I awoke with a start. I had had some sort of vision. It was of that shadow. He had been talking to a man on a throne. They talked of invading Wolfbane.... It had been two days since Hunter last dropped by. I sat up as the nurse approached me with a tray. As she set it down she began to speak.

"Madam Irene, due to your....unnaturally sped up healing you have been.....released earlier than anyone planned. You may leave as soon as you feel fit." And with that, plus the weary glance she gave me, she left. I as so happy.  I couldn't stand being cooped up any longer and my thirst for blood was acting up again.

my thirst for blood. That was the reason two people from this village have died in my hands. I had left some major rifts in the people's connections. Hunter's sister was heartbroken over the fact that her fiancée, Jeffory, was killed. Cabe was Jeffory's brother. I had indirectly hurt Hunter. I had killed that girl too. Had she had family here too? Did she also have ties to Hunter I as unaware about? I can't believe I had considered killing Cabe as well, heck, Celeste too. I made myself promise right then and there, that even if it kills me, I would not draw blood of anyone from this village. No, not just this village, any human ever again.

Thinking back, that shadow had killed two guards. Who were they? Friends of Hunter's? And what had that man meant by Shadow lord? Hunter had shown me where the library was. I needed to return the book Hunter had gotten me anyways. Maybe I could ask for some books on Shadows while I as there.

I quickly ate the food that was on the tray then left, without a second glance. As I walked to the library, another thought came to mind. Where had Rose gotten this necklace? This was obviously no little trinket. I cleared my mind as I pushed the door to the Library open.

I opened the door to the library, careful to use ,my left arm for my shoulder was still healing from the bite. Now that I had finally been released from the infirmary; otherwise known as my worst nightmare , I could finally do some good old research. I needed to know what a Shadow-lord was so that I can find out who the shadow is. I didn't even know where to start as my eyes lolled over the shelves upon shelves of books. There were some stairs leading up that I could only imagine lead to another floor of books and scriptures.

I looked ahead at the guy behind the counter. He had dark brown skin, black hair and brown eyes. His head was down as he read whatever book was in his hands. I walked up to the counter and cleared my throat. He didn't respond so I placed a hand on the edge of the counter.

"Excuse me sir?" I questioned.
He instantly snapped the book shut and looked up at me. He stood up, him now towering over me. He waved the book around a small bit as he spoke, his voice deep.

"Sorry. Books are like a web, you get caught up in them. I find them releasing of reality." He paused
"Now, enough of my rambling, what can I do for you young lady?"
He started heading over to a shelf behind him where a few books with ribbon bookmarks were sitting slightly unorganized as they leaned on each other where there were gaps.

"I was wondering if you had a book on shadows, specifically Shadow-lords"
He froze, his book slipping out of his hands and onto the floor. He turned to me a frown on his face.

"Do you just say shadows?"

"Yes,I need to-"

"S-sorry I don't h-have any books on such a creature."

"Your face says otherwise" I stated, taking a glance at his eyes.
He looks away then sighs. He hesitantly turns to his shelf and pulls off a book different from the rest. It had no ribbon bookmark and pages were slightly torn and browned as if someone had attempted to burn it. It's cover and spine were title-less, black leather extending the exterior of the book. He slid it over towards me but kept a hand on it. In a low tone he said,

"This is my only book. And if anyone asks you did not get this from me"
I grabbed the book.

"Ok, I won't. But tell me why I you don't want me to tell"

"You dig into the businesses of others too much. You're going to get yourself into something you don't want to be in some day."

"Tell me" I insisted.
As if possible he lowered his voice even more.

"This book is written by a shadow. This kind of writing is banned here. If I was caught with it, lets just say the consequences would not be nice"
I questioned what he meant. Was it death? Surely Hunter would not stand for that.

I nodded then left the store, book in hand. The black leather beneath my hands felt odd but I suppose I would adjust. I headed straight back to Hunter's house. He shouldn't be done for his shift for some time yet to come. So I grabbed a glass of water and sat down on the couch. I opened to the first page and began reading.

After reading for what must've been a few hours, I hear the door open. I shut the book quickly and hid it behind me as Hunter walked in. He put his sword in a weapon rack to his right then turned left to face me. He sat down on the other side of the table in the center of the room and leaned back.

"There was another shadow today. Or at least what seemed to be. She had the red eyes and fangs, but there was no trace of her making any kills. It was weird. She tried to run but we caught up to her eventually. The way she was acting was strange for a shadow. It was almost as if she was scouting or looking for something."

I took in his words and spun them around in my head. Scouting. That what the other shadow had been doing. I hesitated, but decided on what I wanted to say.

"H-Hunter. T-there is something I need to tell you about"

He looked at me then leaned forward, resting his arms on his legs.

"I'm listening"

"W-well, I don't really know how to say this. But that shadow that I ran into the other day, the day after you visited me while I was in the hospital, I had a dream about him. He was in a throne room of some sort. He had been talking to the shadow that was sitting on the throne. They talked about A shadow lord being here in Wolfbane. They talked about invading, attacking till they got the shadow lord back. I-I know this probably sounds stupid and its probably nothing more than a dream, but it felt real. What do you think about it?"

He was silent for a few minutes, thinking over what I had told him.

"Its probably nothing. And even if they were to try to invade Wolfbane, we have many defenses and a strong fighting force, as well as many allies." He paused.
"But if it makes you feel better, I can take it up with the rest of the crown."

"I know it makes me sound childish, but yes, that would help put me at ease" I said.

"Ok then. I th- Where did you get that?" he asked, clearly slightly worried as he pointed to the necklace that was still round my neck.

"ummmm, I found it?" I tried. Technically I wasn't lying, I did find it. I just found it in Rose's house.

"Really? that looks like the one that her dad got from- nevermind. Though, it does look good on you, it matches your eyes."

"T-thanks"

"Heh. Its late, we should get to bed. Are you wanting to start training again tomorrow? Or would you like to let your bite recover? Actually, how is the bite doing?"

I moved the sleeve of my shirt to show him. It seemed only slightly better then the last time when I had checked two days ago, but not getting any worse as it had rapidly the first few days.

"It's getting better I see. Do you want to attempt training tomorrow?"

"Y-yeah."
Maybe it could help clear out my head and relieve some of my stress. I stood up.

"Goodnight Hunter, see you tomorrow?"

"Bright and early" He grinned.

The next morning I woke up before the sun had risen. I had slept so much the past few days that waking up early left me with energy. I waited in bed till not long after the sun rose. There was knock at my door.

"Come in" I called.
Hunter walked in with a smile on his face.

"Ready to start?"

"I told you I would be! Lets get going!" I chirped.
He led the way to the training fields. When we arrived, he let me choose a sword that fit me and my style. Once I did, we began to spar.

After an hour or two of training, with him giving me tips on my stance or skills I should pick up, we decided to take a rest.

"Celeste was right, you're further on then I would've expected"

"Why thank you!"

"Its a well deserved compliment" he responded. He opened his mouth to say something else, but a man running towards us caught our attention.

"Hey Mark, whats u- what wrong!?" Hunter asked as the guy came up to us. He bent over, out off breath as he tried to speak.

"T-the gates. A-a shadow. Ask-asking for you and I-Irene"

"Mark, calm down. Tell me whats going on."
Mark took in a deep breath.

"At the gates. There are shadows, tons of them. They're not attacking, but demanding that they see you, Irene, Oliver, Celeste and Rose."

Hunter and I shared a glance before we took off for the gates. As we arrived, guards were everywhere around the shut gates. Maria was busy negotiating with two or three shadows. Adam was standing behind her, Rose was pacing back and forth. As soon as Hunter and were in sight, Adam turned to us.

"Please, talk to them. They want something but refuse to talk to anyone besides you five. They won't even talk to Maria."

My heart felt empty and there was a knot in my stomach. So many shadows. What did they want. What if they revealed me? Hunter nodded and approached the gates. I fell behind him. Rose, Celeste, and who must've been Oliver stood with us.

"Were here. Now, what do you shadows want?" Hunter asked. He tried to show authority in his voice, but you could tell he was worried. Among the shadows, there was one wearing gold-played armor, making him stick out. He looked like the one I had seen on the throne in my dream. Next to him-

Was the shadow from the other day. He sneered as our eyes met. He whispered something to the armored shadow who then nodded and spoke.

"What we want is the shadow lord. They are taking refuge in your village. Probably using it's natural magic aura to keep themselves hidden.

"W-what?"

I could feel everyone who was there, guard or not, shift and began to panic at this. The words made me want to run away before they found out.

"Who-who is it then?" Rose asked, stepping forward.

The armored shadow laughed.

"Poor humans. Do you not have any magic users in town? This shadow is smart. They've hidden their aura from us. The only way we know, is that one of our scouts found a trace of their presence here."

Had it been that man? Who had he found. If he had found them, why hadn't I?

"What do you want with them anyways?" Hunter asked.

"Human, I want many things with with them. And those thongs are secret and will be kept that way. Three days if they aren't returned to me, them we will bring war upon this town."

And with that  he turned and started to leave, the ranks turning their backs on us as well, some turning into animals, others staying in human form. The one that had been the scout grinned at me. Hunter took one step closer to me.
Then the shadow turned into a raven and flew over and perched on the king's shoulder. I was so shaken. I needed to finish reading that book. I needed to find this Shadow lord before the shadow army returned and Wolfbane was reduced to ashes.