Page 24 of Broken Shadows

I raise my fingers in the air, pulsing shockwaves of onyx darkness at him. The shadows shift and take shape, shrouding him in darkness. The deadly hum of my death magic vibrates, and the ground splits with a deafening crack.

“Enough!” Samuel’s eyes darken to coal, and he shifts into his demonic form.

Unlike Lorcan, who while terrifying, looked beastly and monstrous in a regular demonic way, Samuel appearedSatanic.

His body swells, clothes tearing as he grows three times in size. His skin peels from his body, like a snake shedding its hide, and rows upon rows of razor-sharp teeth elongate from his gums.

Fuck this.

Rosa and Aiden fall backward as Samuel concentrates his magic on shifting. His lower body disappears as a long, pointed black tail replaces it. He drags claws across stone, the smell of sulfur thick in the air.

I race to the door, grab Rosa and Aiden by their hands before they can speak, then slip into the In-Between.

My heart pounds so hard, I worry it’ll break free from my ribcage and kill me before I can get them out.

Aiden yelps when he’s dragged into the shadows with me and Rosa. She clings to my arm, gasping for air as we shadow walk. We land in a shadowy corner of a room, and I slide us into another shadow, using my magic to navigate the rooms.

Samuel’s roar shakes the foundations of the old building. A squeak sounds ahead as Gomez flies into view, landing on my shoulder.

Tears flood my vision. “Gomey.” He nestles into my hair, and I press my fingers against his soft, warm little body. “Cling to me, baby. Don’t let go.”

His claws sink into my hair, and I run with the others.

“I’m going to vomit,” Aiden exclaims as I shadow walk them around a corner.

Rosa’s grip tightens on my arms. “Oh my god.”

The cold air hits as we land outside, under the shade of a willow tree. My head buzzes as I try to stand straight, but my power wanes. Moving all three of them is draining me, but I have to keep going, even if my legs almost buckle.

“The manor,” Rosa splutters. “We need to go there.”

“Lorcan’s?” I ask as we spiral into another shadow across the street, moving through the In-Between.

“Yes,” she says breathily. “You’re going to have to trust me.”

My heart palpitates when we shadow walk through a stretch of darkness hidden under a tall statue and arrive onto the grounds of Lorcan’s manor. I briefly close my eyes, blocking out the snow-drenched, gothic building.

Gomez squeaks in my ear, using my hair as curtains to the frosty world. “It’s okay baby,” I whisper and stroke his fur. It’s so comforting to hold him close that I can’t stand the thought of being away from him again. His tiny claws scratch my neck, but I don’t mind. I know he’s longing for closeness, grasping at my skin to feel it. We’d been parted before when I was in the Shadow Realm, but this time was different. He could feel the torture through our familiar bond, even when I tried to block it out. I’m hurting, and his clinging to me is his way of trying to take it away. “I’m okay,” I promise, but he doesn’t relax. “We’re okay.”

It’s strange being back here in my world. I spent so much time in the Shadow Realm version of this place, where the saturation was turned down, ash floated, suspended in the air, and strings of loneliness echoed in every hall.

I wonder if Lorcan came back here after Aiden smashed the mirror.

Speaking of Aiden, he hunches over, his hands on his knees, and retches. “Let’s stick to normal transport in the future.”

I get it. My calves are killing me, and my stomach is a flurry of nausea. Going in and out of the In-Between, moving between shadows, is not for the faint-hearted. Gomez seems okay, though he remained tucked into my hair for most of the journey.

My breath catches when I look up. Pointed arches stretch into the sky, each one covered with powdered white. I can’t even see the warped expressions of the stone gargoyles under the frosted ice.

Beyond the grounds, an ocean of snow-dusted fir trees stretches out behind the gray-bricked building, and I’m transported to the time when Lorcan had chased me through those trees, showing the true extent of his demonic side.

I stroke Gomez on my shoulder, wrapping the jacket Rosa hands me around my body. The hospital gown isn’t covering a lot at this point.

Aiden wipes his mouth on the sleeve of his purple t-shirt, Darkwood College: Home of the Bats emblazoned on the front in black, then looks at the iron bars jutting downward over the entrance. “Maybe we beat them here.”

“How do you know?” I ask, my eyes widening. Was this the plan all along, for Rosa and Aiden to meet the brothers here? Aiden was holding a mirror, so he was obviously communicating with Lorcan. The thought of seeing him again makes me sicker than any shadow walking could.

“Dunno,” Aiden says with a shrug. “We said we’d meet them here after we got you.”

---