A Shadow's Tale

by Jennifer Hanlon

  ‘Sorry,’ he said quickly, his emotions telling me that he was aware that he had made a mistake. ‘I don’t really want people I don’t know joining me on this. It’s too dangerous. It’s too easy to get hurt, and I don’t know what to do if anyone does get hurt.’

  ‘Fair enough,’ I answered neutrally, walking over to the fountain and dipping my hand into its frigid waters, the cold searing my skin as I flicked the drops from my fingers. I could sense his confusion.

  ‘Where are you going?’

  ‘Nowhere in particular,’ I murmured, ‘I just need to get away from my family.’

  ‘I need to get away from mine too, but I guess for different reasons than yours.’ I turned to look at him. Instead of the human I had seen before, this humanoid was covered in brown fur, his eyes turned red, his hands clawed and a monkey’s tail slicing at the air. He tilted his head to the side as he watched me. ‘You’re leaving your family to save yourself, but I’m guessing that there’s another reason behind that one.’

  I turned back to the fountain, looking down at my reflection, at the damning evidence of the prophecy in the scar around my eye. ‘They’re trying to protect me, to keep me away from something very dangerous, but it won’t work for long. I just don’t want to see them hurt…’

  ‘I like that. You’re trying to protect your loved ones even though it puts you in danger.’ I felt his hand gingerly touch my shoulder, as if he was unsure of what to do. ‘I guess you could come with me, if you still want to. I’ll try to protect you too, but I’m not really good at medical things. I know the basic human anatomy and that’s about it, and even then it’s only approximately.’

  ‘Don’t worry about healing,’ I replied, turning to him. ‘Vrael’s taught me a few bits about medicine. So, where do we start?’

  ‘The relic’s last known position was in a mountain range north-west from here, so I guess we start moving. There’s something you should know about where it’s kept though.’ I glanced at him, wondering what it was as he took a deep breath. ‘They say that the walls move. No one’s ever come back from trying to find it.’

  I smiled slightly. ‘Sounds like a challenge.’

  We moved out, starting the journey to the outskirts of the city. If this All Teller necklace had been made by the Kraferrs, then their scent should still linger on it. I sniffed at Bart as discreetly as I could. Yep, there was a scent here that was definitely not human, and not like anything I had ever come across. Taking that as the scent of the Kraferrs, I kept my nose on alert for anything close to it. There were several living scents in the city, but this one shouldn’t be moving. I stopped. There was something wrong here. A smell that didn’t belong. A smell that couldn’t belong. Bart stopped as well, glancing back at me with a worried expression. I listened carefully, putting a hand on the hilt of one of the two swords strapped permanently to my side. There’s one thing about walking down a deserted street with another person. There should only be two patterns of footsteps. Not three. Someone was following us.

  ‘Shadow?’ Bart asked.

  ‘There’s someone there,’ I replied quickly, in a low voice. I unsheathed one sword. He readied his claws, looking around for the unknown stalker. I took on my battle stance, breathing deeply, eyes searching the dark streets. Something whistled through the air. Ducking quickly, I watched as a lock of purple hair drifted to the ground and an arrow quivered in the wall behind me.

  ‘That was too close for comfort,’ I muttered. I drew my other sword, taking comfort in the twin weights in my hands. I was good with these weapons. I could defend myself and Bart if necessary. Memories of Amarath’s words started to murmur in the back of my mind, reminders of how to handle an opponent. I scanned the shadows, looking for anything out of place. I spotted the assailant, a black clothed man standing in an alleyway, bow in his hands. Another arrow only just missed Bart. The Kraferr darted towards the man, zigzagging to make a projectile attack more difficult. Obviously panicked, the attacker drew a sword, holding it at the ready. A scream caught in my throat as I watched Bart launch himself at the person, too fast to stop his attack. The man lunged at the Kraferr with the sword, piercing Bart’s arm then his chest. Bart seemed to laugh, raking at the assailant’s eyes with his claws. The attacker ripped his sword out of Bart as I ran to help the Kraferr, throwing it towards me before he fled. My eyes widened as the sword headed straight for me. It was too late to dodge. Too late to slow down. Too late to do anything. The metal buried itself in my chest, straight through my heart. Gasping, I fell to the ground. I lay there on my side, trying to think of what to do. Nothing came to mind, just the pain of the blade skewering me like a particularly morbid kebab. The smell of Bart’s blood came closer to me, his breathing ragged and panicked.

  ‘Shadow, can you hear me? I need to call Vrael, but how?’

  ‘I can hear…’ I managed to get out. Goddess, breathing hurt. How was Bart holding up? I knew that demons had a secondary heart. I would be okay as long as I didn’t bleed to death. But Kraferrs? I was fairly sure they weren’t as resilient as the supposed spawn of evil. ‘Don’t call…Vrael. They…can’t know.’ I had to get this sword out of my chest before it caused any more damage. Grasping the hilt, slippery with Bart’s and my blood, I wrenched it out, letting it clatter onto the concrete. Given the amounts of blood pouring out of the wound, I was starting to doubt my survival. Gritting my teeth, I pushed those thoughts away. The consequences were too dire to contemplate. ‘I won’t die,’ I muttered to myself. I WILL NOT DIE!’ I pushed myself up on my elbows, then my knees, then my feet, grabbing onto a nearby lamppost to keep myself upright. I felt Bart grab my arm, pulling it over his shoulders before he picked me up with an ease that betrayed his injuries. I cringed as the pain he felt flooded my mind. My own pain was too great for me to keep up my usual defences. Reaching up a hand to his temple, I let my magic flow into him, to lessen some of his wounds. I couldn’t heal myself. No demon could. But I could help him. He pulled his head away from my touch.

  ‘Keep your energy, Shad, you need it more than I do.’ he murmured. We reached a doctor’s surgery a few streets over. Carefully sitting me on the ground, he set about picking the locks with a claw. I put my hand against the wall, sending a magical pulse through the electric system to disable the alarms. I gasp as the energy left me, leaving me dizzy and barely conscious. He swore, picking me up again and bundling me into one of the treatment rooms. I vaguely heard him muttering to himself as he searched for the necessary materials. A syringe pierced the skin close to the wound, but I barely felt a pinprick. It was surpassed by the gash left by the sword. I was dimly aware of the needle passing back and forth, closing the wound. Slowly, I became more and more aware of the things around me, coming further and further away from unconsciousness.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ he was saying quietly. ‘I’m so sorry. I couldn’t protect you. This was the first time we were attacked and I still couldn’t protect you.’

  ‘It’s okay,’ I murmured, reaching out to squeeze his hand. ‘There wasn’t much you could have done.’ I sat up slowly, grimacing as I pulled the sutures slightly. They were going to be a pain in the backside, especially since they would have to be renewed at some point, probably by Vrael if he didn’t kill me first. With demonic blood being slightly more acidic than human, most stitches didn’t last long. ‘We should get moving before they attack again.’ Hearing no answer, I glanced at Bart. His body was sprawled on the ground, his breathing shallow. All around the room were pools of red blood. His blood. Swearing in every language I knew, I knelt next to him, placing my hands over his wounds. Focusing my magic, I concentrated on repairing at least some of the damage. It wasn’t enough. I grabbed the things I needed from the shelves, ignoring the pain in both my hearts. It didn’t matter. I was going to live, but he wasn’t if I didn’t do something fast. I crouched next to him again, prepping a needle and thread. His hand reached out to grip mine.

  ‘Don’t let me die here.’

  ‘I won’
t. I promise I won’t let you die.’ After disinfecting the wound, I snatched a compression pad from my pile of supplies, applying it to the wounds, trying to staunch the bleeding. He had lost so much blood. Too much blood. I narrowed my eyes, grabbing an empty syringe. I stuck it into my arm, drawing blood into it. I knew that there would be a few side effects over from of the demonic part to my blood, but it would help. It was against so many rules that I couldn’t count them all, but I didn’t care. He had saved me. I had to do everything I could to save him. I injected it straight into his heart, followed by two more. My head began to feel light, but I forced myself to concentrate. I continued to apply pressure to Bart’s wounds, praying that my blood would help him. The bleeding was slowing, and I started to stitch the wounds after injecting some local anaesthetic around them. Once I had tied off the final stitch, I placed a finger on his forehead, murmuring a spell that would hopefully bring him back from unconsciousness. He awoke with a gasp of pain. He tried to speak, his eyes wide in panic. I bit my lip, bowing my head.

  ‘You…you…you…’

  ‘I had to inject some of my blood into your system,’ I said quietly. ‘You had lost so much…’

  ‘What’ll happen to me?’ he asked, his voice sounding stronger as the demonic blood running through his veins started to take hold.

  ‘I’m only half demon, so my blood isn’t as potent as full-bloods.’ I took a deep breath. ‘Actually, I have no idea…Uh, from what I know, it’s kinda, uh, probable that you’ll convert into a part demon…’

  For a moment he said nothing, processing the information. I mentally kicked myself for not looking for some human blood to give him. He reached up a hand, touching my neck. I almost flinched away, but he touched the pulse point next to my throat. ‘Your main heart isn’t working yet…’ I moved away slightly, dislodging his hand from my neck. I didn’t want to answer that question.

  ‘We should get moving before someone finds us here.’ I declared, holding out a hand to help him to his feet. I grabbed some of the medical supplies, slipping them into my pockets in case we needed them later.

  As we walked down the street, I watched Bart carefully. He seemed to be holding up well given the havoc the demonic blood must be wreaking on his body. We walked in silence, the furrow of concentration on the Kraferr’s forehead deepening as he tried to keep walking in a straight line. I glanced away, guilt clouding my mind. He stopped, crouching and placing one fur-covered hand on the ground.

  ‘Strange…’

  I sniffed the air, but couldn’t identify the smell. It was damp, mouldy and animalistic, dangerous and threatening. A part of me wondered if Karthragan had been out in the rain in his wolf form, looking for me, hunting me down.

  ‘We need to get out of here. Now!’ Bart ordered. The edge of panic in his voice put me on edge. My already difficult concentration scattered completely. My mind froze as I tried to think of a way out, some way to escape.

  ‘I can’t teleport us,’ I said, not even willing to attempt it. There was no telling where we’d end up. Bart answered the problem at hand in his own way, seizing me around the stomach with one arm, scaling the side of the building next to us with an ease that I found hard to believe. We surfaced on the rooftop where Bart staggered, clutching at his wound. I felt his pain and grimaced.

  ‘Come here, let me heal that,’ I said in a tone that implied that I wasn’t going to take no for an answer. I didn’t care that I was tired, or hurt, or that we were trying to hide from something I didn’t know. He didn’t put up a protest as I gently laid a hand on the wound on his chest, concentrating on helping the minuscule fibres reconnect and heal. Once I had done as much as I could, I sat back, discreetly raising a finger to the pulse point on my neck. Still twice as fast as it needed to be. Although I had a secondary heart, it was smaller than the primary. It had to work harder to keep my body functioning. I let my hand fall, looking out over the city once more.

  ‘Who were they?’ I asked.

  ‘The Ku’Rutiek. They’re Kraferric outlaws who believe that the necklace should remain undiscovered, that it isn’t the answer to our survival.’ He turned to look at me through the red eyes of his were-monkey form. ‘They are the reason so many Kraferr Ones have failed.’ I nodded silently, pondering. ‘Shad?’

  ‘Hm?’

  ‘You said you were trying to get away from your family, to keep them safe. You never said why.’

  I sighed, shifting into a more comfortable position, looking out over the city with its pinpricks of street lights. Leaning on my hands, I thought carefully about my words. After all, he was one of us now. He might as well know how we work. ‘A part demon’s life is ruled by prophecy. The more important the demon parent is, the more the prophecy impacts your life. I drew the short sword in that my father is the ruler of all demons. I’m supposed to fight him to the death for control over the demons.’

  ‘When?’

  ‘In a month…’

  ‘And you agreed to help me? Shouldn’t you be training to fight?’

  ‘We’re both going to die. It was in the prophecy. We both have to die, so what’s the point? We should start moving again before they catch our scent.’ I stepped over the edge of the building, to freefall to the ground. Normally it wouldn’t be a problem. A storey or two won’t do anything to a demon. Any more than that, however, and you’re looking at scraping bits of demon off the pavement. As I landed, I staggered, grabbing onto a lamppost to regain my balance. The sword wound was throbbing again, my heartbeat almost a hum as it raced to keep up with everything I was putting my body through. I nodded once at Bart, signalling that everything was fine to continue the quest.

  We walked in silence for another couple of streets before Bart started to have problems. The blood was starting to take effect. He stopped, collapsing onto a nearby bench, breathing ragged as his body tried to fight the onslaught of demonic transformation. I sat next to him, guilt consuming my mind again.

  ‘I’m sorry, I need to take a break,’ he said, leaning his head back to ease his breathing.

  ‘I shouldn’t have given you my blood.’ I looked down at my hands folded in my lap. ‘You have no reason to be sorry.’

  ‘You did what you had to in order to save my life. I’m grateful for that.’

  ‘There’s always an alternative…’

  ‘Shadow, what’s done is done, there’s nothing you can do about it.’

  I said nothing, leaning my head back against the bench, closing my eyes. It was comforting to just stare at the inside of my eyelids. Nothing complicated, no prophecies, nothing to run from.

  ‘Hey, Shad, with the blood transfer, what’ll I be able to do?’

  ‘Magic mainly. It should manifest soon, give or take a couple of hours,’ I said without looking up at him. ‘You’ll be able to use it like mine. It requires concentration, and an ability to visualise what you want it to do. For example,’ I raised a hand to chest height, palm facing upwards. ‘Within my mind, I can see a small orb of magic above my hand.’ After a few moments of concentration, it slowly appeared. ‘You could imagine it attacking something or someone, or seeking something and bringing it to you.’

  ‘Cool.’

  ‘So, what’s our next move?’ I was starting to get restless. Staying in one place for too long when there were people looking for us was a recipe for disaster, especially since neither of us were in any state to fight, especially not if Bart was going to undergo a rather fast demonic transformation soon.

  ‘We continue going north-west, towards the mountains. When we get there, we should be able to get up to the cave easily,’ Bart said, starting to walk along the street. I followed him like a kitten on a string. ‘By the way, did you recognise our mysterious assailant?’

  I gritted my teeth. Yes, I knew who he was or rather, what group he belonged to. I wasn’t sure Bart really wanted or needed to know though. ‘Yes, I did recognise him.’

  He suddenly became worried. ‘Who was it?’

  ‘No one
you want to know.’

  ‘Shad…Can you at least tell me why he was after us then?’ He was starting to get a little irritated, that much I could tell. I started to chew on my lip, looking at the Kraferr out of the corner of my eye.

  ‘He was a Demon Hunter.’ I conceded.

  ‘Like a vampire hunter?’

  ‘No,’ I had to take a deep breath. ‘The Demon Hunters are a cult of humans who worship my father and do his dirty work in this realm.’

  ‘So his coming after us had nothing to do with the fact that you were with me?’

  ‘No. If it was, I would have to remove his head personally and spit down his neck. They’re only supposed to be after me.’

  I couldn’t help but notice the silence Bart was keeping up as we continued our trek in silence. I pulled the hood of my cloak over my face as I glared at the ground, cursing myself in every single language I knew. I placed a hand on the hilt of my sword, keeping an ear out for anything unusual. Bart stopped again, sniffing the air. I paused, watching him carefully for any tell-tale signs that meant we had to make a rapid exit.

  ‘Smell something?’

  ‘No, nothing. I can’t see, smell or hear anything. That’s not normal.’ I closed my eyes, reaching out with my mind to try to pick up any other forms of consciousness. I came up with a couple of lizards and a stray cat. Nothing of any note. But there was something else there. Something doing its damnest to hide from me, slipping out of my grasp every time I tried to get a hold on it.

  A figure dropped down from the rooftop. I jumped, drawing my sword. Bart stood slightly in front of me, claws at the ready. The figure held up his hands in a peaceful, not quite surrendering gesture. A young man, perhaps only a couple of years older than me. He smelled a little strange, not unlike Bart, but a scent all his own.