Reflections Of Angels

Shadow Waltz

The door to his home crashed open loudly as Dec rushed through. "Billy? Where's Billy? What's happened with Billy?"

"Billy runned away!" Lila informed him before anyone else could; a plaintive, distraught tone to her voice.

"Did no one catch him? Go after him?"

"Mina tried, but she couldn't find him!" Actual tears were welling up in her eyes not, the first few of a brewing torrent creeping down her cheeks.

Anxiously Dec ran his fingers through his hair for perhaps the millionth time, his throat bobbing repeatedly as he swallowed, before addressing his housekeeper. "Stay here with Lila, I'm going out to look!"

Before she could answer, he had turned and was gone out the door into the night.

"Billy! Billy! BILLY!"

Walking down the road, hoping that Billy hadn't actually gone far and had just stowed himself away somewhere until he was done with whatever mood he was in, Declan found a hole pushed through a hedge. Crouching down, he peered inside; it was definitely the right size for a certain small fellow to crawl through.

There, at the back of the hole, he saw a shape. "Billy? Billy!"

The shape crouched at the back moved, and then suddenly, it darted away. Straightening up, Dec took to pursuit, searching for a way over the other side of the hedge. "William! Come back here!"

Leaping over, he saw the figure scurry across the grass, going behind a tree before peeping out the other side at him. It was definitely small enough to be Billy; it moved like him too, but the silhouette was just so black against the darkening sky that he couldn't make out his features.

In long, fast strides, but not running in case he spooked the boy off again, Declan walked towards the tree. Too late; the small figure took off running again, and speeding up, Declan gave chase.

"Billy! Billy, don't!"

The figure moved so fast; almost as if his feet didn't touch the ground. Further and further they ran, the night folding them up in its expansive embrace. Something about the world had shifted; Declan no longer had any idea where they were or where they were going, as they traversed moon-silvered grass, pushing through inky leaves and crooked branches and strange fingers in the dark, tangling him in their touch. All Declan knew was he had to run faster, run harder, to keep the boy in view.

And then suddenly, they came out by a great pool. The surface rippled lightly under the half-moon. And shadows were dancing across the water.

Dec could hardly believe his eyes. He even rubbed them just to check. The shadows of people were dancing across the water's surface, a mystifying, phantasmic celebration. Twisting shapes and featureless figures spun across the water, coiled around each other and breaking apart in their soundless, ghostly waltz.

At the edge of the water, the shape alike to Billy stood, and beckoned him towards them.

And then a chill settled over everything, darkness quelling the moon. And before he even heard a sound, Declan knew there was someone behind him. "Who are you?"