Shadow Justice

35: The Possessed Shadows

To say Mai Valentine was annoyed would be a vast understatement. She was absolutely livid. One minute she was worrying about her Regent stuck in a psychological Shadow Game, then the Justice League decided to barge right in like they owned the place, and now everyone vanished. She was lucky enough to be a Shadow user so she could sense the Field Spell activate, but for some inexcusable reason, she had not been included in the Spell. But of course, everyone else was. Literally, everyone else. Even Kaiba's bodyguards had been taken leaving her alone in an empty hotel room.

She knew Kaiba had been the one to cast the Spell. He had a very distinct Shadow signature. It was dark and chaotic and smelled of lightning and, strangely cyprinum. That was a scent she rarely smelled around Kaiba except during Court or on other rare occasions. It was a scent she associated with Kaiba when he was stressed or filled to the brim with Shadows, which incidentally usually happened when he was stressed or unbalanced in some way.

She had smelled it strongly when Akhenadin made his impromptu appearance during their meeting with Oliver, Walter, and Diggle at the Java Script cafè. It had been so sudden and intense, she had felt herself react instinctively, grabbing Mokuba and pulling him towards her. She still did not know what had compelled her to do that. If she had been fully aware of the situation, she would have done so anyway; but she had not been fully aware. She had not recognized Akhenadin. She had just known that the man smelled of an unsettling combination of death and mold and he had scared Kaiba almost shitless.

She had never seen her Regent look so scared, not even when Mokuba had been taken from him. Plus, the cyprinum scent had intensified, almost drowning out Kaiba's ozone scent. It had been disconcerting; not frightening, just disconcerting. She could still smell Kaiba's Shadows but it seemed to her that the cyprinum Shadows were mingling with Kaiba's to the point they were almost one and the same.

Now, she was smelling the cyprinum Shadows again and this time, they were moving separately from Kaiba's. She stepped into the hotel common area to have more room to move and slipped into a defensive stance just in case. But the more Mai thought about it, the more she realized didn't feel scared. In face, she felt calm, relaxed.

"Hello?" she called to the cyprinum Shadows.

"Mai."

Mai started. That was Kaiba's voice, or it sounded like it. But there was something about it that sounded older, more powerful, and yet softer. It was Kaiba, and it wasn't Kaiba.

"Who are you?" she asked. Then she paused as it suddenly clicked into place and she fell slack in surprise. "Seth?"

The Shadows became visible, coalescing to a form that was vaguely Kaiba's. Mai watched the process in awe. When the Shadows became solid, crystaline blue eyes she always associated with Kaiba appeared where Seth's eyes would be. The Shadow Seth nodded.

"How..." Mai shook her head. "That's not important. What is important is why you're here. Where's Kaiba? I felt him cast the Field Spell." She crossed her arms and pouted. "But he didn't include me."

Something in Seth's eyes made Mai pause. "No, he did include me," she whispered beginning to understand. "You didn't."

Seth nodded.

"Wha- Why?" Mai demanded angrily. "I'm his Sorceress. I answer to him."

Seth's eyes dropped to Mai's side where she kept her Deck secured in her holster before flicking back up to her eyes. Mai hesitated before unbuckling her holster and taking out her Deck. It was warm and familiar to her Shadow senses, smelling sweetly of roses and wind. Mai's dark blue eyes lifted back to Seth's suspiciously.

Seth nodded silently and Mai took that as a command to shuffle through her Deck. She passed several cards before Seth's hand stopped her, pointing to the Trap card Dramatic Rescue. Mai pulled that card out of her Deck and moved to reholster her Deck when Seth stopped her again, gesturing for her to continue. Intrigued, Mai began shuffling through her Deck again keeping Dramatic Rescue separate from the other cards.