The Reverence of One: Book Three of the Shadow Series

by Pierce, J. M.

  Lauren sniffed and exhaled deeply. “About what?”

  “Well, I…,” began Alyssa, looking past Lauren into the distance.

  Waiting through a few moments of silence, Lauren spoke. “What is it? Spit it out.”

  Alyssa glanced nervously at Lauren, opening and closing her mouth several times before she was able to speak her mind.

  “Why don’t you like me?” she asked.

  Lauren giggled as she rolled back on her behind with her arms still holding her knees to her chest and stared up into the sky. “It’s not that I don’t like you.” She released her knees, placed her palms to the ground behind her, and stared silently at the earth beside her.

  “What is it then?” asked Alyssa.

  Lauren found Alyssa’s eyes and tried to speak as her bottom lip quivered. “The honest truth is that I don’t know why I say some of the things I say. Everything is so confusing now. It was easy when….”

  “You were a Reaper—a killer?” interrupted Alyssa.

  Lauren’s head snapped to attention, her eyes widening slightly. “Yes,” she conceded. “That’s right.”

  Alyssa couldn’t help but grin at Lauren’s false politeness. “It’s okay,” she giggled. “You can be a bitch if you want. I’m not going anywhere.” She watched as the corners of Lauren’s lips turned up slightly.

  In the exchange of a smile everything had suddenly changed. A bond had been created and both of them felt it.

  “It sucks, you know,” said Lauren as she wiped her eyes. “It’s like getting what you want, but not knowing how to deal with it once you’ve got it.” The tears began to stream from her eyes. “You guys are the family that I need and want, but I just don’t know how....” She stopped mid-sentence and began to sob heavily.

  “Don’t know how to what?” asked Alyssa. “Save someone’s life? Yes, you do. Don’t know how to show compassion? Maggie told me about you and that Marcy girl, so I think you’re fine there.”

  Her breathing unsteady from the outpouring of emotion, Lauren took a deep, cleansing breath.

  “Come on, you know what I mean,” she replied.

  Alyssa rocked her head side to side like a pendulum, staring into the distance to find the words. “Look, it’ll get easier. Really,” she said. “All brothers and sisters fight and argue.”

  This brought a larger smile to Lauren’s face. “Sister, huh?” she said, her voice becoming slightly more upbeat.

  Alyssa stood and held out her hand. “Come on. What do you say we go back home.”

  Lauren released a larger pulse, allowing Alyssa to take solid form, and took the spirit’s hand into hers.

  Alyssa kept Lauren’s hand in hers as they walked. At first, this made Lauren uncomfortable, but then Alyssa spoke.

  “I wonder if Mom saved any breakfast for you?”

  An overwhelming feeling of warmth radiated throughout Lauren’s body and, as they walked peacefully through the underbrush, she gripped her sister’s hand a little tighter. Hesitant to break the tranquility of the moment, she felt compelled to ask about the incident with Test the night before.

  “So what happened with Test last night? How bad was it?”

  Alyssa looked briefly to her and felt her heart rate increase with the onset of her reply.

  “You haven’t gone into the living room yet, have you?” asked Alyssa, cringing as she waited for Lauren’s reaction.

  Her jaw tensing slightly, Lauren made a conscious effort to stay calm. “No,” she replied. “I don’t really care about the house, but I do need to know how severe his outburst was.”

  “You might not think that when you see your floor,” Alyssa thought to herself before responding. “It was pretty bad,” she answered with her head hanging low. “I’ve never seen him like that before. His eyes….” she paused and made eye contact with Lauren. “His eyes were one of the most frightening things I’d ever seen.”

  Lauren stopped and the two of them faced each other.

  “How do you mean?” asked Lauren, her jaw steadily becoming more tense and rigid.

  Alyssa thought about it for a moment. She could still see his eyes when she closed hers, but the words to describe it were difficult for her to find. “His pupils—it was like they were on fire—a fiery red light that moved like liquid where his pupils were.”

  Lauren stared into her eyes intently, hanging on every word.

  “Inside the fire were tiny points of white light,” continued Alyssa. “They almost seemed to be….” she stopped, unable to describe what she saw.

  “What?” asked Lauren.

  Alyssa’s face twisted as she closed her eyes and leaned her head back in thought. “The white lights almost looked like bubbles that were coming from the bottom of a pan of boiling water, but they were very small, almost pin point.”

  Alyssa watched Lauren’s expression become more distant. Though their eyes met, it was as though Lauren was staring through her.

  “Lauren?” asked Alyssa.

  Lauren blinked once and seemed to return from thought, though she remained silent.

  “Is everything okay?” asked Alyssa, knowing full well that something was terribly wrong.

  Lauren turned her head slightly and peered over Alyssa’s shoulder. “I don’t think so,” she replied. “I’ve never heard of anything like that before.”

  “Like what?” asked Alyssa naively.

  “Test’s eyes—I’ve never heard of, or seen, anything like what you’ve described.”

  A knot suddenly appeared in Alyssa’s throat. “What does it mean?” she asked, her voice trembling slightly.

  Lauren made eye contact once again, and with a low, firm voice, spoke ominously. “It means it may already be too late.” She turned her body slowly to her right in the direction of her home, and felt the push of a Shadow’s energy.

  Alyssa watched Lauren staring through the trees. “What is it? What do you see?” she asked.

  Lauren placed her index finger to her lips, signaling Alyssa to be quiet. “I don’t see them, but I can feel them.” She turned her focus back to the forest, hoping to catch a glimpse of who it was she was feeling. “I’m going to have to let you go,” she said to Alyssa, though keeping her line of sight straight ahead.

  Instantly knowing what she meant, Alyssa nodded and released Lauren’s energy, disappearing from sight before Lauren stopped the pulses herself.

  Lauren began walking as carefully and quietly as the terrain would allow, each step seeming painfully slow and loud. After what seemed like an eternity, she came to a point where two trees crossed each other, forming a triangle just large enough for her to crouch through. She felt Alyssa quickly pass in front of her. In that same instant, the push of the unseen Shadow faded—regaining strength only when Alyssa stepped to the side. The event stopped Lauren mid-step, and she thought about what it could mean. “Later,” she whispered to herself, bending low and passing through the crossed trees.

  As she stood tall, she heard a twig snap in the distance. Had she not felt the push of the Shadow’s energy growing stronger with each step, she would have thought the sound inconsequential. In the moment, the sound told her that she was close.

  She crouched back down, planting a hand on the ground to steady herself, and watched carefully for any sign of movement. It was then that she realized how close she was to home. Through a small fractured line of space through the trees, she could see a piece of her house. Suddenly the void was filled by a form. As if someone passed by a window, the light illuminating the small portion of the house disappeared. She involuntarily held her breath as her eyes traced the intruder’s shoulders and head. She could feel the surge of energy inside of her wanting to be released as her adrenaline sent her blood racing through her veins.

  In her mind, she quickly developed a plan of attack and, turning towards Alyssa’s pull, whispered her instructions.

  “Go to the house and tell Test to be ready, but go wide and go quickly. Tell him not to come outside until he h
ears me.”

  Lauren waited for the pull of Alyssa’s spirit to disappear from her side, but it remained. Void of patience and out of time, she gritted her teeth and seethed the words.

  “Go, damn it.”

  After a moment of hesitation, Lauren felt Alyssa leave her. She knew that Alyssa would already be in the house before she could even think it, so now all that was left was to act.

  With a deep breath, she phased to the other side and raced towards the intruder. In an instant she was feet away from him and was shocked to see that he’d already turned to defend. She phased mid-step and immediately through her right hand forward, releasing a pulse that sent the intruder flying backward along with several trees that stood on either side of him.

  She stepped out of the tree line towards the intruder, her arms and torso blazing with color; her anger and rage blinding any ounce of rational thought. As he rolled over, Lauren could see the red pulses of energy beginning to race down his arms, confirming what she already knew; he was a Shadow.

  As he raised a hand in the air, she reached out with both hands and took the intruder into her invisible grasp, constricting him with every ounce of power that her gift could provide. Her eyes caught movement beyond, and she quickly glanced up to see Test hurdle the porch railing and begin running towards her. She could hear his shouts, but her adrenaline filled ears kept her from understanding.

  Just as she looked back down to her victim, she felt a massive impact on her right side. Her feet left the ground and then the world went dark.

  ****

  Test saw the albino woman exit the tree line to Lauren’s right as he’d jumped the porch railing. She looked almost like a movie rendition of a ghost; frail; thin frame; long, silky white hair; and pale chalky flesh. He tried to warn Lauren, and when she didn’t seem to hear him, he threw his arms forward and pulsed in an attempt to stop the woman. The moment he released his pulse, the woman disappeared and then reappeared just outside of the wave of energy Test had sent at her. He watched helplessly as the albino released a pulse of her own when she was only feet away from Lauren, sending her careening through the air and onto the ground some twenty feet to the side.

  Knowing that going to help Lauren would do nothing but get them all killed, he squared himself to the woman with his arms splayed to his side. He let the rage within him run rampant and felt the energy swell inside him. The pulses of red light running down his arms were now racing so fast that they nearly appeared to be a solid ribbon of light, and the red from his palms was so intense that it had begun to choke out the blue on the back side of his hands.

  He stood tense and motionless as the male intruder lifted himself from the ground and took his place beside the woman. He was obviously shaken and unsteady, but stood at the ready none-the-less. The woman appeared to be completely relaxed and calm, though her energy shown through her pasty white flesh more brilliantly than Test had ever seen.

  “You must be Test,” said the woman, her voice smooth and relaxed. It was almost hypnotic.

  With nostrils flared, Test replied. “I am. Where’s Isaac?”

  The woman smiled at him tenderly, and in the moment, it was the most frightening thing that Test had ever seen. He watched her lean down to her companion and whisper something in his ear. As she began to turn towards Test, she disappeared with a flash of white light and reappeared in the same breath only feet in front of him.

  “We’re not acquainted with Isaac,” she replied softly. “Though in a way, we are here for you.”

  Once again the woman smiled. The sight of it sent chills throughout Test’s body.

  “What do you want with me?” he asked, ready to strike depending on her response.

  She looked him over quickly. “My dear, we don’t want anything. I said that we are here for you.”

  The intensity of light from Test’s palms grew stronger yet. “Explain yourself,” he demanded.

  “It’s quite simple,” she replied taking one step closer to him. “You need our help. It’s just as I said, we are here for you.”

  Test couldn’t come to grips with what the woman was saying. “How?” he began. “I don’t need….”

  “Yes, you do,” answered the woman. “You need us as badly as the world needs you.”

  Something in the woman’s voice rang sincere to Test, and he found himself relaxing slightly.

  “Who are you?” he asked.

  The woman’s eyes, yellowed white with pink pupils, glimmered eerily in the overcast light of the clearing. “My name is Kirsten Jenz, but I’ve been known simply as Jenz for some time now,” she replied as she turned and motioned to her companion. “This is Nathaniel Primus Shockley, but friends call him Prim.” The woman offered her hand formally for Test to shake, but he remained poised and cautious. She nodded her head and smirked. “I can understand your hesitation, Test, but I assure you, we mean you no harm.”

  Though he was focused on Jenz, his peripheral vision noticed movement on his right side. He turned his head slowly, keeping his eyes on Jenz until focusing on Lauren’s body as she brought herself to her knees. Her arms shook under her own weight, and her hair hung in tatters around her face as she looked up.

  “You okay?” asked Test, his posture relaxing just a bit more.

  Lauren groaned. “I think so.” She lifted her torso and glanced back and forth between Prim and Jenz. “So, I see we’re not dead,” she sighed. “How much trouble are we in?”

  “My dear, you’re in no trouble at all,” replied Jenz as she turned from Test. “Please accept my apologies, but I couldn’t let you continue to attack Prim here.” She motioned a hand toward the young man.

  “No trouble, huh?” replied Lauren as she strained to stand. “Well lady, why are you here then?”

  “They say they’re here to help,” answered Test.

  Jenz turned her head and gave an approving nod. Suddenly cocking her head at a curious angle, she turned to the house.

  “You needn’t be concerned,” she shouted as she looked past Test and towards the porch.

  Test turned and realized that he could feel Alyssa and his mother walking towards them. He spun back to Jenz, and was surprised as she held out her hand, offering her energy to the spirits. Behind him, Alyssa and Maggie materialized in stride and came to stand on opposite sides of Test.

  “Hello, my name is Kirsten Jen….”

  “We heard,” answered Alyssa rudely, followed by Maggie giving her shoulder a slight push.

  Jenz tucked her hair behind her ears. “Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you, whatever your name is,” she replied calmly, though a hint of bitterness was present.

  Gaining her bearings and strength, Lauren walked slowly, limping mildly, towards Jenz and Test. As she did, Prim began to approach as well. He walked with his head hung low, almost as if he were shameful, and when he finally looked up for Lauren to see, she was instantly overcome with attraction.

  Though his face showed the pains that she had inflicted, his brown eyes were filled with an innocence that melted her anger. The two of them exchanged looks back and forth as if they were in high school, each afraid to stare too long for fear the other would notice. As they joined the others, she caught his eyes one last time and allowed the corners of her mouth the curl up while she continued past and walked up to the porch.

  “I’m going inside. I’m tired and thirsty,” she shouted, doing her best to ignore the spark that had just occurred between her and Prim. As she opened the back door, she turned her back to them and continued. “You guys can play outside as long as you want, or you can come inside. It’s up to you.”

  “She’s charming,” said Jenz, her voice still smooth, but with slightly more bitterness seeping through.

  Still not convinced of her sincerity, Test replied in Lauren’s defense. “She grows on you.”

  He glanced to Prim and noticed him watching with a strange look on his face as Lauren disappeared behind the closing door.

  “Yes,” replied Prim
, his gaze affixed on the now closed door. “I can see that.”

  CHAPTER 15

  Test sat on the couch next to Alyssa, staring around the room. It was a strange scene. Jenz sat in the chair next to the spot where his outburst the night before had damaged the floor. Prim sat on the hearth of the fireplace and continuously glanced to and away from Lauren who sat on a table from the kitchen. She had flipped the chair so that the back was in front of her, and she straddled it while her chin rested on its curved top; her eyes catching Prim’s intermittently. Maggie stood behind Lauren, as if she was waiting for her to get out of line.

  The room was filled with an uncomfortable silence and, while Test found himself wanting to ask questions, he couldn’t do anything but examine the strange looking woman who sat across from him. She wore a plain tan sundress that hung on her thin and bony frame as if her shoulders were a clothes hanger. Her white hair was extremely fine and straight. Her most striking feature was her eyes. The pinkish-red pupil set against her pale and chalky white skin gave her stare a frightening quality. Still, Test found her to be elegant and graceful.

  “Does my appearance bother you?” asked Jenz politely.

  Realizing that he had been rude, Test quickly apologized. “No, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to….”

  “It’s okay,” interrupted Jenz. “After three hundred years, I’m used to being stared at.”

  Alyssa gasped and leaned forward. “Three hundred years?”

  Test put his arm around her and squeezed her shoulder as he spoke to Jenz. “I can only imagine,” he replied. “All the same, I am sorry.”

  Jenz bowed her head. “Apology accepted.” She crossed her legs and rested an elbow atop her knee. “Now, we can deal with formalities later. The fact of the matter at hand is that Isaac will be coming. Should the truth be known, he could very well be on his way here now.” She turned her gaze to Lauren and spoke in a mildly condescending tone. “After what just occurred, I’m sure he sensed the immense use of power that was displayed.”

  Lauren sat up straight in her chair, but as she opened her mouth to counter attack, Maggie rested a steady hand on her shoulder.