Page 4 of Broken Shadows (Corrupt Shadows Duet #2)

CHAPTER FOUR

Lorcan

Ezra jogs toward a wooden door I must have overlooked earlier. “Let’s go this way. It’s got to be better than caving in my chest again.”

I fling open the hatch of identical design to the one in the church and climb out. Ezra leaps onto the even, clean stone floor to my right. My brows furrow at our new surroundings. Everything gleams with cleanliness in the dozens of candles’ dim lilac glow, as if we passed some sort of line of demarcation.

Ezra stares at me, his dark brows raised. “What now?” he asks, his baritone voice rumbling.

“Now, we shift. It will be much easier to sense any signatures in our demonic forms.”

“Good call,” he replies.

I close my eyes and will the shift to take hold. For a moment, it’s as if the skin of my human-like appearance stretches too taut, like a rubber band about to snap. With a relieved sigh, I embrace the dark magic swirling around and through me. My eyes flash open and I bare my sharp mouthful of needle-like teeth. Somehow, Ezra’s toothy grin is even more annoying without the human-like disguise.

“Oh c’mon, Lorcan. This could be fun if you let it. You’ve had fun before, right?” He winks, then his smile falls. “Actually, don’t answer that. Anyway, we might as well use this as a scouting opportunity, too.”

He’s right, but I’ll never admit it out loud. We need to plan every aspect, down to the most minuscule of details, in order to find and liberate Evie from this shithole. I move closer to the vast stone staircase looming before us, elaborate wrought iron designed like crawling ivy making up the banister. My shoulders draw up to my ears as Ezra steps too close behind me. Groaning, I spear my fingers into my hair. “You’re like a godsdamn gnat, always infiltrating my personal space and begging to be smacked.” He just laughs and blows on the back of my ear.

“Fucking heathen,” I hiss, elbowing him in the ribs.

Evie’s best friend must be one of the captives those fuckers mentioned. Ezra cranes his neck left and right like an owl. “Let's go,” I urge. “Stop fucking gawking and move.” Irritation coalesces around the mace of anxiety growing within me, adding a whole new level of unnecessary emotions to this cluster fuck of a day. I growl before sprinting up the vast stone staircase leading to the North Wing, taking two steps at a time.

“Jesus fuck. Slow down, jackass,” Ezra shouts from somewhere behind me.

He will never understand the desperation rendering my mind to shredded pulp or the strength it had taken to leave Evie's signature in that fucking torture chamber and go hunt these so-called captives down. A muscle in my jaw ticks as I clench my teeth, silently fuming, my shadows skating along the plethora of stained-glass windows like a cape fanning out in my wake.

My brother's obnoxious footsteps tread after me as I come upon a series of double wooden doors with iron bracing.

I walk forward, sliding my hands into my pockets, my fingers brushing the carton of cigarettes and lighter held there, then draw them out. The cherry glows violet as I inhale and narrow my eyes at Ezra, then speak, the cigarette jerking slightly with each word my lips form. “I’m not giving you one.”

His nose crinkles. “Uh, no. I don’t smoke. Nasty fucking habit.”

I smile around the death stick, careful not to let my sharp demon teeth puncture the fragile paper. “Suit yourself.” I inhale deeply, letting the soothing, warm smoke curl into my lungs. Fuck, I am so glad to be a demon. It would be a shame if these things actually killed me. The cloying, delicious nicotine laced smoke burns as I hold the breath and focus on my senses. I know I won’t smell anything in the Human Realm unless one of my bonded is near, but my demonic senses don’t rely on the classic see, feel, touch, taste, and smell. There, around the bend of the corridor, something calls to me.

“There’s one or more signatures ahead. Do you feel it?” I ask Ezra.

He tilts his head. “Yeppers. Huh, something about it calls to me more than usual.”

“Yeppers? Really?” I scoff, blowing a cloud of smoke in his direction.

We round the bend, and a familiar signature immediately assaults me. She spends enough time around my little witch that I’d know her signature anywhere; the human rainbow. I huff, smoke rushing through my nostrils like a dragon preparing to incinerate an enemy. I reach to open the door on the right, Rosa’s essence blinking within, then pivot sharply. The scent of Aiden’s strong-ass cologne—a blend of mint, neroli, and sea water—reaches me. My shadows slide into the keyhole, slink around the tumblers, then disengage the rudimentary lock. A long creak issues as the door swings open, and I enter the left door of the set. I stride into the room and scour my surroundings. Muted colorful sunrays arrow through the lone stained-glass window and onto a pitiful bed. I kick at the sheets half puddled on the floor. Aiden’s faint scent lingers on the bedding, but it pales in comparison to how Evie’s scent crosses over from the Human Realm.

“Anything?” Ezra asks from the doorway, tattooed hands gripping the frame.

“Yes, and no. Aiden has slept here.” I finger the comforter, then take a drag of my cigarette.

“Aiden? Oh, that college kid with the perpetually backward baseball cap on his head?”

“Yes, my valet. But I don’t feel his signature here.” I exit the room, impatience nipping at my heels.

My shadows grip the edges of Rosa’s door and tear it from its hinges, sending it crashing into the hallway. The door ricochets off the opposite wall, a corner lodging into the cathedral gray wall. Bits of wood turned sawdust float in the air as I glare at the offending obstruction. I shrug, dust my shoulders off, and barrel into the room. If I were in the Human Realm, no doubt some human would scream their fucking heads off at the noise. My lips twitch upward. Sometimes the Shadow Realm has its perks.

Ezra shucks off his purple hoodie, tosses it over a shoulder, and plants his fists on his hips. “Well done, Brother. I bet they heard that all the way in Hell.”

I ignore Ezra and channel all of my focus into inspecting the cramped space around me. My lip curls in disgust as I roam throughout the room. I drag my fingertips along the simple dark blue bedding stretched across the queen-sized bed, leaving long furrows in the thick layer of ash coating it, coarse fibers catching on my skin. Well, they’re certainly not keeping her in a fucking cell. In fact, it appears as though all the entrapments of simple human comfort crowd the space. Yet, something is missing. I rub my jaw, ignoring the grainy feel of dust rubbing against my scruff.

An indent forms on one side of the bed as I round it. I tip my head to the side, curiosity winning out, then a shudder rakes over me as I walk into Rosa’s imprint. Fuck me, that’s unpleasant. I shake my head and hastily step away. If I am going to immerse myself in anyone’s imprint, it will be Evie’s. A sharp pain spreads behind my ribs. “Godsdammit,” I growl and rub my sternum. I cannot decide which is worse, longing for my witch or a century of solitude.

“What is it?” Ezra questions as he glides over to me.

“Nothing,”

“Uh huh. Sure,” he replies.

“Fuck off, Ez.”

“Oh Fuckity-fuck. You called me Ez. It’s just like old times.”

Ezra’s heavy arms wrap around me and squeeze as he rocks side to side.

A growl vibrates my chest. “Get off of me.”

Ezra drops his hold, then steps back and sweeps an arm across the room. Point at something, he asks, “Did you see this shit?”

But my eyes stray to a pair of hands clasped in prayer tattooed on his triceps. My glare bores into the mockery of a religious tattoo for a moment longer before I allow my gaze to follow the direction he’s indicating.

“What the Hell?” The grimy wall greets my fingers as I trace around a dark rectangle on the wall opposite the queen size bed. I look over my shoulder, noticing another similar but smaller rectangle, darker than the surrounding paint, near the simple wooden desk. They removed something. Dread coils low in my stomach. You have got to be fucking kidding me. I race into the closet sized bathroom, likely added during the abbey’s renovations to make it livable, and flick on the lights. “Gods fucking dammit,” I seethe while staring at the blank, discolored wall above the sink.

They removed all the mirrors.

I lean forward, my hips pressing into the cool stone counter, and read the barely legible scrawl:

SILAS WAS HERE.

Shit, of course he was. I should’ve known he, of all my brothers, would be smart enough not to miss that little detail; plus, he would never miss an opportunity to fuck up my life further.

Ezra leans his shoulder against the doorjamb, then nods at the graffiti. “Fucking, Silas.”

My lips thin as I ponder all the ways I’ll extract my brother’s intestines from his body. Ezra wisely steps to the side as I storm from the room, my hands clenching and unclenching into fists at my sides. I pace soundlessly on the thin, threadbare carpet. My fingertips sink into my raven locks as I grip the size sides of my head and close my eyes. Where do humans typically place mirrors? Fucking think, Lorcan. A muscle in my jaw flutters angrily as I grind my molars. If there’s no mirror in the bathroom or on the walls… My thoughts trail off and my eyes fly open.

Her purse.

Most human women carry them, and if everything Evie said about Rosa is true, there must be a big ass purse here somewhere stuffed with nonsense. I dart about the room, rooting in the small dresser and tearing hangers from their hooks as I swiftly search the space.

“I know that look. What are you searching for?”

I follow my instincts and yank the shitty wooden chair from beneath the desk. My eyes widen slightly as I take in the bag, for it’s a fucking leather backpack, not a purse, nestled between the grooves meant for legs on the unupholstered seat. Without hesitation, I snatch the thing from the chair, unzip it, then upend the contents onto the desk. Ezra meanders closer, his gaze following a tube of mascara as it clatters to the desk, then rolls off the edge and under the bed. I shake the bag again, my claws tearing into the leather as more shit clatters against the wooden surface beneath it.

“Damn,” Ezra says as he leans over my shoulder.

My elbow connects with his ribs. “Would you give me some fucking space?” I rifle through the pile of unnecessary contents, smacking away Ezra’s hand as he snatches something before I can inspect it. One of my claws catches against a bat patterned coin purse as I shove it out of the way, only to unearth two tampons, a black tube of lipstick, and a baggie of blueberries and granola.

Picking up the snack bag, I roll my eyes and sigh. Bats on her coin purse and treats for him? Reminders of Fluffy Fucker are everywhere I go—something I’ll soon remedy once Evie and I are in the Human Realm together. I toss the bat snacks over my shoulder, then cross my arms over my chest and stare at the remaining contents. Adrenaline bubbles into my bloodstream like liquid hope as my eyes light on something Silas missed. Of course, Rosa couldn’t have a simple, round compact mirror like any other human. No, she has to have something loud—a glittery, bright purple mirror in the shape of an eggplant.

I flip open the compact and glare into the Human Realm, the same room reflecting back at me. The plastic surrounding the loathsome little mirror cracks as I grip it tightly between my forefinger and thumb. I force my fingers to relax. The last fucking thing I need is to shatter the only means of communication I have.

I snap my gaze to Ezra as a skull splitting shriek of grinding metal spears from the corner. “Shit, they could’ve gotten the poor monster a better cage. They haven’t even given him fresh water today. What the fuck.” More groans of bending metal score my senses.

A snarl twists my lips. “Would you knock it the fuck off?”

Ezra continues his rant without taking a breath or acknowledging my request. “That,” he spits and jabs a tattooed finger at Gomez’s crumpled cage, “is a rusted piece of shit.” His eyes land on mine as he turns away from the destruction he wrought and back to me. “So, they forgot one after all. Excellent.” Ezra laughs and shoves a fist full of Fluffy Fucker’s snacks into his mouth while waggling his brows.

“Really?” I snarl, then shoot him a warning glare.

“What? It’s a little stale, but still edible.”

Satan give me strength to not disembowel my brother. Anger swells within me. This is what I am fucking reduced to, aligning myself with an idiot sidekick. But none of it matters—I’ll get my witch back, even if I must look like a fool to do so. Ezra squats by the desk, pokes his finger into a crack at the base of the wall, then drops to his stomach and peers through.

“I can see all the way through into the next room.”

I disregard him, keeping my focus on the miniscule mirror. The oval reflection tilts, then a pair of lips fill the space, the lower lip significantly fuller than the upper, blocking my view of the reflected room. I tap a nail against the lid of the compact as I watch her lips transform from a soft pink to a neon purple with each glide of her lipstick.

This is too godsdamn perfect.

“Oh, I gotta see this. Move over,” Ezra orders, smooshing his cheek into mine.

My claws dig into his shoulder as I shove him away from me. I reach into my back pocket, then secure my mask behind my head, my knuckles brushing against my curling onyx horns. It’s time for Rosa to finally meet the man in the mirror in all his demonic glory. My cheek taps against the bottom of my mask as I fail to suppress a smirk.

I dissolve the barrier hiding my masked demonic face from view and growl, “Human Rainbow.” A scream rents the air and Rosa’s side of the mirror swirls into a vortex of swirling colors. Silence descends and my chest rises and falls as I inhale slowly in through my nose and out through my mouth while I wait for Rosa to calm the fuck down. My adrenaline surges higher the longer I stand here waiting for something to happen. It’s been too long since I scared the absolute shit out of someone. Aiden’s reactions, while still entertaining, have become dull and expected. Rosa, however, is fresh prey.

I narrow my eyes as light fills the reflection once more, then one large dark brown eye widens in horror.

“What the fuck?”

“Hold the mirror farther back from your face, human,” I demand.

The eye narrows to a slit, then a soft thump greets me as she sets the mirror down on the desk. Darkness creeps around the edges of the mirror.

“Don’t you fucking dare close this mirror.”

“Watch me, demon.” Despite the threat, she takes a step back, leaving the compact open. Rosa’s footsteps thud as she paces much the same way I did earlier, the odd glimpse of her arm or chest flashing in my limited point of view as she moves.

“Evie. Have you seen her?”

The woman continues walking back and forth at the foot of the bed, gesticulating wildly as she mumbles to herself.

A dark growl rips from my throat. “Rosa.”

Teeth mashing together, food reverberates through my ears, then Ezra’s face is fucking touching mine once more.

“Rosa, huh? Mmm, hey, Sugar,” he croons.

“Seriously? Another one? How many fucking brothers do you have, asshole?” she shouts and throws her hands out to her sides, huffing as she drops onto the foot of the bed. She glares at Ezra and I, then circles her hand in the air in front of her face. “Can you both change all of that?”

For once, I’m grateful for Ezra’s company.

I laugh sharply. “Aww, is our demonic presence too scary for you?”

A smile spreads across her face, but it appears more like a grimace. “Oh, I’m sorry. It’s not like every day there is a demon in my mirror! No, two fucking demons. Jesus, fuck. You made me smear my lipstick,” she seethes and rubs at a spot on the side of her mouth with a jewel blue knitted sleeve.

Ezra watches her intently. “Aww, don’t be mad, Sweetness.”

I grin. “Too bad, too. That shade of blinding purple paired perfectly with your petrified expression. Really set the tone of the scene for the jump scare.”

“Lorcan,” Ezra growls, as if he’s a damn lifeguard saving me from pissing off Evie’s best friend, or rather, saving her from me. Rosa scoots back and draws her knees into her chest, the fight leaving her. Shit. He’s right and I fucking hate it. If my witch saw me treating her best friend this way…

My eyes dart to Ezra, widening as I decipher the rare display of seriousness on his face. “Fucking Hell, fine,” I snap, then transform my features into their less terrifying counterparts.

Rosa’s manicured eyebrow arches but no words move past her lips. It’s then that I see it—sorrow and pain shimmers in her dark chocolate eyes. Although I hate to admit it, she, too, is affected by Evie’s capture. Hell, she’s a damn captive herself. Anxiety flows through her faintly pinched features, the barely there crow’s feet bracketing her eyes deeper than the last time I saw her. But there’s something else too, lingering just below the surface of her show of bravado.

My silence speaks for me as I tap my forefinger on my biceps.

“What do you want, demon?”

I roll my shoulders back, then stiffen. My eye twitches as the persistent bat shrieks scrape down my eardrums and I wonder why Gomez has waited until now to make himself known. “Do something to shut him up. I cannot think over his nonsense.”

Two fierce streaks of crimson color her cheeks. “He’s trapped here just like Aiden and I. What do you expect?”

Ezra side-eyes me, nonverbally conveying his concurrence with her. “Give him some snackies. There’s some in your enormous purse.”

“How? Nevermind.” Rosa flops onto her back, the mattress jostling beneath her.

“I need you to answer all of my questions. If you do, you might have a hope of getting out of there alive.”

She covers her face with both hands. “Fine, go ahead,” she snaps, her acquiescence muffled by her palms.

“Have they let you out of the room?”

“No.”

“What about food? Any idea when your mealtimes are?”

“No, but Aiden,” she jerks a thumb over her head to the wall separating their rooms, “swears he can hear a clock chiming the hour, every hour on the hour. He might have a better idea.”

“Perfect.” I clear my throat. I really don’t wish to think about my little witch suffering while there is absolutely fucking nothing I can do to rectify it, but I need to know. “Are they abusing you or Aiden in any way like they are, Evie?”

“That’s none of your fucking business.” She huffs, sits up, then crosses her arms over her chest defensively.

“It is my business when you might very well be integral to freeing her. You must disclose any injury or handicap,” I command threateningly, the deeper, gravelly tone of my demonic form breaking through.

Her features soften, and my eyes narrow. “Oh shit, you really do care about her.”

“Fucking crazy, right?” Ezra interjects, but we both ignore him.

I roll my eyes. “Obviously. Would I be speaking to you if I didn’t?”

Rosa snaps, “You’re obnoxiously arrogant.”

The corner of my lip twitches upward as I glance from the mirror in my hand to Ezra, and the beginnings of a plan form in my mind.

“Pass the compact to Aiden through that crack behind the desk when they return him. I have an idea.”