EDYN

“It’s your fault.”

The words sting, but it doesn’t make it less true. 

It is my fault. 

All of it. 

I rake my fingers through my hair, the tangles and knots don’t help my mood. I look up, eyes trained on the gold gilded oval mirror in front of me. 

I look like a mess. 

There are purple shadows under my eyes, making my features look even more dramatic and sharp and stupid. 

So. Stupid. 

I reach up and swipe some of my hair to the side in an attempt to clean up the monster in the mirror. Instead, I manage to make myself more like… 

No. 

I shove the thoughts away. I shove the memories away. 

No.

I shove his face away. His sneer. His laughter. 

Everything. 

6 Years later...

“Are you awake?” I ask, pushing open the door slightly so I can peer into Celtic’s room. 

The pink curtains are closed and I can’t tell if the lump on the bed is an actual person or a bunch of pillows. 

“Edyn? Are you looking for me?” 

The voice makes me jump and I slowly turn around. 

Celtic is standing behind me. She’s partially wrapped up her pink blanket. In her arms she carried a fluffy blue bunny.

“Where did you go?” I ask, tilting my head. 

Celtic smiles. “I went to get water.”

She points to the water cup on the hallway stool. “Did you sleep well?” I ask, as she starts sucking her thumb. 

Celtic shakes her head and her hands go to plaited red hair. “I had dreams again.”

 I nod slowly, noticing the light shadows underneath her eyes. “What were they about?” 

She leans on the door frame. Celtic’s face darkens as she looks up at me, stormy eyes fixated on mine. “Shadow snakes,” She whispers, shuddering at the thought. 

“Shadow snakes,” I repeat. 

She nods and goes back to sucking her thumb. 

“Okay… well you must be hungry. Let’s go downstairs.”

I imagine black serpents crawling across the walls and feel a shiver crawl down my spine. I pull her towards the hallway and try to focus on the stairs in front of me. 

I try to avoid the picture frames. Partially because I’m in none of them. Partially because it reminds me of my Mom. Some are of my Dad and Celtic’s mom on their wedding day. Most are of Celtic as a wrinkly baby. And then there’s all three of them together, like a family. I’ve noticed Dad took down the old pictures of my Mom and I. 

I make my way down the hall, pausing for Celtic to follow. She follows quietly, sucking on her thumb and hauling her bunny and blanket like a train behind her. The house is quiet, but I can smell the pancakes being cooked downstairs. 

“Edyn?” She asks, gripping my hands as she steps down the stairs. 

“Yeah?”

Celtic stops and lets go of my hand. She sits down on the step, pulling the bunny close to her face. 

I glance around. 

“Do you think he is after us?” Celtic asks quickly. 

I raise an eyebrow. “Who’s he?” 

She grabs hold of my hand again and traces something on my palm. She stays quiet for another moment before pausing to look me in the eye.

“He controls the shadow snakes, and the shadow people,” She responds quietly. 

Change. The. Subject. I order myself. 

“I heard your mommy is making pancakes today. And we’re meeting the special kid.”

Celtic licks her lips. “I like pancakes.”

She shifts her bunny to the other hand before saying, “And the special kids too, I like them.” 

I hold her hand and we walk down the stairs.

The whole time I think of shadow snakes. 

And he. 

Whoever he is. 

Natalie is surprisingly good at hiding her bitterness towards me. 

I don’t think Sorsha noticed the look she gave me during lunch. In fact, I don’t think she was even looking at me. She’s quite entertained by Celtic. And I like it like that-don’t get me wrong. But… something is off since she first arrived. Maybe it's the lack of yelling, but it’s really quiet. Usually the foster children are quiet but Sorsha has barely said a word since Celtic’s mom offered her breakfast. 

I set down the book I’ve been reading for the last twenty minutes and shift my gaze to Celtic. She’s tapping the feet of her stuffed bunny on the dinner table. Sorsha seems interested in watching Celtic and her best friend tap dance across the kitchen. 

“Are you hungry?” Natalie asks Sorsha. 

Sorsha shrugs, she looks down at the mountain of stuffed animals Celtic piled near her feet. “I’m okay.”

A pucker forms between her eyebrows. “Are you sure? You didn’t eat much during lunch or breakfast.”

I watch as Natalie pulls out the newly polished silverware. It gleams in the light, shining like the expensive jewelry my Dad wastes his money on. I swear, if I had a penny for every time Natalie got a new set of diamond earrings I’d be rich. 

“Edyn, sweetheart, I thought I asked you to polish the silverware?” Natalie holds a shiny fork in my face and I see a small centimeter of space where the silver doesn’t gleam in the fluorescent light. Her smile is like a snake’s, dripping with venom.

“I did,” I murmured. 

Natalie raises an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

I suck in a breath before opening my mouth again. “I did.”

Sorsha looks up at us. Her face is a mix of confusion and wonder. Either she’s surprised I’m talking, or she’s surprised at the way Natalie is speaking to me. 

“You obviously missed a spot. Maybe spending all day tomorrow recleaning them will teach you a lesson.”

I gasp quietly, trying to keep my astonishment hidden. “I have school tomorrow.”

Natalie rolls her eyes. “I’ll pull you out, idiot. Do you want to spend your time cleaning while Celtic and Sorsha have all the fun?”

I shake my head slowly.

“Go to your room, now.” 

My eyes shift to the door. I wish my Dad would come through the door right now, I wish he would be the man he was before my Mom died. Before the blame game started. 

“Wait,” Sorsha says. 

I don’t bother to turn around, but I stop near the middle of the stairs. 

“I saw you put that powder on the handle.”

I turn around slowly, craning my neck to see Natalie’s expression. 

“What powder?” She asks innocently. 

“I see the flour you used.”

Sorsha’s expression is stone cold. 

“I’m starting to understand why you aren’t adopted yet,” Natalie hisses. 

My eyes widen and I can see the tears glistening in Sorsha’s eyes. 

“Leave her alone,” I say, the confidence returning to my voice. 

Natalie glares at me. “Who’s going to stop me?”

I glance at Celtic who is staring wildly at us all. Her eyes flicker back and forth. 

“BOTH OF YOU TO YOUR ROOMS NOW!!!” Natalie screams. 

Her face is red and her eyes are narrowed at me. 

I look down at the floor and quickly run up the steps. When Natalie gets mad, you start feeling it. 

I quicken my pace down the hall. I hear the tromping of footsteps behind me. 

I stop in front of the two bedroom doors. 

One pink. 

One a murky mix of beige and neon green. 

Mine was painted blue before the divorce. Now, Natalie repainted it an ugly shade of green. 

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Sorsha behind me. 

“I didn’t know Natalie could be so…” Her voice trails off and I start to feel bad for her. 

“She can probably hear us, and she hasn’t even taken out her shoe.” 

Sorsha’s eyes widened. “You mean like the chancla?”

I nod, then tilt my head. How would she know that? She definitely isn’t Mexican. She’s pale in an odd way, her hair dark like ink. 

“One of my previous homes introduced me to it,” She explains. 

I start to hear more footsteps. 

“Goodnight,” I mumble, slamming the door behind me before she gets the chance to respond. 

I wait, watching through the keyhole. The pink door closes and the wall shakes slightly. Natalie’s thin shadow has receded down the steps again. 

I don’t bother turning on the light, if anything it’ll be easier to sleep and get over it all. 

I lay back on my bed and stare at the ceiling. I don’t actually mind if Natalie pulls me out of school, it’s not like I have any friends anyway. 

CLOMP!

CLOMP!

I sit up straight. 

I jump off my bed, trying to tip toe as quietly as I can to the door. I peek through the keyhole and see a small figure.

Celtic?

I can hear a door open. 

I quickly move from my crouching position and run to the window. The sun has already gone down, the purple seeping into the darkening sky. I shove open the window. 

There’s an oak tree next to my window, several of the branches hook up near our windows. Only Celtic and I know about this spot. If Natalie knew about it, she’d probably kill me. 

A shiver runs down my spine. I frown. The night air is warm, almost humid. Why did I shiver? 

“Edyn!” 

I snap my head towards the source. 

“Edyn!” Celtic yells. 

She’s holding on to the trunk, her red braids flailing in the wind. 

“Get down from there!” I yell, stepping up onto the window ledge. Leaves flutter from upper branches, making me blink. I reach out my hand, waiting for her to take it. 

“I’m scared, Edyn! I’m scared,” She whimpers. 

“I know-just take my hand!” I say back. 

Her fingers intertwine with mine and I pulled her back, her frail little body collapsed on mine. I can feel her shaking. 

“Celtic? What are you doing?” I ask her quickly. 

Her chubby hands clutch my shirt tightly. “We need to tell you about the Shadow Man!” 

“We?”

THUMP!

I turn around to face Sorsha. One hand is wrapped on the window frame, the other in front of her. 

“What are you doing here?” I ask again. 

“Shhhhhhh!” Sorsha orders, bringing her finger to her mouth. 

“Listen.”

I slow down my breathing, trying to listen carefully. At first, I hear nothing. Then… muffled speaking. 

“Who’s down there?” I ask. 

Celtic shakes her head. “Her friends are here.”

“Friends?” Sorsha whispers. 

She beats me to the question. 

Celtic glanced nervously at me. “Sometimes, when you go to sleep. Mommy meets with three of her friends. I don’t know all of their names.”

I can’t believe I’m asking this question-or even believing her. “Is He or Shadow Guy or whatever you want to call him, is he there?”

Sorsha raises an eyebrow. “Celtic told me about him, but he sounds so familiar. Like…”

“Edyn, did you ever dream about him?” Sorsha finally asks me. 

I look away. Of course I dreamed about a man who controlled darkness, a man who could control shadows, that’s why I was so desperate to change the subject. 

“Yes,” I mutter. 

Sorsh’s eyes widened. “Did he have a staff?” 

I think back, imagining him in all of his shadowy glory. 

“Yes,” Both Celtic and I answer.

“Did you dream of him?” I whisper.

“Every day since my Dad left.” She covers her face with her hands. 

Thump. 

Thump. 

“Who’s that?” I whimper. 

The room darkens all of a sudden and the air thins, letting icy shards of cold trill down my spine. 

“Here he comes,” I mutter. 

I’ve never seen Celtic so afraid. “Who?” 

Sorsha pulls her in closer. 

“The Shadow Man.”