Shadow Breeds

Chapter 14

Oakley let out another sigh, this one sounding more relaxed. "I'm guessing she took the bait?" I asked cheerfully. "Yeah, she basically said she's too busy with family stuff to help, but she wishes she could and she said good luck." Oakley said, her tone confirming the relief she had expressed with her sigh.

Something didn't feel right to me about it though, but I smiled anyways in the hopes that I was just working myself up like I usually do in intense situations. "Well I guess we better get going. The faster we get there, the faster we can get out," Clovella said, she appeared to still be nervous but more relaxed now that Oakley seemed to be as well. I pulled Oakley into a hug, "be careful." She smiled as she pulled away, "don't worry, we'll be back in no time."

"I'll take care of her," Clovella assured me with a warm smile and I pulled her into a hug too. "You be careful as well," I said to her and smiled back. The two women turned and left the barn, leaving August and I by ourselves.

For this place to be abandoned, it didn't really look it. The floor was just dirt with rolls of hay stacked towards the back and a bunch of loose hay was scattered on the ground, but other than that everything looked well taken care of. The brick-red and white painted wood even looked pretty fresh. I furrowed my brows in thought.

"What's wrong?" I heard August ask. I turned to see that he was giving me a look of concern. "I thought you said this barn was abandoned, it doesn't look abandoned to me," I said as I continued to look around. Even the metal latter that lead to the loft was still clean and shiny.

"It is abandoned, it just also happens to be sitting on land that I own so I keep up with it," he said sheepishly. I raised an eyebrow at him and put my hands on my hips, "so it's not abandoned, it's yours?"

He pursed his lips before taking a breath, "I wasn't supposed to get this section of land and didn't realize I even had it for several years so by the time I did, it was technically abandoned, so that's what I call it. It's pretty useless to me, besides aesthetic views and a back-up shelter."

I had to admit that made sense a little bit, so I just nodded my head. "Can we sit up there?" I asked, still eyeballing the latter and loft. "Sure," he said with a shrug and followed me as I began to climb up. Once I reached the loft floor I pulled myself up and stood out of August's way. The loft itself was pretty empty besides a big, fluffy rug covering the center of the floor and a couple boxes in one of the corners.

I settled on a spot on the rug furthest away from the ledge and laid down, crossing my arms behind my head. August slumped down next to me in a crisscross-sitting position, "so what was it you were wanting to talk about earlier?" He asked, attempting to sound casual, but I could still hear the anxiousness in his voice. I'd almost forgotten about that, my parents.

I used my arms to lean back on while sitting up and sighed, "you mentioned our parents a few days ago, I never knew mine, so how did you know them?" He seemed caught off guard, then a look of dread washed over his face and my heart sank. "I was too young to really know them, but my parents and Magna knew them. They were good people and they'd be proud of you Ashe." He spoke gently. A question sat on the tip of my tongue but I had a feeling I already knew the answer.

"Why did they leave me?" I asked slowly, his face giving away the answer almost immediately. He reached for me and I leaned into his shoulder. "I'm sorry sweetheart, they never intended to leave you, they loved you so much. They died to protect your life," he said softly. I shook my head, "but why? I don't understand, why don't I remember what happened?"