Shadow of Doubt: Part 2

SHADOW OF DOUBT

Part 2

By

W.J. May

Copyright W.J May

Smashwords Edition

Shadow of Doubt

Copyright © 2013 by W. J.
May

Smashwords Edition

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First Edition

First Printing: Sept 2013 10 9 8 7 6 5
4 3 2

Chapter 1

Obscurity

They walked in silence, Aurora a few
steps in front of Janus. When she finally stopped, she stood
staring at the water in front of her before finally turning around
to face him. Lips pressed into a thin line, she stared at Erebus’
shoes for a moment. When she raised her head, he read the
accusation clearly on her face. “What’s going on with you? Is
something wrong?”

“There’s nothing
wrong.”
Oh crap, how am I going to explain
this
? A strange frantic feeling filled him.
Did he risk everything to keep her?

“Aaron, I’m not stupid. I’ll admit I
feel pretty dumb trying to figure you out, but I do have a brain
that’s quite functional.” She set her hands on her hips and seemed
to grow a few inches taller.

He had to say something. “This is way
over your head.” He wrung his hands together.

“Try me. You might be
surprised.”

What had Coty said he’d used – a
vitamin problem? “I, uh, I have this deficiency.”

“A
deficiency
that won’t let you see me
in the daylight? Bullshit!” She crossed her arms over her chest,
lifting her chin.

“Yes. No. Crap!” Erebus brushed his
fingers though his hair, which he knew slipped perfectly back into
place. His top teeth pressed against his lower lip as he looked
into Aurora’s blue-green eyes. He stood silent, but inside he was
pleading with her to understand.

A grey cloud covering the moon
shifted, making everything bright in the cold, crisp air. He hadn’t
noticed they had walked to the waterfall before she started firing
her questions at him. Falls Creek continued to fall, its flow never
pausing or stopping. Ironic everything inside of him now seemed
unmoving like frozen water.

His cheeks puffed as he forced a quick
breath out, shrugging at the same time. “It’s dangerous for you to
know.”

“In what way?” she shot back. “Is the
FBI going to arrest me? Or is it one of those: If I tell you, then
I’ll have to kill you secrets?”

He shook his head. He would never hurt
her but he couldn’t say the same for the Night Council. “It’s
complicated.” He paused. What could he tell her? “Let me try to
explain the best I can, and then you decide what you think.” He
watched her shiver, but she made no move to button her jacket up.
Erebus began to pace along the creek’s edge. What if he just told
her the truth? The tightness around his chest released its deadly
grasp. Most likely she wouldn’t believe it and just dump him. The
Night Council would never know. What if… he didn’t dare let his
mind finish the train of thought. He had never experienced the true
feeling of hope and suddenly he was terrified. He almost scoffed
out loud. This moment, right here right now, scarier than the wrath
of the Night Council?

Aurora interrupted his thoughts.
“You’re not on America’s most wanted list, are you?” She didn’t
move, but her pupils followed him.

“What? No! Nothing like that. I’m not
in trouble with the law for any kind of crime. No FBI. I’m not
being hunted. Well, not that I know of.” He looked her directly in
the eye. “I don’t have a secret girlfriend, wife, or any of that
crap.” He stopped pacing; his fingers reached for his temple before
he rubbed his face with his palms. This was going to be harder than
anything he’d ever done.

Aurora said nothing. She simply stood,
arms crossed, foot tapping.

“I’m not like you. I’m made
different.” Nice start, idiot! Erebus shook his head in disgust,
staring at the ground in front of him. His voice barely audible
over the water, he wished he could disappear. “I’m like an
obstruction. An Occlusion. A Shade.” He couldn’t admit
that
one word
aloud.

“What are you trying to say? You think
you’re some kind of ghost?” She spoke, but she looked almost
comatose, her face now the same color as the moon.

“No, but it kinda might seem that way
to you.” His shoulders slumped, all hope circling the
drain.

“So, you’re not a ghost. Some kind of
vampire?” Her eyes narrowed as she tilted her head, her arms
uncrossing as she rested her hands on her hips again.

“No!” I hope I find the
idiots who started the folklore on vampires. I’m going to beat the
shit out of them
. He blinked in surprise.
She wasn’t teasing him, she was trying to figure him out. She might
actually believe him.

“So…You’re some kind of obstruction or
an occlusion, but you don’t come out during the day?” She started
tapping her foot again as she processed his words. “That doesn’t
make sense. The only thing I can think of is a shadow. That’s an
occlusion or another word for a shade. Except you can only see
shadows during the day, not in the dark. That’s the complete
opposite to you. It’s impossible.”

Erebus froze when she said the word.
The noise between his ears was as if Falls Creek had changed its
course and was now running through his head. He opened his mouth to
speak, but nothing came out. He closed it, running his tongue over
his lips. He tried clearing his throat.

Aurora stopped tapping and assessing.
She looked up into his eyes, confusion written across her
face.

He stared at her with desperation. Did
she get it? Instinctively he stepped closer to her. What if Shadows
suddenly appeared to kill her and take him away? He had no idea
what would happen.

“I don’t know why, but inside I know
it’s true,” she whispered. “Tell me…Everything.”

The dam broke inside of him.
He wanted to tell her. He
needed
to tell her. “You’re right and you’re wrong. Well,
where you’re wrong is just misguided.” He reached out, needing to
touch her, grabbing the belt on her coat to keep her close instead.
“I am,” he exhaled an exhausting breath, “a Shadow. I know it seems
impossible to grasp. I don’t blame you if you can’t believe
it.”

“But…but…shadows are around in the
day. I see them everywhere.”

“I can come out at night because the
sun is gone. I exist when it’s not around. During the day, I’m the
shadow of the object I possess – the part where light cannot
directly reach.” He waited for her to pull away and leave. To run
from him as fast as she could. If she did he wouldn’t chase
her.

“You’re a shadow?” She raised an
eyebrow but, surprisingly, didn’t move away.

“Yes.” He stared into those gorgeous
eyes. She wasn’t shocked or scared. She seemed calm, a little
perplexed, but he knew she wasn’t about to run off screaming into
the night.

“How long have you been
a
Shadow
?”

Did she think he had some psychiatric
disease? “Are you serious?” The look on her face told him she was.
He shrugged. “For as long as I can remember. And then, for as long
as I can be.” Forever.

“Any shadow?”

“No.”

“A specific shadow?” Her head cocked
to one side.

“Yes.” They were seriously having this
conversation.

“How?” She shook her head. “What
shadow?” She raised both hands up and then brought them towards her
cheeks. He watched her make a conscious effort to swallow and press
her lips tight together.

“A phone booth.”
Okay,
now
the laughter will start
.

“A phone booth?” Her forehead
wrinkled. “Were you normal before that? Did some wacko doctor mix
some formula and turn you into one?”

“No. I was nothing before that.”
Didn’t exist.

“Were you some other shadow
before?”

“Nothing. I’ve only been a phone
booth.”

“Since when?”

Really? She wanted to know
how old he was? “Around the turn of the century.” He hoped no one
else could hear them. He couldn’t believe they were having
this
conversation. He
wondered what she thought.

“So how do you do it? Do you just turn
into a phone booth when the sun touches you?”

He chuckled at her simple, human
analogy. “No. Not quite like that. I’m me from when the sun sets
until it rises. When it ascends, I need to be at a phone booth
before sunrise is official. Then I become the booth’s shadow.” He
wrapped her coat belt around his fingers, winding and unwinding
it.

“What do you do then? You know, while
you wait for the sun to set.”

“I don’t know. I don’t do
anything.”

“Seriously?”

“I’m just the area where direct light
from the sun can’t reach due to the obstruction of the pay phone.”
How could he explain the inner terror he went through at sunrise
and sunset every day? Or the confusion he felt before remembering
what he was? That he’d hated his life until he met her? He kept all
this inside of him, suddenly more scared of losing her than never
finding a phone booth again.

“You’re just the obstruction? An
occlusion?” Suddenly, she began shaking, her teeth chattering above
the noise of the falls. Wrapping her jacket tightly around her, she
began rubbing her arms. There was a long pause. “I need to think,
but I can’t do that out here. It’s freezing. Can we go get some
coffee?”

“Sure.” He shoved both his hands deep
into his pockets, waiting for her to walk, and he’d follow. At this
moment, there was no warmth he could offer her.

They walked in silence. He didn’t
question why they didn’t take her car. He just followed her to
S’Moes Diner, just around the corner from the park. The door chimed
as they entered. Aurora went straight to a red leather booth at the
back of the diner, where it was quiet. She dropped into the middle
of the bench, rubbing her hands and blowing on them.

Erebus settled onto the bench across
from her. He faced the counter, so he motioned to a
waitress.

She walked over, chewing gum with an
open mouth, painted in very pink lipstick. She jingled change in
her apron before she balanced a hand with bright red fingernails on
the table and poured coffee into two cups. Her faded name tag said
GAIL. She blew a pink bubble then stuck the gum into the side of
her cheek. “Anythin’ else?”