All Things in the Shadows II

by B. D. Messick

  “How did you decide what weapon to choose?” she asks, looking at my bow and sword.

  “I don’t know, really. They just felt right to me, but that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about.”

  “What then?”

  “Why do you want to be a warrior, Hannah?”

  “I want to help people. I want to protect people.”

  “That’s good, but you can do that here without being a warrior.”

  “How?”

  “We need all sorts of people. Computer experts, doctors and nurses, technicians, cooks—”

  “A cook? How does a cook help save the world?”

  “We all have to eat,” I reply.

  “That’s not very exciting.”

  “Maybe not, but not everyone is meant to be a fighter. What about your brother?”

  “Andrew? He hates fighting.”

  “Really? He was the one protecting you out there. He seemed to know how to hold a knife like a fighter.”

  “I showed him how to do it. I read it in a book at the library.”

  I smile at her.

  “So, what does he like?”

  “He loves computers. He’ll probably want to work with them.”

  “That’s good, we can always use more people like that.”

  “But what about me? I want to help.”

  “I know you do, but you have a long time to decide. You don’t need to worry about it for a while. Besides, you still need to finish school.”

  “School? We still have to go to school?”

  “Of course you do.”

  “I figured we just hunted demons, and that was it.”

  I chuckle quietly.

  “Nah. There’s a lot more to being a Shayd than demon hunting. You’ll probably start training soon, but you also have to keep up with your studies as well.”

  She looks down at the floor for a moment before making eye contact with me again a few seconds later.

  “It’s been a while since we’ve been to school.”

  “I know. Don’t worry, we’ll get you up to speed in no time.”

  She nods silently before looking around at the dozens of empty rings, attack dummies and other combat equipment.

  “You said I’ll start training soon?”

  “Yeah. Probably.”

  “So, let’s start now.”

  “Hold on. I’m not a trainer, Hannah. I’m pretty new here myself.”

  “Come on. What are you doing down here this early?” she asks, tilting her head to the side.

  I roll my eyes.

  “I came to practice.”

  “Uh, huh, which is the same as training, right?”

  “I guess so.”

  “So, we can practice together.”

  “Fine, but no weapons. I’ll show you some basic hand-to-hand techniques.”

  “Cool!” she replies excitedly.

  I get to my feet and climb out of the ring, leaving my sword and bow on one of the benches between the rings. Hannah stands and waits for me, shifting her weight from side to side. I slip under the ropes and walk to the center of our workout space.

  “So. Let’s see what you’ve got,” I say. “Come at me.”

  “What? Now?” she asks hesitantly.

  “You said you want to be a fighter.”

  “But…I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “Don’t worry,” I say, shaking my head. “You won’t, and even if you did, I’ve been hurt a lot more than you can imagine.”

  She nods and swallows hard before taking two steps closer to me and making an awkward swing with her right arm. I block it easily, swatting her hand away. She tries again, and I deflect her attack once more.

  “You can do better?” I ask, pushing her shoulder gently.

  “I’m trying,” she replies, whining slightly.

  “You’re not trying very hard. You’re not going to hurt me.”

  She tries again, with more force this time, but I slap her hands away with ease. She takes a step back, frowning at me.

  “What am I doing wrong?’ she asks.

  “The first thing is, what you’re doing right. You’re asking questions. Most people come in here and figure they already know how to fight, but they don’t have a clue. Secondly, you’re looking exactly where you’re going to attack, telegraphing your punches. That’s your problem.”

  “Well, what am I supposed to do?”

  “This,” I say, stepping forward and focusing my gaze on her face, while I land soft punch after soft punch on her arms, shoulders and stomach. “You see what I did?”

  “I think so.”

  “Pay attention to how I’m reacting,” I say, “not where you’re going to hit me.”

  “I think I got it,” she says.

  “Okay. Give it a try.”

  This time, she follows my directions and, although I deflect the majority of her attacks, she lands a few blows here and there. When she steps back, a smile has replaced the frown.

  “Not bad,” I say.

  “It wasn’t that good.”

  “It was better, and that’s all that matters.”

  “Again?” she asks, grinning at me.

  “Again.”

  “Okay,” I say, stepping back, sweat dripping off my brow. “I think that’s enough for now.”

  I’m breathing hard, trying to catch my breath as Hannah continues to circle around me. I can feel the telltale trickle of blood from my nose where she got in a good shot. She looks as tired as I do, which makes me feel a little better. She finally lowers her hands and gives me an exhausted smile. This all reminds me of one of Kateri and my first combat training sessions, and I grin back at her and then suddenly a jolt of pain shoots up my left arm and burrows itself deep into my spine. I cry out and drop to one knee. Hannah rushes to my side.

  “Are you okay?” she asks, her voice frantic.

  It takes me a moment to answer as the pain slowly ebbs.

  “I’m fine,” I reply quietly.

  “You don’t seem fine.”

  “It’s just an old injury,” I reply. “Sometimes it flares up.”

  I push myself up and take a deep breath.

  “I’m good now. Thanks. Um…can we just keep this between us?”

  “You mean don’t tell Kateri?”

  “Basically, yeah.”

  “Okay, as long as it doesn’t happen again.”

  “Fair enough, thanks.”

  “No problem. By the way, you’re bleeding,” she says.

  I wipe below my nose with the back of my hand; the blood smearing across my fingers.

  “Sorry about that,” she says, sheepishly.

  “You don’t need to apologize. It was a good shot. Come on, let’s go get cleaned up and talk.”

  “Don’t tell Kateri I did that to you. I don’t want her to be mad at me.”

  “Don’t worry,” I reply while lifting the rope for her to climb under.

  After a quick stop in the locker room to clean the blood off my hand and face, I grab my weapons and we head for the exit. Hannah presses the button for the lift and the doors open immediately, further evidence that we are one of the few people awake and about this morning.

  “How about some breakfast?” I ask.

  “I could eat,” she replies with a grin.

  “Somehow I knew you’d say that.”

  The lift doors open, and we walk out onto the main floor. Again, things are quiet and except for the kitchen staff in the mess hall, we are the only ones here. I walk up to the window and lean inside. Ka’ve is standing at the grill, scraping the surface with some sort of tool.

  “Morning,” I say.

  He turns and frowns at me, a confused look on his face.

  “Is that you, Eve? This early?” he asks.

  “Ha. Yes, it’s me, and I can see you’re already in a mood.”

  “I’m not in a mood but seeing you in the morning is like seeing the moon during the day,” he says chuckling.

  “Well,
miracles happen every day,” I respond, “like you making us some sunny side up eggs without burning the edges.”

  “That gives them flavor,” he shoots back.

  “Yeah, burned flavor.”

  He chuckles and then smiles at me.

  “Bacon? Toast?”

  I look over at Hannah and she nods.

  “Sounds good.”

  “Be up in ten,” he says, and I turn back to Hannah. “I guess we can have our pick of the tables.”

  She chooses one in the corner, only a few steps from the kitchen. I set my weapons on the bench beside me while Hannah takes a seat on the other side.

  “Can I ask you something?” she says.

  “Sure.”

  “How did you get here? How did you become a Shayd? Did they rescue you from the street too?”

  “No. My path was different from yours,” I say, sounding older and more Jedi-like than I really intend.

  “How?”

  “It’s a long story, Hannah.”

  She nods, looking down at the table.

  “But are you glad you’re here?” she asks after a few moments of silence.

  “So glad,” I reply.

  The bell at the window rings and Ka’ve smiles at us.

  “Order up!” he shouts before disappearing back inside.

  “Be right back.”

  I jump up and retrieve the tray. There are two plates, each one filled with three eggs and a pile of crispy bacon strips. Two pieces of toast cut into triangles are stacked carefully on the edge of the dish. Four glasses; two filled with milk and two with orange juice take up the rest of the space on the tray.

  “Oh my God, that smells awesome,” I set the tray down in the middle of the table.

  “It sure does. Dig in.”

  We each take our plates and drinks, and quickly down half the food before finally pausing. I take a long swig from the juice glass and look over at Hannah.

  “Are you glad you’re here?” I ask.

  Her eyes meet mine and she just stares for a few seconds before answering.

  “I am. I don’t know what would have happened to us if you hadn’t brought us here.”

  “Good, but what about Andrew?”

  “Yeah. Andrew. I don’t know.”

  “He protected you out there, didn’t he?”

  “Yeah, he did, but like I said, he doesn’t like fighting.”

  “That’s okay, like I said before, there’s a place here for everyone.”

  She swirls some of the yoke of her eggs with her fork.

  “What happens if he doesn’t want to stay?”

  “Then he doesn’t have to. There’s a window of time where someone can still return to the Solas, but the reason we come for people when we do, is that there’s a tipping point when they lose all hope and are lost forever, both to us and to the Solas.”

  “And we were there?”

  “Yes…close anyway.”

  She looks down at her plate again before raising her gaze.

  “But if he left, what does that mean for me?”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Would I be able to stay, even if Andrew decides to leave?” she asks quietly.

  I can hear and feel the trepidation in her voice.

  “Of course, but would you want to?”

  She sighs and shakes her head.

  “I don’t know, but I do know I wouldn’t go back to the streets.”

  “You guys only have each other, to be separated would be painful, to say the least.”

  She nods silently.

  “Yeah, it would be, but I want to do something good with my life, and I think this is how I can do it. I want to help people. I want a future.”

  “I get that, Hannah…I really do. Maybe we can talk to Andrew and see how he’s feeling about all this.”

  “Okay. That sounds good. Now, can we get some more bacon?” she asks, grinning at me, her mood lightening.

  “Absolutely.”

  Chapter Twenty

  “Are you really sure we should be doing this?” Kateri asks from behind the bathroom door. “You know, with everything that’s going on?”

  “Listen. There hasn’t been an attack in almost two months, and it was Father who came to me with the idea. Everyone needs a chance to relax, to be happy for a night without having to worry…so stop stalling.”

  “I really don’t want to do this,” she says, whining just a bit.

  “Come on. I’m sure you look beautiful,” I respond from our bed.

  I’m sitting cross-legged on the edge of the mattress, dressed in a robe and slippers. My hair is piled on the top of my head, held together with a few strategically placed pins.

  “This isn’t me, Eve,” she replies, her voice quiet and unsure.

  “Come on, just come out and show me.”

  She mumbles something, but I can’t make it out, and she’s being very disciplined with her thoughts; not giving anything away. I look up at the door when I hear the lock being opened from the other side. I take in a breath as she walks out, wobbling slightly on the red and black high heels.

  “Oh my God,” I whisper.

  She doesn’t look at me, but I can’t take my eyes off her. I always thought she was sexy and beautiful, but she’s never looked like this before, except maybe in my dirty little secret dreams. I stand up, my eyes locked on her. The short, red dress is so form fitting that it looks like she was dipped in paint. Her hair is pulled back into a loose bun, two carved wooden sticks help keeping it all in place. A few strategically placed strands perfectly frame her face on either side.

  “Well?” she asks.

  I can feel the nervousness in her voice.

  “I don’t know what to say.”

  “See? I told you. This isn’t me. It doesn’t look good.”

  She frowns at me and I reach out and take her hand.

  “First off. I don’t know what to say because you look freaking amazing,” I say, smiling at her. “Secondly, that dress is so you. It’s unbelievable. And thirdly, I cannot believe how much I want you right now.”

  “Really?” she asks, smiling at me, some of the sparkle returning to her eyes.

  “I shit you not. Can you turn around?”

  For a second, I don’t think she’s going to do it, but then she does, and things just get better.

  “Wow.”

  “Are you sure?” she asks, trying to twist herself so she can look at her own ass.

  “I’m sure.”

  My heart is pounding out of my chest, my pulse racing.

  “You’re not just saying that, right?”

  “No. I mean it.”

  I take a step closer, slipping my arm around her waist and pulling her closer. She smiles at me as I gaze into the calliope of colors exploding in her eyes. Leaning forward, I press my lips against hers and everything else around us seems to fade away. My hand slides down her back like a drop of water slipping down the side of a glass.

  “I guess you really do like it?” she says.

  “I told you.”

  “Now it’s your turn.”

  I reluctantly release her hand and retrieve my dress from the closet. She’s gazing at me as I step inside the bathroom, but I stop just before closing the door.

  “You better not take that off,” I say pointing at her.

  “I won’t,” I reply, and then a thought occurs to me.

  E ~ Wait…what am I saying?

  …and then I catch one of Kateri’s in my head.

  K ~ Just shut up and put on your dress.

  I close the door and hang the dress on the shower curtain bar. I look at myself in the mirror for a few moments. I can’t remember ever feeling as happy as I am right now, and it’s written all over my face; I cannot stop smiling. I drop the robe, letting it crumple around my feet. I have a bra hanging on the back of the door, but I look at the dress for a split second before deciding I don’t need it.

  I slip the thin, black garment off the hanger
and hold it in front of me. It’s a little longer than Kateri’s, but not by much. This is her first time wearing something as girly and sexy as what she has on, but I’ve never worn anything like this before either. I never felt strong enough, or pretty enough, or had any reason to wear a dress like this, but Kateri has changed everything in my life, and I want to show her how much I appreciate it. I slip it on over my head, wiggling back and forth, and tugging on the bottom until the tiny black straps come to rest on my bare shoulders.

  It feels like I have nothing on at all. It feels…amazing. I pull the pins out of my hair, and the soft curls tumble down across my shoulders. I pick a thought out of the air from the other side of the door.

  K ~ How am I supposed to fight in this thing?

  E ~ Seriously? You’re not Wonder Woman.

  K ~ Shut up.

  I adjust my hair in the mirror for a few minutes before tugging the dress down just a bit lower. I sit on the edge of the tub and pull on a pair of black leather boots that nearly reach my knees. Swallowing hard, I turn, take in a deep breath and open the bathroom door. The second I step outside and see Kateri’s face, it tells me everything I need to know.

  “That good?” I ask.

  She just continues to stare at me, her mouth slightly agape, but she has yet to say a word, and it plants the seed of doubt.

  “I…I can’t believe—”

  “You can’t believe what? That I could look this nice?” I ask, becoming suddenly defensive.

  “No. I can’t believe that you’re my girlfriend.”

  The door slides open with a whisper and we step out of our apartment into the hall. No one is around, and for a second, I’m relieved, but then I feel disappointed that no one may get to see me like this. I take Kateri’s hand as we’re walking to the elevator. When I look over at her, she still seems uncomfortable in the shoes and the dress.

  “You know, you can change if you want,” I say.

  “Are you kidding?” she replies as she presses the call button. “And be shown up by you? I don’t think so.”

  The doors open and Jax is standing there, wearing a tuxedo complete with a frilly shirt. He looks at us and whistles.

  “Wow. You ladies clean up nice,” he says.