"Okay, how do you know so much?" Max then asked.

  Shadow sighed. "I only know what I know.....from experience. I've been cursed by the same person as you."

  "How do you mean?"

  "My curse wasn't connected to a blade....." Shadow paused before saying, "It -- it was just her." Max could tell that Shadow was in distress.

  Why? What did he lose?

  "My family. My sister. My life." Shadow responded.

  "How long have you been like this?"

  Years, Max heard.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  "I'm sorry, Shadow."

  "I had a name before, but, it's been so long, I've forgotten what it actually was. So, I stuck with this name.....still do."

  "How old is your sister? Is she younger than you?"

  Shadow replied. "Older."

  "I think she wouldn't give up on you. Does she know what happened to you?"

  He shook his head. "Once I knew what was happening to me, I ran." Max could feel his shame.

  "What about your parents?"

  "What parents? I don't have any, it's just been me and my sister since I turned five. Can we stop talking about this now?"

  Max lowered his head, then slowly looked up and saw that Shadow was glaring at him. Though, of course, Shadow was always glaring at them for one reason or another...Valerian was a fool to send them his way, but if she had a reason, what was it?

  "Why didn't you get us a chance from the beginning?" He found himself asking.

  Shadow tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

  "You've just been strange with us since we first met....like...you couldn't TRUST us or something."

  Shadow growled, then walked off.

  Max sighed, he was afraid that THAT was going to happen....