Page 7 of Corrupt Shadows

He lifts my chin with his finger. “Smile, Evie.” He tilts his head. “You have such a beautiful smile, stop hiding it.”

I groan, then head out to the diner. Ugh. Fuck off. Smile more? As if I have anything to smile about. Next to Rosa, I notice the customer Jay referred to, but there’s something different about him.

I recognize the cross on a necklace hanging from his neck. It’s black with gilded edges, and it’s upside down. In the center, the letter O is embossed. The man, who can’t be any older than me, stares right through me, as if he can see the evil lurking beneath.

My chest tightens and I quickly turn away, heading to the back to find Brittany. He doesn’t say anything or come after me, but I’d recognize that symbol anywhere.

He’s with the Order. They’ve found me.

TWO

Lorcan

Ominous thunder clouds roll over the mountains in the distance. This small town feels even tinier with the absence of life. A powerful gust of wind lifts the leaves scattered in the street, sending them to dance along its drafts. The wind carries a chill with it, and I lift the collar of my charcoal peacoat, the warm woolen fibers shielding my face from the bite of the dropping temperature.

Leaves crunch under my boots, and I stroll down the sidewalk in the Shadow Realm. I exhale sharply through my nose, my nostrils flaring. Being the king of demons means nothing if I can’t leave this damned place.

Forming a demonic attachment with a human by oppressing them means most demons can venture into the human realm for a short time. But unlike me, they were not bound here by blood and magic. The demons here followed me from Hell to this purgatory after my family had banished me to the human realm. Then the witches locked me in the Shadow Realm, ensuring I’d forever be alone. Only demons and witches with shadow magic can enter this realm without dying.

No matter what I’ve tried, I still can’t leave and go into the human world. Rage pulses through me as I pick up my pace. The straw-colored sun barely emits any light as it hides within the puffy gray clouds. And yet, when another breeze gusts by, making the branches of the maple trees sway, I squint my eyes from the sudden brightness.

I grab a lighter and a cigarette from the pack in my pocket, then light it. The cherry glows as I pull in a long inhale of smoke, holding it until my mind buzzes. As I let it out, relief washes through my bones.

I wander aimlessly, hoping to distract myself. My past is never far from my mind. No matter how many times I bury it, it crawls out of the soil and into my thoughts. My insides seem to burn as bitterness overflows within me. The Shadow Realm is an exact replica of the human world but is much more twisted. It’s a brutal place, but there is serenity to be found among the pieces of ash drifting like snow.

I pause at the park when the eerie song of a child singing fills my ears. My eyes drift toward the ghost seated on the middle swing, seeming content in her afterlife, the playground all for her. Before I leave, she fades, probably appearing in the human realm, as most spirits do. They can appear in both realms, although they are stuck in between, never finding peace.

I push my hair out of my face, but my raven locks quickly fall back against my forehead. I run my fingers through the strands, tousling it back. With a final puff of the cigarette, I throw it to the ground, showering embers over the sidewalk.

The more time I spend in solitude, the more my rage grows. If I ever want to escape, I must find her… the witch. I finally have the Fallenmoore mirror, after tracking it to an old antique store, and a human who sold me his soul acts as my proxy for the time being. The witch is all that is missing. Demons whisper of how the last of the Fallenmoore Coven was slaughtered twenty years ago, but they don’t know what I do. I was bound here in their blood. I can sense when one of them still lives. We both manipulate shadows, while also having other, unique powers. I was not drawn to the small town of Darkwood, at the edge of Washington state, for no reason.

I tracked her magic here, but it’s not exact. I’ve searched the town, but I’ve yet to find her. The last of the Fallenmoore family. She’s my only hope.

I shove my hands in my pockets and walk toward my human’s apartment. Thoughts of regret, hatred, and revenge are a constant loop. A flash of the Fallenmoore Coven pierces my thoughts, and I recall the day they shoved me through their mirror. They were the first people to trick me. I know my brothers worked with them to lock me in here too.

A hot flush blooms on my chest, a black spiked ball of rage in my soul growing infinitely the more I think of the coven. They believe their brand of evil is better than mine, but they do not know the type of monster they caged. I am bound by their blood, and despite enjoying the thoughts of each of them being slaughtered by the church, I am glad one survived. If they’d all died, I could never leave this place.

I must find her and keep her safe, then hope she’s far more naive than the rest of her family were.

A tingling sensation at the back of my mind alerts me to the proximity of the human I call my valet, my only foothold in the human world. He has no choice but to serve me after he bartered his soul.

I walk through shadows, shifting into them. I step from one shadow to another, going from underneath the large maple tree overhanging the street to stepping into my valet’s apartment.

A leather sofa sits in front of the fireplace, a mug set upon the wooden coffee table. I make my way to the mirror hanging over the mantle and then stoop to light a flame on the logs in the hearth. The fire dances hypnotically as it licks up the wood, ever greedy to consume more.

I run both of my hands through my hair before clasping the strands at the back of my head. While I can only ever leave through the Fallenmoore family mirror, I can see through any, choosing to reveal myself when I want. I touch the mirror, and a shimmer ripples across it. I watch my human valet, Aiden, silently as he meanders through his home. His keys clink together when he drops them on the table by the door. Next, he removes his baseball hat and hangs it on the hook. He exhales audibly, as if the stress of his human life is too much for him to bear.

I summon him to me without speaking, reaching into his mind through the demonic attachment and bargain. “Valet, it’s about time you came home. We have much to discuss.”

Aiden jumps, his eyes widening in fear. He places a hand against his chest and exclaims, “For fuck’s sake! You could’ve given me a heart attack.”

“I wouldn’t be so lucky.”

I pull my mask over my face, then make myself appear in the mirror from the Shadow Realm version of his apartment, and he rushes over to me in his human realm apartment.

Aiden crosses his arms over his chest and raises his eyebrows questioningly as he waits. I listen to his internal monologue. Every fucking day is the same shit from this dude. Valet, do this. Valet, do that. Am I some kind of fucking servant?

My molars grind together as my irritation grows. “You are a servant,” I say into his mind, my voice somehow still sounding gravelly and deep.

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