Shadow Dancer Boxed Set

by Courtney Rene

Simon snapped his fingers and said, "That's the family name. Rice."

  "So, I at least got a real Guardian?" I asked, only half joking. My luck he would be a fraud and I don't think I would have ever lived that down.

  "Yes," Simon said. "You got a real one."

  "All right, tell us how you managed it at least," Gabriel said. It was an olive branch and I was not too proud to take it. In fact, I was grateful.

  After I had explained about my foray into the castle and the deal I had made with the Guardian, the subject changed to the king.

  "Why would he be afraid?" I asked. "He's the king and he's also very powerful."

  "He must be afraid of something, someone," Lucas said.

  "I don't know, but that's how it seems," I said. "I mean, if he is constantly using the Guardians then what else could it be?"

  "He must have a weakness," Gabriel said. He said it out loud, but I am not certain he was actually talking to any of us. "Everyone has one."

  Well, I had one and it had to do with my most powerful weapon. I turned to Lucas and asked, "What is your weakness?"

  He didn't answer right away and I wondered if I wasn't supposed to ask questions like that. If everyone knew what everyone else's weaknesses were, it could cause issues. Lucas was silent for a bit longer then he finally answered, "You. You are my weakness."

  Surprised to say the least, I replied, "What? Why?"

  He wasn't offended. In fact he smiled at me. "I don't have much in the way of powers or gifts. I am not special in any way other than being a tracker and I am not even the best tracker out there. But, I am strong, and I am loyal, and I can fight. If anyone used you against me, or hurt you to get at me, it wouldn't matter how strong or loyal or how well I could fight, it would break me. So, yes, you, Sunny, are my weakness, because I care for you."

  I looked around at the other men's faces to see what they thought of Lucas' admission. They didn't seem surprised by it. In fact, Simon was trying unsuccessfully to hide a smile.

  "I knew the first time I laid eyes on you, up in that tree, with an arrow sticking out of your leg, that I was in trouble. It's your eyes. I can see myself in your eyes. I tried to fight it. I mean, we are from different worlds and way different backgrounds, but there is no stopping some things. So to answer your question, you, the Sunshine of the Realm, Sunny, are my weakness."

  I was embarrassed at the public display. I hadn't been expecting the answer I got, but boy was I ever happy to have received it. In fact I was all warm and giggly feeling inside. With Leif I had been a dirty little secret. No one could know about us. Not with Lucas. He told the world, all but shouted it out, and that said more to me than anything else he could have done.

  I grabbed a handful of Lucas' shirt and pulled him to me. Then I proceeded to kiss the breath right out him, in front of everyone. If he could be public about his feelings for me, then I couldn't do anything less. Only the mumbled "oh, vomit" from Gabriel pulled us back.

  "You are more special than you realize," I said to Lucas. "You don't have to have any special gifts. You just have to be you. That's enough for me."

  "Can we get back to the issues here? Like weaknesses?" Gabriel said sarcastically.

  We slowly turned back to Gabriel. Lucas tossed an arm around my shoulders and pulled me in close to his body, I assume to show he wasn't embarrassed by the PDA or the evident togetherness. Not that anyone should be surprised. We did spend a lot of time together…alone.

  "Sure," I said. "What are your weaknesses, Gabriel?"

  "I don't have one," he said without hesitation and complete seriousness.

  I laughed and said, "But you just said everyone has one."

  "Except for me," he replied.

  I looked up at Lucas and said, "You believe that?"

  He shrugged, but said, "Come on, guys. Let's figure out the king. He's the one we need to worry about anyway."

  We sat down around the table in the great room and tried to figure it out.

  "I think it's his mental issues," I said. "That has got to be a huge weakness."

  Simon shook his head and said, "No. That would be a plus to him. If you don't know what you're doing is crazy, it doesn't hinder you. Sometimes it can even make you more powerful."

  "What about his energy power? You have the same thing and it weakens you," Jack said, getting into the discussion.

  I wanted to say thanks for pointing that out to everyone, but instead I shook my head and said, "No. I saw him use it, and it didn't weaken him at all. His power is different than mine."

  "How?" Gabriel asked. "How is it different?"

  "Well, it's a different color for one," I said. "Mine is white. His is red. Mine is also cold energy and his feels warm, hot when it hits."

  Gabriel shook his head and said, "I don't know. It's got to be something."

  "We'll come back to that. What else could it be?" Simon asked.

  "It's not his people. He doesn't seem to care if they get hurt or killed as long as he wins," I said. "That would be a weakness on my side though. He knows it too. He's already used it against me once."

  I sat thinking while they continued on. I tried to remember that day on the field, but it was so fast and jumbled to me. Then I remembered something else. "Arianna," I said.

  Everyone looked at me. Gabriel asked, "Arianna, what?"

  "I think Arianna is his weakness," I said.

  They didn't understand, so I continued on excitedly. "He loved her. In his own twisted sick way, he loved her. Don't you see? She is his weakness like I'm Lucas', for the very same reason too. That's it! She is his weakness."

  "Maybe," Lucas said.

  "I think she's on to something," Gabriel said. His forehead was pinched in contemplation as he tried to puzzle it out. "It makes sense."

  "But how do we use that against him? She's dead," Jack said. He didn't say it to be mean, he said it because it was true. "How could we use the knowledge against him?"

  "Yeah, well, I haven't figured that part out yet," I said.

  Chapter Eight

  The days of summer meandered on in the same vein. Nothing exciting happened for weeks in fact. No sign of Leif, or the king for that matter. It was actually peaceful. I finished up my summer classes and spent the afternoons with my men and soldiers. I trained right along side them. Sweat, blood, tears, and all, I was right there.

  It was the last day of my summer break when that all changed.

  "My lady?" one of the soldiers said.

  "Allen?" I asked, taking a guess at his name.

  "Yes," he replied.

  "Great. Allen, please don't call me 'my lady'." He stared back at me, not agreeing, not anything. Lucas snickered next to me. He knew and I knew I was fighting a losing battle. No matter how hard I tried, they all called me 'my lady' or 'your highness' or the worst was 'my queen'. Oh, just ick.

  I sighed big and airy at Allen and said, "What do you need, Allen?"

  "There is a man to see you," he said. "I left him outside on the terrace until I could find you."

  I headed toward the terrace, Allen and Lucas right next to me. "Who is it? Did he say what he wanted?"

  Allen shook his head and replied, "No, my Lady. He didn't."

  I rolled my eyes in frustration, but didn't comment on the title.

  When the terrace came into view, I couldn't believe my eyes. "Austin?" I asked, "what are you doing here?"

  Austin turned around and smiled my way. As I got closer, I could tell he looked tired and worn, skinnier than I remembered. He was always a bit of a cowboy with his long hair and easy grin, but that day his long hair looked un-kept and shaggy. His normally confident demeanor was replaced with hunched shoulders. What was going on?

  "Hey, Sunshine," he said. "You look good."

  "Thanks," I replied. "You look like crap. What's going on?"

  He chuckled in return and replied, "Can I talk with you?" He glanced at Lucas and Allen then added, "Alone?"

  I thought about it briefly, but really ther
e wasn't much to decide. I turned to Lucas and said, "I'm going to talk with him." I held up a hand to him before he could interrupt me with dire warnings. "I know he won't hurt me."

  Lucas pressed his lips together in obvious annoyance.

  "I'll be right back. Give me fifteen minutes, if we aren't back by then…" I said and shrugged.

  Lucas sent a hard glare at Austin and said, "Fifteen minutes, that's it."

  I stood up on tiptoe, kissed him softly on the cheek, and whispered, "It'll be all right. Trust me."

  "You, I'm not worried about. Him? That's another story," Lucas said.

  "Come on, Austin," I said and stepped off the terrace to head around the back to find a bit of privacy, somewhat close by. "You've got fifteen. Start talking."

  When he didn't say anything right away, I stopped and turned to face him. "What is it?" I asked.

  "Sunny, you and I are friends, right? I mean, I know we have had some issues and stuff, but we are friends," he said.

  "Yes," I said slowly.

  "That last day, when you fought the king, I saw a side of Leif that I didn't like. I saw a man that would kill to win that day. Including you and me and everyone on that field."

  I shrugged one shoulder and said, "I know, but what's that have to do with you now?"

  "He isn't getting any better. At first I thought it was just the stress and adrenaline of the fight, but I don't think that's it now. I didn't join the rebels to win a war. I joined the rebels because I wanted a better life for Acadia, and for everyone in it; I wanted to be a part of change, not just to win."

  "You have to win," I said. "In order to have change, you have to win. Otherwise nothing will be different."

  "I get that. Really I do," Austin said. "But to Leif, it's not about the change or anything like that. It's now all about being right and winning."

  "Okay, but what do you want me to do about it?" I asked.

  "I don't want you to do anything. It's me that wants something," he said. Then he took a breath and said in rush, "I want to join you. Be a part of your army."

  "What?" I said, completely serious. "Why?"

  "I thought with the rebels I was on the right side. I thought we were right in our quest and would be doing the world good, putting things in order like they were before the king took control. Since that battle, I see that is not the plan. It's about power. It's about who has control. That's not you though…it took me a while to figure it out in my head and realize I was on the wrong side all along. You are fighting for what I believe in, for a better life for everyone. Not just one person or a special few. You are the right side for me. I want to join with you."

  I wanted to believe him. I understood what he meant about reasons to fight being right or wrong. Power and control is never the right reason. But, he had lied to me in the past, and he had covered for Leif's lies in the past. How could I trust in him?

  "I want to say yes. I really do, Austin. I want to trust you, but you and I know that would be stupid of me. We have too much history full of lies and deceit," I said.

  His eyes changed from hopeful to sad and almost despairing. He nodded his head and said, "Yeah, I know."

  "It would be easy to say yes, I trust you, but there would always be in the back of my mind that little wonder, that little seed of doubt. There is a way for me to tell if you are being honest though. If you are to join with us, there can't be any doubt about your intentions. Do you agree?"

  "Yes."

  "Come into the shadows with me," I said and immediately phased into the darkness. Austin followed me in without any hesitation. I reached out and took his hand so that he could see me.

  "Do you know why I asked you to shadow?" I asked completely serious. No trace of a smile in my voice or on my face.

  "Yes. It's my colors. You wanted to see what they show you about my intentions."

  "Yep," I said. "Do you know what I see?"

  "No."

  "Are you afraid of what I might see?"

  He was silent for a moment as he thought about my question. Finally, he said, "No. I know what I believe and I know this is the right path for me."

  I finally allowed a smile to shine on my face as I said, "I see you, Austin. Honest, trustworthy, you. Your colors are as they always were, clear and clean and pure. There are no murky colors of deceit around you."

  He squeezed my hand and smiled a real joy-filled smile. "Does that mean I can stay?"

  "It won't be as easy here," I said. "We all train. Every day. No excuses."

  "I can handle the training," he said.

  "We'll see," I said. "Don't be surprised though that the training is different here. Harder, more focused, more technique."

  "Okay."

  "Come on then, we better get back before Lucas comes hunting for us." I dropped the shadows from around us and we headed back. "I'll help you get settled. Where's your stuff?"

  He turned away from me and said, "I don't have any stuff."

  "Why not?"

  "I told Leif I was leaving the rebels, and he wasn't real happy with me over it. He said I could leave, but that I was leaving with only the clothes on my back. The rest was property of the cause." He shrugged. "It's only stuff, but…"

  I patted his hand and said, "No worries. We'll figure something out."

  "I don't even have my weapons or any clothes."

  "It's fine, Austin. We'll figure it out. I promise."

  We rounded the corner of the Castle and almost barreled right into Lucas. He grabbed hold of my arms to keep me on my feet and asked, "What took so long?"

  "I know it hasn't been fifteen," I said.

  Lucas glared at Austin and said, "Close enough."

  I needed to defuse the hostility that was coming off of Lucas in waves. "Lucas, I would like you to meet my friend, Austin," I said, stressing the word 'friend' so that Lucas understood I was claiming Austin. "He would like to join our ranks and I am inclined to allow him to."

  "What?" Lucas shouted, not even trying to mask his disdain for the idea.

  Austin regarded him silently. I would say he was sizing Lucas up, to see if he could take him in a fight, if it came to that. I, on the other hand, was trying to avoid a fight. "Austin brings many skills to the table for us. One," I said, ticking off one finger on my hand, "he is great at hand to hand fighting and combat. Two," I said ticking off another finger, "he has intelligence of what the rebels are up to that we don't have. And three, he is very comfortable in my realm."

  I wondered for a moment what realm was really mine. I was from the Sun Realm, but was raised in the Water Realm, fighting in one and living still in the other. No wonder it was so confusing.

  "We'll see," Lucas said, still glaring hard at Austin. "I don't trust him. He's one of them."

  "Austin, you remember Taylor, don't you?" I asked.

  "Yeah, the horse guy."

  "Yeah. He's in charge of the stables over there," I said and pointed in the general direction. "Why don't you go over and say hello. I'll be there in a few."

  Austin looked from me to Lucas, shrugged once and said, "Yeah. All right." He tossed one of his easy grins my way then turned with a wave and said, "See you in a few."

  After he had walked out of earshot, I rounded on Lucas and said, "Look. I understand where you are coming from. You want to keep me safe and all that, but Austin is my friend. I believe him when he says he wants to be on the right side and that side is with us."

  "Sunny, he could be a spy for the rebels, or sent to just grab you and take you back to them. You can't be certain."

  "That's the thing about me, Lucas," I said. "I can be."

  That stopped him for a moment as he thought about what I said. "How?"

  "The colors, his aura can't lie, "I said. "No matter what someone says or does, their aura can't be false. His is clean and clear. He believes what he is saying. Believes it so much that he left everything and everyone behind in the hope that we would take him in."

  "I don't see the colors and I do
n't really understand them. But I trust you, so I will trust that you know what you are doing, letting him into our ranks. I know that I don't like it, and it makes me wary."

  I stepped close to him and wrapped my arms around his waist. "Thank you for that."

  He returned my embrace and pulled me against him. "You're welcome."

  We stood like that for a while, just enjoying the comfort of each other. Finally, we parted and without words, headed to the stables. "We need him," I said just before we reached the doorway. "We need everyone to believe in what we are doing as much as that one man does. I hope we get more just like him. If we do, we have a chance."

  He gave me a quick squeeze and said, "We already have that chance, Sunny, because we have you. You just don't realize your worth yet."

  "Lucas--" I began, but he cut me off.

  "Later," he said. "One thing at a time. Let's get your friend settled first."

  ~ * ~

  "You're late," barked Gabriel at Allen as he rushed in for dinner with the rest of us.

  "Sorry," was all he said. He quickly found a spot and wedged himself on the bench disrupting the entire row. With it came the not so subtle pushing and shoving of friends.

  I found myself smiling at the horseplay. Dinner at Gabriel's was always a family event, which meant everyone came to dinner. Didn't matter where you were, dinner was a daily requirement. Since I would have to leave and get home by seven for dinner with my mom and dad, I guess it was the same in both worlds. I stifled a snort at that realization.

  Before the start up of the army, there was only one table and it sat everyone very comfortably. Not anymore though. There was now the main table, still out on the terrace, and four more tables right off the platform of the terrace. As I surveyed the group, I saw that we would need another table soon.

  I leaned over to whisper in Gabriel's ear, "How many people do you think we have now?" Since early spring, people had begun to arrive, and still more and more people continued to trickle in every day.

  Gabriel glanced around and said, "Two, maybe two-fifty. Not including my own people. So, three hundred, maybe even a bit more."

  "That seems like a lot, but it's not enough," I said. I remembered the sea of soldiers the king had at his disposal. A few hundred men wouldn't even make a dent. "We need more soldiers."