Casting Shadows

Chapter 1

Chapter 1 (Declan's POV)

*Six years later*

"I swear if that redheaded ass is one more minute late I'm going to kill him," my father says impatiently as he leans back into his chair and puts his legs up onto the large table.

We all sit around a big, round, wooden table in the main building in our dimension. It's in the center of everything, where all the districts meet. There are four districts, meaning four sub leaders. They're all different in their own way, which is why these meetings are always interesting to attend.

"Relax, Patrick," Pete says. "He still has a couple of minutes before we're supposed to start."

My father rolls his eyes and begins to pick at his nails. He's a brat, used to getting whatever he wants, whenever he wants it.

Bronx, Saint, and I all eye each other as we try to act as normal as possible. They're Pete's sons and my best friends. If our fathers figured out that we didn't hate each other they would get mad at us, so we keep our friendship a secret from them. Since they're siblings, Pete will have to choose who will be his successor when he ceases to rule. All of the son's of the sub leaders come to these meetings once they become old enough in order to prepare them. So far, Pete and my father are the only ones with children.

"I'm here, I'm here, don't worry," a lazy voice says. The large doors open, streaming in light from the hallway. Gerard's silhouette appears, his long shadow casting across the room. He leisurely walks to his seat and sits down on the opposite side of me that my father is on and runs his hand through his red hair, attempting to fix it.

"Lets just begin," Brendon says as he props his elbows on the table. He's another leader, probably the harshest of all of them.

There are four sub leaders, one for each district, Pete, Gerard, Brendon, and my father. Each of them are thought of as kings in the districts that they're in charge of. It's ridiculous how much some civilians worship them.

Pete's probably the nicest out of all the leaders. He's the most rational of the four. Unlike the rest of them, he considers other people's opinions and emotions when making a decision. His two sons are also very kind. He raises them right.

Gerard is probably the second kindest, only because he's the most lackadaisical. He doesn't seem to give much effort into anything and he's very carefree. People like him because he gives his district a lot of freedom. Honestly, I'm not the fondest of him because he doesn't care enough about things that are actually important. He's also a bit self-centered.

Brendon is like the crazy man that lives next door who parents tell there kids to stay away from. He's very assertive and doesn't like to compromise. He always likes to get right to the point and not beat around the bush. His cruel ways are what drive me to hate him. Sometimes he can appear to be happy and sarcastic, but he doesn't mean well.

My father, Patrick, is a complicated person. He shares some of Brendon's qualities of cruelty and assertiveness, but he is more caring. When I was younger he would act a lot nicer to me. He would tuck me into bed and take care of me. Now, he just says I'm old enough to be more independent, but when I do something wrong he gets extremely angry. He loves my mother, Elisa, with all his heart. That means a lot because usually demon relationships don't last very long, especially with leaders.

This dimension is run by demons, therefore being an angel is considered to be disgusting. The sad part is that there are angels living and hiding all over this dimension and many are too afraid to come out.

"So, this angel problem," Brendon begins.

Pete clears his throat and glares at him. "Don't you think we should wait for Andy?"