by N. Phillips
SHADOWS OF OUR SINS
By
N. PHILLIPS
SHADOWS OF OUR SINS
by N. Phillips
Copyright © 2021 N. Phillips
All Rights Reserved
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. For permissions contact: [email protected]
Cover Design by Sanja Gombar
@ www.fantasybookcoverdesign.com
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
CHAPTER 27
CHAPTER 28
CHAPTER 29
CHAPTER 30
CHAPTER 1
There was nowhere to hide. The ring of light in my left hand brightened the dark and grimy alley that the creature had run into. It wouldn’t be long before the demon was sent back to the pit of hell it crawled out of.
Hunting six-foot, pitch-black fiends at night would be tough for anyone, so imagine the satisfaction of cornering one after a five-minute chase. The rush of adrenaline coursing through my veins felt amazing, even more so after hurling my chakram at the beast and watching the impact evaporate it into thin air. The only downside was the smell of sulfur left behind, and I wasn’t sure which was worse: the demon’s odor, or the foul stench of rotten food coming from the dumpsters in the alley.
Putting down demonic animals was nothing new. In fact, for the past three months, I had slain many demons responsible for manipulating human desires and manifesting them into reality. Sometimes, I would wonder what gave me the ability to see and fight monsters only spoken of in fairy tales. But deep down, I didn’t mind not knowing the answer because I now had freakin’ superpowers. Like, who cares, right?
The purple mist in the air meant my night of purging evil wasn’t over with yet, though. To locate the source of the negativity, I followed a wave of black energy I liked to call the Shadow Current, and ended up two blocks away in front of a house that desperately needed renovation. If a demon was inside, it most certainly would have manipulated the homeowner by now. They love to mess with people living in this type of environment.
The theme song from the movie, The Exorcist, played in my head as I knocked on the door expecting to fight a possessed man or woman ready to curse my mother's name. But after receiving no answer for what seemed like three minutes, I knew my fantasy version of the film wasn’t going to happen. Still, I needed to get inside and slay the demon because lord knows what twisted desire a person in the house might’ve had. It could’ve been to wish death on someone, to destroy the city, or something far worse than I could think of.
A burgundy brick on the ground from the crumbling exterior of the home caught my eye. I picked it up and did the obvious: smashed the window and prayed no one saw or heard the glass shatter into a hundred pieces. Yes, this was risky, foolish, and could’ve put me behind bars tonight. But the thought of a demonic creature corrupting an innocent man, woman, or child drove me to do whatever was necessary to make sure that didn’t happen.
I avoided the shards of glass and crawled through the window into a dark and silent living room. The only things clearly visible were the torn-up ivory couches and small tables covered with dirty white mats.
Oh, and the glowing red orbs of a demon lurking a few feet away from me.
“Come on, ugly,” I said, generating light energy into my hand through sheer willpower to manifest a chakram. “Let’s get this over with.”
It launched forward after my taunt with claws spread out to tear and maim, but its pursuit came to a swift end after being struck by the ring of light thrown with keen precision. The black saliva oozing from its mouth spilled between the cracks of the wooden floor as the creature disintegrated from the radiance.
There was still work to do. No way a weak demon like that created the shadow current that led me here. It would take a horde of them or one powerful fiend to generate that much negativity, so I explored the run-down house in search of the real threat.
My rash choice of action began to play with my paranoia while looking around. What if someone saw me break the window? I thought. Hell, what if someone already called the police?
All of those worries left my mind, however, when an eerie chill breezed through my silver-dyed curly hair after stepping into a bedroom. A middle-aged man was surrounded by dollar bills with his face contorted into a wide grimace.
“I should’ve figured someone would try to rob me,” he said in a demonic voice. “And of course it’d be some stupid kid. I can kill you legally for breaking into my house.”
The thought of him possessing a weapon came to mind, but I stood my ground and sneered at him. “Look, I’m gonna keep this simple: there’s a demon controlling you that’s feeding your greed for money, but all of the cash is actually being stolen from banks and other people.”
“And you think I care? I’m sick of being deprived in this corrupt society when there’s ungrateful bastards in the world throwing money all over the place. And yeah, I’ve done some dirty shit to make ends meet, but I’ve also worked hard for decades, dammit. Once I’m rich and not struggling to survive in this dump, all of my sins will be erased.”
Before I could respond and try breaking the demon’s spell, one of them crawled its way out the shadows and stood tall behind the man’s smaller figure. Its crimson, bloodshot eyes glared with vicious intent. It wanted nothing more than to devour me with its razor-like fangs that were only matched in length by its piercing, jagged claws.
“Money is everything. Money is power,” the man shouted with a maniacal laugh. Ugh, talk about dramatic.
His words were followed by a snarl from the creature. It stomped with enough force to shatter parts of the floor and knock me off my feet, leaving me vulnerable to an attack. It rushed forward and raised its arm to deliver a crushing blow, but I rolled out of the way and flung a chakram in its direction. The weapon penetrated the monster’s torso, causing it to unleash a roar of agony before fading into nothingness.
The man charged with his hand reaching for my neck. I couldn’t react fast enough to avoid my back being slammed against a wall with his fingers digging into my throat. “I won’t let you have it,” he growled through gritted teeth. “It’s mine, I tell you. Mine.”
Desperate for air, I stabbed into his right eye with my nails and pushed him back to gain some separation. It was time to free his mind and put an end to this, so I raised my left hand at him in preparation as he held his face and wailed from the pain.
“Sir, I’m sorry your life’s been rough, but money can’t help you get rid of your demons.”
A ray of light released from my palm illuminated the room. The sh
riek of a demon reverberated in my ears as the brightness gradually dimmed until the dull and peeling walls were visible again. The man stood motionless before collapsing on the floor, his unconscious body allowing me to breathe a sigh of relief.
Because of my ability to undo sinful acts caused by demons, the ocean of stolen cash that flooded the room would soon be returned to its rightful owners. My power couldn’t reverse death or physical damages, but it was good enough to prevent the city from crumbling under demonic influence.
I walked out of the house victorious and eager to get home to relax. The brisk wind of the evening hour made me zip up my gray leather jacket and slide my hands into the pockets. In doing so, I felt a vibration from my cell phone and took it out to look at the screen.
Ali I’m outside your house. Did u forget about our dinner reservation?
“Shit,” I muttered, peering down at the text message from my boyfriend, Lucas. I texted back, Of course not... I’m not home right now tho. Can u pick me up? Sending u the address now.
Imagining his frustrated face while waiting for a reply filled me with guilt. This wasn’t the first time I had forgotten our plans, and because of how caught up I can get with chasing demons, I knew it wouldn’t be the last.
Instead of texting back to me, he arrived ten minutes later in his car with the expression I had visualized. The worst part about it? Today was our anniversary.
“Hey, I’m sorry I wasn’t home. I was—”
“You can tell me about it on the way there. Just get in.”
The soothing jazz music serenaded the rustic Italian restaurant as people sat in their designated seats to feast and converse. I sat across from Lucas, who stared down at his food with his bleach blond, unkempt hair preventing his blue eyes from being seen.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, watching him eat the last portion of lasagna off his plate.
“Nothing. I’m good.”
“Right, okay. Did you forget I can sense bad vibes? Tell me what’s up.”
He huffed and finally looked at me before speaking. “What do you think? I just had to pick you up from some guy’s house you broke into. All because you wanna play paranormal investigator and save the world with your light magic. It’s bullshit, Ali.”
I hated when he got like this. It was times like these when I wished he could read my mind and understand how I feel. Maybe then he’d realize that purging demons wasn’t a game to me; it’s what made me feel important in a world where people my age were already famous from the Internet or had multiple opportunities lined up for the future. If it wasn’t for the power I had, I wouldn’t know what to do with my life.
“So, what do you want me to do?” I asked him. “I know you can’t see the demons or the purple mist that shows up whenever they’re around, but actual monsters are out there making dark desires come true and feeding off that negativity. People are being manipulated, Lucas. You acted like you supported me when I showed you the light in my hand a few months ago, but now you’re against the whole thing?”
“Because I don’t want you to die,” he blurted louder than I had expected him to. His voice caught the attention of a few people sitting at the tables nearby. “Seriously, Ali. It’s gotten to the point where I’m ready to tell your parents because I’m sick of seeing bruises on your body and not knowing if you’ll be here with me to see another day. How do you expect me not to be worried about you?”
“I don’t know, okay? But I can’t just ignore it. If I don’t use this power given to me by who-knows-what, can you imagine how messed up this city would be?”
He slouched back in the leather chair and sighed. His concern for me was being voiced through anger, and I couldn’t blame him for that. But at the same time, I was growing more irritated because I wanted him to listen and take my side in the argument.
“Okay, say I go along with everything you’ve told me,” he started, “it still doesn’t explain the abilities you have. You claim demons possess people and give them powers based on their strongest desire, so why is it you can do what you do? Are you blessed by an angel or something?”
“I don’t have a clue, and honestly, trying to figure it out just gives me a headache.”
“Well, I think we need to talk about it,” he said, sitting up in his chair. At this point, I was hoping he’d leave the subject alone and take me home, but he kept going. “All of this stuff started happening three months ago after your brother died in that school shooting. I think you’re still blaming yourself for the whole thing and risking your life to help others because you feel it’ll make up for what happened.”
And of course he’d say the one thing to make me cross my arms and look away with a scowl. I didn’t want to admit it, but he was right. Part of my motivation to make the city a better place came from the loss of my brother, who died in a school shooting responsible for the death of nineteen students. If I had made a different decision before the incident, I could have prevented not only his death, but the loss of eighteen others as well.
He reached his hand over the table to grab mine. “Babe, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up the shooting, but if everything we’re talking about is true, then there have to be others out there with supernatural abilities who can help people with their problems. I just wish you’d stop what you’re doing and live a normal life again. I can’t lose you.”
“It’s fine, Lucas. I get it. I should’ve thought more about how you would feel, and I shouldn’t put myself in dangerous situations. I promise I’ll only use my power if I have to.”
“Thanks, babe. I love you.”
We both leaned in and pressed our lips together in hopes of a tongue-twisting exchange, but the grumbling of a nearby couple caused a quick end to our embrace.
“We should continue this at your place,” he said to me with a smirk.
“Why mine? You and your dad still at it?”
He shrugged. “You know he’s been a giant dick since my mom passed away, so I don’t feel like getting into it with him if he sees you’re over late tonight. Hell, just a few hours ago, I told him I wasn’t interested in going to basketball tryouts, because I’ve been wanting to focus more on the band. What does he do? He goes on a rant about my decision and locks away the guitar Mom brought me like I’m still some damn kid. I can’t stand him, Ali. I need some kind of escape from everything that’s been going on lately.”
I didn’t have the perfect response to make him feel better, which I thought was crazy seeing as I’ve been helping others with their problems for the past three months. All I could do was interlock our fingers and say, “No matter what happens, Lucas, I’ll always be here for you to run to. Always. Now let’s get out of here.”
After paying the check and tipping the waiter, we exited the restaurant and walked to the parking lot. He opened the passenger door of his car and waited for me to sit inside.
“Your ride awaits, my lady,” he voiced in a polite tone. I snorted at his debonair mannerism.
Before sliding into the vehicle, I noticed a purple fog had begun to form around the empty lot, confirming the presence of a malicious demon. The murky beast soon came into view, lurking behind a car.
“Everything cool, Ali?”
The promise I made to him shot to the forefront of my mind as if it was the most important thing in my life. Breaking it was something I couldn’t do, no matter how much I wanted to in that moment.
“Yeah, I’m good. It’s nothing. Let’s go.”
Disappointed, I got in the car and looked out the window as Lucas drove away from the area. The demon’s aura dwindled, but the regret of not purging it remained in my mind.
Saving New York City just got a lot more complicated.
CHAPTER 2
Climbing the tree outside my bedroom was never fun for Lucas and me, but it was necessary whenever we wanted privacy. The uphill struggle began with him gripping onto the branches before pulling himself up and leaping into the opened window. I made my way up the tree next
and extended my arm for him to grab. He used both his hands to pull me inside the room, falling back on the floor in the process. We laughed as I laid on top of him with my face buried in his chest.
“Looks like I’m on top this time,” I whispered into his ear before looking up at him and biting my bottom lip.
“I don’t mind at all,” he replied, caressing my thighs as I began sucking his neck.
I stood up and took off my jacket, throwing it across the white room with a seductive smile on my face. He rose off the lavender colored rug and removed his hoodie, tossing it on the magenta blanket folded at the bottom of my bed. I lifted his black shirt over his head and dropped it on the floor before we pressed our bodies together and kissed. The dancing of our tongues didn’t last long, though, as they separated at the sound of my cell phone ringing.
“You wanna get that?” he asked, placing his hands on my hips and looking into my hazel eyes. I slid my hand into my pants pocket and took out my phone to look at the screen. The caller was my best friend, Valeria.
“I’ll call her back later,” I said, tapping decline and placing my phone down on the nightstand behind me. I was not about to ruin the mood.
We jumped back into our lip-locking exchange in hopes of rebuilding the sexual tension, but our moment was interrupted yet again by the ringing of my phone.
“This better be an emergency,” I complained, picking up the phone to look at the screen. This time, the caller wasn’t Valeria.
“Crap, it’s my—”
A knock on the door forced my eyes to widen. “Aliyah, are you in there? I hear your phone ringing.”
“Shit.”
My mother’s voice caused me to mutter that word as Lucas scurried to put his clothes back on. I quickly changed out of my attire and walked to the door in my bra and sweatpants.
“What are you doing?” he mumbled, growing more nervous from the sound of my mom repeatedly turning the locked doorknob.