Shadowsoul

by J D Evergreen

  I stare into the orange crystal as if it will give me answers. “I see your point. Who can we ask without jeopardizing our mission?”

  Lexa readjusts so she can lean against the warm bricks of the bench beside the crystal and pulls her knees up to her chest. She rests her cup upon her knees and looks up at me. “We could ask the elders. It is a little unorthodox, but I don’t see another option.”

  I nod. “Will you be asking Eldri and Amder?”

  Lexa raises a single eyebrow. “You know of them?”

  I take another sip of my tea. “We had an encounter in the laundry room. Eldri insisted I clean my armor, and Amder gave me a new set of pants to wear.”

  Lexa smiles, “That sounds like them. They have their odd quirks. Yes, they are who I was considering asking, would you be open to working with them?”

  I nod enthusiastically, and Lexa smiles, “I will see that it is arranged then.”

  We return to our tea and quickly finish it off. I help Lexa pack up and wash the pot before we reluctantly retreat from the warmth of the crystal.

  We make our way back out into the corridor and head towards the sleeping quarter.

  Lexa clears her throat, “There is a group gathering three days from now. We are celebrating the birthday of a boy named Samuel. He turns sixteen this week and as such becomes a man. So there will be music, wrestling, and probably alcohol if Lucas is involved in any way. You should come. It is a good way to relax.”

  A smile spreads across my face. “A birthday party? I have never been to one before. Of course I will come, it sounds exciting.”

  Lexa smiles. “Excellent.”

  “So, how old are you?” I ask and look at Lexa expectantly.

  Lexa gives me a surprised face before schooling her features into a look that is more neutral. “You know Claire, in most cultures it’s rude to come out and ask how old a person is.”

  “What’s with the hesitation, are you secretly really old?” I prod, not giving up.

  Lexa gives me a deadpan expression. “Well back in my day we used big sticks instead of swords as we didn’t know how to make fire.”

  I keep my face just as serious as Lexa’s. “Does that mean you’re going to scold me about how incapable my generation is?”

  “Perhaps after a nap. If you’re lucky I might wave my cane about and everything,” Lexa claims. Moving her arm about in demonstration of her cane waving abilities. Smiling, she bumps her hip into mine.

  We walk in silence for a little longer before Lexa sighs and looks at me. “I have seen eighteen winters this season.”

  I smile. “I have seen seventeen summers.”

  We return to the makeshift sleeping room and pad through the rows of sleeping people as we make our way to our cots at the back of the room. I pull off my armor and find the blue lines have returned across my forearm. Hesitantly I touch them, and pain flares through my fingers and arm once more. Well, at least now I can be sure the pain wasn’t related to my ripped stitches.

  I flick my eyes over to Lexa who is already in her sleeping clothes. “Lexa, the lines are back.”

  Lexa puts down her half folded clothing and comes over to inspect my arm. She reaches for it and stops, her hand hanging in mid-air. She pulls off her necklace, lays it on my cot and turns back to face me.

  I find myself nodding. “Good idea.”

  Lexa gently takes my arm in her hand, “Yes. Well, my head hurts enough without going for a second round.”

  The throbbing behind my eyes agrees with her.

  Lexa gently runs her finger along my arm and quickly draws it away when she comes in contact with the lines there. “Well, that isn’t a pleasant sensation.”

  “That happens to me when I touch it too.”

  Lexa nods and lets my arm go, “It’s strange. The gift has adverse effects on those who use it, but I have never seen this kind of response before.”

  I flick my eyes up to Lexa's. “Do you have any lines?”

  Lexa holds out her arms and inspects them. “I don’t think so.”

  I glance at my arm and back at Lexa, “Last time they were on your neck.”

  Lexa pauses for a moment and closes her eyes as she takes in a deep breath. Her eyes open and she ties her hair back with a strip of leather she keeps tied around her wrist. “Could you look for me?”

  I nod, and Lexa carefully perches on the edge of my cot, far away from her necklace. I stand beside her and carefully turn her head so I can see her neck. Three green lines stand proudly where her hair had been resting moments before.

  “You have them too.” I pause a moment. “Do you want me to touch them and see if you have the same reaction?”

  Lexa gives a single curt nod and swallows. Gently I reach out and touch one of the green lines. A shot of energy rushes through my fingertip and up my arm. I yelp and pull my hand away.

  Lexa jolts and takes in a sharp breath. Touching her lines caused a very different pain from the one I experienced upon contact with mine.

  Lexa's chest rises and falls as she works to regain her breathing. “They were different.”

  I nod and rub my head, “Mine burns, and yours is like a shock of energy. That puts an end to the idea that our reactions to the crystals are the same.”

  Lexa gingerly touches her neck, and I see the moment the energy flows through her. She doesn’t jolt, but her whole body tenses and her eyes clamp shut for a moment, she withdraws her hand and puts it in her lap, “It’s like we are chasing our tails.”

  I nod and sit on the bed beside her. “Every time we answer one question we are given another.”

  Lexa rubs her head. “It certainly feels that way.”

  I massage my temples. “I think I have had enough for tonight.”

  Lexa rises to her feet and carefully avoids me as she collects her necklace. “I concur. We should retire for the night in any case.”

  I crawl under my blankets and Lexa places a cloth over the light on the wall, bringing darkness into the room. Lexa’s bed creaks as she climbs into it and gets comfortable. The noise settles, andquiet descends through the space.

  I pull my blanket up to my chin. “Night, Lexa.”

  “Good night, Claire.”

  I smile, and the exhaustion flowing through me forces my eyes shut, and I slip into a deep sleep.

  Chapter Twelve

  Gifted

  I wake to Lexa gently shaking my shoulder. “Claire, wake up.”

  It feels far too soon to be coming into consciousness, and I stare blearily up at her. “What’s wrong?”

  Lexa moves away and collects my clothes from the pile on the floor and hands them to me, “It is time to go seek the help of the elders.”

  I grumble and pull on my tunic. “Must we go seek them so early?”

  Lexa raises her eyebrow to my comment. “If we wish to do it without drawing unnecessary attention to ourselves.”

  I pull on my leather pants and search the ground for my boots. One boot is by the bed, and after a few minutes of searching I find the other by one of the crates. One day I will learn to keep my clothes in a pile. Today is not that day.

  Finally, I am dressed, and I follow Lexa through the lines of beds and out into the deserted hall.

  Lexa leads me to a room and politely calls through the curtain, “Eldri. Amder. I have returned, and I have brought Claire with me.”

  The curtain is hurriedly pulled aside, and I am greeted by Eldri, “Come in, come in.”

  I walk into the room and find a brick table and chairs, and a long brick bench covered in cushions. In front of the seat sits a small empty table with some sort of cloth over it. To the side, is a small hearth with the smallest orange crystal I have encountered so far.

  Amder sets a metal pot, like the one Lexa had used last night, beside the orange crystal and rises to his feet. “Claire it is good to see you again.”

  I smile at him, “You too. Thank you again for the pants.”

  He waves his hand. “I couldn’t
let you walk around in that tattered excuse for clothing any longer.”

  Eldri places four cups on the tablecloth and Lexa perches on the end of the cushioned bench, “I do not recall a heating crystal of that size.”

  Amder quickly looks away, but Eldri smiles at Lexa. “Dear, I am old, I don’t want to walk all the way to the kitchens every time I want a cup of tea.”

  Lexa's eyes flick from Eldri to the crystal. “You made the crystal.”

  Eldri puffs up her chest and launches into a lecture. “I cannot just sit here while people take care of me, I have these gifts, and I will use them, whether or not you attempt to discourage me.”

  Lexa doesn’t flinch at the woman’s tone, “Could you make more?”

  The woman looks lost at Lexa's words, and I see her lose her place in what must have been a practiced and well thought out speech.

  Amder cuts in, “Pardon?”

  Lexa looks at him, “If I provide you with crystals receptive to the gift, could you make more?”

  Eldri and Amder nod dumbly.

  “Would one month be a sufficient time for you to recover from using your skill in this way?”

  Eldri glances at Amder who nods, “Yes.”

  “Excellent, I will see that you are each provided with one crystal a month. Many people would be grateful to have a luxury such as this in their home.” Lexa gestures at the crystal as the kettle next to it starts to whistle.

  I am ready for it this time, and it doesn’t scare me, but I still find myself cringing at the shrill sound.

  Eldri’s eyes shine with happiness. “Thank you.”

  Lexa nods, her face carefully impassive. Does she know how much her simple request means to them? Amder collects the kettle with a thick mitt and pours steaming tea into the cups, a small smile gracing his face.

  I take my tea and quietly sip it. This one is different from the one I had shared with Lexa, it has more of a plant flavor than a bittersweet one.

  I look over the elders. Can they help us understand the gems? They seem to have a sound understanding of how others work. Well, at least sufficient understanding to fill them with their own gift.

  Eldri looks at me, “So, you have come here about a problem you have.”

  My eyes widen. “Was I thinking loudly again?”

  Amder chuckles and takes a seat beside Eldri on a stool. “You weren’t before, but you are now.”

  Eldri sips her own tea, “We know dear, Lexa already spoke to us.”

  My eyes dart to Lexa, who seems un-phased about their mind reading abilities. Lexa gives me a smile before she returns her gaze to the elders. “I trust you can keep what I'm about to tell you between the two of you?”

  Eldri and Amder nod and clutch their tea in their wrinkled hands.

  Lexa takes a breath. “Claire and I are in possession of two gems of extraordinary power. They seem to activate upon the two of us making contact. We would like to learn to control this.”

  Amder leans forward in his seat. “Could you show us what you mean by extraordinary abilities?”

  Lexa looks at me questioningly. I pull my hand from my cup and hold it out for her to take. Lexa's warm hand settles in mine, and a rush of energy flows through me. Blue and green light emanates from our bodies and creates a bubble surrounding us.

  Eldri and Amder gape at us. I throw a glance at Lexa and meet her gaze. Eldri sets aside her cup and approaches the bubble, she holds her hands above it, not quite touching, and closes her eyes. She drops them and shrugs at Amder. Amder sets aside his cup and joins her, the two of them link hands and try whatever Eldri attempted again.

  I turn to Lexa. “What are they doing?”

  Lexa shrugs. “I have no idea, but I don’t know how much longer we should do this for.” She gestures at my arm, and I watch as a blue line comes up to the surface of my skin and shines as brightly as my necklace.

  I glance at Lexa's neck and see the lines appearing there too. “We should let go. I suspect they will want us to do this a few times.”

  Lexa nods and removes her hand. I miss its warmth, and I place my hand back around my cup as the light around us shimmers and fades.

  The elders look entirely lost for words and for a few long moments they just look at us. Finally, it is Eldri that seems to find some words. “We couldn’t sense you.”

  Amder nods. “It is like you were gone. If we hadn’t seen you sitting there moments before I wouldn’t have believed you were inside there.”

  My eyebrows furrow. “You could see us though.”

  Eldri shakes her head. “No. We could only see the light, not through it.”

  Amder collects his cup of tea. “Our gift sense of you vanished also. You were, by all accounts, invisible.”

  Eldri hesitates for a moment but asks, “May we see your gems?”

  I nod and take off mine. Lexa does the same, and we hand one each to the elders. They twist them in their lumpy fingers and close their eyes in concentration.

  Amder opens his eyes with a sigh, “The gift in this gem is more powerful than any individual I have ever encountered.”

  Eldri opens her eyes too. “I can feel the power, but I can’t use it.”

  Lexa nods. “So far we have only been able to make them work when we touch.”

  The elders nod with Lexa’s words and reach a hand towards each other, mimicking mine and Lexa's former actions. I watch, eager to see what the power looks like from the other side. I wait, but nothing happens. The elders are sweating profusely, and they let go of one another with a sharp cry.

  Startled, Lexa and I are on our feet and approaching them in moments. We kneel beside the shocked elders and gently coax some tea into them. They seem to recover, and with shaking hands, they return our necklaces.

  Confused, we retreat to our seat and wait for the elders to speak. Eldri drains her whole cup, and I rise to pour her another, she takes it gladly and speaks in a croaky voice, “That is not at all what I was expecting.”

  Amder nods and sets his cup down with shaking hands, “When we tried to use the power inside the gems, an eye, unlike any I have ever seen, appeared in my vision.”

  Eldri nods eagerly. “Swirls of purples and silvers. The eye focused on us, the fury that emanated from it shot right to my core.” Her words halt, and she struggles to go on.

  Amder fills us in, “The eye told us the power was not ours. We are not the true descendants and nor are we Keepers. It expelled us in a blinding flash of light, and we came back here.”

  I look at the necklace in my hand. “The eye spoke to you?”

  The elders nod, their eyes wide. Eldri’s voice wobbles out, “We did learn something. The gift in those necklaces is not the same as the gift we have. That gift is brighter, unfiltered.”

  Amder nods. “It makes our gift seem like a shadow.”

  Eldri rubs her face. “And perhaps it is.”

  I glance at Lexa who stares at the necklace in her hand. What is she thinking?

  I look at the elders. “Can you help us?”

  Amder looks away, but Eldri meets my eyes, “I fear we can’t. But let’s try anyway.”

  I loop my necklace around my neck. “What do I do?”

  This seems to pull Lexa out of her thoughts and back to the situation. She pulls her necklace over her head and returns her focus to the elders.

  Eldri takes a deep breath. “I will attempt to teach you to be more aware of your surroundings. I know you are both battle trained, but I mean awareness in a more spiritual sense.”

  Amder takes over in his deep voice. “Close your eyes and even your breathing. You will feel the tiniest amounts of energy in everything around you.”

  I do as he says, and even out my breathing. I search at the edge of my awareness for the energy he spoke of, but it eludes me. I sigh in frustration when I feel a faint tug in my consciousness. I go to it. A tiny spark of light rests there. It grows as I settle my gaze upon it. Soon I become aware of other flashes. It doesn’t take long for me
to realize they are everywhere.

  I keep my eyes closed and utter, “I see them.”

  “Me too,” Lexa echoes.

  “Feel the size of that energy, notice how everything at rest exhibits a similar amount of energy,” Eldri’s voice glosses over me.

  Amder speaks gently, “Slowly take each other’s hand, and consciously try to dim the energy you are releasing.”

  I reach for Lexa and find her hand. I am almost blinded by the light of the spark beside me as it roars into life, dimming everything around it. This spark must be Lexa’s. Faintly I register this was the first spark I noticed.

  I become aware of the brightness of my own flame, and I work on quenching it. I try to remind it how small it usually is, but it refuses to obey me.

  I open my eyes and find the dancing light around us, but now I am also aware of the roaring bonfire that is Lexa’s light. I reach for her light, and I help her dim it. Together we work on dimming mine. The dancing blue and green light around us wavers for a moment. Amder and Eldri clap excitedly, but Lexa's spark flares back into life and mine follows suit. The bubble closes over us once more, and I don’t have the energy to quell the sparks again.

  I release her hand and slump forward. Exhaustion dictates my actions. Amder and Eldri rush toward us and help us to the floor. They rest us against the cushioned bench. Tea is brought to me, and I sip it gratefully. My arm is pulsing with pain, and I know if I look I’ll find the lines have returned. I suspect after that usage there will be more then I have seen before. I take a peek at my arm, and suppress a groan when I see blue light bursting forth from lines covering my entire forearm.

  Eldri carefully takes my arm and inspects it, before hurrying over to look at Lexa’s neck. “This isn’t good.”

  I nod with a groan, “Yeah it hurts.”

  Eldri looks into my eyes. “It’s not just that. This is a sign your bodies cannot contain the power of the gift within your necklaces.”

  I blink at her, but it is Lexa who speaks. “What will happen if we continue to use it?”

  Eldri pauses. “It is possible your body could build up an immunity to it. But it is far more likely they will fail.”