Page 22 of Broken Shadows (Corrupt Shadows Duet #2)

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Lorcan

With the first trial complete, a low hum of determination settles over the seven of us, including Gomez.

I move closer to Evie as she takes in the hellscape surrounding us. She tips her head back and her lips scrunch together, begging me to smooth a kiss over them. “What are you thinking, Baby Girl?” I ask aloud, rather than reaching through our bond.

“How do you tell if it’s day or night? Nothing around us has changed to indicate a time shift.”

What a smart witch. “Correct. There aren’t any markers for several reasons,” I expound and follow the direction of her gaze. Varying monochromatic shades of a cloud-like substance drift lazily far above us. I rub my temples; it’s a poor mimicry of the Human Realm sky. “Time is simply irrelevant. For better or worse, it does not exist in Hell. Not to mention there is no sun, moon, or stars to speak of because Hell exists in a realm of its own.” My scalp prickles, and I can sense how intensely the others are listening to our conversation. Although my brothers are already aware of the ins and outs of Hell, just as any child is taught about where they live, they’re still a couple of fucking nosey busybodies.

Aiden chimes in. “So, a realm is different?”

“Mhm, because realms are like pockets within the same plane.” I return my gaze to the road ahead and ignore the ever-present desire to feed my obsession and stare at my witch. “For example, Hell is one of many realms on the same plane as the Human Realm, but the Earth exists within its own solar system.”

“Blergh, why does it have to be so confusing?” Aiden complains and Gideon hums in agreement.

“That’s just how it is and always has been. There are immeasurable amounts of realms on any given plane,” I elaborate, gesticulating with my hands. “Hell and the Shadow Realm are just two that exist simultaneously.”

“Like a stack of pancakes,” Rosa suggests and laughs. A shiver rolls over my shoulders as Evie’s laughter joins Rosa’s. Fuck, I love that sound.

Evie runs her hands up and down her biceps, then shudders dramatically. “Please don't remind me of The Ugly Pancake right now. I can practically smell the bacon grease.”

“Uh, Bro Demon, your girl makes a good point. This doesn’t look like the Hell you threatened me with,” Aiden huffs as he walks to squeeze past my other side, his shoulder brushing mine. I straighten my spine and wrangle my irritation. This road was not meant for three people to walk side by side. Aiden’s sneakers scuffle against the edge of the cobbled black moonstone road as he struggles not to knock me into Evie on my right. “Where are the other demons, and you know, pitchforks and shit?”

I eye the fog by his shins, his movements flaring their glow brighter, then slide my hands into my pockets. If he only knew. “Oh, you noticed, did you?”

Aiden’s eyes widen. “Um, yeah. Were you screwing with me this whole time!?”

“No, everything I mentioned is still a possibility,” I say, the corner of my lips tilting into a smirk. “But have some patience. We’ll get to that in a moment.”

The hairs on the back of my neck prickle as Gideon growls low where he strides behind me, but I shrug it off.

Ezra slows his pace but remains at the head of the group with Rosa. “First, you have to understand how the trials work, then we can explain the lay of the land. Let's put it this way, God and his own powerful angels ,” Ezra intones, making air quotes with his fingers, “judge the fuck out of souls when they get to Heaven.”

“Meanwhile, in Hell, the souls judge themselves. Personally, I think self-judgment is by far the crueler option of the two,” I elaborate. “What we're going through now, every soul goes through; however, they don’t know what's happening to them. They aren't clued in on the fact that they're in the trials or what they will face. The catch twenty-two of it all is if a soul cannot complete a challenge, they remain trapped within it for eternity—suffering the same fate over and over like a death loop.”

“Fuckity-fuckery at its finest,” Ezra concurs.

“How many trials are there?” Rosa asks over her shoulder as she walks next to Ezra.

“Seven,” I reply.

“Five,” Ezra speaks over me.

I growl and smack the back of Ezra’s head. “To be clear, there are between five and seven trials. However, as Evangeline’s gate dropped us in a later trial, we have two trials left, three at most. The intention is to keep the souls uncertain if they will ever end.” Realization sweeps over me and my shadows swirl into a frenzy, trapped within me. “Actually, the souls would never have that information to begin with. Godsdamn sadist.”

“You forgot to mention the worst aspect,” Gideon drawls. “The average soul goes through these trials completely alone. Pure and simple—its psychological warfare.” He pauses, his eyes drifting to the countless switchbacks carved into a sheer cliff face rising over a cluster of trees in the distance. “Can you imagine if there was a way to utilize the principles of the trials on the battlefield?” He clicks his tongue. “Unadulterated carnage without a drop of blood spilled.”

“And what happens if a soul passes all the challenges?” Evie questions, then cocks a brow.

“They gain entrance to Lucifer’s Court,” I explain. “Don’t give me that look. It’s actually really spectacular. Pleasant even.”

“Pleasant?” Rosa says, heavy skepticism lacing the question.

I sigh and run a hand through my hair. “Humans have a completely warped view of Hell. Yes, there are parts of it that are torture, fire, and brimstone, but the vast majority is occupied by Lucifer’s Court.”

With that profound thought, the group falls silent; the fog illuminating our footsteps. The cracked and weathered cobbled black moonstone path winds through a scattering of trees and extends into the distance, shrouded by the same thick fog as when we arrived. So far, the trials are shaping up to be more intricate than I expected. I know Samuel is a sick fuck, that’s not new knowledge, but a taste of worry sits at the back of my throat, bitter and acidic.

Lush bushes dot the edge of the path as we continue our stroll. Their dark black, shiny leaves and plump pink berries dusted in shimmering gold, tempting passersby to have a taste.

“Berries!” Aiden shouts. I turn an ear toward him as the sound of something like shuffling feet blinks into existence.

“Aiden,” Gideon calls sharply.

Curious, I glance over my shoulder, arching a brow as I take in the scene unfolding at our backs.

Gideon’s fingers dig into Aiden's forearm, jerking the appendage backward just as Aiden's fingertips graze a plump neon pink berry. “Eat nothing unless my brothers or I say it is safe. There are edible foods in Hell, but the vast majority are poisonous, especially to humans.”

Aiden closes his eyes briefly and his throat bobs as he swallows audibly. “Shit. I-I didn't know.” Gideon’s lips flatten into a thin line as he nods, then drops Aiden’s arm.

Evie’s shoulder brushes mine as she turns to face Aiden and Gideon. “You alright, Aiden? I don’t blame you for wanting to taste one. Those berries look delicious.”

“Yeah, just a little freaked out. It's like, is there anything in Hell that isn’t trying to kill us?”

“No,” my brothers and I state unanimously.

Evie laughs, rolls her beautiful browns, and walks on. Her hands fly to her belly as a distinct grumble voices her stomach’s need for sustenance. I chuckle and wrap a tendril of my witch’s hair around a finger. “Hungry?” Evie glances at me and I wink.

“Starving.”

I hold her heated stare, then dip my gaze to her lips and back up. Her eyes dart away, her hair slipping from my hold as she increases her pace. “I actually don’t know when the last time I ate was.”

“Evie, what have we agreed to? You cannot continue to skip meals. It’s not healthy, girl,” Rosa says as she faces Evie and walks backward next to Ezra.

Evie’s head lowers. “I know, I know.”

Her shoulders tense as my growl crawls up her back. Why does she continue to abuse her body? “For once, I agree with Human Rainbow. You need to take better care of what’s mine. ”

“I could eat,” Aiden says, seemingly oblivious to the rising tension. “It feels like we’ve been walking forever. Is it dinner time yet?”

Thank fuck I don’t require food or drink to survive. I roll my eyes internally. Humans and their weak countenances. I can consume whatever I’d like, thanks to my superior demon biology. I sigh and my eyelid twitches. I never thought I’d crave the solitude of the Shadow Realm, but here we are. “We have no way of knowing. Hell lacks fluid time, remember?”

“Oh, right.”

I tilt my head. Do you hear that? I ask Ezra mentally.

Sounds like rushing water?

A river, Gideon insists, breaking into our mental conversation with ease. Also, I advise against ingesting any of their blood. The trials are swirling our minds and weakening our defenses, just waiting for us to slip up.

Ezra laughs. Struggling with a craving, Brother?

Gideon sighs, frustration tinging the exhale. Just a word of caution. Don’t come bitching to me when you inevitably fuck up while on a blood high.

He has a point, I supply.

Ezra huffs. Fine. But something about the growing sound of rushing water reminds me of how blood moves through veins.

Don’t be surprised if Samuel worked a craving for human blood into the creation of the trials, Gideon reiterates.

I growl mentally. Conniving bastard. The humans jump as Gideon and Ezra's answering growls rumble into being.

What is the point of communicating through our bonds if you two imbeciles react outwardly ? Is that a twin defect?

Excuse us if we haven't had as much time fucking around with bonds. Are you positive your link to your witch is closed, and she's not privy to everything we're discussing?

Shit. I’ve gotten so used to leaving our bond open since my return to the Human Realm. I scan my mind and find the mental pathway leading to my little witch, but my shield stands strong, smooth, constant vibrations filtering through that always accompany the connection. Evie speaks to Rosa, their murmuring voices like white noise as I focus on the internal conversation with my brothers.

Gideon, are you positive? You don't know anything else about the trials, I ask him. Anything that might be of use.

Silence greets me, but his presence lingers on the edge of my mind.

I wasn't part of the trial's development. Father made sure of that when Samuel pitched a fit when he suggested our brother include all of us. One trial for each brother.

I scoffed. So naturally, Dad agreed to leave it all for his precious Samuel.

Actually, Ezra rumbles, Lazarus was also involved, but only in the vaguest sense. He might've had a hand in one trial, but not all of them.

Fucking figures.

Be that as it as it may, hopefully the worst trials are behind us and we got dropped in toward the end, Gideon says . What lies ahead is not safe for any of us, especially the weaker creatures in our care.

Don't underestimate them, I retort. I have a bond with Evie and Aiden. They're stronger than you think.

Ezra shrugs. Don't forget about Rosa . While none of us have a bond with her, I have a feeling she's not to be trifled with. And then there's Gomez, of course. Fierce little bat. Do you remember when he clawed out that Order lady’s eye to save Evie?

This smart mouth asshat. You mean to save her from your imbecilic ass? No, I definitely don’t recall that.

As if he senses our silent conversation, the flapping breaks through my concentration and Gomez flies off Evie’s shoulder, then lands on Ezra’s.

Have you always been jealous of Gomez? Gideon hums, implication heavy in his raspy, deep voice.

Excuse me?

Ezra guffaws. Of course, he’s jealous that little Gomey likes me. We both find those bat treats to be delicious. And don’t pretend like you hate him. Evie and Rosa told me you enjoy feeding him blueberries.

I growl, then snap. “It was one fucking time.” My witch cocks her head in my direction, her eyebrows arching. Ezra and Gideon snicker loudly.

“I’m fine,” I mutter, then stroke my knuckles down her cheek and drape my arm over her shoulders.

You both are incorrect, Gideon retorts. Gomez is likely drawn to Ezra because of his affinity with monster kind. He is a monster, after all, in his own right.

I'm not sure if that was a compliment or a dig, Ezra ponders.

Take it as you wish, Wrath, Gideon states, then his presence vanishes from my mind.

Ezra throws up his hands and nearly dislodges Gomez's perch on his shoulder. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“Don't you dare hurt my precious little night puppy, Ezra,” Rosa hisses and snatches the bat from him, tucking him against her shoulder and neck like a godsdamned infant. Evie giggles, then strides forward and scratches a nail under Gomez’s chin.

“I hate that fucking bat,” I grumble.

Evie glances back at me, a smirk pulling at the corner of her lips. “No, you don't. You just wish you did.” As Evie speaks to me, Gomez's beady black eyes swivel from Evie to me, the biggest non-verbal ‘fuck you’ I’ve ever received in his gaze.

Something gnaws on my nerves, begging for attention. My skin feels too tight, as if my demon form presses too closely under the surface. It’s as though I’m craving something intensely, but I have no idea what.

In the distance, the trickling sound grows.

“What trial do you think is next?” Ezra ponders aloud.

I stare at the back of my witch’s head, her shiny, chestnut hair swaying side to side with her steps. It’s been too fucking long since I’ve been inside her. The longer I stare, the filthier my thoughts become. Image after image spill across my mind’s eye like rapidly flipping pages of a debauched book. Evie is on her hands and knees, her pretty pink cunt glistening as my hands dig into her hips. Squirming on my lap, or how I hold her face to the mattress. My claws pricking her skin as I grip her hips and pound into her from behind. Shit. I can practically taste her slick arousal, scenting the air as it drips down my shaft.

I blink twice, my eyes drifting away from the back of Evie’s skull and the temptations it provokes, then adjust myself, tucking my throbbing cock into my waistband . Fuck. Don’t think about her wet, pretty pussy and how good it tastes. I clear my throat, pretending as if I didn’t lose all sense of self in a delicious montage of my witch. “It could be anything. The options are literally limitless.”

“Wrath,” Gideon suggests.

Ezra snorts. “Really?”

“It would be a glaring opposite of the Trial of Loneliness we just completed,” I agree. “Throw us directly from one emotional upheaval to another.”

A wave of sound detonates as the path curves around a thick copes of trees like they were a sound barrier.

“Woah,” Aiden says, his voice full of awe.

Evie’s hand flies to her clavicle. “That’s not at all what I expected.”

My lips curl and the muscle behind my ribs swells as I watch a myriad of emotions flit across her face. Gorgeous. I swallow, thickly my tongue sticking to the roof of my mouth as if the trickling river stokes my thirst—but not for water. For her.

The cobbled black moonstone beneath our feet traverses down a short slope of short swaying gray grass, ending at a bridge about a quarter mile downriver.

On the other side of the black wooden bridge, the cobblestone path trails into a clearing.

“Damn that's beautiful,” Ezra says as he takes a step forward.

He's right, it’s beautiful, but something about it seems off. What business does a three-story Victorian house have in Hell? The house commands the meadow before it and looms over anyone who dared pass over its threshold. I folded my arms over my chest, as I analyze as much of the exterior architecture as I can from my position, but I hardly absorb any of the details.

“It's the windows,” Gideon states, then glances over at me from three feet away, his stance mirroring mine.

“What?”

He juts his chin at the cathedral gray and charcoal house. “I feel it too, the unseen threat… that something lay behind those walls.”

I nod. “Yes. Exactly.”

“I can't shake the feeling that it’s watching us, a sentry hiding in plain sight.” Gideon shivers, then raises his chin, the picture of composure once more. “We need to set aside whatever has us bristling for now. The witches and Aiden need food and rest.” Without another word, Gideon returns to Aiden’s side.

I scan the gothic monstrosity once more, my growing arousal temporarily forgotten as my attention snags on those two circular windows positioned side by side, too intricate, and more out of place than the dwelling itself. My eyes narrow on the miniature pitched roofs extending outward from the main slate roof over both windows. The hair along my forearms rise. Tracery bursts from a much smaller circle like the spokes of a bicycle wheel. Within each wedge created by two spokes, another thinner one bisects the slim wedge two-thirds from the top.

I continue my inspection as I stalk to the center of the bridge. Mirrored arches break from the thin central line of tracery and connect to the outer border. The smallest circle yet rests on an inverted V above all the other details and completes each individual section. I count the wedges, then deem it a waste of time once the total reaches over twenty. An icy chill runs down my scalp as my stare catches on the center circle present in both windows, painted black like an inky void.

Ezra bounds across the bridge whistling, freezing at the halfway point. He turns to face us as if just realizing no one followed his lead. “What are you assholes waiting for?”

“Right behind you!” Aiden says and jogs over to Ezra.

Gideon growls. “Pay attention and whatever you do, don’t fall in.”

Rosa walks forward slowly, then halts at the two posts supporting this end of the bridge and eyes my brother warily. “Why?”

“It’s teeming with water wraiths!” Ezra shouts, cutting directly through the translucent, blue-gray tinged shoulder height vegetation staking a claim where a lawn in the Human Realm normally resides. “Oh, and I’d run to the front porch. Many Hellish beasties love to hunt their prey in the tall grasses.” He bounces his eyebrows, then dark laughter filters to us as he sprints to the front door beneath a covered porch, Aiden, Gideon, and Rosa hot on his heels.