A/N: I own none of the characters. They all belong to L.J Smith. Except for my own Shadow Men I created.

This chapter was created by:

Artist: Evanescence

Song: Imaginary

Chapter Eight: Darkness

Cold fire.

It  blazed through every nerve ending in her body. A slow frostbite that punctured the very bone marrow like a pin cushion. It drew out a soundless scream of agony, as Jenny fought to break to the surface.

Yet just as her eyes snapped open, the pain dissipated.

"Ugh..." Jenny clutched at her head as she struggled to sit up. For a split moment she let go to steady a sweaty palm to the floor. The oil from the pad of her fingers left a smudged print that blemished the glossy surface of... marble.

Pure. Black. Marble.

Her reflection visibly reflected back from the obsidian. Her eyes remained wide, long strands of gold framing a pale-stricken face.

In seconds she was on her feet, arms secured over the fitted jade tank top. A feeling of unease crept down her spine within the darkened room. It left her imagination running wild. Instinctively she knew she was far, far away from home. Like Dorothy, swept away from Kansas by a tornado into the Land of Oz.

"Hello?"

Her voice seemingly stretched out into an empty void, meeting only cavernous silence. Although it was dark, it wasn't pitch black which brought some comfort. Be strong, Jenny. Whereas Dorothy was greeted by munchkins, there were no rosy cheerful faces greeting her in return.

"Is someone there?"

"Hello, Jenny," a deep baritone voice suddenly broke through the silence.

Jenny stilled, her body instantly locking up in defense. It was as if she'd been touched by a frostbitten wind, the same symphonic voice that had haunted her late waking dreams.

Jenny rubbed her fingers nervously together, sweat collecting inside her palms. The solid gold felt between her fingers caught her attention. Her eyes widened a fraction at the band positioned there on her ring finger. Her hand flew to her chest, only to realize the necklace no longer there. So how had it gotten here if she'd taken it off? Was this some machination of Julian's?

Julian's voice held a distinct quality not easily replicated; a sensual dark undercurrent as rhythmic as it was deep.

"Who are you?" Jenny called out in a braver voice, an anger from times past stirring within her once more, preparing for what awaited her.

As if on cue, the voice echoed back to her smoothly like a sharp instrumental symphony:

"I am what you fear

I am what brings you back here

I'm neither flesh nor blood

I cannot be warmed

I am like a flood

I am what you see

Now come and find me,

Jenny."

Adrenaline crashed into her, heating her blood and sharpening her focus. Jenny had been right all along. The Shadow Men had found a loophole.

They're back.

Ignoring the raised hair on her arms, she started towards the invisible eyes she sensed awaiting in the darkness. "There's a fire within your spirit that has prevailed always..." Julian's words echoed back spurning her forward.

Laughter, jarring as a tolling bell, stopped Jenny in her steps. "Little Blondie's lost her way, wonder if the big, bad wolf will come to play,"

  The taunting voice had seemingly twisted the folklore of Red Riding Hood into his own. The image it brought to Jenny's mind was one she wouldn't soon forget.

  "C'mon, Blondie. You know the answer to this riddle, so say it."

Jenny glared hoping the queasy knot in her stomach would ease. "A Shadow Man," she spat, venomous.

Clapping resounded. Yet Jenny still couldn't pinpoint where the sound originated.

"My, my, what a sharp tongue you have," the voice praised, sarcastic.

A spotlight suddenly appeared on a distinct figure approaching.

Jenny bit her lip.

A silk blood-red cape fluttered to the ground as they emerged from out of the encapsulating dark. Loose, glossy curls shined in the lighting and fell across a broad forehead belonging to an eerily angelic face. Silk, ebony cuffs to their sleeves were rolled up against taut forearms, long legs in black jeans. A creature akin to a dragon was pierced into one winged brow, above eyes that shined like polished silver.

"Welcome," the stranger greeted.

His eyes glittered with bemusement as her lips parted.

Jenny took a step back.

Charmed by the endeavor, he backed up into a leather lounger, sinking into the plush cushions with ease. Gesturing for her to do the same, she rejected the offer.

"Suit yourself." He shrugged.

A wave of heat lanced her backside. Jenny yelped and jerked away as a fiery cobra sprung out from behind her. Before she could react, the creature hissed leaving a trail of fire behind in its path, illuminating her surroundings.

  Black marbled ceiling curved up into a dome-like structure reminiscent of the inside of Notre Dame. Yet, the shape of the room was quite different from a monastery, circular in shape with a raised seating.

An arena.

   "I'm assuming this isn't the most comfortable place, but it does hold a certain expose' doesn't it?" He grinned, predatory.

No doubt she was supposed to feel like the prey and he, the predator. Reminding her of the Roman Colosseum where those with undying fealty to their faiths, were once slaughtered for pleasure. For trial or sport.

  "Where are we?" Jenny said in a tight voice, ignoring his attempt at conversation.

Was she about to fight face off with him in an arena?

He smirked as if reading her thoughts, hands folded under his head. "Where do you think?"

Jenny eyed him.

Unlike the past Shadow Men he wasn't hostile or cannibalistic. He appeared more of a jester that thrived off the anticipation for his next trick.

Jenny forced herself to look away to observe his habitat, taxing the place from floor to ceiling.

Julian's games always had exits.

Slowly she inched forward.

"You can try every nook and cranny of this place if you fancy. But you'll never find an escape route unless I conjure one."

The usage of his riddles were really starting to wear on her. She turned to spear him with a glare—

When a familiar trinket just barely out of her perephrial, caught her eye. The silvery sheen with jeweled droplets bestowed upon petals like felt velvet beneath the pad of her fingers. A gift from a certain Erkling King who'd donned the disguise seamlessly.

It brought her back to the first game that had taken place within the dollhouse. Specifically, in Dee's nightmare crawling with the insidious creatures such as that of rabid elves.

Julians rose?

He caught Jenny looking and flashed her a chilling smile as he twirled it between his fingers. "Delicate piece of work, isn't it? What a fool."

Jenny grit her teeth. "He was never a fool. You capricious beings can't touch him anymore!"

"Yes, I know." He rolled his eyes and raised one hand with a flourish as if heading an orchestra. "He lives in a world of light where peace follows devoid of shadows. Blah, blah, blah."

Jenny hadn't expected that. "Wait, how did you...?"

His gaze pierced through her with an intensity that made her take a half step back then, even at a distance. Suddenly, he stood before her, his face inches from her own so that his nose grazed hers. "Why, hello there, Blondie." His chuckle slithered beneath her skin, rattling her nerves. Jenny could feel it in her bones, the superior hierarchy of this peculiar Shadow Man. The sheer power he wielded with just a gesture, a mere sliver of his dominance.

It was as if a film had been rolled back within those luminous eyes beckoning her further. Her mind was sent spiraling into the Dark Ages. From hangings to gruesome carnages across battlefields, dark chambers reverberating with bone-chilling screams that jarred her senses...

Stop it!

   Nausea curdled her stomach and Jenny she had to squeeze her eyes shut to even take a breath.

"Aw, the Shadow Man slayer is afraid." His voice now held a dark, sinister edge of a masochist. He graced a petal of the mystical rose along her cheek. "Little girl, little girl, let me come in." He seemed to breathe her in, drinking in her fear as if it were his personal libation. "The big bad wolf is ready to play, Little Red."

Jenny inhaled sharply as a shiver encompassed her. The quiver in her limbs left her feeling suddenly weak. Which made her loathe him that much more.

Your spirit... your spirit always...
What had Julian said about her spirit again?

  Every single part of Jenny wanted to flee in the opposite direction just as he slammed her against the wall.

"What do you want from me?"Jenny gasped out as the wind was nearly knocked from her lungs.

He sneered, satisfied from the reaction elicited. Finally he drew back. "Nothing worth on my chinny, chin, chin," The bark of laughter that followed sent a cold chill down Jenny's spine as she attempted to move—

When he braced one muscled arm across her chest, a loose strand of hair that had fallen pinched between his thumb and forefinger. "Now, Little Red, here's what has been spun

You're going to wake up and the game will have already begun,

That's all I will tell you until you meet the other,

Their words will be a little more fierce,

Than what I just uttered.

Goodbye, adieu, until we meet again,

For future reference, the name is, Jadan."

"Wha—"

But Jenny was cut off as fingers splayed across her forehead beaded with sweat. A strangled scream was torn from her lips as a white-hot pain exploded behind her eyes.

Jenny clawed at the hand holding her as dark laughter bellowed. She could feel her strength wane just before the familiar arms of darkness enveloped her a moment later.