Blurred

Easton looked me over thoughtfully. “A shadow walker is born from a very old soul. One that’s been around a whole hell of a lot longer than Emma. Any idea how many times the Cash kid’s soul has been cycled through?”

I rolled my eyes. “How would I know that?”

“Can’t you tell?” Easton smoothed his palm over his blade as if to soothe it. “I can practically taste it. Stale. Bitter. You know?”

“No, I don’t know,” I said. “Besides, I didn’t have much time with him. I didn’t even let him exit the body.”

I pressed my lips together to hold the secrets in when a group of reapers walked by. One stopped and peered into the shadows, his golden eyes amused. Darius. Almighty, if there was one person I didn’t want to run into, it was him. There had been many who had tried to win my heart in the last thousand years, but Darius was the one who didn’t know when to quit. Easton must have sensed my body tensing from head to toe. He wrapped a heated arm around my waist and pulled me against him.

“Gotta problem?” He narrowed his gaze at Darius.

Darius’s jealous stare burned into me for a few seconds, his jaw clenched, setting his face into angry angles. He finally relaxed and shook his head, raking his fingers through his white-blond hair. “Come find me when you’re done slumming it, Anaya. I have a feeling you’ll be left wanting a little more when you’re done with that one.” He walked away laughing and I squeezed Easton’s arm to keep him in place.

I let Easton’s arm singe me a minute more until I was sure we were alone, then pushed him away.

“He’s not worth it.”

Easton’s face twisted into a scowl. “I should shove my scythe up his ass.”

I waved him off, and then curled my fingers back into a fist when bright sparks flew from them and landed on Easton’s black coat. “What should I do? Do you think this is why Balthazar has an interest in him?”

“It would definitely make sense,” Easton said. “They are the only beings in existence that have the power to track down and capture the souls that are quick enough to escape their bodies before we can get to them. Both sides have been using them for years to poach the souls lost between worlds. The shadows could use him for anything from a food source to a recruiter. And as for Balthazar, he could have him bringing in lost souls in spades. Before they have a chance to transition into shadow or cause the kind of damage Maeve did when she tried to steal Emma’s body. If not for that, I could see him wanting him just to keep him out of the underworld’s hands. It still doesn’t explain why he’s having you keep him alive, though. Unless…”

“Unless what?”

“He could be testing him,” he said. “You and I both know there is no way a normal soul would have lasted this long in an expired body. They would have succumbed in hours. But this kid…”

He wasn’t just lasting. He was setting some kind of record. I looked away to avoid Easton’s gaze.

Balthazar wasn’t having me keep him alive as some kind of reward. He just wanted me to keep him out of the competition’s hands while he tested his little theory. After his needless torture was over, he wanted him for himself.

Easton brushed off the sparks that were burrowing little holes into the arm of his duster. The threads burned black and red, like a bed of coals that had been raked over, before weaving together and repairing themselves before my eyes. “Just keep an eye on him for now. I’ll see what I can find out on my end. But if that’s what this is…” Easton’s gazed latched onto mine, pulling my fears out like a siphon and dumping them on the floor between us for the world to see. “If that’s what he is, this is only going to get worse.”

I didn’t even want to think about what would happen if what Easton said was true. If my selfishness had changed this boy’s world forever. Made him a pawn in some game between the dark and light. I nodded and watched Easton melt into the swirling black abyss below him and whispered, “I know.”

Chapter 9

Cash

Courage: Fear is only as deep as the mind allows.

I folded my arms across my chest and glared at the framed motivational poster hanging on the waiting room wall. Only as deep as the mind allows, huh? Try telling that to someone who’s being stalked by bloodthirsty shadow demons. Dad elbowed me in the ribs.

“Cash.”

“What?” I jerked away and rubbed my side where he’d jabbed me. He used the People magazine he’d been flipping through to point at the man standing in front of us. “He called your name. You’re up.”

Dr. Farber looked about Dad’s age, only Dad still had a full head of hair. This guy had scraps at best. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his pressed black slacks and plastered on a warm, fake smile for me. This was real. I was really here. In a freaking shrink’s office about to be analyzed by a dork wearing an argyle sweater vest.

I groaned and stood up. I did not want to be here. He couldn’t help me with my problems, because my problems were real. They weren’t in my head. They were nightmares brought to life. Unless he had a voodoo priest back there who could negotiate with the dead, I didn’t see the point in this.

“Nice to meet you, Cash.” Dr. Farber held his hand out. When I just looked at it, he dropped it to his side.

“Are we going to do this or what?” I asked.

I heard Dad stand behind me. “Cash!”

Dr. Farber held his hands up. “No. No. I get it, Cash. This is the last place you want to be.” He stepped aside and held his arm out to lead the way into his office. “What do you say we get this over with?”

I looked back at Dad. At the familiar you’re grounded look on his face, and sighed. “Okay.”

Everything was wood in Dr. Farber’s office. Even the walls were wood paneling. Books, diplomas, and pictures of family broke up the darkness. I sank down into the burgundy leather couch and linked my fingers together in front of me.

“I’m not lying down,” I said.

Dr. Farber laughed and sat down in the chair across from me. “I wasn’t going to ask you to.”

I nodded and bounced my fists in my knees.

“Are you nervous?”

“No.” Actually, yes. The thought of cracking myself open and letting some stranger see what was inside of me made me want to vomit. I couldn’t help but wonder if this was how Em had felt every time they’d put her through this bullshit. I leaned back into the plush sofa cushions and let my eyes scan the room for shadows. The only one I could find was the one the green floor lamp made when its light poured over me and splashed my outline across the big Oriental rug between us.

“Funny T-shirt,” he said with a smile. “Did you wear that especially for me?”

I glanced down at my shirt. I couldn’t even remember which one I’d pulled out of the hamper and thrown on. I almost laughed when I saw it. It was the white one with a gruesome-looking fake bloodstain in the side. On the front it said in big block letters, I’m fine.

I looked up and sighed. “Pretty sure you’re not charging my dad a fortune to talk about my T-shirt collection.”

“Fair enough. So, tell me about you, Cash.” He leaned back in his chair and clicked his pen.

“I’m sure my dad’s already filled you in, so I don’t really know what you want me to say here.”

“I want to hear it from you.”

“I’m fine. There’s nothing to talk about.”

Dr. Farber cleared his throat and set the pen down. “Okay. Why don’t we start with the fire.”