9: Statue

"Oooooh yeah… She's a keeper," Inky commented, resurfacing in Adam's mind.

Adam was left just looking down at his childhood friend in shock like he was seeing her clearly for the first time. The sudden burst of magic had blown his previously untouched metaphysical senses wide open. He could now literally see the power brimming inside Ruby. Bits and rays of silver shone from her spiritual core as if Ruby was a lantern that held the moon.

She was still freaking out over his comment about saving himself for her. It would've been adorable if Adam wasn't so stunned by her sudden burst of supernatural power and the influx of new magical information. Oh, who was he kidding? It was still adorable.

What wasn't adorable was the slut-shaped statue her powers had left at the mouth of the alleyway. It was uncanny, so realistic that it looked like the vampire was merely standing still other than the obvious stone skin. It would have been a wonder of art if Adam didn't witness how it was made.

"What… the fuck… was that…?" Adam asked no one and everyone.

The question managed to pull Ruby out of her flustered, eye-swirling state and gave her something to focus on other than lewd scenarios starring her and Adam, "W-What was what?"

Inky answered Adam more directly, not explaining anything as per usual, "Ah, you know, typical Warrior of Light, Silver-eyed Maiden stuff. I'm a little surprised your bestfriend here turned out to be one but I probably shouldn't be. They're not subtle…"

Adam ignored Inky. He was getting good at that…

Instead, Adam pointed at the new vampire statue the alley now featured. Ruby followed his finger, gasping when her eyes came to a stop on the statue, "How did that happen? What could have… t-turned her to stone?"

Adam looked at her incredulously, "Ruby…? You did."

"M-Me?!" Ruby stuttered in shock. "But I didn't even cast a spell!"

One of Adam's eyebrows raised at that comment, "Spell? Got something you wanna share with the class, Rubes?"

"Er…" Ruby froze like she'd been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

Adam rolled his eyes, "Whatever. If you didn't 'cast a spell', then what happened? Your eyes went all silver and shot laser beams and then the vampire chick was a statue."

Ruby still looked like she'd been caught, "Uh… Mom's book didn't say anything about that… I have laser eyes…?"

Her eyes lit up, thankfully not literally this time, "So cool~! First, Mom's grimoire teaches me how to be a witch and now I have superpowers and magic?! This is awesome! How'd I do it? Like this? No… Like this…?"

"Maybe do that later," Adam said, covering Ruby's eyes with his hands as if that would stop her powers. "I like being able to move, thank you very much. So… you're a witch?"

"Ehehe~…" Ruby laughed sheepishly. "Yes…? Kind of? O-Only a little bit! I'm self-taught. Mom was supposed to teach me but then she… yeah… But she left me her grimoire! It's like her diary and a spellbook all in one! It's great! Also… I guess magic and vampires and stuff exists… Sorry you had to find out this way…"

Adam waved her off, "It's fine. I kind of already knew. I had a hell of a first night here…"

Adam shuddered as memories of the ritual resurfaced. Thankfully, Inky stayed quiet but Ruby easily noticed his trauma.

"Wanna… talk about it?" Ruby asked sympathetically.

"What do you think?" Adam thought to Inky, not answering Ruby just yet. "Any reason we should keep this a secret?"

"Nah," Inky replied. "If you can't trust her, you won't be able to trust anybody. And talking about this with someone other than me will do you some good. Maybe even get you to stop being a little bitch…"

"Fuck you," Adam shot back goodnaturedly, happy that Inky wouldn't try to stop him from sharing.

And so Adam shared what happened last night with his bestfriend, the only person he was sure he could trust. He told her about waking up in the dark ritual room surrounded by the Cult and the hazy memories that followed. He told her about his new Shadow and his dream. And he told her about the changes to himself that he still didn't fully understand.

By the end of his explanation, Ruby was seething with rage, practically foaming at the mouth, "Those-… Those bastards!"

Adam chuckled, feeling lighter now that he'd gotten all of that off his chest, "You know, I think that's the first time I've heard you swear, Rubes."

Ruby pouted with a blush, "S-Shut up… We're all grown-up now. I drank all my milk. I can swear too."

Still, she wasn't distracted from her righteous rage for long, "A-And those a-assholes deserve it! They kidnapped you, Adam! That's not cool! Like, at all! And don't even get me started on that ritual. I don't know much about magic but I know they probably messed it up!"

"She's right, dude," Inky added his two cents. "The Cult must have fucked up their ritual. The Original had to have been damaged by their crude summoning. Otherwise, we wouldn't be having this conversation. If the summoning went perfectly, the Original would have just absorbed your soul for strength. And I wouldn't have had any place to go if you weren't half-broken before the ritual. Since you were already all kinds of fucked up without me, my damaged self was able to slot into place right alongside you and we merged. It's like everything aligned perfectly…"

"My Shadow says you're probably right," Adam said aloud for Ruby's sake, tactfully not saying anything about his soul being damaged before the ritual. Ruby wouldn't take well to that information…

Ruby's anger immediately switched to concern, "That's another thing. Are you sure you're okay? What you described sounds like a possession. And those typically aren't a good thing…"

Adam turned a quizzical eye inward. His Shadow replied, seemingly rolling his eyes, "It's not nearly as simple as that. I'm not a ghost, I'm a Shadow. Your Shadow. This is more of a 'soul-bond' situation than a possession."

Adam hummed out loud, "Hmm… I'm sure it'll be fine."

Ruby looked very skeptical, hesitant to take some weird Shadow at its word but willing to trust Adam while she did her own research, "Okay… Just know I'm here for you. No matter what. I'll help you figure this all out and get revenge on the b-bastards!"

A genuine smile spread across Adam's face at Ruby's pledge of support. He knew she'd say that but it still felt good to hear it out loud. To hear Ruby would always stand by his side.

Having a confirmed ally that wasn't technically himself helped put his internal struggle into perspective. He wouldn't have to worry so much about losing himself to his desires if Ruby was there to keep him grounded. Even the thought of disappointing her, of not being the man she thought he was filled his soul with dread.

With Ruby by his side, maybe it wouldn't be so bad to let Inky in a little bit more. Which was good because it looked like he wouldn't have much of a choice otherwise. They'd breached the veil hiding the supernatural tonight. And Adam had a feeling that the darker side of the world wouldn't be so quick to leave him alone.

What he needed was more information. He was going into this world utterly blind. Inky wasn't too keen on sharing information on the supernatural with him, seemingly wanting Adam to figure it out on his own, and Ruby was just as blind as Adam in this regard. They were a self-taught witch and a soul with a secretive Shadow, alone and ignorant of what lurked in the dark.

"Any chance you wanna open up with me some more?" Adam asked his Shadow.

Inky was quiet for a moment before candidly admitting something, "… I'll be real with you, champ. My memory isn't what it used to be. I only remember bits and pieces about the real world and typically only after something related to the memories happens…"

"Great," Adam snorted mentally. "My Shadow has dementia. How useful…"

"Hey, I may not be able to help on the knowledge front but I can be used in other ways," Inky shot back with an offer. "If you just let me in a tiny bit more, I can get Us started on some basic powers and abilities."

"Like what?" Adam asked curiously, giving Inky the inch of leeway necessary to actualize some of Adam's powers.

"Alluring Whisper to start. Real basic stuff," Inky answered, his voice shifting into one that could woo the gods.

"Huh," Adam's voice shifted as well, instantly drenching Ruby's panties, though he didn't notice. "That's neat I guess. Could be useful. What else you got?"

Inky tutted, "Best I can do is some low-level Umbrakinesis. Ya know, Shadow magic? It's basically a cantrip though. Anything more requires Us to merge more thoroughly."

Adam stopped to think about the possibilities of the powers and his next course of action, wondering aloud, "… I can work with this. But where to start?"

His eyes drifted to the slutty vampire statue, "Say, Ruby, do you think there are more vampires in this town?"

Ruby shrugged a little sheepishly, "I dunno. I'd have to check Mom's grimoire… Sorry…"

"Don't worry about it, Rubes," Adam waved off her apology.

"There will be," Inky answered Adam's question. "Vampires live in covens like the packs of their werewolf counterparts. They're masters of the night, often taking over whole communities from the shadows. If I had to guess from the way she's dressed, this chick was just a low-level thrall, picking up a convenient blood bag from one of the town's nightclubs."

"Good to know," Adam said, tucking the information on werewolves away for later. "It's so nice when my demented Shadow has his lucid periods."

"Screw you, pal. I don't have dementia… I think…" Inky didn't sound so sure at the end.

Adam chuckled. Ruby looked at him weirdly, only hearing half of the conversation.

"Right," Adam said, bringing himself back on topic. "That's as good a place as any to start. We need information. On the supernatural and on this town. And I want to make some progress on that tonight. So what do you say, Rubes? Wanna go clubbing for vampires?"