Run.
The words repeated themselves. Run. Run. Adrenalin rushed through Raven's body as she ran faster and faster down the pathways in the park. It was the shortest way home. The shadows chased after her a long her sides. The path was lighted by the sun so she was safe, but that didn't stop her from running as fast as she could.
A shadow of a tree branch was in her path. The only way past was through it. She picked up speed and the shadows quickened to beat her to it. Raven jumped over the shadow just as the shadow walkers came upon it. Their semi solid hands grasped her feet as she jumped over it and they pulled her down. Her upper body landed on the other side in the light but her feet were being pulled into the shade by the shadow walkers.
"Teine!!!" She quickly threw a fire ball at the one that grabbed her feet. It let out a deathly screech before collapsing back into the shadow.
Raven scrambled up and starting running again as they followed in the shadows of the trees. The clearing was just up a head and she would be free of them. Her feet drummed a long the paved path loudly as she ran.
The clearing was in view now, relief swept over her body. She was almost safe.
She didn't see the rock being thrown at her.
She hit the ground beside the path hard. Her sides scraped the ground and the pebbles tore at her flesh. Raven moaned in pain and tried to get up. The back of her head where the rock hit hurt and was bleeding. Blood quickly found its way down her back soaking her shirt. Her arms collapsed under her own weight and she fell back down again. The sound of snarling circled around her and she realized she was in the shade of the trees.
Raven forced her eyes open and looked at the shadow walkers circling around her. "bāsaich." Whispers blew in the wind. "bāsaich." Dead leaves flew in the breeze circling the shadow walker's demon like feet. "bāsaich." They chanted. "bāsaich. bāsaich." Raven covered her ears from haunting voices as they chanted the word over and over again.
"NO!!! I will not die today!!" She screamed at them.
"bāsaich!!" They hissed loudly at her.
"I'm not dying here!!" She forced herself off the ground and onto her feet summoning the last bits of her strength and will power. The shadow walkers shrieked and lunged at her. Raven dashed out through the trees with them speedily following her. She knew she couldn't out run them for long but she had to at least try. The shadow walkers went from their solid shapes to dark blobs of shadows that chased her after her gradually closing the space between them.
Just as the shadow walkers reached her feet and started to take shape when strong arms grabbed her and picked her off the ground. She screamed in surprise. The arms carried her out of the trees into the light and high into the sky. Raven couldn't see whatever had saved her from the clutches of the shadow walkers. The arms were covered in tattered thick cloth like from a. robe. A black robe. just like the one Shamein wore when he attacked the three in the fairy realm.
"Shamein?" She whispered just high enough for him to hear. The arms grip tightened but no response. Raven could only assume it was Shamein.
Was she safe then? Did he save her or is he just bringing her somewhere else so he can kill her himself? He was the one who sent the shadow walkers after her, right? But then why was he acting the way he was? He acted as if he cared, like he didn't want to hurt her.
Finally they landed on top of a skyscraper. The arms let her go and she stumbled forward turning around to find out for sure who it was. It was indeed the same black robes, but the hood was on so she couldn't see the person. The robes were yet another bitter reminder that her life long crush was Merlin's murderer. But it was the long black wings coming through the back of the robes that really shook Raven. Could this really be Shamein?
He removed his hood revealing Shamein's handsome face and his icy grey eyes that she loved and the soft red streaked blonde hair. He strode up to her and placed his hand behind her head. Raven flinched as his hand gently touched the cut on the back of her head. His wings spread and made an almost complete circle around them. The wings were huge compared to his body, they would have to be huge in order to pick him up off the ground.
"You're hurt." He said. His eyes were saddened like it was his fault the rock hit her head. In a way it was.
"You. have. wings." Her eyes starred at him wide obviously not listening to what he was saying.
"Yes, I know I do, but you're hurt."
"You. have.. wings." Raven said it again in a daze.
Shamein sighed. "I guess you want me to explain." He sat down on the paved roof of the skyscraper and gestured Raven to sit next to him. She continued starring at him as she sat down. He ripped a strand of his robes and tried it around Raven's head to stop the bleeding coming out of the back of her head. Raven didn't stop him or even react, she just starred. She was so confused.
"Well, let's start with who my dad was or is. if he's still alive." He tied the knot around her head just above her left ear. "He was an angel, a fallen angel to be more exact. That's why I have black wings and not white. Of coarse his wings were ripped off. The other angels never found out about me so they never came after me, not like they could defeat me now."
Raven never saw a fallen before or even an angel. She never thought their wings were that big. His wings almost spanned 10 meters from his back. The feathers were a perfect onyx colour.
He looked hard at the ground for a few moments then looked up at the sky. "My mother got pregnant from that fallen angel and then left her. He left before he found out about me not that would make much of a difference anyhow."
"Why did he leave your mother?" Raven asked sympathetically.
He looked at her and placed his hand on her shoulder and the other on the back of her neck. Her neck still dripped with her blood leaking from her head, but neither of them was thinking about it. He pulled her close to him, his wings instinctively wrapping around them both. Raven went wide eyed as she felt his lips lock onto hers for a quick passionate kiss. The moment Raven realized what happened was the moment he pulled away. His eyes were serious and grim as he starred into her eyes. He stressed the words out through his throat as he spoke, his face inches from hers. "Because my mother's great ancestor was the dark wizard who tried to destroy the fairy realm and ruled over the shadow realm where he is still trapped there as a lost spirit. My job is to bring him back so he can finish what he started. And believe it or not I don't have a choice. I don't want to do this but I have to."
Raven pushed herself away from him. Tears were already stinging in her eyes. "How could you not have a choice?" She choked out as she wrapped her arms around her legs and made herself into a ball. She knew he had something to do with the shadow walkers but she didn't think it was that.
"I don't have a choice because the others of my family line that passed away have this attachment to me. When I don't do what they say they open this portal inside me that releases the shadow walkers. You saw what happened back at my apartment. The only reason they're not hurting me now is because they're weakened from summoning the shadow walkers." He wrapped himself around her. His wings covered them fully as she cried. He knew blood would get all over him but he didn't matter to him.
"Why does it have to be you?!!! Why not someone else?!! Anybody but you!!!" She cried out loud. He squeezed her tighter and rested his head on her shoulder.
Once her tears subsided he let go and got up. He started to walk off. Raven got up and ran up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. His arms went around her waist and held her tight as new tears came down her cheek and as he fought desperately to keep himself from crying with her.
"What am I supposed to do now?!! I couldn't kill you!! I can't kill you!! How am I supposed to fight you if. if."
"I don't know. I don't know what any of us should do."
"I want to be with you!!" Her arms squeezed tighter around his neck.
"We can't." He choked on his words. It pained him to say it; she was the only person who ever cared. even his mother didn't care about him like Raven did. She cared for him like no one ever had and he couldn't have her. Shamein felt so at home holding her and never wanted to let go but knew he had no choice.
"There has to be some way." Desperation showed in her voice and she grabbed a hand full of his robes in her hands and cried onto his chest.
"There isn't Raven." he looked to the sky knowing he couldn't stop the tears from coming anymore. How could one girl make it seem like he was losing everything?
"But."
"Unless you want to become evil, there isn't any way. And I know you're not evil, you can't survive the darkness like I can. It would destroy you from the inside to be with me Raven!!" The words sounded harsher than what he intended and he took and a deep breathe and spoke gently. "It would change everything about you. I couldn't ever let you do that to yourself."
"But."
"Raven." His voice was on the verge of pleading and it caused Raven to break out into a new wave of tears and sobs.
Shamein placed his hand gently under her chin and tilted her head up to face him. He placed his lips lightly on hers for one last bitter sweet kiss. Shamein pulled away reluctantly and whispered "Goodbye my love.." He waved his hand over her forehead and said softly, "Suain."
"No, Shamein please. please don't." Raven eyes fluttered shut and she collapsed in Shamein's arms.
Foil was sitting in his room taking off the last of his bandages. He found some healing spells in one of Merlin's old books and used it on himself and the wound healed almost instantly. He was quite impressed with it.
He was just putting the old bandages in the garbage when he heard a nose from the living room of the apartment and went to investigate. "By the Goddess." He stopped dead when he saw Raven covered with blood and had a black blood soaked cloth around her head. He noticed the glass door to the balcony was open and white curtains blew in the breeze entering the apartment. He rushed over to Raven and was relieved to see she wasn't dead but just asleep.
Foil quickly got out the blanket from behind the couch and covered her with it. He starred at her as she slept peacefully wondering why they spared her life.
