Uniquely Unwelcome (The Shadow World)

by Brandy Nacole

  I’m not much for crying. For me, crying is a weakness. It shows that your hurt and in pain. It lets others know they have gotten to you and where your weaknesses are. Growing up, I couldn’t show those weaknesses. If people knew how much they hurt me, they would hurt me more. It was something my grandfather taught me. His words whisper through my mind. Never show them your pain. They will feed on it. Always keep yourself in check. I listened to my grandfather then and I would continue to try and listen to his words now. I just wished he hadn’t left me so he could be here to reprimand me for being so foolish. But if he was still around, I wouldn’t be here to begin with.

  Plus my tears aren’t clear. Instead mine are more of a pink, holding a little trait of the Vampire in me. Vampires’ tears are completely made of blood. Since the only fluid they consume is blood, the only fluid they release is blood. This includes sweat. Not that Vampires’ sweat that much but when they do, it’s blood.

  Eventually I stop crying and take a deep breath to let out the frustration. I stand and place the picture back on the table.

  Now that I have let out the emotional and mental pressure, it’s time for a little body release. I grab my gloves and start punching at invisible opponents. Missing my punching bag and the release I enjoyed with each impact. I throw in some kicks, flips, and jabs.

  I imagine the cloak figure standing in front of me, trying to visualize who he truly is. With each kick and jab, my body releases its tension although it reveals no answer.

  Feeling satisfied with my release, I decide to take a quick shower. It’s nearly seven and I’m covered in pink sweat from head to toe, including my once-white shirt.

  Once I’m finished and dressed, I gather all the lists we have so far and head down stairs. Coy exits his room at the same time I do. Instead of saying anything I continue walking. Entering the café and coming to a standstill. Coy bumps into me and starts to ask why I stopped when he sees what I see.

  Danika is sitting at a table outside. She’s laughing and sipping tea. But the person making her laugh isn’t who I expected. Instead of Ethan sitting next to her, there’s a handsome young man leaning in toward her saying something that makes her laugh again. The smile actually reaches her eyes.

  I’m about to turn back, hoping to catch Ethan to stall him, but when the boy looks in our direction my mind quickly changes gears. There’s not just any boy sitting with Danika. That’s a Vampire sitting with her.

  I sense him now, the vibe of danger and blood. It’s unusual to see Vampires out during the day but it happens. You sometimes see Vampires out at sunset, like it is now, in the shade but most wait until it’s completely dark. However, I have seen some out in the middle of the day, the sun blaring down on them.

  It’s something only the younger Vampires, who are under two hundred, can do. When a Vampire first turns, the sun doesn’t bother them. As they age, their skin becomes more sensitive to the sun. This stems from their skin not necessarily aging but being exposed for such a long period of time. As they get older, their skin quickly dries and turns to dust in a matter of minutes when exposed to intense light.

  Most of the younger Vampires stay within the dark of night like the rest of their kind. Plus most of the younger Vampires are turned by those who want to build their family. It takes around five to six years for the Vampire blood to fully take over a human body. When a Vampire couple decides they want a family, they usually turn someone who is between twelve and thirteen. This gives the child time to still go to school to learn about the Shadow World or to stay home to learn about being a Vampire. Most choose to stay home in the dark so they can be with their new family.

  I’ve also heard that once the Vampire blood has fully overtaken the human blood the light makes them feel uncomfortable. I’ve heard some say it feels unnatural to them. All they want to do is find a dark place to hide.

  I’m about to walk over and demand what is going on, when I see Ethan come around the corner. Not good. He has his head down not paying attention to what’s going on around him. I guess he went for a walk to think. He’s going to have a lot more to think about.

  When he’s almost to Danika’s table he looks up and stops. His body goes rigid. Anger flares in his eyes as he takes in the scene before him.

  Coy gives me a little nudge, “Maybe we should get over there.”

  I walk as fast as I can without running to try and reach Danika before Ethan does. But he’s too close. He marches right up to the vamp and snatches him out of his chair. Danika stands too, asking Ethan to stop but he ignores her.

  Ethan throws the vamp up against the wall, slightly cracking the brick. “What do you want leech?” The crowd outside scatters while people inside look on.

  Ethan’s anger seems to have no effect on the vamp. He calmly says, “Get your hands off me.”

  I walk behind Ethan with Danika and Coy on each side of me. “Ethan let him go. For all we know, he could have been passing by and recognized Danika. They just might have been talking.”

  Ethan seems not to have heard me because his grip tightens. Then Danika walks up beside him and places her hand on his shoulder. “Ethan let him go.”

  Ethan’s hands tighten a little more, reluctant to do so. Then he releases the vamp and takes a step back, keeping his gaze locked with his opponent. I see the café manager walking toward us, so does Coy. He rushes over to the manager, trying to keep him at bay.

  “Is there a problem here?” The manager asks pointing at Ethan and the vamp.

  “Just a minor disagreement, but it’s fine now.” Coy tries making light of the situation by waving his hand through the air as if this is nonsense.

  “You guys take this somewhere else. I don’t need you running customers off.” He gestures on down the road before turning back to the café.

  I look down the street and see a little park about three blocks down. “Come on.” I grab Ethan by the elbow and start tugging him in that direction. He shrugs off my hand but continues to follow me.

  I glance back over my shoulder and see everyone else following me, including the vamp. I look around the park trying to find the best secluded spot. There’s a picnic table off to the side under some trees. I decide that’s secluded enough.

  The lighting over here is dim, the street lights blocked by the trees. The sun has completely set, the night sky setting in as the first star makes its appearance. I take a seat but the only other person who sits with me is Coy. Ethan comes and stands by one end of the table and the vamp stands at the other. Danika finally walks over, obviously unsure what to do and sits beside me.

  “Okay, first off what’s your name?” I ask the Vampire who’s in a deathly stare down with Ethan.

  “Jared.” Jared’s not bad looking. He’s got short blond hair, fine sharp features, and of course the black eyes. Those black eyes staying focused on Ethan, unsure if he’ll try and attack again.

  Ethan’s jaw tightens. “What do you want?”

  Jared finally breaks his focus and looks over at Danika. She’s not looking at either one of them. She’s staring down at her hands folded on the table. I glance over at Ethan and see his hands tighten into fists.

  When Jared doesn’t say anything, Danika speaks up. “He wants to help us.”

  Danika never looks up from her hands. My doubt and suspicion set in. Apparently I’m not the only one.

  “Like hell. Did Aldrick send you? Are you one of his little spy boys?” Ethan’s fists are still at his side, shaking in rage. I know he’s doing everything he can to stay in control but wanting nothing more than to rip into Jared.

  Finally Jared relaxes a bit and sits by Danika. This is all it takes to set Ethan off again. He’s around the table throwing Jared off the bench before his butt even hits the wooden slate.

  “You stay away from her.” Ethan grits the words out between clenched teeth.

  Jared’s back in Ethan’s face before I can even blink. “Why should it matter to you? Lycans don’t like Witches.” Then a sly smile
plays on Jared’s face. “Unless you’re going against your Alpha for her. Are you willing to be banished and possibly put to death for a wickedly good time with her?”

  Ethan punches Jared hard, sending the vamp stumbling back. Jared comes right back at him and the fight is on. They match each blow for blow. Coy and I jump up at the same time. I place my hand on his shoulder shoving him back down. “Don’t.” He may not realize this but coming between a Vampire and Lycan while they’re fighting is dangerous for anyone but especially dangerous for a human.

  I slowly walk over to Ethan and Jared. Letting them get in a few more punches on each other before tearing them apart. I grab Ethan by the shirt, yanking him back and tossing his butt to the ground. Then I shove Jared back into a tree. “If you honestly wanted to help, then you wouldn’t be starting fights within our group. Whether you are here to help or not, you’re not welcomed.”

  “Why? Because of some love-sick pup that has an anger management problem?” Jared spits some blood on the ground. Yuck.

  “No! It’s because I don’t need people I don’t trust saying they have my back. Plus, I don’t need your taunting Ethan when we have more important things to worry about.”

  I release Jared and motion for him to leave. Ethan gets off the ground, blood streams down from his nose. His body is still shaking with rage.

  Jared throws his hands up in surrender. “Fine, I’ll go.” He walks past me, shouldering Ethan as he goes. He looks back over at the table, smiling. “Bye Danika. I’ll see you around.” He gives Ethan one last smug look before disappearing into the darkness.

  I turn on Ethan, “And you. You need to keep yourself in check. You shouldn’t have let him get to you like that.”

  Ethan starts wiping leaves off his clothes. “Sorry. But you know how it is between Lycans and leeches.”

  “That’s you’re excuse? Lycans and Vampires don’t like each other so I’m going to throw a punch at everyone I see. Tell me this then, when are you going to attack me? I have Vampire blood in me.”

  Ethan looks at me in surprise. “That’s different.”

  “No, it’s not.” I spread out my arms. “Come on Ethan. I’m part Vampire. If it’s all because they’re just Vampires then attack me.”

  Ethan shakes his head, rolling his eyes. “You’re different. You’re not a complete Vampire.”

  “Well that shouldn’t matter.” I say lowering my arms back down to my side. “There’s more to it than that Ethan. You went to school with Vampires. And I know there weren’t random attacks just because someone was a Vampire or Lycan. So what is it then?”

  Ethan shrugs his shoulders. “I don’t know. There was just something about him that I didn’t like.”

  “Could it have been the fact that he was talking with Danika? Could it have something to do with what Jobe said about Witches and Lycans?”

  Ethan looks down at the ground, kicking around a few rocks. He seems to have a habit of doing that. I guess it’s his tick for handling awkward situations. “Just leave it alone Racquel.”

  I’m about to ignore his request when Danika walks over. She grabs Ethan’s hands, bringing them up to her face. He looks up from the ground, meeting her eyes with longing. Danika goes in for the kill, kissing Ethan with no resolve for the consequences. The kiss looks passionate and deep with Ethan drawing in Danika as tight as he can. I look away from this very private moment.

  As I make my way back to the table Coy looks up at me and smiles. I avert my gaze from him too. Instead I stare into the darkness. Finally, Ethan and Danika part, big smiles playing across their faces.

  They hold hands as they join me and Coy back at the table. I stand to dig through my pockets, find the lists with the missing Shadows locations on them and place them on the table. Danika pulls out the list she has of the humans’ locations.

  I sit down beside Coy, leaving some space between us. We still haven’t talked since earlier and I don’t want to even think about addressing what his friendship had started meaning to me.

  I unfold the map before us. The map already has marks on it where I had marked the Witches’ locations. Danika pulls out a pen and marks where the Vampires and humans were taken. Then I take the pen and mark where the Lycans were taken.

  “This all seems to be too scattered out. Look at this.” I say gesturing to the map. You know the world is a big place. Although we marked twenty three different locations, there seems to be no pattern. I look over the lists again, hoping to see something we missed.

  Witches: Cate-Portland, Oregon; Addie-New York; Quentin-Sweden; Imia-Chile; Caden-Libya.

  Vampires: Oria-Central Russia; Aiden-Finland; Patia-Guatamala; Isla-Indonesia; Lawrence-Bulgaria.

  Humans: Cuba, Australia, Egypt, Indonesia, Bulgaria, Chile, Brazil, Finland.

  Lycans: Immie-Turkey; Noel-Nigeria; Damara-England, Keb-Brazil, Rufus-Argentina.

  Other than the fact that there are no human names, there’s nothing. We have nothing but a bunch of names and scattered locations. Cate had said she was in a cell and the others were in their own cells. That doesn’t leave us any true landmarks to go by. There are abandoned warehouses and jail cells all over the world.

  Garron had no real information except what the creatures that took his mate looked like, which from experience we already know. I shove the papers away in frustration, placing my head in my hands.

  I had my hopes up way too high. I thought after all this searching, we would have something. Instead, we have nothing.

  Coy goes to put his hand on my back but stops himself. “Hey don’t give up.”

  I run my hands over my face. “I’m not giving up. I’m just frustrated. We’ve been doing nothing but talking. I’m ready to find them.”

  Ethan’s looking over the map again, while Danika rummages through her bag. She pulls out her cell phone. “I’m going to call the Elders to see if they have anything new.”

  As she walks off to make her call, I place my head back in my hands still trying to piece together some type of answer.

  “Look at this.” Ethan says passing over the map. “All these people have been taken in different places, right? Well except the humans, which were mostly taken around Vampire clans. But all the others were taken in different location all over the world.”

  Wow, he’s a smart one. “Thanks for pointing that out Sherlock.”

  Ethan rolls his eyes. “Just listen. If we talk to the Shape-shifters and possibly the Fairies, we could see where there haven’t been any kidnappings. I mean this person is obviously trying to make sure his tracks are covered.”

  I look up this time. Getting a little more hope again. “But how would knowing where there haven’t been any kidnappings help us?”

  Ethan taps the map several times. “With someone doing this much traveling to keep their tracks covered, he would definitely keep his distance from wherever he takes his victims. No way would they kidnap someone close to their hiding place.”

  “So I guess we need to go on another plane ride.” I sigh with frustration. “Do you even know where the Shape-shifters are?” I have no clue.

  Ethan shakes his head. “Not exactly, I know the general area but not the exact spot.”

  “What about calling them,” Coy suggests, “just like Jobe said. We would save a lot of time.”

  Hopes getting higher, I pull out my cell phone ready to start dialing numbers. But when I look at Ethan, I put my phone back in my bag. He’s sitting there shaking his head. “There’s no phone service where the shifters are and I don’t think the fairies even have phones.”

  “I thought you said you didn’t know where the shifters were.”

  “I don’t know the exact location but I do know they’re in secluded wilderness.”

  Danika comes out of the shadows and joins us back at the table. “They didn’t know anything new but they did give me a warning. They said they feared immense danger was close to us.”

  Ethan raises his eyebrows in concern. Coy starts looking ar
ound us paranoid. I just roll my eyes. “We already know that. If I remember right, we’ve already been attacked once.”

  Everyone still looks paranoid so I try bringing the conversation back on track. “Danika, do you know where the Shape-shifters are?”

  She’s about to answer but Coy interrupts. “Did you hear that?” Everyone’s back on alert. I just sigh heavily, thinking we’re not going to get anywhere now.

  I take a glance around, seeing nothing but darkness. Then a movement catches my eye. At first I think I’m imagining things. Standing in the shadows under a tree is the cloaked man that’s been haunting my dreams.

  I shake my head and look again. He’s still standing there. I stare at him, trying to see his face. But no matter how hard I try, I can’t reveal the man’s face. I even try to move the cloak from around his face but it doesn’t budge.

  I’m baffled for a minute, wondering if he has some protection on him to prevent attack and revelations. Then he nods his head and several creatures step out all around us.

  When we were attacked before, we had space to defend ourselves. Now we’re completely surrounded with no escape. I look back over at where the man was standing. Like a magic trick, he’s vanished. I look around past the creatures hoping to see him again. He’s nowhere in sight.

  Looking from the trees, I immediately start trying to devise a plan for escape. The creatures are all around, circling in on us, closing in fast to make sure there’s no room for escape.

  Chapter Fourteen

  We all take defensive stances. But then everyone stops. The creatures around us are growling, totally enclosing us in a tight circle. They look similar to the ones that attacked us before but there are more. One has skin that is actually dripping off its body.

  I look over at Ethan, who nods toward Coy. We both know that with Coy being so vulnerable, the creatures are liable to grab him and use him as leverage.