Chapter 6
[Lack of updates, yes .; Lazy Tora-kun -could- have written some of this
because she has more free-time than I do xX Disclaimer: We own nothing
related to Yu-Gi-Oh material. We only take credit for the original characters and made-up items that we planned, to be fully listed on a later
time.]
Marik scowled, walking through the aisles between the bookshelves in the basement, finding next to nothing. He slammed a fist onto one of the wooden tables and swore in Egyptian.
Bakura looked up from a few of the relics that were kept in the basement, furrowing his eyebrows. "What's your problem this time, Marik... Weren't you satisfied in almost killing someone before?"
"There's nothing! This is almost like a wild bird chase with no weapons to kill it!" Marik seethed, narrowing his eyes.
"Personally, I don't like this better than you do but what do you expect... someone's invading our territory." Bakura stated, crossing his arms. "It's our job to torture the pathetic mortals... not some amateur who won't show his face..."
"When I find this Badru individual, I'm going to slice out his insides and force him to eat them..." Marik hissed.
"Marik!" Isis called down from the top of the stairs. "Yami found something, I suggest that you two come up here at once."
"Hmph... so he thinks he can hog all the glory..." Muttered Bakura as he made his way up the stairs. "Are you coming, Marik?"
"In a minute... I'm thinking." Marik replied in a low-tone, glaring at the floor.
Bakura shrugged, and kept walking. "Suit yourself..."
By the time Bakura got to where the Pharaoh was, he was halfway through explaining what he, or more precisely, Sanura, had found. The book lay open on the table, and he was explaining what it said despite the fact that it was there for all of them to see.
"Supposedly called the Serpent's Eye and the Swirls of Shadow... That's probably what we're dealing with, here," Yami said, gesturing to the former, a golden mirror framed with cobras. "It says that they were supposedly created by the two goddesses, Keket and Uadjit... But that's probably just confusion with the rumors, since they're the same names."
"But what about the Swirls of Shadow?" Yugi said, pointing at the picture of a silver and black charm on a long matching chain.
"It says that it's actually a Celtic design," Téa pointed out, squeezing into the group between Yugi and Tristan. "How did it get all the way to Egypt?"
Yami shook his head. "If it has the same kind of enchantments the mirror has, then it couldn't have been made anywhere else. But, the design could well have traveled, especially for the sorceresses who traveled easily," he said, crossing his arms and looking down at the book. "Of course, there were people who traveled the normal way, too...Bringing things from one place to another... In other words, you never know..."
The group stood around the table, looking through the book for a while and at the papers that Joey and Tristan had found earlier, and eventually Marik came upstairs, looking down at the said things seriously then going back down into the basement to continue his own search.
Sanura, meanwhile, was still asleep in the other room, unaware of any of this. Once they were all relatively sure there was nothing else of interest, they decided to pack up for the night.
As they all left in somewhat of a swarm, Seto stopped to wake up the sleeping Sanura and they started home, walking side by side.
At some point walking towards Chikara's house, Sanura's hold on her seemed to gradually weaken until, by the time they were on her doorstep it was only the owner of the home that remained. Seeming a bit dazed, she said goodnight to Seto and watched him walk off, standing with the door halfway open.
There was still a bit of light outside, mostly from the almost-but-not- quite-full moon and the remnants of the setting sun. Chikara yawned, feeling a bit tired but not enough to go to sleep, and decided to go for a walk instead, despite having promised Kaiba she would stay home.
She walked down random streets, almost getting herself lost in the process. She didn't look up much, trudging down the street, and accidentally found herself at a dead end. Turning, a glint of light caught her eye, and she stopped to see what it was.
In the display window of a small shop were hung many glass, crystal, and silver trinkets, but in the slowly dispersing light there was almost no reflection from them. One was casting back an amazing amount of light, though-- a small silver charm placed in an inconspicuous place, reflecting the light of the moon, the pattern seeming to dance.
Chikara walked a bit closer, looking through the glass of the display. Something on the face of the design was cast in shadow as the light moved along its surface, as if part of the charm was hiding. Slowly, nervously, she tested the door of the Antiques shop. It opened smoothly and with a gentle tinkling.
The blue-haired shopkeeper had been staying late. She sat on top of her glass case/counter, shining a set of sterling goblets with a small white cloth. Chikara watched her out of the corner of her eye, nervous, and the blue-haired girl gave Chikara the same courtesy.
She walked to the inside of the display she had seen from the window, and found the charm among the bunch. It wasn't all that hard to, really, since it was still glimmering even from the inside of the shop. She unhooked the chain and pulled it down carefully, taking a good look at it. It seemed to grin back at her with tiny, hidden secrets.
As she turned the tiny, coin-like bauble in her hands, the shadows along the face of it seemed to part for her momentarily, allowing her to see scratches along the inside parts of the design that one would normally never notice. But then, the charm was dark again, in fact, darker than before, as if there were no moonlight whatsoever, and no matter how she turned it to the dim inside light, she could see no scratches at all along the perfect, silver surface.
"How much is this?" She asked the blue-haired girl, raising the necklace up for her viewing, in the palm of her hand.
Something odd clicked in the girl's mind, and it blurted out of her mouth before she could say anything. "Five dollars," she said, then shut her mouth. Her mind kicked back into gear right at that moment, and she mentally slapped herself. She'd lose too much money if she sold the thing for five, why had she said that?
Chikara lowered her hand, looking at the perfectly round shape against her palm, and digging in her pocket. Five, five- yes, there was a five in her left pocket, along with a bit of change. She took it out and handed it to the shopkeeper, who took it with a pained smile on her face.
"It's perfect for you," she said, sliding off the counter and avoiding eye contact as she put the money into the register, "I'll look forward to doing business with you again sometime."
Chikara mumbled some kind of agreement as she left, hooking the necklace and leaving the store in the quiet, darkened night. A few minutes later she walked back in her home tiredly and trudged back up the stairs, collapsing on her bed. She felt sick, she felt tired and she just wanted to sleep until the afternoon of the next day. She sighed heavily and closed her eyes, hearing complete silence in her home.
Elsewhere at the second floor of the Game Shop, Yugi sat in his room in pajamas and Yami was leaning on the study desk, looking at the carpet in deep thought.
"Yami," Yugi's voice broke through his thoughts. "Are we really going to find out who's doing this before something else happens?"
Yami sighed. "I really don't know, Yugi. It's hard for me to remember so far back to one particular person... He didn't receive the best treatment, that's for sure. He was quite rude as well but where are the ones that gave him the mirror, if he has it..."
Yugi sat cross-legged on his bed and watched his yami think. "Yami?"
"Yes Yugi?"
"What if we can't stop Badru or Kanaye or whoever he is at the moment?" Yugi asked again.
Yami looked at his aibou uneasily then closed his eyes, turning his head slightly away. "Don't worry about it, Yugi. We're bound to be on the right track so don't worry yourself over this and get some sleep. We'll talk more about it in the morning."
'If you say so...' Yugi thought to himself, climbing under the blankets.
"Goodnight, Yami."
"Sleep well, Yugi." Yami waited a few minutes longer, thinking, then walked into the hallway to greet Shadi.
Shadi bowed slightly towards his pharaoh, having to wait in the hallway. "We meet again, Pharaoh."
Yami nodded, crossing his arms and leaning on the closed door to Yugi's room. "Did you, by chance, be able to track where the mirror is originating from?"
"It is quite unfortunate. Only when the powers of the looking glass is awakened, can I tell you the location of the user." Shadi said gravely. "It is not like the millennium items. The ankh cannot tell me the location of the strange item that uses pure black and shadow magic."
Yami trailed his eyes up to the dark ceiling. "Then perhaps more things are not being told to us than we thought... Marik seems quite angry at the fact that Sanura is not completely cooperating and this could prove dangerous." He paused and frowned. "But it was Sanura who was in contact with those sorceresses all those millennia ago..."
Shadi remained silent, shifting his gaze to the window.
Yami quirked an eyebrow and looked at him. "What is it?"
"It seems that our foe has not given up, even though it is reaching the peak of night." Shadi explained. "Come quickly. We must hurry." Then he smoothly and silently walked down the hallway, into the darkness.
Yami stood up straight and followed, lowering his arms back to his sides. A while later Shadi stopped, looking up the pathway of Chikara's home.
"Something else is wrong." His voice tinted with a bit of wonder. "Was there any other sort of connection between the looking glass and the sorceresses?"
"Yes, there was..." Yami said slowly. "There was a necklace. It was called the Swirls of Shadow and it was made by the same pair who fabricated the mirror."
"Then that will explain why I feel the similar presence in two locations... Can you sense the heavily used black magic, Pharaoh?" Shadi asked, keeping his eyes forward.
Yami concentrated for a bit, staying silent for a while until he felt the presence of the two newly discovered items. He clenched a fist uneasily, shifting his eyes towards the darkened end of the street and back at the house. "This can't be. Badru has the mirror, does he not? Then who has the necklace..." Shadi gestured towards Chikara's house. "Take your guess..."
"But... If it's her, how did we not notice this before?" Yami asked, a bit startled.
"This is new... I didn't feel the same presence only a day before," Shadi replied, starting up the path towards the door. Yami followed him, after hesitating for a moment.
"So she's ended up with it.... This can't get much worse..." The Pharaoh muttered, as Shadi stopped at the thresh-hold, peeking through the glass of the ornamental door. He put his hand lightly on the doorknob, and the whole thing swung open.
Both suppressed the urge to jump from surprise and looked in, finding no one. Apparently Chikara had left the door not completely closed after being so tired. Shadi walked in slowly, and Yami followed close behind, down the hallway.
"Chikara?" He spoke loudly enough to be heard from most of the rooms nearby, but no one answered. The house was engulfed in silence.
"She's most likely sleeping..." Yami muttered, mostly to himself. He started towards what looked like bedrooms, pushing each door he passed open a few inches with his foot, and looking in.
Chikara didn't know how long she had lay on her bed before she fell asleep, but the rest came eventually, welcomed after being so tired. She found herself in a dream place, where the shadows seemed to move with a breath of their own.
It was terrifying in one way, but in another, the shifting mass of darkness reminded her of the necklace she had seen in the store. The dream weighed down her mind, and it took a moment before she remembered that she had the necklace, now. She reached up and wrapped her hand around it, feeling the cold, lightweight of it in her hand.
When Yami opened the door to Chikara's room, he stopped suddenly, narrowing his eyes, then silently waved Shadi down.
They looked through the now wide-open door of the room. Inside, there was no light except the sickly, scattered moonlight that made it through the curtains. But every dark place seemed to be crawling with an unidentifiable -something-, moving and twisting and living within each shadow.
Yami quickly threw his hand into the door and flipped the light switch, destroying the illusion--if that's what it was--and throwing what was left of it into bare pools of darkness on the floor.
Chikara stirred, bothered by the sudden light in the room, and opened her eyes slowly. By the time she was awake enough to register anything, Yami was standing by the foot of her bed and watching her silently, and Shadi was next to her, his hand wrapped around the one of hers that covered her necklace, moved there in the dream.
"What is this?" He said, before she got a chance to speak, and trying to pry her fingers away from it. Chikara only growled, sitting up and pushing his hands away.
"What the hell are you doing here!? Can't I even sleep anymore without you people coming out of nowhere and bothering me?" She growled, starting to stand. Shadi moved out of the way, but grabbed her by the shoulder when she went to walk past. Her hand was still clamped tightly around the necklace, as if afraid to let it drop.
Shadi squeezed the shoulder he was holding sharply--It was the same one that had been injured not long ago, and it still hurt severely when touched. Chikara flinched, looking up at him.
"What are you trying to hide from us." He said. It wasn't a question, really; Chikara could tell he knew what was beneath her hand.
"It's none of your business... Why do you care?" She said. She thought to force her fingers to unwrap from their spots, but suddenly she could see something strange--shadows seemed to be gathering around her palm.
"Chikara, let go of the necklace and give it to us," Yami said, stepping towards her. The feeling of black magic in the room was growing stronger, building along every shaded point in the room, but mostly from the necklace, and resonating from another point as well. Badru was alone somewhere dark, watching this from the face of the looking glass.
Yami moved toward Chikara to take the Swirls of Shadow from her, but it was too late. By now, the darkness had gathered around her closed fist, pulling itself around like the item's name suggested. There was a dark glow from beneath, and the same design from the necklace seemed to have engraved itself onto the back of her hand.
She let go of the necklace only then, opening her hand in front of her, then closing it. The darkness that had gathered followed, then seemed to solidify into a long pike. She backed up, holding it at the ready against both Shadi and Yami.
"No." Her voice was her own, but flat, too calm. Her eyes were the same color, but darker now, more endless. The shadows in the room seemed to be venturing further out from the light now, ignoring the rules as if rallying to her call.
"You're not taking it away," She said, quietly.
[Lack of updates, yes .; Lazy Tora-kun -could- have written some of this
because she has more free-time than I do xX Disclaimer: We own nothing
related to Yu-Gi-Oh material. We only take credit for the original characters and made-up items that we planned, to be fully listed on a later
time.]
Marik scowled, walking through the aisles between the bookshelves in the basement, finding next to nothing. He slammed a fist onto one of the wooden tables and swore in Egyptian.
Bakura looked up from a few of the relics that were kept in the basement, furrowing his eyebrows. "What's your problem this time, Marik... Weren't you satisfied in almost killing someone before?"
"There's nothing! This is almost like a wild bird chase with no weapons to kill it!" Marik seethed, narrowing his eyes.
"Personally, I don't like this better than you do but what do you expect... someone's invading our territory." Bakura stated, crossing his arms. "It's our job to torture the pathetic mortals... not some amateur who won't show his face..."
"When I find this Badru individual, I'm going to slice out his insides and force him to eat them..." Marik hissed.
"Marik!" Isis called down from the top of the stairs. "Yami found something, I suggest that you two come up here at once."
"Hmph... so he thinks he can hog all the glory..." Muttered Bakura as he made his way up the stairs. "Are you coming, Marik?"
"In a minute... I'm thinking." Marik replied in a low-tone, glaring at the floor.
Bakura shrugged, and kept walking. "Suit yourself..."
By the time Bakura got to where the Pharaoh was, he was halfway through explaining what he, or more precisely, Sanura, had found. The book lay open on the table, and he was explaining what it said despite the fact that it was there for all of them to see.
"Supposedly called the Serpent's Eye and the Swirls of Shadow... That's probably what we're dealing with, here," Yami said, gesturing to the former, a golden mirror framed with cobras. "It says that they were supposedly created by the two goddesses, Keket and Uadjit... But that's probably just confusion with the rumors, since they're the same names."
"But what about the Swirls of Shadow?" Yugi said, pointing at the picture of a silver and black charm on a long matching chain.
"It says that it's actually a Celtic design," Téa pointed out, squeezing into the group between Yugi and Tristan. "How did it get all the way to Egypt?"
Yami shook his head. "If it has the same kind of enchantments the mirror has, then it couldn't have been made anywhere else. But, the design could well have traveled, especially for the sorceresses who traveled easily," he said, crossing his arms and looking down at the book. "Of course, there were people who traveled the normal way, too...Bringing things from one place to another... In other words, you never know..."
The group stood around the table, looking through the book for a while and at the papers that Joey and Tristan had found earlier, and eventually Marik came upstairs, looking down at the said things seriously then going back down into the basement to continue his own search.
Sanura, meanwhile, was still asleep in the other room, unaware of any of this. Once they were all relatively sure there was nothing else of interest, they decided to pack up for the night.
As they all left in somewhat of a swarm, Seto stopped to wake up the sleeping Sanura and they started home, walking side by side.
At some point walking towards Chikara's house, Sanura's hold on her seemed to gradually weaken until, by the time they were on her doorstep it was only the owner of the home that remained. Seeming a bit dazed, she said goodnight to Seto and watched him walk off, standing with the door halfway open.
There was still a bit of light outside, mostly from the almost-but-not- quite-full moon and the remnants of the setting sun. Chikara yawned, feeling a bit tired but not enough to go to sleep, and decided to go for a walk instead, despite having promised Kaiba she would stay home.
She walked down random streets, almost getting herself lost in the process. She didn't look up much, trudging down the street, and accidentally found herself at a dead end. Turning, a glint of light caught her eye, and she stopped to see what it was.
In the display window of a small shop were hung many glass, crystal, and silver trinkets, but in the slowly dispersing light there was almost no reflection from them. One was casting back an amazing amount of light, though-- a small silver charm placed in an inconspicuous place, reflecting the light of the moon, the pattern seeming to dance.
Chikara walked a bit closer, looking through the glass of the display. Something on the face of the design was cast in shadow as the light moved along its surface, as if part of the charm was hiding. Slowly, nervously, she tested the door of the Antiques shop. It opened smoothly and with a gentle tinkling.
The blue-haired shopkeeper had been staying late. She sat on top of her glass case/counter, shining a set of sterling goblets with a small white cloth. Chikara watched her out of the corner of her eye, nervous, and the blue-haired girl gave Chikara the same courtesy.
She walked to the inside of the display she had seen from the window, and found the charm among the bunch. It wasn't all that hard to, really, since it was still glimmering even from the inside of the shop. She unhooked the chain and pulled it down carefully, taking a good look at it. It seemed to grin back at her with tiny, hidden secrets.
As she turned the tiny, coin-like bauble in her hands, the shadows along the face of it seemed to part for her momentarily, allowing her to see scratches along the inside parts of the design that one would normally never notice. But then, the charm was dark again, in fact, darker than before, as if there were no moonlight whatsoever, and no matter how she turned it to the dim inside light, she could see no scratches at all along the perfect, silver surface.
"How much is this?" She asked the blue-haired girl, raising the necklace up for her viewing, in the palm of her hand.
Something odd clicked in the girl's mind, and it blurted out of her mouth before she could say anything. "Five dollars," she said, then shut her mouth. Her mind kicked back into gear right at that moment, and she mentally slapped herself. She'd lose too much money if she sold the thing for five, why had she said that?
Chikara lowered her hand, looking at the perfectly round shape against her palm, and digging in her pocket. Five, five- yes, there was a five in her left pocket, along with a bit of change. She took it out and handed it to the shopkeeper, who took it with a pained smile on her face.
"It's perfect for you," she said, sliding off the counter and avoiding eye contact as she put the money into the register, "I'll look forward to doing business with you again sometime."
Chikara mumbled some kind of agreement as she left, hooking the necklace and leaving the store in the quiet, darkened night. A few minutes later she walked back in her home tiredly and trudged back up the stairs, collapsing on her bed. She felt sick, she felt tired and she just wanted to sleep until the afternoon of the next day. She sighed heavily and closed her eyes, hearing complete silence in her home.
Elsewhere at the second floor of the Game Shop, Yugi sat in his room in pajamas and Yami was leaning on the study desk, looking at the carpet in deep thought.
"Yami," Yugi's voice broke through his thoughts. "Are we really going to find out who's doing this before something else happens?"
Yami sighed. "I really don't know, Yugi. It's hard for me to remember so far back to one particular person... He didn't receive the best treatment, that's for sure. He was quite rude as well but where are the ones that gave him the mirror, if he has it..."
Yugi sat cross-legged on his bed and watched his yami think. "Yami?"
"Yes Yugi?"
"What if we can't stop Badru or Kanaye or whoever he is at the moment?" Yugi asked again.
Yami looked at his aibou uneasily then closed his eyes, turning his head slightly away. "Don't worry about it, Yugi. We're bound to be on the right track so don't worry yourself over this and get some sleep. We'll talk more about it in the morning."
'If you say so...' Yugi thought to himself, climbing under the blankets.
"Goodnight, Yami."
"Sleep well, Yugi." Yami waited a few minutes longer, thinking, then walked into the hallway to greet Shadi.
Shadi bowed slightly towards his pharaoh, having to wait in the hallway. "We meet again, Pharaoh."
Yami nodded, crossing his arms and leaning on the closed door to Yugi's room. "Did you, by chance, be able to track where the mirror is originating from?"
"It is quite unfortunate. Only when the powers of the looking glass is awakened, can I tell you the location of the user." Shadi said gravely. "It is not like the millennium items. The ankh cannot tell me the location of the strange item that uses pure black and shadow magic."
Yami trailed his eyes up to the dark ceiling. "Then perhaps more things are not being told to us than we thought... Marik seems quite angry at the fact that Sanura is not completely cooperating and this could prove dangerous." He paused and frowned. "But it was Sanura who was in contact with those sorceresses all those millennia ago..."
Shadi remained silent, shifting his gaze to the window.
Yami quirked an eyebrow and looked at him. "What is it?"
"It seems that our foe has not given up, even though it is reaching the peak of night." Shadi explained. "Come quickly. We must hurry." Then he smoothly and silently walked down the hallway, into the darkness.
Yami stood up straight and followed, lowering his arms back to his sides. A while later Shadi stopped, looking up the pathway of Chikara's home.
"Something else is wrong." His voice tinted with a bit of wonder. "Was there any other sort of connection between the looking glass and the sorceresses?"
"Yes, there was..." Yami said slowly. "There was a necklace. It was called the Swirls of Shadow and it was made by the same pair who fabricated the mirror."
"Then that will explain why I feel the similar presence in two locations... Can you sense the heavily used black magic, Pharaoh?" Shadi asked, keeping his eyes forward.
Yami concentrated for a bit, staying silent for a while until he felt the presence of the two newly discovered items. He clenched a fist uneasily, shifting his eyes towards the darkened end of the street and back at the house. "This can't be. Badru has the mirror, does he not? Then who has the necklace..." Shadi gestured towards Chikara's house. "Take your guess..."
"But... If it's her, how did we not notice this before?" Yami asked, a bit startled.
"This is new... I didn't feel the same presence only a day before," Shadi replied, starting up the path towards the door. Yami followed him, after hesitating for a moment.
"So she's ended up with it.... This can't get much worse..." The Pharaoh muttered, as Shadi stopped at the thresh-hold, peeking through the glass of the ornamental door. He put his hand lightly on the doorknob, and the whole thing swung open.
Both suppressed the urge to jump from surprise and looked in, finding no one. Apparently Chikara had left the door not completely closed after being so tired. Shadi walked in slowly, and Yami followed close behind, down the hallway.
"Chikara?" He spoke loudly enough to be heard from most of the rooms nearby, but no one answered. The house was engulfed in silence.
"She's most likely sleeping..." Yami muttered, mostly to himself. He started towards what looked like bedrooms, pushing each door he passed open a few inches with his foot, and looking in.
Chikara didn't know how long she had lay on her bed before she fell asleep, but the rest came eventually, welcomed after being so tired. She found herself in a dream place, where the shadows seemed to move with a breath of their own.
It was terrifying in one way, but in another, the shifting mass of darkness reminded her of the necklace she had seen in the store. The dream weighed down her mind, and it took a moment before she remembered that she had the necklace, now. She reached up and wrapped her hand around it, feeling the cold, lightweight of it in her hand.
When Yami opened the door to Chikara's room, he stopped suddenly, narrowing his eyes, then silently waved Shadi down.
They looked through the now wide-open door of the room. Inside, there was no light except the sickly, scattered moonlight that made it through the curtains. But every dark place seemed to be crawling with an unidentifiable -something-, moving and twisting and living within each shadow.
Yami quickly threw his hand into the door and flipped the light switch, destroying the illusion--if that's what it was--and throwing what was left of it into bare pools of darkness on the floor.
Chikara stirred, bothered by the sudden light in the room, and opened her eyes slowly. By the time she was awake enough to register anything, Yami was standing by the foot of her bed and watching her silently, and Shadi was next to her, his hand wrapped around the one of hers that covered her necklace, moved there in the dream.
"What is this?" He said, before she got a chance to speak, and trying to pry her fingers away from it. Chikara only growled, sitting up and pushing his hands away.
"What the hell are you doing here!? Can't I even sleep anymore without you people coming out of nowhere and bothering me?" She growled, starting to stand. Shadi moved out of the way, but grabbed her by the shoulder when she went to walk past. Her hand was still clamped tightly around the necklace, as if afraid to let it drop.
Shadi squeezed the shoulder he was holding sharply--It was the same one that had been injured not long ago, and it still hurt severely when touched. Chikara flinched, looking up at him.
"What are you trying to hide from us." He said. It wasn't a question, really; Chikara could tell he knew what was beneath her hand.
"It's none of your business... Why do you care?" She said. She thought to force her fingers to unwrap from their spots, but suddenly she could see something strange--shadows seemed to be gathering around her palm.
"Chikara, let go of the necklace and give it to us," Yami said, stepping towards her. The feeling of black magic in the room was growing stronger, building along every shaded point in the room, but mostly from the necklace, and resonating from another point as well. Badru was alone somewhere dark, watching this from the face of the looking glass.
Yami moved toward Chikara to take the Swirls of Shadow from her, but it was too late. By now, the darkness had gathered around her closed fist, pulling itself around like the item's name suggested. There was a dark glow from beneath, and the same design from the necklace seemed to have engraved itself onto the back of her hand.
She let go of the necklace only then, opening her hand in front of her, then closing it. The darkness that had gathered followed, then seemed to solidify into a long pike. She backed up, holding it at the ready against both Shadi and Yami.
"No." Her voice was her own, but flat, too calm. Her eyes were the same color, but darker now, more endless. The shadows in the room seemed to be venturing further out from the light now, ignoring the rules as if rallying to her call.
"You're not taking it away," She said, quietly.