Free Dark Seduction by Shaun Jeffrey

thought he saw faces coldly regarding him from behind the caravan’s colourful motifs; dark faces that looked cruel and menacing.
    “So how did you find me?” Zen asked.
    Melantha cracked a smile; the scars on her face made it look more like a grimace. “I have my ways.”
    “What, you got a crystal ball?”
    Melantha pinched her lips. “Look, you don’t mean anything to me, so I’m warning you, don’t interfere with things that don’t concern you, otherwise you’ll regret it.”
    Zen smiled to himself. He couldn't see this hideous woman posing any real threat, no matter what power she purported to have. Compared to the inhabitants of the Shadowland, she was a clown.
    “You think that’s funny? Then I think it's time you saw for yourself what you're dealing with.”
    “So what are you going to do? Hex me?” Zen laughed, but he faltered when he thought he saw Melantha's face change, the scars twisting like snakes. Putting it down to a trick of the light, he shook his head. What was he going to do? Why would they want him to kill someone who looked as if she couldn't hurt a flea? It didn't make any sense. He needed a cigarette.
    “Climb up here. Come with me. I'll show you.”
    Zen hesitated.
    “Don't worry, I won't bite. Or are you scared of me?” She grinned.
    Zen spat on the ground. At least the overhang on the front of the caravan offered a bit of shelter from the rain, so he hoisted himself up and sat beside her.
    Melantha flicked the reins and the horse started trotting towards Trinity.
    “There's a saying,” Melantha said. “ Te na khutshos perdal tsho ushalin . Try not to jump over your own shadow. Do you know why?”
    Zen shook his head.
    “Because if you do, you'll find the Shadowland.”
    Zen tried to stay impassive, but he couldn’t stop his heart racing. “The Shadowland?”
    “Don’t play dumb. You’ve been there.”
    “Well, I didn't go bloody jumping over any shadows to get there.”
    “That's because they need you. They can open the door using nuances of light, the tower a beacon to illuminate the path; it's the source of their power.”
    “Well why do they need me?”
    “You already know why. Because they want you to kill me.”
    Zen looked away and bit his lip. “But why me, and why do they want you dead?”
    “Because you’re a blood relation, the Glamour doesn't affect you.” She held a hand up to interrupt his next question. “The Glamour’s a power that enables me to influence people. What other people see isn't what you see. My clan folk are similarly unaffected, but their bloodline has been thinned over the years, and their resistance isn’t as good.”
    “Has anyone ever told you that you’re crazy?”
    Melantha didn’t react.
    Zen shivered. He wanted to believe she was madder than he thought, but he didn't think she was. “So why don't you just give them this Glamour thing back?”
    “Because there’s nothing to give back. The Glamour’s a part of me.”
    Zen didn't like the sound of this. “Look, I’m not stupid. What's this all about? Really?”
    “I don’t care what you believe. The only reason I haven’t killed you is because you’re my son, and believe it or not, that means something. When you’ve lost everything, family’s all that remains.”
    Zen didn’t understand.
     “So how much did they offer you?” Melantha asked.
    “Offer me?”
    “To kill me.”
    “Two hundred grand.” He felt guilty and he blushed. Even though he hadn't done anything, it sounded like a confession of guilt as he said it.
    Melantha nodded and turned around in her seat. She dragged a plastic Asda shopping bag out from behind her and opened it. “Here's more than that if you'll join me instead.”
    Zen looked at the money and licked his lips. He felt a bizarre echo of déjà vu. He'd been here before ...
    “They said they'd kill me,” Zen said, feeling sheepish. He'd never welched on a bet in his life, but then he'd never put his life up as the stake before,