Tail Spin

Day 2 Afternoon

Christian was back in the bedroom sprawled on the bed staring at the ceiling. "I know I have it better than most captives, but this is boring." Graham's shadow let out a hissing sound. "I guess babysitting me isn't what you'd normally do."

'Christian.' Sarah's voice emanated in his mind.

Christian sat up quickly. 'Sarah? Thank goodness. I was dying of boredom.'

'Just letting you know that we got a lock on your location, but are having a hard time finding where you are hidden.'

Christian blew a raspberry. 'With my luck Graham probably used magic to keep us hidden.' thoughts of Charles popped into his mind and he began tearing up. 'Charles.'

'It's going to be okay.' Sarah assured him before disappearing.

'Sarah. Sarah?' Christian screamed angrily as he hit the bedding. Graham's shadow wrapped around him as a protective measure. "Let me go, smokey!" As Christian struggled in the shadow's grip, it would tighten its hold.

"What's with all the commotion?" Graham suddenly appeared.

"I hit the bedding, and stupid smokey, jumped me." Christian rasped out.

"Smokey?"

"Really? I'm turning blue, and your shadow's new name is what got your attention?"

"Smokey sounds tacky."

"Smokey is perfect." Christian's eyes looked like they could pop out of their sockets any moment.

"Now. Now." Graham told his shadow. It released Christian and he gasped and coughed for air. Graham bent down and lifted his chin up. "Tell me, why were you hitting the bed?"

"You broke your word and killed my bodyguard." Christian frowned. "And I was bored."

"Bored huh?"

"See? You aren't the least bit concerned about what you did."

"Yeah. Yeah. I'm a heartless bastard. Perhaps I could find something for you to do to kill time."

Christian furrowed his brow. "Like what?"

Graham smirked evilly and the next thing Christian knew, he was on his hands and knees with a chess board placed on his back while Graham played chess with his shadow. "This thing weighs a ton." Christian complained. "What is it made of granite?"

"Marble." Graham specified as he made a move and hit the timer to finish his turn.

"Seriously?"

"You said you were bored. So, I gave you something to do."

"I was thinking more along the lines of helping you guys do housework. Or do gardening. I can't cook but could read a cookbook."

"You're my prisoner. Not my maid."

"C'mon." Christian winced when he felt the shadow place a piece down harsher than the earlier moves it made. Looking around the study he's never been in, it looks like a lawyer's office that hasn't been used in over a century. "I take it you don't have many people over."

"What makes you think that?" Graham asked as he did his turn.

"No offense, but this place looks like a haunted house. Is this an abandoned museum or something?"

"My childhood home." Graham murmured.

"What?"

"You heard me the first time."

"Is that so?" Christian grumbled but mentally thought how depressing and empty the house seemed to be.

Graham's shadow made a move and made a high-pitched noise. "I see you've won again." Graham told it. "Now." he removed the heavy board off of Christian's back and he slumped in exhaustion. "What to do next?"

Sometime later, Christian was taken to the library where Graham is sitting parallel to him as Christian reads Moby Dick while Graham's shadow kept him in place.  "By heavens man, we are turned round and round in this world, like yonder windlass, and fate is the handspike."

"Could you stop making those voices when you switch characters?" Graham asked annoyed.

"Where's the fun in that?" Graham snatched the book and continued reading in a monotone voice. "Spoil sport." Christian spoke as the brunette continued.

After an hour of reading, Graham heard snoring, and looked to see Christian has fallen asleep. "My reading's not that bad." he said to no one in particular. He closed the book and hovered over his hostage and took out a hanky to wipe the slobber dripping from Christian's mouth. "There. Now you can go back to your room." Graham told him when Christian's head rolled and landed on his arm. "What the heck? Move your head full of air out of the way."

"Jason." Christian mumbled in his sleep.

For some reason, Graham felt a twinge of jealousy upon hearing one another's name coming from the red head. "Has he mentioned this name before?" he asked his shadow. It hummed as if talking. "John?" he grinded his teeth and whacked Christian hard enough to wake up.

"I'm up!" he shouted.

"Who are these men that you are mentioning?" Graham demanded.

"Men? What men?"

"My shadow told me you mentioned a John. And I heard you mumble 'Jason' just now."

Christian blushed in embarrassment. "John is my brother."

"And the other one?"

Christian frowned. "The love of my life." he winced when Graham pulled him by the hair roughly.

"You said you loved me."

"When?"

"The first night I brought you here."

"Sorry if I gave you the wrong impression, but I never got the chance to tell him how I felt and thought I was dying so." Christian winced more when the grip tightened.

"You conniving little weasel."

"Why do you care? You said so yourself that you could never love."

Graham stopped dead still for a moment before tossing Christian off the chair. He landed with a big thump. "Get him out of my sight." his shadow carried Christian away. When he was alone, he let out an angry scream as he trashed the neat library. When he finished, he was panting when an evil idea escaped his mind. Graham clapped his hands and part of his shadow appeared. "I need you to knock our guest out. I have a surprise in store for him."