Ethereal: The Light in the Shadow

by Zoe Knights

  Sam’s expression hardened. “No, I really don’t,” he growled back, sounding angrier too. “I can’t… I can’t remember.”

  Eddie stared, a flicker of doubt entering her mind. “What do you mean you can’t remember?”

  “I don’t know!” Sam snapped quite angrily this time. “I… every time I try and think of what happened to my hand I can’t,” there was that tremor of fear to his voice again. “And it’s like it’s there on the tip of my tongue, but I can’t say it, not even in my mind!”

  Eddie frowned further. “But…” some part of her believed him. “Do you remember the… the things? And me?”

  “Yes,” Sam sighed roughly. “Sort of. Not what it looked like or… what it did when it took my hand I- I-” but he couldn’t say it. “I don’t know.”

  Eddie swallowed, nodding slowly. “Then… then the animal. The huge black dog with red eyes. What is that?” she demanded quietly.

  Sam shook his head, turning away from Eddie. “A dog,” he said roughly. “Just a big dog. Alright?”

  Eddie clenched her fists, anger rearing again. “Don’t patronise me!” she snapped furiously. “Everything I saw defies anything I have ever known before. I have no idea what the hell is going on, and whatever that dog was it vanished into thin air!”

  Sam clenched his jaw, his eyes seeming lost when they looked at her. “Look…” he said in a tone of voice Eddie had not heard from him before. It was soft, almost vulnerable. “I’m sorry that you saw what you did. And I wish I could take that back… but I can’t. And… and I can’t explain it to you either,” he looked away, shaking his head. “But, you’re not in any danger. You’ll never see something like that again. Just… just try and put it out of your mind,” he looked at her again, trying to offer one of his old smirks. “I do it all the time – I recommend sex. Best form of distraction.”

  Eddie looked him, her brow pinched and her green eyes like little silvery moons in the dim light. She ignored his attempt at lightening the mood. “Is this why you said there’s no point in friends? Because of all of this?” she asked him softly, and she watched as the corner of his eyes tightened, but he did not answer. “Are you… are you ok?” she pressed further, concern swimming in her gaze.

  Once again Sam seemed both surprised and confused by her care. “I’m fine.” His answer was quick and automatic. And Eddie knew immediately it was a lie. “Let’s uh… get you back to your room before the matron finds us again…” he added quickly, and for a very brief moment, he lay his hand on the small of Eddie’s back, gently urging her onward. Heat swam from his touch and Eddie stumbled in her step, but then his hand was gone as quickly as it had come.

  They walked for a few minutes in silence before Eddie broke it.

  “Simon will tell the matron we were there,” she said quietly. “I think he might have a photo. He was… following you.”

  Sam glanced at her hesitantly. “Yeah that… won’t be a problem.”

  Eddie frowned at him. “But-”

  “Trust me,” Sam reached into his pocket and waggled a white iPhone in the air – the same one she’d seen in Simon’s hands.

  Eddie actually laughed in surprise.

  Sam smiled slightly at her reaction, tucking the phone away. “If you get called in – just say you weren’t there,” he murmured. “Trust me. I’ll back you up.”

  Eddie peered at him uncertainly. “You’re asking me to trust you?” she whispered. “After… everything?”

  Sam’s face fell, and he looked at her as they walked. “Yes?” he posed his answer as a question.

  Eddie held his gaze, strange nerves flittering in her stomach. But she did not know what to say.

  Sam stopped walking suddenly, for they had reached Eddie’s dorm, though she hadn’t noticed.

  She frowned. “How did you know this one was mine?” she asked.

  Sam raised an eyebrow, a flicker of a smirk touching his lips again. “Well, I’ve been in most of the others,” he told her quietly, a note of sinful innocence to his tone.

  A small, dry smile tilted Eddie’s lips for the first time in days, and she breathed out a slight laugh. “Of course…” she muttered. “Well…oh, your jacket,” she began undoing the buttons, but Sam’s hand shot out, his fingers briefly grazing her skin as he halted her movements.

  “Just give it back to me tomorrow,” he said quietly, and Eddie looked at him, wondering if the same sensations coursed through him in their moment of contact. “Goodnight, Eden…” he continued, his dark eyes glimmering as he slowly backed away from her.

  “Goodnight…” Eddie murmured back, watching him until he disappeared into the shadows.

  As quietly as she could, she entered her room. Quinn appeared to be fast asleep. Silently, Eddie grabbed out a new pair of pyjamas and threw her wet pants and singlet on the floor near her bed, hanging Sam’s jacket over the back of her chair.

  She then crawled into bed, curling up under the covers.

  Her head still felt odd, and she remained feeling different from everyone and everything… except for Sam. And the strangest thing of all was though she had no new answers… she felt more at ease than earlier.

  Trust me…

  His words echoed in her head along with the image of his dark brown eyes.

  But, could she trust him? When she didn’t even know what he was?

  Developing Trust

  9

  The next morning, Eddie got up early to retrieve her washing before Quinn woke up, throwing Sam’s jacket in amongst it to try and pretend that it must have gotten mixed in.

  Quinn was exceptionally dubious. “Sam’s expensive, delicate woollen coat got mixed in with your ‘throw it in one load’ lot of washing?” she asked Eddie with a perfectly pencilled raised eyebrow.

  Eddie shrugged, not meeting her friends gaze. “Must of…” she muttered vaguely, folding said coat and packing it into her backpack for the day.

  Quinn narrowed her eyes. “If something’s going on you know you can tell me, right?”

  Eddie looked at her. “Nothing’s going on,” she said in an expressionless voice.

  Quinn blanched. “Oh, come on, Eddie. I won’t judge you if you hooked up with him. Just… just so long as he didn’t force you or something.”

  “What? Of course, he didn’t, and we most certainly didn’t hook up!” Eddie spluttered madly.

  “Okay, okay…” Quinn said quickly, still eyeing her friend with concern. “You just… you’ve been acting weird, Eddie. I just hope you’re okay.”

  Eddie felt guilt swirl in her stomach. “I’m fine, Quinn, really,” she said, forcing a smile. “It’s… nice to know you’ve got my back. But, honestly, I’m fine.”

  With that, Eddie quickly swung her bag over her shoulders and escaped the room before she had to lie any more.

  She headed straight for English, hoping Sam would be there early for once so that she could give him his jacket back without anyone seeing. But, she had to hide abruptly when she saw Simon and Linh walking in her direction.

  She launched herself through the closest door which thankfully led to an empty classroom and waited for them to pass. The last thing she wanted was a confrontation with him after last night.

  “Calm, Simon… you must not allow him in your head for that is how he shall win,” Linh was saying softly to the boy and Eddie couldn’t help but tilt her head toward the door to eavesdrop.

  “He’s got that girl Eden under his thumb. Can no one resist him?”

  Eddie bristled with frustration but remained silent.

  “Those that choose to,” Linh replied, their footsteps on the other side of the door now. “Remember – the only way to bring justice is to pull back the curtain and shine light on the truth…” she continued, her voice fading as they got further away.

  Eddie ducked back out the moment she was sure they were far enough away and quickly continued to English.

  Sam wasn’t there.

  Eddie tried to ignore the strang
e well of disappointment over this fact, figuring it was simply because she really wanted to give his jacket back so she could stop thinking about it.

  She sat down with Millie who smiled at her in a way that made Eddie certain Quinn had mentioned her worries to the red head too.

  Before Miss Reed could even begin the roll, there was an announcement over the loud-speaker.

  “Miss Eden Osmond, please report to the office. Eden Osmond.”

  A murmur rippled through the class and Eddie’s cheeks shone as everyone looked at her.

  Miss Reed had raised eyebrows, but she merely said, “Well, Miss Osmond. Hurry along.”

  Eddie quickly stood up, ignoring the gazes and shoving her things into her backpack. She hurried from the room knowing she’d have answer Millie and Quinn’s questions later.

  Nerves tumbled in her stomach as she hurried to the office, she was desperately trying to make her mind up on what she should say. This was obviously to do with last night. Sam said to say she wasn’t there. He told her to trust him.

  Could she?

  She arrived at the office.

  “Ah, Eden,” Mrs Edwards greeted her from her desk, “please come through.” She led her around the desk and through the door that she’d disappeared through on the first day.

  Eddie kept her eyes peeled for Sam or Simon, but she saw neither of them.

  “What’s this about?” Eddie asked as Mrs Edwards got her to take a seat in front of a small desk she now sat behind.

  “I have a story,” Mrs Edwards said simply. “One from Simon McLaren. One from Samael Finley. I’d like to get yours now.”

  Eddie’s stomach flipped, but she kept her face blank. “I’m sorry,” she said after a moment. “I’m really not sure what this is about.”

  Mrs Edwards sighed lowly. “What did you do last night, Eden?” she asked firmly.

  Eddie once again feigned innocence. “Er, what time? I mean I had dinner – I was in the common area for a while, had a tea. Then went to bed.”

  Mrs Edwards observed Eddie for a long moment before exhaling slowly. “Miss Osmond, Simon McLaren has told me that you and Samael were out after hours with him last night. The matron found Simon and saw two other students running away. A boy and a girl. What do you think about that?”

  Eddie hesitated. “Um, well I don’t know why Simon would say that. Maybe he didn’t see them clearly?”

  Mrs Edwards shook her head slowly. “And that’s exactly what Mr Finley said too…” she murmured.

  Eddie remained silent, her heart thumping.

  “Very well,” Mrs Edwards continued finally. “I suppose Mr McLaren mistook who he saw.”

  Eddie nodded quickly – unsure if she was more surprised or relieved and wondering what Sam had done to ensure this. “Right, well can I get back to class?”

  “Not just yet, Miss Osmond.”

  Eddie stilled in her seat, and Mrs Edwards leant across her desk with a concerned look in her gaze.

  “Eden, you are a talented student,” she said seriously. “Your scholarship results are enough to show that. You have… so much potential.”

  Eddie just looked at her. “Thank you, Mrs Edwards,” she said when the woman did not continue.

  “Samael Finley is a troubled boy, Eden. Heavens above, he’s caused more headaches in this school than I thought possible,” she paused again.

  Eddie swallowed, her heart hammering. It seemed everyone in her life was constantly warning her about this boy. Trusting him after everything seemed to be verging on insanity and yet… for some inexplicable reason, Eddie found that she did.

  “What does this have to do with me, Mrs Edwards?” she asked when the woman still had not continued.

  Mrs Edwards sighed. “He is not the sort of boy I would want my own talented and bright young daughter getting involved with.”

  Eddie stared at her. “I’m not ‘involved’ with him, ma’am,” she said after another beat of silence.

  Mrs Edwards shook her head slowly. “Eden, as clever a girl as you are, you are still a teenager. I would hate to see you throw your future away because of a rebellious, troubled boy like Sam.”

  Eddie ignored the worried flip of her stomach. “I appreciate the concern, Mrs Edwards,” she said quietly. “But, I am on top of my studies here,” she lied again, knowing in the back of her mind it had been days since she’d read a textbook. “And, as I said before… I’m not involved with Sam.”

  Mrs Edwards eyed Eddie for a long moment before sighing lowly under her breath. “Very well,” she said in a tone that made Eddie understand everything was not, in fact, ‘very well’. “Back to class then, Eden. Thank you for your time.”

  Eddie didn’t hesitate. She hurried out of the room, glad to be out of what felt like a lecture crossed with an interrogation.

  She did not get far, Sam jolting her with surprise when he jumped from the ledge of a bay window into her path.

  “Sam!” she gasped, frowning at him. “I take it you were listening to that?”

  Sam nodded, his eyes gazing over her with a strange expression. “I was…” he said quietly. “You trusted me.”

  Eddie swallowed. “Everyone keeps telling me not to…” she said back.

  Sam just looked at her, drowning her with his dark gaze. “Then why did you?”

  Eddie’s brow pinched, and she exhaled slowly. “Not did,” she corrected him softly. “Do. I hope that’s not something I’ll regret.”

  Sam didn’t answer, and Eddie still could not read those impenetrable eyes. So she pulled her backpack off and took out his coat.

  “Here,” she said, holding it out to him.

  He took it slowly. “Why?” his tone was suddenly suspicious. “What’s your goal? If you think this will make me tell you the truth, you’re wrong.”

  Eddie shook her head at him, her gaze concerned. “Why must I have a goal?” she asked quietly.

  Sam narrowed his eyes. “Everyone always does,” he said lowly.

  Eddie sighed, “Well, I guess I’m not everyone.”

  Sam hesitated again, his expression still unreadable. “That doesn’t change anything. I still can’t-”

  “Yeah, I get it, Sam,” Eddie cut across firmly. “You can’t tell me. Well – fine. But I hope that you’ll tell me if you’re in danger, or if you need help. Because-”

  Sam cut her off. “You think you can help me?” he said almost disdainfully. “That’s even worse than hoping I’ll tell you,” he muttered. “I’m not a pity case, Eden. I don’t know how many times I have to tell you. Did you ever think that maybe I am as bad as everyone thinks?!”

  Eddie couldn’t ignore the tumble of nervous fear that flittered through her chest. But, her eyes remained sharp. “I think you’re scared,” she said in a quiet, but strong voice. “And I think you’re trying to work yourself out like every other teenager.”

  Sam clenched his jaw, a tendon twitching in his neck. “How about you stop trying to work me out?” he snapped lowly. “Before you get yourself hurt,” he added with one last angry glance at her before he stormed off down the corridor.

  Eddie took a shaky breath the moment he left. Red eyes invaded her vision. A long, withered grey arm. Then Sam’s frightened brown eyes.

  She may have a thousand questions, but whether Sam was the one who was a danger to her was not one of them.

  The Shadow Wolf

  10

  Eddie may have accepted that Sam could not tell her the truth. But that did nothing to hinder her manic research.

  As far as Quinn knew she was working studiously on her history assignment. But that lay neglected in her ‘recent files’ list in Microsoft Word.

  She was taking a different tact this time, instead of googling red-eyed beasts she was googling families with the last name ‘Finley’.

  But she’d been doing so for the past two hours with no success. She was almost ready to give up as the inkling of a headache began to gnaw at her brain when she clicked on a news article form
seventeen years ago with ‘Finley’ in the related tags.

  The title caught her attention, and she frowned, leaning closer the laptop.

  Phantom Baby Murder

  A photo loaded of a woman named Eleanor Finley, her large brown eyes staring at Eddie from the webpage were eerily familiar.

  Eddie’s heart thumped heavily, her eyes scanning the article, reading quickly. The woman was found dead in her London home after giving birth, but no baby was ever found. Seventeen years ago.

  Eddie couldn’t breathe, her eyes wide and unable to break away from the unblinking gaze of the woman Eddie was certain was Samael’s dead mother.

  Abruptly a loud knock sounded at the door, and Eddie nearly jumped out of her skin.

  Quinn laughed, “In the zone?” she quipped.

  Eddie breathed out, her heart still beating far too fast. “Yeah…” she muttered, shaking her head.

  “Quinn?” Millie called from the door. “Sorry to bother you guys. It’s just I had a question about our economics homework. Do you have a second?”

  Quinn jumped up immediately, and Eddie noticed her quickly fix her hair in the mirror. “Yup, coming out Millie.”

  She waved quickly to Eddie who smiled meekly back, before leaving her alone in the room.

  Eddie turned slowly back to the page, and again her gaze was drawn instantly to Eleanor’s haunting brown eyes.

  For the second time, Eddie nearly flipped her laptop as a sharp tap sounded at the window.

  “Sam?!” Eddie hissed, her heart pounding against her ribs. She closed the lid of her laptop so fast a screw popped out.

  The boy raised an eyebrow at her from outside.

  Eddie shook her head, moving to the window and shoving it open.

  A freezing gust of wind hit her, and she shivered. “What the hell are you doing?!” she hissed, looking to see him standing precariously on the branch of the oak outside.

  “Well, I came to see you,” he frowned at her. “Obviously.”

  Eddie stared at him. “Why?” she demanded. “I thought after your storm off the other day you were about done talking to me.”

  Sam sighed, “Yes well… I need you to do something.”