The Shadow House

Chapter 8 - I Guess We're Ready

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Clover heard Ethrina give a little gasp and start exclaiming about how great this was, but the possibilities are so low, they were slim to zero, but she coluldn't join in, she couldn't talk, couldn't move. 

There was a voice, and it was her voice, but she knew it wasn't, and the not-her voice began arguing with what sounded like a younger Ash, and then everything went dark. 

She recognised her surroundings, faintly, but it was all unfamilair at the same time. 

She saw her - Star's, she knew now - midnight-blue cloak draped over a figure with hands raised, and Ash's grey cloak on a smaller figure. The figure with hands raised, which she took to be Star, laughed. 

"Oh, brother. Why shouldn't I be tampering with the Shadows? I could make different ones, different shapes, textures, make great things that could sell for millions of pages, but-" 

She imitated the younger Ash's voice with an uncanny likness. "-No, sister! You must not tamper with the Shadows! They're alive, and could get angry! Watch out, I'm a shadow! Rawr! I'm gonna kill you!" Ash piped up firceley 

"Well they are alive, or at least dangerous!" Star laughed, but it was hollow and cold. 

"Oh yes, I am fully aware of that, brother. Here, watch." She snapped her fingers, and a long tendril of shadow that had been crawling across the floor came up beside Star and stood on end. More shadows came up to join it, until it had the form of a person, albeit more shadowy and wispy than the regular variety. The shadow-person spoke in a suprisingly deep voice. 

"Mistress. You called?" "Yes, Shadow." She rolled her eyes. "And I told you to stop calling me "Mistress"." "Sorry!" The Shadow bowed. "Oh, that's alright, Shadow. Get up." Star purred. The Shadow rose to its feet.

"Why have you called me here?" It inquired.

"DON'T ASK QUESTIONS!" Star screamed at it. She continued in a calmer, but still sharp, tone. "Take my brother home. Keep him with you, but DON'T harm him, at any cost. I suggest Shadow-Cuffs." 

"Shadow-Cuffs?" Ash gulped. "What, exactly, are Shadow-Cuffs?" 

"They are tamper-proof, human-proof, no-lock-or-key-needed hand-or-ankle cuffs made of Ironshadows, both my designs. Now make things easier, and just go home."

The Shadow stepped eagerly over to Ash, who wore an expression of shock and hurt on his face, and snapped the Shadow-Cuffs on his wrists and led him into the darkness.

The darkness became that dim portal-light again, and Clover could move, could see that she was lying on the ground with her friends kneeling over her, calling her name.

She blinked and rubbed her eyes, and croaked out

"What... Happened?" Ethrina took this as a signal to launch into a detailed and science-y explanation for what had happened.

"Well, basically," Ash cut in, "You had another of those vision-y things. You know the first one that happened? Like that, but longer. WAY longer. You totally freaked us out!"

His tone was scolding.

"Ghll... ds kyft o'n psfhgvn... O BN psfhggvn? Hg jn! O'n vgt kj! Gdpl!" Clover said, to her surprise, in Huvondellian.

"I mean... I'm Ok, aren't I?"

Ash and Ethrina were looking between each other and her with worried expressions on their faces.

"Well at least we know that you can speak fluent Huvondellian now!" Finished Ethrina weakly, as she had been cut off by Clover's dialogue.

"Y-yeah..." Clover responded. She got up and dusted herself off. "So... you're ready? To go into the portal, I mean."