Page 75 of The Prince of Demons

Until they dropped lifelessly to the ground a foot in front of him.

“Ugh!” I screamed.“Why won’t it extend?”

“You’re too calm. Imagine what riles you up,” Reaper proposed.

“Think about your daydream of Reaper earlier,” Gaksi suggested aloud.

My cheeks heated. “Gaksi!”

Untamed, my hair lifted with the force of shadows.

“Good,” Reaper commented, blissfully ignoring Gaksi’s last statement. “Emotions fuel shadows. Harness those and keep going.”

I aimed left, and a shadow bolt hit right.

I aimed right, and a shadow bolt struck behind me.

I even stared at the sky, furious, while shadows seeped out of the surrounding earth.

* * *

Hail rained down,pattering against the students who didn’t suspect it.

Focus on school. Concentrate emotions outside of school. See the shadows in your head, hold them, possess them, own them, and then spread them out. Direct them into streaks of energy, controlled bursts of power, manageable waves of mischief—

Control them.

Pick a start and an endpoint, then connect the dots.

Control the pathway.

Grab hold of your own power. Get it together. Don’t feel terror, don’t feel anxiety, just do it correctly. Again, again, again.

CONTROL IT.

I made small talk with actives. Caught any minor demons that came my way. But the most grueling part of my day remained shadow training with Reaper.

Some days I fell asleep without even moisturizing and dealt with the aftereffects later.

My days fell into a routine of studying, training, and impressing at the expense of my health.

I was drained and stressed, and my skin deteriorated to show it.

* * *

I satin a bath of bleach, wondering if I should start drinking it. I remembered the first time my doctor told my parents they should start adding bleach to my bathwater to kill the bacteria that worsened eczema symptoms.

Dad's horrified expression scared me.

My mother’s face? Excited. Thrilled to try something new.

The doctor described it like a recipe. 1/4 cup bleach to every 40 gallons water. Dump the kid in, neck down (can’t have her drinking any, boohoo), and let her soak for ten minutes. Then rinse, pat dry, and moisturize.

Never mind how I, the patient, felt about being surrounded by bleach and misery three times a week.

It had stung so badly the first time that I thought I might dissolve. However, mom had pushed me down until Gaksi whacked her with the shower curtain.

Now, as an adult, my bleach baths don’t really hurt. Only smelled.

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