Page 34 of To Dwell in Shadows
Lamia, Asmodeus, and Sam were met with pure chaos when they entered the hall. Goblets were flying through the air, and two of the long banquet tables had been upended. A demon with arms like tree roots was crushing another demon’s neck in a headlock, while Queen Thema shouted at a demon plunging forks into another’s eyes. Sam watched in horror as a mob of onlookers roared with sadistic delight.
Above the tables, several lost souls floated, engaged in horrific pantomimes. Most were human, a few were Aurelian, and one was from the faerie dimension. One silently screamed, her limbs unnaturally stretched as though invisible chains were tearing her apart. Another frantically clawed at his face and chest with transparent fingers. Some were shaking uncontrollably, writhing in pain, or holding their throats to gasp for air they no longer breathed.
An Anguish demon barreled into Sam, nearly knocking him to the ground. Vanthee was clinging to the demon’s back, her arms clenched around its neck as she struggled to shove a lit candle into its mouth. At first, Sam couldn’t understand why—until herealized the demon was chanting the incantation that was tormenting the lost souls.
“This is madness! You must disrupt them,” Lamia cried to Asmodeus.
The king raised his arms then lowered them quickly, causing the ground to shake. But the tremor wasn’t enough to disrupt the demons.
“Again!” Lamia urged.
Asmodeus lifted and lowered his hands again, but nothing happened. He roared in frustration, but the shouting was so loud none of the demons heard.
The king reared back his muscular arm and made a throwing motion. A lightning bolt struck above, but it fizzled out midway through the air.
Asmodeus continued trying to break up the fight by producing gusts of wind, restraint incantations, and blinding flashes of light. But each effort failed.
Sam could see that a trio of demons were beginning to notice their king’s futile attempts. Glimmers of scheming anticipation replaced the bloodlust in their eyes as they closed ranks. Doing the only thing he could think of, Sam hurled himself into them, shattering their focus. They crashed to the ground, then immediately turned their aggression on each other, forgetting Asmodeus.
Sam’s gaze swept across the cavernous room. Halfway down its length, he saw Selene, and a surge of white-hot panic shot through him. She was crouched behind one of the pillars, safely away from the fighting. But she didn’t seem to notice the Lust demons creeping toward her. They soon surrounded her on all sides, leering and licking their lips.
Deep, unbridled rage tore through him at their audacity to even look at her. Normally, he would have tried to suppress those emotions. But remembering that he didn’t have to do that in the Underworld made something snap deep inside him.
Protect my mate.
Realizing the chaos in the hall made it impossible to reach Selene in time, Sam summoned the shadows. As he raised his hands, their cold, familiar presence enveloped him. Now there were nine Lust demons closing in on Selene, and Sam cursed that he wasn’t skilled enough to send the shadows to strike each one individually. Instead, he ordered them to form a protective shield around her.
But instead of swirling over her as an impenetrable mist, the shadows began to weave together in the air in front of her. Circling, tumbling, and interlacing midair until they formed a solid, unyielding shape.
Within seconds, the shadows had merged into a towering creature—massive and reptilian. Nine serpent-like heads rose from its chest, each one with glowing eyes and gaping maws. Its four legs, like tree trunks, braced against the stone floor. The creature was half mist, half solid. It uttered a low, unearthly hiss that reverberated through the hall.
He stepped back, heart hammering as he stared in horrified awe. It was a hydra—far more nightmarish than any legend he’d ever read. Its heads writhed and snapped, each set of eyes locking onto the demons surrounding Selene with a hunger that seemed almost sentient.
Thick, oily mist coiled around the hydra’s sinuous necks. The largest, most vicious-looking head lunged at the Lust demon nearest to Selene. Without warning, it sank its jagged, inky teeth into the demon’s mid-section, piercing through his flesh. Yet the wound elicited no blood. A muffled shriek echoed from the demon before the hydra tilted its head back and in one horrifying gulp, swallowed him whole.
The remaining heads whipped through the air, striking down anything nearby that moved. Each attack was swift and brutal, a shadowy blur of snapping jaws and snarls. Sam stood frozen, watching the creature he had conjured tear through the demons with terrifying precision. It wasn’t just protecting—it was attacking.
But taking lives was going too far.
I have to stop it.
He tried mentally commanding the hydra, as he often did with the shadows, but it didn’t respond. He tried shouting at it, but it didn’t seem to hear him. He rushed toward it, but it was difficult to push through the crowds of demons trying to flee.
The hydra didn’t falter until Selene raised her hands in a halting gesture. Sam saw her mouth the words, “That’s enough,” and the creature froze, its heads suspended mid-strike. Then she said, “Go home.”
The glow in its many eyes began to dim. Then, as if obeying her will—or perhaps finally sated—it began to unravel. The shadows dissolved into cold mist. One by one, the heads melted into the air, followed by the creature’s serpentine body. In moments, it was gone.
In the spot where its belly would have been lay a heap of broken demons.
Sam stared at the aftermath.Once again, he’d lost control of his demonic powers, letting them unfurl on their own accord instead of bending them to his will. And although his father had absolved him of the deaths he caused in Aurelia, surely he wouldn’t forgive him of this.
Thank goodness Selene had stopped his creation before it had gone any further.
Sam surveyed the banquet hall, now a ruin of its former grandeur. Splintered chairs and broken tables lay strewn across the floor, mingled with shards of glass and twisted candelabras.The air reeked of blood, sweat, and something acrid.
Sam stared at the wreckage, frustration and confusion merging into numbness. His knees buckled, and he stumbled backward, collapsing into a nearby chair.
He glanced at his parents. His mother had her fingers touched to her lips, looking at him with amazement. His father wore a broad grin, his fanged teeth gleaming. The sight sent a sickening chill through Sam.
