"Can I see more?" I asked, needing to break the tension before I did something stupid like reach out to touch him.
"Follow."
Varkolak led me through winding passages that opened into a massive cavern. Dozens of shadow creatures moved about, their forms varying from nearly human to abstract collections of darkness. Some nodded at Varkolak. Most stared at me with obvious suspicion.
"They don't want me here," I whispered.
"Some don't. Others are curious." His hand hovered near the small of my back, not touching but close enough that I felt the cool energy radiating from him. "The elders approved your coming. That's what matters."
I watched a group of shadow children manipulating small orbs of darkness between their hands like clay. "What are they doing?"
"Learning to control shadow energy. All of us can manipulate darkness, but it takes practice."
"Could I learn?" The question slipped out before I could stop it.
His expression shifted, something almost like amusement crossing his features. "No. But your children might."
The implication hung in the air between us. My children. With whom?
My face flushed hot, and I turned away quickly. "What do you eat here? I haven't seen any gardens or livestock."
"We hunt. There will be a gathering tonight. You'll see."
The hunting gathering wasn't what I expected. I'd imagined spears and weapons. Instead, as night fell, Varkolak led me to a high ledge overlooking a vast stretch of forest that climbed the mountainside.
"Watch," he said.
Dozens of shadow creatures lined the rocky outcropping, their bodies seeming to pulse with energy. At some signal I couldn't perceive, they extended their arms, and darkness flowed from them like liquid, stretching down into the forest.
"What are they doing?" I whispered.
"Hunting."
The shadows moved through the trees with purpose, and suddenly I heard distant cries of animals fleeing. The darkness surged, and I realized with a shock that the shadows were herding prey.
Then Varkolak stepped forward. Unlike the others who remained stationary, he leapt from the ledge, his body melting into a streak of absolute blackness that shot into the forest like an arrow.
I gasped, clutching the stone beneath me. "He'll die!"
An older female shadow creature beside me made a sound like bitter laughter. "He is Varkolak. Watch."
My heart hammered as I strained to see through the darkness. Then the shadows parted, and animals broke through the tree line with sleek, deer-like creatures with six legs and silvery fur. They raced in panic, and behind them came the shadow hunters, flowing like oil through the trees.
Varkolak moved fastest of all. His shadow form coalesced into something terrifying as a massive predator shape with jagged edges. He engulfed one of the largest animals, and I watched in horrified fascination as the creature simply dissolved. Its essence seemed to be absorbed directly into Varkolak's shadow form.
Fear and fascination warred within me. This was how they fed, not by eating flesh but by consuming life energy itself.
When Varkolak returned to the ledge, he was himself again, but his skin seemed to shimmer with power, his eyes brighter.
"You're afraid," he said, coming to stand before me.
I couldn't lie. "Yes."
"But you didn't run."
"Should I have?"
His mouth curved slightly. "No. You belonged here tonight. You needed to see."
