Free Forget You (Demon Underground Series) by Parker Blue

Forget You
     
    This story takes place five years before the events in Bite Me, the first book in the Demon Underground series.
    SHAWN SAT HIDDEN in the shadows inside his adobe home and glared outside at the relentlessly sunny day, hating how it kept him trapped inside. Here, in the desert of New Mexico where people believed in aliens and UFOs, and the brotherhood of Penitentes still practiced their self-flagellation ecstasies in secret, he was considered weird.
    The land of enchantment? Maybe for other people. Other teens. For him  . . . not so much. The nice day kept him inside, for fear someone might pass by, even out here in the boonies, and catch a glimpse of the freakish demon boy. Welcome to another episode of As the World Spurns, he thought bitterly. Out loud, he muttered, “Being part shadow demon sucks.”
    Shawn said it more to lash out at his father than because it was true. When he got no reaction, he said it again, louder. Why did his father have to have children, anyway? Why couldn’t Shawn have been born to fully human parents?
    His father turned away from working on the computer and asked, “What’s the problem now?”
    Shawn’s twin sister, Sharra, came over to rub his shoulders, trying to soothe him. “It’s okay, Dad, he’s just restless.” Then, whispering so only Shawn could hear, she said, “What’s wrong with you lately? You act as though you have a burr up your butt all the time. Come on, remember your promise. Don’t get mad at Dad—don’t let him get mad at you. Take it out on me instead.”
    Shawn shook his head mutely. It was a stupid promise, even if she did make him pinky swear. How could he take it out on her? Sharra was the only good thing in his life.
    Louder, Sharra said, “Come play a game with me.”
    He glanced at her and scowled. His blond sister’s pretty features were hidden by the curse of the shadow demon. Everywhere there should have been skin, all you could see were swirling energy ribbons of golden light. Unfortunately, he matched her, but the ribbons whirling through him weren’t so pretty. They looked more like giant worms, dark and grey, endlessly moving through his skin. That’s what came of being a shadow demon, existing partly in this dimension, partly in others.
    The only time they didn’t look like members of a freak show was when they were touching another living being—another non-shadow demon, anyway. That grounded them in this world, making them look and feel fully human. But it hadn’t happened since Mom had deserted them, three years ago. Apparently, she couldn’t take living with children who looked like monsters anymore. Who could blame her?
    “No thanks, I’m not in the mood for games.” Shawn knew he sounded sulky, but he didn’t care.
    “Come on,” she wheedled. “Let’s play Grand Theft Auto.”
    “Why? So I can beat the crap out of you again?”
    “Don’t be so sure about that, Shadow Boy. I’ve got moves you haven’t seen yet.”
    “Big talk for a loser, Sunshine Girl.” Though his father’s dumb nicknames usually cheered him up, he wasn’t in any mood to be teased into a good humor. Not even by his sister, his best friend, and the better half of their Dynamic Duo. Shawn asked, “Don’t you ever get sick of this? Don’t you ever wish we could have normal lives, like every other sixteen-year-old on the planet?”
    She shrugged. “Of course, but it’s not like we can change what we are. What good does it do to complain?”
    “So sorry your own existence inconveniences you,” his father said. Dark worms swirled through his features, too, so Shawn and Sharra couldn’t gauge his feelings by facial expressions. Instead, they’d gotten very good at learning to judge his moods by the tone of his voice. For example, now, his voice was filled with sarcasm, with just a hint of anger.
    Sounding horrified, Sharra protested, “I didn’t mean it that way.”
    Of course she didn’t. Sharra was the good twin. Shawn was the