Page 1 of Shadow's Sinner

Prologue

Drip, drip, drip.Her crimson blood trickles from her mouth as her wide eyes glaze over with tears. Pathetic mumbles cascade out of her, but nothing is coherent. That could be because I hold the one thing in my hand that ensures her speech. The one thing that took away all of her pleading. Warm fleshy muscle slips and slides between my fingers as I hold up her tongue to show her. A gargled cry falls from her bloody lips as her glassy eyes roll to the back of her head. Fat tears run down her cheeks, landing on the forest floor beneath her.

This isn’t exactly how this was supposed to go. This was supposed to be the last step, but she just wouldn’t shut up. Screeching at the top of her lungs so loud for her God that the birds flew from the trees, and the deer scattered like wildfirewas chasing them. I reposition myself between her legs, prying her wet thighs apart. My lip curls in disgust as I realize that she must have pissed herself from fear, or pain, maybe both. The potent smell of ammonia reaches my nostrils, making me growl in annoyance.

Reaching my bloody fingers up towards her pussy, I slide in with ease. Prodding around, I find what I’m searching for. The thin piece of flesh that separates me from her innocence. Ending what used to be her purity and sweetness. My king will love his gift when he comes to collect her from the circle tonight. I chuckle to myself as I make my way to standing, admiring my disciples, surrounding me with wonder and amazement in their eyes.

A low hum thrums through the circle around me as the disciples sing their praises to their master and their king. “Disciples, tonight we give the gift of innocence to our king! Rejoice in the fact that he will praise and protect us from those who threaten our brethren!” Hoots and hollers echo through the forest, the wind carrying it to the darkest corners. Thrusting my hand up in the air, waving the bloody muscle around for all to see, I say, “Disciples I give you the tongue of another innocent tonight! Watch as I devour her lies, making it so that she will never tell our secrets again.”

My disciples hum their words of praise through the circle as I hold the tongue over a fiery torch, scorching the meat to a crisp, just the way I like it. When the humming reaches a crescendo, I drop the toasted muscle onto my awaiting tongue. Savoring the metallic, crispy taste of the tongue as it moves around my mouth, making saliva pool at the corners. Swallowing it down, I reach into my cloak pocket, brandishing the ornate dagger, pointing it towards the sky. Lightning flashes as the chanting in the circle intensifies. Leaning down on one knee, I bring the dagger to the center of the girl's chest.

Big, round eyes roll up towards me with a pleading look, blood still bubbling up from her mouth with low gargled pleas. Her God won’t be able to save her now. Another flash of lightning brightens the sky as thunder rumbles through the forest. I bring the dagger down on her chest, listening to it squelch through her skin. Applying more pressure, I hear the resounding crack of her sternum as the sharp point penetrates straight through to her heart. A rattling gasp rumbles up the girl's throat, eyes rolling back to her head, her body convulsing on the ground. With another loud clap of thunder, she takes her last breath. Her body stills on the hard ground, making a small smile spread across my lips. Our protection will be granted from our king once more.

I rise to my feet, hands thrown skyward. “Rejoice my disciples, praise our king as we offer him another sacrifice this evening! And so it is done!” The chanting reaches a climax as an intense wind whips through the trees, carrying the praises along with it. Our cloaks whip around us like the shadows of our king, reaching to drag us down with him. The torches blow out, leaving us in darkness.

Chapter One

Christian music filters through the door as I fiddle with the key. I can hear Mom singing, and I know I have about forty seconds until I’m late. Fear starts sinking into my heart, causing my hands to sweat.

“No, no, no,” I mumble as my single key slips through my fingers. My eyes scan the broken concrete doorstep, searching for the small thing. It’s not like I have multiple keys. It’s just the one. One single key to the house, and now I’m struggling to find it.

Thirty seconds.

Twenty seconds.

My heart races, and the lump in my throat swells up until I can’t breathe. I close my eyes, take a deep breath, and remind myself just tocalm down.As if that ever worked.

I open my eyes, and the sun shines down, reflecting the key.Yes!I nearly jump in joy but don’t have time for that. I bend down, pick the key up, and shove it into the doorknob. I ease myself inside, shutting the door behind me as my eyes scan the small living room. Dad’s empty recliner tells me he’s in his office. It’s a toss-up if he’s in a good mood or one of his bad ones. I can hear Mom in the kitchen singing along as pots and pans echo through the small space.

“Where were you?”

I jump at the voice, swinging around. My little sister stands there in the darken hallway, eyeing me.

“The library,” I whisper. My hands sweat as I smooth down my pale blue dress. Lilianna and I couldn’t be more different. While I have long wavy red hair, more freckles than clear skin, and green eyes, she’s more like our mom—jet-black hair and brown eyes. She’s ten months younger than me, and while I had hoped we would grow up together as best friends since she wasn’t much younger than me, it never happened. She hates me.

“Liar,” she smirks. Lilianna’s eyes drop down to my white sneakers before traveling up to my eyes. “If you were at the library, where’s your bookbag?”

My eyes widened; how could I forget? I tremble, searching for something to say, but I can’t think straight. I can’t believe I forgot. I’ve been careful, I’ve been good, and now it will all be washed down the drain because I forgot my bookbag. She can’t find out. Lilianna would definitely tell our parents and sit along the sidelines while Mom screamed at me and Dad beat me.

“Girls?” Mom calls out for us.

“You’re in for it now.” Lilianna chuckles. I watch my sister turn on her heel, walking away as if she knew my secret. She couldn’t know.

Lilianna is your typical sister. She’s evil, and I hate using that word. I’m a good girl and shouldn’t think badly about people. But I can’t help it, not when she does things on purpose to get me in trouble. Two weeks ago, she went into Dad’s office, snooping for who knows what. I tried to get her to stop, but no one could stop Lilianna from doing what she wanted to do. She blamed me, and I was the one who got lectured about right from wrong. I was the one who had to pray to God to forgive me, even though that wasn’t what I needed to be forgiven for. All while Dad hit me six times with his belt. Mom was at the store, not that she would help.

Taking a deep breath, my hands trembling as I smooth my dress down again, I make my way into the kitchen, following Mom’s call. The pale-yellow wallpaper peels from the ceiling, there are small cracks in the tile floor, and the aroma of Mom’s cooking hits my nose. Liver. Bile rises in my throat as I gag silently. No matter how many times I tell them I dislike liver, beg them just to let me starve for the night, and I’m forced to eat the biggest piece.

I learned my lesson the first night just to shut up and eat what’s on my plate.

“Lakely, set the table,” Mom orders as I enter the kitchen. I glance over at Lilianna, who pulls down four glasses.

I open the cabinet, pulling down our plates, silverware, and napkins to set the table.

“So, Mom, I want to talk to you and Dad about something.” Lilianna’s high-pitched voice echoes through the kitchen.

“Oh, what’s that, dear?” Mom asks. “Lakelyn, come on, dinner’s done!” She claps her hands, causing me to flinch. Kicking myself in the butt, I hurry to set the table as they like.

“There’s this new movie coming to theaters, and the girls are talking about going.”

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