Shadow Seekers

Chapter 4

The next couple days went by without too many problems. Serena seemed to just avoid Liza by locking herself in her room when they were home. She would only come down to eat and when it was time to get to work. When 10 o'clock hit Serena, Colin, and Daniel would head out to go hunt, and Liza would leave to do whatever it was she was doing. Daniel wasn't quite sure what that was, and he decided not to ask.

            Tonight was no different. Daniel watched as Liza walked out of the front door by herself. He found himself wondering where she was going, and what she was doing. This had been a common occurrence over the last few days. He had noticed that during the hours they were home, Colin would spend a lot of his free time talking to Liza, getting to know her. Daniel would just sit there and listen to them talk, taking in as much information as he could about her through their conversation.

            He had learned that Liza enjoyed playing the piano, and after putting in some effort from both Colin and himself, they finally convinced her to play the one that they had in the parlor. She played beautifully. And although it was not a song he heard before, it brought back memories from when his mother used to play on the same piano. After she had finished her song, Daniel made sure to let her know that the piano was at her disposal whenever she wanted to play.

            "Thank you." was all Liza had said, but the smile she gave him showed how happy his offer truly made her. He came to the conclusion that he had been right. She was beautiful when she smiled. Maybe some would say breath taking. All he knew is that he wanted to make her smile like that again.

            That evening when he first woke up, he walked down to the kitchen, but didn't immediately go in. Instead he was stopped by the sound of the piano. It was soft because the parlor door was closed, so he quietly moved his way to the door. He turned the doorknob, and cringed when the door squeaked while he was opening it, but the music kept playing so he assumed that Liza must not have noticed.

            When Daniel walked into the room he was able to see that she still wasn't aware of his presence. He thought about alerting her someway, maybe by clearing his throat, or giving a little cough, but then she started singing along to the piano.

            "The frozen streets in Moonshine glitter,

            The midnight hour has long been past,

            about me the wind blows keen and bitter

            I sink beneath the piercing blast

            in every vein seems life to languish

            their weight my limbs no more can bear

            but no one soothes the orphans anguish

            an no one heeds the orphans prayer."

            Daniel stood there. Her voice, though not the nicest he had heard, held so much emotion that it entranced him. He was afraid to breath, worried that it would cause her to notice him and cease her singing. From where he stood he could not see her face, but he could picture it. A tear rolling down her cheek as she sang.

            When the song came to an end, and she played the last chord Daniel said, "That was beautiful Liza." She jumped in surprise, and when she turned towards him he saw a slight blush on her cheeks.

            "I didn't notice that you were there." was all she said in return.

            Daniel walked up to the piano bench and sat down next to her. "I've never heard that song before." he said as he started running his fingers along the piano keys in front of him. "What is it called?"

            She stared at his fingers for a moment before answering, "'The Orphan's Prayer" by a Miss Abrams." She then turned on the piano bench to look out the parlor window, her back was turned towards him, "I don't remember where I heard it, but I guess you could say that it's one I can connect with."

            Daniel just stared at her, and after a moment she turned her head towards him, "I hope my playing didn't wake you. I'm afraid I couldn't help myself after wandering in here."

            Daniel shook his head as he said, "Don't worry, you didn't. But I wouldn't have minded if you had." She gave a small smile, and then turned her head back around to look down at her hands. Daniel watched her for a minute longer then got up and walked around till he stood in front of her. "What do you say we go find something to eat." He said and offered his hand to her.

            She took his hand to let him help her stand. "Sounds like a good idea to me." She said, as she led the way out of the room.

            Walking into the kitchen Daniel and Liza found Serena sitting at the kitchen table. She looked up at them as they walked in, and then returned to her hot cereal. Daniel put his hand on Liza's back and told her to take a seat and he would grab them some food. Liza did as she was told, and Daniel grabbed two bowls then dished out a serving of the hot cereal from the pot, into each of the bowls.

            When he reached the table, two bowls in hand, it was to silence. Neither Serena nor Liza were talking. They weren't even looking at each other. Daniel sighed as he handed Liza her bowl. He needed to figure out some way to get them to at least acknowledge each other.

            Daniel wasn't sure who was more shocked, him or Liza, when Serena said, "You seem to be quite talented at the piano. My mother knew how to play, but she never got around to teaching me."

            Luckily Liza's brain seemed to continue to work for she replied, "Thank you. I don't plan on staying too long, but while I am here I could teach you a few things."

            Serena just nodded her head, then went back to eating her food. Daniel wasn't sure that Serena would ever take Liza up on her offer, but he felt this was a step forward. Daniel could feel a smile forming on his face, today was going to be a good day.

            Daniel reminisced on that morning. It had started out so well, but it was ending horribly. They had separated like usual. Liza going off to do who knows what, while Colin, Serena, and himself went hunting. They had decided to go off to the northern part of town after they had heard of an Timori who was terrorizing a family up there.

            To start of the horrible evening, about five minutes after they left it decided to start raining, and considering it was still summer they all had not come prepared for the down pour. Truly Daniel would not normally complain about rain, but it just added to what they went through next.

            Once they got to the home where the Timori had taken refuge, they entered to find no one there. At least not at first glance, so they decided it was best to split up and search the house for anyone there. The goal was to find the family member the Timori had attached itself to. They fed off the fear of that one person, making them see visions of things that would terrify them. Most of the time it was usually a child, someone that could not fully comprehend that what they were seeing wasn't real.

            Daniel told Colin to head to the right, while Serena head to the left of the entrance. He wanted them to circle around the house to see if they could find anyone. He decided to head upstairs, "We meet back here in ten minutes." Daniel said, looking at both of his companions. They both nodded at him and they headed off in their designated directions.

            Daniel started up the stairs, pulling his gun from his pocket. Timori's were not extremely dangerous, just as long as you knew that what you were seeing wasn't really there. Daniel always thought it was better to be safe though. So he was quiet as he went up the stairs, he didn't call out for anyone, didn't shoot a warning shot in the air. To him the best way to take care of a shadow creature, was to not let it know you were there. This gave you the upper hand.

            Serena rubbed her eyes as she walked into the next room, the fourth room she had checked on her side. Seriously. She  thought, how many rooms did one family need? She rolled her eyes. They were on the northern side of town. The ritzy side of town.

Serena started running her fingers along the top of the dresser. Sometimes she thought about how nice it would be to live in one of the houses up here. To not have any care in the world. She scoffed at her own thought. Obviously they had their own cares, why else would they be there?

Truthfully, she didn't mind the house she stayed in with Colin and Daniel. It was the perfect size for the three of them. Four, she thought to herself, a small frown now on her face.

If she were honest to herself she had to admit that she truly had no reason to dislike Liza. She seemed nice enough, though she rarely seemed to smile, but that shouldn't really bother her. That wasn't it though. Serena was having a hard time trusting her because she had this feeling that Liza was lying to them, “Or maybe she is hiding something.” The thought flew into her mind, and stuck. Something about her made Serena nervous, and while everyone should be allowed their secrets, she felt that whatever it was Liza was hiding was something much bigger than just a little secret.

Serena was so lost in her own thoughts that she missed the shape sitting in the corner, it wasn't until she was practically on top of it that she saw it. A scream started rising in her throat.

Colin was making his way through the dining room, whistling some tune to himself. He wasn't positive it wasn't one that he had made up himself, as he was known to do. He glanced into a side room off of the dining room and gave a low whistle. Lining the walls were all sorts of weapons from before the Turn. Broad swords, maces, sword staffs, and many daggers. On the floor stood different types of armor that Colin assumed were from different times and different areas. And they thought they needed our help? Colin shook his head. What was the point of having all of these weapons if you didn't know how to use them?

Colin started imagining wielding some of the weapons he had just seen while he moved onto the kitchen. He really would like to try one of those maces against a shadow creature. Maybe he could talk one of the owners in to allowing him to try it. Colin laughed to himself, he highly doubted that they would allow him to touch one let alone test it out. The life of the rich.

All of a sudden Colin thought of Liza. He wasn't sure why, but he could picture her wielding something like that when she attacked. Maybe a great sword, or a Bidenhander. Definitely something two-handed that she would swing over her shoulder before cutting it through you.

Liza exuded strength and power. While Serena on the other hand was sweet, but she could be just as dangerous. Serena would carry something much smaller, something you wouldn't notice until she had already slipped it between your ribs.

Colin smiled to himself, he wasn't sure which one he would prefer to take on. He was still mulling this over when he was wrenched away from the thought by the sound of screaming coming from the other side of the house.

            Daniel reached the upstairs landing and crouched behind the staircase wall. He held the gun in both hands out in front of him while he peeked around the corner. Seeing and hearing nothing, Daniel stood and entered the hallway. He could see several doors lining the hall on each side, and at the end of hall it split of into two opposite directions. Daniel quietly moved to the first door on the left and slowly opened it. His back against the door, and his gun pointed into the room.

            He scanned the room with his eyes. There was a large bed that sat against the left-hand wall, facing towards him. Its covers were a dark color that he could not quite make out with as little light as was streaming in through the window that was located on the opposite wall as the door. The moonlight that peeked around the gray curtains hit onto a large desk that sat in the middle of the wall on the other side. A great mirror was attached to it, which made Daniel assume this was a woman’s bedroom. Not many men would have a vanity. They also wouldn't have as extravagant of an armoire as the one that sat on the other wall from the bed.

            There was a door a few feet down from this one on the inside of the room. A closet Daniel presumed, and walked into the room and towards the other door. Opening it up it revealed Daniel to be right on both accounts. This door did lead to a walk-in closet, and based on the clothes lining the walls, this was a woman’s room.

            After a quick glance around the closet, Daniel backed out of it and closed the door. He had found over the years that while most were grateful for their help, there were also those that complained about them touching and moving things in their house. Some had even accused him of taking something of theirs and found it later in some other part of their house. Daniel just learned that it was better to leave things the way he found them, or if it was necessary to move something, put it back as it had been.

            Daniel took one last look around the room and coming to the conclusion that there wasn't anything there, he left that room as well. Closing the door behind him. Onto the next room.

            Daniel crossed the hall and opened the door in front of him. It looked similar to the room across from it, but it definitely seemed to be more appropriate for a male. It still had the large bed, that was on the wall farthest from the door, but instead of the vanity, there was a writing desk, and no armoire was to be seen in this room. Just a similar door that would most likely also lead to a closet.

            Daniel checked it as he did the last one, found nothing and left the room. He did the same thing for the rest of the rooms down this hall. Five rooms in total. He was really wishing the family lived in a smaller house when he at last reached the end of the hall. He gave a sigh of relief when he saw that one of the dividing halls just led to a large window, which was ajar. The curtains blew with the breeze, and the sound of rain could be heard.

            Daniel walked over to the window and looked out. The view was of the back yard, and Daniel could see the moon reflecting in the pond that was below. Its shape was more and more distorted with each raindrop that hit the surface of the water.

            He was still staring down at the pond through the window when he heard a soft noise from behind him. He lifted and turned his right ear towards where he heard the sound. Daniel's thumb started rubbing up and down the handle of his gun. His finger ready to pull the trigger if he needed. Slowly he turned around, he didn't want to startle anyone, or anything. He wanted to give them a chance to let him know where they were located.

            Daniel squinted his eyes in confusion. He was sure he had heard something right behind him, but he couldn't see anything. Then his eyes widened in shock, in front of him there was a door at the end of the unexplored hallway, and there was a small amount of light that filtered through underneath it. But every once in a while a shape would block that light from escaping. It almost looked as if someone was pacing back and forth behind the door.

            Daniel pulled his gun up again, pointing it down the hall towards the door. "Hello." He said, watching as the shadow continued back and forth at the bottom of the door. The pace staying exactly as before. Uncertainty crept through Daniels’s mind as he slowly made his way towards the door. His gun never faltering. "Hello." Daniel said again, "I have a few questions to ask, if you would kindly come out of the room." Still there was no change. Daniel took a deep breath as he placed his hand on the doorknob, "I'm coming in now." was the last thing he said before he opened the door.