Darker Days (The Darker Agency #1)(81)

“Please,” he said, and a part of me just about died. The look on his face, the concern I saw there, caused an aching deep in my chest. Settling on the bed beside me, he shook his head. “Let me think for a bit. I’ll find another way. All right?”

He wasn’t going to let it go. In a way, I didn’t blame him. For some crazy reason, he cared about me. We had no idea what I’d be walking into—if I could even pull this off. Still though, my parents’ lives were at stake. Kendra’s life was at stake. I had to try.

“I’ll give you a little time. But think fast.”

He nodded, thankful, and brushed the lightest of kisses across my forehead.

“Could you grab me a glass of water from the kitchen?”

I almost felt bad for tricking him. Without question, he hopped from the bed and disappeared into the hall. Poor Lukas had a lot to learn. I vowed to make it through this—and find a way to keep him here—so I could be the one to teach him.

Eyes closed, I cleared my mind and focused on the intricate picture Dad had painted of the Shadow Realm all those years ago. Dark, starless skies that never changed. Shimmering trees with branches sharper than a new blade’s edge. The buildings, he’d said, were alive. Living, breathing organisms. There were no inanimate objects in the Shadow Realm. Everything had a life force. Everything had a purpose.

Everything was dangerous.

Like with the top of the stairs, I focused on wanting to be there. Be in the Shadow Realm. I took a breath, letting myself feel the spark of darkness I’d known deep down was always there. The room blurred, the edges growing watery and vague. Something moved, and a noise, loud and panicked, broke the air around me. Lukas.

“Jessie! No!”

The tug was small at first, then slowly, as it ramped, became a pull. Violent and painful. I tried to open my eyes, suddenly freaked and sure I was making one of the biggest mistakes of my life, but I couldn’t. Or maybe I did. I had no clue because everything turned black. I felt like someone had jerked me to my feet and tossed me into the air. I was soaring up—then plummeting down. A scream spilt my lips and the sound echoed in my ears, bouncing off the walls of my brain and making the hair on the back of my neck and arms stand up. It was wrong. Primal.

Demonic.

When I hit the ground, the air was knocked from my lungs, and I felt like I’d been run over by a speeding semi. Beside me, someone groaned.

Heel of my hand crammed into my eyes to clear away the fog, I saw Lukas pushing himself off the ground a few feet from me. “What the hell?”

“I grabbed your hand at the last minute.”

“That worked?”

He frowned. “Apparently.” Eyes narrow and accusing, he added, “You lied to me.”

Wow. He was almost as good at the guilt trip game as Mom. “As sorry as I am for lying, I’m not going to apologize. This is my parents we’re talking about, Lukas. And my best friend. And a handful of innocent people. I can’t let them down.”

For a second, I thought he’d call bullshit for sure, but instead, he smiled. “You are truly amazing, Jessie Darker.”

I returned the smile and held out my hand to help him up.

And that’s when the snarling started.

“Don’t move,” I whispered. While I’d never expected to vacation here, I suddenly regretted not doing a bit of research. A few vague bedtime stories from Dad did not prepare one for a place like the Shadow Realm.

Slowly, I started to turn, but the thing growling at our backs charged and hit me like a linebacker.

And just like the last time it knocked me to the ground, it drooled all over me.

“Bad demon!” I shoved the corgi away and struggled to my feet. “Bad Smokey!”

Lukas fought back a grin. “He followed us here?”

“He’s a demon. He lives here, I guess.” When he wasn’t spewing toxic slime on my clothes or acid pee in my shoes, anyway. I looked down at my self-appointed new BFF. “Valefar?”

With a short woof and an erratic swish of his tail, Smokey bounded off.

“I guess we should follow him.”





Chapter Thirty-one




Dad was right about the beautiful. I’d never seen—or imagined—anything quite like the Shadow Realm before. Dark sky with no moon or stars, and air as thick as the bathroom after Mom—the hot water hog—got done showering. Everything had a slight sheen to it. A small sparkle. We’re not talking vampire in the sun kind of glow, but an occasional twinkle.

On either side of us, tall buildings that seemed to hum with a life of their own lined the street. Bathed in an assortment of dark colors—blues, purples, and deep reds—they towered into the sky, some stretching so high that they disappeared from sight.

We’d landed on a sidewalk beside the narrow roadway. It seemed normal. Pale concrete, complete with sidewalk cracks and spots of dead, yellowing grass peeked through. The road was a little different. One lane of oddly shimmering blacktop that, every once in awhile, seemed to emit small puffs of white smoke.

We started walking, careful to stay on the path. The grass beyond looked innocent enough, but Dad’s words from childhood bedtime stories echoed in my head. Everything in the Shadow Realm can and will kill you if given the proper chance.

Every now and then, I’d hear something—almost like a whisper. About three blocks in, I realized the sounds seemed to be coming from the middle of the road. Stopping, I stooped low and extended a hand to examine the blacktop. Smokey was in my face in an instant, teeth bared and growling.