Chapter 13 #2
“He likes his freedom,” Stephen said apologetically.
Didn’t we all?
I searched the condo from end to end. There was no sign of Stephen’s shadow. Great, the killer shadow was back on the loose. As if my life wasn’t complicated enough.
I moved to stand directly in front of him.
“Stephen, I need you to listen to me. Whether you acknowledge it or not, your shadow killed Darlene. Right now, I need to make sure he doesn’t kill again.
In order to accomplish that, it would help to know why he targeted Darlene.
If you have any theories, I’d love to hear them. ”
Still remarkably calm, Stephen seemed to choose his words carefully. “I complained about her the day she died.”
Finally, we were getting somewhere. “Why?” The woman had been unproblematic. What could Stephen possibly have found to complain about?
“It was silly, really. She was in the pool one morning. All the other lanes were taken by an aquatic aerobics class. Darlene seemed like she was about to finish when she saw a dog.”
“Little Lord Ruffington?”
Stephen shot me a confused look. “I have no idea. It was a dog. Anyway, she ended up bringing the dog into the pool in his ridiculous inflatable chair, so I didn’t get a chance to do laps and had to leave.
Then I managed to miss badminton because I got a flat tire on the way home to change from the pool I didn’t get to swim in. ”
“And you think your shadow killed her because of that?”
“Badminton was a championship match. There was a trophy and a gift card to the Neighborhood restaurant of your choice.”
“Still not hearing a viable reason for murder.”
“My shadow doesn’t have the capacity to view things on a spectrum. Anything negative I say, he deems a threat to our survival. He’s a black-and-white thinker.”
“Well, he is a shadow, so that tracks.”
“I told him what happened, but I didn’t intend for him to act on it. I was only sharing my day with him, as you would with a friend. It gets lonely sometimes, without that sort of relationship.”
“Is that one of the reasons you chose that particular experiment? To have a ride-or-die companion?”
“Possibly. I hadn’t thought of it that way.”
A thought occurred to me. “Would you mind showing me the spell you cast?”
“You have an interest in magic, Director?”
“My father was a mage.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize. You said ‘was.’ He passed, then?”
“When I was young, but he taught me basic spells. He thought it was important for me to learn magic.”
“Did it stick?”
“I wasn’t the best student at that age, and he wasn’t always the most patient teacher. I think when a skill comes naturally to someone, it’s harder to teach.”
Stephen’s head bobbed profusely. “I used to have very low tolerance for people.”
“Used to?”
“Yes. I’m much better now. Even the incident with Darlene, I managed to keep my cool. A product of getting older, I suppose.”
“When did your attitude change?”
“I noticed a couple months ago.” He smiled. “Around the same time I succeeded with the shadow spell. The boost of confidence likely had something to do with it. There was so much trial and error involved before I got it right. I can’t count how many beakers I smashed in frustration.”
I’d bet my cache of weapons that it wasn’t the boost of confidence, but it was the spell.
“I’d love to see that spell now,” I said.
“Oh, yes. Of course.” Stephen opened a drawer and produced a file folder. “Everything should be meticulously recorded in here. I like to keep things neat and tidy.”
That was apparent. I flipped open the folder and reviewed the contents. He’d written copious notes on the process from start to finish.
“How many beakers has your shadow broken, Stephen?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Your shadow is more than just troublesome, isn’t he? He has a temper.”
More to the point, he had Stephen’s temper.
The shadow seemed to be a physical manifestation of the wizard’s suppressed rage.
The shadow was the reason that Stephen seemed unnaturally calm under the circumstances.
The spell had transferred those negative emotions from Stephen to the shadow.
It became the repository for the feelings Stephen refused to process.
“I suppose one could argue my shadow has anger issues,” he acknowledged.
“Did you know about Darlene?” I pressed.
“Why do you think I locked him in the closet? He’d thrown temper tantrums before then, but he’d shown no signs of violence against others.
” Stephen’s voice remained even-keeled. “When he came home and told me what he’d done, he expected me to be proud.
To thank him. He was furious when I locked him up so he couldn’t hurt anyone again. ”
“Why didn’t you come to me? Or to the HOA?”
“I didn’t want to risk being kicked off the island.
Don’t you see, Maya? People like me—where would I go then?
Evermore and the other islands are the sanctuaries available to us.
If I’m blackballed, I’ll have to take my chances in the regular world again.
” He rubbed his temples. “I wouldn’t last a week. ”
“Stephen, your shadow is dangerous, and he’s out there right now.”
“Yes, but I managed to bring him back before, and I will this time too.”
The problem wasn’t whether he’d bring the shadow back, it was whether the shadow committed another act of violence before then.
I tried to keep my head as cool and collected as Stephen’s. “Have you made any negative comments about anyone else recently? Anybody cut you off in traffic and flip you the bird?”
Stephen grew pale. “Not exactly.”
“Then what?”
He hesitated. “I may have told him to be grateful to me, that there was a greater threat to him than life in my closet. I didn’t identify them by name, but he’s smart like me. He’ll figure it out.”
“A greater threat? Who would that be?”
“The acting director of security, of course.” The wizard gave me a sheepish look. “You.”
I had to find Stephen’s rogue shadow before it found me first. I left Terrapin with my head swiveling, scanning the area around me for any sign of a shadow that didn’t belong.
I returned to my cottage, where I checked for evidence of an insubstantial intruder.
Finding none, I reinforced the ward around the doors and windows to prevent the shadow from entering.
I retrieved Gwen McCluskey’s grimoire from the bookshelf.
During a rare lucid moment, the elderly witch had recognized she no longer needed her book of spells and gifted it to me.
Not long after, she moved into the assisted living section of the Neighborhood.
It was a relief to know she was safe and in good hands.
I’d worried about her more than I’d been willing to acknowledge.
Before I managed to crack open the book, my phone rang with a call from Dr. Adam. “I’m so sorry to bother you, Maya, but it’s important.”
My blood started pumping. “Is it Ronald?”
“I’m afraid so. He hasn’t woken up today. Would it be possible for you to check on him…the same way you did last time.”
In other words, he wanted me to dreamwalk. “Of course.”
I abandoned the grimoire on the counter and hurried from the cottage. Vale’s team was probably too busy with the threat from the Coranians now to focus on hunting down Leanne. Poor Ronald.
Dr. Adam met me at the door and escorted me straight to Ronald’s bedroom. The elf’s lips were no longer cracked and peeling.
“He looks hydrated,” I said.
“Look at his vitals, though. His body is hanging on by a thread. It must be torture for him.”
Ronald’s mind didn’t seem aware of his body’s suffering. He wanted to spend time with Leanne in his dream world, no matter the cost.
I climbed onto the double bed and took my place beside the unconscious elf.
I placed my hand on his spindly arm, closed my eyes, and synced my breathing to his.
It took only a minute to enter his dream, but our meeting of the minds ended before it even began.
Instead of a gate with a forest beyond, I was confronted by a large brick wall that extended as high and wide as the eye could see.
“Ronald! Ronald, it’s Maya. Can you let me in?”
No response.
I knocked, banged my fists, and even kicked, but the wall remained intact. I couldn’t budge a single brick.
“Ronald, we’re concerned about you,” I yelled. “We need you to wake up!”
The only sound I heard was the echo of my own voice bouncing off the bricks. If Ronald was still cognizant, he either couldn’t hear me or didn’t want to answer.
I returned to consciousness and opened my eyes.
Dr. Adam practically pounced the moment he realized I was awake. “Anything?”
I shook my head. “I think Leanne found a way to block me.”
“What does this mean? Are we going to lose him?”
I glanced at the cane, still nestled between the headboard and the wall. “We may not lose him completely, but I’m not sure what kind of life this is for him.” Ronald barely existed at this point. He may have believed he was thriving in his dream world with Leanne, but it wasn’t real.
And it had left him teetering on the razor’s edge of death.
Dr. Adam followed my gaze to the cane. “What if we can’t stop Leanne? Should we do something about the cane?”
I knew what he was really asking. “I’m not sure there’s anything we can do.”
“I hate to even suggest it, but I will always choose what’s in the best interest of my patient, even if that decision doesn’t align with my personal preference.”
I hopped to my feet. “Because you’re a good and honorable healer, Dr. Adam, but I’m not ready to give up just yet.” I pulled my phone from my pocket. “I’d like Zachariah to take a look at the cane, but I don’t want to risk removing it from Ronald’s side. Is it all right if I invite him here?”
“Yes, of course. Anything you need.”
I walked into the living room to call Zachariah. For once, the necromancer answered on the first ring.
“Do you have me on speed dial?” he asked.
“It’s a modern phone, Zach. Everyone’s on speed dial.”
“Hmm. I’m beginning to think we might be friends.”