought about wanting to get you out of danger, then my body just played out the actions.”

“It doesn’t hurt, does it?”

“Quite the contrary. You feel so powerful, so liberated, alive.” He spoke intensely, then almost as if snapping out of a trance he looked back to me. “Father says it’s his gift to us.”

“And you?”

“I think he has a rather twisted sense of humor,” he smiled. “I am sorry though, truly Rose. I should’ve told you, warned you. It was only a matter of time before something like this happened.”

“It’s alright. I mean, I can’t imagine there is ever a right time for something like this.”

He smiled. “You don’t need to protect my feelings Rose. I know this is a lot to take in.”

“What do you want me to say?” I asked, fighting back tears. “This hasn’t exactly been our best night.” I felt my voice crack.

Aris stopped walking at my obvious distress. “Hey,” he started to comfort, but I was impatient and found myself holding tightly to him. It was all too much. I couldn’t seem to rectify the fact that the kind and loving man currently holding me in his arms was the same horrific shadow I had seen moments earlier. It was almost surreal. I could feel my tears staining what remained of his shirt. I felt him kiss the top of my head.

As the tears abated, I pulled back from him and wiped my eyes. I sighed, exasperated with it all. “I think I just need some rest.” Aris agreed and the two of us walked the rest of the way home in silence.

As I lay in bed that night, I couldn’t help but see those red glowing eyes. How was it possible that they belonged to the same man laying beside me? I remembered the words from the books I had read. Seeing him was like seeing the god of the underworld himself. I couldn’t help but imagine how terrifying Aris must’ve been to all those he had harmed. Murdered. The word rang out like a bell in my mind. I felt a pang of sympathy for his victims, how terrified they must have been when they died. And here I was living a happy life with him. I felt a pain in my stomach. This is the man you love, I thought to myself. My thoughts seemed to be at war. I’d likely be dead if not for Aris. Is me loving him now any different than me loving who he was then? My mind raced for hours, and restless thoughts gave way to restless sleep. I was relieved that I didn’t dream that night.