Shadow Demons Read Online Free PDF Page A

flowers out here?” I asked. “In October?”
    “All year,” Jackson said. “This was your mother’s favorite place to practice her magic. The flowers are her creation.”
    “And they never die?”
    “Never,” he whispered, his mouth so close to my ear, I could feel the warmth of his breath on my cheek and neck.
    Brighton Lake. I loved it instantly. I leaned my head back against Jackson’s shoulder and breathed in the flowery scent. I never wanted to leave.

A Key
     
    A small boat floated next to a rickety dock that extended out from the shore of the lake. Jackson’s boots knocked against the wood. He crouched down to untie the rope that held the boat in place.
    “Get in,” he said with a smile.
    I hesitated. I wasn’t a great fan of being out on the water. And I had never been on the water at night before. Something about not being able to see what was lurking below the surface gave me the willies.
    “I promise I won’t tip the boat over or anything,” he said.
    I squinted my eyes at him. “You better not.”
    “It may not look like much,” he said, motioning to the small row boat, “but I promise it’s safe. Besides there are only a couple alligators out here.”
    My eyes widened and I backed away from the dock. “No way,” I said. “I am not getting in the water with alligators.”
    Jackson laughed. He had one hand on the lip of the boat, making sure it didn’t float away. “I’m just teasing you,” he said. “Come on, this is part of my surprise.”
    I took a deep breath, then walked out onto the dock. The boat jerked as I stepped inside, and Jackson grabbed my hand to steady me. There were two little benches in the boat. I sat down quickly and held on tight to the edge of the seat.
    Jackson stepped into the boat gracefully, grabbing one of the two wooden oars and pushing us off from the shore.
    Out on the water, the surface looked like a sheet of black ice. The moon shone down on the surface, not quite full yet, but still bright and beautiful. Jackson rowed us out until I couldn’t even tell where the lake ended and the land began.
    We didn’t talk at first. I listened to the sound of the water lapping up against the front of the boat as we sliced through the smooth, still surface. Frogs croaked. Crickets sang. And there was no sign of the infamous alligators. It was peaceful out here.
    “What are you thinking about?” Jackson asked. He’d stopped rowing.
    By my guess we were somewhere out in the middle of the lake, far from the shore now.
    “I was thinking it’s no wonder my mother loved to be out here,” I said. “It’s so peaceful. Ever since I came to Peachville, my life has been nothing but noise. Out here, it’s quiet.”
    “I know what you mean,” he said. “I come out here a lot to just get away from it all. So I can be still for a while and think. I love that you see it the same way I do.”
    I smiled at him. “What kind of things do you think about when you’re out here?”
    “You,” he said, lifting an eyebrow and making me laugh. Then, his face grew more serious as he looked out over the water. “And I spend a lot of time thinking about home. About Aerden and my family. I wonder whether we’ll ever go back there again.”
    My heart ached for him. I felt pulled in two directions. I could hear in his voice how much he missed his homeland. I wanted him to be happy. But at the same time, I didn’t want to lose him.
    “Tell me about your home,” I said.
    Jackson looked up at the stars and was quiet for a long moment. For a minute, I thought he wasn’t going to answer my question, but then he started talking.
    “There are no stars where I come from,” he said. “But there are seven moons and seven suns, each one a different color. And there are no alligators.”
    A large smile spread across my face, and I playfully slapped him on the knee.
    “What else is different?” I asked.
    “In places, the shadow world looks just like this world. There’s green grass