Euphoria Blake: Infernally Divine

  Chapter Seven: Shadow's Embrace

Vincent awoke to find himself full of minor burns all over his body. Euphoria had been rubbing ointment on his arm, he smiled weakly at her. "What... What happened... To the demon."

She looked down, exhaled deeply and looked him in the eye. "Nothing, he left after thrashing you..." "I'm... Not stupid... Explain... Fast.." "All he did was tell me his plan, I swear."

Even in his weakened state, he knew something was up. "Look, here's the truth... I made a deal with Antares to get my family back. I'm not proud-" "You would... trust a demon?..." She remained silent., fully knowing his hatred for demons would not make understand. She decided to keep the terms of their contact secret form Vincent.

"I told you that my mother was kidnapped, and my father was killed-" "I understand... But... There were better ways..." "My world had no magic before this! This was the only way!" He hated that she was right, but he also knew her pain.

"Under that book case... Is a book I've written... Can't teach... Need slee-..." He passed out once more from the pain, it's gotten even stronger. She didnt know what to do, what's worse is that she began to care for him. Her sole reason to be here was training in magic, but now she has this dilema.

"I can't very well leave you like this..." She dragged his unconscious body to a an area with more sunlight. She was reminded of his curse, and the aid of the sun. She could not do more for him, because every medical treatments started to lose all effectiveness.

She hoped maybe the book had something that would heal him, however slim the chances were. "My Interpretation To Advanced Magic." Again she began to read reluctantly, but this time she did so for his sake as well.

Shadow had gone out to hunt and kill sometime. Euphoria had been busy taking care of Vincent, she hadnt spent much time with her. It was nice for a change, much of her life she felt like a pet. This was her chance to become the ferocious animal nature intended.

Euphoria read something she found interesting. Magic itself is not dangerous like most believe, it is influenced by the beholder. Nor is it evil by nature. There are even low level flame spells thaincapable of burning anything. Thus the reason for sacrifice in blood in summon, hell, and death magic. Remarkable people have taken this knowledge and even created new spells, such as shadow magic.

"Blah blah blah... Shadow magic is the ability to manipulate darkness, as both a weapon and shield. Tread lightly on light based spells.. Hmmm...." The instructions were simple, but she hated that every spell required meditation.

Back at the forest, Shadow began to see a pack of wolves running by in her territory. She waited patiently for an opportunity to take them out one by one. Of course she had stoled the territory from them, a little retaliation wasn't a surprise. She lurked in the trees, and saw the alpha break away from the pack.

Quickly she lept from branch to branch, till she jumped off the final one. Tackling the alpha down and ripping its throat out. In that instance, all the wolves surrounded her. She should've known alphas are never alone.

"Shadow Replacement.. Manipulate the shadows to travel in darkness? Increase the number of shadows for maximum safety." It was almost noon, and she pondered on gathering more ingredients for an elixir. She was still clinging on to hope, but she knew deep down it was futile. "Leaving so soon?"

Shadow ward off incoming attacks, but to no avail. She was badly out numbered. She received bites to her leg, back, and near her tail. This wasn't going to end pretty, then again she wasn't ready to die either.

"Take me to an open field, feeling a bit better... Just need more sun to heal better." She shut the door in protest,"No, you'll be an easy target." "Nevermind me! Just do as I say! Drag me if you have to!" "I see someone is feeling like his old self again."

Shadow was inches away from certain death, if only she had just turned tail. She could barely stand, her rear legs were damaged by the wolve's fangs. This was not over, she still had some fight left!- She succomed to bloodloss, and the pain of freshly opened wounds. The wolves seemed excited that she fell unconscious, it was a tough enemy to defeat...

Euphoria tried many ways to carry him, but he was just too heavy. In the end she dragged vincent to an open field, and hoped Shadow was around to keep and eye on him. "Unbotton my shirt." In an instant of disgust she said "No." "I told you already. The moon branded us with silver hair and the sun with a tattoo." "So what?"

"The tattoo will act as a medium to receive the suns energy. Thus healing me, but you beed to unbutton my shirt." She dreaded the paralyzation in his arms , but began to do so anyway. "Well I'll be damned..." He was telling the truth as she opened his black dress shirt. "I never lie. You might want to leave now... To put it lightly, I'll be working on my tan." "Ugh..." She left him there to bathe in the sun, because the moon wouldnt do jack shit.

When shadow awoke, there were pikes of dead wolves all around her. She had no way of knowing who killed them, but maybe another guardian defeated them. But why would they heal her? Her wounds still hurt, but the bleeding had stopped. She lazily got up and began to wander around the path home, still a bit dizzy from the bloodloss. She hoped Euphoria would find her soon.

Euphoria had arrived at the cabin, and sat down to read. Yet, again... "Why must this stupid magic be in books?! I hate books!" The books didn't even describe what the spells did, he just wrote the chants inside.

"Darkness that hides my presence, provide safe haven as my plight intenses. Shelter me in your cold embrace, show me an exit from this place!" Immediately after she uttered the chant, she was swallowed by the shadow under her chair!

She saw only darkness and thought that the spell had backfired. Until she realized she had not properly meditated. For fifteen minutes she sat in complete concentration, however much she loathed it. Then windos varying in all shapes and sizes popped up. It showed different areas of the house from different points of views.

She stuck her hand through one of the windows. She then looked at the other mirrors to find most showing her hand wiggling about at her command. "These are portals!" She stepped out of the walls shadow like a phantom passing through a wall. "This is so cool! Lets see..." She began to read, and enthusiastically no less!

She read and chanted every spell she could find on shadow magic. She read how they can be manipulated to be instant killers and change its form. They can take the form of tendrils, shrouds, even fire! But the most curious of all was a little spell that made shadows into solid matter.

It was nearly six and the sun started to go down. She had finished the entire chapter chapter on shadow magic, and felt like she could use a break. She hadn't seen shadow all day, and started to worry. Until she saw vincent limping back fast, throwing fireballs behind him. "HELP!" "God damn it! Not again..."

She grabbed her bow and daggers, running to his aid. She saw bears after him, running in a frenzy. "What the hell took you so long?!" "Traffick." "What the hell is traffic?!" The bears surrounded them, and Euphoria took out the daggers. "Doesn't matter! Lets just do this!"

Shadow roared as loudly as she could, distracting them. "QUAKE SHIFT!" The ground split, dinstancing them from the bears. "You have GOT to teach me that." "No time, I only prepped one spell!" The bears stood up simultaneously and slammed the ground with their front paws. Crumbling the earth around to make the ground even enough to walk.

"I got this! Shroud of Death level three!" Euphoria held her hand forward, and pulled the darkness towards her. Almost instantly, the shadows within a one mile radius were sucked into the area. The bears roared in an attempt to dispel, but it was too high a level.

"I think we're safe, what the hell was up with those bears?" Euphoria and vincent managed to get away from the bears. Still inside total darkness, they had stumbled away to safety. "Tamers. They capture powerful creatures and take control of their minds. They teach them magic to make them even more powerful." Euphoria wondered if she could train shadow, but she's not sure if she can...

"We need to kill them. Their soul's are gone, just a husk filled with dark magic." She didnt like the sound of that, killing a guilty human wasn't too hard if its out of necessity... But an animal robbed of its will?

"You mean I have to kill them, you're in no shape..." "Well... Yes." "Eyes of Umbra." With that spell she could see in complete darkness, and spotted the bears slowly finding their way around.

With a sympathetic tear, and thought of her panther, she drew her bow. She had no arrows, but she'll make do... "Shadow Armament!" Her quiver filled with black arrows.