Hall of Shadows [The Celestial Chronicles #2]

Chapter Twelve: The Power of Shadows

"Power resides only where men believe it resides. A shadow on the wall, yet shadows can kill. And ofttimes a very small man can cast a very large shadow."

- G. R. R. Martin, "A Clash of Kings"

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Soundtrack of the chapter: Starfall by Two Steps From Hell

Media: The back of the Gilded Tarot

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Chapter Twelve: The Power of Shadows

"Take it slowly, no one is rushing to a wedding." Jasper watched Cady thoughtfully from a short distance, sitting crossed legged on a flat riverside rock.

Zoroth snorted. "Why a wedding, above all things?"

Jasper shrugged. "Funeral, then."

"Guys, cut it out. I'm trying to focus here," Cady said.

"Ask your winged lover to shut it then."

"He is not my lover!" Cady shouted. "Jesus, he's my Consort!"

"What is a Jesus?" Jasper asked curiously. "You seem to use that word a lot."

Cady rolled her eyes. "Jesus!"

Victorious, he pointed a finger at her. "See?"

Choosing to ignore Jasper, Cady tried to concentrate on her breathing. Jasper taught her to focus all her energy into one point before condensing it into a ball. Visualizing came easy, but her focus wavered far too quickly. One second she managed to pack her Celestial Energy into one quaking ball, the next it went 'pop' and vanished.

Jasper called it the art of grounding. Since all Walkers were connected to earth and shadows, grounding anchors them to self-control and patience.

Zoroth wasn't helping either. He was picking a fight with Jasper at every chance possible since he was already adept at grounding and needed no further practice.

"You ask Cady to train in the middle of the night, but you're distracting her." Zoroth's voice was so loud, it was like a gong dropping.

"You're the one talking, not me," Jasper shot back.

Cady tried to tune them out. Just focus on that little ball of energy, Cady. You can do this.

Zoroth made a choking sound. "You just replied."

"Because you accused me of something I never did."

Cady's concentration was close to the breaking point. She sucked in a deep breath to calm herself down. Just...focus...

"I was merely stating the truth. It's so clear, I am blinded by it," Zoroth snorted.

"Can you just shut up and sit in a corner?"

"Guys, shut the hell up!"

The thin thread of concentration snapped. The ball of energy Cady fought so hard to maintain exploded, sending a brilliant arc of silver light rippling outwards. The raw power of a Walker reverberated through the trees, sending rocks flying and a fierce gush of wind to rip by.

That remedied the problem.

Jasper blinked. "Wow."

Cady leapt to her feet and shook a fist at both Zoroth and Jasper. "How am I supposed to concentrate if you two keep on fighting like three year old kids?"