12. Meical
Chapter 12
Meical
M y people are immortal.
We are a part of the shadows. We are the things that make you afraid of the dark. The hand that may grab you from under the bed. We feed on fear and sexual energy. Unless someone banishes us. I have avoided that for many years. I’m lucky; not everyone has been. Even though some witches like to think they have banished one of our kind, we’ve just moved on at the last second. Witches sometimes cannot mind their own business. We do not hurt people when we do things like what I just did. It’s just like how they pull the magic from the atmosphere and coordinate it to their will. I use the powerful emotions from others to live. We are capable of eating a being. A lot of our kind steal the years of others instead. Most of my kind do not kill, though. As the years passed, the boredom and malaise of eternity filled my being. I stopped feeding. I dwindled into the shadows. Nothing more. Nothing less. I wasn’t sure if eventually I would waste away, like the sun coming over the darkness. I avoided my people because there was danger in numbers for our kind. Stupid witches.
It all changed a few months ago. A beautiful girl walked out of the well lit coffee place before the touches of morning crested over the edges of the world. Her long red hair lifted with the chilly breeze as she paused underneath the awning of the coffee shop. She brushed down her hair really quick as she sighed. Loneliness poured from her being. I knew the feeling well, because that had been my life for eons. Her expressive green eyes darted around the street for a few moments. The woman took another sip of her coffee. She wore tight jeans that hugged every curve and a baggy T-shirt. Goosebumps dotted her flesh as it was still spring with frosty mornings and dark nights.
Mate.
This was my mate. I pulled my magic together to shift into my humanoid form. The edges of shadows danced around as my magic died. Mentally I sighed. As a shadow, I didn’t need to breathe, but the habit of wanting to do human-like habits was ever present. I was too weak to become human and to take what was mine. All I could do was jump through the shadows and follow her. She turned toward the small parking lot and left the scene. I latched onto the shadow of her car and rode with her till she arrived at work. After that, I spent my time split between watching her and regaining energy,, siphoning fear and excess sexual energy from various people around the city.
I would creep into her dreams. We would talk and I would feed off her at night. The innocent ones she never remembered. It was the more recent sexual ones that filled her memories. I would feel the spike of arousal. I grew stronger and stronger every night. At first, when she encountered Urien, I was upset, but I could tell he respected my mark. Plus, he gave me an easy meal, which meant that I could take control of more shadows in person the other day. Although it seems to have backfired. It pushed her into the arms of that mortal. I guess I cannot blame her. She is only human. She didn’t understand.
But the male tried to hurt her. I ripped him from the mortal realm and pulled him into my void. His energy and life source would now give me the energy I needed to shift into my humanoid form and touch my mate in real life. I could feel all his past transgressions flow through my body. I knew what he had intended for my mate and what he had done to others. He was an abuser, a rapist, and more. Red fiery anger flashed through me. After I rid the world of that sack of flesh, I shifted out of my shadow void into my humanoid form. She scrambled from the bed to the living room and was kneeling on the floor, talking to her phone.
“Belay that order, Urien. I have her,” I said. I heard the phone click as Urien hung up.
I trailed a sharp claw up her thigh. Her dress had ridden up and was askew. Her thighs were on full display, showcasing their voluptuousness and strength. The scent of her arousal perfumed the air. My claws dragged over her round ass and paused at the zip ties. I snapped them open with my claw. She sighed as she twisted around. Janie pushed herself against the couch. I kneeled down in front of her and my clawed hand touched the bottom of her chin and tilted her head up toward me. Her bright green eyes were wide and her pupils were blown. I didn’t know if it was the adrenaline or arousal. Maybe our nightly meetings had trained her to respond to me. After tonight’s events, I would have to tread lightly.
“Are you okay, Janie?” I asked.
“What are you?” she whispered .
“I’m a part of the shadows.”
“Why are you here?”
“You’re my mate.”
She swallowed. Her eyes traveled around my body and stayed on my horns longer than the rest of my body. “What does that mean?”
“You were made for me. You are the perfect being for me. Gifted from the gods. I didn’t expect to ever find my mate. I saw you one day and since then I have been gaining strength to have you in person,” I said.
She blinked. “That sounds impossible,” she said. “Like soulmates?”
“It doesn’t happen often. Especially to humans like you,” I said. I grabbed her and pulled her up from the ground. She shrieked. “Let’s get you ready for bed, little one.”
“Put me down!” she screamed as I deposited her on her bed. She sat up, fear emitting from her pores. I lapped it up like a hungry soul. “Are you going to leave?”
I shook my head. “No. I will give you a moment to get dressed for bed.”
Her hands went to her hips. “What do you mean, you’re staying here?”
“I have nowhere else to go. And you are my mate,” I said. “If you want, I can draw you a bath? You humans like those. You need some pampering after this.”
She blinked. “This is my apartment! Get out!”
“You can’t keep me out. Shadows are everywhere. Where there is a shadow, there I will be,” I said with a shrug.
Janie scrunched up her face as she stormed to the doorway. She pointed. “Get out!” I stepped back, and she slammed the door in my face. The sound of the door locking echoed through the house as I made my way back to the living room. I unlocked the phone and found the text chain for Urien.
Janie: The guy had tied her up and was going to hurt her.
After a few moments, a reply showed up.
Urien: This isn’t Janie, is it?
Janie: No. Name is Meical.
Urien: Welcome, brother.