Far in the distance, night had fallen over the world. Vaguely human shapes flitted through the thick forest. Everything was dark and quiet, as if a sheet of black had covered the world. The group of figures moved silently, blending with the night. Their sweeping movements almost made it appear that they were slipping through the night. They were elegant, moving with all of the grace of a panther, or even dancing shadows.
Suddenly the silence was broken. Immediately, the shapes sank against the trees, hiding from the crack that had disrupted them. Around the trunks they could see a man walking towards them. He was slender and tall, but his presence seemed malevolent and dangerous.
The man called out loudly to the shadows. “Stop hiding! It is only me, and I have news.”
One of the figures slid from the tree he had found refuge in and spoke angrily to the man.
“Curse you, Shard. What have you come for? You have frightened my warriors, you blundering fool, and unless what you have to say is of great importance, you will pay dearly.”
Shard gazed levelly at the shadow’s eyes, which had suddenly appeared lightning-like blue among his inky black form. “Oh,” he soothed. “Don’t worry. I believe you will find this information very important.” He stepped toward the form without fear and held up a blurred photo. “You know this girl, don’t you?” he asked.
The figure’s eyes began to flit over the almost incomprehensible photo, which seemed to show a girl, maybe 13 or 14. He snapped his eyes wide before immediately narrowing them at the man.
“The target,” he said curtly. “So you’ve found her, have you?” Shard sneered.
“More like she found us, Ink. Killed one of our assassins. A shame the boy couldn’t defend himself long enough for us to get there and help.”
The shadow didn’t give a reaction. He simply stared at the man. “Help,” he mocked. “You would have taken the glory and killed the girl. Or, would you have captured her instead? Wouldn’t you humans just love to show your world the prize you’ve been searching for ever since she escaped from you?”
The man didn’t flinch. He didn’t move. He didn’t seem to take offense to the shadow’s words. Even Ink’s appearance didn’t seem to faze him. Here he was, speaking a black…form. No mouth, no features. Just a sheet of darkness broken only by the two eyes.
Yes, that’s what it was. The eyes. They disturbed the man, even though he didn’t show it. Somehow, the form’s eyes were more threatening than the rest of his body. They were inhuman, cruel and bright. Their eyes showed their true nature.
To the man, behind the shadows’ level words and calm demeanor, they were nothing but monsters, demons sent from the underworld to kill them all.
“I believe you have a job, Shadowman.” Shard hissed through grit teeth.
The shape tensed at these words, his eyes shooting daggers at the man. Such an offensive term; he should have kept it to himself.
Immediately, at the same time Ink began to weigh the options of killing the man or letting him die at his own foolish hands, the other shadows emerged from the trees. Several different forms, all lithe and tall, each with their own pair of demonic red or blue eyes.
The lead figure held up a hand as his troops began to advance, hissing and narrowing their eyes at Shard, who stayed calm despite the threat of being dragged to the realm of darkness without mercy.
“No,” Ink said, calm but forcefully. “We will not give him the delight of running to his superiors to tell them how we….mistreated him.” He smiled cruelly at Shard, who still seemed unmoved.
“He won’t be able to go back to his superiors once we’re done with him!” snarled a younger figure, a female with flashing red eyes.
Ink seemed to chuckle at that. “Even so Scarlet, he has given us valuable information. The girl’s location has been hard to track, and with a general idea of where she is, she will be much easier to find.” He now turned to glare calmly at Shard. “However,” he said, the gentle tone he’d used suddenly turning threatening. “I’d advise you, Daywalker, to keep that term to yourself. Otherwise, next time, I might hesitate to stop my warriors, and you, my friend, may find yourself at the receiving end of our business.”
Shard held up a circular map. “Here,” he muttered indifferently. “This map shows her location.” He pointed at the middle of Europe. “Right here is where she was detected, just off of the border of France.”
Ink snatched the map and glowered at the point Shard at identified. Glancing up, he saw his soldiers watching him intently. Something was wrong.
“Ah,” he sighed, looking up. “What about all of your fancy technology? No cybernetic map? Surely you all must realize that it would be much easier to find her with one of those and not this flimsy, papery, thing?”
Shard felt his face flush at the shadow’s accusing words, and he lowered his eyes to the ground as the other demons stared at him with mock disappointment.
“Anyhow,” Ink said, his fairly polite voice returning. “We need to know how long ago this was. When did your sensors detect her?”
The man looked up, all evident shame gone from his face. “Half an hour ago,” he told him. “She hasn’t moved yet. Not at all. Just appears to be sitting there.”
Ink clicked his tongue. “Oh, Shard,” he scolded. “She’s a very fragile soul, that one. She just murdered someone for the first time. Even knowing it was in defense of her freedom, possibly her life, for one so young and innocent that must be traumatizing.”
Shard felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise at the way the shadow said innocent.
Ink waved his hand, and the others sank back into the darkness. “We must be on our way,” he told Shard. “Don’t worry. Like you said, she’s not moving, and it won’t take long for us to reach her. With luck, we’ll be back shortly, very shortly indeed.”
With that, he turned and began to melt back into the forest. He stopped, though, and glanced over his shoulder to look at Shard through slit eyes.
“Oh, and one more thing,” he said smiling to show for the first time sharp white teeth. “You might want to think up a new assignment for us quick, to keep us busy.” When Shard simply stared back at the shadow, looking confused, Ink continued. “You’ve shown you don’t trust us, Shard. None of you do. I just thought you should know how much of mistake that is. You might want to watch yourselves. I can promise you we don’t take mistrust lightly. You’re risking far more than you know.”
Shard watched as the demon turned and disappeared into the night. For the first time in over eight years in working with the Shadowman, the man shuddered, a deep chill running through his entire being.
God protect us from those monsters.
