Dead Girl Dancing

— except that something more startling caught my attention. I stared at Dyce’s cheek and then his hand, a slow realization dawning.

His cheek where I’d spit had lightened in tone. When he’d rubbed the spot, his tan … it must be tanning spray … had worn off. Looking down, I saw that a bruise near his wrist was simply a patch of pale skin — and it was glowing an ominous gray.

Dyce was a Dark Lifer.

21

I swallowed my gasp, not wanting him to guess what I knew.

Still, I think he suspected something because he folded his arms across his chest and stared at me. I looked away, defiantly ignoring him although I watched from the corner of my eye. After a long, terrifying moment he shook his head, clearly puzzled but unable to figure me out. Then he turned abruptly and climbed up the stairs. When the trap door slammed shut, I sagged back on the bench.

I’d sent the DD Team after the wrong person.

Not Warren.

Dyce.

Small things suddenly made sense — like how I’d felt dizzy whenever Dyce touched me. It wasn’t lust, but a reaction to his dark energy. The tingly feeling had nothing to do with hormones or drugged tea; just being close to him made me weak, probably more than ordinary girls because I wasn’t that different from him.

A temporary soul in someone else’s body.

Did he know? How could he not know? When I met him, I must have been carrying the glowing energy Grammy told me about.

I thought about this but decided no, for whatever reason, he really didn’t know. This wasn’t about me being a Temp Lifer. Dyce’s revenge was personal for Sharayah. He’d waited months to get her alone and vulnerable. He’d admitted to studying her interest in poetry, even her taste in food. But why was he so obsessed with her?

I thought about what I knew about Dark Lifers. They were non-living souls who’d gone on Temp Life missions — but instead of returning to the other side, they hid in unsuspecting bodies. They could borrow a body for a full moon’s cycle unless an injury forced them out sooner. Then they had only minutes to find a new body or they’d glow like a neon sign flashing Hey, DD Team! Come and get me! Most Dark Lifers were newly deceased, inexperienced and hiding out because they were afraid. They usually made mistakes that led to their quick capture.

Seasoned Dark Lifers, though, had decades, even centuries of experience and continued to elude the DD Team. They were cunning and dangerous. Their forceful touch could drain victims of their energy and leave them empty.

Dyce was definitely not a newbie. I should have guessed he wasn’t a regular guy from his formal way of speaking and how he quoted famous dead people. For all I knew, he could be one of those famous dead people. His name probably wasn’t even Dyce; that was just the body he currently inhabited. Did Dark Lifers use their own names or assume the role of their victims? Doing some quick math, I guessed that he would have been in three different bodies since Sharayah struggled with Gabe. He could have been posing as a college student, a professor or even one of the girls living in Sharayah’s dorm. Ooh. Gross.

But kidnapping me was extreme to avenge a friend — unless Dyce was more than a friend to Gabe. And that’s when I finally realized what was going on here.

Dyce wasn’t just a friend of Gabe’s.

Dyce was Gabe.

* * *

The bad news: I was trapped with a Dark Lifer who thought I’d left him for dead and would most likely toss me into the ocean for shark food once we were far out at sea.

The good news: None.

I was doomed.

But despite having no ideas for escape, I had too much stubborn determination to give up. There had to be a way out of this.

So I racked my brain for every piece of information from every self-help book I’d ever read. The only thing I could come up with was from Adversaries are Allies. The advice was meant for business situations, like when your boss hates you. It was all about turning adversaries (people who hate you) into allies (loyal friends). One strategy involved creating two columns: one for your strengths and the other for your adversary’s weakness. Then use your strengths to strike his weaknesses.

Hmmm, being tied up with duct tape didn’t leave me with any strengths. But I was strong in knowledge, I realized. I knew he was a Dark Lifer, but he didn’t know I was a Temp Lifer. He knew Sharayah had changed, but he had no idea how drastically. There had to be some advantage in knowing this … but what? And how could I do anything with my hands and legs taped together?

The GEM!

If I could just push it out of my pocket and open the pages, I could literally call for help. Grandma was only a page-turn away and she’d send in the DD Team. They’d kick Dyce-Gabe’s arrogant ass out of his stolen body and back to the other side where he belonged.

Leaning back against the bench cushion, with my taped hands on my lap, I fumbled for the pocket in my skirt. When I felt the book beneath my taped wrists, I pushed it up. I leaned sideways to get the right angle, groaning as my legs, also taped together, twisted painfully. My hair flew in my face, swinging into my mouth. I spit it out, all the while working on the book. A corner of it poked out from the pocket. But to get it any farther out I’d have to be a contortionist, and I’d always hated exercise.

I’d just managed to twist almost completely upside down — my bound feet were wiggling above my head and my hands were a finger-touch away from the GEM — when the door to the cabin opened.

“Miss me?” Dyce called out cheerfully. “Hey, why are you upside down?”

I jerked upright, tossing my feet back to the ground and popping up in the seat like nothing unusual had happened.

“Trying to get circulation back into my feet,” I said, breathing hard. “You wrapped them so tight.”

“I’ll unwrap them when we’re on our way.”

My pulse jumped. So we were going out to sea? Doomed, I thought again. I had to get out of here before we left the dock.

“Could you loosen my legs now?” I asked in a more cajoling tone. “It’s not like there’s anywhere I can run.”

“True.” He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “But you’re like a wire stretched tight, ready to snap. Are you up to something?”

“Nothing,” I said, breathing fast.

He stepped closer, studying me suspiciously. “I don’t believe you.”

“What can I do with my hands and legs taped?”

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”

“Don’t you ever believe anyone?”

“No. Why are you acting so nervous?”

“Um … let me think. What do I have to be nervous about? Oh, yeah. I’ve just been kidnapped and have no idea what you plan to do to me.” I listened for the telltale sound of the boat’s motor, but all was silent. At least we hadn’t left the dock … yet.

“You don’t sound afraid. You sound like you’re hiding something,” he said, idly reaching up to adjust his cap as he studied me.