Page 28 of The Light Within

He headed to the bench, headphones at the ready. Cinn needed something that would blast his anxiety out of his head but his rucksack offered a limited selection of cassettes. He reached for his favourite—Doolittleby the Pixies—to remember that it had jammed while he was rewinding it yesterday, and now tangled lengths of black tape spilled out of the cassette like entrails. He picked it up regardless, giving its surface a sad stroke.

It had been the soundtrack to countless lonely nights, and had prevented him from slipping countless times, back when music was his only defence. He twisted his gold warding band before popping his next best option into his Walkman—The Cranberries’sNo Need to Argue, fast forwarding to “Zombie”.

Headphones on, cigarette lit, he was finally ready to look at the photograph again.

His father stared up at him, wide-eyed, a startled smile on his face as if the camera had caught him unaware.

Although Cinn could see echoes of himself in the curve of the stranger’s lips, the crinkle of his eyes, he couldn’t reconcile the image with the man he’d sometimes allowed himself to imagine.

Neon pink leg warmers appeared in his peripheral vision. He hadn’t heard Darcy approach over the deafening chorus of the song. He slid his headphones off as she sat down beside him.

“Julien tried to follow you out, but I sent him and Elliot to the shop for milk.”

“Cheers.”

“I also asked him to pick up someverjus.He’ll have no idea what it is, so that should slow him down.”

Whateververjuswas, Cinn didn’t have the faintest clue. He nodded along in conspiratorial agreement.

“So, did you have any idea? About him being a shadowslipper?”

Cinn’s head snapped to Darcy’s. “You what?” He stared at her, letting out a hollow laugh that filled the garden.

Darcy’s face twisted. “Your dad? Julien just told us that he was also a shadowslipper?” She nodded down to the file Cinn hadn’t actually finished reading yet.

“You’re fucking with me.”

Her guilty, worried grimace suggested otherwise.

“Bloody hell.” Cinn leaned back on the bench, watching the clouds in their slow drift for a count of ten. Then he dragged his eyes to the paper.

Nikolas Mavros

Born in Thessaloniki, Greece, 1950.

Deceased 10th March 1976.

Father, Ioannis Mavros. Mother, Eleni Mavros.

Grandparents. Now there was something Cinn had never considered before.

“Why don’t I have his name?” Cinn murmured. “I don’t think I even knew he was Greek…”

It was one thing to know his father was dead, but entirely another toknow,know,seeing the word and date on the page.

Cinn glanced at the text below, the spark of a headache already igniting and he hadn’t even attempted to read it yet. Béatrice’s write up was bad enough, and this looked worse. He rooted around in his rucksack, moving mints and empty lighters aside to locate the yellow overlay Julien had gifted him. Once placed on the first line, the letters forwent their usual wiggling dance.

Fifteen at the time of the Calamities of 1965, Nikolas Mavros was a first generation moteblessed, and confirmed shadowslipper. His abilities allowed him to traverse back and forth to what is often referred to as ‘the shadowrealm’, or ‘the other place’, a phenomenon known to challenge the boundaries of reality and perception.

Arriving at AAIoES in late 1975, Mavros presented with severe psychosis, a condition exacerbated by his unique abilities. Medical professionals endeavoured to treat his condition, yet his mental state remained precarious. During periods of lucidity, Mavros offered intricate accounts of his shadowslipping experiences, initially misconstrued as symptoms of schizophrenia. As his illness progressed, he became increasingly unable to differentiate between his experiences in the shadowrealm and the tangible world.

In January 1976, Mavros lapsed into a persistent comatose state, defying all efforts at revival. His tragic case continues to intrigue researchers, highlighting the profound impact of shadowslipping abilities on the human psyche.

Notably, Mavros gained significant attention due to his claims of being able to bring ‘spirits’ and objects back from theshadowrealm into our world. However, it should be emphasised that this aspect of his ability was never conclusively verified. To date, this remains the sole documented potential instance of such a phenomenon occurring.

“Noir talked about him in one of our sessions. He said there was only one other shadowslipper that had brought anything back before. He didn’t fucking tell me it was my father, though.”

Cinn’s earlier wave of fondness for the old man crashed and burned. His gaze combed over the photo of the father he had no memories of, the one he seemingly had to thank for the affliction that he’d once felt ruined his life.

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