21 Shades of Night, page 308
“Where is he?” I whisper. “Where did he go?”
“He’ll be on his way back,” replies Dahlia, looking up from beneath long brown hair spilling over her face.
“Back where?”
“To the other Nephilim. The ones like Zach.”
Oh god, what have I done? Jack holds me upright as I attempt to sink back to the ground. Dahlia struggles back to her feet, pulls her hand back, and my cheek stings as she slaps across it. The crack echoes through the quiet around us. “I have wanted to do that since the moment I met you. You’re an evil bitch.”
I never thought I’d agree with Dahlia on anything, but her words are true.
* * *
WHERE AM I? The basement room is filled with cardboard packing boxes, the floor carpeted, and thin, blue curtains drawn across a small window high in the wall. Suburban. Not a cell. I groan and rub my back.
Shortly after Dahlia’s assault, two tall men came. They half-dragged me across the grounds and bundled me into a black sedan with dark windows. In my disconnected state, I mechanically complied. Their faces are blurred in my memories; one had dark hair, the other blond, but both had sapphire Nephilim eyes; the only colour in my black and white blur of pain and grief.
Revenge by Keir?
The two men held me down in this room and cut the tracking device from under my skin. The small buttons are enmeshed in muscle and nerves, never meant to be removed, the pain worse than anything I’ve experienced. I didn’t make a sound. I deserve everything I suffer. Keir’s blood stains my hands and clothes, and I plead with them to let me wash myself, but they left. Nobody returned and I drifted in and out of dreamless sleep.
Eventually a man returns; the tall one with curly blond hair wearing jeans and a checked shirt open over a plain white T-shirt. Nephilim? His height and eyes suggest he is, although his perfect face looks Caelestia. Maybe some Nephilim hold onto their roots more than others. He regards me for a few moments before beckoning.
I don’t move.
The man smiles in warmth. “I won’t hurt you again.”
He leads me through the house, an ordinary home with pictures on the walls, coats hanging on a rack in the hallway. The sun shines through the kitchen window, across a small wooden table, and he indicates I should sit. The other man from before sits at the table. He’s as tall as the blond Nephilim with brown hair cut short above his angular face. The beauty of his features is marred by suppressed anger, his full mouth pulled into a tight line.
I slump onto the chair furthest from him.
He leans across the table. “You have blood on your hands, soul hunter.” The low tone trips fear along my spine
I look at Keir’s dried blood trapped beneath my fingernails. “Please. I want to wash and change.”
“In good time. I wanted you to see what you have done.” The dark-haired man seizes my hand and pulls it across the table, palm up. “Look.”
I turn to the window and close my eyes against the blood and the blindingly bright light after the darkness of the room. My mind trips back to the brightness of Darius’s world of the Free. I’ve lived in an illusion.
The blond man sits beside the other and rests his palms on the table. The two Nephilim study me, not speaking. Am I on trial?
I look back. “Are you going to kill me?”
The blond guy shakes his head. “We need Keir back.”
“Do you still have his soul?” snaps the brown-haired man.
I slide a hand toward my pocket, the hard crystal warmed by my body. “I need it.” Why didn’t they take Keir’s soul from me when I was unconscious?
“I said she should keep the crystal, Eli,” says the blond man.
“No, Asher. I said it stays with us,” Eli replies.
“Please…” I whisper, gripping the crystal. “I said I need it.”
“What for? To return to Darius with your secrets? No. His soul stays with us.” Eli stands and holds out his hand. “Give the crystal to me or I will take it from you. If you struggle, I’ll hurt you.”
Keir. My piece of Keir. I hold the crystal tighter, but Eli’s aggression scares me. “How do I know you work with Keir and not Zach?”
Eli sucks breath through his teeth. “How dare you!”
I recoil. “He never mentioned any of you by name…”
“He told you about us?” Asher rubs his temples. “When?”
“Recently.” My voice hitches.
Eli strides to the window. “Unbelievable.”
“He never told me much, that’s why I don’t know who you are.”
“If we were allied with Zach, you’d be dead,” says Eli. “Now give me his soul.”
“The soul crystal is safest with us,” Asher tells me. “Until we solve the problem of how we return Keir’s soul to him. You have to agree we are more able to keep it safe than you. We’re stronger.”
I relax my grip on the crystal. “Is it possible? Can you return Keir’s soul to him?”
“We’re gathering information now,” replies Eli. “This… situation has never happened before.”
I pull the crystal from my pocket, bloodied hands shaking hands. My heart screams keep hold of what you have left of Keir, but common sense tells me his soul is safer with them. What right do I have after what I did to him? I place the crystal on the table and slowly withdraw my fingers from its warmth. A soul crystal containing an angel soul shines brighter than those with human souls inside; the intensity hurts my eyes. Eli and Asher stare at the crystal with undisguised awe.
“Darius . . . he’ll be looking for me, he thinks I’ve succeeded,” I say.
“That’s why we cut out your tracker. We need you until we return Keir’s soul. Then they’re welcome to you.” Eli’s eyes narrow at me.
Asher places a steadying hand on his arm. “Eli, don’t be harsh.”
“Harsh? We’ve lost one of our own!”
“Then let the decision be Keir’s. When we have him back, we ask him what should happen to Ava.” Asher smiles at me.
“I’ll do everything I can to help his soul back to him,” I say.
Eli’s fists remain clenched, and I wouldn’t be surprised—or blame him—if one of them hits my face. Maybe he could smack the other side so I have matching bruises from him and Dahlia.
“I don’t doubt that.” Asher reaches across the table and picks up the crystal, as if it were an egg with a paper-thin shell.
“You’ll have no choice,” mutters Eli. “We’re going to find him, and you’re going to help us. Even if it kills you.”
“Do you know where he is?”
“No. He will come for you, Ava, and hopefully before he does too much damage elsewhere.” Eli taps his fingers on the table. “I don’t think you understand the enormity of your actions.”
“I didn’t kill him; he did this to himself.”
Eli snorts. “You expect me to believe that Keir would sacrifice his soul? For you? Anybody? He joined us to escape his demon self.”
“We can’t know what his motivation was. Don’t underestimate the actions of the soul tied.” Asher says in a quiet voice.
Soul tied.
Eli flicks me a look and my breath catches in my throat at the hatred on his face. “Whatever reason, we’ve lost someone valuable, and we need him back.”
“I’m sorry,” I whisper.
“I would happily kill you.”
I swallow. “Dahlia said that without his soul, Keir’s a demon? Why should he care what happens to me now?”
“He’s still in human form. You had a human, physical relationship. He’ll still be attracted to you, and that is useful to us. It’s our way back to him,” said Eli
For the first time since I sat, my shoulders relax. I’m not facing death at these men’s hands. Keir isn’t dead, only lost, and I can help find him again. “What do I need to do?”
“Return to college, resume your daily routine until he returns. Which he will. We’ll watch you, to ensure Darius’s men don’t find you before Keir. Then, when we discover how to return his soul, we’ll bring you back here and tell you what to do,” says Asher.
“You don’t know how to?”
“I said we’re looking into this. It’s not a usual situation,” snaps Eli.
I shove my hands under my arms, tears pricking my eyes because I have no more words that don’t sound like useless excuses. Why would they believe my version of events?
“Asher will return you to campus,” says Eli.
Chapter 21
A NEWSPAPER FLIES across the library desk, startling me. Dahlia and Jack drag chairs out and sit next to me. Recently the library has become my sanctuary, a place of safety in the quiet amongst the books. Every day I spend more time here, hiding among the maze of shelves. Some days I read; others, I study textbooks. In my delusional thoughts, I’ll stay in this world and live.
“Look,” snaps Dahlia, pointing to a headline. “More.”
Another disappearance, the third in the local area in as many weeks. I arch an eyebrow at Jack, the vampire who told me he’d killed. Jack’s face darkens, and he opens his mouth to protest, but Dahlia interrupts.
“No, this wasn’t Jack. I was with him every one of those nights. This is Keir killing.”
Jack’s paler skin and eyes as subdued as him draws stares from other students on the few occasions he comes on campus with Dahlia. Dahlia’s right, this vampire hasn’t fed recently or he’d blend in as a dodgy-looking version of local students.
“We don’t know for sure Keir’s killing,” I say
“Kind of a coincidence”—Dahlia leans across the desk—“since he’s been spotted around here anyway.”
“On campus?” I stiffen. Why hasn’t he looked for me?
“Not on campus. Yet. But I don’t think it’ll be long.”
“It might be Zach?” I suggest.
“It might be both of them,” says Jack, quietly.
“Yeah, showing him the ropes again.” Dahlia’s eyes hold the usual accusation and disgust. No idea why she talks to me at all, she clearly doesn’t want to.
“Showing him the…?” I begin, and what she means hits me. “Oh…”
“I imagine his slaughtering innocent human skills are a bit rusty,” snaps Dahlia.
I watch as Dahlia pulls out her laptop, not missing her trembling fingers. Almost a month since the nightmare began; a month without Keir and imagining what he’s doing because of me. I’m bloody glad Jack’s around to calm Dahlia’s constant threats of violence against me. This time, I’d fight back. Dahlia’s weaker than me by a long way, but how can I blame her? My self-hatred isn’t going anywhere either. Doesn’t help that Dahlia uses every available opportunity to dig her fingers into the raw pain my actions caused.
“He knows we’re looking for him, and he won’t want to be found. He’s not thinking like the Keir we know.” Dahlia points to an image on her screen. “I’ve been plotting where most of the attacks have happened in the area, and they are centred in a couple of nearby suburbs and moving closer. Asher is taking Jack and me to one of the suburbs, and you’re to stay here, in case he’s waiting for you to be on your own.”
“You’re leaving?”
“Why? Scared?” sneers Dahlia.
“No. Just confirming.”
“Well, Asher wanted me to let you know, in case you wonder where we are. I would say we’ll miss you, but I’d be lying.” Dahlia grabs the newspaper from my hands. “Personally, I hope Keir finds you soon and hurts you. A lot.”
Vicious mouse girl stuffs the newspaper and laptop into her bag and stalks away.
Jack hesitates until Dahlia is through the library doors. “Asher and Eli don’t want her around when Keir returns. Dahlia doesn’t fully accept he’s lost, and they’re worried about what would happen if she approaches him.”
He places a hand on the desk, and the veins show through the translucent skin on the back. This guy is a monster and fighting it every step of the way. He fights for himself and for Dahlia, every day.
I touch his cold fingers. “I hope someone can help you soon.”
Jack closes his eyes and gives a small shake of his head before walking away. A guy studying at a nearby desk watches him go, hands frozen above his laptop.
I slump back in my chair. Keir is looking for me, but the thumping heart isn’t fear. I want him to find me.
* * *
I WIPE A hand across my forehead, the heat of the bodies and the coffee machine dampen my face as the shift drags on. Has someone slowed time because this day is bloody long? I’ve never drunk much coffee in my times I’ve spent here, and after the time spent at The Coffee Place, I never want to drink any again. The only good thing about working here is it keeps my mind focused away from Dahlia and Jack’s absence.
I turn to grab some more beans to grind; Janie can deal with preparing the latest orders. A couple approach to order, wrapped up in matching scarves, the girl’s long blonde hair sticking out from beneath a woollen hat. I force a smile, but I’m jealous. Jealous of their simple, free lives.
Something catches my eye. In the corner table, by the window, Zach watches me. He leans back in his seat, arms tucked behind his head, a sardonic smile on his face. Another guy faces Zach, back to me. My stomach lurches— brown leather jacket and dark curls touching his neck.
Ohmigod. I steady myself against the bench, hearing fading.
Keir.
Zach bends across the table toward Keir and speaks, keeping his piercing blue eyes on me. I tense, waiting for Keir to turn around, desperate to see his face and see if he’s changed, but he doesn’t,
So they have waited for Jack and Dahlia to leave campus.
I continue my shift in a daze; distracted, I spill things and make mistakes with orders. Will they talk to me? Hurt me?
Janie finishes her shift early, leaving me alone to wipe down the counter and wait for stragglers to leave. My anxiety grows; I attempt to persuade Janie to stay behind, but she refuses. Outside, the chill wind blows litter along the street, whirling leaves into piles, and papers against the window. The starless sky turns a white grey, foreshadowing another snowy night.
The weather isn’t the only thing worrying me about walking home tonight.
Preoccupied by my thoughts, I don’t notice that only Zach and Keir remain in the empty cafe. Shit. A steady stream of people pass the cafe’s brightly lit windows. Will that be enough for Zach and Keir not to attack me?
I busy myself by tidying cups and placing cakes in the large fridge, refusing to acknowledge them, but as the clock ticks past closing time my excuses end. Smoothing my hair and taking a deep breath, I head to their table.
“We’re closing now, Zach,” I say curtly, standing side on so I can’t look at Keir.
Zach yawns. “Hello, Ava. Keir, look, Ava’s here.”
“You know damn well I’m here. You’ve also been here all night.” I chew inside my cheek and look into the darkened window. Keir’s profile reflects back, looking straight ahead at Zach. He turns his head to the window and a ghost of his outline stares back at me.
“Did you need a ride home?” asks Zach.
“With you? I don’t think so.”
“You never know what might be waiting out there for an unprotected soul hunter.” He winks at Keir.
“I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
“Suit yourself. Aren’t you going to say hello to Keir?” Zach gestures at him.
The room constricts. Weeks of dreading, yet wanting, this moment set my pulse racing.
I face Keir who turns his head.
His eyes. I bite down a gasp, rearranging my features into a neutral look. This is Keir, but he isn’t. The same strong brow, sculptured jaw, and full lips, but his sapphire eyes hold a harder look, his mouth tight.
“Hi, Keir.” His blank face betrays nothing and he looks away.
I swallow down the emotion rising when he doesn’t speak to me. “Time to leave. I want to get home,” I tell Zach.
Zach smirks. “Of course, sorry for keeping you. I thought you and Keir might have some catching up to do. But for some reason, he doesn’t seem to want to chat.”
“I have nothing to say to you, Ava,” says Keir, voice low.
Zach pushes his hands on the table to stand. “Such a shame. You two were so close once.” He sticks his bottom lip out at me in mock pity, and I itch to retaliate, but that’s exactly what he wants.
“Keir.” He inclines his head to the door, and Keir slides from the bench seat.
The two men tower over me, standing uncomfortably close. Zach’s aura always felt wrong, and now, Keir’s matches. Dangerous. I step to one side to allow the two men past.
The bell tinkles as Keir opens the door. Zach pauses. “Maybe he’ll want to catch up another time now he’s back.”
“Back?”
“At college. Good-looking guy like him should soon collect some new souls for us. Well, me.” He grins. “See you soon, little soul hunter.”
I lock the door behind them with trembling fingers and return to their table to clear up. I pick up Keir’s half-full coffee cup and throw it across the room, swearing loudly. The cup breaks with a satisfying smash and coffee streak across the walls. I’ve lost him. The tears push into my eyes and I sink onto a nearby chair. I take Zach’s cup too and throw it against the wall, too my breath catching at the sound. My heart twists harder and harder into a painful ache in my chest. I never told Keir I loved him, terrified of admitting the ultimate weakness. What has he done to himself? And why can’t I stop loving this Keir without a soul?
* * *
I NEVER THOUGHT I’d miss Dahlia, but when Keir walks into my seminar room the next morning, I really bloody do. The number of students attending seminars has fallen off as the end of semester approaches, the room half empty. Less people equal less chance at hiding, and Keir positions himself directly opposite. For the full hour, he doesn’t speak or take his steady gaze away from my face. A couple of times, I attempt to hold his cold, blue-eyed stare, but stupid memories of the Keir who looked at me with open affection just weeks ago surface, slice pain into my heart, and I turn away.
“He’ll be on his way back,” replies Dahlia, looking up from beneath long brown hair spilling over her face.
“Back where?”
“To the other Nephilim. The ones like Zach.”
Oh god, what have I done? Jack holds me upright as I attempt to sink back to the ground. Dahlia struggles back to her feet, pulls her hand back, and my cheek stings as she slaps across it. The crack echoes through the quiet around us. “I have wanted to do that since the moment I met you. You’re an evil bitch.”
I never thought I’d agree with Dahlia on anything, but her words are true.
* * *
WHERE AM I? The basement room is filled with cardboard packing boxes, the floor carpeted, and thin, blue curtains drawn across a small window high in the wall. Suburban. Not a cell. I groan and rub my back.
Shortly after Dahlia’s assault, two tall men came. They half-dragged me across the grounds and bundled me into a black sedan with dark windows. In my disconnected state, I mechanically complied. Their faces are blurred in my memories; one had dark hair, the other blond, but both had sapphire Nephilim eyes; the only colour in my black and white blur of pain and grief.
Revenge by Keir?
The two men held me down in this room and cut the tracking device from under my skin. The small buttons are enmeshed in muscle and nerves, never meant to be removed, the pain worse than anything I’ve experienced. I didn’t make a sound. I deserve everything I suffer. Keir’s blood stains my hands and clothes, and I plead with them to let me wash myself, but they left. Nobody returned and I drifted in and out of dreamless sleep.
Eventually a man returns; the tall one with curly blond hair wearing jeans and a checked shirt open over a plain white T-shirt. Nephilim? His height and eyes suggest he is, although his perfect face looks Caelestia. Maybe some Nephilim hold onto their roots more than others. He regards me for a few moments before beckoning.
I don’t move.
The man smiles in warmth. “I won’t hurt you again.”
He leads me through the house, an ordinary home with pictures on the walls, coats hanging on a rack in the hallway. The sun shines through the kitchen window, across a small wooden table, and he indicates I should sit. The other man from before sits at the table. He’s as tall as the blond Nephilim with brown hair cut short above his angular face. The beauty of his features is marred by suppressed anger, his full mouth pulled into a tight line.
I slump onto the chair furthest from him.
He leans across the table. “You have blood on your hands, soul hunter.” The low tone trips fear along my spine
I look at Keir’s dried blood trapped beneath my fingernails. “Please. I want to wash and change.”
“In good time. I wanted you to see what you have done.” The dark-haired man seizes my hand and pulls it across the table, palm up. “Look.”
I turn to the window and close my eyes against the blood and the blindingly bright light after the darkness of the room. My mind trips back to the brightness of Darius’s world of the Free. I’ve lived in an illusion.
The blond man sits beside the other and rests his palms on the table. The two Nephilim study me, not speaking. Am I on trial?
I look back. “Are you going to kill me?”
The blond guy shakes his head. “We need Keir back.”
“Do you still have his soul?” snaps the brown-haired man.
I slide a hand toward my pocket, the hard crystal warmed by my body. “I need it.” Why didn’t they take Keir’s soul from me when I was unconscious?
“I said she should keep the crystal, Eli,” says the blond man.
“No, Asher. I said it stays with us,” Eli replies.
“Please…” I whisper, gripping the crystal. “I said I need it.”
“What for? To return to Darius with your secrets? No. His soul stays with us.” Eli stands and holds out his hand. “Give the crystal to me or I will take it from you. If you struggle, I’ll hurt you.”
Keir. My piece of Keir. I hold the crystal tighter, but Eli’s aggression scares me. “How do I know you work with Keir and not Zach?”
Eli sucks breath through his teeth. “How dare you!”
I recoil. “He never mentioned any of you by name…”
“He told you about us?” Asher rubs his temples. “When?”
“Recently.” My voice hitches.
Eli strides to the window. “Unbelievable.”
“He never told me much, that’s why I don’t know who you are.”
“If we were allied with Zach, you’d be dead,” says Eli. “Now give me his soul.”
“The soul crystal is safest with us,” Asher tells me. “Until we solve the problem of how we return Keir’s soul to him. You have to agree we are more able to keep it safe than you. We’re stronger.”
I relax my grip on the crystal. “Is it possible? Can you return Keir’s soul to him?”
“We’re gathering information now,” replies Eli. “This… situation has never happened before.”
I pull the crystal from my pocket, bloodied hands shaking hands. My heart screams keep hold of what you have left of Keir, but common sense tells me his soul is safer with them. What right do I have after what I did to him? I place the crystal on the table and slowly withdraw my fingers from its warmth. A soul crystal containing an angel soul shines brighter than those with human souls inside; the intensity hurts my eyes. Eli and Asher stare at the crystal with undisguised awe.
“Darius . . . he’ll be looking for me, he thinks I’ve succeeded,” I say.
“That’s why we cut out your tracker. We need you until we return Keir’s soul. Then they’re welcome to you.” Eli’s eyes narrow at me.
Asher places a steadying hand on his arm. “Eli, don’t be harsh.”
“Harsh? We’ve lost one of our own!”
“Then let the decision be Keir’s. When we have him back, we ask him what should happen to Ava.” Asher smiles at me.
“I’ll do everything I can to help his soul back to him,” I say.
Eli’s fists remain clenched, and I wouldn’t be surprised—or blame him—if one of them hits my face. Maybe he could smack the other side so I have matching bruises from him and Dahlia.
“I don’t doubt that.” Asher reaches across the table and picks up the crystal, as if it were an egg with a paper-thin shell.
“You’ll have no choice,” mutters Eli. “We’re going to find him, and you’re going to help us. Even if it kills you.”
“Do you know where he is?”
“No. He will come for you, Ava, and hopefully before he does too much damage elsewhere.” Eli taps his fingers on the table. “I don’t think you understand the enormity of your actions.”
“I didn’t kill him; he did this to himself.”
Eli snorts. “You expect me to believe that Keir would sacrifice his soul? For you? Anybody? He joined us to escape his demon self.”
“We can’t know what his motivation was. Don’t underestimate the actions of the soul tied.” Asher says in a quiet voice.
Soul tied.
Eli flicks me a look and my breath catches in my throat at the hatred on his face. “Whatever reason, we’ve lost someone valuable, and we need him back.”
“I’m sorry,” I whisper.
“I would happily kill you.”
I swallow. “Dahlia said that without his soul, Keir’s a demon? Why should he care what happens to me now?”
“He’s still in human form. You had a human, physical relationship. He’ll still be attracted to you, and that is useful to us. It’s our way back to him,” said Eli
For the first time since I sat, my shoulders relax. I’m not facing death at these men’s hands. Keir isn’t dead, only lost, and I can help find him again. “What do I need to do?”
“Return to college, resume your daily routine until he returns. Which he will. We’ll watch you, to ensure Darius’s men don’t find you before Keir. Then, when we discover how to return his soul, we’ll bring you back here and tell you what to do,” says Asher.
“You don’t know how to?”
“I said we’re looking into this. It’s not a usual situation,” snaps Eli.
I shove my hands under my arms, tears pricking my eyes because I have no more words that don’t sound like useless excuses. Why would they believe my version of events?
“Asher will return you to campus,” says Eli.
Chapter 21
A NEWSPAPER FLIES across the library desk, startling me. Dahlia and Jack drag chairs out and sit next to me. Recently the library has become my sanctuary, a place of safety in the quiet amongst the books. Every day I spend more time here, hiding among the maze of shelves. Some days I read; others, I study textbooks. In my delusional thoughts, I’ll stay in this world and live.
“Look,” snaps Dahlia, pointing to a headline. “More.”
Another disappearance, the third in the local area in as many weeks. I arch an eyebrow at Jack, the vampire who told me he’d killed. Jack’s face darkens, and he opens his mouth to protest, but Dahlia interrupts.
“No, this wasn’t Jack. I was with him every one of those nights. This is Keir killing.”
Jack’s paler skin and eyes as subdued as him draws stares from other students on the few occasions he comes on campus with Dahlia. Dahlia’s right, this vampire hasn’t fed recently or he’d blend in as a dodgy-looking version of local students.
“We don’t know for sure Keir’s killing,” I say
“Kind of a coincidence”—Dahlia leans across the desk—“since he’s been spotted around here anyway.”
“On campus?” I stiffen. Why hasn’t he looked for me?
“Not on campus. Yet. But I don’t think it’ll be long.”
“It might be Zach?” I suggest.
“It might be both of them,” says Jack, quietly.
“Yeah, showing him the ropes again.” Dahlia’s eyes hold the usual accusation and disgust. No idea why she talks to me at all, she clearly doesn’t want to.
“Showing him the…?” I begin, and what she means hits me. “Oh…”
“I imagine his slaughtering innocent human skills are a bit rusty,” snaps Dahlia.
I watch as Dahlia pulls out her laptop, not missing her trembling fingers. Almost a month since the nightmare began; a month without Keir and imagining what he’s doing because of me. I’m bloody glad Jack’s around to calm Dahlia’s constant threats of violence against me. This time, I’d fight back. Dahlia’s weaker than me by a long way, but how can I blame her? My self-hatred isn’t going anywhere either. Doesn’t help that Dahlia uses every available opportunity to dig her fingers into the raw pain my actions caused.
“He knows we’re looking for him, and he won’t want to be found. He’s not thinking like the Keir we know.” Dahlia points to an image on her screen. “I’ve been plotting where most of the attacks have happened in the area, and they are centred in a couple of nearby suburbs and moving closer. Asher is taking Jack and me to one of the suburbs, and you’re to stay here, in case he’s waiting for you to be on your own.”
“You’re leaving?”
“Why? Scared?” sneers Dahlia.
“No. Just confirming.”
“Well, Asher wanted me to let you know, in case you wonder where we are. I would say we’ll miss you, but I’d be lying.” Dahlia grabs the newspaper from my hands. “Personally, I hope Keir finds you soon and hurts you. A lot.”
Vicious mouse girl stuffs the newspaper and laptop into her bag and stalks away.
Jack hesitates until Dahlia is through the library doors. “Asher and Eli don’t want her around when Keir returns. Dahlia doesn’t fully accept he’s lost, and they’re worried about what would happen if she approaches him.”
He places a hand on the desk, and the veins show through the translucent skin on the back. This guy is a monster and fighting it every step of the way. He fights for himself and for Dahlia, every day.
I touch his cold fingers. “I hope someone can help you soon.”
Jack closes his eyes and gives a small shake of his head before walking away. A guy studying at a nearby desk watches him go, hands frozen above his laptop.
I slump back in my chair. Keir is looking for me, but the thumping heart isn’t fear. I want him to find me.
* * *
I WIPE A hand across my forehead, the heat of the bodies and the coffee machine dampen my face as the shift drags on. Has someone slowed time because this day is bloody long? I’ve never drunk much coffee in my times I’ve spent here, and after the time spent at The Coffee Place, I never want to drink any again. The only good thing about working here is it keeps my mind focused away from Dahlia and Jack’s absence.
I turn to grab some more beans to grind; Janie can deal with preparing the latest orders. A couple approach to order, wrapped up in matching scarves, the girl’s long blonde hair sticking out from beneath a woollen hat. I force a smile, but I’m jealous. Jealous of their simple, free lives.
Something catches my eye. In the corner table, by the window, Zach watches me. He leans back in his seat, arms tucked behind his head, a sardonic smile on his face. Another guy faces Zach, back to me. My stomach lurches— brown leather jacket and dark curls touching his neck.
Ohmigod. I steady myself against the bench, hearing fading.
Keir.
Zach bends across the table toward Keir and speaks, keeping his piercing blue eyes on me. I tense, waiting for Keir to turn around, desperate to see his face and see if he’s changed, but he doesn’t,
So they have waited for Jack and Dahlia to leave campus.
I continue my shift in a daze; distracted, I spill things and make mistakes with orders. Will they talk to me? Hurt me?
Janie finishes her shift early, leaving me alone to wipe down the counter and wait for stragglers to leave. My anxiety grows; I attempt to persuade Janie to stay behind, but she refuses. Outside, the chill wind blows litter along the street, whirling leaves into piles, and papers against the window. The starless sky turns a white grey, foreshadowing another snowy night.
The weather isn’t the only thing worrying me about walking home tonight.
Preoccupied by my thoughts, I don’t notice that only Zach and Keir remain in the empty cafe. Shit. A steady stream of people pass the cafe’s brightly lit windows. Will that be enough for Zach and Keir not to attack me?
I busy myself by tidying cups and placing cakes in the large fridge, refusing to acknowledge them, but as the clock ticks past closing time my excuses end. Smoothing my hair and taking a deep breath, I head to their table.
“We’re closing now, Zach,” I say curtly, standing side on so I can’t look at Keir.
Zach yawns. “Hello, Ava. Keir, look, Ava’s here.”
“You know damn well I’m here. You’ve also been here all night.” I chew inside my cheek and look into the darkened window. Keir’s profile reflects back, looking straight ahead at Zach. He turns his head to the window and a ghost of his outline stares back at me.
“Did you need a ride home?” asks Zach.
“With you? I don’t think so.”
“You never know what might be waiting out there for an unprotected soul hunter.” He winks at Keir.
“I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
“Suit yourself. Aren’t you going to say hello to Keir?” Zach gestures at him.
The room constricts. Weeks of dreading, yet wanting, this moment set my pulse racing.
I face Keir who turns his head.
His eyes. I bite down a gasp, rearranging my features into a neutral look. This is Keir, but he isn’t. The same strong brow, sculptured jaw, and full lips, but his sapphire eyes hold a harder look, his mouth tight.
“Hi, Keir.” His blank face betrays nothing and he looks away.
I swallow down the emotion rising when he doesn’t speak to me. “Time to leave. I want to get home,” I tell Zach.
Zach smirks. “Of course, sorry for keeping you. I thought you and Keir might have some catching up to do. But for some reason, he doesn’t seem to want to chat.”
“I have nothing to say to you, Ava,” says Keir, voice low.
Zach pushes his hands on the table to stand. “Such a shame. You two were so close once.” He sticks his bottom lip out at me in mock pity, and I itch to retaliate, but that’s exactly what he wants.
“Keir.” He inclines his head to the door, and Keir slides from the bench seat.
The two men tower over me, standing uncomfortably close. Zach’s aura always felt wrong, and now, Keir’s matches. Dangerous. I step to one side to allow the two men past.
The bell tinkles as Keir opens the door. Zach pauses. “Maybe he’ll want to catch up another time now he’s back.”
“Back?”
“At college. Good-looking guy like him should soon collect some new souls for us. Well, me.” He grins. “See you soon, little soul hunter.”
I lock the door behind them with trembling fingers and return to their table to clear up. I pick up Keir’s half-full coffee cup and throw it across the room, swearing loudly. The cup breaks with a satisfying smash and coffee streak across the walls. I’ve lost him. The tears push into my eyes and I sink onto a nearby chair. I take Zach’s cup too and throw it against the wall, too my breath catching at the sound. My heart twists harder and harder into a painful ache in my chest. I never told Keir I loved him, terrified of admitting the ultimate weakness. What has he done to himself? And why can’t I stop loving this Keir without a soul?
* * *
I NEVER THOUGHT I’d miss Dahlia, but when Keir walks into my seminar room the next morning, I really bloody do. The number of students attending seminars has fallen off as the end of semester approaches, the room half empty. Less people equal less chance at hiding, and Keir positions himself directly opposite. For the full hour, he doesn’t speak or take his steady gaze away from my face. A couple of times, I attempt to hold his cold, blue-eyed stare, but stupid memories of the Keir who looked at me with open affection just weeks ago surface, slice pain into my heart, and I turn away.
