Sal had been surprised by the introduction, there was no way this man was his uncle, he looked nothing like what Sal remembered of his father's face or his mother's.
Also, not that Sal was a man who saw or judged by colour, but the man standing in front of him was white, very clearly white, and unless either of Sal's parents had been adopted, this man—Peter— was not related to him in any way.
"I don't have an uncle" Sal said finally.
Peter smiled in understanding, his face beautifully scarred with laugh lines.
"Of course, your parents never mentioned me, did they?" said Peter, raw hurt seeping through his voice despite the smile on his face.
"They may have, I'm not sure, my time with them was…short" said Sal.
Peter looked thoughtfullly at Sal and then placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. Strangely, Sal welcomed the gesture, the only person that had touched him like that was Boulder, in those rare, fleeting moments when he was actually kind and fatherly.
"Come with me Salome" said Peter.
Sal followed, he knew he should have been cautious, Boulder had taught him as much, but he was tired of being wary and alert and paranoid and afraid all the time. He just wanted someone who would listen as he talked, someone who would answer his questions with absolute honesty, someone who could shed some light on his everyday darkness.
Peter guided Sal down the hallway, until they reached a wooden door of bright red and he pushed it open.
They walked into a room that resembled an office, though business-like it looked comfortable.
Everything was red, from the walls lined with tapestries of roses and stories, to the welcoming sofa stationed close to the window and the table that gleamed as though it had been polished. Sal's eyes scanned the room with curiosity, the shelves at the walls held books and potions of different colours.
Behind the desk and chair at one end of the office, there were awards and trophies from various hunts; the ivory tusk of a mammoth shedim, the sharp fang of a fallen vampire, a wand of obsidian from an exiled mage, treasures left behind after the death of each Shaded being, and in the middle of it all there was a double bladed axe, it's edges sharp and shining, it's handle bound by leather, the entirety of the weapon gleaming with magical aura.
"Nathuel" Peter said, he strolled to the armchair and sat down, his hand gestured to the sofa opposite him for Sal to seat.
Sal moved away from the axe and sat down on the sofa that faced Peter, it's cushions were as soft as they'd looked.
"You named your axe?" Sal asked.
Peter nodded and leaned in to pour a cup of tea, the brown liquid poured into the cup like a fountain as he talked.
"Yes, all Shemer must name their weapons, naming a weapon connects it to the one who wields it, we do it so that our weapons are never lost to us, we simply call them and they will answer, it is a practice done by many over centuries, other hunters do it as well" said Peter.
Sal remembered how Casmir had reached out for his dagger and how it had flown into his grasp in an instant.
"Shemer" Sal said with interest, "I've heard of you guys a few times, who are you people?"
Peter dropped the teapot and took his teacup and saucer in his hands, he took a gentle sip and returned the pot to it's saucer.
"The name "Shemer" is a hebrew word" started Peter, he leaned back into the armchair like someone who had done this a million times but would continue to love doing it for years to come, "it means "guardian", it was a name given to us by the Greek gods themselves, we are the protectors of the two worlds separated by the Shade, we keep the peace between the Shaded and the Mortal, the natural and the unnatural, we protect the helpless, defend the weak, preserve the good and eliminate evil whether of mortal or magical origin, we are all that stands between progress and oblivion"
Sal took a sip of his tea and nodded at Peter's wrist.
"What's with the tattoos?" He asked.
Peter looked at the rose on his wrist and smiled, pulling the sleeve up and baring it for Sal to see fully, the tattoo was stark and graphic, as if the rose were still attached to it's bush, still reflecting the light of the sun and exuding it's natural sweet scent.
"Our marks are our identity, we bear the image of plants and flowers mainly because of their significance, each flower represents our family trait, our weaknesses and strengths, our flaws and perfections" Peter said. "I, for instance, am a Rose, with beauty we love, but we are a thorn in the flesh of our enemy, and you, Salome, are a Nightshade"
Nightshade, the name sent a dull thrum throughout Sal's body, for the first time since he'd heard the name it felt right, a sweet truth rather than a tasteless lie.
"If I'm a Nightshade that means my parents were one of the Shemer, and if they are one of you that means…"
Sal met Peter's eyes as the truth settled in the pit of his stomach, making it churn and twist with excitement.
"You are Shemer Salome, by blood, by birthright"
Sal leaned back into the soft sofa, the tea he'd been drinking abandoned on the table.
How could it be that his parents had been exposed to the Other World and had still given him up. He'd thought it was because of his gifts, of the things he could do, that they'd given him away, but they'd lived in a world of magic and monsters, had even fought to protect it.
"I don't believe you" Sal said.
Peter sighed and set his cup of tea down on the table.
"I assumed words wouldn't be enough" he said, he stood from his seat and walked, "come let me take you to where your parents once worked"
Sal stood from the sofa so fast he nearly spilled the cup of tea on the table. He followed Peter, but they didn't go towards the door, they went to a rune circle stationed on the wall not far from them.
"No one's worked here in years, your parents only gave me access to it" Peter said. "I'm guessing now that you're here you'll be coming more often"
Peter tapped the circle with his finger, the outline of runes and the overlapping circles lit up with red and orange flames, and a portal of red light appeared in the circle. Peter stepped through without hesitation and Sal followed.
The red light blinded Sal for a moment, then he emerged out and onto a large space.
Unlike Peter's office this place was more homely and relaxing.
Everything was relaxing, the room looked less like an office and more like a hangout.
Just like Peter's office everything was one colour, the cushioned seats, the sofas and armchairs, the walls decorated with paintings, everything was in shades of dark purples and deep blues.
On one side of the room were countless awards and immeasurable treasures, artifacts of immense beauty and dangerous power encased in enchanted glass, the remains of Shaded beings were innumerable, more than in Peter's office.
"This was your parents office, though they liked to call it The Loft" Peter said, his eyes surveying the place with nostalgia until they stopped on something behind Sal. "And those were your parent's weapons"
Sal turned, at the end of the room were two weapons standing side by side. One was a silver bow with a quiver of straight and sharp arrows, the other was a saber, it's blade shining dimly as Sal approached it.
"This can't be, I didn't know my parents well but I know that they weren't some weird guardians protecting the world, they couldn't handle anything that was different" Sal said, he could hear his own voice, the edges of his tone lined with an old, familiar pain. "They couldn't handle me"
"You misunderstand them Salome" Peter said softly. "Your parents had to give you up, it was a part of their punishment"
Sal looked to Peter, the answers he was giving only lead to more questions.
"Punishment for what?"
Peter moved to the paintings on the wall and Sal followed him. There were dozens of them, illustration after illustration of generations of Nightshades that came before him, not all of his descendants were brown skinned, not all of them were human, but they were his lineage, his legacy. One he hadn't known of till today.
The painting Peter had his focus on was of a man and a woman standing back to back, the man held a bow in his hand and reached behind him for an arrow, the woman had a saber in hers, it's blade coated with blue fire.
They both wore the Shemer's tunic, they were both dark skinned, the woman's hair was black and silky, the man's was brown and curly but they both had warm brown eyes and Sal could see a bit of himself in both of them, he saw his height in the man's stance and the angles of his face on the woman's face.
So it had been true, they had been Shemer.
"Your parents were extraordinary people, they were mortal and yet they portrayed immortality in ways that even the gods envied, your mother was a Nightshade by blood and your father had become one for her, for love." Peter said, he placed a finger on their painting, that single touch was a carrier of numerous emotions.
"I had known them both, I had loved them both, your father was like a brother to me, your mother was my everything, but alas Aphrodite and Fate had other plans" Peter said.
He turned away from the painting and looked down at Sal, his eyes were intense and emotions shone in them unhidden; loss, longing, heartbreak and yet, a strange sort of happiness.
With beauty we love.
"Your parents were one of the best, a match made in Elysium, both in love and in battle, so when Lucifer had been given access to our world by a careless summoner mage, the Court chose them to banish him back to his hell"
I knew your parents, Lucifer had said, I knew who they really were.
"Do you know what happened?" Sal asked.
"I don't know the details of that particular hunt, but what I do know is that they had departed ready for a fight and had returned conflicted and unsure of themselves, unsure of their faith in the gods that gave them their mission to protect."
Peter turned towards the weapons on the wall, his eyes unfocused, his mind recalling memories that had been buried just under the surface, hidden but not forgotten, present yet unseen.
"The months that followed had been months of distance between your parents and I, they stopped taking hunts, stopped coming by, ignored calls and Hermes messages, I had assumed it was because your mother had been pregnant at the time but it became clear that they were keeping secrets from not just me but from the gods, they thought they could run and hide but they couldn't"
Peter turned to Sal, his tone had gone grave.
"Eventually it was found out that your parents never completed their hunt, they never banished Lucifer, instead they helped him hide, believing the gods were unjust in their decisions and in how they oversaw the affairs of the Worlds, meanwhile Lucifer was slowly breaking away the Shade, causing mortals to see the Other World, I remember those were treacherous times"
Sal couldn't believe it. Lucifer who had been so nice, so helpful, had nearly broken the world in two.
"The gods rebuked them and promised destruction to the Nightshade name if they did not banish Lucifer and complete the task that had been given to them. The gods didn't understand that your parents had been brainwashed, their minds manipulated into believing the things that they did were right. I helped them regain their senses, and when they realized themselves they immediately set out to banish him"
"They had succeeded but the nature of the spell needed to banish Lucifer by mortal men was the life of an infant, and so your parents sacrificed their child, Jessamine, their newborn daughter"
Sal closed his eyes, the weight of the news made him clench his fists hard, his nails biting into his palm. He'd had a sister, a sister he'd never known, a sister he had no chance to love.
"The greatness of their sacrifice destroyed them and they left the Shemer after that, swearing on the gates of Hades that they would never wield a weapon in their lives, they would never fight as guardians again"
"They kept in touch with me, visiting me often, I was their friend and I took it as my responsibility to listen as they both cried in my arms, lamenting to my ears of their pain and grief, their breaths thick with alcohol and absinthium, I remember that time as a time of utter hopelessness, I haven't had a drop of wine since then."
Sal placed a hand on Peter's shoulder, feeling the weight of this man's emotions pouring out of him.
Peter smiled and touched Sal's hand.
"Then you were born, a beautiful punishment, a Phantom for a child, your parents didn't know what to make of you, whether you had been a gift or a curse, but I know that they loved you despite your uniqueness. I had been outside the delivery room when you were born, I had heard the faint sound of your cry and the gentle sobs of joy that followed, I had seen the wide smile on your father's face and the look of pride and joy on your mother's as they looked down at you. The silver hair, the blue eyes, the mark, they didn't make any difference to them, they never cared for any of that, you were their boy, their perfect son"
Sal drew away from Peter and looked at him, their eyes at the same level.
"Then why did they abandon me?" Sal asked.
Peter sighed and scanned Sal thoughtfully, his eyes finally resting on the place on his chest where the mark was burned.
"Because the gods knew what they were doing when they made you a Phantom, they knew what they were doing when they gave you power, they knew that no matter how much you were loved there was no way your parents could keep you, you were too powerful, Phantom's often are"
"What am I?" Sal asked. "What does it mean to be a Phantom?"
"Phantoms are supernatural beings, sometimes mortal, sometimes Shaded, that possess three things. The hand of the gods, a mala'chim's touch and a shedim's mark"
"There are signs to know if someone is a Phantom, the hand of the gods turns their hair silver, the mala'chim's touch gives their eyes a different colour and the mark of the shedim that marked them is visible from the day they're born"
"What do these things do to them?, and why does the Court make them?"
"Phantoms are warriors, why they're created is a mystery, but they are always powerful and the things done to them before they are brought into the world are blessings, or curses, that give them unfathomable gifts, and an endless potential"
"So there are more Phantom's out there somewhere right?, there are more just like me"
"Maybe, but I doubt there are any quite like you"
"What do you mean?"
"You are an unusual Phantom, a peculiar combination of blessings and curses that were countered by Lucifer when he placed his mark on you, your power manifested too early, your purpose unknown, your strength unparalleled"
Sal suddenly remembered times when he was younger, times when he would punch a hole through a wall or scream as he heard voices he couldn't place, and then one day his mother had nearly been robbed, the robber was consumed by a pillar of black fire as soon as he reached them.
The next day he'd been sent to a foster home.
"I know blessings can be given and they can't be taken back, but curses can only be broken, not transformed" Sal said.
"You're correct, but Lucifer is the First Curse, being sent out of paradise and all, he'd been searching and studying, looking for ways to reverse his curse" Peter said. "He hasn't found any, and he probably never will, but he found loopholes to reverse other curses such as the ones placed on you. You must know Salome that for every law there is another law to contradict it"
"My parents hid him" Sal said. "So he returned the favor by helping me"
"He's still returning the favor, he brought you here, and he's the one that told me you were coming"
"The person that tried to break the world, managed to fix me", Sal said. "He's the reason why i'm not completely broken"
"That may be so, but I wouldn't trust him so easily, he is Lucifer after all"
Sal didn't give a reply, he only politely told Peter to continue.
"What happened next, after I was born"
"Your parents didn't know what to do so they pleaded to the gods and had been advised to give you away, to let you live the life of a mortal till the appointed time when you would be called to fulfill your purpose."
Sal looked away from Peter, the gods had torn his family apart, had made him think he'd been abandoned, had made him live a life of constant loneliness and confusion, always second guessing himself, always asking why he'd been made different.
Sal could hear Lucifer's warning ring in his ears.
The gods will only tell you half the truth.
And yet Lucifer had used his parents, had put them in the situation in the first place.
But he's making up for it, a small voice said in his head, even now he's making up for it.
"You know what this "purpose" is right?" Sal asked. "You know what it is I must do"
Peter smiled and walked to the part of The Loft where a closet was stationed, it's purple wooden doors hidden like a clever camouflage.
He pulled it open and gestured for Sal to look inside.
"This is your purpose Salome" Peter said.
Sal moved forward and came to stand by Peter's side, what met his eyes sent a ripple of unbelief throughout his body.
In the closet was a Shemer's tunic, a shirt of dark purple that looked feeble but Sal knew could withstand blades, bullets and magical forces, there was a jacket of a lighter shade with runed metal somehow inlaid into the fabric, a pair of black trousers that would allow for easy movement, and boots, solid black boots that were designed to break boulders with a single kick. There were gauntlets of a silver metal and a brand with the Nightshade symbol on it, the brand was hot and steaming red.
"Are you ready to embrace it?"