Shadow Demons by Sarra Cannon Page A

secrets. Secrets he held so tight, not even a crowbar could have pried them from him.
    “Knock, knock.” A tall man with a bushy mustache peered around the corner. When he saw me, he sighed and leaned against his mop. “It’s getting late. You got a ride home?”
    I stuffed my shoes into my duffel bag and zipped it up. “Yeah.”
    “Well, I gotta lock up, so you’ll have to wait outside.”
    I looked toward the demon painted on the wall. Mrs. King was downstairs in the training room, but I couldn’t very well go down there with this guy watching my every move. Still, I didn’t really want to go outside alone. Jackson was picking me up at the side entrance near the parking lot at ten, but it was still about ten minutes till.
    “I just need a few more minutes,” I said.
    “Nope, sorry,” the man said, looking at his watch. “I’ve already stayed way later than I wanted to tonight. Let’s go. You can wait out front.”
    I tied the drawstring on my comfy sweat pants, slipped into my old sneakers and walked out of the locker room. The lights in the gymnasium were dim. Only one set was still on, but the rest had been turned off hours ago. My shoes squeaked against the shiny floor, the sound echoing off the high ceilings.
    “Good night,” the custodian said.
    “Night,” I called back. I pushed open the side door and felt a blast of cold hit my face as I stepped into the evening air. It felt great after being cooped up in the gym with hundreds of people all day.
    I took a few steps toward the parking lot, then frowned. I was hoping Jackson would be waiting for me. It had to be close to ten now.
    I sat down on the curb and rifled through my clothes, looking for my cell phone. I pulled my makeup bag, hairbrush and chap-stick out and set them on the asphalt. Where was it?
    I searched the bag again, carefully feeling around for the hard surface of the phone, but I couldn’t find it anywhere.
    Crap. Did I leave it in the gym?
    I glanced back toward the entrance. The custodian had locked all the doors already.
    I looked around. No sign of Jackson anywhere.
    Something didn’t feel right. I swallowed nervously.
    Without my phone, I couldn’t call Jackson and tell him to come early. Maybe Mrs. King was still inside. I stuffed everything back into my bag and left it there on the curb. I crossed the damp grass between me and the gym and yanked on the handle.
    Definitely locked.
    I took a deep breath. No reason to panic.
    I cupped my hands against the glass window and peered inside. I couldn’t see anyone. I knocked on the door a few times and waited. Still no one. If Mrs. King was in there, she was definitely down in the basement. She’d never hear me up here banging on the door.
    Behind me, wings fluttered. I twisted around, pressing my back hard against the brick wall of the building. I searched the area for a bird, but there was nothing there.
    I raised my hand to my beating heart and shook my head. I was acting completely paranoid. The crows were far away from here. Mary Anne would have sensed them if they had dared to come back to this area. She said she’d let me know the second she felt one of her family members come close to Peachville again.
    A shadow fluttered across the ground to my left. I jumped.
    Cursing, I pulled harder on the gym doors, hoping against logic that I could somehow get inside. I tried using magic, but the lock wouldn’t budge.
    I pounded hard again on the metal door and then the glass window. There was no sign of Mrs. King anywhere. Behind me, something swooped across the darkness. It sounded like the flapping of wings. I was sure of it.
    I flipped around, my breath pushing out from my body in a tense escape. I struggled to pull air into my lungs. My heart thrummed in my chest. Why had I let myself be left alone like this? I should have just stayed inside until Jackson came for me.
    I pressed myself into a corner between the brick wall and the door to the gym. I didn’t want anyone to be