Page 27 of Broken Shadows (Corrupt Shadows Duet #2)

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Lorcan

It’s too quiet.

My ears ring as I note the absence of sound, other than the ones created naturally by my body moving through the wood. This section of trees looks just like any other. Aside from the mild upward slope to the ground, it's impossible to tell one section of the woods from another.

I freeze as a dark, blurred shape, creeps over the leaf strewn ground.

I have had enough of these fucking trials.

Fuck me.

I take a step back, a fallen branch snapping under my heel, and the snake launches itself at me. A snarl tears from me as I kick out my foot and extend my claws, but it doesn’t veer from its path.

Fine, have it your way.

I slice my claws along its disgusting, scaled belly and breathe hard through my nose as I struggle to regulate my heartbeat.

Leaves crinkle and move as I rotate in a tight circle. No, those aren't leaves, they’re snakes, hundreds of them in all shapes and colors.

No. Absolutely not. This will not be how I go down.

I growl and rush the oncoming hoard, claw tipped hands swinging like a metronome of death. Vile black blood sprays into the air, drops of it sticking to my face. This is a fucking nightmare. I curse and continue cutting my way through the snakes, leaving a trail of their mutilated corpses in my wake.

Shit, I hope the snakes haven't found my witch too. I swear to fuck, if any of them bit her, I will commit far worse atrocities than murdering Samuel. No, I’ll keep him alive, drawing out his death for centuries and inventing new methods of torture.

Every.

Single.

Day.

There are no limits to my depraved creativity.

I fall back into the present and bare my teeth in a snarl as pain rips into my forearms, dark blue blood joining the gore already splattered all over me. Oxygen saws in and out of my lungs as I fight to control the panic seizing up my muscles.

Fuck. I can't afford to be distracted.

My feet run faster, Hell dirt flying out behind me with every step, and I’m still cutting down the slithering bastards blocking my way to freedom. A flood of relief washes over me as I spot clear ground beyond the line of snakes. I just have to make it, then I’ll find the others.

I cut through the last of the snakes and sprint up the boulder strewn slope, slamming my back against a wall of rock. My hips hinge and I plant my hands on my knees. It’s fine now. They're dead. I eviscerated them all. I slide my body sideways, keeping the rock at my back as I reassure myself.

My neck pops and I hiss as I dart a glance around the blind edge to my left. Thank fucking Satan. I exhale and drop my shoulders, darting into a shallow cave. My lips flatten into a straight line. Does this qualify as a cave? While the natural space has two sides and a roof of sorts, solid impenetrable rock fills almost all the space. This doesn’t make any fucking sense. The outer edge I crept along is far longer. This should be a cave, but it isn’t. Fuck it, no time to dwell on that thought now.

I cannot fathom why my mind and body are reacting this way. It’s not as if I fear snakes… but there is something abnormal about them I cannot put a name to.

I flinch and bolt upright as something thumps to the ground not five feet in front of me. My eyes darts overhead and my blood freezes solid as wave after wave of snakes slither over the top edge of the cave’s entrance.

My heart seizes and my guts twist painfully, the overwhelming panic returning worse than before. Then I whisper a stream of nonsense under my breath, madness rising within me. “No! No, no, no, no!”

The snakes form a loose semicircle, trapping me inside the shallow cave. My hands shake as I grip the sides of my head. For a moment, I'm at a loss.

What the fuck do I do?

The snakes hiss in unison, then one darts forward, snapping its fangs onto the toe of my boot. My vision blackens at the edges as a growl rips free and I jerk my foot away from my body, hoping to dislodge the scaly fucker. But it clings on. I inhale as a single rational thought scrolls across my mind's eye like writing on a wall, and I temporarily forget all the other snakes awaiting their turn.

If its fangs are stuck, kill it while it’s incapacitated.

My head flicks side to side fruitlessly as I fail to discover another solution. I really don’t want to purposely put myself in such a vulnerable position.

Godsdammit.

I must.

I fill my lungs with oxygen, then strike out with my bloody claws.

Agony spears through my unprotected neck as the snake stabs its fangs into my skin and bites down. Utterly useless words spill from my lips. “Well fuck, not stuck after all.”

Venom flows into my bloodstream, branding everything in its path with an emotion I have no experience with navigating encased in Hellfire, and I stumble forward.

I grimace and suck in a deep, painful breath.

What the fuck is this feeling?

I squint into the trees and my chin quivers as a bloody, mutilated visage sways at the end of a noose. My knee cracks against stone, sweat beading across my brow, then I go utterly still.

Hanging from a noose derived from a gore splattered spinal column…

Evie’s.

Dead.

Fuckboy.

I don’t recall his name, but the emotion surging through me with the venom reaches a climax.

My shoulders draw up and I pin my arms to my stomach, curling in on myself. Maybe I shouldn’t have killed him.

The fuck? He touched what is mine .

I swallow repeatedly as another face replaces the boy’s, but this time it’s not human, then I recoil as a demon’s revolting, rotting, smashed in face appears. I have no memory of killing or torturing this demon. Its unremarkable face could be one of the thousands I tore into. Yet, my heart curls in on itself.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

My claws scratch at the side of my face.

What is happening to me?

My hands curl inward against my chest as I rock.

It’s then that I remember the rest of the problem.

A chorus of hisses rises in volume. I try to catch myself, but it’s too late for that. My legs lose all feeling and crumple beneath me, a loud crack ricocheting through my brain as my skull smacks into the hard ground.

“SHIT!”

Heavy, scaly bodies slither on top of me, striking me with their fangs wherever they can reach. My clothes shred as my shadows burn within me, snake after snake, adding their weight to the knot of slippery, slithering bodies. My madness roars within my mind, but I can’t acknowledge it, my awareness seeping from the blood pooling under my cheek.

Perhaps I should just give in. Lay here and let the fuckers have their way with me. An unhinged giggle cracks from my throat. “At least I'll make a good meal.”

A sharp fang stabs into the back of my hand.

I suck in a deep, stuttering breath as my vision blurs and my body loses physical form.

What the Hell?

I grip the sides of the Fallenmore Coven’s mirror, the rose design digging into my palms.

I rub my sternum hard enough to bruise.

I.

Can’t.

Fucking.

Breathe.

Evie?

My witch laughs, her head thrown back as Rosa and a man stand with their backs to me, arms draped around each other with obvious familiarity, shoulders shaking with mirth.

I take in their location, twisting my neck to see around the edge of the frame.

I focus on Evie’s face. Her lips move, but I can’t make out the words.

Fuck. I need to know what she’s saying.

I close my shaking hands tighter around the mirror, struggling to keep on my feet. My eyes close as I will the portal to life and step through into the Human Realm.

My feet drag with every step toward Evie. It’s as if every drop of strength in my body disintegrated at once. I reach for her, but my opaque hand drops through her shoulder.

Why can’t I touch her?

My lips tremble, and I inhale sharply through my nose.

“Evie!”

My witch continues chatting animatedly with Rosa and the unknown man, but I only have eyes for her.

Words crack from my throat as I try again and again to touch Evie, to get her to feel me . “Baby Girl, please…” A single tear spills over my lashes. “Can you hear me?”

Evie jumps off her stool, fixes her apron, then walks through me. My breathing gutters to shallow pants.

It’s as if she’s forgotten my very existence,

I blink and slap a palm against a glass surface.

No.

How am I back here?

I slam the side of my fist against the mirror, whipping my head around frantically, vague, low saturated surroundings blur around me.

The Shadow Realm? But she freed me?

Air rushes into my lungs as I gasp, slithering bodies crawling over me, but nothing’s changed.

Forgotten… once more. Pressure builds on my chest, a heavy weight spreading across all my extremities, and my pulse weakens. But just as I allow my eyelids to drop, I see a pair of familiar eyes framed by dark lashes in my mind— Evie . She could be facing the same thing I am.

I suck in a breath and roll onto my side, dislodging several sets of fangs from my flesh. My body aches as I move, the overwhelming quantity of injuries throbbing in tandem, then burst from the pile of wriggling bodies.

I turn on my heel and pump my legs as fast as they will go down the sloped hill, trees passing by in a blur.

Sweat runs down my back as I peek over my shoulder, but no snakes followed. Thank fuck.

“Lorcan!”

My head whips back around. I could’ve sword I heard my witch. Something connects with my cheek, and I blink several times as the sting resonates.

Evie’s husky voice registers first. “Shit, Rosa, why did you do that?”

“It’s the most affective and quickest way to bring someone out of panic induced hysteria. Well, other than smelling salts or straight adrenaline.” That doesn’t sound correct.

A growl rumbles low in my chest as I rub my fingers over my smarting skin, and Rosa and Evie come into focus. “What. The. Fuck.”

“Our thoughts exactly. Welcome back.”

My hands drop to my sides, then I rub my temples as a headache blossoms within my skull. “Are you being deliberately confusing?”

Rosa scoffs. “Are you being deliberately obtuse?”

Evie walks between us and holds up her hands, then faces me. “This is a trial.”

The breath stalls in my lungs, then I dart to my gaze to her as my heart careens into my ribs. I squeeze her against me, a trembling hand smoothing down her long, straight hair to the small of her back.

Evie encircles my torso with her arms and hugs me back.

She can feel me.

Thank fucking Lucifer.

“L-or?”

Evie’s muffled voice reaches me as I step back just enough to take in her bemused expression.

I peer at her through a slitted gaze and fish a cigarette from my pocket, then pat down my pants. “Godsdammit. My lighter must’ve fallen out when I ran.”

My witch huffs and strides over to a pile of demolished vegetation, plucks something from the remains, and hurries back to me. “Lorcan. Listen to the words coming out of my mouth. This is a trial.”

I squint at her over the purple flame she holds to the end of the cigarette between my lips, inhaling as it catches. My eyes close as reality sets in.

Fuck.

She’s right.

All of those human emotions were forced on me. A relaxed smirk tips my lips. I knew I didn’t give a shit about killing the fuckboy. In fact, I reveled in it. “The Trial of Terrors. Did he have to make it so obvious?”

A snort-laugh peals from Rosa. “Riiiiight, obvious. Because you weren’t slashing your claws at hanging vines while you growled and screamed.”

My upper lip pulls back and my nostrils flare as I shoot a glare at Evie’s best friend. My annoyance dissipates slightly as Evie brushes her mouth against mine and drapes her arms around my waist. “Ignore her, we need to find the others. Although, she’s not wrong. It was hilarious once we figured out what was going on.”

My cheeks hollow as I take another drag and the lavender cherry flares brighter. I hold the curling smoke in my mouth, grab Evie’s chin, and blow the hot nicotine laced smoke between her lips. A grin smooths over my features as she moans. Satisfaction rolls over my skin as I cross my tattooed arms, free of any injury because it really was all in my fucking head. “Who do we hunt first?”

Rosa hums. “I don’t think Aiden went very far. He crashed into the woods over there.” She points a manicured nail to our right and I chuckle.

Evie laughs. “He could have made it a bit more of a challenge.”

I pass my cigarette to Evie and shake my head as I note the clear path of destruction zig-zagging drunkenly through the woods for no more than a hundred yards, then spot the top of a peach ball-cap and half of an embroidered bat wing design sticking out behind a tree.

Rosa takes a step forward. “I’ll get him. You two,” she drags a finger in the air between Evie and I, “stay here.”

I scoff and make to follow her, but my witch raises a hand and lays it on my chest. “Let it go. I’d rather Rosa calm him down and explain quickly, then have Aiden run off again if he sees you. You have a habit of scaring him for fun.”

I laugh. “And I’m not even fucking sorry.”

Several minutes go by in comfortable silence, and I massage Evie’s shoulders as we wait.

Evie’s muscles finally loosen under my hands, my thumbs digging into a stubborn knot.

“What the Hell did you think you were seeing earlier?” Evie blurts.

My fingers tense. “Snakes.”

“Cute little danger noodles?”

I turn her to face me. “In what possible fucking way are they cute?” I sigh down my nose, glancing over her head and speak through the bond. It wasn’t about the snakes at all. Never mind. We’ll get back to this later. I need to understand how you like those scaly fuckers. They could consume your bat whole, for fuck’s sake.

Aiden ambles over to us with Rosa on his heels as Evie rolls her lips and shakes with silent laughter. I mean, not a garner snake, though.

Aiden covers his mouth with a hand in my peripheral, then whisper shouts, “They’re doing it again.”

Rosa looses a long sigh. “I can see that.”

Evie clears her throat and turns toward Aiden. “Glad to have you back.”

“Are you sure he’s not going to turn into a clown again?” Aiden asks, a barely noticeable quaver to his words, and side-eyes me.

Evie’s gaze slides toward me. “I’m sure.”

I chuckle into Evie’s mind. That’s what he thinks. Fucking with him is too much fun. Even more so now that I know he abhors clowns. Well…

Lorcan, Evie admonishes, then claps a hand over her mouth, her muffled laughter still seeping through.

Rosa clears her throat and plants her hands on her hips. “If you two are done with whatever it is you’re doing, should we go search for Ezra and Gideon?”

Evie steps away from me, following Rosa as she speed walks up the slope. How she manages that in high-heeled boots, I have no fucking clue.

I glance at Aiden as we trek after the women.

“How are we going to find them?” Evie questions over her shoulder.

“Well, I suppose I could track them through our brotherly bond.”

Rosa muffles a laugh. “Yes, I don’t think they will be as easy to find as Aiden was.”

“What do you mean? I had a great hiding spot,” Aiden says, nodding to himself.

I sigh and flick the brim of his hat. “We could see your damn hat sticking out behind the tree.”

Aiden laughs and flashes his too white smile at me. “But I’m telling you. If it wasn’t for the hat, I would have been completely invisible. You dudes would never have found me.” For a moment he looks so fucking proud of himself, but his grin falls. “Oh, but then, you know I guess I would still be afraid clowns were chasing me…”

My hand claps over his shoulder and he jumps, making me chuckle. Just as I open my mouth to exacerbate Aiden’s sorrowful demeanor, Evie speaks in my mind. Please, just leave him alone.

I smooth a hand through my hair and exhale through my nose. I’ll consider it, in exchange for a sexual favor to be claimed at a later date of my choosing.

Evie snorts and Rosa’s head swivels to her, then back at me. You can have me whenever you want, Lor.

So, it won’t be a problem accepting my bargain then.

Fine. I mean it, leave him the fuck alone. He’s had a rough day.

I shake my head but refrain from yet another smartass response. She’s well aware that all of us have had a shitty day .

“All of you keep your mouths shut. Any needless blathering will delay us, and I’d really like to get the fuck out of these woods.”

Rosa scoffs but doesn’t comment.

I turn inward, locate my brothers’ bonds, and focus on their location. Dammit, they ran much farther than Aiden, which isn’t surprising as they’re demons and he’s a weak human, but at least they’re near each other.

The fuck? That can’t be right.

I track their energies down our bonds once more. No, I was correct. It’s as if they’re practically on top of one another.

“Lorcan? Did you find them?”

My eyes drift to Evie. “Of course. However, be on alert. Their signatures are far too close, it’s likely that they’re locked in a fucking brawl again.”

“Could you pick up on any landmarks?” Rosa asks, stopping to face me.

I raise my brows, even though I know she won’t see the questioning expression behind my mask.

She sighs and speaks with her hands. “It stands to reason that if we all know what to look for, they will be located sooner.”

“Oh! Good point,” Aiden remarks, lifting a hand in the air and holding it there.

A smile blooms across Evie’s face, and she arches a brow. “Well, don’t leave him hanging.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

A sonorous gasp vibrates my eardrums and my nose wrinkles.

“What? Bro, Demon, are you telling me you’ve never given someone a high five?” Aiden shouts, his eyes wider than dinner plates. Of course, I’m aware of the odd human behavior, but I have no intention of enacting said high-five . Aiden reaches toward me with his free hand, picks my hand up, then slaps it against his own, smaller, clammy hand. My nostrils flare as Evie and Rosa burst into a fit of laughter.

A growl seeps from me, low and deadly. “If I were you, I’d remove your touch from my hand immediately.”

Before Aiden gets the chance to follow through with my demand, Gomez flies over and bites the back of my hand, and retreats to my witch’s shoulder. I glare at the cute bastard, then close my eyes for a moment. My fingers curl at my sides and my blood boils. You cannot kill the bat, or the human, Lorcan. Evie would never forgive you. My eyes flash open and my neck cracks as I twist it side to side before speaking over my shoulder and stalk to the head of the group. “We are all off topic yet a-fucking-gain. Yes, Rosa, they’re near a fairly large boulder, perhaps a quarter mile or less to the North.”

We walk in silence as I track my brothers. I have no way of knowing how long we've searched for, but it’s clearly long enough that Aiden forgets to remain silent.

“Are you sure we aren't lost?” he asks.

“Yes, I'm sure. You can't hear them?”

Aiden tilts his head. “Uh, no?”

I release a pent-up growl. “Of course not, because you're talking loud enough to wake the fucking dead.”

“Hey, asshole, that certainly looks like a big ass boulder to me,” Rosa interjects.

I spin toward her, following her stare with my own. Sure enough, just over a crest in the slope, part of a massive boulder rises.

Fucking.

Finally.

I jog toward it, picking up on more sounds as I eat up the distance between my brothers and me.

“Get it away from me!” Ezra screams, tears shining along his lower lashes and dripping into his beard.

Gideon roars, “It's not here for you. It's here for me! Run, Ez.”

My eyes narrow as I round the side of the boulder, then I laugh. “Oh, this is just too fucking perfect.” Three heartbeats register in my ears, and I glance over my shoulder at Evie, Rosa, and Aiden.

Ezra peers out at me with wide eyes, all his featured stretched with fear from beneath a cute little doggy pile of zalvie spirit monsters. So, that’s what manifested the hallucinations, the zalvie’s most potent power.

Ezra sits up and at least twenty of the fluffy creatures fall off him. “Lorcan, did you see where it went?”

I dart my gaze over his head and slowly widen my eyes. “Don’t move. It’s right behind you.” The look of horror on his face will forever be etched into my memory.

Aiden whoops. “Are we messing with Ezra instead of me now?” He slaps his hands to his cheeks. “Oh no, bro, you better run. It’s gonna get yoouuuu.”

Evie looks toward Rosa, sighing. “Stop. Enough of this.”

Aiden’s brows furrow and fine wrinkles appear on his forehead. “But, Bromina, someone else was final—”

“No,” Evie and Rosa say, cutting him off.

Aiden’s shoulders droop as he sighs. “Okay, fine. What are those things anyway?” Gomez flies into the fray of fluffy bodies and rolls around with them on top of my brothers. “Whatever they are, Gomey sure likes them.”

My attention drifts back to my brothers as Gideon crawls over Ezra, kneeing him in the gut before crouching next to the boulder. “Get over here, Wrath. It won’t see us if we take cover behind the boulder.”

I laugh so hard my cheeks dig into the bottom edge of my mask. “You two are fucking idiots.” I reach out a hand to pet a periwinkle zalvie, but it bounces on feet too big for its body and bites my finger. I hiss and shake my hand, flinging it off me. “You fucker.”

“Let me try,” Aiden proposes, then removes his hat, attempts to scoop one up inside it. The cornflower blue monster hisses and narrows its cobalt eyes at Aiden. “Oh, common, little guy, I just wanna give you pets.”

Rosa sucks in a breath. “Shit. Aiden, I wouldn’t do that.”

The zalvie parts its jaws far past what it should be capable of, then sinks its fangs into the back of Aiden's hat near the Velcro sizing strap.

“That's mine,” Aiden says, then tugs his hat backward, but the little zalvie doesn't release its hold.

I roll my eyes as Evie and Rosa laugh at the absurd tug of war.

Crouching down in front of Ezra, I shake his shoulders. “This is a trial. Trust me, whatever you think is happening isn't.” Ezra stops flailing and coughs as a zalvie jumps onto his face and hangs onto his beard. Three more of the little assholes cling to Gideon’s warrior braids and swing along with the momentum of his head as he turns. “He's right, Ez, there’s no duck.”

I squint my left eye at the twins and mutter under my breath. “What fucking duck? You know what? I don't even want to know.”

Gomez flies back to Evie, squeaking and rubing his fluffy cheek against hers. “I know, Gomey. Aren't they so cute?” The bat releases a soft, pleased purr, and wraps his wings around his body.

Ezra falls flat on his back as one final periwinkle zalvie bounces on his chest, the others climbing onto the boulder. I narrow my eyes on the tiny monster, then realization dawns.

Ezra grabs the fluffy creature with two hands and smothers it against his chest. “Rupe? Rupert!” Ezra and Rupert roll around on the ground, a convoluted symphony of two extremely different pitched growls emitting from their aggressive cuddle.

“What’s a Rupert?” Aiden asks.

“Rupert is the name of Ezra's pet zalvie,” Gideon say laconically, then stands and brushes his hands over his pants.

Ezra stands, cuddling Rupert against his bearded cheek, and eyes all of us. “No one say the word duck to me ever-a-fuckin-gain.”

The group’s chatter fades into a buzzing as something scratches at the back of my mind, then a flash of the cave from the zalvie’s vision darts across my mind’s eye. I lace my fingers with Evie’s and stroll farther up the hill, confident the others will follow.

“Shit. Where the Hell are you going, Lor?” Ezra shouts.

I press a kiss to my witch’s cheek, smiling against her skin before answering my fucking pest of a brother. “To test a theory.”

Evie’s mind brushes against mine. I’m curious too.

She shivers as I stroke my thumb in leisurely circles on the back of her tattooed hand. I saw a cave in a vision. Something was off about it. It's not far. Less than one hundred yards, just over the final crest of the hill.

The feeling of power grows as the group takes in a tall archway cut into the rock of the shallow cave. My eyes trace over the ancient demonic language carved above it. Snorting, I glance back at my brothers.

“What does it say?” Rosa asks.

Ezra shrugs. “Essentially, that going in is a risk of death, etc… Standard posturing. Nothing to be concerned about.”

“Is that such a good idea, Bro Demon?” Aiden asks, his lips tugging down.

Gideon steps close to Aiden’s back and quietly hums. “It’s most likely only a deterrent.”

Both of my brothers are right, but I’m done fucking explaining every detail of my thought process. I squeeze Evie’s hand, tuck our laced hands close to my back, then stoop below the arch and saunter into the swirling darkness.