Page 49 of Corrupt Shadows

She straightens herself, adjusting her clothes and squaring her shoulders before glaring into the mirror as if she can see me. Color rises to her cheeks while frustration flashes in her eyes. It seems the anger ignites her needs. The air is thick with the scent of her arousal. Too bad I’m the only one who can satisfy her.

She washes her hands and exits the bathroom. I follow, watching through the mirrors in the diner, staring as she grabs a stack of menus from a dirty table and places them back in the hostess stand. She spins around to complete her next task, and her ponytail lashes across the other waitress’s face. No fucking clue what her name is. Blondie scowls and places her hands on her hips as she stares at Evie. It looks as though she’s about to spout some nonsense when the bell above the entrance jingles, and they both look over.

The waitress’s demeanor quickly shifts, a fake smile plastered on her face. Blondie places a hand gently on Evie’s shoulder and says, “See to the customer, Evie.”

A deep pit of unease opens in my belly as I stare at the female customer. Solomor. What the fuck is he doing here?

My hackles rise when the human skin suit he wears smiles a little too eagerly at my witch. Solomor may be a regular demon, but he’s my brother’s pet and therefore doesn’t obey me. I should have had killed him when I had the chance.

“Table for one?” Evie asks.

“Yes, honey. Just little ole me today.”

My lip curls in a silent snarl. Evie grabs a menu and walks the woman to a booth in the corner, which is one of the worst places she could’ve put a tricky monster like that. She places the menu on the table and tries her best to act cheerful. However, she is not fooling anyone. The cook eyes her from the kitchen, frowning as he watches her shifting from foot to foot with anxiety. Even her ponytail droops as the withdrawals ravage her body.

“Are you okay, dear?” Solomor asks in the woman’s voice, each word carefully articulated. He chose well with the woman he possessed. She is small, meek, and soft-spoken. But appearances are often deceiving. She couldn’t have been open to possession by Solomor unless she harbored darkness herself.

Evie is a prime example; lurking in the shadows of her soul lies a darkness that is thirsty for blood, and I cannot wait to see what it can do.

If looks could kill, this demon would be a scorch mark on that shitty wooden booth. But at this point, anything I do to make myself known is foolish and not worth the risk of Evie’s life.

Evie responds, “Oh yes, I’m fine. I just need a breath of air. I’ll give you a minute to look at the menu.”

Evie moves to stand behind the long countertop, and I do the same in my realm. She crouches out of sight of the tables and rubs her temples. She shivers as chills creep over her body, a cold sweat breaking out along her skin. My witch reaches into her purse stashed behind the takeout containers, fishing out a pack of cigarettes. Her hand dives in once more, absentmindedly looking for something. Soon she growls quietly in annoyance.

I chuckle. You won’t find your pills in there, little witch. Remember? I fucking took them.

She needs to pull herself together if she has any chance of surviving. There are too many unknowns in this game to allow her to show any weakness.

She pockets the cigarettes and stands, as if my thoughts give her the determination to move forward. She goes through the kitchen, giving the dish washer a watery smile, then continues through the back door, which is propped open with a canary-yellow wet-floor sign. I watch the distorted view of Evie from a small mirror. I can barely make out the side of her face, the curve of her breast, and her bent knee as she braces a foot against the brick exterior.

She reaches into her pocket and pulls out her bright-pink Zippo lighter, no doubt a gift from that rainbow she calls a friend, and lights her cigarette with a deep inhale. Despite her appearance of being unwell, the image of her wrapping her lips around my cock instead of that cigarette seems to burn into my brain.

For a moment, I forget about the demon being mere yards away from my witch, or her fragile mental state, instead giving in to my own selfish desires.

I squeeze the base of my cock hard through my slacks, warding off the blue balls that will surely follow. I will not allow a weakness like lust to distract me. Fuck Evie and her tempting curves. The woman pisses me off without even trying. She will learn to enjoy her place, on her knees before me. Anger breathes fire into my veins, increasing my lust and need to dominate her.

Before I can fall deeper into my faults, my distracted stare flies back to Evie when I hear a muted sob. Her cigarette lies smoldering on the pavement by her black sneakers, the cherry glowing red and smoke curling up before dissipating. She covers her face with her hands and tries to stop her tears but fails.

The demon leans out of the door, gripping the frame, wearing the middle-aged woman’s face. “Ma’am, I’m ready to order now.”

Evie looks up, startled. The whites of her eyes are bloodshot, and blotches of red mar her complexion.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” Evie pushes away from the wall. Her brow furrows. “Wait, how did you get in the kitchen anyway? You really shouldn’t be back here.”

The teenager working as the diner’s dish washer shuffles to the doorway. He blushes and scuffs his shoe against the linoleum. “Oh, she was waiting to order, and I said I would come and get you, but I got distracted. That might’ve been a while ago.”

Evie sighs deeply, her shoulders rising and falling with the action. “I’m sorry,” Evie stammers. “I’ll be right in.”

The demon smiles at her and winks before walking away. My rage returns unexpectedly. How dare Solomor use his demon charms on Evie. She is mine. She will not be caught in the crossfire of some wayward demon scum under my brother’s thumb. I make my way through the Shadow Realm version of the diner to the mirrored wall decoration hanging above the booth Evie seated the demon at.

Evie re-ties her apron and smooths the wrinkles by running her palms down the fabric.

“What can I get you? Also, I’ll throw in some extra bacon for the delay.”

Solomor looks up at her and laughs lightly. “Well, I would be crazy to turn down extra bacon.” He looks down at the menu before snapping it shut and handing it to Evie. “I’ll take the Ugly breakfast platter with some orange juice.”

“Sounds good, I’ll go put that in for you,” Evie says and turns to walk away, but the demon snatches her wrist, halting her steps. “Yes?”

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