Shadow Dancer Boxed Set

by Courtney Rene

  We were blanketed in the shadows, and the room full of people faded from my thoughts. It was just us in that bar. I pulled back just enough to look up at him. His eyes had darkened and his blue color had ribbons of bright pink waving through it. He pulled me closer, bent towards me, and brushed over my lips softly with his own. I rose up on my toes, and for a moment I looked into his clear eyes. I felt one of his hands tangle into my hair just before he leaned down and kissed me.

  To say it was nice would be a travesty. Oh God, it was wonderful. I breathed him in and kissed him right back. I felt the brush of his tongue slide gently over my bottom lip. I felt a warmth start at my head then drop all the way down to my toes. I pressed in closer to him. I felt a bit dizzy, only then realizing I was holding my breath.

  "What are you kids doing in here?"

  My eyes flew open at the yell from the man behind the bar, as did Leif's. We jumped apart guiltily and I noticed we were no longer in the shadows. When I glanced back at Leif, he was having the same moment of clarity, but he took it a bit differently than my own horrified embarrassment. He laughed, gave a silly salute to the bartender, and hauled my numb, horrified body right out the door.

  He was still chuckling once we were outside on the walk. "Well, I guess we dropped the shadows in the heat of the moment." He waggled his eyebrows at me. "We are going to have to work on that one."

  I shook my head at him. I just couldn't resist, so I gave him a stiff shove and laughed right back. "You think?" I asked sarcastically. "C'mon, I'm hungry."

  Renee's was next-door, so I dragged him in with me this time. I saw Tara and Chris at a table and waved. Tara waved us over. Always cute, in my opinion, she looked lovely there. Her brown curly hair had been swept up into a messy bun with curling tendrils falling around her shoulders. She was even wearing a bit of makeup which I don't think I had ever seen her wear before.

  Tara had been trying to get me on a double date for a while now, so it worked out perfectly for her. She eyed Leif then smiled conspiratorially at me and gave me a not-so-inconspicuous thumbs-up sign. Chris and Leif took it well and just laughed, rolling their eyes at each other. Tara jumped up from her seat across from Chris and took the place beside him in the booth. Leif and I slid in across from them.

  Renee's was packed that night. Leif immediately took my hand, intertwining our fingers, and gave me one of his easy smiles. He always seemed to know when I needed a bit of comfort. He had already figured out that I got nervous in crowds.

  The football game must have ended, and it was now officially Friday night. Date night. The place was loud and noisy and crammed full of people. That made talking hard. All we seemed to be able to do was yell across the table at each other. It was fun. I relaxed and enjoyed the night and the noise.

  I had just taken a bite of pizza when I felt Leif stiffen abruptly next to me. I glanced at him with wide questioning eyes. He threw his arm around me, gave me a quick squeeze, and slightly shook his head.

  "Hey, you okay?" Tara asked.

  I softened my obviously concerned expression, gave her a fake smile and said, "Just got the chills all of a sudden." I gave a silly giggle and shrugged.

  We finished up shortly thereafter. Once we were all on the sidewalk outside of Renee's, we split, having made plans to get together again. It had been a great time and good company.

  Tara and Chris had barely drifted out of range when I sprang on Leif. "What was that?" I didn't think I needed to clarify. He knew darn well I was talking about the little episode in the pizza shop.

  He was holding my hand in his. He gave an easy tug and pulled me in close to his side, wrapping his arm around me and started us walking. I knew it was all a ploy to take my mind off of what I wanted, but I was not going to let him do it this time. I was on to him now. I looked directly at him and waited.

  Leif gave a sigh and said, "I think I felt another Shadow Walker."

  This news shot a dizzying range of emotions cascading through me. First, excitement over possibly having someone else out there who we could talk to. Then surprise, as Leif had said I was the first Shadow Walker, other than himself, he had ever found. Now in the span of several weeks, three of us were in the same town. That struck me as a bit weird.

  Then there was fear. It was several different levels of fear. One was a jealous kind of fear. I wanted Leif and I to be special in our own way, not just part of some huge group. The other level was fear of the unknown. Who was it? What were they doing here? Were they feeling our vibrations when we phased into the shadows? Were they now looking for us?

  My mind had been swirling around for a few minutes on this news, and looking at Leif, I took in his own expression with surprise. His face was an empty mask. Gone was his twinkling eyes and happy grin. He was back to being the cold stranger. His eyes were icy blue. That alone frightened me more than the unknown Shadow Walker. Leif was alert and anxiously looking around us, into the dark corners, searching. His arm that he had slung over my shoulder tightened, pulled me in closer to his body. He was now bent protectively over me.

  "Why are you scared?" He didn't answer me, he just pulled me in closer still, making me squeak. It was way too tight. I could hardly breathe. "Hey!" I said, and pulled us to a stop. "What is it?"

  "Whoever it was, was close," he said, absently. "Real close." He was still searching through the night for whatever danger he sensed.

  "How do you know?" I hadn't felt anything except Leif's reaction in the pizza place.

  "I don't know how I know. I just know. It's like how I found you. I just knew where you were." He started us walking again. He was taking long solid steps, hurrying me along. I had to take two and three steps to each one of his. As I was watching him instead of the night, I could tell he was thinking and didn't realize I was running to keep up. Finally, I stopped in my tracks again, pulling him instantly to a stop as well.

  "That's it." he whispered, more to himself than to me.

  "That's what?" I was lost and really afraid. That was a side of Leif I had not seen up close. Not since the first moment we met had I seen that closed cold look on his face. Also, I was not used to being ignored by Leif. He always was so attentive to me, my every move and emotion. The fact that he was barely aware of me next to him was scaring me the most.

  Finally he looked at me. As if he realized I was scared silly, his face softened, and he gave me a real smile, dimples and all. "I think we're safe for the moment."

  I immediately felt my body that I had been holding so tightly relax, and I leaned into him with relief. "Why?"

  "I don't feel anything now."

  "I didn't feel anything ever. Leif, I don't understand."

  "Let's keep walking." He took my hand and we started walking again, this time together, not Leif dragging me behind him as he hurried us along through the chilly evening night. He was still alert and watching around us, but not frantically like before.

  Then he said, "The way I figure it, you can do things I can't right? Like seeing the colors of people. As you know, I can't do that. I also can't see you in the shadows unless you are touching me. Those are your special gifts. Mine, I guess you could say, I am like a tracker. That is my gift. You can't feel the shifting of the shadows like I can. So, that means you are not a tracker like me."

  That made lots of sense. "You're a tracker and I'm...what am I?"

  Before he could respond I asked, "Do you think the colors are auras?" I had been thinking about it for a few days now, but after the bar visit, I really thought that's what they were.

  "That's what I've been wondering too. A tracker and an aura reader. I like it." His easy smile was back, at least on his mouth anyway. His eyes were still cold and empty. "Come on, stop poking around. I want to get you home, inside and safe. I don't feel another walker out here, but he could be hiding in the shadows and we would never see him."

  But I could. At least I thought I could. I could see Leif in the shadows. Maybe I could see all Shadow Walkers if they were in the shadows
. Without giving any warning to Leif, I pulled myself quickly into the shadows. I barely got a chance to look around us when Leif jumped in as well, and boy, did he look ticked. At least his eyes were no longer empty. They were hot and snapping angrily at me.

  "Just wait," I said before he could yell at me. I carefully looked around and searched the area, but didn't see anyone, or any color except for Leif's, which although still blue, was now morphing with a brownish red. That was somewhat ugly and creepy. Yuck.

  We both dropped the shadows. Before I could shake off the cold, Leif was whispering furiously at me. "Don't you have any sense? Good God, I felt him phase, do you think he can't feel us doing the same. Come on!" I swear I thought he was going to shake me, he was so mad. He just about lifted me off of my feet and ran us home. I was huffing and panting painfully by the time we got there.

  I hadn't thought that far ahead. I admit that I forgot about the awareness when someone phased into the shadows. I wasn't a tracker. I didn't feel anything. I was thinking I would be able to see them in the shadows, but if anyone were actually in the shadows, whoever it was would not be able to see me.

  I was back to fear. What if he was a tracker too? Then he would know we were somewhere close. Oh Lord. I didn't complain about the cramp in my side or anything. I just hung on and when we got to my house, went right up to the door intending to take him right in with me.

  Leif had other plans though. "Stay inside, I'm going back out to look around."

  "Are you crazy! No! Don't leave me." With both hands I grabbed up one of his and held on. He looked at my hands in surprise then in amusement, which ticked me off. I was scared of the unknown walker out there, and I didn't want Leif looking for him or finding him for that matter while he was all alone, and he had the nerve to be amused.

  "Sunny, you know I can't come in right now. It's late." He cupped my cheek with his free hand, leaned in, and whispered, "Leave your window unlocked. I'll be back later. I promise." He untangled his hand from both of mine without much trouble at all. Then he put me inside the house and closed the door in my face. He did all this without any fuss from me. Pitiful.

  Chapter Seven

  Auras

  I suppose I could have simply headed out the door after Leif, but I didn't. I happened to be a wimp, and I had this problem of doing what I was told. Instead, I made it through the inquisition of my parents then headed up to my room to pace impatiently. I showered to try and relax, but that didn't help. That just made me wet and cold.

  So, to try to pass the time, I did some research about auras online. Wow, that was a complex art form. I decided my color had to be green. As I did my research, I found that green is a peaceful color. People with a base color of green are naturally peaceful people and make natural healers. They are cooperative, trustworthy, and generous. However, they are also stubborn and highly obstinate at times. Well, that's me, even the bad stuff. Sadly.

  I also looked up blue, as Leif was almost always a lovely shade of blue. That appeared to be one of the best colors. The blue-colored people were naturally positive and enthusiastic. They were sincere, honest, and usually said exactly what was on their mind. That part wasn't always true about Leif though. Sometimes you couldn't get any information out of him. Maybe he should have been green like me with all the obstinate stuff.

  There was a ton of information on-line about reading auras, some decent reading, some just freaky. Basically, an aura is a person's energy from within. This energy reflects their personality, their feelings, emotions, thoughts, and lifestyles, which causes different colors to form. There were loads of sites that suggested it wasn't that hard for anyone to learn or to teach themselves how to see and read auras. So it seemed this wasn't much of a special gift after all. I was just a bit bummed out.

  I also did some research on Shadow Walkers and came up with nothing. Zip, zero, zilch. There was a ton of information on psychics and vampires and witches but nothing on Shadow Walkers. I began to see the problem Leif had trying to understand what we were.

  I switched off the computer and tried to keep my mind off of Leif, where he was, and what he could be doing. I snuggled down in my bed in my soft pj's, trying to read, but dozed off instead.

  I awoke with a start when Leif sat down on the bed next to me. Instantly, I was awake and I pounced on him. "What took you so long?!" I brushed my lips against his and realized how cold he was. Well, it was almost November. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. I wrapped my arms around him and was treated to one of his lovely dimpled smiles. Yay for me.

  "I've been all over the place," he said wearily. "Wherever, or whoever that was, is gone now. It's weird though, it's like they just disappeared. I can tell you the last place he was, but I don't know where he went from there." Leif's smile slowly left his face. "I don't know how he did it." There was something in his voice I didn't know what to make of. He also wouldn't meet my eyes. What was going on? What was he thinking?

  Finally, he gave me his full attention, and I was ready to change my mind. He could keep all his thoughts to himself. He was giving me a very serious face, which made me instantly anxious. All I could think was, "Now what?"

  "I think it's time for you to talk to your parents about your birth parents. I think we really need to know," he said, almost apologetically. That didn't stop me from backing away from it all the same.

  "What about your parents, maybe we could start there instead." I really didn't want to upset my mom and dad if I didn't have to. I was afraid we may be wrong and it would hurt them. We may not always get along, and I might have been a bit angry with them right then for how they had been acting about Leif, and I was a bit annoyed with my realization of why we may have moved so much all my life. But that didn't mean I wanted to purposefully hurt them.

  "Sunny, I don't have any parents left." He leaned into me then spoke earnestly and pointedly. "Once I was able to stay in the shadows, I broke into the children's home administration office and stole my birth certificate. I found my mother in a cemetery in South Carolina. No father was listed, so that was another dead end. There is no one else on my end who I can hunt down, but you...you may have someone we can find and someone we can go to. I think we have to see what we can find out."

  I felt sadness sweep through me at what Leif was sharing, which I know he would so hate, so I kept my thoughts to myself. That little boy he had been must have felt so lost and alone, and here I was being a baby about my family. Look at all the people I'd had all through my life. Someone was always there for me to fall back on when I needed them. I was safe, cared for, and loved. Now I have Leif, both a friend and a fellow Shadow Walker. What did he have growing up? I felt guilty and selfish.

  "Okay, I'll talk to them. Tomorrow is Saturday, I'll do it then." I was not happy about it. I was also a bit afraid, but that was not enough of a reason now. Leif was right, as usual. The talk with my parents had to be done. It was time.

  I tried to stifle a yawn, which couldn't be held back. Leif gave me a lazy smile then pulled us down on the bed so we were laying down facing each other. "Go to sleep," he said.

  "Will you stay?" He had been staying though the nights since last week, but that night I needed some reassurance he wouldn't leave me. He brushed his fingers through my hair, pushing it back over my shoulder.

  "I'm not going anywhere. I promise." He pulled me closer, the warmth from his body blanketing me. He pressed a soft kiss against my lips, taking my breath away for a short moment. Then he tucked my head against his shoulder and said, "Goodnight Sunshine."

  "Night."

  ~ * ~

  "Mom? Do you and dad have a second?" It was early Saturday morning. I was wearing my favorite light blue low-slung jeans and my lovely sunshine yellow form fitted t-shirt. That was my armor for the coming confrontation I was about to start.

  "Not really, honey. I have to get to the office. I'll just be gone for the morning though. Can it wait?"

  Strike number one. "Yes, it can wait." My mom worked as a r
ealtor no matter where we moved. I guess you do what you know. The problem was that she always worked all sorts of weird hours: evenings, weekends, whenever a client needed her.

  "Should I call the office to schedule an appointment with you?" Sarcasm was so not the way I wanted to go, but I was already tense and nervous as it was. Now I was also being pushed aside. I huffed out a breath then said, "Sorry. I guess I'll just see you after lunch. What time will you be home?"

  ~ * ~

  My mom was on her way home, so I was making lunch. I needed to keep busy. The longer I waited, the antsier I got. I could feel the anxiety building up and making me jumpy. As I was straining the water from the macaroni, my mom breezed through the door with a smile and said, "See, I made it, just like I said."

  I smiled back, but I was sure mine was a bit sickly in comparison. "Grab dad, I said. Then, I have lunch ready." I was stirring in the cheese as my mom came back in and said, "Hey, honey, your dad is in the middle of a conference call. He's gonna be a while."

  Strike number two. I didn't turn around, I was getting a bit ticked off and I didn't want to show it. "Fine. Whatever." I set the spoon gently and purposefully in the pot, turned from the stove, and left the room without stomping my feet as I so wished to do. Without ranting as I also so wished to do. Without even cursing, and I so desperately wanted to do that. Ugh!

  A bit later I tried one more time. I found both my parents relaxing in the family room. Mom was reading a book and dad was idly watching the state football game on TV. I took a deep breath and decided to try to take it slow and ease them into the conversation so as not to shock them.

  "Am I adopted?" I blurted out as I stood hovering in the doorway.

  Okay, so easing them into the conversation was out of the question. My dad sat up and switched off the TV and just looked at me. My mom set her book down on her lap and looked at me too, her mouth agape.

  My dad cleared his throat with a strange coughing sound and said, "Where is this coming from?"