I lift my gaze from Avery's four feet seven of height, up towards Nathanael, "That's… Your…Shadow?"
My eyes fall down to the shadow beneath his feet. While I can consider the term 'shadow' being used figuratively, I, understandably so, still fail to grasp the concept of it here.
I feel a warm and gentle touch land on my shoulder, "Well, I didn't mean a shadow in the literal sense of the word," says Nathanael.
"I can clearly see that, but… A nine year old? Really?" my body reacts in the only way it feels it's right at this moment, it pulls away and lets Nathanael's hand fall.
"I am ten," Avery speaks again. The dryness of his tone goes against the softness of his voice.
"Oh! Ten?"I ask rhetorically, "Well, in that case, my apologies. I am completely reassured,"
I allow my sarcasm to take the lead, just like I have the habit of doing whenever I find myself engaged in a conversation that… Drags me out of my comfort zone… For lack of better words.
Only that can conceal my true emotions about the situation at hand. Only that can hide my fear of the unknown, the mystery that is mine and Kevin's near future and finally, beside confusion, my utter concern at the presence of this child here in this forest.
Avery's features reflect the appearance of a child and yet… Everything about him screams that he is anything but a child. Pale as a ghost, the all white, silk attire he's wearing does not help distinguish him from one. The only two touches of color he carries are the oddly shaped, golden brooch pinned to his shirt, and the deep blue under eyes on him.
"No offense taken, madam," his speech matches his formal stance very perfectly. He strikes me as an older gentleman that has lived somewhen in the 19th century, at least more than a child that walks the earth in our days. Avery places his attention on Nathanael after addressing me, "I am sorry I took this long, but I came as soon as I received your message,"
"No worries, Avery. You're here now, that's what matters," something about Nathanael's stance has changed yet again. I still have no clue about what one's shadow means in their world, but to me, they seem like two co-workers more than anything. I noticed this, first thing when he came into the cabin, while Ava was still here. It's like something in him just switches and he becomes far less accessible in their presence.
"Is this the boy I am supposed to deal with?"
Avery puts a halt to my train of thoughts with his words. Deal with? What's that supposed to mean?
Nathanael immediately replies to his question, "Yes. His name is Kevin. Although he doesn't recall everything, he does remember his encounter with a family of kelpies,"
"Understood," says Avery.
And with that, he turns towards Kevin. He puts his hand in his pocket and pulls a small porcelain box out of it.
As Avery opens the box, I rush forward, "Okay, wait, wait!" I stop him, "I promise, I won't ask any questions after this, but I have to know what 'dealing with him' means. What are you going to do to him?"
"A shadow is a witch that follows a wolf shifter of a certain rank. All he's going to do is make sure Kevin doesn't remember what he went through tonight in the forest. After that, we'll just take him to the hospital and say that he had a bit of a… Blackout. His family will be called in," Nathanael is gracious enough to offer a response as well as an explanation to the shadow thing.
Now, of course, I still have questions but for some reason, his confrontation with the kelpies earlier flashes back in my mind. The words that they used to describe a shadow were, if I remember correctly, a witch servant. So, I have to wonder; are shadows really only glorified servants? Is that what Avery is?
My gaze lingers on Avery for a moment longer. Another look at his clothes, only tells me how immaculately clean they are, which isn't new. But aside from that and the brooch he's wearing, no other details, nor descriptive marks jump to my eyes. It's as though his outfit was designed to be as basic and unreflective as can be.
As though, the boy is nothing more than a blank canvas.
As though… He wasn't born to live for himself but… To serve someone else's purpose in their life. I might be reaching here, but it's the impression I've gotten of him so far, "So, Avery will just erase his memory and that's it?"
"He'll bring a few modifications to it, that's all. yes," Nathanael says simply.
"What's… That white powder?" I ask while sheepishly pointing towards the content of the now open porcelain box.
Avery spares one glance my way before stating, "You said you wouldn't ask any other questions,"
"Right… Damn it," I curse under my breath, realizing that I have cornered myself with my own wording, and I have the feeling that, for the time being, I am going to have to settle for not having an answer to my question.
Complete silence falls in the room after that. Following Avery's every move attentively, I watch as he bends down to Kevin's ear level, leaving mere inches of distance between them before murmuring something I can't make out from where I stand. He then brings the porcelain box in front of his mouth and blows on it once, causing the powder to fly and spread all over Kevin's face.
To my pleasure, Nathanael decides to explain the purpose of Avery's most recent actions, "It's an ingredient used by witches in their craft. Like the spell you've seen him perform. I do not think I have the liberty of disclosing the nature of the powder to you, however," he explains as much as he thinks he can afford to, it seems, "We should head back into town, now," he adds.
"Can w…," I start to formulate a question but one look into Avery's sparkling eyes, I pause and think of another way to express myself, "I thought the forest was still crawling with other… Creatures," I try.
"It still is, but we have Avery now," says Nathanael.
In hindsight, the first thing I should've thought about when I laid eyes on Avery, was an angel. For some reason however, adding the dark circles under his eyes in the mix, I can't seem to find the innocence I expect every child to possess. This little fiend is as joviale as a mortician.
"Take these," the boy breaks me out of my trance, extending an odd-looking bracelet towards me, "You're supposed to have one at all times," he addresses Nathanael.
"I know, sorry. I came here in a bit of a rush,"
I guess he can ask Ava about the reasons that made Nathanael rush here without him. Isn't a shadow supposed to stick to the person it belongs to?
I despise the sound of that sentence in this context though.
"And don't take it off until I tell you to," this time, Avery has his eyes locked on me as he orders.
"Of course," I say before putting the bracelet around my wrist, noting that the object has some sort of a pendant, a bit like a charm at its center.
This one is made out of fabric and is inscribed with a distinct marking, or a rune as Nathanael called them. The rune seems closely similar to the one on the spell jar that protects this cabin; drawn in a blue color lies a single dot at the center of a perfect circle, "I am assuming this work the same way the spell jar does," I catch Avery's half squinting eyes and immediately add, "That wasn't a question. I just shared an assumption,"
"They do, yes. As long as you're wearing them like you're supposed to, of course. They wouldn't work if you just held them in your hand like this," Avery takes off the bracelet he had around his wrist and holds it in his little hand as a demonstration. He then puts it back on the way it was before.
Nathanael lifts Kevin off of the couch and carries him out of the cabin on his back. We walk in complete muteness under the bright moonlight. I am quite thankful for the presence of natural light. Otherwise, I would've needed to be carried as well. At some point in our journey, we manage to exit the dense forest. Well, perhaps the word 'exit' is a bit too much, considering we only reached a manmade road where one single car that I don't recognize is parked.
Nathanael and Avery head straight for the car. Recognizing the brand of the vehicle to be a Maserati, I still can't tell the color of it, however. All I know is that it's dark.
Avery opens the backseat door for Nathanael to set Kevin in there. I stand still for a solid second before my feet decide to move forward.
The drive back into town is just as quiet as our walk through the forest was. My mind is loud with thoughts and questions zooming at lightning speed across. I am barely able to catch up to any of them before they escape my grasp. Needless to say, I have no idea where to start from. Which part of what I came to learn today is the craziest? I cast my sight towards the window on my side and remain that way until I spot my apartment building in the distance.
"This is you," Nathanael announces as he pulls the car to the side.
"Yeah, this is me," I respond without much energy.
"You alright?" he asks.
I suppose he caught on to my state of mind. I look at him before speaking, "Absolutely," I exit the car and close the door behind myself. I turn around and add, "See you another time,"
"Yes," he grants me a smile.
I note that he doesn't drive off immediately. Instead, he looks towards Avery, "Are we good to go?" he asks.
Avery seems to be scanning our surroundings and pondering the findings for a moment, "We are," he says.