Ethereal: The Light in the Shadow

by Zoe Knights

  Eddie sat up abruptly “No!” she said quickly. “We’re… friends. Sort of.”

  Quinn looked bemused and uncertain. “Friends? Sam doesn’t do friends…”

  Eddie sighed again. “I know,” she said dryly. “That’s why it’s complicated.”

  Quinn gave her a look.

  Eddie shook her head sadly. “I can’t tell you anything more…” she said lowly. “And believe me; I wish I could. But…”

  Quinn inclined her head, “It’s complicated?” she guessed with a slight smile this time.

  Eddie gave a small, thankful smile in return. “Yeah,” she murmured.

  Quinn sighed, lying back down in her bed and switching the lamp back off. “Well…” she said through the darkness. “You seem happier at least. I was getting worried for a bit,” she told her, causing yet another twist of guilt in Eddie’s stomach. “Just… be careful, yeah?”

  Eddie nodded to the darkness, the lack of light bringing back the surreal memory to her eyes of the impossible black wolf in the shadows. “I will…” Eddie whispered, laying back down, Sam’s brown eyes the only thing more prominent in her mind than that creature.

  Strange Feelings

  11

  Eddie did not continue researching Sam’s mother. She couldn’t – not after that night. Not without feeling this intense wash of guilt that she was sick and tired of feeling.

  She did keep thinking about it, however, and this was distracting enough. It was not long now till the end of term, and she would get to travel to London for Christmas with her brother. She was excited, but not as excited as she once would have been before all of this had happened.

  And before she knew the address of the home Eleanor Finley lived in. A home where a Finley still lived – her sister; Louisa.

  Eddie didn’t trust herself. The temptation to visit the house while she was in London was already strong, and she wasn’t even there yet!

  She tried to put it out of her mind and distract herself by keeping busy. She even spent a little longer trying to get her hair in place the next morning, borrowing Quinn’s straightener before she braided it.

  Quinn couldn’t help but make a small comment about this. “Looking very pretty, Eddie…” she said idly.

  Eddie gave her a look. “I’m simply trying to control my insane hair. I think buying a straightener might actually be a good investment for me.”

  Quinn snorted. “Well, before I met you I thought it was a staple in every home.”

  Eddie poked her tongue out at her before folding Sam’s jacket and tucking it into her backpack again.

  The moment they stepped outside Eddie found distractions should be easy. For standing across the hall looking carelessly handsome was Sam, leaning casually against the wall with one leg bent, his backpack by his feet.

  A jolt shot through Eddie’s chest the moment his eyes locked with hers. He leant down to pick up his bag, slinging it over his shoulder and stepping forward all without breaking their gaze.

  Eddie swallowed, her eyes flickering to Quinn’s while nerves tumbled through her stomach. “Erm… I might meet you at math. Is that ok?” she murmured quietly.

  Quinn’s eyebrows had never been higher, but she nodded, looking between her and Sam slowly. “Sure…” she said back hesitantly. “Just uh… text me if you need me, okay?” she added seriously, moving away slowly, looking at Sam one last time with a suspicious gaze.

  “Morning…” Sam’s voice rumbled softly in Eddie’s ear.

  She turned back to him, noticing that though he was smiling, his eyes were uncertain.

  He raised his eyebrows and Eddie realised she hadn’t spoken yet, too busy over-analysing what she thought he might be thinking. “Oh- hi,” she said quickly, her cheeks flushing and she looked down, swinging her bag off her back. “You probably want this?” she tugged at his jacket, pulling it out and holding it up to him.

  Sam took it slowly, tilting his head to meet her gaze again for she was avoiding his. “Thank you,” he said quietly.

  Eddie swallowed, looking away and another moment of silence fell. She fidgeted nervously.

  “Um…” she began finally when Sam merely continued to observe her. “So is this you… doing what you shouldn’t?”

  Sam laughed quietly, a slight smile hooking one corner of his lips, though his dark eyes were still an unreadable fortress. “Do you want to go for a walk?” he asked her.

  A small frown pinched the skin between Eddie’s eyebrows. But, she nodded. “Okay…”

  They began down the corridor, taking a turn to head through a courtyard and to the path that snaked the exterior of the building. Sam pulled out a pre-rolled cigarette from his jacket pocket, placing it between his lips while he took out his lighter. “I was thinking about you,” he murmured simply while lighting the cigarette between his lips. Eddie’s stomach flipped, and she stared at him. He took in a puff, breathing it out slowly before meeting her bright, green-eyed gaze. “For most of the night…” he continued, frowning slightly and looking at her as though perhaps she held the answers to questions he didn’t know how to pose.

  Eddie gave a wry smile. “Should I… apologise or something?” she joked.

  Sam exhaled a small laugh, taking another drag. “They’re probably right you know…” he said idly.

  Eddie raised an eyebrow. “Who? About what?”

  “Everyone and… about me…” Sam frowned at the cigarette between his fingers. “I’m not really sure, myself…” he murmured lowly.

  Eddie shook her head, frowning as she had to wave a waft of smoke from her face. “Well how about you decide that for yourself rather than just going with that ‘they’ all say,” she said gruffly.

  Sam smiled again when he looked at her. “You don’t like that I smoke, do you?” he quipped in amusement.

  Eddie gave him a look. “I think it’s stupid considering it’s no secret how bad they are.”

  Sam chuckled, simply taking another drag without qualm. “There are worse vices…”

  Eddie looked at him. “Yes,” she agreed seriously. “Is this you vaguely hinting to me that smoking should be the least of my concerns about you?” she asked bluntly.

  Sam continued to smile, but it did not reach his eyes where a darkness still lay. He pinched the tip of his cigarette, extinguishing it with his bare fingers before slipping it into his blazer pocket. “Still want to be friends with me?”

  Eddie held his gaze unblinkingly. “Do you?”

  Sam eyed Eddie up and down, his little smile lingering. “I’ve been… considering the idea.”

  “Gee well, I’m flattered,” Eddie said dryly.

  Sam chuckled quietly. “I’ve never had a ‘human’ friend before,” he quipped shrewdly, laughing further at the wide-eyed look he received from Eddie.

  “Are you… saying-” Eddie began, but Sam cut her off.

  “Don’t worry,” he snickered, getting too much enjoyment out of this for Eddie’s liking. “I’m human.”

  She breathed out slowly, looking away again.

  “Well… some of me is,” Sam added idly.

  Eddie stilled in her step, her brow pinching before she looked at him again. She didn’t say anything.

  Sam tilted his head, his eyes mesmerising her gaze then he suddenly skipped in front of her, turning round to face her where she had stopped. Eddie’s breath caught, and she stared at him, her eyes flickering between his.

  “Does that scare you?” he asked her softly.

  Eddie shifted, hesitating. But then, she shook her head, “Should it?”

  Sam held her gaze, his expression turning quite serious. “It scares others…” he told her in that same quiet voice that sent shivers down her spine. “My mere existence makes those with more power than you could comprehend tremble in their skin…”

  Eddie breathed in slowly, not dropping his gaze. “Why?” she asked quietly.

  Sam’s dark eyes were unblinking. “Because I shouldn’t exist at all…”


  Eddie breathed the smallest of laughs, a tiny smile touching her lips. “Well, that doesn’t sound so scary to me…”

  Sam exhaled slowly, eyeing her for a long moment before turning back to continue to walk along the path. Eddie took a moment to follow, for her legs seemed to have momentarily forgotten how to move.

  “I already knew you must be… something different,” Eddie said to him when she fell into step beside him. “I mean… you have a magic wolf so…”

  Sam laughed this time. “Magic wolf?” he chuckled.

  Eddie glared at him. “Well you won’t give me any other explanation, so I have to come up with my own.”

  Sam smiled crookedly at her. “So then,” he quipped simply. “You haven’t really answered my question. Do you still want to be friends?”

  Eddie quirked an eyebrow. “Just like that?” she said back.

  Sam shrugged, “Well,” he sighed slightly. “I thought about it and… no matter how much I try to ignore you, you’d still know what you know… which you seem to be bizarrely okay with,” he added, giving her another one of those perturbed looks. “And so… well as much as I know this is a bad idea – I still want it. And I am inherently selfish. So… here we are.”

  Eddie looked at him with a slight frown as she thought about what he’d said. “I have a question,” she said quietly.

  Sam raised an eyebrow. “Well, you can ask it. But I can’t promise I’ll answer.”

  Eddie breathed out slowly. “The… part of you that is… not so human,” she began tentatively. “Is that… how you get what you want so much? Is it… why people are so… charmed by you?”

  Sam smiled slowly. “Are you charmed by me?”

  Eddie frowned at him. “I’m irritated by you,” she said stiffly.

  Sam laughed and then shrugged his shoulders. “Yes, I suppose it is,” he said simply. “Doesn’t always work though,” he added, gesturing to her as though she were the example.

  Eddie continued to eye him. “Why not?” she demanded.

  Sam sucked on his tongue, looking her up and down. “Well…” he began musingly. “The clever ones, like yourself, are generally less inclined to be… ‘wooed’ by it.” He glanced at her, offering a rather cheeky smirk. “And you have particularly clever green eyes. I imagine they are like a shield to my charms.”

  Eddie tried to give him a look, but her heart had missed a few beats which made it difficult.

  The bell clanged distantly through the halls and Eddie instantly jumped.

  “Crap,” she muttered. “We have to get to class. We totally missed breakfast!”

  “Hmm…” Sam murmured. “We don’t have to get to class,” he said leadingly.

  Eddie shook her head at him. “I might pet giant shadow wolves with you, but I am not ditching class,” she said sternly.

  Sam snorted, and Eddie liked seeing the genuine smile on his lips. “Suit yourself,” he sighed, shoving his hands in the pockets of his blazer. “But, I would ensure you got away with it…”

  Eddie had to bite the smile trying to form on her lips, ignoring the side of her that was tempted by this. “Absolutely not,” she said firmly, but there was mirth to her tone. “You’re not using your… magic – whatever it is – to help me skip school.”

  Sam shrugged, simply searching his pocket for his half-smoked cigarette. “See you later then,” he said, lighting it again between his lips.

  Eddie shook her head slightly, turning away. “See you later, Sam…” she said.

  But then,

  “Oh… and Eden?”

  She glanced back at him, and his eyes flickered up to catch hers abruptly. “Your hair looks very pretty like that,” he said, smiling when he noticed the blush that instantly arose in Eddie’s cheeks. “Though,” he continued, smile growing. “Your curls are just as lovely.”

  He took a drag, waving to her briefly. “See you later,” he quipped again casually, turning away and walking off.

  Eddie closed her mouth that had hung open with an unspoken attempt at a response. She tried to ignore the butterflies dancing in her stomach and quickly turned back to the school, the warmth in her cheeks protecting her from the winter breeze that froze her nose.

  ***

  Quinn did not hesitate to ask questions the moment Eddie fell into her seat beside her in maths.

  “What was that all about?” she whispered with too much interest. Then, she scrunched up her nose. “Ergh… Eddie, why do you smell like cigarette smoke?”

  Eddie blushed, sniffing her jumper self-consciously. “Oh er… Sam was smoking.”

  Quinn frowned. “Right…” she muttered. “So… what are you doing with him exactly?”

  Eddie bit her lip, a very strange laugh slipping from her lips as her stomach continued to flutter. She cleared her throat, trying to hold back her silly smile. “Um… I don’t know,” she mumbled honestly.

  “Eddie…” Quinn sounded very concerned.

  “Quinn…” Eddie mimicked her.

  Quinn frowned. “I’m worried about you,” she said quietly. “You haven’t… you know… with him, have you?”

  Eddie flushed furiously. “No!” she hissed quickly. “I told you it’s not like that.”

  Quinn shook her head, muttering ‘yet’ under her breath before looking back at Eddie seriously. “Do you want it to be like that?” she pressed suspiciously.

  Eddie’s stomach flipped, and she threw her friend a surreptitious glance. “Of course not,” she muttered too quickly. But, her heart was pounding at the thought.

  Quinn sighed heavily. “Well,” she said lowly. “I’ll tell you one thing… you keep hanging out with him like that and people are going to start to talk.”

  Eddie eyed her friend carefully for a moment. “You know… he’s not what people think he is,” she said quietly.

  Quinn immediately frowned. “Oh God…” she muttered.

  “What?” Eddie demanded defensively.

  “You like him don’t you…” Quinn whispered in disbelief.

  “That’s not what I said!” Eddie hissed. “Trust me. That is… that is not a good idea. I’m not even sure ‘friends’ is a good idea, but-”

  “Then, why are you doing this?” Quinn cut in incredulously.

  Eddie huffed quietly. “Because I want to,” she said back candidly.

  Quinn stared at her for a moment longer before turning back to her work, shaking her head. “Well it’s your choice, Eddie…” she muttered under her breath, her disapproval clear in her tone.

  Eddie clenched her jaw, choosing to ignore this, and soon they both settled silently into their work.

  Under the Stars

  12

  Eddie knew, deep down, that Quinn had a point. A part of her knew… this was a bad idea. But, maybe that’s why the idea of when she would next see Sam excited her so. The thought that he was something other than human did not scare her. All those warning her against him did not faze her. And the incredible surrealistic experiences she had with him, giving her glimpses into some other strange world, made regular life seem rather dull.

  Perhaps this should have worried her or set off a red flag. But it did not.

  And that was why when Sam showed up at her window again that night, she did not hesitate to open the fixture. When Quinn had mysteriously vanished, she had a feeling this was coming.

  A smile was playing around her lips when the cool air blew in. “What did you do with Quinn this time?”

  Sam smiled slyly. “It’s really not hard. Any chance for her and the Scottish girl to be alone together and they jump on it. Honestly, these ‘crush’ things you humans insist on make you easy to manipulate.”

  Eddie frowned at him, her stomach jolting a little uncomfortably. “I’m sure at least your human side is just as susceptible to them,” she said a little touchily.

  Sam inclined his head, his eyes flickering over her for a moment. “Hm,” he murmured vaguely. “Well, anyway, are you coming?” he held out his hand to her, a s
mile turning the corner of his lips.

  Eddie raised an eyebrow. “Is this going to be a thing now?” she quipped. “You show up at my window, and I’m just supposed to follow?”

  Sam smirked, “Suits me,” he shrugged, his hand still held out.

  Eddie gave him a look, and he sighed, “Well I figured seeing as we’re doing this ‘friends’ thing… and you’ve seen some… not so nice things. I could… show you something nice this time.”

  Eddie’s stomach did a little flip, and she tried to hide her reaction to this, biting the smile playing around her lips.

  “Hmm… I can get behind that. But, where are we going, exactly?” she asked simply.

  Sam gave her a look, “Well you’ll see won’t you,” he said back, pointedly looking at his hand again that remained outstretched.

  Eddie laughed slightly, excitement tickling her skin, “Fine,” she said as she grasped his hand, letting him help her out the window. The weather was getting steadily more freezing the closer they got to Christmas, and Eddie laughed again when Sam picked up a spare jacket of his he’d brought just for her.

  She pulled it on, thanking him before they made their way down the tree.

  “So…” Sam sounded a little nervous. “This place is… a little far away,” he explained slowly.

  Eddie looked at him through the darkness and raised an eyebrow. “Okay…?” she waited for him to explain further.

  “We’d need to… go with Neeshka…” Sam met her gaze, his eyes glinting. “Are you up for it?”

  Eddie was equal amounts excited and terrified by this prospect. She couldn’t think of what to say, torn between these emotions, and so instead she nodded quickly.

  Sam’s lips broke into a grin, and he let his own excitement show. “Alright,” he sounded daring now. “Let’s go…”

  He began racing toward the trees. Eddie grinned, casting one look back at the old school building before running after him.

  Neeshka was already waiting for them by the cover of the trees. Eddie was again stopped with awe at her otherworldly beauty, and that surreal feeling of being thrown into a dream hit her with full force.