Shadow People (The Forbidden Darkness Chronicles, #2)

Thirty-Eight: Hayden Williams

"So," Abaddon said, stepping over Philip and into the room. "You children thought that you could escape me? I must say, you're gladly mistaken."

I stared at Philip on the floor and saw blood pouring from his back. From the looks of it, he was still breathing, but I wasn't sure how long he would be.

"Philip!" Heather shouted. She tried to sit up from her chair, but Abaddon was faster. He lunged across the room, knocking Heather on the cold, tiled floor.

Kadin, using the energy he pulled from Heather, shot lightning out at Abaddon. It hit the Shadow right in the back, and Abaddon yelled. But he didn't give up. He pinned Heather to the floor, revealing his full set of fangs.

Frostbite sent a cool breeze across the room, hitting Abaddon, but it didn't work. I couldn't just sit there and do nothing. Jumping up from my desk, I picked it up using as much energy as I could, and swung it right at the Shadows head.

Abaddon fell over. He quickly reacted by jumping back at me, and I screamed, falling to the floor as I tumbled over other desks. The Shadow leaned over me, and his pitch black eyes stared right into mine.

"I gave you a choice," Abaddon growled. "I'm afraid you made the wrong one."

And using his black hand, he pressed down hard on my face. Everything around me was black, and I tried to scream. Nothing would come out. The Shadows fingers dug into my face and I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe.

"Get off of him!" I heard Frostbite yell in the distance.

Abaddon was suddenly off of me, and I gasped for air, trying to regain my composure. I watched Frostbite and Abaddon in a brawl. The Shadow threw Frostbite into a nearby desk, but Frostbite quickly poofed before he hit.

I crawled over to Heather, where Kristen was helping her up. The three of us stood up, and Kristen ran over to a nearby box. She opened it, pulling out three knives. "Take these," she told us. "Abaddon now has a physical form. We can attack him."

Heather and I both took one of the knives. I said, "I'm not trained to use this."

Kristen stared at me seriously. "Sometimes when our bodies go into survival mode, it knows what to do. It's the fight of flight concept. Except we're not flying out of here. We're fighting."

Lights flashed behind us, and I spun around to see lightning hit the ceiling. Kadin struck out again, hitting Abaddon in the face, but the Shadow wouldn't give up. He launched toward Kadin, who poofed quickly before Abaddon could get him.

"Now!" Kristen shouted.

To my amazement, Kristen ran toward the Shadow, catching him off guard. She stabbed him right in the shoulder, and he screamed, swinging around fast to knock her on her butt. Heather went next, catching him from behind, stabbing her knife into the side of his face. Keeping a firm grip on her weapon, she pulled it out.

Kadin appeared beside me. "I have an idea."

"Good, because I have none," I replied.

"Run and attack him," Kadin said. "Keep him distracted. Frostbite and I are going to get him from behind."

"Are you sure that will work?" I asked.

"Let's hope so." Then he poofed from beside me, leaving me to the plan.

"Hey, Abaddon!" I shouted. Pushing my fear aside, my adrenaline kicked me forward, running right toward him. "Take this!"

I plunged the knife deep into his neck, and I almost gagged at the sight. Black ooze dripped from out of him, all over the knife. He swung around, knocking me into a nearby wall where I almost hit my head.

Heather was quick to react, because she stabbed him again.

"You little shits!" Abaddon shouted.

That's what Kadin and Frostbite appeared behind him. I watched Kadin pull as much energy as he could from himself, but then Frostbite fell to the floor. What was going on?

Kadin's shot lightning right at Abaddon, knocking him down on his face. Heather didn't waste any time, because with a battle cry, she slammed her knife down into his back over and over and over. The black ooze splattered all over her face as she screamed.

"Heather, it's okay!" I shouted. "I think he's dead."

Once Heather realized what she dead, she dropped the knife, staring down at her hands, now covered in black. Abaddon's body was on the floor, moving just a little. He wasn't dead yet. He was crawling to try and get away.

Standing up, I limped over to him and rolled him on his back. The Shadow stared up at me. Kadin helped Heather stand up. Frostbite pulled himself up, and Kristen walked over to stand beside me.

"This...isn't...over," Abaddon said, gasping for air.

Kadin now stood beside me, Heather under his arm. "Actually. It is." And with one final blow, he shot the Shadow right in the face. His face exploded, and the ooze shot all across the room.

"Is he dead now?" I asked.

"I think so," Heather said softly. "I can't believe we just killed someone."

"Something," Kadin elaborated. "You did what you had to do."

And even though that was true, I couldn't help but feel a little bit of guilt myself. Abaddon, once an Angel, was now dead at our feet. But he was dead long before we killed him. There was no redemption for his soul, that was for sure.

Even knowing that, this night would scar all of our hearts for as long as we lived.

Tears fell from my eyes, and I wiped them away. When this journey started, I thought I could escape it. Now, knowing everything I did, I knew I couldn't walk away. This was my life. These were my friends. Heather, Kadin, and Kristen held onto each other, staring down at the lifeless body.

And even then, we knew this was far from over.