Shadow Walker

by Tina Proffitt

  “You've been taught that this world is temporal. That only the afterlife is of any consequence.”

  She nodded, unable to speak for the emotions roiling around inside of her as he kissed her cheeks.

  “You were taught to disdain this world and all it has to offer you in favor of storing up your treasures in heaven. But does this mean for you to ignore the beauty all around you? Should you treat this world as disposable?” He kissed her again, this time on her lips, then he gently let her go, holding her until she found her equilibrium. Then he left her room without another word.

  He asked nothing from her, but she found her desire to give him all of herself increasing. And there it was again. She was sinking deeper into a swirling vortex of emotion for which she had no name. She only knew that she had never felt this way before. And she liked it.

  The next morning, Bethanie awakened from a night of confusing dreams that had disturbed her sleep. Her father had tried to tell her something, but she could not hear him.

  After a breakfast of oatmeal with butter and brown sugar, Shadow said, “Come with me.” It was Saturday. And since being suspended from his job and responsibilities, he had felt restless. “I want to show you something.” He took her hand, pulling her alongside him outside.

  Down they went along the well-worn path that began at the edge of the woods just beside his cabin. Until they were well outside his secluded three-acre property, where it felt as if they had stepped into another world of another age. The land had remained untouched for decades. Maples surrounded them and were just beginning to lose their green color, the leaves turning crimson red.

  “Where are we going?” Bethanie asked as the path ahead of them looked the same as what they had already passed, giving her no indication of where they were.

  Once around the lake, they could see his cabin sitting on the other side. There they turned a corner and the path widened, opening onto a wooden gate. “This leads to the north end of campus. The area that is off-limits for any new construction.”

  Direction did not help Bethanie in the least, but she trusted Shadow even as she tried to read his expression. But it was unreadable. “Do you think the school will reopen soon?” she asked as a way to take her mind off her uncertainty. “I hope so. I have a lot of research still left to do with my owls. Mass death, while not unprecedented, leads me to some questions I haven't been able to answer. I really need to consult with my professors.”

  Shadow listened quietly. It seemed to him that she was just thinking aloud.

  “I'm starting to get a little nervous. You know, it's been a whole week and nothing.” She flapped her arms out by her side, letting them fall with a slap against her thighs. “Shadow, I'm starting to wonder if the skinwalker was a student and got sent home with the rest of them.”

  “That wouldn't explain the deaths of the owlets.”

  Bethanie paused on the path. “No,” she said, looking thoughtfully up at the clouds. “You're right. It's just that it makes me wonder. If the skinwalker is still around. Why have we not heard or seen anything all week?”

  “Good question.”

  Bethanie reached out, grabbing Shadow's forearm just as he was about to take another step. “Stop!” she shouted. “You almost stepped in poison ivy. It grows all over the place in the woods behind the dorms.”

  Shadow looked down to where her much smaller hand was wrapped around his forearm. He smiled back at her, seeing genuine concern for his well being in the crease of her brow. It was the first time his little owl girl had shown any feelings for him. “It's Virginia Creeper. Commonly mistaken for poison ivy, but harmless,” he said, kneeling down where the vine was growing up the side of a tree. “You can tell the difference by looking at the leaves.” He pointed to a vine growing next to his foot. “This one is Poison Ivy. See? Three leaves clustered together. The Virginia Creeper has five.”

  The sun was above the horizon when they arrived at the spot Shadow had chosen. For a day in late September, unseasonably warm, a few cicadas still sang, but faded out quickly when none joined in their chorus.

  “What's this?” Bethanie asked when Shadow stopped short of a mound of grass.

  “There are some things that have to be experienced to be believed. This is what I wanted you to experience for yourself.” He pointed ahead of them.

  In front of her, Bethanie saw a small hill, sitting alone in a sea of green grass surrounded by rocks. “What are we looking at?” she asked, perplexed by the lack of anything remarkable.

  Shadow bent down, picking up one of the rocks from the ground and gently tossing it in the air. He palmed the emerald green stone that contained large pores, making it look like volcanic rock but with a shiny surface. “No one knows for sure what this place is. By law, the ground can’t be disturbed. But most agree it's a burial mound.”

  Bethanie's bright blue eyes rounded. “A burial mound?” she whispered in awe. “I've never seen anything like it before.” As she took a timid step forward to examine the ground, she noticed that she felt different. Her body seemed more alive than it had ever been before as a vibrating sensation hummed up and down her spine.

  “It’s very old. So old, I can only guess who might've been buried here.” Shadow could see that the site was affecting her in the same way that it affected him when he was here. Even though he had been here a thousand times, he felt it just the same every time he did. “The spirits that lived and died here, still make their home here,” Shadow whispered, holding his hand out by his side in a waving motion. He closed his eyes as if feeling their vibrations, “here,” he said, taking Bethanie's hand and holding it at three feet above the ground.

  Her first reaction was to jerk her arm when she felt the vibrating energy. The air around her felt charged with electricity. But she knew somehow that the energy was benevolent. And as the power of the moment hit her, her legs gave way beneath her, and she sat down hard.

  Shadow joined her. Placing a powerful arm around her, he pulled her closer to his side. “There's nothing to fear, n'ya.”

  She believed him. Her whole spiritual world had been turned on its axis. There were things she did not comprehend and may never comprehend. But she did not fear them.

  Though not close enough to her owls' nest to see them, the cry Bethanie heard coming from them was a deep, desperate cry for help. She heard it just as sure as she heard the Mockingbirds song above her in the trees. “Something's wrong. I need to get to them. Fast.” She turned quickly from the mound and headed off on foot.

  All the way to the field, Bethanie's breath came in harder and harder as the feeling that she had to get to her owls grew. When the two of them reached the owl's hunting ground, immediately, they could both see that indeed something was wrong. The owls were in trouble. The grass that only yesterday had been as high as a ruler was not standing at all. It had withered overnight and was dying.

  Shadow squatted at the edge of the field, bringing one withered stalk up to his mouth and tasted its curled brown tip. He cursed.

  “What happened?” Bethanie asked, in shock at seeing the field in this state and knowing that her owls needed this grass.

  “Salt. The owls won't be able to hunt in this field until it heals.”

  “What do you mean? Someone intentionally spread salt on the grass?”

  “I couldn't tell for sure if that's all it is without a soil test, but this is what salt does to grass.”

  “What can I do? I'll do anything. Just tell me what, and I'll do it.”

  Shadow peered at her over his shoulder, feeling sympathy for the desperation she felt. She stood there, as determined as any farmer's wife had ever been, defying logic when all else failed. And he knew she would do anything it took, till up the soil herself and start over. But it was already too late. He shook his head slowly as he said, “Nothing can be done right now. I wish I was wrong. If it's just salt, the field will be plantable next season. But if it's chemical, then the damage could be so bad...”

  “
So bad what?”

  “That we won't be able to replant for years.”

  Bethanie's blue eyes narrowed in anger. “What would happen to my owls? Would they accept a new home, or would they fly away. I can't risk losing them if they decide to relocate on their own.” She felt like screaming her frustration. But she happened to look up just as a man appeared. “What could President Bord be doing in the barn?” she thought aloud, scrambling to her feet as he approached them.

  Shadow saw the man as well, but knew all too well that this man was not Henry Bord, the president of the school. It was his son, Henry Bord, Jr. Since the two men shared identical builds, it was very easy to get them mixed up from a distance. He had made the mistake several times himself, taking the father for the son and vice versa. This man, Henry Bord Jr. a man he had known for many years, likely responsible for Shadow's expulsion from high school, would do anything to cut him out of his position at the school. He had hated Shadow for many years, and they both knew it.

  “How do you do, Bethanie?” her student-adviser, Henry Bord Jr., asked, gently shaking her hand. “It's always nice to see you. How's your owl research coming along?”

  “It's hit quite a roadblock, to tell you the truth,” she managed to say with a wobbly smile at him, looking down into her eyes with sincere interest. He, the only person on campus who had befriended her from the beginning, was also the man responsible for assisting her to stay on track with her work. “I'm not sure if I'll be ready to present it in time for graduation.”

  “Well, your last report was very encouraging.” He winked at her. “What happened between then and now to change things?”

  Bethanie looked stricken as she tried to find the words to express the situation, but before she did, he interrupted her. “Don't tell me that it was the so-called skinwalker.”

  Bethanie could only nod as the painful memory of seeing the empty nest resurfaced.

  “Hold on, Bethanie,” he said, taking her hand in his. “As soon as the school reopens, we'll all be a lot better off.” Henry looked pointedly at Shadow. “Let's keep our fingers crossed that this whole ordeal will be over soon,” he said, brightening as he turned back to Bethanie.

  “Is there something can I do for you?” The muscles in his jaw worked visibly as he reminded Bord Jr. that the man had just come from his barn. His barely concealed hostility was masked by a polite tone that he did not feel.

  Bethanie narrowed her eyes at Shadow, not understanding the source of Shadow's gruffness.

  “What happened to the grass?” Henry Bord Jr.’s expression was one of almost amusement. “I'm surprised to see you out here, Shadow. I know you've had a conversation with my father about your job. Your services are no longer needed.”

  “You and I both know that there's more to it than that.” Shadow ground out through gritted teeth, his steely gaze narrowed on the man. “Let's not forget that there are still two girls missing.”

  “That remains to be seen,” Henry replied, coldly dismissing the truth.

  “What does he mean you’re no longer needed, Shadow?” Bethanie asked, placing a hand on Shadow's forearm.

  Henry's gaze quickly went to Bethanie’s hand on Shadow’s arm. “I can see the two have become friends.”

  Shadow glared at Bord Jr. for the look of disapproval on his face, daring him to keep talking. But instead of pushing his luck, the man walked away.

  Despite Bord Jr.'s antagonistic assessment of the situation, the look of concern for Shadow remained steady in her expression. But instead of feeling embarrassed as most of her peer's would have to be seen in a negative light by one of her mentors, she felt more like a fiercely, protective momma bear. And seeing this in her, Shadow had the strangest thought that one day their children would be entirely well cared for. She had a warrior's spirit tucked inside a decidedly feminine package. That had to be the reason she had survived her life so well. Hell, she had not just survived, Shadow thought, she had prevailed. He took her hand, this time with more appreciation for the woman at his side. “We’ll discuss it later,” he said and began walking them back home the way they had come. There was much more to her than her straight-laced ways, and he saw that now.

  It had been hours since they returned home, and Shadow had yet to explain what her advisor meant when he said that Shadow no longer had a job.

  Bethanie carried the humane trap she removed from the school's barn and carried it out behind the Shadow's woodshed. If she did not want her owls to relocate, which would make her job of tracking their eating habits nearly impossible, she would have to hand feed them voles, mice, and whatever else she could trap for them. The task helped to keep her busy and kept her mind occupied while she worried about Shadow. It was a tremendous effort on her part not to go to him and ask about his job, but she sensed that he did not want to talk about it. So she kept her distance despite the growing fondness she sensed between the two of them. The longer she stayed with Shadow, the stronger the attraction she felt for him grew. It terrified her to think about acting on that attraction because a large part of her feared that God would punish her if she did. Her family would obviously never approve of her living in sin. And losing her brothers and sisters approval would be more than she could bear on top of her mother’s disdain for her.

  She sensed Shadow's noiseless footsteps behind her. In the past week, she had become acutely aware of his presence. Her body alerted her to it. Ever since the kiss he had given her, she had wanted more. And she had even noticed herself responding to him in the same way she had observed her female owl responding to her mate. Whenever the male approached, returning to the nest from a night of hunting, the female's eyes would dart around, and she would become almost agitated. Her breathing and heartbeat would accelerate markedly as she anticipated his arrival, and then finally settle back down when he was returned to her side.

  Part of Shadow wanted to keep what had happened to his job a secret from her. He wondered what she thought of him now that she knew. After keeping it from her so long, she would likely read more into his silence more than was there.

  She turned from her work of baiting the traps with peanut butter smeared on saltines and met his eyes.

  He hesitated when he would have spoken but something about her stopped him. His attraction to her was magnetic, drawing him to her. She was addictive. Finally, he decided to swallow his pride. “I've been put on administrative leave.”

  Bethanie frowned. “That doesn't make any sense.”

  Shadow nodded, looking down at the tips of his scuffed work boots peeking out from beneath his blue jeans. “Be that as it may, that's the way it stands until the skinwalker is discovered.”

  “After everything you've done for this school?” Bethanie exclaimed, slapping dust from her knee as she stood up from the cages.

  Shadow could not help but feel flattered by her strong outburst. He dipped his head, squinting and peering up at her, wondering if she would put that kind of fire into her love-making.

  “Do you think the skinwalker killed the field grass?” Bethanie broke into his thoughts.

  Shadow adjusted his stance to accommodate his body's reaction to her. Looking thoughtfully up at the sky as he chewed a piece of grass that stuck out from the corner of his mouth, he let a few moments of silence tick by before he nodded. “I do.”

  Although she was not surprised, she still thought that whoever was responsible for all of this was still out there, frightening her, while Shadow had been as good as hobbled for doing nothing. With her palms she rubbed up and down her arms to ward off the chill that suddenly appeared. Where was the reason in all of this?

  “Almost done here?” Shadow nodded towards the trap.

  Bethanie smiled and nodded.

  “I've got to check on my mother tomorrow. She doesn't get out of the house. I want you to come with me.”

  There was nothing readable in Shadow's expression to make Bethanie think there might be more to the invitation than a pragmatic solution to leaving her hom
e alone while the skinwalker roamed free. But she was surprised by her disappointment. Part of her wished that Shadow wanted her to meet his mother. But the other part of her said that was just silly. No matter that her feelings for him had changed, she was still nothing more to him than a houseguest.

  The next morning was Sunday. As Bethanie and Shadow drove along the gravely road leading to Shadow's mother's home, Bethanie wondered what type of woman his mother was.

  After stopping at Fran's Market to retrieve a few items for his mother, they arrived at the old farmhouse, and soon after meeting her Bethanie had her answer. Shadow's mother was a gentile, beautiful woman with dark hair and eyes, with a quick smile, and a ready laugh. As soon as the two women were introduced, Bethanie felt as if she already knew her. The afternoon passed too quickly as Bethanie made herself busy alongside Shadow. Picking up broken limbs from the front yard, sweeping the front walk and porch, and hauling away the debris that had collected in and underneath downspouts and gutters was hard work. But the work was made easy by the good feeling it gave her to do something for such a kind woman.

  On the ride home, Bethanie was filled with euphoria as her hand dangled from the passenger window in the cool, welcome fall breeze. Never before had she experienced such a feeling of light, especially after working so hard. Growing up, work had meant aggravation, like a forced march with complaining from her younger siblings that had made it last even longer. Back then, she had been able to convince her siblings to keep their heads down and their mouths closed. That way, much of what they had endured was over that much faster, especially when it came to beatings. The more you cried, the longer they lasted.

  Today however with Shadow, had been an entirely new education in the pleasures of work. And by the end of it, she had been sweating, smiling, and truly enjoying herself.

  Shadow slowed the truck to a stop at the end of his long, winding driveway. Stepping one long leg out of the truck, he reached across a thicket of yellow bells that grew beneath his mailbox. He removed several legal size letters from inside and tucked them beneath the front seat.