by S.J. Drew
disappointed that Reese decided to accost me like that. I don't blame you for hurting him, and I'm sure that you could probably have done worse. You move like a trained fighter, and you're quite strong if you can block a punch from a guard who's nearly twice as broad as you are. I'm disappointed that I allowed myself to get angry and enrage him further."
"Aolani, he was lookin' for a fight. Trust me, I know. Are you goin' to press charges?"
She sighed. "I should, shouldn't I? But it's hard when you have a history with someone. I'm not sure I could press charges against him anymore than I could do so against Kennet. I really don't think he's a bad person, just has made some bad decisions."
"And why isn't makin' bad decisions like gettin' drunk and attackin' a couple of people enough reason to press charges?" he retorted, trying not to sound too harsh. "It's not a matter of him bein' a bad person, it's a matter of him bein' a bad guard."
"I know that. But I don't see what good a black mark on his record will do. Maybe I should talk with his father."
He stopped her. "Aolani, please listen to me. He's been in lots of trouble before. If his father talkin' to him was goin' to make a difference, that wouldn't have happened. He could have gotten killed. He could have gotten those other two guys killed. He could have gotten us all in a lot of trouble. I'm not askin' you stop carin' for him, I'm askin' you to think about what he's supposed to be doin'. If Alain was pullin' stunts like this, I'd press charges against him in a heartbeat. Guards are supposed to stop trouble, not go around makin' it."
Tears stung her already reddened eyes. "You're right. You're absolutely right. I'll go to the main guardhouse tomorrow before work."
"I'm sorry. This isn't goin' to be easy."
"But necessary," she sighed, and started walking again. After a moment's pause, she said, "I heard you say something to him about having done this before. Has he gotten into a fight with you?"
"Er. Yeah, but I wouldn't call them fights, exactly. Three on one isn't exactly a fight," he answered darkly.
"If you've been in fights with him, and gotten hurt, why didn't you press charges?"
He couldn't hide his bitterness in his answer. "Because no one's goin' to take the word of a low-class nobody over the word of the Guard Commander's son, 'specially when he's got two guys to back him up, and I've got no one but a Dark acolyte on my side."
She nodded. "I was afraid you'd say something like that. Did he-did he hurt you badly?" she ventured.
"Him and his two friends beat me up pretty good, but Blake showed up. They didn't have much interest in dealin' with a Dark acolyte, so they left me alone before things got real serious," he responded carefully.
She gave him a suspicious look, but let it go. Then she put her hand to her mouth. "Oh, no."
"What?"
"I can't press charges against Reese," she replied in dismay.
"What? Why not?"
"Because it doesn't matter how I tell the story, no matter how much I emphasize that we felt threatened, you're going to get in trouble for his broken wrist."
"Godsdammit," he exclaimed. "You're right. It don't matter how wrong he was, I'm goin' to get it. Dammit. I shouldn't have done that."
"I'm sorry. You're right about him, but I don't want you to get into trouble, especially if there's some history between you two."
"Dammit." He thought quickly. "Are you still meetin' him tomorrow?"
"I guess so," she answered, startled. "I suppose I should just to see if he apologizes."
"Well, maybe you can find out if he even remembers how it got broken. If he don't remember it's me, you can press charges."
"And if he does, then what?"
"I don't know," he sighed. "I don't know."
"We'll just have to see how it goes."
"Are you goin' to be alone?"
"The Golden Quill is a large tavern. There will be plenty of people there."
"That's good. I wish I could be part of the conversation though."
"It's a very open set-up, which is part of the reason I chose it. Reese would surely see you. But maybe you could wait outside for me and walk me either home or to the guardhouse?" she asked. "Just in case."
"Of course I'll do that."
"Thank you."
They walked the rest of the way to her house in silence.
The next after fighting practice, Donnan racked his brain trying to figure out someway he could eavesdrop on the conversation between Aolani and Reese without being seen.
"Darkling," he called, frustrated.
"Yes, Master?" one hissed.
"How do you always know where I am?"
"We watch you. And you are part of the Darkness. You are easy to find."
"What do you mean, you watch me? Can you see me from the Shadow Realm?"
"We can sense what you are from the Shadows."
"And how do you find other people? I mean, you can't sense them, right?"
"No, Master. We look for them, find them by their names, or titles, or descriptions."
"But how do you see them?" he pressed. "I mean, don't they know you're there when you come out of the shadows?"
"We do not have to leave the Shadow to see. It is more difficult to see and hear from the Shadow, but it is safer."
"How do you do that?"
"How?" it repeated, expressing surprise.
This startled Donnan, who hadn't thought the creature was capable of anything besides cold indifference or anger.
"We are part of the Shadow. You are part of the Shadow. There is no how, only will."
"You mean I can just will myself to sort of be in the Shadow Realm but not completely so that I can still hear and see stuff happenin' in the regular world?"
"We are part of the Shadow. You are part of the Shadow. There is no how, only will," it repeated.
"Well, thanks for that. You can go now," he said impatiently.
It bowed, and disappeared.
He stood up and stared at the shadow on the wall. "Just will, huh?" He started to step into the Shadow Realm, but didn't allow himself to fall in completely. Instead he became as a shadow, and looked back at his room. It seemed a bit dim, and the furniture looked fuzzy and insubstantial. He emerged back into physical reality. "I wonder if I can walk through walls," he thought, and went over to his bedroom door. Again, he faded into the shadows and gently pressed through the wooden door. The air seemed to feel thick, but he came through on the other side without a problem. "That is so weird," he thought, feeling oddly shaken by the experience. "Still, better than trying to sneak into a tavern."
The sun set early in winter, and with the overcast sky, it was dark enough the streetlighters were already at work lighting the lamps. As he expected, the Golden Quill was a moderately sized tavern in a wealthy commercial district. He tucked himself into a side street, away from the dim illumination of the street lamps and waited for either Reese or Aolani to enter.
Aolani approached the tavern first, surrounded by five women her age, all carrying a heavy leather bag. The other women went on their way, and with a nervous look around, she entered the warm, well-lit tavern.
He walked around to the alley at the side of the building. Then he drew a deep breath, and faded into the wall. He could see the room in front of him but it was dim, as though he was seeing it from behind a translucent cloth. The furniture and people looked blurry. The sound seemed muffled and thin. With some effort, he located Aolani, who was seated at a two person table with a clear view and path to the door. He fell completely into the shadow to move closer to her, then faded back so he could hear and see what was happening.
Reese showed up a few minutes later and immediately grabbed a drink from the bar and sat down.
Donnan had to strain to catch the words, but he overheard the entire conversation.
"Hello, Reese," she greeted, with a disapproving glance at the mug of ale.
"Hello, Aolani."
; "What do you have to say for yourself?" she asked.
"I still want to know what you're doing with that guy."
"And it's still none of your business," she replied coldly. She lowered her voice. "You and your friends accosted me and a friend of mine for no good reason. You were drunk, and you're going to be in great deal of trouble when I press charges against you for assault."
"What?" he blurted. "You'd press charges against me?" he asked in a quieter tone.
"Reese, you got drunk and went to find me and harass me. How you knew where I was going to be, I don't know. I suspect you asked some of our mutual friends what nights I go out without them, or perhaps some of the guards. At any rate, this is unacceptable behavior for a guard, and you know it. If you asked your guard friends to watch me, this may even be an abuse of your rank."
"How could you press charges? I'm your friend," he snapped.
"Last night you certainly were not. You left a bruise on my arm."
"Oh. I shouldn't have done that. I was pretty drunk."
"You should not have come out at all in your state of inebriation."
"You're right. I'm sorry, alright?"
"I accept your apology, but I'm still going to formally press charges against you and your friends."
"Dammit, why? I apologized, didn't I? I'll never do it again, alright?"
She sighed. "I'd like to believe you, but I'm afraid I can't. We both know how often you've said those words, and how often you've continued the offending behavior."
An ugly look crossed his handsome face. "If you press charges against me, I'm going to have to explain this," he replied, and pulled up his right sleeve. The broken wrist was encased in plaster.
"And what would your
