Page 79 of A Hail From Hell: Vol 1

“Would you stop that?”

Xen, who had been staring straight ahead, lost in thought, glanced back and tilted his head in confusion. “Stop what?”

“This,” Evan pointed at the hand that was feeling up his earlobe.

Xen’s eyes followed his finger, then narrowed. The Shadow froze.

Evan could’ve sworn he heard a whine before the hand shrunk back towards Xen and dissolved into his body.

“Can’t you control your demonic energy?” Evan asked, rubbing the patch of his skin that still tingled with warmth.

“It wasn’t my demonic energy,”

“Then what was that thing?”

Xen squinted in the sun. “Shadow form.”

“Shad—” Evan’s mouth froze before dropping open. “Hold on, you can perform shadow arts?”

Xen simply shrugged, like it wasn’t a huge deal.

But to Evan, it was a huge fucking deal.

Shadow arts was the only form of magic mortals couldn’t perform, because as long as you had a living, physical body, you couldn’t manipulate your shadow. Fortunately for otherworldly beings, like demons, they were never quite “alive” and could easily perform shadow manipulation. It was the only thing that made Evan envious of the inhuman beings.

Evan sighed, clicking his tongue in envy. “Lucky bastard.”

For a good while, they walked quietly and left behind the streets, treading the dirt trail leading to Evan’s house. Only after they were alone did Xen break the silence.

“Do you wish to learn?”

“What?”

“This,” Xen raised a hand, palm up. From it emerged a swirl of black mist, shifting and coiling before taking the shape of a hand. It waved at Evan.

Oh, that’s beautiful.

After a lingering look, Evan broke his eyes away. “I’m still human. A very much alive one. I can’t perform shadow arts.”

“You can’t control your own shadow, but you can learn to influence the ones around you,” Xen flipped his palm down, and the Shadow Hand hung from his little finger, dangling idly. If it had eyes and a mouth, it definitely would have giggled.

Fascination and curiosity—a deadly combination—took root in Evan’s conscience. But a hint of suspicion still lingered as he reached forward to poke the Shadow Hand. “How can I influence other shadows when I can’t even control my own?”

The Shadow Hand leapt from Xen’s finger almost eagerly and slid comfortably into Evan’s palm, all warm and cozy.

Xen quirked a smile. “When you let go of things you can’t control, you’ll learn to command everything else.”

As the Shadow Hand snuggled into Evan’s palm, he glanced at Xen. The wind from Del blew, and his hair fluttered, that red streak gleaming amidst the raven locks, his jaws set strong and spine straight like an iron rod.

It didn’t seem like Xen realized he’d preached a life lesson that people like Evan struggled to fully grasp until very late in life.

“Does it bother you?” The question escaped Evan before he could help it, the Shadow Hand crawling up his arm to rest on his shoulder.

“Mm?”

Evan pointed at the river flowing at a distance. “Del. It’s known to repel all kinds of creatures alike, no matter good or evil. And you’re clearly…”

Somewhere in between, but leaning towards evil.

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