The Shadows- Fire's Hope

by E Kathryn

  Mark reached a point where the path against the wall became too narrow to traverse any farther, but there was another ledge about eight feet below him. It seemed wide enough for him to feel safe jumping. Getting down as low as he could, Mark hesitantly eased himself over the edge. His ankles buckled when he landed, unprepared for the impact, but the ledge was wide enough and he recovered more or less unscathed.

  Panting, Mark paused to steady his breathing and get his bearings. The ledge was only wide for another three feet, and what could be called a path, was only six inches at an angle as it became narrower to the point where Mark’s back was pressed against the wall. He took it slow, inching his way sideways.

  Rocks crumbled under his feet, and suddenly his left foot slipped. Hastily, Mark grasped at the slick wall behind him, but it was no use. He was falling. His right calf scraped the ledge, but before he could cry out, he saw Rita’s face. Green mist flashed around him and he landed on his feet.

  “Are you off your head?!” Rita shrieked at him.

  Mark’s heartbeat accelerated like a war drum. If Rita hadn’t teleported him, he would’ve fallen to his death. He looked around confused. They were much closer to the bottom of the ravine, about fifty feet above the rushing water. However, as soon as he acknowledged in his mind that he was alive, he gaped trying to translate in his mind what Rita had said in her thick accent.

  Rita stepped away from him and sat on the deep red stone of the crag. “I cannae understand how it’s so easy for you to make a fool out of yourself.” She gazed out at the canyon.

  Mark sat with her, just to assure himself he wasn’t falling. “They’re looking for you up there.” He panted.

  “Ach aye,” Rita mocked, “I suppose they’ve already forgotten how you tried to murder Emilie!”

  Feeling another pang of guilt, Mark shrank, his back hit the stone wall behind him and he sighed nervously. “Rita… I took your Shadow too.”

  She tensed a little, her knuckles stiffening upon the ground, and she looked away from him. Mark could feel the anger radiating off her like Emilie. She had every right to be furious with him and to throw him off the side of the cliff.

  “I don’t mind.”

  Mark felt his heart stop. Rita’s eyes grew tender, and that anger he thought he had felt was gone. She stared longingly into the abyss without a negative feeling in the world. “I mean.” She chuckled suddenly. “You still shouldn’t have done it!” Her warm smile lifted Mark’s heart like a playful child. “I guess, I haven’t been able to really use my Shadow for four years, and out here, for the first time, I have total freedom!”

  She smirked and punched his shoulder lightly, not enough to actually hurt, so Mark let her do it without flinching. “So ya used my Shadow, obviously ya didn’t go anywhere, and ya gave it right back, so I don’t mind.”

  Able to smile a little, Mark took another hit and rubbed his shoulder. “How come that accent is so strong? In the ASH, wouldn’t you have lost your accent by now?”

  “Why do you think...” she ignored him gazing off endlessly with all her focus on the scenery.

  Mark regretted his words. It was probably rude to suggest she should have lost a part of herself. As frazzled as he had been the day he had met her, he did know she had only been in the ASH a few years. Rita had her own reasons for wanting to be free, and like Mark, he was sure she had a family. “You must be really enjoying this. I’m guessing you’ve had this place in mind for a while, so escaping here was your first thought... right?”

  Rita lowered her veil of sarcasm. “And how would you know that?”

  Brushing the red strike out of his face, Mark gave a little smile. “Lucky guess...” He lied, the images he had seen still rolling about in his head like flashes of light. “Have you always wanted to come here?”

  Rita hesitated and stared off into the ravine. Her ember-red hair blew in the wind on the ledge, and as Mark gazed at her, and for a moment she was the most peaceful person in the world. He had never seen a tumultuous storm of a person so satiated in his life. “I came here to see this place...” she muttered to the wind. “I mean, from my homeland... because I was sick of the oppression I was getting as a Shadow. We were locked inside those walls, no matter what we wanted to think of it.”

  Meeting eyes with Mark, Rita grimly explained, “In Scotland, the Shadows are free, but only from our point of view, we hide from everyone else. That’s why I came here! I wanted to see more than our six walls. A few years ago, I came here to see the world I had only heard about. America and all its wonders. I had seen enough mountains, but the idea of an inside-out mountain intrigued me so that’s why I’m here. But when I arrived, the ASH caught me, and I’ve been stuck there ever since.”

  Mark listened considerately, beginning to understand. “How old were you?” he asked.

  Rita grinned evilly with all her teeth. “I would have never been caught if I were this age!” she spat. “I was only ten. That’s how they caught me so easily,” she admitted.

  Mark couldn’t imagine being a ten-year-old so fed up with their own situation they had the audacity to leave home forever. “I get you can teleport... but traveling by yourself from your homeland at ten... that’s crazy!”

  Rita nodded, soullessly staring at the rock formations to hide any hint of emotion. “I know... but that’s a mistake I’m living with.”

  “Why don’t you go back now?”

  Rita shrugged. “I did, found my family and several of my friends who were Shadows, but... something stopped me from going to see them. Besides, you Shadows here would be sitting ducks without me, and I felt a little dutiful to you. Until the Shadows here are free, I have to stay with you.”

  Pensively, Mark continued questioning her. “Don’t you miss them?” he asked. “I’ve only been gone from my family for a few days and all I can think about is going back to them.”

  Rita gave him a smile. “I’m staying for the same reason you’re not asking me to take you to them right now. The Shadows must be free, and you know as well as I do that we have to stay together for that to happen. They can’t do this without you, or without me, or Kip, or Elise, or Emilie, or even Sil!”

  Standing abruptly, Rita looked up. “I think we’ve wasted enough time down here,” she muttered.

  Mark remained seated, thinking. What if he asked Rita to take him home right now? She could do it if he asked her to. Mark stood dizzily, ignoring the steep fall below him. “Rita... Take us to my home!”

  Rita drew her eyebrows together. “What? But the Shadows—”

  “—all the Shadows!” Mark asserted, allowing Rita to understand. “My mom kept me hidden from the ASH for fourteen years, would never turn us away. We could easily hide there!”

  Rita tensed, figuring it out. “Are you sure?”

  Mark nodded. “Kip needs to get out of the elements. Elise thinks we need somewhere to hide too.”

  Nodding, Rita barely touched Mark’s arm when the green mist rushed all around them to bring them up. To Mark’s surprise, when the mist faded, they were at the top of the crag staring at the camp. Mark remained a little startled as he realized how fast Rita’s ability was and how well she could control it.

  His head whipping around back to Rita, Mark regained his orientation of the world only a little ridiculously. “Will you tell Elise to get everyone to pack up?” he asked. “I want to check on Kip,”

  Rita nodded promptly and vanished, showing up elsewhere in the camp. Gulping, Mark walked back to the van and to Kip. In the back row where it extended into a bed, Kip slept. Mark could hear his troubled breathing from the front of the van and climbed through to the back to touch Kip’s forehead and feel his fever.

  Mark closed his eyes. He used his Shadow to feel the heat and the temperature. He guessed Kip’s fever was close to one hundred four degrees Fahrenheit, if not on the dot. Mark liked the idea that his guess was more accurate than humanly possible, and that he had used his Shadow to take Kip’s temperature.


  Fliiy meditated in the front row in the Realm and showed herself to Mark. Somewhere in the back of his mind he already knew she was there, and he wasn’t startled when she materialized. Climbing back, Fliiy’s gaze grew tender to look down on Kip. “He was crying a little while ago, and said everything hurt... but it’s good he’s asleep...”

  Mark’s eyes fixated on Kip. He could tell Kip was not actually asleep, and in fact, he was using the Realm to bury his consciousness from the pain. Mark gathered that Fliiy had no clue he was able to feel it when Shadows reached out through the Realm, and thus no idea how deeply Kip had buried himself. They were on entirely different levels of the secret world and Fliiy wasn’t as skilled as Mark seemed to be.

  Mark hesitated to call out through the Realm knowing Kip’s fever was getting too high and it could be dangerous. Perhaps he could lower the fever, but that would mean he’d need Sil’s help. It took seconds for a response and Mark’s head whipped around to meet the cold. Mark’s psyche panicked, warning himself to be cautious but he ignored it, gulping down his worry to say, “I need you to lower Kip’s fever.”

  In the doorway, Sil’s cat-like eyes flared at him. He seemed appalled that Mark would still speak to him, especially through the Realm. Mark straightened his back. He wouldn’t put up with anymore of Sil’s threats. He wouldn’t be intimidated. Slow and silent, Sil moved to the back of the cramped van. By that time, Fliiy had returned to the front to give Sil space. With a gentle frost, Sil laid a hand on Kip’s forehead.

  Mark knew well enough that Kip’s body needed to stay warm, but his head had to remain cool. Maybe the fever was helping Kip fight, but he was completely incapacitated by it, and they needed to move.

  When Sil finished, Mark felt Kip’s forehead again, then at his cheek, his skin was cool, but Mark could feel deeper and determined his temperature was normal. However, Mark’s hand drifted down to Kip’s neck and the temperature increased. Feeling closer on Kip’s chest he found he was still running a fever, a little lower than before.

  Sil stared down at Kip coldly. “After what Kip did to me... I didn’t think I’d do him any favors again,” he muttered staring down at Kip. “But then... Kip and I have a common friend... and sometimes I forget to take into account that some people have lost as much as I have.”

  Gradually, Sil met eyes with Mark, flaring his eyes cyan. “I’m sorry...” Sil forced out. Mark tensed as he heard it. Sil lost eye contact with Mark immediately after and reverted to fiddling with and undoing one of his braids.

  Not sure what to think, Mark gave a fake laugh, raising an eyebrow to gracelessly smirk. “Are you feeling all right?”

  “It comes down to this.” Sil glared at him, his cold certain eyes smashing Mark’s false humor into the dirt. “I was cold. I acted too quickly. I was being defensive, and it was altogether too soon for me to try and teach you anything about the Shadows. Kip taught you more than I was ever able to,” he blurted out with as much sincerity as he could convey.

  Mark reeled back, startled but piecing things together. Sil had been trying to teach him something; he knew that much. To his surprise, his silence uncharacteristically forced Sil to speak again. “So... I’m sorry for that...”

  Quiet for a time, and staring away from Kip, Mark took this in with heavy breaths. “I forgive you.” It was his only logical response. Sil visibly relaxed, warming Mark’s heart to know he hadn’t put his foot in his mouth. “I get it. I know you were just trying to teach me. But I stepped into your space.”

  Sil bit his lip. Opening his mouth, he inhaled sharply only to be interrupted.

  “But I do have one question...”

  Becoming expectant, Sil warily opened up to him with a nod. Mark gulped before he asked with some skepticism. “Who is Zachary?” Immediately, Sil froze, but his eyes became sorrowful. Mark pushed himself to plead with Sil for the answer. “I know there’s another Shadow who’s like me, and everyone’s telling me how much I look like him, but no one’s said who he is.”

  After this remark, Sil gave a little smile, something Mark had never seen up close before. “I think you have it all mixed up...”

  Mark saw it in Sil’s eyes and through the Realm. Looking down at Kip, Mark sighed. He was no closer to the answer. “You’re Zachary...”

  Sil leaned back and smiled. “My real name is Zachary André Addison... it never really occurred to me until you took my Shadow this morning. I’ve always known I was so much more powerful than other Shadows, but when you took it, the first thoughts that came to me were ‘What if I’m not a Shadow’ and ‘Who would I be without it?’”

  Addison, he knew that name all too well. Could it be, Mark thought, the neighbors who had a Shadow long ago. “So... where did Silverstonarellena come from?” he asked diverting his thoughts.

  Enjoyably, Sil threw his hands behind his head. “It was just a nickname at first, a lot of Shadows made up or changed their names. My name didn’t fit my Shadow so I made it up and started introducing myself as Sil instead of Zack.”

  Mark pressed his luck. “But then... how did I remind you of your real name?”

  “You didn’t. I...” he hesitated, “I have an ability to reach into minds. All my life, I’ve been able to look into people and see their thoughts, fears, shortcomings, and hopes. But for some reason, I’ve been able to see visions of my family, and a lot of the time I don’t understand them. I have full control over my ice, but this power has full control over me.”

  Mark’s heart flustered. “Your family? How detailed are these visions? Do you know who they are?” he blurted out, getting a little too excited.

  Sil paused, startled by Mark’s eagerness. “I don’t know a lot. I know I have two sisters, and a younger brother—”

  Mark could barely contain his excitement. “Your sisters, are they twins, and your brother is about a year old?”

  Sil’s eyes flared. “How do you know that,” he whispered, a little scared.

  A bright smile covered Mark’s face feeling affirmed in everything. “The Addisons are friends of my family.” Mark’s eyes widened, amazed. “I don’t believe it, all this time I’ve known them and I’ve known you, and the whole time you—”

  Sil faltered. “No way!” he gawked.

  Mark’s smile widened. “Your father and mine have been best friends for longer than I can remember. Your sisters babysit my sister all the time. And I always felt like the odd one out when our families visited because there was no one my age!” he cackled. “Because you’re here!”

  Sil couldn’t believe it himself. “I’ve had the visions for years, but without outside information, I’ve never fully understood them. I… I think I’ve even seen you before,” he muttered, “probably only once and very vague, but I don’t know how I even get the visions. Here, I have to be near the person to reach into their mind. I’m not sure how I’m able to see my family when I’ve never met them before.”

  Mark nodded. “Who cares about that...” he got out. “Think about it, your Shadow makes you psychic! Think how you could use that to help the Shadows!”

  Contemplating this, Sil scratched his head. “The moment you took my Shadow, I saw my mother.” He finished undoing the one braid he was fiddling with, brushed it out with his fingers then undoing another. Mark couldn’t help but stare at the long strands of smooth white hair which appeared cleaner and less messy than the rest of Sil’s hair.

  Sil noticed Mark looking and he smiled, giving another little laugh. “I know... this is crazy.” He ruffled his fingers through his ice-white hair and brushing out another braid with his fingertips. His hair had many braids matting and tangling it up, and it was probably much longer than what Mark was seeing.

  Mark shrugged, trying not to seem against Sil in any way even if it was just the state of his hair. Sil smirked, his eyes twinkling. “C’mon, don’t deny that the first thing you did when you had a quiet moment in 13-15 was fix your hair!”

  Realizing he had, Mark drew his brows together. It was the f
irst time he saw his crimson eyes. “How did you know?”

  Sil gestured to his temple with a smile. “Psychic, remember...”

  “What an invasion of privacy...” he joked.

  Shrugging, Sil levitated a large snowflake, being as playful as Mark. “It’s my power. I should be allowed to use it. After all, restricting these things is how the ASH came to be.”

  “You have a point.”

  Sil reached up and tried to brush his fingers through his hair only to get it further tangled. “Then we see the same...” he muttered, “and you won’t think anything of it when I go try to brush this stuff...”

  Immediately confused, Mark stared at Sil positively baffled as he left the van. “Wait... what?”

  Sil waved him off from outside the van, I’ll be close by, he assured through Mark’s mind and in the Realm. The silent voice in Mark’s head made him jump clear out of his seat. This was what Sil had told him about, telepathy between them, using the Realm. Sil really was so much stronger outside of the ASI.

  Mark felt a certain touch about Sil, something that he hadn’t seen in him until now. Sil had literally reached into Mark’s heart to send the simple phrase but by doing that he connected himself with Mark and allowed him to feel his heart in return.

  Sil was passionate, subtle, he didn’t need relationships, he wanted deeper roots and connections in the Shadows. Friendship was too small an achievement for him, even family was too small. What Sil wanted was to be a literal part of the Shadows, vital to the system. For who would dismiss their arm as a friend leaves, and who would give up their eye where a family loses hope? Sil was a vital part in a body of Shadows, not physically dismissible under any circumstances.

  Mark considered how the Shadows were united. Ocie had repeated we are all Shadows like a mantra. As he spent more and more time in the Realm, he learned how interconnected all the Shadows were. As a Shadow himself, Mark began to understand how he also was a vital piece in the Shadows. As without Rita, they would be stranded, without Sil they would be lost, but without Mark they would be trapped.