Mortal Shift

MORTAL SHIFT DARKVEIL ACADEMY BOOK 1 Chase Meadows This is a work of fiction. The characters and events described herein are imaginary and are not intended to refer to specific places or to living persons alive or dead. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher except for brief quotations embodied in critical reviews. Copyright © 2023 by Chase Meadows All rights reserved. Chapter One “The darkness is coming. The darkness is coming!” “It’s okay, Mom. I know.” I held my hands up reassuringly and took a step toward her as the wind whipped around me. “But it’s not coming tonight.” She whirled to face me, her face streaks with tears that dried almost at once in the cold night air as the wind stung them and splayed her hair around her. “The darkness is coming,” she whispered. “Shh, I know. The darkness is coming.” I took another step toward her, my heart hammering. There hadn’t been an episode like this in months. I knew it had been a mistake coming here. I just knew it. How could I have been stupid enough to bring her to an apartment block with access to the roof? “Why don’t you come down from there, and we’ll go inside, where the darkness can’t find us.” “It will always find us. The darkness is coming.” The wind picked up and rocked her on the ledge. My heart hammered in my throat and for one horrible moment I thought it would toss her over the edge and down to the ground below, but somehow she stayed there. “Mom, please, just come down from there. It’s not safe.” “Nowhere is safe. The darkness is coming.” I threw a glance back over my shoulder at the stupid door onto the roof. What sort of idiot didn’t keep a door like that locked? What sort of an idiot was I for not checking? But I never thought she’d find her way up here. “Please, Mom.” My voice cracked, despite my efforts to keep it calm. “Please, just come down from there. Come inside. Take my hand, okay?” I took another step to her and stretched out my hand, palm up, ignoring the wind rushing around us, ignoring the distant wail of sirens and the rumble of traffic, and the sounds of the city. Ignoring the terror flooding through me. Ignoring everything except my mom, and the ledge. “Come on. Take my hand. I’ll protect you from the darkness.” “You can’t,” she said, and her hoarse whisper carried above the wind. “The darkness is coming…for you.” “I…what?” She’d never said that before. Always just ‘the darkness is coming.’ Did that mean her delusions were getting worse? Of course it did. Her delusions got worse every day. It didn’t matter that they were getting worse. It mattered that I got her off the damned ledge. The door slammed open with a loud crash, making me jump, and on the ledge, Mom wobbled, then her eyes widened and she wrapped her arms around herself. “The darkness is coming. The darkness is coming. The darkness is coming.” I whirled round, fury blazing in my eyes at that stupid door—and found myself staring at a cop. The blood drained from my face. “This isn’t what it looks like,” I told him quickly, as he thumbed his radio. “Yeah, I’m on the scene,” he murmured, and then to me, “I think we both know what this is.” He stayed very still, his hands held low by his sides, and only his eyes flicked to glance past me to my mom, still balanced precariously on ledge, muttering frantically to herself. “I just want to help you both. That’s all.” I almost laughed out loud at the ridiculous notion. No-one could help her, least of all him. The authorities made things worse, not better. My heart squeezed. I wished someone could make it better—but wishing didn’t make it so. “If you want to help,” I told him, “then leave. I can handle it.” “With respect, miss, I’m not sure that’s true.” “And what, you’re going to swoop in and make everything better, yeah?” I snapped at him. “You’re scaring her!” I twisted back to my mom, her face stricken as she stared…at something. I didn’t think it was either of us, though. I wasn’t sure she even saw anything on the rooftop. “I…don’t think she even knows I’m here,” he said, echoing my own thoughts. “Then that just proves how little you know!” “The darkness is coming. The darkness is coming!” Her voice rose to a wail, and I snarled at the cop. “Stay back before you make her jump.” He looked torn for a moment but relented with a nod. “Like I said, I just want to help.” “And like I said, you’re not.” I tuned him out. I didn’t have time to argue, it was getting windier by the second. And I knew from experience, the darker the night got, the more she’d freak out. “Mom? Mom, it’s me. Cali. You’re going to take my hand and come down from there, remember?” “Cali?” She blinked at me, and the band crushing my chest lessened, letting relief flood through me. “That’s right. It’s Cali. It’s me. Let’s get you inside, yeah?” She raised one hand and trailed her fingers down my cheek, then gave me a small, sad smile. “It’s too late. The darkness is here.” And then she closed her eyes and tumbled backward. “Mom!” I lunged forward, snatching at her hand as it whipped away from my face. I snagged her wrist and latched onto it. The building momentum of her fall dragged me off balance and a yelp burst from my lips, then something grabbed me from behind and hauled back. Someone. “Not me,” I snarled at the cop through gritted teeth,