A Toiling Darkness by Jaliza Burwell Read Free Book Online Page A

poked at it before sitting back
down.
    “That’s kind of neat,” he finally said and
watched as I released the shadow and it seeped back into the shade
of the tree.
    “Yeah, it is.” I couldn’t hide the pleased
smile on my face.
    He said it was neat and I was a sucker for
compliments.
    A small green plastic ball rolled over to
us, bouncing off the large tree trunk and stopping a foot away from
where my white boots rested. A group of children ran over, laughing
until they spotted me. I was hidden from their view with Kalen
between us and now that they saw me, the smiles and laughs were
wiped right from their faces. They all stopped.
    A brave boy, probably around nine years old
with floppy red hair and narrow brown eyes stepped forward. His
eyes widened even more and his fear clued me in on the pounding of
his heart against his chest. The pupils in his eyes danced with the
uncertainty he felt about me. The boy still came forward even
though his mind was probably telling him to run. The others cowered
behind him, giving him what little useless support they could.
    This little human child was going to grow up
to be a leader some day. His strength glowed in his eyes behind
that fear and in his stance. And the fact that he even approached
me when he was scared silly only proved how brave he was. Stupid
but brave.
    “Can you pass us the ball, please?” he asked
politely while staring at it studiously.
    “Just come and grab it,” I said, making my
voice higher in pitch to sound like a girl. In the corner of my
eye, I could see Kalen as he cocked an eyebrow. I ignored him and
focused on the brave boy. He looked at me and swallowed, his face
paling even more. The freckles stood out from his skin like a
constellation going across his nose, acting as a tell for his
fear.
    He thought about it and the reluctance was
there. He stepped forward, his body shaking slightly. The boy
didn’t want to get any closer but the tension in his body said he
would. He really wanted that ball.
    “It’s okay. I’ll pass it to you,” I said,
taking pity on him, and stood up slowly. He flinched but didn’t
falter. The other kids jumped and backed off a little, leaving the
boy to his fate. I grabbed the ball and threw it to him gently. He
caught it and tucked it under his arm like a football he needed to
guard against me.
    “Thank you, ma’am,” he mumbled and they
scurried off. Some of the other kids patted the boy on the
back.
    I sat back down, watching them run off like
there were hounds snapping at their heels. It made me wonder what
made humans fear me so easily. I looked like a little angel and yet
they still knew I was off.
    “He called you ma’am,” Kalen remarked as he
watched me carefully.
    I shrugged. “I have that effect on
humans.”
    “But you’re a child.”
    “Kids have great intuition. My appearance
may be childlike but not my presence. He intuitively figured that
out and his subconscious recognized me as a ma’am. He’s a polite
little kid.” I nodded to myself, agreeing with my earlier
assessment. “He’s going to grow up to be an amazing man.”
    Kalen’s eyebrows knitted as he tried to
grasp what I was trying to tell him. “I get the impression that
you’re a lot older than you look.”
    “That’s because I am.”
    “In this form?”
    “Two hundred years strong.”
    His eyebrows rose at that tidbit of
information. “You’ve lived for two hundred years?”
    No, more, I wanted to say. Instead I said,
“To survive, I blended in. I stayed quiet with my ears open and my
presence in the background. I try hard not to attract any
attention.” It was easier to survive as a child, easier to hide who
I really was. Those that wanted me dead didn’t try to kill me when
they met me like this. They just didn’t recognize me.
    “That’s it?” he asked.
    “Yeah, that’s it. It isn’t as easy as you
think.” I glanced at him through my peripheral vision, wondering
what he was thinking. “So why are you