Blurred

“Em, cool it,” he said. “Anaya…was that real? That was you. That was me. I felt you.” He reached out, dazed, and placed his hand on my leg, his eyes tracing over every part of me. “I…I…”

“Hello?” Emma threw her hands up. “She did this to you! Are you forgetting about that part, Cash?

Snap out of it.”

“Emma,” Finn said, placing a sturdy hand on her shoulder. His eyes, eyes that had seen beyond forever, looked at us with a strange kind of understanding. He pulled her back a little. “Don’t.”

Emma looked back and forth between Finn and Cash, eyes wide and disbelieving. Her watery gaze finally settled on me.

“You were supposed to take him weeks ago!” She held her hand out. “He is suffering because of you. How can you just sit there and let him die? Why? I just want to know why?”

She broke into sobs and I turned away. I let my gaze settle on Cash’s face. His eyes. Tarik’s eyes.

Oh my God… I stood up, suddenly painfully aware of the demanding call of heat at my hip. “I can’t…I can’t do this now. I’m being called.”

Cash just looked at me as if he didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know what to say, either. I still couldn’t believe this. He couldn’t be Tarik. He couldn’t. Tarik was in Heaven. He was waiting for me.

This had to be some kind of illusion. But…it wasn’t. The memories never lied.

I turned to Emma and took a step forward until we were toe to toe. Her eyes opened a little wider, but she stood her ground, her pretty jaw clenched in fear or anger. Maybe a little of both.

“If anything happens to him while I’m gone, I will hold you responsible,” I said, my whisper like venom. “If the life is gone from his eyes when I return, then I will bring the wrath of the Almighty down on the both of you.” My eyes flicked up to Finn, who was reeling Emma into his arms, fire in his eyes like a challenge.

“Back off, Anaya,” he said. “We’ll keep him safe. You’re not the only one who gives a damn about him.”

We all turned around when we heard monitors wail behind us. Cash threw his legs over the bed, jerking IVs out of his wrist.

“Cash, what are you doing?” Emma rushed over to help him.

“I’m leaving,” he said, holding her watery gaze with his. “Are you going to help me or not? I want to go home, Em. I don’t need this hospital. And I sure as hell don’t need a babysitter, let alone three of them. Everyone needs to stop acting like I can’t take care of myself.”

I let one last look pass between Finn and me before I settled my fingers around my blade and gave in. He nodded once. I closed my eyes and dissolved into the light.

Chapter 22

Cash

“I wish you’d stay at my house, or at least let me or Finn stay here with you,” Emma said, smoothing the comforter on my bed for the millionth time.

I put my hand over hers to stop it, and her eyes drifted up to meet mine.

“Em,” I said. “I’m going to be fine. I’m not going anywhere. Not tonight anyway. You heard the doctor. He said I have a couple of weeks.”

“Why won’t you let them help? Operate? Something.” Her voice dissipated into a pained whisper.

“Anything.”

I looked across my room at Finn, who was leaning, arms folded, against the doorframe, watching us.

He looked tired. I rested my elbows on my knees and sighed.

“Finn, will you tell her?” I said. “Tell her it won’t do any good.”

He pressed his lips together and averted his green eyes to the stain on the tan carpet where I’d spilled paint a year ago.

“You don’t know that,” Emma said.

“He’s in an expired body,” Finn said softly, as if the tone behind the words would make it any better. “There is nothing anyone in this world could do to change that.”

The thought of being alone should’ve scared the crap out of me. But being surrounded by people whose eyes only reflected the fact that I was going to die scared me even more. Fear swirled around in my veins, mixing and melding with the last bit of life that flowed there. Black and red. Death and life.

My lungs made an attempt to keep up but it just resulted in me coughing until my stomach twisted into tense knots. When it subsided and I could breathe again, Emma was curled up beside me rubbing circles on my back. A tear slid silently down her face, leaving mascara tracks on her cheeks.

“I love you, Em,” I whispered, squeezing her knee. “But I need you to go. I just want to close my eyes and forget that this is happening. Even if it’s just for a night. Besides, I’m sure Anaya will be back soon.”

“You trust her?”

I thought about that. I thought about all the reasons I shouldn’t, and still, I found myself saying, “Yes. You should, too.”

It only took a flick of my eyes to the shadow demon swirling up the leg of the nightstand to get

Emma’s attention.

“They’re here, aren’t they?” she whispered. “The shadows?”

I nodded. There wasn’t any use denying it. Finn crossed the room, his eyes following mine to the nightstand.

Breathe. I shut my eyes and took a deep breath, then exhaled. I had to keep it under control. If I could keep them at a minimum, this wouldn’t be as bad. One I could handle. If a swarm of the things decided to show up, I was screwed.

“How many?” Finn asked.

“Just one.” For now.

He nodded, stepping back to the center of the room, beckoning me to follow. “All right. Enough of this. Get up.”

“What?” Emma and I said it at the same time.

“Trust me,” he said. Those should have been the two words that kept me in place, but my curiosity got the best of me. I slid off the bed and stood beside Finn.

“Now what?”

“Get the shadow to come over,” he said. “There’s still only one, right?”

I nodded, feeling sweat break out across my bow. “Why the hell would I want to do that?”

“You’re not helpless, Cash. Open your hand and focus on the power there. If you’re a shadow walker it will be there. You just need to tap into it.”

I flexed my hand and looked up at the shadow that was inching closer with each frantic beat of my heart, like it was being lured in by my panic. It finally got close enough to wrap around my ankles and

I couldn’t stop myself from shaking.

“It’s okay,” Finn whispered. “What do you feel like you could do?”

“Finn…,” Emma interjected, sounding worried.

I held up my hand. “It’s okay, Em.”

I narrowed my gaze on my fingers and a blue shimmer sparked from the tips. The shadow slithered up the leg of my jeans and without a second thought, I reached out and closed my fingers around its neck just like I’d seen Noah do. A screech rattled my eardrums and the shadow twisted under my grip.

It sizzled under my skin but it couldn’t get away, turning from smoke to sludge under my touch. When

I couldn’t stand the pain anymore, I released it and it slithered out of the open bedroom door.

Finn stared at me, wide-eyed. “Did it work? You were able to grab it, right? Force it into a corporeal state like you did with Anaya?”

I opened my trembling palm and we both stared at the angry red burn. My fingertips were blistered and my palm looked like raw meat. I swallowed. “Yeah. It worked.”

“That’s…unreal,” Finn breathed. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”