Beyond The Shadows : Shadow Institute

BEYOND THE SHADOWS BY J.A. ROLES Beyond The Shadows: Shadow Institute © copyright 2022 J.A. Roles Table of Contents Title Page Copyright Page BEYOND THE SHADOWS Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight About J.A. Roles BEYOND THE SHADOWS Remember: Sometimes breaking the rules just might be a good thing. Chapter One Watching humans, or ordinaries as most supernaturals call them, frolic as they built a bonfire in preparation for the Summer Solstice festivities caused knots to form in my stomach. It was the same every year in the antiquated town of Ravensweir. The town pretty much existed for the benefit of the supernatural rehabilitation centres we call Institutes. It wasn’t on any maps; people were conditioned to never leave, and it hardly ever had visitors from beyond the Black Forest. It was the perfect place to see if we badly behaved supernaturals could be amongst ordinaries. After all, if one of these ordinaries should be attacked, who are they going to tell? They still lived without modern technology and believed their dumb little ritual had to happen on the Summer Solstice to bring a good harvest to the town. They came from a bloodline who’d strangled witches and burnt their bodies. Which meant us supernaturals despised them even more. These ordinaries believe their ancestors destroyed all witch bloodlines, so the only way to honour their ancestors and appease their non-existent harvest-gods is by creating a giant bonfire and throwing witch-effigies made from cotton and straw onto the flames. Hell, I’m not a witch; most witches despise us vampires, but the one common ground we share across the Institutes for European supernaturals is our dislike of ordinaries. They were often the reason most of us were in these supernatural rehabilitation centres. Any crimes a supernatural commits in Europe, whether against an ordinary or a fellow supernatural, results in them being hunted down by The Society; the rulers of the supernatural world. Once caught, they send supernaturals to the Institutes. Each Institute is located in a different area across the Black Forest in Germany. Vampires are sent to the Shadow Institute, werewolves, and wolf-shifters to the Lunar Institute, and witches, and warlocks to the Institute of Leather Jackets. The Society’s leader is Ludwig of Bavaria; he was known as the Swan King before his death and his transition into a vampire. Then there’s Leonard. He’s Ludwig’s second in command. The Society isn’t just led by a bunch of vampires like it used to be; now there are wolf-shifters, witches, and warlocks. They all live together in Neuschwanstein Castle; it’s the perfect cover and not too far from the Black Forest. I leant against the stonewall bridge and continued to look down and observe the ordinaries as they passed wood to one another, stacking their bonfire higher and higher. My body froze, flashbacks flooded my mind, and I was reminded of exactly why I was sent to the Shadow Institute. That night any shred of humanity I had abandoned me; I was in survival mode. Images of me slaughtering an entire family consumed me, and the guilt refused to leave me. I didn’t care about those I’d killed. All I cared about were the consequences, not only for me, but for those I loved. It was a beautiful summer in our home village of Grasscroft, England; I was taking care of my little sister Elena as our parents had passed away. She’d just turned seventeen, and I knew she’d soon realise I was different, so I decided to confess what I was; that I was a creature of the night; that I was a vampire. Elena begged me to turn her too, so we’d never be without each other; I agreed. A few weeks later, the Wainwright family were gathering wood for the Summer Solstice bonfires when they saw Elena feeding off animals on the moors. I knew we were at risk if they exposed her, if they exposed us, and I refused to be forced to leave the only home we’d ever known. I knew they’d come for us. I knew I needed to act first. Alone, I made my way to their cottage on the moors and watched until the elderly man was alone in his garden; I tried to compel him to forget he ever saw Elena, but his two adult grandsons attacked me in a desperate attempt to save their grandfather. Their mother grabbed a crossbow and was about to shoot an arrow through my chest when I tore it from her hands and shot it through her heart. The whole thing haunts me. I was left with no choice but to kill them all. I hadn’t realised at the time, but I’d killed three generations. The Society found out, came after me, and dealt me my punishment; a sentence at the Shadow Institute, but they also punished the only two people I cared for; my little sister Elena, and Tate, my childhood best friend and now also my lover of a year. The Summer Solstice festivities meant it was almost time for our annual test and the supernatural Solstice Trials in each Institute to begin; I hated it. No matter what I did, no matter what tests I passed, I knew I’d never be free of the Shadow Institute. “Jax, don’t you dare,” Tate whispered and pulled me from my dark thoughts. His deep brown eyes stared into mine. “We should throw them on the bonfire and turn them into a smouldering pile of ash.” I turned on my heels and headed back to the confines of the Shadow Institute. It wasn’t a prison, but it sure as hell wasn’t voluntary either; we had no choice but to complete our sentences or Ludwig’s men would hunt us down like animals in the forest. I shot through the Black Forest, which bordered Ravensweir, until I reached the arched doorway of the Institute; Tate a heartbeat behind me. I swung