Shadow Eyes

by Dusty Crabtree

  Her words stung. “So they were just using him to get at me?”

  They both nodded. I shivered at the thought of how cold and calculating Patrick’s fake desire to get close to me must have been. Still, amid my befuddled attempt to put all the pieces together, I stubbornly clung to some slim hope that Patrick wasn’t the monster they were making him out to be.

  “If he was a dark servant that whole time, why didn’t I ever see the shadows around him until…later?”

  I hung my head, hoping no one noticed the remnants of embarrassment and guilt over my indirect mention of the party incident.

  Kyra answered, “Donovan knew all along you could see the shadows. He purposely kept them at bay so you’d trust Patrick. But once their original plan to use him failed, they gave up the act and kept him on a tight leash.”

  She moved closer to me and peered into my eyes until I was forced to raise my head to meet them. “They sensed him wanting to leave, Iris. You did that. Being with you the last few months has changed him somehow. I noticed it too. He didn’t want to go through with their plans. He was just too afraid to disobey and leave them because of what they promised to do to his family. And not just his dad. He has a mother and sister back in Indianapolis.” She glanced at Gregory. “We’ve tried several times to convince him we can fight them together. But he won’t listen.”

  I felt awful for him. Feelings of compassion and fierce devotion I didn’t know were hiding inside me rushed through my veins and consumed me as I fought back tears of anger and resentment. I hated the shadows and this Donovan I had never met for using Patrick and for blackmailing him into doing what he never wanted to do. He deserved so much better. He deserved the freedom and peace I now knew.

  “Gregory, if the shadows want people to work for them so badly, why don’t they just go find evil people and train them like you trained Patrick and Kyra?”

  Gregory shook his head. “It doesn’t actually work that way. All people are put on this earth with special gifts that can be used for good. But very few are blessed with the vision you three have. These people are chosen by the light because of some unique quality they’re born with that makes them highly qualified as light warriors.”

  I doubted I had such a trait. “What type of qualities?”

  “Well, Kyra was born with an instinctive tendency toward kindness and compassion. Patrick was born with immense bravery and confidence. And Iris…” He hesitated until he had my undivided attention as if he were about to deliver some imperative message that required note-taking. “You were born with a fiery passion that charges your heart and soul in everything you do.”

  I immediately began to question how helpful that gift could be since it always seemed to get me into trouble. As if he could read my mind, he followed with, “Naturally, all gifts take practice and guidance to be used effectively.”

  He smiled at me encouragingly and continued. “Now since the destiny of these chosen people is ultimately to become a light warrior, not a dark servant, it takes an angel to activate their gift by touching them. But once their eyes are opened, it’s up to the individual to do with it what they want. The demons, of course, always try to convert the light warriors to their side so they can exploit their gifts and powers.”

  I remembered witnessing the way Gregory had restrained my hand to stop me from cutting my wrist any further and the light that had transferred between our hands. “Is that what happened when you held my hand back to keep me from hurting myself anymore? You activated my…gift?” It felt strange referring to what I had always considered a curse as a gift.

  “Yes,” he answered. “I knew you weren’t ready to fight for us, but I did what I had to do to save you. You have great value, Iris, and not just as a light warrior…as a person too. You’ve always had that.”

  I blushed at the compliment and bowed my head slightly as Kyra looked at Gregory knowingly and added, “But she will make a great light warrior, won’t she?”

  She grinned at me and I glanced back and forth between the two of them. The excited expressions on both their faces made me suspicious of what more information they were still withholding from me, apparently about me.

  I narrowed my eyes and opened my mouth but paused before speaking my mind. “How exactly do you know I’ll make a good light warrior? I’ve never fought anything in my life. Well, unless you count what I did with a few shadows recently.”

  Gregory surveyed me with a gleam of wonder in his eyes, looking like a teacher about to tell his star pupil she just made a perfect score on her SAT’s. “Iris, you have certain gifts and abilities that normal light warriors don’t have. Gifts that we’ve never actually seen before. We didn’t know this when we planned to come here originally, but you’ll find that word gets around pretty fast in the spirit world…and they’ve been talking about you.” He beamed at me as if it were a good thing to be the subject of gossip among spirits.

  I didn’t know how to react. It was crazy enough to hear I was born destined to be a light warrior, something I couldn’t have fathomed a few hours ago. But it was even more overwhelming to hear I was some sort of super light warrior with abilities they had never seen.

  What were those extra special abilities? Had I ever used them? I began reviewing the few things I already knew I could do with the shadows. My first thought was a new development I’d only recently observed with my vision. “I did notice earlier while I was in the hospital that I could kind of distinguish different types of shadows and their intentions. Based on how they appeared. Like their size and shape or how dark they were. I can’t do it very well yet. Is that one of those special gifts you were talking about?”

  Gregory laughed heartily, which almost made me embarrassed and self-conscious until he said, “No, that’s quite normal for light warriors, and necessary. No, Iris, your gifts are even greater and more powerful than that.”

  “Well, then what are they?” I inquired impatiently.

  He smiled as though he found my impatience amusing, like a parent refusing to reveal his child’s Christmas gift. “In time. All in good time.”

  My first reaction was frustration, but a nagging pain in the back of my mind surfaced and reminded me there were more important matters at hand. My sister Hanna was still in the hospital and the rest of my family and friends were in desperate need of help. Until now, I didn’t believe I had the power to do anything about it.

  I gazed at Gregory with new conviction. “If my abilities are so powerful, why are we still here? Let’s use them to help my family.”

  “I admire your determination,” Gregory said. “But you’re not entirely ready. Before you can help your family you need to officially become a light warrior. To do that, you have to first step into the light.”

  “What light are you—”

  Before I could finish, Gregory made a motion with his hand and a bright, glowing aura that resembled a portal the size of a door materialized beside him. It fluttered and pulsated, and I was drawn to its majestic beauty, unknowingly walking toward it in reverent rapture until Gregory held up his hand to stop me.

  “I do have one warning before you decide to do this. Once the shadows find out Lucas is gone and that you’ve entered the light to become a warrior, they’ll come after you with even more intensity. Of course, we’ll be there to help, but I want you to be fully aware before choosing.”

  A slight twinge of fear crept up in me once again—fear of the unknown, fear of inadequacy, fear of failure. But I quickly and forcefully pushed it aside for the sake of my family, replacing it with the hope and confidence I was swiftly learning to claim as my own, both from my own merits and from Gregory and Kyra’s support.

  I walked bravely toward the bright, wavering light and was only five feet away from it when the front door creaked open followed by a burst of wintry wind and footsteps. I twisted my head from the bright illumination in front of me to the darkened foyer to see a familiar figure quietly shut the door, turn around, and step cautiously forward.
The light of the room exposed his downcast face. Patrick!

  I stood frozen where I was, unsure of what to say or do after all I’d heard from Kyra and Gregory. They did the same, although their expressions were not nearly as shocked and wrought with emotion as mine probably was.

  On one hand, I wanted to run to him and tell him I forgave him and that he didn’t have to fight for the darkness anymore. Just seeing him again resurfaced the longing for him I hadn’t wanted to admit I’d still felt and the deep connection we’d had from the beginning. On the other hand, the information I had just learned made me a little wary of him. Not to mention the fact that I was supposed to loathe him for what he’d done to me.

  An extremity of anguish and regret filled Patrick’s tortured face. His eyes met mine first, which made him cringe with guilt. Then he turned to Kyra with a grieved look of apology. Lastly, he faced Gregory and trudged over to him with his face low to the ground like the prodigal son finally coming home to his father, feeling like an unforgivable disappointment. Knowing he didn’t deserve a second chance, but still longing for his father to take him back.

  “I’m sorry, Gregory,” he whimpered. “They wouldn’t let me leave. I know I shouldn’t have let them—”

  “Shhh.” Gregory interrupted softly. “It’s not me who needs the explanation.” He gestured to me with a gentle motion of his hand.

  Patrick faced me with unsure eyes, took a deep breath, and proceeded cautiously in a weary voice. “Iris. When I came here and enrolled in your school, as I’m sure you already know, I was working for the shadows. About a year ago, Donovan convinced me that working for him instead of the light would guarantee me more freedom and pleasure and less work. So I selfishly agreed.”

  The guilt consuming his eyes slowly transformed into self-loathing. “For the longest time, I was so caught up in the imagined power of it all. I couldn’t see…or I didn’t want to see how damaging my actions really were to everyone around me. Including people I truly cared about, like my dad…and then you. But at the time, for whatever stupid reason, I still believed I’d made the right decision in leaving Gregory and joining up with the darkness. The whole year I was with them I just did what they told me to do, so when they told me to move here and get close to you, I did.”

  The mention of his abrupt move reminded me of our past two conversations about his dad losing his job. Despite how poorly those conversations went, I asked about it once more, sensing the connection but not quite sure how it all fit together. “Did your dad losing his job have anything to do with you moving? Or did he know about your being a dark servant all along?”

  “No,” Patrick said sorrowfully, “my dad knows nothing about my true identity. Donovan had my dad fired so we’d be forced to move. He led him here to work that is…well, less than reputable.” His inward frustration revealed he’d been torturing himself for what happened.

  “The angels work a little differently Iris,” Gregory added. “You might recall your original teacher, Mrs. Stanley, suddenly moving early on in the year. I helped orchestrate for Mrs. Stanley’s husband to get a promotion that would allow them to move closer to their two grown children. Subsequently, that left the teaching position open for me.”

  I turned to Kyra, who had been silent since Patrick showed up. “What about your moving? Did something similar happen to your parents?”

  “Actually, my family knows about my abilities. We moved here for me to be near you. After Gregory observed you, he felt you were ready to get help in working through the problems of your past and join the fight. I was supposed to be there to gradually guide you through the process, but…”

  Kyra hesitated. She and Gregory both glanced at Patrick who sighed dejectedly as he realized what their incriminating hesitation meant. He finished Kyra’s sentence for her. “But they realized I’d been there long enough that the shadows’ scheme—the scheme that I was a part of—was already working.”

  He turned his head to the side and breathed in and out heavily, psyching himself up to continue as if what he was about to say was going to cause him physical pain. “Iris, when they sent me here, their plan was for me to corrupt you. If you didn’t go willingly…then I was supposed to use force. That way when the choice of light was given to you, you wouldn’t feel worthy or pure enough to accept it, and you’d choose the darkness instead.”

  He fought back tears and stepped forward fervently. “But then I got to know you. I realized how strong my feelings were for you. Iris, you have no idea how difficult it was to go through the motions leading up to the party…and then while you were there with me. I knew what I was doing to you was wicked and detestable. I didn’t want to hurt you! You have to believe that!” His zealous remorse was so evident that any remaining resentment or disgust I had for him immediately dissipated.

  “Kyra walking through that door at the party was probably the best thing that could have happened.” He gazed at Kyra, who bowed her head as if to say, “You’re welcome.”

  He sighed before resuming. “They had told me their back-up plan in case I failed was to blackmail you. They said they would harass and torture your family so much you would have no choice but to join their side in order to save them. I’m so sorry, Iris! I tried to get away several times. I wanted to explain everything to you so badly, but they threatened such horrible things if I did!” He paused and pivoted slightly away from me with his hands resting on his hips. His eyes toward the ceiling, he inhaled deeply in an effort to gain composure.

  As he exhaled, he closed his eyes, dropped his head and then nodded to himself. “But there is another way.” He glanced up at Gregory. “I just lost sight of how powerful and capable that way actually was.”

  “And still is,” Gregory added with a fatherly smile.

  Patrick smiled weakly in reply, but once he turned from Gregory to me, his smile diminished to a pitiful look of contrition that screamed for my acceptance.

  No more uncertainty. No more hesitation. Standing before me was the true Patrick. The Patrick I’d always known existed. The one I’d been waiting for. I finally realized that this was the reason I couldn’t get him out of my mind, much less hate him, as much as I’d tried. I had been waiting in faith for what I knew deep down to be true. He was simply a broken soul that needed to be mended. Just like me.

  I raced to embrace him. He crushed his whole body into me passionately as though he were afraid I wasn’t real. That I might disappear from his arms at any moment.

  “I don’t deserve you,” he muffled into my shoulder through bitter tears while his fingers pressed into my lower back.

  I stroked the tousled blond hair of his bent head on my shoulder and allowed my own tears to fall. “That’s what forgiveness is for. So we can get things we don’t deserve.” I looked at Gregory and smiled. “Like a second chance.” Patrick pulled away and held me at arm’s length, peering intently into my eyes with a mixture of gratefulness and disbelief.

  He turned to Gregory, who nodded encouragingly, and then back to me. “You really would give me another chance? After all that I’ve done to you?”

  His voice wavered at the reference to his shameful behavior and he lowered his head, but I caught it. With his chin resting on my fingers, I gently raised his head back up to face me once more so he could see the sincerity and compassion in my eyes as they gazed into his. “Yes…I would.”

  “We all would.” Kyra stepped forward to stand beside Gregory. “And we’ll help you fight for your family.”

  “Why? Why would you accept me again? Why would you help fight for me?” Patrick stared at them, shaking his head, his tone softened this time and filled with wonder instead of disbelief.

  “Because that’s what friends are for.” Kyra grinned and winked at him.

  “Because you have a good heart,” Gregory said. “Patrick, you were always a great light warrior. We miss you.”

  I placed my hand gently on his cheek, turned his face to mine, and rose on my tiptoes until my lips brushed his
in a tender kiss. “Because you’re worth fighting for.”

  Immediately, he gathered me to his chest, one hand delicately holding my head against his face, and the other pressing firmly against my back. In the impassioned silence of our tight embrace, our hearts beat together as one. But instead of making me feel weak, vulnerable, or even lustful, the sensation of his arms wrapped securely around me charged my spirit with serenity and untainted devotion.

  At long length he pulled back slightly, still grasping my shoulders with his strong hands, and took a deep contented breath. Looking at Gregory with excitement and hope shining through his once heavy eyes, he asked, “Does the offer still stand?”

  Gregory smiled broadly. “Absolutely.”

  Patrick bent to gaze into my eyes with unconcealed affection. “Do you want some company through the light?”

  “Only if it’s you.” I grinned.

  He dropped his hands from my shoulders, and we began to face the shimmering aura when something black and fluttering suddenly caught our attention. We both swung our heads hastily to the side and saw a thick black shadow fly through the wall and rush toward Patrick with determination on what passed for its murky face. However, Kyra was directly in its path, her back facing it.

  Panic seized me and I yelled at the top of my lungs, “Kyra, look out!”

  Without even glancing behind her or appearing frightened, she swiftly withdrew her prism from her belt and effortlessly swung her arm in a backward softball pitch that intercepted the shadow in its mid-section. The black ooze shrank and faded away. Would I ever tire of watching her wield that weapon with such skill and flare?

  “Just like old times, huh?” Patrick smiled playfully back at Kyra.

  “Well, somebody’s gotta have your back,” she teased. She raised her eyebrows grandly and then gestured with her free hand toward the bright gateway. “Please, by all means, continue.”