Born of Shadows and Rain

CHAPTER ONE The rain had been falling since sunset. By the time Aria stepped out of the diner where she worked part-time, the city looked as though it had been swallowed by darkness and water. Streetlights reflected off the wet pavement in golden streaks, and passing cars sent sheets of rain splashing onto the sidewalks. She pulled her hood over her head and glanced at her phone. 11:42 PM. Three missed calls. Two text messages. All from her aunt. Aria sighed. She didn't need to read the messages to know what they said. Her aunt had been reminding her for weeks that a seventeen-year-old girl had no business staying out late. Never mind that Aria worked after school to help pay bills. Never mind that every extra hour at the diner meant groceries in the kitchen and electricity that stayed on. To her aunt, excuses were excuses. "You'll hear it the moment you get home," Aria muttered to herself. She shoved the phone into her pocket and started toward the bus stop. The streets were strangely empty for a Friday night. Usually there would be couples hurrying beneath umbrellas, students laughing outside convenience stores, or taxis weaving through traffic. Tonight there was almost nothing. Just rain. And silence. An uneasy feeling settled in my chest. The rain had been falling since sunset. By the time I stepped out of the diner where I worked part-time, Blackthorn City looked as though it had been swallowed by darkness and water. Streetlights reflected off the wet pavement in long golden streaks, and every passing car sent cold sprays of rainwater onto the sidewalk. I pulled my jacket tighter around myself and checked my phone. 11:42 PM. Three missed calls. Two text messages. All from my aunt. A sigh escaped me. I didn't need to open the messages to know what they said. She'd probably spent the last hour worrying herself sick while pretending she was angry. Where are you? Why aren't you answering? Call me now. I slipped the phone back into my pocket and started toward the bus stop. The diner wasn't far from home, but the weather had turned the streets into a ghost town. Most of the shops had already closed, and the few people brave enough to be outside hurried past beneath umbrellas without sparing anyone a second glance. I hate nights like this. Not because of the rain. Because they made me think too much. A few hours earlier, an elderly customer had noticed the worn photograph tucked inside my wallet. "Your parents?" she'd asked with a smile. I had nodded. The conversation should have ended there. Instead, I'd spent the rest of my shift thinking about them. Five years had passed since the accident that took them away, yet some days the loss felt as fresh as an open wound. I could barely remember the sound of my father's laugh anymore. Sometimes I worried I was forgetting their faces too. That terrified me more than anything. I shoved my hands into my pockets and lowered my head against the rain. The bus stop was only a few blocks away. I would get home. My aunt would lecture me. Life would continue exactly as it always had. At least, that was what I thought. A flash of lightning illuminated the street ahead. For a brief second, I saw someone standing beneath a broken streetlamp. A man. Tall. Motionless. Watching me. I slowed. The lightning disappeared. Darkness rushed back in. When I looked again, the figure was gone. I frowned and continued walking. Maybe I'd imagined him. The weather was awful, and I was exhausted. Still, something about those few seconds bothered me. I couldn't explain why. The image lingered in my mind. Especially his eyes. Silver. Not gray. Silver. A strange uneasiness settled over me. The further I walked, the stronger it became. It felt as though someone was watching me. Not from one direction. From everywhere. I glanced over my shoulder. Nothing. The street behind me was empty. The rain continued to fall. I forced myself to keep moving. "You're being ridiculous, Aria," I muttered. My voice sounded small against the storm. The bus stop finally came into view at the end of the block. Relief washed through me. Then I heard a scream. I froze. The sound echoed through the night. At first, I thought it belonged to a person. Then it changed. Twisting into something unnatural. Something that made every hair on my body stand on end. My stomach dropped. The scream came from an alley nearby. I should have ignored it. Any sane person would have. Instead, I found myself moving toward the sound. Curiosity had always been my greatest weakness. Rainwater splashed beneath my shoes as I approached the mouth of the alley. The darkness inside seemed thicker somehow. Heavier. For several seconds, I saw nothing. Then something moved. I stopped breathing. A figure slowly emerged from the shadows. At first glance, it looked human. Then it straightened. And kept straightening. And kept straightening. Until I realized no human being should have been that tall. My pulse hammered against my ribs. The thing stepped into the faint glow of a streetlight. Red eyes. Gray skin. A mouth filled with rows of sharp teeth. Fear crashed through me so violently that my knees nearly gave out. I couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. The creature tilted its head and smiled. I swear it smiled. That was what finally broke whatever spell had frozen me in place. I turned and ran. My shoes slipped against the wet pavement as I sprinted down the street. My lungs burned almost immediately, but I didn't dare slow down. Behind me, something growled. The sound was close. Far too close. I risked a glance over my shoulder. Big mistake. The creature was chasing me. And it was fast. Much faster than any human should have been. A terrified scream escaped my throat. My heart felt ready to burst from my chest. This couldn't be happening. Monsters weren't real. None of this was real. My foot caught against the edge of a broken curb. Pain exploded through my knee as I crashed onto the pavement. Before I could scramble back to my feet, a shadow fell across me. The creature stood only a few feet away. Rain dripped from its claws. Its smile widened. I felt sick. This was it. I was going to die. The thought hit me harder than the fear itself. Not because I was afraid of death. Because I wasn't ready. I hadn't gone to college. I hadn't traveled. I hadn't even figured out what I wanted to do with my life. My aunt would be waiting for me to come home. And I never would. The creature lunged. A blur of black slammed into it before it could reach me. The impact shook the ground. The creature was thrown backward with enough force to crack the pavement. For several seconds, I could only stare. A man stood between me and the monster. Tall. Broad-shouldered. Dressed entirely in black. Rain rolled down dark hair and disappeared beneath the collar of his coat. Slowly, he turned toward me. Silver eyes met mine. The same eyes I had seen beneath the streetlamp. The same eyes that had haunted my thoughts all night. For reasons I couldn't explain, my heartbeat stuttered. Not because he was attractive. Not because he had just saved my life. Because he looked shocked. As though seeing me was impossible. As though I was the last person he had expected to find standing there alive. For a long moment, neither of us spoke. Then his gaze shifted back to the creature. The monster charged again. This time, I watched the stranger move. No. Move wasn't the right word. One second he was beside me. The next, he was in front of the creature. A sickening crack echoed through the street. The creature slammed into a wall. Bricks shattered. Black ash scattered into the rain. My mouth fell open. I couldn't understand what I was seeing. Nothing about this made sense. The stranger remained perfectly still. Not even breathing hard. When he looked at me again, the shock had not left his face. If anything, it had deepened. "This isn't possible," he said quietly. I swallowed hard. "What isn't?" The rain poured around us. For a moment, he seemed unsure whether to answer. Then he took a single step toward me. And for the first time that night, I felt something even more frightening than fear. I felt certainty. The certainty that my life had just changed forever. The stranger's silver eyes locked onto mine. And in a voice barely louder than the storm, he whispered, "You shouldn't be here." End of Chapter One Silver eyes met hers. And for reasons she couldn't explain, her heart skipped a beat. Not because he was handsome. Not because he had just saved her life. Because the expression on his face was one of complete shock. As though seeing her was impossible. As though she was the last person he had ever expected to find alive.