The Kiros Chronicles: Into Shadow

9: The Shadow on the Wall

Vero didn’t know if Khana wanted to befriend him or not. It was one of the millions of things bouncing around in his head without anything to tie it down.
He opened the door to his quarters, noticing Akaiko had already fallen asleep, leaning back in the chair. Vero sat on the windowsill, which was strangely wide. It was one of the windows on a beachside home that jutted out weirdly, but in a good way, and overlooked the bay. It wasn’t the most comfortable, but Vero had slept on worse.
♤
“No, my mom wouldn’t really like it if I brought someone over…” Vero protested softly.
“Oh come on, V, it’ll be fine.” Conner replied with a smile, just as ever. “I’m sure she’s not that bad. And besides, it isn’t like I’m spending the night or something. I’m just going over to your house for a few hours until my dad comes to pick me up.”
Vero yanked his body to the side.
Vero could tell that his mother was furious with him. But he knew that she wouldn’t show it in front of one of Vero’s ‘friends.’
“No.” He whispered, his emotionless, sleeping mouth turning into a scowl.
The second that the door closed, Vero winced, preparing for the worst.
Vero fell off the windowsill, thudding against the hardwood flooring.
Vero ripped himself away from another memory. His head ached and his body felt weak.
“Is this what you wanted?”
Vero took a deep breath.
“No, ma’am.”
Vero tried standing up.
“You’re supposed to be mature by now, Vero. Instead, you’re this stuck-up child.”
“You’re wrong.” Vero whispered. His body trembled.
“You need to grow up, Vero. Grow up, or get out.”
“Shut up.” Vero ordered breathlessly. He couldn’t find any time to catch his breath; his entire body was too focused on the voice. “Please.” Vero collapsed onto the hardwood flooring. The second his head hit the floor again, everything stopped. Vero could breathe again. He couldn’t hear the voices anymore.
♤
Akaiko had given Vero his padded gloves, since Vero wasn’t given his own yet. They were either tight on his wrists or a bit of a too-perfect fit. And Vero’s right hand felt strange; after all, he wasn’t using the tips of his fingers to yank the string of his bow back, his thumb pinching the fletching of the arrow.
Vero’s mind changed suddenly. His thoughts went back to the shadow on the wall. But he didn’t have time to look into that for now. His training awaited him.
♤
Vero watched as blue flames engulfed his hand. The flames rose higher than last time, nearly reaching the ceiling.
“Right now, your fire won’t burn anything. And that’s good.” Khana stated, putting her hand over the fire. “But not when you’re facing an enemy.” She circled Vero, frost forming around her hands as a protective barrier. “Emotions fuel magic. That’s one of the few things we understand, even after centuries of research.”
“Is it a specific emotion?” Vero asked.
“It can be any emotion. It just needs to be strong enough so the magic affects more than the visual plane.” Khana remarked. “Magic exists in the mental plane, slipping through cracks and ‘choosing’ people to wield it. Someone with a clean conscience can easily wield magic.”
“So why do I have it?” Vero wondered. Khana was hesitant to answer, almost as if she didn’t know.
“Magic can also manifest in people with a guilty conscience, but that is rarer.” She finally replied. “But right now, let’s focus on making your fire have heat to it. Think of a strong memory, one that never escapes your mind.” Vero felt his hands shaking. Images flashed through his mind.

“Of course I do, Vero.” His father chuckled as he answered. Vero sighed, going back to looking out the window.
Vero felt the fire spreading across his body.
Vero could feel his body pressing into the seat. He could hear the car engine get higher in pitch as he watched the land speed by.
Vero felt the flames grow higher and hotter.
Vero looked forward, seeing a bright light get closer and closer.
Vero ripped himself away from the memory. The blue flames engulfing his body disappeared and Vero fell to his knees. He turned his head towards where he saw Khana, where there was now a large sphere of ice. Khana walked out from behind the sphere, giving Vero a puzzled look.
“Well, that seemed easy for you.” She remarked. “What did you think of?” Vero hesitated to answer.
“The night I became a monster.”
♤
Vero’s mind was brought back to the shadow on the wall. Every time he remembered looking at it, he could only feel like it was reaching out to him. He wouldn’t put it aside any longer, he thought.
Vero entered the library, seeing nobody there. He noticed a dark spot on one of the walls. Walking towards the wall, Vero felt a pull towards it, like something was calling him to it. In seconds, he was standing in front of the wall.
He saw something in the wall. A shadow. But not his. It was taller, with a strange-looking head and broad shoulders.
Then its hand grabbed Vero by the collar of his shirt.