"The monsters of our childhood do not fade away, neither are they wholly monstrous."
-John le Carré
After putting on Ezra's shirt, which was still too big for me, I went exploring. The house was huge and had many rooms. The main floor consisted of the kitchen, dining area, sitting area, and the master suite, as well as Ezra's mini library he showed me the day before, a nursery, and stairs that led underground that I was not willing to go into.
There were four floors. The second mostly consisted of the office and many bedrooms. The third floor consisted of what I believed to be a ballroom, an art gallery, and possibly a museum. The fourth floor was just filled with dusty furniture and boxes.
When I returned to the first floor, Ezra was in the kitchen, making food. When he sensed me, he turned and said, "Have you seen everything?"
I shrug. "I think so. Except for the basement."
He furrowed his brows, then he nodded in understanding. "That's good. Don't go down there."
"Why not?"
He gave me a serious look. "You won't like what you see, trust me."
Instead of inquiring further, I looked at what he was making and scrunched my nose. "What is that?"
He chuckled. "It's Cyclops liver with Ceffel Dwr eye sauce." I put a hand to my mouth to stop myself from throwing up, even though I had no idea what a Ceffel Dwr was. Just the look of the plate Ezra had was enough to throw my stomach into knots.
"It's raw!" I squealed.
"It's not for me, Nicole. It's for Trumthor." He grabbed a sack and threw the concoction inside then turned around. When he saw me again, he shook his head in amusement. "We, Uithcothians don't cook our meat. You have to understand that we're different from you."
"I get that!" I hiss, trying not to stare at the sack, the bottom of which was turning dark from liquids. "But you eat each other? You survive off each other?"
"I don't," he said and started walking. "Here, I eat fruits of the land. It's only in your world that I take another life to further my own."
"What if I have to stay here?" I asked, chasing after him. "I can't eat raw meat!"
He rose a brow at me. "Just because we're monsters, doesn't mean we don't know what a fire is." Ezra steps outside the house and throws the sack to the giant, who roars his appreciation from his place in the dirt, talking to some other creature. Ezra turned back to me and shut the door. "If I cooked something for you, would you try it?"
I went wide-eyed. "You're going to kill something!"
Ezra rolled his eyes. "No, Nicole. I have plenty of meat here. Just answer the question."
I shrug. "How do we know my body will accept it?"
"We don't," he said simply. "We won't know until you've tried it. Maybe there are some meats you can have and others you can't. We'll just have to see."
"Fine."
He chuckles again and puts a hand on my lower back. "Come, we need to talk."
He led me to his office where there was a book on his desk. I could see drawings of different creatures. Mainly: shadows. However, I didn't know there were different types of shadows. There were shadows that looked like dogs, horses, spiders, and even dragons. However, I knew immediately which one was hunting me.
Ezra must have seen the recognition on my face because he gestured to the book and said, "Point to the Shadow you saw."
I did.
He gazed down and hummed to himself. The language was weird, so I couldn't read the description. But Ezra lifted his head and looked at me with contemplation. "This type of Shadow doesn't have a name as its shape is that of a human. For now, we'll call it Bone Chiller so you can depict what I'm talking about." I nod slowly. Ezra sits down and sighs. "Bone Chiller is just your ordinary Shadow creature. It has the ability to freeze your body and take your life force away. Other Shadow species like Shades have the ability to manipulate light to dark, jump from one shadow to another, clone themselves, etc. There are Shadow species which have different forms: Dragon, dog, snake, and even slime."
"How are there so many species?"
"It started with Humans' fear of the dark. The darkness is a shadow: a big one where there is no light. Humans were afraid of seeing eyes in their closets, under their beds, under the door. As belief began to spread, Shadows were born. There are Shadows that come with death, as the Wraiths. Generally, though, Shadows are created from darkness where they thrive and grow. In Uithcoth, their habitat is the Field of Ashes where darkness reigns and no true life lives."
I shuddered. "Is that where Bone Chiller is from?"
"Exactly."
"So, how did it get from the Field of Ashes to my world?"
Ezra closed his book and walked around his desk and over to me. He led me back out of the room and down the hall. "Generally, Shadows don't leave the Field. They stay there and guard it against the rest of us. Most other species also have a guard on the Field as well, as a precaution." We came up to a door and Ezra took out a key. He unlocked it, opened the door, and ushered me in. There was a huge map on one wall and a large table in the middle of the room with several maps covering its surface. He went to the map on the wall and pointed to the Field of Ashes. "Here is the Field." He went North a few inches. "Here is where the Gate is."
I looked at everything in between. There were jungles, desserts, mountains, waters, and what I could only assume were grasslands. "How is the Shadow able to cross without being seen?"
"That's what I'm trying to figure out." Ezra sighed. "While Shadows don't like light, they can usually go into it. They're weakened by it, especially here, but there are almost always spots of shade they can refuel."
I swallow. "So, how do we get Bone Chiller back to Uithcoth and to the Field of Ashes?"
Ezra frowned. "You aren't going to like it."
I gave a harsh laugh. "What part of any of this am I supposed to like? I haven't enjoyed a single part."
He raised a brow. "I would have thought you enjoyed meeting Daeva and Frogu?"
I glared at him. "You tried to scare me with Frogu."
"True," he admits with a grin. A moment later, he is serious again. "You're going to have to lure it back. We'll have to go back to your world, figure out where it is, then either trap it or lure it back."
"How do you trap a Shadow?"
"It's not easy," he says with a wince. "But, if we're able to trap it, then you won't have to come back. You can stay home and live a normal life while I do the rest."
"But if we can't, I have to come back?" He nods. I sigh and sit down in one of the chairs that was three times my size. There wasn't much to think about, except for the fact that I would likely never see Ezra or his friends again. While I didn't think it was fun with him trying to scare me, I found a friend in Daeva. She was sweet and playful. I thought I could get used to Edna and Frogu too. Maybe even Ezra himself. I wanted to learn more about Uithcoth and its inhabitants. I wanted to explore its lands and see the creatures.
I realize I should be afraid of everything here, afraid for my life, my sanity. But I have had more fun with Ezra and Edna and Daeva than I have my whole life. I didn't like the idea of never seeing them again. I knew I wasn't a monster like them. I knew I would be the weakest being in this world, but I was fascinated. It was myth and legend and nightmares come to life! It was beautiful and ugly turned real. It was instinct and survival made manifest.
I am an ordinary Human who's gotten entangled with powerful monsters that I was only supposed to know from books. It would be Greek, Japanese, Chinese, Roman, and every other mythology rolled into one place. I could learn more about them here than I could in college. I could befriend some of them and not be killed.
But how was I supposed to live off of only fruit and plants? Ezra can do it, but a human needs protein. They need dairy, starches, vegetables, fats, sweets. We need much more than just fruits. Ezra didn't even know if I could eat a monster's liver and not throw it all back up. In a way, it was disappointing. But if we did get the Shadow back to the Field, then I could live without fear.
And never seeing the possible friends I've made too.
"What are you thinking?" Ezra asked, breaking me out of my thoughts.
"I think it sounds dangerous, but if it's after me, then what other choice do we have?" I looked at him, those silver eyes with no end to their depths. "As long as we get it back to where it belongs, what else matters?"