Veil of Shadows

Chapter 44. Ghostbusters

The heavy iron door mostly prevented Shadow from hearing anything outside his cell, but every so often bits of conversation were audible from the guards outside.

"The King has ordered his execution. It'll be public - and I'm looking forward to seeing how they'll stop him from simply teleporting."

"I've heard rumors that they're going to take his powers away, so he won't be an Ender anymore."

Upon hearing this, Shadow had stalked to the door, making sure to keep his footsteps silent. The information the guards could unwittingly give him might prove useful in the future.

"Just how insane is this guy? I mean, he gave up his title as Prince of the End. With his current campaign, I don't see why didn't he just keep his rank."

"He doesn't want to be a Prince. He wants to be a King, to have all the power in his grasp. Greedy fool."

At that, Shadow's frown deepened. He had no intentions to be King. He said louder than was strictly necessary "It is rather unwise of you to insult this greedy fool when he can actually hear you through the door."

Absolute silence. Shadow grinned to himself and stepped away from the door.

~

To put it in simple terms, Ranger was panicking.

When the guards locked her in an enclosed room that served as a jail cell, she had discovered that she was intensely claustrophobic. It took every ounce of self-control she could muster, but she managed to stay sane.

She kept her eyes screwed shut, denying reality and imagining that she was sitting outside in a forest. It worked well enough, and after a while, her breathing eased, and she was finally able to focus.

Feeling drained from the effort of keeping her own fear under control, she felt the wall she had put up start to weaken.

"You know, letting me take control would save a lot of time and stress."

Ranger mumbled "Please go away, Red. I don't need to deal with you right now."

"How can I go away? I'm literally inside your head."

Ranger scowled. "Thanks for reminding me."

"Anytime. And whenever you decide that you can't stand being in this cell any longer, you know who to call."

"Ghostbusters?"

"No. Don't be ridiculous. Me."

Ranger let out a breath. "I won't let you take control. Not again. You're the reason why I'm in this mess in the first place."

"Don't blame me. Those idiotic hunters at Greenvale were asking for it."

Ranger felt a flicker of anger. "So you killed them all, and used me to do it?"

"Exactly. Do you have a problem with that? If so, keep it to yourself."

Sometimes, Ranger wondered if she was going insane. "Just shut up and behave."

"Behave? You're kidding, right? I'm the embodiment of your Ender Rage. Behaving isn't my strong point."

"Then shut up. Surely you're capable of that."

"That, and much more. Including getting you out of this cell, if you would only let me take control."

Silence. Finally, complete quiet. Perfect. Ranger sighed, then let her head rest against the wall. Having a figurative person in your head wasn't quite as fun as it sounded - especially when that particular person was a sociopathic murderer.