Chris, a boy of about eight-ish, skidded to a halt and with a slightly hunted look, glanced in my direction. I could tell the moment he recognized me, as his expression changed to one of ease. He headed over to where I stood and said, "Hey, Leif. What's up?"
"Nothing much," I said, then as if just thinking about it asked, "Hey, could you use some extra funds? I'm flush this week." Then I looked back down the street, as if I couldn't care less about his answer.
I continued to look away from him, but I was very aware of his scrutiny. Most street kids didn't give away money for free.
"What do you want?" he said.
I shrugged. "Nothing."
His face changed before my eyes. It went guarded and defensive. Little spots of color rose up on his cheeks. "I'm not into that nasty stuff. You can fuck off."
I couldn't help it, I laughed at him. Hearing him try to come off strong and mean when all he sounded was pitiful was funny. "Dude. You make me laugh. I'm not into that either. Just thought you might be hungry. Forget it."
He looked more than hungry. He looked half starved. I knew that feeling well, that was why I was willing to share with him. He was small and even though he ran with a group of streets, he was alone. Out for himself and no one else. That was the only way you could survive on the streets.
Chris stared at me. I could see the indecision on his face. He wanted the money, but he didn't want to have to trade his soul for it. He just didn't realize I didn't want his soul. I just wanted to help him. I couldn't really even explain why, other than I'd been there.
Finally, I gave him a bit of incentive and pulled out a few bills from my stash. I held it out to him and said, "No strings. Take it."
He glanced from the money to my face.
"Go on. Take it."
He did. He snatched it roughly from my hands then took off at a full run, as if I would give chase. I found myself laughing again. I was only a few years older than him, but it felt like decades. I stepped back into the shadows and made my way home.
I never went home without being hidden from sight. I wasn't taking chances of anyone finding my place. It was mine. I worked for it. I earned it. I wasn't about to share.
I had almost made it to my building when I ran smack into someone…something. Something I couldn't see, but could hear.
"Mother frickin hell!" A man said and stepped into sight right before my eyes. I am sure my eyes were bugged out in surprise, and maybe even a bit of fear. I held tight to the grip I had on the shadows and stayed completely still.
A girl, giggling and happy stepped into sight next. "Who taught you how to cuss?" She had bright golden hair, long and light. It danced behind her head in the breeze. She was very pretty. I was instantly taken with her. Her eyes were blue and sparkled in the waning light of the day.
"I ran into something, something that had good aim. Man, right in the sack."
The girl giggled again. She tossed her head back and laughed. I couldn't take my eyes off her. Who was she? "Well, get it together, you know there's a walker around here somewhere. I felt it, too. They have to be close."
"Maybe that's what rammed me," the guy said under his breath.
"Maybe," she said.
The guy tilted his head back toward the sky and closed his eyes. Then he slowly lowered his head until I could swear he was looking right at me. I could almost feel him there, not just see him. He vibrated against the air and the shadows. I was about to take off at a run, when I heard him speak, to me.
"I know you're there. I can't see you, but I can feel you."
I'm sure my eyes about popped out of my head. He could feel me? Was it in the same way that I could feel him?
"Come on out. We aren't going to hurt you," he said.
Yeah, right! As if. I'd been around long enough to know that I didn't trust anyone, especially some dude who could feel my presence when I was hidden in the safety of the shadows. No, thanks.
It was a standoff. I stayed within the folds of the shadows staring at the guy. The guy stared right back at me. He'd said he couldn't see me, but it sure seemed like he could. It was wigging me out.
"Look, man," he said. "We're like you. We're here to help. Come on out. I can't help you if you don't."
The girl put her hand on his shoulder and whispered, "What if he doesn't believe you? Maybe you should shadow. Give him a bit of proof. You know?"
"Good idea," he said. Then to me, "Look."
One second he was there, and the next he was gone. A small, almost unnoticeable sound rent the air. It was a high-pitched note of noise, for only a second. Then along with the guy, it was gone.
Then the high pitch sounded again, and he stood right before me once more. I couldn't help it. I dropped the shadows and stood with my mouth hanging open for all the world to see. "Who are you?" I asked before thinking better of it.
The guy laughed, a bark of sound, then he said, "That got his attention, apparently. Good call, Jodi." He stuck his hand out at me and said, "Name's Isaac. This is Jodi."
When I didn't immediately respond he asked, "And you are?"
"Leif," I said. Then "What are we?"
"That's the question, isn't it?" Jodi said. She smiled at me. I was lost. She was gorgeous. "Is there somewhere else we can talk? Not sure this is a discussion to be having out in the open. You know?"
Yeah, I got it, but I didn't have anywhere to take them. Well, except for my place, but I never took anyone there. I looked around and tried to think of a place we could go. None came to mind. It was the city after all. People were everywhere. I didn't have a choice. "Yes, we can go to my place. It's not far."
"Great!"
"We should go invisible, though, so no one knows where we are or go. I don't like to go there out in the open. This place is full of creeps."
"Uh, can't man. We can't see you in the shadows," Isaac said.
"Why not?" I asked.
"The shadows hide us from everything, including other shadow walkers. It's their gift and sometimes it's a hindrance as well," Isaac said.
"I don't find it a hindrance at all," I said trying to sound brave and older than I was.
Isaac wasn't buying my act, though. He stared me down and said with all seriousness, "All gifts have a bad side, every one of them. Don't forget it. There is always bad with good."
"Okay," I said. I didn't understand what he was trying to say, but it seemed really important to him, so I agreed. "Well then, I guess we will just have to be extra careful. I don't want to wake up and find someone trying to kill me for my place. In this area, it's a real possibility."
"You won't have to worry about that for long, buddy," Isaac said and Jodi nodded.
"Why not?" I always had to worry about it.
Jodi ran her hand through my hair and said, "Later. Let's get out of sight first."
I led them to my place, taking the long route just to make sure no one followed us. "This is it," I said and locked the door behind us. I quickly turned on the lamps and the small heater. Once the sun fell, it always got cold fast. My heaters were perfect for the small space. Kept it nice and toasty, just the way I liked it.
Isaac and Jodi sat down together on the one chair I had. It just happened to be a beanbag chair, but it was fun and comfy. They didn't complain, in fact Jodi giggled as they worked together to get comfortable. That left me with the bed. I plopped down on top of the unmade air mattress and said, "Okay, we're alone."
Chapter Nine
Three Days Ago
Snow and ice pelted my face the moment I jumped. The moist warmth inside my nose froze the first time I tried to breathe in. My feet sank deep into the snow. The frozen flakes instantly covered the top of my shoes. The bite of ice against my ankles told me it was over the edge and dropping inside against my skin, where it wasn't welcome. I should have grabbed a pair of boots along with the other stuff. I hunched my neck into the warmth of my stolen coat and pulled the hood up to cover my head from the harsh wind and falling snow.
I
needed to move fast, before the blue fairies were aware of my presence. They didn't actually like it when I went there. I didn't like them either, thanks to their welcome that included biting teeth and sharp nails, so it was to our mutual benefit to stay out of each other's way.
As to the realm itself, I had a love/hate relationship going with the Ice Realm.
I hated it because it was cold. It was so cold that it got inside your body all the way to your bones. Trying to find a way to stay warm was hard and sometimes even impossible. I was born to the land of the sun and the warmth and the Ice Realm was as far removed from there as I could get.
But then, the reason I continued to go there was that, aside from the blue demon fairies, the place was empty. I could go there and know I would be alone. Completely alone, except for my memories and the ghosts of my past, which followed me regardless of where I went.
Over the last year or so, since that day, the day my self-inflicted seclusion had begun, I'd come to the Ice Realm many times. After wandering around for what seemed like hours on my first visit, I'd found a cave I'd been able to make my own. Slowly but surely, I was able to find peace in the quiet blue of the realm.
I pushed through the flap of hard leather that served as my door. I quickly lit the little camp heater and lanterns. Then I did a quick inspection to make sure no one had been there while I was gone, and that nothing was moved or missing or touched.
They were my things, whether stolen or not, and I didn't like anyone touching them. The floor was covered with a rug the same color blue as Sunny's eyes. It was plush and soft under my feet. I had crafted the four cornered hammock type bed like the ones I used in Acadia for my army. I'd stocked it with warm blankets and sheets in all hues of yellow. I liked to feel like I was sleeping within the locks of Sunny's hair.
Maybe it was a bit strange to have everything be about Sunny or remind me of Sunny, but I missed her. Everything reminded me of her, whether I wanted it to or not.
I sat down on my bed and looked around. The place could use a shelf or a bin or something. There was plenty of space for it or anything else I needed. There was more space than I'd ever had just to myself. Could I shift one over from the home goods store? Yes, yes I could. I made a mental note to do that on my next trip.
I heard a high-pitched buzz near the entrance to my lair. I liked the term lair, it sounded nice to my ears. Lair.
"Go away!" I shouted at the noise.
It didn't. In fact it only grew in volume, as the culprit of the noise flew further into my home.
The tiny asexual fairy had the nerve to land on my knee. Its iridescent wings shone in the soft light of the lantern.
"What can you possibly want, demon?" I said.
Its little blue face smiled at me, showing off the fang like teeth within its mouth. It lifted one finger and shook it slowly back and forth in time with its head.
Then it held out its tiny hand to me, palm up. I stared at it. What did it want now?
The blue fairy stared right back at me, not moving a muscle from where it stood, hand before it, waiting.
Waiting for me to do what? I shook my head and shrugged my shoulders. "What?"
It held out its hand further toward me. I imitated its gesture and held out my own hand.
I didn't hear the sound, but I saw the fairy sigh by the lift and fall of its shoulders and the expression on its face. It was annoyed. I huffed out a small laugh at the realization. As if I cared.
It fluttered its wings and lifted up into the air, only to land gently in the palm of my hand. Then with practiced slowness, it reached out the palm of its hand and placed it over the tip of my thumb and grasped hold of me.
Confusion followed. That's all I can say to explain what happened. Where once I saw my lantern lit cave and the fairy on my hand, the next second I saw Sunny, outside beside a stream in a long flowing white gown. Her feet were in the water, and the sun shone down on her golden hair. Her head was thrown back, as she basked in the sun's warmth. Her mouth was spread wide in a smile, as her eyes were closed against the light. She was lovely in that moment.
I could almost feel the warm heat on my face, the cool green grass against my hand, the wet blue of the water as it brushed against my own legs.
Then, the picture shifted and the blue turned red, the green turned wet, her smile was gone, and a scream could be heard. A flash of steel caught my attention. A hand grasped the hilt of a sword as it plunged into Sunny's back with such force that she fell forward into the water face down. The scream ended abruptly. She didn't struggle or splash, she lay sprawled in the waterbed, unmoving. The blood drifted with the current until the blue was gone and only red could be seen.
I jerked forward, but instead of finding myself in the water, I was once again back in my cave. I blinked several times to clear my head of the vision. My focus fell to the little fairy still perched on my hand. It was patting my thumb with a sad frown on its face. I didn't think the fairies actually felt emotion. I realized at that moment I was wrong.
I closed my hand around the fairy and brought it up close to my face. It began to struggle in my firm hold, but I wasn't about to let it get away.
"Was that past, present, or future?" I shouted not more than two inches away from its face.
The fairy's face turned an ugly shade of red; it growled and showed its teeth in answer. I shook it hard, and demanded again, "Answer me! Has that already happened?"
The fairy stopped struggling, titled its head and regarded me. Finally, when I thought I was about to lose my mind, it slowly, oh, so slowly, shook its head back and forth. I let out the breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. I became aware of my hard grip on the fairy and let it free. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. I don't understand what you showed me. Why did you show me that?"
The fairy had bolted toward the door, but before it made its escape, it stopped, hovered there a moment, then flew back to land on the shade of one of the lanterns. It tippy-toed around the edge of the shade then sat down, with its feet hanging over the edge. It crossed its arms and stared at me.
I ran a hand through my wild hair and tried to think. Fairies didn't actually talk, or not that I'd ever heard anyway, so I needed to find a way to communicate with it. I closed my eyes and made my foggy brain focus. I opened my eyes and said, "Okay, so it's not the past, is it the future?"
The fairy nodded its head once.
"Okay, good. How far into the future was it?"
This time I got a shrug of tiny shoulders as an answer. She didn't know when it would happen.
"Who is it?"
The fairy sat for a moment, then as if getting an idea, jumped to its feet. It hunched over and curled its fingers into claws and snarled at me.
What the heck was that supposed to be? A monster? "Got anything else?" I said.
It dropped the hunch and its hands and I saw it sigh again. It scratched its head a moment then shrugged and shook its head.
"Okay, so we know it's a bad guy," I said and the fairy quickly nodded its head. "But who? Is it someone I know? Personally?"
Again the fairy nodded.
"Is it someone Sunny knows?"
Again, a nod from the fairy. So, Sunny knew them, too. "Is it one of the Shadow Guard?" I took a guess.
No.
"Is it one of the rebels?"
The fairy nodded.
A sour ache dropped into my stomach at that affirmative nod. The day of battle, that day with Sunny, after…I'd just left. I didn't go back to the rebels. I didn't go back to anywhere. I just left. I couldn't face anyone. What was I supposed to say? I failed so bad I almost killed our Queen? No, I'd left.
Most of the rebels, what was left of them anyway, had joined the Army of the Sun. A few, I'd heard, had refused. There was only a handful that had refused, though, a stubborn handful at that. It had to be one of them. I could find that out.
I could protect Sunny this time. I could do what I said I would do and keep her safe. That was it. I could ma
ke up for that day. She wouldn't be mad at me anymore. Everything would be all right.
I stopped. But she was marrying Lucas. I felt my stomach plummet down into my feet. It wouldn't be all right. I would never be all right again.
"Go away," I said to the fairy.
It flew furiously before my face. I swatted it aside and said again, "Just go. There isn't anything I can do."
The fairy nodded its head and flailed it arms.
I again shooed it away. "No, there isn't. Even if there were, it wouldn't matter anyway. It won't change anything. The past is still the past."
The fairy's shoulders drooped and it slowly shook its head. It was a look of dejection or maybe shame. Either way, I didn't care to see it on the face of the fairy. They weren't that great of a species either. Between the nuisances of them in a horde, their biting teeth and scratching hands, you couldn't understand anything they said, and they wouldn't help you out to save you. "What do you care anyway? She has nothing to do with you and this realm."
I watched as one little hand, lifted up…and gave me the finger. Nice. Then it put its hands on its hips and flew out of my cave. The leather door flap hardly moved as it flew past.
I flopped back on my bed and stared up at the rock formation that was my ceiling. What did I care if there was a threat to Sunny? Let her guard and her fiancé deal with it. It had nothing to do with me. Not anymore.
I rolled over to my side and closed my eyes. Then I allowed the truth to seep into my thoughts. It did have something to do with me. If something happened to her, and I could have stopped it, again, how would I live with myself? I was hardly living with myself as it was. Could I take anymore blame onto my already burdened shoulders?
I pressed my fingers hard against my closed eyes and realized, no. I couldn't. I stood up and pulled out the crushed envelope from my pocket. When was the wedding? I read the invitation and realized it was three days away.
Shadow Dancer Boxed Set Page 51