Beneath the Shadowlanders

Chapter Forty-Two: Abigail

We're a strange sort of entourage – guards following Fitzwilliam, following the seven of us, following Nashua carrying the General. He leads us through the city, guiding us through a complicated series of twists and turns, until none of us have any idea where we are.

The General fights Nashua for the first few minutes of the journey, but eventually he gets tired and resigns himself to being fireman carried by the determined shadow. He scowls at all of us following behind for most of the journey.

It's a long trek, and by the time we arrive, all our feet and legs are sore. We're all grateful when Nashua finally stops in front of a crumbling factory space. He squeezes through a door that's much too small for him, nearly knocking out the General on the doorframe as he does so. We shrug and follow him in, finding ourselves in a massive empty warehouse. Skylights in the roof provide some light, but it's still dim enough our eyes take a moment to adjust.

When they do, we're able to see that the room is about the size of a football field, with support columns interspersed along the sides of the room. At the far end stands a massive shadow, probably 20 feet tall, surrounded by several smaller ones.

Raoul.

He strides towards us, his steps thundering through the concrete floor, vibrating in my bones. Nashua goes to meet him, the General still flung over his shoulder. At the sight of Raoul, he begins to protest violently. Fitzwilliam rushes to help him, but dad holds him back, silencing him with a glare. Nashua finally pulls the General out of his fireman's carry and places him gently on the floor in front of Raoul like an offering. This makes the General protest even harder, insisting he won't be offered up the shadows as a part of their "insubordinate peace negotiations."

Raoul places his hands on the General's shoulders, silencing him immediately. He then begins to speak, not out of the General's mouth, as Nashua does with dad, but out of his own.

"I am Raoul, king of the Shadowkind. I, like you, General Eugene Cartwright, am the leader of my people."

Eugene Cartwright? That's the General's real name?

"It is for that reason that I have agreed to meet with you and only you. We are equals, you and I, and have the special distinction of also being mates – former partners, even. We are two halves of one whole and mighty being.

"For too long, General, our peoples have been at war, and my followers have begun to tire of fighting. It's time we end this. Here and now." He releases the General's shoulders, causing him to let loose a string of expletives that would make a sailor blush. "Now, General, that's not very polite, is it?"

"I told you then, and I'm telling you now, we will not negotiate with terrorists. You overtook our world, killed our families, and have suffered no retribution. Well, now, it's time that retribution be made!" the General shouts, unholstering a pistol from under his coat and pointing it at Raoul.

The shadow king merely laughs. "Oh, General. You don't really think you can kill me, do you? Shadowkind are invincible. Surely you've figured that out by now..."

The General doesn't lower his pistol, although his arm begins to tremble. "Shadowkind will see the wrath of humanity!" he spits. "We will return you to your rightful places – under our feet!"

"But General, don't you see? That has never been our place. Our place has always been above you. We are far superior beings."

"Superior?" the General scoffs. "You can't even open doors by yourselves."

"Do you know what we are capable of?" Raoul demands, raising himself to his full height and flinging his arms out to either side. One hand catches one of the support pillars, and it crumbles where he strikes it, rubble plummeting to the ground with a crash.