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Archive name: shadow2.txt (teens, rom, 1st, mc)
Authors name: Gambit (gambit367@aol.com)
Story title : Shadow Knight Chronicles Chapter 3

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This work is copyrighted to the author (c) 2002.  Please
don't remove the author information or make any changes
to this story.  You may post freely to non-commercial
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Thank you for your consideration.
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The Shadow Knight Chronicles (teens, rom, 1st, mc)
by Gambit (gambit367@aol.com)

***

This is the story of a young man that discovers a great 
power within himself. He also discovers, in time that 
with power comes responsibility.

***

Chapter Three


Light filtered through the window, making the sleeping 
form on the bed stir. The form tossed and turned as if 
he were in a bad dream, the covers were wrapped around 
him in a very constricting manor.

Reaching blindly, Ethan grabbed the pair of mirror-
plated shades that were on the nightstand. His eyes were 
still firmly closed as he slipped them on. Much better. 
The sleepy boy thought as his eyes slowly cracked 
opened.

He noticed two things at that moment. The first was that 
he was the only one in his bed. He distinctly remembered 
going to sleep with her the night before. The night 
before ... Fuck! It worked. He thought wildly, sitting 
straight up in bed.

The teenager pulled his covers off and got out of bed 
completely naked, smiling as he remembered last night's 
festivities. Then he frowned, wondering where Heather 
was. Ethan walked to his dresser and pulled out some 
clothes for the day. As he looked in the mirror that was 
on the dresser, he saw something on his muscular chest. 
It was a symbol of sorts. It looked like small tiger 
vaguely, but had the coloring of a hickey.

Huh. He thought.

In all truth, Ethan didn't know whether to be exited or 
a bit scared about this new development. He didn't 
exactly know why he was changing so much. And the more 
he thought about it, the more it scared him. After all, 
would he change more? And what price would there be for 
these gifts?

He sat back down on his bed and let out an explosive 
sigh as he put on his shoes. And to top it off, Heather 
might be mad at me. He thought.

As he looked at the nightstand by the bed, he saw that 
it read 11:45. He almost slapped himself in the 
forehead. He never slept that late before. Could it be 
because of the changes? Does my body need that much 
rest? He mused.

The reason that it worried him was because of the fact 
that he was the type of person that only slept four to 
five hours a night. He did the math in his head and 
realized he slept thirteen hours. He never slept that 
long in his life.

Ethan jerked his head up at the sound of the door. It 
was a fairly light knock, so he knew that it wasn't 
Tosh. Tosh just gave three heavy thuds and opened the 
door. "Yeah?" He called out, standing up.

"Great, you're awake." Heather said as she walked into 
his room.

"Yeah, I guess I slept late enough last night, didn't 
I?" He asked with a wry shake of the head.

"Yeah, guess," Heather started with more than a little 
nervousness in her voice. "Listen, Ethan, we have to 
talk-- about last night, I mean."

Oh shit. She knows. Was the first thing that popped into 
his mind. But then he looked at the expression on her 
face and it was more regret than anything else. "Well, 
you see, it's like this," She went on. "I have a boy 
friend and . . ."

"And last night was a one time thing?" He finished for 
her watching her nod. Then he nodded, very gladly. "I'm 
glad you feel like that. I mean, I thought that you was 
going to come in her and slap the shit out of me." He 
told the redhead.

Heather laughed a beautiful laugh. "As if. It was all my 
doing anyway. Hell, I practically raped you." Now she 
was blushing deep red.

Thank god she doesn't even know what happened. He 
thought as he looked at the beautiful eighteen year old. 
The possibility of that would have been disastrous and 
Ethan knew it. 

The next thing he notice's is Tosh sticking her head in 
his room. "Hey, Bro. Could you do me a favor?"

Ethan looked at his sister's face and winced. He could 
tell that she was in obvious pain. "What's the favor?" 
No matter what she asked, he promised himself that he 
would try his best to do it. That's how guilty he felt.

"Could you go to the store and get some aspirin. We're 
out." Tosh said in an almost whisper. 

"Yeah, I was wanting to get some CD's anyway. I was 
gonna to it tomorrow, but now I just kill two birds with 
one stone." he replied with a smile.

"Not so loud, Bro." Was his all his sister said, rubbing 
her temples as she said it. Then she just went back down 
the hall and back into her room. Her nice quiet room.

Both watched her go with pity in their eyes. "Hey, 
Heather, could you maybe do me a favor? Watch her while 
I'm gone? I don't like seeing her sick like this,"

"Are you sure? It's a two mile hike to the store and I 
would be happy to drive you." She replied politely. They 
both knew it was for show though. Heather really wanted 
to watch over her friend. She hated seeing her like that 
just as much as Ethan did.

"Yeah, I got some energy to burn ... So, go see how 
she's doing, ok?" He asked again.

"You got it, kid." Ordinarily Ethan would have argued 
over her use of the word 'Kid', but the boy just had too 
much on his mind. "See ya later." She added as she 
disappeared into the hall.

Ethan was most certainly not lying when he said he had 
some energy to burn. It felt like he was on meth, or 
crank to some people. He knew what that felt like 
because he had a foster parent force it on him when he 
was ten, just to see what it would do. He was up for 
days and had more energy than he knew what to do with. 
The down side was when he came down, he started 
hallucinating. God, I hope it won't be like that with 
these changes. He considered. But in the back of his 
mind he really knew that it would be nothing like that.

Well, better get to walking. He thought, grabbing his 
wallet off the dresser. When he walked out the door he 
grabbed it and he was going to shut it like he normally 
would, with the normal amount of strength and got a 
surprise. The doorknob came off in his hands as the door 
was shut with vicious force.

He heard Tosh moan at the sound. 

Yeah, I walk would do me some good. I definitely need to 
sort out my thoughts. He thought. He was really getting 
worried now.


**********************


The only thing that Ethan didn't like about the mall 
were the people. He really didn't have much against a 
person singularly, just when they were in large groups-- 
like in a mall. 

The first thing that he bought was Tosh's aspirin. He 
really didn't want to forget that as he was going to 
look at the Music CDs at the music store. He had about a 
total of thirty-five bucks in his pocket after he bought 
the aspirin. Then again, I could walk out with anything 
in this store and not get caught. He thought with 
contemplation. But he knew that he could never do that. 
He never was one for stealing.

Ethan walked towards the music store, fully hoping that 
the CD Everlast: Eat at Whitey's in. hat was when he 
felt it. It was on the inside of his head. It was like 
when he used the mind control trick. This was more of a 
low-grade buzzing that he could even hear, let alone 
feel. It made his head feel funny and it oddly made him 
feel like scratching his scalp.

The boy just shook his head and tried to clear it as he 
made his way towards the music store. When he made it 
there, he automatically went to searching in the "E" 
section. But he really couldn't focus. The buzzing 
sensation was starting to get on his nerves. Then all of 
the sudden, it seemed to get stronger. 

Then for no apparent reason, Ethan jerked his head up 
and looked directly to the left. What he saw was a 
little surprising. It was a girl. But it was also a girl 
of likes of which Ethan had never met before. And there 
was one thing that stood out on the girl that gave Ethan 
a sense of wonderment, and, if he was truthful, dread.

The girl that stood no more than six feet from him had a 
sword that was attached to the back of a thick leather 
jacket. The sword looked like a Katana with a silver 
dragons head on the butt of it. Under the leather 
jacket--he could tell because it was unzipped--was a 
black t-shirt that was tucked into her skintight black 
jeans. To top it all off the girl was wearing a pair 
silver tipped boots.

But what got Ethan was the fact that she was wearing the 
exact same kind of shades that he was wearing. She also 
had the same shade of hair he did. It was a little 
unnerving though, to have her just standing there, like 
she was evaluating him. 

"Problem?" He asked in a neutral voice, taking a step 
towards her. She took a step back, and all of the sudden 
he felt a wave of dizziness wash over him. By sheer 
instinct alone, he realized that the girl before him had 
entered his mind. With that same instinct, he locked her 
out and lashed out.

The girl reached up and rubbed her temples, a lot like 
what Tosh was doing when he left. She quit almost as 
quickly as she did it, though. As if not wanting to show 
that she was in pain before him.

"Hunter, Tracker or Rogue?" She asked. Even though there 
was an edge to her voice, Ethan had to admit that sound 
quite esthetical.

She might have been beautiful and her voice might have 
been lovely, but Ethan thought that her manners were 
lacking. "What the hell are you talking about?" He asked 
and there definitely was an edge to his voice at that 
point. 

It didn't seem to faze the girl though. "Are you a 
Rogue, Hunter or Tracker?" She asked slowly. There was a 
little uncertainty in her voice now.

Ethan looked at the girl, who looked to be about his 
age, and thought that she may be a little crazy. "My 
god, you really don't know what you are, do you?" She 
asked. There was even a note of pity in her voice.

"What's your name?"

"Jesse Budroux. Second Adept," She started, but before 
Ethan could speak, she asked another question. "Have you 
even learned what you are capable of yet? Or do you just 
play with peoples minds." Jesse asked that last question 
because that was all she was able to get from him with 
her quick probe before he shut her out like a Master. 
Who is this kid? She thought. A novice wouldn't have 
even known she was probing until it was to late. She saw 
Ethan go pale at the thought of being caught and she had 
to smirk.

"Relax, I'm not judging. You're really new to this 
aren't you?"

"How 'bout we go to someplace that's a little less 
public to talk?" He asked. Ethan would be lying if he 
said that he wasn't more than a little scared. How did 
she know? He thought wildly.

Jesse nodded. "I saw a small caf‚ that's just a short 
walk from here. I'm a little hungry, might as well kill 
two birds with one stone." She replied practically.

All Ethan could do was nod mutely. This was becoming a 
little too much for his brain to process. "Yeah, sure. I 
could use something to drink."

The both of them started walking down the line of stores 
in the mall. He knew one thing for certain and he was 
completely baffled by something else. The first was, the 
longer he stayed with this girl, the more at ease he 
was. Well, there were two things that baffled him. The 
first was the fact that no one seemed to mind this 
beautiful blonde walking around the mall with a Katana 
strapped to hitch that was on the back of her leather 
jacket.

"Why aren't people freakin' about the blade you have on 
your back?" he asked, curiosity tinged his voice.

Jesse gave the boy a smirk. "I just give off a mental 
vibe that tells them to ignore it."

"Why do you carry it?" He asked as they walked into the 
small caf‚ were there were very few people. They took a 
seat as far away from the people as possible.

"I'll answer that all in good time, maybe," She started. 
"But first, what's your name?"

"Ethan." He replied. A chubby little waitress chose that 
time to come over to take their order. Mason ordered a 
Mountain Dew and Jesse ordered a hamburger with a Coke.

Jesse looked at the boy before her with a very serious 
expression. "Look, I'm going to ask you something. And 
before you say no, I want to take into consideration 
that I'm in a little bit of trouble and I don't know who 
I can trust."

Ethan just cocked his head as if asking her to go on, 
then took a sip of soda.

"I want you to let me into your mind-- to see if I can 
trust you."

The word "NO" almost jumped immediately to his lips. But 
then he thought about it and decided that he really 
didn't have anything to hide. But he did want something 
in return. "I'll let you do it-- on one condition." He 
stated.

Jesse leveled her gaze on him.

"Let me see your eyes." 

The girl decided that the few moments of irritation that 
the light caused would be worth it if she could get a 
look into Ethan's mind, to make sure he wasn't a threat. 
She lowered her mirror-plated shades and gave him a 
level gaze with a small smile on her lips. "Now its my 
turn." She stated as she pushed back up her shades.

"Is gonna make me dizzy like it did last time?" He 
asked. He really didn't like the feeling. Ethan saw how 
she squinted against the light. We really are alike. He 
though. Maybe I can get some answers now.

"No. You should only feel a slight tingle." She didn't 
tell him that a novice wouldn't feel anything at all. 
"And that's because you gave me your permission."

"Do it." He said with a note of finality, before he lost 
his nerve. 

Jesse didn't have to be told twice. The whole thing only 
took about five minutes, because she was that good at 
doing probes. She learned everything about him since the 
time of his first memories. It gave her only a slight 
headache doing a full probe like this.

Mason felt the tingle, like she said he would. And after 
about five minutes it was gone and he knew that she was 
out of his mind. When he looked at her he was a little 
more than surprised. He saw a tear rolling down her left 
cheek. He then did something that was completely 
uncharacteristic of him. He reached out and wiped it 
away. "What's wrong?" He asked gently.

"Hell's Outhouse ... How did you survive it?" She asked 
in a terribly sad voice.

Ethan was glad that he was wearing his shades, because, 
although he wasn't crying, his eyes misted. Finally, 
someone that fully understands. He thought. He gave her 
a weak smile. "No other choice." He stated plainly. He 
was starting to feel really connected to this girl named 
Jesse.

"You're much braver than you let on, Ethan." She 
replied, collecting herself so that her voice didn't 
waver. "You really don't know about the Shadow Knights?" 
She asked, after what all she saw in his mind, it was 
the least she could do to explain it to him.

He shook his head negative. "What's a Shadow Knight?"

"You and me, and a lot of other people. Shadow Knight's 
are a cut above the Normals, Ethan." She said in a very 
serious manor. "We're faster, stronger and have a higher 
mental capacity. I want you to notice that I didn't say 
that we were better, though. We also have many of the 
same faults." She added this in a bitter tone.

Ethan leveled an intense gaze on her. "What kind of 
trouble are you in?" 

"The Hunters from the Zone are looking for me."

Ethan looked at the clock on the wall of the caf‚, then 
back at the beautiful Shadow Knight. "Come home with 
me." He stated plainly. Even he could hardly believe he 
said it.

"What?! Are you that dense, Ethan? I just said that 
Hunters were looking for me. I won't put you in that 
kind of danger." She added the last sentence softly. "Or 
your family." She added and watched him flinch at that 
prospect.

"It's highly unlikely they would find you at my place. 
They would probably look in places that they knew you 
would likely go to. Since you're the first Shadow Knight 
I've met, I damn well know none of them know me."

"And what of your family?" Jesse retorted. 

"They'll say yes."

"If they say no?"

"I'll ... I guess I'll have to persuade them." He put 
emphasis on the word persuade. His face was marred in a 
deep frown. He really didn't like the idea of doing 
that.

"It gives you a guilty conscience to use the gifts you 
were gifted with?" Jesse asked with a curious 
expression.

"They're my family," was his simple answer.

And by the smile that was on Jesse's face, it was the 
right one. She watched as he stood up and held a hand 
out to her, as if to help her out of her seat. If anyone 
else would have done that to her, she would have thought 
them chauvinistic. But it was pretty charming when Ethan 
did it. It also amazed her that he could still hold the 
element of charm after all that he had been through.

What amazed her more, was when they were walking through 
the mall, he never let her hand go. She didn't know why 
she allowed this ... Well that was a lie. She did know. 
It just felt right.

Jesse decided, before they even left the mall, that she 
was going to teach this newbie of Shadow Knighthood 
everything he would need to know to survive against 
those that would do him harm. And there were those that 
would. She knew that for a fact. That was what the 
Trackers were for. They were recruiters. If you didn't 
give the answer they wanted, it was your head. And she 
was going to make damn sure that never happened to 
Ethan.

Ethan was in thoughts were very confused. He didn't know 
why he kept holding the girls hand. All he did know was 
that it felt completely right. It was almost like the 
girl was a kindred spirit to his tortured soul. She was 
someone that finally understood all that he went 
through.

I just hope Tosh, Joanna and Shawn understand. He 
thought a little sadly. But he had a feeling that he was 
going to have to use his gifts on them to let him take 
in Jesse. 

Mine. A primal thought went through his head as he 
squeezed Jesse's hand a little harder, as if claiming 
her. What the hell? He just shook his head and kept 
walking.

Tosh sent me for aspirin and I am bringing home so much 
more. Hope it don't increase her headache. He thought 
with no humor.

********************

Ethan let out an appreciative whistle when he saw the 
car that Jesse had. It was a Mustang convertible with a 
scoop on the hood. "Nice wheels." He stated, as he 
opened up the door on the convertible and sat down in 
the passenger seat. He almost looked at Jesse with 
jealousy when she just vaulted over the door-- that was 
exactly what he wanted to do.

"You'd be surprised the kind of deals you can get with 
our ability." She stated, know he knew what she meant. 
She in no way bought this car.

Ethan just smirked at her and appreciated the rev of the 
engine as she gunned it. With a maniacal smile she 
pealed out of the mall parking lot. This was a side of 
Jesse that she didn't show many people. But for some 
reason, she felt comfortable around him. 

There were legends about when two Knights meet in the 
Shadow Knight Chronicles, written by Dakrin. Legends 
about how some Knights found their soul mate. But she 
always considered that hogwash. That couldn't be it 
could it? There were no Knights back at the Zone that 
had felt that. That she was sure of.

They didn't talk much on the way over to Ethan's. He 
wanted to wait to quiz her when they were in private, 
and quiz her he would. The boy had a thousand questions 
going through his mind. The first of them were simple. 
When would the changes top? The second was; what was he 
capable of?

Ethan groaned as they pulled into the driveway. 

"What's the matter?"

"Shawn would pick this day to show up early from his 
business trip." He murmured, and then opened the door. 
It wasn't like he wouldn't have been very pleased to see 
him ... It was just the circumstances.

"Who's Shawn?" Jesse asked as she hopped out of the car. 
She was a little bit disappointed in herself for missing 
something in the probe.

"He's my Dad ... Well, the only man that I respect 
enough to call that anyway." He replied with a sad 
little smile.

At that moment, Shawn came out on the porch smiling. The 
smile faltered a little when he saw Jesse, but grew 
again. "Jesse Budroux, as I live and breath. You're a 
long way from home."

Ethan noticed that everything in his adoptive fathers 
voice asked a simple question: What are you doing here? 
Ethan was floored that Shawn even knew the girl. And he 
knew that if he knew Jesse, he knew other things. But 
what?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
This story was written as an adult fantasy. The author
does not condone the described behavior in real life in
anyway shape or form. 

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