The Wandering Shadow: Chapter Seven
7 As Will and Jenna followed David through the winding streets back toward the port, Will made sure to keep a close eye on the man. He knew that if David really wanted to be rid of them he could be gone before they knew what had happened. But he was paying attention for different reasons. He was trying to get a gauge for what kind of person David was. It was obvious that the man didn't care about much--if anything--outside of his own whims. He only seemed to care about doing what he had to preserve his own existence. He also appeared largely unconcerned about anything, a perpetual smile plastered on his face. Outside of that, Will couldn't read him. As though sensing Will's stare, David looked back over his shoulder and asked, "Are you quite alright back there? You seem rather quiet." Will nodded. "Fine. Just don't have much to say." "Right...well I suppose I'll have to be the sociable one then, won't I?" Will sighed. "If you insist." Will's vision shifted and suddenly he felt a weight across his shoulders. David was standing beside him, one arm draped over him. Yet another illusion. "So then, question the first. Why in god's name are you wearing a cloak?" Will slipped out from under David's arm before he replied. "It's something from a friend back home. It's meant to protect me from...well pretty much any weather." "And how's that working out?" "Fine. Can't say I've really noticed, but then I guess that's the point." David nodded. "Right. So then, why a gun and a sword? Seems like one would be enough. Actually, can you even use either of those?" Will rolled his eyes. "Of course I can. Well, I can use the gun at least. Standard part of I.O.M.E. training is the use of firearms. As for the sword...not technically. I understand the principles...but I've never really trained with a blade." David laughed. "So basically it's just a meter long piece of decorative steel. Why do you have it then?" "Sometimes a gun isn't enough to defend yourself with." "Defend against what exactly? The forces of practicality?" "And what do you use to fight then?" Will countered. David let out an amused snort. "Do I seem like the fighting sort to you mate? Cause I'll tell you what, I'm a bloody coward. I'm not ashamed of it either. Cowards, we're the ones who get to live to old age. Why fight when I can run while tricking a man into thinking he's killed me? My illusions are all I need to survive." Will shook his head. "That'll only get you so far. You can't run forever." "Well yeah, but I can certainly try, can't I?" "I suppose. How do your illusions even work anyway? Is it light manipulation? Or do you actually alter peoples' minds?" David gave a knowing smile. "Ah...trying to figure out the trick, eh? Well, honestly, it's a bit of both really. When I just want to make myself invisible, I can work with light. But say I want you to believe that...oh...let's say that London was on fire. Well that's more complex. For you to believe it, I have to not just make it look like it's on fire, but it has to smell, to sound, to feel, like the very air around you is burning. For that I have to make your brain think it's sensing all those things. It's easier on less intelligent people. The complexity of the illusion also changes the difficulty." Will nodded. "Fascinating. I'd never looked much into illusionary magics, as the ability is comparatively rare, but it seems like you have quite the useful power. If only you would use it to accomplish something that was actually...useful." David shook his head. "Nah. Not my style. Being a criminal is so much more fun. Actually, I take that back. I rather prefer the word 'outlaw'. I go where I want, do what I want, and no one can say otherwise. And even if they try, I can just make 'em think I've disappeared. No muss. No fuss. Just an enjoyable life with nothing holding me down." "I think I would get tired of a life like that. Never having anywhere to call home. Always running. I don't think I could spend too long doing that." David shrugged. "Different strokes, as they say. You do strike me as more of the 'likes to come home to a wife and kids' type. I'd be willing to wager that even this trip is more than a bit outside of what you're comfortable with doing." Will nodded. "You would win that bet. If it weren't for Jenna being as she is, we probably never would have left home." Jenna nodded in agreement. She had always preferred the idea of going on adventures through the written word. While part of her was glad they were traveling and seeing new things, she still longed fro their simple quiet life back home, a sentiment Will shared. David groaned. "God you two are so dull. I couldn't spend a day stuck in one place. Let alone any extended period." Will quirked a brow. "Is that why you freaked out about the idea of going to jail?" David frowned. "I did not 'freak out'. It is perfectly reasonable to not want to be locked up and have all of your freedoms taken away from you." Will shrugged. "I suppose." "Lovely. Can we change the subject then? Just thinking of jail cells get's me...nervous." Will nodded. "Alright then. Tell us about your friend. Maxwell was it? What's he like?" "Ah...well, he's not really like me at all." Will looked to Jenna and said, "That's a blessing." Jenna made a sort of growling snuffling sound that Will realized was laughter. He hadn't heard her laugh since becoming a wolf. He hadn't even been sure she still could. David rolled his eyes. "Well aren't you just hilarious." Will smirked. "I try. So you were saying?" "Well what I was saying was that Max isn't like me. He does travel around a bit, but he actually has a job. He's an archaeologist." Jenna canted her head when she heard that. How will an archaeologist be able to help us? she wondered. Thinking along similar line Will asked, "So how does an archaeologist know how to remove energy from things?" "It's just what he does. He's what you might call a curse breaker," David explained. "He goes into old tombs and ruins and things like that, and removes energies that could be harmful to people. He actually spends a lot of time in Egypt based on what I last heard from him." Will's eyes widened. "So you mean he may not even be at his home when we get there?" David nodded. "Unfortunately that is a distinct possibility." Will stopped in his tracks and grabbed David by the collar. "So for all we know this friend of yours may not be available, and you could be full of shit, right?" David smirked. "For all you know he may not even exist. I could have just fabricated the whole thing and could be planning to rob you as we speak. Not that I am, but my point is that you don't have the luxury of knowing everything at the moment." Becoming a bit more serious he went on to say, "You're going to have to trust my word, difficult though that may be. If it turns out he's not in France, then we'll track him down. I told you before, I never break a promise. I will get you both to him, as long as you hold up your end of the deal." After a moment Will let him go and said, "Fine. But if you are lying to us...if you are screwing us in any way...I will make sure you--" "Yeah, you'll make sure I regret it. Honestly, could you be more unoriginal?" Jenna let out another growly, snuffling laugh as Will's faced flushed slightly with embarrassment. Maybe this'll be good for him, she thought, to have to work with someone so different. Might make him lighten up a bit. Trying to retain what dignity he had Will said, "It doesn't matter. Let's just keep moving, alright?" David fought back the urge to laugh. "Yeah. Sure. Let's go." The three of them started down the street again, headed in the general direction of the port. After a short while Will thought to ask, "By the way, what are we going to do about the police here on London? Won't they be after us all by now? Even though Jenna and I haven't done anything that's technically illegal." David shook his head. "Nah. I wouldn't be worried about it. Those two you ran into before were complete twits. Trust me. They still haven't given up on catching me, and they've been at it for weeks now." "Weeks huh? I though you didn't like to stay in one place for too long." David nodded. "That's true, but I can stay put for a while as long as I have the option to leave when I want. Besides, out witting those two morons at every turn was too much fun for me to really want to leave. Mind you, had they actually put someone intelligent on the job I would have left a good while ago. But, they thought I was just a pick pocket. I'd wager they regret that mistake now~." "Fair enough, I suppose. You're still an unconscionable criminal, but your reasoning makes sense." "Brilliant! Glad you can see things from my point of view. That'll make traveling together so much simpler." Will smiled tightly. "Right. Well let's not get too used to each other, alright?" David rolled his eyes. "So damn serious. Have it your way then." From that point they walked in silence. By the time they reached the port it was late in the afternoon. It didn't take them long to learn that a ship would be leaving at around sunset bound for the French city Le Havre. It seemed to be the perfect opportunity, except of course for the fact that it would mean more money spent that they really couldn't afford at that point. David laughed when they brought up the cost of tickets. "Don't worry about that. I can get us all on board." Will was more than a little skeptical. "How do you plan to do that?" "The less you know the better. Plausible deniability, you know." Jenna sighed. She could already tell where this was going, and it wouldn't end well. "Oh no you don't. We go legitimately or not at all. I'm not going to let you commit any crimes for any reason. I would rather use what little money I have than compromise my own--" "Tell me Will, how much money do you actually have?" "Well...uh...that's not really the point." David nodded. "So not much then. That's simple. Tell me, I assume--based on what little I know of you--that what you do have is pretty much all on your person at this moment, right? Don't answer, I already know I'm right. So then, in order to preserve what you have--at a time when you are not working--and maintain some financial stability, would it not make sense to take advantage of every possible opportunity to save a bit?" Will hesitated. It did make sense to save what they could. His greatest fear in all of that--aside from the thought that they may not be able to reverse Jenna's transformation--was that at the end of it all they may not have a home to return to. He wanted to avoid that if at all possible. But was that worth deception and what would likely amount to theft? Unable to decide he looked down to Jenna and asked, "What do you think?" She thought for a moment, and came to one simple conclusion. They would need to utilize every advantage they could to return their life to normal, even if it meant doing some things that would be objectionable normally. She jerked her head toward David then nodded. Whatever his idea is we should go with it, she thought. Getting her meaning Will sighed. He wasn't going to enjoy this. Looking back to David he said, "Fine. But we're not going to make a habit of this." David smiled. "We'll see. I've found desperation throws morals out the window. Let's carry on then!" As they set out to find the ship that would take them out of the city another was just arriving. Among the passengers to disembark from the ship was Logan, his form shrouded by a high collared black jacket and a wide brimmed hat. After ten days at sea he had finally arrived in London. Now he would begin to search. For his sake he was hoping that his quarry was still within the city. He had only left a day after them. He couldn't imagine they would have gotten too far. As he walked along the docks he scanned his surroundings with his one working eye. Since Carmina had given him his new power, the scarring on his face had faded away as though it had never been there at all. His eye though was still damaged. Were he still truly human it would have been limiting, but now even with one eye he could see more clearly then ever before. The darkest shadows seemed bright. The smallest details were clear to him. Only a hundred feet down the docks and he stopped cold. He had expected his search to go quickly--after all, how hard was it to find a man and a white wolf? But this was an unexpected gift. His powerfully enhanced vision could see them, just a few hundred yards away. They were about to board another ship, accompanied by someone else. He smiled. Luck was on his side. He kept his distance, watching. After a moment or two they went up the plank, boarding the ship in spite of not seeming to have shown any kind of boarding papers to the official who stood at the base of the plank. Logan scowled. He would have to follow them aboard the ship if he was to carry out his Mistress's wishes. He didn't pretend to understand her interest in these people, but he knew he didn't want to go against he orders. Losing one eye had been enough. Once he was sure they had boarded the ship he made his way across the docks, flitting from shadow to shadow until he reached the same plank they had ascended. The port official standing there stopped him from going any further, holding out an arm. "I'm sorry sir, but before you can board I'll have to ask for--" Logan gripped the man's arm and began twisting it back, causing the man to gasp in pain. "I don't have time to waste arguing with you." A small tendril of energy flowed down Logan's arm onto the official, tracing up to the top of his head and disappearing, absorbed into the top of the man's skull. Logan smiled. "You will let me on board, yes?" The man gave him a dead eyed stare for a moment then nodded compliantly. His voice had an almost mechanical quality to it as he said, "Of course sir. Please enjoy your trip." Logan released the man's arm and smiled a bit wider. "You are most gracious. I hope it will be enjoyable. It's certainly off to a promising start." Logan whistled quietly to himself as he strolled up the boarding plank, while the port official simply stood there grinning like an idiot with that same dead eyed stare. Things were off to a promising start indeed.
"So...then...you ever feel any remorse about lying like that?" David canted his head. "Like what?" Since boarding they had distanced themselves from the boarding area at Will's insistence. He didn't want to risk someone figuring out that they had used David's illusions to secure passage. Now they were seated at one of the tables that were situated out on the forward deck. Or at least David and Will were sitting at the table. Jenna was lying beside Will's chair, as the seats weren't really designed with a wolf in mind. Will jerked his head toward the other side of the ship. "You deceived that man so easily. Don't you ever feel bad about taking advantage of people like that?" David shrugged, leaning back in his chair. "It's kind of...a way of life really. I've gotten so used to it I don't really have to give it a thought anymore." "I might have known. You probably started stealing at a young age, right?" David nodded. "I had to survive if you must know. I wasn't born a criminal. I just happen to be good at it because of my natural talents." He smiled. "And of course I do find it more than just a bit enjoyable. But yeah, I started when I was young. I grew up an orphan. Had to fend for myself you know." Will quirked a brow. "You know...plenty of orphans go through life without resorting to crime." "Well, I'm not one of 'em, now am I?" Will sighed. "I suppose not." David nodded. "Exactly. Crime is like my job really. It's how I support myself. Besides, at least my work doesn't have the moral ambiguity of some jobs. Like say, for example, police work." Will scoffed. "Excuse me?" "Well, it's really quite simple. I know what I am. I know what I do. I know that my morals are a bit warped. But at least I know right and wrong in my life. But do you?" Will scowled. "Of course I do! I protect people. I make sure criminals are put away for putting innocents in harms way." David quirked a brow. "Do you now? Do you really? Haven't you ever wondered, 'did I just arrest the right person?' Have you ever spent a night at home wondering, 'is what I do really right?' Have you ever had to make the ultimate decision as to whether or not someone lives? How can there be any right answer to that? Have you ever killed anyone Will? Even to protect others?" Will remained silent, mostly because he didn't want to admit that David was right. He had taken lives over the course of his career. Sometimes it was unavoidable. Sometimes that one life had to be worth taking to prevent more people--even hundreds--from dying. It came with the territory, but that didn't make it any easier. Upon receiving no response, David chose to speak again. "I feel I should add that I actually do respect you for what you do. You have the courage to take those kinds of situations into your own hands. It's something I'm quite sure I could never do. We may not have the same views of the world, and in any other situation we would be against each other, but at least we can respect each other's points of view, right?" Will nodded slowly. "Right." They were jolted at that moment by the boat moving, finally leaving the port. The remainder of their trip passed in silence as the ship traveled down the Thames, crossed the English Channel and finally arrived in Le Havre some time after the sun had set. Making use of David's abilities once again they procured a place to stay for the night in a somewhat nice hotel, planning to begin heading south the next day. When morning came the three left Le Havre behind, traveling on a boat down the Seine to reach then city of Rouen. They left Rouen on foot shortly after noon, following a road along the Seine that quickly lead them into a forested area. After a few hours of walking under the vibrant emerald leaves of the forest canopy a thought occurred to Will. "Here's a question: why are we going to Paris on foot? Wouldn't it have made more sense to stay on the river until at least that point?" David nodded. "It would have, but I was growing rather tired of your bitching every time I used my illusions to expedite our travel." Jenna laughed and Will scowled. "You're a prick, you know that?" David shrugged. "Think what you wish." Will sighed. There was no point in arguing. The situation couldn't really be changed at that point. "So where are we anyway?" "We are in an old part of the Forêt de Rouvray or 'Forest of Rouvray', if you prefer. Most of the forest doesn't actually exist anymore, having been clear cut over the centuries. But you'll find little bits of it all along the Seine between here and Paris." Will nodded. "So then how long until we reach Paris?" David thought for a moment then said, "As things are now it'll be about two days, assuming we take adequate breaks and rest at night. Might be two and a half days." "And what about after that?" Will asked. "You've yet to tell me what our ultimate destination is." David nodded. "Right, yeah. Well, after we get to Paris we're going to start heading south toward the town of Arles. Max lives in the southern part of the city." "Great. How long until we get there?" "If we get a quicker method of travel we could be there in just a few days. On foot though...a week, if not longer." Neither Jenna nor Will found that estimate to be very encouraging. Their trip was turning into far more of a journey than they had planned. A few moments of silence passed as they wondered how long it would be before they could return home. Those few moments began to stretch on until nearly an hour had passed without any of them talking. The silence led to a rather enjoyable peace, with nothing but the sounds of nature intruding upon their thoughts. Their peace was short lived though, for the silence was broken by a woman's scream. Will's reaction was immediate, running off toward the source of the sound, leaving David and Jenna to wonder what had just happened. Looking down to Jenna David asked, "Is he always like that?" Jenna nodded. Will had an undeniable heroic streak. It often led to him charging into dangerous situations without much thought for his own well being. David sighed. "We're gonna have to go after him, aren't we?" Jenna nodded again, and without waiting for David took off in the direction Will had gone. David watched her go, reluctant to become involved in someone else's problems. He sighed again. He was already involved in the problems of others. "May as well add another then." He followed after Jenna and Will, catching up with them after only a moment or two. The two were ducked down behind a cluster of bushes. Seeing this David started to ask, "What the bloody hell is going--?" Will motioned for him to be quiet and come over to them. When David knelt beside them Will said, "There's another road just past these bushes. There's a cart on the road and it appears as though the owners of it are being robbed." David quirked a brow and pushed some of the foliage aside. It was as Will had said. There was a four-wheeled horse drawn cart in the middle of the road. There were four people around the outside. Two of them--a man and a women--were on the ground, apparently bound. The other two--both men--were standing over them, arguing about something. Pulling the leaves back into place David asked, "This isn't our problem, so let's get back on the road, shall we?" Will scowled. "Not our problem? I--you know what, I wouldn't expect any different from you." Without waiting for a response Will burst through the bushes out on to the road. David groaned. "There he goes again with the damn--" He stopped as he realized he was talking to himself. Jenna had followed after Will yet again, leaving David alone behind the bushes. He gritted his teeth and said, "Dammit, these two are going to get me killed." With less fervor than they had done he emerged from the bushes and stood beside them, much to Will's surprise. Will didn't give voice to his surprise though as he was more occupied by the two highwaymen shouting at him in angry French. The two had pulled guns and pointed them at the trio. David sighed. "I knew this was a bad idea. They're telling us to put up our hands, by the way." Will glanced at him. "You speak French?" David nodded. "Yeah, and they aren't happy. I would suggest complying...but..." A few seconds passed and the two men stopped shouting. David smirked. "That was easy. These two are pretty dumb. They think we're being nice and compliant. They also think we're standing about a meter to the left." "Excellent. Keep it that--" All three of them flinched as one of the bandits fired a shot to the left of them. Then both of them started to laugh. Will turned to David and asked, "What was that?" "Oh...er...they er...well the one thinks he just shot at Jenna and made her jump about a foot in the air." A dark look crossed Will's face. "Excuse me?" "Well he..." Will held up a hand. "Don't even bother. He'll pay for that." "Why? He didn't actually shoot her. Or even at her?" "He still made the attempt." Without another word Will drew both his sword and his gun and started walking over toward the bandits. When he reached them her pointed his gun at the one who had taken the shot and placed his blade against the neck of the other one. "David, drop the act." "You sure?" Will nodded. Both of the men were rather shocked when they realized they were now at the mercy of their would be captives. Will smiled tightly. "Now that I have your attention...David, translate for me, would you?" "What, like verbally? Or would rather I just make them hear French when you speak?" "The latter if you can do it." David nodded. "Anytime you're ready mate." "Excellent. Now I want you two to listen very carefully. I'm going to give you a chance to turn you lives around. Run. Leave this all behind you and you get away unharmed...relatively. Am I understood?" Will asked. The two men nodded. Will smiled a bit wider. "Good. Drop your weapons." They complied, albeit with obvious reluctance. "Wonderful, now before you go..." Will pointed his gun straight in the face of the one who had tried to shoot at Jenna. "You attempted to hurt the most precious thing in my world. That was a mistake." The man started shaking slightly, and Will laughed. "I'm glad you understand." In one fluid motion Will holstered his gun, pulled back, and slammed his fist into the man's jaw, sending him sprawling to the ground. Will spat in the man's general direction and said, "Now, get out of my sight." The two men exchanged a glance then the one on the ground stood and they started to walk away. Will turned to David and Jenna. "That went smoothly. Let's get these two untied, shall--" "Behind you!" Will managed to duck just in time to avoid a punch thrown by the man he had laid out a moment before. Taking advantage of his lower stance Will rammed his shoulder into the man's gut, knocking the wind out of him and sending him reeling back. Using his momentum to continue moving forward, Will wound up his arm before hitting the bandit with a full force uppercut. The man tipped backward from the force of the blow, landing on his back in the dirt. What Will didn't notice was the other bandit diving to the ground and picking up the gun he had discarded. Jenna was the only one who spotted him as he pointed his gun at Will. She felt a surge of anger, a surge of instinct. Her body acted on its own without any real thought as she surged forward, her fur rippling as her muscles moved. A dark energy began to flicker around her maw as she bared her teeth. It flowed out around her body, her whole form cloaked in shadowy black energy. Reaching the bandit she jumped at him and bit into his arm. The energy around her muzzled exploded outward in ragged bursts and the man screamed in pain. She released his arm and jumped back, growling. Her whole body was tensed like a coiled spring, waiting for what may come next. The man dropped his gun and held his arm in close to his body. Trails of smoke were rising from his flesh and the areas around the bite wounds were bleeding profusely. His skin looked as though it had been burst open from the inside, rent and torn in every possible way. His remaining skin was blackened, as though burnt. The man had an expression on his face that was part pain and part terror as he tried to push himself away from Jenna. The bandit Will had been fighting with--seeing what had happened to his partner--pushed off the ground and ran, avoiding another strike from Will before disappearing into the underbrush without so much as a backward glance. The now injured bandit did his best to stagger to his feet, nearly falling again as he started to run after the other one. Once he was gone Jenna let out a sigh of relief as the energy faded from her body. Then she tensed up all again, her eyes going wide as she realized what she had just done. She had never hurt anyone before, let alone so severely. She turned to look at the others. Will and David were both dumbstruck, and the bandits' victims were watching her with unmistakable fear in their eyes. They were scared of her. Even Will seemed nervous. She shook her head. What the hell is happening to me? What did I just do? Seeing her pain Will rushed over to her, wrapping his arms around her an holding her close. Looking over his shoulder to David he said, "Get those two untied, and make sure they aren't hurt." Seeing that David understood, Will returned his attention to Jenna, who was trembling ever so slightly. He remained quiet at first, searching fro the right thing to say. Finally he simply said, "I know you didn't mean to do that Jen. I know you would never mean to hurt someone like that. You're not...you're not responsible for that. It's this...energy inside you." She took a small amount of comfort in his words, it was true, but she still felt horrible. He's right, she thought, it's not my fault...at least not entirely. But I was still the one who did it. She didn't have much longer to think about it though as a wave of exhaustion suddenly came over her. She passed out almost immediately, her body spent from channeling that dark energy. Will was concerned for the briefest of moments when she went limp in his arms, but breathed a sigh of relief she started snoring softly. He picked her up and carried her over to the cart, where David was standing, talking to the man and woman who had been bound only moments before. "Are they alright?" Will asked. David nodded. "Yeah...uh...hold on." He continued to converse with the two for a moment before turning back to Will. "Alright, so these two--Jean and Chloe, I think--want to express their gratitude for us coming to their aid." Will nodded. "What else? That seemed like a rather lengthy conversation for just gratitude." "Yeah, well they said they'd like to repay us in some way, so I said I would ask you how they could do that." Will hesitated for a moment. As an officer he generally helped people just because it was what he did. His first instinct was to send them on their way and to tell them they owed no debt. But them something else occurred to him. "Ask...ask if they would be willing to give us a ride to Paris. I can't carry Jenna for too long, and it would make the trip a bit shorter." David nodded, turned back to Jean and Chloe, and after a brief exchange turned back to Will again. "They were on their way to Paris anyway, so they would be willing to take us. The one thing is...they aren't too thrilled with the idea of bringing Jenna along. Which...I can't say I blame them." Will scowled. "That would be a deal breaker. Tell them that Jenna won't be an issue for them. Be convincing." "You got it boss." Another brief exchange of words followed. Judging by the expressions on Chloe and Jean's faces Will was unsurprised when David said, "Alright, they agree to have her along, but if anything goes wrong we're on our own." "Good. One last thing: ask them if they speak any English." David started to ask then turned back to Will. "Why?" "Don't tell them...but we need to talk about what just happened with Jenna...and I would rather not have eavesdroppers." David nodded. "I understand." Turning to Jean and Cloe once more he simply asked, "Parlez-vous anglais?" Jena and Chloe exchanged a glance, clearly confused by the question. Though Will could easily understand if everything going on was confusing them. After a few seconds Jean shook his head. "Non." Will breathed a sigh of relief. That was at least one thing he didn't need a translation for. "Perfect. Tell them we'd like to get moving as soon as possible." David relayed the message, and the two nodded compliantly. Five minutes later they were on the road again, moving at an appreciably faster pace toward their destination.