Chasing Shadows

by Rebbeca Stoddard

  “Clamora, I—” Sebastian started to talk but she held her hand up to stop him.

  “Not now. Let me say what must be said before I go.”

  He nodded once in response.

  “AubrieAnna, you are much stronger than the gods, or I, could have ever predicted you would be. This is good. You must not let the u da yv la dv ever find out. I was on my way to talk to you when this happened. There are a few things you need to know. Late last night, a goddess came down to speak with me. We went into my office and spoke for a while. She told me that there has been some disturbing news and some good news. First, I will give you the disturbing news. The gods have been feeling a shift in power. Something big is going on in the world of the u da yv la dv. They are planning, plotting, and getting stronger than they have ever been. It may not be long before they come up from where they live. Which means you must train harder than you ever have trained before. You must push her, Sebastian.

  “The better part of what she told me was that you have fewer weaknesses than we thought you would. And there is a way to get rid of them. You could become completely versatile and invincible. No one could ever harm you again. However it is a difficult process and would be painful. For you and Sebastian.” She coughed before continuing. “Now, before you start freaking out and throwing stuff around the room, let me tell you what would happen, AubrieAnna.” She smiled at me as if she knew I had just remembered that day on my way to the hospital.

  I nodded at her while smiling back.

  “You will have to do the blood rite ritual.” Before she could even continue, Sebastian gasped.

  “No, Clamora, that ritual has killed many. We cannot take that chance. Not with her, not right now.” Sebastian sounded scared and worried.

  “If you would listen to me before speaking, you would understand why it must be done and what would happen.” Her tone took on that of a scolding mother.

  “I will not listen to it. We both know what could happen.” This time he was being serious and very stubborn.

  “You ignorant little boy! You know that this is coming from the gods! You really think after all the work and effort they put into keeping you alive and making sure she was born when she was, as well as causing her twin to give up part of her soul, that they would really let you guys die?!” Clamora was very angry. And for the first time ever, her eyes turned bright red.

  “Uh, guys?” I spoke, waving my hand in the air.

  “Oh, really? I am the ignorant one? You listen blindly to what they say, never thinking or believing they could be lying to you. Clamora, I will not listen to what they told you. I will not believe one more word from them ensuring our, her, safety. None of it!” he shouted at her.

  “How dare you speak to me like that, Sebastian. I practically raised you into the vampire you are today. I am basically your supernatural mother. So, do not test me, child.” Her body shook as her eyes started glowing.

  “Hello?” I said a little louder this time.

  “What?” they yelled at me in unison.

  “Finally. You would think you guys are actually blood related. And did you know your eyes get super red when you get pissed, Clamora?” I started rambling because they were both angry and it made me nervous.

  “Yes, I did. Now get to the point so I can strangle your vampire after.” She smiled sweetly at first then glowered at Sebastian.

  “Uh, well, I would like to know what this blood rite is.” Sebastian stood up the minute the words were out of my mouth. “Sebastian, wait. I am not saying we will do it. I don’t even know what it is. No one ever told me about it. All I want is to hear her out. If you still aren’t comfortable with it, we won’t do it. Or we could contact a god or someone up there and they can tell us what their plan is. Okay?” I hurried to get the words out before he left the room.

  “Excuse me.” A nurse in pink scrubs scrambled into the room. “I just came to check and make sure everything is okay. Her heart monitor showed some intense activity at the nurses’ station.” She checked Clamora’s vitals. “Well, it seems everything is all right. You gave us a little scare, Clamora.” She patted Clamora’s arm before turning and leaving.

  We all looked at each other. While Sebastian and Clamora bickered and argued, none of us had realized the monitors were picking up her vitals and sending them to the nurses. Our visit could have ended short.

  “Sebastian, sit down. She is right. There is no point in deciding right away. Contact the gods if necessary, I do not care. But she needs to know what it is.” He complied while grumbling under his breath. “AubrieAnna, a blood rite is something supernaturals do. It is rare when they do it, and it is very dangerous. Whoever does this must first be married in the eyes of the supernatural world. After that is accomplished, they must go to a very sacred place. Not many know exactly where it is. They say that each person must cut their hand and then they must place the wounds together. When the blood flows between you, you feel a pull. There is no denying this pull. You drive, walk, run, swim, or whatever you need to do to get to this place. It is the only way to find the sacred spot. But while you find it, you mustn’t let each other go. The blood you receive and give releases chemicals. These chemicals are very toxic. They cause pain, and in some cases death. Once you find the sacred place, these chemicals begin to stop producing and slow down. While you are there, you still cannot let go. You must have intercourse until the blood stops. Then, when the blood stops, you are allowed to let go and the blood rite is almost finished. The last thing you need to do is say a prayer.” Once she stopped talking, it dawned on me. The pain was so great that some supernaturals couldn’t make it to the sacred place, or they let go. Fear clouded my mind as I looked at Sebastian. I finally understood why he was so upset at the prospect of us doing that.

  “So how do the gods plan to prevent the death part?” I asked.

  “They plan to be with you at the start. They are going to listen in on the connection being born between you, and they will take you where you need to go. The only way to prevent death is to get to the sacred place as quickly as possible. This is what they are going to do. Once they get you there, they will leave you to do what you need to do to finish the rite. Of course they will have other instructions for you to follow, but that is not important at this moment.” Clamora yawned and stretched a little.

  “What exactly does a blood rite do? How will doing it make me invincible?” Curiosity was getting the best of me.

  “It strengthens the bond between the two who do it. You hear each other’s thoughts, feel each other’s feelings. And while the blood is being exchanged, you gain the other’s abilities. You would be like him, and he would be like you. You would be completely immortal, just like he is.”

  “Would I still have all my powers?” I asked.

  “Yes, you both would have them. They would not weaken, only get stronger. It is the same with his vampire abilities. Many supernaturals would do this if not for the fear of death. Many die naturally, but for the vampires and witches who have been able to stay alive for centuries, death is not welcome.” When she finished speaking, she sank lower into the pillows and dozed off.

  I sat there for a minute, not sure what to do. The bed shifted as Sebastian rose. He came over to me and placed his hand on my shoulder. An empty feeling settled in my belly. Somewhere deep inside, I knew that if I tried to save her Clamora would be grateful but angry. I was completely torn. As Sebastian turned to leave, I looked back down at Clamora one more time before getting up and following him.

  Once we were out of Clamora’s room, the sounds reached out to attack me once again. It was nerve racking. I did my best to push through it and ignore the irritating sounds. Willow was sitting in a small chair outside the room. At first she didn’t see us, but when she finally looked up, her eyes were as hollow as my stomach felt. Bile rose into my esophagus while guilt plagued my mind. This was my fault. Sure, I didn’t pull the trigger, but I loaded the gun. I showed the u da yv la dv what would happen if they
continued. They retaliated by attacking my teacher. In that second, I decided I was going to try to save her life. Even if it was only for a few more months, I would try. I had to. Being gentle, I reached down and gave Willow a hug. Her small arms hugged me back softly. Sebastian kissed her head once more and gave her a quick hug. We both knew she was going to stay there until something happened, whether it was good or bad.

  It felt good to finally take a deep breath once we were in the car. No more sounds assaulted my eardrums. I wasn’t sure if I would be able handle any more enhanced hearing if we did the blood rite ritual. There was plenty we needed to talk about, but I understood why he got so upset about it—the thought of him dying was scary. Just like the thought of me dying was scary to him. But if it could ensure our safety as well as make me immortal, then there were some major pluses. We didn’t know if my vampire side would allow me to live forever like Sebastian could. Without thinking, I reached over and grabbed his hand. Neither of us said a word the entire way home.

  When we finally got back to my house, he put the car in park but didn’t shut it off. Curious, I turned to face him. His eyes were nervous. They flitted back and forth—not seeing or paying attention, just doing an anxious dance in his head. I waited patiently, watching his eyes move. After what felt like hours, he finally turned to me. He was chewing on his bottom lip, something I had never seen him do before. Something was on his mind, eating away at his brain, yet he had no idea how to say it. Trying not to think of the worst, I closed my eyes and sighed softly. The waiting was actually starting to give me a headache. Thankfully, he decided that it was time to say whatever he had been thinking about. “You know, if I was ever going to do the blood rite with anyone, it would be with you.” He paused, chewed on his lip, and took a deep breath. “But I don’t know if I can.”

  I was waiting for my heart to sink into the deep recesses of my body. Nothing happened. Confused, I tilted my head then looked at him. “Okay.”

  “That’s it? Just okay?” He looked a little hurt.

  “Well, yeah. Look, Sebastian, I want to be with you and do whatever we need to in order to get through this stupid thing. But if you don’t want to do it or even think about it, I can’t force you.” I looked at him, turned, and unbuckled my seat belt. My fingers were reaching for the handle when he put a hand on my shoulder.

  “I want to think about it. But part of me doesn’t trust the gods to do their part to keep you alive. I don’t care about me. I need you to live. The world would never be the same without you.” Water started to build up in his eyes and he turned to hide it from me.

  “You do not have to hide those from me. I understand how you feel because, well, I feel the same exact way.” He turned back to look at me, the tears in his eyes gone.

  “Really?” Sebastian sounded happy and confused at the same time.

  “Well, yeah. I don’t want you to die either. I mean, not that I want to die exactly, but life would be hell without you.” I shrugged my shoulders and looked down.

  “Oh.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, what do you want to do, Miss AubrieAnna?”

  “I want to call a conference with the gods and see what answers they can give us. Maybe even go find a seer. Who knows, maybe they will be able to tell if we can actually make it through.” I chewed on my cheek when I finished speaking.

  “Well, all right. Let’s do that then.”

  “Are you sure? I don’t want you to do this just because I want to. I want you to want it too.” My heart raced while I waited for him to answer.

  “I want to see what the possibilities are, and I want to know what would happen if we chose to do this.” Sebastian’s light eyes stared deeply into mine as he responded.

  “Okay, then we should probably set up a time and place to do this thing.” I rubbed my hands together anxiously.

  “We should do it in the place where we called upon the gods before. And we should probably talk to Arina at the Wiccan shop in Brooks.”

  “Okay, let’s go. Right now,” I prompted.

  “It is a little late to be consulting with the gods and a seer. You need to get inside and get some rest. I will be back to stay tonight. And, before you ask, we will be going to school tomorrow. Any u da yv la dv that is there needs to see that nothing has been affected. They need to see that we are not weak.” He leaned over and kissed my head. When he pulled back he held my face in his hands, and I saw the emotions in his eyes. I reached up and squeezed his hands. We were going to get through this thing together, with or without the blood rite.

  “Sebastian, I love you. We will be okay. I know we will,” I said.

  “I know we will. I love you too.” Sebastian kissed me softly one more time before shooing me toward my house.

  The soft breeze outside was calming. I walked a little slower than I should have, but I knew Sebastian wouldn’t leave until he knew I was inside. Even though I had a baggy sweater on, the air still chilled my skin. Goose bumps crept along my arms as a large bird soared overhead, scaring me. It landed on Sebastian’s car. Black wings spread out wide, loud caws and squawks flew through the night air. Feeling the hairs all over my body stand on end, I watched the bird sit there. It was mocking us; at least it felt like it was. Beady eyes narrowed as its screams tore through the night air. Just as quickly as it had appeared, it left, the echoes of its call ringing into the dark sky.

  Seconds passed until the night was silent once more. No more birds flew around; no creatures crawled through the grass. Nothing. I turned back toward my house and continued my walk up to the front door. With my body now frozen and cold seeping to the core of my soul, I walked more quickly. I felt a need to escape the moon and its beautiful glow. Something seemed too eerie and strange about the black bird; it had ruined the fresh evening air and its calming effect. Once I was inside the house, I relaxed a little. Then, everything went to hell.

  The ground shook and loud explosions filled my ears. Trees were falling to the earth, screaming in pain. No plant or animal life was safe from this. As the world was torn apart, screams of everything and everyone ravaged the air. Smoke billowed and ash dusted the earth. They were finally breaking free. They were strong enough to begin a takeover. No one was safe anymore. This, this is what my training had prepared me for. I was the one who had to save the planet from this. I was the one who had to send these creatures back to hell.

  Creatures. That wasn’t even the correct word for these things. No one had told me they looked like this. All I knew was that they were evil, very evil. You couldn’t change them for anything. But that wasn’t what was so disturbing about them. I knew they were called the Cherokee word for shadows, u da yv la dv. Yet, they actually looked like shadows. They slithered, shimmied, danced, and moved with stealth. And their eyes were so big and empty. When they looked at you, they looked through you—into the very being of your soul. And if they liked what they saw, they either changed you or killed you. Both choices were equally terrible.

  My brain went into overdrive. Save friends and family, as well as anyone else you can find who can still be saved. Protect innocent people. Save whatever life I could. Be sure to watch my back and save myself before anyone else. Wait, that wasn’t right. Why did I have to do that? Hang on. There was something missing. Part of me wasn’t all there in my mind. I looked up. There were dozens of shadows screeching and howling. They crowded around me. Officially pissed off at these things, I pushed all of my power out and into every u da yv la dv surrounding me. Nothing happened. Cackling. There was cackling from one of them. Then they all started. The sound sent massive amounts of chills up and down my entire body. My head hurt. Why did my head hurt? Something was seriously wrong. Memories, dreams, important information was being drained from me. My name, what was my name? Where was I? What was I? Then, nothing. There was nothing but blackness for miles and miles.

  “Is she okay?” my mom asked in a frantic voice.

  “She is. It was just a vision. She is coming back
from it right now.” It was Sebastian telling my mom I would be okay. I would be okay.

  “Why does this happen when she gets these visions?” More concern from my mom.

  “They can sometimes be too strong or too negative so that they have a major impact on her body.” He sounded so cool and calm.

  “What kind of impact?” Worry this time.

  “Her body may shut down for a few minutes. That’s why you found her so cold and with a faint heartbeat.” Still cool and collected.

  “What do you mean ‘shut down’?” Fear and anger.

  “Please, calm down, honey. You know she’s tough.” My dad this time. But I could hear something in his voice. Was it worry, fear, anger, or all of the above?

  “Exactly. Your daughter is supernatural. Our bodies have the ability to do these kinds of things. They can sense when they need to react a certain way. In her case, when visions are important and strong or negative, the body senses the need to shut itself down. Not completely, but enough to preserve energy and strength for when she wakes up. She will be a little tired and need rest and some food to replenish the energy it has taken, but she will be perfectly fine.” Sebastian explained it so simply and easily that I heard both of my parents take deep breaths and relax a little.

  “About how long until she’s fully conscious again?” my dad asked.

  “Any minute now, actually. She is starting to wake up. In fact, I would not be surprised if she could hear everything we are saying right now.”

  “Auby, baby, we love you,” my mom whispered softly in my ear. In a strange way, I felt like I was waking up from a monthlong coma. It was weird; my body tingled as I woke up more and more. That had never happened before. I supposed it was something to ask Sebastian about when I could finally move and talk. “If you can hear us, will you wiggle something or move your eyes behind your eyelids?” Warm hands stroked my face and hair. Focusing really hard, I tried to move my fingers. That didn’t work. Instead of still focusing on moving limbs, I tried to open my eyes—some kind of movement to let them know I was there and listening.