Ethereal: The Light in the Shadow

by Zoe Knights

  Eddie nodded again, “Deal,” she agreed, smiling at her friend. “Thank you.”

  This Feels Right

  15

  Eddie felt as though she’d merely put a Band-Aid on things with Quinn. But, that was as much as she could hope for at the moment. Especially as the very next day, she did nothing to stop Sam from getting her out of her detentions for the rest of the week by blackmailing Mr Omera.

  Guilt tied her stomach in knots, but it was quickly muted by the nervous excitement that Sam caused within her instead.

  “Quinn can’t know,” Eddie whispered when Sam walked her away from the detention room and down the hall. “Actually… no one should. I think I should just find somewhere to hide out for the next two hours.”

  Sam laughed, smiling crookedly at Eddie. “Why are you so concerned? You know, usually, my favours come at a price. I’m doing this for you out of the goodness of my heart.”

  Eddie gave him a wry look. “Right, good to know the goodness of your heart equals blackmail.”

  Sam shrugged this off easily. “Well, see it how you like. Perhaps it was all merely a ruse so that I could get you all to myself,” he threw her a smirk, causing her stomach to flip. “You’re also lucky that I happen to know of all the best hideouts this school has to offer.”

  “Ergh…” Eddie scrunched up her nose at him. “Are you going to take me to one of your make-out spots?”

  Sam chuckled, “Oh, if only, Eden,” he crooned airily, leading them abruptly to the left.

  Eddie’s cheeks flushed royally, and she looked at Sam from the corner of her eye, the shape of his smile made her acutely aware that he had noticed her blush. Her eyes flickered forward again quickly. “You’re incorrigible,” she sighed, shaking her head.

  “Maybe,” Sam agreed lightly, now taking a turn through a small rarely visited anti-chamber. “But, I am about to show you a place I’ve never shown anyone. You should feel special.”

  Eddie rolled her eyes, but a smile had tweaked her lips. “Trying to impress me?” she quipped, throwing him an impudent look that she noticed made his smile grow.

  He stopped walking abruptly, leaning against a panelled wood wall.

  Eddie raised an eyebrow. “What are you doing?”

  Sam smiled charmingly. “Impressing you,” he said gracefully, before leaning his elbow down on a nook on the wall and Eddie stared in shock as it shifted and the entire section of wall swung out like a door.

  Her mouth fell open, her eyes wide. “You’ve got to be kidding me!” a smile took over her lips as her gaze flickered back to Sam, noting his rather smug expression.

  “You’d be surprised how much is hidden away in old homes like these,” he smirked, gesturing through. “Come on, then.”

  Eddie followed instantly, an excited grin glued to her lips. She slipped past Sam who was waiting to close the wall-door behind her. Their eyes met for a moment in the small gap between them while both held their breath. But then, Eddie had passed him, her eyes flickering onward while she felt his remaining to burn into the back of her neck.

  She walked down a small corridor that led to a little room with one high window and a warm, yellow light. The rest of the space was filled with things that Sam must have brought there. Books, cushions, pencils and sketchpads along with several bottles of various whiskeys and an ashtray.

  Eddie looked at Sam, her lips still curled in a smile. “Come here often?”

  Sam inclined his head. “It’s… a good escape,” he murmured simply.

  “Well…” Eddie said with a sigh. “I suppose the least I can do is some school work if I’m going to be skipping out on detention,” she said as she sat down on some cushions and began to pull out her books from her bag.

  Sam rolled his eyes, sitting across from her and grasping his sketchpad. “If it will ease your conscience,” he sighed with a shrug. “But really… in the scheme of… well, everything – school is irrelevant.”

  Eddie gave him a look. “How do you even get through the year? I never see you do any work.”

  “That’s because I don’t do any work,” Sam quipped lightly, now shading gently on his page.

  “How?” Eddie demanded with a frown. “I mean – you have to hand in assignments. Do the tests. You can’t just-”

  “Other people do them for me,” Sam shrugged. “I make deals – I do things for them, in exchange they do something for me. Most of the time it’s school work.”

  Eddie stared, open-mouthed. “Are you kidding me?” she almost laughed in disbelief. “So… wait, Tash did a deal with you. What does she do?”

  “Math,” Sam shrugged. “She’s not great at it… but at least it gets done.”

  Eddie shook her head in bemusement. “I’ve never met anyone like you before,” she said, unable to hide the little smiling curling at her lips. “You’re insane.”

  “I’d be very surprised… and concerned if you had met anyone like me before,” Sam noted idly.

  Eddie looked up at him from her school books. He was focused on his drawing. “Right,” she said carefully. “Because you shouldn’t exist at all.”

  “Exactly,” Sam briefly looked up to throw her a smile. “So anyway,” he added lightly. “All this studying you do… what’s it for?”

  Eddie breathed a slight laugh of confusion. “What do you mean what’s it for? Is graduating not enough?”

  Sam shrugged. “I suppose I’m curious to know why you would want to come to this school in particular. I know you needed to get away, but… I don’t know. The scholarship seems so… out of character, for you.”

  Eddie raised her eyebrows. “That so?” she quipped in mild amusement. “And what makes you say that?”

  Sam shrugged. “Look – you’re very clever, everyone knows that,” he said simply, and Eddie’s cheeks instantly flushed. “So, it’s no surprise that you’d receive the scholarship. But… well, I get the feeling that you only came here out of… some kind of obligation to your brother.”

  Eddie stared at him in dumbstruck surprise. “I…” she stuttered after a moment of silence. Then she sighed. “You’re right…” she muttered dully. “I… Alex means so much to me. He looked out for me when… when our parents couldn’t. And he gave up opportunities for his own life to be there for me… he wanted me to go here. And he wants me to do well… I owe it to him to try.” She looked at Sam oddly. “Which is why I feel so guilty sometimes when you distract me from my school work,” she added, but her tone was teasing. “Though if he knew why… well, I think he’d understand. He’d be stoked to see a giant… shadow melding wolf.”

  Sam chuckled slightly. “I distract you?” he murmured.

  Eddie rolled her eyes. “Of course that’s what you took away from that.”

  Sam smiled crookedly. “What do you want to be then?” he asked her. “A pastry chef? A writer? A composer?”

  Eddie laughed in surprise, her smile spreading over her whole face and causing that little dimple in her left cheek. “I… may have fantasised about a few of those. How could you possibly know-”

  Sam was, as usual, keen to explain. “You clearly love baking – you can’t eat a piece of pie without analysing every detail,” he said instantly, smirking. “I can imagine you getting into food science. And the writing? I’ve seen your list of novel ideas scribbled on the back of your timetable. It grows every week – you’re going to run out of space,” Sam chuckled while Eddie was struggling to hide how much she was enjoying this. “And the composer? Well, I threw that one in because you’re very good at it – and you certainly enjoy piano.”

  Eddie chewed on her lip, this smile refusing to leave her face. “I had no idea you noticed so much about me…” she mused quietly.

  Sam quirked an eyebrow. “Let me guess, you think all I see is something I want to have sex with?” he teased mildly, but Eddie could detect a slight tremor of offence to his tone.

  She gave him a look. “No,” she said dryly. “But, you do know that is the impression
you give most people.”

  “Is it?” Sam quipped testily. “You know, I don’t go chasing it. Usually, they come to me. Not many actively ignore my charm, as you do.”

  Eddie snorted. “Well that explains a lot,” she murmured lightly.

  Sam’s eyebrows rose further, an amused smile tilting his lips. “How so?”

  “Uh – ‘would you like me to teach you more pleasurable things elsewhere’?” she teased with a laugh. “Did you really expect that to work?”

  Sam did not seem embarrassed. “Well I had to try something,” he shrugged. “You were… so refreshing.”

  Eddie raised an eyebrow. “Refreshing?” she repeated dubiously.

  Sam smirked at her. “All sun-kissed and natural? Not skint of make-up or fake lashes? Trust me. We don’t get that around here much. It’s… refreshing.”

  Eddie’s stomach flipped, her cheeks flushing rosily. “Well, it’s not so… rare where I’m from,” she muttered in a fluster. “Anyway,” she added, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear in a nervous manner while a smile touched her lips. “If you had just been yourself, you would have stood a far better chance.”

  Sam’s brow shot up, a smirk instantly pulling at his lips and Eddie nearly smacked herself in the forehead, her cheeks flushing even pinker.

  “Is that so?” Sam teased without hesitation. “So you mean like I am now…” he continued leadingly.

  Eddie glared at him, her lips stiff. “I – that’s not what I-”

  Sam chuckled, cutting her off. “Oh, calm down. I’m joking,” he sighed, and his smile faded from his lips, his eyes flickering away. “Anyway, it’s not true. If you… really knew me, what I am… you wouldn’t want anything to do with me.”

  Eddie frowned, quickly setting her textbook down that lay open in her lap. “You don’t know that,” she said quietly.

  Sam looked back at her, his expression dry and dubious. “Well, we’ll never know will we…” he muttered.

  Eddie frowned seriously. “You’ll… never be able to tell me?” she asked quietly.

  Sam remained silent for a long moment, holding her gaze before he slowly shook his head. “No, I…I don’t think so. Even… even if I could, it would be selfish of me to… burden you with the knowledge.”

  A trickle of anxiety chilled Eddie’s spine. Thoughts of his true identity plagued her mind, but she pushed them back. “I could take it, Sam…” she said softly. “And… and I want you to know that no matter what anyone else says… I know you, and you’re… you’re good. Nothing could change my mind about that.”

  Sam’s brow pinched, his dark eyes swimming. He breathed out roughly, looking down. “That’s because you’re special… Eden,” he murmured softly. “You are the one who is good…” he added so quietly Eddie nearly didn’t hear him. He looked back up, a forced, dry smile on his lips. “Anyway – what you should be more concerned about is that we have three days of this scandalous behaviour ahead of us. Aren’t you worried what people might think of you?” his tone returned to teasing. “Skipping detention and hiding away with me of all people?”

  Eddie gave a small, wry smile knowing she was not going to get any further with their previous topic of conversation. “Not really,” she said dryly. “I’m more worried for you. Aren’t you missing many golden shagging opportunities by hiding away with me?”

  Sam chuckled lowly. “Actually, spending all this time with you has more admirers lining up at my door. They all think we’re shagging – exclusively. Which… obviously is something I don’t do so it seems to have stirred excitement.”

  Eddie stared at him, the back of her neck heating up. “So glad I’m helping you score,” she muttered dully, unable to hide the irritation in her tone.

  Sam straightened quickly. “I’ve made sure people know that we’re not… shagging,” he said rather quickly.

  But, this time that wasn’t what Eddie was annoyed about. She swallowed this feeling down, knowing it was ridiculous. “I really don’t care about that anymore,” she said idly, focusing on her textbook again as she reopened it in her lap. “My friends refuse to believe me when I tell them, so I’ve given up giving a shit.”

  “That so?” Sam quipped. “Very different to your original reaction… I vaguely remember you nearly biting my head off.”

  Eddie’s eyes flickered up briefly to meet Sam’s mischievous gaze. She shook her head slightly, unable to stop a small smile from hooking the corner of her lips and she looked back down. “Could still happen,” she warned him lightly.

  Sam chuckled again. “I’ll keep that in mind…” he murmured, and after a moment the scratching of his pencil sounded across the room as he settled back into his drawing. Eddie glanced at him with a smile one last time before continuing with her school work.

  Play Me for It

  16

  Eddie’s eyes were beginning to hurt from scanning her laptop screen hours into the night.

  Quinn believed she was late night studying.

  But, truly Eddie’s webpages were full of tabs about God, Satan, the Nephilim, and the Antichrist. She scrolled down the page slowly, reading and absorbing anything that made any sense. Her eyes caught on a picture depicted on the page. It was a carved stone statue of a male angel embracing a human woman.

  She swallowed, a strange jolt swooping in her stomach at the sight, her eyes lingering on the huge, magnificent wings on the man.

  Could it really be true?

  She was certain Linh was insane. That whole group was nutty. To believe any of it was fighting hard with her logic. Yet, she could not ignore the out-of-this-world facts she had seen. Namely of which was a shadow melding wolf. Or… as she’d started to call it… a hellhound.

  But, she found the mere idea of God’s existence caused mild panic attacks inside her as the overwhelming thought of it made her feel like an ant on an ant hill where a giant human loomed above her holding a stick.

  And that Sam… Samael could be the half-human son of the devil? Well… she had no idea what to think. Part of her was terrified – for she’d seen Sam’s own fear of his father in his eyes and heard it in his voice. And perhaps that was why she wasn’t afraid of him. Instead, she was afraid for him. He was lost and trapped in this world with seemingly no escape. All she wanted was to help him. But what could she do, when she couldn’t even know the truth?

  That was why her eyes lingered on the tab she’d been avoiding on her laptop. The one with his human aunt’s address. The only other human in the world that might possibly know some answers. That might possibly be able to help sort this turmoil in her mind. And she was living in London. Even if she could just know the situation around his mother’s death… that could give her some insight into what kind of world she was getting herself more deeply involved in with each passing day. A world Sam did not wish to burden her with. Which is why she knew he would never want her to go there.

  She pushed these thoughts back and switched her window to pull up her emails to her brother, deciding it was time to try and word this email to him asking if it was alright to bring a friend for Christmas.

  Hi Alex,

  Can’t wait for Christmas! I need gift ideas for you! Also, could I bring a friend? They don’t have family to go to and would be staying at school through the holiday otherwise. So miserable!

  Let me know!

  Love you

  Eddie

  She was careful not to specify gender, not wanting to give him any good reason to say no.

  She carefully shut her laptop when she’d finished, laying it beside her bed before going to turn over.

  “You study way too much,” Quinn called quietly from across the room.

  Eddie’s stomach turned with guilt. “Sorry… was my typing too loud?”

  Quinn chuckled groggily. “No, you’re fine…” she whispered. “Hey… you’re going to the Christmas dance at the end of term, right?”

  “Yeah,” Eddie said immediately. That was one of her best distractions at t
he moment. Something to be excited about that had nothing to do with potential Antichrists. Except she was rather hoping a certain possible Antichrist would be attending this year.

  “Can I still do your make-up? It’s pretty fancy dress normally.”

  Eddie snorted quietly, closing her eyes. “Of course,” she chuckled. “Can you imagine if I did my own?”

  “Awesome, you might need to borrow some of my clothes too,” Quinn yawned, shuffling in her own bed. “Night then.”

  Eddie smiled slightly. “Night…” she said quietly, trying to focus her mind on the Christmas Party rather than everything else she had going on.

  ***

  The days were slowly dwindling as the term drew closer and closer to its end with the Christmas Party on the final eve.

  Eddie had heard back from Alex, and Sam was allowed to join them for Christmas. So she had several reasons for her stomach to be tumbling as she headed for Music where she was keen to see Sam.

  But, she was halted in the hall by Brendan from her science class.

  “Hey,” he said waltzing up to her and she stared at him. He was tall with sandy coloured hair and hazel eyes. “Eddie, right?”

  “Uhm… yeah, hi Brendan,” she greeted him dubiously.

  “Look I uh… wondered if you’d like to go to the Christmas dance with me?”

  Eddie raised her eyebrows in surprise. “Oh, er… thanks for asking, but um… I can’t.”

  Brendan looked more curious than disappointed. “Oh… are you already going with someone?”

  Eddie bit her lip. “Uh… no, I’m just…er-”

  “Right. I get it. I guess the rumours about you and Sam are true then.”

  Eddie blinked in shock. “I - what?” she demanded.

  “He has such a monopoly on the cute girls,” muttered Brendan. “Well, have fun at the dance, I guess…” he added before turning on his heel and walking off.

  Eddie was left staring after him with a frown.

  “What was that about?”