There was a shout, then the darkness snatched Jenny right off her feet.

The whole atmosphere was throbbing, quick at first, like a racing heart beat. It pulsed in the air, the ground, in the entire world. Jenny was very aware of it, floating in the darkness, feeling each pulse match her own. Slowly, it began to fade. The concentration of each throb lessened with each passing minute, fading from the sky, down passed the walls, all the way to Jenny's body alone. It resided in her head at last, weighing it down like a ton. It was the worst migraine she ever felt in all her thirteen years of living.

Jenny finally opened her eyes, groaning at the pain in her temples, but all she saw was black. She felt herself lying on some floor, but all the lights must've been turned off because she couldn't see anything but shadows. No, that wasn't right.

She sat up quickly-too quickly actually, and she leaned back down, resting on her elbow when her skull felt like it was going to split open. She ran a hand across the black ground and felt….nothing. No, there was something there, but it wasn't real. It couldn't be. She felt the force she was laying on, some sort of density holding her up, but it wasn't solid. It felt weightless underneath, as if she was on a slab of shadows suspended in the air.

Looking up, Jenny saw the same thing in front of her, as if the same structure under her had stretched up, creating a wall. She immediately touched that as well, feeling the pressure of some unseen force, nothing at all like a solid wall. What was more frightening than that realization was the fact that she could see through the wall. She didn't know how, she didn't know why, but she could see something moving beyond the wall. Something intangible, like smoke or fog, all entirely black, swirling and drifting off from a very far distance away.

She sat up now, fear taking over the pain in her head. No. No. This wasn't right. She was just in the basement. How did this happen? Where was her grandfather? Where were the Shadowmen?

She tried to stand up, but her legs felt too weak. She had to use the wall as support, but God it felt as fragile as ice under fingers. She was too afraid to put all of her weight on it, as if the wall of shadows would shatter and she would go falling into the abyss. And she didn't want that. Anything but that.

She felt herself hyperventilating, her pulse beginning to race, air beginning to shrink around her-God, what if there was only a limited amount of air in here? She'd suffocate. She'd die.

A strike of pain on her thumb seemed to center herself again. The metal ring around her thumb had the center latch open, revealing the tiny sharp edge, much like a blade. Had it fell open, or did she cut herself she didn't know, but she was thankful for the cut on her index finger all the same. She was able to focus on the tiny drop of blood-her blood. She was still alive. Right now, wherever the hell she was, she was fine. She knew more than the common person. She'd make it out of here. She just had to focus.

"Well."

And just like that, the fear was back.

Jenny spun around, cursing herself for not even bothering to look behind her when she first woke up, and there stood a boy. No, he wasn't a boy. He couldn't be. If she was just in her basement, then something had gone wrong-with the Shadowmen. They didn't deal with anything but Shadowmen. So he couldn't be a human boy, nor any other type of demon.

But Jenny had never seen one in front of her. And her grandfather had never mentioned the fact that they were impossibly beautiful.

This "boy" was about her size, resembling maybe a few years older than her. His hair was as white as milk-no, it reminded her of freshly fallen snow, so soft and fluffy to the eye, a stark contrast against the endless black background. He was wearing a white T-shirt that seemed to be a size two small because it hugged against his skin to the point where Jenny could see the muscles of his abdomen. The pants were straight black, made out of some smooth material, maybe stretchable cotton or something, because there wasn't a single wrinkle in them, blending in with the shadows, as if he was apart of them. Well, technically he was.

But the thing that shocked Jenny the most was his eyes. No one had eyes that color, so blue, bluer than anything she had ever seen. She was staring into them, the only spot of color in this monochromatic picture before her, so intently that she almost missed the smirk that pulled onto his lips-Almost.

"Hello." Maybe it was because of the migraine, but his voice was elemental, a mystical tone that had to be anything but human. Jenny was immediately intrigued, but the way he said it, like a predator would to its trapped prey, made her instincts come back to her.

She back peddled, but didn't get far. Her back bumped the imaginary wall, then she stepped away from it, afraid that it would disappear and she'd walk right off the edge of whatever force she was on. The "boy" merely tilted his head to the side, watching her with such an intense gaze. He was only a few feet away, hands behind his back, smiling at her. He looked fascinated with her, those impossible blue eyes roaming over ever inch of her, like he was finding something new about her with every second-like she was something he had never seen before, which Jenny knew was a lie.

She stared right back at him, and although his presence was as unsettling as the short distance between them, she stood her ground, unblinking, unmoving. He seemed to find something humorous about that, because his smile widened in amusement and took a step toward her.

Jenny immediately held out her hand, where the old scar sat on her palm, one in a symbol of protection. "S-Stay away," she said, and it came out nowhere near as strong as she hoped. Her stuttering even seemed to echo slightly back at her, like it had faded beyond the walls and the darkness beyond them had sucked the sound right out of the words. "You can't touch me. Not without permission. And there's no way I'm giving that to something like you." That sounded better. Stronger.

The boy stopped, but his smile didn't even falter. He gazed at her for a minute longer, then continued forward. He was only two steps away when Jenny's stomach jumped up into her chest. She shouted something in an instant, sharply, with a quick wave of her finger. It was some sort of rune that the Egyptian's used way back in the Dark Ages to prevent evil spirits from possessing their souls on the way to the afterlife. Her grandfather had shown it her, out of the many things he had taught her, and surprisingly, it worked.

There was some kind of throb, like a spark in the air, and the boy fell back. Shock registered on his face and he held onto his chest, as if he had been injured. The throb faded into the walls, quivering through the shadow-like substance and off into the vast space behind them. It was then, watching the walls waver behind the boy, that Jenny realized they were in some kind of box. Unable to see their limits but feeling them there. God, it must be what a goldfish feels like in its tank.

The boy gazed at her with a new intensity now, almost like he was offended by the attack. Jenny felt her pulse racing in her neck, bordering on painful. In the pause, she quickly dragged the sharp edge from her ring across her palm, reopening the symbol of protection on her hand. She never liked the pain. She hated it actually, but it was like ripping off a band-aid, after the first prick, the first strike, she was able to deal with it. Her grandfather had also taught her that. He had taught her everything he knew.

Once she finished, she held her palm up again, hissing at heated pain radiating from her open flesh. "You can't touch me," she said again, and she had to clear her throat after from how small that sounded.

The boy merely stared at her again, this time a bit of confusion washing over his face. It was when he seemed to be watching the blood roll down her wrist that he settled into something Jenny could not read. "No," he said slowly, "it seems that I can't."

Jenny didn't know what was so funny about that because that smirk returned, seeming more playful than before. His voice didn't fade like Jenny's did. Instead, it seemed to fill up their imaginary room, taking up all the air until it surrounded Jenny in an otherworldly tone.

"What's your name?"

Jenny only scowled at him. She never faced a Shadowman before. Never saw one before, or heard one talk. She had only heard the tales, was only prepared for them. Her grandfather had always said he hoped she never had to. Physical tactics were useless; That's why Jenny never did any physical training. The only reason her grandfather even introduced her to the hunting ways was because Jenny had a strong will. He said her mind was strong and brilliant and that's what would protect her, that would be her best weapon, because that was the Shadow man's main target-the mind, the sanity of a person.

So Jenny immediately refused his attention. She pulled her focus away from his beauty, from his elemental voice, and to herself, to the pain throbbing in her hand, and the ache in her temples. She was terrified, yes, being face to face with something inhuman, but she be damned if she showed it.

"You're a Shadowman," she snapped. "Aren't you?"

Those eyes widened just a bit, that blue flashing at her like icicles under a barrier of snow, but the boy didn't answer.

Jenny continued. She kept her chin up, desperately trying to keep her breathing steady. "I know what you do. I don't know…w-what you did, but I'm going to get out of here, and you-You are staying right there."

Something flashed in those eyes again, something much darker, like a challenge. He moved closer to her. "Make me," he snapped, voice coming out much harsher now.

Jenny shouted the rune again, but the boy merely flicked his hand and the unseen force struck the wall, bending the shadows of the wall back as if it was made of jelly before snapping back into place. The power died almost instantly.

Jenny's stomach coiled. He, she thought weakly, he deflected it….

The smile came back. "Your powers are weak here. You can't kill me with something as pitiful as Egyptian indications."

"And you can't kill me without the right," Jenny snapped back. Her arm had gotten tired, so she pulled it back to herself, holding her bloody wrist but keeping the palm open. "I'm not stupid."

"Oh, I know that." The boy's hands returned behind his back and he walked to the side, up to the invisible wall before them. Jenny walked to the opposite wall, keeping as much distance as she could with him although this box had its limits. "Any other mortal would be screaming for help, banging on the barrier…begging." His eyes flickered to her on the last word, seeming as blue as the deepest part of the Atlantic ocean. "Not using runes against something like me."

The mockery was almost hissed at her, pronouncing the effect of insult clearly. Jenny had to move some of her hair out of the way. Jenny was considering what she should say, if she should say anything back at all, when he added, "Tell me, if you're so brilliant, where are you?"

Now Jenny had no idea what to say. Where was she? Hell, she hardly knew that. She wasn't on Earth anymore, that was something she had to accept. Her grandfather had mentioned the other realms to her, but this…this didn't seem like a solid place at all. Her first guess, and her greatest fear, was that she had somehow landed in the Shadow World. But her grandfather had predicted something other than this. And if she was in the Shadow World, she wouldn't be standing here, in this unearthly box of shadows with a Shadow Man himself. She would be…trapped in a toy, forced to suffer endless loneliness with her insides made of stuffing-forced to solve a riddle that would end up killing her even if she got it right-she'd be in some sort of insanity-driving, death-seeking trap.

Unless, this was the trap….

Jenny immediately clenched her hand, striking pain in her tender palm to bring her back. No, she wasn't. Calm down. She'd be dead by now, wouldn't she? She had to think.

The last thing she remembered…was the basement. Her grandfather was at that door. Jenny couldn't remember what he was doing, but he had commanded her to stay back. Right, then something went wrong. There was a flash of light, and her grandfather was screaming. Jenny had wanted to help-she tried-then she woke up here.

The sickening feeling of dread started to swell up in Jenny's chest. Carefully, she looked up. There wasn't even a visible sign of the barrier acting as a ceiling. It was just the shadows, the black smoke resembling the endless distance of some otherworldly place. Where…was she?

"Do you give up?" The boy asked, and when Jenny looked back, he had an eyebrow arched in a tease. "Not even a guess?"

"Screw you," she said, but it came out quiet, weak. She dropped her hand and backed herself into the corner, her skirt just barely brushing the force of the wall behind her. "Do you know where we are?"

"Of course I do," he said haughtily with a shrug of his shoulders. "I know this place a lot better than you do. You can thank your worthless trainer for that."

Jenny was struck with confusion immediately, especially when the boy put his back to her, walking toward the back wall. There was a massive rip in the back of his T-shirt, exposing such pale skin underneath. "Wait. You mean my grandfather?"

"Do I?" he asked, spinning back on his heels. Those blue eyes were wide now, anticipating something Jenny knew she should fear. Then he asked, "Would you like a hint?"

Curiosity struck Jenny, then a hint of shame. This is exactly what her grandfather told her about. The tricks, the games. So Jenny didn't answer the Shadow man. She immediately put her back to him, crossing her arms across her chest. It was probably a terrible idea to leave her backside exposed to such a demon, but he couldn't touch her. Even if this was his trap, his doing. He still needed permission. At least…Jenny prayed that he did.

He said something else, but Jenny ignored it. She couldn't play his game. She had to get out. Think, Jenny, think.

She dropped to her knees, placing her bloody hand on the unseen ground. She had thought of testing the barrier out at first, but when her blood soaked through the shadows, sinking down and then dropping off, disappearing into the blackness under her, she was glad she did. So she really wasn't anywhere solid. She was trapped, that was for sure, but then that meant that this Shadowman was also trapped. She was starting to piece it together until the pain in her temples throbbed, piercing through her mind like a very long needle. She grabbed her head in agony, sitting back on her heels.

Her elbow brushed something solid and cold at the same time she heard, "It's rude to ignore people, you know."

Jenny didn't mean to cry out, but the touch felt like electricity, shocking her. She jumped away, practically falling into the wall at the sight of the boy mere inches from her. He had her cornered-not touching her, but getting so close that she touched him. She had brushed his leg. Shit. Shit.

Her heart was hammering in her chest, at the sudden erase of distance, and Jenny just knew she had to look away from those eyes. They were like sapphires, Jenny realized, so beautiful, so raw in color in this place. She couldn't stop staring at them. She had to look away. She had touched him. He could-

No, he couldn't. If he was in the same position as she was, then he had no rights here. He couldn't do anything. So Jenny took a deep breath and jumped passed him, turning her body sideways in order to slip through the thin space she had without touching him.

The boy turned after her, eyes never leaving hers for a second, and watched as she stumbled away from him. She fixed her skirt and her honey hair as if she wasn't panicking inside. She did something else, something very small, that he still caught all the same. Jenny gave her elbow a small, anxious brush, making his eyes flicker from her elbow, back to her.

"It doesn't matter where we are," Jenny said, hearing herself before she even realized she was speaking. "My grandfather will find me and get me out."

The boy chuckled at that, and Jenny found it strangely charming-which she cursed herself for. "Will he?"

"Yes."

"Oh, I don't think so."

Jenny started to process that-to get offended somehow, then gave a groan and covered her ears. She put her back to the Shadow Man once again, refusing to listen. She had to stop listening otherwise he'd trick her into doing something stupid and kill her. That's all he wanted anyway, just to kill her.

Yet, that mystical voice, like water over rocks, came slipping through her fingers.

"Nature is my mother

But inside I live

You walk right through me either way

Though I be three inches thick."

The riddle instantly confused Jenny. She never was good at things like that. What could you possibly walk through that was solid? What came from nature, but lived indoors?

Indoors. Indoors.

Oh, duh.

Doors were everything with runes. To travel between the realms, you needed a solid door and the runes in order to act as a portal. In order to trap the Shadow Men in her grandfather's basement, they had used a door-the closet door behind the third bookshelf-

-the same door that Jenny had last seen before something went wrong-before she jumped in to help.

Slowly, Jenny turned back around, her hands falling from her ears as the realization made something hot and thick rise in her throat. The boy hadn't moved from his spot. He didn't seem so pleased now that Jenny had realized what he was talking about. "Understand now, Little Hunter? Your grandfather can't set you free, without releasing me as well."

Jenny suddenly felt very dizzy. She had to swallow whatever was threatening to come up, and she shook her head. "No. You're lying. How did that…." She gave the place a vast look around her, trying so hard to see passed the black fog outside their barrier. "Where are the others?"

The boy gazed out the same wall Jenny did, separated by the only few feet that consisted of their cage. "Imagine it like this," he said simply and a single finger pointed to the ceiling that didn't exist. "A hole opened up from above. My Ancestors jumped out, and you fell in. Then it closed." His hand slapped back at his side, a little frustrated. "Happened in a matter of seconds, really. Was expecting that old man to land in here." His gaze flickered over his shoulder to her, eyes at piercing her like icicles. "Not you."

Jenny didn't know how to react. It couldn't be true, but it made sense. Whatever had gone wrong, if the containment on the door broke, then she basically switched places with the other Shadow Men. But wait, wasn't it a life for a life? She only switched with one, not a dozen. And she knew for a fact that her grandfather had over a dozen in there. Now it was just the two of them in here. There was no way…

Unless her grandfather had closed it back up. If he got the other Shadow Men in another containment, and closed this one the second it opened. But how could she physically be here? It was for souls, for demons, not people.

A lot of time had passed when Jenny returned from her thoughts, and she found her arms around herself, looking down at the shadows that made-up the floor under her feet. Seeing the endless space under her made her nauseous, but she wouldn't throw up. She couldn't. Not if she passed out first.

"You can call me Julian."

Jenny's gaze shot up, almost forgetting the boy was still a mere six feet from her, and she gasped. The boy, Julian, was sitting down in an armchair. Like one her grandfather had, cushioned and a vicious crimson red. It looked like velvet, with gold buttons on the arms. With nothing but black behind him, the young Shadow Man looked like he was practically glowing.

He waved his arms out to show the chair off, finishing by letting them run down the arms, and the smile he wore was so smug and proud. He drank in Jenny's shocked reaction, probably stoking his ego, that, Jenny was starting to guess, was pretty massive.

"Julian?" She repeated and something sparked in those sapphire eyes. The Shadow Man even gave a small hum of approval, as if hearing her call his name was bliss. "Shadow Men don't have names."

Julian gave her a shrug. "We have titles," he said more like a suggestion that a statement. "When we play games, we take the role of someone else, and we can call ourselves whatever we want. Which brings me back to my first question-" He sat up on his elbows, gaze directed up at her. "What is your name?"

Jenny debated for a good while whether or not she should respond. She was pretty good at ignoring people when she wanted to. It worked on Tom quite a bit-

Oh, Tom.

The horrible realization of never seeing him again-or her parents or her grandfather or anyone started to grow in her chest like a heavy weight. Would she die in here? Trapped in here until she went insane? How long? How long?

The fear from that was too much. It actually hurt-Jenny had to grab her chest at the tightness that began to fill between her lungs. It actually hurt to think of that. She didn't want it. She didn't want to think about that-or the pain-or anything really.

She felt the heat from her hand, throbbing with her pulse at the fresh wound, but she was unable to irritate it further to calm herself down in fear of only increasing this feeling in her chest. Instead, she turned her attention up, to the boy sitting like it was the most casual thing in the world across from her in this endless place.

What better distraction than this unearthly boy before her?

"Why-" She had to swallow once more to get her voice back. "Why should I tell you my name?"

"Well, this conversation would get rather dull if I didn't know your name."

Jenny tried to fake a scowl. She was still hugging herself, standing firmly in front of him with nothing but shadows surrounding them. "What makes you think I want to have a conversation with you?" suddenly she snapped," You're evil! You're a Shadow man. We don't do this-don't go together-We're not going to get along. This-This is stupid-I'm not stupid. I'm not going to fall for your tricks."

Julian sat back in his chair now and tilted his head to the side. His gaze flickered down her body once, then straight back up to her eyes. "Would you rather we sit here in silence? Where's the fun in that?"

Jenny gave him a true scoff and looked away, off into the shadows outside their container. She heard him chuckle and she crossed her arms in front of her, hissing at the wound on her hand. "When will you get this chance again, to sit down with a Shadow Man for a casual conversation with him unable to kill you, hm?"

Jenny actually stopped to consider that. It was true that this opportunity would never happen again, but she couldn't trust him. He could try and convince her to feel sorry for him and she'll let her guard down and he'll-

But he couldn't touch her. If they were truly trapped in here. Trapped in the cage behind the bookshelf door, then he couldn't pull any tricks on her. Not any that would kill her anyway. Magic was possible here, if just a bit, but nothing like a Shadow man's true power. Jenny had to believe that. She did.

But she wasn't taking any chances.

So she took a step toward the demon in the chair and said, "Swear to me."

Julian's eyebrows pinched slightly together in confusion. "For what?"

Jenny made the symbol in the air, one like a vase on its side; Pethro, the rune of gambling. "Swear to me, on Pethro, that you will not hurt me or try to kill me. No tricks. No games to try and get permission to hurt me. Just a conversation-Swear, it's just a conversation. No tricks."

Julian took a minute to ponder it and he even looked away from her, resting his chin on the back of his fingers, elbow perched on the arm of his chair. Then, slowly, the smile crawled back onto his lips. "I swear to play nicely."

"No, say it right," Jenny snapped. "I'm not stupid. Say it exactly."

"Or what?" He asked, still with a smile. He sounded much more entertained in her answer than offended.

"Or I'll ignore you, and we can both die of boredom."

Julian barked a laugh, reminding Jenny of a dam bursting at how light his voice was. But still, Julian traced the symbol in the air, saying clearly, "I swear to play no tricks on you with the intention of harming you or killing you so long as I exist." His hand dropped and he sat forward again, those blue pools glimmering a deep indigo at the moment.

The migraine came back like a slap to the face and Jenny heaved a sigh of pain. Well, there couldn't be any loopholes around that, could there? Couldn't touch her, couldn't try and get permission to kill her. Just a conversation. There was no harm in talking….right? So long as she didn't end up feeling sorry for him, or worse, feeling comfortable around him.

Yeah, right.

Julian's gaze flickered behind Jenny, to something right passed her legs, so Jenny glanced to look. She really shouldn't have been surprised to find a chair there. It was entirely different then his chair. This chair was like one you'd find in a higher-class dining room, with tall legs and a white cushioned seat. The arms were wooden, but with the same white material on top. The edges were lined with gold.

Seeing it made Jenny realize how exhausted she was. Sitting down sounded like a great idea, but for some reason she….felt like she couldn't. The pain in her temples prevented her from remembering why.

After a long, shaky breath, Jenny finally said, "My name's Jenny."

"I know. It's utterly gorgeous."

Jenny immediately flinched-first of all at the fact that he knew, and second because of the compliment. "Wait, what?" She couldn't tell by Julian's smirk if he was playing with her or if he was serious and enjoying her reaction. Something told her it was the latter. "If you knew, then why bother asking me?"

"Because then I wouldn't be able to make your eyes gleam as they did just now. It's fascinating, really."

Jenny ignored that. She really had to force herself to, but she did. "How'd you know my name?" She asked sharply. "Shadow Men can't read minds."

Julian gave a chuckle and sat back in his chair, even crossed his legs like some kind of gentleman. All he needed was a suit and a monocle and he'd be perfect for some rich magazine cover. "There are a lot of things you, nor your relative, know about Shadow Men."

Jenny didn't believe that. Well, sure there were things missing, like the whole Shadow Men being beautiful thing. Her grandfather was only human after all, but he knew basically everything. "Like what?" She tried to make her voice sound dull, almost bored, and unconvinced, but there was a slight hint of curiosity in there that she couldn't hide. "Besides popping chairs out of nowhere."

Julian cocked his head to the side, just the slightest bit, and it made every feature in his face stand out. "Why should I tell you?"

"You were the one who wanted to talk."

"Not about me."

It was feeling herself react, the change in her face, and seeing the satisfaction in the shadow demon's eyes that Jenny realized what was happening. Rune or not, with or without rules, they were still playing a game. He was still tricking her, subtly, with just his words, to get a rouse out of her. It was her reactions, he even said so himself.

So Jenny made a promise to herself. She may not be able to fight him or win at whatever stupid tricks he had planned for her, but if anything, she could one-up him with her reactions. And she was going to be as dull and dreary as physically possible.

"What, about me then?"

"Oh, yes. You are….enchanting."

Jenny gave her eyes a roll. "Do all Shadow Men flatter their prey?"

Julian flashed her a smile that made something in Jenny's stomach drop to her toes-a look so hungry that it was starving, and being directed right at her definitely supported her question. "Do I make you feel like prey?"

Jenny decided it was best not to answer that question and looked away from the Shadow Man. The blackness swirling just outside her reach suddenly made her aware of the exhaustion in her body. Her muscles were sore and her knees weren't feeling that strong either. Jenny gave the chair one more glance before walking around it to stand off to its side, keeping her gaze off to the side although she could tell Julian hadn't taken his gaze off her the entire time.

"Then prepare for a boring conversation."

"Oh, I don't think so."

"I'm not telling you about me," Jenny finally snapped. "So you better pick something else to talk about."

"I don't need to."

Before Jenny could question that, something wavered in the wall she was staring at. A splash of color, she realized, as tiny as a speck that began to grow. It spread through the milky film of the barrier until it formed a shape-a square-a solid.

The picture was completely unnerving. To have it suddenly materialize before her was sickening to watch. But it was mesmerizing at the same time, to suddenly see a picture of herself, all alone on the floor of her room, playing with those two blonde dolls her mother had given her. She was only about five years old, but Jenny remembered. She remembered those dolls, playing those silly games.

She looked and another picture beside it showed her a year older with a backpack slung over her shoulder, waiting on the street corner for the school bus. Then another popped up beside that one, of her and Zach, then another. And another.

Suddenly pictures of her circled their whole containment, covering the walls side by side, all so different, all of her. All specific; her birthday, first day of school, first time staying at her grandfather's. Following them with her gaze led her to meeting Julian's once again. His look was subtle, but Jenny could see the pride behind it-the smugness he was suppressing. Oh, so it was like that.

"Looks alone say enough for a conversation," he said smoothly.

The thought process of trying to unravel that just added to the layer of exhaustion wearing on Jenny. She bit back her surprise and returned her gaze away from the pictures, to the chair beside her. "Stay out of my head. I'm not telling you anything else-you probably already know it. You already knew my name. I don't trust you."

"You don't know me."

"I know enough," Jenny snapped, her voice hardening from this push and pull conversation. "And you don't need to know anymore, so-"

"How about an answer for an answer?"

Jenny was afraid to look back at the shadow demon, afraid of the look he'd have on his face, one so stirring and playful that she'd be unable to refuse. But looking at the endless swirls of black floating under her feet was stirring the lack of energy she had, reminding her of just how weak her knees were and that there was a chair right there and what was this Shadow Man saying?

Jenny looked up to find Julian staring away from her, his elbow resting on the arm of the chair, chin in his hand. He was looking off to the side, but soon his eyes flickered over to her, those unbelievable blue piercing right into her. "I'll ask you a question, then you may ask me a question. So long as you answer mine, I will answer yours. Wouldn't you like to know more about me?"

Oh that was a dangerous question. Jenny already knew about Shadow Men. She knew their runes, their rules, their tricks. She knew their tactics, their nature-

-But she didn't know about summoning things out of thin air. Or…being able to be trapped in the same dimensional space as her. Or being so damn playful and beautiful.

Pain struck her temples, making Jenny clench her eyes shut at the pain. She finally leaned her weight against the side of the chair, surprised it held her up without wobbling over, to ease some of the stress on her body. The wood dug into her hip, but it was nothing compared to the headache echoing through her head.

"Why?" She asked without looking up. "Why do you care-Why do you want to talk at all? Shouldn't you be…I don't know, trying to kill me? To drive me insane, scare me?"

The silence filled up the air in their containment, eventually spurring Jenny to look back at the Shadow Man. Julian still had his head in his hand, but it was now turned back to her. His gaze was downcast at first, looking level with her waist, before slowly drawing back up to those glowing cypress green eyes.

Then he asked it, as plain as day. "Do you want me to scare you?"

There was something too honest in those words-too humble for Jenny to see through. It struck her with shock actually, at how unprepared she was for what he could do. Trapped or not, he had an advantage on her.

"No." It came out as small, as Jenny feared, but she knew it wouldn't have come out any other way. "Besides," she continued, quickly, to collect herself, "I doubt you'd be able to scare me anyway."

Oh, it was a stupid thing to say, and the second it came out, a devilish smile pulled onto Julian's lips, telling Jenny she had just made a mistake. His voice came out steady, and cold. "Don't tempt me, Jenny."

"You can't. You swore."

"Precisely." Julian said as she shifted his weight, switching legs as he leaned on the other arm of the chair. "I cannot touch you and you can't keep me away. Thus this conversation."

His gaze flickered down-too quickly-one more time before settling back into her. "Would you like to start?"

Jenny, honestly, had to laugh. Just a small one, to relieve her of the pain in her head and the confusion from the man she was now facing. But she bit her lip just as fast, in order to stifle any reaction against him. It was just hard to fully come to terms with, the fact that she was now trapped with a Shadow man who wasn't trying to kill her, asking to play twenty questions with her as they floated God-knows where.

"Are you serious?"

"Of course. My turn." He paused after that, allowing the realization to settle in her face.

"That doesn't count."

"Of course it does. You asked me a question."

"Really? What about Pethro, the rules for playing fair and honestly?"

"You're the one who made me swear not to play any games, Jenny. It's just a simple question and answer basis."

"And what if I asked to shut up?"

The smirk that Julian gave her was so damn pleased with himself that Jenny just had to smile back. "Ah-ah, it's my turn. Remember?"

Jenny wanted to look away-she tried-but she found herself looking back, helplessly stuck on those sapphire eyes. "Fine, Julian. Ask me something."

Something sparked in those impossible eyes of his, something so thrilled that it expressed raw interest in his face-as if suddenly re-amazed at something all over again. "Where'd you get that scar on your left ankle?"

Immediately, Jenny's smile dropped.

The images flashed behind her eyes, of the rain hitting the window, of the knife as it hit the floor-

"I fell," she said quickly.

"You're lying."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"You said I had to answer you," she argued. "You said nothing about telling the truth."

"He cut you," his voice came sharply at her, "didn't he?"

For the life of her, Jenny couldn't find the voice to answer him. Suddenly remembering that day, of what happened, rattled her so hard that she even lost her balance against the chair for a second, having to pause to fix herself.

"It….It's my turn." It was hard to recover from that, and Jenny had to close her eyes to mentally shove those images back to deepest depths of her mind. Then there was the challenge of trying to come up with a question when her heart was pounding as badly as her head. But God, what do you ask a demon that only lives to cause chaos and torture?

"Uh, um. Well…." it took jenny a minute but she blurted out the first thought that came to mind. "Why Julian?"

The shadow man flashed a smile at her. "Why not?"

"No, you can't do that. You have to give me an answer."

Julian sat back a little in his seat, shoulders slouching just slightly. "It's eccentric, don't you think?"

"Yes," Jenny answered quickly, "and that was a question. So it's my turn again." Julian didn't even try to argue with that. Instead, his smile curved into a smirk that made Jenny realize how giddy she had sounded. So she cleared her throat and thought for a minute.

"How old are you?" It wasn't until after Jenny heard her voice drift beyond the walls that she realized exactly the kind of question she just asked this demon of shadows. "I mean-When-"

"Older than you think," Julian's voice was cool and collected, but his gaze was wide, like a wild animal watching its food squirm. "Why did you keep what he did to you a dirty little secret?"

Being forced back into the awful memory suddenly made Jenny's ankle prickle with heat. She really thought about not answering him-she shouldn't. He had no right to dwell in her past and feelings-but at the same time…he sort of did. Here in this remote place, trapped, weakened, neither of them had their normal rights. He couldn't force Jenny to do anything or play his stupid games, and jenny couldn't defeat him or treat him like she would a normal person. This place was completely different-foreign from both their worlds.

Here….it was all fair game.

"It wasn't his fault." It came out firmly, like Jenny wanted. She didn't wait for any reaction from him. "How the hell do you even know about that?"

"I know everything."

"Oh, yeah right. You only know fear and trickery. How?"

Julian's lips quirked the slightest bit. "Why are you so interested?"

Jenny attempted a shrug and fixed her position against the chair. "Isn't that why we're-I mean. It's why we're talking. How-Exactly how do you know?"

Julian crossed his arms and for once, his gaze finally tilted off to the side. "I see it," he said simply. "All I have to do is look at someone, and everything they are is mapped out for me. From their fears, to their desires. It's simple really. But when I look at you…." Those sapphire eyes snapped back to Jenny with such a look that her breath hitched. "Would you like to know what I see?"

Oh the tease in his voice is what finally hit the nail on the head for Jenny. She let herself smile. "I couldn't care less what you see."

The wolf hungry smile was back in a flash. "Now what kind of conversation are we going to have if you lie on all your answers?"

"An interesting one I guess."

That amused herself more than it did Julian because for a moment their smiles were equally matched in satisfaction, and suddenly their containment, the walls of their box, seemed endless.

Well this was SO MUCH FUN to write! xD I got this idea a while ago and the more I began to write, I had so much room for their connection and reactions and its just really fun to me. I know it's a lot of dialogue but bear with me. If things seem vague now, itll all be cleared up later, trust me. Please review and let me know what you guys think or have any advice or suggestions J

Till my next update!