Rebirth

Chapter 50: Shadow Spy

The cellar air was cold and thick. Chills ran down my spine as I continued down the stony pathway, looking at the rusted cell bars. Dimly lit torches lined up along the wall between each cell, a faint ghostly chill emitting from each one. Cobwebs were along the ceiling, small daddy long legs spiders crawling along the thin strands. "Richard should clean this place up," I muttered to myself, rubbing my arms in an attempt to warm up my skin some. I could've used my magic, or allowed my natural heat to keep me warm, but I figured I would need every ounce of energy I could spare, even if it meant making myself as weak as a human right now.

The corridor spread on, like an endless walk into the darkest void. My eyes quickly adjusted, and the darkness diminished gradually. The only remnants were the dark patches where the dim lighting couldn't reach. I took another step, eyes glancing over each and every dark patch I could see. The slightest movement, any signs of breathing, or something that looked out of place in general would give them away, that's if there really is anyone in here at all.

I had my doubts, thinking that Amaterasu or Luna would send someone to spy on us, watch us, listen to our plans and thoughts and report back to them. If they did send someone, they would want to risk the slightest mistake, and would send someone with a perfect track record. Even then, the best always make small screw ups in one way or another. This guy, if he was still here, was the mirror. Garlos and I didn't hear it crack as we were too caught up in the conversation, but nothing ever exactly goes totally unnoticed by me. I'll get a chill, or my eyes will focus on something that can be slightly different than how it was before.

My thoughts drifted back to Garlos. Poor guy, having to fight and kill his friend. In the end, the half blood ended up hating him, cursing and scorning him. Garlos's guilt lead him to consuming the magic power from the half blood, which in turn, gave him the power to control the Gale. Interesting, how even now, he's fighting for the one he killed, yet that very person, or wolf in this case, probably still hates him, and is turning over in his grave constantly at the thought of having his magic taken from him.

That thought brought me to myself. What would everyone do without me? I'm sure they'd move on, they always would. No matter how sad they'd be in the beginning, they wouldn't hold onto me forever. Right? Wasn't I more of a burden to them, always butting my nose in their business when I shouldn't? Worried or not, wouldn't that make me more annoying than anything?

Who knows? No one can ever truly understand someone's mind. Not totally. Having the ability to share a bond that deep is rare, and it's even more rare if someone has doubts. People can try, over and over, to completely understand each other, but sometimes it doesn't work out, and both go their separate ways after giving it their all. It's sad, but that's how life has worked so far.

I've tried to understand, to be their guardian angel, but I don't think I've done too good a job of that. Hell, we all came to this world because of me, and there's no denying that. Granted, it was all a sudden change and they all were given a second chance at life because of it, but if I hadn't been with Luna years prior, none of this now would be happening.

It's not entirely fair to blame myself like this. Everyone would be on my ass if they heard me talking like this. I should keep this inside, hope for the best, and see if my feelings change later.

I stopped walking when I heard a slight shuffle. To my left? Nothing. My right? Nothing still. I looked up, in front, and all around. Still, nothing. Not a trace of another person. I shook my head, laughing quietly to myself. I'm getting paranoid. I looked down, my eyes instinctively falling on my shadow. It was darker than normal, but I guess that's because of the light. "Wait, there's barely any light in here... How is my shadow so dark..."

A heavy swore filled my ears, and before my eyes, the shadow raced off, deeper into the cells. Momentarily shocked, I shook my head, racing after it. "Hey! Hold up!" The shadow bulged from the floor, turning back. One eye. One dark, black, voidful eye. The shadows around it raced at in, a wall forming. Cursing, I let my flames consume me, and plowed straight through.

Noise ripped at me through the darkness, as if I just destroyed an endless pool of screaming souls. I clutched my ears, stumbling forward, but eyes locked on the now escaping shadow. Swearing, I cast aside my hands, quickly allowing my own shadows to taint me, coating my skin and hair black, and my eyes started glowing. Diving, I become one with the shadows, surging through, racing up next to my prey. "Where ya running to, buddy?"

It swore again. Up close, its voice sounded deeper. I reached from my shadow, grabbing his and pulled slightly, oozing us both out. His face looked young and fresh. There was a tattoo running along a scar over his golden left, and his hair was seeped in black and green. Fangs hung slightly from his mouth, coated with a slight red tint. His skin was tan, and looked shiny to touch. "You can physically grab the shadows?!" He said, shocked. Without hesitating, I pulled him forward, my fist slamming him directly in the face. He slightly hovered out of his shadow, stunned. I pulled back my right hand, then connected with another fist. The impact shook the ground, and he tumbled, slamming into the wall at the end of the hall. I jumped up from the shadows, sliding to a halt.

"You.. They didn't tell me about that shadow magic of yours.."

"Who are you," I asked calmly.

He growled, wiping the blood from his chin. Getting his feet, he smiled, bowing and speaking smugly. "Call me, Rios. The greatest assassin this world has ever known."

"And let me guess, Luna sent you to kill me."

He paused, looking up and his eyes faintly glowing. "You know her then.. Good, which means, you should also know I'm serious business."

"Nope. I never even heard of ya."

He growled at me, then his lips rose in a smirk. Standing, he wiped dirt from his pants, his gaze held on me. "It's not smart to push an assassin."

"Kind of fitting an assassin would use shadow style magic. It sucks for you though, since the one you're going after can use the same thing. Probably even better than you can." I couldn't tell if I was getting under his skin or not. His smirk faded, but he kept a calm face. "So then," I started a few seconds of untouched silence, "Why are you here now? It can't be just to kill me. You would've done that the first chance you got."
"You're right. I was sent here to spy on you all."

He's obviously not smart, or very cocky to so easily reveal himself like that.

"Luna and Amaterasu. They wanted to know what kind of plans you all were making. They knew you'd be coming after them soon, so they made the first move."

"Which means, you came to spy on us."

"Not just that.. I needed to know where your base of operations was placed. The castle was a nice choice." He chuckled then, and I felt a sense of nervousness fill my stomach. Before I could ask what was so funny, the ceiling began rumbling above us, drawing my eyes and knocking the cobwebs loose and a couple torches down from the walls. "The hell was that?"

"I guess they showed up as planned." Rios tapped his forehead. "They were always quick to find everything."

It wasn't a hard guess to figure out what he meant. Amaterasu and Luna had stormed the castle, most likely with their own army. They wouldn't spare anyone, not unless they found me. I returned my gaze to Rios, who was charging at me through the shadows. He dashed around me, moving at an immense speed, laughing twistedly. "Oh I can't wait. It's always fun seeing blood spilt, and the despair on the faces of people who witness it."

He came at me, trying to strike from behind. He made one mistake though. He hadn't accounted for my reaction speed to be faster than his. As his fingers grazed my cheek, I brought my fist back, slamming it into his ribs, effectively shatter them and sending him tumbling into the wall. The shadows around us began fading as he went limp, and I held a small smirk. Then, remembering the current problem at hand, I turned and raced back down the hall, determined to end this confrontation with Amaterasu and his woman.