Nephilim Quest Book 1: Shadowhunter

34. Hunters and Guardians 4/4

"But Daniel did look after you the best that he could. He was needed elsewhere on many occasions, and when he was away for an extended period, I came to look after you instead. That's why I have popped in for a visit unexpectedly in the past, and also why I came to visit you now, much to your mother's anxiety. We had not seen the shadows around you for ages, despite your light in the dreamscape and did not expect you to be in danger, so I was very surprised at the shadow that crept into your garden. Especially when it must have known I was there," Grandma said. "This shadow must have been an ancient one and very clever, to avoid being detected. And if someone sent a shadow of that kind to hunt you, it means you were in serious danger."

"Wait, there's something I don't understand... The drunk driver - was she an Immortal, then? You said she was actively trying to kill me!"

"She was an ordinary woman under shadow influence. Remember how I told you about the shadow that revealed to us the existence of the Book of Watchers? That shadow was waiting for drunken people outside a bar. Desperate, depressed drunken people. These are very close in energies to the energy from which the shadows are made, so there is not much resistance. The woman driving the car was all of that. Badly depressed and drunk. Shadows can control such people. It's like piggy-back riding. They glue themselves to the person who is in that state, and find a way to connect to the lower levels of their mind. Once the connection is made, they can basically just think what they want the person to do, and they are directed to do it. And that was the case here, too. The shadow told the woman to get in her car and drive, despite her intoxication, and she obeyed."

For the first time I felt sorry for the lady who had killed Kitty. I had had no idea that shadows could do that... well, I had not known of shadows at all.

"Still, I find it strange that they wanted to kill you..." Grandma was almost talking to herself. Then she suddenly changed the subject. "But that's enough of that for now. Let's tell you about the Hunters. To be a Hunter you need to have second sight. That means you need to be able to see the shadows with your physical eyes. It is a skill not everyone can learn. It is an ability many children have, but they actively want to leave that skill when they grow up. Some still see them as grown-ups, and usually doubt their own sanity because of it. The ones who do, and whom we approach, are usually relieved to hear the shadows are real, and not imaginary creatures. These people are given proper training to kill shadows. To say they are enthusiastic about their jobs, after years of fear and misery, would be something of an understatement to be honest."

"They cut the cord..."

"Yes. It can be cut with ordinary weapons too, if the shadow's master isn't paying much attention to its activities and we can take it by surprise. But when the connection is strong, the Shadowmaster can put up quite a fight. They push more energy into their creature - it's a two-way process, they can also take some of the power that these energy-vampires suck into themselves. When the Shadowmaster is fully aware of what's happening, they turn their creature into a veritable killing machine. I just wonder why the teenage preference is to make them look like something out of a bad horror movie..."

"Do - do the Shadowmasters ever appear themselves?"

"Only as a last resort. They don't want to risk their immortality, and prefer to let the shadow go, and create a new one. After all, if the shadow is destroyed, the energy they have given it just reels back in to them. It can be hurled back with quite a snap, and it's not pleasant, but they survive it, I have been told."

"I could see that shadow in the garden," I said, "so do you think I will be a Hunter, then?"

"Maybe. We need to test your skills in seeing them some more. That means we need to go to the city one evening, to a place where they like to lurk, and see if you can see them for real, or whether the shadow in the garden had simply been made more solid. A Hunter sees them in their 'stealth mode' too." Grandma was chatting almost casually.

For a brief moment I wondered what other people of my age were talking about with their grandmothers. Certainly not other levels of existence, vampires and shadows... fleetingly, the thought of discussing flower arrangements and theatre and recipes seemed rather alluring compared to the facts of the hidden reality I was being exposed to.

"Was that invisible person in the bookstore a shadow, then?" I asked.

Grandma started laughing.

 "No, that would have been Daniel, who came too close to the veil between the lowest buffer zone and our physical world. At the very edge of the buffer zone it can happen that a person standing there appears as a form that seems to be molded out of thin air. One step closer and he would have shown as a more solid form, if still a rather shadowy one. A bit of a creepy sight, isn't it? An invisible man..." she grinned, before continuing, "We need to take Daniel with us on that trip to the city, though. It is potentially very dangerous and things can turn ugly."

"When are we going?" I turned to Grandma.

"There's no better moment than the present!" Grandma slapped her hand over mine gently but encouragingly. "We'll leave after we have eaten dinner. You'll be in safe hands with me and Daniel."

I could only hope Daniel would agree to come with us, after my breaching of the wing-etiquette...

xxxx

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