2 Chapter 2 Death and Denial

Ebony woke up, her head throbbed and there was a pain in her chest. People were walking around her, their voices and footsteps muffled. She sat up. 'What happened? Where am I, am I at home?' Her thoughts swirled in her head making her dizzy. She stood up in a stupor, her vision was blurred. Gradually, her hearing cleared and she saw a policeman standing near her, he was talking to another officer. "Excuse me?" She said as she staggered over to him, both of the officers ignored her. They continued to speak. "Tragedy, isn't it? She had everything going for her." "Excuse me?" Ebony tried again, the second policeman began to speak. "Yeah, he was cheating on her, right? Murder-suicide?" Ebony had no idea what was going on, what they were talking about or why they were ignoring her. "Hey! I said excuse me, why aren't you answering me?" Ebony went to touch the first policeman, but her hand just fazed through his shoulder, the man shivered. "Yeah, I believe so, no evidence to say otherwise right now, besides how weird the gunshot wound in her chest is. Though, everything points to her killing them and herself." Complete confusion twisted around Ebony, what was happening? "They can't hear or see you, Ebony." A rich deep voice sounded behind her. Ebony twisted around and saw a tall, handsome man. He wore a black suit, had long dark hair that was pulled back into a low ponytail, his skin was a warm tan and his eyes were a pool of black, piercing through her like a blast of cold wind. Most noticeably though, was his dark gray feathered wings protruding from his back. "W-who are you?" Ebony stuttered out to the striking stranger. The man merely gestured towards the floor. Ebony glanced down and saw her body, along with Gideon's and the mysterious woman's body, outlined with chalk and evidence tags everywhere. It all came back in a flash, the light, the door, the bodies and blood, that man in black. Ebony looked back at the man. "Death?"

The man peered closer at her. "Some call me that, these two did." He gestured down at the woman's and Gideon's body again. "Although, My name is Thanatos. Nevertheless, you humans call me many names." He paused for a moment and looked at Ebony with his cold black eyes. "I am here to take you to your afterlife." A look of astonishment appeared on Ebony's face. "What? No! I'm not leaving yet." This answer did not seem to surprise Thanatos. "They thought that as well, but you are done here, your time has passed and you have died. It is time to move on." Although, gears were moving in Ebony's head, slowly piecing back together what had happened. "No I'm not done here, I was murdered and I will not move on until I find out who, why and until they are brought to justice." Now, Thanatos seemed amused, a smile curled itself onto his handsome face. "Interesting.. I have not met someone like you since the war. Filled with the want for revenge. You remember what has happened to you and you wish for true peace, your friends did not remember, they moved on without a second thought…" Thanatos studied her closely, staring deep into her emerald eyes until she felt like she wanted to jump out of her skin.. Though she supposed she already had. She glanced down at her slumped body. "So you wish to stay and seek your killer and justice?" Thanatos finally mused. Ebony jumped and nodded, determination set on her face. "Then so be it." Ebony gapped, she had not expected it to be so easy, she thought she'd have to fight. "Really? You're not going to try to force me to go with you?" Thanatos smiled again, though not unkindly. "No, I will not force you into your afterlife. You may stay here until you find your killer and justice, if you ever find that you tire of it, I will come and take you to the afterlife. Now, if you really want to find your killer, I suggest you reach out to others." He turned to leave. "Wait," Ebony called after him. "How am I supposed to reach out if I can't be seen or heard?" Thanatos glanced over his shoulder and paused before answering. "I believe there is a shaman in this town that has the ability to sense and see spirits, try finding them." He turned his head back forward and walked down the hallway disappearing.

"A shaman..?" Ebony repeated after Thanatos disappeared. Ebony hadn't the slightest idea where to look for a shaman, she didn't even know that they still existed. Most people that had the magical ability of a shaman had taken part in the war, many disappearing. Different magics were discovered at the beginning of the war and many people had practiced them, resulting in their enlistment when the war reached its height. Not many people became a shaman now though, it being a lost art and many of the elders disapproved of it. If someone found that they had powers they went to the government, where they'd help the King build the Empire and keep everyone safe. Ebony never found any powers of her own but that's besides the point. Where was she supposed to find a shaman in a big town near the heart of The Dynasty when shamans were already so rare? "Well..Guess I should start looking." Ebony grumbled as she walked by her corpse, trying not to peer down at it again, and out of the house.

She didn't think she was going to find a shaman in the middle of the night but she still tried. "Not like I have anything else better to do." Ebony huffed to herself, already not looking forward to the probably long search. She wandered out of the house. She looked up and down her street, at all the houses, her neighbors and cops around her house, the healers and doctors, none seemed to notice her. She approached a crying woman standing near a cop, it was her one neighbor, an older stout woman by the name of Mrs.Butters, they would talk often, Ebony often confided in her. She reached her hand out to the crying woman then stopped, remembering what happened when she tried to touch the cop inside. Mrs.Butters wailed. "She wouldn't have done this! She couldn't have done this! Someone else had to have killed them!" The cop next to Mrs.Butters had a solemn face and had a hand on her shoulder trying to comfort her. Ebony felt a strong pang of sadness run through her, if only she could tell Mrs.Butters that she was right, she knew that woman would stand beside her through everything. She knew that the night she stood up for her and slapped Gideon for yelling and getting in Ebony's face in the driveway. She was a true friend. Ebony turned from the weeping woman, letting the sound drown out of her ears as she walked away from the crime scene. She continued throughout Orrinshire searching, following the grid like roads, trying to figure out who could be a shaman. Out of all the people wandering around, she found no one. She observed throughout the night that animals seemed to notice her. A few friendly stray cats approached her and one even attempted to rub her leg. While a dog in someone's window started barking as she passed. It seemed to confirm people's suspicions that animals could see or sense the dead, she wished she knew that when she was alive. For a large majority of the night, Ebony noticed other beings with her, not humans necessarily but apparitions ranging from shadows to light. Some made her uneasy but she had nowhere to go. She didn't feel right intruding on people asleep in their houses, she didn't even know if she could do that. She had wandered into bars and gas stations that were open so late in the night, but she felt just as uneasy about it as the workers seemed to as she entered each building. So she wandered the streets alone and tried to get the attention of anyone who passed. Almost none seemed to notice her, she saw a few people do double takes but when she approached to talk to them, they wouldn't respond, just shiver as if it were cold out.

Before she knew it, the sun had begun to peak over the horizon. Beautiful mixes of pink, yellow and light blue, clashing with the dark blue and purples of the night sky. The shadow apparitions began to disappear into other shadows, while the light ones just seemed to dissipate. Ebony stopped her searching for a few minutes, the sight filling her with amazement, a feeling had begun to blossom inside her chest, like a blooming Iris flower greeting the morning sun. Ebony took a deep breath, feeling safe in the sunlight and gazed around her. Morning dew had begun to materialize itself on the grass and leaves of the trees, the soft beams of sunlight easily resting on the sidewalks, roads and buildings. Early birds had begun to chirp and some people had begun to emerge from their houses to go to work or elsewhere. The summer's day was beginning, Ebony had a much bigger chance now that day had arrived. Though she knew it may still take awhile to find this shaman, hope had still managed its way into her heart. It was like finally waking up from a nightmare.