The Man From The Shadows

Raleek slowed down to a walk guiding, Caleb behind him as he narrowed his eyes into the darkness in search of the image they had been following. He slid to a stop as a dark cloaked figure stepped out of the shadows.

“Greetings.” The figure greeted in a deep slow voice. “What strange occurrence it is to have you visit my realm of solitude.”

“We were following a child, have you seen it?” Raleek carefully asked narrowing his eyes to try to get more detail on how the guy looked.

“Follow me.” The figure said and slowly turned around and suddenly manifested a lit lantern to show the way. Raleek, hesitated when he noticed that the man seemed to glide at a slow pace and was heading into a pitch-black hallway, that the light only illuminated a small section of. “Don’t waste time, these halls are a maze, should you fall behind, you might accidentally venture, down a hall you don’t wish to visit.”

“That’s the Hermit of lore, we shouldn’t doubt his wisdom. He carries the mythological light that guides the way through the impenetrable darkness.” Caleb whispered, pushing on Raleek’s back.

“It's just a myth kid.” Raleek hissed looking down at the boy.

“So are you, and half the things we’ve encountered here.” Caleb pointed out.

“Good point.” Raleek grudgingly admitted and started walking forward, making sure that Caleb was close to him, and Rabbit was still in his arms. He wasn’t sure what made him think the little girl would vanish when he felt the weight of her sitting on his hip. He only kept close enough to see the dim glow ahead of them and paid little attention to the fact that the hermit (as Caleb called him) seemed to melt into the darkness, without so much as a sound. He couldn’t even hear the shuffling that should have accompanied the guy's body-length robes.

“He is kind of creepy though,” Caleb whispered absently taking a hold of Raleek’s shirt for good measure.

“Yeah….” Raleek breathed. The kid was obviously, afraid and didn’t want to admit it. The grip he had on his shirt seemed to pull it uncomfortably tight against his upper body and felt somewhat constraining. He didn’t say anything about it though, he could understand how a kid could be so afraid, hell he was a little afraid. This whole place seems to have him on edge, and he just wanted to get out of it as fast as he could.

They followed in silence for some time before the figure seemed to stop and step aside; placing his back against the stone wall of the hallway, as he held the lantern to his side, granting them an invitation to pass him. Swallowing Raleek started walking sideways, keeping his eye on the figure and only enough room between his back and the wall for Caleb to fit in. Despite the wide birth he was trying to give the guy, the movement still put him within arm's length for a brief time. At least until they had passed him.

He caught the scent of decay and earth on the figure and still couldn’t see the guy’s face. He did notice that the hand that held the lantern was a skeletal one, and the lantern itself was far too ancient for even him to recognize, what culture it belonged to. Not trusting the figure at all, he kept his face toward him and slowly walked backward until the glow itself faded from sight. Just what the hell was this place anyway? What had it been when it was in peak condition?

“I thought you might have gotten lost.” The kid they had been following suddenly broke the eerie silence that surrounded them, startling all three of them into spinning around to look at him. “The exit is just over there. Look, it's morning.” The kid pointed further down the hallway. Raleek shielded his eyes from the sudden light and waited for them to adjust before continuing forward.

“Who, was the guy that led us here?” Raleek asked the kids, joining him just inside the exit point. The kid smiled and looked back to the shadows, where he could only make out the outline of the figure as it turned and walked back into the darkness.

“Oh, that’s the guardian of the inner sanctum, he’s a hermit and can’t venture any further than that. He looks after lost souls, like us, and helps us escape certain damnation. At least that is what he told me when he found me in the throne room, surrounded by zombies.” The kid nonchalantly explained. “I think he died millions of years ago, you know since he’s a skeleton and all. My father used to call his kind ‘Grimm's’ before the dark elves killed him a few years back. Never thought I would ever see one, but I’m glad it came along when it did. Saved my life, you know.”

“A Grimm.” Raleek breathed, that is what he had thought it was, but he never thought they were helpful. He had always believed that they came to collect the souls of the dead, not spare the souls of the living. “So, what is your name kid?” He casually asked looking at the kid once again. He couldn’t be sure if it was a boy or a girl. The dirt that was caked on their face hid it well and the clothing was far too big to see the general build, which would have helped in determining the child’s gender.

“My name is Allaya, and I’m a tomb raider.” She proudly introduced herself as she extended her hand out to Raleek, who shook it briefly.

“You’re a thief.” Caleb scoffed, “Should have known.”

“I’m a tomb raider, not a thief, Idiot.” She scowled placing her hands on her hips in a defiant manner.

“That is the very definition of a glorified thief, stupid,” Caleb growled folding his arms.

“Alright, that is enough you two. We need to get out of here and head to the fallen valley in the mountains. You two can hash things out later,” Raleek intervened. “Would you care to come with us Allaya?” He kindly asked the girl, “You’ll have a home and family if you want it.” He added.

“Yeah, I guess. It’s not as if I have anywhere else to go, anybody else for that matter.” She answered after a moment of thoughtful consideration. Raleek could see the deep-rooted pain of losing her loved ones, in her onyx-colored eyes, but she tried to hide it with the attitude of indifference maybe even boredom. He kept his observation to himself and simply gave her a nod.

“We’re going to have to hunt. We need the warmth of fur and nourishment of meat if we’re going to have any hopes of making it to where we need to go.” Caleb voiced, choosing to ignore the fact that the annoying girl would be joining them.

Raleek stepped out of the small cave-like gap and looked around at the thick lush forest that surrounded them. It wasn't long before, recognize the location and he couldn’t express how relieved that he was, about the reality of it. Yet, it was quite a distance away from where they needed to go. If he remembered correctly there was a nomadic winter village not far from where they were. That particular tribe only traveled with the changing of the season and should have already set up their winter homes.

“We’ll have to make a detour, but I have friends in this area. They will help us with what we need to get started with. Try to keep up, we’re going to have to hurry or freeze.” He instructed the children who clumsily rushed toward him. (Three kids Raleek, why do you put yourself through this?) He silently asked himself and started forging a path through the knee-high snow, for them to walk in. It would limit their exposure a little and possibly buy them some time. It wasn’t guaranteed to keep them from freezing in the steadily dropping temperatures though, but that was a risk he had to take to at least give them a chance for survival.

Allaya’s layers of clothing would provide some protection from the temperature, but not much and not for long. Caleb only had his cloak that he held tightly shut around him and his thin clothing and Rabbit only had his body heat and cloak to protect her from the elements. All of these would only buy them a small measure of time, but only if they hurried.

After several hours of walking at a brisk pace, Allaya began to slow down and shiver, trying to rub the chill off her arms as much as possible. Raleek wasn’t quite sure what to do, when he noticed, except maybe start a fire to warm them up a little, but that would put them at the village close to dark and he would have to stop every so often to build a fire again. He was to the point of deciding that he couldn’t risk going without a fire any longer until he looked back at the two kids and noticed that Caleb was now sharing his cloak with her, and it seemed to add warmth to them both.

(Good work kid.) He mentally complimented the boy, but remained silent, since the kid never wanted anyone to see he had a good heart and honor instilled within it.

“It’s just over this ridge. Hang in there.” He calmly stated and they nodded following him without question. Topping the ridge, he could see the smoke coming out of the snow-covered lodges just below them in a small glen, surrounded by forest and cliffs. The trail Raleek had been taking the kids, was the only way in and the only way out. This was to ensure security for their people in the coldest times of the winter. These, times where only a couple of warriors would remain outdoors to keep watch, and the shifts would change every few hours, so nobody froze to death.

“Quit trying to sound cool….” Caleb said through chattering teeth. Raleek cracked a slightly crooked smile and shook his head.

“It doesn’t sound like any of us are trying to be cool right now, we just are.” He countered trying to lighten the intensity of the situation.

“Talking only makes our body heat drop faster.” Allaya shivered against Caleb, as they both tried to hold the cloak tightly in place.

Raleek exhaled in exasperation and looked around. He was sure that there was a board hidden somewhere nearby, it made getting to the village faster for the hunters that were sent out to get food for the people. From the looks of the village, no hunting parties were currently out at the moment, which meant the board was still up here.

“Well, since you are all wearing thin on my nerves, let's just speed this up.” He mused, spotting the very corner of the board sticking up out of the snow.

Walking over to it, he pulled it free and sat it on the snow. Then he looked at the shivering kids and smirked at them with a mischievous glint to his eyes. Their expression immediately turned to suspicion, and they scowled at him, wondering what he was up to.

“Get on it, so I can put Rabbit between you two.” He instructed nonchalantly. They hesitantly did as he suggested and he carefully put the toddler in between them, before pulling the board to the edge of the incline. “Better hold on tight.” He warned, just seconds before he pushed off and jumped on behind them.

He grinned when they started screaming at the top of their lungs, hanging onto the side of the board like; their lives depended on it. They shot over the snow in a blur and caught air when they went over a small bump. When they were in the air, he adjusted his position to add to the protection of the children and was able to prepare for a sudden stop when they hit the ground once again with a thud. The children bounced somewhat, but he had managed to stop them from flying completely off, with his upper body.

“Stop!!” The older kids continued to scream as the village rapidly approached and it looked like they were going to hit into one of the solid mud walls, that had been frozen with the onset of the first big frost of the area. Laughing a little bit, Raleek stuck his foot out into the snow causing them to spin sideways at the last second, to slide to a stop a few inches from the wall. The look of terror on the children's faces was priceless and he stood up dusting the snow off from him that had covered him with the maneuver.

“Well, that was fun.” he smiled reaching down to pull the crying Rabbit out from in between the fear-frozen children. “Are you two done yet?” He bounced his eyebrows, and they slowly turned the angry gazes toward him.

“Get him!” Caleb roared leaping up off from the sled to charge Raleek, Allaya fast on his heels with much the same expression.

Chuckling Raleek danced out of the grasp when they tried to capture him, causing them to have to catch themselves and make sharp turns to try again. It was several minutes before they were too worn out to continue to come after him and they dropped onto their backs into the snow, promising to get him when he least expected it.

“Very well, come on then, let's go inside this hut. Since my friend there has come out to greet us.” He casually told them, bending over just long enough to tap their toes, before standing up straight once again and gesturing towards a middle-aged man covered from head to toe in furs.

“I thought after all these years you would have finally grown up my friend.” The man casually spoke to Raleek as the children clumsily got to their feet, snow caked on their pant legs.

“I’m just unlucky that way it seems, I missed the memo about aging when it was passed out to my brethren.” Raleek warmly greeted and the man finally broke his serious features with a mostly toothless smile. “Perhaps you can give me some pointer on the issue.” Raleek grinned and moved forward to embrace the man with his free hand. Then he pulled away and took Rabbit’s tiny hand in his, “This is my baby girl Rabbit, and her older sister Allaya. The boy is Caleb, but he belongs to a friend. We’re trying to get home to them. At least we were until the winter storm hit us and weren’t prepared for it. Is there any way you might be able to help us with clothes and some food for the long cold journey ahead?” Raleek politely asked.

“In other words, you went and got yourself into trouble, and now you want to get back to the Mrs. before you get into more trouble.” The old man mused, causing Raleek to blush slightly as he ran his free hand through his hair and adverted his eyes. “I thought so.”

“Well, can you offer us aid?” Raleek tried to change the subject and returned his eyes to his old friend.

“Aye, I suppose, I can. Come let us go inside and get warmed up. Then I see what I can do to provide you with proper clothing for the season and yes, some food for the road.” The guy nodded and turned to lead them toward the front of the mud building.

They ducked inside and instantly started warming up, there was a fire raging in the pit and several small torches placed near the walls for added warmth. The thick woven blanket fell back into place as they headed for the center of the lodge.

“Please sit and join us for dinner.” His friend invited as the guy’s wife hurried to latch the blanket into place, to keep unwanted snow from entering.

“I am truly grateful for all you are doing for us.” Raleek bowed his head slightly before taking a seat near the fire and placing Rabbit on the ground between his legs. The other two children gave brief bows to the guy and sat on either side of him, thinking that they should follow his example, when dealing with the cultural ways of this unknown tribe.

Within a short time, each of them was being offered a steaming bowl of broth and venison, with a chunk of flatbread to dip in it. Sticking to the custom of this certain tribe, Raleek motioned for the kids to dig in and he shared his with Rabbit. It was the belief of these people, that the host did not sit down or join in on the meal until their guest had all sampled the cooking. Once they were wolfing the contents down, his friend sat down and accepted the bowl that his wife was handing to him. She respectfully waited until he took his first bite and then she got herself some and sat down next to him to eat.

Everyone ate in respectful silence until they had all eaten their fill. Then the floor was open for conversation. By the time the adult had finished eating the children had all, but fallen asleep and occasionally fell against Raleek, waking themselves back up before repeating the process.

“Another storm will arrive within the hour.” Their host calmly said resting his arms on his knees. “It would be wise if you and your children rested here for the night and ventured out once the storm has passed.”

“I fear your right, my friend. It doesn’t seem like they can manage to stay awake long enough to continue our journey tonight.” Raleek sighed looking at each of the dozing children.

Olive

Olive, absently walked into the tavern area of the Inn, carrying clean drinking mugs, and couldn’t help, but glance at the swinging doors; that lead outside. The freshly repaired windows were clear of dust and grime, but the edges were now covered in frost. They had been here for a couple of weeks now and the snow never seemed to stop. At least not until now. She took a step toward the window still balancing the neatly stacked mugs on the tray that she had carried them in on. Even from where she was, she could the night sky and how clear it was.

“Strange.” She whispered; she hadn’t been able to see the stars shining so brightly; for the entire length of this journey. They looked like little diamonds in the black velvet sky, and it, easily enchanted her. She could make out the constellation of the scorpion, so clearly.

She slowly headed toward the window to get a better look and absently sat the tray down on a nearby table as she passed by it. Out of all the constellations she was almost certain that the Scorpion could rarely be seen and to see it now seemed very out of the ordinary.

“Olive?” Wolfme softly called out to her, when he noticed that she seemed spellbound. That sort of enchanted look usually meant there was magical foul play at work, and he was a little concerned, as he stood up out of the chair, he had been sitting in near the crackling fire. “Olive…” He called again.

A little nervous he looked at the twins, who had begun to pull themselves up onto things to try and walk. Ra, stood there sleepily rubbing his eyes indicating that he was ready for bed and Oli, was bouncing in place, banging his hands on the surface of the wooden table, laughing at one of the older kids that were playing peekaboo with him. Neither of them seemed to be acting as if danger was anywhere near the place at all.

“Go check on her, she’s probably just missing her husband again.” His wife’s quiet words broke through his thoughts. “I can guarantee that there currently is no danger around. She’s fine.”

“Right,” Wolfme answered unconvinced as he stepped around the chair he had been sitting in and approached Olive, who was now standing near the window staring up at the sky. “Olive, are you alright?” He asked laying a hesitant hand on her shoulder, to get her attention.

“The night sky, it’s finally clear, and that constellation,” She pressed her fingertip against the glass, to point at what she was looking at. “I can’t believe it can be seen so clearly,”

“Um,” Wolfme leaned down a little bit to try to get a better look. He didn’t see what constellation she was talking about; in fact, the fog was so thick he could barely make out stars at all. “Well, um…. It’s very interesting and all, but Ra looks like he is about to fall asleep standing up.” He awkwardly changed the subject, rubbing the back of his head and then glancing at his wife. Who was he to say that Olive couldn’t see what she claimed to see? In this world, you could never be sure about one's possible abilities. “Perhaps you might want to lay him down to sleep soon.” He added looking back at Olive.

“Right, of course.” Olive offered him a small smile and turned her attention to the twins, as she gracefully moved away from the window.

Wolfme, couldn’t help, but bend a little more to try to look at the sky again. Then he stood back up and shook his head, there was nothing out there that he could see, and he was about to turn his back to the frost-covered glass panes when a faint glow topped the hillside a short distance away. He narrowed his eyes and focused on the torchlight as he grew nearer. A grown man with a boy about Caleb’s age was slowly making their way to the Inn. They were dressed warm enough, but that didn’t mean that they weren’t cold by now.

“Looks like we have visitors.” He called out to his wife, still watching their approach. He knew that people would sometimes find their way to the Inn after the first major storm, but it was a rarity for it to happen so soon after. Not to mention their approaching visitors didn’t seem like they were all that affected by the icy condition.

“Hunters.” His wife calmly answered, startling him. When had she joined him? He hadn’t even heard her movements. “Strange, judging by the black eye paint, they're from a particular tribe, and not from this area. So, what had them out and about, that landed them this far North?”

“Darling.” Wolfme exhaled, holding his hand over his heart, trying to ease its rapid beating after the start that she had given him. “Please don’t sneak up on me like that, you know how jumpy I am.” He quietly explained and she looked up at him with her masked features.

“Grow a pair, my love, or at least know that I would never let something happen to you, that I was not responsible for.” She smirked at him and headed for the door to go out onto the porch to greet their guest.

“Of course,” He smiled, knowing that she would never let someone else try to kill him. Since she, herself has promised to do just that, when she grew tired of him. “I will leave you to it then.” He whispered and moved to pick up the tray of mugs that Olive, had placed on the table.

“Are you seriously tired, young man?” Olive loving asked Ra, reaching down to pick him up. He went easily enough into her arms and started rubbing his eyes before he laid his head on her shoulder and tried to go to sleep. Smiling she sat down in the chair and started rocking herself back and forth, to help him drift off into dreamland. It didn’t take long, and she was able to lay him down on a pile of overstuffed pillows, one of the older kids had prepared for him.

“I heard you talking to my dad.” The oldest of Wolfme’s adopted girls started to speak as she handed Oli, a wooden spoon to play with. “The constellation you have seen what it was?” She asked, looking at the fire somewhat sheepishly.

“The Scorpion.” Olive simply answered, placing her hand on the table palm up to stop Oli, from banging on the table with the wooden spoon.

“That means that the Scorpion is near.” The girl shrugged and turned her attention back to the baby, to play with him. “Is your husband a Scorpio?”

“I believe so.” Olive looked up thoughtful, she hadn’t thought about that possibility. He acted like most Scorpios that she had encountered, and she had just assumed he was one, but she had never really thought to question him about it. “Why do you ask?” She thoughtfully looked at the girl.

“It can only be seen, when a powerful advocate of the scorpion will arrive. It's not a bad thing. Sometimes it means death to a situation, place, or thing. But it also promises a new beginning. At least that is what my grandmother used to tell me. She used to be a priestess of the Zodiacs until she died, right before my new parents found me. She was always going on about that and I never really paid a lot of attention to her old people ramblings. That story just kind of stuck with me though. It probably doesn’t mean a thing,” The girl shrugged again.

“Welcome to fallen Inn.” Wolfme’s greeting of a new arrival pulled Olive out of the thoughtful conversation that she was having with the child and caused her to look over her shoulder at the door when a cold gust of wind brushed across her back. “We have, empty rooms, should you need one and some warm stew simmering in the kitchen.”

“We would be truly grateful if you might share some of that stew with us and allow us to warm ourselves near your fire.” The man, politely answered as he pulled off some fur-lined gloves, as Wolfme’s wife silently shut the door behind them. “My son and I were caught in the storm while pursuing somebody through the mountain. We verily managed to find shelter through the bulk of it. So, warmth and sustenance bring forth our deepest gratitude.”

“Of course, why don’t you have a seat and I’ll go bring some to you.” Wolfme graciously invited them to sit down before taking his leave to the kitchen.

Olive found the two to be odd. They wore black paint like eyeliner and there was a lethal aura about them. They were skilled fighters judging by the way they carried themselves and their build. Even the child, that was around 8 years old seemed to hold himself in a more mature stature, and his build said, that he had been training for most of his life. They were a dangerous element, or they could be if provoked. What unnerved her the most, was how the kid kept staring at Oli. His eyes were an intense aqua color, and his features were masked, making it difficult for her to read him. Feeling protective of her son, she moved to sit next to him, so that she could shield him if need be. She briefly glanced at the sleeping Ra, but the kid seemed to have no interest in him.

“Their Hunters…” The small girl leaned toward her to whisper, making sure that she kept her eyes adverted away from the new arrivals.

“What do you mean?” Olive whispered back, keeping her gaze firmly on the child.

“They hunt the supernatural.” The girl breathed and then fell silent, as the two of them approached their area.

“Dean, don’t stare, it’s rude.” The man quietly scolded his son causing the boy to slowly turn his attention elsewhere. “Sorry if he made you uncomfortable, he is still in training.”

“It's quite alright, my children and I are fixing to retire anyway.” Olive politely replied, forcing a kind smile onto her face as she stood up and lifted Oli, into her arms. Just as she thought, both their guest eyes followed the baby up. “Wolfme would mind terribly, in helping me take the boys to our room,” Olive asked, as Wolfme quickly moved towards them carrying to wooden bowls of steaming hot stew.

“Of course, not.” Wolfme smiled and handed the bowls to their guest before he turned to retrieve Ra. “Let us go then.” He slightly bounced his eyebrows a little uneasy himself. There was just something about these two, that seemed to trigger a creepy uneasy feeling in others.

“Goodnight,” Olive told the two of them and then led Wolfme around the furniture towards the stairs that led to her room. The new arrivals simply nodded and turned their attention to the food in their hands. But it wasn’t long before she felt their eyes on her back once again, they were trying to see what room hers was, she was sure of it. Wolfme seemed to be aware of it as well and motioned her to enter one of the other rooms until his wife intervened and drew the attention of their guest, and then he quickly motioned her to come back out and silently headed for the end of the catwalk, toward her room.

“Don’t come out for anything.” He warned her, before handing her the sleeping Ra, and silently making his exit. She locked the door behind him and then put Ra, on the bed. Then she swooped up Oli and started trying to rock him to sleep as well so that he didn’t make noise that would alert the people downstairs to which room they were really in.

“Why are they so interested in you?” She softly asked the baby who finally settled down in her arms, as she gently rocked him. “We’re going to have to be extra careful, while they are here. That means you need to stay very close to me.”

Oli, simply looked up at her and yawned before his eyelids slid shut and he fell into a deep sleep. She didn’t need Oli, to cry to know the new arrivals, were dangerous. She was a little baffled as to why the baby didn’t cry though, he usually cried when danger was nearby, so why wasn’t he crying now and Ra, he would sleep through an explosion at this rate. Maybe it wasn’t danger that Oli, cried about, but what kind of danger was near instead.

She was thinking about the odd occurrence when it dawned on her that, Oli had only cried when supernatural things were attacking them, or things he considered to borderline the supernatural, like the guys in the woods. Even Olive had smelled the faint sulfur that had accompanied those men. If she hadn’t seen what they truly were, she would have thought them to be demons. They had a distinct smell similar to her parent's hell hounds. The two downstairs smelled like the winter wind, but their energy was intense and mysterious. Maybe, the fact that they were Hunter’s, and that Oli didn’t find them frightening had to do with whatever it was that made them interested him and only him.

To Be Continued…….