Light of Ichor 7

“You want a revelation
You want to get it right
But it's a conversation
I just can't have tonight
You want a revelation, some kind of resolution
Tell me what you want me to say”

No Light __ Florence and the Machine




Shadow slept through the night, went on a morning run, and came back just in time for the telephone to ring.

“Hello?”

“Shadow!” Rosie shouted in his ear. He flinched. “Guess what? I’m a big sister! It took him all night to get out!”

“Sounds like fun,” he replied, trying to hide his sarcasm. It must have worked because Rosie didn’t hear it.

“You should come over here and see him! Besides, Gramma says she’d feel better with you here if she has to call Great Uncle Ivo. You know, I think he likes babies to an extent.”

Shadow rolled his eyes even though she couldn’t see it. He was sure Eggman already had his eyes on the place. “Sure, Rosie,” he told her. “I’ll be there in a minute.”

“Okay! I’m timing you!”

She hung up, so Shadow hung up the phone, walked outside, and skated quickly to her house, finding both cars he knew in the driveway. He walked up to the door and knocked, and Rosie flung open the door with wide eyes. “That was way faster than a minute,” she said, but then, she grabbed his hand, dragging him inside where he could smell bacon. “Come here! Look! Look at my baby brother!”

Shadow followed her into the living room where Clara absolutely glowed, holding a small bundle.  She smiled at him and extended her arms, letting him see, and Shadow looked down and saw a tiny, pudgy baby in the middle of a giant yawn. There was a small thatch of brown hair on his head.

One of his ears twitched when he cocked his head, and he ventured, “So this is George?”

“Isn’t he cute!” Rosie exclaimed, bouncing on her heels. “Do you wanna hold him?”

Shadow’s quills twitched defensively. Hold him? “I’d really rather—”

“Rosie!” Walter’s voice carried from the kitchen, “Breakfast is ready!”

She gasped and scurried off, so hungry that even newborn babies couldn’t stop her. Maria popped her head out of the kitchen, bags heavy under her eyes even though she smiled brightly. “Hello, Shadow!”

He waved, and Walter came from the kitchen, beaming at his wife and baby boy. “All right, sweetheart, breakfast is ready for you to satiate your hunger! Hand me George—who’s my strong boy?”

Clara laughed at him, and then, she looked at Shadow, saying, “Oh, Shadow, could you hold on to George for us? Walter hasn’t eaten anything either.”

He resisted the urge to gape, but his spines stiffened as he stuttered, “I—I’m not—I’ve never . . . HELD a baby. I don’t—I don’t know how.”

Clara giggled nearly the same giggle that Rosie did. “Here, it’s easy. The most important thing is to support his head, because he can’t do it yet.”

Before Shadow could properly brace himself, he found George passed from Walter, back to Clara, and then into his arms. Awkwardly cradling the baby that squirmed in his arms, Shadow looked up helplessly at Walter who just grinned at him. He clapped his shoulder, saying, “You’re a natural, Shadow!”

“Oh, he’s hardly natural,” Clara said, with a laugh so stifled it was almost a snort. She looked back at Shadow who stood stiffly, saying, “Will you be all right, Shadow? I just fed him, so he should drop off to sleep soon.”

“I’ll be fine,” he replied reflexively even though inwardly he was a mess. Walter and Clara went to the kitchen table and joined Rosie and Maria in eating, so Shadow was left standing with the baby. He looked down at George who squirmed some more, so he tried to get both arms more secure under the baby, all without disturbing the precarious rest of his head in the crook of his arm. Feeling absolutely out of his league, Shadow managed to maneuver around and sit on the sofa.

His ears flicked when he heard the giggles at the table surrounding the fact that he looked cute holding the baby, so Shadow focused his attention down on his charge that kicked restlessly. Did she say he was supposed to be falling asleep? The worst thing he needed was for George to wake up and start screaming. That was the most of what babies did, right? Eat, poop, scream, and sleep?

It was honestly really quite ridiculous how helpless newborn humans were. Awkwardly waiting for George to sleep, the baby gave a wide yawn again and his eyes opened, blinking curiously at Shadow.

His heart panged. Oh no. On no, he had the bluest, biggest bluest eyes he’d seen since Rosie and Maria and Chaos if that didn’t do things to his heart. George had managed to get one of his arms free of his blanket, and his little hand flailed until it made contact with Shadow’s white tuft of chest fur, his fingers balling tightly and refusing to let go. Shadow twitched at the touch and gently tried to tug his grip off. When gently failed, he tried harder to get George to let go, but the boy refused, so Shadow gave up with a heaving sigh, looking at his face again.

He didn’t start crying. Instead, George just stared at him, big blue eyes blinking sleepily as him as he fought off his drowsiness. Shadow stared back, cowed at how breakable and helpless he was that he couldn’t even hold up his own head yet. So helpless and weak, and yet, he was strong? His hand had a vice-grip on his chest fur, so why couldn’t he even hold his head up? George stared at Shadow until his eyelids finally settled closed, and it dawned on Shadow that George had indeed finally fallen asleep on him, trusting him even though he didn’t look at all like him.

George was cute. Yes, that was the word, and oh Chaos, why was he getting attached already? He was just a baby. It didn’t matter how . . . cute . . . and chubby . . . and innocent he was. It had to be his eyes. Shadow was a sucker for big blue eyes, so maybe big blue baby eyes were his kryptonite. Okay, it didn’t matter what his kryptonite was, just as long as he could protect this tiny baby. Yes, he wouldn’t let anything hurt this precious child.

Sensing someone’s gaze on him, Shadow looked up and saw Maria unabashedly smiling at him. Muzzle flushing, Shadow tried to hand George to her, forgetting that the boy’s hand was still gripping his chest fur. “Maria, what do I do?” he asked, helplessly tugging at his hand. “He won’t let go.”

“You’ll hold still so I can take a picture,” Maria said with a laugh, holding up the camera she had been hiding from him.

“Maria . . .”

The camera clicked as she took a picture of a very disgruntled and embarrassed hedgehog. “Aw, don’t look so sullen, Shadow, it’s cute!” She did however, with a sleight of her hand, easily make George let go of him and relieve him of his burden. Shadow relaxed the second she took him away. She sat down next to him on the couch, gnawing on her bottom lip. “Um, Shadow, you do realize that I had a husband once upon a time, right?”

“Of course,” he said with a nod, wondering how she thought that he might have missed it.

She nodded her head nervously, stammering, “Well, um. He’s going to be here today. You know, to see the baby. It’s his one day off, so he has to come by today.”

Shadow frowned. “What’s wrong?” Was she worried he wasn’t going to like him?

Maria rested George against her chest, patting his back as she explained, “Well, the divorce didn’t go over very well . . . And, I mean, that’s not really an issue now, he’s invited to things like this and holidays, but . . . Um . . .”

“But what?”

A bang on the door made Maria jump, someone hollered, “Maria! Where’s my great nephew?” and Eggman opened up the door even before he was invited in. Shadow bristled, rocketing to his feet defensively when the mad scientist suddenly showed up with no invite. What was he doing here? “There he is!” Eggman exclaimed loudly as Maria quickly shushed him.

“Ivo! He’s sleeping!”

She rocked, soothing the baby that had squirmed in his sleep. “Oh, of course, of course,” Eggman said, seeming to fill the room with his belly and his presence. Shadow stood, moving to the side as Eggman came into the living room, speaking probably the quietest he’d ever heard him, “Well, someone has a good head full of hair! That’s good, keep him from going bald as early as I did!” and Eggman chortled at his own joke.

When Eggman beckoned for George, Maria unwillingly surrendered him, but the mad doctor did know how to hold a baby much better than Shadow and even cooed, finger poking his soft cheeks. Maria bit her lip, saying, “Ivo, I thought we agreed you were coming tomorrow.”

He waved his hand, hardly noting her. Shadow frowned, sensing . . . “Well, I decided I might as well come today. All my work has to be put on hold until I catch Chaos, so I may as well visit today! I wasn’t doing anything anyways. Clara! Walter! You two make one good-looking child, you know that?”

Clara tried to hush him as he began speaking loudly again, saying, “Thank you, Uncle Ivo.” Eggman brushed by them, grabbing some bacon from the kitchen table before plopping down comfortably in a vacant chair.

“Well,” he said, taking a bite and speaking with his mouth full, “babies are cute and all until they start pooping and screaming. Then you can have him back!”

He cackled, and Rosie came up in front of him, stomping her foot on the carpet. “Great Uncle Ivo, shh!” she stressed to him in a huff. “You’ll wake George up! You have to be very quiet.”

“Yes, yes, of course, Rosie, I hadn’t forgotten,” and he quite contentedly lapsed into silence, munching on the bacon.

Shadow frowned at Eggman’s uncanny . . . cheerfulness. A tense cloud fell over the family, and Maria said firmly, “Ivo, we planned to have you come by tomorrow for a reason. We’re already expecting other company any minute now,” and she glanced anxiously at the clock as she said so.

“Hm? Well that’s fine, I don’t mind. I’ll be on my best behavior. Come on now, take a picture! I’ll pin it up in my headquarters!” Clara and Maria exchanged meaningful glances as Maria took a picture of the mad scientist holding his sleeping great nephew. Unease prickled along Shadow’s spine, and he thought it was more than just her ex husband coming to visit.

Finally, Maria clenched her fingers around her camera and said plainly, “Ivo, Abraham is coming to see George today. It’s his day off. He’ll be here any minute.”

Abraham . . . faintly, in the back of Shadow’s mind, he knew the name, though he couldn’t pinpoint exactly how. However, the name caused Eggman to cackle and nearly wake the baby, causing Clara to take George back and hush him. “Abraham!” Eggman said with relish, “Of course. I’ll be absolutely charming if he is, Maria,” and he cackled again, looking at Shadow. Spines stiffening at the look, Shadow stared down Eggman as the mad scientist waggled his brows, asking, “Does he know about Shadow? It’s going to be a fantastic surprise when they meet again. I’ve got to be here for those fireworks, Maria.”

So he DID know him. Rapidly, Shadow’s mind flung back to his checkered past, trying to figure out the puzzle of people that he could possibly know. He couldn’t possibly be one of the scientists that had experimented on him; they would be far too old. He’d have to be younger—

A sharp knock pounded on the door. Maria froze for a minute, and it was Walter that moved across the room and to the door. Then, it suddenly dawned on Shadow EXACTLY who the only person it could be.

The door swung open, and in the doorway standing proud and tall was Abraham Towers. His dress slacks and crisp button up were freshly pressed, and before Walter could even welcome him in, his one brown and one green eyes cut across the room, first to the noticeable Eggman, and then to Shadow. Bristling at the look in his eyes, Shadow clenched his fists and hiked up his chin, daring him to question his presence in the Robotnik household. Shadow’s jaw locked, and intense dislike filled him at the sight of the man that still, STILL looked down his nose at him.

You shouldn’t hang out with that experiment, Maria. It’s just a ratty Mobian, and it’s meant to do what we tell it, so I don’t see why you feel like you need to be its friend.

Shadow’s blood boiled. He knew exactly who that man was; that snot-nosed, whiny, call-my-daddy brat that—

“You didn’t tell me you were having . . . GUESTS over, Clara.”

His quills twitched noticeably in anger, and Clara said firmly, “Of course, Dad. Family is family.”

Shadow blinked at Towers, and Clara’s name for him—DAD—sunk in slowly. Whipping his head accusingly to Maria, his knuckles whitened when she wouldn’t look at him. She had KNOWN. She had known exactly who that boy was, how he treated him, the things he said about him, and she—she MARRIED the man!

Towers still hadn’t fully stepped inside the house even though Walter was still holding the door open for him. His cold eyes were fixed on Shadow as he enunciated, “HE is hardly family.”

“Neither are you,” Shadow snapped. “Or was the divorce a part of my imagination?”

The words leapt from him before he could stop them. Towers’ face hardened and Walter frowned at them, saying sharply, “All right you two. You’re both here to see George, not fight, and if you can’t behave, then you can both stay out of this house. Everyone here is family, whether you like it or not.”

Shadow crossed his arms, refusing to move from his spot in the living room. Towers stared at him for a moment longer and then deliberately met the challenge, stepping into the house with him. Walter eyed him as he went past, but Towers chose to ignore Shadow to the best of his ability, coming to Clara’s side and putting an openly affectionate kiss on her head. For some reason, it rankled Shadow’s fur.

“You kids made a fine-looking boy,” Towers told her, and Clara flushed with pleasure, not much able to put a dent on the new mother’s happiness. She handed over George, letting Towers hold him, and Shadow had never felt jealousy and protection of the like that surged through him seeing the man holding him.

Shadow held perfectly still in the middle of the room, controlling his temper as Towers asserted his place among the family as easily as breathing. Rosie came over to his side to see George again, saying to him, “Isn’t he cute, Grandpa? I’m a big sister now. I’ve got a lot of responsibility.”

For a second, Shadow didn’t hear Towers’ response to Rosie, too jealous to see straight. He snapped his gaze back to Maria when she moved across the room to take a picture of them, but she stoutly avoided his accusing glare. Eggman just looked between Shadow and Towers, vastly enjoying himself.

“Well, isn’t this a cozy reunion?” Eggman said falsely amicable. “Shadow and G.U.N. commander, back together again! Though, I guess the circumstances are a little different this time.”

Shadow’s spines flexed aggressively. His crimson eyes shot back to Maria, the red pools practically boiling as he spat at her, “He’s the G.U.N. commander?”

Maria’s eyes slid to the floor, and Towers said firmly, “Yes, I am.” He then turned to Eggman, saying, “I have half a mind to arrest you right here and now and stop your mad science before it starts.”

Clara’s face grew pained. “Dad, please—”

Eggman simply waved him off, saying, “Oh, let’s put aside our differences for now, Commander Towers, we’re here for this wonderful baby boy! Isn’t he cute? I like to imagine when Shadow was that small because it’s so hard to believe!”

The eldest Robotnik cackled to himself when Shadow and Towers cast equally incinerating glares to one another. Walter and Clara traded worried glances as the tensions mounted with Eggman’s well-placed words, and Rosie shrank back, sensing the animosity. “That’s where your wrong, Dr. Ivo Robotnik,” Towers said with a leer, “Shadow was always made to be a killing machine, even from birth.”

Shadow’s hackles rose, and his lip began to sneer with distaste, but he instinctively looked to Maria for help—for something. At this point, he didn’t care if it was her telling him to be the bigger man, but she didn’t look up, she didn’t speak up for him—she didn’t do ANYTHING.

“Oh, but the ARK was such a long time ago,” Eggman drawled easily, gauging the heat spitting from man and hedgehog. “Even Maria has gotten over G.U.N. agents shooting her, so I don’t see why—”

“Yes,” Shadow interrupted with a snarl, blood pounding in his head, “marry a man from G.U.N. when they were the ones that almost got you killed!”

Towers leaned forward dangerously, George still crooked in the corner of his arm. “It was mad science that got Maria shot!” he accused him. “G.U.N. was brought in to fix the problem experiments like YOU created!”

“That’s enough!” Clara said sharply as George woke and began to cry. She took her son back, tears stinging her eyes as she ordered, “I want you all out of my house! Get out!”

She grabbed Rosie’s hand, the toddler looking even smaller than before, taking her and George deeper into the house and away from them. Eggman hummed pleasantly to himself as Walter pointed to the door, saying, “You heard her. Out. All three of you.”

Towers stood ramrod straight and leered down at the shorter man. “That’s some way to speak to me,” he started.

“And that’s some way to behave as a guest in my house,” Walter cut him off. “All of you.”

Eggman stood too, saying haughtily, “Well, I don’t think so! I’ve been on my best behavior, Walter! It was Commander Towers and Shadow that have been fighting.”

Walter began, “You know you’ve been antagonizing them—”

“Towers has been downright ugly to me ever since he stepped inside the house!” Shadow exclaimed in his defense. Did absolutely no one care how Towers treated him like the scum of the earth? A ringing began in his ears as Towers glared across the room at him.

“You’re just a dirty experiment gone wrong!” Towers snapped at him. “You were supposed to be blindly obedient, not a little rat with a mouth!”

The prickling in the room rose, and Shadow opened his mouth with a retort when his ears twitched, hearing a low rumbling. Walter stepped in front of Towers, shouting, “That’s enough! Abraham, you’ve over-extended your stay. That goes for you too, Eggman, Shadow. All of you, get out!”

Shadow cast his eyes about, sensing something, and when his eyes pinned on Eggman again, it hit him like a freight train. “You!” he snapped, pointing at Eggman. “You’ve got a Chaos Emerald on you!” The color drained from Shadow’s face when the rumbling—the plumbing—grew louder and louder. Dread grew in his belly when he put it together. “You used Maria and the Emerald as bait! You led it here—!”

The plumbing in the kitchen sink burst loudly, spraying water all over the kitchen, and Maria shrieked, running to the opposite side of the adjacent dining room as liquid poured in the room. “There you are!” Eggman exclaimed with glee, and he yanked out a remote, pressing a button as Chaos surged up—and up.

Shadow ran forward and planted his feet protectively in front of Maria and Walter, head craned back as Chaos formed from the water, taller than the average human and hulking wider than a sumo wrestler. A brand new endoskeleton filled both of its arms, and its hammerhead skull was shifted forward, its brain still bobbing brightly.

“Get out of here!” Shadow shouted at the humans, eyes flicking up to the ancient god. He saw the purple and red Chaos Emeralds embedded in the endoskeleton of each fisted pincer before they slammed down on top of him.

The wood flooring splintered under the weight of the attack, and Shadow grunted, spots dancing before his eyes. If he thought it had hit hard before, that was nothing compared to what it could do now! Eggman quite calmly opened the door for Maria, saying, “This way, dear, we’ll have him contained in a minute—”

“Robotnik!” Towers shouted at him, yanking out the gun holstered on his back hip. “You brought this creature back after it destroyed Station Square? Madman!”

Chaos growled, its hulking body lumbering around to where Eggman and Maria were heading into the front yard. Walter hurried into the back to his family, Towers blocking the way into the hallway, but Chaos ignored the commander even when several bullets sank harmlessly into its body. Shaking the stars from his head, Shadow leapt over Chaos and darted out the door, knowing exactly who the monster would be targeting.

Turning to face his adversary, Shadow lunged forward with splayed hands. Chaos growled, green eyes blazing before every single feature of the monster melted away. With a gush, a wave of water jettisoned forth, and the surf crashed over him, swamping him into the street. Coughing on water, Shadow craned his head back, stunned to see the ancient god lift up, water collecting back into an aerial sphere and come hurtling down.

Dodging the crushing attack, Shadow balled up and spun into the orb, spines slicing harmlessly through the water. To the side, Eggman shouted, "That's right, Shadow! Keep him occupied! I'm almost ready!"

Shadow snarled, shaking water from his quills as Chaos congealed into a vaguely humanoid shape again, claws and hulking. Seeing the vulnerable brain, Shadow spun into a quick spin dash and attacked from the front. His momentum stopped abruptly when he collided with a shield made of Chaos energy that rang low as a gong when he struck it. Landing roughly on his feet, Shadow crossed his arms just in time for claw to crush into his chest, sending him flying past Maria and Eggman and into the ground.

Grunting and skidding, Shadow's fingers dug into the grass as he forced himself to stop and ran back into the fray. He attacked with another useless spin dash, annoyance spiking hot when the shield blocked his way again. He narrowly avoided a jettison of powerful water.

"Doctor!" he shouted as he dodged another watery claw seeped in Chaos energies. "If you're going to do something, do it now!"

Seeking to use his speed to distract the god, Shadow darted behind Chaos and attacked from a blind spot, but the god was almost equally quick now, blocking his attack easily. Angrily, Shadow lunged beneath a slinging claw and spun dashed hard and fast, striking the god's vulnerable brain. Chaos screeched and melted into a flood, crashing over Shadow again.

Catching another lungful of water, Shadow coughed up the liquid and suffered another powerful blow that rattled his ribs. Chest heaving for air and soaking wet, Shadow growled, crimson eyes spitting fire as Eggman hollered, "Over here, Shadow! Bait it in here!"

Enraged that Eggman would dare ask him to bait Chaos closer to Maria, Shadow balled up and dove around Chaos' attack again, spines spinning lethally. Instead of the brain, Shadow instead struck at the shoulder of the endoskeleton, and his spines found purchase. Chaos shrieked when Shadow tore through his arm, splitting the water and severing the arm with the red Chaos Emerald from its body. Snatching the emerald from the dissipating water, Shadow's skates burned as he swerved closer to Eggman and Maria. Chaos was shrunk down now, lopsided with only one arm holding tightly to its purple Chaos Emerald. Its other arm formed out of water, and it roared and balled up again, seeking to crush Shadow beneath it.

Eggman waved his hands, "Here, Shadow! Here!"

Streaking back across the front lawn, Chaos hot on his tail, Shadow leapt up past something mechanical, and Eggman cackled, "Yes! Yes! Gotcha!" and a surge of electricity nearly scorched his fur when the Chaos god began screaming.

Planting himself in front of Maria, sucking wind and dripping wet, Shadow looked up to see Chaos in the throes of voltage that made the water god quiver and writhe, releasing its hold on the purple Chaos Emerald. Skidding beneath it all, Shadow grabbed it too, retreating as the two pylons extended into an orb, locking air-tight around Chaos. Caught in a transparent balled cage, the electricity stopped briefly so it wouldn't cause lasting damage to Eggman's new subject of interest. Chaos collapsed into a formless puddle.

For a second, all was silent except for Shadow’s ragged breathing. Eggman hummed to himself, using his remote to cause the orb to shrink in size until it was no bigger than a basketball, squeezing Chaos into a small, portable space. Then, Shadow whirled on him with a black leer.

“Get out of here.”

Eggman at least had the decency to step back at the threat dripping from Shadow’s voice, but he just said, “And again, we make an excellent team, Shadow, but if you want me to leave, I do believe those Chaos Emeralds are mine.”

His fists clenched around them, so furious he quivered. He threw the purple one at Eggman, snapping, “Here! Now leave!”

Eggman just barely caught the projectile, and the Eggmobile floated over to him. His moustache bristled as he said hotly, “I don’t think so, Shadow! That red Chaos Emerald is mine too! Now hand it over, or I’ll take it from you myself!”

“You said you wanted the one Chaos Emerald Chaos had,” Shadow spat, “and now you’ve got it! This one is mine!” He stepped forward aggressively, spines flexing, and his movement caused Maria to make a move to get in between them.

“Shadow—”

He ignored her, growling, “Doctor, you’re lucky I’m civil right now. You put this entire family in danger all for the sake of capturing that monster!” Then, his octave dipped, velvet voice purring, “Get out now, Doctor, or I promise I’ll do more than lasting damage to just your machines.”

The red Chaos Emerald twinkled ominously in Shadow’s hand, causing Eggman’s face to twist into an ugly sneer. “Fine!” he shouted back, stepping into the Eggmobile and pocketing the purple Chaos Emerald. “I have my prize. You’ll regret crossing me, Shadow!”

Still as a snake poised to strike, Shadow watched Eggman carefully as the Eggmobile moved out of sight, towing the powerless Chaos with him. He watched them go for a second in the afternoon, and finally, a small voice broke the quiet.

“Shadow—”

He jerked away when her hand tried to touch him. “Don’t touch me,” he hissed at her, ears flexing back and a fang peeking out. Maria recoiled, and unable to reconcile how the day had gone, exactly who was inside the house, and Maria’s lack of a defense, Shadow scowled and left at top speed.

His adrenaline was still rushing. His face felt hot with fever, and he refused to believe that his flush was because he was so hurt at Maria’s betrayal. Towers. COMMANDER TOWERS. His rage piqued again, and Shadow snarled, ripping across the countryside at his top speed, trying to put as much distance between him and Maria as physically possible.

Ha! Look at him struggle. Isn’t he supposed to be the Ultimate? Ultimate failure!

With an annoyed flick of his ears, Shadow tried to shake the mean words away. He wasn’t a child anymore, and neither was Towers. The words might have hurt then, but not anymore. Tearing across the countryside and through cities, Shadow ran and ran from his past that had already overtaken him.

You got lucky this time, experiment! I hope next time G.U.N.’s tests make you eat lead!

Shadow dug in his toes, straining to go faster. Legs pumping and skates causing flickers of fire to scorch the grass behind him, Shadow ground his jaw. His fists tightened.

Well, well. That last creation of ours nearly got you that time, didn’t it? I wonder how easy it would be to turn off your life support right now.

Shadow seethed. He knew that wretch and exactly how he had gone from petty to a mild threat when he was weak. Shadow bared his teeth, breath sucking between his teeth as if he could feel himself dying from a mere flick of a switch.

Exciting isn’t it? To have your life in the palm of my hand. I don’t think I’d ever tire of watching you squirm.

And then he turned it off and on a subsequent two more times. And Maria didn’t believe him when he told her about it, refusing to believe little Abraham Towers could be so cruel. Shadow tore through the jungle as the sun began to set, turning the sky bloody red and orange. Of course, it went without saying Shadow had given Towers his own fair share of black eyes and bruises, and terrifying him to the point he’d actually peed on himself. But he never had the pleasure of threatening the boy with death the way he had him.

Fuming, Shadow came to an abrupt halt at the edge of a plateau. Breathing sharply from the strenuous run that had nearly broken the sound barrier, Shadow stared at the sight of Angel Island. Out of everywhere in the world, this had to be the last place he would have expected to be. He knew in his heart where he would have liked to be, but the betrayal still smarted, so he sat down at the edge and struggled to reign in his temper.

The waves were rough, crashing in white froths against the cliff side. Shadow watched them ebb out and come rolling back in, shattering over the rocks. Even from high up where he sat, the sea sprayed a fine mist over his hot face, cooling him. Though his anger smoldered, the rhythmic beat of the waves against the rocky shore soothed him. Taking deep breaths, Shadow sought to relax, and his eyes lingered over the unsettled sea, finding solace in the peaceful sound of nature.

The sun dipped lower until its crest disappeared under the distant line of the sea. The world plunged into darkness until the stars began to peek out, twinkling above him. And the more he waited for his anger to abate, the longer and longer he sat there on the cliff side. And the more he sat at the cliff side, the deeper and deeper the night darkened until he knew he had to get home regardless of if he was still angry or not.

Standing and skating off, Shadow returned to the little yellow house in the Melrose subdivision. He stood in the yard a moment, looking at the house he called home, and he hoped Maria was asleep when he pushed the door open.

Of course she stayed up for him.

She had a cup of cold caf between her clenched hands, and she looked up from the kitchen table when he walked in. She stood abruptly, bursting, “Shadow—!” and fell silent, biting nervously on her bottom lip.

He thought he had a lid on things. But as he shut the door behind him with a kick of his heel, Shadow knew he was far from civil yet. Choosing to ignore her instead of running the risk of saying something he would regret, Shadow headed for the stairs.

“Shadow, wait! I can explain!”

His quills twitched, and unbidden he stopped at her words. He turned his profile away from her, knotting up the pain in his heart. He didn’t speak a word.

The silence welcomed her to explain herself even if the walls around Shadow’s heart wouldn’t believe anything she said. The pregnant moment stretched until Shadow moved towards the stairs, and she suddenly started, “Shadow, you have to understand, after the ARK I didn’t have anything left. I—”

“What, and Abraham of all people could give you something?” he snapped bitterly, throwing his hand out. Now that he had spoken, it all came tumbling out as if he couldn’t stop it, “Maria, you know how he treated me!”

“I know!” she said back, wringing her hands. “And what if he could have given me something?”

“Abraham Towers?” Shadow drawled sarcastically. “Exactly what could you have ever seen in HIM? That brat who always got us in trouble when we sneaked around to even have peace to ourselves? Who always harassed me, kicked me, spit on me, urged his dearest father to make a machine that might actually kill me?”

“Shadow,” Maria said with a small flinch, “you don’t understand! After the ARK both Abraham and I were different, and—”

“And what?” Shadow scoffed, the emotions suddenly pouring out of him with the only person he trusted his emotions with—the only one that had ever had the chance to fling his emotions back at his feet. “You expect me to understand that Abraham suddenly changed? He hasn’t, Maria! You saw the way he looked at me in there! You heard the way he spoke to me!”

She drew herself up suddenly, saying firmly, “Yes, I know how he treated you, Shadow, but I know how you treated him too. You both met violence with violence and anger with anger.”

The lights above the kitchen table cast their shadows ominously about them, Maria’s standing like an oasis of darkness between them. Shadow bristled, trying and failing to resist the urge to shout as he said, “That prick would have walked all over me and you know it, Maria!” He took an aggressive step towards her, slashing his hand down and biting out, “You only saw the aftermath of it all, Maria! When I was out in that arena fighting for my life, hearing the things they said about me, enduring it all on my own until I came back to you, it was either I fought back or gave up!”

A flicker of pain passed over Maria’s face, and she bit her lip, saying gentler, “Shadow, that’s not—I thought this was about Abraham?”

“It is!” Shadow snarled. Frustrated, he turned away from her, pacing into the living room and back, trying to find the road his rabbit trail led him away from. “It is! Abraham? That bastard was just like the rest of them, Maria! How could you—ABRAHAM. Little two-eyed two-face! Out of everyone in the world you picked the worst of them!”

Her lips pressed, and her chin jutted, saying sternly, “I don’t think it’s really your place to choose who was good for me or not, Shadow. I know what I did—”

Shadow interrupted her with a harsh laugh, shaking his head. “Of course,” he said bitterly, “I should have known! You always picked him, always . . .”

“What are you talking about?”

“Oh don’t act so innocent, Maria!” he spat hotly, the blood and Chaos energies rushing through him. She flinched back at his blazing red eyes. “Whose side did you always take? Abraham! You always sided with that creep!”

“I did not!” she cried in her own defense, hurt tears pricking her eyes at his tone. “You know that’s not true, Shadow!”

“Oh do I?” he sneered, refusing to give her an inch.

Her fathomless blue eyes jumped as she tried again, “Shadow, you weren’t even here! You don’t know what I was feeling—If you would just listen—”

“No! I don’t want to hear about Abraham! I’m sick and tired of him!”

“You can’t just pretend this issue isn’t real!”

“I’m not!” Shadow shouted, whipping around to face her again. “I just can’t believe that you of all people would do something like that!”

“It’s the truth!” she gasped. “Do you want me to lie?”

“No!” he cried, “that’s not it at all! I just want—”

“Then what is it?”

“It’s your fault! I didn’t—”

“What do you want me to say?”

Shadow stopped short, chest heaving and staring at Maria as if he’d never seen her before. Her shadow separated them like a dark and malevolent ocean, and suddenly, she looked older to him than she ever had before. The tendons in her neck strained as she repeated helplessly, “Just—tell me what you want me to say! You won’t let me say anything. You won’t let me say anything and what I can get out isn’t good enough for you. So what do you want me to say, Shadow?”

They stood across from each other, exhausted from their whipping emotions, and Shadow’s ears flattened back in shame. He looked away from her, unable to watch her tears follow the wrinkles of her skin. For the first time since he had known Maria, it was like there was no light in her blue eyes, and already he missed the sparkle she always had. Instead, tired and hurt, Shadow just shook his head.

“I don’t want you to say anything.”

He avoided her gaze and looked at the ground as he went upstairs, too drained to do anything more. Maria stood in thunderstruck silence, her lower lip trembling as she absorbed the brunt of his anger for the first time in her life.