Walking Among the Shadows: Awakening: Revised Edition (35 page)

I hesitated, but eventually
sat next to her. It was still hard to look at her after hearing everything she
had to say. She reached over and held my face in her hands and kissed me on the
lips. I looked at her and she told me she was sorry and then she started to
cry, saying how unfair the world was. We just held each other under our tree,
angry and saddened by the reality we currently faced.

Over the next few weeks my
love life was like the best and worse roller coaster ride ever. The times we
spent together were like magic. We talked and had fun but we were always
looking over our shoulders, never quite feeling comfortable unless we were at
our tree. How dysfunctional was this relationship? We related this tree, which
was the spot of violence and hatred with our love. But it was the place where
we discovered how we felt and it felt like the world couldn’t touch us while we
sat under this tree. We were invisible to the outside world and no matter how
crowded the hotel or the park got we felt like no one could see us here. At
school and around Deerfield things were a lot different. Brian constantly
boasted about his relationship with the most beautiful girl in school and how
much her parents loved him. He always made it a priority to make sure I was
around when he did it.

The jealousy consumed me so
much at times that I felt like I was having a heart attack or stroke. He would
hug her in the hallways or sneak up behind her and grind on her booty. I would
get furious and sometimes caught myself slamming my locker door shut. Jasmine
would try and keep the peace by sneaking away with me under the bleachers to
kiss but after she left I felt alone again. I wasn’t sure how she was dealing
with it all but I did know she didn’t have any competition from any other girls
so I had to believe this arrangement was much easier for her than it was for
me.

Tony being Tony always
reminded me how stupid I was to put up with the  bullshit. He even went as far
as to say that no matter what we were, we shouldn’t have to carry on that way
and it’s going to bite us in the ass one day soon. I was basically a weekend
boyfriend while Brian had her five days a week and sometimes he would infringe
on my weekends as well. It was becoming too much and I was starting to lose
hope in Jasmine and any future we could have together.

And the make matter worse there
were times when we were together that we would argue and sometimes get into
physical confrontations with our powers. It was a dangerous game we played and
sometimes things almost went too far. It was like no matter how much we wanted
to love each other, the hatred that flowed through our veins from what we were
would win out and we would forget about our love. It was dangerous and
dysfunctional but it takes time for mortal enemies, bound by centuries of war
and hatred to find enough peace within themselves and each other to love one
another unconditionally. Our arguments would be over the top and we constantly
screamed “I hate you!” but then afterwards we would be in each other’s arms, in
tears, kissing and professing our undying love for one another. We could apologize
to each other all the time but it wouldn’t change who and what we were. We just
tried our best not to kill each other while we figured this thing out.

I know that it would have been
easier to love another woman. A woman not of our bloodline or another Baraqu.
But the universe had spoken and decided we should be together and who are we to
argue with the universe? Then one day Brian crossed the line and everything
changed after that. We were winding down the school year towards the summer and
graduation for the seniors. I was preparing to do my summer college tour and
Brian was doing the same. We were in the lunchroom when Brian walked up to me
while Jasmine was walking by and said to Tony and me,

“Fellas, I’m going to be
tapping that ass all summer long.”

I let that one slide.

“Yeah right, you wish
Casanova,” teased Tony.

Tony knew the real deal about
Brian and Jasmine but Brian kept going.

“Dude, I’ve been tapping that
already, it’s just that she’s going with me on my college tour so we will have
all the time in the world. I might make her my Kim Kardashian and videotape
her.”

Sorry, but I couldn’t let that
one slide and I knocked him flat on his ass with a left hook. As he lay there
on the floor I got up from the table and stood over him. At first he looked up
at me like he was going to get up and do something. But when he saw the look in
my eyes he decided against it and stayed on the floor. I knew that if he had
gotten up off the floor I would have seriously injured or killed him. My
training with Jaffrey had taken complete control on how I approached physical
confrontations and I would have ended it swiftly and violently without mercy.
Jasmine immediately ran over to us and looking at me like I’d lost my mind. She
helped Brian off the floor and then a long, silent and awkward moment followed
as the three of us just stood there looking at each other.

The time had come for a
revelation between the three of us and I couldn’t take loving in the shadows
anymore. I couldn’t take holding back my emotions because of what others would
think or do. Jaffrey trained me to open the floodgates of my emotional rivers
and loving Jasmine this way was closing that up. I couldn’t take it anymore, I
felt suffocated and strained. I was waiting for Brian to say something else.
Even a sorry would get him knocked back down on his ass. I didn’t want to hear
his voice at all. Jasmine walked over to Brian and told him it was over between
them. Of course he protested and lied about what he said or meant by it but
Jasmine was already on to him and she quietly told him goodbye and grabbed my
hand leading me out of the lunchroom.

O
utside
in the hallway she held me and whispered in my ear to take her away from here.
I did and to the only place we felt safe. Our tree. I teleported us there and
we found ourselves under the tree, holding each other.

“I heard what he said Aiden,
thank you for defending my honor. I just want you to know that I never…”

“You don’t have to explain
yourself to me. I know you didn’t. But I’ve had enough; I couldn’t take him
with you anymore. I understand the dangers our love can create but even in
secret our love is dangerous. We fight and argue all the time and it’s because
our love isn’t allowed to grow. It’s stagnant because we are afraid of what
others think. I don’t care what anyone else thinks and I will face whatever
consequences being in love with you brings. But I’d rather have five minutes of
freedom with you than a lifetime of secrecy.”

To some it may seem like a
bunch of crap but after training with Jaffrey and seeing how he had to live in
secret and in seclusion; I understood that it was better to be free for a
little while and die than be a prisoner for several lifetimes.

Jasmine began to cry and
apologized for making her decision of secrecy.

“I know now that I have to
love you all the way or not at all. I love you Aiden, and I am going to tell my
parents about us today. I can’t live like this anymore.”

“Neither can I.”

There we were, under our tree,
holding each other and ready to face a world that was unprepared and
unforgiving towards what we felt for each other. It was a gamble but we were
all in at this point.

But there were so many
unanswered questions about Jasmine and the Shadows that I needed answered. And
being that I now have a Shadow on my team it made sense to get some answers.

“Tell me about your family,” I
asked.

“Well, I have four brothers
and three sisters. I am the middle child, the oldest is my brother Nezar. We
come from northern Egypt…”

“Wait, I thought you were
Iraqi?”

Jasmine laughed at my
question.

“No, that’s what idiots think
where all Middle Eastern people are from since 9/11. No, we are Egyptians and
our family can trace back their linage to the time before the pharaohs and the
great pyramids.”

“I had no idea.”

“Because we are Egyptian and
so is Alal, my family was tied to the rule of Alal and my ancestors fought
alongside him for centuries. But back in the sixteen hundreds an entire
generation of my family decided to break away and stop fighting this war.”

“Why?”

“No one really knows exactly,
but they did.”

“Okay, you are a very powerful
Shadow. Are all of your family members as powerful as you?”

“No, actually my ancestors
that broke away from Alal are the reason for that.”

“How?”

“Have you ever heard of the
Rabum Igisum?”

“No, what is that?”

“Every Shadow or Baraqu at the
time of their death has the choice to give their powers to someone of their
direct bloodline, either living in the present or the future.”

“So our powers don’t die with
us?”

“Someone wasn’t paying
attention in Science class. No, energy doesn’t die, it is transferred or
transformed. Most decide to allow our powers to go back to the source but my
ancestors decided to grant me their powers.”

“All of them?”

“Yes, an entire generation
gave me their powers.”

“So how much power is that?”

“Enough to contend with
someone like you but Baraqu warriors are a force no one can reckon with. That’s
why the Shadows worked so hard to keep your kind from being born.”

“Why did they give you all
their powers?”

“I don’t know. I guess they
foresaw a great purpose for me and believed I needed all their powers to
contend with what I am to face.”

“They foresaw?”

“Yes, back in the old times
both Baraqu and Shadows had the gift of foresight but the Baraqu saw this gift
as evil and forbid any Baraqu from using this gift. The Shadows on the other hand
embraced this gift and we’ve never stopped using it.”

“So Baraqu can’t see into the
future anymore?”

“Well you know that saying, if
you don’t use it you lose it? That’s what happened to the Baraqu’s gift of
foresight. They stopped using it so the universe saw no need to keep gifting
them this ability. As generations grew they were born without that gift.”

“That kind of sucks for us.”

“Yeah Aiden, it does.”

“Can you see into the future?”

“Not now, I’m too young. But
once we reach a certain maturity with our powers we develop the gift. I guess
you could call it a bonus.”

“So your ancestors saw
something in your future and they gifted you their powers? Wow, that had to be
great to have all that power as soon as you were born.”

“Not really.”

“Why not?”

“I was conceived aware.”

“I don’t understand what you
are saying.”

“When I was growing in my
mother’s womb I was aware as if I was an adult. It was torture knowing and
being aware as you grew.

When I was born I could
understand everything everyone was saying but I was unable to speak because my
body wasn’t developed enough. I couldn’t walk because my legs weren’t ready.
It’s like being an adult trapped in a baby’s body.”

“Oh yeah, now that can’t be
fun.”

“No it wasn’t but by the time
I was ten months old I was walking and speaking full sentences. When my parents
discovered my awareness they made sure that I didn’t overexpose my abilities.”

“I see, but you know you are
still kind of immature.”

“I have the awareness Aiden,
not the wisdom. That comes with experience.”

“So after your family broke
away no one else decided to fight again?”

“Nope. All my ancestors after
that, down to my grandparents and my parents have sworn against fighting in
this hellish war. We have our own reasons though. We see what is happening to
this world and it isn’t right. We’ve learned to tap into the negative energy
but we use it for good. The source may be one thing but what you do with it is
something entirely different.

“That’s how we live our lives
and as long as we don’t get involved the order doesn’t bother us or call upon
us to do anything. When I was born my father was afraid Alal would not keep his
end of the bargain but so far we have been left alone. My brothers all want to
join the fight but not with Alal.”

“With the Baraqu?”

“Oh no, they still see your
kind as the enemy. There is a revolution happening among the Wiccan. They want
to break away from the Shadows and my brothers want to join them but my father
forbids it. If one of us gets involved in this fight our agreement with Alal is
over and they will come for me.”

“Why you?”

“Because I am the most
powerful Shadow there is, next to Alal himself.”

“How is that possible? I
thought Jason was.”

 Jasmine giggled and shook her
head at my statement about Jason.

“Aiden don’t you know that
women are more powerful bearers of this power than men? What we possess is all
about emotional content and who harnesses emotions better than women? Certainly
not men. The more emotional content one can harness the more powerful one can
become. Jason against me wouldn’t even be a fair fight. It’s just the male ego
that placed him above me. I don’t trip though, it’s not important to me who’s
got the bigger stick at the playground because I don’t wish to play in it. I am
content with living a normal human life and being here with you Aiden. Nothing
else seems important. But I’m not confused into believing I
am
human.”

“But we are human.”

“No Aiden, that is the wrong
way of thinking. We are more than human. Yes, we have human blood flowing
through our veins but we are far from human. Are we above them? No, but we
aren’t human. Most Shadows and Baraqu fancy themselves superior and that’s just
stupid because all witches are human and they can bind us whenever they want
and after we can’t use our powers we are easy to kill. The order of the witches
has killed more of our kind than any of us have.

So we have a truce with the
witches but that truce is coming to an end and the witches are tired of being
the lapdogs of the Shadows and hunted by the Baraqu. They hate both our sides
equally and these new breeds of witches aren’t rolling over any longer.

“They see what our kind has
done to this planet. Shadows have infiltrated every fiber of human existence,
corrupting governments and corporations to perpetuate pain and suffering on
this planet; so that they can get their fix of power. The problem is something
else is going on and the Shadows are too blind with drug-like power to notice.
Alal is up to something and the witches aren’t telling what it is, but they
feel like it’s time for them to lock this thing down and fight for mankind’s
existence.”

“So how can your family just
sit by and stay out of this fight if they know what’s going on?”

Jasmine’s face saddened and
she answered, “Because of me. They love me too much to have me serve Alal; so
as much as they want to help, they stay out of it. My brothers sometimes
despise me because of it but I know they love me. They just wish they could do
something that mattered that could turn the tide; because the Baraqu are too
weak to actually make any real change. Well until now, because a warrior is
here and you are strong enough to fight. But I take it you are not willing
either.”

I explained to her about my
experiences in Spain but conveniently kept Jaffrey out of the picture.

“I heard about that. Every
Shadow has heard about that fight in Spain. ‘The Baraqu warrior that can’t be
bound by the witches.’ The witches also have taken notice of you and they are
watching you closely. They fear you because you can’t be controlled. I don’t
even know how that is possible. Do you?”

“No, I don’t but I hope one
day I can find out. They have nothing to fear. I am not joining the fight; I
just want to be left alone.”

“I understand my love, but
it’s never that simple these days.”

We stayed under the tree
talking for hours. We talked about my dad and how much I missed him and she
told me the stories about him. My dad was a badass, deep in the fight against
the Shadows and his ability to lead and inspire people was a unique gift that
proved to be a powerful tool in battle. Most of the time the difference between
victory and defeat is the belief in victory. My father’s Baraqu ability was
that he could inspire people to believe in themselves and victory. It caused
people to fight harder and smarter and he never lost a battle—until he found
himself face to face with an even more powerful adversary.

His body was never found but
under this tree Jasmine gave me all the details about him and the events that
led up to his death. She said that they knew he was coming and suggested he was
betrayed by one of his own. I made a mental  note that if I ever met the person
responsible for his betrayal I would make sure they didn’t see another sunrise
again. She also revealed to me who actually killed the ref and Steve. Jason had
murdered both of them and with his six followers posing as federal agents,
their goal was to make me feel like I was responsible and drive myself crazy
with guilt. They wanted to destroy our family through the media and me being
accused of murder. Eventually after I’d reached the pinnacle of success during
my high school football career they were going to release evidence suggesting I
was the serial killer in Deerfield. They were hoping the news coverage would
make Manny come out of hiding and then they would murder him. With Manny out of
the picture and me behind bars or worse they could finish my mom and Sara off
easily; completely wiping our family off the face of the earth. It was a
diabolical scheme that would’ve destroyed us if Jasmine hadn’t risked her life
by awakening Sarah’s ability to expose Jason and give us a fighting chance.
Jasmine risked her life for us and until that day I hadn’t realized how much
she sacrificed.