It felt weird knowing that I was going to have an eyeball follow me around everywhere. I would be watched wherever I went and that bugged me. When I left class, everyone was practicing with their Shade or getting acquainted with them. I knew my friend Lilith was-she was out of everyone's league and had her head on her shoulders, sometimes I wished I could be like her. "You seem troubled," observed Shade, flying above my shoulder. The crescent moon was hidden by the clouds, watching us sheepishly. I wanted to go home, I'd have time to practice tomorrow.
"You're not helping" I snapped, and then sighed, letting the back of my oily hair to the tip of my neck. "I'm sorry, I'm really sorry. We became acquainted at the worst time-sorry for being so brisk with you."
"Troubled minds are sensitive ones. You haven't let me see inside you yet."
"Oh right, sorry." I was off to a terrible start with Shade, he probably didn't like me already. Leaning on the back of a bench, I watched him enter my chest and a sudden chill followed but I wouldn't shiver. He was tasting my Darkness, seeing if I needed to hone my Darkness more. He came out from my back and I put my hand to my chest. "Well how am I?"
"We can wait to get to your home, if Korbin isn't already there." He knew practically everything about me now, the argument, my mom, my dad, Korbin, and my few friends. When I took my keys out of my pants, I heard a soft whimpering coming from the side of the house.
"It's probably a hungry cat," I told Shade as I went to the side of the neighboring plywood house. An old man who had lost his wife to the Lanterns' latest raid lived there with his two grandchildren, Gerude and his sister Larya. The side door in our house opened up to their side door so I saw them often. I spotted Larya covering her eyes and crying, head on her knees. "Larya, what's the matter?" She sobbed some more hearing me, embarrassed to be seen crying.
"Nothing, nothing at all," she lied, wiping the snot from her nose. I bent down to her level and rubbed her shoulders. "Talk to me, what happened to you?"
"I-was out-I was out p-picking roseberries and-and-an there-was none-left. A L-Lantern w-was pick-picking them-s-s-so I asked h-h-him t-to-give me a few. He-he told me to go-"
"Go what?" I felt my anger growing from the pit of my stomach. "Take a deep breath and tell me what he said to you." She had to whisper it in my ear. "What? A grown man said that to you?" She nodded sullenly, eyes still wet.
"Another Lantern c-c-came and threw-stones-at me, along with the other one and said, ' You dirty people should just die," blubbered Larya, covering her eyes again. How could anyone have said that to a little girl? The furious monster inside was boiling, the way it had been when Korbin and I got into that petty argument. Nobody should ever say that to anyone, I didn't care who it is. "They can't get away with that, I'm gonna go over there and talk to him," I fiercely vowed to her. "Remember his name?"
"The girl who threw stones at me called him Paulie." I stood up and turned in the direction of Sun Gardia. Before I knew it, I was storming down the grasslands, Shade hovering beside me.
"You're not welcome in Sun Gardia. I firmly suggest you don't let your anger get the best of you," he said earnestly.
"No, someone needs to let them know they can't yell at little girls like that and I'm gonna be the one to tell them," I declared to him angrily. "I don't care what you suggest."
"As your spirit guide, I strongly discourage this behavior."
"Well too bad." I didn't want to say all that to him but when I was mad, nothing would stop me from what I had to do or say. I felt Shade's presence disappear when Sun Gardia was within sight over a couple of hills and that saddened me a little. "Dunstan!"
"Who knew you had balls!"
"I'm so proud, tsk!" Someone's arms dropped on me and Korbin's friends surrounded me. Scotia and Walcio swarmed me like bees craving honey while Korbin gave me a half hug. "I didn't know you had it in you, tsk."
"Had what in me?" I asked briskly.
"The balls to stand up to a Lantern. We heard you were goin' to give that dude a piece of your mind," said Walcio. "We're coming as backup."
"I'm just talking to them," I insisted.
"You're gonna beat down your first Lantern, tsk," said Korbin like a doting brother. "What're we waiting for? Let's do it." While Korbin and his friends followed me, telling me how to properly beat down a Lantern, I silently kept to myself. Scotia was twenty-five and still living with her family, she was on the plain side with a personality to match. Walcio, twenty-four, was Korbin's closest friend and occasionally talked to me when he would come over, always wearing the most traditional Abélard robes. I wore the more modern one like most guys my age- long and dark puffy pants that stopped at my ankles and a rolled up shirt that went over my right shoulder and across my flat stomach. Korbin had his altered so that he had two going over both shoulders.
Upon arrival, we grabbed attention from the Lanterns immediately. One of them with long hair in a ponytail demanded to know what we were doing in Sun Gardia. "I'm looking for a Paul here. He was picking roseberries," I bypassed her before she could say a word.
"What do you people want with him?"
"To teach that punk a lesson," threatened Korbin, making a fist and pounding it into his palm. Scotia cackled with that infamous laughter of hers as she spat at the Lantern's feet. Respectfully, Walcio kept quiet and joined my side. I saw a man going into his home and my anger made me yell instead of speak. "Are you Paul?"
"Don't talk to me like that dirty Shadow. He lives across from here," said the teenage blue-head. For a daytime village, there were more people outside than I would've expected. I marched to the tiny brick-made home and banged on the door. Quickly, the door opened and the man named Paul grimaced at me. "What?"
"You're the Paul I heard about?"
"What of it Shadow?"
"Let my bro handle this," Korbin told his friends, backing away from Paul's home. By then, there were people out of their homes, woken up by Korbin's ruckus and my shouting.
"What was wrong with sharing some food with a girl who just lost her father huh? Tell me what was so wrong with that?" I yelled, pounding my fist at his door. Paul glowered and raised a finger filled with Light at me. "Keep yellin', we're goin' have a mess on our hands Shadow," he said boldly, obviously not used to being scolded like a child. I bet he had been raised a spoiled brat used to getting everything he wanted and nobody ever giving him a proper reprimanding.
"I'm telling you that no man should ever make a little hungry girl cry! I don't care what'll you do to me, and tell your friend who threw the stones that they shouldn't do that to little girls. It's wrong and heartless-!" I continued berating until a young woman came over and raised her hand in my face. "Do not yell at my brother like that," she said, her sapphire eyes burning with a heavy gaze.
"I hope you weren't the one throwing stones at her."
"I wasn't even there but you cannot come here at night with your hoodlums to start screaming at my brother," something in her soft-spoken tone made the statement harsher than it needed to be. Nonetheless, I faced Paul again, who lowered his glowing finger.
"Don't make any girl cry," I warned.
"Beat him down Dunstan, and his sister too!" exclaimed Scotia, oblivious to everything I said. Someone else came from where the young woman was from. She was a scornful looking woman with a thick belly and bulging thighs but something about her facial features were enchanting. "How dare you come you here and threaten my son in front of everyone," she spoke stringently and poked her finger in my chest. "How dare you, a dirty Shadow, yell at my son like he was some disobedient animal."
"He needed to have a good yelling at," I persisted, causing my peanut gallery to hoot and holler. More Lanterns and their Wisp hissed and cursed at them. The sapphire-eyed woman's expression softened a bit and she took her mother's hand. "Before his friends start another war Mother," she urged, tugging the large woman away. Her lighter cyan eyes never left me while being moved by her daughter's bluer eyes. Paul slammed the door when I glared at him again and by now I simmered down. The enraged monster in my stomach went to bed and I lost my fierceness yet again. If nobody was going to confront him, I was glad it was me.
"Get away fuckin' Wisps," cursed Walcio, waving the swarming Wisp away with his hands. "So what's the plan Dunstan?"
"Plan? We're going home."
That man didn't once say "flaming Lantern" or "seaweed head" or any other slur for us. "Phoebe why are you holding me back?" demanded Mother when I gestured her to have a seat. My Wisp floated from my bedroom to add her comment. "Oh Shade's hooligans are always making trouble. Paul should've squared him right in their dirty faces."
"Right in their damn faces!" added Aggie, coming from the kitchen.
"I told you I don't like you saying those words Aggie, girls don't talk like that. He didn't come for a fight which was pretty surprising. If anything, Paul needed that scolding-" I said, obviously irritating Mother.
"But not from a Shadow," protested Mother. " He didn't have to talk to my kid that way." I secretly applauded him for doing that but when things looked like they were ready to escalate I had to show him his place. That man had good intentions, what a relief. "Why was he barking at him like that?"
Aggie poked the fireplace and it crackled noisily. "He said Paul made a girl from Shadow Gardia cry and he accused me of throwing stones at her," I told Mother, handing her a cup of ginger tea from the table. Aggie dropped the poker and cursed under her breath, putting her finger in her mouth. "Utter one more of those words, Aggie," warned Mother. "I'm going to bed now," muttered Aggie anxiously, fixing her eyebrows habitually. "Pleasant night everyone." I grabbed her arm as she hurried to our bedroom. "Pheebs, what?"
"I know that look on your face all too well and you never go to bed this early. Aggie, what did you do?"
"Nothing!"
"Tell me," I pinched her and she squeaked like a mouse. Mother's tea slipped from her hand as she fell fast asleep on the couch, snoring away. I knew that she should've had the tea later but I knew it would calm her down right away. Aggie's squeals didn't wake her."I threw the stones at her okay!"
"Aggie why?"
"Because I was mad that I have to repeat class! Stop pinching me already. Just 'cause you're a master doesn't mean you can do whatever you want," she shook my grip off and slammed the bedroom door, waking Mother up. "Was I asleep again?" she asked innocently. I needed to apologize to him on behalf of my family before he makes up some wild story about us assaulting him-then Sun Gardia would definitely be a warzone again. That poisoning act from a month ago caused an endless raid on their side of the island and in turn, the Shadows attacked us in swarms and in turn, we desecrated their temple in Abélard. It was a never ending cycle of war and hatred here.
"My son had his first smackdown with a Lantern," Mom hugged me tight and tussled my hair. She was a giant so she could pat me and Korbin down all the time. "Mom I didn't fight anyone-"
"Korbin just told me. Did you knock his teeth out?"
"No, Korbin's a liar."
"No I'm not tsk," he slugged his muscular arm over my shoulders, bringing me close to his face. "You kicked him down and had him beg for his mother to come out! My little bro, tsk." I escaped his arm and shook my head, going into my room as Korbin told more lies to Mom. At the edge of the bed, Shade was waiting with his eye closed. Hearing me sit down woke him up. "I heard from Korbin-"
"It didn't happen," I quickly corrected him. "I told the guy that he shouldn't do that to little girls and that's all that happened. It doesn't matter to me if you don't believe me."
"Who said I didn't? I knew you wouldn't do that," replied Shade, floating in front of me as I slumped over and rested my head on my hands. I smiled weakly, he already knew me inside out like an old friend. After having a chance to finally calm down, I remembered the assessment from earlier. "Oh yeah, tell me how my Darkness is."
"You definitely need to use more of it, it's quite underdeveloped. Practice with it," he said exactly what I predicted. "But there was something I noted about the state of your Darkness that I haven't felt in a long time. Warm Darkness is a rare occurrence for Shadow Gardians and yours is like that of a woman from a long time ago named Lilith."
"Was she a good person?"
"That's what I was told."
"That's all that matters to me." The next evening, Mom went out with Korbin to get ingredients for my birthday dinner. It was only me and Shade left in the house, practicing how to channel Darkness from various parts of the body. That was when my Darkness turned from soot black to violet-I was getting so much better thanks to Shade, being a master wasn't such a faraway dream. A knock on the door brought me to a stop. "Can I have a break Shade? It is my birthday after all."
"We'll see. Answer the door." I went to the door and opened it wide. The sapphire-haired girl stood at the door to my shock. Did she want to scold me for yelling at her brother? "Good evening," said the young lady politely. "I came to apologize for the actions of my family and if we hurt you, I apologize again."
"Huh?"
"For last night. If you want a more proper apology I would need your name."
"Dunstan."
"Dunstan, I humbly apologize on behalf of Sun Gardia. Sorry to disturb you at this time-" she turned away but I wouldn't let her. "Wait, what's your name?" she was perplexed by the question but tried to keep a serious face.
"Phoebe Luz. If that is all-"
"Can I talk to you tomorrow by the docks? Please." I whispered to her, looking behind me to make sure Shade wasn't around. A smile flickered on her face but she forced herself to frown so she could hide it.
"Why?" questioned Phoebe, turning beet red.
"So no?"
"No more than ten minutes at four o' clock."
