Excerpt: Dark Shadow

Bane glanced over his shoulder and crooked his finger, indicating that Tim should come to him. The old man got to his feet slowly and moved to his side. Bane pointed. "There, that's him."

Tim squinted in the direction Bane pointed. "Great gods above, Bane, do you know what they are?"

Bane looked skyward and prayed for patientce. "If I knew what I was dealing with, do you really think I would be here asking you? Watch this."

He turned back to the ghost and let his magic pulse. He pointed at the ghost and sent a tendril of energy zipping towards it, hitting it in the shoulder. As expected the ghost reacted by grasping its shoulder but so did the living boy, both letting out a shout of pain. Bane ducked back behind the building and looked back at Tim. "You see?" Tim stared at him, mouth agape. Bane waited for the old man to say something but no words came. "What?"

"You want my help in killing a shadow twin?" the old man finally asked, sounding as if Bane just asked for help killing his mother.

"Its a gods be damned ghost, its an unnatural abomination and needs to be dealt with. So tell me how to send it to hell where it belongs."

"You don't kill a shadow twin!" Tim replied, moving back down the alley to his rug. "Didn't I teach you anything?"

"You didn't tell me about anything like this," Bane said, following the old man. "So what the hell is a shadow twin?"

Tim sat back down on the rug and Bane hunkered down next to him, waiting for the explanation. Tim breathed a shaky sigh and said, "I suppose I neglected to mention them. Shadow twins are extremly rare. It happens when one of a pair dies at childbirth and the spirit of the dead child attaches to the living one. The surviving twin usually has a great capacity for magic. Its something to do with them touching both the ethereal and material planes. They are connected in such a way that whatever you do to one, the other will feel. They are very special."

A sharp breeze turned the corner of the rug, sending Tim scrabbling to keep his items from flying away. Bane shifted to put his foot on the corner. "So killing one would kill the other?"

"Yes."

Bane shook his head. He didn't want to harm the living twin, only the ghost. "So how do you break the connection."

"Are you insane?" Tim asked.

The wind blew harder, knocking Bane over. As he got to his feet he saw the shadow twins at the end of the alley. It was just like that night years ago. The ghost floated at the boy's side, eerie white light pulsing from his eyes. "You again." They spoke slightly out of sync, their combined voice adding to their otherworldlyness. The boy walked slowly towards them, the ghost following. "We thought we told you to leave us alone."

Bane's hands glowed with the yellow light of his magic. He could end this quickly but it would mean the death of the boy. He was shoved back again by the harsh wind. The old man jumped in front of him. "Its just a misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding?" Bane snarled. "Get out of the way Tim."

The shadow twins paused, the wind dying down just a bit. Tim turned to Bane. "Don't," he whispered. "Not now."

From the look in the old man's pale eyes, Bane knew Tim had a plan. Bane let his magic subside. "Yes, just a misunderstanding. I was merely telling my friend here how unusual it was that you felt each other's pain."

The twins stood still, the wind faltered a bit and then picked up again, whipping around the alley, scattering Tim's amulets and charms. "Leave us alone."

Bane held his hands up in a show of peace, for now anyway. "You got it kid."

The light subsided from the ghost's eyes and the wind settled. Bane could have sworn the ghost looked relieved. "Gareth is looking for us," the ghost said.

"Come near me again," the living boy said, his young voice full of menace. "And I'll make you wish you never set eyes on me."