Here begins the part 2 of Shadow Keeper, which takes place seven months later.
December 2, 2014
8:17 a.m.
"I know you're here somewhere, Jeremy.....I will find you...I'll have you know I am a master at hide-and-go-seek..."
A voice somewhere cackled devilishly. "Oh? Then how come you haven't found where I'm hiding yet?"
"I'm taking my time..."
"Mmhmm...."
I crept slowly and silently through the kitchen—which for the first week living here, I didn't know existed—looking in every nook and cranny for the stupid cyborg. It was his idea to play this silly game, but to be honest, I was more than happy to play. Not that I let Jeremy notice my enthusiasm, mind you. Levin and Morgan were playing too. But I wasn't too concerned about finding their hiding spots. I suspected theirs would be much easier, so I decided to discover Jeremy's first. But no matter where I looked, I just couldn't find him. It was beginning to thoroughly frustrate me.
"...oh, for heaven's sake, Hanako. Jeremy's hiding on top of the fridge."
"GABRIEL, YOU STUPID CAT!!!"
My eyes darted up to the ceiling, where Jeremy was indeed on the fridge, his back pressed to ceiling. His brow was furrowed in aggravation as he glared at a certain black cat that had walked into the room. Gabriel laughed at him.
"Ohoho, I'm sorry for ruining your game, children, but it really bothered me how long it was taking you to find Jeremy, Hanako." The cat sat down and began brushing his fur with his tongue. "Oh, also, Levin and Morgan are both hiding in the dungeon. Would you like me to go get them for you?"
My eye began to twitch, and I felt equal irritation with the cat as Jeremy. The cyborg leapt down from the fridge and stood beside me, and we both stared at Gabriel in utter disgust. "You might as well," I scoffed. "Like you said, the game's already ruined. Thanks a lot, Gabe."
"Very well. I shall do just that, Hana."
I couldn't say I hated Gabriel, but he sure as heck knew how to get under my skin. "Come on, Jeremy. We might as well go tell Niall we're finished our game."
+++
Niall was on his hands and knees in the Safe Haven's living room, aggressively scrubbing the food-stained floor. He was wearing a cleaning apron, and his hair had been pulled back in a small ponytail to keep out of his face. I tried my hardest—honestly—not to laugh at him.
"Jeremy, I never knew we hired a maid."
"Neither did I."
"Enough fun, you two." I could easily tell how embarrassed Niall was by the sound of his voice. "At least I'm doing something productive."
"I resent that!" Jeremy huffed, throwing his arm over my shoulder. "We were playing hide-and-go-seek. Very productive. And besides, I deserve to have fun every once in a while."
"Jeremy, no offense, but you make fun in everything you do. Whether it's a serious matter or not."
"I do not."
"Do too."
"Do not."
"Yes you do, Jerry-Berry!"
"Gah!"
Jeremy and I were soon flat on the floor do to a certain blonde haired little boy that had snuck up behind us. Levin laughed with delight as he rubbed his head against Jeremy. "So you got caught, huh, Jeremy?"
"Levin, get off of us!" Jeremy snapped angrily, and he had to use both arms to pry the little boy off. We both got to our feet. "And just so you know, Hanako here wasn't the one to find me. Stupid cat..."
"Oh, so Gabe found you!" Levin laughed again. That boy always had such a bright, caring smile that made me smile almost every time I saw it. His constant good moods made him a lot of fun to be around. He also loved to tease and annoy Jeremy, which I always enjoyed.
"Yes, the cat found me. He always ruins everything." Jeremy looked at me. "So, Hanako, what do you want to do now? Ya wanna go have a snowball fight?"
"No, Jeremy...I'm actually pretty worn out. I'd like to get some rest right now, if you don't mind..." I told him, doing my best to hide what I really had planned behind my expression. I yawned, and he seemed to buy it.
"Alright, party-pooper..." He sighed again. "You can go to your room. Sheesh, when was your bedtime when you lived with your mom?"
"Thanks...Jerry-Berry..." I gave him a smirk before making my way to the once-vacant room Jeremy had allowed me to call my own. Upon entering that room, I slowly and carefully closed the door behind me, making sure to create as little noise as possible as I got down to business.
Reading, that is. Reading a book I'm sure I wasn't supposed to be reading.
The book was called 'Legend of the Midnight Legion', and there was something very peculiar I had learned about this book. The day I had first discovered it back in that bookstore in Aobasani, I had also found a note between its pages, and the message claimed that I was supposed to take the book. And that note was written my father...or so it said.
However, the day after I had brought the book back to the Safe Haven, it had disappeared without a trace. I worried about it for several days or so, then decided that I would probably never see it again. Much to my surprise, exactly one month later, I had stumbled across it again. Ever since then, this strange book had been mysteriously disappearing, then reappearing around the same time every month.
"Edithania, the Raven Guardian. Ah, yes. I finally get to learn more about you..." I cleared my throat and was about to read when the picture below the title caught my attention. It was Edith, no doubt—a woman in a black dress with wavy black hair. She had two children at her side, a boy and a girl, one under each arm. The boy's left arm appeared to be crumbling away like it was made of dust, and the girl's right arm was doing the same. "Are those children...Nathaniel and Eliana?" I whispered thoughtfully to myself. "But how could the person who wrote this book know about them?" I struggled to push the thought aside and continued to read. "Edithania is the demon of darkness. Although once loyal to her master's plan, she was one of the members of the Midnight Legion that broke away from the others. She decided that she would rather simply protect the children she was born to protect. She had no idea what they looked like, but she was told that when the day she met the children would come, she would know. Edithania was given the children's names: Eliana and Nathaniel.
"Well, dang. This book really does know a lot.
"....hmmm....blah, blah, blah....blah...this is nothing interesting..." I sighed, quickly running my index finger across the page. I turned the page over once. "A-ha....here's something about Reiha... ahem... Before they separated, Edithania and Reiha—the demon of hatred—were known for their irrational and undeniable rivalry. The two would never get along, under any circumstances. They would oft times battle each other in hopes to kill off the other for good. One time, one of their fierce battles resulted in a rather devastating outcome. Reiha unleashed her true spirit, a shadow living inside her called the Light Reaper.
She sliced open the flesh on the right side of Edithania's face, causing a powerful, dark force to overpower it. Only because of how accustomed she was to darkness was Edithania able to contain the shadow and use it to her advantage. She used it to curse Reiha. And it was on that day that Reiha was deprived of any sanity she had left in her. Reiha went on a murderous rampage, attempting to kill anyone in sight, including her beloved brother. After nearly being strangled to death, her brother was somehow able to prevent Reiha from harming anyone else, and he managed to calm her. Reiha was still insane, but to a lesser degree. Ashamed and afraid of how the rest of her family would react, she fled. She fled and decided to hide away until the day came when a certain child named Lucy was to be born.
"This book is astounding..."
"What book is astounding?"
".....Gah! J-Jeremy!!" All the blood drained from my face as a certain eye-patched man poked his head through an opening in the door. "It's nothing!" I shouted, sweat drops forming on my head as I quickly hid the book behind my back. Jeremy squinted at me, his expression clearly showing that he was skeptical, so I blurted, "It's just Greek mythology! I swear!"
"Why...what are you getting so nervous about?" He stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. "Is there something bad in there? Like...you know...statues..."
"W-what?"
"Lady statues..."
"Jeremy, you need to seek professional help."
"I'm just saying," Jeremy sat on the floor and snatched one of my pillows, then proceeded to hold it close to his chest. "So...whatcha reading that's so secret..."
"It's none of your business, cyborg!" I snapped, my fingers only squeezing the book tighter behind me. Crap...if this keeps up, he'll find out...and I can only imagine what his reaction will be...
"Let me see it."
"No."
"Give it to meeeee..."
"No!"
Jeremy narrowed his eyes at me, and I felt as though I was targeted by a sharpshooter. Or better yet, he was like a predator, and I, the innocent prey he was stalking. The book I possessed was like food I was desperately trying to protect and keep for myself, but with the predator around, remaining calm was impossible. I continued to sweat with nervousness as Jeremy crept closer, his eyes locked on mine. He was getting ready to strike.
Just then, when I thought I was as good as dead, my salvation called out.
"Jeremy!! I need your help! Could you please come here? Quickly!!"
Levin, bless your 9-year-old soul...
Jeremy released a grunt of annoyance, and he pouted. "I'm not finished with you~..." He whispered, pointing an accusing finger at me as he slowly crawled backwards, felt around blindly for the doorknob, then left the room.
I don't think I had ever been so relieved in my life. To be honest, I could have been making a big deal out of it for nothing. But something deep inside me was telling me to keep it hidden from him no matter what.
I pulled out the book and opened it to a random page. Flipping a couple of pages back, I soon stumbled across a chapter titled, "A Threat to All Demons." Below the title was a picture of a man shrouded in black mist...a pair of beady red eyes barely visible. I began reading.
"Uncertainty is a rather troubling state of mind, wouldn't you think? Indecisiveness is another name for it. Could you imagine being in a constant state of uncertainty? Never knowing what to do with yourself, often finding yourself making irrational decisions out of self-induced pressure? Latching on to the nearest tree just to have something to hug, clinging to what little family you have left? There is a demon named Niall, and he is the demon of uncertainty. Created by his master at the same time as the rest of his siblings, Niall unwillingly became a member of the Midnight Legion. He was a cowardly demon that refused to fight anyone, and utterly despised his master's plan. Instead of obeying, he hid behind his dear sister, Reiha, and allowed her to fight all his battles for him. Reiha loved Niall much more than anyone else she ever knew, so she gladly agreed to stand up for him. But one day, Reiha was unable to guard Niall, and the male demon had no choice but to fend for himself. This resulted in a horrifying side of Niall to be revealed—a side that, from that day on, made him become feared by every demon in the Midnight Legion....
"....what, did every member of the Midnight Legion discover their true strength after battling their siblings? This book sounds like some kind of cheesy villain story..." I sighed and furrowed my brow as I discovered, while flipping through the pages again, another note. I immediately unfolded the yellow paper and read aloud the tiny, bunched up writing:
"Hanako? This is you, right? Yes, hello there, Hanako. If you are reading this, then that means I owe your father a great deal of money. He bet that he would be able to get this book to you, but I said that it was impossible...one thing led to another, and I accepted the challenge. So, if your father was indeed right, and you do possess this book, then I really have to start rethinking my decisions...anywho...oh, yes, how could I forget? You probably don't know who this is, do you? My name is Grave. I am a good friend of your father's. (A very broke friend of your father's.) First things first, he wanted me to apologize to you. He's extremely sorry for leaving you, but everything turned out alright, didn't it? You have Ironmage. And your father trusts Ironmage to look after you. He promises that one day, you two shall indeed meet again..."
I hesitated, strongly resisting the urge to crush the note and stomp it under my foot. "Why couldn't you apologize in person, you...idiot..." I whispered. I pushed the thought aside and continued reading the note.
"Recently, your father and I have discovered something that I'm sure may seem unimportant to you, but listen here, child, because this is extremely significant. You know a woman that goes by the name Suri Adams, correct? Great woman, she is. Strong warrior, kind, caring...hates my guts. But that's not saying much. It takes a lot to get on Suri's good side. Anyway, I have a favor to ask of you. Taped to the inside back cover of this book is a red envelope with a letter inside written by Suri's sister. The letter is addressed to her, but I want you to read it. Then, I want you to give her a call. Suri, that is. Her phone # is 209-112-3505. Call her and deliver this 3 word message to her-'THREE DAYS WAKE'-then hang up immediately. Don't give her any explanation. Even if you don't understand what it means, that's okay. It will all be explained to you in due time. Thank you, Hanako. I look forward to meeting you.
-Grave G. Arepré."
I stared at the note, both rage and confusion ablaze in my eyes. I didn't believe what I had seen at first, so I read the entire thing over again. And again. And again. And again. I had to have read it at least ten times before I finally decided to check the back of the book for an envelope. Surely enough, as the note had claimed, taped on the inside back cover was a small, blood red envelope with Suri's name written in calligraphy on the front. After carefully ripping off the attached tape, I slid my finger under the flap and opened the envelope, then took out the contents of it: one pink-papered letter addressed to General Adams.
After quickly reading over the message, I went on to the next instruction given to me. I took out my phone, flipped it open, then dialed Suri's number. I was standing now, tapping my foot anxiously as I listened to the irritating rings. Five times it rang, until the familiar sound of the general's voice answered.
"Hello? Who is this? And how did you get my number?"
"........."
"Hello? I swear, Ezekiel, if this is you prank-calling me, you will regret it!"
"........"
"Hello!?"
No explanation, Grave said. "....Three..."
"Three?" Suri repeated. "Three what?"
"....days...."
"Three days? Three days 'til what? Who is this!?! I can't recognize your voice, my phone is kind of damaged. Could you please give me an answer??"
"......wake......"
Silence. For what seemed like an eternity.
".....G-Grave....? Is that...you....?"
I hung up. I closed my phone and weighed it in my hand, biting down forcefully on my lip to resist the temptation to call her back. I wanted to. I really did. But I was given orders from a man who claimed to not only know dad, but was apparently a good friend. My faith wasn't strong, and typically, I would need proof before following any kind of instruction, especially one that wasn't given face to face. But maybe...just this once...I would trust that this would turn out for the better.
"You had better not be lying to me, Grave."