Page 25 of Satanic Shadow

He tucks his finger under the strap, hooking it then snapping it back against my skin. “I’m simply removing your clothes. They’re dirty, and I can’t touch you while you’re wearing them.”

As soon as he steps into my breathing space, I feel uneasy and uncomfortable. A voice in my head tells me to run, to shove him away, to yell at all the professors to remove him from my room.

Dane.

Where the fuck are you?

The second voice didn’t come from me.

But instead of reacting, I’m frozen as Valin grabs my shirt from the ground, caressing the material between his fingertips, then bringing it to his nose and inhaling.

“Ahh. What a wonderful scent.” Another sniff. “If your shirt smells like this, I can only wonder…”

I stand back, hitting my hip on the bed frame. “I think that’s enough.”

Tilting his head, Valin looks confused. “What is?”

“I want you to leave.” I try to sound intimidating, but my voice shakes.

His eyes are shifting to a deep red, transforming into something… immortal. His teeth lengthen, sharp and terrifying.

He takes a step, but before he can reach me, the entire room erupts in an explosion of smoke. Everything catapults around us, yet I’m still, something encasing me, like a forcefield shielding me from danger.

Papers and splintered wood and stones fly around me. The flames of my candles snuff out, and the windows smash, sending fragments of glass all over my floor and destroying the bed.

It’s not smoke at all; shadows. Lots of them. Circling. Dancing. Screaming as they twirl and twist around a dark figure. Voices—deep voices. Chanting something I can’t quite make out.

But I’m not scared. I feel somewhat safe.

A black mass surges towards Valin, flipping him to the opposite side of the room, where his back smashes against the wall.

He groans, pushing himself to his knees and wiping his nose with a chuckle. “Just couldn’t help yourself, huh?” He tries to move towards me, but the room erupts like a volcano once more, and flames burst across my ceiling.

I don’t feel blistering heat, or scared for my safety, or anything.

Dane, dressed in nothing but a pair of dress pants and a half-buttoned shirt, materializes in front of Valin like a vortex, rage and fury and death in his eyes. “Get the fuck out,” he roars as the shadows rush back to him, right into his chest. “Now.”

“You should be in the dungeons,” Valin seethes as he struggles to get to his feet. “You should be in the dungeons! How did you escape?”

Dungeons?

He said he didn’t know where Dane was, that he always vanishes for weeks at a time. That’s why Dane hasn’t been following the security rules.

“Do not insult me by thinking a few spells and a prison will keep me locked away.” Dane flicks his hand, and my door is thrown open, the wood cracking, nearly breaking at the hinges. “Don’t push me. I’m in no mood for any more of your bullshit.”

Valin looks at me then at Dane before he straightens his collar and walks to the door.

He stops and growls at him. “You cannot keep her.”

Dane just gives Valin a dark look, his brows narrowing, and without him saying a word or moving a finger, the professor is shoved out of the room before the door slams shut.

Dane wipes his palms on his pants before waving his hand at the door, locking it.

“What was that about? And why were you in the dungeons?”

“That’s no concern of yours. He was trying to take advantage of you. And you were going to let him?”

I cross my arms. “No! You blew in here like Peter Pan with your shadows before I could stop him!”