Shadow Demon: Book two of Unknown Hybrid series

Time seemed to have slowed down and sped up all at the same time. Ever since finding out about the Shadow Demon, no one allowed me to be alone. Someone was with me at all times, they even stood outside the bathroom door if I had to shower or go to the toilet. It was overbearing and honestly just unnecessary. I mean really, what can happen to me in the bathroom? Would the damn toilet grow legs and attack me? I think not.  As if the guys weren't enough, Athena, Helios and Ares all stuck to me like glue as well. Ares never left my side, as if he could sense the danger I was in. I had told Athena and Helios, causing them to shift back and forth between their larger form to their smaller one so they could accompany me wherever I went. I don't know how times I had to I had to reign my temper in, bite my tongue and just force myself into silence. But after a while it just became too much.  "Don't you all think, you're going overboard?" I asked, trying not to sound as annoyed as I felt. My dad and Asmodeus opened their eyes from where we had been meditating, trying to access a deeper part of our shadows and at the same time gain a better control over our emotions, specifically our fear. "No Areil, we don't. This thing is after you, and so far it has worked. Since we have not let you be alone, it hasn't attacked or attempted to attack you again."  He was right. I haven't even thought about it that way. How could I not notice it hasn't tried anything since the kitchen incident? Well in my defense it has only been a few days and I honestly was still a little shaken from the reaction it had pulled from me. Finally sighing in defeat I caved. "You're right. I'm sorry. It's just that constantly having a shadow, no pun intended, as grown tedious and annoying."  Asmodeus chuckled and scooted over to me to pull me into a side hug. "We have actually been enjoying ourselves." He said lightly. "Spending so much time with you has been something we have all been longing to do ever since you came back to us. Now we get the chance to do it one on one."  I smiled and crawled into his lap and kissed him. "I'm sorry I have been so aloof since I've come back. After all that has happened, it feels like I can't get a break. It has been one things after another. I haven't really had time to think about getting our relationship back to what it was, if not better. Now we have this Shadow Demon who seems to be worse than the fight we just got out of. I'm tired Asmodeus." I confessed.  He held me tightly to him. "I know all this is hard, and it's not fair but we will get through it. I don't know how but we will. We just need to train our power and learning to control emotion more than our physical abilities this time." I nodded as I got out of his lap and sat back down in between him and my father. Closing my eyes, I concentrated on the shadows and darkness that lived inside me. Ever since the fight with the Angels I felt as if my shadows were stronger, but I knew not nearly as strong as I needed them.  So, I focused. Diving deep within myself I searched for the shadows. They responded as they always have, but I had to go deeper, move through the shadows that come to me and find what is hidden beneath them. My shadows come from somewhere, and I was intent on finding where that somewhere was.  However long I had been digging, I still haven't found the source. I've trudged through an endless amount of shadows, and endless amount of darkness with no luck. It seemed like an impossible task, but every time I dove into my psyche I seemed to go deeper than the previous time. I just needed more time to explore this part of me. Between searching my shadows, searching my Angelic light and trying to gain control of my fear, it was a never ending battle, and I had grown weary.  "Ariel! Ariel!" I heard my name being called far in the distance. I didn't know from where, but i did know it was far away. A sudden jolt, a shaking of my inner world knocked me out of my trance like state and I was left staring into the blue eyes of my father. I got angry, I felt like I was close this time. After shifting through so much, my father pulled me out. "What the hell did you do that for?" Irritation laced my tone and I had no intention of hiding it. "Look around you Ariel." My father said sternly.  I huffed, but did as he asked. What I saw made me gasp as my hand flew over my mouth. Shadows swirled around me in waves, but not only me. The shadows covered the entire lawn, encased the mansion, and blotted out the sun. My shadows were so dense and so thick that not even the sun could penetrate it. "Dad, go over there and summon your light. I want to see how powerful it is now." He nodded as he got up and sped across the lawn. I watched as he closed his eyes and summoned his light. It did nothing, my shadows quickly surrounded him, they fed off his light making them grow stronger, as they pulsed and throbbed around him with the power they had consumed.  I was giddy with excitement as my father looked at me in astonishment. "Asmodeus, do the same with your shadows." I commanded. He didn't say anything, he just got up and went to stand beside my father. Before I knew it, his shadows wafted off his body connecting with my own. They seemed to merge, as if they were meant to be connected. His shadows connected with mine made the barrier of darkness encasing us grow at an unprecedented rate. The power of the shadows now had quivered and pulsed as they swirled around us in a whirlwind.  Asmodeus and my father looked taken aback, their eyes wide and their jaw dropped. I on the other hand was consumed by excitement. "Don't get too excited." My father warned as I looked back over to them. Asmodeus was calling his shadows back to himself and I did the same. The sun peaked through as the shadows returned to me.  Before long the shadows were gone, settled back into their rightful owners. "What do you mean?" I asked him as he strode over to me. "This just means your shadows are as powerful as his, but it's not enough. He controls an other worldly kind of shadow, but shadows all the same. Now we need to work on your Angelic light and your capability of controlling your fear. You can't have the same reaction next time. One second of hesitation, one second that you're frozen by fear, could be one second it needs to finish you."  Why? Why do they always have to squash my hope, why do they always have to belittle the progress I've made by telling me it's not enough? Don't they think I know that? I am not stupid, I knew it wasn't enough, but progress is progress, no matter how big or how small. They may not believe me, they may not even believe we can do this or that I can do this, but I knew different. I would win, the same way we won against the Angels we would win this. With training and determination.