A Walk Amongst Shadows (Book 2)

I was roused from my sleep early the next morning. The sun was just beginning to crest the horizon, and I could hear the muffled voices of my new companions. I sat up on my cot and wiped the sleep from my eyes. I must have slept the remainder of the day and all night. I heard giggling as I pushed the door open and was met with the sight of Aris and Greta chatting merrily over the hot coals that had once been a fire.

“You’re up!” Greta smiled at me, “you sleep okay in there?”

I shrugged. “More or less.” I sat down beside Aris.

“How are you feeling this morning?” he asked softly.

“Alright, I wish we were heading home today though…”

“Me too.”

“I mean we technically could go home,” I started, eying him closely.

He smiled. “Yeah? And what? You just render any and all guards unconscious as they find us?”

“It was easy enough back at the city….” I grinned.

Greta laughed. “I like the way you think.”

“So, what’s the plan for today?” I asked.

Aris shrugged. “This, I guess. Unless they start gaining on us…”

“Are you really able to tell if they’re approaching?” Greta asked intently.

“It depends, the farther away they are the more I have to focus.”

“Speaking of…” Aris cut in, “I know Lex has been keeping an eye on the perimeter, but can you sense anything at all from the guard?”

“Wait, perimeter?” I cocked my head slightly to the side.

“We thought it best to spread out and keep watch as long as we have you here,” he stated.

“Go to Lex and send me a signal, I’ll see if I can sense anything past you.”

He nodded curtly. “Be right back,” he called as he walked away from our camp. I heard a scuffling and a loud whoosh as he shifted form and took off.

I sat on the ground and dug my fingers into the earth beneath me.

“What are you doing?” Greta asked.

“Waiting for Aris to give me the signal,” I answered as I closed my eyes and began sensing.

“Do you need to be on the ground for it to work?” she asked as I took a deep breath.

“I don’t think it’s necessary… but for whatever reason, it helps me.” I’m not sure if Greta responded or not after that. I was too busy sensing everything else around me. Despite all the time I had spent living with Aris, I still found it odd that I sensed no other life around me despite sitting right next to Greta. Finally, I felt his signal. Like a beacon of light on a dark night. He wasn’t too terribly far away, maybe a few miles if I had to guess. I pushed a little further and a little further more, still nothing.

“Anything?” I heard her ask.

“No, not a thing…” I hesitated.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s just odd, normally I sense animals and other smaller forms of life. It’s all just so quiet.”

“That’s probably our fault,” she admitted shifting slightly as she spoke, “animals are a lot like you mortals in not feeling comfortable around shadow walkers.”

I considered her words for a moment. “I’ve never noticed that issue before.”

“Well of course not, if it’s just been the two of you. We’re a little larger in number right now though.”

I nodded. I suppose what she was saying made sense enough. I sat back up where I had been before.

“Is he coming back now?” she asked.

I nodded.

“Hey, I don’t know about you, but I could use a little refresher. There’s a small creek just ahead, care to join me for a swim?” She smiled broadly at me. I hesitated, but quickly assured myself that Greta was safe. After all, Aris seems to trust her.

“That sounds great,” I responded, “gods know I could use a bath.”

Greta chuckled just as Aris rejoined us with Lex at his side.

“What’re you doing here?” I heard Greta ask Lex with her hand on her hip. “I thought you were on watch.”

“Nice to see you too Greta,” he bowed curtly towards her, “Stellan and Eloise took over for me.”

I felt my heart sink. “Eloise is here?”

“Yeah, apparently father wasn’t too pleased with her attack on you the other evening,” Aris supplemented. “He saw it fit to have her guard you for the day.”

I heard Lex snicker.

“Well, me and Rose were just about to go for a swim, would either of you care to join us?

“Hard pass, but you two have fun,” Lex waved us off and turned toward Aris, “we’ll stay up here and watch camp.”

Aris looked hesitant.

“Relax,” Greta chided, “we’re not going far, and I promise to deliver her safely back to you.”

“As if she would even need our help at this point,” Lex winked at me.

Aris nodded and settled back into camp with Lex while Greta and I set off.

Greta was incredibly light on her feet as she danced her way towards the creek. She talked happily with me as we made our way through the woods.

“I have to say, I’m quite impressed with how well you’ve taken to life magic. To be honest, when I heard about Aris finding you, I thought there had been some sort of mistake. But seeing you out there yesterday, it was incredible.”

I smiled sheepishly. “Thanks, to be honest though I have a hard time believing I’m anything special. Certainly not enough for the dark- I mean your father, to have any use for me…” I trailed off awkwardly.

“You can call him dark god, it’s not like it’s incorrect. But you’re wrong, Rose. You’re exactly what he’s looking for.”

I felt my blood run cold. She must’ve noticed because she immediately changed the topic.

“Do you hear it? We’re almost there.”

We walked a few minutes more before it came into view. The water was crystal clear and flowing lazily down the riverbed. I slid off one of my shoes and dipped a toe in. It was cool, but not too cold.

“Come on!” Greta urged. “Let’s get in.” I watched her remove the trousers she had been wearing and toss them to the side. She also removed her top. I reluctantly followed her lead. I didn’t love the idea of being in my undergarments in the middle of nowhere, but the alternative was to soak in my only set of dry clothes. I made a move toward the water’s edge but was interrupted.

“Aren’t you going to take the rest off?”

I looked up and saw that Greta had stripped completely naked. I felt myself blush. All that remained of her modesty was what her long black hair covered. Her pale skin seemed almost to glow in the shade of the trees, she looked like some sort of dark wood nymph. I was struck by how beautiful the haunted features of shadow walkers could be. I quickly averted my eyes, not wanting to make her uncomfortable, but it was apparent that she was anything but.

“What? Are we shy?” she teased as she walked past me and began walking into the water. She quickly plunged under the water and I was surprised at how deep the creek seemed to be. I glanced around, nervously not wanting to be seen. What have you got to lose? I thought to myself as I followed suit. I felt terribly exposed the moment the air hit my bare body. I quickly submerged myself in the water, clear or not, I felt less exposed below the surface.

“See? Isn’t that better?” she smiled as she swam around me.

I laughed. “I suppose it is. Aren’t you afraid someone will see?”

“What’s to be fearful of? It’s just my body.” She shrugged. “Besides it’s nothing our boys haven’t seen before.” She gave me a wink as she nodded back in the direction we had come from.

I laughed. I couldn’t help but feel a little envious at how carefree she seemed to be. I also wondered if she meant to suggest that Lex and Aris had seen her like this or just women in general.

“Growing up we were always told that nakedness was something to be ashamed of.”

“Yeah, we had the same sentiments driven into us as well. Granted I grew up in the North, cold year-round. We really only disrobed to bathe and occasionally for sex.” She winked.

I laughed. “Occasionally?”

“Hey, I’d like to see you and Aris try to lay together in sub-freezing weather. Even with a large fire, it was damn near impossible.”

“Where are you from exactly?” I asked, genuinely curious. Unsurprisingly, we had little knowledge of geography on the mountain.

“Well, when I was a mortal, it was called Vjordis, but today it’s known as Kvardansk.”

I furrowed my brow and felt a little embarrassed for not knowing what she was talking about.

“Vjordis was the name of my tribe in our native language. The north used to be inhabited by tons of tribes just like mine. But over time we all got snuffed out as southerners decided to explore our land.” She rolled her eyes.

“Not to sound rude, but how old are you?” I tried my best to ask the question as kindly as possible.

“Just shy of eight hundred,” she answered proudly.

I raised my eyebrows. So many questions filled my mind. The things she must have seen, stories she could tell.

“But enough about me, I want to hear all about how you’ve been adjusting to the city.”

“You mean before yesterday?” I asked sarcastically before dunking myself below the water’s surface. I popped back up and continued as we both waded around in the water. “Well, things had been going great. I was working in the royal apothecary. I even had a few friends there…” I trailed off feeling sad. Would I ever see Deja again?

“What about Aris?” she asked.

I wiped the water from my eyes so I could see her more clearly. “What do you mean?”

“C’mon I’ve seen how you two are together.” She gave me a knowing glance.

I felt my face get warm. “He’s great,” was all I could bring myself to say.

“He cares a great deal for you, he hardly spoke of anything else all night last night.”

“Seriously?” I asked.

She nodded. “Mhm, it’s nice to see him so happy. The last time we were together he was quite… different.” She chose that last word carefully.

“So I’ve heard,” I responded. “How long have you known him?”

“Not long after he first became a shadow walker.”

“Really?”

She nodded again as she laid back to float on her back.

“What was he like then? I mean I’ve read a bit about him, and Aris has been pretty upfront with me but…”

“But you’re curious,” she smiled, “I imagine everything you’ve read has been pretty spot on. The first time he changed was unlike anything I had ever seen in any other shadow walker before.”

“Because of how he looked?” I asked, remembering the last time I had seen him fully changed.

“Because of how powerful he was, not to mention angry.”

“One of the books said evil incarnate…” I added quietly.

“Well, I’m sure to the mortals it felt that way, but not to us.” Her eyes seemed to shine with reverence as she continued. “The sheer force of strength he had… it was truly spectacular.”

“Did it not bother any of you that he killed so many people?” I asked.

“Maybe if I were younger…” she looked down. “You must think all of us wretched to hear us talk like this.”

“I wouldn’t say that… I can only imagine how much my opinions would shift after hundreds of years.”

“Nice try Rose,” she teased me. I smiled, not sure what to say next. “But back to Aris,” she shifted, “the best way I know how to explain it was like playing with fire. Exciting, but also dangerous, some would even say unstable.” She grinned. “Nothing at all like the man we know now.”

“Were you two close then?” I asked.

She averted her eyes from me. “I wouldn’t say that exactly…”

“Okay?” I narrowed my eyes in hopes she would continue.

She sighed. “Look I don’t want to make you upset, but-” she paused.

“What did you sleep together or something?” I asked.

She cringed slightly at my question. “Once or twice, yeah…But please don’t think it was anything-”

“Greta it’s fine,” I lied, “I know he’s been with people other than me.”

“Thank gods, I was afraid you’d be upset if you found out.” I watched her shoulders relax.

“Of course not.” I lied again. Well perhaps lie wasn’t the correct term. As much as I hated the idea of Aris having sex with Greta, logically I could find nothing wrong with it. But I liked Greta, and I wanted to keep things positive between us. After all, she was the closest thing I had to a friend now.

“Do all shadow walkers-”

“What sleep with one another?” she asked, smiling again.

“Yeah” I laughed.

“Basically, I mean when you’ve been around as long as some of us have been, it’s practically just a matter of time.”

“And you still refer to each other as brother and sister?” I asked, scrunching my nose in distaste.

“I know, I know, it sounds a bit incestuous. I’m not arguing it, but that’s the reality of our situation.” She shrugged and leaned back into the water again. We paddled around in silence for a little while longer.

“I can’t help but feel like it’s only a matter of time before I meet him, your father, that is…” It was the first time I had voiced it aloud, but deep down I knew it was true. I think I had known for a while. Greta didn’t say anything, just looked expectantly at me.

“Be honest with me, should I be afraid?” I asked.

“Yes,” she answered, her eyes glossed over, her expression was that of excited anticipation, “but you should also feel incredibly excited. There is nothing quite like being in father’s presence. Even for us shadow walkers.” She swam closer to me. “You want my advice? Savor every moment of it.”

I furrowed my brow. The longer she spoke of the dark god the more frightened I was becoming.

If only I could accompany you.” She sighed. “Come, I’m starting to get cold.” She made her way to the banks of the creek. I followed. Much to my relief she had stowed away two thin towels and tossed one my way. I quickly wrapped it around my body feeling dangerously exposed. Somehow being wet only served to make me feel extra vulnerable.

“Much better,” she said as she finished redressing herself. Relieved to be covered again I followed Greta back towards our camp.

Aris and Lex were chatting idly when we returned.

“Welcome back ladies,” Lex greeted merrily.

Greta smiled and sat down beside him.

I sat down beside Aris and wrung out the remaining water from my hair.

“Have fun?” he asked me.

I smiled and nodded. In truth, I had enjoyed spending time with Greta, but my head was spinning after our talk about the dark god and my stomach was uneasy with anticipation.

Aris nodded, but I saw his eyes narrow as he regarded me closely. I wished it were just he and I so I could tell him everything.

“So, any news?” Greta asked cheerfully.

“Not a thing,” Lex answered, “I was thinking about making my way back to the city and locating the guard. I can’t imagine they’ve given up, but perhaps I can figure out what they’re planning.”

“Mind if I join you?” Greta asked.

“I was actually just about to ask if you wouldn’t mind coming with.” He grinned.

Aris gave me a sideways glance and shook his head. Greta beamed and I watched the two of them walk out of sight, relieved to be alone with Aris.

“Alright,” he leaned back and pivoted to face me, “what happened?”

I felt myself exhale. “We talked about the dark god…” I started, “Aris I’m freaking out! Greta was trying to explain him to me…”

I watched his expression shift. “I imagine that didn’t help very much.”

I shook my head vehemently. “Not at all. Aris, I don’t think I can do this…” I hid my face in my shaking hands.

Aris leaned closer to me and placed a hand on my shoulder. “I’m so sorry Rose,” his voice was low, barely above a whisper, “but I’m afraid you don’t have a choice…”

I looked up bewildered at him. “How can you say that? What about all that talk of choice and free will?” I felt myself growing hot with anger.

“I was being truthful, but you’re different Rose.” I heard a shakiness in his voice. “He wants you, Rose. I don’t know why. He never covets mortals. Normally, he is content to take only those who choose him.”

“How long have you known?” I demanded, keeping my voice level.

“What do you-”

“How long have you known that he was after me like this?”

“I swear to you Rose, I have no idea what his intentions are-”

“And I’m supposed to believe you?! Gods Aris, have you been planning this the whole time? Hiding me away until he’s ready for me?” I rose to my feet.

“The fact that you would even consider such a thing!” he stood and faced me. Any other mortal would’ve been terrified to face off with a shadow walker like this, but I stood firm. He broke first. His stern gaze became that of deep hurt. When he spoke again his voice was small.

“Rose, you must know there isn’t a thing on this earth I wouldn’t do for you.” He grabbed my hand. “I love you.” He almost sounded pleading. “You must know that.”

I felt the remainder of my resolve crack. I dropped my head against his chest and felt his arms envelope me.

“I’m sorry…” I choked. “I-I just don’t know what to do.”

He squeezed me reassuringly. “I know this won’t be much consolation. But given the lengths he has gone to keep you safe…”

I pulled away and looked at him.

“I can’t imagine he would cause you any harm.”

I nodded, desperate for anything to dull the sense of dread I was feeling.

“He’s told you nothing?” I asked.

His eyes darted downward before meeting mine. “He’s been trying to...”

I raised my eyebrows. “How do you mean?”

“I mean he’s been summoning me home…”

I felt more tears welling in my eyes.

“But Rose, listen,” he pleaded, “I’ve not gone.”

“I thought you said you had to listen to him…” He nodded.

“I do. Which is precisely why I’ve avoided him. If he gives me an order, I won’t be able to refuse…”

“But isn’t that risky? Avoiding him when he calls like that, surely he can’t be happy about that.”

“No… I don’t expect he is.” He sighed, “Actually, I imagine he’ll be furious whenever he sees me again.”

“Aris, you can’t do this-”

He put his hand up to cut me off. “I told you I would do everything in power to keep you safe. I intend to do that, no matter what.” I saw the purest sincerity in his eyes as he looked at me and felt the all too familiar rush of warmth toward him. I pulled myself up and kissed him. We stayed there for a moment.

“Do the others know?”

He nodded. “Yeah, Lex was telling me all about how father had been expecting me.”

“What did you say?”

“I told them that I was aware.” He shrugged.

“Aris, maybe you sh-”

“Absolutely not.”

“If you get yourself hurt on my behalf…”

“Hey,” he said lightly, “relax. I’ll be fine. Besides, it’s not as though father can kill me,” he jested, but I was hardly consoled by this. Surely, there were plenty of ways the dark god could punish Aris outside of death. Seeing that I was not calming down, he sat me back down and changed the subject. “Greta seems to have taken a liking to you.”

“Yeah, she’s nice,” I answered, happy to be talking about something else. “She told me she’s nearly eight-hundred years old,” I added.

“And yet, she hardly looks a day over thirty.” He laughed.

“Must be a family thing.” I tried to keep the tone light, but I suddenly felt tired. “Greta told me about the two of you sleeping together.” I added.

Aris immediately looked flustered. “Of course she did,” he ran his hand through his hair.

I started laughing despite myself.

“Relax!” I shoved him playfully. “I don’t care.” It felt true when I said it this time. I suppose all the talk about the dark god made this issue seem infinitely trivial.

He smiled and shook his head. “Feeling better now?” he asked, sarcastically.

“A little.” I grinned.

I knew that joking around with Aris wouldn’t change the predicament I was in, but I welcomed the distraction. I welcomed whatever distraction I could find. But distractions were difficult to come by stranded in the woods. The hours of the day stretched on, and I quickly exhausted the books Greta had brought me. I made myself sleep at night, if only to help pass the time. It was clear to me that we were going to be stuck here for a while and no matter who I asked, no one seemed to have the slightest inkling of a plan for what to do next. I missed Deja and working in the apothecary. I even missed Simon. Being back in the woods reminded me of the wilds and I found myself missing my family desperately. I tried to imagine what Marcy would be saying to me if she were here right now. She would definitely find a more pleasurable way to pass the time. I imagine my mother offering me her steady comfort and words of wisdom while my father nodded along. I had even entertained the idea of sneaking back to the village just to see them, if only for a moment. I wondered how everyone had adjusted to life after my departure. Is Marcy still head over heels for Silas? Is it possible they are married now? I felt a longing in my heart to see my sister in a wedding ceremony. Perhaps she and Silas would become parents and take over the apothecary. I certainly hoped that my sins hadn’t caused irreparable damage to the reputation of my family. Somethings got to give. I thought to myself as I tossed and turned on my cot. I can’t keep entertaining these kinds of thoughts.