All Things in the Shadows II

by B. D. Messick

  The terminal building is throwing a massive shadow across the tarmac, but I still feel exposed as we take off running across the dark, gray concrete. My eyes are locked on the set of rolling stairs that lead up to a door on the side of the ramp. Parts of the steps are still bathed in sunlight.

  “They’re gonna see me,” I say as we’re running.

  “I’ll go first and get the door, just dart inside. We don’t have much choice.”

  I nod and watch as Kateri runs up the stairs and pulls the door open. She looks inside and then turns and waves me up.

  “Go,” Syrra says.

  I literally fly up the steps, taking three at a time. For a split second, I feel myself re-materialize, but no one screams or yells for me to stop. I rush through the opening with Syrra close behind. Thankfully, enough sunlight is coming through the thick, wrinkly plastic windows to create some shadows for me fade into. The door into the plane is hanging open. I pull out my phone and touch the screen.

  “When does this thing leave?”

  “6:45,” Kateri answers.

  “We’ve got about twenty minutes.”

  “Then let’s find a seat,” Kateri says, winking at me.

  Suddenly, a tall, thin blonde stewardess walks out of the plane and heads up the ramp to the terminal.

  “Come on. We may not have twenty minutes,” Kateri says.

  “Let me go first this time,” Syrra says. “Make sure the coast is clear.”

  She slips past us and into the plane. A few seconds later she reappears.

  “Two more attendants, but they’re busy talking with the pilots.”

  Luckily, as in the other plane, there are enough shadows from the light coming through the windows to allow me to remain faded…at least for the most part. There are a few gaps here and there, but it’s better than I expected.

  “These are going to be empty,” Kateri says, pointing to two seats on the right side, about three quarters of the way back into the cabin.

  “What about a third?” Syrra asks.

  “Two rows back, L5.”

  “Okay.”

  The sound of passengers beginning to enter the cabin fills the air, and we slip into our seats. Hopefully, there are no last-minute fliers and our seats really are un-booked. Kateri is sitting by the window, while I take the aisle spot. She takes my hand as fellow travelers pass by and I lean in and kiss her gently on the lips. The feel and taste of her indescribably soft skin of sends the flock of butterflies in my stomach into a frenzy. She touches my face, gently stroking my cheek.

  “I love you. You know that, right?”

  “I know it,” I reply, smiling at her and momentarily losing myself in that tornado of color in her eyes.

  The moment is shattered by the annoying voice of a rude and unnecessarily loud man in a business suit, overpriced sunglasses and a laptop bag slung over his shoulder. A young woman is blocking his way as she tries to situate her toddler in the seat by the window just in front of us.

  “I can’t believe you booked me in coach,” he says into his phone as he holds a venti-grande-extra-large-douchebag coffee in his other hand.

  He looks at the young mother and sighs.

  “Yeah, I can’t even get to my seat,” he says, half talking to the unfortunate person on the other end of the line and half to the lady.

  “I’ll just be a second,” she says with a friendly smile as she leans over her seat, trying to coax her not-quite-cooperative child into his spot.

  Suddenly, the d-b tries to push his way past and collides with the girl. She stumbles and loses her grip on her little boy. Kateri jumps up and reaches over the seat, catching the toddler before he hits his head on the wall of the fuselage, quickly setting him down on the seat. She looks at me and I glare at the man before I stick my foot out into the aisle.

  “Finally,” he says with a nasty tone as he passes my seat, but that’s as far as he makes it.

  He trips, and as he tries to recover, his coffee goes flying along with his phone. He does an awesome face-plant in a pool of hot coffee. I hear his phone hit the floor, followed by the sharp crack of breaking glass. I know his screen couldn’t have broken on its own, and when I look back down the aisle, Syrra winks at me. I smile back and return the gesture.

  “What the hell?” he mutters to himself as he stares at his mangled phone.

  The other passengers either stare at their electronic devices, or chuckle to themselves as the man scrambles to his feet and slips silently into his seat, hopefully embarrassed enough to keep his mouth shut for the rest of the flight. At least he won’t be talking on his phone.

  “What was that?” Kateri asks with a little grin on her face.

  “Justice,” I reply, patting her hand gently.

  Once we’re in the air, I look over at Kateri. She still has her eyes closed from the takeoff.

  “You okay?” I ask.

  “Yeah.”

  “So, what’s all this about Greensburg?”

  She sighs and then turns her head, looking at me.

  “It’s nothing. It’s old news.”

  “Not to me.”

  “Come on. Give me a break, huh? Can you just drop it?”

  “Why? Why won’t you tell me?”

  “I’ll tell you,” Syrra says as she sits down in the seat next to me.

  Whoever was booked in it must have missed the flight or upgraded to first class.

  “Don’t you dare,” Kateri says, leaning forward, her gaze fierce.

  “The Greensburg Massacre is legendary,” Syrra continues, completely ignoring Kateri’s threat and brutal stare. “So, it seems there were six incursions—”

  “Seven,” Kateri says.

  “Yeah, seven. Anyway, they were spread all over the Greensburg area, from Jeanette to Latrobe.”

  “There weren’t any in Latrobe. If you’re gonna tell it, tell it right.”

  “I swear I heard there was one up there,” Syrra says, giving me a secretive wink while Kateri’s not looking.

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake, I’ll tell it,” she says, sighing and shaking her head.

  Syrra grins at me and then sits back, crossing her arms and feigning anger.

  “So, there was this day, a long time ago when I had only been Shayd for maybe a year and a half when there were seven incursions in a five-hour timeframe, all in the Greensburg area.”

  “So, they sent you out to help with one of them?”

  “Not exactly.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “I went to all seven.”

  “All seven? Why would they dispatch you to so many?”

  “They didn’t really dispatch me. I was still on a medical-hold from some previous injuries…so I kinda went on my own.”

  “That sounds like something you’d do,” I say with a small smile, but when she doesn’t return it, I know there’s much more to the story.

  “Keep going,” Syrra prods quietly.

  “Anyway. I went on the first one, arriving before the Shayd who actually was sent. I found one demon and killed him easily and then immediately streamed away, heading for the next locale.”

  I nod silently as I listen.

  “The second one was a bit tougher. He got a few lucky hits in and I left him in a pool of his own blood, but I got two broken ribs in the process. The next five hours went by in the same way, one battle after another. I would kill the demon and usually escape before the other Shayd arrived, but by the time I got to the sixth incursion, I was in a bad way; broken ribs, multiple slashes and gashes and a punctured lung.”

  “Jesus, Kateri,” I mutter.

  She looks at me, and I can see the pain in her face as she continues with her story. By this time, Syrra is sitting forward in her seat, and I can tell some of this is new to her as well.

  “Reeva arrived at the sixth encounter while I was still battling the beast. I killed it and she was angry. She yelled at me, told me I had to go back to the Factory immediately. Father wanted to see me. I t
old her I would, but when her back was turned, I cold-cocked her and I streamed off to the seventh incursion.”

  “What? Why would you do that? I mean you were probably going to get...” I say, and then it finally hits me. “This was after Lena, wasn’t it?”

  For a moment, she doesn’t answer, and I can’t read anything clearly in her thoughts. I take her hand, squeezing it gently.

  “Yeah,” she finally replies.

  “You were trying to kill yourself, weren’t you?” I ask.

  She nods silently.

  “Shit, Kateri. I’m sorry, I didn’t know,” Syrra says.

  “It’s okay. It was a long time ago. Almost nobody knows, except for Reeva and Father.”

  I can feel a tear slip down my cheek and I pull her to me, slipping my arm behind her back and hugging her tightly. When we release each other, she smiles at me, and I can feel that it’s genuine.

  “Are you all right?” I ask quietly.

  “I’m good,” she replies with a squeeze of my fingers.

  “Well, I feel like a piece of shit,” Syrra says.

  “It’s cool, really. You couldn’t have known.”

  “Still. Piece of shit.”

  Kateri shakes her head and reaches past me, patting her on the arm.

  “Do you want to hear the rest?”

  “If you want to tell it,” I reply.

  “I got to the seventh location. There were two demons there, and they immediately pounced on me. I don’t remember some of what happened next, a lot of it is sort of hazy, but I know I was losing. I had given up, and I was ready to let it all go when Reeva appeared out of nowhere and she dispatched those two demons like they were nothing. I remember that she started yelling at me after they were dead. I’d never seen her like that, but then it dawned on her why I was doing it, and her whole demeanor changed.”

  My stomach feels sick, knowing that she was in such pain.

  “She picked me up and streamed us back to the Factory. Father was waiting at the door. He was mad too, at first, until Reeva explained.”

  “What happened after?”

  “Well, after I recovered, he teamed me up with Reeva, and I couldn’t go on any incursions without her. She helped me so much. Lots of training, lots of talking, and lots and lots of tears.”

  “It was the same when you helped me when I thought my Mom was gone,” I say, intertwining my fingers with hers.

  “Yeah.”

  It’s dark by the time we reach the doors of the Factory. Syrra stands beside us and looks up at the old, red-brick building.

  “Smaller than I figured,” she says.

  “Yeah, but it’s home,” I reply.

  The second we walk inside, I’m nearly tackled by Wren. She wraps her arms around me, apparently trying to squeeze me to death. I look over at Kateri and she smiles warmly at me.

  “Are you okay? I heard about the plane,” she says as she takes a small step back.

  “We’re good,” I reply, gently stroking her hair.

  It’s then that I notice the long, jagged cut on her right cheek. It looks fresh.

  “What happened to you?”

  I kneel in front of her, examining her face.

  “It’s nothing, just a scratch. I was careless. It won’t happen again,” she replies before looking up at Syrra. “Who’s this?”

  “This is Syrra. She’s from Minneapolis.”

  Wren takes a step closer and reaches out, taking Syrra’s hand in hers.

  “I’m sorry about what happened,” she says, and Syrra shifts her jaw back and forth. I swear her eyes momentarily fill with tears, but I could be wrong.

  “Thank you,” she answers before forcing the rest of her reaction back down.

  “I’m Wren, by the way.”

  “It’s good to meet you Wren. Been here long?”

  “A few months.”

  “And you’re already fighting demons?” she asks, staring at her facial injury.

  “I am.”

  I half-expect Syrra to say that she’s too young, or inexperienced or the like, but instead, she nods and grins at Wren.

  “Good for you. We always need good fighters,” she says, and Wren gives her a huge grin in return.

  “Wren. Give everyone a call and have them meet us at Father’s office,” I say.

  “Everyone? Even Jax?”

  “Yeah. Especially Jax, we’re going to need him. Come on,” I say to Syrra, turning right and heading toward the globe room.

  “Is that the demon you brought back?” Syrra ask as we walk.

  “Yes. He’s the demon who saved a bunch of us,” I reply, reminding her what I said earlier, and then a thought pops into my head.

  K ~ Maybe we should introduce them…in private.

  E ~ She’s probably less likely to kill him in a room full of people.

  K ~ Hopefully.

  When we reach Father’s office, it’s already crowded. Clay, Evan, Father and my mother are all waiting for us. As soon as we reach the top of the stairs, my mom has me in a tight hug, her breath tickling my ear. I close my eyes and take in every sensation, cataloging them for future reference.

  “I’m so glad you’re back,” she says.

  “Us too,” I reply with a smile.

  She nods and smiles back before reaching out and taking Kateri’s hand and pulling her into a fierce embrace. The hug lasts nearly as long as mine, and it’s my mother who has to end it.

  “Welcome back,” Father says as he comes around from behind his desk.

  “Thank you, Father,” I reply.

  I wrap my arms around him, resting my head against his chest. I can feel everyone’s eyes on me, but I don’t care. When I finally release him, no one looks more shocked at my actions than Syrra. Father looks at Kateri and gives her that little nod that I know says more than any words or gestures that could pass between them. Besides, my mom is still holding her hand, keeping her close.

  Father looks over my shoulder at Syrra, who is standing quietly by the door, her hands clasped in front of her.

  “You brought a friend,” he says.

  “Yeah, this is—”

  “Syrra,” he says, finishing my sentence.

  She looks at me and then back at Father.

  “I know of you,” he says, smiling warmly.

  She swallows hard, and when he takes a step forward, she lowers her head, looking at the floor. Her actions seem completely out of character, but I think back to when I first met Father, and I probably acted the same way. He reaches out and takes her hand, holding it gently between his.

  “I’m sorry about what happened in Minneapolis,” he says, and she looks up at him.

  “Thank you,” she replies, quietly.

  “We will find out who did this.”

  “I hope so.”

  “Speaking of that. I have something that might help,” I say, reaching into my pocket and retrieving the flash drive. “There are some not-so-great video and still images on this.”

  “Here,” Evan says, holding up his hand. “I’ll see what I can do.”

  “By the way, that’s Evan. He’s a wizard on the computer,” Father says.

  “Hi,” Syrra says with a small nod of her head.

  “Hey,” he responds before quickly exiting the room.

  “Where are the others?” I ask.

  “Here,” Wren answers from behind me.

  She walks into the room, striding across the floor with a lot more self-confidence than I ever had at her age. Reeva and Jax are just behind, but he stops dead when he spots Syrra. I look over at Kateri and she moves to his side and whispers something in his ear. Reeva stands by him, her hand resting on the pommel of her sword.

  “Syrra. I think we should probably explain,” Father says.

  She looks at him and then back at Jax.

  “No explanation is necessary,” she says, the tone in her voice more like the Syrra we met back at the Mill.

  K ~ Oh shit.

  My fingers touch the
handle of my knife, as my heart rate doubles.

  “You must be Jax,” Syrra says.

  My mother takes a step closer to Reeva, her eyes locked on Syrra. For his part, Jax seems amazingly calm. I can’t say the same for the rest of us.

  “I am.”

  Syrra takes a step forward and my fingers automatically wrap around the hilt of my dagger. When she sticks her hand out, everyone has a similar reaction, reaching for weapons, or steeling themselves for some sort of conflict; everyone except Jax and Syrra.

  “You’re the one who helped rescue Dell, right?” she asks.

  “Dell?” Jax responds before extending his hand in response.

  “You probably didn’t know his name. He was one of the Shayds you saved from the Abyss.”

  Jax nods as she takes his clawed hand firmly in hers and shakes. I let out a breath and relax, and I can feel the tension in the room drop ten notches.

  “I guess that was me.”

  They continue shaking hands, neither one releasing the other. I’m not sure if it’s some sort of test on her part, but in any case, they stand there, connected while the rest of us look on.

  “Thank you, for what you did.”

  “No problem.”

  Again, they continue to stand there, studying each other until she finally releases his hand and takes a step back. She is so difficult to read, and I can’t pick up any thoughts from her at all. She looks at the rest of us and grins.

  “What?”

  “Nothing,” I reply, answering for the rest of the room.

  “Well. Now that is out of the way,” Father says. “Let me introduce you to everyone else. This is Janet, Eve’s mom.”

  “Really? You’re both Shayds?”

  “Yes. I was one of the people who Jax rescued.”

  She nods and looks at Reeva.

  “You’re Reeva, correct?”

  “Yes,” she replies, looking at her sideways.

  “I’ve heard of you too,” she says, seeming to take note at how close Jax and Reeva are standing next to each other.

  “I doubt that.”

  “A demon hunter extraordinaire,” she responds.

  “I do my job.”

  “And more.”

  She glances at Jax to see his reaction, but he just stares back at her.