A/N: I own none of the characters, they all belong to L.J Smith. I only own the one Shadow Man I created.

This chapter was solely created by a song:

Artist: Thom Yorke

Song: Hearing Damage


Chapter Six: Fury

Aching. Throbbing. Pain.

Blood pounded against his skull, each beat seeming to worsen and spark every nerve-ending in his still, tender body. It felt as if he were being compressed from the inside. It was tantalizing and endless, the pain. Any second he'd welcome death with open arms.

The agony it took to even lift his head—caused the pain to ricochet.

His hands clung to the hair on his scalp and he gripped with an intensity that threatened to rip the follicles from skin. But weakness consumed him once more and took over his body and he fell back against the hard, grit of rock holding him up with an audible thud. He cursed. Blinking once, twice, he stared up at the darkness above him.

How had he gotten here?

"It'll take an hour or so for the sensation to pass." A shadow appeared by his side, their chuckle quiet against the dead silence. Their form was tall and slightly intimidating while he laid there.

This man loomed over him like an Angel of Death.

A low growl sounded from in his chest then, a grunt. His eyes slowly drifted open again as he peered through the thick of his long lashes. One finger twitched as the shadow moved slightly closer to him.

"Welcome back…" the figure whispered in a cool voice, the power in it overwhelming.

It was like electricity crackled in the air all around them.

A long, refreshing breath drifted from the sealed skin of his lips as air rushed in and out of his lungs. It was like taking his first breath in a long time. "Who… are you?" his voice croaked, the confusion evident.

"I am what you are." The shadow stated it simply. Their breath was like a wintry chill as it brushed against his skin.

How odd.

Weakness was something he loathed and he fought to sit up a bit straighter. Then it came, more pain. "Argh!" he screeched. His hands flew back to his scalp as his posture slumped into a fetal position. He cradled his head and the tendons beneath his skin tightened.

The shadow emitted a low and throaty sound. Laughter. "As said before the sensation will pass."

They laid a hand on his shoulder and their fingers were like pure ice.

Instinctively he flinched back from their touch not used to such callousness. At least, from what he remembered. Slowly he raised his head as the pain settled once more. He stared intently at his pale hands and flexed them as if he'd never seen them before. He turned them over, the fingers long and slender with thick muscle interlaced with a web of blue veins.

"Where am I?"

"Ah." The shadow seemed pleased at his question. "But that is the right question isn't it? You are where you were first created many centuries ago." By the feel of their frigid breath against his neck, they had moved an inch closer. "But, that was before I was deemed and took your place. When you were carved out of the rune stave."

"Rune stave." The name sparked a familiarity. He heard the change in his voice as the coarseness from disuse softened and smoothed out. Instantly his mind filled with more questions. "Rune stave, the name sounds... familiar."

The shadows snorted then, their voice touched with disgust. "Well, it should after all these months you've been forced to live in a lighted prison. Carved off the stave meant to be forever as she'd intended." They sighed, solemnly. "Took you away from the world you were born in to blind you to the light and leave you for dead."

"She?" A girl?

"Yes."

"She killed... me?" Things were still blurry. It was maddening not being able to piece together what he'd lost in memory. The one piece of leverage he had was of a girl. Yes, a girl who had tricked him. A girl... who had killed him? But how?

And why?

He knew he was powerful. He could feel the power humming through his veins like an electric current. His hands shook as it engulfed him. The deadly rage surfaced from the core, the core of a flame ready to combust from the inside. It didn't settle well for him. At this his eyes turned cold and hardened, imperceptibly.

"Who?" he said in a quiet, deathly whisper.

The shadow smiled as the hostility grew and emanated off the man before him. "You know her well." The shadow smiled as the mans jaw twitched in anger. He decided to fuel the fire. "She destroyed your Shadow Man's soul for her own benefit."

"A Shadow Man…?" For a moment surprise took his voice. But then it was quickly replaced by the raw rage of memories that dated back to his first agonizing birth. Clawing, fingernails bloody as the choked up blood dribbled down his chin. Pain. Sharp pain as if the flesh were being ripped from his bones. He screamed as the glowing eyes around him grew sharper, jagged mouths pulled into malicious grins. "You will be cruel to every maiden who seeks you and games where they can't beat you," said the voices.

He blinked as he emerged from the fallen memory, "Yes, that I was."

"And are again" the shadow mused.

A long silence followed before slowly, he nodded. Yet it was a strain to remember, a throbbing headache that only intensified as he tried to sift through anything beyond. There was this small kindle of hope, a desire for... humanity? But why? The memories that surfaced were filled with holes that only caused a dark, disturbed anger to evolve.

"I wanted to be human!" he spat in disgust, pieces of rock beginning to crumble from around him as the room started to tremble.

The shadow smiled cruelly. "You wanted to be with this girl because you loved."

Silence prevailed.

All that could be heard was the distinct sound of his heavy breathing that grew deeper still. Like the snap of a rubber band rage boiled through his veins as his eyes blackened. Suddenly he was standing upright, his back tense as the pain faded like quicksilver and he, like a deadly cobra waiting to strike. "Love."

"Precisely." The shadow nodded. "She poisoned your mind with false love."

His face tightened into an ugly, fierce expression."Betrayed me."

The shadow ground his hands into the slab and faced the man now standing before him. He was like a robot and he programming him to his specific demands. This would be fun and get the other nuisances off his back for awhile. "I… I brought you back from death and carved your name back into the rune stave, old one. You've been resurrected back into existence by me. Which is why I am going to give you an assignment to help you regain what has been lost to you."

"Destroy." the man uttered with a malicious sneer as the loathing inside of him grew.

The shadow saw the mans eyes flash with born hatred. "Yes," they nodded, "And a game would be the proper punishment as one of favorite past times. Unless , of course, you prefer instant torture." the shadow added in a chilling voice.

"My games." He whispered. "Then she'll be mine to devour."

The man beneath the cloak flashed a crooked, predatory smile.

And let my game begin.

"Now that the times are different, I assume you want an all up-to-date

… Julian."


As you can see I am a totally devoted writer to this story. Reviews are better than lemonade on a hot day:D