Chapter II

If only I would have been smart enough to put the books away, to tear them apart and then burn them. To destroy every sign of their physical existence. Or tell my parents I wasn’t really masturbating, but reading some very, VERY dangerous books…
Needless to say that it seemed way too interesting to a thirteen year old boy and I had to try some of them, see if it was the real deal or just some crappy grandma horror stories. Some of beings I’ve read about were Shades. Shades were supposed to be like shadows, ‘made up’ of the same material. Basically just obscured light. The difference was that Shades were alive – moving, seeing, conscious. People say that the reflection in the mirror is just the reflection of one thing or being in another dimension. The problem is, there are also other things in that dimension. That’s why in most of these books, the summoning ritual require a mirror.
But back to the Shades. These beings were supposed to be able to take any form. Only certain things distincts them from normal beings. Only a trained eye would be able to make the difference. The skin of a Shade who’s taken the form of a human would always be pale and their eyes would always be green. As for animals, their fur would always be black and their eyes – of course, green.
If any of you has ever read an entertaining book about witches and warlocks, you would probably know that most of them have a black cat as a pet, sometimes using it for rituals, sometimes communicating to them. Only now you know these kittens are shades, not ordinary animals. And now you also have the explaination for the old superstition about black cats crossing your way. Granted, probably not all of these cats are actually vile spawns of hell, but you get the picture.
The voice of a Shade who’s taken a human form can range from a whisper to a demonic growl. They can travel through dimensions, even the afterlife and make deals with anyone they deem worthy.
Of course, like every adventurous thirteen year old boy, I considered myself worthy to try. What would be the worse that could happen?, I thought to myself back then. Probably just standing in front of the mirror, looking ridiculous and being happy that no one know I was stupid enough to believe this was real. Nevertheless, I concentrated on reading about summoning rituals of Shades, since I hoped to make a great deal, getting some awesome powers to impress my friends and family with.
There I was, in the bathroom, five minutes before midnight, with a cigarette stolen from my dad. I checked my watch to make sure I’m timing it perfectly. I lit the cigarette, hoping the ritual wasn’t complete nonsense. I coughed as silently as I could, like every smoking contender, hoping that my parents wouldn’t smell the smoke tommorow in the bathroom. I only kept the cigarette burning, creating as much smoke as possible, though avoiding to draw too hard from it, since my lungs were not at all happy with my new found hobby. According to the book, the room was supposed to be as dark as possible, therefore I put out the lights in the bathroom. The only light was coming from the cigarette end which was starting to burn my fingers. I kept on staring in the mirror, not blinking even though my eyes were starting to water from the smoke. Precisely at midnight, when I’ve heard the old lever watch we had from grandma ringing downstairs, my reflection in the mirror began to dissapear and another form was replacing it. I couldn’t believe my eyes and almost wet my pants. I lit the candle which was supposed to replace the light of the cigarette bum according to the ritual and aproached the mirror. I knocked on the mirror seven times and said with suffocated voice “I invite you to our world, come, Shade.”
The Shade then dissapated from the mirror and reformed behind me, looking like a tall, muscular man with short hair, pale skin and green eyes. I then shook his hand and it asked me: “What do you wish to know or receive?”
“Grant me immortality, Shade.”
It laughed and said, “Very well then, but you will have to repay me at some point.”
“How?” I asked it.
“We’ll talk about this some other time,” it smiled. “We’ll have an eternity to talk about it,” it laughed at it’s own joke.
He then turned his hand into a claw and stuck it into my chest. The pain I’ve felt was unbearable and I cursed the moment I’ve touched the occult books. It felt as if a thousand knives were cutting me open, disemboweling me. Eventually my brain couldn’t bear the pain anymore and I was passing out, when I’ve once again heard the demonic voice of the Shade whispering “Try it out. I shall see you tommorow at midnight.”
I woke up a few minutes later, even though it felt like years. I ran back in my room, thinking it was just a hallucination, hoping my father’s cigarettes contained ganja and nothing really happened. I wasn’t able to fall asleep that night. The sunrise found me lying in my bed, pale as a ghost and frightened as if I’ve seen one. Everybody was still asleep and I decided I won’t fall sleep anymore in that night. I went down to the kitchen and drew a knife from the drawer. I decided there was only one way to find out if the happenings in that night were real or just a wicked dream.
The knife was sharp, sharp enough to cut through the bones of the chicken wings my mom loves to prepare for dinner. I placed its tip on my forearm, pushing the knife edge into my skin. I felt no pain. I pushed it even further and I could see blood squirting out of the wound. I panicked. Pulled the knife out. Immediately my wound was cauterizing, the blood from the floor was getting drawn back into the wound, leaving no mark whatsoever.
I was afraid. Afraid and relieved at the same time, if you know what I mean. It meant that it really happened, I really achieved immortality, and I’ve achieved it for no price. Then I remembered the last words of the Shade. Tommorow night, echoed through my head.
Well, I thought to myself, even if the Shade wanted money, I could easily rob a bank, give it the money and spend ten years in prison, enjoying my immortality after that. I felt confident, I felt powerful, I felt.. well, immortal.