Chapter XIII

Trishan and Megina lead us to a room on the east side of the castle. They walked through the door and Florian, Samantha, and I followed by opening the door. Samantha and I walked in and I smiled.

Florian stopped short, eyes large and starring at the spirit form in the small bed. The small male spirit had pitch black hair the color of a raven’s feather, and pale, soft skin. All of these characteristics had been paled by the boy’s death. If he would have been standing he would have been five feet and ten inches tall.

“Oh Gods…” his eyes began to water with tears and he quickly walked over to the bed. He sank down to his knees beside it. “Shadow?” Florian carefully put his hand on the spirit’s arm.

“We’ve tried to wake him…” said Megina. “But… nothing not even a groan or twitch.”

Florian was silent.

“Maybe he wants to pass on…” I suggested.

“No!” Florian exclaimed, he let out a sob. “He wouldn’t! I promised him I’d get him back! And he promised… that he would wait for me…” Florian said. He turned his head to me. “He promised me!” he yelled. Tears rolled freely down his face. Florian turned back to Shadow and leaned over him. He squeezed his eyes shut and a few tears dripped onto Shadow’s white face.

I looked down sadly and closed my eyes. Florian had never cried like this, at least not recently. Besides the occurrence of Shadows death, I couldn’t remember a time when Florian had cried this much. Except when his mother had died from a horrible rare vampire virus. He refused to emerge from his coffin for almost three weeks.

Samantha looked at him sympathetically.

“Hmmn…”

Florian gasped and my head snapped up so sharply if I had been a human it would have killed me. I walked quickly to the bed and looked down at the awaking Shadow.

The spirits midnight blue eyes were barely open and he was trying to lift a pale hand. “Flor…why are you crying?” came the innocent voice that I knew too well to be Shadow’s. He placed a hand on Florian’s left cheek.

Florian shivered at the touch, but placed his right hand over Shadow’s. “You’re so cold Shai-chan.”  

Shadow smiled at the use of his pet name. “But I don’t feel cold.” then he looked around the room, “Hi Jashin!” he said happily

I lifted a hand in greeting, smiling sadly. See when you die and become a spirit there is usually a loved one there to tell you that you have died and how. Because you don’t know that you have died.

Florian looked at him sadly. “Shadow… love…” he started. He swallowed and ran a hand through his hair and then took Shadow’s hands in his own. “Do you remember what happened that night in my room three weeks ago? Anything at all?”

Shadow blushed. “Yes… we had made love, but that’s all I remember.”

A tear slipped down Florian’s cheek. “This isn’t easy to say Shadow… that night my father…he…he killed you Shadow. You’re dead…”

Shadow’s eyes were large and he shook his head in disbelief. “No…Flor quit kidding around…” Shadow paused, as if remembering a long forgotten memory.

“You remember, don’t you?” Florian asked and Shadow nodded slowly. “Then you remember how much I cried… and that I promised you that I would bring you back…”

Tears welled up in Shadow’s eyes. “Oh Flor…” he wrapped his arms around Florian’s neck. “I’ve been so scared… I’ve missed you…” Shadow buried his face in Florian’s neck. “I never thought that you would come for me…”

Florian wrapped his arms around the frail boy’s waist and held him close. He carefully stood up and sat on the bed with Shadow in his lap. “It’s ok now klotaro(1)… I’m here and I’ll never leave you again.”

The room was silent except for the sound of Shadow’s sobs and the calm breathing coming form Samantha. It was amazing how much they loved each other. Not even death could separate them. I wanted to help Shadow, and there was only one way, and I was one of the very few vampires that knew the spell to do it. It was a very old dark magic spell that Sire Alacun had taught me years ago. It was a forbidden magic spell that you need the approval of seven Elders in order to follow through with it. There were only ten Elders, and very few believed in dark magic, this task was indeed a tough one to accomplish.