Page 23 of Corrupt Shadows
Not that he’d fly off, the scaredy bat. I suppose we both are right now.
I shake the feeling of being watched, but the whisper from the demon in the mirror lingers, his breath against my ear haunting. I can still feel him, as if he’s right behind me.
I shudder and spark up a cigarette, inhaling deeply, and hold it for a few seconds. The benzo is kicking in, and slowly my nerves are calming. Soon, I won’t care about being haunted. I know better than to try to escape demonic entities.
I down a few shots of whiskey, which heighten the effects of the pills. I welcome oblivion. There, my magic is buried so deep, I couldn’t access it if I wanted to.
***
Rosa pulls the blankets over her legs and sits back against my headboard. The smell of smoke clings to my braid, and I pull it apart, letting the curls fall around my shoulders. I feel gross after working all night. I need a shower, and the sweat mixed with pancake syrup, eggs, and bacon holds onto the fibers of my clothes. I hate Jay’s parents for thinking serving breakfast at one in the morning is a good idea.
Rosa arches a dark brow, the dim light of the lamp highlighting the sheen to her bronzed skin. She smells of bubblegum and strawberry, and I can’t help but lean closer. “You look good, for it being six in the morning.”
“Stop evading,” she says, her thick lips pressing into a hard line. “Are you drunk?”
I pull my lip between my teeth and bite down until I feel a jab of pain, reminding me I am still alive and capable of feeling through this drug-infused haze. “A little.”
She sighs with exasperation, and I shift back a few inches. Gomez nestles in next to her, as if he too senses that I’m not safe to be around. Calling her was selfish. She’s at risk too, especially with the fractures in my mind. I want to be vulnerable, but the drink and pills have removed my ability to care—unfortunately, my inhibitions too.
“I saw… something in the mirror,” I say and lie back to stare at the ceiling, no longer giving a fuck as the pills numb me to everything. “The guy you’re seeing, I’m pretty sure he’s here for me.”
She scoffs a laugh. “Girl, you cannot be that conceited.”
“Not like that,” I say, closing my eyes, each word falling lazily from my lips. “He’s here to kill me, or at least find out information, so he can go back to his overlords.”
“Overlords?” Her voice reaches my ears as waves of sleep come over me. “You better start making sense, or I’m throwing a glass of cold water over you to wake you up.”
I shift my position on the bed, the blankets huddling around me like clouds. “The demon in the mirror is in my dreams too. He’s here because of the mirror in my office, and he’s fucking with me. I think he lit the fire in my living room, then put it out.” I shake my head. “See… I’m a witch too,” I explain casually, as if we’re just discussing the weather. I don’t bring up that Rosa is one too. I sensed her magic the moment we met in the street. It’s probably the reason she was drawn to me too, not that she knows it.
She doesn’t even know she’s one herself, but her magic is far safer than mine. Whatever coven her family is from, the magic is light—or folk magic, as we call it. “I’ve killed people with my magic. The Order is going to come and get me, and for once, I can’t blame them. I’m a danger to society. You should take Gomez and leave before I hurt you too.”
Her hands are suddenly on my shoulders, shaking me. “Open your eyes, now!”
I half-open them, and her wide, brown gaze meets mine.
“I know you’re a witch, Evie,” she says. “You’ve told me several times when you were drunk. You’re not as mysterious as you like to think.”
Yep, that sounds right. “You should go,” I say slowly, then close my eyes again. The tiredness is overwhelming. I wish she would leave. I called her in a pre-benzo panic attack. I’m fine now.
“You’re not pushing me away.”
I hear Gomez coming closer. They need to stay away.
“I’m deadly,” I say again, because she doesn’t seem to understand just how dangerous that is for all of us. “My magic will burst out of me, and you’ll explode. Just like the others.”
“Who’s the Order? Why are they after you?” she asks, ignoring my warning.
I roll onto my side, mumbling into my pillow. I drank too much, and now I can’t even think straight. “They hate witches,” I say. “We’re an ugly stain on humanity, and they want us dead. They’re right.”
“Don’t be so self-deprecating.” She groans rubbing her hand along my back in soothing, swirling motions. “Not everyone will want to hurt you just because you have magic. You still have your humanity, and I love you.”
I swallow thickly. I’ve destroyed everyone who’s loved me. I can’t ruin her too. “I might be human, but I’m a freak of nature.” I lower my voice to a whisper, aware of the mirror hanging behind us. The feeling of being watched crawls over me. “Think of how we treat butterflies compared to moths when they’re basically the same thing.”
I can’t hear anything else she says as slumber pulls me deeper. As the feeling of being watched intensifies, my intuition screams for me to turn around. But I don’t, and just as I fall off the edge of my consciousness into sleep, I find his masked face and steely green eyes waiting for me in my dreams.
TEN
Evie