“Come on you piece of shit.”

  Erador shook the jar and the lurker bug bumped into the walls as the crystal rattled. He couldn’t control it. He could never overcome Slen. He was a failure. He remembered his father shaking his little body as he told him that.

  Maybe that’s all he was.

  He set the jar down and gripped the table, digging his nails into the wood. It didn’t matter if he was bigger and could push his father down if he wanted to. It was pathetic to consider that. It didn’t mean he was better. Erador felt like he was being pulled in different directions.

  Erador wanted to leave Lucrethia, but his father needed help. As he stared at the jar, all he could think about was how much he hated him.

  He snatched the jar and unscrewed the lid. Hesitating, he tensed his fingers over the opening, then reached in and snatched the lurker out. It kicked in his direction. The cold silky skin invigorated him. What had he been afraid of? This lurker was the lowest in the realm. It could only wish to kill him.

  Erador’s efforts to try and control it offered no results and drained his element. There had to be another way to weaken it. He rubbed his chin and looked around the storage room. Fire flickered against the crates. Erador lowered the lurker bug to the hot lantern. The lurker twitched.

  “You don’t like that?” Erador forced the bug against the glass. “Now who’s weak?”

  Black smoke leaked from the lurker as it sizzled. Shade sent a painful shock wave in his brain and the image of Yuni interrupted his thoughts. She set her nail file aside and moved out of view. A door clicked shut. Erador froze. Footsteps moved past the room. He pressed his ear against the door and floorboards creaked down the hall.

  He rushed to the jar. A black stinger punctured him. Cursing, he shook away the pain and dropped the lurker bug. It bounced off the rim of the glass and landed on the table. Blood dripped from his finger. A tar-like substance mixed with the red. Marked again. His breathing escalated at the venom that tainted his veins.

  Erador wouldn’t let this lurker bug hunt him. His sights moved past his finger to the lurker on the table. He lifted the jar and smacked the bug, cracking the glass. He did it again, and the jar shattered. The lurker's legs twitched as he scooped it up. Erador tossed it in the lantern. Fire consumed the lurker as it sizzled and bloated. With a pop, the lurker exploded and black tar splattered onto the glass.

  He turned the lantern knob off and opened the door a crack. Yuni rounded the corner of the long corridor. About damn time. She had been tending to her nails for the past hour. Erador moved out and closed the door. He called back Shade who slipped from under Yuni’s door and back into his shadow.

  Each step he took was precise to avoid the creaking floorboards. He lingered behind the wall and peeked out. At the end of the hall, Yuni continued down the stairs. Groaning wood echoed up to him along with a cool breeze. The air settled as Erador stopped at the top of the stairs.

  He drew in a few deep breaths. If he traveled in the Shadow Realm it would be harder for her to notice him, but it wasn’t a good option. Being caught by Yuni was less threatening than encountering a lurker. He followed Yuni out the front gates and through the dark streets.

  Sweat built on his chest. He kept his head down when people passed. It’s not as if he could hide when he was nearly as tall as a house door and everyone knew he was Judgment’s son. This was the first time Yuni left the manor since he’d been spying on her. He anticipated for her to stop somewhere, but nearly every building was dark.

  Yuni opened a tavern door. Light streamed out as she went inside.

  Erador pressed his back against the tavern wall. The door opened again, and he flattened his back as the wood touched his nose. A person wobbled down the street. He released his fists and peeked below the curtain. A candle holder blocked his view. Crouching, he moved around the windows but couldn’t see Yuni.

  Cursing, he pressed his nose against the dirty glass. Erador scanned the tavern. The bartender poured a drink. A few other followers occupied the tables with little dishes of sunflower seeds and bread. At the furthest side, Hawth sat across from Miraline. Fumes built inside his throat. What was she doing with him? Her curly hair was tied back with that yellow bow he hated.

  Erador moved into the light by the front door. Shade appeared in greeting. Show me Yuni, he thought. Shade shook his head and forced him the fear from the night of his attack. He berated Shade for making him scared. He would make him if he didn’t allow it. Shade pushed an image of Loma shaking her head and told him to watch here.

  “Then a lurker might come into our world,” Erador whispered. “Which is worse?”

  Shade complied, but he sent a painful jolt in Erador’s side, causing him to yelp. He would’ve cursed his shadow, but his chest tightened at the idea of going in the Realm. He twirled his wrists and released a slow breath. His scars didn’t burn, which meant Slen wasn’t close. The half copper moon provided enough light for a lurker.

  Erador squeezed his eyes shut and rushed through Shade and back into town. Holding his breath, he scanned the darker surroundings. It was too quiet. There may have been no lurkers, but Slen would come. Erador reached for the handle and opened the door a crack. Shade slipped inside. After a few minutes, an image of Yuni sitting at a table gathered in his mind.

  His focus lingered to her perfectly groomed nails. Erador wanted to rip them off if she touched them one more time. He couldn’t stay long. She couldn’t be coming here for a drink when she had alcohol at the manor.

  Goosebumps rose on his skin when a hand touched his arm. He looked around to find Loma. Her features were clear, which meant she was in the realm. A shawl shadowed her furious face.

  “Loma?” Erador whispered, in a high pitch. “What are you doing here?”

  “I could ask you the same,” she said. Erador could almost hear her eyebrows rising at him. “Why are you in the realm?”

  Erador said nothing and tried to call Shade back, but he wouldn't respond.

  “I know you’re hiding something,” Loma said.

  Erador’s cheeks burned.

  “You’ve been using Shade to spy on Yuni in the realm?” Loma straightened and crossed her arms. “You shouldn’t be here alone.”

  “What else am I supposed to do?”

  “Follow her in our world. That’s what you do.” Loma looked up and down the street. “Slen is here, waiting for you, and if he comes...”

  “But she hardly leaves her room. I thought I could see something if I followed her.”

  “In the manor it’s different, but not here.” Loma squinted through the window. “Where is she?”

  “Out of sight.” Erador payed attention to the image of her sawing a nail file back and forth. “Wait.” Her nails were longer than in her bedroom and he swore she left her file behind. “Her nails are long again. How?”

  “With magic.”

  “What?” Erador blinked at her, the image of Yuni fading.

  “You’ve become accustomed to her schedule. She set you up.” Loma reached for the door knob and Erador snatched her wrist.

  “Don’t.”

  “She’s long gone. Watch.” Loma opened the door and stepped in. Erador peeked inside, but Yuni wasn’t at the table. The people froze and stared at them. Loma urged him back outside and slammed the door. A startling scream erupted from inside and feet scurried.

  “We best get away before they ask questions.” Loma waved him down an alley. She walked at a brisk pace for someone small and old.

  “Magic.” Erador let out a sharp breath. “How’s that possible?”

  Loma slowed next to him. “How do you think witches function?”

  “Our elements.”

  “Yes, and they can use them with us or against us.” Loma stopped in an area of darkness. She pulled Erador out of the moonlight and delicately touched his arm. “Yuni found a loophole. Shade can’t see. He only shows you what he can absorb from the room and Yuni tricked him by creating a false silhouette of herself.”

  Heart racing, Erador looked in areas of light for a lurker. “Does that mean she knows I’m watching her?”

  “She could, but it could also be a safeguard.” Loma looked around. “The girl clearly doesn’t want anyone knowing what she's doing.” Her soft eyes found Erador’s. “Especially someone as suspicious as you.”

  Erador pressed a hand to his forehead. How couldn’t he have noticed? He figured pampering herself was all she did. “I feel stupid.”

  “Don’t.” Soft wrinkles formed on Loma’s brow. “Mistakes happen, but now you can fix it.” Loma checked their surroundings. “Come with me.”

  If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

  She pulled a match from her robe and lit it on the box. Shade darted out of Erador’s shadow. He stretched into a tall round shape. Erador’s thoughts were clouded with death. As if he wasn’t already on edge, his shadow made things worse. Loma set the match on the ground and went in Shade before Erador. He followed her back into the street. The match was gone, left in the realm.

  Loma led him back to her house. Erador waited by the front door as she went to her room. Rustling and clinking sounds slipped through the cracked door. Loma returned, holding a cloth with sea green light glowing through it.

  She set it on the small table and unwrapped it. Light shot out and the walls were covered in a glowing greenish hue. The memorizing color drew Erador to the table, despite his uneasy stomach. A crystal laid inside the bunched fabric. It was half the size of Erador’s finger, smaller than the black one he found in the cage.

  Erador’s lips parted and moisture dissipated from his mouth. “What are you doing with that?”

  “Helping you.” Loma pulled the box of matches from her robe. “I’m guessing Yuni used a mind crystal, so I have to use one to fix this.”

  “No. I meant... Why do you have a magic crystal?”

  “I have a stash from before they were banned. Magic used to be allowed here, you know.” Loma spoke of it lightly as if it never was banned.

  “Uh, yes.” Erador shifted away from the table. “But you know how to use it?”

  “I used to do a little magic back in the day.” Loma pulled out a match and pressed it to the box. “How do you think my sunflowers live longer?”

  Erador suspiciously looked at the crystal and back at her.

  Smile fading, Loma crossed her arms. “I don’t have teleportation crystals, if that’s what you’re implying.”

  With a nod, he cleared his throat. “How does it work?

  “I have to absorb the contents.” Loma struck the match and lit the candle. “Come out, Shade.”

  Shade didn’t budge from the shadows.

  “Why is he not...” Loma looked at Erador. “You... are you keeping him in?”

  Erador shifted. ”No.”

  “Then you must be scaring him whether intentional or not. Let go of your fears of crystals.”

  Erador expelled a long breath and counted the beads strung across the door frame of Loma’s room to clear his mind. But he could only think of Emera’s reddish purple skin and how Loma had crystals in her home that could’ve murdered her. Erador wiggled his fingers by his side and tried to visualize pleasant thoughts, not that he had many, anything to stop thinking about that crystal. Shade stayed hidden.

  “You aren’t doing it,” Loma said. “Tell him nicely why this is important.”

  Why wouldn’t he listen? He wished he could rip Shade from his shadow but the more angry Erador became, the less he could feel Shade. He knew one thing that would work. He threatened him about becoming a lurker sooner rather than later.

  In the shape of a hunched blob, Shade emerged.

  “Good,” Loma said. “This won’t take long.”

  “Yuni used a crystal at the festival,” Erador said, walking around the table.

  “Yes. It was a water crystal.” Loma grabbed a hammer from a drawer and lowered it to the crystal’s point. “And boy is she good with them.”

  “You have to break it? Doesn’t that make it harder to use?”

  “They last longer when you get them like this.”

  Loma lifted the hammer and drove it down. The crystal’s tip shattered and cracks ran throughout it. Bluish green smoke leaked out and Loma leaned over it, inhaling. The smoky wisps trailed into her nose. The crystal changed to a dark green as the life source depleted.

  Tears filled Loma’s eyes that glowed bluish green. She hunched her shoulders and gripped the cushion. With a grunt, she pushed up and took stiff steps to the wall. Erador backed away, bumping into a chair.

  Loma pressed her palms against the wall and slid them over Shade, as if she were feeling for him in the dark. She planted her feet and scraped her nails against the dark shape. Erador waited, tense for several minutes, but nothing happened.

  “Is it... working?” he asked.

  She responded in heavy pants. Erador swallowed. His knuckles turned white as he grasped the chair. The windows rattled. Erador jerked his gaze around the room. The cups vibrated on the round tables, statues slid from the bookshelf, smashing to the floor.

  Erador ducked under the table. “Loma!”

  Loma’s tone was deep, but weakened. “Quiet.” She stretched out her fingers. Bluish green smoke seeped from her fingertips and sucked through Shade in bursts. Erador clutched his head, pain twisting in his brain.

  As the smoke cleared, Loma fell to her knees. The rattling stopped and the pain ceased. Erador crawled out from under the table. He froze as he scanned the room, but not a single thing was broken. Everything was in it’s place as if nothing happened. He double checked his surroundings trying to make sense of what he saw as he helped Loma up.

  “I’m not as strong as I used to be.” Loma panted in between words.

  Erador guided her into an armchair. “You think it worked?”

  “We’ll see. If Yuni continues the same behavior, tell me.”

  “Will she know it’s gone?”

  “Unlikely.” Loma let her arms fall over the armrests. “Not unless she checks and with as long as she’s had this on you, I doubt she’ll know.”

  Erador sat on the sofa. “Why did I feel pain when you did that?”

  “Pain?” Loma cracked open an eye.

  “Yes, it was from Shade. Why didn’t I feel that when Yuni cast the spell?”

  “She probably did it when you dozed off and she likely made Shade forget it, so he wouldn’t tell you.”

  “Are you serious?” Erador sat forward. “She came into my room?”

  Loma shrugged. “Could’ve been in the throne room.”

  Erador let out a sigh, and looked at the floor. He couldn’t be in the Shadow Realm, or the manor. Nowhere felt safe.

  “Shade has no brain. How did she use a mind crystal on him?”

  “He has yours.” She tapped her head. “He’s connected to you.”

  Blood streaked from Loma’s nostrils. He snatched a cloth from the table and handed it to her.

  She rubbed it under her nose and met Erador’s ghastly face. “Don’t worry.” She patted his arm “It’s a side effect. I’m not used to that crystal.”

  Erador lowered himself on the sofa, searching her with worried eyes. “It has side effects?”

  “Yes. It can cause blindness, internal damage, and changes eye color though that isn’t so bad. Some people die when they inhale too much vapor.” She sniffled and rubbed the cloth under her nose. “It has to be dozens... hundreds. It happens to those who either want to be powerful or get an effect from it.”

  “They take it as a narcotic... like keid?”

  “It’s not comparable. It’s deadly unlike keid. It’s one reason why Judgment banned witches. He didn’t want crystals clouding anyone from their task, especially the Paradins.”

  Erador rubbed his hands together as he thought of Emera. “Can it cause internal damage?”

  “It can. This,” she said, gesturing at herself. “It’s the same as learning and practicing an element. You had pain, aches... couldn’t see.”

  “I was blind?”

  She gave a chuckle and waved the cloth dismissively. “You were so young when it happened. You cried and cried. I had to comfort you to sleep.”

  Erador aimlessly rubbed the scars on his jaw. “I guess it’s better I don’t remember.”

  Smiling, she leaned on the arm rest and reached to rub his hand. “I miss those days.” She squeezed his cheek. “Now, you’re grown. Your father should be proud.”

  “He isn’t,” Erador said, pulling his hand away.

  “I'm sure somewhere in his heart he’s grateful you’re here. I also think he’s sorry for what he did to you.”

  “Doesn't sound like him,” Erador grumbled.

  Loma frowned. “He has trouble expressing his softer side.”

  “Well, he didn't have to take his frustrations out on me.”

  “Talk to him,” Loma said, scooting forward in the chair. “Tell him how you feel, but don’t be combative.”

  Erador stared at the dark green, cracked crystal. If his father wouldn’t apologize when he was unwell, he wouldn’t do it if he had his rebirth. He would never recognize how much Erador had changed and only see him as weak. As defiant. As someone he would erase if he wasn’t his blood. Erador looked at Cade’s door. He wasn’t going to let his father’s discouraging words stop him.

  When Loma dozed off, Erador marched to Cade’s room and knocked on the door but no one answered. With a gentle turn, he pushed the door open. Cade laid in bed, asleep. Erador reached for the dresser and opened the drawer. He moved aside the sheet and white light shot out.

  “What are you doing?” Cade mumbled.

  Erador turned around. “I need another lurker.”

  Cade rubbed his eyes and craned his neck to the open door.

  “Loma’s asleep,” Erador said as a snore sounded.

  Cade let out a relieved look. “What do you need another for?”

  “It... um...” Erador put his hand behind his back and rubbed the finger where the wart bug stung him. “It got away.”

  “Great going.” Cade groaned and threw the blanket over his head. “Take the one on the right. Next time, catch your own.”