Shadow Demons Read Online Free PDF

and trees and birds. But where I’m from, the ground is one long sheet of shiny obsidian glass.” He waved his hand out over the water. “Like this, in a way, only solid beneath your feet. We call that area the Black Cliffs, because of the jagged cliffs of black rock that look out onto the ocean.”
    I listened in awe. It was hard to believe he came from a different world. When I looked at him, I felt that we were the same. I had so many questions about what his life was like there, but I didn’t interrupt. I just let him talk.
    “During the day, the sky is the most beautiful shade of purple,” he said. “I wish you could see it.”
    My stomach fluttered. “Me too,” I said. “What about your hometown? Where did you grow up?”
    “I grew up in the city of Leuxia,” he said. “The largest city in the Northern Kingdom. It’s home to over five million demons.”
    “So, basically, just like Peachville,” I said, winking.
    Jackson laughed. “It couldn’t be more different,” he said. “The buildings are all made of dark glass and a golden metal mined from the nearby countryside. The streets of the city are made of a dark stone we call malorite. You wouldn’t believe how beautiful it is.”
    “Do you have cars?” I asked. “Or electricity?”
    “No cars,” he said. “We don’t need them. A shadow demon by nature can shift into mist and fly through the atmosphere faster than you can imagine. As for electricity, we have something similar, but it doesn’t take fuel to create. All of our energy is magical. You remember the black soul stone the crow witch used to drain Caroline’s power?”
    I nodded. How could I ever forget it?
    “It was invented by a powerful demon named Soshana. She found a way to infuse the stone with powerful demon magic from the elders who have moved on,” he said. He lowered his head. “It’s complicated, I guess. But like all magic, it can be useful as long as it’s not exploited.”
    “And what about your family?” I asked. “Is Aerden your only brother?”
    “Yes,” he said. “But I have two sisters. Illana and Orian. You’d like them. They’re rebels just like you.”
    I smiled and looked up at him. Our knees touched in the tiny boat, and I still felt like we were too far apart. Having him finally open up to me about his life and his family was like finally drinking water after being in the desert for a hundred days.
    “Harper, I know you’ve been wanting to know about my powers,” he said. “It’s not always easy for me to open up about my feelings. It’s been so long since I had anyone I could talk to.”
    “You can tell me anything,” I said softly.
    “I know,” he said.
    I leaned closer and took his hand in mine.
    “The shadow demons are an extremely magical and powerful race, and it’s been really hard for me to go without those powers for the past fifty years.”
    “But now you have them back?” I asked.
    He nodded slowly. “I wish I could explain it to you, but it’s not something I completely understand,” he said. “That day when we found Caroline in the circle of black roses? That was the day everything changed for me. Before that, I didn’t think it was possible to break the spell the Order put on me. Trust me, I looked everywhere for a type of magic that could give me my powers back, but nothing worked.”
    “When I was trying to save Caroline, I could feel the roses pulling me into the center,” I said. “I remember seeing you come to help me. I felt you trying to pull me out of the roses, but I couldn’t hear anything. It was like I was under water. Everything was muffled and dark from the pain.”
    “Do you remember what happened next?”
    “You pointed to my necklace,” I said. “And I understood that what you wanted me to do was summon Aerden for his help.”
    “So you let the necklace touch the magical barrier,” he said. “And Aerden came.”
    “That’s where things get kind of fuzzy,” I said. My stomach was full of