Shadows Crumble Read online

  Shadows Crumble

  Shadow Coven : Book 1

  Chera Carmichael

  Copyright © 2022 by Chera Carmichael

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Cover Design by Starlight Book Cover Design.

  Editing by Excel Designs

  Contents

  The Tags

  Definition

  1. Rough Day, Long Night - Madison

  2. Bearer Knows Best - Madison

  3. A Falling Out - Madison

  4. Shadows Stretching Long - Madison

  5. Empty Spaces - Madison

  6. The First Step Is Asking For Help - Madison

  7. Helping Hands - Madison

  8. A Change Of Scenary - Madison

  9. Welcome To Embryise - Madison

  Author’s Note

  Also by Chera Carmichael

  GLOSSARY

  Character List

  Have You Read The Prequel?

  Ghost-Hunting off-Realm?

  About the Author

  The Tags

  To my faithful readers who requested my ‘rambling fic tags’. This is for you. I now tag this as:

  * * *

  Madison needs a hug. She kind of gets one. Healers have very specific requirements. Burn out is not a joke, but there is hope at the end. Angst and fluff. Pareyic dynamics. Every friendship is different.

  Definition

  Pa·rey·ic co·ven

  /PAH-rey-ick Coh-ven/

  * * *

  The formation of a dragel Circle with no additional ranks, dominant or otherwise and no Submissive center. Comprised entirely of Pareyas (Protectors) in different distinctions and specialties, they are free from instinctive hierarchies formed from traditional dragel triads and Gheyo Suites. Some Covens choose to have a rotating authority that changes at a set time, sharing the responsibility of being the leader.

  1

  Rough Day, Long Night - Madison

  Madison slunk into her shared apartment, toeing off her worn standard-issue boots at the door. She kicked them in the general direction of the shared shoe rack and released the tight hold on her shadows that had weighed on her heavily as she'd finally cut the shift off, fifteen minutes early to call an end to her stupid day.

  Wisps of darkness peeled off of her body, as if they couldn't get away from her fast enough. They raced from her limbs, dripping off of her fingertips to slither across the floors and walls, blocking out every single bit of light in the cramped two-bedroom apartment.

  There was no point in anything bigger, neither of them actually spent much time there, unless sleeping at work wasn't possible.

  Most days it was.

  Her sweaty, socked feet squeaked on the slick wooden floor. A thick haze of smoke was briefly visible overhead, before her shadows blanked it out.

  Wrinkling her nose at the smell of rosemary and something stuffier—older—Madison hobbled forward the next couple of steps until she could wrestle her feet free from said sweaty socks.

  Those were thrown over her shoulder and hopefully, close enough to the shoe rack so she'd find them again come the next start-of-shift time. She could wear her socks twice, if it meant cutting down on laundry and time spent on pointless, but necessary things.

  Her bare feet stuck unpleasantly to the sticky floor as she padded though the small sitting area, her right knee finding the sharp edge of the thrifted end table that wasn't where she'd left it three days ago.

  "Quit moving that stupid table," she grumbled, irritated.

  Rubbing her knee for a moment, she picked her way through the rest of the apartment, aided by her shadows not-so-gentle, but ever-so-helpful nudges toward her bedroom.

  "Mads, is that you?" The smoke intensified before a shrouded young woman appeared in the hallway entrance, her thin, angular face the only visible part of her through the haze.

  Madison glared—or rather, tried to—that much emotion took more energy than she felt she could comfortably spare.

  "Yikes," came the expected drawl. "What happened to you?"

  "Three shifts straight and one emergency call. I wanna die," Madison said, flatly. "Quit moving that stupid table."

  "I didn't move the—oh, I guess I did. Sorry. Needed something a little closer to the sofa. You know." Celia Kadel offered a dramatic bow with a little flourish of the slender gold-tipped white-ceramic pipe in her hands.

  Like her, it was gleamingly pale, white and entirely too long. Despite the elegance of her height, Celia always managed to look like a hunched scarecrow. It was only her odd fashion-sense that offered some redeeming effort.

  Each layer of filmy semi-transparent silk clung to her too-thin figure, giving her the appearance of a goddess in mourning.

  Madison rolled her eyes.

  More like a dramatic goddess in mourning.

  "Who died?" she wanted to know, stripping out of her healer-smocked standard-wear. The Flexi-suit underneath—a habit of her mostly Gheyo-upbringing—did her no favors today.

  It was sweatier than her socks and stuck to all the wrong places as she tried to wrestle her way out of it.

  Celia stifled a laugh. "You're adorable," she said, amused. "Here, hold my pipe." She handed over the precious item, before deftly undoing the snaps and zippers along the front of the custom Flexi-suit.

  It wasn't the first time she'd undressed her and it certainly wouldn't be the last, given her inability to get out of the thing in a hurry whenever she could. Flexi-suits were made to be snug and durable to provide the best protection.

  Nose wrinkled, Madison closed her eyes, attempting to hold mostly still while Celia yanked, tugged and undid the fastenings on her Flexi-suit. A spell would be faster, but this one was charmed for the sake of protecting her vitals.

  A stray undressing or unravelling spell could cost her life in an emergency. Best to have life-saving daily wear spelled against it.

  "This is disgusting, I don't know why you do it," Madison said, handing over the pipe as a hint of lavender-hued smoke swirled around her. The irritation turned to wariness as she edged away from the purpling cloud.

  Sometimes, that smoke messed with her mind in ways she didn't like to think about. It dredged up memories of her parental triad's worries about living with a Kadel, while still working towards her higher Healer certifications.

  There was a little bit of truth to it, but not much.

  Celia's smoke mostly brought up feelings that she wanted to stuff in a barrel and drown at the bottom of some unfathomable sea void.

  "I do it exactly for the same reason you're going to go and half-drown yourself in the bathtub to get rid of the day," Celia said, wisely. "I didn't exactly want to give up a limb, years of my life, any of my senses or existing here. It's a nice time to be alive. This is the one of the easier contracts."

  Madison couldn't say anything to that. The Kadel Clan had their own curses and rituals to deal with, just like the Kuroes. In Celia's case, she'd had to pick something to give up to stay within the realm of visibility and general physical reality.

  At least, in Nevarah.

  She scowled. "It'd be nicer if I could get a damn vacation and not have to deal with other people's stupid-"

  "That's your own fault, darling. All you ever do is solve other people's problems," Celia said. "You can't do it and then complain about it when things end up costing you more than you bargained for."

  Her smoke thickened around her, taking on a definite purplish-hue. It swirled around Madison, guiding her towards their shared bathroom just l
ike her shadows had done, as if it were a fifth limb.

  "Can too," Madison muttered. She allowed herself to be nudged and pulled in the direction of their shared bathroom.

  The sound of running water filtered out into the hallway, a hint of steam pressing up against the open crack of the door.

  Madison felt the tension leave her body, draining away as she pushed open the bathroom door, feet curling against the warm, damp tiles on the way to the freestanding tub at the corner of the bathroom.

  "Need anything, yell," Celia said, from the doorway. "I'll be meditating. As usual."

  Madison grunted in answer. She barely paid any attention to the doorway, her attention fixed on the tub that sounded almost halfway filled. Tossing her underwear into her laundry basket on the right, Madison tugged on her shadows to seal the room.

  She wanted to drift in the water.

  Just enough for her element to relax and her magic to recharge. Sensory deprivation was the best way for her to bounce back, but not always an available option with the current living situation and no family members to keep an eye on her.

  She'd never do that without some family connection close. Every Kuroe of the shadow elemental kind, had their own way of recharging. Her little water routine with a pitch-black bathroom for a quick soak in the tub was far from eccentric compared to her siblings.

  The only catch was that slipping under was dangerous. Not all of her shadows were neutral, after all. Sometimes she'd pick up new ones on the way in or during her daily commute and they'd stick around.

  Sometimes they'd stay for good.

  It took time to teach them to separate from her for things like daily rituals of teeth brushing, showering, doing laundry and cooking. Boring, mundane things that would allow her mind to wander while burning off some excess energy.

  The water's chill sank beneath her skin, sinking deeper to the bone as she groaned softly into the quiet of the empty bathroom.

  Her shadows vibrated in answer, some of the friendlier ones frisking about the outside of the tub. She eased over to hang her arms on the outside, cheek pillowed against a soft puff of shadow, while others vied for her attention, pushing under her palms for pats and scritches.

  One of them, her favorite—a spark of shadow she hadn't named yet—nosed along her jawline, bumping her cheek for affection as if it were a pet.

  "I'm fine," she told it. "Kind of a lousy day today. You saw half of it when you were there. I'm just—recovering," she murmured, eyes half-closed.

  She couldn't make out a thing in the shadow-dark of the bathroom, but that was perfectly fine. The less she saw right now, the saner she felt. That was part of the whole point of her little ritual.

  A Healer's job was thankless and somedays, she thought it was heartless too.

  Maybe a quick nap wouldn't hurt...

  2

  Bearer Knows Best - Madison

  Madison woke to the feel of warm hands rubbing scented oil into her scalp with warm, steady hands. The energy accompanying it was familiar and comfortable. She breathed deeply to ground herself in the spiced, earthen scents, easily picking out the identifiable points in her close family and narrowing it down to one specific person.

  "...Mama?"

  "Thought that would wake you," came her mother's soft reply. "You looked like you could use a bit of pampering. Brought some of my hair oils. Your favorites. You do need to take better care of your hair, you know."

  Madison almost smiled.

  A quiet purr stuttered in her throat instead, as she roused herself from the comfort of the now-lukewarm bath. A warming charm slipped from her fingers, nudging the temperature up enough to be soothing again.

  The first edges of her incoming migraine had tapered off to a tolerable ache at the corners of her temples. Usually brought on by stress, overwork and her own stubbornness, Madison was relieved to feel the pressure retreating from the careful scalp massage.

  Her Mama had always been good at that.

  She sighed, contentedly.

  Suki Kuroe was a strong woman with a gentle wreath of shadows around her that often kept to themselves instead of melding with the energies around her. Her sturdy frame was perched on a wooden bath stool beside the large, claw-foot tub, allowing her to run careful hands through Madison's damp hair.

  "You should've told me you were coming," Madison said, her voice rough with sleep. "And I do take care of it. There's just a lot of excess spellwork sometimes and I can't always take the time to all eighteen steps of your routine."

  "Doing it halfway is better than skipping the entire thing," Suki said, mildly. "If I knew I was coming, I would've called."

  Madison stifled a yawn, grimacing at her slightly pruned fingers, the full-effect of her water nap not quite registering on account of the wild magic her shadows had stripped from the water.

  "...sorry? Did I call you? I don't remember calling you. Didn't mean to make you come all this way just because I had a bad day-"

  "Celia called me. Said you came in and looked dead on your feet and she was reasonably sure that if I didn't come, you'd stay locked in the bathroom for the rest of the week. She wants to do her hair tomorrow for something or the other," Suki said.

  "Oh."

  "I tried seven other ways before I settled on this one, just so you know. When you're sleeping that deeply, darling, you really have no business going in at all. A Healer who-"

  "-who can't help themselves has no business helping others," Madison recited. "I know, Mama, I know. I just—I was on those last three that coded. They needed a shadow-type and I was there. Lucky me."

  "Oh darling," Suki said. She held out one arm and Madison curled closer to her, wet hair clinging to wet skin and the slight chill in the air, drawing a shiver. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, baby."

  Madison blinked hard, willing the tears to stay inside of her instead of leaking out to mix with the bathwater. "It just—it really wore me out and-" her voice cracked. "It doesn't matter how many times I see it. How many times I'm right there—and I can't do anything, Mama. I can't do a single thing. I'm just—I'm a shadow. A stupid little shadow of a Healer and I can't reach out and pull them from the-"

  Leaning forward, Suki pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "You cannot save someone who does not wish to be saved. Every shadow has their place. There is nothing stupid about you."

  "Then why do I feel like this?"

  Suki sighed. "...I don't know. I'm sorry. I wish I did. We all handle things differently. Sometimes, things are going to hurt. Really, really hurt, no matter how much we wish they wouldn't. They just are. They just do. They hit us differently and we're left reeling."

  "I hate it."

  "I don't think we're required to like it. We just have to be aware of it." Suki stroked her fingers across Madison's chilled face.

  Madison sniffled. "I'm aware and I hate it."

  Suki gave her another consoling pat. "I know you don't want to hear this, but I'm only going to mention it once more, then I won't bring it up again, alright?"

  "Mama!"

  "Darling, please. It worries me to see you like this and as much as I like Celia—she's a nice girl, don't get me wrong—she's not equipped to handle you like this. I don't think she's even in the same plane of existence right now and you need someone that is here for you when you need them. Especially if you have needs more often than not-"

  "I don't need anyone," Madison protested. "And I don't want a Circle either. That's too much—hassle. I like what I'm doing. I like my work—most days, but-"

  "Most days?"

  "I don't want a Circle! I don't want to be fawning over a single Submissive for the rest of my life because of a designated rank that-"

  "No one says you have to," Suki said, patiently. "And I'm not telling you to either."

  "Then what do you want from me?"

  The bitterness in her tone sent a warm flush through her body. Taking her frustration out on her Bearer was hardly the mature thing to do, but hurt things did
hurt and Madison couldn't find the energy to care.

  "I want you to be happy," Suki said, plainly. "In whatever way that looks on you. I'll know you've found it when I don't see you hurting yourself like this. You know this isn't healthy, Madison! I don't have to be the one to tell you, but-"

  "I can't, Mama. I just—I can't."

  "What about a coven, hm? Surely there's one that would fit your needs or inclinations. There's dozens of them-"

  Madison rolled her eyes, pulling away to sink down in the charmed-water of the tub. The waterline lapped at her chin, shrouding her in comfortable warmth.

  "There's none that fit. I'd know. I've checked."

  "Madison..."

  "Most of them are comprised of friends that have known each other for years and years, they aren't looking to expand or it's older ones wanting a younger one to mentor or project their parental feelings on and I get enough of that from-"

  Suki dipped a hand in the water and flicked it lightly in Madison's direction.

  "Hey!" Madison's shadows rose up around her, flaring out and fading when she caught sight of the sad look on her Mama's face. "...that's not fair, Mama. You know I'm not doing it on purpose."

  "I know, baby, I know. I just want you to be happy," Suki repeated. "And if that meant pestering you for a few years, that was what I was going to do. But I haven't forgotten how that can feel, so like I said—that was the last time. Now, I'm going to go out there and see if you girls have anything good in your kitchen and I'll make you something tasty to last the week. You soak in there for a little bit more or get on out of the tub and rub some oils in. Do you need more of that herbal blend?"