Chapter Three: The Shadow Queen

It wasn't even three days before everyone knew that Jack was dying.

He had selected a couple of key friends who he wanted to tell in person, but then he gave the go-ahead for people to tell whoever might want to know. The news spread through the palace and caused even more whispering than normal.

Ash had assured me a couple of times that the palace wasn't always alive with rumours and scandal but I was starting to think that wasn't true. A few weeks ago, all the talk had been about The Overseer, and Jonah and Simon. The Overseer was dying too and had let it become common knowledge shortly after he went ballistic and used his own mysterious abilities to influence Jonah into killing Simon.; a dangerous move, since you could never quite predict what might happen if you killed a god before there was a proper apprentice to take their place. It had only happened a handful of times. The merging of the sun and fire into one body was the result of Simon's death. At least for this generation, there wouldn't be a sun god and a fire god. Just me.

I didn't really feel up to it. The power of fire alone was overwhelming, and I wasn't sure I understood the sun at all yet. It was just like this golden mysterious entity that knew more than I did or ever would and wouldn't talk to me. Not the way that fire talked to me.

There was always talk at the palace. It just hadn't been this interesting in a few centuries. It was odd for these gods to experience fear.

I went to the palace often to visit Ash. Some days, she seemed stronger, like she might last for a few more months, and other times, I found her so close to death that I was torn between the urge to fly back home and say goodbye to my brother and my father forever, or stay by her side and hold her hand while she died.

"I'm sorry things didn't work out like I first told you they would," Ash rasped, her eyes half closed and not looking at me. She was lying on her back, with a cigarette perched at the side of her mouth, smoke slithering through the air above her. Without her powers, Ash was a mortal woman again; An eighty-year old mortal woman with lung cancer. She was cold all of the time now, without the fire in her veins. I tried to make the room as warm as possible whenever I was there, to help her be comfortable.

"It's not your fault."

"I'm trying to hold out for you... give you a little more time with your family, but I've got to be honest, kid, I'm on my way out."

I knew this already. I almost had her apology memorised by now. She gave it anew every time I came to see her. Her mind hadn't been the same since Simon died. She didn't talk except to say these few lines. She didn't really talk at all.

"I'm sorry Ash." She didn't want to live any longer. She'd lost her immortality, her powers, her fire and now her lover. I could respect that, but I wished she wouldn't lie to me. She wasn't trying to hold out at all, and I didn't blame her.

She fell asleep with the cigarette still smoking in her mouth. Gingerly, I plucked it from her lips and spot-dried a bit of drool on her chin. I left her room, thinking that I should just go back home. I wanted to look for Jack, but he'd been avoiding me ever since his confession.

The rock god, Rex, would be up in his lair. I decided to check and see if he had talked to Jack more recently.

The palace was a single wide, tall tower that reached up out of the ocean. Spiral staircases connected the floors on the outer sides. When you were pressed up against an outside room, you could see the curve of the outer wall. On some floors, you could even hear the waves crashing into the walls and lapping up the sides. Rex lived a little further up, however.

The usual chorus of rock music in guttural languages was absent. At first I wondered if Rex wasn't home, but I heard voices from behind the door and let myself in. Rex's room was a cave of wonders. The walls and furniture were covered with stones and gems waiting to be cut or assigned. Rex's workbench was vacant, but looking further into the room, I found Rex and Jack leaned over a table, there was something like a map spread between them.

"How is it that you've never heard of this girl?" Rex asked Jack, his cockney accent exaggerating his frustration. "She's older than Cherry!" he motioned to me as I walked up to them.

Jack wouldn't look up at me, but nodded, accepting Rex's point, "I understand that, I'm just telling you Rex—I don't know her."

"Well, she's brilliant. I had Erlking shove a splinter in her neck about fifteen years ago."

"Erlking?" Jack frowned, "Why did you have him do it? I always apply the splinters."

"Not always," Rex shook his head. Splinters were tiny little shards of metal with magical properties. In a mortal with godly potential, they could suppress power, and if you got enough splinters that were nice and large, you could even suppress the power of a god. That was how Jonah was able to kill Simon. The Overseer made Rex jam a large splinter right into his heart, making him mortal enough for the split second that Jonah needed to break his neck.

"Why didn't you have me do it?" Jack glanced back fifteen years, a trifle. "What was a I doing that kept me away from my duties?"

"I'm really not sure," Rex admitted, "Actually, I found out about it from the Erlking and asked him to take care of it. I supposed you weren't paying much attention to that area, because it was a rather nasty mess."

"What happened?"

"Our girl's name is Rie. And fifteen years ago... she would've been about six, she was going to school just like a little good girl, and two of her classmates were killed," Rex started to tell the story.

"How?"

"Drowned in a creek behind the one boy's house. Tragic thing. Rie wasn't particularly close to them, but it was clear to her little-person mind that something was making everybody miserable and she missed seeing them in the classroom. So, being one of your little potentials, she conjured replicas. Two little boys just like the ones who died... her powers, being unpractised as they were, didn't keep themselves up like your do, but what she did manage was impressive... two tiny little boy apparitions sitting in their desks for a split second before they vanished—two little boys playing on the playground like nothing had happened. It scared the children all quite a lot. Her teacher nearly had a stroke."

"Sounds like it was quite a mess," Jack still looked baffled, "Where was I?!"

"Anyway. Erlking had to escort the boys from the rivers, to the underworld or the afterlife or whatever the hell happens since the bastard won't breathe a word of it, and these apparitions were real enough and were causing enough of a commotion among the grieving community that he kept having to go back to see what the fuss was. When he finally figure out that it was the girl, not meaning any harm, but like you, a little mischievous creature... he took a splinter and fit Rie with it and told me what had happened."

"What did the mortals think of it?" I chimed in.

"They blamed it on a chemical or carbon monoxide leak or some kind of nonsense. I doubt Rie herself even remembers what she did."

"I don't know her."

"Well—why don't you pop over and see her then?" Rex suggested, "Here's her address; 42 Doe Run in Boise Idaho."

"I can't," Jack said letting out a long sigh, "I can't see her... apparently I've never been able to see her."

Rex looked troubled at that, "Jack she's... she's the best candidate we have."

"I can tell."

"She was only six and she was able to create fully realised copies of human beings, they flickered on and off, but they were solid. They had all the same qualities and mannerisms as the originals."

"I know."

"She's a natural imitator."

"I can't teach someone who doesn't exist to me!" Jack shouted.

Rex rubbed at his forehead, hesitating to speak.

"Who else is there?" Jack asked.

"...There's that boy in India who you put a sliver in last month."

Jack shook his head, "He's too young, I'm dying quicker than that."

"There's also a man in Bristol called Danny. You might remember him. He's in his forties."

"Does he have a family?"

Rex nodded.

Jack shook his head in reply, "I can't do that."

"I know," Rex agreed. "You might have to, if you can't accept Rie as your apprentice."

"I can't see her, speak to her, touch her—how am I supposed to teach her? And besides all that, I'm suspicious of these nothing people."

"We'll keep looking Jack, but right now, those three people are the only potential gods who show signs of having your abilities."

I leaned over the table to get a better look at the map. It was a world man with tiny little pins dotting the land. I immediately noticed three black ones, one in Idaho, one in India and one in England. There were red ones too, I was surprised to see. "Are the red ones little fire gods?"

"And sun gods," Rex nodded, "the mortals who show signs of having your abilities are red; yes."

There were two, one in Finland and another in Japan. My eyes scanned the map until I noticed blue ones. Little potential Jonahs. He had three. Two of them were in the Polynesian islands and the third was in Romania. "So, you keep track of all this?"

"I keep track of my slivers," Rex corrected, indicating a tiny wooden box filled with what looked like short silver pins. "These aren't all of the potential gods, these are just the ones dangerous enough that we had to put slivers in them."

Jack was bent over the table with his face in his hands. The two of us watched him, trying to see his thoughts through his perfectly styled black mane.

"Rex," I poked him in the side, "Isn't there anything at all you can do?" I whispered, "There's got to be some kind of... something that will help Jack see through the darkness, then he can train the proper apprentice."

"Cherry," said Jack sharply, he stood up straight at looked at me in amazement, "Whispering? Whispering? Were you actually trying to keep a secret in my presence?!"

When he said it like that it did seem pretty silly.

"Oh, uh... I wasn't really-"

"-I am still the shadow king," Jack narrowed his eyes at both of them, "I am still the god of mysteries, imitations, lies and secrets."

"And there's nothing I can do," Rex whispered back to me.

Jack seemed to get even more furious at that, but he just rolled his eyes and turned away. "If this Rie thing is really as talented as she seems, then it may be possible for her to train without my help. We can take her to the palace, take the sliver out and let her figure things out without my help, but there are certain things a shadow king-"

"-queen," I corrected him automatically.

"A shadow queen, must know and learn, that she will not discover on her own... I'm not sure they can be written or explain with language, either. It like... it's like a feeling," he moaned and shook his head, "No. I take it all back, I don't know about this Rex. I don't think I can take her."

"Well, you don't have to decide so soon, do you?" I asked, "I mean, you've got some time, right?" I was mostly saying this out of hoping that Jack's death was going to be a slower process. He had said that he first started noticing the black patches years ago. Maybe it would be a while before everything went back.

"I don't know," Jack admitted, "I feel confident that I've at least got a few months left—but Ash felt confident that she had another decade and look what's happened to her? If this little birdie is really as good as all that, then maybe she'll be like you and turn me mortal in a few weeks," he smiled sadly.

"What would you be like as a mortal?"

"Well. I expect without all this shadow holding my bits together, I'm probably just some dust. Maybe primordial ooze, it'll be interesting to see." He sounded like an older version of his usual jovial-imp self. He was clearly trying to make me laugh but instead I felt tears coming to my eyes. "Oh, Cherry... you poor sensitive little lamb," he took my cheek in one hand, "You remind me of someone when you cry."

"Who?"

"Old girlfriend."

Three o'clock in the morning and I couldn't sleep. I was listening to the ocean, half expecting Jonah to rise out of the floor again. Or maybe Jackshade would come to visit—that wouldn't be as unusual as Jonah. Instead, I got an entirely new visitor.

In spite of the fact that mysterious nightly visits from gods were becoming a regular thing in my life, I was still surprised to see him. At first, I thought it was Jackshade, but his entrance and appearance was even more dramatic than the god of shadow. I was lying awake in the darkness, when a form stretched out from the ground, upwards into a perfect rich inky black figure with a pale face resting at the top. He was very tall, and bore a striking resemblance to Jack. He could have easily been Jackshade's older brother, except I know for a fact that he had to be significantly younger than the shadow god.

"Sun goddess. I'm glad you are awake, I would have felt guilty to arose you from sweet slumber," his voice made me shiver, in a way not unlike Jonah's. There was a definitely 'come-hither' quality in the resonance of his tones. He spoke quietly, slowly, almost like all his dialogue was a well rehearsed song. I could never imagine anyone ever interrupting him. He had a voice that demanded a captive audience. His features were not strikingly attractive, in the conventional sense that I was used to. He looked like the sort of person who was buried in the deep forests of the old world. His eyes were animal and feral. I could imagine that as a mortal, he must have been one of those men who lived out their lives in a small corner of the world. Savage and hungry. His eyes still looked hungry and black.

"Who are you?" I asked, but I thought I already knew. That voice, and my longing to go towards it was the first sign. I was talking to the physical embodiment of death.

"I go by Erlkönig these days," from his chin down to the floor he had on some kind of long black garment that spanned out over the floor. He shifted his weight into a tiny bow, so slight was the movement that his clothing barely responded.

"No wonder you remind me of Jack."

Death smiled at me.

"How can I help you, Mr. Erlkönig?"

"It's about Messer Jack, actually."

"Is he dying?" I blurted out when Erlkönig paused in his explanation.

He looked at me with those intense black eyes, and for a moment I thought he would refuse to tell me. Give some excuse like 'I do not to discuss these matters' or something like that. I didn't really know anything about the Erlkönig at all, except that he took people away when they died to... somewhere. I did know that he didn't ever talk about it.

"We're all dying," he finally said simply, "And yes, Jack is on his way out of this world. But not for a while."

It was an ambiguous answer, but at least he hadn't gotten angry at me for asking. He seemed sympathetic. I shook myself. Talking with him was making me feel strange. I was starting to understand why he wasn't a very popular god. Morbid calling aside, he made me uneasy because well... I wanted to go with him. I had to push the feeling aside, but in my mind I held an image of this man taking my hand and leading me—a pure, slightly translucent and dazed me—away from my body. So this was how people left the world. This creature lured them away. Maybe, if he'd been less engaging in his way, less people would die.

"I wasn't planning to get involved, you realise," the Erlkönig told me, "I make it a point not to."

"Yes. That's what I've heard."

"I just want you to appreciate how unusual this is."

"I appreciate it."

"Good," he nodded his head, "I took someone this morning. She was murdered."

"Oh," I didn't know what to say to that. He didn't seem upset, but I certainly thought it would be upsetting to escort someone away under those circumstances. Then again, he had to be used to it.

"This woman died in San Francisco. Does that mean something to you?"

"Jack can't see San Francisco anymore."

"Yes. So, he would have no idea that one of his old lovers was the murderer."

I swallowed. We all knew that Jack didn't follow the rules, and Jack himself had told me when we first met that he'd had mortal lovers in the past, but he had been speaking of times long ago. I hadn't really seriously considered that he could still be carrying on with mortal women now.

"Her name is Erela, and I have no idea why she killed this woman. The dead woman herself, won't say anything... But I was made uneasy because... she knew who I was."

"You mean, she died and saw you and-"

"-she said, 'you seem nicer than she told me you would be,' and then clamed up. I think when I think the she is Erela."

"Erela?" I tried the name out on my tongue.

"She was the girl whom Jack spoke of this afternoon. The one who you remind him of."

"You saw that?"

"I see a lot of things."

"...Then why don't you know why Erela killed this person?"

"Because, I cannot see anything in San Francisco either. Not useless I am led there by death, and then, I don't stay long, I just take my charge and go... Murder interests me, and when I saw who the culprit was, I tried to watch her and receive some hint about her motivations, but she faded into nothing. It seems that this darkness is not only the manifestation of Jack's impending demise. It certainly doesn't help... but I, myself, have many centuries ahead of me, and something is keeping me from seeing the truth as well."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that someone is trying to put blinders on the gods... I think Erela is involved. And your new friend."

"Miguel?"

"Yes."

I felt a little ill. What if Miguel had known who I was? It sounded like these people were aware of, and hostile to the gods... maybe. Or maybe they were just shielding themselves. I didn't like Jack spying on me—maybe they didn't either.

"Is that why you came here?"

He nodded, "That is."

"Well... I don't think I can tell you anything helpful."

"You can see what I can't. Miguel is hidden from Jackshade and I, but even if he knows what you are, he doesn't hide from you. You can talk to him and perhaps you can learn what his connection is to this unusual... situation." Erlkönig drew his hand back, moving the hem of his cloak away from the floor. I crawled to the edge of the bed and peaked over to see a girl, a few years older than I was, fast asleep on the floor. She was very pretty. Her features made her look like she was probably partially Asian, but not entirely so.

"Who's this?" I looked in alarm between the passed out girl and Erlkönig.

"Her name is Rie," he knelt down and brushed dark hair away from her face with one gloved hand, "It is her destiny to replace Jackshade as the shadow god."

"Jack can't see her," I remembered.

"I can," Erlkönig revealed, "But I can't speak to mortals. It isn't safe. I need an emissary to talk to her for me, and since you are now my intelligence with regards to Miguel, I think you should talk to her for me."

"Talk to her?! What do I say? What's she going to think, waking up in a strange house a couple of states away from home with us?!"

"She'll be quite frightened if she becomes too awake, I'm sure. I'm going to try to keep her in a partial state of sleep. I'm hoping we can convince her that this is a dream... just in cause she gets very vocal, I'm going to put your brother and father into a deep sleep. They won't wake if she screams."

"Well—what do I say?!"

"Listen carefully... Once I wake her up, I won't be able to say anything. I've already taken the sliver from her neck. I need you to help her use her powers. I want to see if she can see Erela or Miguel. If she can, than perhaps this magical veil has specific targets... or, if we're very lucky, she can show us what they're up to."

"How do I encourage her to use her powers."

"Think about the things you would say to a fire prentice and replace the word fire with shadow... That's probably a good way to start, at least." He suggested, he was sitting on the floor beside Rie now, pulling her upright into his lap and crossing his arms over her so she wouldn't be able to move.

"How do I help her specifically find secrets about Miguel and Erela?"

"Talk about them."

"I don't know Erela."

"You know what kind of women Jack likes, don't you?"
"Err... sort of."

"Women like you," he said softly, and there was something startling in his tone. "You remind him of Erela."

But what did that really mean? I was afraid to ask. I had the distinct impression that Erlkönig was one of those people who never lied. Even when they should.

"Okay," phrases and ideas were starting to come into my mind. I wasn't confident I could do exactly what Erlkönig wanted, but I felt prepared to make a decent attempt. "Wake her up."

Song of the Chapter: Stabbing Westward, So far Away. Err... I'm sure that if I thought about it a bit I could figure out a really great reason why this song works here, but I'm a bit distracted at the moment!

A/N: Alright guys! That's probably it. Unless I can't sleep tonight (likely) and am able to think about something besides the drastic change my life is about to make (unlikely) I won't be posting any more for at least 18 months... That's a bit unfair though, especially since this next scene is kind of fun and almost finished. Maybe I'll make an attempt to at least post the first scene of the next chapter before I leave, but if I can't then I'm sorry I even mentioned it! I love you all, buh-bye!)