Of Shadows and Ash

by Dana Marie Bell

  She smiled. “I like those too.”

  A few minutes later the alarm went off, and he turned back to the stove. “Dinner’s just about ready.”

  “I’ll get the Dr. Who DVDs ready. We’ll start with Eccelston. I think you’ll like new Who better than old Who.”

  “If you say so.” He had no idea what she was talking about, but the excitement in her voice made it inevitable that he’d find out. She was willing to share one of her passions with him, and Ash would enjoy it if only for her sake.

  He poured the spaghetti into the strainer and put the pot back on the stove, on one of the non-hot burners. He then grabbed some bowls and put the spaghetti and sauce in, carrying them into the living room. “Need more wine?”

  Selena was bent in front of the DVD player, putting a disk in. “Sure, thanks.”

  He picked up her glass and turned back toward the kitchen...

  Huh?

  Ash frowned as he peered at the window. He could have sworn he saw something outside, but with the lights on inside and the dark, moonless night outside, he shouldn’t have been able to see...

  There. Again, he saw movement. “I’ll be right back.” He put her wine glass back down.

  “Ash?”

  The fear in her voice was intolerable. “It’s probably nothing, but I thought I saw something moving outside.”

  “With everything that’s been happening I doubt it’s nothing.” She shivered. “Want me to go with you?”

  Fuck no. “Pour us both some wine. I really do think it’s nothing. Maybe someone walking by thought to visit you but saw me and left.”

  “That’s possible. It’s happened before.” She looked relieved, her stance relaxing as she picked up her wine glass. “Hurry. I have to transform you into a Whovian, or else.” She rubbed her hands together and cackled.

  He didn’t want to know what the hell that was, or what the or else entailed, especially after such an evil chuckle. He stepped outside. Ash called his sword to him as the unusual chill of the July night sank into his bones.

  Something wasn’t right. He could sense it—a subtle menace in the air, the cold wrapping around him with icy touches.

  The door shut behind him, startling him into turning around. Through the window he could distinctly see Selena on the couch, already eating her dinner and staring at the flickering television screen.

  The god damn entity was back and toying with him.

  He snarled, ready to go back inside, but for form’s sake he had to double-check. If Selena was being threatened by a corporeal creature as well as the demon, he needed to know. So he double-checked under the windows, and in the soft dirt of her garden, making sure to ask the terrain and the creatures in it if they’d sensed any intruders.

  Neither plants nor animals reported anything other than the menace he’d already sensed. No one had been on her property other than those invited.

  He walked around the house, making sure there was nothing there. The chill seemed to dissipate as he moved toward Selena’s back yard. It was far balmier on her patio than it was by the front windows. As with the front, there were no signs of intruders.

  Ash walked back to the front of the house, wondering how to tell his mate that the entity was back again. It had been quiet for a week, leaving them in such peace he’d hoped it was gone for good.

  He should have known better. Gideon could have warned him about this. How was he to know that sometimes entities would stop all activity before picking back up again? Had he focused so much on the séance that he’d missed it? Such phenomena were known even in the world of humans. It was possible it was in one of the books he hadn’t had a chance to read yet.

  Ash reached for the door handle, hissing at the freezing touch of metal. He took his hand off and blew into his palm, trying to warm it. He put his hand back on it, but it was still burningly cold to the touch.

  Ash lifted the edge of his T-shirt and wrapped his hand in it before grabbing the door handle once more. He pressed the lever and pushed.

  Nothing happened.

  Ash frowned, and tried again.

  The door rattled, but didn’t open.

  “Selena? Open up.”

  He could hear her moving around inside and the door rattled under his hand. “Ash, it won’t open.”

  Shit. That fear was back in her tone. The door rattled again as Selena tried desperately to open it.

  Ash was ready to break the damn thing down, and to hell with the consequences. “Stand back.”

  “You are not breaking down my door, Ashton Ward.” The scent of sage filled his nostrils. “Let me handle this.”

  He could hear her muttering under her breath, the smell of sage becoming stronger. The door handle warmed under his hand, and Ash pressed the lever and pushed.

  The door opened to reveal Selena standing there, her eyes completely white. The tree of life and the marks on her cheeks and above her eyes were black.

  Her powers were still out of whack, then, but the smudging had worked. The door was open. “You can stop now, little witch.”

  She pouted, but her eyes bled back to beautiful brown, her markings slowly fading as she lowered the smoking sage bundle. “It worked. Thank fuck.” She sagged, and smiled. “I was worried you’d be stuck out there all night.”

  “I was more worried about you alone in here.” He stepped in, his senses on alert, and shut the door. “I think that’s what it wanted, me out of the way.”

  She paled, the sage trembling in her grip. “It could have—”

  Ash took off toward the bedroom at a dead run. He’d seen it, seen movement, a black shadow in the shape of a man, wandering across the doorway. It almost seemed to be taunting him, letting him know it was there, could hurt them at any time.

  Fuck, Ash wanted out of this house. He wanted his mate in the safety of the Throne, where this fucking thing couldn’t touch her.

  He flipped on the lights, checking every nook and cranny for signs that the entity had been there.

  Nothing. The chair hadn’t been moved, the bed was still made. The curtains remained still and straight. Even the chill he’d come to expect wasn’t present. Instead, the room seemed warmer than the living room.

  “What’s there?” Selena watched him, all the while waving the sage in and out of the doorway, smudging it. “Get out of my bedroom.”

  He blinked, taking a moment to realize that she didn’t mean him. “I saw a shadow walk across the doorway.”

  She shivered. “A shadow man.”

  “What the hell is a shadow man?” Ash stood and dusted off his pants. There was no use hunting for the entity. That menacing aura was gone. It had made its point.

  It was back.

  “Shadow people, also called shadow folk or shadow men, are a type of haunting usually associated with malignant ghosts or, more commonly...demons.” She closed her eyes and began to recite. “Usually, you catch glimpses of them out of the corner of your eye, rarely when you’re looking directly at them. Unlike normal ghosts, which you really can’t see unless you’re a medium or connected somehow to the spirit world, everyone can see the shadow men.”

  “Which is why I was able to see it.”

  “Mmm-hmm. Its movements are often jerky, inhuman rather than human, and the figure is often said to be wearing a hat or a hooded robe.”

  He hadn’t gotten a good enough look at the entity to tell if it had been clothed or not. “What else?”

  “They get their name from their appearance—a person-shaped, dark shadow that doesn’t reflect light. Sometimes they’re solid, sometimes they’re translucent, but they’re always black. It’s also said that they’re the remnants of someone evil, or the shadow of a demonic spirit, intent on harm. Either one of those can be true, or neither, we’re not really sure. There are those who believe these spirits can be summoned and given tasks, like...” She bit her lip.

  “Like torturing a witch doctor.” Ash nodded. This was exactly what he needed to know. “So someone
could have sent this to you.”

  “But who? Why would they come after me?”

  He shook his head. “A demon killed that Van Helsing, right in front of Gideon, Mina and Dragos. More than likely it’s connected to that.” This whole thing just reeked of the Van Helsings, but how had it gotten through the Maggie’s Grove wards? “Kate let it in, didn’t she? It’s the same thing that was connected to her, the shadow that Mina fought off.”

  She scowled, adorably pissed off. “It always comes back to them, doesn’t it?”

  “Can you think of anyone else who’s done anything with a demon lately?” He shrugged. “It’s the logical conclusion.”

  “Maybe we should see about taking the fight to them.” She was staring at the wall, obviously seeing something else in her mind. “We could find them, using those boys who moved here. They have to know where the Van Helsings have their other compounds.”

  “Not necessarily. We questioned them already, remember? Not only were they kids, they were brand new recruits. They were considered expendable. We can ask, but I doubt they’ll know much more than we do.”

  “One of them was the child of the Van Helsing leader.” She was suddenly looking right at him, her gaze pinning him in place. “He’s the one we need to speak with.”

  “Damn. I totally forgot about him.” Ash nodded, agreeing. “You’re right. It’s worth a try, at least.”

  “Of course.” She sniffed. “I’m always right.”

  “We’ll find out when we can talk to him, but first I want to get the séance out of the way. If we can confirm it’s a Van Helsing doing this to you, we’ll have some ammunition when we talk to the boy.” Ash couldn’t believe he’d completely forgotten about him.

  “He’s one of Gideon’s, so go gentle on him.”

  “I will.” Gideon was just as protective of his witches as Ash was of his dryads, and one of the Van Helsing boys had turned out to be a newborn witch. He’d been subconsciously using his gifts to keep himself safe and feel for the presence of other paranormals, making everyone believe he was actually psychic. Gideon had taken one look at the boy and claimed him as one of his. Ash believed the boy would eventually follow in Gideon’s footsteps, taking the path of the black. “I’ll have Gideon there when I question him. That should help him feel safe.”

  “And Eddy.”

  Ash smiled. “And Eddy.” Dragos’s Renfield would make sure the boy felt comfortable when they chatted. The irrepressible young man would probably have cookies and milk waiting for everyone, just to ease the tension.

  “Come on. It’s gone now. Let’s watch some Dr. Who and try to salvage the night.” She winked as she turned to walk back into the living room. “Your pasta is getting cold.”

  Like he cared about that, but he followed his mate into the living room anyway. If a night of BBC science fiction was what she needed to feel calm again, he’d sit through as many episodes as she wanted.

  He settled in front of the television and picked up his bowl of lukewarm spaghetti. He ate on autopilot, consuming the fuel his body would need to protect his mate from harm.

  Selena picked up the remote and turned to him with a determined smile. “Ready?

  He swallowed a bite of meatball and gave her what he hoped was a calm smile. “Ready.”

  She eyed him dubiously. “The Doctor doesn’t bite, so you can stop being snarly.”

  “I’m not snarly.” He flexed his arms deliberately. “I’m ready.”

  “Um.” She turned back to the television abruptly, but not before he caught sight of the flushed cheeks and wide eyes. She liked when he showed off his muscles. “Let me hit play here...”

  He watched as she fumbled with the remote, finally turning the show on. Ash sat back, putting his arm on the back of the sofa so that she sat cuddled into his side. It wasn’t the pleasant evening he’d hoped for, but as the show played out on the screen, he got to watch Selena’s total absorption in the campy Doctor and his companion, Rose. At one point she paused the show to make some popcorn, silently holding out the bowl for him to share.

  He found himself watching the screen more and more as things got interesting. Maybe there was something to this whole show after all. He could understand Selena’s fascination with it.

  But nothing held his attention the way Selena did, so when she began to yawn he picked up the remote and turned the TV off. “Bed, little witch.”

  She pouted and clutched the empty popcorn bowl. “Doctor.”

  “Bed.”

  She growled. “Doc-tor.”

  He laughed and took her bowl. “Bed.”

  “You’re no fun.” But she yawned as she said it. “Fine, bed.” She whirled around and held up her finger. “But we’re watching more of it tomorrow.”

  He held up his hands. “Yes, ma’am.”

  She glared at him before marching into the bedroom.

  Ash followed behind his mate, as always protecting her back. Nothing would get through him to her, not while he breathed. Not even a fucking shadow man.

  He would find the weapons he needed to kill the creature, and when he did, Selena would finally be free.

  * * *

  Selena sat back, stretching her sore muscles. For the whole week she’d tensed up, prepared for more growls, or falling pictures, or...something. Anything that would indicate she was still being haunted.

  Nothing happened, not even a reoccurrence of the shadow man incident. It was the quietest week she could ever remember, with one large, green-haired, green-eyed exception.

  It was remarkably easy to picture the rest of her life with Ash in it, but she understood this was their honeymoon period, mixed in with dashes of sheer terror. They would bicker over stupid things like strawberry versus grape jelly, or whether or not the Baltimore Ravens were going to kick ass in the next game. There would be times in the future when she couldn’t stand the sight of him, or his voice, or the way he chewed. And that was all right, because that was part of living with someone you cared for deeply.

  Already, living with him had shown her so much more about Ashton Ward than she’d ever thought to find. She couldn’t deny the fact that she’d enjoyed having her sanctuary invaded by a dryad with an overprotective streak a mile wild. Not that she’d admit it to him.

  Hell, she could see in the way he gazed at her that he already knew. He was remarkably perceptive to her every nuance, often giving her what she wanted before she’d completely formulated the thought.

  Best of all, the man knew how to do dishes, cook and run a vacuum. Whoever had raised him had done it right. She was more content than she’d ever been, but that could rapidly change if the haunting picked up again.

  So she’d taken the time to do some of her own research, reaching out to other witches both in Maggie’s Grove and across the nation. All of them had given her some advice, but none of them seemed to have an answer. None of them had heard of Van Helsings working with demons. The news had been received with shock and anger. Worse, she hadn’t found out anything about her shadow man problem other than she might need to perform an exorcism. She couldn’t even confirm it was an aspect of the demon that had been working with Kate and the Van Helsings.

  It wasn’t a topic she wanted to read while drinking her morning coffee, but it seemed like her home had become demon hunter central lately. If she wasn’t reading about them, talking about them or watching documentaries about them she was dreaming about them.

  “Hey.” Warm hands landed on her shoulders, massaging them.

  Selena smiled. “Hey.” She reached up, caressing the side of Ash’s face. “How is Iva?”

  “She’s still in her tree, but the leaves are turning greener and filling out more and more.”

  “That’s a good sign.” She leaned back against him, his heat easing her stiff shoulders more. “I’m glad she’s doing better.”

  “Noah is hopeful that she’ll come out soon, but Greer seems to think she’s going to take a little longer. He believes she’ll stay in h
er tree until at least the fall.” Ash kissed the top of her head. “I’m inclined to believe Greer.”

  “You think Noah’s doing some wishful thinking?” She wouldn’t be surprised. The Alpha had found his mate. His wolf must be riding him hard to claim her. She was surprised no one had found him humping Iva’s tree.

  “I’m not sure. It’s possible he can sense something not even Greer can. Greer might be a singer, but Iva is Noah’s mate. Maybe he knows something we don’t.”

  “He’s got gifts beyond those of a normal wolf.” Selena sighed. “Shit. I wish I could go see her for myself. I’d be able to tell if everything was all right.”

  “Do you want to try?”

  Ash had yet to give up the idea of getting Selena to the Throne, but she was still resisting. “No. Not until I’m certain it’s safe.”

  He sighed. “All right.” He stood, releasing her. “Chicken sound good for dinner?”

  “If you’re cooking it.” She grinned over her shoulder at him, well aware that Ash was a much better cook than she could ever hope to be.

  “I’d better if we don’t want to get food poi—”

  “Ow!” Selena arched forward, the sharp pain in between her shoulder blades burning like fire. “What the fu—” Another arc of fire across her shoulders, this one lower than the first. “Ow!”

  “What’s wrong?”

  Selena squirmed, crying out as yet another line of fire, this one across her middle back, burned her with sharp talons. “Fuck. Ash? Something’s wrong.”

  He pulled her out of her seat, lifting her shirt as she bent forward. “Son of a bitch.”

  “What?”

  “You’ve got claw marks across your back.”

  So much for nothing happening this wee— “Ow ow ow!”

  He cursed as another sharp pain, this one nearly at the top of her butt, had her arching away from him. “Shit. It just appeared.”

  “Get Gideon here.” She shivered, wishing she could heal the damage herself but unwilling to attempt it. With her luck she’d only make things worse.

  “And Greer. Hell, I’ll bring Mina and Dragos too.” Ash pulled out his cell phone from his pocket and began to dial. “Greer, I need you.”