Chapter 11: Lesson

A Chapter by Andrew Akuna

Lessons

"Shadowmancy is quite simple, really." Xero said to Longinus.

The three of them had left Raven's Way to escape the eyes that searched for Xero and Longinus. Fortunately for them, Vlad had more than one home. About seven hours north of the city, there was a large house that had been abandoned over a hundred years ago. Vlad moved in a year after it's previous owner, an Otter with very strange taste in art, passed away. Now, due to Vlad's taste, the property appeared as a ruined castle. The gray bricks were cracking as vines slithered out and up the walls. There were holes in the walls and random chunks of the building were missing, almost like Xero's mansion, but less destroyed. All of this stood before a massive lake, the pier of which, Xero and Longinus were standing on

"There's no way this is as easy as you say." Longinus said, sitting on the end of the pier."There has to be something else to it."

"There really isn't! Alright, I'll try to make a diagram." Xero extended a claw and started carving into the wood. "Alright, a straight line is one plane, do you follow?" Longinus nodded and Xero continued, drawing a second line that formed a 90 degree angle. "This is another plane, are you still with me?" Longinus nodded again. "Alright, the trick to Shadowmancy is to get the darkness here." He raised his paw up above the two lines.

"I understand that much, but I can't get the shadows to move for me, let alone lift off the ground." Longinus said. "How did you do it?"

"I was born with it."

"GREAT!" Longinus shouted. "I'll never learn it!"

"Listen, if I can teach this to a lesser panther, I'm sure I can teach you." Xero replied. "Just be patient. Now let's try again."

Longinus sighed and stood up.

"Remember, malice helps. You need to want to hurt me."

Longinus nodded and took a fighting stance, as did Xero. The Panther counted to three and lunged at Longinus. Longinus dodged left and grabbed Xero's hair and pulled back, taking him off his feet.

Xero hissed and changed into black smoke, freeing himself from the Wolf's grip. The smoke swirled around Longinus, robbing him of his sight.

"Try now..." Xero said, reforming and hovering over the Wolf's shoulder. Longinus turned and swiped his claws in the dark, but only got black smoke. "The shadows are already off the ground; you just need to manipulate them." Xero was behind him again. Longinus swung again. The Panther faded away again.

"And why is it you can still do this?" Longinus said, feeling around in the darkness.

"This ability is in my blood." Xero replied. "I can't imagine losing all of it and retaining my life. Alright now, manipulation is a bit easier than actually getting the shadows into the third plane. All you need do is see the darkness as an extension of yourself. This is the most basic of techniques...and also the most useful. The Black Chaser."

"Extension of myself, extension of myself, ext..." Longinus put both arms out with his paw pads up. He waved his arms and paws as if gesturing upward.

"Keep going, I think you've got it..." Xero said from nowhere. He was right. Longinus could see just a little. Slowly, but surely, Xero's smoke lifted and formed a swirling black mass above his head.

Xero applauded. "I'm quite impressed." he said. "I was very sure you'd never catch on. Do you understand it now?"

Longinus nodded.

"Excellent. The next thing we go over is actually controlling it."

Longinus raised an eyebrow and smirked before waving his hands in a spherical motion before himself, turning the swirling mass into a flowing sphere.

A malicious sparkle in the Wolf's eye caught Xero's attention. He only had time for a gasp before he was blasted off his feet by a funnel of black smoke from the sphere.

"Longinus, what the hell?!" Xero shouted as he staggered to his feet.

Longinus grinned and threw his right arm forward, sending another black tentacle at the Panther.

Xero jumped backward, barely escaping the devastating blow that ripped a hole in the pier. The black tentacle burst back through the pier, making another hole as it pursued Xero.

"Are you afraid?" Longinus called as he chased Xero with the cloud.

The Panther looked to Longinus and was horrified to see that his once silver eyes were now glowing red. He drew his revolver and fired a round into his shoulder. "Damn!" Xero shouted. His bullet did not phase the Wolf.

"Vlad!" Xero called, hoping the Wolf's brother could stop him.

"D'you really think he'll come?" Longinus asked, sending another black tentacle after Xero.

Xero flipped backward onto one paw to dodge the shadow, then aimed his revolver at Longinus again.

"Are you going you shoot me?" Longinus called. "But Xero, if you shoot me, I'll die..." He said, gesturing to his neck where his collar should have been.

Xero stood there on his left paw pondering this. He aimed at the boards beneath Longinus and shot them several times. When the gun was empty, the panther sprang onto his feet and stomped the pier hard enough for it to move.

The movement caused Longinus to fall through the boards and into the water.

Xero looked up and saw the black cloud dispelling. He sighed and fell backward onto the grass after being forced off the pier. A minute passed and Xero realized that Longinus hadn't come from under the water. He looked out over the lake.

"...OH S**T!"