What Sleeps in Shadows

Epilogue

"You're late."

Damian could smell that particular scent of magic still clinging to the air - that pungent, metallic odor that filled the space, and he stared blankly at the runes burned into the wood floor. His stomach twisted into a hundred knots, and he took a slow, shaky breath. Late? Was he really all that late? Damian had made the choice to go after Blood, to try and contain him before the damage became even worse than it already was. He chose the safety of others above his own heart, but it didn't really help in the end. Blood had still managed to slip through his fingers, but thankfully there had only been minor injuries. Damian would find him soon, but right now he needed to find Raven, and he needed to bring her home.

Most of the movie theater was collapsed, and every single one of Raven's friends now knew what she really was. Miguel, Gar, and Karen were sympathetic, but many of their other classmates weren't. Raven, at the end of it all, was a demon, and one that had very nearly gotten hundreds of people killed. People were glad to see that Raven had run away. It was one thing they no longer had to worry about.

Zachary stood on the other side of the room, looking annoyed, but he knew better than to push Damian away. Even if they didn't always get along, they could respect one another for a little bit. It's what Raven would have wanted, as frustrating as that was for both of them.

Zachary sunk into a chair in the corner and leveled a steely stare at Damian before pulling a letter out of his breast pocket, offering it to him. "She left this for you."

Damian ignored the letter and pointed down at the runes still burned into the floor. "Open the damn portal, Zatara. Let me go after her. I need-"

"No." Zacahry cut him off, his voice low and dangerous. "She specifically asked me to keep you here and keep you safe. She said that you knew that this was going to be the outcome no matter what. And this is the outcome. Raven is back in Azarath where she belongs."

Zachary's words scraped against Damian's good senses, and Damian had half a mind to surge forward and start throwing punches. He could feel the anger rising up in him, that black feeling of helplessness as he realized what had happened. Zacahry was wrong, there had to be a way for him to go to Raven. Damian didn't have to sit here and wallow in his own sorrow, realizing that Raven would never be back. He... he had to take action. He had to do something. He was a goddamned al Ghul and a Wayne. Neither of those families just sat idly by while people they loved were in danger! He ground his teeth together and pointed at the floor again in an unspoken warning, but Zachary was unwilling to move.

"You can't go there, Damian. You know it." Zachary tossed the letter between them, watching as floated to the floor. He whispered a spell and the runes faded back into the scuffed wood, followed by a soft breeze in the air. "You're not allowed to go to Azarath, and even if you were allowed, you can't chance Blood finding a way to follow you. If one human can get through, what's to stop another?"

Damian growled, feeling like he'd reached the bargaining stage of his grief and somehow bypassed all the others. "Blood is going to find a way to get to her anyway, and you know it. So, open up the damn portal and let me in. Let me at least try to protect her."

"No." Zachary continued to glare at him, his lips pulling back into a snarl. "I'm not going to let you strongarm me into this, so stop asking."

"So, you just... just let her leave?" Damian's hands were shaking now, and he stormed across the floor to face Zachary, his hands tightening in fists. The reality was starting to set in, letting him know that she was really gone, and she might be gone forever. Damian wasn't sure if he could accept that he might never see her again, and something black and heavy weighed him down. The realization was hitting him hard, and every emotion he had tried to stave off was flooding his mind, reminding him of all the things he was too weak to keep. He wasn't strong enough to protect Raven, and now...

Damian swallowed bile rising in his throat, staring into Zachary's blank expression. "You let her walk out on me? On you? You're her friend too."

"Yes. I let her leave, because it was the right thing to do." Zachary ignored the curse on Damian's lips. "You know it was the right thing to do. She can't be here if Blood can control her powers. It's not safe for her, and it's not safe for most of the world." His voice turned dark and cold. "And if you actually love her the way she loves you, then you'd understand that this was the right choice."

Damian snarled at him. "You don't get to fucking say that."

"I do. Because I've been helping you two figure your shit out for the last few months, and watching you be a complete idiot to Raven is starting to grate on my nerves. So, you know what? I do get to say that, because I have some fucking stake in this relationship now, Wayne." Zachary spat Damian's name and continued to glare at him. "She's left for Azarath, and Blood can't access her powers if she's not in this dimension. She can't be controlled by him, and you should be grateful that she thought so fast. Otherwise you'd be dead. He might someday find a way into Azarath, but for right now, she's safe, and it buys us time to find him and stop him. Which is what you should be focusing on."

Damian stared at the letter between them, still not picking it up from the floor. If he took it, opened it, and read it, then it meant that everything was real. It meant that Raven had left. It meant that she was probably never going to return. It meant that their time together was cut short, and the last few weeks were all he had with her. There was... nothing left. There would be no more memories, or long talks in the middle of the night, or quiet study sessions in the library. It meant no more early Sunday mornings, light falling across her cheek as he pulled her close to him, watching her sleep.

It meant he lost everything, and he didn't even get to tell her good-bye.

Damian took a shaky breath and shoved all of that into the pit of his stomach. Later. He could contend with that later, but not here in front of Zachary. Not when his mind was a mess of what had just happened. Zachary was right, Raven was safe for now. She wasn't on this earth, and Blood couldn't control her. It was a pitiful comfort, but at least it was something, knowing that Raven was safe.

"How can Blood access her powers?" Damian felt his mind start to race, trying to run through a hundred scenarios all at once. "I thought... I thought I was her familiar. Not the other way around. If Blood took my seal, then he should be her familiar. He should be the one being controlled by her."

Zachary gave him a flat stare, his lips twitching in annoyance. "I don't know how your damn connection works, you know. I just got dragged into the middle of all of this by both of you." He sighed and ran a hand over his face, tipping his head back to stare at the ceiling in defeat. "I don't know what in the hell you did to attract fucking Blood to you and Raven, but you really fucked it up, you know? You both should have been smarter."

"I'm aware." Damian glared, and finally bent down to pick up the letter, placing it in his back pocket. He'd read it later. Maybe. If he could find the strength in himself to do it. "I don't need you reminding me what happened."

"So... now what?" Zachary crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his head to the side, watching him. "Raven is safe in Azarath for the time being, but we've still got Blood to deal with."

Damian snorted, turning his head to glare at Zachary. "We?"

"She's my friend too. You said it yourself." Zachary smirked as if he'd won a battle Damian didn't even know they were fighting. "If Raven needs help, I'm going to help her."

Damian's expression was flat, and he turned on his heel to walk out the door. "As if I'm going to work willingly with a Zatara."

Zachary rolled his eyes and followed him. "Has anyone ever told you what a joy you are to be around?"

"Tch."

 - - -

The story continues in: What Lives in Shadows
https://www.wattpad.com/794182815-what-lives-in-shadow-prologue