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A Simple Shadow Pt. 01

By: NymzanSusauren



"The girls are named Cheyenne, Shappa, Izusa, Kiona, and Peta. I have two others coming shortly. They are Tiponya and Tala. Cheyenne is a Meda. A prophet of her people...a priestess," a voice intoned dryly.

Then another took over. "The boys are named Bavol, Boyce, Chase, Coyone, Dominique, Durril, Elsu...and Durril is the Drakkar of his people...a fortuneteller."

At the end of these lists the men speaking were escorted out. Someone else began to speak softly but firmly. "I have been told Shappa, Izusa, Kiona, and Peta are sisters. Cheyenne and Elsu. Tiponya and Tala. Bavol and Durril, also. The four Frenchmen are all brothers, too, I believe. Your scouts found every one of them living upon the planet unaware of the special blood that runs through their veins, my lord. And the other one...He knows. All of them are special my lord. From the forbidden planet. You will keep that in mind, I hope," he said entreatingly.

"Yes, yes...I know," a tired voice broke into his careful speech. "I have handled many of their kind before. Are the two truly prophets?" There was no audible answer. "Kasey, pay the man and see that he leaves quietly." A soft sound suggested someone rising from the floor. Then, light footsteps preceded the third man's departure. "One little...two little...three little Indians. Four little...five little...six little Indians. Seven little Indian...boys." A gasp of startled surprise accompanied his last word. A shuffle of movement and a strangled cry.

"Elsu," a girl called out afraid.

"Quiet!," the man shouted. "I do not want to hear one word from any of you without permission. Is that clear?" Noone made a noise. "Especially the females," he warned darkly. "Are all of you quite aware that each one of you have just been sold into slavery...to a whoremaster," he added in glee.

"Mim'da," a gentle whisper interrupted.

"Ah, yes...Has my guest gone, Kasey?"

"Yes , mim'da...Now, what?" The light footsteps trailed back to his master's side where he supposedly must remain.

"Do you like anything you see, lover?," the man asked the boy. "I know you want Durril and Cheyenne. You wouldn't was fellow prophets injured without...insurance. Who else? Who would you save, Kasey?"

"Mim'da," the boy whispered with heavy emotions in his voice.

"Shh...touch them...look at them. I value your opinion."

"Mim'da...no, please," the boy begged. "Don't make me do this! Don't make me choose!" The man was moving the boy nearer to the line of females.

"Tell me about them, Kasey. That's my final order," the man warned gently. "I'll decide, but you will tell me about them!"

"Please...please, master!," the boy begged.

"What is so different? You have done this for me a million times. Talk to me, lover. Tell me what is bothering you..."

"These are my people!," the boy hissed fiercely. "Anton is my family! How can you ask me to hurt any one of them?," he asked frantically.

"You have never seen them before in your life."

"It doesn't matter! Anton is their Guardian, mim'da!," the boy whispered.

"And you are my lover, Kasey...my companion and my slave."

"Don't make me choose! I love you, Collin, but please..."

Collin soothed him. The sounds were more sexual than platonic. "Do this for me Kasey...and later, I'll let you plead with me for their lives. I'll let you do your damn best to convince me to let them all live. We will bargain for every little detail...Deal?," he teased. The boy moaned. "Answer me, Kasey." The kid moaned again...with even more force. "Answer!"

"Yes! Yes, mim'da...Please!," the kid screamed.

Anyone close by with a sensitive nose smelled sex the very next moment. They all heard the boy slide limply to the floor. Terror kept the new slaves perfectly frozen in place. The last people to hold them had been cruel taskmasters. Over a dozen others had been with them before. Most had been sent to abusive, crude men and told they would not last the week. Tiponya and Tala had been held back after a severe beating. The two sisters were outspoken. Obviously this slaver, Collin, had requested they be sent regardless of attitude or condition. Kasey crawled to the closest girl panting and smelling strongly of sweat. She made a tiny noise as he drew near sounding disgusted.

He touched Shappa's cheek. She jumped but then held still. She could feel him shaking. "Red Thunder," he whispered so softly his master couldn't have possibly have heard. "Strong fire potential...possible Elementist. Strong personality. Hot nature. Passionate. She should do you proud, Collin," he stated bitterly. 

"Next." The man followed alongside him as he moved growing more graceful as time passed.

He touched Kiona's face. "Brown hills," he whispered. "Less abilities than her sister. Strong potential for Earth magic. She is the strong one on nurturing. The care giver. She is empathic. An ability useful to you, mim'da. She can tell you what your clients want...what they need."

"Next." The boy moved on.

Izusa was beneath his gentle fingers. "White stone." She moved to touch his hands against her face. She trailed them up his arms to feel the boy's own face. He allowed it. What she didn't expect was to feel tears on his face. "Strong patience, strong personality. Loyal without question. She is the rock that holds her sisters true. Ice magic...Snow maiden."

"Next." She felt her hands removed by strong, hot hands firmly.

Peta...Kasey flinched. "Golden eagle," he said shuddering. "She is mine, mim'da! I want her!" The boy stated it cold and clearly.

"Are you certain? What if you find another you like better? A man...Don't condemn the rest just yet. Wait..." Without comment, Kasey left her and moved on. He had to cross to the long line of gentlemen. Bavol flinched.

"Please, don't let him hurt us," the guy asked softly. Bavol lifted his hands to Kasey's. "You are like my brother. Please," the boy begged gently. "If you can do anything, please...Do it!" He felt Kasey nod as he laid his cheek against one set of hands. "Thank you," Bavol whispered turning to kiss his cheek.. Kasey stared at the boy in longing.

"Gypsy...like his name...He is as changeable as the Wind," he whispered fascinated. "Highly adaptable, highly accepting. Intelligence, cleverness, and imagination are his best traits. Win his loyalty, win his heart, and he will use these skills to get you whatever you ask." Hot hands extracted the boy once more, more gently this time around. Bavol tensed. Until he felt those hands along his own brow smoothing his wayward curls back from his nose and mouth. He sighed smiling.

"Elsu...Swooping, soaring falcon...Mim'da?"

"Yes, I see. How do you think we should send them back?" His words caused a stir among the prisoners. "Silence!," he hissed. "Chain them both and take them to a safe holding cell."

"Which two, my lord?," an older voice asked firmly. 

"Cheyenne and Elsu. Make certain they are unharmed! They share the Sieve Gadoma's blood! Harm to them will see us all dead! Get them out of here," he snarled. All that was left was the Frenchmen. 

"Boyce...his name means forest. He is an earth. He will persevere regardless of what you do. Weak magic, but he is one of us. He will not die easily."

"Chase...his name means hunter. He is a warrior. He will fight to the death unless you win his respect. Break his spirit and he will die. Fire. Weak potential for magic."

"Coyone...his name means modest. He is terrified. Like a frightened, trapped rabbit! One cornered by a wolf. Only a gentle hand and patience will not break him. He will smother here. He will die if you use him! Send him to Zekar."

"Dominique...Obviously, the eldest of the four brothers. He is the strongest, magical talent in the group. Water and Wind. He is a storm...Loura Clan. You do not want to abuse him. Jenna would never forgive you."

"She won't forgive me now. Have you decided? Peta," he asked with a trace of disapproval. "Or Bavol? You liked him. I saw it in your face. You want him."

"I do, master...but, I choose Peta!"

"Damn you!," he snarled overturning something with a loud crash. Several people could be heard moving in fear. "Why her?" The boy made a swift movement. It was uncertain what he had done. "Fine, then...But you shall have them both! You will regret her, I think." Another shuffle of sound and at least three people were led away. "Now....Take our four Frenchmen and these three, lovely ladies down to be cleaned and held for my final decision. If the two other females arrive, do the same with them. Once they are presentable, bring the two Gypsy boys back."

"Yes, my lord." Everyone was taken from the room.

"What about this filthy creature, my lord?," someone asked shoving roughly. The mangled fellow never made a sound or a move to stop himself from falling over weakly. 

"I had forgotten about it...Bring it to my bathing room, stripped. Bring bandages! Kasey will see to it. I'm tired." He waved everyone away. Hands roughly drug him along the cold, slick floor to another room. It let out a slightly feline cry of pain and suffering. They dropped him. The creature stopped struggling. Soft footsteps found him before gentle hands caressed his fur. A damp cloth began to work at cleaning his fur and the multiple wounds weakening him. Reaching out instinctively, it tried to befriend the boy. Yet its magic was blocked by a strong barrier. Even touching didn't increase his ability enough to see what the boy was thinking. He moved annoyed.

"That is a waste of time," the boy mumbled. "I am not weak by any stretch of the imagination. If you wish to say something, say it. Otherwise, don't attempt to read me," Kasey warned. The animal lay still for a long time.

Then, he smelled soap and metal. A clanging noise accompanied the two boys' return. Durril screamed for him, but he didn't move. He didn't have the energy to do more than stare sightlessly ahead. "Shadow...Is that what they call you?," Kasey asked amused. Durril was being calmed by his brother, as the two were chained to the wall. He imagined it was in the old-fashioned style. Hands raised high overhead with a center loop holding the chains. Were they naked, he wondered, or been allowed a scrap of cloth to preserve the last of their dignity? Facing the room, or the cold, stone wall? He realized faintly that he was too tired to care. His breathing was beginning to sound labored even to his own ears. The chains made a sharp sound as someone shifted positions swiftly. Bavol made a few soft sounds. Half in protest, and half in pleasure.

"How can he look so innocent and so eager?," Collin sighed. "You've had male lovers in the past..." Bavol must have nodded. "You like men," Collin purred pleased with him.

"I like sex," Bavol offered softly.

"Lucky you...," his new owner said laughing. Shadow's world faded hearing sounds of Bavol and the man. He felt the boy's hands in his fur. Somewhere, the cloth had disappeared and he was just petting him. He sighed as he slept.

Shadow woke slowly. Everything was silence. He smelled sex where he smelled the boys. He couldn't tell if he had taken Durril, too. He smelled sex where the bed was located, but not the man. Slowly, he raised to his feet unsteadily. His eyes were still useless. A low growl of irritation sounded from his throat without being aware he was going to do it. 

"Shadow," he heard Durril whisper calling him gently.

He stumbled dragging himself to the boy's feet. Bavol was unconscience. He licked the boy's ankle and felt Durril twitch in surprise. "Are you alright, Shadow? Gods, I thought you were dead! You slid away so slowly. You didn't see what he did to Bavol. What are we going to do?" The cat purred at his feet too tired to attempt a connection. His body was healing but the damage had been severe. "He chained the boy to the bed. There's no chain, but he wants to move and cannot. I don't know what is stopping him." The cat swivelled his head around toward the open door where the bedroom lay. He stilled to listen. The boy was moving, but not leaving the bed. "He wants something." The cat rolled painfully as he turned and stumbled to the edge of the doorway. He was in so much pain he didn't notice the wrenching against his aura as he fell into the room. He cried out as he hit the ground. Then, he lay there trying to catch his breath, shivering.

"Shadow," Durril called concerned.

The cat moved sluggishly. He made it to the edge of the bed and felt the boy's hands pulling at his fur. The second his feet cleared the floor, he let himself fade away. The boy finished pulling him up and snuggled down into his snow white fur. He knew the boy liked his tiny, little circles of black. He was a snow leopard. Children always begged to touch the snow leopard's fur.

He woke feeling gentle fingers in his fur. It took him a minute to realize what the two were discussing. "He's blind, mim'da. They hurt him really bad!"

"I've noticed, Kasey. He doesn't stay awake for long. He is still healing and weak. Give it time." From the voices, it sounded like Collin was curled into Kasey. Who in turn was curved around the cat enjoying the feel of his long, soft fur. "Durril must be a very, close friend. He cannot stand to think of his friend being in pain like this."

"Let us hope it is that alone, mim'da. Durril is a prophet!"

"Look...and tell me what you see, Kasey." The boy's hands tensed involuntarily. "It is perfectly simple to do. Just try it."

"I do not want to...," the kid whispered.

"Come on, Kasey. You have to try sometime," he urged.

"No," he whispered. They started kissing. Shadow moved. He did not want to be on the bed if they started making out. Kasey broke it when he slid out of the room. "Collin, you have to do something! Look at him!" The cat yelled when he glanced off of the doorjamb painfully.

"Stay here," Collin ordered.

Kasey made a small sound. "Where am I going to go?," he asked in derisive sarcasm. Collin responded by laughing softly.

"Sorry, I forgot." He moved doing something that he couldn't see. "There. Now, sit tight. I'll see what I can do." He heard Collin move towards him, so he stopped to wait. It was pointless to try to outrun him. Shadow tensed when Collin picked him up. He carried him easily.

A Simple Shadow Pt. 02



They left Collin's suite behind and he heard the man murmuring to tiny boys as they passed. "Mim'da, what happened to him?," one child asked in concern.

"Cody, open the door to Zeke's room," Collin ordered.

"Yes, mim'da." The boy rushed ahead. When the door was flung open suddenly, Cohone let out a little shriek of fright. Zeke put his hand on the boy's arm looking like a tiny child next to the Frenchman.

"It's ok...you are mine, now. Noone can harm you," the boy said gently. "What is the problem, Brice? Have you brought me a pet?," the kid asked eagerly. Shadow bucked in protest until Collin nearly dropped him.

"No, Zeke...Shadow is not yours. Settle down," he soothed brushing his face along the cat's neck as he hugged him to keep the jerking to a minimum. Finally, Shadow grew still. 

"I see," the boy sighed. "Then, what do you need, Brice?"

"I was wondering if you would allow him to stay here just..." Shadow revolted. "Long enough to get a healer to look at him! Damn it! Don't you want to feel better?," he snarled growing angry at his temper tantrum. 

The cat turned his head towards the man's voice. He concentrated hard. "He is trying to talk to you. Let him in." The boy was powerful enough to feel it even at a distance, he noticed. Collin was powerful, and shielded against mind probes. The cat grew frustrated.

"Alright...Talk. No skimming my memories and thoughts. Just words." The warning was thick in his voice. Shadow huffed in growing panic. Zeke came closer and touched the animal's shoulder in sympathy. A sudden blast of white light burst forth from his fur! The animal's scream was loud in the silence of the room. Shadow's fear blossomed ten-fold. He struggled until Collin dropped him. "Back off, Zekar!"

"I hurt him...," the child whispered stricken.

"No...He is Dark Clan! 'Light cannot touch the Dark!' Stay back," he warned.

The cat grew motionless at his words, still terrified and in pain, but daring to trust that they understood what he had been trying to tell them, at last. Collin knelt to examine the newest wound. "He is okay. Just a flesh wound. Some missing hair, and burnt skin. He is fine. You are alright." Collin stroked his fur letting his scent wash away everything else in the room. "You are alright..." He slowly stopped shaking as the slaver held him. Stroking him. Rocked and soothed him. "Shh. I understand. No healer. I will find something else." Shadow did not wait around to see what that would be. He passed out too exhausted to be frightened any longer.

He woke with a jolt of surprise. He knew this place. It was where they were kept before Collin had accepted them. There were many voices in the darkness. The sound of a steady drip that slowly drove anyone inside crazy to get out...away from the sound. It smelled of earth and fear. He realized what woke him. Tiponya's moan. The girls had made it here safely; he smelled her sister. On himself he smelled medicine, but strangely he felt worse. He tried to stand and found out he was bound from head-to-toe. He made a sound of protest. Instantly, a boy was at his side comforting him. "No movements," he cautioned. "You were hurt very bad." He turned to the voice almost desperate and concentrated on his mind. The strange boy was like an open book before him. He rolled into his thoughts like an ocean current, strong and swift.

The memory he found there disturbed him. The Death Hordes had swept through his town destroying all within sight. Collin and his armies had surrounded the youngest of the children and shielded them from the destruction. Then, he had sent them all through a portal to this place. They owed him for their lives, but using them in his whorehouse was just wrong, Shadow fumed. The kid had seen the Death Horde and lived, he mused. Not something many creatures could claim. In his mind, nothing was worse than becoming one of the ghouls that had killed his friends and family. The images in his mind horrified Shadow so much he almost released the boy accidentally. It had been a short assault by the Dane, but...Sufficiently rolled, he changed the view. He turned back time to watch a man breaking his own bones, resetting them so he could heal faster. They had salved the sores, bandaged the bloody spots, and tied him to keep him from shifting his rebroken limbs inadvertently. Disgusted at looking at his beauty ruined, he left the stranger's conscienceness returning to his own.

What he needed was food! What were these people that they did not feed him? De 'Vorga leaned down beside him. "You are hungry. How do I know that?" Probably the same way Shadow knew he was half dragonette. The mental melding leaked little bits of knowledge back and forth. "Can I help?," the boy offered with just a trace of fear. "Can you feed from a palm? I can't risk a wound anywhere else." The cat moved nearly crying at the prospect. "Open your mouth." He did. The boy didn't trust him enough to drop his hand between his teeth. Instead, he sliced a deep cut into his palm and directed the flow onto his tongue. The cat licked swiftly drinking in every drop. He was purring before he even recognized it. It was De 'Vorga's laughter that made him aware of it. As the cut closed, the boy let his hand drop closer until Shadow could lick the last traces away. He laughed again. "That tickles!," he protested. Then, he drew the hand away flexing it to test the remaining soreness. "Feel better now?" The cat continued to purr. He could feel his body absorbing the liquid into his starving cells. It spread like the finest, aged scotch through his bloodstream.

For just a second, he saw a smooth, long, feminine-styled face framed with rich brown hair. It was curly, and dark streaming around his beautiful face like a cascade of color. He hadn't caught his eyes in the brief flash well enough to remember what color they had been. He mourned not knowing. De 'Vorga was unusually plain for their race, but still quite stunning when compared to a human. A race Shadow had spent countless centuries watching. "Collin asked me to stay by your side, but I must leave you in a second. I'm due on stage..."

"Yes, well...at the moment," the doctor advised, "I would be more worried about your newest friend. There is something very badly wrong with him. Until you discover what it is...he'll remain crippled. I know how badly you hate that!"

"I'll take you back, doc." Collin's voice had lost all trace of warmth. Shadow perked up in warning.

"Now, now...Don't get all bitter! I have known you for over fifty years, mi' lord," he teased in amusement. "Never once in all of that time have you left a creature broken beyond repair. This one wasn't even your doing! You had no hand in it...yet you feel responsible for him. You will try to heal him." The doctor patted Collin's arm in an old-fashioned gesture as he stood. "No need to protest, I know your standard excuse! It is no use to you broken...I know," he sighed. "Still...," he broke off fondly. Collin gave up on the old gentleman. They left the room. Shadow moved. He kept crawling until his face hit flesh. The owner jumped startled, but allowed him to come closer. He sighed happily. It was a very small child. He slept with the tiny thing clutching him in fear.

He didn't recognize the language the child spoke, but it was clearly telling him something when he woke up. He snuggled closer and felt another child holding him too. There were two of them. Both so very young, and alone. He nudged one young mind curiously just to be certain the two would be able to survive here. 

He recoiled away in sheer terror! He stumbled back away on his shaking legs. The two were...he sat in shock. Where had Brice Collin gotten them from?, he thought furious. They were not supposed to exist any longer! He had been on the quest to exterminate their species. He had been one of the people to slaughter men, women and children. It had been his job, and he had done so without asking questions. He should have asked...

One of the two began to cry. He felt like a heel. The one he had connected to for that brief second sat watching him. He didn't want to do it...but he edged slowly back towards the smell of terror and tears. He was shaking from the amount of courage it took him to return to them. He remained tense. Paralyzed by his own fear, but the crying began to slow. The boy touched him gently, petting him carefully to keep from frightening the cat even more. Shadow pushed his nose into the boy's bare stomach and inhaled his scent deeply. He held it memorizing the smell. This done, he turned to the other one. It was a girl, and not related by her smell, he thought in surprise. Did Collin mean to capture a breed able pair? He looked up and licked the girl's face. She had a classic cat nose and pointed ears and the usual furred face...just as he remembered their race. So cute, so sweet, so gentle...and he had helped to eradicate them from all of the planets. All because they had befriended and hidden a known, rogue ancient. They had loved him, accepted him, and paid the price. The gentle creatures hadn't deserved the slaughter, but the ruling council had declared them overly dangerous. They had been breeding with him. That ancient male...Too late now, he thought sadly.

He waited until the two children slept and he moved silently away. He felt dozens of hands stroking his fur as he passed...all small. He eventually found someone not interested in touching him. This creature was huddled into the wall away from him. He heard the chains move, and knew that the stranger saw him. It was awake. But it made no movement to reach out. It was afraid and cautious. He pretended he didn't know the creature was there, using his blindness to his advantage as he stumbled across the creature's feet barely held out from his body. 

The man moved swiftly to catch him from falling, telling him many things. One, he was considerate of others. Two, he knew the cat was injured badly. And three, he cared. The strange man lifted him as he caught him. The chains were loud as he moved. He was careful to hold him gently, preventing accidental injuries. So he knew his bones were frail. He nuzzled the shoulder he was drawn against and licked in warning. The stranger tensed but didn't drop him like he had expected. So he sank his teeth and drank and drank. The man held him tighter without thought and Shadow made a sound of protest. It had hurt!

"Sorry," the man whispered relaxing his hold forcibly. It was a little known language he spoke. Very old. He licked the wound closed sealing it shut as he backed away lazily. "You don't seem to be a prisoner here," the man mused softly. "You have free run of the place. What do you think? I know you are blind, but...How can you stand it?" The cat turned to face him solemnly. "You understand me, don't you? They are babies...Just babies! How can you stand to do nothing, knowing what he intends to do to them?" Finally, he understood what the creature was asking. Pedophiles disturbed him. Shadow blinked repeatedly. 

How could he explain that it didn't bother him the way it did most people? Their race was born steeped in sexual atmospheres. It brought out their instincts, magical abilities, and bound their ties ever closer. It was how everything was done! A virgin of their kind was a weak creature no matter the age...It wasn't so much when a child was taken that disturbed him, so much as how it was done. Done badly would scar an individual for centuries or longer. Done well, would increase the individuals ability to survive and grow powerful. They were not human! Since when had their own race began to think that they were so frail! Their kind reacted differently to such things. He had been initiated into the pleasures of the realms of sexual satisfaction before even turning two. How could he complain? It had been wonderful! There wasn't a moment in his life that he didn't think about it. For him...the terror had come later! "You don't disapprove...Do you?," he asked the cat in confusion. "Why?"

He growled irritated that he needed to weld his mind to another person so soon. This was becoming a very big habit!, he snarled. He sought the creature's mind; it was difficult. The man was old. When he finally penetrated the natural barriers that seemed to solidify as they aged, he found a willing mind. Fortunate, since he wouldn't have been able to do it, otherwise! He drew the creature into a distant memory. Time had blurred the faces and features into generic shapes, but the impressions were clear. 

A man had adopted him from right after his birth. He still had his parents, but this man was closer than even the bond he had with them. The man was allowed to do with him as he pleased no matter what. It was once their way. A companion had more right to the child than anyone save for their mate. He hadn't mistreated him; he had grown very precocious. He had adored and trusted his companion in every way imaginable...at the time. He had been content, happy, and spoiled by the man. Loving his place in life. And why not? Why would he protest being adored and loved and sexually seduced? He hadn't once been hurt, disapproved of, or made to feel inferior! Why would he protest children finding the same? He did disapprove of it being forced, however. Just not it being done.

"My Gods!," the man whispered when he came back to himself. "You are one of the original Clan! Not one of An'dunn Iere's little freaks! You were a Vampire before he moved the survivors to his lands to protect them. No wonder you didn't like those kids! You lived on the same planet with them when they ran wild; when they were screwing that damn heathen! Before the planet revolted into utter chaos and destroyed itself. You are old, my little cat...You are one of the few to even understand why An'shion was NOT a god, but a wicked creature steeped in sin. Very old..." Shadow stared at where he guessed the man's face to be and gave him his coldest look. "As old as Antonie? OR older?" Older, Shadow thought remembering. He remembered the Sieve Gadoma's birth. A sight few living could remember. He had actually been there at the moment he had entered the worlds. 

But there was NO WAY IN HELL he was telling anyone that! Especially not this creature before him!. He didn't see himself as an ancient; even though, he was too old to count his age. And Antonie was known to all as The Ancient of this Age! He also didn't see himself as very powerful. Yet he was older than a Guardian. And initiated into sex at an early age. He had been very powerful when he walked the worlds as a child, so he must still be...yet...Yet, he was just a shadow! Not a player...He didn't want anyone to see him, or notice if they saw. He wasn't an ancient walker...He was simply Shadow! And he liked it that way...



A Simple Shadow Pt. 03



"Get the hell away from him!," he heard snarled savagely as he was jerked away. "You will not reward this...piece of crap!" He heard the words just as he heard the kicks. It sounded unfamiliar in its bitter anger. Shadow heard the man cry out. He'd struck a sensitive area with one of his last kicks. Shadow responded instinctively. He snarled a similar response and attacked! Only to scream away in terrified horror as he scored a hit and was seared with the blood. He tucked his tail and fled. Only he was blind. He stumbled over people, chains, children, and even bodies. He didn't know Collin was chasing him. The blood was burning him! Literally, he realized as he smelled the burning flesh and fur. He rolled still too scared to think straight. A phoenix! The slaver was a phoenix...He had known that, but hadn't realized it was Collin he was attacking! He screamed when someone picked him up soothing the ache with a cooling breath of air. The cat trembled. 

Wide-eyed, the little animal let him carry him from the dungeon prisoner's hold. As soon as they exited the large room , he began to talk. "I overreacted. I am sincerely sorry for that." He waited a minute trying to calm himself. "If you only understood...that man killed a dozen or more of the youngest I have here when he recognized where he was. No reason! Just death. He took the life of a very rare child that day. Irreplaceable!," he hissed. "But he won't say why!" Shadow considered his words wondering what kind of child Collin would count as irreplaceable. 

Collin laid him down on a soft surface. "Let me look at this. You have done yourself some permanent harm here." The cat already knew that. Phoenix blood scarred for life! His face and neck burned in agony from the wounds. "I am sorry, Shadow...I should have expected your reaction." The slaver sounded utterly regretful blaming himself for the damage. "The scarring will never heal," he sighed sounding like real tears were choking his voice. He felt the gentleness of his hands and wondered why the man cared. Again, he reached out. This time he actually encountered feelings before the barrier slammed down. Collin had been feeling every inch of pain that burned at the cat's flesh. He was an Empath!

"I am also sorry I cannot let you do that, Shadow! Only Kasey can navigate the paths of my mind without going insane. I wish...I wish I could. But I cannot allow it..." Just when he was about to give up, someone came into the room. "De 'Vorga? What is wrong?" Shadow perked up at hearing the boy's name. Feeling it, Collin didn't jump down the boy's throat the way he normally did when one of the children interrupted him without permission. 

"M...my...My L...," the boy was too scared to talk.

"It is okay this time; come inside! I was just about to send for an extra set of hands anyway...He needs a burn salve. Only the creme I keep in my room will work on this. Do you know the one I speak of? Where I keep it?" The kid must have nodded. "Hurry then!" He heard the door shut. "He must have taken a shine to you. He usually doesn't do what he knows is against my rules. He even looked upset. Someone must have told him you were hurt." Collin brushed his hand over the exposed areas magically removing hair an inch around each burn. He could feel them covering the right side of his face and neck. Not an entire burn, but tiny patches where the drops of blood had sprayed and spread. 

The boy raced back into the room. "Here, sir!" He was the only one allowed to touch the creme, or he would have let the boy doctor the creature. It felt good on the burns, Shadow moved back into the boy's arms. The young man instantly held him still, petting him to comfort him. "Easy, Shadow...Easy, boy." He stroked his back and legs without thought. Shadow closed his eyes. Then, he had a thought.

He sent into the boy the unknown man's confusion; his pain and horror at Collin's usage of the children. His utter lack of understanding in how it could be anything but sick and horrible. De 'Vorgas gasped. He slumped as Shadow released him. "De 'Vorga...De 'Vorga!" The boy looked up at his master, but didn't explain. "What did he say, De 'Vorgas?," he warned softly. The boy swallowed hard before answering. 

"It isn't words, sir. Just impressions, or memories. It was chaotic. Sickened and confused. Horrified...Directed at...at you, mim'da! You must have frightened very badly. He seemed almost peaceful earlier! Sir...I don't understand it! He liked you before...I think..." The boy was desperate to keep from offending him, or getting the cat in trouble. 

"I can. Thank you, De 'Vorga. It was my answer. He tried to tell me a while ago, but couldn't. I didn't know why someone would do something. He was explaining. Never fail to tell me something just because you don't understand it, or want to get someone into trouble, boy! Keep it in mind...I understand things better than you ever will."

The boy sat for a moment confused. "He used me to answer you." 

"What is on your mind?," Collin asked carefully allowing the boy the opportunity to ask.

"Can't he use me for other things, too. I...I have...seen people that psychics use to do their bidding, sir. I...I don't want...to ever be like that! He could use me to hurt someone! To do things against you! Or just to see through my eyes, can't he?," he asked shaking against the cat's back.

"I would assume," Collin stated casually. "It could be that he doesn't want anyone to see what he himself has seen. He doesn't connect to people for more than a minute. I think he is being very careful to keep the contact short." Shadow jerked surprised at his answer! "Easy, Shadow." He finished quickly.

"You mean, I would know things about him just because he touched my mind," the boy asked sounding doubtful.

Distracted as he cleaned up the slight mess he had made, he mumbled, "You probably already do...you just don't know it yet." Shadow moved again in irritation. "Hold on. De 'Vorga...I still want you at his side every minute you have available." The boy swallowed again.

"Yes, mim'da, but..." His breathing escalated.

There was a defining silence as the two stared at each other. "But what, slave," Collin asked coldly. 

"Nothing, mim'da...I am yours! Whatever you wish, I do!" He was a fervent believer that Collin was God by the sound of his words. Shadow tensed. 

"Then why do you keep questioning me? Do you want to be punished?"

"No, master, please! Not that..." The boy dropped to his knees nearly crying. "Don't send me away," he mouthed. "I was only worried about you, sir!"

"Worried..." Collin took the boy's face into his hands lifting it to meet his eyes. "Worried how?," he asked softly. Shadow tilted his head studying their character without sight.

"He seems old, mim'da. He has erased himself from our world, and doesn't seem to want to return! If he can use me...what is to stop him?," he whispered.

"I doubt he would do anything bad to us, Vorgas," he said calmly. "He couldn't harm me regardless. I would know if you being controlled. I promise you that," he stated firmly. "Trust me."

"Yes, mim'da, as you say," he agreed unhappily.

"Vorgas," Collin teased. "Have you ever heard of me failing at something I want? Ever..."

"No, master," he added shakily. "Not once."

"Treat him as you would treat me, De 'Vorgas. Give him whatever he asks. I want him comfortable and as happy as you can make him...I owe him that."

"You...you know him, sir..." The boy swallowed again. It seemed to be a nervous habit of his, Shadow realized.

"No...," he sighed. "But I should have. I suspect he has been badly treated in the past and decided not to get help from someone. There is no way to determine how long he has survived since it happened...as a Shadow. Unseen. Unheard. A faint illusion of the magnificence he was meant to be..." There was sadness coating every word as he spoke. Shadow stared in his direction.

"Master? If he does change..." 

"Give him whatever he wants, boy," Collin seemed to be grinning as he told him. He could hear it in his voice. "No charge," he added seeing Shadow's ears swing in interest. The cat was surprised. He had already seen the goods. He could almost smell the sweet boy blushing.

He swallowed. "Yes, sir," he whispered hoarsely.

"I will put this back into my room. Take him with you if you go somewhere. You can even show him the club, if it isn't too crowded. I wouldn't want a customer to step on him," he joked dryly as he left.

"Like it is ever uncrowded, mim'da," the boy said practically laughing at the man's teasing. "So is...there...ah...somewhere you would like to go. I could get you a collar if you need one. It would be easier to follow me around that way. It would make crowds easier, too. Noone would expect you to do anything but follow blindly." Shadow didn't move. He didn't want to be seen. For once in his life, he knew people wouldn't line up to pet him...touch him. He could feel the burns still and knew the patchy fur looked vulgar and ugly. He was just a scarred, deadly animal now. Not beautiful, and friendly. Not a disinterested being that still craved attention. Just an ugly, scarred thing. He settled on the bed to get his point across. "We could stay here," De 'Vorga suggested uselessly seeing that Shadow had already made up his mind. He plopped down on the bed beside him bored. "Guess I am on a temporary vacation."

When he woke from his dozing, restless sleep. He got a serious shock. Long, pale white hair spilled around them both. He twisted in a daze seeing the white eyes watching him blankly. De 'Vorgas flinched. Shadow's skin was like burnt ashes mixed in black to white colors. The scars on his face blended into the dappled coloring obscuring them. Only his snow white hair and eyes were spotless in their purity. Shadow. He had changed. The boy wondered if he had been given the nickname long before turning into one. He blinked to adjust his eyesight to the pattens before him. They seemed to make his eyes swim. "Shadow," he whispered cautiously. 

The man tilted his head slightly regarding him. He was so small, De 'Vorga thought. He couldn't be more than five foot, maybe less. It was hard to tell with him lying down. Yet undressed, he could clearly see the powerful way he was built. His tiny body was toned and muscled to perfection. Put clothing on him and you wouldn't see it until it was too late. "Can you change the color of your skin? Most of our kind like a pale shade. Something that is pink to brown. Pure black would be too obvious, but better," he suggested. "Or not."

He shifted uncomfortably. "I like it, but people will...notice...it is just not done these days." He had warned him because he couldn't see. Otherwise, he wouldn't have said anything. In his lands, people wore colors proudly. They knew they were different and enjoyed flaunting it. 

Changing the subject, he thought about something else. He had noticed the cat's interest earlier. "Do you want me?" He was trying to sound casual, but he could hear the nerves in the kid's question. Did he want him to want him?, Shadow wondered. He listened feeling for the boy gently. It was in Vorga's mind that he wouldn't if he could see how plain his gift looked. He didn't know that Shadow had inadvertently caught an image of him before. A face that Shadow now carefully caught between his hands. He leaned forward slowly giving the boy time to say 'no' if he wanted. 

De 'Vorgas moved into him almost eagerly, guiding his lips into Shadow easily. He sighed happy to be there when there lips touched. The stranger was slow and meticulous, kissing and touching every inch of his face and neck. He wiggled pulling Shadow over him wanting him to hurry just a little. Collin's boys rarely wore shirts or shoes, so only De 'Vorga's thin pants lay between them. So Shadow moved down to his chest unerringly. He teased and touched until the boy was jerking beneath him panting. 

"Oh, please...," he begged. "It doesn't take much! You are killing me...Collin makes certain we respond to the slightest indication," he panted. "We aren't used to being seduced...Please! Please, please, please...Hurry!" Laughing, Shadow eased the boy's pants away. De 'Vorga held still tensely to keep himself from ruining it. He wanted to force the man to take him faster! When Shadow paused, he begged again. "Come back to me," he called softly waiting. Shadow looked like he was watching him, but the boy knew he couldn't. Confused, he sat up and moved his legs up under him as he knelt on the bed mimicking Shadow. He waited. Neither of them moved.

"Are you toying with me? Because...," he was breathing hard.

Shadow touched a finger to his lips stopping his words. He hadn't missed. The boy was amazed at his accuracy. Without missing a beat, the kid licked the appendage and sucked it into his mouth wantonly. Shadow closed his eyes. The boy came closer. He nearly moaned in reaction. "Why are you stopping? You can't see me..." The kid was desperate to understand. He took the hand in his own trying to seduce him with only his mouth on the man's hand. Shadow trembled finally reopening his eyes and for once wanting to see again. 

"Gods! You are good...," he spoke. It startled them both to hear his voice. He hadn't meant to say anything at all.

De 'Vorga grinned. "I have to be good! I am not beautiful like the others."

Shadow tilted his head wondering at his words. "You smell like things lost in time...to me," he mumbled. "You feel perfect. Beneath my hands...Beneath my tongue." The boy shuddered leaning into him. The kid claimed the mentioned item eagerly. He let him kissing him deeply in return. He used enough skill to make the boy draw back wavering in uncertainty. "Turn around," he ordered. De 'Vorga moved to obey without hesitation. Shadow frowned. He hadn't meant to do any of this! He hadn't even meant to change. He had awakened that way. Spoken. Why? Just for this boy, he wondered. It would only get worse again. Too many of his own rules lay before him broken...without an explainable reason. De 'Vorga held perfectly still, but he bowed his head. He sensed the man's dissatisfaction and distraction plainly. He was holding his breath to slow his breathing down. The faint smell of tears was growing as he sat there. 

"Why are you doing this to me?," he whispered. "What I done wrong? You want me...I know you do!" The boy turned to look at his face sadly. How many times would he be rejected for not being good enough?, he wondered. "Do you want me?," he said finally sobbing outright. Shadow frowned. He hadn't meant to hurt him.

He shrugged off his edgy mood, moving into the boy's back. He held him hugging him close about his waist. He placed little kisses along his shoulders and neck. "Shh...Calm down. You have already tempted me more than I usually allow," he soothed moving on to his jaw and ear. The boy trembled before him. "I keep trying to figure out what you have done to me. What about you draws me as nothing else has for so long." He closed his eyes inhaling into the boy's hair. He held it memorizing the scent and enjoying the feel of the boy. He memorized every little detail. He laughed at the way the kid's tears slowed with his words and actions. It was a soft chuckle of pure delight. It made the boy shake leaning back into him with a moan.

He never wanted to forget a single sensation. It had been so long since he had done this kind of thing. The feel of the bed as it dented beneath their knees, the boy's soft skin on the inside of his thighs clasping him. His firm little ass cradling him with muscles and the soft skin on his lower back teasing the very top. He rubbed his upper body against the boy's back feeling his strength and his youth both. He hugged him tight and moaned softly into the back of his hair inhaling again. The scent of dragons making him shudder. "I miss the Dragons," he sighed feeling Vorgas lean back into him harder.

"It isn't really me you want, is it?," the boy asked sounding resigned.



A Simple Shadow Pt. 04



"I don't know what I want. A minute ago, I didn't want to speak...but I have. A few minutes before that, I didn't want to ever be in this form again, but I woke up in it. I didn't ever want to be more than a simple animal...Look at me!" He knew he sounded irritated and disgusted.

"You look fine," De 'Vorga protested angrily.

"Do I?" He moved his hand down to trace the boy's erection lightly. "Even scarred?" The boy shuddered as he squeezed just a bit, rubbing him, teasing.

"I like scars!," he nearly screamed he was so tense. He wanted to be touched so bad! "Please!," he moaned again letting his tears fall unchecked. "Don't do this! Either take me, or stop!" He arched back trying to push himself into his hand and mouth more fully. Shadow picked his weight up off of his knees moving him forward until his hands hit the wall for balance. He was shaking against him! Shadow sighed enjoying it.

"Lean forward," he advised. He ran his hands along the boy's flesh committing every curve to memory. "Spread..." He bumped his knees wider with his own. Then, he moved back and away. If he had his eyes, De 'Vorga wouldn't have questioned it. But knowing he didn't, it confused him even more. A hand came up cupping him from behind, testing his weight and the feel of him. "Hold...just like that." He removed his hand. He replaced it with hot kisses, a wet tongue, and the nip of teeth!

"Oh, Gods!" The boy almost grabbed at his face in surprise. He remembered at the last second that he wasn't allowed. He settled for brushing his hand along his hair saying, "No!" He felt him tense right to the edge of exploding. "Oh, please...no...not now!" Giving up, Shadow returned to cradling him up against his chest. Without any other warning, he began to push himself inside. Obviously, Vorgas was too far gone to notice how hard he had to work at it. It was almost a forced entry, any more would have torn him. He had to push nearly as hard as he could with very little gained. By the time he rested against him, the boy was panting in nearly lost control. He took him in his hand and ground up hard into him. De 'Vorga let out a little yell of surprise and coated Shadow's hand. He laughed pleased that he'd finally gotten what he'd sought.

Shadow continued to move against him while the boy was still shaking from his orgasm, and still partially hard from the sensations assailing him. He screamed again when he pierced the vein at his neck with sharp teeth drinking him in. He began to grow under his careful manipulation. Eventually, he screamed twice as loud when they both succumbed to the shared pleasures of their united flesh. The vampire released him from his mouth, but still held him along the rest. There was blood and semen everywhere, Shadow thought happily. Yet he still smelled the tears through all of the mess. He shook his head sighing. He didn't understand it at all.

"Did I hurt you," he asked confused.

"Yes, but...it...it felt...good! Real good...Thank you."

Shadow smiled bemused at his praise. "I wasn't that good...You wouldn't let me do anything! Are all children in such a hurry these days?," he teased.

"I'm not," De 'Vorga grew still in his embrace thinking hard.

"You were," he teased just a touch disappointed.

The boy winced and slid away. He was off the bed and across the room before Shadow knew it. He looked around listening for him. Just before he slid away into a little alcove hidden nearby, he paused. "I'm sorry...I..." He waited for him to explain, but he got no sound. He must have fled.

"Damn," Shadow sighed. "I must be getting old." As if to prove the theory, his knees began to cramp from staying on them for so long. He heard the sound of water. Tilting his head to locate the exact direction of it, he eased off of the bed and carefully went that direction. "This was a lot less scary as a cat," he complained. He felt along the wall for the opening. It took him a few minutes of exploration. "This sucks!," he growled imitating the irritated teens from back home. He stood at the door listening.

He shook his head sighing once more in weariness. "How do I get myself into these things?," he mumbled disgruntled. He heard movement in the water and went towards the sound slowly, not knowing how the shower stall was designed. He finally just reached out a hand hoping the boy would take it and guide him further. He did, drawing him into the warm water at his side. Shadow clasped his waist to steady his balance. "Have I done something wrong?," he asked him slowly. "I haven't mingled with anything but animals in..." Well, too long to admit to anyway!, he thought. "Are you upset with me?" He couldn't think of a reason why he should be, but...He could still smell the damn tears! What was wrong with him? Why was the little dragonette crying? What had he done?

"I dance on stage...," he said faintly.

Shadow frowned at the reply. "Did I make you miss it? Or leave a mark?"

He felt the boy move to check. "You left a mark," he said touching his throat, "but I don't mind. It isn't that...I just...I," he swallowed nervously. Shadow perked up sensing that it was a habit of his. A dead giveaway to his mood. "I dance and I...am. Well, available...to the clientele," he whispered softly. 

"Do you not want to be?," he asked thinking harder than the kid. Could he have been faking that kind of eagerness?

"I do...but that's..." He huffed in annoyance. Shadow didn't know what to say. How could he make it any easier for him? He had to simply wait for his words to come out! He turned the boy in his arms brushing his cheek with his lips, holding the back of his neck in one firm hand.

"And...," he prompted close enough to kiss. He held them together tight and felt the boy stop breathing. He almost smiled at his reaction.

He swallowed and gasped as his body felt forced to restart his oxygen supply. And just that quick...he knew the boy wanted more. It made the wait worth it. Their breathing escalated as they sat there letting the warmth of the water fall on them. "I am kitchen crew," De 'Vorga sighed stating the rest of his sentence. Obviously, he thought that statement would explain everything, but it only confused Shadow even more. He frowned again, drawing back a touch puzzled. "In all of the centuries I have been here...noone has wanted to pay for me," he admitted in agonized embarrassment.

The words astounded Shadow. He gaped at him. "You are serious?"

"I told you I am not beautiful like the others," he reminded him sadly. "Collin still gives me to people...like you, but..." He hissed out the rest in irritated anger, "Most of them don't want me!"

"You really..." He laid his forehead on De 'Vorga's, "are serious." 

He felt the kid's answering nod. "Hey, kid...You know...you have ruined me." The boy made a subtle movement. "No wait...let me talk. I had no plans what-so-ever to come back from where I had lost myself. I wanted to stay there with every fiber of my spirit! Until Collin brought me here. Not an issue...I could have remained the same, only in a different location." He paused to let his words sink in clearly. "Then, he brought you to me...and I saw you." He told him smiling remembering the moment he had seen the kid's face. "I saw you...Do you realize your face is the first thing I have caught a clear image of since the moment I went blind? Do you? I don't know why...but I saw your face. I knew all along what you looked like...and if you think...that you are not beautiful," he whispered smiling against his lips, "you are crazy." He touched his face. "You aren't even scarred," he teased dryly. 

De 'Vorgas made a tiny sound. It sounded like 'I like the scars'.

"You are more beautiful than any human on Earth. That is a lot of people," he teased. He felt the little laugh the boy couldn't hold back at the statement. "I am drawn to you like an unwilling moth," he whispered more fiercely. "That is something noone has been able to do to me since before you were born!"

A sound made Shadow tense and look around listening. The water had masked the person's scent. "Kasey," De 'Vorga said sounding embarrassed. Shadow flashed back into a cat snarling in anger. He bared lethal teeth unhappy at the idea of being seen by anyone else. He stood there soaked in a pound of wet fur, blind, and debating what to do. Shadow was always lost when he wasn't caged. Scared, they called it 'institutionalized'. He heard his own growls and forced them to slowly stop. It was a clear indication that he was afraid, if anyone knew to guess at it. "Shadow," he felt De 'Vorga kneel at his side to pet him. He made himself relax for the boy.

"I came for the cat," Kasey said uncertainly after seeing the way he had reacted. "You are due on stage in ten more minutes," he reminded him seeing the problem. "I will tell Tate it is an emergency! I'll bump you back a spot, too." He left as silently as he had come. De 'Vorga let him go to finish his shower swiftly. Shadow left the water and shook himself dryer. But by then, Kasey had returned with company.

"Oh, my...Gods! Vorga! What have you done to yourself this time? You brat!," Tate complained dramatically. "How am I going to fix this? Kasey!"

Shadow snarled at him making the boy jump in alarm. "Shadow."

"What...is...that thing?," Tate asked puzzled by his appearance.

"Shadow has been keeping Vorga company," Kasey explained softly.

Tate came closer, probably looking him over. "Is it...a lion?," he asked awed.

"Snow leopard," Kasey corrected amused at his fearlessness.

"Why is it making that...noise?" He sounded curious, and young.

"He has grown quite attached, I think. You have offended him."

"Well, I'll be damned! It is about time! Maybe he will buy this poor boy and put me out of my misery! Show him what it really means to be someone's sex slave! Huh?" The boy laughed in wicked delight at his own words. "Oh, Gods! I still have to fix...oh, this! Come on, you!" De 'Vorga ran out of the room on Tate's heels. Shadow grew quiet listening for Kasey.

It was a long wait. When the boy moved, he exited the room without a word. Shadow followed reluctantly. He had said he had come for the cat. Thankfully, he was more confident as a short animal. If he fell, he didn't have far to go to the floor. The first thing he heard when they entered Collin's room was Durril weeping on the floor nearby. Shadow reoriented his bearings and went to check on the kid. A soft sound when Kasey climbed into the bed told him where Bavol was, because he didn't smell Collin. Durril whispered his name when he looked up. But he didn't move.

He sat beside the boy and pushed just far enough into his mind to confirm how sore his body felt. He had figured that. What he couldn't tell was whether or not he had been abused. He knew Durril wasn't nearly as athletic as his brother. Being restrained standing with arms raised had hurt him. His body was in agony, aching and swollen at the joints. Durril didn't like men. He hoped Collin had left him untouched. He must have been thinking too hard. Durril caught the impression of his fears.

"I am fine, Shadow. It...is just my non-existent muscles letting me know where they are..." Shadow purred at him, grateful he didn't have to ask him for the information. The boys always had been good at reading him, even without a mental link. "You are wet," he said laughing gently he curled up to him.

He waited there with him silently. It said a great deal to him that he could not just enjoy being near his old friend. He missed De 'Vorga and wished the boy would hurry back! He actually wanted to talk to the strange boy. Make him smile and see that he was lovely. He sighed moving restlessly. But otherwise, didn't make a sound. He knew Kasey was watching his every move. 

What he didn't know, Durril was watching him even more closely. The prophet had a sad, fond smile on his face. He knew that Shadow would soon leave them. When the door moved, the cat tensed alert and listening for sound. His nose flicked scenting the air anxiously. The moment he recognized De 'Vorga, he padded over to meet him happily, purring in delight. The boy blushed, growing instantly embarrassed.

"Well, come on, then..." He led him back to his room. Once the door closed, Shadow changed and pinned him to it. He kissed him until he couldn't stand.

"I missed you," he murmured fondly. He knew the boy was turning red.

"I can tell," he whispered back smiling.

"Did that little idiot before bother you?," he growled concerned. De 'Vorga seemed so fragile emotionally to him. How had Tate's oblivious teasing fell upon him? Had he hurt him with his gentle prodding? 

Shadow frowned, hating that he was seriously worried. Had been since the boy had left his side, he realized suddenly. It disturbed him. He was growing attached! Kasey was deathly accurate when he had made that little assumption. He growled deep in the back of his throat. It was more animal than human...

"Idiot?...Oh, Tate! No! No, no," he assured him laughing, trying to ease the tension he suddenly felt in the man. "Tate is just like that. He always has been. He is my friend." Shadow nodded content just to hold him. But De 'Vorgas wasn't content. He moved restlessly. "Uhmm...could we...maybe...sit down, or...or...something?" He swallowed. 

Shadow tensed. He didn't want him getting nervous around him! He nodded again and drew back...waiting. Being blind was beginning to irritate him immensely! He wanted to see again. Just normal eyesight, like everyone else! He followed the boy to the bed. Sighing, he realized suddenly how tired he was growing. Healing was such a pain in the ass, too!, he snarled mentally. 

Shadow curled up with De 'Vorga held tightly in his arms. He closed his eyes as began to fall asleep with the boy's skin just beneath his nose, yawning. Then, just prior to drifting away, he heard a tiny sound. "I missed you, too," the boy mouthed soundlessly not knowing Shadow could hear him, anyway. The cat smiled as he settled against him more comfortably, hugging him just a little in reward for the silent statement. He wanted this boy! He didn't know why, or for how long, but he did want to keep him! How was that possible?, he wondered idly as his mind faded into dreaming.

His body tensed as he dreamed. He felt the oppression he had once before in forewarning. It was the beginning of the end...He knew that feeling well! It had always signaled trouble for him in some way. Serious trouble! The kind that usually meant a death...



A Simple Shadow Pt. 05



He woke to a loud clap! He flashed back into a cat snarling as he realized someone had just thrown the doors open as they slept. Two people came through them. "Stand down! The boy is mine!," Collin warned him as he approached the bed. "You want him...You buy him...like all of the rest!" The cat hushed immediately as his words echoed his thoughts perfectly. He couldn't pay for the boy, and he knew it. Did Collin know, too? "I realize you have been a cat for far longer than you want us to know. So I have a proposition for you," he stated coldly, "if you will agree to it."

De 'Vorga tensed and gasped 'no!' "Work for me! It won't be long, just a short job, but dangerous! The boy is worth far more than what I ask...I will be giving him to you far cheaper than I like to do!" Shadow trembled in indecision and fear. The slaver was offering him the thing he most wanted. 

Why? What would he ask in return? Did he know...It was such a tempting offer. Did he dare to accept it? What would he ask? What could he ask? He didn't know who he was dealing with, did he?, Shadow wondered in terror. If he agreed and the whoremaster knew what he had once been, it was over. He knew that! "You don't want him?" 

He felt Vorgas move beside him and waited for what he was about to say. "Shut up, De 'Vorga! Let him decide..." The cat automatically read him to see what it was he wanted to say. He found himself pushed out by a barrier far stronger than he thought the boy capable of forming! He growled angry at the unexpected rejection. "Don't blame the boy; he obeys me...as he was taught to do." But it forced Shadow into a position where he had to decide without asking any questions. Something he was unwilling to do! "Your choice...the boy won't help you decide it. It must be your own choice to do this! Understood? I will give you time to think it over...I will come back when you make a decision. Until then, I have things to do..."

He heard him leave with someone at his side. Kasey, no doubt. He remained silent, and didn't change forms. "I'm so sorry, Shadow! I can't...I'm not...allowed...to try to persuade you in...in any way! Not for...or against it." He sighed sadly. "Please don't be mad at me!," he begged. "Collin is my keeper until...until that changes. It is the way things are! He owns me..." Shadow growled at his desperation. He hated this! What was he going to do about it? What choice did he have? "Please! Don't be mad..."

Stalking through the wide-open door, he left the worried boy as alone as he had left him in this choice. Children passed him in the long hallways without reaching out to touch him as they once had. It bore down on him in sorrow. This was the prelude to the rest of his life. Noone would want to touch the maimed animal, he swore in disgust. It sent a little growl up his throat. He didn't see the worried stares all around him. 

He moved into the noise before him careful to avoid feet and anyone's direct path. He knew from experience that noone would even see him as they passed. They would trip over him and wonder where he had come from even if he had been holding perfectly still. He let his senses flare out guiding him, warning him of obstructions and the crowd's movement around him. It had been so very long since he had even bothered to try to do this.

He remembered leaving the jungles to follow at the first Gypsy's side. She had begged him to follow her everywhere. Even blind, he had kept her safe. She had come to mean the world to him. And she had kept him connected in a small way to the things he had given up on long before. He had almost died the day she did, a day he mourned bitterly...as he did for each of her relatives. Children lost in time...so many until he had stopped caring. Until Bavol and Durril's grandfather had come. Until he had mixed into their bloodstream something that would make them live as long as he did, giving him permanent friends to take care of silently.

The man had been a prophet. He knew that now. He had 'seen' something in the shadowed recesses of the animal's mind. He had known the cat was much more than he seemed. Never once had he tried to befriend him. Shadow had ignored the silent stranger. A choice he had regretted the day the stranger had died trying to save his life. Why had he done it? Because of that rash decision, Shadow had been keeping his grandson's safe. Now, he was failing to do that! He sat among the crowd letting the noise penetrate his mind and make him think like one of his race should! 

"That Reece is an evil bastard," he heard someone hiss above him. He tensed in alarm at the unfamiliar voice.

"He is...," someone agree softly. Assured that noone had noticed him and the men were talking to each other, he went back to his own thoughts.

"Know what I have heard this time? He has been seen at Tarkin'ton, he has!" Shadow tensed unwillingly listening further. "Everyone knows Tarkin'ton is a follower of the Dark Ones...not vampires...but Them!"

"Does it matter? The lord of the vampires is rumored to have followed them, once long ago," the other reminded him softly.

"The Cursed One? He left him, he did! Shows that he had some sense in him. But the Dark Lord is Dane! I don't care who says differently! That man is vile!," he hissed in disgust. "I tell you Reece is his! I know it...He works for the man, or is his partner! He has to be...People have been selling him their souls for countless millennia! He is Evil! Tarkin'ton is Dane's most loyal pet! He won't trust without Dane's explicit approval! You know that! Meaning Dane himself ordered Tarkin'ton to do what-it-is-they-are-doin' with Reece!"

"I agree...Reece is following a bad crowd. He always has, but he deals with the good when one of them has something they need. I have need of him! That is all he cares about! In the end, he will do as I ask because I wall give him whatever he asks to do this for me! So shut up!," his friend snarled heatedly. "I have made my choice! I will see Reece. I will do this. Nothing you say will change that!" He sighed. "It doesn't mean anything. Reece will do the job. No matter who asks him." This man sounded like the very devil, Shadow sat thinking hating that he cared.

"He won't save her! He hasn't a reason! He hates womenfolk of any kind...Everyone knows that, you fool! You have to pay dearly to make him work with women! He rarely accepts jobs that deal with them..."

"He will save her. I would give my life to hear she was alive and free again.

"It wouldn't matter if you did, or not. She is at Tarkin'ton!" Shadow flinched. "You know what that means, as well as I do!," his friend whispered sounded concerned as he stated the painful truth of it. "She is lost to all of us, now. Reece won't take the job. If he is doing business with that creature, he won't risk angering him for a girl. Not even if you gave him everything! Let's go home...," he begged sadly.

"No!," the other one stated. "I can't. I have to see him. I'll wait for a month if I must! I have to at least ask him!"

"Your daughter is dead, man...Get over it!" His friend stood up pushing his chair back loudly and left, leaving angry voices behind as he shoved past. 

"I cannot," he heard the remaining one whisper. "I know what he will do to her," he stated out loud. Shadow shook all over. He couldn't stand to listen.

He hardened his heart and moved on. He tried to think about his own problems, but the man's pain-filled words kept repeating in his ears. He stopped again too distracted to feel the flow of traffic. While he stood there, he heard more people talking above. "There! See that kid...I have been here for months seeing him. I want that boy!" Someone laughed at his words. "I will have him before I leave here today!"

"You are insane! He isn't worth it...The 'keeper of the keys' has too steep a price for that. He cares where they go, how they are treated, and pays close attention to the people he sells them to. You don't want that creature keeping tabs on you! I warn you...He's a vindictive sort." He heard a snort. "Besides, the kid would likely run away after you paid so highly for the use of his delicate flesh. Where would you be then, hmm? They fear noone, but Reece!"

There was that name again. Who was Reece? Collin Brice owned these slaves. He passed the men as traffic before him slowed enough to pass. "Look!," someone hissed in warning. He tensed and turned just by the fear in the man's voice. "That is him! I know it is..." Who? Reece?, he wondered curiously.

"That boy? He is a gorgeous one, isn't he? But you are sadly mistaken," a woman replied sourly. "Watch the way he acts. See it, there! He is so much less than these other boys. He is a frightened waif! He can't be the one you speak of...Why he trembles in Brice's shadow! Can you imagine how much he fears when he isn't plastered to the man's side? A wind would cause him to die out of sheer fright!" She laughed. "No, the one who did what you say isn't him." Shadow paused curiously. Kasey? Someone who looks like him...

"It has to be him! It looked identical..."

"Listen! I will tell this to you only once. That boy...has a twin!" A gasp of surprise came from the man. "You do not want to accuse either of them of doing this! They are Reece's favorites! Do you hear me?"

"But one of them did do this!," the man protested angrily.

"No! Do you want me to explain why?" Silence. "That is too scared and weak. The other is a light-bearer. He seeks harmony in all things! It wasn't them," she swore firmly. "I have seen others of their family. They all look similar! Perhaps it was another, older, family member?," she suggested cautiously. "But not these two! They are Antonie's bloodline!" Shadow tensed in surprise. "How Brice keeps them without fear of his wrath, I cannot know, but you do not wish to challenge him for those boys! If Brice gave them to you, and I know he won't," she told him adamantly. "Antonie would destroy you for harming them! Understand?" Silence.

"The kid I saw was powerful," the man whispered. "Fearless and terrifying to look upon! He destroyed the entire city in seconds! I didn't see what stopped him; I was fleeing for my life..."

"It couldn't have been Kasey. Look at him! Besides," she sighed reluctantly. "Reece only has him for half of a human yearly cycle." Both Shadow and the man perked up in interest. "Dane keeps him for the rest."

The silence was deafening. "Are you telling me...That boy! He is with Dane for that long and you don't think he is the one doing these things! You damn fool," he growled bitterly. "Dane would make him do it! No matter what anyone else wanted. I have found my murderer..."

"Are you so sure? He is young. How could he be so strong?"

"Dane can infuse his power through an infant! No, Karen! He is the one..."

Kasey, Shadow thought in horror. How could the boy be one of Dane's puppets? He seemed so gentle and quiet. Sad, he realized. The boy always seemed so sad. Could it be true? He moved on not wanting to hear what they decided about the topic. This place was a hotbed of political intrigue! He shuddered, knowing his worst fears would come to pass if he stayed here for long. He couldn't afford to have that happen! It would break him this time. He dodged into a corner of the loud pub smelling beer and sex. What was he going to do about De 'Vorga? He needed an answer so he could leave here!

"Tarkin'ton," he heard tensing in distress, "has a new slave," a man drawled snidely. Why was everyone whispering his name? What had he been doing that he was as talked about as Dane and Reece?, he thought angrily. He didn't care! He didn't want to know...He started to leave, but the words stopped him in his tracks. Frozen in unwilling witness to the horror about to come! "He has taken Hannibal's older brother. I don't know why that fool would allow it! I loved going to see that boy! We all did...Now, half of the fun is gone." An evil laugh followed his oily words.

"Damn! Tarkin'ton will kill him! What was the phis'tdna thinking?"

"Easy...Antonie has been visiting his fine establishment. He has seen Han. Not Ashra. One vampiric, boy slave can be explained away, but two...both abused severely. No. As mush as I hate losing Ashra, it would be worse for the Guardian to find out about all of us. Han won't talk, but Ash would have sung our praises in his ear!," he cautioned sarcastically. "Han is afraid of us."

"Then, maybe...," his friend laughed coldly. "I should send Tarkin'ton a gift for killing our, little troublemaker promptly." They both laughed at this.

Shadow moved away feeling sick. Vampires? Damn, damn, damn. Why would he have to hear that? He closed his useless eyes and fled toward the sound of children and the smell of food. He wanted someone to guide him back to his room to hide! He never should have left it! He knew this was going to happen...He stumbled and fell beneath a boy's feet. The kid hit the floor hard, spilling the contents of the tray he was carrying. Silence met his ears and he held still in shock and wondered what they would do. Then, noise erupted as the other boys rushed to help the child to his feet, and clean the mess, and remake the order for him swiftly.

Shadow backed away trying to avoid the sudden confusion! He heard dozens of languages being spoken all at once as they converged and united to save the boy from trouble. Some passed so close he felt the air move before his face. He stumbled back away afraid to get beneath the feet of someone else. Both of his back legs dropped out from under him. He squeaked in fright as he fell back into open air! He hit and rolled down the long flight of stairs hearing the boys scream as they finally noticed him.

He wasn't too sure when he reached the ground. He lay there in the damp soil wondering how long he had been out. He could feel the new damage he had done. Maybe a broken rib. It hurt to breath. Hopefully, just bruises. Someone gathered him into their arms. He hadn't heard anyone come in, but that didn't surprise him. He was shaking from shock. "Shade," a sweet voice said softly surprise to recognize him. The face was buried beside his ear in his thick fur, and he seemed so familiar. Why couldn't he place... "Shade..." He shook in renewed shock. Was he dead that he was hearing this voice? Dios. Had he slipped into the abyss? "Are you hurt, Shade? Talk to me..."

He changed forms unwilling to believe just his ears. Had he damaged them? Or just his mind? The arms wrapping around him was too familiar. He closed his eyes nearly crying at the messages his mind was sending. "Wha..." It couldn't be him...He was dead!

"Shade...What happened to your lovely, lavender eyes?" He felt a fond hand brush across his face from temple to cheekbone. "Your beautiful face...Oh, Gods! Shade! What has he done to you?," the voice wept at the sight of the scars he found caressing his hair. Both of them tensed in alarm. Someone was coming down the stairs!

"Shadow?," a voice called descending slowly listening for sounds. He felt the man holding him pull away silently. There was a gentle breeze that swirled around the enclosed room and he knew that he had whisked away with it. There was slight feel of energy to that wind. He changed back into a cat hiding the energy flux with his own. Collin was just turning into the last set. He spoke when he saw him. "Shadow? Are you alive?" He had to have felt the change. Was he wondering if something else had caused the flicker of power? 

The cat blinked and shook his head. Was he alive? He had just been held by a ghost from his past...Didn't that mean he was dead, too? Yet he felt his body around him. He felt Collin touch the blood seeping from his nose. "You get into more trouble than anyone I know. The boys were too scared to come down here. It is forbidden to them..." He trailed off distracted. Dios! Was the ghost still here? Haunting him! He shivered in fearful alarm... 



A Simple Shadow Pt. 06



"I keep a rather powerful prisoner down here," Collin warned. He smelled the dampness and new he was in a type of specialized dungeon. He heard a man moving around watching them, but staying silent. From the moment when he had awakened dazed, he knew who the prisoner was. Powerful? Did Collin even realize what he kept contained? And poorly at that. "How hurt are you?" 

Shadow tried to stand still shaking. His senses were all focused on the man at the back of the room. He caught a half-image of shadows! It was a familiar profile...familiar scent...He was standing as the bars of his cell, hands gripping them watching. In his mind alone, he heard the familiar voice call out to him fondly..."Shade. Do not worry for me, old friend. My time will come." Tears streamed down his face and he made a mournful sound, soft but eloquent of his agony. "Go, Shade...We will see one another again." 

"Can you walk?," Collin asked. "Would you prefer I carry you?," he offered sweetly trying to be gentle with him. Shadow rounded on him sinking his claws and raking them across the phoenix's flesh unexpectedly. Collin drew back swiftly. The blood splattered his arm painfully, but he ignored it. 

"Shadow," the man in the cell screamed horrified at his new scars. 

Collin moved and the cat snarled in warning backing up. 

"No, Shadow! Don't do this..." He felt familiar hands reach out to touch his fur. "Don't...I am safe and alive. Don't do yourself harm to save a shell that cannot be permanently injured. You know me...better than many...You know he is not hurting me. He has already harmed you more than he can ever harm me! Don't do this...Don't make him your enemy!" Shadow grew quiet still shaking and confused. He didn't know what to do...He never knew what to do! 

He turned, changing as he went with tears running down his face. Dios caught him tight through the bars and kissed him the way he once had, so long ago. Anyone who saw it would know what they had once been to one another. "Shade," he whispered smiling. "You mean well, but this is not your fight." 

"I can't leave you here like this," his voice came out as a harsh rasp. It sounded foriegn even to his own ears. Surprisingly, Collin didn't interupt. "Please, tell me what to do," he begged. 

"Honestly," Dios stated. Shadow nodded. "If I were you, I would turn around...walk out of this room...and offer Ar'coln Freece whatever he wished. Then, I would live...really live...again," he stated firmly. "Don't let it destroy you." He moved his forehead against Dios in protest. "I live...you should, too."

"Reece?," Shadow asked confused.

"Collin Brice. He has a hundred names...The man behind you. His name is Ar'coln Freece." 

Shadow shook his head. "I can't do this again! I won't."

"I heard...he's still out there. I know how you feel. Mine is the same...but, Shade...you cannot let him kill you."

"You didn't love yours," Shadow whispered. "You have always been at war! Not me...not me!" Dios sighed.

"You will have to face this eventually, Shade. All you get to choose...is when...and how," the man stated drawing back away from him. "How long will it take, Shade? You know what you are..." He jumped when Collin touched his shoulder. He wanted to turn and see the face of the man he would gladly kill at that very minute. Out of fear that he actually would see his face, he didn't turn around. "Go, Shade...Shadow."

He let Collin draw him away. He changed back into the cat as he went up the stairs pausing to look back, but there was nothing. Dios was gone from his eyes...just like everything else. How long had he been caged down here like an animal?, he wondered sourly.

Once he was returned to his room, he lay down and didn't move. De 'Vorga cleaned him up carefully. There were a few cuts that had bled. He didn't notice. Collin came back before he was done. He put something on his arm being far more quiet than normal. Still, Shadow didn't move. Not even his usually expressive eyes flickered. Vorga broke the silence in concern. "What is wrong with him? Did the fall hurt him that badly? Did he rebreak something?"

"Yes," the slaver agreed, "he rebroke something."

Like what, Shadow wondered. His heart? Did that even count? "He seems so...so listless, mim'da," the boy said softly. "Will he get better?"

"I don't know, hon...I don't have the answer this time."

"Did I ruin it? Did I do something...."

"No!," Collin broke into his questions firmly. "Not you."

"But," Vorga swallowed hard. "I always ruin things! I am not good enough to make it better."

"Not you..." He heard the slaver kiss the boy gently. "You are perfect... I just need one other person...besides those living under this roof...to see that too."

"Noone wants me! You would do well to sell me to someplace else...I am of no use to you!" He heard the slaver sigh wearily, touching the boy...comforting him. "I can't do this again!"

Collin drew in a deep breath. "Alright, you win," he whispered. By the sound of his words, it was something that the slaver couldn't even remotely stand. "I'll work something out." Collin turned to leave. He paused at the door. "Are you certain? Not one doubt...I cannot protect you if you agree to this...You could die, Vorga."

"I don't care...I have done my last seduction. I have never been much good at it anyway," he joked unamused.

"Oh?" Collin sounded amused. "I thought you did it quite well, honestly." He smelled the blood rush into the boy's face. "Better than most."

"Mim'da," De 'Vorga sputtered. Collin laughed as he left.

Several days passed...but Shadow still didn't move. Collin came for De 'Vorga. The boy seemed perfectly serene when he answered the door. Collin sighed. He had been hoping to talk him out of such foolishness. "Vorga, I have others that I specifically train for this kind of thing."

"And you have already told me that you can't take any of them!" Vorga finished dressing changing out of what he was wearing into something else. He smelled Kasey, too, and turned his head toward them. The boy hadn't made a sound. Was he really a vampire?, he wondered. "You need a willing sacrifice to pull it off...and I volunteer!" Shadow frowned. Sacrifice? Meaning the both knew he would die?

He padded out behind them silently. Kasey paused in his sure steps noting his presence among them. Shadow didn't use any energy to guide him. He was swiftly slipping back down into the guise of the cat. He would be scanned as a normal animal if anyone looked, he knew. All it would take was completely falling back into the mentality of the beast. Kasey waited at the portal for Shadow to enter before him, closing it behind them as he followed.

They were in a new place. He perked up scenting the air in curiousity. There was thick, dense foliage and damp earth. Rotting trees were nearby. Some animals, too. But he caught a strong oder of death on the wind. He turned into it knowing they would go in this direction. He heard someone call his name, but the voice was distorted by the trees. It was probably Vorga. He would cry thinking he would never return. 

He walked straight out of the trees and up beside the enormous house. He stumbled purposely making noise. When someone came to check, he looked up warily from chewing on a body. He stared blankly tilting his head listening for sounds, sniffing for danger. When he placed their positions, he fled into the trees. Neither of the guards followed.

"It's attracted to the corpses...It is blind, whatever-it-is," he heard one of them say. "It is harmless, but unless it finds unprotected kills like this...it will more than likely die. It can't survive alone." Shadow flinched. The words were nearly true. He would have died the day he had been taken in by the band of Gypsies. She had found him hopelessly tangled in a hunter's trap...Even in human form, he couldn't get free alone. "If you see it again...let it come. Poor beast might actually be tamable. I wouldn't mind having it. Did you see it's face?"

"Yeah...Must have been a hell of a creature that he attacked!"

"Shit! He attacked a phoenix. I can still feel the magic clinging to the scars..."

"You are kidding me! Phoenix blood really burns like that? I thought that was pure fiction!"

The first guard laughed darkly. "Oh, no! Even one of our kind would keep scars until we died from it. It won't heal!" Shadow edged up crawling under the brush sniffing. "Hey, look...there he is! I told you...he is brave. I bet he was a sight when he could see!" Shadow shivered in reaction, but forced himself to forget the words and concentrate on the blood and meat ahead. He felt a magical flicker of magical power in warning and tensed. He growled backing away hissing at the man. "What the...Why did you do that?," his friend asked in disbelief.

"It's hungry, right? I don't want to be it's next meal." He moved back towards his post. "I just took your words to heart, man. If that thing is deadly and hungry, I don't want him adding to the pile. Get me?" He heard laughing as the other man followed him. He then crept back out slow and tense, alert...listening for them. They ignored him entirely. The meeting was less than a hundred yards away.

The boy was being brought in like an unknown, unwilling slave being sold. Collin and Kasey ignored him, but the kid gasped surprised to see him there. He let his ears twitch and lifted his head curiously. He heard the men move to watch him again. His cover was nearly blown. He would have to work for this one! He started to come warily to the boy, but stopped as he neared pretending to scent Collin in the air. He snarled and backed away. He could feel the phoenix's glare. 

"Kasey," Collin warned softly.

"Yes, mim'da...he came in behind you, past me..."

"Watch him. If that creature attacks me one more time, kill it!" Kasey moved between the two silently. Vorga began to struggle fearing Collin really meant it.

"No! Shadow, run!," he called. The cat tensed at his first scream and fled snarling to a safer distance. He turned around before reaching the trees. Someone was stalking him. He growled. "Leave him alone!" He heard a meaty punch and jerked as the boy crumpled. He stood listening for a sound. Was he alive? He moved back towards them terrified that he was too late to keep him from harm. Someone tried to grab him in his distraction. He dodged swatting at the man as he fled again.

"Careful," the slaver warned unamused, "his claws will pass through you like you are made of water..."

"That how he got those scars, Reece?," the first guard asked amused by his tone. "He pass those claws into you?"

"Yes, but he was far less cautious then," he answered already bored with the conversation. Shadow jerked again beginning to pace anxiously when he heard Vorga scream a little. It sounded strangled! It was breaking his heart to hear him being abused.

"He certainly likes this kid...I bet I could catch him if you keep hurting that boy." he moved to the far side just a little. Shadow's pacing drew him in a half circle around them. On one side he came very close to Kasey watching him to protect Collin, but on the other side a man suddenly stood. He ignored him, concentrating all of his attention only on Vorga and the man who held him. He ended his pacing just shy of him the way he did Kasey, but otherwise gave no indication that he knew was there.

All of them expected him to attack. They were waiting for it. He grew more and more tense. Lowering his body closer to the ground for the short dash and spring, when he finally chose to risk an attack. Still pacing, still keeping his ears and nose pinned on the man holding his kid...hurting him...He growled low and deep in warning, not pausing in his established route. At the end of one half of his circle, when he was turning back around, he pivoted and sprang! The man fell under his weight as his front paws hit his chest. His eyes turned black and he clearly saw the surprise on the man's face as he fell beneath him. He tore his throat open sinking claws into his chest and tearing him to pieces swiftly. Too swiftly to counter...too sudden to be prepared...he went down defenseless against the attack.

His paling lips moved still so completely startled. He saw his name upon the dying man's mouth. It was only in his mind that his last word was heard screamed, "Shade!" He felt the pain like it was his own watching his face as he changed...Holding him as he died, and feeling his betrayal as he tried to hand on to his fleeing soul. 

Shadow was crying as he leaned down to kiss Tarkin'ton on his forehead. He kissed his lips and began to sing a soft, little melody. He tasted his companion's fear of death. He felt him when he died. He held him so close he knew it would be hurting him if he was still alive. He had his eyesight, but couldn't see for the tears he cried. Everyone felt the depth of pain within him, but he didn't move. Why should he?, he wondered. He didn't belong anywhere, but at this man's side...and he had just killed him! A man he had once loved so much the rest of the word had meant nothing to him. Perhaps he should just cut open his own flesh and sing himself to sleep at his side?, he considered breifly.

Collin moved approaching slowly. He had killed the two guards freeing De 'Vorga from them. Kasey had started to go inside the house but waited. Collin neared his bent back uncertainly. The empathic psychic must have realized by now what he had done. He had more than earned the slave he had sought! Noone but a mate was worth what he had done today!

"Don't touch me," he snarled angrily. "Don't you dare!"

He heard the phoenix's breathing hitch and knew he was fighting back his own emotions. "I can't leave him not knowing if you will live," the slaver whispered. "But if ever you want him, he is yours...I didn't know," he whispered fiercely. "I wouldn't have asked it."

"But it is what you wanted." He turned and saw the hurt in the man's eyes.

"I couldn't have killed Aidyn...and I have never been his lover...I would not have asked...this."

Shadow nodded. "I didn't do it just for you...or the boy. I did it for me, too," he said quietly thinking. "An old friend said I should live again...I mean to try." 



A Simple Shadow Pt. 07



Collin, the slaver, had gone inside with the two slave boys he had brought. Shadow knew he should go in after them. He should be helping to free those people in the house. The vampire knew his anger would swell at the sight of the cruelties his old love had inflicted upon the innocents. His heart ached so much already! He needed to move; he needed to see to the safety of the man's daughter who had pleaded so pitifully. Would the whoremaster simply take the slaves here to his own version of hell? What had he changed? It was a cold question to ask oneself after the damage was already done, but it was a necessary one. A cruel torture for enslaved passion...was it enough to repay his betrayal of his own companion? No, he thought, only the total freedom of each and every slave within this house would ease the pain. He looked back at his old lover's face. Tarkin'ton had once been good, but his family was pure evil on both sides. He was a Shadow Mage! He sighed, deeply disturbed by his own thoughts.

He touched his cheek fondly. Pure black skin, darker than liquor ice and tasted even sweeter, he knew. He wouldn't burn his body. He could not bring himself to destroy completely something he had once held so dear. It was a silly risk, but one that Shadow would gladly take. He closed those wide, accusing eyes. The trees shook in a wind and the shadows suddenly felt ominous. Only the most powerful creatures could return from death, and even they needed powerful help to do it. Still, he could not help feel a chill of forewarning. If anyone was strong enough to do it, it was Tarkin'ton! He looked into the nearby trees trying to vanquish his sudden fear. If anyone believed this was over, they didn't know his old companion very well. His ghost still lingered; his lover kept his body from being burned. Oh yeah, it was not over. Tarkin had known he could show up at any second. He should have been prepared, like he always was for every eventuality. So why had it been so easy to kill him? Why was he still alive when he had fully expected to die despite the final outcome?

Even more importantly, now what? He was alone...like he had never been before. The worlds were open to him once more. Shadow could go anywhere, see anyone he had ever known, and discover new places. Whatever he wanted! Why wasn't he excited? It would be just like it used to be...only alone. He groaned in dismay! D'Vorgas came outside at that very minute. The boy watched the pain and confusion cross his face by turns. He was clearly worried about the vampire, worried and afraid. Collin had told him he would be returning to the club with him, and not leaving with Shadow. He had been hurt by the news, so he had returned to confront him. Seeing the vampire in the condition he was in now, he understood. Shadow was hurting, true, but he had also lost something vital that he needed to exist. He had clung to his survival before. Now all he clutched was death. He had destroyed something that meant too much to him. Just to give them all a chance to live, but would Shadow not take that chance, also? Or would he give up and die? The whoremaster slaver told D'Vorga not to expect too much out of the vampire. He had said that most true bonded pairs died with one another. Shadow was ancient, and he had never been without Tarkin'ton! D'Vorga swallowed and took a deep breath of air. Was he not to dare to be happy too? He wanted Shadow! He stepped out across the lawn in pursuit of his own dreams.

Up close, it looked worse, he decided. He could actually see the love shining in Shadow's tormented eyes. All of the bitterness he had seen there before had burned away. Tears ran unchecked down the other creature's face. "Shadow," he whispered. He was hurting for him, but upset that he would do this. Then, leave him to rot in hell! He loved Collin. He was grateful; he owed him his life. However, he didn't belong with him. He couldn't pretend. D'Vorgas, the half dragon, was simply not cut out to be a whore in a house of exotic shining stars. Nor did he qualify to be a skilled, undetected assassin...just bait. There was no way other than Shadow to repay the debt he owed. He wanted his freedom back; he wanted to live his own life. Just when he had found a way to do it, the vampire had crumbled. He knelt at Shadow's side.

If he could only convince him to stay at Collin's side, could he persuade him to take him when he finally did leave? He brushed the vampire's face to remove the damp white strands clinging there. "Who was he? Not the creature the world saw, but the man you knew," he added softly. His frown was as kind as he could make it. Shadow shook his head not answering him. Then, the vampire seemed to suddenly remember something!

"Where is the slaver?" His words were hissed in alarm.

"Killing the rest of the guards," he answered. "He will take any he believes are 'salvageable' with him as a slave," he remarked dryly. 

"Not yet in the dungeons," he mused inaudibly. "Stay here!" Shade cleared his eyes ruthlessly. "Do not allow any one or any thing near him," he ordered firmly. The short vampire stood up and tried to run at the same time; he stumbled in his haste. Seeing disoriented him with a blaze of blurry colors. It confused his already heightened senses, and he found he had to close them and concentrate often to find the dungeon's below. It gave off a powerful stench! He recoiled from the doorway. Tarkin'ton usually kept them spotless. He grew still as he sensed several guards coming after him. Foolish, he thought in surprise as they rushed forward. The vampire concentrated and turned to look at them. Not a one moved after his eyes had met their own. They stopped and waited for his orders. "Where is the one I seek? Show him to me," he told them. Three identically uniformed men held out their arms pointing to a small silver box chained into a corner.

"Oh, Gods! No!" He raced to the box tugging and turning. Locks dropped away, latches opened...All of the while his hands are burning from contact with the silver. Swords pierced the box. Shadow pulled firmly at each one but they were sticking, grown into the flesh of the prisoner contained inside. There was distantly muffled screams. Finally, he pulled the top off of the box and reached inside. He fell back under the assault of a red-eyed, almost mad boy. The creature still looked like the child he remembered, only half man. He held tight to the attacking prisoner allowing his fangs to find his neck. Shadow purposely used the blood in his own veins to break into the boy's mind. In his own, he thought of only one image. The one burned there for all time. He thought of Tarkin'ton lying on the ground bleeding and lifeless. 

He felt energy gathering around them, as the younger vampire healed from his terribly brutal wounding and wrapped his suddenly glorious flesh in fine clothing. The energy continued to build. He was furious! It caught Shadow up in an even tighter grip as his old ward prepared to fight. "And now you will go to join him," he hissed low and nearly feral. "Traitor!" His voice was cold and devoid of any hint of a prior happy past.

"No! Ashra," he said begging the boy to listen to him. There was no time and he must understand that! "You have to go! Ashra...there is a slaver! He is here right now," he urged frantically, "taking everyone that Tarkin'ton once owned! You have to flee!"

"Why? You hate me," the vampire hissed clearly suspicious. 

"I never did," Shadow whispered sadly. "When you understand that, you can come back and kill me if you still want to do it. Please," he begged softly, "listen to me."

He felt the boy releasing him cautiously. He still didn't trust him. The anger hadn't left his hurt and betrayed face. A face he held almost as dear as the dead man above. A face he had helped raise from birth. A face he knew as well as his own nephews. There were no tears in his regal expression, no tears in his warrior stance, but the tears were a shadow of emotion in his steady, accusing voice. "You let him take us! You stood there and let him hurt us, and sell us."

"I did. I did," Shadow mouthed wanting to sound less cowardly and failing. "I fled this house. I couldn't stay. Now, I am here. I am freeing you...so go!"

Ashra studied him with his resigned expression. The creature before him might be much younger, but he was still bordering on being called an ancient these days. He was of a highly powerful, frightening bloodline. If he chose to kill him, he would likely win the duel. When Shadow had stood back and done nothing while Tarkin killed his family, Ashra had stared at him in disbelief Tarkin had said. He had cried. Cried as he stood and watched Shadow's blank face both of them hearing the sounds of his family dying around them all. Shadow had held his brother, Baal, and one of Tarkin's soldiers had held Ashra. It was said the boy had never cried again. Who knew if it was true? Tarkin'ton had then sold the two children, betraying his promise...breaking his heart. He had sent them gleefully to someone who would hurt them, abuse them, terrify and break them. Yet here he stood, unbroken. Ashra would always be a warrior, and for that Shadow was grateful. He hadn't saved him; he had saved himself. They stared in that distrustful silence as the pain of the past whirled around them just as magic did. 

"You owe no allegiance to me."

"I know," Shadow rasped. His throat felt tight, but he didn't want Ashra to know. He did owe him; he owed him a great deal! It was hard to put into words. "I betrayed my people. I betrayed every vampire that is or ever has existed when I stood there without fighting him as he killed your family." Even in a soft voice, he saw the hidden young boy in the imperial man he saw flinch. "I betrayed myself," he added even more softly as his voice began to close off, "when I stood back and let him hurt you. I shouldn't have done that, Ashra. I fully admit that. I should have stopped him, or died trying. I did not. The day he sold you two..." He almost turned away, but somehow he hid how wounded he was and met his eyes. "The day he did that, I knew, I could not stay here anymore." He heard a noise and turned frantically.

Obviously, the other vampire had heard it too. He tensed and stared behind Shadow towards the door. "Will you...?" He stopped on a bitter laugh. "Protective instincts," he joked with a sour smile. "I forget who I speak to, it seems." Shadow inclined his head to the side at his backhanded compliment and looked down sadly. "You don't need anyone to protect you, Shade, least of all a dethroned prince!" He sighed causing Shadow to look up. Surprisingly, Ashra smiled. Stunned, Shadow allowed him to gently touch his face. "Thank you," he said with a noble bearing trained into him at a very early age. A sting of magic touched his forehead as his hand moved there. "Even late...you came back for me. Go in peace, Shade. Hannibal can no longer track you." Shadow's eyes widened in horror! Ashra melted away into the darkest corner not noticing his dismay. Baal had marked him? When? Why? It was a magic that ran in their bloodline allowing them to know when someone died, or track them to the ends of the solar system. They only marked hated enemies they planned to kill when they were later able, or loved ones they thought they may someday need to find to save. He had never even considered one of them might mark him, for either reason. He barely managed to slip away as the slaver was opening the door leaving the entranced guards and chaos to mark his passage. A small part of him wondered if the slaver would be angry that his prize piece was stolen out from under his very nose.

He reformed into the creeping shadows outside of the house. D'Vorga was still there where he left him, but he was paler and looked shaken. Had he missed something? Or was the boy just afraid to be left here with a dead corpse? He stepped out into the light and the boy jerked. He froze in fear before relaxing. "Shadow! Thank the Gods it is you!" He pitched himself at the vampire. Shadow barely caught him and kept his feet he had moved so swiftly. Had he seen Ashra leaving? Or something more sinister, he wondered. Perhaps Ashra stopped to check personally that his tormentor was truly gone. He let go of the little dragon boy and moved to make certain Ashra hadn't disturbed the body in any way. D'Vorgas made a frightened sound hurrying to his side and clinging. Shadow looked up to see the shape of a man in the dimness beneath the trees. Ashra, he hoped, but his heart lurched in exaltation and fear simultaneously. It was a form he was rather intimately familiar with and could not mistake it for another! Burn the body, his mind cried in desperation. "He will kill us all!" D'Vorga made a good point; he probably would. Shadow could not do it! As much as he feared Tarkin'ton, he realized painfully, he loved him even more... The image faded away. Had it been his ghost?

Kasey came outside. He knew who he was by his scent alone. The boy's hair was burnished mahogany, and his eyes golden amber. His skin was pale, but a touched sun-kissed still. Kasey was also about the same height, and far more delicate than Shadow had ever been in his life. He was shapely, almost feminine like D'Vorga. He wondered how many people underestimated him at first sight. Having 'seen' him as a blind man would, he understood how deadly a thing that would be to do. He had 'felt' the power this boy contained trapped in that beautiful, fragile frame. Was he really a relation to the Sieve? He looked like him. His body was so graceful and supple, Shadow found his breath stilled in his chest as he moved. It was poetic. He had the poise of a hunting jungle cat, and the sway of a trained pushadin whore. He wore the unholy look of a dark angel who could woo or destroy in the bat of an eyelash without conscience or consequence. At the moment, though, he looked irritated. A hint of amusement filled his voice as he spoke. "Shadow, you have been very, very naughty." His voice teased, yet his eyes remained cold. "Where is the vampire?"

He didn't want to speak around anyone else. He had managed the dragon child and one from his past, but he didn't want to speak around others he did not know. Still, he did. "Set free," he told him firmly. A soft sound of dismay made him look further. Now, he realized Kasey's most deadly skill. While he had been distracted, the slaver had moved up behind the boy. He knew Collin had to be the man standing behind Kasey; he was never far from his little pet's side. Besides which, power moved the air around him like a heat mirage off of hot pavement. Few people could see auras, so nearly seeing his without having the skill would indicate that the phoenix had near Godly power. It added to the strange mystique that surrounded him. Without seeing that, he was a normal sized blonde with tan skin and lovely to look at. Then, the sunlight struck him just right. His skin suddenly flared to life like he was coated in red-gold glitter, and his blonde hair lit up like the white of a Christmas tree angel. It flowed down his back in a mass of silken waves so lush and rich they begged a soul to touch. His eyes were gold and brown, but seemed to shift erratically like a prism reflecting light. He face was beautifully feminine but his body was all male and powerful. A hint of a smile graced that cold face in dark amusement. Shadow shivered. Without his eyesight, he had judged him fairly and to his mind accurately. With it, he could see why so many feared the man!

"So, what will you do with him now?" He looked down at the body.

Kasey glanced between the two nervously, but Shadow only shrugged. He would wait and see. If Tarkin'ton arose, he would decide where to go from there. Heaven help them all if he did and he was the same cruel creature that so many spoke of these days. Shadow sighed tiredly, letting the boy he held go. He didn't want to, but Collin was taking him. He doubted he would ever see the kid again. Kasey suddenly blurted, "You owe my master for the creature you set free! You knew he was the one he wanted..."

"Kase," Collin warned in soft protest.

"You owe us," he pressed firmly ignoring Collin completely. "You must come to the club when you are done here, to discuss when and how you will repay it. It is a debt separate from the one Collin owes you! If he so chooses, he may strike your debt to repay his own." Collin touched Kasey's side as he settled up against his back. The boy looked down almost closing his eyes as he relaxed into him. "Do what you will here," he offered more friendly. "We only took prisoners of the guards and one female for a client. We wanted what you freed," he reiterated. "It would have given us a very large bargaining chip when dealing with the Sieve's advisors." He snarled the title of his supposed father with loathing. His attitude toward the man worried him more than his threatening words. "You have put me in a very uncomfortable position...but since I am only a slave, I can't demand recompense!" D'Vorga looked at him like he had sprouted two fanged beast heads. It drew Kasey up into his polite mask once more. He did it so well even Shadow wondered if he had imagined his anger. "Don't forget to come to the club, Shadow...or we will come find you." With that ominous sounding challenge laid before him, he pulled D'Vorga's arm. They all trotted away into the undergrowth. Collin looked back to nod and seemed to suddenly agree with his slave's decision. Strange...Wasn't it odd, he thought, when a slave could get away with that?



A Simple Shadow Pt. 08



Shadow knelt to pick up the body of his long ago lover. Only his face could be seen in his characteristic black cloak. He threw it over his body trying to not concentrate on what he had done. Doing that meant not looking at the handsome face he had once loved. When he went in the front door, he had to force his blurry eyes to focus on the house. It was the same he had left. It was not a similar reproduction, or even a different location. My Gods, he had never moved! Why? So Shade would know where to come when he came back to him, he wondered. Heaven forbid it! This was his home...This house held more memories than he ever wanted to relive. He closed his eyes again to block out the shadowed view of the foyer, trying to block out the feelings of confusion, grief, and worst of all...his combined terror and love. Tarkin had maimed him for fleeing! Why hadn't he moved? He had hunted him! Whispering a million ways to torture and kill him into his ears...if he had found him. If he had caught him...all of the things he would do to make him pay. Why should he be the one to pay; Tarkin was the one, not him! Tarkin had hurt him, he thought bitterly. He seemed to always be hurting him.

He drew in a deep breath shuddering as he followed the long hallway into the darkened foyer ahead. The stairs were there. He had always loved the way they looked; one set going up to split into two, curling along the back wall in opposite directions. They went to their bedrooms. He took the right side up. Knowing the layout by heart, he kept his eyes closed when he entered his chamber. It did seem to block out most of the memories the sight was certain to invoke. Somehow, he knew his old love had not changed a single detail. This especially, he did not want to see. Not now, not yet, he thought wearily. He felt the edge of the bed at his knees and let the master of the house slide down slowly onto it. Then, he turned and fled the room. He could almost hear the mocking laughter trailing behind him as he went back down. He would have to return after he was certain no one else remained inside the house. 

He sealed the upper floors with a simple spell laid at the bottom of the stairs. It would keep anyone from going up to Tarkin'ton...just as it would keep Tarkin'ton from coming downstairs should he not be quite as dead as he seemed. Shadow winced at the mere idea. Then, his entire body weakened and he hit the hard floor in pain. He knelt closing his barely useful eyes to counteract the rising nausea. He wondered if it was his eyes adjusting to the light that was making him so ill. It was particularly blinding, even shadowed the way Tarkin kept it. All of the colors and lights were often so blurred he could barely tell what he was looking at; some were so bright he would focus upon them to the exclusion of all else. He was tempted to keep them permanently closed. Yet here of all places, he knew he would need them.

He got back up and listened for any sounds in the solemn house. There was someone in the kitchen, he thought. The noise had attracted him, but the furtive sound was purposely soft. The person was trying to hide. He tried to go there, but his body only stumbled in the general direction. Why was he so weak all of the sudden? He didn't have long to worry over it. Something hard and swift struck him right across the face! He was shocked by the suddenness of the attack; the person could have killed him without trying very hard at all. Instead, a creature that looked like a dead woman he had once known leapt over him. She was just a little younger than a matching boy who dropped whatever weapon he had used and cautiously tried to step over his prone body. The boy was watching him for any sign of movement, he knew just by the slow way he approached. His eyes had closed as he had fallen. Doubtless, both children believed him unconscious. He shouldn't need them to catch this prey. He grasped the ankle that passed over his head. The boy panicked screaming in terror and falling across his body as he tried to yank himself free. Shadow studied the dark indigo of his skin as he babbled in some odd aquatic language. It wasn't Mer, but he could break it down into a few understandable words as he listened. 

"...don't hurt...hungry! Please...forgive...protect her." Shade grew still as he met the boy's frightened eyes. His skin was very dark, not the usual pale pastel that so many were fond of using. It was also rather thick like an animal's hide. His hair was a long, tangled mass of purple so rich and deep it was unreal to look at it. His violet eyes were much softer seemingly an innocent blending of the other two, paled down to a lighter shade. He looked close to fourteen which made his sister far too young to be in this house! Using the hand that held the kid, he levered himself up into a sitting position. A tiny tattoo on the side of the boy's neck cleverly advertised that he did not need to be a linguist to understand anyone who spoke to him. It was a spell, permanently embedded into his body to translate any words spoken near him.

"Can you cook?" The boy was damned nervous splayed across his lap. He nodded, glancing at the girl with a baffled expression. "Is there any food in there?" Again, they nodded looking at him oddly. "The two of you can make everyone dinner, then. I will send up anyone I find below. I'll let them eat before I send them away. Hell, they are probably all starving! Take care of them..." He used the captured ankle to push the boy into the kitchen and used a spell to seal him inside. The girl followed before he could tell her to stop when Shadow moved out of her way. He almost didn't notice the disgruntled look on the boy's face as he recovered from the amateur spell. It was too late. She was trapped inside with him. He had made the spell specifically to hold them both. He would have to personally see them back to their own home later, or find someone trustworthy to take them there for him. His balance wavered. He knew he couldn't rest until it was safe, but his body was shutting down around him. He had to half slide down the stairs to the dungeons fighting off severe dizziness. Had Ashra done something to him other than remove the deadly hunting mark? Something was definitely wrong!

He shook it off enough to get the keys down from a hook on the stone wall. The main dungeon area was chilly and silent. The two guards were gone. Had Collin taken them? There was no one else here. Four cells on one wall must have housed the pair in the kitchen and the girl the slaver had taken with him. He knew there were more. Shadow doubted even Collin had been able to find all of Tarkin'ton's dark secrets. He had to move the silver cage to the side. It drained what little energy he had left. Beneath it was an ordinary stone floor without any detectable enchantments. Resting his body against the cool stones, he tried to regain enough strength to open the hidden passage. "Oh, please...just let me finish this," he begged. "After that, I give up..." It took a while before he could begin to claw at the heavy stones. Instantly, shadows engulfed his entire body swarming along his hands. It tightened over his arms, his neck, and chest. There was a massive weight of pressure against his eyes and throat. No matter how hard the shadow minion tried to hurt him, it could not! It howled and screeched in fury raising a wind in protest as his fingers found a groove. As it lifted, the shadow fled in defeat. He pushed and lost his balance as the rest of the stone popped free. Groaning, he hit the solid rock floor below in a pile of shattered stone. Blood seeped from his head and one of his hands making his stomach cramp in hunger. "Later," he whispered promising himself. He could not feed upon half-starved whelps.

He unlocked each cell. Then, he began again. Starting on the left side, he opened the first door he came to, but it looked empty. There was a desk with a heavy book upon it and a drape covering one small area of the wall. He opened every drawer releasing nearly two dozen small, winged people trapped inside of them. They fled in a shower of pixie dust leaving only one tiny female. She kissed his cheek leaving specks of glitter behind as she too winked out with a grin. Shadow snorted in mild amusement. The drape hid all of his most unpleasant memories except one. He had to part it to see if anyone was occupying the dungeon room beyond, but first... the heavy tome dropped into the now empty desk and it was locked closed. The book belonged to Tarkin'ton. There was a strong whiplash of power pulsing off of it! Trying to ignore the vile reminders of it, he stepped into the next room. Immediately, his heart broke all over again. Only the naked back and hair was visible from this angle, but he remembered the agony of being chained from the ceiling by the wrists alone.

The damp dungeon room was wet enough that two inches of water beneath the prisoner brushed gently along the creature's toes leaving ripples as the pulse alone caused it to move. They were rhythmic and strong; usually the person's pulse wasn't this noticeable. Its skin was a light pinkish tinge with an illusory over wash of darker reds and gold. The hair was like antique gold, yet streaks of lighter colors wove through it. The head rolled limply as something brushed the dangling feet and turned the prisoner to face him. He could tell before it had fully turned that the creature was a sun dragon. It was a strange, less powerful breed that had been created when the light clan and the fire clan had begun to mingle. There was a trademark sunburst tattoo on the right flank. The pretty male was also out cold, Shadow noticed. He looked carefully and saw the tiny red specks on his feet. Shadow sighed and kicked at the snake as it swam back for a second bump. It fled and he sealed its bolt hole so it could not return any time soon. Not able to carry him in his weakened state, he regretfully left him there.

The next room held three women all carefully chained facing each wall that did not include the door. They had rich clothing of silks, satin, lace and fur. In the center of the room, a male hung in a similar fashion to the one he had just left. This man was an overall shade of lime green and fairly well built, explaining why he had three comely lovers. He studied each of them. The females had pale-colored skin, but odd tints beneath the pearly opal of their flesh. The hair was each very vivid and bright. "Damn, Tar," he swore softly. "More dragons...I cannot imagine how you get away with that!" He had to actually climb up the male Glade dragon's body to unlock his wrists from the chains. A maneuver that no doubt broke them, he thought hearing the pops. The man hissed at him eyes snapping in pain and anger. "You will heal," he stated callously in his tired state as the male dragon dropped into a crouch holding his arms to his chest. Shadow quickly unchained the female dragons. He left them the moment they were free to keep the man from worrying. "There is food in the kitchens, children who need to go home, and an unconscious Sun dragon I could use a little help moving," he offered.

The man ignored him glaring spitefully. "Ungrateful, pig," he hissed at the stupid dragon. "Fine," he growled eyes reddening in fury. "Gather up your whores and get out! Quickly," he added in warning. The dragon went casually to check his lovers as the vampire left the room. He took a moment to calm himself not wanting to scare any of the prisoners worse than they already were now. He opened the next door only to shut it and throw up violently. Had the slaver found this section after all? Collin was known for his hatred of females. It was something he was rumored to do. No wonder his eyes had been so cold when he had left the house. The huge chamber was filled with young women. He hadn't looked close enough to tell what species, or see any faces. They were all dead. Every one of them in that room...slaughtered. Why had he not killed the dragons, too? A soft spot for the species, perhaps, he wondered trying to banish the image from his eyes. Worse was the smell! It made him so hungry; he wanted to go back into the room. He wiped away the fine blood sweat on his face and righted himself. The mess would have to be cleared away, maybe in a few months when the vermin had picked the bones.

He crossed the hall and started over at the beginning on the opposite wall uncertain if he truly wanted to finish checking them all today. A female hung on the wall. She was one of his kind and still breathing. Her wrists were chained to the ceiling separately and she hung limply in them unable to stand or go to her knees, but her feet were flat on the stones below. A loose, sleeveless midriff hid little of her chest and a tiny skirt showed the rounded curves of her ass it was so short. The hair and eyes were a silken black. Her skin was nearly silver by comparison. He did not have to wonder why Tarkin'ton kept this one; his scent clung to her body. Shadow tried to ignore her beauty, but the smell irritated him. Tarkin'ton must have been with her when the slaver had interrupted him. The scent of their sex filled the air with a cloying scent that made him sick. The bruised handprints were beginning to show. Shade's eyes went red again before he could even approach her. He knew the marks of his old lover; they were easy to recognize! Not moving, he held himself back. He felt the unbearable urge to rip her into little pieces! He turned away the second he could unclip her chains to flee, but she reached for him. Before he was even aware of what he was doing, he sliced her palm wide open! Shadow's eyes widened in horror as he backed away fearful of doing even worse things.

"Shade, wait," she called. Her voice calling his name made him hesitate. "He told us you would come."

"He knew," he whispered confused. What did she mean?

"You look unwell. Are you? I can call gates. If you need my help to get someone, or send someone away," she offered. "He told us you killed him. You will always have my undying gratitude for that!"

"The slaver...you spoke to the slaver?" Collin had been down here! He closed his eyes and shook his head wearily once more. His heart stopped skipping in frantic terror. For just a moment, he had thought...something else! "Do not leave the dungeons yet. I do need some help, but let only the dragons go upstairs right now."

"Yes," she purred wryly amused. "They do tend to eat other species." He knew by her tone she did not fear the dragons. Only stupid dragons tried to eat their race. "Especially, the fragile little morsels down the hall," she added. He left her there, but she came out into the hall to watch him.

The center room held twin dragonettes, but they were not purely dragon blood. Their skin was a light, ashy gray. The hair was pure ebony like jet made to live and move. It fell to the floor on both of them, displaying the raw, muscular physics and doubled assortment of flawless flesh deliciously. Shade rubbed his face in disbelief. They were so gorgeous...Men would kill to claim the pair of them. They had tried to hide their beauty with draconian scales, or perhaps they simply did not like being helpless and naked. The rippling, black scales did little to hide anything. They were each edged with a glimmering sheen of silver calling attention to the bands of scales at their waist, or thigh. One had a line of them running like a sharp, garter belt along waist and hips. Shadow itched to rub them. "Damn," he whispered.

"Piven," one called weakly. The other only groaned and fell silent again. When no one answered him, the one who had spoken moved weakly in fear. "Please, no," he begged, "don't hurt us any more!" It was all he needed to break the spell. These lovely men were afraid, weak, and helpless. He couldn't even feed off of them.

"I am not Tarkin'ton," he stated firmly letting them hear his voice clearly.

"Good," the one who was awake muttered. "Please, get us down from here! We are not food," he growled angrily. Shade was speechless.

"I didn't think you were," he protested. "You are both too weak." He heard a tiny sob from the silent one and the other grew still in terror.

"Oh, Gods," he moaned, "What are you?"

"Vampire," he answered as neutrally as he could manage, but both men reacted violently to his word. He studied the chains knowing they were pressure sensitive being easily retracted and pulled up again. A lever on the wall shifted them between two settings. A soft mattress had been placed in the center between them. It could be reached by both when they were let down. He touched one man's wrist and tried to unlock it as the creature struggled in fright. It wouldn't come free, so he exited hitting the lever to release them from the walls as he slammed the door. "I guess you two are another 'I'll get you later'," he stated with a resigned sigh. It was then he noticed the woman in the hall laughing as she watched him.

"Can't I have my dragons back? They are technically your dragons at the moment," she pouted playfully with a sultry purr.

"Don't you even think of crossing this threshold," he warned, "or I will kill you." She laughed in pleasure as he went to the very last room.

"Oh, you are a sweet one," she teased. "Can I take the boys home for you? They are all so young...so tender...so...irresistibly...juicy." He turned slowly to meet her suddenly cold eyes. She grinned at him unrepentantly. Her upper fangs were extended and slick with hungry saliva. She was still chuckling softly at him.

"Get out of this house," he demanded finally. "I forbid you to return!" He had had enough of this bitch!

Her grin faltered just a little. "You cannot do that...It is not your house."

"Really," he drawled enjoying the look of doubt in her dark eyes. He thought of the house's guardian shadow and it appeared at his side. Her eyes widened. "Take her off of the premises and never let her return to them again," he ordered the wispy creature. It was reluctant, but knew it had to obey him. Despite the way the master treated Shadow, he was half owner of the house and could control shadows, too.

"You can't throw me out," she sputtered in anger. "This is my home! I live here! It should be mine now that he is gone..."

"Afraid not, toots," he drawled viciously as he wiggled his fingers at her in good-bye. The shadows claimed her still spitting and fighting as they swept her away. One sprang back up to torment him.

"The master will not be pleased that you threw..."

"His slut out on her ear," he hissed furiously. "Out of our home..." The creature smiled cruelly at him. "Tell him what I have done when he gets back up, why don't you?" The question was sarcastic and rhetorical, but the shadow didn't see it that way. It snarled at him and agreed to do just that. Its confidence that it would just be a matter of time shook his own that Tarkin'ton was dead. It disintegrated and his fury swelled. "I won't share this house with his little whore!" He almost heard mocking laughter. Did it come from the house? The shadows were probably laughing at him, he thought with a cold shiver. The whole house seemed to be shaking either angry at his impudence, or rolling in enjoyment of his madness. 

He opened the door in front of him to a swarm of young boys. They had been moving the youngest to the back of the room, but stopped when the door moved. One of the youths, a six-year-old child from the look of him, burst into sudden tears. The others moved him back barely seeming to move; he just began to fade away among them. He counted a great deal who looked between sixteen to twenty-five, but that meant very little. At the age of eighteen, most of their kind could adapt their age to fit whatever they wanted to be for the rest of their lives. Again, he heard the laughter and a soft voice repeating his last statement back at him. Shadow used some of his remaining energy to scan the boys. It revealed that none of them were younger than twenty or even older than fifty...mere children of their races.




A Simple Shadow Pt. 08



The eldest among them looked shaken, but he stepped forward trying to act bold to protect the other boys and speaking softly, "My lord?"

He understood their fear of him. "I can teleport any of you home," he offered. The one who had spoken shook his head before he could even try it. "Just think of your homes, or loved ones...whatever you remember most," he advised. They did, but very few of them disappeared, he noticed. He turned back to the one who had protested. "You knew it wouldn't work. Why?"

"You can only return us if our homes still exist...if our loved ones still live, my lord," he answered sadly. "It has to be close to what we remember, but our homes were destroyed...maybe rebuilt, but different. Our people were attacked, like mine...they no longer exist at all...I have no other home, except here," he stated softly.

"Outside," he ordered him. The many torch lights and colors were upsetting his sensitive eyesight. The boy gasped and swallowed in fear. The others turned to him wide-eyed in disbelief and pleading. The boy smiled at all of them, but it was strained. One-by-one, he shook off their worried hands and left the room ahead of the vampire.

As he walked past, he softly whispered, "As you wish..."

Shade closed the door against the light. The hall was instantaneously dimmer. "Stop right there." The boy did as he asked and turned to face him. "Oh, hell," he swore tired already and unwilling to deal with anymore! The boy was exquisite! Tarkin'ton had fine tastes, as usual. Shadow laughed bitterly. A wave of jealousy hit him hard; he nearly took his throat out just for standing there so angelically! His narrow eyes tilted down at the inside edges towards a birdlike nose, but it was delicate and symmetrical with dark lines to display his utterly, perfect features. His hair was black; his eyes golden. His skin the snowy white of an owl speckled with a golden undertone. The skin looked strange where his eyes turned down. They were damp and fearful, desperate for his approval. The agony in them sent a sharp pain through him. He closed his eyes, gritting out a muffled curse as he felt himself fall.

"Sir," the boy's voice was soft above him and sounded distant in his ears, "Sir!"

He managed to open his eyes. The ground met his gaze. The kid leaned over him with one fragile arm extended to press against his lips. He smelled the blood in that thin skin. His teeth reacted and he bit pushing them between the delicate bones of his arm. The boy was an Avien. The fragile bone structure was clearly an avien from the wind planes of Dom'eir. Where were his wings? They couldn't retract them, he knew. The boy shivered. He couldn't take any more with out risking his death. The little creatures were not worth more than a taste, or two, before they died. Yet this one had offered without thought. Shadow drew away sealing the wound. The kid burst into tears! It confused him. Lately, everything confused him, he thought sourly.

"Don't throw me out. I have nowhere to go! Kill me..." The arm was offered again. "Please," he begged hesitantly. The lines on his face moved. They were not painted as he had originally thought. He moved to touch them and found feathers...tiny feathers...all over his body, but it wasn't obvious unless you were close or touching him. His face was so earnest and insistent that Shadow almost fed again without considering the consequences. "You need to eat, my lord."

"Why..." He had to close his eyes again to clear his head close to passing out again. "Why would you want to die?"

"I won't be able to survive on my own. I cannot go home. If you throw us out, we will be forced to sell ourselves to slavers to survive." His watery smile turned grotesque. "I can do that, but I will die! You need to eat," he repeated, "and I am only prey."

"Who told you that?" Even Tarkin'ton could not have sunk low enough to say such a thing, Shadow thought. He enjoyed beautiful things despite the species. Even spindly and insubstantial, this avien boy was beauty!

"The hunters," the boy whispered. "They killed everyone they could. Burned the homes, and took me...I was...crippled, my lord." His tears were mottling the feathers on his face. "A bird that cannot fly," he stated angrily, "must be a pet, or food!"

"What happened to your wings," he asked softly in compassion.

The boy sat curled into a little ball. "I flew too close to the fires," he stated monotonously. There was confusion and cold misery in his eyes. "I fell among them."

"They burned," he said trying to understand what he was saying. How could he have flown that near to a fire and lived?

"Singed only," the boy hissed. "They would have healed!" He peeked up out of his arms looking at him like a wounded dove. "They tore them off," he whispered slowly remembering it, "and said they would fatten me up to eat later...when the others were gone," he added in a low, hollow tone eyes horrified by it.

"Cannibals," he growled in disgust. It was forbidden for their kind to eat the flesh of others among their many races.

"Hunters," the kid corrected. "We are but birds."

"Shape changers do not eat other shape changers!"

"Don't they, my lord? They told me...hunters eat prey. Fiends eat any creature they can catch...and vampires." He tacked the last one on so casually as if afraid to mention it. "You have never once fed upon a creature that died from the blood loss?"

Shadow was stunned. He could not argue the point. It was sickening! It was also...true. "What is your name?"

"I...The master of this house named me Hawk, my lord. My avien name was too complex." Hawk, he thought, smiling as he touched his flexible little nose. It was incredibly hawk like in shape. The boy's head ducked, but raised back up. It seemed to be a gesture warning to 'be gentle, but please do pet.' Shadow could not resist the temptation. He blew upon his cheeks to dry the feathers, stroking them back into place. They moved down finding the feathers didn't grow larger as he moved down his body. Just over the line of his low-cut shorts, Hawk jumped like a guilty criminal when his fingers brushed over a patch of bare skin. The lovely, dark brown leather laced up both sides complementing his coloring and leaving patches of skin open to his gaze; it was the same color as the feathers. "My lord," he asked sounding slightly ashamed.

"Is this natural," he asked numbly.

"No, my lord, it is not."

"I don't suppose the hunters plucked your feathers in a very, suggestive location before Tarkin'ton found you," he suggested doubtfully.

"No," he stated nervously. "They would have eaten me, no more..."

Shade closed his eyes. He could still hear the amused chuckle of his companion in his ear...laughing...laughing at his pain! He took a deep breath. It was causing his resentment to burst out uncontrollably! He picked up the boy and carried him upstairs suddenly too angry to care if he was weak. The boy screamed in fear sounding like a frightened bird in his ear. He took him to the kitchen. Rather rudely setting him to his feet, he looked at the dragons congregated there. The boy's fear made his scent fill the room making the hungry predators perk up at the scent. "You wanted to die," he told him coldly, "put him on the menu." The indigo girl's eyes widened as she came to stand behind the trembling avien. She stroked his hair looking at the vampire in disbelief! Shade turned to leave the room, but Hawk flung himself at his legs latching on. Once he pulled him to the door, the spell picked him off neatly. He just lay there at the entranceway staring up at him hopelessly. 

When the girl came for him, he let her lift him gently to his feet. He allowed her to draw him back near the table eyes never leaving Shade's own in pleading as his tears fell silently. His breathing escalated and only when the girl's hands fell upon his neck did he look away losing hope at last. "Just make it quick," he asked her softly. He didn't see the girl look back at the vampire for one last confirmation that this was what he wanted her to do, or that vampire's face tighten. He knew he was being cruel. He liked the avien, but he could 'feel' Tarkin's disapproval and denial that he would allow such a thing! Ghosts did not stay attached to their companions after death, did they? A small sound snapped his wavering attention back up! Hawk had turned pale. More than likely, the girl's fingers had tightened for the jerk that would break his neck, but Shade had accidentally entranced her instead. The avien's breathing was frantic, but he didn't move. It broke a piece of his heart when he turned to look at him. There was no anger, or fear; he was miserable! Strangely, this time he knew who's pain he was feeling...Tarkin'ton must have loved this kid, and just as obviously realized he was about to die because of it. He wasn't laughing anymore. Thank the Gods for that! Tarkin had used a great deal of what energy he had remaining to entrance the female dragon. It was all he could do! Tarkin'ton was dead...He could not protect his little whores any longer, he thought to his weakened, old lover. Who was laughing now? He had left them to die.

A brush of energy along his neck lifted a lock of hair gently. Shadow felt a whisper of lips against his collar trailing up lazily, lovingly to his ear ending in a soft whisper of words, "No, love. I left them to you..." His voice sounded sad. "I would not have believed you could still care, Sha'da Limn...but you are clearly angry with me." Shade shivered at the voice. It was the same! Nothing had changed between then except the body upstairs and the fact that Shadow had come home. "Take him out of there...please. He doesn't deserve this." Angry, Shade did as he asked. He threw the boy over his shoulder ignoring his protesting shriek. He hauled his kicking, screaming, crying, little ass outside and threw him onto the ground! "Shade!" He walked back inside and slammed the door shut leaning back against it and covering his face with his hands shaking in anger and humiliation that he was even doing this!

The boy didn't try to come back inside. He limped painfully out into the forest. How did he know this? Because Tarkin'ton was out there watching him, he thought bitterly in disgust; he could see it through his eyes. There was blood on one leg and his arm that he held tucked up against his stomach. He must have hurt him; he had known better than that. Aviens couldn't be pitched about with rocks and expected to remain uninjured. Shadow could feel Tarkin's growing helplessness as he followed the boy away. Tarkin was nearly begging without words for him to help Hawk. Shadow had to fight his own instinct to help the bleeding, helpless boy. Yet his emotions held him still defiantly! Could he really sit here and watch the beautiful boy get eaten, he asked himself feeling ashamed when it didn't automatically make him run outside. He knew how deadly this place could be for a weak, injured creature out alone in the woods!

"I will watch every second! You will see it, Shade! I promise you!" There were tears in Tarkin's angry voice! Tears...He grew angrier just thinking about it!



A Simple Shadow Pt. 09



"Damn you," he hissed wrathfully. "If it were me out there, you would rejoice!" Shadow felt a surge of shock that coiled up from the specter. He had not been this connected to his companion in a thousand years, or more. Tarkin'ton did not say a word, but he felt his thoughts churning in confused denial. He saw a shadow pass over the boy. It was a hunting dragon. Hawk didn't even try to hide; he fell to his knees to wait for it as it circled scenting his injuries. Hawk looked up at Tarkin'ton and smiled sadly seeing him there with him. Shadow felt the anguish in his companion as he looked into that loving face, but he didn't ask again. Maybe he had finally realized this was not a game; Shadow was seriously hurt, seriously pissed, and Hawk was going to die! Perhaps he had finally realized that most creatures didn't like being hurt and scared; or maybe he had just accepted that he couldn't change this one without help from a creature he had tormented far too often to expect any sympathy. Shadow tensed waiting for the fated blow to fall. His own face was wet with tears. He didn't want Hawk dead, but he was so mad at Tarkin that he didn't care! He let his hands fall and kept his eyes closed. Tarkin's eyes tracked the enormous, yet thin Glade dragon's decent anxiously. It circled back and began a winding search pattern that would bring it eventually to it meal.

Feeling a stab of pain that he didn't try to hide, the ghost turned away from the sight despite his own wish to watch in horrified helplessness. "I am sorry, Shade...I did not know you felt like that," he admitted in defeat. Shadow moaned. He could have waited! He could have stood there and watched it all. His misery alone would have allowed him to do it, but not now. He melted into the houses shadows and came up outside.

He rose up insubstantial from a tree's shadow howling in righteous fury at the beast as it attacked. His face was a mere blur of darkness and teeth, but his hands scraped long lines on the poor creature's underbelly as it twisted to escape a far more deadly predator! It wasn't even a true dragon, but a smaller version of the real thing. Perhaps only a dragonette child, he thought as he knelt on the ground growing solid again. He looked over the boy's wounds to see if any of them were severe. The avien boy was shaking in shock. He didn't pick him up. Shadow drug him into the house by his injured arm. He slammed the door open and let him go. Hawk sank to the floor in a little heap beside a decorative counter. Then, he released the spell set on the kitchen. 

"I want you all out," he snarled. "You have had plenty of time to eat! There are other dragon clans here despite this not being your home. I expect you can make it on your own from here on out. Now, go!" The dragons filed out eagerly except the two indigo children. The girl stood beside Hawk comforting him as everyone passed. They looked back as they shut the door. That only left the chained dragons and a room full of children down below. He activated the house's security spells. Most of the protection was designed for outside things trying to get in, but some of them kept what was inside where Tarkin'ton believed they belonged. Shadow tried to put it into his head to remember to change that when he had more energy to waste. 

He left the boy alone and went back down the stairs to find a way to release the Sun dragon. He knew there was a mechanism that would lower him to the ground, but he could no longer remember where it was located. It had been too long and he was too distressed to think clearly. He almost gave up looking when a voice spoke up weakly, "Between those...things...hanging there..." Shadow looked at the 'things' in question and saw whips and silver tipped flogs. Some of which were designed to flay the skin down to bare bone. Hidden amidst the assortment was a tiny lever. He flipped it and went to catch the dragon as he was slowly lowered to the cool water. The man was drifting in and out of consciousness. Muscles twitched with fatigue. He kept him in the same position from his chest up. It would take a while before they could be moved to a different position without serious pain.

"I am going to take you across to a dry bed," he warned him removing the chains as he spoke. "It will take a while for your body to recover, and I don't want you to move. So, I will lock you in...Besides, I expect to have a herd of children running around loose. For their own safety, I cannot allow dragons to be roaming freely."

"I won't...hurt children," he protested weakly sounded offended by the accusation.

"Shh...these children feel older than you do to me, yet they are defenseless, dragon." The man groaned when he lifted him. Shadow cradled him close moving as gently as he could. It still angled his body into a different position than the one he was used to, so it hurt him. "I know how bad this hurts." The dragon's face was twisted in pain and beginning to sweat. "You will be better in a dry place free of poisonous snakes." When he didn't respond, he wondered if he could even hear him past the pain he was feeling. He settled him onto the female vampire's dungeon bed and waited for the pain to subside. "Are you hungry?"

"No...Yes, but..." His eyes looked dilated and dazed.

"You are, but you need to sleep first," Shade finished for him. "I daresay you might throw it back up until your stomach relaxes anyhow." The dragon nodded weakly. "I have never chained someone like that," he added seeing a wary look in the man's eyes. In his own defense, he explained how he knew what he was feeling. "An old lover used to leave me hanging that way for fun," he stated in a soft tone.

"Some fun," he said sarcastically with a newfound sympathy in his voice.

"I would imagine you know all about the details of it by now and just how thrilling he can be." Shadow stood to leave. If he stuck around much longer, he would probably molest the poor creature himself. Or worse, weaken him further with his kiss..."I will see you soon. I am feeling rather weak myself. I plan to lie down for a while." He locked the door, but unlocked the bottom so food could be pushed under the door by someone. He left the rest unlocked since all still bore their chains.

Upstairs, Hawk still had not moved. He was shaking like a leaf and crying raggedly. "I need to lie down. I imagine you have realized I do not feel very well today," he stated softly. When he knelt beside the boy, he narrowed his eyes as Hawk flinched and looked up at him. "This was not your fault, boy." He touched his feathered face and casually stroked the cheek. "I am sorry you think it is, but you stepped into a very old, very bitter feud. Tarkin, even dead it seems, cannot resist tormenting me." Shade pulled the kid closer to uncoil him from his tight, little knot. Hawk looked down the hall shivering like he wanted to see someone there who would save him. "I won't hurt you again. It goes against my nature, but when he pushes me...and I am tired or hungry..." Hawk looked at him oddly knowing he was all of these things, and then some. "I have a nasty temper," he admitted with a weak smile. "I would have let that dragon have you. I was too mad to stop it. I apologize for that." He kept petting him and blew on his face to dry the tears again. When he looked normal, Shadow helped him to his feet. "Tar keeps a box of bandages in the kitchen. Let me clean you up a bit before I lie down, okay?" Hawk followed with only a gentle tug on his uninjured hand. The kitchen still had sliced fruits lying about since the dragons had little interest in the produce. The boy nibbled at it while he found the box and a cloth he wet with warm water. Shadow was very careful washing away the drying blood. The feathers on him made it nearly impossible to do painlessly. He had the box on the floor at his knees. He could clearly make out a multitude of severe bruises beneath the feathers, but they would be hidden by the feathers. He was far more worried about the cuts. "Do the feathers regrow if left alone?"

The boy was noticeably afraid to answer his question. Shadow winced, not blaming him in the least for his reluctance. It was a bad thing to ask after what he had done to him earlier for nearly the same thing. How would he know it was Tarkin's laughter and not his answer that had sparked his rage? Finally, Hawk whispered, "Yes."

"Thank you...for answering me." He drew a bottle of anti-septic liquid out pouring it over his leg knowing it wouldn't even sting. Tarkin'ton only used the best supplies. Then, he took out a small vial and smeared his thumb with the liquid it held. Pulling out a wrap of long leaves, he painted one side of a leaf with his wet thumb and pressed it to the wound. It sealed shut. The fluid and leaf was a common dragon curative used long before the humans discovered 'modern' medicines. The thought made him grin for a second. Shadow took Hawk's arm, but a glance showed that this wound was much smaller and less deep. He must have landed upon the leg when he fell. Once he was done, he kissed his cheek. "There you go. Eat something else," he muttered stroking his hair. "I really am sorry I hurt you...Make certain the other boys eat, too. Release them into the house, but be cautious of the dragons below and steer clear of the corpses. I will deal with that...eventually," he added tired to the bone and beginning to feel it again. 

"I can seal the room, my lord," the boy offered softly. Shadow looked at him firmly.  Tarkin'ton rarely showed anyone how to do that. It involved a thick, solid sheet of metal that sealed into an airtight barrier between the room and the house. Rodents and other scavengers could get in to feed off of the corpses, but the smell wouldn't permeate the dungeons for months on end. "Would you rather I did not?" Evidently, Hawk realized he was not pleased that he knew some of the house's secrets.

"No," Shade countered. "Seal the room," he stated solemnly. "I am a little surprised you know how to do it." He shook his head and sighed putting away the supplies.

"Are you going to kill Piven?" Shadow stopped suddenly. He had already heard the name once and recognized it.

"I don't know...Who is Piven?" He turned to look at the avien boy slowly.

"You will find him. My guess is wherever you have placed the body." Hawk looked at the ceiling suggestively and noticed the stillness from the vampire. It was easy to see the rage blossoming in his reddened eyes. "Don't hurt him. He was raised here since his birth, my lord. He has known nothing else...and...well, he..." The boy hesitated not wanting to make him any angrier. "I would imagine he is hurting far worse than you are right now...my lord."

"What is that supposed to mean," he fairly growled in a suddenly husky voice.

"He has known only love from Tarkin'ton...nothing else."

"How old is he?"

Hawk shrugged. "Just a little older than I am, but Tarkin'ton shelters him," he answered. "He has not seen much violence." The tone of his voice suggested he was being mendacious in his wording. Hawk rubbed his injured arm. "If you hurt him, kill him quick," he suggested. "He breaks easier than I do." The vampire started towards the door. He looked shell-shocked, he knew. Could he handle another jilted, sobbing lover today? "Shade," Hawk whispered stopping him. "You are his companion, aren't you? The one he cried over." 

Shadow laughed in surprise. "He never cried for me," he stated in a cold, firm decisiveness. "You must be mistaken." Hawk stood before he could even walk past the kitchen's doorjamb.

"I doubt that." He touched his arm making him stop again. "I am the only one here who saw it, besides...the woman you threw out. I asked him why he didn't have a picture of you and he said, 'How can you paint an illusion?' I did not understand what he meant. I know now. Your skin is like a natural camouflage drawing the eye away from it. You are Shade. You must be his lost companion! Meg'rin scorned him for his tears. She stomped on his heart!" Shadow snarled at him and he let go stepping back with an indrawn breath and wide eyes.

"Why are you telling me this? He is dead," he hissed.

"Is he, my lord," Hawk whispered breathlessly. The words left a chill in his heart. "If you kill Piven...If he is not truly dead, he will be."

"Then, he should not have let me kill him!"

"He said you were good," Hawk stated sadly backing up even more. "I don't think he knew you very well!"

"I guess not," Shadow snarled. His red eyes unmistakably warned of him mood. "Several thousand years of being hunted and tormented by soft whispers of death will do that to an animal, don't you think?" His words were more growl than a spoken language. "He hated me! He hunted me! Do not be misled by his lies! He blinded me! The only reason I can see again, is because he is dead!" Breathing heavily, the sharp stab of pain caught him unaware and he nearly hit the ground with a savage moan of misery. Shade tried to obstruct his fall and toppled the table and its contents to the floor as he regained his balance. Blind with agony, he turned stumbling to the stairs. Hawk followed silent as a wraith. Stretching out over the stairs, he lay over the gentle slope of the wide lower section that led up to the split staircase beyond.

"If he is so dead, my lord," Hawk stated neutrally, "why are you being drained so heavily? The shadows can do strange things...at times."

"I felt him die," Shade protested weakly.

"You have never felt the same thing," the boy pressured intently. "Something that seemed to be his death, only to realize it was a lie." Shadow started to automatically say 'no', but stopped himself in horror. He had! The last time Tarkin'ton had whispered in his ear: a thousand years or more ago, and silence afterwards. He had been sick with grief...just like now. Eventually, he had heard someone discussing his silent companion in horror! The worlds had learned to fear Tarkin'ton's name; Shadow had learned to hide better. His own fright had grown. "You need food. I would offer my arm, but I have learned recently to value what little life I have," he stated sarcastically and sounding a little sullen. "Go on up," he advised and turned back into the kitchen.

Shadow slept. He didn't mean to, and the hard, sharp angles of the stairs wouldn't have been his choice of beds even if he had. It was a restless sleep awakening from the pain in his body quite often. All he could do was stare up the staircase helplessly until he was pulled back into an uneasy slumber. Several times he heard movement behind him in the halls, but he was too weak to look back. It was very late in the evening when he felt like he could move once more. The shadows of the afternoon gave him energy. The darkness felt less abrasive upon his sensitive eyes. Had Tarkin'ton really drained him? Had he purposely kept him away from his body? Away from his little pet, Pevin, who he loved so dearly? The very thought drove him up the stairs!

Shade thought he saw something move and grew still to listen to the entire floor. There were not many rooms on the upper level. He thought he saw another movement up ahead. Walking to the door slowly, he kept watch. Without excellent night vision, no one else would have seen a thing. Was it a shadow? Barely any light at all crept into the silk covering the bedroom's windows. They were black, he knew. Tarkin was as enamored of darkness as he was. It covered the windows in a double layer and a single sheet over every wall. During the day, light filtered in like splintered light reflecting along the walls of a cave. It was moist and the air was clear with the scent of plant life. Someone had watered them recently. They hung in long vines woven along and in front of the silks. One had a floral scent that was just beginning to fill the air with fragrance. A night-blooming blossom, how lovely, he thought to himself. The floor was some kind of enameled marble substance covered over with a light layer of soil to support the moss flooring. Shadow took off his boots before entering out of respect for his old ways. He dropped the shirt wondering when he had made himself a set of clothing. Several potted trees lined one wall adding their scent to the room. A bird moved sleepily inside one of them. A snake trailed along a vine into a net that held dried grass over a corner of the room high above. It was around five feet long, but thin. Nothing else stirred inside of the room. Walking closer to the bed he waited until his eyes could see what lay there. He drew in a sharp breath in shocked surprise.

The body had been undressed and cleaned. Tarkin'ton lay there like he was asleep. There wasn't a single sign of the wounds! His flesh blended into the blackness beneath him yet he could see every detail in vivid relief. Someone had placed him in his favorite sleeping position when in bed alone; spread out with one knee bent and one straight like an upside down, inverted number four facing his right. One hand was behind his head and the left was thrown over his bare stomach. Tarkin'ton's ears were tipped into triangular points at both the bottom and the top. He had forgotten that little feature. His eyes tilted down much the same was as Hawk's had done into a straight nose and a firm chin. The cheekbones were high. Still his profile was unspoiled and in some way thoroughly attractive at the same time. It never failed to astonish him. All of it was fitted together in shades of the darkest dark like the drow elves. Tarkin'ton was a Shadow mage. His heritage was very clear in his appearance. 

Shadow knew his eyes would be yellow if they were open and they could glow obscenely. They were not the red-orange people saw when he was mad, or the black that they saw when he was around people he did not know. Not even the more common gold shade that was popular, he thought, just plain yellow. Chartreuse he had called them. Shadow felt his heart compress as he sat on the edge of the bed to touch the ankle near him. His fingers traced the white scars marring it. He had felt them, but this was the first time he could see them. Why did they still mark his body? Tarkin'ton could have healed them long ago. Why would he keep them as a reminder? Shadow swallowed hard trying to breathe past the memories pressing in on him. His fingers lined up with the scars perfectly. He closed his eyes and just sat there with his fingers curled around the scars thinking. It had been too long since he had allowed himself to just think...just remember.

He knew Tarkin'ton changed into a large, black beast when he changed forms. It was massive like a demon mastiff, a hound from hell, he thought in amusement. The creature was frightening and strange. It was a form rumored to have been the same as his father, but to Shadow's knowledge Tarkin'ton had never met the ancient who had knocked up his bitch of a mother. He had also never blamed the man for fleeing the demented psycho witch and her cruel, animalistic lover. Tarkin's mother, Mia, had tricked the Shadow Mage and ripped out his throat at the crucial moment. Larkin had fled the pair never knowing he had conceived a son. Who could blame him for it? Genesis was scary enough without adding Mia to the picture. That ancient made even other ancients look like children! He was calculating and primal in a savage way. Some said he was mostly beast and not as intelligent as he pretended to be, but no one wished to offend him. He was cruel and cannibalistic, often eating the creatures who angered him. It was said Genesis was the one who had driven Mia mad when he had fed off of her and left her alive afterwards. No one knew for certain. Mia had raised Tarkin. Sometimes he found it odd that the man could be tender at all, yet he knew he could. Tar had raised Shadow with a loving touch and mellow smile. Wasn't he also raising Pevin the same way? 




A Simple Shadow Pt. 09



Tears stung his eyes. What had gone wrong between them? Shadow opened his eyes. Looking at him like this, he couldn't remember what he had done to deserve what had happened between them so long ago. Shadow leaned down to place his lips against each ragged slash in his calf in no way removing his fingers from the lines on his ankle. The flesh beneath his was cold and lifeless. Before he could rise up and turn away, the tears in his eyes were falling unchecked. "Damn you..." Shade couldn't bring himself to look at the marks where his own fangs had torn into Tarkin'ton's palm, or the eight lines that ripped across Tar's back, or the chunk of flesh missing on one of his shoulders. All defensive wounds of the night Shadow had first fled. The night he had gone blind. Tarkin had drug him back and had him chained in the dungeon for half a year, or more.

He stumbled away to a concealed wash room. Sinking to the floor beside a bubbling pool, he let the plants and darkness soothe him. His head tilted thinking he had heard a sound, but his senses were growing distorted again. He needed to leave this place! If Tar woke up while he was here, he would be punished. Even lying beside that cold, dead body would no longer convince him that the shadows would not once again rise against him! "Damn you!" Shadow knew he was being drained again. Hawk was right. He could feel it! His whole system was sick from the weakness. Stumbling up against the wall, he pressed a panel opening a hidden door to a concealed bedroom.

He thought someone moved inside of the room, but then it was gone. Shadow chalked it up to one vicious ghost letting the door slide closed behind him and falling heavily upon the bed. Someone brushed his forehead as he fought to stay awake. "Tar...why..." No one answered him. A cool cloth brushed his face lightly. He tried to swat it away and rolled onto his back, but by now his eyes wouldn't open up again. Shadow could smell Tarkin! He was in the room...so near! Shade moaned in helpless agony. "Go away! Please, go away," he begged him weakly. His fear grew sharply. If Tar could touch him and feel so solid while he was dead, he was lost already. Nothing he could do would stop him! "I am tired, Tar," he whispered, "just let me sleep." The cloth moved over his scars and he managed to catch it! Shadow heard a soft gasp as someone faded away. He sat up suddenly and looked around. The darkness was absolute and unbroken, yet the damp cloth still lay in his fist. "Oh, Gods, why," he groaned wretchedly. "Why did it have to end like this?" He saw a shadow that moved and paled in fear. "Talk to me," he snarled demanding an answer! The shape lit up with a small amount of purple light. It really was Tarkin'ton. Shadow swallowed, face pinched as he turned away.

"You are asking me why?" Shade shuddered. "You attacked me and fled."

"Tarkin..." Shadow shook dying inside. Did he really have to say it out loud? He lay back down and curled into the soft sheets hurting more than he could bear.

"Not out loud, then...why? Why did you run? I know you tell everyone it was Ash and Bael! You attacked me and fled before even that! Whisper it into my head, love! Why?" Could he really not know? After all of this time, he hadn't once figured it out. Tarkin had asked and asked while he had him chained in the dungeon. Shadow had sealed the thought away so tightly in pure anger and hatred. Tarkin'ton had felt his emotions, but had not been able to pluck the image from his mind. Was it even possible that he was still ignorant of his own crime? Shadow felt a brush of something that moved his hair away from his face and a sweet kiss affectionately placed on his brow. "Tell me. Please...You are driving me crazy not knowing, Shade! What did I do to make you hate me?" His begging pleas stabbed at his heart. They only made him cry harder wishing he could hate him in truth. Desperately, he wished for it, but every wish failed him! His heart would always belong to Tar! "Shade, please..." He sounded like he was fading away, growing softer and more indistinct. "I can't stay, love. I have to go; I am too weak. Try to get some sleep." Shadow felt another doting kiss on his cheek this time; he curled away from it uselessly. "Take care of him." A soft sound in the corner indicated someone moving as he let himself drift away. "Try to get him to eat. He never eats," Tar added in complete exasperation to whoever was with him...the mysterious Pevin?

"I will. Please, rest," the boy whispered.

"Don't you dare to harm him, Pevin! I love him more than you can know."

"Yes, sir," the boy agreed sullenly. Shadow almost laughed, but he was too far gone to do it. Was he actually asleep and hearing the conversation through Tarkin'ton, he wondered. Had he sounded so moody when Hawk had warned him of the very same thing downstairs? If they stopped fighting, would they be forced to share Tar? It would never happen!

"So jealous," the ghost sighed sadly. "What should I do?" Shadow wondered if he was talking where Pevin could hear him, or only in his companion's mind. "Stop loving," the ghost asked angrily. "Let myself die so you will both stop fighting me," he suggested with a snort of derision. "Too bad, lover," he snarled. "I am not in the mood!" With that last statement, he fed upon Shadow's energy until he drug him deeper into unconsciousness. "Treat him better than you would treat me! Or I will kill you both," he warned darkly as he disappeared.

Shadow dreamed. He didn't want to dream. He hated them here. They were always the same. They always took him back to that room...back to the pain...He resisted them restlessly losing hope, but dream he did.

'Pain lanced his back and drew forth an inadequate yelp. Shadow could feel the tug as jagged bits of metal were pulled savagely out of the open meat of his shredded back. The blood had become an unbearable itch down his legs dropping off of his toes. You would think he wouldn't be able to feel such a minor irritant, but it was maddening! Another lash slammed into his side and a rib shattered under the fury behind it! Shadow couldn't even draw enough of a breath to whimper at the pain of it. He pulled up on his arms and felt the broken bones in his wrists shift against the metal. It almost made him pass out.

"He isn't going to tell you anything, Tar. Leave him alone."

"Shadoc," Tarkin called out. "When did you get here?" The smile he could hear in his companion's voice still had the power to stab him with jealousy!

"Gods, Tar," he hissed studying the mess Tarkin'ton had made of Shadow. "Are you trying to kill him," he asked impressed by his handiwork.

"No, but," the desperate sadness in his voice bordered on near madness.

"Go on up and get some rest, Tarkin. I will clean him up," Shadoc offered. Shadow heard Tar leave as his brother stepped in closer. The water from his movement slapped at Shadow's feet. "Damn, Sha'da Limn...He is pissed off! What did you do to him? Try not to worry too much. He will do all that I ask of him." A hand moved in the broken skin along his back. "Did you know this one goes to the bone?" Shadow felt him lick at the wound laughing softly. "Damn, this is nice! I think I will just go up and fuck your pretty lover for you. Sweet dreams, brother of mine." The chamber sealed behind him and began to flood with water. Shade was too weak to even struggle, so he waited for it too weak to even call out for help...'

He woke bathed and bare. Shadow felt well rested, but the dream had left him royally cranky. He threw off the covers and pressed another panel to pass into yet another bathroom. The water eased some of the tension out of his neck muscles, but nowhere near enough. A sleepy-eyed boy came in from Shadow's old room watching him lazily. "Good morning," he mumbled. His hair was pure silver. Not white at all, but real metallic silver over a layer of dark black. Pevin's eyes were the exact opposite. His skin was the ashy shade of burnt charcoal sparking a memory in his mind. The nails were jet with a sparkle of silver in them and the same color was woven along his skin in intricate tattoos. Vine-like markings wrapped like a dark web down his arms from his knuckles to his wrists and from his elbows to shoulder blades. More graced his lower calf running up to his hipbones. Pevin flashed fangs at him when he smiled. "Hungry," he asked. "I need to eat and so do you." Shock swept through him.

"You are Meg'rin's son!" He also knew one of the two unlucky dragon twins below was his father.

"Yeah, he said you had an uncanny knack for tracing bloodlines." Pevin shrugged, but the casual gesture was at odds with his worried eyes.

"What," Shadow asked as he stepped out to dry off. He was already clean and the water couldn't relax a person who was being irritated, so he took the towel the boy handed him.

"Why in the God's names did you return," he hissed at him. Pevin's eyes flashed silver as he turned away. "You will have to make more clothes. I threw the old ones out," he admitted sullenly. Shadow dressed with a simple thought and felt the tug expending such a minor amount of energy caused him. Then, he melted into a shadow in the room to reappear beside Hawk down below. The boy came up screeching in fright from where he had been sleeping. It was the dim interior of the lower basement room and they were surrounded by the other, younger boys.

"My lord," Hawk said more calmly and cautiously, "can we help you?"

"Is everyone inside of this room that should be in here?" Hawk nodded looking around to be certain he told the truth. "Good," he sighed. Sealing the room drained him dry, but he did it. He adjusted the spell specifically against even the shadow walkers that populated the house and as an added precaution added a light spell to disperse the shadows in the room itself. Only then did he feel safer, he realized.

"My lord," Hawk sounded confused. "I have noticed that you do not like the darkness, but neither do you like the light. Forgive me. Are you not supposed to feel safer in the shadows? You cannot run in pure light."

"Why would I need to run? You boys can certainly hurt me, but not as much as I have been before. I am not afraid of any of you." Hawk settled down beside of him curiously, slowly allowing his fear of the vampire to fade. The boy's golden avien eyes and spotted, feathered skin were begging him to touch. "Gods, you are beautiful!" Hawk's eyes sparkled at him in pleasure.

"Thank you," he stated as he turned away. Shadow couldn't help touching the bare scars where the poor creature's wings had once been. They had been ripped away down to his very skin! He pulled him back into his body. The little avien snuggled in below his chin and drifted into a peacefully content state. Shadow's eyes closed against the bright light. "Are you still tired, my lord?" Hawk moved a little in his arms. "Perhaps food..."

"I am fine. I have eaten more lately than usual. It is not lack of food draining me."

"So he wakes," the boy sighed. It sounded a hell of a lot like relief in his voice! "I am healed. If you want a few swallows," he teased gently, "I can spare it." Shadow felt nearly compelled to take the offer when the boy moved to let his bare neck slide along his lips. "I am food. I don't mind feeding something that does not kill me, my lord." Without any conscious planning, his teeth broke through that fragile flesh to the blood below. "Shade," Hawk whispered with a prominent rush of lust that swept into the fluid he was drinking. It caused a noticeable reaction. Shadow broke the kiss, startled. Hawk leaned back, caught his face, and kissed him for real! The taste of his own blood didn't seem to bother him in the least as he explored his mouth hungrily. A soft wind ruffled his feathers as Shadow's hands eased down them carefully. The wind in the room caught his attention away from the budding desire.

"Your father was not avien," he stated in wonder.

"Not now," Hawk growled. "You can trace my lineage back to its roots later." Hawk used a knee and a hand against his leather encased groin to let him know what he wanted. "I hear no one can turn you on, Shade."

Those words had been true once, but obviously no longer applied. Was it wearing off? He mentally allowed his clothes to disappear and drew up those delicately golden thighs around him. "Obviously untrue," he teased as buried himself up into him. Hawk clutched him shaking from it. Blood rushed hotly through his veins until he felt a vicious need. Shadow tried to hold back and go slow as he generally enjoyed doing, but for once he needed quick! He took an extra sip at the boy's throat, but Hawk never noticed. The avien used his whole body to urge him into a speed he feared would tear his feathers out if he wasn't careful. Somewhere in that embrace, he tasted a flavor that did not belong. His entire being was swamped in the pleasure of sliding up in a hot grip of skin that pulled at him every time he drew away. A moan of near surrender sighed up from the boy...yet...something...was wrong...distracting Shadow. It was in the fading taste, but he couldn't risk taking any more. He didn't want to harm the tiny creature.

"Shade," Hawk called softly. "Did I lose you?" He felt his body react to his voice the way it had before tightening down in severe lust! It caused a sharp gasp as everything tensed for a few final plunges, before he speared up one last time to explode and surge into him in pulsing groans of exquisite torture! When he began to relax, it left him so tired he couldn't fight it off. "That is it..." Hawk stroked him like he was petting a sleepy puppy. "You should relax more often. Sleep, Shade," he whispered. Shadow felt the nearly hidden compulsion in his voice and let it drag him down.



A Simple Shadow Pt. 10



He woke several times to the blurred sensations of blood and sex. He knew he had fucked the little avien several times. Shadow's dreams confirmed it. They were a kaleidoscope of feathered flesh and hot movements. He kept repeating one in his dreams. He didn't remember doing it, but the dream was highly detailed and repeated often enough to assure him he had. In the dreams, the avien was beneath him clutched securely in his muscled arms. Hawk did not seem to notice his feathers getting ruffled or even bent, as he drove himself into him again and again. The hot, little boy pushed back into him eagerly urging him to do more. Sometimes, he heard the noise of the other boys milling about the room. Shade didn't know if he liked the idea of being watched, but sometimes...the sound turned him on even worse. He liked the urgent, little noises coming from Hawk; it was hard to believe he had almost let a dragon eat him. Then, he considered Tarkin'ton using his little slut in this very same way and his jealousy burned. The boy did everything he could think of to erase his anger. It must have worked, too. Shadow stopped thinking of Tar entirely, seeing only Hawk and sleeping deeply. He had no idea of how long he slept, but he knew it was a restless sleep filled with noises and waking moments. He woke to the sound of yelling. Hawk soothed him with gentle words as he woke slowly. "It is nothing. Just and angry vampire looking for trouble," the boy murmured to him. "Your wards are sealing him out. He cannot get in."

"How long have I been down here," he asked huskily. Hawk looked reluctant to answer. He saw more than a few bite marks on his delicate body.

"You needed it," he argued defensively when Shadow narrowed his eyes at him.

"How have you kept me here? Few can make me sleep; fewer still can command me while I slumber." His fear began to rise making him uneasy.

"Shade," the boy protested with hurt eyes. "You do feel better, don't you?"

Yeah, actually, he thought in mild surprise. He felt better than he had in a very long time. The door pounded again drawing his attention. A muffled snarl came from the other side. It made him jerk and the other boys in the room reacted to his movement with shrieks of fright. "Tar can't get in," Shade whispered in worry. 

"Yes, he can," Hawk argued, "he is your companion!"

"Not if I am unconscious," Shadow snarled releasing the warding on the room. Hawk moved away warily offering comfort to the others as he herded them to the back of the room. His eyes alone showed his concern as he steadily met Shade's gaze without backing down. Pevin seeped into the room as the light returned to its normal gloom.

"Where are the keys?" Pevin didn't look so sweet and mild this morning. "Why couldn't I get in? The boys are starving! You have been feeding off of them," he accused.

"Have I," Shadow asked in dazed disorientation. "I only remember sleeping... the avien boy...I know I fed on him." Pevin motioned for Hawk to come to him. There was only one wound on the boy's neck. Not a trace remained on him. Not even the scent of sex, and it should have lingered on his skin for weeks.

Hawk met Pevin's suspicious black eyes and agreed. "It is as he says. He fed on me and slept, but I am well. We all agreed not to wake him. As you see, we have fruit we brought in and we ate plenty before that." He looked down on the last part no longer comfortable with that silver-laced jet boring into him. "No one has starved!"

"How have you been getting outside? It has been a week!"

"I have not needed to go out. I have been here at his side! Haven't I?" Hawk glanced back at Shadow desperately. Shade created a bowl of fruit and several strips of dried meat. He didn't even feel drained by it. "See...see...look!"

Pevin studied them both strangely. "Tarkin'ton was worried! He couldn't reach him either." As if to add meaning to his comment, the ghostly apparition appeared at his side! Looking scared, Tar reached out to touch him as Shade flinched away from the wispy hand. It dropped away helplessly.

"I was tired. I knew I would sleep," Shade said sounding thirsty. "Sorry, I didn't know I would be out for so long," he tried to explain wondering at the fear in Tar's expression. "I sealed the room, Tar! I was safe..."

"You sealed it against us! Not everyone," Tarkin'ton hissed in frustration. "Someone was in here! I felt him enter the house and this room...I felt the intruder, Shade!"

"I must have slept through it. The only disturbance I heard...was the two of you."

Tar snarled, "The next time you seal me out, seal out everything! Or I will find an assassin to finish this between us forever," he threatened angrily. Pevin smirked as he blinked out. Then, the boy turned on his heel and followed the ghost thing back upstairs.

Hawk shut the door he left standing open and sighed in relief. "That will be terribly difficult for him to do," he remarked winsomely, "The only thing you didn't seal out was light clan. Somehow I cannot see a Holy Temple Guardian becoming an assassin," he mused with a small, pleased smile. Neither could Shadow...but then...

"Who was here, Hawk?"

"My lord," the boy inquired looking far too innocent for someone he knew was guilty as sin of the accusations leveled at him.

"Tar was petrified! Don't go all coy and act innocent on me. Who was here," he demanded. The boy moved across the room fluidly watching his face.

Hawk looked both wary and thoughtful as he drew near. "No harm was done, as you can clearly see, my lord." He swept out a hand to indicate the room, but the vampire's eyes never left the boy. "You needed to rest, and I made certain you got it. I am sorry my lord was afraid, but I only did what was best for the two of you. Two, Shade, I said two," he repeated firmly. "If you are weak, so is he! He cannot afford to leave you in Pevin's...care," he said hesitantly. "Yet his trust in his young lover is complete; just as a part of you will always trust in Tarkin'ton despite his punishments!"

"Are you telling me I shouldn't," he asked incredulously. "I left here! I only came back to see him dead. If what I hear is true, and the things he whispered in my ears for so long, I cannot allow him life. Even if it means I die with him," Shadow whispered in total resignation, "I have to kill him."

Hawk shifted nervously. "Tarkin'ton has been praying to the Gods," he stated ominously. It fell on deaf ears. The news didn't seem to even faze Shadow. He huffed a little in irritation, "Not your Gods, Shadow'kin! To the Gods of all thing Good and Light he prays! Like you, Shade," he urged fiercely. "It is unheard of! You protected yourself from all except the Light!"

"I have my reasons," the vampire bitched. He turned away from the boy.

"Perhaps Tar sees your reasons too," he suggested softly.

"Then, I have killed him without a cause!"

"No, Shade," Hawk stated flatly, "You killed him because it is what he wished of you. It is one of the things he prayed for...his death at your hands." Shadow felt a stab of pain and cried out at the severity and suddenness of it! The little creature's words cut deep. "He must seem dead to all who come seeking him. Yet the worst of them will not be fooled by this ruse! Not so long as the boy walks a two-fold path," he explained.

"What do you mean? Two path..." His voice rasped still laced with pain.

"Pevin," Hawk urged. "As much as my lord loves him, he is a spy!"

The vampire hissed in a breath in fury. "Meg'rin," he snarled in disgust.

"Yes," Hawk agreed emphatically. "He treats his father and uncle as abysmally as she has taught him to treat them!"

"The two twins," Shadow mumbled thoughtfully. Perhaps the boy really was the reason they feared vampires so badly. "Oh, hell," he swore in dismay, "the sun dragon! I forgot about him and left him alone!"

Hawk sat at the edge of the bed soothingly. "He will be hungry, but not harmed. You heard him; Pevin could not find the keys." Hawk moved to a pillow on the bed and drew the clinging, clattering ring out. "You asked me to see to the prisoners. You left them in the kitchen, so I hid them."

Shade took the keys giving Hawk a look. He was trying to decide how innocent his newfound bed mate really was...and he was coming up with bad odds. Did he work for an angelic guardian? He already knew the most powerful of them could fool other powerful creatures on what their true age and race were. "Thank you. Do we have anything to feed a dragon? Three of them, I should say," he amended.

The boy shook his head. "No, sir, the others ate it all. I could give them some fruit to hold them over until you could find, or make more meat."

"I will have to hunt. I cannot make more than a small amount and even then, mostly fruit," he sighed. "I hate hunting."

"If you kill it, the kids can clean and cook nicely. They will make certain to store the leftovers properly...hint, hint. It won't be problem if you get too much."

"Just too little," the vampire added with a smile. "Yeah, I get it. Do any of your boys eat meat," he thought to ask before fading away.

Hawk looked surprised. A tiny smile broke over his face as he answered softly, "some."

Shade used the keys to lock the boys' door and went to see how the twins were faring. He wasn't surprised to see them strung back up separately. This time the men faced the cold stones on opposite sides of the room. "Pevin," the inevitable whisper came breaking the dank stillness of the room. He was certain it was the same male as before.

"Are you the boy's father," Shadow asked dryly. The dragon flinched when he recognized him as the vampire stranger from before. He made no answer. In fact he seemed to be the only one awake this morning, so Shade moved up behind him. The half dragon pulled at his chains trying to look around at the predator he could not see. A stiff collar restricted his head not allowing it. 

Finally, the man stopped admitting defeat. "You must be Shadoc's brother. You remind me of him," he hissed fearfully. Shade was speechless. What could he say to that? He threaded his fingers into the man's hair letting him get used to him slowly. He combed out some of the tangles he found. It was rare for one of their kind to be so unkempt. Seeing a bowl of some size, he created a little water and a small scrap of fabric. Bringing it close, he started sponging the dragon's neck tenderly. It wasn't well received. The poor creature struggled trying to get away not knowing what he was about.

"Hold still," he crooned. "Doesn't he even bathe you?"

The creature snarled at him. "No," he hissed in disgust, "but he is not above fucking us!" Shade paused letting the words and the tone tell him much of the man's bitterness. He was a prisoner, eaten and abused by his own son or nephew. He didn't even want to imagine the angry confusion in the man's voice as he had stated the words. "Why are you doing this? Just let us down," he begged, "I need to see to my twin! He is hurting!"

"Your brother is alive." Mentally, he sent a shadow minion to fetch Hawk. "I will release you as soon as you are both clean and taken care of properly. You need to eat, but the prisoners I released before have eaten us out of provisions. Can you nibble on some produce until I get back? I will go hunting. You two need to rest, anyway. I can't unchain you. I have already tried it; they won't come loose."

"It is a complex spell made by Meg and Shadoc," the male admitted unhappily. "You really freed the prisoners?"

"You remain," Shade explained, "as you can see. The boys won't leave as they have nowhere to return to and wished to stay. The others have been set loose with the exception of an injured sun dragon. The room of females...all dead," he reminded him. "I did what I could."

"Meg killed them! She came to us covered in their blood, drunk on it!"

His words startled the vampire. He hid his expression by turning to Hawk as he entered the room. "Can you and one of your boys clean these two up? I am going to check on the other one. Release them when you are done. The least I can do is try to give them a meager amount of freedom. Tell them to sleep," he added.

"It will be done as you say, my lord," Hawk stated with a slight bow. "Borg and Bede will not harm us. We will set them free and allow them to bathe as we brush out their lovely hair for them. They do not mind that."

"Borg and Bede," Shade repeated amused. "Which are you?" The dragon male did not answer. He hadn't really expected him to. "Not that it matters any; I will assume you are Pevin's uncle. Take care of your brother." He turned to leave seeing Hawk had already gone to get whatever he needed.

"Thank you." He paused, but didn't turn back to the sullen dragon. His dark skin made Shadow wonder if they were all three shadow dragons. That would make Pevin a very powerful and dangerous, little tramp. His markings alone showed he was a stout mage.

It took a minute to coerce the door to the sun dragon's chambers open. It was rusty and still locked up tight. The dragon was sitting stiffly against the wall on the bed. "Damn, you sure took your time," he stated in pleasant amusement. 

"How are you feeling?"

He shifted wincing, "sore when I wake, but it gets better if I move around some. I am hungry. You did say there was food? I heard what you told the other two," he stated tensely. "May I help you hunt?"

"Of course," Shadow agreed happily. "Would you need anything before we go?"

"Pants," the man drawled carefully. It seemed a friendly vampire confused everyone around here. However, his comment drew that vampire's gaze downward. 

"Of course, but..." How do you explain needing to be intimately familiar with a person to think of the proper fit? The other male stood with a strangely teasing grin. He came up close to Shade. When his head came up to look at him dead on, the shadows hiding his eyes seemed to disappear. They were reflective! There was no coloring in them what-so-ever, and they threw back the light when it hit them. It was eerie. They were clearly eyes of a predator. His skin moved in a lazy wash of magical energy that was highly fascinating. The pink turned orange where the gold overlaid it. Bright, blinding reds where the illusion dramatically darkened the pink. 

"I know what you need. You can come closer, vampire...Touch me," he beckoned using only the mere hint of a compulsion in his voice. He wanted to be certain he would do it. The creature's eyes flashed as soon as he stepped close. "Good, good...touch," he encouraged quietly. Pain flared where Shadow's hand brushed the man's arm and waist. He whimpered wanting to immediately draw away. He hated being hurt; feared it! "Hush, ignore the pain. You said you wanted to touch me, so take your fill, vampire." Shadow's mind automatically tried to fight free of the creature's mind. "Be calm. Did you expect to touch the light and not pay the consequences?" He took Shadow's hand and used his own to move it over his hips and thighs. "Shh...It is necessary."

"Why didn't it hurt when I carried you in here?"

"I was nearly dead. I have recovered some of my strength. You want to touch me, Sha'da limn; forget the pain." Both hands drew the vampire along his skin tracing the contours lightly. Shadow closed his eyes memorizing the imprint along his fingertips. He was right, Shade thought. Despite the pain, he was enjoying the feel of his flesh and the feel of the light energy swatting at his own darkness like a cat testing his boundaries. He let out a little moan of sheer longing when his hands traced that firm, muscled ass. "That is it, feel me, vampire." The creature sounded greatly amused by his lust. Then, he released his hands to place his own along Shadow's waistline. He jumped at the sting and made a little sound in protest. He tried to focus his attention to his task and rubbed his hands down extraordinary, muscled calves and flanks. The dragon leaned into it. Shadow's skin was twitching like an animal being touched by a cattle prod. This man was not a Sun Dragon! His body was screaming what his mind had been too slow to comprehend...He was a Light Bearer! They were a rare warrior breed of the Temple Guardian Clan. Shadow had to kneel to get to his lower calf and ankles. The man above him sighed as Shade memorized every detail of shape and size. The sigh distracted him. The creature's hands had moved into his hair. It didn't hurt so much as make him start imagining things he shouldn't be thinking of. Shadow had to look...His chin came up and it was a mistake! The creature's eyes were closed enjoying the hands that swept darkness against his skin, his face a mask of pure pleasure. It was evident elsewhere too as the appendage before the vampire's face began to grow slowly. Tempting fate, he leaned forward and let his tongue trace the curvature of the rounded dome tasting the sweet, swelling of his skin. The male pulled him closer in instinctive reaction. Shadow nipped at it and a harsh sound rumbled in the man's chest! Then, those bright, blinding eyes flashed open trapping his mind in seconds! "No," he barked panicked. "No, Shadow'kin! Even the light can be tempted," he whispered as he pulled him away shakily. He leaned down and kissed him violently. 

It got deeper, wilder and hotter until Shadow drew back in pain. The creature burst into light and he hissed scrambling away in terror, his eyes stinging and streaming from it! It practically made the very air around them sizzle. "Maybe you should make me a cloak, too," the angelic minion suggested, "as I seem to be highly attracted to you." He sounded husky and startled. "You can't imagine how strange it feels to admit that. I have never slept with a guy willingly in my life."

"Light Bearer," he growled without uncurling from his protective stance. He quickly made a pair of silky, snowy white coverings for him. The material was slinky, but thick! The cloak wouldn't just cover that gorgeous body; it would cover that infernal blaze of power scalding his tender skin! "Why does ever Light Bearer say it that way: 'I have never willingly'? What? Has every one of you have been raped?"

The man laughed softly. "You didn't know? I really must have been weak when you found me, vampire. I thank you for my pitiful life, but I must know this," he stated thoughtfully while dressing. "Would you have helped me had you known?"

Shadow smiled slowly and it was touched with a hint of devilish mischief. His immediate reaction to that question was not an appropriate one. He didn't think the man would get offended, so he decided to tell him. "I would have taken advantage of you while I had the chance. When you could not have given me this little display..." The angel laughed delighted by his honesty. 

"I am not pure light, despite my calling. Be wary of that mouth, little vampire," he added sounding like he was thinking of more than those cautiously, worded taunts. "Shall we go hunting, now?" Shadow got up. The man was beautiful, perhaps even more so in the all white luster of the cloak and pants. He made himself a matching outfit using all black leather. It won him a laugh. "It doesn't match that white hair of yours," he mused. "Are you really Shadoc's brother?"

Shadow froze. His entire body seemed to hate the very sound of those words, "Yes."

"You don't remind me of the vampire king. He is completely cold and heartless." Shadow turned into him as the angel touched his shoulder. It didn't hurt with all of the material between them. "You may be a vampire, Shadow'kin, but you are strange. There is goodness within you."

"You don't know me, angel! Do not assume such things," he hissed angrily.

"I know you attract my angelic blood," he stated softly. His voice was firm as he explained, "Meaning there is good in you, despite all of your protesting!" They walked outside in stilted silence. "Sha'da limn," the man called to him tenderly. Everything about the angel was soft and gentle, Shadow realized, not understanding it in the least. The forest called to the animal in him. He missed running alone within the uncomplicated world it offered.




A Simple Shadow Pt. 10



"What are you called," he demanded. It won him another peace-filled laugh.

"My, my...You finally got curious, hmm?" Shadow wondered if he could see his blush of embarrassment. "Ra'bast Ar'lin," he drawled in answer. Shadow frowned trying to work the words through his brain for a meaning. Something about sunlight, that was the 'Ra'bast' part, but what was the other? Without knowing the half-dragon creature better personally, it was impossible to interpret. "You know I am not a dragon," he informed him suddenly, "At least, not by blood ties."

"Damn, you are a psychic, too." The man laughed delighted by his irritation. It was nice to be so ridiculously easy to amuse, Shadow thought scathingly. 

"Oh, come now, Shadow'kin...I am alive and free! I didn't expect that." The angel frowned evaluating his wording. "Or I should say," he corrected with a sigh not content with partial truths, "I had not expected to be saved by a creature of total darkness." Had the Light Bearer part of his blood forced him to clarify? Was a half truth too much of a lie to them? 

Well, Shade damn well wasn't going to call the man Sunlight; it was stupid and cliché! He looked back from the tree line to catch an amused smile on the angel's cherubic, perfectly innocent, devilish face. Those oddly, cat-like eyes glittered with suppressed laughter ruining the charming facade. His golden hair was a bit feline, too, he noticed. The illusionary skin texture was as confusing on the eye as his old illusion had been. Many people had once thought him a god in far-off, strange lands for that alone. Focusing on one part of his name, he decided it fit the angel perfectly...Bast. Truly he had spent too long on Earth, if he was naming a Light Bearer after an Egyptian Cat God, he thought to himself wryly. He heard more laughter behind him. "You may not like to talk to me much, but to a psychic," the man stated considering his word choices, "you are irresistible, Shadow'kin." The vampire stood still as the taller man wrapped his arms around him and pulled. He let his body lean back into him, wondering what was wrong with him. He never acted like this! 

"You are too innocent to be in the middle of this feud, vampire. You should go away. Somewhere," he suggested fondly, "but not here..." Bast parted Shadow's cloak. He made a soft sound as the creature's hand touched his bare flesh beneath it. Bast moved his hand over the vampire's heart while Shadow writhed uncertain if it hurt, or if it was a deadlier form of pleasure. "They say our kinds can become addicted to one another, Sha'da limn. Touching you makes me believe them. I am charged to destroy evil where I find it, but a shadow is not necessarily evil, you see. It is simply the opposite of fire and light. A thing that is created by the very light I possess in my blood," he whispered hotly in his ear. Shade moaned wishing if he had a point he would just state it! "I am, you silly creature," he teased brushing his ear with his cheek. Bast's hand slid down along Shadow's stomach. The effect was ten times more powerful than it should have been! He wanted him to keep going farther! A pleased chuckle reminded him that this was a highly, volatile game. "My blood calls to you..." 

Oddly, he could feel the sensation he was talking about; he nodded distracted. "Your flesh calls to mine, vampire. The light in my skin wants to roll in your darkness. It wants to shine on your body until you are forced to shadow yourself for protection! It wants to spark your powers until you can completely engulf me in darkness, Sha'da limn!" His hand slid past his waistline and Shadow cried out in severe pain and pleasure as he lightly drug his fingertips over him. His skin began to darken as power rose up unbidden. It gathered, eating along his body, until the leather couldn't hide the darkness any longer. He tensed as the void began to engulf both of them, hiding them from the forest's many eyes. Bast's arms tightened holding him closer as Shadow screamed! The hand on him was beginning to scorch the delicate flesh he held.

A wind blasted into them forcing the pair apart! "Shade," he heard as he looked up to see Tarkin'ton leaning down over where he had fallen. Tears streamed down Shadow's face, and it broke his companion's heart to see his little, shadow cry. Tarkin turned and glared at the one responsible. Bast's eyes flashed as he paced restlessly nearby watching the apparition warily.

"You hurt him," the angel accused irritably. Tarkin'ton flinched. "His bitterness runs so deep, and over half of it bears your name, Mage!" The Light Bearer stopped pacing. "What do you want from him? He is still innocent and pure of heart! You kill him! Do you want him to die, Mage? If he stays here, like this, he will..."

"You have no business in this," Tarkin'ton hissed at him.

The angel's smile was cold indeed. "Oh, I do..." His words grew soft and threatening. "Be careful what you pray for, Shadow Master! We angels must answer the prayers of those in dire need...even yours."

Tar mouthed silently, "I should have killed you."

"No doubt," Bast agreed. What stilled your hand? A last shred of hope..."

"I cannot stay here!" Shadow screamed disgusted by them both, "Gods, It is always the same! Every second," he hissed. He flinched away when Tar tried to touch him. "I can't live like this. Please, understand," he begged desperately. Tarkin nodded and looked away. "I am sorry," Shadow whispered, "forgive me." He bolted into the trees the moment he managed to get his feet beneath him. A scarred, snow leopard that raced away unable to deal with the fighting, the arguments, and the betrayals that lay behind him, yet even as he ran he felt the crippling pain that his desertion caused his old love. He ran blindly unable to see past the emotions and grief that fogged over his eyes! It was a familiar feeling. He stumbled and forced himself to run even faster!

Shadow heard the whisper of the angel's voice in his ear, and knew it was speaking to Tar. "You have lost him, but you have not yet lost this deadly game you play. Let me help you, Mage! You begged our help, now trust in me. Your companion is not young, but he remains simple and innocent by staying as a beast. If he had stayed here, his brother would have killed him. Surely you have figured that out by now? He has to run! It is the only way he will become who he needs to be. Let him run free; end this game; finish what you started; and let him rediscover who he is meant to be!" The seductive voice urged using a great deal of compulsion to force his cooperation, "Trust us! Sha'da limn will do fine. Let him go, Mage!"

Tarkin's voice in his head caused the cat to wail as he fled. "Shade," he whispered, "I love you. Please, be safe, my love." Then, the animal screamed in agony stumbling to his chest in the forest as he was thrust away firmly from his companion for the second time, being shut out entirely and left alone. The cat breathed heavily feeling lost momentarily from the sudden lack of emotions and thoughts. Then, the animalistic consciousness took over lifting him to his feet to race away obliviously into the trees. A portal fluxed ahead and the cat darted into it. Whoever had called it was knocked back as he passed. The jungles beyond were wide and dense and taller than the ones he had just left. The fertile earth was moist so he ran and ran and forgot himself in the easy mind of the beast. The jungle sounds filled his ears and the scents ran in his nose comfortingly.

He flattened his lean body along a thick branch in a tree stalking a bird creature nearby. His body grew tense as he focused down on the hunt and nothing else. As he stalked the creature, the greens began to take the shape of leaves signaling the return of his eyesight. His eyes cleared to watch the lovely blue and iridescent green bird of paradise several yards ahead of him on a lower limb. The cat growled at it, sprang, and caught the fragile neck between his teeth! Its shrill cry startled the other animals into a frenzy motion and sound. The cat listened to them in pleased abandon as it ate...

(To be continued under the title of the second chapter: 'A Shade of the Past')