Shadeland (The Ethereal Crossings, 1)

by D.L. Miles

  Chapter 1

  Two days earlier…

  The footsteps in the lecture hall were creating an echo all around me, only making my headache worse. Everyone was speaking too loudly as they trailed down the stairs while Luke and I stood at the very top, as we had for every other lesson of New History. At the bottom Dr. Wineman, aka Luke’s new best friend, was riffling through some papers, seemingly busy as students said their goodbyes.

  “Are you all right?” Luke questioned me, watching as I rubbed at my temples.

  “Yeah,” I lied, “just a headache.”

  But it wasn’t just a headache, was it? Before I could try and change the subject Luke did it for me, and motioned to the front of the beige hall; everyone was gone and we were free to talk to the doctor. Or he was at least. We made our way down the stairs, my head throbbing with every step.

  “It’s hard to believe it’s already been six weeks,” Luke started as we approached Richard. “But we’re still going to be seeing each other weekly, right?”

  “Of course,” Dr. Wineman gave us, or more likely Luke, a small smile. They had agreed to see each other often so that Luke could learn of his heritage, and his heritage did not involve me, apparently. Six weeks ago he had dragged me to this stupid course on the true history of the world so that I could learn about Eidolons, the not-so-newly declared supernatural citizens of Earth, but I still wasn’t allowed to learn about Luke; he was a Fae pureblood. No humans allowed, especially when it involved Shadeland, their home dimension.

  Dr. Wineman turned to me after a few more words with Luke and asked, “How are you feeling, Liv? Do you still have a fever?”

  “Not today,” I shrugged. A few weeks ago I had gotten suddenly sick, and at the worst possible time too. Luke was an accused killer, women in town were being murdered and I was in bed with a fever. But when everything was done I had gotten better; and then worse. And then better. And worse again.

  I didn’t know what to do about it; I was taking more vitamins, trying to eat better but whatever I did, I would get a fever every few days and be stuck unconscious at home. At least Luke would look after me when he wasn’t with Dr. Wineman…

  “Well you really should see a doctor,” Richard scolded as if he were my own father, “it could merely be a symptom of something worse.”

  “I guess,” I eyed his sharp features and greying hair, wondering if he was telling me to talk to him. I still didn’t even know what kind of Eidolon he was, and he refused to tell me. It bothered me, not knowing.

  “You must be tired,” Dr. Wineman patted me on the shoulder, something he often did. It took me a few times to realize it was because he wasn’t comfortable with human contact; and it really was just “human” contact. He had no trouble being near Eidolon’s, the non-humans.

  “Can you drive Luke?” I asked, picking the keys out of my pocket.

  “Of course,” he chirped and we said our goodbyes to the doctor.

  Walking through the wooden doors to the lobby of B Hall made me feel a little sick, and not because of the fever. This was where I had witnessed a murder. This was where I had seen the third victim, Heather, die. Well, it was in the bathroom, but the lobby gave me the same dread.

  Luke pushed open the glass panes to the outside, letting a sticky warm air hit my face. I grimaced and pulled a bottle of water from my side bag. It was one of four bottles I carried with me constantly. With the fevers came an annoying thirst, and my throat was always burning.

  The walk to the car didn’t make me feel any better, despite my large gulp of water. Every time I left B Hall I was hoping to see a certain car parked there, but there never was. It was just me and Luke. As always.

  Luke opened the passenger side door for me and I climbed in, exhausted. Tomorrow I would definitely have to call in sick to work. Again. I was surprised I hadn’t been fired. It was only a simple data entry job, and easily covered by someone else, but still. I didn’t like how small my recent paychecks had been.

  When my best friend was finished adjusting the mirrors and seat he drove off, at a daring five kilometers below the speed limit. Noticing he wasn’t playing with the radio like usual I pulled out my phone and began to scroll through old text messages. I would never admit it to anyone, but whenever I was feeling lonely I would look at a certain text message and feel just slightly better. But as time went on, its effects weakened.

  “Still hasn’t called, huh?” Luke asked, giving me a quick sideways glance. His fingers drummed against the steering wheel, beating along with each throb at my temples.

  “Nope,” I said and shoved my phone back into my jeans pocket.

  “He must be busy,” Luke offered, shifting his hands around on the leather, “I mean, he is a bounty hunter.”

  “If Jared wanted to contact me, he would have by now.”

  “Liv,” he began but I cut him off.

  “It’s fine.”

  Because it was. I was always fine when people didn’t call when they said they would, and I was always fine when people ditched me at the last second to hang out with doctors. I was fine. That’s it.

  I really didn’t like taking the elevator to get upstairs anymore, but since Luke was there I thought I would live. We had just gotten a new neighbour next to us; he had taken over the apartment Charlie had lived in before she died. And he was really irritating.

  Luke said he just liked me, since he was nineteen and new in town. Katsutoshi Koga, or Kat for short, had just moved here from Japan and was trying to make friends, apparently. I found him tiring, always talking to me, or trying to find out where I worked, or how I was feeling. He was a stranger, why did he need to know these things?

  Not only that, he was Eidolon. He never actually told me he was, but he wore an “Eidolon Pride” pin on his backpack. I wondered why he wouldn’t wear it on his shirt or jacket. Not too proud, it seemed.

  The elevator dinged and the doors slid open revealing an empty hallway. I hurried down under the yellow lights with Luke, hoping that Kat wouldn’t just be getting in or going out; that seemed to happen a lot whenever I tried to open my front door. But today I made it inside without any grief, and sighed as I closed the door behind us.

  Home was nice and cold. The apartment I had finally moved all of my stuff into with Luke was small, but it was my home now. My dad had been a little worried about me coming here, and offered to have both me and Luke stay with him after we had both nearly died and/or been wrongfully incarcerated, but I refused. Since living with Luke was one of my silly childhood fantasies. Who didn’t want to live with their best friend?

  “Take some medicine!” Luke called to me as I hurried for my room. When I shut the door I inhaled deeply, finally able to have a bit of silence. I closed my eyes, only to reopen them when something brushed against my feet.

  “Hi Azazel,” I sighed and leaned over to pick up the ancient demon. He had grown quite a bit in the past few weeks, but he was still so small. He nuzzled under my chin and made me smile, his soft fur comforting. How was it an Eidolon as old as the world could do that? Well, he did like humans.

  That was why he had been trying to help us, or help me I should say. He was always there when I had needed him; he led me through the crime scene at Alice’s, he had stopped me from drowning myself when trying to find a mermaid, and he had even helped us find the real killer. And what did it get him? Banished into the body of a kitten and given to a human by his leaders.

  I flinched, thinking of how the Councilman had come into my room without a sound and vanished just as easily. After one more stroke I set Azazel down onto the bed with my phone and walked behind my Chinese room divider to change. I just couldn’t do it in front of the demon.

  When I was in my pajamas I came back around the divider to find Azazel nosing at my phone.

  “What are you doing?” I gave him a pat and picked up the phone. It buzzed in my hand, a call coming in as the screen displayed “Unk
nown Number”. My heart skipped a beat and I answered. “Hello?”

  “Hey Livy!” my older brother’s voice came onto the phone. “Did I wake you?”

  “Oh…hi Neeson,” I said, falling back onto my bed and making Azazel scurry away to his cat tower.

  “Is that any way to greet your favourite brother?” he mocked.

  “Yes, it kind of is. What did you need?” my tone was snippy. I didn’t mean to do it, but it just sort of happened.

  “Okay, okay,” Neeson said and I could picture him waving his hands at me, “I just wanted to ask what you were getting Joshua for his birthday this Sunday.”

  “Do you mean you want to ask me to get you something to give him, or are you actually wondering what I got him?”

  “Ah…” my brother feigned innocence, “both?”

  I sighed, rubbing at my temples. “Fine, I’ll pick you something up and wrap it. Like every other year.”

  “I love you,” Neeson sang and I rolled my eyes.

  “Whatever,” I said, “goodbye.”

  “See you Sunday!” I hung up the phone and set it back on the bed, flopping an arm over my eyes.

  I should have expected Neeson to call and ask what I would get for him to give to Joshua, but I had kind of forgotten. My gift for my younger brother’s fifteenth birthday was already wrapped and ready to go over a month ago. Was it really August already?

  Had he really not contacted me in over a month?

  A knock at my door pulled me out of my thoughts and Luke poked his head inside. I moved my arm to peer at him with one eye as he said, “Hey, are you going to be okay for Sunday?”

  “Yes,” I mumbled, covering up my eyes again, “I’ll be fine. I have to get a gift for Neeson tomorrow though.”

  “Oh,” Luke laughed and came into the room, sitting down on the bed by my head. The mattress dipped slightly down under his light weight, and I pulled away to ensure I didn’t sink towards him. He laughed, “Every year, huh?”

  “Yup,” I drew out.

  “Do you want me to go with you? That way I can drive if you feel like passing out again…or I could just go for you. You should probably rest anyway.”

  I heard Azazel jump up onto the bed with unusual strength for a kitten. He walked over my stomach and towards Luke, but took a sudden turn and began to poke at my hand. I stroked him with my thumb and considered Luke’s offer.

  “Could you come? I have something in mind so it shouldn’t take too long.”

  “Of course,” I felt Luke’s smile in his voice, “get some rest.”

  He left the room and I crawled into bed. Maybe tomorrow I would feel better.