Shades And Shadows Collection

Chapter 5-1

Exhaustion pulled at his limbs, clouding his mind as he moved from the body of a child he couldn"t save to a woman who was dying. The disease was spreading faster than even Shades could heal, and it had even started to affect them as they attempted to halt its spread. The medicines they had were ineffective and the number of dead continued to climb.

Exhaustion pulled at his limbs, clouding his mind as he moved from the body of a child he couldn"t save to a woman who was dying. The disease was spreading faster than even Shades could heal, and it had even started to affect them as they attempted to halt its spread. The medicines they had were ineffective and the number of dead continued to climb.“It isn"t any ordinary disease,” he heard someone say and he looked up. “A Shade did this.”

It isn"t any ordinary disease,” he heard someone say and he looked up. “A Shade did this.He wanted to deny it, but it was the only explanation. Someone had planted this disease, like a spike that would leach out into the body and spread. Already people were afraid and pointing fingers.

He wanted to deny it, but it was the only explanation. Someone had planted this disease, like a spike that would leach out into the body and spread. Already people were afraid and pointing fingers.“Gavin, get some sleep.” A hand came down on his shoulder, the older Shade frowning at him. “You"ll do us no good if you succumb.”

Gavin, get some sleep.” A hand came down on his shoulder, the older Shade frowning at him. “You"ll do us no good if you succumb.Fever burned in his skin, starting where that hand touched him and eating into him. He staggered to his feet, pulling away and pointing as he stumbled. The illness was already inside him, blackness soaking into his organs. He fell, grabbing for water, but his hands shook too much and he couldn"t get enough to his mouth.

Fever burned in his skin, starting where that hand touched him and eating into him. He staggered to his feet, pulling away and pointing as he stumbled. The illness was already inside him, blackness soaking into his organs. He fell, grabbing for water, but his hands shook too much and he couldn"t get enough to his mouth.Staggering out of the makeshift hospital, he grabbed at the first person he found, grabbing her and pulling her close so that he could breathe his last into her mouth, hoping the truth would find its way out.

Staggering out of the makeshift hospital, he grabbed at the first person he found, grabbing her and pulling her close so that he could breathe his last into her mouth, hoping the truth would find its way out.

Mason broke the surface of the water, disoriented as he cast about him for something to hold on to. He was panting as he started back toward shore, his head a jumbled mess of memories that terrified him.

It was something he"d never really considered, that a Shade who could heal disease could also spread disease.

It made sense he supposed, and it certainly helped him understand his Nana"s fears. She"d warned him about being used for evil, but never really explained what she meant.

He was shaking as he climbed out of the water to grab at the towel he"d left on the shore of the pond. He dried himself and sat, slowly pulling the memory back to him. The Shade was familiar somehow. He held the man"s image in his mind and tried to call up more information than just his first name.

“Gavin.” He spoke the name out loud, hoping it would spark something. The village was old, something from the old world, back in time and in a place where Shades were obviously accepted for their gifts.

Mason closed his eyes and focused the way Paul had taught him, slipping back into the memory without losing himself in it as he had the first time. A part of him stayed separate to observe, looking at the people and the buildings as Gavin staggered out the door. The clothing suggested some time in the early eighteen hundreds.

Gavin"s view of the village was limited and Mason could only guess it was somewhere in Europe. After running through the memory twice, Mason dressed and headed back for the cottage.

Paul was in the garden when he approached, looking up expectantly. Mason didn"t say anything, just walked past him into the house. He stopped in the small kitchen, looking at his pack by the door. He had planned to leave, he was packed up and ready to head down the mountain, but a voice inside him said he wasn"t ready.

“You okay?”

Mason looked up at Paul in the doorway, shrugging a little. He opened his mouth to respond, but shut it again and shook his head. He didn"t know how to broach the subject. “The more I learn, the more I don"t know.” Mason said quietly.

“More blocks?” Paul asked.

“I"m not sure.” Mason sat slowly. They"d taken several days working to overcome the blocks his grandmother had inserted into her own mind, blocks that kept many of the memories of his line suppressed, even once they had been passed on to him. “Gavin Frach.” He said the name slowly, the image of the man"s face filling his mind.

Paul nodded and moved into the room, pulling out a chair at the table. “I know of Gavin. My mother"s grandmother died around the same time.”

Mason nodded, his hand idly tracing the lines of the wood table as the memory played through again. “I never…it never occurred to me…”

“Oh.” Paul sighed and sat back. “You never realized that what we can heal, we can also cause?”

He shook his head. “It helps me understand why people are so afraid of us.”

“There are many reasons they fear us, Mason. Shades like Darchel, for one. And yes, there have been those of us through the centuries that have used the gifts we have to spread disease. There are those that believe the great wave of the black death began with a Shade who was jealous of a man who had won the affections of a girl he loved.”

That wasn"t the history he had learned, but then, history was mostly written by humans, and until recently, history had relegated Shades to myths and legends, alongside unicorns and werewolves.

“Your grandmother did you no favors refusing to educate you.” Paul said.

Mason agreed now that he had a glimpse of how much he didn"t know. “How do you fight it?”

Paul frowned a little. “Fight what?”

“A sickness a Shade creates?”

Paul bit his lip, crossing his arms. “It sometimes isn"t easy. These are the old ways, lost to most of us.” He narrowed his eyes at Mason. “We can…manipulate a disease. In little ways that aren"t always easy to spot. It can make it difficult to get rid of. Even if we can heal them, the victim can end up with symptoms that last the rest of their lives.”

Mason could feel his grandmother inside him, warning him away, telling him to be a good boy. He held his breath and looked up at Paul. “Can you show me?”

Paul met his eyes, his face stern. “I thought you wanted to go get your book dealt with.”

Mason nodded. “I do. But if I leave today or a week from today, or a month. The book will still be there.”

“What you"re asking isn"t easy.” Paul said. “It requires control that you don"t have yet, and education in things that go beyond what we can do physically. It isn"t something I can teach you in a week. Or a month.”

There was an urgency inside him, pushing him, despite the warnings of his grandmother"s voice. “I"ll stay. If you teach me, I"ll stay.”

The room was quiet for a long moment before Paul stood up. “Okay. Make some dinner. I"m going to go finish in the garden. I need to go into town for some supplies after. You can ride along if you like.”

* * *

The sun had been up for nearly two hours by the time they emerged from the trees in an old Chevy truck with dark tinted windows. The town that lay below them was bigger than he remembered, spreading out to fill the valley. It was picturesque as they descended the mountain and headed toward the town"s center.

Mason unrolled the sleeves of the flannel shirt he"d donned for this adventure, buttoning the cuffs to ensure most of his skin was covered. Paul handed him a list and a stack of bills. “Get the groceries. I"ll handle the hardware store.” He dropped Mason outside a Safeway and headed off down the street.

The store had been open for hours, but was still quiet as he pulled a cart from the corral and headed inside. A stock boy looked up, stifling a yawn to smile and say good morning as Mason cleared the automatic door.

He stopped in the main aisle to look over his list, then up at the aisles to get an idea of the layout. Most of the list was canned goods, things that they would use to round out meals that came from the garden, fishing and hunting.

It felt strange, being in the world outside of their little mountain. He"d seen so much of it from the television that it was familiar, and yet it was completely foreign at the same time. Mason pushed his cart toward the aisle, his eyes skipping around him, half expecting someone to be watching him. It was ridiculous.

He hurried through the list, filling the cart with canned goods and cleaning supplies, flour and sugar and spices. He was on his way to the checkout when his eye caught on the headline of a tabloid.

“KILLER SHADES AT LARGE IN AMERICA”

Mason frowned as he reached for the tabloid. There was a picture of Darchel, clearly taken from the day of his arrest, blood covering his face. Under the picture was an article. He skimmed through it, frowning harder. It was filled with flat out lies, including a list of traits to help identify potential Shades hiding in your community, things like pale face due to lack of feeding on human blood, demonic symbols protecting their home or their person, lack of children, and other nonsense.

He shoved the paper back into the rack and continued to the one checkout lane that was open. The magazines that lined the lane were more variants on the theme, including one that promised pictures from inside Darchel"s home with the headline, “Inside the Lair of a Killer Shade” and another touting a movie in the making based on some hidden diary of Darchel"s. On the cover of Time was that Senator from Utah with a caption that indicated that Norman Douglas was behind a rash of panic-driven laws aimed at Shades specifically.

Mason pushed the fear that surfaced from within him away and unloaded his cart onto the belt, nodding hello to the young man behind the register.

“Did you find everything okay, sir?”

Mason glanced up and nodded again. “Yeah.” He watched the man"s hands as they scanned his items. A teenage girl appeared at the end of the counter to bag his things. It all seemed remarkably normal. He handed off the cash when the man gave him his total and thanked them both.