Shades

What was possible, really?

Anything? Everything?

His vision blurred. When it cleared, he saw that a series of strange symbols had appeared on the blank page.

Gustav squeezed his shoulder. “You see now, yes?”

“I see it, but I don’t understand it.”

“Of course you can’t understand that book,” Gustav said. “Never seen the language before, no?”

“Right. So why’d you give me this when I can’t read it?”

“I gave you the book to prove to you the light. It can only be read in darkness.”

“It’s some kind of invisible ink that glows in the dark, right?”

“Is it?”

Danny started to agree that it was, but deep down inside, he knew better. This was something else entirely. “Are all the books like this?”

“Like what?”

Danny hesitated. He knew the word, but it sounded wrong, foolish. Stupid. His friends would have laughed at him. But it was the only word he could think of.

“Magic.”

“All books are magic,” Gustav said. “Now try again. Try to read.”

“I can’t—”

“No. There is no ‘can’t,’ understand?”

“You sound like a Russian Yoda.”

“What is this ‘Yoda’?”

“Are you serious? You don’t know?”

“Nyet.”

“What?”

“Nyet. No. Explain.”

“He’s a Jedi master. Sort of looks like a frog.”

“Bah.” Gustav waved his hand in dismissal. “Read.”

Danny tried making sense of the symbols on the page, looking for a pattern.

“Now you’re trying,” Gustav said. “Yes, now you see.”

“Shut up,” Danny said. “I’m trying to read this.”

Gustav said no more. He watched as Danny engrossed himself in the book. Watched as the afternoon passed and turned to evening, and then to night. Watched as, outside, the shadows started to dance.

He stared into the darkness, and the darkness stared back.

FOUR

Dana Wheeler knew how to use her looks. Her biggest problem was a lack of ambition. She could have gone on to bigger and better things on her own, but she preferred being with the right guys who might take her to bigger and better things themselves.

Currently, the right guy was Tony Amiratti Junior. As far as the public knew, his dad owned a roofing company, an electronics store, and invested heavily in the right stocks. In reality, Tony Amiratti Senior was part of the Marano Family crime syndicate. So was Tony Junior. Like father like son. As a result, Tony had money to spend on Dana. They lived the good life. All she had to do was make sure he stayed satisfied—and she was very good at keeping Tony happy. Much better than the other women he slept with.

Sweat glistened on her naked body. Her nipples hardened as the ceiling fan gently blew air across them. Tony snored softly. Dana was restless and wide-awake. Tony never had that problem after sex. He needed a full night to recover. She didn’t really mind, but now and then it would have been nice to talk afterwards. She glanced at the alarm clock on the dresser. Nine PM. Not late. Sleep would be a long time coming.

The bathroom light was on. Its rays spilled out from the open door and into the bedroom, casting shadows. Movement in the corner of the room caught her attention, and she looked to her right. There was nothing to see, but the fine hairs on her arm rose. One of the shadows seemed darker than the others.

“Tony? Baby?”

Tony mumbled in his sleep.

Dana had always been afraid of the dark. Bad things waited in the shadows. That’s what her older brother Pete used to say when they were kids. He’d told her that shadows had minds of their own. Growing up, she’d believed him. As an adult, the notion was easy to dismiss.

It wasn’t so easy now.

Tony rolled over and smacked his lips. “Tell Vince to ugh wump,” he mumbled. Then he was silent again.

Dana was about to dismiss her nervousness when, in the darkness, something moved again. She sat up. A shadow slipped across the wall and glided slowly along the carpet. The bathroom light did not keep the shadow at bay. She tried to cry out, but couldn’t. As she watched, the shadow slipped up over the foot of the bed. It was human in size and shape, but there was no one else in the room with them. Dana blinked her eyes. Her stomach knotted with old childhood fears. Her brother’s voice taunted her.

She moaned.

The shadow hovered over Tony, settling on him, covering the length of his body. Gasping, he awoke suddenly, jolting upright. His eyes were wide. His mouth opened and closed like a fish.

Terrified, Dana slipped off the side of the bed and landed on the thick carpet. “Tony? Oh God…”

Tony reached for her, his eyes growing wider. Dana jumped to her feet, reaching for the light switch. Tony began shaking. The bedsprings squeaked. And then Dana screamed.