“I’ve heard whispers,” Sam continued, and then he blinked out and returned in a more transparent form. “And yes, I’m being literal. I hear whispers when I’m here—about it not being much longer and that something is coming. I’ve tried to find the source but when I saw them, I knew I couldn’t get any closer. I can’t keep going back there. I want to, I want to keep her safe, but I’m... I’m afraid if I keep going back, they’ll see me and they’ll know I’m not like the others.”
A chill swept down my spine.
“What is he saying?” Zayne asked, pulling his hand away from Stacey’s. “Trin?”
“Who are they?” I swallowed. “Do you know who is whispering?”
Sam’s hazy form twisted toward me. “Shadow People.”
27
Shadow People.
Two words in the English language I’d never hoped to hear spoken out loud. Goose bumps spread across my arms.
“Oh, man,” I whispered.
“What?” Zayne touched my arm, and this time I didn’t pull away. “What’s going on?”
Pulse pounding, I gave a short shake of my head and focused on Sam. I needed to get as much information as possible out of him before he poofed into oblivion. “Have you heard them say what’s coming?”
“No.”
Even though he couldn’t confirm it, I had a feeling I knew. And there was something else I needed to know. I tipped forward. “How did you know what I was?”
“Because there’s someone there, at the school, who can do what you can,” Sam said, and another chill powered down my spine. “I’ve seen him talking to—Oh, man. It’s happening.”
I blinked, knowing what he meant. He was being pulled back. “Can you tell me what he looks like, Sam? I need—”
“I’ll try to come back as soon as I can.” He turned to Stacey, and for what I could see of his face, my heart cracked a little. “I wish I’d had the guts to tell you how I felt about you. I wish... I wish we had more time. Tell her that. Please? Tell her I did love her.” He lifted an arm that was more see-through than solid and touched her cheek. Stacey sucked in a sharp breath. “She felt that. Tell her it was me. And tell her I want her to be happy. That she needs to be happy.”
Without warning, the space beside Stacey was empty. He was gone, and I had a feeling he wasn’t coming right back.
“Dammit,” I muttered.
“What?” Stacey placed her fingers over the spot on her cheek. “What just happened?”
“You felt him when he touched your cheek,” I said, and then I told her what he’d said without looking at her as I spoke. I didn’t want to see the emotions her face would expose. “He’s gone now, but he said he’ll try to come back. He doesn’t know when.”
Or if he could again.
I left that part unspoken, because the message he’d imparted made it sound like he wasn’t entirely sure. He’d been coming back too much.
“Excuse me.” Zayne tapped my arm. “Can you let me out?”
I slid out of the booth and stepped aside as Zayne moved to where Sam had been sitting. He folded an arm around Stacey’s shoulders, tugging her against him as he spoke to her.
I cast my gaze to the pack of Twizzlers, pressing my lips together. I was a third wheel on a painfully intimate moment of two.
“When?” Her voice sounded rough when she spoke again. “When can he come back?”
“I don’t know. I have a feeling he’ll try, but...” I stared at the candy I’d actually never tried before, because it always looked gross to me. “But spirits are not meant to repeatedly visit the living.”
“Why not?” she demanded.
“Because moving on isn’t just the process of crossing over. It’s a continuous journey for the, um, the deceased, and if visits are continuous, it’s hard for those left behind to move on,” I explained, dropping my hands to my lap. “It’s hard for those who have died to find peace when they’re still wrapped up in the lives of the living. Spirits can come and go as they please, but there are rules. Their travels are monitored. Based on what he said, he’s been here a lot already. He’s been trying to get your attention for a while.”
“Oh God.” Her voice cracked. “If I’d known, I would’ve talked to him. I would’ve done something. Anything. I just didn’t know.”
“There wasn’t any way for you to know. It’s all right,” Zayne assured her. “Sam had to know that. It’s not like he’d blame you.”
Some people were far more perceptive of things like spirits and ghosts, but Zayne was right, Stacey wouldn’t have known Sam was there.
“God. I just—I didn’t expect this today. It was just supposed to be catching up over ice cream and maybe a nice walk. You know? Like we used to do.” The ice cream in front of Stacey was more like soup as she picked up the Twizzlers. “I even picked up these for you. I remember how you like to put them in your ice cream.”
My lip curled.
Zayne ate Twizzlers with his ice cream? I lifted my gaze. He still had his arm around Stacey, but his eyes were on me, the pale shade of blue anything but cool. I averted my gaze to the glossy vinyl records framed on the wall.
“It’s okay.” Those were turning out to be two of Zayne’s favorite words. “We’ll try again, as soon as possible.”
I thought and felt nothing in response to that.
“Yeah,” Stacey said, dragging her palm under her eyes. “Promise?”
“Promise.”
“Good. Because I’m going to need some nonmelted comfort food after this.” She cleared her throat. “So, what’s going on at the local haunted and cursed school from Hell?”
“You sure you want to talk about it?” I asked. “After everything with Sam?”
“She’s sure,” Zayne answered, and I bit down on my thumbnail. “Stacey can handle this.”
Stacey laughed again, the sound stronger as she picked up her water and took a drink. “If you knew the things I’ve seen and experienced, you wouldn’t ask if I was sure. I’ll deal with...with Sam later, most likely when I’m alone and have a bag of Skittles to consume. Obviously what Sam was trying to tell me is important. We need to deal with that.”
Surprise flickered through me, quickly followed by respect for her ability to push aside a riot of emotions and prioritize. God, Zayne had been right. Stacey and I probably would get along...if it wasn’t for him.
“He told you something that had you freaked-out.” Zayne shifted, pulling his arm away from Stacey. “What did he tell you?”
“Other than the over-a-hundred-trapped-ghosts creepy tidbit?” I said.
“Over a hundred?” Stacey let out a low breath. “Yeah, other than that creepy tidbit.”
“He’s said there are Shadow People there,” I told them, keeping my voice low.
“Shadow People?” she repeated. “Do I even want to know what that is?”
“Probably not.” I glanced at Zayne. A muscle was ticking along his jaw. “Do you know what they are?”
“I’m assuming some kind of ghost or something?” he said.
I coughed out a dry laugh. “Not quite. I’ve never seen one. All I know is what my mom told me about them. They’re like wraiths, but they were never human in the first place. They’re like the souls of deceased demons.”
“Oh, man,” Stacey whispered.
“I don’t understand. Souls of demons?” Zayne rested his forearms on the table. “How is that possible? They don’t have souls.”
“We think they don’t,” I corrected, thinking of Roth. “But I said they’re like souls. More like the essence of them.” Based on the way Zayne was staring at me, I could tell this was something that had never crossed his mind. “What did you think happened when demons died? That they just ceased to exist?”
“I figured they went back to Hell.”
“They do, but they’re dead, and unless someone with a lot of power gives them back corporeal form, they don’t just cease to exist without being destroyed, and I can only think of a few people who have that ability.”
“Grim?” he suggested.
I nodded. “If you mean the angel Azreal? Yeah, he’d be able to do that.”
“Wait. What?” Stacey glanced back and forth between us. “You mean the Grim Reaper? The guy Layla met?”
My brows lifted. Layla had met the Grim Reaper. How had that happened?
Zayne nodded.
“He’s not the only one who can destroy Shadow People,” I said, catching Zayne’s glance, and I saw the moment he realized what I couldn’t say. With the Sword of Michael, I could destroy Shadow People just like an angel could. “But these things are inherently evil. Like, worse than when they were living, breathing demons bent on destruction. Like, if you see a Shadow Person, you turn and run in the other direction. They’re powerful and vindictive, malicious and deadly.”
Zayne reached for the Twizzlers and dragged one ropey piece of candy out. “I’m guessing they look like shadows?”