#4 The Shade

A/N: This chapter was…complicated. I hope you like it. Give me your opinion on Bec's ability…I'm a little concerned…

Griffin was eyeing me suspiciously as he marched across the room and grabbed me by the shoulders in a bruising grip and shook me hard. His eyes were blazing; evidently, things weren't going at all as he'd planned.

"What did you do?" he snarled, his expression livid.

I had no idea what Griffin was on about. How could I possibly be responsible for this? He was the Jumper. I knew nothing about anything, so why did he think I would know what had just happened. I pulled my arms from his grasp and took a step back.

I shook my head fervently. "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm just a Paladin's daughter, remember? My dad kept all this from me."

Griffin gestured at where the Jump Scar should have been and there was something else there. I realised with a jolt of surprise that it was panic. I never thought I would have seen fiery-tempered Griffin panicked. To me, this was just the absence of a Jump Scar…but to Griffin, apparently it meant a whole lot more.

I laughed mirthlessly, folding my arms across my chest.

"You're playing some kind of game with me. Look, Griffin, just because I don't know anything about this whole Jumper/Paladin war doesn't mean you can use trippy shit on me like this. If you're trying to be a moron, it's definitely working."

"It's not me!" Griffin burst out furiously, jabbing a finger in my direction, "It's you."

I was beginning to realise that Griffin was deadly serious. He'd come from thinking that I was a helpless Paladin's kid to something that made him apprehensive. He eyed me as if I was holding a bomb.

On the one hand, it would have been nice to play along, pretending I was all that jazz and scaring the shit out of Griffin…but then I would have to know what I was. Instead I just stared at him, dumbfounded, as he advanced with a menacing gleam in his eyes.

"Now I know exactly what you are." His tone was low and dark. I didn't like it one bit.

I forced a saccharine smile. "I don't know what you're on about, I really don't."

He looked half-amused, half-frustrated. "You honestly don't know?"

I really, really wanted to hit him. "No shit."

Griffin ran his hands through his unkempt hair and sat down heavily, shooting me a glower.

"You really are like a child, did you know that?"

I didn't rise to the bait. I knew that Griffin had to explain this. His eyes were both troubled and triumphant and I wasn't sure if this was good or bad just yet.

"Jumpers are not normal. We have abilities far beyond the normal, and that's why the Paladins hate us and want to kill us. We're a threat to everyday humanity. We don't fit, sweetheart."

I planted my hands on my hips. I'd heard his whole sob story about how Paladins killed Jumpers because of their abilities. I had to think there was more to it than that – especially considering my dad was a very high-ranking Paladin. Of course I didn't like to think that he might just be a bloodthirsty killer. He was my dad.

"But that's not the point," His tone was bitter now, "There are people with abilities – different to ours, but still hunted. Luckily for them, they're really rare…only about of them every century."

He licked his lips and looked at me meaningfully.

"They're called Shades."

If I was supposed to know what that meant, then Griffin must have been disappointed. I raised my eyebrows sceptically.

"Sooo…"

"They can hide Jumpers!" snapped Griffin, quickly growing impatient, "They're extremely rare, like I said…usually female…and they Shadow Jumpers."

I had no idea what he was going on about, but I was starting to get the horrible suspicion that it was related to me somehow. My stomach started to freefall, corkscrewing downwards into a bottomless pit.

"Shadow?"

Griffin clenched his hands into fists. "If Shades work with Jumpers, then all Jumpers in the Shade's immediate proximity are safe, okay? It means that Jumpers can never be found if they stay with a Shade."

I bit my lip hard as I understood. "They can close Jump Scars…"

Griffin jerked his head into a nod. "That's only the beginning. With a Shade around, a Jumper's practically invisible. Only if a Paladin is looking straight at them when they Jump would they know the truth."

I was struggling to believe this. It couldn't be true. Griffin had always thought holding me hostage would bring about his salvation…and now it could, just in a different way than he'd expected. Instead of leading the Paladins to him, my presence was protecting him.

I staggered backwards, slowly shaking my head.

"I'm…I'm a Shade?"

Griffin snorted. "You're not stating the obvious much."

Paladins weren't going to be following us through Jump Scars, because there weren't going to be any. No wonder Griffin had been so confused when neither my dad nor Jules had followed us through immediately.

I didn't feel so good all of a sudden. I sat down hard, my head in my hands. What was I supposed to do? I couldn't Jump, but the Paladins couldn't come for me. How was I ever supposed to escape Griffin now that he'd exposed this terrible truth?

"I don't believe you," I whispered, but my voice as weak as my self-belief.

Griffin didn't answer. He didn't need to. We both knew what I was and there was no denying it. Besides, Griffin wasn't the sort of guy who'd make that kind of crap up. All I could do was hope this was a horrible nightmare, and I was going to wake up.

Griffin had Jumped out for a drink somewhere, and in that time, I was beginning to grow more and more frightened, the fear inside me kicking up to new levels. I had come to accept what I was, but that was only a problem – because I knew Griffin would, too. The thing that terrified me the most was what his eventual conclusion to this entire situation was going to be.

He'd intended to use me to lure in the Paladins…which was no longer an option considering my infuriating new abilities. I wished with all my heart that I was just a normal teenage girl, because that would be easier. I had the horrible feeling inside me that now Griffin had learned I was a Shade, he would attempt to reap the benefits. He would live life without having to worry about Paladins coming after him.

He would never let me go.

I didn't know if I was overreacting or not, but I couldn't fight down the trepidation that threatened to overwhelm me. Griffin was a young man of vengeance and hatred; he would do whatever was in his power to defy the Paladins. I needed to get out. I wasn't going to be part of any situation.

No one was coming to save me, so I had to save myself. Surely that couldn't be too hard? Griffin had been out for hours now. I needed to make my move while he was still gone.

Speak of the devil. Griffin Jumped back into his lair, leaving a Jump Scar behind him. He staggered and his movements were unco-ordinated, and I realised that he was drunk. Trust him to go out and have a great time while I was stuck here playing freaking Xbox. I eyed him warily as he smirked and walked towards me.

"Hey honey, I'm home."

He must have been really drunk. My eyes narrowed and I observed him carefully. He had kidnapped me and planned to keep me here for…I didn't know how long. I needed to make my move. It was now or never, and I stiffened in astonishment as Griffin looked me up and down in a way I recognised. I was eighteen years old; I knew when a guy was checking me out.

"Griffin, what the fuck? I'm Bec Carlyle, daughter of Aaron Carlyle…you know, Paladin?"

He whipped around. "Where?"

I rolled my eyes. Griffin was so out of it that it wasn't funny. He was going to be so hung-over by the morning…by which time, I would (hopefully) be long gone.

"Did I tell you that you're hot?"

So now he was trying to flirt with me? Oh, this just kept getting better. I gulped, hoping that he wouldn't remember what I was about to do. I moved closer, counting on Griffin's intoxicated state to keep him from suspecting anything.

"I'm not sorry."

My fist swung forward, colliding with Griffin's jaw. The impact knocked him down, and I must have packed a powerful punch, because he didn't move again. I nudged him with my foot, hoping that he was just knocked out cold. Griffin may have been a black-hearted bastard…but I wasn't a murderer.

I didn't care about the clothes and the worthless shit I'd bought. That had been compensation for my abduction. I didn't need it. Right now all I needed to go was get out of here before Griffin woke up.

"Think, Bec, think!" I scolded myself.

I moved toward where Griffin's Jump Scar had been, tilting my head to the side in the futile hope that it was still there. It was just thin air…but then there was something rippling there, and my shocked expression morphed into a delighted smile as I realised what I'd done.

Being a Shade was more epic than I'd thought. Not only could I close Jump Scars, but apparently I could open them too. This was some pretty trippy shit. I watched as the Jump Scar wavered in front of me, beckoning me to it.

Grinning, I didn't even turn back as I stepped through the Jump Scar. It was a feeling a lot like Jumping, and when I was spat out onto the streets of what was clearly New York City – hello, Empire State Building – the Jump Scar immediately closed behind me. I stood outside a glitzy-looking bar, and then I heard a woman's shocked voice.

"Another one?"