Kay raised an eyebrow. “What happened to him?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Shadow said curtly, almost defensive. He pulled the device from his pocket. “What matters is that it’s Isaac’s now.”
“Thank you,” Isaac replied, taking it from Shadow’s outstretched hand.
Shadow smiled. He waved his hand and summoned another black hole like the ones before.
“What’s it do?” Isaac asked, looking in awe.
“It will take you to your new home,” Shadow said. “I’ll be there soon. I have one last errand to run before I get back.”
“So. . .we just jump in?” Kay asked.
“Yeah.” Shadow nodded. “There will be others waiting for you. Don’t worry, they’re friends.”
Kay gave Shadow a mock-salute and then jumped into the hole, Isaac following her.
Shadow closed his eyes, focusing one last time. He was trying to sense if he had missed anybody else. A couple of moments passed by, and he opened his eyes, sighing in relief. “Now, I can finally get some rest and relaxation.”
A short while later, Shadow made his way through the front gate of his castle and walked up the steps leading to the front door. He had begun his conquest at sunset, only to come home around two in the morning. He was beyond exhausted and wanted to just unwind at last. “Home, sweet home,” he said to himself and pushed the old wooden door open, looking forward to some peace and quiet.
“I want this room!”
“No, you can’t have it!”
Shadow walked further into the home only to see Kay expel a bolt of lightning out of her hand, which narrowly missed Ellie. “What the….”
“I moved in first!” Ellie retorted, sending orbs of ice flying back, almost hitting Shadow. “Touch my stuff and I’ll kick the crap out of you!”
Shadow sighed as he went to break up the fight. On his way over, he saw Ryan and Tristan, two other kids he had recruited, fighting over the TV. He frowned as a pillar of flames engulfed his favorite statue. Meanwhile, Faith, Tristan’s twin sister, was blasting her radio, sprawled out on the couch, oblivious to the chaos around her. In the kitchen, Isaac was rummaging through the cupboard as Crystal and Ethan, two other recruits, were making a mess of the pantry, looking for something to eat. And he didn’t even want to think about where the others were.
He sighed. “What did I get myself into?”
2
The Dark Castle
Shadow awoke early in the morning. It had been only three weeks since he had recruited the last few teens, and he still hadn’t quite adjusted to the new sleep schedule. He couldn’t believe he actually thought it was a good idea to be on a normal schedule. For what good it did, he didn’t know, because the others usually slept in well past noon, anyway. Regardless, he had to ensure he was awake to prevent the chaos caused by a bunch of teens living together. Rubbing his eyes, he yawned and, with great reluctance, pulled himself out of bed. He showered and changed into a fresh set of clothes before leaving his room.
Shadow wanted to gather everyone together to train, but knew that he had another few hours before everyone would be awake and functional, so he decided to indulge himself in some TV to pass the time. He wasn’t a fan of most TV shows, but ironically he did find the supernatural vampire dramas to be entertaining. As he approached the living area, the noise of a bunch of people up and awake hit his ears like a truck. Clearly, he wasn’t the only one who had the idea to get up early. He pushed open the door and saw Ellie and Crystal listening to music in a corner together.
Crystal was another recruit, and a very unique person to say the least. She was incredibly spoiled and finicky, mostly due to the fact that she had inherited millions from her family and never felt the burden of wanting something she couldn’t have. She made sure to always keep her closet filled with expensive clothing and cared more about shopping than about fighting evil. She was a handful to deal with, and someone who had the natural tendency to get under your skin. Something he was reminded of constantly from the others – with a few minor exceptions.
Crystal turned her head and noticed Shadow’s presence. Her grey eyes lit up, and she waved to him. “Hey, Shadow!”
Shadow waved back as he passed, slightly hoping deep down that Ellie would notice him too. In the time since they met, a friendship had bloomed, and they had gotten very comfortable with one another. It was a strange feeling for someone like him, who wasn’t used to trusting people, but he found that he didn’t mind it as much as he thought he would. Unfortunately, she was too engaged with her song to notice him, so he moved on.
Shadow glanced across the room and saw that Tereya was engaged in chess with another recruit, so he made his way over to check how the game was going. As soon as he approached the table, both of them looked up at him. He felt slightly awkward, not being one too familiar with socializing. “Hey, guys, how’s the game going?” He looked to the teen sitting opposite of Tereya, Ryan, who had a smug expression painted on his face.
“Just fine. About to kick Reya’s butt,” Ryan said. He brushed the shaggy brown hair out of his face as his blue eyes sparkled with confidence. He leaned closer to Shadow as if he were going to whisper, but kept his voice audible: “He’s terrible at this game.”
“Am not!” Tereya exclaimed, blushing slightly. “Ryan’s just really, really good at this game...he’s played it a lot longer.”
Shadow shook his head. “Ryan, stop teasing him.” He turned to Tereya and patted the youngster on his shoulder. “I’m sure you’re doing fine. Chess is a very strategic and challenging game. Even adults have trouble sometimes.”
“T-thank you,” Tereya muttered.
“Don’t mention it.” Shadow studied the board for a moment and then looked from Tereya to Ryan. He then leaned over and whispered something into the younger boy’s ear.
“Cheater!” Ryan bellowed, pointing his finger at Shadow.
Shadow made a reprehensible sound. “He’s younger than you. Don’t be a baby.”
Ryan scowled. “Whatever. It won’t make a difference. I’m still going to win.”
“I’ll be sure to have a trophy made and an award ceremony prepared for you,” Shadow replied, rolling his eyes and walking away. He walked back over to the girls and saw that Ellie had removed her earphones and was watching him.
“Hey, you two, what's up?”
“Nothing much,” Ellie replied. “We were just talking about music and then thought of going to spar, you know, practice our skills and what not. More training never hurt anybody.”
Crystal turned off the iPod and gave Shadow an apprehensive look. “Speaking of training and growing stronger, I’m still surprised you’re the one leading all this. I mean, you’re not exactly Rambo.”
“Appearance has nothing to do with strength, Crystal. Look at you, for example. You look like a high school girl, but you have the power to create shields with your mind.”
Crystal narrowed her eyes. “Regardless, I just hope you’ll be able to lead us to victory. I know that Ethan said we can trust you, and I do – trust you, that is – but I’m not sure you have this.”
Shadow just stared at her. This manner was an extreme difference from the warm and happy greeting she gave him earlier, which was standard Crystal behavior. Happy one moment, ready to declare nuclear war the next. “Crystal–”
Crystal exhaled, interrupting him. “Whatever, I’m over this. When you have an answer for my questions, let me know.” She turned and stomped out of the room.
“Whoa,” Shadow said, confused. “Somebody please explain to me what happened there, because I’m completely lost.”
“It’s quite obvious, Shadow,” Ryan said, looking up from his game. “That girl is crazy with a capital ‘C’.”
Ellie frowned. “Shut up, Ryan,” she said, placing her hand on Shadow’s shoulder. “It’s not your fault, dude. She’s just scared. In fact, we all are, to be honest. We were just living our lives, and then suddenly you appear and tell us that we�
��re destined to save the world? It’s heavy, and anyone would freak. But I’ve been here for a while now, and I see the good in you. And I trust you.”
“Thanks.” Shadow smiled. “It… means a lot that I can count on you.”
“Don’t mention it,” Ellie replied, beaming. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go make sure Crystal isn’t taking out her frustrations on poor Ethan again.”
Shadow sighed as she left the room. He definitely didn’t envy Ethan, especially considering the job he was tasked with. Ethan was sent by the forces of light to be a guide for Crystal and protect her from evil. He was literally her guardian angel. They had been together since she was very young, so their bond was strong. But he didn’t envy the bond. It was hard enough being around Crystal in short bursts; he couldn’t imagine how hard it was to navigate that minefield twenty-four seven.
But still, he couldn’t help but admit she did have a point. The recruitment process needed to be done in haste, and as a result he didn’t get to share everything he knew with them all. And if things were going to work, they needed to know exactly what danger lay ahead so they could all properly prepare for it. He pulled out his communicator and pressed the main button. “Everyone to the Rec Room, now!”
“But I’m already here,” Ryan said.
“Shut up, Ryan.” Shadow shook his head.
After several minutes, everyone filed into the Rec Room from various directions. Some of them looked worried, while others simply looked annoyed.
“What’s wrong, Shadow?” Ethan asked, his brow furrowed. “Has something happened? You’ve never assembled us like that before.”
“Don’t worry, Ethan,” Shadow assured him. “Nothing bad has happened. I just need to talk to everyone.”
Crystal walked over to them with her hands on her waist. “You do realize that Ellie and I were just in the room, right? What was the point of letting us leave if you were just going to call us back? Huh?”
Shadow’s mouth opened wide. “Let you leave?” he replied, awestruck. “I didn’t let you leave. You walked out!”
“Crystal, dear,” Ethan interjected, before she could respond, “perhaps it’s best if you don’t interrupt Shadow and let him say what he has to say. I’m sure it’s very important.”
Crystal paused and took a second to think it over. “You’re probably right, Ethan.” She turned to Shadow. “But make it quick. I have online shopping to do.”
Rolling his eyes, Shadow turned so he faced everyone in the room. He looked around and noticed he was short a few. “Where are Kay and Isaac?”
“Kay said she would have to pass and wanted me to fill her in afterwards,” Ethan said. “And I believe Isaac is still asleep.”
Shadow sighed. “Okay, fine. Everyone...I have something to say and it’s very important.” He paused and cleared his throat. “As you all know, there are dark forces out there beyond our wildest dreams that are preparing to do something big. What they’re going to do exactly, I’m not entirely sure, but I’ve heard from a credible source that it’ll be the biggest disaster anyone has ever seen.”
He paused again, to make sure he still had their attention – which he did. “It’s for that reason you’re all here. I would have been perfectly fine handling this on my own, but it was foreseen that I would fail on my own. It was also seen that, in order to succeed, I would need to recruit individuals such as yourselves who have been touched by darkness and had the power to fight back against it.”
“Touched by darkness?” Ryan inquired.
“I think,” Ethan said, with a glance at Shadow, “he means that you’ve all experienced evil in one way or another and didn’t succumb to it.”
“I’m still not sure what that means,” Tristan, another recruit, chimed in. He glanced over to his twin sister, Faith, for assistance. “You have any idea what he’s going on about?”
Faith looked thoughtful. “I think it has to do with our pasts. I believe I’m correct when I say that all of us here have lost loved ones to darkness?” She looked at each of them and received either verbal or physical confirmation. “Exactly. So I believe the fact that we’ve all suffered due to evil and didn’t let it consume us is what he means.”
“Sounds right,” Shadow said. “What Faith said is what makes you all important to stop what’s to come. And for that reason, I need us to work together and get stronger so we can handle what’s ahead. Do you all understand?”
Ellie nodded. “I already told you, I’m on board.”
“Sure. It’s cool,” Ryan replied.
Shadow looked around. He was glad to see that everyone was nodding in unison. Another plus was that Tristan hadn’t said anything frustrating, which was one step toward a headache-free day. It wasn’t that Tristan was stupid, per se. It was just that the kid had a tendency to make comments that were stupid or frustrating. He was practically the male version of Crystal. Except unlike Crystal, he didn’t have an Ethan to keep him in check. His sister barely managed that feat.
“Uh, Shadow,” Tristan said, “I have a question.”
“Damn it,” Shadow thought angrily. He had thought too soon. Looking over the kid, he knew there was nothing about Tristan’s appearance that would make anybody immediately dislike him. He had hair the color of flames, almost too red to be natural, but oddly enough, it was. He had bright blue eyes that reminded Shadow of a Siberian Husky’s. He was even appealing to the eye if you were into geeky guys. No, it was definitely not Tristan’s appearance that made him annoying; it was his mouth and extreme lack of common sense.
“You awake in there?” Tristan asked, poking Shadow’s arm.
“Tristan, how can I help you?” Shadow replied, struggling to maintain a neutral tone.
“Well, we’re already on board to fight this great evil, right? What makes you think we need to train in order to fight it?” Tristan asked. “I mean, it could be a weakling or whatever, like an evil rabbit or something. We’re all pretty tough individually. Together, we’d be more than capable.”
Shadow sighed. “While I don’t know exactly what’s coming, I know it’s going to be a danger enough to warrant us all getting stronger. The source I spoke of earlier is a powerful seer. She had a vision of everything. Not only did she share her vision with me, but she also gave me the ability to sense all of you so I could find you before the forces of evil did. She knew together we’d be enough to save the world, but we still have to learn to work as a team.”
“This all sounds so scary,” Tereya said.
“You have nothing to worry about, Reya,” Shadow replied. “You know I wouldn’t let anything happen to you. Any of you.”
You can’t promise that.” Crystal frowned. “You have no way of making sure that we’re all okay. You’re just one person.”
“Crystal,” Ethan chided. “That’s–”
“No, Ethan, she’s right,” Shadow interrupted. “A promise like that is almost impossible to keep, so I shouldn’t make it, but I am. I promise that I will try my absolute best to make sure that nothing harms any of you. If I have to give my life to ensure that you’re all safe, then so be it.”
“I trust you, Shadow,” Tereya declared, loudly and in spite of himself. “You’ve already saved my life once. If you hadn’t stopped that lady, I wouldn’t be here now. I know you’ll try your best, and that’s all that really matters to me.”
“Yeah, you don’t need to do any convincing here either,” Ryan chimed in. “You’ve saved my vivacious butt many times, even before you ‘gathered’ me for this mission. So I know that I can count on you.”
“Ryan’s vivacious butt aside, I know that you won’t intentionally let us any of us down, Shadow,” Ethan said. “You’re a good person. It’s simply not in your nature.”
“Thanks, Reya,” Shadow said. “You too, Ryan and Ethan.”
“If Ethan trusts you, I guess I do too,” Crystal said, with a shrug. “But just so you know, if I die, I’ll kill you.”
“But won’t you be de
ad?” Tristan pointed out.
“Nobody asked you!” Crystal yelled, turning on the spot and rushing out of the room. Ethan, bemused, frowned apologetically to Shadow and followed her.
“That girl will be the death of me yet,” Shadow thought, and shook his head. He pulled his communicator back out and typed a hasty message to Ethan, informing him to make sure he and Crystal accomplished some training in-between her shopping. It would have to do.
“Checkmate!” Tereya exclaimed, moving his piece to take Ryan’s king.
“Congratulations, Reya,” Shadow said, looking back at him. “For someone who is so new to the game you did rather well.”
“He only won because you helped him,” Ryan mumbled through clenched teeth.
“Actually,” Tereya interjected, “Shadow told me that…I should stop letting you win.”
Shadow smiled. “I could tell that Tereya was holding back because he didn’t want you getting mad at him.” He narrowed his eyes. “But you’re not mad at him for winning, right?”
Ryan rolled his eyes. “No, I’m not…good game, Reya.”
Tereya beamed. “Thank you, Ryan.”
“Now, guys,” Shadow said, “I think we should all get some training in. We never know when something is going to happen.”
“What did you have in mind?” Ryan asked.
“I think everyone should pair up and go to the training arena on the roof. I’ll meet you all there in a few. I need to go to my room for a minute.”
Shadow started the journey toward his room, but he froze just as he reached his door, sensing that he was being followed. He decided to act like nothing was wrong and wait for the person to show themselves. He entered his room and left the door ajar. He stepped to the side, clearing from the doorway. He waited a few moments. When he heard footsteps approaching, he reached out and grabbed the person who walked through the door.
The Descending Darkness Page 3