The Shadow Children (The Demon-Born Trilogy Book 1)

by L. C. Hibbett

  Cat hugged me tight. “Deal, girlie. It’s a deal.”

  We ran all the way out to the training field at a steady pace. Neither of us raced ahead like we used to on our runs along Bertra beach. It felt as though my competitive edge had been rubbed smooth by the friction of our new reality. Most people were already jogging laps of the area while a few tutors and students sorted the weapons in the middle of the open space.

  Emmanuel was directing a chasing game at the far end of the field, Eve by his side. Cat and I joined in with the others. Cat slowly pulled ahead of me, pushing herself toward the faster pack of runners. I held my position, focusing on the curvaceous brunette in front of me. Sam was standing in the center of the field, spinning a sword over his head, watching Cat and Megan as they battled for the lead.

  His gaze wandered, locking in on my face. He stabbed the blade into the earth at his feet. I looked down at the ground and kept running, one foot in front of the other. Hiding in the center of the pack. Cain raised his hands and beckoned the us to him. “All in, everybody to me.”

  I took my place in the circle that surrounded him. Jabol stepped forward and bowed to the group, spreading his arms to indicate that we needed to make space for ourselves. I imitated his movements as he led us through increasingly difficult poses. The wind blowing in from the coast whipped at my face. One by one people dropped into seated positions as the poses became too difficult for them. When more than half the group was sitting on the ground, I dropped down onto the grass. Sam, Frank, and Megan were the only people still standing when Jabol demonstrated the final position.

  Cain and Jabol distributed the training weapons next. People milled around me, searching for their preferred sparring tool. Sam appeared at my side. “You’re holding back.” I gritted my teeth and searched for Cat with my eyes. He stepped in front of me, keeping his voice low. “I’ve seen you run, Grace. I know how fast you are. And I know you could have done all those poses.”

  Cat waved across the field, holding two bo staff in her hands. “I’m keeping up fine, Samuel, you don’t have to lecture me. You made your point earlier, I’m not welcome in your home, I get it. Unfortunately, Cat’s decided that we’re staying, so you’re going to have to deal with it. Best thing we can do is keep out of each other’s way.”

  I tried to shoulder past him, but he moved with me. “That’s not what I’m trying to say, Grace.” He looked down at me, and I forced myself to hold his stare, ignoring the way his dark hair was falling on his forehead in messy waves and the soft curve of his full bottom lip. My glare was cold. He turned his face away, and I pushed past him, suppressing the ache in my throat.

  “Everything all right?” Cat threw a staff at me, and I caught it with my right hand, wrapping my fingers around it with satisfaction.

  “Yep. Sam was just being his usual smug, condescending self.” I twisted my wrist, getting a feel for the stick.

  “What happened between you two? I thought you guys were close?” Cat spun her staff, circling me.

  “We were partnered together for the home school group because we both got decent grades. That’s it. Sam was never my friend.”

  Cat pounced forward, but I blocked her staff, knocking it out of her hands. She narrowed her eyes at me. I smirked and spun my staff over my head like a baton. “Hey, why do they bother with all the physical training, Cat? These guys can tear holes in space, why do they need to be able to be to fist fight? Do they use guns?”

  Cat grabbed her stick from the ground and poked me with it. “They have firearms, but Cain says they rarely use them. No good against Spirit Demons, not much better when you are facing people who can create magical force fields. The Guardians have some magic users powerful enough to seal the area and prevent anyone slipping without going through the gatekeeper. Same way Shadow Hall is totally sealed, so everyone has to be able to run in case they can’t slip. Every Shadow Child needs to be able to fight for their life, and to protect their charge on active missions.”

  She made a run for me with her staff raised and I struck it out of her hand again. She stuck her tongue out at me. “I liked it better when you were asleep. The other girls went easy on me.”

  I smirked. “Well, you are out of luck today, Cat, I’m itching for a good fight.”

  Cat grinned at me. She snatched her stick and whipped it through the long grass. A wave of calm swept over me, easing the tightness in my gut. My feet moved instinctively, led by the familiarity of a thousand previous sparring sessions.

  Cat hadn’t spoken a word to us for weeks after she arrived in our lives. Not until after the baby was born. Eve healed Cat’s broken body, but it was Dawn who mended her fractured soul. Gave her a reason to live. “Teach me how to fight. Teach me how to protect my daughter.” So Eve taught her, training us until our feet bled and our muscles were strong.

  Peter appeared at the edge of the field, leaning heavily on his cane. I watched out of the corner of my eye as he moved closer, observing each pair as they sparred. He stopped beside myself and Cat and watched us with his head tilted to one side. After a moment he waved his stick in the air and shouted across the field. “Cain, was there no better pairing you could find?”

  Cain darted across the field. “This is Grace’s first group session, Peter. She hasn’t exercised in weeks, putting her with a familiar partner seemed appropriate.”

  “I must disagree, Cain. Grace has a very distinct height advantage and clearly outweighs her foster sister.” The pairs closest to us had stopped sparring. I stared at the ground. Peter lifted his walking stick. “Too short, too short, too light. No. None of the girls will make suitable partners for her. It will have to be one of the boys.”

  I pressed my lips together and gripped my staff. Cain stepped close to Peter, speaking in a voice too low for me to make out the words. Peter laughed, moving him out of the way. “Nonsense Cain, everyone is here to learn.”

  Jabol came up beside me, standing close enough that his shoulder rested against my arm. Peter raised his cane. “Elijah, come and spar with Grace.”

  A hush fell over the group. Elijah was standing on the far side of the field with Frank, leaning on a practice sword. He stared from his Uncle to me and back again, his face pale. I wanted the ground to swallow me whole.

  “I’ll do it.” Heads swiveled to see who had spoken, but I didn’t need to look. Sam plucked Cat’s bo staff from her hand, twisting it with expert precision. “I’ll spar with Grace. No big deal.”

  Cain shuffled around sparring partners so Cat was matched with somebody closer to her own size. Jabol somersaulted past me with a short sword tucked under against his torso. I faced Sam. He bowed, signaling the start of our fight, and immediately moved around me, his stick poised delicately in his right hand. Peter shuffled closer, holding his notebook. Sam pounced, sweeping my feet from under me with his stick. I rolled onto my side heavily, cursing under my breath as I scrambled to my feet.

  Sam moved in again, spinning his staff. I blocked it but my wrists stung from the force of the vibration. We trade blows and the sound of the weapons colliding cracked against my eardrums. Sam swiped his stick downwards, and I pulled my two feet up into the air. I wasn’t quick enough, and force of the wood against shins sent me sprawling, face first, onto the ground. The warm, salty taste of blood filled my mouth.

  I grunted, heaving myself up from all fours and turned to face Sam again. I ran at him, smashing the stick into the ground beside his feet as I flipped past and caught him behind his knees, sending him sprawling onto his back.

  Sam pulled himself to his feet. The corner of his mouth quirked up. “I concede. Grace’s win.”

  I kicked at his staff. “Don’t do me any favors, Samuel. Pick it up.”

  He didn’t move. I was aware of the silence falling around us, but I was past caring. A trickle of blood ran down my chin from my split lip. I hated him in that moment. For ending our friendship without any explanation. For cutting me out of his life like a cancer. For leaving me wi
th a hole in my heart that I didn’t understand and couldn’t fill. Months of bitterness pumped through my veins.

  I picked up the stick and threw it at his face. “I might be the bottom of the class in history and magic, but I can still train.” Sam held my stare without flinching. “Come on, Sam, you wanted to fight, so bloody fight. You could do with the practice. You nearly let the Spirits get your last charge, not that you would have given a crap.”

  Sam smashed his staff forward, and I curved behind him with a flying kick, whipping my stick against his knuckles as I passed. He dropped one hand, spinning around to advance on me again. I circled him, landing a blow to his back with an underarm spin and sending him slamming head first into the ground.

  He landed well, finding his feet again instantly, his staff gripped between two white hands. I flipped past him again and used the full force of my weight to cut his legs from under him. Sam’s head bounced off the blanket of coarse grass. I landed with a foot on either side of his skull and the end of my staff resting on his windpipe. “Now you can concede, asshole.”

  I didn’t wait for his response, throwing my weapon in the pile of training equipment and sprinting over the ditch and onto the dirt track that led to the gardens at the rear of the house.

  “Grace, wait up.”

  I slowed down. My stomach contracted as the rage melted away and I pushed my fists against my eyes.

  “Grace?” Jasmine’s warm hand brushed my shoulder.

  I didn’t uncover my eyes. “Is everyone laughing at me? Is Cain angry?”

  I heard another set of footsteps. “Are you kidding me? You just floored Sam. That was awesome.”

  I peeked out between my fingers to find Lucas giving me two thumbs up. Jasmine slapped his abs with the back of her hand. “Ignore Lucas. Always. But seriously, nobody is mad, it was training. Eli broke Sam’s nose during training a couple of years ago, and then refused to let Emmanuel heal it. That’s just Sam. He’s a fury magnet.” I wiped at my eyes as I laughed. Jasmine squeezed my hand. “You did really well, Grace. People were impressed.”

  Lucas clapped his hands together. “And in other, more important, news— Friday night is a full moon. Which means we’ll be celebrating Esbat. Bonfires, barbecue, and dancing.”

  He wrapped his arms around me and dragged me along as if we were dancing the tango. Jasmine rolled her eyes as Lucas nattered on about what he thought I should wear. I covered my face with my hands, screwing my eyes shut at the words ‘push-up bra’. When we reached the rear entrance to the house, I risked a look behind me. The gardens sloped gently away from us, and I could see people making their way back up towards Shadow Hall.

  Only one figure remained on the training field. It was too far away to see the face, but I was certain green eyes were watching me as I slunk through the door.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “You must be insane.” I held up the hot pink dress that Lucas had thrown on the chair for me try on. “You go to the bother of making Jasmine slip you to Paris for a couple of hours shopping, and you bring me back this!”

  I shook the offending piece of lycra in front of his nose. Lucas lay back on my bed with his head on his hands. The muscles in his arms bulged under the tight sleeves of his shirt. He gave me a wicked grin. “Just try it on, sugar.”

  I threw it at his face. “You do realize you sound like a vile creep when you say that?” He leaned over the side of the bed and rifled through the massive pile of bags littering the floor. A bag flew into my face and bounced back into my lap. “What the—”

  Before I could express my outrage, Lucas flung another parcel at my head. He clicked his fingers at me. “Shut up and go and put those on. And please kick Jasmine’s adorable butt out of that bathroom. I’ll have wrinkles by the time you two are finished getting ready.”

  I headed across the hall towards the bathroom. Cat had taken Dawn down to the field earlier to give us space to get ready, so Eve was alone in the living room, sitting at the dining table surrounded by piles of books. She waved a hand in a circular motion. “Isn’t it most peculiar to be sharing a single living area? I struggle to understand this modern desire for open plan spaces. No privacy. I suppose there isn’t much flexibility when people are being contained in an institution like this.”

  A wave of longing for the cozy rooms and the walls lined with rickety bookcases at Hidden Cottage washed over me. “I guess they feel it’s safer if all the Shadow Children are in the same building instead of spread out across lots of individual homes. Safety in numbers?”

  Eve flicked through one of the tomes, her fingers flying over the pages. “Or an easy target. Find one, find all.”

  I didn’t argue with her, there was no point, Eve had her own unique brand of cynicism.

  Leaning over the table, I took in the post-it notes littering every second page of the books Eve was studying. She had spent every most of the week ensconced in the Master’s library. “What are you and Emmanuel working on?”

  She stood up and walked towards the kitchen, drawing my focus away from the table. “Nothing that a beautiful girl needs to worry about before a party.”

  I blushed. Eve wasn’t usually big on compliments. She filled the kettle with water. “Cup of tea?”

  I glanced over my shoulder, looking fromthe clock to the bathroom door. Eve flicked her hand to wave me away. “What was I thinking? You have no time for tea— beauty calls. Off you go, your friends will be waiting.”

  I hesitated. “Are you going to come too? Luc says that Shadow Children all over the world celebrate each full moon. I think it’s kind of nice, isn’t it? Like, even if they can’t be together at least for one day a month they are all doing the same thing.”

  I could tell by Eve’s face she was holding back a retort, probably a snipe about lighting beacons to show the Guardians where we were. I tried to buoy her enthusiasm. “Cain said that everyone goes, even Peter and Emmanuel.”

  Eve’s face flushed with color, and she stuck her head inside the cupboard, her voice muffled as she reached for the teapot. “Get dressed, Grace.”

  In the bathroom, Jasmine was dabbing at her face mournfully. “Sorry for hogging the mirror. It’s the heat. The makeup just keeps sliding off my face. I’m a mess.”

  She wasn’t.

  “I think you look incredible, Jas.”

  She pushed a silky black curl back off her face. “An incredible red, sweaty mess. That’s me.” Jasmine plonked herself down onto the lid of the toilet, kicking the door shut with her bare foot.

  “Ugh, speaking of red faces, I think Eve was blushing when I said Peter and Emmanuel would be at the party.”

  Jasmine squealed. “Ewww, old people getting it on. That’s gross, Grace.”

  I shot her a horrified look as I reached for the paper bag Lucas had thrown at me. “What is wrong with you? I never said they were getting it on, you perv. I just said she was blushing.”

  “Yeah, blushing because she wants some.” Jasmine put her glasses back on and smirked at my obvious disgust.

  I emptied the contents of the bag onto her lap, bracing myself for an onslaught of skin-tight leather or sequined hot pants. “Oh.”

  A simple, white dress tumbled out of the bag onto Jasmine's bare thighs. I plucked it between my thumb and forefinger, not wanting to stain it. Jasmine turned away to fasten her knee-high kickass boots, and I felt a rush of relief. I had never gotten ready with friends before. Communal nudity was probably a bridge to far.

  I eased the soft cotton over my head and spun around in a full circle, watching the skirt swing. Jasmine stood up and released my hair out from where it had caught under the straps of my dress. We looked into the mirror, and she rested her head against my shoulder, her raven spirals contrasting with my thick chocolate waves. I fiddled nervously with my hair. “Jasmine, can I ask you something? It’s probably stupid…”

  She met my eyes in the glass. “Ask me anything, I told you that.”

  I crossed my arms and tucked my hand
s under. “The Spirit Demons. And the Spirit War. The Demons didn’t feed on the Half-Born, right? I mean, I know they were drawn to them, but it was the pure blood Humans and Angels that they consumed?”

  Jasmine nodded.

  “Then why were they a risk to us? To my family? Why did it matter when they descended on me outside the cottage? I’m not a pure blood.”

  Jasmine fiddled with her glasses. “The Spirit Demons didn’t feed on Half-Born during the Spirit War.” She paused and pushed her hair back. “At least, that’s what Angels are taught. Emmanuel has a theory that maybe it wasn’t true, maybe the Spirit Demons did feed on people of mixed blood, but the story is what people wanted to hear to justify sacrificing all those Halfblood families. Hundreds of thousands.”

  I pressed my hand against my mouth and swallowed hard. Jasmine shook her head. “Anyway, it’s not true now. For hundreds of years there was hardly a whisper recorded about Spirit Demons. The Guardians were the biggest scourge for the Shadow Children, they have been relentless in their pursuit of any threat to the veil. And Halfling children are always born. Angels and Humans fall in love. It happens. Usually the Angel keeps their true nature concealed, and hopes they can maintain the secret, keep their family safe and hidden. Sometimes they can. Sometimes they can’t. The Shadow Children have grown year on year. Sheltering families, trying to rescue those incarcerated in the Silent Homes. But until fifty years ago there is scarcely any mention of Spirit attacks. Since then they have steadily increased, and nobody is safe. Who knows where they’ve been, or why their appetite has changed, but they’re on the hunt. And they will devour anything in their path. Maybe Demon-Born are an exception to that rule, you guys are a bit of an enigma. It’s not something I think we should try find out.”

  I squeezed my arms tighter against my chest. “I don’t know how you do that stuff. Fighting Spirit Demons, breaking into the Silent Homes, going up against the Guardians. We’re young. We should be trying to get into clubs and sneaking vodka from Emmanuel’s liquor cabinet. And wearing neon pink miniskirts. At least Lucas is helping us with that part.”