Forlot - Books 1-3 {Completed}

Chapter Thirty-Four

I was surprised. "Who...? What...? When...? Where...? How...? Why...?" I sputtered. I was so surprised that I could not find the right words to say. I could not even speak correctly.

Katherine giggled. "Cat got your tongue?" she said. "Is that why you are having trouble talking? Or are you being a chicken like before?"

Maxine hugged my legs, and the shadow sneered at her.

"L-leave my friend alone," I ordered. "She is scared and confused, and it is all thanks to you stupid shadows."

"Stupid?" Katherine questioned. "The Nerians and I are far from that. We are superior!"

"That may be true, but your kind is evil."

"Evil?"

"Yes. Pure evil."

Once again, the fear that was keeping me down had faded. I was standing up for me and Maxine and showing the shadow just how much courage that I had hidden away.

Katherine crossed her arms. Her red eyes bulged. "You are correct, Nigel," she said. "Our kind is evil."

"Our kind?" I repeated. "What do you mean by that? And how did you know my name?"

She clicked...her tongue? "Nigel, Nigel, Nigel. I am disappointed in you."

It was my turn to cross my own arms. "For what?"

"You do not recognize me. Then again, the Nerians all look similar."

"Crub, I have never seen or heard you in my life."

"I had a feeling that you were going to say that. Let us look at a flashback, shall we?" She closed her eyes. "Close your eyes, and you will be able to see the flashback."

I looked at Maxine, who was still hugging my legs, and noticed that her eyes were closed. I sighed. Having no other choice, I shut my eyes.
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"What is the matter? Cat got your tongue?" The shadow gripped my face tightly. A smile appeared. "The leaders were not in doubt. You are not a threat."

My teeth chattered. Its hand was so cold.

So cold indeed.

"Are you not going to ask me a question, like who I am or why I pretended to be your precious Maxine?" It let go of my face, and I dropped to my knees and coughed. "You might as well. You will meet your doom soon."

I gulped at the sound of that. "D-doom?" I finally said a word.

"Yes, young boy. I am going to destroy you."
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Maxine and I immediately opened our eyes.

"Y-you are the shadow..." I started.

"...who pretended to be me!" Maxine finished for me. I could tell by her tone that she was extremely mad. "Why?! Why were you pretending to be me?!"

The shadow opened her eyes. "To get close to Nigel," she responded.

"So you could end me. Right then and there," I added.

Everything was becoming clear now. The pieces were coming together.

"I had my orders," Katherine confessed.

"From who?" my friend demanded.

"Who else? Emperor King Oberious! My father!"

That was not surprising.

"And why did he want you to kill Nigel?"

"Nigel is the hero, and if he fulfills his destiny, then Nerquina will be no more. My father will be in the ruins."

"He, you, and the rest of your kind deserve to be in the ruins!" I jumped in. "All of you kill innocent humans!"

Katherine frowned. "No human is innocent. All are guilty as charged and must serve my father for eternity."

"How can you say that?! What if the human were a child?!"

"Like I stated before, all humans are guilty as charged."

I growled. The shadow was aggravating me. "What if you were a human?!"

The shadow put her arms to her sides. She glared at me as if she desired to start a staring contest.

"I used to be human."