Release me. Now. Or I ull take you with me!" "B-b-but sir, I h-haven't done anything!" wailed Sasha. "Just let me go!" The man gave a bellowing roar and lunged for the young man. At the same time, a hand reached over Sasha's head, and an iron grip squeezed his shoulder with crushing strength. "You, I know you're a thief," the man bellowed. "But it won't do you any good." Terrified, Sasha twisted violently and looked up. Behind the man, dressed in the plainest garb he'd ever seen, his breath held, stood a woman no taller than a child. She held a long dagger. The man lifted his head to stare at her, then shook it and let out a roar of frustration. "Let him go," she ordered. "I can't do that." The man drew back his arm to make another grab for Sasha. "I mean, you're not supposed to capture living things. You do know what happens to thieves, don't you?" The woman put her finger to her lips, her sharp gaze penetrating. A chill ran over Sasha's skin. The sight of that dagger, sharp as a razor, slicing through the air between himself and the man, made the thief's heart pound. He was going to die. "Please, miss," Sasha pleaded. "I don't mean any harm." The woman nodded. "I know you don't. That's why I saved your life. If you give me something, I'll let you go." "Anything?" "Anything you want." "Well, I...I don't have anything I can give you, but I have this ring that was a gift to me. Please, sir, this ring, it's not valuable, but I don't want to lose it. My grandfather gave it to me." Sasha removed the ring and held it out. The woman took it. "What are you doing?" the man bellowed. "You can't let him go!" "You didn't think he had anything else you wanted, did you?" the woman asked. "In that case, you'd have to catch him, wouldn't you?" Her words were like water dropped on burning coals. The man threw back his head and screamed a wordless rage. He tried again to wrestle with Sasha, but the dagger had a grip on his wrist and wouldn't let go. The woman calmly slid her dagger back into her sleeve and smiled at Sasha, her eyes filled with pity and kindness. "It's all right. I'll let you go now." The man released his hold and stood there, panting, his arms limp, as Sasha dropped the ring back onto his thumb. "I'm sorry, miss," Sasha murmured. "Forgive me for getting in your way. I'll leave you now." The woman nodded in understanding. "You're a good boy," she said. "Take good care of yourself, now. I'm sure you'll be back in my village very soon." Then she touched the man's shoulder. He sighed deeply, and when he lifted his head he no longer looked angry. It was as if a great burden had been lifted from his shoulders. "Thanks, miss." "Don't mention it. Have a safe trip home." The man nodded, and then he turned to Sasha. "How do you know about us?" he asked. "About—about who you are?" Sasha shook his head. "I don't know. Well, I _think_ I know, but I'm not sure I can explain it. Please, miss, I've got to go. I don't know where I'll go, but I'll think of a plan. Just don't ever tell anyone what I've said. If they find out, I'll be in trouble. A lot of trouble. And I'll have to go back in that house. They won't have a little girl with them anymore, and her name will be Jadranka. That's her real name, isn't it?" The man was silent for a moment, then he nodded. "And, when you come back to me, miss, can you bring me a little girl who looks just like you?" The woman's eyes widened as she studied Sasha. Sasha lowered his eyes, and tried to look as innocuous and helpless as he could. He held out his hand. "Well, it was nice to meet you, miss." "You, too." The man stepped closer. "You're the one the little girl saw in the house." Sasha nodded. "Don't tell anybody, please." "You know what we are, don't you? That's what she said." "Yes, I know." "Tell her, then. Tell her I'll take good care of her." Sasha shook his head. "I can't do that, miss." "Why not?" Sasha bit his lip, trying to work up the courage. "It's my father's family secret, miss. He didn't want me to know, but I can't help it. I _know_." The woman's eyes widened in astonishment. "I can't imagine a boy your age knowing such a secret. But, in that case, what are we? What do they call us?" "Shades," Sasha whispered. "They call us shades." The woman's eyes widened even more. She took a step closer and stared right into Sasha's face. "That's who they call us. That's who we are. I didn't want to know any of that. I was so happy with my husband. My children were happy too. Then my husband was murdered, and we all turned to shadows. That's why we're here." She paused for a moment and stared at the ground. Then she looked up at the moon and smiled. "Well, you know more than you should. But you shouldn't. Maybe we'll see each other again, maybe not. One day you'll understand what happened that day. And if you ever need me, _you_ just whistle." Sasha nodded. "I will, miss. And when I come, I'll bring you back another girl. And I'll take her away, too." "I'll come to you, then. And someday I'll find her for you. But if I do, I have to give you a lot of other people, too. I've got too many children of my own." Sasha couldn't tell her he had only one child. How could he explain how he knew, or how his parents could love him so much that they wanted to have another child with him? "But what will we do, miss?" Sasha asked. "What will we do with all those children?" She shook her head. "I don't know, but maybe we'll find someone who'll take them." "Maybe you will," Sasha murmured. "If I ever see you again, I'll be sure to whistle for you. And I'll tell you, 'Good-bye, miss,' if I ever see you again." "Good-bye, boy. Good-bye." She touched his shoulder, and then she stepped back and placed her hands gently on Sasha's face, and smiled a sad, joyful smile. And Sasha turned and was gone. Sasha reached the edge of the road, then climbed over a barricade and disappeared. ### Sasha walked for a long time before he felt safe enough to talk to someone. He'd left his home a few hours before, but to the young boy it seemed like he'd been walking for an entire day. It was very late, and the moon shone brightly in the sky, but not as brightly as the pale eyes of his friend, the man he had met at the house. "My parents are dead, you know," he whispered to the darkness. "Dead, dead, dead." A shadow moved in the gloom. "Is that what you're afraid of?" "Yes. I know you told me we were Shades, but I still can't believe it. How could people be Shades? They can't even see us!" "You can't see us either. That's why the people like us. It's what we're good at, being invisible. So no one will ever see us, or know we're there. If someone's going to be an ahhh-shade, why does it always have to be me?" Sasha didn't answer for a while, his anger building. Finally, he sighed. "You're right. We don't know what we want, do we? And I want to get out of here, wherever here is. I'm sick and tired of being out of my own bed. It's not fun wandering in the dark like that, looking for bad people. I'm afraid to step on a puddle. Afraid of what's going to come out of that drain. But more than that, I'm afraid that when I