Fictional Reality.

Blaze POV.

The door opened and I looked up into a pair of deep chocolate brown pools. Somehow I managed to completely lose track of all my reasons for being here.
“What can I do for you Little Wolf?” The sound of Danger’s frustrating nickname for me snapped me out of my haze. I fixed him with a glare.
“It’s bad enough that Danger calls me that, without you starting as well.” I snapped. His eyes sparkled as a silent laugh ran across his face. Well you make it so much fun. My glare intensified and he raised an eyebrow in question. Well? I took a deep breath and steeled myself.
“I have some questions and I’m not going away until I have the answers.” His other eyebrow joined the first as he stepped to one side, allowing me in. Curiosity overwhelmed me as I stepped over the threshold into Synyster Gate’s room. After all the time he’d spent in my room, it felt strange to be in his. I looked around, not sure what to expect. What I found was a snug, comfortable room painted a pale gold. A corner sofa took up one corner, surrounded by bookshelves and next to a huge open fireplace. On the other side of the room, sat and arm chair surrounded by amps and guitar equipment. A row of gorgeous guitars were hanging from custom hooks along the wall. A huge four poster bed sat against a feature wall painted a warm mahogany. Windows opened out onto a balcony that overlooked a quiet part of the back garden. Photos of Synyster with the guys were dotted about the room. I came to a stop a few steps in, not knowing where to go. I turned back to look at Synyster, who was leaning against the now closed door with an eyebrow cocked. Well, going to explain? I took another deep breath.
“Tell me about what’s been going on. Why is everyone walking on eggshells? What are you all not telling me? Tell me about Danger.” He sighed and pushed off the doorframe.
“Take a seat. We’re gunna be here for a while.” I took a seat on the sofa and waited while Synyster crossed the room and closed the heavy drapes before taking a seat next to me. He let out another long sigh as he leaned back. “Are you sure you want to do this now? Dawn isn’t far off and Danger would tell you everything if you asked.” I nodded firmly.
“Yes, I – I know she would tell me, but after everything that happened last week she…” I paused, blushing a bit. Synyster looked at me and seemed to read my mind.
“She scares you a bit.” I gave another small nod in confirmation. “That’s pretty understandable. Usually Danger has a tight rein on both her temper and her powers, as she can be pretty scary when she lets loose. You’re not the only one who she scares at times.” I glanced over at him in silent question. “Yeah, she even scares me when she gets angry.” He ran a hand over his face and leaned even further back into the sofa. My gaze briefly went to the thick bandages that still covered both of his forearms, before moving back up to his face. “I would ask you where you want me to start, but in order to get you up to speed on what’s been going on over the last week, I need to tell you about Danger. Before I start, tell me why you came to me and not one of the others?” He fixed me with a curious but firm gaze. I blushed and stared at the thick cream carpet beneath my feet.
“I – I tired. I tried to talk to Zacky, but he kept brushing me off and avoiding my questions. He told me there was nothing to worry about. Johnny’s been off with the wolf pack ahead of the full moon. Shadows, Jimmy and Val all just told me to speak to Zacky about it. And Danger … well she’s not been around much so close to the full moon and … I’m kind of scared to talk to her. She’s been in such a bad mood.” I paused, still staring at my feet. He’d know if I lied and he was so adept at reading me that he’d guess there was something else if I didn’t say anything. “And - and you have always been the one to try and tell me the truth. When you guys first found me, you were pissed at Zacky because he wasn’t telling me the truth straight away. And again during my change, only you tried to tell me just how bad things had been. I knew if I asked you, you would tell me everything I wanted to know.” I looked up, glancing at his face through a curtain of hair. He looked both surprised and pleased at the same time. Odd.
“Alright then. Danger is, as you know, half fae half werewolf. But what you probably don’t know is that both her parents are fae. She was turned into a Were while she was held captive by the Gwragen. In an attempt to lure her mother in to rescue her, he threatened to set a moon mad wolf onto her. When her mother didn’t show, he let the wolf savage her, expecting it to kill her. Werewolves are rarely turned any more. With humans all over the place now, Packs don’t tolerate moon mad wolves or any wolf that can’t – or won’t – control their wolves. They’ll hunt and kill any they come across” I nodded, Danger had already talked me through that little detail in preparation for my wolf change. “This makes moon mad wolves a rarity. The Gwragen didn’t reckon on Danger’s stubbornness. When she healed, he put it down to her magic. It was only when she turned at the next full moon that he realised it wasn’t. Somehow, probably through sheer determination and bloody-mindness, Danger kept herself from going moon mad. How – I honestly have no idea. That girl is bloody miracle.” He shook his head, a smile on his face. “Anyway, what you want to know is about her fae heritage, not the wolf.” He shifted slightly and looked at me. “You’ve been reading Dangers Almanac.” It was a statement more than a question, but I nodded again anyway. “Tell me, what type of Fae do you think Danger is?” I had been reading the almanac more all week, hoping to find some answers in there about Danger’s magic. I frowned and glanced at him, hoping for a clue. I was met with one of this silent looks. Don’t try and tell me you haven’t got a theory. I’ve seen you with that book.
“It’s not right, but so far, the closest to her magic that I’ve found so far is a Shadow Wraith.” I replied slowly, thinking back to the inked illustration of a tall, gaunt, hooded ghost-like figure wreathed in shadows in the almanac. “But there are bits that don’t fit. Wraiths don’t have the gift of prophecy, and they can’t pull weapons out of nowhere, or do quite a bit of the other stuff I’ve seen her do.” Next to me, Synyster was looking impressed.
“You’re right, she’s not a Shadow Wraith. But that’s close. Closer than most people get anyway.” He gave me another impressed look before continuing. “Danger’s a Shadow Wight, I don’t know if they’re in the Almanac she gave you. Shadow Wights tend to be a pretty secretive bunch. They’re rare, their magic is only passed on through the maternal line and it’s unpredictable, often skipping generations before resurfacing. Shadow Wraiths are an off-shoot of the Shadow Wight family tree - kind of like cousins, if you will. Shadow magic is huge and varied. Most Wights only inherit one or two branches of magic, three if they’re extra lucky. But rarely, rarely, a really powerful one comes along. Inheriting the power of one of the ancient Wights. They have can control every branch of shadow magic…” Holding out a hand I interrupted him.
“Wait, what do you mean by shadow magic? And is Danger one of those powerful Wights?” Synyster smiled and nodded.
“Yes, she is. One of the most powerful Shadow Wights to exist since the ancient days of Faerie, maybe even including then. Strong enough to hold the Ancient title of Shadow Mage.” I blinked, trying to take that mind-blowing fact in. “As for shadow magic, it is magic that draws its power from shadows.” Ha ha very helpful. He chuckled a little at the look I gave him. “It’s an over-arching term that includes shadow-walking, shadow-singing, shadow-fire, shadow-gazing, shadow-weaving and shadow-whispering. There’s probably more, but I wouldn’t be able to name them. Shadow Wights can control them all, but above all, Shadow Wights are warriors. Their fighting ability is almost unrivalled by anything in the supernatural community. They can forge weapons from their shadows.”
“That’s how Danger got her weapons with the Manticore the other day.” I whispered, more to myself than to Synyster but he nodded his agreement anyway. Another thought occurred to me. “So is shadow-gazing how Danger can see things then?” This time he shook his head.
“No, shadow-gazing can only show what is happening in the present and occasionally, the past. Never the future.” I frowned and groaned.
“Wait, Synyster, I’m so confused. How can she see the future then? It’s another branch of shadow-magic right?” Next to me Synyster chuckled and reached over to pat me on the shoulder.
“Know you know how we all feel when we try to figure out the enigma that is Danger.” He paused. “Call me Syn.” He added quietly, his hand still resting on my shoulder. I met his eyes in surprise, immediately getting lost in his intense chocolate gaze. I wasn’t sure how long we sat like that, but all at once he took his hand off my shoulder and I looked away. “Anyway, there is no type of shadow magic that can see the future. There are no shadows in the future to see as the future is not set.”
“Then how…” He waved a hand impatiently, cutting me off.
“I’m getting there, I’m getting there. Patience woman. Let me finish telling you about Shadow Wights first.” I hid my smile and let him carry on. “Danger’s shadow magic is why she was kidnapped by the Gwragen as a child…”
“But I thought he kidnapped her to get at her mom. You just said so yourself.” I butted in, trying to figure out this contradictory conversation. Syn inhaled deeply through his nose and stared at the ceiling.
“Dracula give me patience with this girl.” I giggled at his frustrated expression. He let his head roll sideways to stare at me. Are you going to let me finish this before dawn? I raised one shoulder in a shrug and grinned.
I suppose I can try to stay quiet. He rolled his eyes and carried on.
“The Gwragen had heard rumours of a powerful Shadow Wight born into Danger’s family, one who might claim the title Shadow Mage – a title that incidentally hasn’t been claimed for centuries.” He gave me a significant look. “He assumed that it was Danger’s mother and kidnapped itty-bitty Danger to try and get to her mother, hoping to be able to manipulate her into gaining him more power within Faerie. As you know, her mother never tried to free her and miraculously, Danger was able to hide the extent of her powers from him.” I still couldn’t believe how anyone could abandon their child after they were kidnapped. Syn obviously saw that thought on my face. “Yeah, Danger’s Mom’s a cunt. Only seen her once since we rescued her and that was only to tell Danger she wanted nothing to do with her. She’s jealous of her power, I think.” Syn gave me a side-look. “Now, this next part, I don’t advise talking to Danger about. She’s not a big fan of the theory I’m about to share with you.” I nodded slowly, my curiosity getting the better of me. Syn carried on. “Danger doesn’t know who her father is, her mother never told her. He’s not a Shadow Wight, that much is clear. Their magic is only passed through the maternal line and male Shadow Wights are rare as fuck. But, I’m convinced that he was powerful, but that Danger’s not come into the power yet. She’s still young by Fae standards and it’s not unheard of for some of the Fae to develop their power later.” I pulled a face. Seems a bit of a tenuous leap to me. Syn scowled back at me. “Require further evidence do you?” I raised my eyebrows, but stayed quiet as promised. Do expand? “Shadow Wights are pale, all shades of white, black and grey. They are not, as far as I have been able to ascertain, shades of purple.” I thought back to the bright violet of Danger’s eyes and the almost lilac sheen that her hair took on in some lights. “Obviously she gets the gifts of prophecy and foresight from her father, but they’re strong – even if they are unpredictable. That prophecy she made about you – for instance.” I gave him a sharp look. How did he know about that? “Most Seers would only have caught glimpses of your future, nothing as clear or definitive as what Danger prophesised.” He caught my look then. “Oh chill out, I was in Home that day. I saw her have the vision.” I frowned, thinking back, I didn’t see him, but the room was pretty crowded. “But, there’s more – You’ve seen Danger pissed. There’s something else to it, something feral, something wild. Shadow Wights are warriors, but the couple I’ve met never had the same aura as Danger gets when she’s pissed. I mean, there’s a reason we call her Danger – she’s bloody dangerous when she gets angry.” I chuckled a little at that, but also agreed with his assessment. There was a feeling of something else about her, when she was angry. I’d been feeling it more and more as my change progressed. I sat, digesting everything that he’d just said. That was more information than I’d expected to get and a hell of a lot of information to process. And it was only half of the information I’d asked for. Syn looked over at the closed drapes, a soft light was starting to creep around the edges signalling that dawn was close. “Are you sure you want to carry on now? Dawn’s pretty much here and the rest of the information you want …” he paused. “well, it’ll change the way that you look at everything we do around here.” My information-logged brain sat up and paid attention at that. I shifted, tucking my legs up onto the sofa so I could properly look at him.
“Tell me.”

Notes