Twisted

I cursed softly under my breath, not even bothering to hide the weapon away, not when he’d already seen it. I closed my eyes briefly before turning around, staring at Blayze as he stared straight back at me, his face honestly shocked. I cleared my throat nervously. “I don’t know…” I mumbled. “I just needed it.” I felt woozy on my feet, unsure where I stood – all I could see was the little girl’s terrified face in my vision.

Spots of fire danced in my eyes. “Are you okay?” he asked, concerned, starting forwards as I swayed. I blinked furiously; his eyes were streaks of vivid green; his black hair was nothing more than a shadow. “Sit down,” I heard distantly, the words drawn out and funny sounding in my ears. But I felt his warm hand on my arm, and the air against my skin, and the grass bending beneath me as I slumped onto the ground.

Everything was a blur, sliced into pieces by jagged lines of black in my sight. A single connection danced in my mind: shadow-man…shadow-man…shadower?

My vision abruptly turned crystal clear with fear spicy on my tongue. Could the shadower be the terrifying shadow-man I saw before? Or was it just a coincidence I’d thought of the monstrous thing as a shadow-man?

Then, I noticed Blayze kneeling beside me with a concerned expression on his face. He breathed a sigh of relief when he locked onto my open eyes, my alert face, and he said softly, “I thought you were Stolen like your sister.”

I stared at him. My thoughts were sluggish and slow, but just as Blayze’s registered what he’d let slip, I understood. My sister…

I leapt up, trying desperately to ignore the dizziness that made my head swim, as I shrieked, “What do you know of my sister? Tell me what happened! Tell me!” Without thinking, I pointed my knife at him and glared. How could he know something about Kalista and keep it from me? How dare he?

“Whoa, whoa, calm down,” he said, far too composed for a guy with a sharp knife pointed straight at him. He spread his arms wide. “Put the knife down and I’ll tell you what I know. Okay?”

I took a breath, lowered my weapon and closed my eyes. A rush of shame blew over me and my cheeks reddened. “Just tell me what happened to my sister,” I muttered angrily, though it was now directed at myself.

“She was Stolen,” he blurted. “By the Darkness, the enemy your daughter is going to defeat. Her soul is kept in a birdcage and hung from the ceiling of his…place. We’ll get her back, though. I promise.”

My eyes grew wide as I connected the dots in my head. My mind felt blank but clear, slow but verging on understanding.

The shadow-man I had just seen sounded exactly like the smudgy voice, the one that Stole my sister.

The shadow-man was the Darkness.

I rubbed my eyes, fatigue and shock crawling under my skin and into my bones. I didn’t mention my vision to Blayze. “Does that mean she’s dead?” I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer. Fear and dread spiked through me.

The tension in my muscles lessened as he shook his head. “No,” he said thoughtfully, “but you’ll have to get another Unknown to tie her soul back with her body. That could be difficult but I’m sure we’ll convince one of them to do it.”

My heart skipped at the ‘we.’ He was going to help me? I could feel my cheeks warming in the evening air, surprisingly touched by such a small word.

Then I focused on everything else he said. “Unknown?” I repeated, my tone full of curiosity and confusion. I knew the Unknowns were another type of Blood but I had no idea what they were like.

He nodded. “The Darkness has Unknown blood in him. We know this because of the way he Steals people – that’s an Unknown trait.” Frowning, he bit his lip before continuing. “I suppose you’ve never been taught what everyone else was. Everyone thought you were human and only just accepted you. During school, you’re usually educated on the Bloods and the history of us. These extra classes are held on Saturday and you just weren’t told about them.”

I didn’t answer, watching his unreadable expression. Silence sunk into my ears until he spoke again. “Come on,” he sighed. “I’ll take you to the library. It should still be open.”

He turned around and started to leave the park as I scrambled after him, tucking my knife into my jeans, pulling my shirt over it. I wasn’t sure the lovely librarians would appreciate a knife-wielding, hallucinating teenage girl scouring their books.

It only took ten minutes to walk there but it felt like longer with the knife scraping against my skin with every step. At least I felt safer with it, particularly when everyone I passed openly stared at me. Some of them studied my stomach for signs of a saviour. It made me a little uncomfortable. And to my shock, many glared with hostility at Blayze.

It was a relief to stumble into the warm library where there were barely any people around. Blayze grabbed my hand and tugged me through the shelves of books. I thought someone was running light fingers up my spine. A short, middle-aged librarian gazed at us, knowledge dancing in her eyes. “We’re twenty minutes from closing,” she said softly, directing her sentences at Blayze, “but if you’re going to Section B & PH, you can stay as long as you like. Just come get the keys off us before we close so you can lock up after you leave.” She smiled and walked away, swinging her hips in a confident way.

I peered up at Blayze through my wisps of red hair. His lips were curled in a small smile. “Who is that? She speaks like she knows you,” I remarked. As an afterthought, I wondered, “And what’s Section B & PH?”

“Section B & PH is exactly where we’re going,” he explained. “It’s the section with books on the Bloods and Paranormal History. And that was Laura. She’s a Vampire, like me, and knows I need to give you information, so I guess she expected us at some point.”

A Vampiric librarian. Huh.

He led me to a black door I’d always assumed was for staff. It was unlocked and easily opened. As I passed through, a cold sensation fluttered in the depths of my stomach. He noticed my shudder and told me, “That’s the spell to make sure you’re one of us. If you were human, you’d immediately forget what you were doing and be forced out by an invisible hand.”

“I thought this was a Paranormal town, so no humans would be here.”

He shrugged. “Humans do come through. They just don’t stay. This town gives them an ‘unpleasant’ feeling.” He glanced at me with his almost-glowing eyes. “Everyone thought you’d take off the second you were eighteen with your sister. I kind of figured that unpleasant feeling was why you always looked so miserable. Anyway, instead, the rumour went ’round that you’re not human, that when you have a kid, everyone will be saved. Basically every Blood is choosing a Mixed person from their people for you to…well, have a child with.”

I fell silent again. After traipsing down darkened stairs, he flicked a switch and light flooded to reveal a small room lined in bookshelves. The scent of old paper and ink was overwhelming.

I sat down with a sigh in one of the comfortable, worn armchairs as he picked out a large hardcover book. On the front in gold lettering was The Bloods of Para-Division.

“Para-Division,” I murmured, taking it from him and laying it on my lap.

“That’s our world,” he declared, arms wide. “Para for Paranormal. Division because we’ll always stick to our own Bloods, never unified, despite the number of Mixed.”

He grinned at me, intentionally flashing two fangs longer and sharper than the rest of his teeth. “Welcome to Para-Division, Rayna.”