The Lord of Shadows

by E E Ewer

  “You know, if it does work, we’re really going to miss you, Ni-Ni,” Jen said to her friend with a sad look in her eyes. Nikki nodded, and after exchanging glances her parents also nodded in agreement.

  They passed the night playing board games and laughing. Nire won at Pictionary, as usual, but ate her shoe in Monopoly.

  As midnight rolled around, Jen looked at the clock. “Oh!” she cried suddenly, reaching into her purse and pulling out her camera. “I think we need a family photo!” Jen exclaimed, singing her words.

  Putting the camera on the table and setting the 10 second timer, Jen rushed into the group where Nikki sat next to Nire, smiling in front of her parents. Grabbing Nire’s free shoulder Jen leaned in close and said “SAY CHEESE!”

  Everyone smiled, and the camera flashed. Nikki started to laugh. “Hey, Mrs. A.,” Jen said, “can I borrow your printer to make everyone copies?”

  “Go ahead Jennifer, right in the office there,” Jane responded with a smile. Jen ran off to print the pictures and the room went silent as the grandfather clock chimed twelve.

  Jen trotted back into the living room a few minutes later with the photograph printed on four sheets of paper. Smiling, she handed one to Nire’s parents, one to Nikki, one to Nire, and kept the last for herself. “Look at that!” Jen said, pointing to the moth pendant hanging around Nire’s neck in the photo.

  Jane and Richard looked at each other with wide eyes. The pendant in the picture was completely black. The chain was clearly silver, but the shape of the moth as it hung against Nire’s chest was completely void of definition. Nire gasped as she looked at it.

  “It’s… a shadow…” she said quietly. Gibson broke her thoughts as he rubbed against her legs and purred. Looking down, she picked up her cat and gave him a long hug. The gray cat hung limply in her arms, and purred at the attention.

  After setting him down she turned to her friends and hugged both of them tightly.

  “I love you guys,” Nire said to the two girls in her arms.

  “We love you too, Ni-Ni,” Nikki said.

  “Yeah, Mouse,” Jen agreed. Her friends smiled softly at her.

  Turning around she hugged both her parents, and they repeated the sentiments. Taking a deep breath, Nire stood in the center of the living room, and wondered if maybe she needed to be in the dark for this. “Um, I think we should turn off the lights,” she suggested.

  Richard walked to the wall and hit the switch.

  “Okay,” Nire stated, taking a deep breath.

  “Nire,” her mother interrupted, “what if this doesn’t work?” She asked cautiously, trying her best to humor her daughter. “Are we going to have to go through this all over again?”

  Nire looked at her mother, who was obviously more than worried about her. “No,” she said after a moment of thought. “If it doesn’t work… it doesn’t work. That’s all.” Her mother gave her short nod.

  Holding the moth pendant in her hand she spoke to it gently. “Take me home.”

  A few moments passed, and the occupants of the room began exchanging glances when suddenly Nire shrieked.

  “Oh!” she cried as the moth shuddered in her hand and began to glow. Gasps could be heard around the room as the moth fanned its wings, and began to flutter slowly around her head.

  “Nire!” Jen shouted, and the moth began to fly towards the back of the house. It perched on the back door and fluttered its wings against the glass.

  Nire and the others followed it, and when she reached the door she turned. “I have to go,” she said.

  Her mother had tears in her eyes as she ran to her daughter, giving her one final hug and a kiss on the cheek. “I love you dear,” she said as everyone else surrounded her with hugs as well. There was no denying it now, and no stopping her.

  Nire smiled at her family and friends, and quickly tucked the photograph into her bag. She reached for the door handle and as soon as the door opened the moth flew out, quickly making its way across the yard. Nire began to run after it, but stopped at the fence and turned back to her family.

  “I love all of you!” she called out as she waved and hopped the fence to the grassy field. The group waved goodbye as she ran off into the darkness. Gibson pushed passed the forest of legs that blocked him from the door and let out a small meow as Nire ran off.

  The moth was going fast, and it was difficult for Nire to keep up. Straining, she ran after its light and straight into the forest. She knocked herself on a few branches and her breathing was already heavy. Her lungs began to burn and Nire thought she should have kept in better shape.

  Suddenly the moth disappeared, but it had been in front of her just a moment ago. In the midst of her confusion Nire’s eyes grew wide, as she suddenly felt the ground beneath her foot give way. She screamed as she fell, being stopped abruptly by a soft pile of leaves.

  The ground was dry and Nire looked up. The trees had leaves.

  “Oh, my god!” she exclaimed out loud, grabbing for the necklace. The moth hung at her chest, right where it should be. Picking herself up she spun in circles.

  “I’m in that damned forest again. Shit. How did we get out before? Think, Nire, think. The forest is outside the west window… but which way is east? Damn it!” She stomped her foot with frustration.

  “Ow!” cried a tiny, ragged voice.

  “Ah!” Nire shouted at the sudden intrusion. “Who’s there?” she called frantically, spinning in circles.

  “Why you step on Kob?” the voice scolded.

  “Huh?” Nire looked down and saw a small creature no bigger than a large rabbit at her feet. “Kob?”

  “Yes! Why you step on Kob?” the creature asked again.

  “I… I didn’t mean to, I’m sorry,” Nire said.

  “Fine, fine … tail gonna be all crooked now,” the little creature rambled on.

  “Um, what are you?” Nire asked.

  “Goblin,” Kob responded.

  “Oh. You wouldn’t happen to know which direction east is, would you?” Nire tried to ask pleasantly.

  “Not telling you,” the goblin snarled.

  “Look, I’m really sorry I stepped on your tail, but this is kind of an emergency!” Nire pleaded.

  “Fine. You give Kob something, and Kob tell you which way east,” the goblin sniffed.

  Nire paused. “Well, what do you want?”

  The goblin hadn’t thought that far ahead. “Um…” He appeared to be thinking hard on the subject.

  Nire rolled her eyes. Reaching into her bag she pulled out a granola bar. “How about this?” she asked, holding it low for the creature to see.

  Kob smelled it. “What that?”

  “Its food,” Nire answered. “And it’s really tasty,” she added for effect.

  The goblin smiled and went to reach for the granola bar, but then straightened his face and folded his arms. “Hmm, how Kob know its tasty?” he asked.

  “Well,” Nire said, calling his bluff. “If you don’t want it I will just have to eat it all myself,” she teased.

  The goblin’s face dropped. “No, I change mind, give!” Nire held the granola bar just out of reach. “First tell me which way east is,” she demanded.

  “East that way!” the goblin said, hopping up and down frantically and pointing to Nire’s right.

  Nire wasn’t sure he was telling the truth. “Ok, lead me to the edge of the forest and I will give you the food,” she said.

  “What?!” the goblin protested. “No way!”

  Just then a rusting sound came from behind Nire, followed by a growl. She turned and gasped as Gibson jumped out from the bushes and landed directly on the goblin.

  “AHHH!” Kob cried. Nire reached down and lifted Gibson off the terrified goblin.

  “Gibson! What are you doing here?” she cried in astonishment. Gibson just hung in her arms, staring at her innocently. “Of course you did,” Nire said, rolling her eyes.

  “You save Kob from cat beast!” the goblin cried up at
her.

  “Huh?” she asked. “Oh, right. So does that mean you will take me to the edge of the forest?”

  “Yes, sure, but keep cat beast away!” the little critter cried as he began to walk and motioned for Nire to follow.

  Nire cradled Gibson in her arms as she followed after the small creature. It only took about ten minutes to reach the edge of the forest, and when they arrived the goblin looked up at the girl holding the cat beast.

  “Okay, you here. Kob gets food now?”

  Nire stared into the distance. Something was wrong. “Huh? Yeah… sure here you go,” she said, handing the granola bar to the goblin.

  “Bleh! Is not tasty at all!” he cried after biting into it.

  Nire looked down. “You have to take the wrapper off first,” she instructed, shaking her head.

  The goblin stared at the granola bar, studying it, no doubt wondering what a wrapper was. Nire shifted the cat to one arm and put her other hand down. “Here, give it to me, I will take it off for you.” The goblin eyed the girl suspiciously, but eventually handed her the bar. After taking the wrapper off she handed the unwrapped granola bar back to the goblin, and stuffed the wrapper in her bag.

  “Hey! Kob want that part too!” he called up at her.

  “What? Fine, here,” she said, tossing him the shiny silver wrapping. The creature scurried off back into the forest, and when he was gone Nire placed Gibson at her feet. “What’s going on Gibson?” she said as she stared down the field at Eastcastle. She didn’t know what, but something was very, very wrong.

  Chapter 14

  Table of Contents

  She took off quickly towards the castle, the gray cat following closely behind her. Jogging towards the gates that led into the Western Courtyards, she found them closed. “These are never closed,” she thought out loud.

  “Hey you!” shouted a voice from the tower above her as an arrow hit the ground near her foot.

  “Oh!” Nire screamed as she ran. “Crap, now how do I get in?” she spoke to the cat. Circling the walls crouched and on tip toe, she tried to be as inconspicuous as possible. She needed to find someone who knew her, and fast.

  “Okay, Nire, think,” she told herself, sucking in a deep breath to calm her nerves. Her heart was beating rapidly in her chest as she walked towards another pair of gates. The Northern Courtyards, she told herself as she approached, checking the towers for guards. Yup. Okay… Obviously every entrance is closed and guarded. Pulling her bag open she quickly began to rummage through its contents, hoping something might spawn some kind of idea.

  Just as she was about to throw the flap shut in frustration, the picture Jen had given her caught her eye. Pulling it out, she held it in front of her and gazed at the faces of her friends and parents. Her eyes wandered down to the necklace that shown with that strange black glow. A rush of possibility flashed through her mind, and she quickly packed the picture back into her bag.

  Maybe the moth is still connected to him somehow. He made the enchantment, so it’s his energy, right? Nire understood very little about the way magic worked, but that much seemed to make sense to her. So maybe… the gates will respond to it the same way they respond to him.

  Taking a deep breath she held the moth in her hand, and feeling more than a little silly, whispered “Help me get inside.” The moth shook and began to glow. Yes! Nire shouted in her head. Gibson took a leap into the air and pounced for the moth as it flew above his head.

  “No Gibby, stay down,” she whispered frantically, placing a hand on his head as the moth flew upwards. Watching the moth climb higher and higher, it began to circle one of the guard’s heads, and he swatted at it with clear frustration as it bombarded his face.

  “Bah! Get off menace!” he shouted.

  Suddenly Nire could see a second white moth doing the same thing to the guard on the opposite tower. She tried to stifle a giggle. A slight creaking sound caused Nire to look away from the guards. The gates had opened just enough for her to squeeze through.

  Moving quickly she sucked in her stomach and squeezed between the gates. Gibson followed as she hurried to a dark spot in the garden, where she crouched behind a row of overgrown hedges. The twin moths eventually appeared before her, melding into one and perching back on the chain. The glow faded and disappeared as it once again became silver and still.

  “Okay, that part’s over. Now I just need to get into the actual castle…” Nire said to herself as she glanced around hesitantly, holding Gibson by the shoulders and stroking his back.

  There were guards crawling everywhere. Nire quickly moved from one hiding place to the next, trying to make it to the Western Courtyard where she could get into the kitchens and find Miko.

  Gibson didn’t seem to understand the necessity of stealth, and darted out from the bushes chasing after some sort of small scurrying critter.

  “Gibson!” Nire squealed in a hushed voice. Cursing under her breath she dove quickly after the cat, snatching him up just as he was about to turn a corner into an extremely open area. The cat protested as he was pulled away from his prey, and Nire slammed back against a short wall encased planter, cradling Gibson close.

  She held her breath until she was sure there was no one coming to investigate, and slowly peeked around the corner of the stone wall. She could see her destination in the distance. After making it through the Western gates, there wasn’t much to hide behind on the way to Miko’s hut. She was going to have to wait for it to be clear and make a run for it.

  Hanging close to the wall, Nire kept low to the ground and quickly crept out when the way appeared clear. Gibson hung in her arms, wide eyed and helpless as he bobbed up and down. As she made her way across the open area as fast as she could manage, a small mew escaped from her jostled companion.

  “Shh!” she desperately ordered the cat as she moved quietly across the grass.

  “Huh?” she heard a voice say, just as she reached the hut. Ducking behind the wall, she held as still as possible and cuddled Gibson to keep him quiet. The guard walked passed oblivious to her presence, and Nire slipped into the hut.

  Letting out a sigh of relief she set Gibson on the ground.

  “Who are you?” asked a small inquisitive voice from the corner, causing Nire to practically jump out of her skin.

  Turning quickly she saw a child sitting in the corner of the hut, reading a very large book. She didn’t appear to be any older than eight, and she stared at Nire curiously.

  “I’m a friend of Miko’s,” Nire said to the child.

  “Oh, really? How come I’ve never met you before?” The young girl was clearly dubious.

  “I’ve been… gone… for a long time. What’s with all the guards?” Nire asked. Gibson walked over to the little girl and purred, rubbing against her legs and arching his back.

  “Is this your familiar?” she asked, losing a bit of the suspicion in her voice.

  “Not… exactly. That’s Gibson, he’s just a cat,” Nire said.

  “Oh,” the girl giggled as Gibson crawled into her lap and put his tail under her nose. “He’s very nice,” she said before her face turned serious again and brought her eyes back to Nire. “The guards are always out like that, you must have been gone for a long while. What’s your name?”

  “Nire,” she responded. “What’s yours?”

  Suddenly the girl jumped to her feet. “Nire!” she shouted. Gibson meowed in protest as he fell off her lap. “The human Nire?!”

  “Yes…” Nire answered, a little confused by the sudden upstart.

  “Oh my shadows!” the girl exclaimed as she dropped her book. “Wait here. I’ll go get her!”

  The young girl suddenly ran into the storage closet, knocking everything over as she stumbled through the mess. “I’m Nina, by the way!” she shouted over her shoulder, before another loud crash echoed in the closet.

  Nire sat at the kitchen table and waited for Nina to return with Miko while Gibson explored the hut. Only a few minutes had passed bef
ore Miko came rushing through the door, slamming it open and startling Nire to her feet.

  “Nire?!” the orange haired woman shouted as she stared at the human standing in her hut. “Oh, my goodness, it is you!” she exclaimed, running to her friend and wrapping her arms around her.

  “Miko?” Nire questioned. Suddenly grasping Miko by the shoulders Nire pushed out of the embrace and held her at arm’s length. “Miko, you’re…”

  “Older!” Miko completed her sentence for her. “And so are you, but not nearly as much!” she added.

  “Miko, how long has it been?” Nire asked very seriously.

  “165 years!” the fox girl shouted.

  “What? But… how? I thought you said you only lived a little longer than a human?” Nire questioned in astonishment.

  “Alchemists,” Miko said with a wink. “There are perks of the trade if you know what you’re doing. But, where have you been?” she asked, sitting Nire at the table and taking the seat next to her.

  Nire picked up the pendant on her chest and looked at it sadly. “When I got back home the necklace fell off. I was knocked down and didn’t realize it was missing until it was already gone. By some amazing stroke of fate, I found it again yesterday in an old shop that someone had sold it to.”

  Miko stared at her in disbelief. “How long has it been in your world?” she asked curiously.

  “Seven years,” Nire answered. “I… I had started to think I was crazy…” Her thoughts trailed off. “Miko, where’s Lucian? What’s going on here?”

  “When you didn’t come back… well…” She seemed hesitant to continue.

  “Well what, Miko?!” Nire urged her friend.

  “Well… he lost it, a bit,” she said with a wince.

  “What do you mean he lost it? Where is he?” Nire demanded.

  “In the Castle Depths,” Miko said, her shoulders sagging. “Security has been crazy since he disappeared down there.”