Page 41 of Broken Shadows

“Sorry, Ma’am. We’re just so excited to look around your store!” Aiden shouts. I reach my fingers to my left ear, then pull them away and inspect them. Huh, no blood. I’m positive he ruptured my ear drum.

She laughs quietly and lowers her hand from over her heart. “That’s quite okay, dear. I remember how it was to be young and full of energy.”

“Oh, you do?” Ezra asks as he leans his hip against the worn but serviceable stained pinewood counter, the top polished to a shine despite the many scratches from customers.

The elderly woman turns to Ezra. “Aren’t you a handsome one.”

I roll my eyes. Sure, he’s attractive, but my incisors are sharper than his. My eyes squeeze shut as I struggle to acclimate to my nauseatingly bright surroundings. Dammit, these fucking florescent lights are scouring my retinas. I don’t recall the Human Realm being this full of color, especially compared to the Shadow Realm; I feel like I’m viewing everything in godsdamn technicolor. I tug my hood farther forward and use Ezra's bulk to edge farther into the store. Aiden meanders down an isle packed with a combination of creepy-as-fuck porcelain dolls and… monogrammed toilet paper? I blink a few times, the perplexing isle options remain unchanged.

Something tugs on the lower half of my pant leg and my muscles lock up.What the fuck was that?I whirl around, then my eyes drop to a tiny, blonde human girl. She teeters on her chubby little legs, then presses a spittle covered face to my calf and babbles nonsense into the fabric. Shit. I’m so fucking distracted I didn’t think to count the heartbeats in the store.

“Angelia? Angelia!” A woman with the same color hair as the toddler crashes into my chest. “Oh!”

I glare down at her from beneath my hood, gesture to the child, then speak, a growl vibrating my words. “Is thisyours?”

“Oh. Um. Y-yes, that’s my d-daughter,” she stutters and lifts the drooling, shit scented monstrosity from the ground, but grubby little hands clench my pants in a death grip.

“No! No, no, no!” the girl wails.

I recoil and swallow a hiss, wrenching my leg away. The toe of my boot clips a fold out display of glittery cherry red and lime green cards, then stumble away down another isle.Godsdammit.My molars grind as I retreat as far as I can from the humans. What the fuck was I thinking. I’ll never forgive Evie for this. Samuel should be informed, all it takes is a sticky human child to thoroughly discombobulate me. Fuck. Me. I inhale sharply, then force my pulse to slow as I exhale through my lips at a molasses pace.

My eyes blink several times, then my vision finally clears as I take in the newest isle of terror I’ve found myself in. It’s been quite some time since I have explored the Human Realm, but we're doilies ever a thing? Well, enough of astatement piecethat they require an entire fucking store dedicated to them? I scoff and shake my aching head.

I willneverunderstand humans.

My boots scuffle along the thin, speckled brown carpet as I near a shelf packed with little figurines of deceptively innocent looking angels. “That’s not even fucking close to what they look like,” I say under my breath, then reach out and pinch one between my fingers. A fine fissure streaks across its previously smooth, unblemished face, and one of the wings crumbles to dust. Shit, too much pressure. “Oh well, it looks better now anyway.” I place the now beautifully disfigured angel back on the shelf with distaste. If humans only knew what those dickbags are really like. Pretentious assholes.

The deep drone of Ezra smooth talking the store owner floats by as I turn down yet another isle at an awkward angle and proceed to crab walk to the other end. Frustration and anxiety stir into a clumpy cocktail within my stomach, like a protein shake left in the sun. There is so much shit packed into this fucking building that moving through it is near impossible. My shoulder knocks into a stack of doilies placed near some display of delicate looking glassware. “Oh, for fuck’s sake,” I utter, then send multiple shadows to catch the falling items and discreetly put them back in place. I straighten my spine and glance around. Shit, I forgot I’m in the Human Realm. Shadow magic would definitely draw unwanted attention. I grip the edges of the hood and bend at the waist, my blood rushing too fast through my veins.

Where’s Aiden? I’m over this bullshit. I’ll have him pick a random object and call it a gift. Gomez is a godsdamn bat, it’s not like he can hate it. Although perhaps I should have just gotten him some damn trail mix at that shitty gas station down the road. The hoodie pulls tight against my skull as I grip the nape of my neck. I’m overthinking this. I know I am. But even though I’m aware of that fact, there’s no helping it. I can’t stop a loud growl from tearing free.

The things I do for my witch. This is fucking torture.

A gasp sounds from the checkout counter. “Oh my, what was that?”

“Hm? Oh, that rumbling sound? I think it was just some hooligan teenager speeding by,” Ezra replies smoothly.

You’re welcome, Ezra pushes down our bond.

I’m not going to thank you.

You should. The next thing we know there will be a witch hunt or some shit on our hands. Oh! Maybe they’ll think you’re a werewolf and pelt you with wolfsbane.

I blow out a breath and clench my eyes shut.

A bit overwhelmed, are we?Ezra prods with smothered laughter in his voice, but I don’t miss the genuine concern underlining his question.

Do you blame me? I’ve been in the Human Realm for less than a handful of days. It’s not like I’ve had the time to fucking adjust,I shove the thought at him,then close my end of the bond.I move to the front and spy Aiden dithering away by a glass display counter, his baseball hat curiously absent. My head tilts to the side as he places his palms on his knees and crouches low. He’s so absorbed with admiring the many embroidered bags, hats, and bath towels, I decide to make the best of it. I can’t have him becoming complacent just because I’m no longer trapped behind mirrors. A sadistic smile unfurls across the lower half of my face, perhaps Evie will think better of forcing me to socialize.

I sneak up close to Aiden, then casually reach behind my back and snatch a small plushie from the overflowing basket, toying with it absently between my fingers.What are you doing?I growl into his mind.

“Shit,” Aiden yelps and jumps to his feet, cracking his head on a dangling metal basket full of painted rocks of all things. “Fuck. Ow.” He faces me and glowers while rubbing the top of his head, the circle depressed into his dirty-blonde hair from the band of his hat shifting slightly with the movement. “Why do you always have to do that!? It’s like you enjoy startling me or some shit.”

I laugh darkly and lift a shoulder. “I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.”

“Plus, you’ve got your hood up, raising the creep factor to the max because I can barely see your damn face.”

“You didn’t answer my question,” I remind him.

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