Shadow Breeds

Chapter 7

Ashe

'One thing after another, my life will always be chaotic and messy,' I thought to myself as August lowered himself next me. I stared down at the little creature I'd just learned about, still unsure about if I was dreaming or not. "Why can't they all be as cute as you," I baby-talked Chip, earning a quiet chuckle from August. I still didn't understand why I wasn't freaked out, this place just felt...right to me.

"Would it be better if I started off with the not-so-bad creatures or the most dangerous ones?" He finally asked while playing with the moss below him. "The worst ones, it'll make the others easier to swallow," I spoke dryly.

"Well, that would be some of the Gods and Goddesses of the Shadow actually, but unless someone decides to visit without notice we're unlikely to come across any. Plus, most of them are just like you and me and like humans there are good and bad among each Shadow Breed, gods just happen to be the strongest and most dangerous if you get on their bad side." He brought his gaze to meet mine as he spoke the last part, I nodded not knowing how else to respond. I had figured that much, no society could be perfect. "However, the only other creature that threatens them are the vaermaids." I furrowed my eyebrows questioningly, "vaermaids?"

He nodded, "humans would probably assume they're a hybrid between sirens, vampires, and mermaids. They can choose when to have a tail or legs too. The thing is, they aren't a hybrid, they are a pure blooded lineage, nobody's ever connected island-lurking deadly sirens, blood suckers and mermaids together even with existing theories of blood sucking mermaids or sirens being mermaids that can sometimes lose their tails."

I hated that this sounded normal to me, I should be at the very least weirded out, especially since this was the first time I was seeing any proof of the supernatural. A shiver ran up my spine, not from being cold but from the nerves about my lack of nervousness. Does this mean there aren't as many creatures as legends would have you believe, or does it mean there's more in a more complex sense? Wouldn't there being fewer entities also make hiding from humans even easier? That made too much sense.

I ran my fingers through my hair, trying to sooth an on-coming migraine before it got too bad. "Okay so far there's Shadow Gods, Vaermaids, Vampires, Werewolves and Rockeaters and then there's hybrids between Shadow Breeds, what am I missing?" With a sigh he sent me a small smile, "human hybrids and then other creatures that are completely harmless to us." I shook my head, the idea that a Shadow breed and a human had a child together didn't seem likely or logical, most humans made these creatures out to be horrific. They wouldn't take the time to learn that they're all just like them, it'd be war. It had turned into war once before already based on the local legends.

As if reading my mind, he explained more about it. "Although human hybrids are an extreme rarity, it apparently happens. As a matter of fact, almost a hundred years ago the first ever human-god hybrid was born to one of the most powerful Shadow Gods, Allaris, and Hazyl, a human that studied our world and not for entertainment or money, but out of pure interest which was and still is also rare. Allaris caught her sneaking around one day and invited her into the community where they fell in love, of coarse this was before the war..." he trailed off.

I dropped my head on his shoulder and sighed, "are there any others I need to know about right now?" I asked after a moment of silence. He shook his head, "anything else you'll come across should be completely harmless, we have a book listing every existing creature at the cabin if you want to learn about them all." I nodded and got to my feet, dusting the dirt off my legs. "Well, are you up to finishing the tour?" I asked as I held out a hand to help him up. "Of coarse," he responded cheerfully, but with shock and confusion expressed on his face.