Axiom Theory: Book Four of the Shadow Series by J.M. Pierce

emotions I mean. He doesn’t talk about it, but I know he struggles with a lot of things.”
    “And that is exactly why he has to stay here!” shouted Prim.
    Aiden buried his face into Alyssa’s leg and began to whimper. She reached down and rubbed his back while shooting Prim a scowl of her own. “Can we please stop shouting?” she asked firmly.
    Not having acknowledged the young spirit yet, Cliff took a step forward and knelt down at Aiden’s side.
    “Well hello there, youngin’. What brings you here with Ms. Alyssa?” he asked.
    The old man watched as the boy allowed his right eye to leave Alyssa’s leg in order to get a look at who was talking to him. Giving him a quick wink, he smiled and asked, “What’s your name, son?” The boy quickly buried his face once again, but then immediately peeked back out at Cliff.
    “His name is Aiden,” said Alyssa.
    With a pat on the boy’s shoulder, Cliff said. “Well hello there, Aiden. I’m Cliff. Pleased to meet you.”
    Slowly , Aiden revealed more of his face; his large brown eyes glistening from the tears that had nearly come rushing moments before.
    “I’m sorry if we scared you,” said Cliff . “It’s been a spell since any of us were around a youngin’ like you.” He watched as Aiden glanced fearfully to Prim. With a gruff chuckle, Cliff extended a hand towards both Prim and Lauren. “These are my friends, Lauren and Prim.”
    The boys expression suddenly change d, his nose wrinkling in a way to cause Cliff to chuckle a little more. “What’s the matter, son?” he asked.
    Aiden glanced between Prim and Cliff several times before answering. “That’s kind of a funny name,” he said in the candid way that only the innocence of youth could get away with.
    Though he was still upset with Test, the little boy’s comment brought a small grin to Prim’s lips. “Yeah, I hear that a lot,” he replied. Turning to Alyssa, Prim tried to be as polite with his questioning as the moment allowed. “So, to what do we owe the pleasure of this visit?” He watched as Alyssa’s eyes grew wide. It was obvious that he wasn’t going to like her answer. Without taking his eyes off of her, he spoke to Cliff. “Cliff, would you mind taking our young visitor into the other room for a minute? Lauren and I need to speak with Alyssa.”
    The old man stood and extended his hand for the boy to take, but Aiden continued clutching Alyssa’s leg tightly.
    “ It’s okay,” said Alyssa as she gently pried Aiden’s arms from her. “He might look a little rough, but Cliff’s one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet.”
    Slowly Aiden released his grip and took Cliff’s hand. Walking past Lauren and Prim, the two of them strolled out of the room with Aiden looking over his shoulder most of the way.
    Turning themselves to make sure that the boy was out of the entry way, Prim and Lauren phased back to the world of the living.
    “Spill it,” said Lauren , she and Prim standing menacingly as Alyssa materialized. “Why’s the kid here?”
    Fidgeting with her shirt, Alyssa replied. “Well, you see, I was out walking in the woods and came along this camp.”
    “Stop,” said Prim firmly while raising his right hand. “We don’t have time to recap your morning. Just tell us why the boy is here.”
    “Jeeze,” said Alyssa as she tucked her hair behind her ears. “I didn’t think doing the right thing would cause so much of an issue.”
    Prim and Lauren were both unfazed by her comment. They remained motionless while awaiting Alyssa’s answer.
    “Fine,” said Alyssa. “He died recently, but didn’t know it until I told him.” She watched as the two Shadow’s expressions lightened slightly. “You should have seen him,” she continued. “He thought his parents were mad at him. He said they never talked to him anymore or gave him any attention.”
    “So , what, you’re going to adopt him?” asked Prim with a light hint of malice in his voice. “That’s the