Chapter 52: Shadow Diving

  “We aren’t allowed to have guests,” I said, hoping that would disuade John.

  The sly smile that appeared on his face told me my words were having no effect. “Don’t worry about that. I’m highly skilled at sneaking in and out of places.”

  I sighed. “Fine, but you’re going to have to wait because I need to talk to Miss Havasu.”

  “Miss who?”

  I ignored the question. “Okay, if you manage to sneak in without getting caught, meet me on the third floor.”

  He hung back as I marched through the front doors and straight to Miss Havasu’s office. She sat behind her desk writing a letter. “Ah, Oliver. I was wondering when you were going to show up.”

  “What happened with the food?” I asked, not beating around the bush.

  She sighed. “I’m sorry, Oliver. Running an orphanage is expensive, and I have to make difficult decisions. It was either that or reduce the number of heads I can care for. You don’t want that, do you?”

  “But what good is that if everyone goes hungry?” I asked, wanting to stomp my foot, but knowing she’d dismiss me if I did.

  “Don’t be dramatic, Oliver,” she said. “You know I’ll never let anyone starve. They eat enough. I just repurposed the excess to cover our expenses. It wouldn’t suit to have fat orphans running around.”

  There was no risk of that ever happening, even with more food. I ignored the comment and continued my questioning. “What about the money I gave you?”

  “It wasn’t enough,” she shook her head sadly. “You have to trust me. We need the extra income.”

  “Okay,” I replied. “Good night, Miss Havasu.”

  I already knew what she was going to say, but I still had to confront her. Otherwise, she would think I was up to something. I trudged to the second floor and poked my head in the girls’ room. Nobody was asleep. They all looked anxiously at me as I entered.

  “Did you bring food?” Francis squeaked. Her bed was closest to the door.

  I nodded and sat beside her. “Yes. I do have food, but first I want to show you a magic trick.”

  That got everyone’s attention, though I wasn’t sure if it was the magic that did the trick or the food. Probably both. Once everyone was gathered around, I took the Bag of Mimicry out along with the plate of pot roast. Several of the kids grabbed for the plate, but I waggled a finger at them. “Not yet.”

  Using flourishes even Houdini would be proud of, I deposited the meal in the bag and took out two. Again, I had to swat away grabbing hands from the original as I repeated the process.

  It only took a few minutes to make enough for everyone. Then I took out a handful of coins, which started an even bigger furor. “Easy now. You all get some. There will be more where this came from. Use it to buy snacks, but don’t let Miss Havasu know you have it.”

  Beth watched the frenzy with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.

  “Shush,” she silenced them when they got too loud. “You don’t want Miss Havasu to come up here and take your dinner away.”

  The girls scampered back to their beds, only mildly thundering across the floor. We waited with bated breath for any sign of adults coming up the stairs. Once I determined the coast was clear, I snuck out while the girls ate.

  “That isn’t going to work for breakfast,” Beth said as she followed me into the stairwell. “They can’t all run around spending money. Someone is going to think they stole it. I’m going to have to take them out in small groups.”

  I sighed. Annie was right when she said it’s a hard knock life. Remembering the rest of the money, I took out the stack of one-dollar bills and offered it to Beth. Her eyes widened, and she snatched the money, hiding it in her nightgown like she was concealing a murder weapon.

  “You can’t have this,” she hissed. “We will get in so much trouble if anyone finds out an orphan had this much money.”

  I sighed. “Find a place to hide it. Use it to make sure nobody goes hungry until I figure out a better way.”

  “Fine, Oliver. I’ll hide it,” she finally gave in, her expression softening. “Don’t work too hard, though. You’re still just a kid.”

  “I am not!” I snapped, realizing belatedly how childish that sounded. “I’m only three years younger than you.”

  “Three and a half,” she said the same thing that she always did when I brought up our age gap. “I mean it, though. You’re no good to anyone if you wear yourself out.”

  “Don’t worry,” I reassured her. “I’m having a lot of fun. They are teaching me how to make exciting things you’d never believe.”

  “Like that bag?” she asked. “Can you make me one?”

  “I’m working on it,” I promised.

  She smiled and kissed me on the cheek. “Well, goodnight, Oliver.”

  “Goodnight,” I echoed, heading up to the third floor.

  John ambushed me the moment I emerged from the stairwell. “Told you I’d make it in. Now, where are all the girls?”

  “In bed,” I stuck my tongue out at him. “Is that why you came here?”

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  He looked around. “Not entirely. You know, I expected this place to be bigger.”

  “Wait till you see the room,” I laughed, walking past him and into the boy’s room.

  Just like in the girls’ room, the boys had waited up for me. Gordon pushed through the throng of hungry kids and looked John up and down. “Who’s this? A newbie?”

  I laughed. It was perfectly obvious that John was dressed far too well to be an orphan. Then again, so was I.

  “No,” I shrugged. “He’s a friend from work. He wanted to see the orphanage.”

  Gordon’s expression grew dark very quickly. “This isn’t a zoo, Oliver. Your friend needs to leave.”

  “Yeah!” one of the kids echoed. “This isn’t a zoo.”

  “Leave, leave, leave!” the others chorused.

  John took a few steps back, intimidated by the hulking Gordon. “That isn’t what I…I’m sorry. I just wanted to see…”

  Gordon wasn’t having it and shoved him out the door. “Get lost!”

  John, who had stumbled and fallen on his butt, looked up at me. “Oliver?”

  I sighed, stepping between Gordon and John. “Look, he just wanted to see where I lived. He can go now.”

  Gordon harumphed and turned his back on me. I offered John a hand and helped him up. “Maybe it’s best if you go for now. You can come back another time.”

  John dusted himself off and sighed. “I suppose you’re right. Next time, I’ll introduce myself properly.”

  I wasn’t sure what he meant by that, but he was gone before I could ask. After that, I had to deal with hungry kids the same way I had in the girls’ room. Gordon insisted on two plates for himself. I was worried he was going to take all the coins for himself, but he surprised me by letting all of the other kids have some.

  Sam was nowhere to be found. I climbed to the roof, looking for him, but he wasn’t there. There wasn’t much I could do about it, so I got in bed and turned in for the night, but not before slipping a couple of plates into my shadow for Grace and her mom.

  My first stop the next morning was the library. A part of me worried Madam Hurst would still be there, standing in front of the blank shelf, or her book would still be chained to the desk. Fortunately, I found neither. I placed a note with a single word written on it.

  Primordials.

  After a long pause, a book so small it would fit in my pocket appeared on the shelf. It was not chained down like the other books I’d requested. There was no label of any sort on the worn cover. I opened it, hoping to find a clue to get the essence I needed. It wasn’t a book at all. Many of the pages were blank, and the ones that had writing were filled with handwritten scrawls.

  I discovered a monster in the darkness today. It emerged from a shadow and stared at me with beady red eyes.

  The entries weren’t dated, but I got the sense that the observations were made over time.

  It appears sentient. No, that word doesn’t do it justice. The monster in the darkness is smart. Now that I noticed it, I fear it is stalking me.

  The writer wrote entries to detail his encounter with a monster.

  I think it wants me to follow it. I’m not sure how it expects me to do that. Perhaps the high house will know more.

  High house? I glanced at the shelf, wondering if another book was in order. Deciding against it, I turned to the next page.

  I have come to the conclusion that the shadow monster means me no harm, but I am unable to communicate with it. Unfortunately, I fear this poltergeist will haunt me until the day I die.

  I looked down at my shadow. “Are you a Primordial?”

  It shook its head, tempting me to shake my own out of reflex. I flipped through the rest of the book, but the writer seemed to devolve into madness the more he encountered the dark figure.

  This shadow evades the very laws of magic. It pays no heed to Monster Vision, giving me hallucinations even when no such magic adorns my eyes. I receive no blissful respite regardless of what I do. I fear I will live with my curse until the end of my days.

  I flipped through the pages until I reached the final passage.

  I now bear the mark. My days as a mage are no more. However, a man visited today, perhaps informed of my plight by the guild. He was the first other than myself who saw the monster in the shadow. I now know it is called a Primordial, and it hails from the void that exists between here and there. He uttered a single word, ‘Begone,’ and it obeyed. I have been freed from my shadowy prison. This newfound freedom is accompanied by a profound loneliness. Did I do the right thing?

  The writing ended there. I flipped through the remainder of the pages and found a single word on the last page.

  Merlin.

  What did that mean? Was Merlin real or a figment of the writer’s imagination? I supposed it could very well be both, but what good would that information do for me? I closed the book and debated asking the orangutan for information on Merlin, but decided better of it. There was already too much information on that man, and I doubted anything from the special section would tell me how to contact him.

  Since Primordial research was getting me nowhere, I turned my attention to the other dark passenger in my life, and placed another note on the shelf.

  Tell me about my shadow.

  Several books popped up right away. They were chained to the shelf.

  Shadow Magic - The Dark Side of Magic

  Shadow Skills - Fighting from the Shadows

  Peter and Wendy

  I frowned. It had to be good old Peter Pan. Of course, he would know about shadows. But what good was a fairy tale? I needed facts. The second my finger touched the books, something passed over my hand, and I felt a sharp sting like I’d just been smacked. I pulled my hand back, looking everywhere for the source of the pain.

  “Orangutan?” I asked, eyeing the shelf suspiciously.

  It didn’t answer. I sighed and reached for the book again. The same thing happened. No sooner had my finger touched the book than something hit me. I tried again and finally figured it out. My shadow was attacking me.

  “What do you want?” I snapped.

  It beckoned to me, as though it wanted me to get closer. I obliged, leaning toward where my shadow was projected on the shelf. The instant I was close enough, my feet sank into the ground, and I stumbled forward. Only, rather than crashing into the bookshelf, I fell into my shadow. And I fell, and fell, and fell, until my equilibrium stabilized, and then it felt like I was floating in a pool with my eyes closed.

  The problem was, my eyes weren’t closed. I tried to gasp, but I couldn’t. Panic set in, and I clutched my throat, thinking I was suffocating. It took me a few moments, but I quickly realized that it wasn’t the case. Also, my eyes weren’t closed. Holding my hands up to my face, there was a thin outline around my inky skin against a much darker backdrop. Had I become my shadow? Was that what life was like as a shadow?

  I flapped my arms a bit, trying to move around in the sea of darkness. Nothing and everything seemed to work, all at the same time. I was either going one hundred miles an hour or I was standing still. Without wind to provide feedback, it was impossible to tell.

  I’d just about worn myself out when I saw something. Twin red stars winked into existence somewhere in the distance. I watched in awe as they twinkled and grew. Then the outline of something best left in my worst nightmare took shape. A massive, shadowy figure with glowing red eyes grew closer until it towered over me.

  “Why do you seek us?” it hissed.

  I tried to gasp again, searching for the breath I surely needed to speak. None came, so I opened my mouth. My voice came out in a rasp that felt like a continuous cough. “I need your essence…to feed the kids.”

  “You jest,” the primordial hissed. “Even the strongest mortal would perish should they attempt even the smallest taste of us.”

  I croaked, trying to clear my throat. “No, no, no. I need your essence to invent a device to copy the food I want to use to feed my friends.”

  The Primordial grinned, revealing a dark maw filled with onyx teeth that somehow shone even in the pitch dark. “What do you offer in return?”

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