{"sf1_id":848557,"sf2_id":null,"title":"The Wandering Shadow: Chapter Fourteen","author":"LucarioZer0","words":5502,"posted_at":"2015-04-17T00:47:00.000Z","tags":["Clean","Human","Magic","Plot Development","Story Progression","Vampire","Wolf","egypt"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/848557-the-wandering-shadow-chapter-fourteen","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/848557","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=848557\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"14\nWhen Will woke he felt confusion before anything else. Why is the sun coming in from the wrong direction?\nHe wondered. That's not where our\nwindow is.\nA quick look around jogged his memory. They weren't in their own bed in\ntheir little apartment. No, he and Jenna were halfway around the world, staying\nin the home of a man they had only met the day before.\nThe room was sparsely decorated, with the only furniture being a simply\ndresser made of a light colored wood, a body length mirror in one corner, and\nthe bed they occupied. There wasn't anything else for him to see, thus his eyes\nfell upon Jenna.\nShe was still sound asleep beside him, snoring softly in the form of a\nwhite wolf, with but a single stripe of copper colored fur running from her\nforehead, down her back, and to the tip of her fluffy wolf tail. Aside from the\nblack of her nose and pink of her paw pads, the only other color present on her\nwas the piece of what had once been her favorite green dress that was tied\naround her neck.\nAs he looked over her, it occurred to him that his mental image of her\ntrue form had already become a bit hazy. He had become so used to the sight of\nher as an animal, that it was starting to be all he saw when he closed his eyes\nand thought of her.\nThat was what he chose to do then, closing his eyes, but instead of just\nthinking of her, he though of how she truly was. He flaming orange hair. Her\npale skin which would have been flawless where it not for the light layer of\nfreckles, that he admittedly didn't even think of as a flaw--in fact he found\nthem rather cute. Then there was her smile, an act of not just her lips, but of\nher eyes as well, sparkling like emeralds. Yes, he could see her clearly now,\nas though she were standing before him.\nThen he opened his eyes, and reality retook its hold on his senses. He\nleaned back against the headboard, sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Reality, he mused, is not all it's cracked up to be. It's uncaring and cruel, and will do\neverything to stand in the way of your happiness.\nHe shook his head, and sighed again. It wouldn't do any good to think\nlike that. He didn't have the time anyway. They needed to spend as much of\ntheir time as they could on scouring Max's library for any information that\ncould help them.\nDeciding to let Jenna sleep a bit longer, Will slid out from under the\ncovers, leaving her where she lay. Moving as quietly as he could, he strode across\nthe cool wooden floor to stand before the mirror. He crossed his arms and\nlooked over his reflection. Jenna wasn't the only one who had changed.\nHis hair was longer, and while he was normally clean shaven he now\nsported a thin layer of rough facial hair. His skin was notably darker than\nnormal, tanned by hours spent traveling. He had also lost virtually all excess\nbody fat, giving him a gaunt appearance. Of course, he hadn't had much fat to\nbegin with, as it was a requirement of his job that he stay in good physical\ncondition. It was still an obvious difference though, and made him look almost\nlike a different person. He struggled for a moment or two to come up with the\nright words to describe the changes. Then it came to him, and seemed all too\nobvious.\n\"I'm like a shadow of myself,\" he whispered.\nThat was it exactly. He was a shadow, clinging to the memory of his\nformer life, when so much had changed already that their past may be just that:\na memory. Much as he hated to admit it, if Jenna couldn't be changed back,\ntheir life as they once knew it could never be recovered. Will gritted his\nteeth. He had to try to stay positive. If he believed it was a lost cause, then\nit most certainly was.\nHe was taken away from his thoughts by the sound of Jenna yawning behind\nhim. He looked over his shoulder to see her at the apex of her morning stretch,\ntail stiff and raised high in the air. She then sat and looked over to him,\nfavoring him with what was as close to a smile as she could come.\nHe smiled in return. \"Good morning. How're you feeling?\"\nShe wagged her tail in response. She was feeling pretty good, as she was\ntruly hopeful for the first time since they had left London. Though the\nprevious day hadn't yielded any results, she knew they still had plenty of\nopportunity to find some information that could help Max to reverse her\ncondition. To her mind, it was just a matter of time.\nWill smiled again, happy that--if nothing else--she was in a good mood.\n\"Alright then. Just let me change, and we'll head downstairs.\"\nFive minutes later they walked into Max's dining room, where David was\nalready seated with a bored look on his face. They could also detect the smell\nof breakfast in the air. Apparently Max was cooking for them all.\nDavid looked over when he noticed them, his expression going unchanged.\n\"So you two are up then. Sleep well? You know, in the actual bed you got while\nI was stuck on a sofa.\"\nWill rolled his eyes as he pulled out a chair for Jenna, then for himself\nas he took a seat at the table. \"Do you have to be so self centered? I mean\nreally, do you?\"\n\"Oh yeah...I'm self centered. Not like you after all. 'Poor me, my\ngirlfriend's a wolf, won't everyone drop their lives to help me with my\nproblems?' Don't act like you're better than me.\"\nJenna growled and Will scowled. \"Maybe you should just be quiet. I can't\nguarantee one of us won't do something regrettable if you keep talking like\nthat.\"\nDavid scoffed. \"Whatever.\"\nDavid said nothing else after that, and in fact made a point of also avoiding\neye contact with Will and Jenna. Several minutes of awkward silence passed\nuntil Max walked in from the kitchen, carrying two plates of food. He smiled\nwidely when he saw Will and Jenna. \"Ah, I'm glad to see you two are awake!\nYou're doing well I hope?\"\nWill smiled back, a bit less enthusiastically. \"Yeah, we're both fine.\nJust anxious to get started with today.\"\nMax nodded. \"Yes, I was thinking about that. Let me go get a plate for\neach of you, and we can talk over breakfast.\"\nThe archaeologist laid one plate in front of David, and another in front\nof an empty chair. He then walked back into the kitchen then returned a moment\nlater with two more plates, setting one in front of each of them. Max then took\na seat and they all spent a few minutes eating in silence.\nMax then spoke, the words coming between mouthfuls. \"Now, I was thinking\nlate last night that the issue Jenna faces may not be a new one. It could be\nthat there is some ancient knowledge of her transformation--well, not her transformation specifically, but\nthere could have been others like it at some point in history, and if there\nwere, we could gain some useful information that would help me to reverse\nwhat's been done to her.\"\nWill nodded. \"So what are you suggesting?\"\n\"Well, we don't display everything we recover at the Museum. Some of it\ngets stored away for future study. It's possible that somewhere among the\nancient texts we've preserved, there could be reference to such magics.\"\n\"Right...but how would we go about reading them? I mean, I'm sure you would\nbe able to, but the rest of us can't, as far as I know.\"\nMax smiled a sly smile. \"Ah, well as it happens, I can't read them\neither. But, that shouldn't be an issue.\"\nWill paused with his fork an inch from his mouth. He set the utensil down\nand gave Max a confused look. \"Would you care to...\" he gestured vaguely, \"...explain\nthat?\"\nMax chuckled and tapped the rim of his glasses. \"I don't need these to\nsee. I can see as well as I have since I was your age. No, these glasses are\nspecial. When I started my career, I realized that there were simply too many\nancient languages for me to learn them all. So, I commissioned a friend I met\nwhile at university to make a few pairs of these glasses for me. They translate\nany language into one that the wearer can read.\"\n\"How the hell do they do that?\"\nMax shrugged, smiling sheepishly. \"Damned if I know. It's not my area of\nexpertise. But I know that they work. And I have enough spares that all of us\nshould be able to read through those ancient texts.\"\nWill flashed an astonished smile and looked to Jenna, who appeared\nlikewise impressed. She wagged her tail once then both looked back to Max. \"That's\namazing. So can you bring them here for us to read?\"\nMax shook his head. \"Unfortunately no. You'll have to accompany me to the\nMuseum so that we might be able to look over all the material together. There\nis the potential to make our work take longer, but if my hunch pays off, we\ncould gain valuable information from the endeavor.\"\nWill was less than optimistic about taking a day--or more--away from Max's\nlibrary, but he couldn't argue with the logic. \"Well...if it pays off I suppose\nit's worth it. We'll leave after breakfast then?\"\nMax nodded. \"As soon as we can yes, if we're to make any sufficient\nprogress.\"\nJenna wagged her tail, and Will smiled. \"Excellent.\"\nDavid broke his self imposed silence, muttering under his breath. \"Oh\nyeah, bloody excellent. More time spent in this damn desert, unable to leave\nwhen I should already be gone.\"\nThough the others had in fact heard him, they elected by unspoken consent\nto ignore his comments. Within the hour they were all out the door, some more\nwillingly than others.\n***\nDown a dark alley on the other side of the city someone else was\npartaking in a morning meal, but this was one of far more sinister connotation,\nwith the Anubis' Shadow--still possessing the body of the Museum security\nguard--hunched over the spastically twitching form of its newest victim. A\nmoment or two passed before the body lay still, and the Shadow rose to the full\nheight allowed by its current vessel. It turned to look down the alley where\nLogan stood, arms crossed and leaning against the wall. The Shadow contorted\nits vessel's mouth into a sickening smile. \"I do believe I'm done here\nNightstalker. A few more like this one, and I will be strong enough to proceed.\"\nLogan nodded as he pushed off from the wall. \"Right then. As many as you\nneed, just as long as you don't forget why I'm helping you.\"\nThe Shadow laughed the laugh of the soulless. \"Worry not, Nightstalker. I\nhaven't forgotten our bargain. I only want to recover my strength.\"\nNear as Logan could tell, the Shadow had already built a significant\namount of strength. Since the previous night it had devoured the life force of\nfive people, counting the one it had just finished off. This was rapidly\nbecoming evident in its appearance. Where before the possessed guard had shown\nonly a faint black aura around his form he was now becoming coated in a layer\nof black energy to thick to see through. Thus far it had grown to cover most of\nthe lower half of the guard's body, as well as an offshoot of energy forming a\njackal like 'tail'. From the base of the tail there traced a single tendril of\nenergy, protecting the guards spine and flowing up to intermingle with the\nguard's hair. His hands and lower arms were likewise covered giving him claws\nand a layer of armor.\nYet none of it was really the guard's, all of it being an extension of\nand possession of the Shadow. And even as Logan watched, the energy began to\nspread, drawing from the Shadow's most recent meal. The energy on the arms\nflowed up to cover the shoulders and cover the upper half of the guard's chest\nand his neck, leaving only his face and midsection visible.\nThe Shadow looked through its vessel's eyes at the changes, and smiled. \"Yes,\nthis is progressing nicely. It will take some time to rebuild the full extent\nof my former power, but even now there are few who could match my strength.\"\nIt looked over to Logan, still smiling that dark smile. \"Let us proceed.\nThere's no point in wasting any more time here.\"\nLogan agreed, and the two set off through the darker parts of the city to\nfind further people to satisfy the Shadow's hunger.\n***\nThe day was warm but not hot, in a pleasant way that was unexpected to\nsay the least. Jenna especially found it likeable, glad that she didn't feel as\nthough she were overheating for the first time since they had arrived in Egypt.\nShe yawned lazily as she watched the city go by from her usual place in the\nback of the cart. Will was seated beside her, and Max was opposite them, the\ntwo talking back and forth about something she hadn't bothered to pay any\nattention. David sat--albeit reluctantly--on the driver's bench, urging Vincent\nforward, the grey shire colt seeming to share David's lack of enthusiasm.\nJenna was unconcerned with any of them though, because she felt happy.\nThings finally seemed to be going their way, even if only a little.\nAnd yet...\nUnder all that, she hadn't forgotten. She knew how bad things were, and\nshe certainly wasn't deluding herself into believing that they were guaranteed\nto find a solution. If anything, she knew how unlikely it was. But she still\nfelt happy, in spite of all that.\nWhen they entered Tahrir Square Jenna sat upright looking to the Museum.\nShe couldn't place it, but her instincts told her something was wrong. Between\nher sudden movement and David muttering 'oh shit', Max and Will couldn't help\nbut look.\nThe Museum was roped off with Police tape and there were a number of\nofficers--both Cairo and M.E.L.D.--outside the building. Max was dumbstruck,\nunable to put words to his emotions, his mouth moving soundlessly. It was\ninconceivable to him that anyone would dare commit any crime against the\nMuseum.\nThey pulled to a stop in front of the Museum, Vincent snorting with\ndiscomfort at being in the midst of the crowds of people who stood just beyond\nthe barrier, starring at the crime scene.\nThe four of\nthem left the cart behind and approached the barrier, being immediately stopped\nby a man in an M.E.L.D. uniform. He took one look at them and called to another\nnearby officer in Egyptian. The other officer--also M.E.L.D.--came jogging over.\nHe spoke English, though with a light accent. \"I'm sorry but you uh...you'll have to leave.\nWe're dealing with a major crime scene here.\"\nWill rolled his eyes. \"Uh huh.\"\nHe pointed to Max. \"He works here at the Museum, and could provide\nhelpful information. And if that's not enough...\"\nWill shifted his cloak to one side and shifted through his bag for a\nmoment before pulling out his badge. \"Lieutenant William Keller. I can be of\nservice here, and these people are with me.\" Remembering Jenna's nonhuman form\nhe added, \"Oh and uh...the wolf is with me too.\"\nThe officer snapped to attention, saluting. \"Apologies Lieutenant. Had I\nknown--\"\nWill waved  hand dismissively. \"At\nease. Now, who's the ranking officer on site?\"\n\"Actually sir, I am.\"\nWill smiled. \"Excellent. I'll be taking over from here Sargent.\"\nThe Sargent hesitated then nodded compliantly. \"Yes sir. But, if you\ndon't mind my asking, what are you doing in Cairo?\"\nWill answered quickly with a simple lie, knowing the truth would cause\nmore harm than good. \"Vacation. Me and my pet here came to visit a couple of\nold friends,\" he said, pointing back to David and Max.\nJenna's ears splayed out at being called a pet. It was necessary sure,\nbut she still didn't like it.\nThe Sargent nodded. \"Very well then. Would you like me to brief you sir?\"\n\"Yes, but do it on the way to the actual crime scene.\"\n\"Yes sir. Follow me.\" He turned and started toward the Museum, the four\nof them a few steps behind.\nAs they walked David leaned over to Will and said, \"I have to admit, it's\nwas pretty amusing, seeing you walk in here and just...take over like that.\"\nWill smirked. \"Yes, he did seem a bit flustered. Does this mean you're\ndone being a jackass?\"\n\"Probably not. I still don't want to be here. But how did you know he was\na Sargent? And how is he the ranking officer here?\"\n\"Pretty simple really,\" Will explained, \"With M.E.L.D. officers you can\ntell rank based on the number of stars on their uniform, just below the badge.\nAs far as ranking systems go, in a case under M.E.L.D.'s jurisdiction, we\nautomatically outrank everyone on site. We carry a lot of weight in the world.\"\nDavid nodded, impressed to say the least.\nThe Sargent looked over his shoulder and cleared his throat. \"Now to call\nthis event unusual would be...putting it lightly.\"\nWill quirked a brow. \"Isn't it always when we get involved?\"\nThe Sargent nodded. \"True sir. To start from the beginning, the opening\nstaff for the Museum came in and found a body up on the second floor. One of\nthe nighttime security guards. One of the relics was also stolen.\"\nBehind them Max made a distressed sound--a sort of whimper--but it went\nignored when Will asked, \"Any other know casualties?\"\n\"No sir, not as of yet.\"\n\"And it was just the one relic taken?\"\n\"Correct.\"\nBy that time they had made it to the second floor, and Will felt as\nthough something had been dropped into the pit of his stomach. They were headed\nright for the wing of the Museum dedicated to magical artifacts. If even one\nhad been stolen it could be catastrophic. Now he knew why M.E.L.D. had been\ncalled in.\nHe gritted his teeth and did his best not to react when he saw the crime\nscene. The guard's body had already been moved, replaced by a chalk drawing on\nthe ground. The lack of any officers in the immediate area told him that the\nscene had likely already been thoroughly investigated. But what most drew his\neye were the shattered glass and the now open alcove in the wall. The amulet\nthat Max had shown them was gone.\nWill turned to the archaeologist. \"I warned you.\"\nMax's shoulders slumped. \"I...I never thought this would happen.\"\nWill turned back to the Sargent. \"Anything else to tell me?\"\nHe shook his head. \"No sir. We...\" He hesitated then said, \"We have yet to\ndetermine the uh...cause...of death, or the reasons for the artifact being taken.\"\nWill rolled his eyes. \"What's the cause of death?\"\nAgain, the Sargent hesitated. \"Sir, forgive me, but I don't think it\nwould be appropriate to discuss in front of civilians.\"\n\"I'll deal with the repercussions if there are any. Now, enlighten me of\ncause of death. And that is an order.\"\nThe Sargent cleared his throat. \"This is highly irregular sir...and I would\nlike to go on record as protesting this order.\"\n\"Noted. Now proceed.\"\n\"It was vampirism sir.\"\nWill gulped, feeling a surge of anxiety, but managed to maintain his\ncomposure. \"Very well. You can go Sargent. I'd like to take a look over things\nhere for myself before I give any further orders.\"\n\"Are you sure you wouldn't like me to stay sir?\"\nWill shook his head. \"No. I want you to deal with getting everyone ready\nto move out of here. Local officers can deal with clean up here. We need to\nwork on finding the culprit. And for god's sake, don't start a panic.\"\nThe Sargent saluted and walked out, leaving the four of them behind. One\nhe was out of earshot Will shook his head, saying, \"Dammit. I warned them.\"\nDavid gave him a curious look. \"What's wrong with you?\"\n\"Those damn idiots in Alexandria. They didn't think a vampire would be an\nissue in Egypt, but here's the proof.\"\n\"You think it's the same one from the ship?\"\nWill nodded. \"I do. It's the most likely explanation.\"\n\"Right...but why would he be here?\"\n\"I...I'm not sure.\" Will admitted. \"There's any number of reasons. But I\ndon't think that's the important part. What's important is that we find him,\nand the amulet.\"\nMax, lost in his grieving up to the point finally spoke up. \"I\nwholeheartedly agree! We need to recover the amulet and return it here to the\nMuseum!\"\nWill turned on him, his face contorted in anger. \"To the Museum? Are you\ninsane? It needs to be destroyed! We don't know what it's capable of, or where\nit is. No one can be allowed near it. No one should be offered that\ntemptation.\"\nMax was all too ready to protest. \"But--\"\nWill cut him off, not interested in hearing an argument. \"No. This isn't\nyour decision. It's dangerous, and if it gets activated, we could all be in\nserious trouble. Now, you're going to leave this to people qualified to handle\nit. Am I clear?\"\nMax stuttered for a moment with no coherency before he finally found his\nvoice. \"I...I have opened my home to you, and offered to help you with\nJenna--neither of which I had to do--and this is how you show your gratitude?\"\nWill shook his head. \"This has nothing to do with gratitude, Maxwell.\nThis is a matter of protecting the safety of everyone in this city, including\nyou. I don't want to upset you, but sometimes sacrifices need to be made. I'm\nsorry but you're just going to have to accept that.\"\nThe archaeologist stood there for a moment, silent and wrapped in his own\nthoughts. Then he sighed deeply, clenching his fist a few times. \"Very well. I\ndon't like it, but...I...can see the need...if only to protect people.\"\nWill nodded. \"Good. Now, can you tell me anything else about the amulet?\nOr anything that could be helpful?\"\nMax shook his head. \"No. I told you everything when I showed it to you\nyesterday. I can't believe how quickly things went downhill. Two guards dead.\nOne of our most valuable relics taken.\"\nWill placed a hand on his shoulder. \"It'll be alright. Well not for the\nguards but--\"\nWill stopped cold. \"The guards. Plural. But there was only one body.\"\nDavid walked over to them. \"So what? Does that make a difference? Maybe\none was...on break or something.\"\nWill shook his head. \"No, I doubt it.\"\nMax nodded in agreement. \"They don't take breaks. If he was here, he was\nat his post.\"\nWill gulped. \"Max, do you know what guards were working last night?\"\n\"No, but I can get the information.\"\n\"Good. Do that, and take the information to the Sargent. Tell him to send\nout search parties for the missing guard.\"\nMax nodded. \"Alright, anything else?\"\n\"Not now.\"\nWithout another word Max set off. David watched him go and asked, \"Do you\nreally think the missing guard is important? I mean, what if the vampire\njust...dragged him off to eat later?\"\nWill sighed. \"That could be the case, but I doubt it. Not only that...but\nthe vampire may not be the only issue...if that amulet can really drain life\nforce from people...we may be looking at a lot of deaths.\"\n\"So what's the plan then?\"\n\"I'm not sure. It would be best to create a quarantine area in the city.\nClose off roads. Problem is a vampire can be hard to deal with. They move like\nshadows, even during the day. Sometimes you can't even see them, or you'll just\nsee a blur of a shadow. But we can deal with that later. Right now, we need to\ngo talk to the Sargent...and get to the city's M.E.L.D. office. From there, we\ncan coordinate the rest of this. The most important thing is to make sure\npeople are safe.\"\nDavid sighed. \"Alright then. You know, being around you two must be\nhaving a bad influence on me. I'm actually starting to care about people.\nBloody awful feeling.\"\nWill shook his head. \"Now isn't the time for jokes. We need to get\nmoving.\"\n\"Lead on then boss.\"\nWill turned and walked out David following behind.\nJenna hesitated for a moment. Through all that had been said she had\nlistened intently, and had come to one conclusion: she didn't want Will to get\ninvolved. It wasn't only because it would take away from the time they could be\nspending on researching a cure for her, which was bad enough. No, she was\nworried about what could happen to him. She had already lsot so much...if she\nlost him...\nShe shook her head. She didn't dare think about it. Seeing she was\nrapidly falling behind, she took off after them hoping everything would turn\nout alright.\n***\nAs the hours passes the situation showed little improvement. Though\nCairo's main roads had been blockaded--along with most of the minor ones as\nwell--there simply weren't enough officers in the city to deal with the manhunt\nthey had all undertaken. The city's police force and M.E.L.D.'s officers were\nspread thin, creating entirely too large gaps in their search patterns,\ncertainly large enough for a person or two to slip through.\nTo compound this lack of manpower, there was growing dissent in the city,\nthe population quickly catching on to how bad things must be, but frustrated\nwith the lack of answers they had received. There had already been a few near\nriots, with aggressive citizens nearly riling up the more passive people, and\neach passing hour made the tension in the air all the more palpable.\nPerhaps the greatest thing weighing on the mind of every officer in the\ncity though, was time, and how little they had. Already a number of other\nbodies had been found in dark alleys and secluded corners all through the city.\nSo far six victims had been found, which counting the original guard, brought\nthe number up to seven, though it was suspected that there were more as yet\nundiscovered. Perhaps most unsettling about the corpses was that--though they\nbore the majority of the signs associated with vampiric assault--there were no\npuncture wounds anywhere on the bodies. All ranking officers had been informed\nof the dangers posed by the stolen amulet, and they had all agreed on one\nconclusion: it was active, and it was taking lives, just as a vampire might,\nbut without the need to come into physical contact with the victims.\nThis revelation raised its own questions. How many people could be killed\nby the artifact's power at once? What was its range? What was happening to the\nlives it stole? Could the power be unleashed in some way?\nSo many vital questions, and yet no one had answers, not even Max, the\nonly person who could be remotely called an expert on the subject.\nAll of this information played through Will's mind again and again as he\nwalked through the city, keeping an eye out for anything, anything at all that\nwould give them a lead. Jenna and David followed behind him, both of them\nkeeping a vigilant eye out as well in the case that Will should miss something.\nAlready it was late in the day, and the city was filled with ever growing\nshadows cast by buildings blocking the sun's light. This they knew would make\nit all the more difficult to see what they were looking for, if it was even\nthere to be seen.\nAs he walked, Will kept one hand on his gun, ready to draw at a moment's\nnotice. He honestly didn't believe he would need it though. He felt that the\nodds of them actually running into the vampire were rather low, especially\nwhile the sun was still up. So far the creature had evaded everyone in the\ncity, and had a generous head start on them if he had in fact already left\nCairo behind. Still, Will knew they had to try, even though answers were\npresently more scarce than gold.\nIn his mind one of the most important questions was still that of the\nmissing Museum security guard. If the guard was simply dragged off by the\nvampire to be killed later, then they had to find the body. But if something\nmore were going on, like if the two were somehow working together, it could\nhave far darker implications.\nHe heard David sigh behind him. \"You know what? I'm starting to think\nthis whole thing is pointless. I mean honestly, what are the odds of us\nactually finding anything? If this vampire is found, it'll only be because he\nwants to be found.\"\nWill stopped walking, the other two stopping a short distance behind him.\nHe thought for a moment then nodded. \"Unfortunately, I think I agree. He's\nproven he can hide well, and even if he is still in the city, we aren't likely\nto find him.\" Will shook his head. It was all looking rather bleak.\nDavid took a moment to respond, a bit surprised that Will was actually\nagreeing with him. \"Yeah...exactly. So what're we gonna do then?\"\nJenna sat and watched as Will tried to come up with an answer. She\nhad--despite her misgivings about Will being involved in such dangerous goings\non--been admittedly interested to see how he handled himself out in the field.\nShe had never seen him at work before, at least outside of visiting him in the\noffice once or twice. To her, he was almost a different person. He was still\nmostly him, but there was a greater sense of purpose to everything he did, as\nthough the fate of the world were at stake. In\na way, she thought, I suppose to him\nit is. He takes everything seriously when it comes to protecting people. It's\nwhy he's good at it. She felt a stir of pride in her heart, glad to know\nthat what he did really did make a difference.\nFinally coming to an answer a minute later, Will turned and started back\nthe way they came. \"We may as well return to the center of the search grid. I\nwant to see if anyone has found anything, and we can't do much here anymore.\nWho knows, maybe we'll get lucky and find something along the way back.\"\nThe other two nodded in agreement and all three set off toward the center\nof the city.\n                                                                  ***\nThe Shadow of Anubis smiled to itself as it watched them go by, amused to\nsay the least. It couldn't help but enjoy that none of the humans in the\ncity--not a single one!--knew what it truly was. No, they though the amulet\nitself was the thing that was killing, as opposed to it being the Shadow itself.\nIt would have to change that misperception soon.\nIt had more or less rebuilt its strength to a satisfying level, and it\nshowed. The guard possessed by the Shadow was almost completely covered in\ndense black energy--which now held an almost fur like appearance--with only the\nlower half of his face still exposed. The only other color present on his form\nwas the gold amulet, situated squarely in the middle of the chest, only just\nvisible beneath a thinner layer of black, and edged in spike like protrusions.\nPerhaps the most prominent feature--aside from the energy itself--was the\nstructure that had formed on the guard's head. The Shadow--ever so fond of the\nshape of its namesake god--had molded the energy surrounding the guard's head\ninto the shape of a jackal's head, with the tall ears and long snout that the\nforms called for. Another meal or two and it would change again, the energy\nobscuring the guard's face completely and forming a muzzle. Only then would the\nShadow consider itself truly reborn, when all vestiges of its vessel were\nburied beneath that umbral layer.\nSoon. Then it would complete the witch's pointless errand, and then...yes,\nthen, it would be able to pick up where it had left off, so many countless ages\nago.\nIt smiled a bit wider. For now, it\nthought, For now I shall return to the\nNightstalker...and when the moment is right, this city...all these weak little\nhumans...they shall form the first realm of my new dominion."}