The Shadows Trilogy (Box Set: Edge of Shadows, Shadows Deep, Veiled Shadows)

by Cege Smith

  As Ellie slid along the wall, she found herself studying the chandelier, which on the third floor was at eye level, hanging in the open space that opened to the downstairs. It looked different. Her study took her mind off of her situation for a few minutes and so she welcomed it.

  Then she realized that the fixture was swinging ever so slightly, and she caught the flicker of metal reflected beneath it. Ellie’s brain registered that there were several razor thin wires hanging from each corner of the chandelier that disappeared into the levels below. She had no idea why the wires were there or what purpose they served, but she shivered. She had a feeling that it had something to do with Christopher’s instructions to Bobby to lure her up to the foyer.

  One thing was certain; Ellie had no intention of finding out what they had planned. The children’s angelic faces hid monsters. It made her angry to think how easily she had been manipulated. She also felt guilt for not suspecting something was amiss. Perhaps she could have saved Jeffrey if she hadn’t been so distracted.

  Shaking those thoughts from her head, Ellie reached the area of the landing that was the moment of truth. She hinged forward from the waist just far enough so that she could peek onto the landing below. She saw movement by one of the doors and yanked her head back. Then she heard a loud noise from somewhere below.

  “What’s going on down there?” Christopher’s voice drifted up to her.

  There was no answer.

  “Melissa? Bobby?”

  Ellie peeked again, and she saw the top of Christopher’s head look over the railing and down into the front foyer. He had been sitting in the shadows by one of the bedroom doors. When he still didn’t hear an answer, he kicked at one of the posts and then scooted around to the head of the stairs. He started down the stairs and was out of sight a moment later.

  Ellie didn’t wait to see if he came back or turned around. She swiftly crossed the landing and then saw that the door to her room was slightly ajar. She pushed the door open and slipped inside, gently shutting the door behind her. She turned and jumped as she found Mikel standing there with his arms crossed. He wore a grim expression.

  “So what’s the scoop?” Mikel asked.

  “Demons.” Ellie almost cried out in relief at hearing Lucy’s voice answering Mikel’s question.

  Then she saw Lucy emerge from the bathroom and the joy in her heart was washed away. Lucy’s face had a bruise that covered the entire side of her face, and she was limping. One arm was cradled in her other arm.

  “Lucy!” Ellie flew across the room and stopped just short of her friend. She wanted to hug her, but she couldn’t see where she could touch Lucy without possibly causing her pain. Ellie’s hands worked the air around her frantically. “What happened?”

  “I’m not babysitting for you ever again so don’t even ask,” Lucy said.

  “What kind of demons?” Mikel demanded.

  “Mikel! Can’t you see that Lucy’s hurt?” Ellie snapped. “One thing at a time. Are you okay?” She searched Lucy’s face.

  Lucy shrugged. “I managed to get away before they did any permanent damage. But I blew out my magic when I did that, so until that recharges or I get a boost, I’m out of commission. I’ve just been trying to stay out of their way until you got back, and hoped that they didn’t decide to come looking too hard for me.”

  “They’re downstairs. Bobby and Melissa went into the basement to wait for me, and left Christopher on the second floor by himself. I’ll get a warning if they move,” Ellie said before she could catch herself.

  “How would you get a warning?” Mikel asked.

  “I mean, we should be able to hear them coming,” Ellie said trying to cover her misstep.

  “That’s not what you said, El,” Lucy said.

  Ellie wondered how the conversation had managed to derail so quickly. “One thing at a time. So you are okay, but you can’t do magic.”

  Lucy nodded. “I don’t know when it’ll come back. Those things are vicious.”

  “Who did you say they were again?” Mikel asked. His voice was wary now.

  Ellie turned to him. “I don’t know who they actually are,” Ellie said. “They showed up yesterday. Three kids. They said their mom killed them. I didn’t sense anything supernatural about them.”

  She watched Mikel drop onto the edge of the bed and run a hand through his hair. He looked pale.

  “They are Scolosi demons. That is unfortunate,” he said.

  “What are Scolosi demons?” Ellie looked at Lucy who shook her head. She didn’t know either.

  With as shaken as Mikel looked, Ellie knew that she wasn’t going to like his answer. Mikel shot up and went to the door. He put his ear there and listened. “If they are waiting for you, it’s just a matter of time before they come knocking on this door. We need to think up a plan, and fast.”

  “I have a plan,” Ellie said. “I’m going use whatever talent this is inside me and blow them right back to Hell.”

  “You don’t even know what talents you have, much less how to use any of them to your benefit,” he scoffed.

  Ellie’s hands bunched up into fists. “You don’t know everything you think you do about me, Mikel. Everybody keeps telling me that my blood has magic in it, magic that all of you continually hijack to do all sorts of things. I will find a way to do the same thing.”

  “El, you don’t know what you’re saying. As much as this pains me to admit it, I have to agree with Mikel,” Lucy said. “Yes, you have magical blood. Yes, you have innate psychic abilities. But you aren’t a witch. Your ability to use your own power is limited at best.”

  “Besides, these are Scolosi demons,” Mikel said. “They are immune to magic.”

  “Immune to magic?” Lucy’s voice was scornful. “There is no such thing.”

  Mikel rubbed his face. “We don’t have time for a history lesson on Scolosi demons.”

  Ellie put her hands on her hips. She wasn’t going to let him worm his way out of an explanation. “Make time, Mikel. I disagree with the two of you about my abilities. I’ve ripped out psychic abilities and a soul. I’m a Ripher and it’s time I used that ability for something good. But we need to know what we are dealing with; it’s only fair.”

  Mikel threw up his hands. “Scolosi demons are children who have committed such awful crimes in their lives on the Other Side that they are condemned to Hell. We’re not talking your regular run-of-the-mill murder and mayhem. We’re talking torture. Acts of brutality that would make your hair turn white. An utter lack of regard for any kind of human life, and it’s because they never had any. These are the most detestable souls in the entire Afterlife, and the punch line is that they look like innocents. One is bad enough. With three of them here, then they’ll be at full strength. Whoever sent them isn’t messing around.”

  “If they are part of the Afterlife, why haven’t I ever heard of them?” Lucy asked.

  “Every sector harbors its own little secrets,” Mikel said with a smirk. “As long as the balance is maintained there is no need for the other measures of…security, if you will. We use them in Hell for our own purposes.”

  “They are Hell’s assassins,” Ellie said putting the pieces of Mikel’s words together.

  “Something like that,” Mikel said. “If Hell wants someone taken care of, it sends in the Scolosi. Like I said, to find them outside of Hell is unprecedented. So whoever in Hell is after you, they want you badly.”

  “Did I miss something?” Lucy asked, looking between Ellie and Mikel.

  “My parents,” Ellie said slowly. “I think they were murdered, and the car accident was a cover-up. I found out that they were both Pure Ones who ran away after they fell in love. Obviously that really pissed someone off. My father’s friends hid me away until Mikel found me again.”

  “Oh wow, Ellie. That is crazy,” Lucy said as she stroked Ellie’s arm. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Who would do this?” Ellie asked. “Why?”

  “Why ask why?” Mi
kel said. “Sometimes the reason that anyone does anything is so insignificant that your mind would explode at the simplicity of it all. It’s simple. You can assume that whoever it is either wants you dead or wants you for Hell. My guess is the latter; otherwise you would have been decimated the moment those demons arrived on your doorstep.”

  “Why did they kill Jeffrey then?”

  “Maybe because they were bored,” Mikel said. “Or maybe because Jeffrey was a spy for Lillian Bradford. Who knows their reasons?”

  Lucy shook her head. “I still can’t believe I missed that one.”

  Mikel shook his head. “You are pathetic. The old man played you like a well-oiled instrument. Why do you think I had to use David to do my spying? That old codger switched sides on me the day Lillian Bradford crossed the threshold of the waypoint. He’s been playing on her side ever since.”

  “He helped us expose you,” Ellie said.

  “Of course he did,” Mikel said spreading his hands wide. “Because Lillian wanted to get back at me for banishing her. I didn’t expect her to move so fast. The woman’s a viper.”

  “So is it Lillian who is after me?” Ellie asked. She felt sick that it seemed like all roads always led back to Lillian Bradford.

  “Lillian is conniving, backstabbing, and opportunistic,” Mikel said. “But there’s no way she’d have the pull to conjure up and command Scolosi demons. No, it’s not her. I can’t say that she didn’t hook up with another partner once she dropped Joseph though.”

  “David said that he called Lillian in to expose you,” Ellie said remembering that painful conversation.

  “Lillian had a back-up plan in case Jeffrey couldn’t manipulate you,” Mikel shrugged. “Every good mastermind should have a back-up plan.”

  “This is all your fault!” Ellie snapped. “If you hadn’t propositioned Lillian Bradford all those years ago none of this would have happened.”

  “Hey, let’s not forget that Lillian found me, not the other way around,” Mikel said. “I can’t open up the waypoint from my side, remember?”

  Lucy put her hand up. “Guys, this bickering isn’t doing us any good. We have to focus. Mikel, how does one go about killing a Scolosi demon?”

  “You can’t kill a Scolosi demon,” Mikel sighed. “You only have two options. One, we injure them badly enough that they have to return to Hell to get fixed up. The other is that Witchy-rella here gets her mojo back and is able to break the conjuring spell that sent them here. Like I said, they are immune to magic, but that will automatically send them back.”

  “But they can still come back after that to finish the job,” Ellie said. She put her hand on her stomach, trying to calm the nerves that were threatening to shake her apart.

  “Yes,” Mikel said with a grimace. “What we really need to do is figure out who is behind them and sent them here to begin with. Once we deal with that person, then you should be safe.” He rubbed his chin. “Now that I think about it, if I expose the person who assassinated two Pure Ones and plotted against you, I may be able to bargain my way out of my sentence.”

  Ellie wanted to smack the man. “Oh, well as long as whatever happens here works out for your benefit, Mikel.”

  “Quite right,” he said with a smug smile. “See, but I told you that I could be helpful though to you too.”

  “Um, guys?” Lucy’s voice dropped to a hushed whisper. “I think we have company.”

  Ellie and Mikel turned, and Ellie saw Jake standing inside the door. She tried to appear nonchalant wondering why he had chosen that moment to reveal himself. “Oh, it’s okay, Lucy. That’s Jake. He’s been helping me.”

  Then Ellie saw Jake’s face drop. He stepped aside, and she watched in horror as the doorknob turned and the door flung open. The three Palmer children stood there smiling at them.

  Jake’s soft voice reached her ears.

  “Sorry, Ellie.”

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  David felt the presence of the guards behind him as he exited the chamber. His mind was spinning from everything Veronica told him to do. He didn’t have much time. Now more than ever, Ellie was in a precarious position. He had to move quickly.

  The fog was as heavy as ever swarming through the air outside the chamber. He quickly made his way across the stone walkway over the gaping divide and found the three transports waiting for him on the other side. Lila, who had been sitting on an outcropping just above their heads, jumped down with a worried expression on her face.

  “Are you okay? How did it go?”

  “Better and worse than I expected,” David answered honestly.

  “Are you ready to go back to the waypoint?” Lila asked. “Did you get everything you needed?”

  “I got everything I needed,” David said. “But this is the point where I need to say goodbye, Lila. Thank you for being willing to help me. Your kindness is appreciated, and I appreciate everything that you and Braz have done on my behalf.”

  The confusion was evident on Lila’s face. “I don’t understand.”

  “I am not going to the waypoint,” David said. He kept his voice neutral. “I have other duties to attend to at the moment.”

  “David, I heard some of the guards talking,” Peter said, stepping forward and keeping his voice low. “There is a rumbling that something is happening at the Bradford waypoint. The way line connecting it to the sectors has disappeared. There are emissaries from each of the sectors being dispatched now to find out what is going on.”

  The news wasn’t what David wanted to hear at all. He feared for the situation that Ellie in. He hoped that when this was all over, she’d be able to understand why he had done everything that he had done so far, and why he didn’t go to her side when he had the chance. It was all to protect her.

  “That is an unfortunate turn of events,” he said. “But whatever is going on at the waypoint isn’t any of my concern.”

  “I thought you said that Ellie was your concern,” Peter said.

  “Things change,” David snapped. “Again, thank you for your help. It is appreciated.”

  “You can’t go anywhere without us,” Lila said, clearly trying another tactic. David gave her points for tenacity. “Or did you forget that already?”

  David turned to Dane, who so far had been silent throughout the exchange. “I have no need of the others if I wish to travel to Hell, correct?” He could feel the weight of Lila and Peter’s shocked expressions.

  “Why would you want to go to Hell?” Lila’s voice faltered. “There’s nothing there for you. In fact, I think that is a really bad idea. Braz wouldn’t have allowed you to leave if he thought for one moment that you’d ask to go there.”

  “I wish to rejoin my aunt. I understand that she is lobbying for Mikel’s seat on the council, and she is going to be confused about my actions earlier in Purgatory. I need to meet with her and reaffirm my support for her appointment.”

  “Why, exactly, would I help you do that?” Dane sneered. “You know that I hate Lillian Bradford. I wouldn’t help you do anything that helps her, especially when that is my position she’s lobbying for on the Council.”

  “You will help me otherwise I will expose your relationship with Lila,” David said. Inside, he writhed from the pain that he saw on Lila’s face but he kept his face expressionless. Peter looked equally stricken. On one hand, he was relieved that he had guessed right about what was going on between the transports. Their faces gave it away. But the other part of him wished he had been wrong. But that truth was necessary in order to be able to play out this next critical piece of the plan. He needed Dane to take him to Hell.

  “You know nothing,” Dane said, his chin jutting out. He stepped so that he and David were toe to toe and David saw his fists clench. “You would dare to threaten me? It would be our word against yours.”

  David cocked his head toward Peter. “What about him? Do you think he’ll protect your secret to, especially if he is called before a tribunal during the formal inquest into the
nature of your relationship?”

  “Why would you do this?” Lila said. She grabbed Dane’s arm trying to pull him away from David. “We’ve helped you.”

  David’s eyes never left Dane’s. “You take me to Lillian, now. No detours. No wrong turns. If you do that, I swear that I will keep your secret. No one else will know by my lips.”

  “Dane, you don’t have to do it,” Lila said.

  “You know that I do,” Dane growled. He looked down at her tear-streaked face, and for the first time, David saw a glimmer of softness beneath the other man’s hard exterior. Dane reached up and wiped the tears from her cheek. “We can’t risk anyone else finding out. You know what would happen to us if they did.”

  Lila’s black glare struck David squarely in the heart, but he didn’t flinch beneath it. He couldn’t appear to care. “You belong in Hell,” she said.

  “Good thing I’m on my way then,” he quipped. “I’m ready to go. Now.” He directed his words back to Dane.

  “Give me your hands,” Dane said.

  David lifted his hands palm up in front of him. Dane reached out and clutched his forearms. “This isn’t going to hurt, much.”

  The ripping sensation was unexpectedly brutal, even though David thought he was ready for it. There was no light, only darkness in those moments. He felt the drizzle of blood from his nose even as the swirling started to stop. He and Dane were standing in front of a door.

  “That’s called a dry run,” Dane said. He pushed his finger into David’s chest. “Don’t forget what you swore. If anything happens to Lila because of something you spilled, I’m going to come for you.”

  David knew exactly what was driving the other man’s threat. It was that sinking feeling that you could lose the one that you loved forever. David knew it well. It twisted within his insides. “I’ve forgotten already,” he said. “So I take it that Lillian is close by?”