My Beloved Shadow

“It’s rather intoxicating, my true form. At least that’s what I’ve been told.”

Nick reaches up to caress the side of Tsion’s face, his skin feels warm, almost alive. Strange, though, Nick’s hand turns dark, as dark as the shadows that now surround Tsion along side the light. Almost as if he were blending in with the shadows.
“It’s certainly interesting. Give me a little time, once this all processes, and I’m sure I’ll go nuts.”

Nick leans up and kisses him, then lays back with a sigh.

“A god…”

“Mhm.”

Tsion nuzzles Nick’s neck, then moves his attention to his chest. Nick closes his eyes and arches towards Tsion as he feels teeth brush up against his skin. Tsion groans suddenly and presses his face against Nick’s chest.

“We have company. Klara and Norris, she wishes to speak with us.”

“Now?”

This is the first time Nick has gotten Tsion to truly talk to him, plus he has the feeling that they were about to do more than just talk. Tsion feels the same but at the same time he knows that it must be important.

“Yes. When one of my people request my presence it is because it’s important. They do not waste my time on trivial things. Did you know that Jason is going to be a father? Maera discovered it today.”

Tsion said as he slowly moved off of Nick and stood. Nick felt oddly bereft and stood as well.

“That would explain a few things. He and Norris had a fight earlier, that’s why he was so upset. They must of missed each other or something, Jason was suppose to be looking for him.”

Tsion shrugged, slipping back into his darker form and leaving no semblance of his true form. Part of Nick missed that, the way the light and shadows had cloaked Tsion, but at the same time he enjoyed seeing the person he had become accustomed to. The idea of being married to a god was unnerving as it was, but to be constantly reminded of it is a whole other thing.

“We will find out soon enough. Are you ready?”

Nick grabs his shirt from the bed, the one thing he hadn’t had a chance to put on after Jason left, and pulled it on.
“I suppose so. It’s going to take some getting use to, all of this.”

Tsion moves to touch Nick’s cheek lightly, “We are partners now, completely equal, except in those things that you decide to overrule. If your uncomfortable doing anything, let me know, though I want you to be involved with ruling here. I want you to care for my, *our*, people as much as I do.”

Nick smiled, leaning into the hand as he pulled it closer to his cheek. It is odd, hearing Tsion say what he’d been trying to do since the ceremony had been completed. He’s an equal now, an equal to a god… He’s not entirely certain about the last part, but as long as he continues to view Tsion as simply a creature that is more than just human, he shouldn’t lose his mine too quickly.

“I do care about them, Tsion. It’s you that will take some getting use to. The you that was before, on earth, and the you that is here now are different. Noticeably different. And you act so much different when your with me, as opposed to when you are with other’s, especially Norris and Jason.”

Tsion’s face darkens, “I am not so much different now as before. When you’ve lived as long as I have, you don’t change. As for how I treat the other’s as opposed to you, you are my mate. I treat my people with respect.

But humans… I have no love for them. When my father turned his back to the Divine Parents, dooming his people, humans were the first to turn their backs on us. We were Guardians before the Great War. We protected the lesser races from harm, and from their own destruction.

Humans turned themselves from us so completely that they cannot even remember who we are. They merely fear the shadows and the night. The people should never be held responsible for the actions of their leader.”

“He really messed up, didn’t he? Your father…”

Tsion closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly as he reopened his eyes.
“When my mother died he was open to attack, so weak was he from mourning. The Dark Divine sent one of their best agents to seduce him. Once they had control of him there was no going back for him. They took his will, but he also did not fight for it.

When he sold us out to them, promising our aide and knowing that we could not go against our king, I went into hiding. Back then I was young and hadn’t the power to go up against my father. It took years for me to gather the strength to go up against him.

It was a long fight but in the end I won and sent my father’s soul to rest. I hope that he is at peace and is with my mother, but at the same time I hope he pays for what he did to us.”

“Isn’t what you did to Norris and Jason, and even myself in the beginning, similar to what your father did?”

Tsion snorts and pulls his hand away from Nick’s face, “Hardly. They are human, processing no power of their own and doomed to a useless life. What I’ve given them is much more than they would have had before. What I had to do to gain their obedience I cannot regret. Regret will do more harm than good.”

Nick isn’t certain, but he thinks he understands Tsion a little now. That doesn’t mean that what he had done to Norris and Jason was right, but he understands him a little better. What had it been like to be betrayed by your own father, and then have to kill him? Nick only knows what it is like to never be able to trust his own father, to always fear him.

“Maybe, in the end, you are suppose to hate the humans. Maybe the, um, Dark Divine wanted it that way. What happens if there are no more human’s left in the world?”

Tsion gets a curious look on his face, Nick’s words making him think. Could it be true? Could the Dark Divine had wanted this? What would they gain if humans became extinct? Balance…

“You could be right, I will have to think about it. I’ve spent so long hating, it won’t be over night that I stop hating. But, I suppose that it is time I move on.”

Nick slips his arm around Tsions, grinning like mad.

“Wonderful. You think about it as we go and see what Klara wants. Then, when we’re finished helping her, we can come back and pick up the conversation. I still have some questions for you. Questions that will get answered before the public ceremony tomorrow.”

Tsion laughs, but leads the way out of the room.

“All right. But only if you promise to give a sufficient reward for my telling all.”

They’re in the hallway, making their way towards the main receiving room. Nick stops suddenly and pushes Tsion back against the cold stone wall. His lips connect with Tsion’s, their lips become one as he presses against him hard enough to bruise while his tongue moves inside Tsion’s mouth.

When Nick pulls away they’re both breathless, Nick is smiling.

“That enough incentive?”

“Ceylo, that’s more than enough to get me through the day.”

They link arms again, continuing their journey. When they finally enter the main receiving room, which Nick calls the living room, Klara is sitting down in on of the many chairs and Norris is pacing the floor.

“Klara, you wished to see me?”

Klara stands, bowing to them before speaking. Nick and Tsion separate, Nick’s attention is on Norris and his anxious looks.
“Norris has something he’d like to show you. Norris…”

She turns to look at Norris, who freezes and looks like a deer caught in the headlights of an on coming big rig. No, it’s not just any car that’s coming to hit him, it’s a really big one that will simply paint him on the road.

“Show them what you showed me.”

Norris takes a deep breath, steeling himself for what he has to do. It had taken a lot of convincing on Klara’s part to even get him to come. And now she wants him to show them that he’s not normal. It’s things like this that got his father committed. Things like this that had taken his father away when he needed him the most.

Norris reaches out, towards the shadows that seemed to be present in every corner of the castle. His hand, and then arm, moves into the shadows, becomes one with the shadows.

At the sight of Norris’ hand becoming one with the shadows Nick turns to look at Tsion, who’s expression is one of surprise.
“What have you been doing, Athan…”

Tsion said softly, loud enough for Nick to hear but not enough for the other’s. Nick suddenly remembers Athan’s comment about not fucking with his ‘own blood’.

“What do you mean? What did Athan mean by his comment earlier?”

Norris pulls his arm out of the shadows, hugging it close. It’s not so much because it’s cold, because the cold isn’t affecting him as much any more, but more as a reassurance that it’s still there.

“What’s wrong?” Norris’ voice has a slightly higher pitch to it than normal. Listening to Nick is starting to make him panic.
Tsion turns his attention to Norris, though he glances at Nick a few times.

“Athan, the red haired man who arrived recently. He made a comment today and I think he’s been going to earth and experimenting a little. I--”

“Athan thinks that I’m his blood, and if he’s been making frequent visits to earth I might not be the only one.”

Tsion gives Nick a look but Nick just shrugs it off, pointedly ignoring it.

“We don’t share the same parents.” Norris is defensive now, losing some of his panic.

“It doesn’t have to be your parents. I know for a fact that it’s been years since Athan visited earth, long before you were born. I think, no, I’m certain that it was your father that was different.”

Tsion gets an odd gleam to his eyes and grins.

“Nick’s father was overly aggressive and your father was committed because he heard things in the shadows and said the shadows were always trying to get to him.

All of Athan’s children, after the Great War, were all deranged and psychotic. It got so bad that Athan had to destroy the last one himself.”

A cold chill runs down Norris spine, “That doesn’t make me feel any better. Will I become deranged?”

“No, I don’t believe so. Your blood is so diluted that I seriously doubt it. But, it does seem as if you have enough blood for Shadow Dancing.”

“Wh-what does it mean, though?”

“It means that your not human. Only the Children of the Shadows can do what you’ve just done. There are a few races out there that can manipulate the shadows, but my people are the only ones who can become apart of the shadows.

Have you always been able to do that? Anything else?”

Norris looks as if he’s going to deny it, tell Tsion no, but then he lets out a long breath and looks suddenly sad.

“I’ve been able to do it since I can remember. Before… Before they took my father away, he showed me how. It was a game back then, one we never got a chance to play often. He made the mistake of telling my mother and she had him taken away.

I stopped doing it then, everyone talked about how it was so awful that he was nuts. They kept looking for a reason to put me in, too.”

Tears threaten to escape as he remembers that day, he had only been about six but remembers it vividly. He had loved his father back then, still loves him, and in a way he had betrayed his father’s trust by hiding. Why did he have to be so different from everyone else?

Norris is drawn from his thoughts as arms wrap around him and he opens eyes he didn’t remember closing to see Klara hugging him. He hugs her back, grateful for her kindness. It’s been awhile since he’s gotten a hug.

“As much as I tried to forget about it I couldn’t. My father didn’t want me to give it up, but eventually he did lose a part of his mind from being locked up so long. When you came around and took Jason and I through the shadows I freaked out.

I couldn’t forget about it then, not when you used it so casually. The shadows pulled at me, called to me. It just got worse when I came here, the voices are always in my head. Even now, the shadows cry for me to come to them. The little I did wasn’t enough, it was merely enough for them to quiet down. I don’t know what to do anymore. I just don’t know…”

Tsion moves to stand beside Norris, his hand pets the top of Klara’s head before touching Norris’ cheek. Norris’ first response is to pull away but he knows better and so forces himself not to move.

“You have nothing to fear in the shadows, Norris. If they call to you, answer them.”

“I fear them nevertheless, I’m scared that if I go in I won’t come out. When you moved us through it was only a moment, but it was enough. There are things that live in the shadows. It is those things that I fear.”

Tsion smiled, “They are the ones who call to you. You will have to answer their call some day, why not now? We will come with you, if you wish.”

Go in? He has to go *all* the way into the shadows… Norris feels suddenly faint, wanting to just hide somewhere and pretend that none of this is happening. But, unexpectedly, he finds himself remember the first time his father had shown him the shadows.


“Don’t be frightened, Norris, it doesn’t hurt.”

Norris, only about four then, had looked at his father with wide, trusting, eyes. He had done as he was told to, sticking his arm into the shadows. His father had turned off some of the lights in the living room so that they’d have plenty of shadows.

He had cried out as he watched his arm disappear, and when he pulled it away it felt cold.

“It’s cold, daddy.”

“I know, sweetie, but it stops after awhile. Just as long as you use it.”

“What is it?”

“I don’t know, Norris, I honestly don’t know. I just know that I’ve been able to do it since I was little like you. I’ve never gone in all the way, there are things inside the shadows that call to me, beg me to go in all the way.”

“Are they bad?”

“I don’t know that either, Norris. You just remember your promise, you can’t tell anyone about this. It’s our secret to share, no one else’s.”

“Ok, daddy!”

“Now, try it again and remember, don’t be afraid…”

‘Don’t be afraid’… That’s what his father had said back then, that’s what Tsion is saying now. He doesn’t want to go in, but at the same time he’s curious about what is on the other side. Curious about the voices that continually speak to him, that *had* eventually driven his father crazy.

“No, I should go alone. This is my life, Tsion, and I should have some control of it.”

“Good boy,” Tsion pats the side of Norris’ face and takes a step back, the action irritates Norris a little. Norris kisses the top of Klara’s head and carefully pries her from around him.

“Thank you.”

He said softly, kissing her lips then steps back. His head turns to look at Tsion.

“What if I don’t come out?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep track of how long your gone and if your gone too long, I’ll come in after you. Though I doubt anything will happen to you.”

“How can you do that? I thought that time moved differently within the shadows?”

“It does. But, I am a god, Norris, and the shadows are apart of what I am. I will know if something happens within them.”

Norris nods his head and moves closer to the shadows. He takes a deep breath and, as he lets it out, steps into the shadows. Klara hugs herself and turns to look at Tsion, her eyes have the same wide, trusting, look to them that Norris had given his father as a child.

“He seems so lost.”

“He just needs time, I’m still adjusting.”

“Then he is Athan’s child?”

Tsion shakes his head, “Not directly, I think that maybe his father was Athan’s child, the same with Nick.”

Klara shivers, hugging herself as she sits down.

“I remember Athan’s other children…”

Nick comes to stand beside Tsion, though his eyes are on the spot where Norris disappeared.

“How is he doing?”

“Good, so far. The first chance I get I will have to speak with Athan about this. I don’t mind that he went out and did it, I just wish that he would of told me. I may be a god, but only the Divine Parents are all knowing.”

****

It felt different, being within the shadows and seeing all the lights around him. And suddenly he can hear the voices calling to him, can feel them. Shadows move around him, as if closing him in, seeking to get closer.

Norris hears a strange sound, a mix between a growl and a purr, and turns to see a large creature walk towards him. It’s apart of the shadows, it’s form wavering as it moves, and he cannot tell whether it is feline or canine. When it makes that noise again he understands what it is, it is both, yet neither.

Other’s suddenly appear around him, their eyes glowing bright red. They move closer to him and he feels panic suddenly set in as his heart starts to beat faster. Tsion won’t be able to save him, because they cannot be him any good, not the way they’re coming at him.





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desperatedesire_maliciousintent: Well, you be disappointed then to know that the next chapter will be the last one. I\'ve got it setup so that there is only thirty chapters to this story. Now, if people are interested, I\'ll do a sequal. I mean, come on, we *all* want to know what happens on their *honeymoon*. *grins*
Oh, and Tsion is pronounced Zion(The \'ts\' is a \'z\' sound.). It\'s different from the shadow language because he still retains his true name from the language of the gods. The shadow language is merely a changed version.

Rosemary: Thank you! Your the only person who even commented about it. I was sooo disappointed, I had hoped to get a better reaction over the truth about Tsion than that. But, thank you! *hugs*

DanishGirl: Thanks. :)

Now, can I get more reviews for this chapter? Just one more to go and then *poof* no more! Would everyone like to see more? Sequal? Who wants to know what happens *after* the public ceremony?
Back to the chapter at hand... What will happen to Norris? Are the creatures in the shadows as malicious as they seem? Will they save him in time? Nick seems to be *blossoming* into a more dominating character, but Tsion hasn\'t changed much.
I wonder if Tsion will ever stop hating humans...
Ah, well. I need reviews, need inspiration to write the next chapter. Inspiration to decide Norris\' fate. Because, yes, I don\'t know what will happen. I don\'t even know if the creatures are good or not, whether they\'ll tear Norris limb from limb, or merely want a good pet.
*could be lying*
*tries to look innocent*