Shadow Aspect Read online

  “Do you need more time with Birnie?” He asks me, somewhat with concern. Which doesn’t make sense to me, I might gather that Birnie thinks of himself as a threat. But that might be wishful thinking and false bravado to want to be the big man completely.

  “I don’t think I’ll be able to get him back onto that path again without pushing him and coming across as obvious. See the way this works is, its easiest and most direct for me if we can make whoever, think their way to this central thought that all these others spring off, naturally. If they’re kind of not, you know, aware of it or able to control it.” We were instep slowly walking around our heads down in conversation.

  “It’s like the repository for subconscious, illicit knowledge floods open.” Tarin looks at me perplexed like I’m speaking any language but English at him. “We do things everyday, without thinking about them. Without consciously thinking, I have to make an effort to open my eyes, or I have to breathe. The body just does these things automatically because it’s been trained to do them and do them well. So the notion of being told not to look or don’t think of something. The first thing the body does is trigger to an automatic response. Wether you want it or not.”

  I glance up ahead of us. There is a male figure on the back patio area looking out into the back gardens and he’s smoking, a white puff of air leaves his shadowed face. Tarin looks at him also, we are still quite far away from the mansion’s back patio and the smoker.

  “When I first spoke to you about this Katelyn, you made it sound like you didn’t know how you’re ability worked.” He looks over at me and I wait like I am supposed to either apologize or elaborate for him on my behaviour and action to with hold the utter truth of what I know I can do.

  “Most people don’t ask for specifics.” I smirk at him.

  “I’m not most people.” He snaps back at me, making me wonder if I’ve offended him.

  “Yes, I get that.” I reply dryly. “I mean, taking a human girlfriend to this party? We’re practically a social scandal.” That makes him chuckle and glance over at me.

  “You like that don’t you?”

  “Maybe a little.” I smile as we get to half way down the pool path and looked back up at the outside smoker.

  “So do I. Especially where my family are concerned. Sorry about Peyton by the way, she’s always like that.”

  “I think she’s just jealous she knew I had the better outfit and didn’t look overdone, like she did.” I laugh causing Tarin to chuckle with me.

  “She hates to be one-upped.” Tarin says. We walk the rest of the path in companionable silence side by side and head back towards the mansion, the smoker has finished his smoke before we got to the back steps.

  Tarin holds out his hand to me as I walk up the steps, before placing it on the small of my back again and gently guiding me back into the Mansion’s party that is now, in full swing.

  We’ve barely stepped back inside the Mansion when Shaye joins us again. Standing beside his brother. I look from one to the other.

  “What is it?” Shaye asks me catching me checking out one brother against the other. I am honestly looking at the similarity in features between them, but he makes it sound more like I am up to something.

  “Uh, just wondering, who’s the younger or older brother?” They point at each other instantly.

  “Older.” Tarin says pointing at Shaye.

  “Younger.” Shaye says pointing at Tarin in unison.

  “What about you Katelyn? Got a sister for Tarin to set me up with?” Shaye asks as we all observe the dance floor of the ballroom again from the outskirts of it.

  “Just me.” I answer him looking at the fancy, swirling gowns going around in blurs of elegant colour. Everyone seems to know the exact pace to be at and has great rhythm and stature in their dance holds. They all look like utter professionals. A couple swirl out close to us and move back in. I step back one step.

  “Tarin’s so rude. He should ask you to dance.” Shaye says looking across his brother at me. Tarin turns his head to silently and probably death glare his brother. Shaye chuckles and continued to observe the dancers, his hands behind his back . “Well I could dance with her if you’d,” Shaye doesn’t get to finish his sentence as Tarin grabs my clutch purse and hands it to Shaye. Well, shoves it in his chest hard whilst at the same time, taking my hand and walking me out amongst the swirling masses onto the dance floor.

  I panic. “Oh um, I can’t do that. Do this.” I stammer at him as we stand still on the floor and couples manoeuvring around us. “Can’t dance.”

  “Nonsense Katelyn.” Tarin reprimands me with as he positions me into a perfect dance hold.

  “No, really Tarin. I’ve never learnt how to dance. I am not elegant like these women. I know you want to think it’s nonsense because you want it that way, but really, I can’t dance for shit.” He holds my gaze and I feel the air currents around as clothing rustles and bustles past us to the music and whatever the dance that everyone seems to know is.

  “Anyone can dance.” He says looking at me. “Even you.” His grip on my hand and a small amount of pressure on the hand at my upper back shoulder blade are firm. “Now, all we have to do, is move.” I keep glancing at him.

  “That’s just it, I don’t know how to move, like that!” I hiss at him. He pulls me slowly forward towards him and rocks us back towards me. I feel awkward in my high heels and shuffle forwards and back slowly with him, all the time wondering how couples manage to avoid colliding with us, since we were so stationary out there.

  “Eyes on me Katelyn and me only.” Tarin commands and I look at him and we sway back and forth, more smoothly this time. “I want you to concentrate on holding my attention on just you. You do that quite well most of the time, now, think of doing that now.” He instructs me and I kept looking into his eyes.

  “This isn’t really my scene, Tarin.” I grumble at him.

  “You’re with me Katelyn, that should be all that matters.”

  “Be sure to tell you’re brother that.” I mutter and notice a flash of controlled anger go across Tarin’s face.

  “He puts a hand on you I’ll break it.” Tarin grounds out through clenched teeth.

  We sway to our rhythm and I feel my own body loosen and relax slightly more too except that we we’re now moving in time to the music, but setting our own pace as everyone around us blurs. I am so focussed on Tarin it never occurs to me not to follow how he moves.

  “Shaye’s got nothing on you Tarin.”

  When Tarin turns us on an angle by doing one step back to the left, I compliment the action on my side of our routine. Slowly we move around, in a circle, back and forth gently.

  Just as I think I’m getting the hang of it, I start to look down at my feet.

  “Eyes on me Katelyn or I won’t fang fuck you tonight.” Tarin says getting all of my attention again.

  Damn, there is incentive to concentrate. I am dancing with a guy who makes passion course through me, easily and without much effort. I’m not really willing to forgo that yet, if I have the opportunity to have it. No sooner have I fallen into our rhythm again with my head held high looking solely at Train when another male, cut in on us from the left, moving Tarin effortlessly out of the way.

  I’ve barely had a chance to realise the cut has taken place before he’s taken up the same exact hold Tarin had on me as I’m kept in motion. I look wide eyed at Tarin as he stands next to us on the dance floor. Glowering at the intrusive male.

  “Have fun.” He says to me and nods his head at my new dance partner who only has eyes for me. I gather the look and head nod Tarin gave me before walking off means I should pay some attention to my new partner. Maybe he is one of Tarin’s friends, or an enemy or a player we needed to know. Its hard to figure out what from a look of displeasure on the man who proclaimed he’d only fuck me if I kept my focus on him.

  I watch Tarin walk off the dance floor back to his brother, who is laughing at him, as he walks off the floor co
mpletely. I focus back on my new dance partner and doing the same thing I’ve been doing with Tarin as my new partner keeps up the momentum, slowly picking up our pace a little. He is young, maybe Tarin’s age and he has black hair with gorgeous smoky grey eyes and he is wearing a grey suit.

  “Good Evening, my name is Owen Kelly, of the Brolga Darling Riverine Plains flock.”

  “I’m Katelyn, um, Tarin’s date for the evening.” I say back at him. “From Melbourne.” Owen smiles brightly at me with a magnificent smile that is infectious to me.

  “It’s great to meet you Katelyn, you’ve got everyone at this party talking about you know.” Owen offers and I get a sense of mischief from him wanting to be unleased but he is holding back out of politeness.

  “Oh why is that?”

  “Well for starters, in case Tarin hasn’t actually told you this yet, you’re absolutely stunning and that dress is not doing you any harm.” Owen says with a wink at me. I can tell he doesn’t mean it to be anything less than the genuine compliment it is.

  Unlike Birnie, Owen didn’t work on sleaze and think that women are oblivious to it. He works on charm, and flattery, because women, are not oblivious to it. They recognise it easily with him and he counts on that. Because all women, he believes, want that kind of happy recognition bestowed upon them.

  “Thanks.” He makes me feel as though my feet aren’t so much scrapping across the floor as they are gliding a lot more effortlessly than before.

  “Secondly,” Owen continues still smiling at me. “No one seems to know who you are and Tarin’s a bit of miscreant anyway.” We move around faster and I feel my hair fly out behind me. Again his words weren’t said with malice or intent to harm or shock. There is some sort of history between Owen and Tarin of that, I can tell. But what type it’s hard to say, his thoughts are guarded.

  “And you’re not?” I reply needing him to open up more to me. Maybe dancing is easier with a faster pace when you don’t have to think about it so much as just feel it. Or maybe I am feeling the charm of his come into effect. He moves our hand hold over to in front of his mouth and holds up a finger. As if to indicate it is secret.

  “Well, let’s put it down to his influence then, shall we?” I feel Owen’s guard drop without realising he’s left himself a little open to me taking a walk through his subconscious.

  “Um okay,” I reply trying to be naive for him. “I don’t really know him well enough to say yet. We’ve only just started dating recently. So Tarin’s still rather new to me.” I explain to him and the guard rolls down even further and ripples with laughter inside. But I didn’t know if it is laughter at my expense or with some sort of hidden memory he enjoys.

  “Well I’ve known Tarin since we were both kids. And I tell you he’s the reason I got into a lot of trouble as a kid.” The laughter spread out into a sensation of warmth that lightens Owen for me. It is a form of truth for him, but not a certainty, it might only be a partial truth or belief that is what he recalls when thinking of his childhood and Tarin Armadel.

  “Are you sure he wouldn’t say the same of you now?” I smirk at him playfully. The lightness in him spreads open and I find a walkway wide and circular within Owen. I wonder if his childhood with Tarin is a big part of his life experiences, that was it looks like to my senses.

  Owen laughs at me and keeps me moving without effort. It actually feel like I can dance. Who knew I had it in me?

  “Tarin doesn’t usually appear so socially with female company.” Owen says at me and I see a change in the lightness in him, there is colour in a path, but I can’t see what it is, but I can tell it is colour. Since it is different to the other sensory information he is unknowingly giving me, I head towards it while looking at my dancing companion continuously.

  “I’m not sure what to make of that.” I reply honestly.

  “I apologise. I meant nothing ill conceived of it. You are a pleasant surprise at this event, that is all.” Another colour springs up and again I do not have a visual of it, rather a sense of touch that it is there. As odd as that is. It’s like a subtle shift in form. But it’s not touch. Which means his perception is shifting.

  I somehow have to find a more core subject central to where I needed to be. I look over towards the wall I know Tarin and his brother have been waiting and watching against. As I twirl around, I catch sight of Tarin and he looks back at me. We really needed a system for signalling one another for these types of situations.

  As it turned out, that’s all I need to do, because Owen’s internal focus shifts as does his external one. The shift registered with me things dropping away and others lighting up in the circular pattern within in him. Its thoughts and memories of Tarin.

  I look back at Owen again and keep dancing with him. “Do you know anyone else here besides Tarin and me?” Owen asks me I guess just to be able to keep up conversation of some kind.

  “Well I know you, his brother Shaye, his sister, and Birnie Seacombe. Of course, I only meet all of them, tonight. And well, a few hours ago. So…” I trail off. The trigger word that showed me the path that chequered the circle in him happened when I spoke of Birnie Seacombe.

  “What did you think of Birnie?”

  “Charmer, for sure.” I reply noting that only one square of the chequered path in him, pulses. I focuses on it. There is a strong connection between Birnie and Owen and not all of it good. It is far more obvious to me that there is a strong sensation of anger, frustration and something verging on hatred for Birnie.

  “That sounds like Birnie. Just don’t let him get all, hands on with you.” Owen sounds like he is telling me something I don’t need to know but there is a serious caution in his words.

  “Don’t think Tarin would stand for it,” I say nodding my head back in the direction of the Armadel brothers general vicinity. “He can barely stand you dancing with me.” We both smile at one another. A section of the pulsing square goes dark and I realise he feels guarded, defensive again. Is he aware of what I am doing to him?

  I don’t think so, as surely his reaction of recognition on it would at least, momentarily be displayed for me, a facial change, a spike in temperature, twitch in grip, something, it might only be in a second, but I could pick up on that if it were there.

  We stop dancing anyway. As Owen slows us down. Maybe I’ve just stupidly shut down the open line of dialogue between us because I haven’t do enough small talk or socialising in my life and feel like I’m getting a rushed life lesson in all of this. That and the music has stopped. We drop hands.

  “Please save me another dance.” He says bowing at me and looking up and giving me a wink.

  “I will, if I get back on the dance floor again.” I notice Tarin walking over towards us. “But don’t wait on my account, that was pretty much my crash course in dancing.” Tarin holds out his hand to me and I take it. Fanning my face with my other hand, the room is as warm as I was.

  “Childhood friend huh?” Tarin rolls his eyes at me.

  “What grievous lies did he tell you about me?” I gather my clutch purse back off Shaye who then proceeds to head off in the opposite direction to us.

  “None. Just said you were a, what was the word he used? Miscreant.” I pant. I look around us and see a women in pairs of two heading in one direction. “Excuse me I need the powder room and I will be right back.” Tarin stays where he was whilst I located a rest room trailing the pairs of women I’ve seen. I looked at my flushed face in the mirror. A light film of sweat on my skin. I splash some cold water on my face.

  I’ve never had to read someone whilst doing something that physical before. It took all my concentration to figure out how to move like that and still keep up the pretence of talking and socialising with Owen whilst internally investigating his feelings on every matter we talked about.

  Splitting my skills three ways and being equally aware of all three components of what I’m doing is tricky. The truth is a complex web to get through with a still target, a moving one who t
hen layers their own thought pattern, is a challenge.

  I have a small headache forming and my feet are aching in my brand new heels. I dread taking them off as I’m sure I have blisters now. I hadn’t counted on dancing or needing to. Next time I attended a party like this I’ll remember the footwear should be not so pretty ridiculous. I mean it isn’t like I can even walk fast in my heels.

  Walking back out I found Tarin where I’ve left him. “Let’s eat, they’ve just called dinner.”

  “Great, I could do with a sit down and some cool air.” I said fanning my face again. “Kind of worked up a sweat out there, more than I ever thought I would.”

  Tarin looks at me with concern. “You’re not quite the horrible dancer you seem to think you are, you know.” He says as we follow a throng of guests headed to the evening’s feast. “Why don’t you head outside and get that fresh air and I’ll arrange to get us some food for dinner and meet you out there.” Tarin offers.

  “Thanks.” I find my way back outside into the cool night air and suck in deep breaths of it.

  14

  Back outside on the grand, large patio of stone overlooking the picture perfect, and eternally, lush green grounds, I look around. There is no garden setting of tables and chairs to sit around on. There is nowhere to sit, other than on the large steps that I’d had Tarin help me down earlier. My feet really do want some relief from standing in such skyscraper heels for so long, so I decide steps it is then and walk over to the top one and lower myself onto it, with my feet on the next one below it.

  Blowing out a heavy breath I lift my hair off the back of my neck and felt the cool night air, caress the sweaty heated skin there. It feels better. My headache stays a distant, little thump. The sound of footsteps walking across the stone patio register with me and I wait for Tarin to sit down next to me with food and drink.

  But it isn’t Tarin who sits down next to me, I know that before I even look up at my uninvited guest. The footwear is different. The male who sits down beside me, joining me on the top step smiles at me and says “You’ve got the right idea being out here.” I arch an eyebrow up at him in response. “So much effort to work the room.” I look away from him.