Plagued by dreams, I sleep fitfully.
An antidote. It won't do anything for me in reality. I'm far from anything I was before.
Do I want to go back to before?
***
In the morning, I'm eating what's been given to me; thin, watery gruel and some type of rigid weed. I chew. Silently. What's the use of speaking? He'll just twist me around to his thinking…
"It's quite alright for you not to speak, dear, but don't forget to acknowledge me, hmm?"
His hair, it's swinging next to my cheek. I shudder. Always. Forever. My back. It's burning.
But quietly, silently, I'm eating.
He bites my ear. "Why do you resist when you know very well I can't leave you alone, dear?"
I slam my bowl against the table. And wobble back to the bed, stiffly turning my back on him.
"Rest now, for tonight, we leave." Coldly. Silently. He's leaving.
***
There's a masked…shadow…kneeling at Kian's feet when I exit the shop? later that night.
Before the barrier, it's speaking with its head down; the whispery voice difficult to overhear. But there's something familiar.
Something calling to my soul…
Another remnant of Kian's? My jaw clenches. What a useless body!
The figure bows. To me.
That's—! I back away.
And Kian chuckles quietly. "It's the proof, dear. I'm your destiny."
"You're crazy!" But I bang against the door right behind me, unable to flee any farther.
Kian, he's—!
"Don't worry. I won't hurt you, dear." He strides closer to me. "You, too, should hear what he has to say."
And holds out a hand. "I'll make sure to satisfy you. In many ways."
Hesitantly, I step forward, ignoring his hand. After all, I'm not a dog to be led. A King? Hah! He's no better than a beast!
Deceiving me. Manipulating me—! Coveting me…
I should flee. It shouldn't be me!
"My King." The shadow man waits patiently. His mask, it's the only tangible proof that he's living.
Is this fog? Or his body? Is this an illusion created by his Aura?
The indistinct face is weaving before me; the markers that should be there both faint and traceless.
Yet the face is there; the eyes dark and souless, and the skin faded and eerie—
"A wretched race. Both terrible and quite useful, wouldn't you say, Amal?"
"If you but will it, it shall be done, Sire."
I'm observing quietly, mesmerized by the darkness fading in and out of my perception. The barrier beside us is fluctuating. Yet the shadow man shows not a hint of what he's feeling.
As if it were a part of him. As if he wasn't bleeding; dark splotches falling from him and sizzling on the ground even as I'm watching—!
"My shadow army…and this, my General." Kian. He's grinning sharply.
"You should greet Amal properly, Ethan. He'll shadow you from now on—"
"Who are you to—?! I'm not a child, damnit! I have no need—"
"Oh, but I've found a use for him, I assure you."
I shiver. Because of the way he's staring at me. A wild beast. A savage hunter. In the distance, I feel him dragging me down with him—
"Stop that!" Kian. He's doing something. I'm sure of it!
"I can't stop what I, myself, have no control over, dear." A whisper. And his eyes that are crawling all over me. Possessive. And desiring.
There's a crack. In my heart. Because he's…
I turn my head away. And lurch towards the barrier that's no longer fluctuating. I put my hand out. And feel the sting.
I should leave. We're different, after all. Incompatible. I should leave him here. And never come back!
"Your little friends. I have them."
My hand stiffens. My…friends…?
"The ones who did that to you. Do you not wish for revenge? Their betrayal hurt you. Demoralized you." His voice, it's creeping right behind me.
"They left you for dead and changed you."
Shivering. Shuddering. All I can do is listen.
"I can help you. I can even do it for you…"
His hand.
It's on my shoulder.
"After all, I'm always watching."
His breath.
It's on my neck.
I feel his tongue lick.
And the teeth that are already biting—!
"Let go."
His arm around my waist tightens.
"Let go, damnit!"
I wriggle away, falling to the floor in front of him. I'm looking up. And he's looking down. Fitting, that. A King. And a lowly being.
My hands tighten against my knees. When has he ever rolled in the muck?
"You know nothing. Do you even know where you're going?"
A sharp inhale. And I'm scrambling once again for the barrier. My hand—! It's disappearing—?!
"You'll be lost in the abyss, dear. This is not the mortal realm. Your body is quite the tempting treat. Would you like to feed those roaming?"
I quickly pull my hand back. "We came in directly, didn't we?!"
"Yes." He says. "But I changed it."
Stillness. Silence. And the shadow man bowing.
"Come with me."
His aura surrounds me. Cradles me. And ultimately leaves me reeling.
The barrier, it's like an alter; my knees buckling before its majesty. And my head dips in shame.
Because even though I'm resisting, my body's quivering in ecstasy.
***
My fingers weave freely in the dark void of the barrier. Where's he taking me?
Not the mortal realm. Surely. But the fear that should be present is missing.
His arm that's around me. His aura that's protecting me. I feel…nothing.
Not even as something brushes past my arm as we walk; my feet stumbling heavily in the dark.
He chuckles. "It's quite common for mortals to lose their way here." His hand tightens around me. "But you won't stray, will you, darling."
I follow along, maybe not willingly, but certainly obediently. My body wants to stay near him. And my heart wavered at the thought of seeing those kids…
But Amal's following us. Silently, warily gaurding.
And he'll always be there. Silently. Wretchedly. Watching.
Kian's one thing. But how am I going to escape later with someone observing so closely?