by Jamie Murray
"Come on," Jameson said, reaching his hand for the others.
They used Jameson as a medium to get them painlessly through the barrier, leaving the horses on the other side. The slight coloring of the barrier caused the outside to look even darker than before, but made the inside surprisingly clear. Jameson gazed at the Shadow Shrine in the distance and found it was in astoundingly good condition, especially compared to the Rain Shrine. None of the tall spires appeared to be broken and it looked entirely symmetrical. The others were not moving in the direction of the Shrine, so Jameson figured he'd take the initiative and start walking.
He didn't get very far, however, because Luke grabbed onto him and held him back.
"Careful," he said sharply.
Jameson looked down at the ground and didn't see anything right away, but he focused on the space only a few steps in front of him at a black circular shadow no larger than a standard table. At first, he didn't find anything particularly dangerous about the shadow, but as he raised his gaze, he found there were hundreds of shadows just like it scattered randomly across the ground leading to the Shrine.
"We've fought one of these before," Baloric said, speaking to Jameson but not looking at him. He crouched down so he could inspect the shadow a little closer. "A long time ago."
It didn't feel as long ago for Jameson, but it had been ten years since he had seen something like this. He remembered their brief fight with the defensive creature after arriving at the Angel's secondary complex. Just after finding Louisa, they were ambushed by a strange shadow which was able to hide itself in the ground and surge up into the air; immobilizing them, smothering them and launching them in every direction.
However, the shadows that were scattered did not appear as though they were going to do anything like that.
"Are they asleep or something?" Luke asked.
"That might be one explanation," Baloric said, standing back up. "I would suggest walking slowly and quietly in a single file line until we're in the clear but—"
"We don't have time for that," William interrupted.
"Right," said Baloric, looking patient even though he was obviously going to say the same thing. "Just go and be careful. Maybe if we don't touch them, they won't bother us."
"That's great that you're willing to take a chance like that," Raven said sarcastically, taking hold of Baloric's arm to hold him in place. "But you were just in something like an almost-coma so I don't think you should even be coming along. You should wait with the horses."
Baloric did not shake her off or say anything in response to her command. He only exhaled a noise similar to a groan while rubbing his forehead. It was clear, at least to Jameson, that he was doing his best to keep from berating her.
"We all should go together," Jameson said in hopes to dispel a potential argument.
"Thank you, Jameson," said Baloric, but he was still not making eye contact with him.
"I kind of see her point—" Luke started, though Jameson quickly shook his head as a way to show him just to drop it. Luke reluctantly nodded and, although Raven was obviously going to continue to argue, Baloric began to take his first stride toward the Shrine, sidestepping around the shadow on the ground and passing by it without event.
Jameson gestured for the others to go, saying passively that he would rather bring up the rear. William looked reassuringly at his sister and then followed after Baloric. Raven's fists clenched angrily that she was being ignored but she also filed in behind both her brothers. Despite Luke's uneasy expression at Jameson to illustrate his apprehension about their risk, he followed as well.
Jameson kept his eyes pointed at the ground to make sure he did not accidentally misstep. As far as he could see, the shadows were not moving at all, and he wanted fiercely for it to stay that way. He recalled that the last time they fought one of these shadows all those years ago, Baloric ended up fairly severely wounded. In fact, he wondered just how often their adventures did not result in Baloric ending up fairly severely wounded. As resilient as he seemed, Jameson realized, Baloric was not without bruises to his psyche and clearly had a difficult time facing certain events in his past. It was unsettling to think someone so powerful could carry something so debilitating.
He reluctantly allowed his mind to wander while they slowly advanced to the Shrine. Meg drifted in and out of his thoughts freely as he entertained ideas of what he would say to her once he got back and what kinds of questions she would ask him. He thought of her sitting in her shop sewing a green shirt like the one she had allowed him to wear when he had first arrived. For a moment, he recalled her as she was when he had met her the very first time; when they were both still children. Their meeting was so brief that day, it was hard to believe he was now counting down the minutes until he got to see her again.
The ground rumbling jerked Jameson out of his pleasant train of thought. He turned around in hopes to see what the cause was, but then felt a strange gust of wind which pushed him forward a half a step. He caught himself before stepping on one of the shadows and looked over his shoulder to see what the cause of the wind was; from what he could see, the slight rumble had knocked William off balance, causing him to use his magic to balance himself.
However, it didn't appear to be the best choice. Because he drew energy straight from the Forces on the ground, the ones nearby seemed to almost "wake up" in a sense, and they started to quiver slightly. At first, Jameson thought he was the only one who was noticing the cautious movements of the Forces, but the others appeared just as aware as he was. Clearly, William's actions had not been entirely intentional outside the realm of instinctual.
"Hurry."
Baloric's voice was barely a whisper as he turned to the Shrine to see that all the shadows, regardless of how close they were, started to move and advance towards them.
Jameson knew no good was going to come from inaction, so he broke into a sprint to the Shrine along with the others. He leapt over a large shadow which darted underneath him and propelled upwards, clipping his heel and nearly sending him spiraling face first in the dirt. He kept himself on his feet and only quickly glanced over his shoulder to see both Baloric and Luke only a few paces behind him as he quickly closed the gap between himself and Baloric's two younger siblings.
There was nothing he could do as he watched a shadow halt a few steps in front of him and then extended from the ground, enveloping William and then pulling him roughly to the ground. Unable to move, William silently hit the ground hard. Raven stopped and grabbed onto him, but as soon as her foot entered the shadowed area, she was pulled in as well. Jameson stopped short before the same thing could happen to him, and then another shadow exploded underneath him like a landmine, lifting him right off his feet and hurling him right over the other two.
He skidded across the dirt and landed within reach of the Shadow Shrine. When he sat up, he saw that none of the shadows were on the stairs leading up to the doorway of the Shrine, or even near the Shrine. He struggled to his feet, realizing he had landed on his left knee a lot harder than he originally assumed, and looked back as Luke drew his bow and pointed and arrow at the shadow holding Raven and William captive, then unloaded the weapon at point blank. The point of light caused the shadow to retract almost immediately as it slithered across the ground and attempted to escape before it could be hit again. William let out a gasp as he lifted his head from the ground; his entire cheek was scraped down to his neck, bleeding profusely, and he was finally to express his cry of pain as he put both his dirty palms over the damage.
Baloric lifted William right up off the ground, carrying him under his arm, and then set him on his feet. Raven scrambled to stand as well as Luke pulled his arrow out of the ground. They were only a few paces away from where the shadows were no longer haunting; Jameson went to the edge and collected William from Baloric as soon as they crossed the threshold. He propped the boy up on the stairs and firmly took him by the wrists so he would stop touching the torn skin, as Baloric knelt by
his side and brushed the hair away from the wound.
"Is it safe to stay here?" Luke questioned as he kept his back to the others, eyeing the shadows which appeared to be going back to their original positions.
"What did you do that for, William?" Raven cried, trying to intervene, but Baloric practically smacked her aside.
"Both of you!" he shouted angrily.
"What did I—"
"You both could have easily been killed!" Baloric interrupted Raven's nervous stuttering as William clenched his teeth and seethed, trying to keep himself from crying. Jameson could see right into the child's terrified eyes, and he knew the real reason why there were tears streaming down his cheeks was because he was ashamed for waking up the shadows and then subsequently being captured by one.
"That's a little harsh, Baloric," Jameson tried.
"Jameson," Baloric said simply in a very commanding tone. Jameson did not like basically being told to shut up, but he knew Baloric was increasingly less than impressed with him since he woke up, so he chose not to say anything about it.
"Is there anything you can do?" Raven asked, choosing her words very carefully.
"Can't you heal yourself?" Jameson inquired of William.
"It's not within the abilities of a normal Gislan to heal," Baloric said. "That's a perk that the power of the stones gave me."
"So can't you heal him then?" Luke tried.
Baloric looked down and gently put his thumb on William's chin to hold him in place. His next words were very difficult for him to admit: "My magic has been really weak since I revived Jameson' memories. It's been like before I got the Mystics. I don't know why."
Jameson looked at Baloric questioningly. "I didn't know that," he said quietly.
"It might have something to do with the stones," Baloric inferred. "But those don't work either so I'm not even able to project my magic through them. Raven, can't you?"
"No," Raven answered, biting her lip. "I can't—I can't even use magic."
"You what?"
Baloric looked absolutely astonished and, admittedly, Jameson was as well. He thought back to their past interactions with Raven and realized she had not exhibited any abilities to use magic, but he always assumed that all Gislan were simply born with the power.
"I'm sorry," Raven whispered.
"I can try," William squeaked, each word falling deep into his throat.
"Don't draw anything from the Forces," Baloric said. "We don't need to give them a reason to go after us again."
"What can I draw from?" William asked, swallowing hard.
"Come on, walk. Maybe there's something inside."
Jameson knew it was a stretch to think there was some kind of plant life inside the Shrine, but he nodded in agreement and let go of William to allow him to stand. Baloric kept his grip firmly on William's forearm, leading him up the steep stairs leading to the door, as Raven followed hesitantly behind them both. Jameson watched the three as he remained at the bottom of the stairs and felt a strange sense of optimism. In spite of everything, the three of them were siblings, and after all that time apart, they were already looking out for one another again.
45. I Understand the Most
Chapter 45
Raven exhaled lightly through on her little brother's open cuts, brushing some ash and dirt away from the broken skin. She used her jacket to wipe away most of the blood and, for the most part, it wasn't bleeding so much anymore, but it was deep and clearly causing William intense pain. Inside the Shrine was calm and silent with only the sound of Raven hushing William while he tried to keep himself from crying anymore.
Baloric wandered away from the two to where Luke and Jameson were standing. "What are we looking for in here?" he asked quietly, as if he was concerned about disturbing his brother and sister. "Where is this place to shatter the stone?"
"We sort of made it up as we went along last time," Luke said. "There was a hidden passageway."
Jameson was looking directly at Baloric, waiting for him to address the very pressing matter that he had brought up while standing outside the Shrine concerning his magic. When it was clear Baloric was not going to bring it up on his own, Jameson finally and tactlessly asked, "Does Devin know? Do any of the Forces know?"
Baloric of course knew exactly what Jameson was talking about and attempted to feign an unconcerned attitude, even though it was obvious the issue greatly troubled him. "Not as far as I can tell," he said. "It's not something I feel comfortable discussing right now, however."
"But why did it happen?" Jameson questioned. "Why is your magic weak all of a sudden?"
"If I knew, don't you think I would tell you?" Baloric sighed, perturbed. "It's like a switch has just been turned off or something. Listen, it's been kind of weird ever since you got back, or appeared, back from wherever you went. But then things have just been completely off after I revived your memory. Frankly, I was lucky to have not been killed when I fought those weak forces in Miner Town after you took off for the Forest, Jameson. But the idea of not talking about it elates me, so let's just avoid the subject all together, okay? It's hard enough with the two of them here…"
He lowered his voice dramatically and momentarily peeked at William and Raven in a longing way, obviously pained by his inability to protect the two of them sufficiently.
"Does it happen often that Gislan can't use magic?" Luke asked.
"Not often, but it does happen," Baloric said, crossing his arms. "And it's not surprising. My parents were both not very strong magic users, and you know first hand how weak I am, Jameson."
"You're not weak, Baloric," said Jameson.
Baloric rolled his eyes, apparently not convinced by Jameson's halfhearted attempt to raise his spirits. When he did so, Jameson focused finally on Baloric's eyes again, noticing the center had returned to normal since the Angel had done whatever she did to him.
"Your eyes are back to normal," Jameson pointed out.
"Were they different?" Baloric said.
"The Angel," Jameson began with a sigh. "When she did that…I don't know. Your eyes were different for a bit. There was a white point in the center. It's not there anymore."
"What did she do to you?" Luke asked.
"She put something inside me," said Baloric begrudgingly. "I'm still not quite sure what it was. Some kind of memory, but it's like another language in my head." He put two fingers on his temple. "I'm not having the easiest time deciphering what she was trying to tell me, but I do know it's very distracting."
"So she didn't hurt you?" Jameson confirmed.
"No," said Baloric, standing up straight. "In spite of my personal feelings towards her, I think whatever she did was meant to be positive." Again, he looked back at his two younger siblings. "Let's look for this hidden passageway. Hopefully it will be in mostly clear sight."
"What will it look like?" Raven asked cautiously. "Come on, William. Look alive."
William nodded and sniffled as he stood up and began to look around the room with only his eyes. Baloric uncrossed his arms and wandered away from Jameson and Luke who split up as well, surveying the small room for anything out of the ordinary.
The Shrine itself was not too different from the Rain Shrine, aside from the most obvious which was that there were no plants and it was certainly not overgrown by vines. Unlit torches lined the walls, and several statues stood proudly and uncorrupted. The first place Jameson checked for a hidden passageway was around the feet of the token statue of the Ancient Lorne, but the floor was solid.
Luke met up with Jameson at the foot of the statue. "Anything?" he asked.
"No," Jameson said. "Even though the Shrines look the same on the inside, they were obviously designed differently."
Luke sighed and walked deliberately over to where Raven was standing in front of a large mural which took up almost the entire wall. The mural was so faded, the image was hardly distinguishable from the solid stone on either side of it. Luke recognized only a large mane, identifying the sy
mbol in the middle as a lion, the proud and fierce symbol of Gislan: the Shadow Spirit.
His eyes fell on Raven who was only staring straight ahead at the very center of the lion's mane. He didn't know exactly what she was thinking, but he could guess.
"Do you think they'll paint this over?" Luke tried in an attempt to make her feel better. "You know, put your face there instead."
Raven, however, was not amused. She extended her lower jaw, displeased, and only looked at Luke out of the corner of her eye. "This is not my destiny."
The last three syllables escaped her lips with utmost distain, as if merely saying the word was enough to disgust her.
"How do you figure?" Luke asked.
"Joy Angel knew it was her destiny to shatter the stone," Raven said, sounding understandably frustrated. "So she passed it to me. She cursed me. I always wondered why she kept me when she knew I couldn't use magic, and now I know it's because she just wanted someone to dump this on."