Tempest: The Moments In-Between (#1.5)

Chapter Seven: Shadow Queen

Penn Benson

I woke up with my chest feeling tight. It felt hard to breathe, and my head was throbbing. I looked around my dark room, expecting to find Jack waiting for me. But he was nowhere in sight.

I released a deep breath that alleviated some of the pressure I felt in my chest. "Jack?"  I called, swinging my legs over the side of my bed as I reached for my glasses. I cleared my throat, suddenly parched. "Jack, can I get some more water, please?"

This ominous silence enveloped the room, and for a moment, all I could hear was my heart racing. This all felt too familiar, but I couldn't quite place why.

"Jack?" I called, one last time before I went for the door.

The hinges creaked and groaned like something out of a horror movie. I glared out into the dim hallway and headed towards the living room and kitchen. I swear to all that's good in this world, if there's not a freaking demon attacking him, I will throttle him for trying to prank me.

When I walked into the living room, my eyes widened as I watched a shadowy figure clutching Jack by his throat. The intruder was wearing some sort of black cloak that seemed alive and fluid. It flowed through the air despite a lack of breeze to move it. Aside from the shadow touched hand that was choking my friend, all I could see were Jack's caramel eyes pleading to me for help as he gasped out the remaining breath from his lungs.

"Jack!" I screeched, as I lunged for the creature without hesitation. When I made contact, the creature vanished. I crashed into the floor, groaning as I swiftly turned to tend to my companion, but he was gone too.

My eyes teared up in anger as realization struck me. I slammed my fist into the floorboards and screamed. "You, one-trick pony! Come out here, RIGHT! THIS! SECOND!"

It didn't take long for that sickly seductive laugh to echo around me. "Language, Penn." Chaos materialized in front of me. Her molten eyes searing themselves into my very soul as a sly smile crept onto her red lips. "I can't believe you fell for that." Her footsteps echoed around my apartment with each move she made.

I should have realized immediately that Chaos was messing with me. She didn't even bother to switch tactics. I thought, shuddering as I recalled the last time she was in my head. She wants me to know it's her...

I kept my gaze strictly planted on her, ready for my next lunge. "What do you want?" I asked, my tone sterner than it's ever been before.

She kept moving, circling me like a predator after its prey. "Many things." Chaos stated, looking thoughtful. "But right now, I just wanted to see why you missed the party I arranged for you." Chaos side-eyed me like she was determining the next way to 'play' with me. For all I know, she could be doing just that. Something tells me this shadow queen is good at multitasking.

"Party?" I glared, standing up properly and squaring my shoulders to show I couldn't give a rat's ass about what she was interested in.

"At the zoo." She looked away from me, recalling the event in question. "Despite your absence, I was quite impressed by your hounds. They were both quite skilled." She grinned wickedly. "You did well to recruit them, but I'd expect nothing less from you."

Hounds? I leered at her, not tipping her off that I had no clue what she was talking about. Could she mean Des? Does she know she's Rougarou? Wait... My train of thought paused as another idea struck. She said, hounds. Plural. Is there another of her kind in town?

"Still," Chaos rambled on. "I'm a bit disappointed to find you playing with this human." Suddenly, and with a flick of her wrist, Jack was conjured in front of her.

It took all of my willpower not to run over to him. He's not real. I reminded myself. We're in my head. He's not the real Jack.

"Honestly, Penn, that's twice you quite literally leapt to rescue him." Chaos placed her hand on Jack's chin, squeezing his face and moving it side to side with her thumb and forefinger. "I just don't see the appeal. Granted, he's not offensive to look at, but he certainly holds no talent beyond that. Or is it..." she placed her face close to his, and despite knowing he wasn't real, I wanted to strangle her.

"Cut it out!" I demanded, approaching her just as this brief moment of white light shined off of me. My brows pulled together as I briefly looked at my glowing skin. After a few seconds, it dissipated, but it lasted long enough to force Chaos to look at me. I took another step forward, using her curious stare to my advantage. However, the closer I got, the smaller Chaos became. I was suddenly reminded that while her physical stature was small and diminutive, the presence she held was massive and overbearing.

"My, my," She flicked away the image of Jack as she pushed the bangs of her black pixie cut away from her eye, revealing that long scar on the left side of her face. "You get more intriguing every day."

"I don't give a damn what you find intriguing. Get out of my head. NOW!" I snapped. "Or I'll make you."

At that Chaos busted into a hearty laugh that echoed in the room. She dried her eye, laughing so hard she was crying. Then, she took one, imposing step forward and forced me to watch her eyes swirl like a lava pool at the top of a volcano. "I would seriously love to see you try. But I have other appointments to keep." She turned like she was going to leave, but then stopped. "Sooner than you think, you will join me." She jabbed, reminding me that Chaos always has something up her sleeve. "Try not to die of disease while I'm gone, Tempest."

I breathed a sigh of relief when my entire dream home brightened the moment she disappeared. That uneasy feeling I felt was small now, but...

I couldn't help but feel like something worse was on its way.