Two weeks have passed and tomorrow is the day that Nora decided to go visit her father. For the first couple days after I reluctantly decided to go with her she seemed calm and collected, but now.. its almost impossible to be around her. She has gotten so stressed and uptight. Its more then obvious that she's worried about this trip. My brooding is interrupted when Nora walks into the room. " Where are my shoes?" she practically screams. " Nora, will you please calm down." I say soothingly "Just relax" Nora sits down on the couch and sighs. " Look, you just don't understand the terms in which I left. Things turned out really badly, I had thought that Father had disowned me. This is completely unexpected, I just don't know what will happen when when we get there tomorrow. I haven't seen my brother or Father in over 5 years. I've already sent word that we're coming so they know to expect us." I smile "Well, at least thats a start." "Oh yea, " Nora says "I told them that your my fiance." Perhaps just a little to loudly I ask "WHAT?!?!"
Nora smiles slyly " Well, I wanted them to think that I've made a good life here, and order to have a good life by my people's standards, a woman should be married." Nora grins at me "Ok, so maby I should have asked you first, but this all seems so crazy. If they knew that I had came here and and was WORKING...I mean I'm royalty there, there is no such thing as working for my father, brother and I. I mean...its just so crazy." I look at Nora with and expression of disbelief on my face "Are you serious? I mean, I understand that you said The Plain of Darkness was behind on the times and all..but I didn't know it was to that extent" I frown slightly "I mean even the wealthy or, royal, have to work here" Nora frowns at me "I know" she says and sighs. I can tell that this visit is really weighing on her, I feel bad but there isn't really anything that I can do, I just have to go with her and be there if things turn out badly.
"Alright, well seeing as this is the day before we leave, and it looks like we are all packed..Why don't you come out with me for a little and try to relax before you see your father tomorrow?" Nora smiles at me but I can clearly see the sadness and worry in her eyes "Alright, lets go." As we walk out the door Nora hesitates for just a second "I'm driving" she says and grabs the keys out of my hand. The bar is a twenty minute drive from my house, five minutes into the drive I notice that Nora keeps looking up at the rear-view mirror. "Nora...whats going on?" I ask a little bit worried. She looks up at the mirror again "We're being followed." I turn in my seat to look but I don't see anything. There are no cars behind us and I'm a little confused now. "They aren't in a car," she says before I can ask "they are Shadow Walkers, like me. They don't need a car to keep up with us. What has me puzzled it that I was the only one with a strong enought skill to be able to do what they are before I left home. You are born with the the strength of your skill, and only need learn how to harness it and make it useful. From what I can tell, the people following us are older then me. It doesn't make any sense" I frown a bit "Maby things have chanced since you left?" Nora turns her head to look at me "Impossible, there is no way that people with less skill then I have can suddenly be as powerful or more so then me." Nora looks up at the mirror again "I'm not gonna be able to lose them, they are following the trail of my power. We are going to have to confront them." Nora makes a sudden turn throwing me against the car door. "Think you can be a little more careful?" I ask rubbing my shoulder.
I begin to recognize our surroundings, as soon as i figure out where we are going Nora pulls into the parking lot of the mall. I just bairly make it out of the car and Nora grabs my arm and brags me into the building. "Ok, stupid question, why the mall?" Nora looks at me "Have you ever seen a dark place in a mall?" A little confused I answer "No." She smiles at me "My point exactly, no shadows, no powers." I see two men walk in the doors we just came through, They flinch at the sudden lights and begin to walk towards us. Being around Nora so much I can kinda feel their power. But unlike Nora's, theirs seems somehow dark and malevolent. Nora pulls me forward walk to meet these two men. "What do you want from me?" she asks. The man that answers is short and porky, I can't help but notice a disfiguring mole on his left cheek. "We have orders to escort you back to our dimension for your fathers funeral." Completely shocked, Nora drops to the floor "Funeral?" Now the other man answers with a raspy grating voice "You father was murdered in his sleep last night. You brother has arranged for his funeral. The funeral will be in about a week's time. It was your brothers wish that you return ahead of schedule to help make the preparations."
