Thousands of invisible particles prickled and stung his skin, each one of them trying to shunt him into motion. It was difficult to keep his eyes focused on the ‘real’ world, let alone upon the suspicious, green eyed boy standing before him. It was a shame, really, for the boy had only just started to place his trust in him.

This universe obviously wanted him gone – he’d lingered too long again – and now the she was trying to carefully nudge him out in order to protect herself. No Man’s Land was generally one of the more accepting universes when it came to Mages, but too many had transversed her borders lately. She wanted them gone. Out. She wanted to be safe again.

Kai listened patiently to her whispers in his head and mentally nodded. He’d been here too long indeed. In fact, if he hadn’t bumped into Shadow...

Besides, he really needed to see his family again – to see some trusting, friendly faces. To walk through a world that didn’t seem to recoil at his very touch. To see his sisters, to tease and banter with them without fearing he’d permanently alienated them... Yes, he’d definitely stayed too long away this time. His expectation of a positive human reaction to his presence was almost zero, for Merlin’s sake! No wonder so many Mages went mad after just a few years alone.

But how could he leave Shadow now? True, he really couldn’t go any further in the direction No Man’s Land had suggested to Shadow – it was far too dangerous for a Mage to travel that road – but how could he leave this young, almost helpless boy without any guidance? He shuddered a little as he realised how he would feel if he couldn’t find his way home...

And now Shadow’s journey was leading him right to the borders of death itself – which, possessing a normal soul and magic, he should be able survive unscathed. But how could any decent person in good conscience allow a mere boy to make such a journey alone?

Kai sighed and resisted the impulse to pinch the bridge of his nose. Maybe by the time he was eighty eight, his life would have stopped throwing impossible decisions at him like this. That is, if he managed to live that long.

oooOOOooo

Shadow could see the older boy staring absentmindedly at the ground in front of him, causing an unnamed fear to take hold as soon he realised something was wrong.

“Kai, what...?”

“I can’t go any further, Shadow.” Black eyes lifted from the ground and appeared to assess him. “It is too dangerous for me now.”

“Oh.” A terrible pain pulled at Shadow’s soul and he gave the direction leading towards what might be his only way home a last, sad look. “Oh,” he said, and walked back to where the Mage was standing.

Kai stared at him as if he’d grown a second head. “What in God’s name are you doing?”

Shadow frowned. “But... you said that it was too dangerous for us to go any further.”

“I said it would be too dangerous for me to go any further. You, on the other hand should be fine as long as you’re careful.”

“I don’t understand.”

Kai’s expression gentled. “I’m a Mage, Shadow. You will understand the danger the place you’re heading to poses for me when you arrive there. Remember what I told you before; a Mage’s soul and his magic are one and the same. Souls belonging to normal people are protected from this place by their magic. I swear to you that I am not abandoning you. Besides,” Kai’s face twisted into a smile, “you will be a whole lot safer once you leave my presence. Be safe, Shadow and good luck.”

Shocked, Shadow abruptly realised that something was hidden underneath that jovial expression, almost as if Kai really did expect him to turn around and walk away with a smile on his face, grateful that he’d escaped from the other boy, and was bracing himself for that fact. But it wasn’t like that, not at all.

“Why’d you do that?”

Kai tensed warily. “Do what?”

“Cover everything up with these cheery comments like... like the real world can’t touch you? Like you don’t care?”

Kai said nothing.

“I thought so,” Shadow murmured, almost to himself. “I thought there was something odd about a son of Severus Snape acting so constantly positive. It’s what made me wary of you, but you’re not like that at all, are you?”

Kai’s gaze skittered away. “You find...” His voice trailed off as though his throat had suddenly tightened. “You find that people are less likely to want to put down a dangerous creature if it lets them stroke it and plays fetch.” Dark eyes suddenly pinned Shadow with their gaze. “Fear makes people hate like nothing else.”

Shadow met his gaze. “Yes. I know.”

Kai reached up to his own shoulder and absentmindedly stroked Aki, who had just scrambled up like Kai was his own human climbing-frame. “Then I am sorry that you do. I am... grateful for your acceptance of me.”

“Yes, well...” Shadow forced a smile. “I suppose we’re both pretty screwed up, aren’t we?”

Kai returned in kind but said nothing more.

Well, Shadow thought, I suppose there’s not really much you can say to a statement like that...

Kai took a deep breath and sighed, raising a hand to point in the direction that the Mirrorverse was tugging him in. “It will be dangerous. You will be frightened. More difficulties other than what you have already experienced will set themselves in your path. But...” Kai lifted up a finger, a true smile flickering around his mouth. “I am certain that, not only will you not give up, but that you will also succeed and succeed well. Trust this universe and listen to her hints – she will not lead you wrong.”

Shadow scowled. “Now that I recognise from Snape. You’re lecturing me!” he accused.

Kai just threw back his head and let out a short laugh. “God forbid that I actually share some traits with my father.”

Shadow’s scowl deepened. “And now that’s sarcasm – stop it at once!” And then, not able to keep up the facade any longer, he laughed along with the older boy.

“All right, all right,” Kai said after they had calmed down. “Now, this is the part you really have to listen to. The Rules.”

He held out his hand and started counting on the fingers. “Number one: stay away from any people you see. Mostly they’re harmless but sometimes you can meet some really nasty specimens. To accomplish this, you must stick to the more uneven bits of ground. Most people travel along the flat parts – like the bit we’re standing on – so you would be safer steering clear of such places, OK?”

Shadow nodded, wondering how many rules he would need to remember and hoping he would be able to. Some of the memories already in his head were driving him batty. So many and all of them uniform – none of them fading into the background like a normal person’s would. Maybe he should start destroying a couple again...

Kai held up a second finger. “Number two: this place is where the Elemental Serratii originated from. There will be plenty about and none of them will be tame. As long as you stay away, keep moving and don’t look like food, they won’t bother you.”

Shadow gulped. “Err... what’s a... an Elemental Sera, S-seri...”

“An Elemental Serratius?” Kai supplied.

Shadow nodded gratefully.

Kai grabbed a hold of Aki and tugged him off his shoulder, dangling the cat in front of Shadow’s nose. “That is an Elemental Serratius – cute until you get too close. These creatures are born with their full abilities because their natural environment is so unstable. Aki as he is at the moment will never grow. He already has the ability to use a magical element to do the growing for him – as you saw earlier. Now, the locals won’t be anywhere near as friendly as Aki.”

Shadow shuddered as he remembered how his first meeting with Aki had gone. No way did he want another 450 pound tiger look-alike sitting on his chest in the near future!

“Which brings us to our next point,” Kai continued. “No Man’s Land – or the Mirrorverse as you say – isn’t made up of space and planets and stars like normally. Instead, she is a seemingly endless expanse of white mist and ground that fills in space in between the normal universes... Rather like the no man’s land from the First World War. She gets a little bored sometimes and decides to remodel every now and then.” Kai grimaced. “Not very nice to get caught in – bit like an earthquake – but if one starts, drop to your knees and start rolling until the ground stops shaking, OK?”

Shadow gulped again, wondering what he was getting into. Surely there was an easier way of doing this?

“Now, lastly, when the mist starts turning grey, you must stop immediately. If necessary, back up a few yards into the white mist. Then you wait. The grey mist means you’ve reached your destination, but by no means should you go into it. It would be dangerous even for you if you did that.”

“Err, could you write this down at all?” Shadow asked, his head spinning a little.

“Ah. Yes of course.” Kai carefully settled his staff on the ground and started rummaging through his knapsack until he found a piece of parchment and a pen. An odd expression came across his face as he looked at them – part speculation and part mischief – before he shrugged and tore the parchment in two, scribbling instructions down on one half and then stowing the second back in his bag. “Here you go.”

Shadow took the list cautiously – he had caught the look – and scanned what was written. It looked normal enough.

1.      Stay away from people – stick to the lumpy ground.

2.      Stay away from the cat creatures – do not look like food.

3.      Prepare to do a lot of rolling if the ground shakes.

4.      Don’t go near the grey mist!

“Umm, thanks. I think...” Shadow said as he squinted at the parchment, turning it this way and that to see if he could work out what Kai may or may not have done to it. Slight panic began to set in as he realised that this was really it – after this he would be all alone once again. “Thank you.”

“No problem.” Kai held out his hand to shake and it was only a couple of seconds before Shadow decided to take it.

The sting from the touch was stronger than ever, but Shadow forced himself to hang on for a good five seconds, hoping that he fully conveyed his gratitude that Kai had turned out not to be evil after all. “So, uh, fancy doing some Mage magic? You know, as a send off?”

Kai smiled and leaned closer as though parting with a great secret. “I already have,” he whispered, giving Shadow a gentle push towards where the Mirrorverse was pulling him.

Shadow forced himself to turn away and start walking. He couldn’t bring himself to say goodbye for that would make his leaving final, but luckily Kai seemed to understand.

Aki gambled along by his feet for quite a way before turning and dashing away with only a gentle headbutt on the legs to announce his departure. When Shadow chanced to look back over his shoulder, there was nothing but mist.

“Right,” he whispered to himself, stumbling on the uneven ground in front of him. “Right.” I have promises to keep... and miles to go before I sleep.

oooOOOooo

It was a of couple hours later before he realised his memories were no longer clamouring at his brain for attention. In fact... they now seemed almost... normal.

Bloody, meddlesome Mages!