 
                       Shadow Knight Chronicles 

The Shadow Knight Chronicles  

By Gambit
 
 
 
 
 
_Chapter Six_
 
_ _
 
_ _
 
Jesse had to laugh outright at the deepness of Ethan’s blush. Ethan
hadn’t been caught in the act, but the boy was caught with his pants
down—so to speak. And Kasey was completely undressed, save for a pair
of ankle length socks. She also noticed the girl must have gotten a
little wild because she had managed to rip Ethan’s shirt and because of
that, she could see a hicky… No, that was no hicky. She knew that
symbol very well. It could have been a birthmark but was much too well
defined. 

 
 
Oh yes, she knew that symbol. She had lived most of her life under that
symbol. It was a symbol of truth, honor and justice. It was The Red
Dragon. It was the symbol of Dakrin, and of the second coming.
Everything that she already knew was proven correct in that one moment
and it made her grow pale. She really was in the presence of a power
that might have the potential to be the strongest in the world, if
properly trained.
 
 
 
After Ethan and Kasey had gotten themselves collected, Ethan looked
over at the Jesse. She looked like she had just seen a ghost. “Hey,
Jess,” There was no response. “Hey, Jesse,” Still, there was no
response. Then he lightly tapped her on the cheek. She seemed to snap
out of her reverie on that.
 
 
 
“I can’t believe it. It’s true it’s all true.” She murmured in awe. She
was looking at Ethan with eyes the size of saucers. 

 
 
“What are you talking about, Jesse? You’re starting to freak me out a
little, I hope ya know that.” He told her with a nervous chuckle, and
he wasn’t lying.
 
 
 
“You have the mark of The Second Coming. Haven’t you read anything of
your father’s book?” Then she quoted a passage out of the Chronicles.
“‘And there shall come a time that a Shadow Master will come to be; My
symbol shall cover his heart and mind. And there will be a river of
blood that will flow from those who doubt.’” 

 
 
When she finished the quote, she poked him in the spot on his chest,
which happened to be above his heart. “This means that the Knights in
New Mexico and a lot of other Knights are being fools. The Prophecies
are true, even if they don’t want them to be.”
 
 
 
Ethan stood very still for more than a few minutes, taking in the quote
that Jesse just gave from The Shadow Chronicles. It was beginning to
become to much for him, so he did what he usually did when he didn’t
want to deal with it at that point in time; he shoved it to the back of
his mind.
 
 
 
Jesse took one look at Ethan and knew that he needed sometime. “Look,
Ethan, why don’t you take a walk and clear your head. Kasey and I will
go to her house and I’ll have to reprogram her parents so that she can
come with us. Will you go try to get your thoughts straight before you
come back? After all, your sister would kill me if I brought you back
like this.” She said jokingly. But in truth, she wasn’t feeling very
jovial.
 
 
 
Ethan tried to smile, but it was morbid at best. “Yeah, a walk would be
great.” *Am I going to cause* *a river of blood? *He thought and
involuntarily shivered.
 
 
 
“Just don’t stay gone to long, all right?” Jesse asked with a tint of
worry in her voice. She knew that he needed some alone time, but that
didn’t mean that she liked leaving him alone. Jesse looked over at
Kasey who looked like she was about to cry at the prospect of him
leaving.
 
 
 
*<‘Reassure Kasey, would you? She looks like she’s gonna break because
you’re leaving.’> *The voice inside his head made Ethan startle
slightly. He didn’t know whether he would *ever *get used to people
talking to him telepathically. “He looked over towards Kasey, who had
tears in her eyes again.
 
 
 
“You’re going to leave me?” She asked in a teary voice.
 
 
 
“I promise I will be back soon, a few hours at the most. Just stick
close to Jesse, ok?” He asked. Then he sent a calming command and she
gave him the brightest smile he had seen since he had first met her.
 
 
 
He then looked at Jesse. “I’ll be back, I promise.”
 
 
 
“I’ll hold you to that Ethan Remfield.” Jesse responded with a sweet
voice. She could feel the connection between them, the love, it was
stronger than ever; she suspected that was why she wasn’t jealous of
Kasey.
 
 
 
*What will the future hold? *She wondered as she watched him walk out
of the room, to try and walk his worries away like an athlete would try
to run them away.
 
 
 
                         ***************************************
 
 
 
                           One Hour Later
 
 
 
Ethan walked down the side of the highway almost blindly he was so deep
in thought. He hadn’t had this much on his mind since he was ten years
old and had a mental break, shutting himself of from everyone. But he
knew he could not do that again. Too many people were depending on him.
Moreover, he had no clue as to what to do. It was a little
disconcerting. The reason for that being that it seemed like all
through his life he had some kind of answer to everything. But on
this-- On this, he felt like he was drawing a total blank.
 
 
 
He was starting to feel like that helpless little boy that he was in
*Hell’s Outhouse*, and that was something that he definitely hated. He
was having flashbacks of his past as he walked and they were blocking
out all things that were around him, including passing cars. Or people
pulling over and asking him if he needed a ride. He would just walk on,
not even seeing them.
 
 
 
*He was back in a kitchen in Brooklyn. A plate slipped from his hand
while he was doing the dishes and broke. The next thing he knew was the
harsh slap across his face from his foster mother, then her sharp nails
going down his back. They felt like razor flames…*
 
* *
 
*Then he was back with his foster father. His foster father told him to
fetch him a beer from the kitchen. The man had just got off work and he
always had a beer after work. Ethan thought that he would get on his
good side and open it for him that day. Halfway there though he dropped
the Miller Pony. He could still feel the kicks of the steel-toed boots
ramming in his leg…*
 
* *
 
*Then he was back in the house that he hated the most. It belonged to
the Baily family. His foster father and mother had dropped to hits of
acid and were tripping out. All of the sudden they thought that the
nine year old boy, Ethan, was a Nark. Mr. Baily shot him in the leg
twice with a 22. revolver before he came to his senses and realized
what he done. To the man’s credit, he did drive Ethan to the hospital.*
 
* *
 
Ethan stopped dead in his tracks. *I gotta quit thinking like this. *He
chastised himself. *I can’t change the past, but I can try to make a
difference the future… Its easier said than done, though. *The last he
thought bitterly.
 
 
 
For the first time, the boy actually took in where he was. He was right
in front of a convenience store, and he suddenly found that he was very
thirsty. Without a second thought, the boy walked into the store.
 
 
 
There was not that many people in the store. There was an old black man
running the cash register and a couple of girls that were looking in
the candy section of the store with their mother. He sent out a vibe
that made them not see the sword on his back and went directly to the
drink section. He almost got a case of beer, but changed his mind. He
grabbed a 20-ounce Mountain Dew instead. 

 
 
He looked back over to the girls that were picking out candy with their
mother. They couldn’t have been more than eight years old; twins at
that. They looked to be the personification of innocence. They were all
bright-eyed and full of laughter.
 
 
 
*Was I ever like that? *He mused as he walked towards the counter. It
never occurred to him that he could have just simply walked out with
the soda and had the man at the register ignore him.
 
 
 
While he was reminiscing and looking at the two cute little kids,
another man came in. This one was not cute. He was wearing a ski mask
and was holding a 9mm Berretta. Ethan could tell by the look in his
green eyes that he was jacked up on something. It was probably meth, he
guessed, do to the fact that the man’s pupils were huge.
 
 
 
The man lifted the gun in the air and fired it once. The little girls
screamed, as did the mother. The man behind the counter turned ashen.
“Nobody moves and nobody gets hurt!” He screamed out. “Give me all the
cash old man!” He screamed at the cashier. 

 
 
The cashier did so as fast as he could. Ethan saw something at that
moment and he didn’t have time to stop it. One of the little girls,
that Ethan thought was pure innocence, made a dash for the door before
her mother could grab her.
 
 
 
The gunman, going off instinct and wild nerves shot blindly, shooting
the little eight-year-old girl right below the collarbone. Ethan didn’t
notice that the man’s eyes said he was sorry; Ethan didn’t notice
anything. He moved faster than he ever thought possible and grabbed the
gun and the hand at the same time. He did a viciously quick twist and
the man’s forearm bone broke through the skin. He let out an
ear-piercing scream.
 
 
 
But that was abruptly cut off by Ethan using the other hand in a
lightening fast movement, ripping the man’s throat completely out. And
just for good measure, he nailed the man’s knee with a malicious kick
as he was going down, affectively crushing it. The man passed out from
the pain and died from the blood loss.
 
 
 
Ethan went straight to wear the prone girl was lying, with her mother
bent over her. *There has to be something I can do! *He thought wildly.
The mother was franticly sobbing, so he reached into her mind and
calmed her down a little. But he found that he could calm her down very
little. In the back of his mind, he made a note to ask Jesse about
that. But he got her to stop sobbing; now she was just weeping.
 
 
 
He would always wonder later why he did what he did next. And he would
never come up with an answer. He laid his hand over the wound of the
little girl, and he didn’t know how he did it, but a sort of power went
out of him and into the wound. He stayed like that for only a few
minutes. But when he finished, he fell back into complete exhaustion…
But he saw the girl was healed.
 
 
 
With great effort, he stumbled to his feet. He had never felt so
drained in his life. Whatever he just did, he knew that he couldn’t do
it all the time. He was so drained he couldn’t even erase the people
that were watching memories, as he knew he should do. “I have to get
out of here before the cops get here.” He just realized he killed a man
without even thinking about it. The proof was lying about five feet
away in a bloody mess.
 
 
 
Without a word, the woman that was holding the child that was starting
to come around threw him a set of keys. “It’s the blue mini-van. Take
it; it’s yours. It’s the least I can do.”
 
 
 
Ethan just gave her a very grateful look and stumbled out the store
door.
 
 
 
    

                                       **************************
 
 
 
*<‘Ethan, where are you?’> *Jesse’s voice made him swerve on the road
and damn near go into a ditch.
 
 
 
He got the van under control before he answered. <‘*I’m about five
minutes away. What? Were ya getting a little worried about me,
Darlin?’’> *He sent back. He even surprised himself by using that
endearment with Jesse. He never thought he was one for endearments.
 
 
 
*<‘Yes, I was worried. But there’s something else, and I don’t think
you’re going to like it. It’s about Tosh…’> *She started in a nervous
voice. She hated giving people news that they didn’t want to hear.
 
 
 
*<‘Is there something wrong with her?’> *He* *asked in a cautious
mental voice.
 
 
 
*<‘Well…’>*
 
* *
 
*<‘Just spit it out Jesse.’> *There was no hiding the worried and
scared note in his voice now.
 
 
 
*<‘To make a long story short; she’s a Shadow Knight now.’> *Jesse
answered in a clipped voice.
 
 
 
Ethan was silent for about a full minute. “By process of elimination,
I’m guessing she killed herself.” He said aloud and mentally. Both had
an angry tint to them. He also said it just as he pulled into the motel
parking lot. <‘*I’ll be right in.’> *

* *
 
When Ethan walked in, he was fully prepared to yell and scream at his
stepsister, even if he was exhausted, but all the anger disappeared
when he got a look at her. She was twisting and turning in agony. Jesse
and Kasey were trying to hold her down so that she wouldn’t hurt
herself. He took one look at the knife that was on the end table that
had blood on it and knew what she did. That fact and the fact that the
chest of her shirt was covered in blood clued him in as well. He could
tell that she was completely healed though, after he did a quick mental
scan. 

 
 
It was just that the changes she was going through were extremely
painful. “How long has she been like this?” He asked Jesse.
 
 
 
“She was like this when we got here. She’s having trouble speaking but
she managed to get out that she did it about forty-five minutes ago—it
should where off at any time, if that’s the case.”
 
 
 
As if Tosh’s body was listening to their conversation, her back arched
*very *hard one more time, and then she went completely limp. Ethan
took the time to look over his adoptive sister with a critical eye. Her
arms, that once were girlishly toned, were now very toned, as if she
had been lifting weights for months on end. Since her shirt was pulled
up a little, he could see her abs. They looked the same. Yes, Tosh had
turned herself into a Shadow Knight. He really didn’t know how he
should feel about it, or why she did it. Well, that was a lie. He
pretty much knew why she did it. She wanted to be like him. Now they
were on equal footing.
 
 
 
Ethan made sure that she was peacefully sleeping when he motioned Jesse
over to the other bed. He told Kasey mentally to watch over Tosh, and
let him know if anything changed. The girl agreed readily.
 
 
 
When Ethan and Jesse sat down on the other bed, he began to send her
images and words about what happened at the store. The further he got
the wider her eyes got. “What, that’s not normal? Can’t other Shadow
Knights heal people?” He asked, confused.
 
 
 
“Yeah, but it usually takes three or four Masters to do it. Either that
or about eight Adepts, and that’s pushing it.” She responded with a
frown. But then her face lit up with a smile. “You’re gonna be a great
Master. I just know it.”
 
 
 
“I hope you’re right Jesse, I hope you’re right.” 

 
 
 
 
         ***************************************************
 
 
 
 
 
Ethan noticed three things right away when he woke up. The first being
that it wasn’t daylight yet, that was the easy one since it was
obvious. The second was that he was freshly cleaned of the blood he had
gotten on him the night before and he didn’t remember doing that. And
the third was obvious. He was completely naked. *I must have only slept
a few hours. *He thought.
 
 
 
But that was when he looked around the room. It was completely empty.
Then he heard a key hit the lock to the door; his first instinct was to
grab a sword. This stunned him somewhat because he still didn’t have
the faintest clue as to how to use one. But it was a mute fact anyhow,
seeing how it was Jesse, Tosh and Kasey walking through the door.
 
 
 
“Well, looks like sleeping beauty has finally woken up.” Jesse stated.
By the tone of her voice, she was obviously in a good mood.
 
 
 
*Sleeping beauty? *He thought. “What do you mean?” He asked groggily.
He was still tired, but he was waking up slowly but surely.
 
 
 
“You’ve been asleep all night and all day. Its 8:15 in the PM, Bro,”
Tosh stated as she flopped down on the bed. “Did you have any good
dreams?”
 
 
 
He was becoming fully awake now, at a rapid pace for some cause. And
one of the things that he noticed was Tosh’s hair; it was its original
color of blonde. “Yeah, I had a good dream. I dreamed I beat the shit
out of my sister for being a dumb ass.” He stated, sitting up in bed.
 
 
 
“Now you look Ethan, before you go postal on me, let me explain why I
did it.” She replied with a pleading voice; a voice she knew he had no
defenses against whatsoever. “I know there is some major shit that’s
going to be coming down and I want to be on the same level as the bad
guys, at least, when the shit hits the fan. You can’t get mad at me for
wanting to protect you. Besides, Mom made me promise to look out for
you.” She said with that same pleading voice. She threw in her trump
card. *Mom.*
 
 
 
Ethan just gave an explosive sigh. He never could stay mad at her. And
she looked cute as hell the way she was dressed. She was dressed in a
similar manor as Jesse; sans the weapons. Ethan doubted there were that
many places you could get a proper sword. And if he understood Jesse
correctly, all Shadow Knights’ weapons were made of titanium. 

 
 
“We were just about to go get some pizza for supper. You wanna come or
do you wanna lie in bed all day?” Tosh added. A twinkle was in her
eyes, but Ethan couldn’t see it because she was wearing a pair of round
mirror-plated shades just like his. In fact, they probably were his.
That brand was hard to find. Joanna ordered from a catalogue because he
liked them. They were lightweight and durable.
 
 
 
“When have I ever turned down pizza?” The question was rhetorical. He
slipped out of bed and both Tosh and Jesse blushed deep red. *Hehe.
Paybacks are a bitch. *He thought. The only thing Kasey did was smile
big, though. She had already slept with him, so there really was
nothing to be embarrassed about when it came to that.
 
 
 
It only took Ethan about seven minutes to put all his gear on and they
were out the door. In the car, Ethan listened to the girls chat as he
drove. He was glad that he left Kasey’s personality intact. She and
Tosh had many things in common; and she was a Cowboys fan, as was he,
even if they were losing this year. His way of thinking was that you
should stick with your team through the good and the bad though. That’s
why there were Cubs fans in the world.
 
 
 
On the way to the pizza parlor, Kasey couldn’t quit telling Ethan how
happy she was that he had decided to take her in and all. She didn’t
have to explain what her home life had been like, he already knew that
when they met. He did send mental messages to Tosh of what it was like
though, which pissed her off to no end. She calmed down a little though
when Jesse told her what her punishment for them was. 

 
 
Kasey’s parents would take turns whipping each other with a strap, just
like what they did with Kasey. They would each get twenty lashes a day.
Tosh had to laugh aloud at that. It was fitting, but she would have
done worse. 

 
 
The one thing that Tosh didn’t like was when Jesse told her that she
would not train her without Ethan’s permission. Ethan was holding off
on the idea. The boy didn’t exactly relish having Jesse train his
sister to be able to kill. It wasn’t on the top of the list of his
things to do.
 
 
 
It was when they pulled into the parking lot of the pizza place that
the shit hit the fan. They pulled in between two vehicles in the
parking lot and as soon as that happened; a black van cut in behind
them, effectively blocking them in.
 
 
 
“Shit. Ethan, stay in the car.” Jesse told him. Then Ethan felt
something odd. It was almost as if he could feel energy rolling off
Jesse. He had no idea that she had just bound herself with her Kinetics.
 
 
 
Of course, none of the people in the car listened and they all got out.
They got out of the car just in time to see the van door slide open and
four figures get out. They were dressed in solid black leather trench
coats and Ethan could barely make out the symbol of a blue dragon on
each of their shoulders. But he was very quick to notice the swords on
their back.
 
 
 
They were all blonde headed and Ethan was wondering if all Shadow
Knights had to be blonde. The apparent leader stepped forward. He
looked no older seventeen.  When he spoke, it was a voice of pure
confidence. “Well, if it isn’t the infamous Jesse Budroux.” He stated
with a smile that never reached his eyes. “You know I’m going to get
that promotion when I bring in your traitorous head.”
 
 
 
Jesse pulled her sword in one fluid motion. So did Ethan, only he was
very uncertain about his skill; with just cause. “I think you’ll find
that my head doesn’t come off that easily.” 

 
 
Ethan watched what happened next with a somewhat of an awed expression.
Two of the four Shadow Knights they were facing… Their heads just
seemed to tip back and fall off. Jesse didn’t do it, for she was still
standing beside him. But then he looked about five feet to the right. 

 
 
There was a girl standing there, holding a sword that was dripping with
blood, shoulder length. Her pale blonde hair fell over her
mirror-plated shades and she had a braid that went from the side of her
head and fell all the way to the middle of her chest. She was wearing a
plain black leather jacket that had four gold stars on the right
sleeve.  “You boy’s look like you’re a *long way *from New Mexico.” Her
voice sounded amused, even though she just killed two people. “And you
are definitely fuckin’ with the wrong person’s sister.” This was said
with more than a little edge to her voice.
 
 
 
Ethan could *feel *the power coming of this new comer. It was even
stronger than what he felt with Jesse. Her shades were lowered, only
slightly, making it so he got a good look at her eyes. Her eyes looked
calculative, cunning and cold as she looked at the two remaining
Knights.
 
 
 
Jesse, Ethan, Tosh and Kasey watched with mixed emotions as the color
drained from the two remaining Knights’ face. “This is no concern of
yours, Blade Runner,” The biggest one of the two got up the gumption to
say.
 
 
 
“But it is *mine*!” Jesse said and waded into battle.
 
 
 
Ethan never had seen anything like it. He would have at least *tried
*to help, but it was over before he could do anything. Jesse moved
faster than he could see. All he saw was the sparks and blur of the two
swords as they collided. She killed the first in mere seconds. He was
so riveted by watching her fight that he didn’t even notice that the
other girl, that killed the first two, killed the third also.
 
 
 
In the end there were four headless corpses lying at their feet.
 
 
 
The girl with the pale hair dropped to a knee in front of Jesse. 
“Mistress, your brother sends his regards.” She said in a soft voice.
She wasn’t even out of breath.
 
 
 
“Jeez, Kait, get up. You know how I hate formalities,” When the girl
finally stood up, Jesse looked at her friends. “Meet Kait Munroe, the
best Blade Runner in the western hemisphere.” 

 
 
Kait blushed deeply at the compliment and looked annoyed that she would
blush in front of people. She pushed up her shades, wiped her blade
clean with a rag she pulled out of her pocket, and then sheathed her
sword. Kait then proceeded to slam a fist over where her heart would
be, she also brought her heals together. “It is good to meet you.”
 
 
 
*<’Follow suit, it’s how we great fellow Knights.’>* Jesse sent
mentally to Tosh and Ethan. 

 
 
Ethan and Tosh both followed suit, slamming their fists over their
heart and bowing their head. “It’s good to meet you too Kait, and at a
fortunate time I might add.”
 
 
 
Tosh just nodded her agreement. And then there was a moment of silence.
 
 
 
But Jesse soon broke that. “I thought my brother was sending three
Knights, Kait?” She asked quizzically.
 
 
 
“We were ambushed halfway here. I lost two of my men, my Mistr—I mean
Jesse.” She stated, catching herself before she finished the formality.
“It was blind luck that I found you. I was doing random scans of this
whole area. There are more here looking for you. If you would care for
my advice, I think we should make for The Cabin now.”
 
 
 
Jesse nodded her agreement. Then she looked at Tosh. She was looking
confused and a little pale, staring down at the dead bodies. “Why did
you have to cut their heads off?”
 
 
 
Kait looked at Jesse and Jesse shook head no to the silent question of
either of them having been trained. “We tend to regenerate very
quickly. Basically, decapitation is the only 100% way we know that will
kill us.” Kait explained slowly. She remembered her first sight of a
fight like this. Kait wanted to go easy on the girl. *Besides, she was
cuter than all get out. *She thought a little saucily. 

 
 
Jesse took note of the fact that Kait wasn’t exactly showing the
respect to Ethan that she thought she should. So, she thought that she
should get something out of the way right then and there. “Hey, Kait,
can I show you something before we leave?” 

 
 
“Of course,” The Knight simply responded.
 
 
 
Jesse carefully walked over to Ethan and stood right front of him.
“Just trust me.” She murmured and began to unbutton his shirt. When it
was half way unbuttoned, she turned towards Kait. “Would you mind
telling me what you think about this?”
 
 
 
Kait had to admit, she did not believe in the legend that the Son of
Dakrin would come and unite all the righteous Shadow Knights, but what
she saw in the next few seconds changed her beliefs in an instant.
Because Shadow Knights had excellent night vision, Kait saw the symbol
clearly.
 
 
 
*The Red Dragon. The Symbol of Dakrin. *Kait knew the prophecy by
heart, as did most Knights.
 
 
 
She paled a little, but then her jaw set and she dropped to one knee,
pulling her sword in one fluid motion and laying it before her new
lord. “My soul, skill and sword are yours, my Lord.” She stated in a
shaky voice. *How could I have shown him such dishonor? *She thought
wildly. 

 
 
*<‘Tell her that you accept and to rise . . .  It’s time to start
acting like a leader, Ethan.’> *Jesse’s mental voice was gentle and
loving.
 
 
 
“I accept and you may rise,” He told the Blade Runner. “You will be a
*true asset *to the cause, Kait.” Ethan predicted aloud.
 
 
 
Kait thought that if she smiled any harder that her face would split as
she stood up. “My Lord, I believe that we should leave this place,
unless you want to rearrange some people’s thoughts when they come out.”
 
 
 
“Yeah, we should get the hell out of dodge. I think that we should take
the van that these guys had, since we have another person along for the
ride.” He added, giving Kait a smile.
 
 
 
“I’m not going to argue with that.” Jesse stated and started for the
van.
 
