Shadow and Dust

Prologue

At first, the figure in the opposite corner of the room did not move. It was stale, unnatural, and billowing in place like suspended smoke. Time seemed to pass and freeze all at once as the shape slowly began to form something tangible. Little shadows morphed like bulbous tufts raising and collapsing in on themselves once again. A chill was born in my shivering heart and traveled through the liquid in my veins parasite-like until I was frozen.

Mother and Father had always told me to behave or the gods would punish me. Now was the time of reckoning. The gods had seen it all. They had watched me kill the man and they had watched me hide like the coward I was. I had not meant to kill him, truly. It had been a complete and total accident. But I did. He was dead and I would follow. I began sobbing uncontrollably and wished for Mother and Father to rush in and hold me for my last moments. The snot ran down my nose and cheeks, further morphing me into a miserable, slimy heap of a four-year-old.

"Don't come close," I warned, desperately trying to pull in my scrawny knees even closer to my chest and recede into the nothingness, but I couldn't move. I couldn't curl up in a ball and hide. The darkness seemed to swallow up my sobs before they could travel any further. Mother could not hear me. Father could not hear me. Only the darkness could hear me. It would not be long before it swallowed me up too.

The shape began to shift and I watched as a black hand emerged from the suspended fog. It reached towards the moonlight craving its light. Following the hand, a silhouette of a man stepped into the moonlight. He stretched and admired how the light reflected on his own skin and and allowed the glow to illuminate his body. His black body seemed to absorb the light and his own skin began to change from the dense black into a ghostly white. His eyes remained a void darkness and his smile was a lifeless enjoyment unaffected by the moonlight. The moments following his rebirth were not spent fixated on me but rather on his own manifestation and his submersion into a human form once more. After his reflection, the man let his arms rest at his side and ensnare one another behind his back. Although I could not see his face I could tell that his eyes were now locked on mine. The man began to approach with a confident, yet slow gate that radiated a sinister power.

"Please st-st-stay back, I'll kill you if I have to," I sniffled, knowing that the words sounded weak and perhaps even more inviting than threatening. If Father were here, his booming voice would frighten this monster off. My mouse like whimper compared to his lion like roar. Of course, the man did not stop. He kept on with his slow and exaggerated gate until he was directly in front of me. He lowered down to a crouch resting on balled feet and bent knees. His empty eyes gazed directly into mine and I was caught with fear.

"I dare you to try," he teased lightly. His voice was raspy and low but not unhuman. I wiped my nose on my arm and peered at the stranger, trying to muster up all of my courage.

"Don't believe me? I've done it before, and I'll do it to you if I have to." My voice sounded shaky and I just prayed to the gods that he couldn't hear the fear and uncertainty. I don't even know how I killed the man in the first place. I had no idea how to replicate the act.

"I know what you are, Mara. You and I have a lot in common. I want to help you," he paused for a moment and lifted my chin using only his index finger, "I'm going to protect you." I looked defiantly into his eyes and allowed my inner fire to flare sparked by his touch.

"You shouldn't. I'm bad. Mother and Father both say so. I murdered someone."

"Well calm down there," he said playfully, "it's all about perspective. Maybe we're the good guys?"

"The good don't kill people."

"You'd be surprised what good people can do in difficult situations," I found myself calming down and my muscles relaxed. The chill didn't leave, but it was no longer restricting my movement. The man moved to sit down next to me and extended his arm around my shoulder, pulling me into his arms. Mother and Father had always warned me about strangers. Yet, with him, I felt strangely at peace. His touch had a soothing effect on me, almost as if he were an extension of me. His long pale fingers resembling the beams of moonlight absentmindedly stroked my hair. I yawned, hypnotized by the strange effect he had and fighting the losing battle to keep my eyes open.

"I'm here to protect you. To make you what you are supposed to be." The man paused a moment to tuck a few lose strands of hair behind my ear. "We're going to be great, you and I," he whispered as I drifted off into an exhausted yet content sleep.