Uniquely Unwelcome (The Shadow World)

by Brandy Nacole

  Coy is dressed similar to me minus a jacket. It’s the same outfit he’s had on since we escaped the lair. I’ll have to talk to Danika about getting him some clothes.

  The café is still buzzing with people. Tourists, families coming back from a long day of exploration, young couples going for a quiet evening, single people all dressed up hoping to find an exciting club full of mischief.

  We head out into the night walking through all the ruckus. I keep distance between us. Not enough to seem awkward but enough to feel comfortable.

  As we approach the curb on the corner, I pause. “So you want to hail a ride or walk?”

  “Depends, how far are we going?”

  “It’s a pretty long walk.” I want to look out over the city, but I can’t see much. There’s a huge building in front of us that blocks the view.

  “Well, how about we walk for a bit and if I get tired, then we hail a ride.” I know he chose to walk so he could see more. I wonder what the drive over here was like. I can just imagine Ethan and Danika all grim and glum sitting in the limo, while Coy hangs his head out the window, catching bugs in his jaw-dropped mouth.

  We head off down the street. Not much is said and that’s how I prefer it. I wish I had my iPod though. Silence bothers me, but filling that void with useless chatter is worse. People usually end up offending someone or sticking their foot in their mouth just to trip on their face.

  We make it about four blocks and then we turn onto Spur Rd. I don’t really remember the exact route to take but I have a general idea.

  “It’s a nice night,” Coy says looking up at the sky.

  “Yeah.” I take a peek at the sky myself. The moon is full and almost over top the city. The sky is clear and the air is just right.

  “So you like traveling?” Coy asks.

  Oh great, he’s a nonsense chatterer. Maybe I should have brought Danika. They could have uselessly yammered the whole way, while I walked in blissful silence and enjoyed the walk.

  “It’s alright. You?” I mentally kick myself as soon as the question leaves my mouth. How is he supposed to know if he likes traveling? This is his first trip, dumb butt. Heck it could be his first time above ground. “Sorry, I forgot.”

  “It’s alright. I’m enjoying it so far. I plan on doing a lot more of it,” Coy brushes my idiocy off with a smile. His smile is warm and alluring. I keep wondering where I’ve seen that smile before.

  Coy looks over at me, “Do you mind if I ask you something?” I shrug my shoulders, what could it hurt? “What’s the world like?”

  I stop walking to look at Coy’s curious face. Here’s this guy that just recently got set free into the world, yet he’s stuck with me and my opinions. That’s like asking the ugly duckling how he likes living with the beautiful swans. Honestly? It sucks. But do I tell him that?

  “I’m not the one to be asking. I mean the scenery is great, the animals are awesome, but the people and Shadows that live within it suck. Unless you’re an optimistic idiot that only see’s rainbows and flowers and then it’s great all around. But most people aren’t like that.” I see disappointment flash across his face and kick myself again. I could so go with silence right now.

  Hoping to save his spirits, I try mending. “But you never know. I mean you’re human and I haven’t been around too many. Most of the time they get a vibe off me that tells them to stay clear. So, I mean, for you it may be great. You could get a nice job, make some friends, meet a girl, buy a house with a white picket fence, and live happily ever after.” I hope that doesn’t sound artificial.

  “You think so?” Coy asks with hope.

  “Yeah, yeah I do. You never know right?” I look up at the street signs, hoping we’re close.

  He falls silent again, thank god, as we continue our walk down the streets of London. We meet a few people along the way, an older couple walking hand in hand, a woman walking her dog, but no funky-looking monsters.

  The thought of funky-looking monsters spurs my dream to mind. I think about the mysterious figure under the cloak and who it may be. When he pulled out his sword, there was a scar on his right hand shaped like a horseshoe. His voice was definitely masculine but muffled by the cloak over his face.

  The scar flashes through my mind again. It looks familiar but I can’t place it. I start running through my memory of where I might have seen that scar but there’s nothing coming to mind. I put the image on simmer, wanting to keep it fresh on my mind. Who knows when your memory will open up and surprise you?

  Everyone’s safety comes to mind as I analyze the dream. Danika, Ethan, and Coy’s bodies had lain lifeless on the floor until death met them unknowingly. What if this dream was a warning? Just like the warning the creature gave me. What if they’re connected?

  I shiver at the thought and wrap my arms around my waist. Coy notices but doesn’t have anything to offer me to ward off the cold. Then he starts moving toward me with outstretched arms like he’s going to wrap me in them. I put out my hand to stop him.

  “That’s okay but thanks. I was just thinking about something. I’m really not that cold.”

  “Are you sure? I don’t mind.” He stopped coming toward me but his arms are still raised.

  “I’m sure.” I look up at the street signs again and know that we are getting close. “What about you? You need my jacket?”

  “Nah, I’m good. It’s chilly but not bad.”

  We turn the corner onto a bridge and I finally see it. The clock tower or as everyone else calls it, Big Ben. It’s absolutely stunning, especially at night. The clock towers over London showing its massive height and beauty as it proclaims the time for everyone to see.

  As we’re walking across the bridge I notice Coy getting a little winded and sweaty. “You okay?”

  “Yeah, but we may have to hail that ride back.” He’s winded but it doesn’t keep him from looking up in awe at Big Ben. I’m worried though, he looks like he’s about to pass out. Honestly what was I thinking? Making him walk forever, knowing he hasn’t had any strenuous exercise his whole life. But from the expression on his face I can tell he thinks it was worth it.

  I wish I could get excited over something the way he is right now. See the world in a new way. Erase the memory of the past. I envy Coy for his look of astonishment and wonder. All I ever feel is dread and loneliness. I’m glad that someone has a chance to see the wonder and magic of the world. It does hold some amazing things.

  We arrive at the base of the tower and its enormous beauty. The structure is like a huge piece of art work. There are angels and gargoyles all over the towers surface. The clock bell starts to chime, ringing loud for everyone to hear as its bright light shines through the night.

  Once the chiming stops, I contemplate on going up for a quick view. But I can’t leave Coy behind. He might get attacked or feel left out. I go to discard the thought when Coy says something that gives me permission to take him with me.

  “Wow. This is amazing.” Coy says, “I wish we could see the view from up top.”

  I shrug my shoulders, “Okay.” Before he even knows what I’m doing, I have a tight hold on him. My hands are encircled under his arms and around his chest. Locking my hands I give a slight warning, “Hand on tight,” before launching us off the ground.

  He tries to protest but it dies as we land on the roof of the adjoining Westminster Palace. Without pause I keep jumping. I grab hold of outcroppings along the tower to keep my momentum. In a matter of seconds I’m up the tower and sitting Coy on the ledge just above the clock.

  I couldn’t see his face while we were scaling the tower but looking at him now, I have a pretty good idea of what his face looked like. His face is pale as are his knuckles, from the death grip he has on the railings. His eyes are practically jumping out of their sockets.

  “What the hell was that?” He asks as he takes a shaky breath.

  “What?” I ask innocently.

  “That,” he shouts, waving his hand through the air to emphasi
ze.

  “Oh, well you wanted to see the view. That was the only way I could think of getting us up here.” I take a seat on a gargoyle, straddling it like I’m riding a horse, and lean back against the tower.

  “A little warning would have been nice. You scared the hell out of me you know.” He still looks a little rattled but seems to calming a bit.

  I laugh to myself. I had expected his response but it’s still funny. “Would you have gone?”

  “Well-”

  “Exactly! I knew you wanted to come up here but if I had asked you probably wouldn’t have been too giddy about it. Now will you quit complaining? It’s over and done. So just enjoy the view,” I say, taking in the view myself.

  He doesn’t say anything more and finally looks around him. His expression is the same as it was before when he saw Big Ben on the bridge, awed with all smiles.

  It really is beautiful. The moon is reflecting off the water. I don’t know what it is about the moon reflecting on the water but it’s comforting. The street lights below stretch out illuminating the city. From up here there doesn’t seem to be a care in the world. No differences, no fighting, just total blissfulness.

  An urge hits me so hard that I don’t think I will be able to hold it back. Without even questioning myself, I stand on top of the gargoyle and look over at Coy. “Will you be okay up here for a few minutes?”

  “I guess.” He looks at me cautiously. “What are you going to do?” Without answering him, I jump. I hear him call my name as I fall. I spread my arms out to the side, enjoying the feel of the fall as the wind rushes past me.

  Before hitting the ground, I shift. I unravel myself smoothly as my clothes fall on the Palaces roof. Most shifters strip down naked before shifting so they don’t ruin their clothes. I don’t have to. My speed and agility allow me to move faster than most so I’m able to undress myself in mid shift. It’s not a soul-surviving maneuver but I find it handy.

  My familiar is the eagle, the most magnificent bird in the sky. The first time I ever shifted into the eagle, I swore I would never shift back into my regular body. There’s nothing like flying. I feel so free as the wind shifts beneath my wings.

  I play around for a minute, tucking my wings so I spiral down toward the city before opening them back up to level out. I circle over London, loving the view from up here even more. The moon makes everything in the sky so clear. I don’t think about anything, I just look and feel as the wind takes my worries and fears away.

  I circle around the tower, seeing Coy watching me with wonder. I laugh at his goofy expression. He’s as awestruck as a child looking at Mickey Mouse in Disney World. His expression really turns to awe as I do a quick dive down the tower and just before I collide the Palace below, I bolt back up the tower.

  After flying for a while and feeling better, I swoop back down to the roof of the palace and grab my clothes. But now I don’t know what to do. Usually I would just find a spot to land, shift back, and put my clothes back on. Now I have Coy watching.

  I circle around the tower and hover in front of him. I extend the clothes and caw at him, hoping he gets the hint. His eyebrows scrunch in confusion but then realization dawns on him. He turns so that his back is to the gargoyle.

  With satisfaction, I land. I shift back into my human form, completely nude. I rush to put my clothes back on, which isn’t all that easy balancing myself on top of a small statue. But I make do.

  Once I’m dressed, I sit back down, “You’re good.”

  He turns back around. He doesn’t say anything he just stares at me. Minutes go by while he just sits there staring. I fix my gaze on London but soon I’m stirring from his uncomfortable stare.

  “What?” I asked raising my eyebrows.

  “That was just….beautiful.” He says.

  Now I’m even more uncomfortable and I don’t know what to say. No one has ever said anything I did was beautiful.

  “You looked so amazing out there. What’s it like?” He asks.

  I shrug my shoulders, unsure how to explain it. “It’s freeing. There’s nothing like flying. You’re able to let go of all your feelings and worries. Feeling the power in yourself that’s launching you and gliding you through the nothingness.”

  My hair falls down into my face. I usually wear it up but when I shifted, I forgot about my tie. Now it’s somewhere down on the roofs surface. I push my hair back from my face and glance over at him.

  He finally quits staring at me, thank god, but still looks deep in thought, “Does it hurt?”

  I try looking busy as I play with my hair. “Does what hurt?”

  “Shifting like that.” Coy shifts a little on the ledge, finally letting go of the railing, so he can face me better.

  “A little bit. I think a lot of that has to do with some of my body being resistant to it.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You know, the Lycan, the Vampire. I really don’t think the Witch part would be that resistant to it. I think the biggest element is the wolf. Since it feels unnatural and not in its proper form.” I shrug my shoulders, still fumbling with my hair.

  I know it’s not scientific evidence or anything but it makes sense to me. I’ve never shifted into the wolf form, I don’t even know if I can, but the essence of the wolf is still there so it would seem natural that it would resist it.

  “You talk as if you have four different creatures ruling your body.” Coy says with a chuckle.

  “That’s how I think of it. There are four different Shadows combined into one body and they’re always fighting for dominance.”

  “Yeah, but that doesn’t seem right. I know you have all that in you but they’re not all dominant, right? You’re in control right? I know you have to contain blood some but I think a lot of that is just to keep you sustained.” He looks deep into the city. Then he glances up at the moon, as if he’s looking for guidance.

  “Maybe, it just feels like I don’t have control sometimes. Or it feels like I’m about to burst open because there’s a constant battle going on inside of me.” I say.

  “I can see that. Do you think some of that’s just you though? Looking down on who you are instead of accepting yourself?”

  “I don’t know.” I say quietly, feeling a little uncomfortable. I’ve never talked like this with anyone but Addie. Even then it wasn’t about our abilities or how they make us feel. Instead we talked about pros, cons, ifs and buts.

  “Maybe if you-I don’t know-learned how to control and combine the powers properly, it wouldn’t feel like that.” Coy’s confidence dimmed just a little bit as he started telling me how to control myself. Maybe he should stick to the daydreams and tour guides. I don’t need some human coming in and telling me how to live.

  “So I’ve heard,” I say grumpily thinking about all the lectures I have gotten over the past few days.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t even know what I’m talking about. I’m just a plan old human,” Coy says.

  I make a little huff noise, “What’s that like?” I ask.

  “Being human?” I nod as Coy releases a little chuckle. “I guess you could say ordinary. I mean it seems simpler: no blood driven thirst, no worrying about the moon, just simple everyday life.”

  “Sounds great, I wish I could be simple like that,” Off on the horizon, I notice clouds are starting to roll in.

  “Yeah, unless you’re getting your neck chomped on,” he says with anger.

  “Yeah, that probably isn’t so simple. If you don’t mind me asking, what’s that like?” I’ve been chomped on a time or two but I wonder if it’s different for humans.

  “It hurts at first but then the pain is numbed and you really don’t feel anything. Afterwards you feel sluggish and disoriented for a few hours but that’s an easy fix with some sugar intake. The wounds take a few days to heal over and just when you start getting your strength back, it’s snack time again.” He still sounds angry but a little resigned.

  I mutter an apology as I look do
wn at the scars on my arms. They’re faint but still visible to me. Those few days were excruciating, I couldn’t imagine a lifetime of that ridicule.

  “Don’t be. I’ve heard stories of the hell you’ve been through,” Coy looks over at me with a sympathetic look.

  “Like what?” I ask curiously.

  “Well, I don’t know if you remember him or not, but my brother was the one that tended to you in Brazil.”

  “That was your brother?” I ask, taking a closer look at Coy.

  When I had first met him, I thought I recognized him but couldn’t place him. I had dismissed the thought up until now. That smile, the smile I had seen before but couldn’t place, had brought a bright light into my life when everything else was dark with pain.

  The brothers look similar. Both have a shade of blond hair and are tall but their eyes are different. Where Coy’s eyes are brown, his brother’s eyes are green. I remember looking up into those kind eyes. I had been unconscious and thrown out to the curb covered in blood. When I came around, there he was hovering over me, his eyes radiant and filled with care.

  “Yeah, he wrote to me once and told me all about it. Aldrick forbids us from communicating with another “worker” as he puts it, from another clan. But Lynna thought it was too harsh considering most of our family members are at other clans. They tend to split us up from our families.”

  He pauses for a minute, looking down at the city below us. I wonder what he’s thinking.

  “Lynna would let us write to one another every once in a while. He was so excited to write to me about the amazing girl he had met. The one that was so fierce and beautiful.” I blush at the mention of this boy calling me fierce and beautiful.

  “He also told me how the Shadow there had treated you and then just thrown you out to the curb. He said he found your collapsed body outside the gates.”

  I nod thinking back to that day. “He did. He helped me a lot, actually. He even tried to make me drink from him.” I look at Coy pointedly. There’s something else the brothers have in common, they’ve both offered me their blood willingly. “But I wouldn’t do it. After arguing with me and realizing I wasn’t going to budge, he found me some blood bags. That was why I was there in the first place.