Shadow Walker (Neteru Academy Books)

by L. A. Banks

  “City wildlife?” Sarah leaned forward, thoroughly involved in what he was revealing to her.

  “Strays,” Wil said, looking down.

  Sarah’s stomach lurched, but she remained very, very still, listening and feeling his pain down into the marrow of her bones.

  “Vermin,” he pressed on, seeing that her eyes contained no judgment or laughter. He looked down again, speaking in a quiet confession. “Pigeons. Stealing canned goods from government checkpoint-controlled food outlets. Living wet, never being able to fully dry out. Mildew… I hate it to this day. Ragged clothes… man… and water was scarce, so you didn’t waste it bathing.” He looked up and sat straighter. “My Mom died keeping walkers away from our compound in Italy. The cities were overrun. Zaphon’s agents of evil, his minions’, goal was to starve out all resistance fighters, and he almost did. Trust me, he might have been driven back to the Dark Realms and injured during the Armageddon, but he’s still got plenty who serve him and the Dark Lord. I was lucky… my dad called me back to Boston. That’s why my dad is so into material things, because for a long time we didn’t have them. It doesn’t make it right, just explains why he is like he is. Patty and Melissa got sent here earlier, as little kids, for partial semesters when their parents needed to stash them somewhere safe. Finally when it all came apart, they got to come here when our compound completely fell and the team scattered. I don’t even know what happened to their mom and dad.”

  Sarah gazed at him, trying to see past his irises and into his heart. Empathy washed over her. They’d never missed a meal in her compound, and neither she nor any of the kids she’d grown up with could fathom what losing a parent was like. All she could think of was the safe, warm beds they’d slept in and the luscious meals prepared by Aunt Inez’s loving hands. She almost felt ashamed for hating Melissa.

  “I’m sorry,” she murmured, squeezing his warm hand.

  “I was lucky. I got out,” he replied with a slight smile. “But it wasn’t all bad. I learned a lot. It made me stronger.”

  “It made you a Shadow,” Sarah said, unable to hide her awe.

  Wil looked away, seeming pleased by her compliment, and his bashful response only endeared him to her more. “You’ve gotta be on your toes in an environment like that. Anybody could have done it.”

  “No,” she said in a gentle tone that brought his gaze back to hers. “A lot of other kids grew up there, but they didn’t make Shadows. You should be really proud.”

  “If you met our Professor, you wouldn’t think I’m lucky,” Wil said, trying to lighten the mood.

  “What’s it like in Shadows?” she asked eagerly, scooting over closer to him.

  “Aw, man… it’s crazy. The Prof is a true hard ass. But I can tell you all that junk later. What about you? What was it like growing up in the Neteru Compound? Your Mom and Dad are like living legends. It must have been outrageous.”

  Shame singed her. and she bit her lip as she watched the fire of excitement dance in Wil’s eyes. Her life had been bland, boring and uneventful. Her parents were the ones who went out on patrols and saved the world, not her and Alejandro. Hearing just a tiny bit about Wil’s life made her understand her brother a little more. Alejandro was looking for street cred, something he’d never get until he’d actually survived an adventure and had his own stories to tell.

  Sarah looked down, not knowing where to start. How did she begin to explain to Wil that, comparatively speaking, she’d grown up in the lap of luxury, that her only true complaint was her dad’s uneven treatment of her and her brother—and she really couldn’t call that a hardship, since it was his over-protectiveness that kept all evil at bay and food on the table.

  “Well?” Wil said, chuckling. “Don’t let it all spill out at once.”

  She laughed with him, a soft, easy laugh. “It wasn’t as eventful as you might imagine. They sequestered us up in the mountains and would come back from battles beat up, bloody and dirty. The Armageddon was supposedly over, but there were still demons popping up and border skirmishes happening, compounds being attacked… they never told us much—just that they had to go help fellow Guardians. We got told a lot of times not to bother them… sometimes they’d be gone for weeks, even months, at a time.”

  “Wow…” Wil murmured. “That had to suck.”

  Sarah nodded, realizing for the first time how much it did. “I was so scared all the time. I never knew if they were gone for a long time because they were dead, or just engaged in a long battle. Then there’s the whole thing about my Dad… which is another long story.”

  “We won’t talk about dads,” Wil said with a sad smile. “You met mine, and I can’t make excuses for him, either. He is what he is.”

  “Yeah, mine, too—he is what he is.” Sarah let out a long, weary sigh, glad that Wil wasn’t going to press for deeper information about her compound right now. Just sitting here with him in amiable silence holding hands was awesome. Too many words would ruin it.

  After a moment of quiet contemplation, Wil drew her hand to his chest. “I know what that’s like,” he finally said. “Everybody here has scars… that’s why I wish…” He let his words trail off and let her hand go, his open gaze becoming very sad. “I just wish people could realize that we’re all the same, you know? Like, why do people have to fight and have factions? Nobody who came from a Guardian compound should be thought of as an enemy. Remember what happened in Everett’s class?”

  Sarah nodded. “Yeah… how could I forget? That battle…it felt so real. I forgot all about who I was angry at, and we all just pulled together.”

  “That’s what I’m saying Sarah. That’s how it should be… and that’s sorta how me and Patty got together. But it was from wartime circumstances. It wasn’t natural, like this.”

  Again, she was rendered speechless. Put in that context, in that framework, she could see how people living in fear and working as a unit could get together… how total opposites could attract. But he’d said, It wasn’t like this. Meaning like being with her.

  She didn’t know what to do, what to say, and he seemed to sense that. Before she could respond, he leaned in and lightly brushed her lips with a soft kiss. When she opened her eyes, he was staring at her with a quiet smile.

  “I’ve been waiting to do that since the first time I saw you,” he murmured.

  Stunned silent, all she could do was look at him as he stood. Being late for Blends lecture was in the distant background of her mind.

  “I’ve got track practice after Shadows lecture… you’ve got library orientation, but I’ll text you later, okay?”

  Sarah nodded numbly. “Okay,” she whispered, looking up at him as though in a daze.

  Wow… She watched Wil gather up his books and head toward the door. Mrs. Hogan’s voice echoed from somewhere in the distance, and that was enough to give her the will to stand. But she was fairly certain that she wouldn’t retain anything the blue-haired lady was about to say.

  “Sarah, Sarah,” the high-pitched, pleasant voice called out. “Darling, I’m sorry I’m late. Bad faeries are such a pain—there’s no place for Unseelies in the Seelie Court. But, wait a minute, you’re early, dear… our orientation isn’t for another hour. Oh, you new students do have to get used to the schedule. You’re due to be in Blends lecture now, then you come here.”

  “Okay.” Sarah smiled; she didn’t have a clue what Mrs. Hogan was talking about, nor did she care what she needed to bring later for her orientation.

  Wil Archer had kissed her.

  Chapter 16

  By the time they’d crawled out of Mr. Foggerty’s Blends class, sleepiness had begun to wear on them all. Just as they’d noticed in his bio class, his boring stories of life in ancient Atlantis as an amphibian got interspersed between every problem he put on the board. Nobody in the room could stop yawning.

  Sarah yawned again and wiped her eyes as her PIU vibrated in her skirt pocket. She pulled it out to look at it with another long yawn.

/>   “Oh, great… just what I need,” she said, closing her eyes and leaning against the wall. “A reminder that I’ve gotta go to library work-study orientation.”

  “And we have all this homework, too. Already. Like, these teachers are insane,” Tami muttered, shaking her head. “They all act like their class is the only one we have, and they’ve dumped enough work on us that we’ll never get out from under… and this isn’t even exam time. How’re you gonna do all your assignments and work in the library, Sarah? Why don’t you just tell her that you committed too soon and can’t help out, at least not ‘til you get settled into your class schedule?”

  What she didn’t want to explain to Tami was that she needed a little space, somewhere to be that wasn’t with the group… someplace where she could nurture what had just happened with Wil. She wasn’t ready to share that with Tami right now for fear that Tami would say or do something to ruin it.

  “I don’t know how I’m gonna get it all done, but I’ll figure it out,” Sarah finally said, walking quickly. “I just want to be sure I’ve got access to any information we might need down the road.”

  She waved goodbye to Tami and kept hustling toward the library, dodging the other students crowding the hall. She wanted to get orientation over with as soon as possible… because then maybe she could see Wil again. Maybe he’d even sit with her at dinner. Then she tucked away that hopeful thought. He’d never single her out that way in public—would he?

  But soon her footsteps slowed. She could feel Ayana somewhere deep in the belly of the school, somewhere secluded… like a stairwell, maybe an alcove, and something was very wrong. Rushing forward quickly and led only by the nervous energy that propelled each step, Sarah stopped by an exit and slipped through a door marked Staff Only.

  The moment Sarah heard voices she froze, immediately recognizing Ayana’s—and Brent’s. She turned to leave, feeling the intimacy of the exchange before the words even made sense. But she couldn’t go. She was rooted to the floor where she stood, not out of leering curiosity but from deep concern. Something within her told her that her big sister-cousin was in trouble, and Ayana would never tell her or allow her to help in a million years.

  “You used to know how to have fun. Now that your little cousins are here, you want to play the straight-laced big sister? Give me a break.”

  “Brent, you’re high. I can’t talk to you when you’re like this.”

  “Don’t start with that again, Ayana. You know the pressure I’m under. You know I need to relax.”

  “But it’s dangerous!”

  Brent laughed. “Oh, please. I’m just taking the edge off.” His voice turned petulant and nasty again. “All you ever say now is no.”

  “Brent, I just don’t want our first time to be on the Shady Path!”

  “Fine, I’ll just find a girl who isn’t afraid of a little thrill ride. Maybe I’ll slip into town and find me a little something sweet to play with for a while.”

  “Brent, please, don’t do this. You know how much I love you.”

  “Then prove it. Come with me into town. A few of us are going ZB-ing just outside of town. I need a seer to navigate for me. And you’re the best, just like me, Yaya.”

  Sarah was stunned. They were still opening portals and going into town? Were they nuts?

  Ayana’s tone was soft and pleading. “I love being your navigator… but it’s dangerous now. People we know have gone missing and—”

  “Whatever. You in or not?”

  There was a long pause, then Ayana said, “I can’t, Brent! You know what’s going on. What if something happens to you? I don’t know what I would do.”

  There was a sound as if someone was getting up. Were they sitting on the steps? Sarah closed her eyes but saw nothing, but her cousin was an expert seer and would have had the whole secret meeting with Brent blocked. Undoubtedly the only reason she’d gotten this close was because one day Yaya would be her Neteru seer, so no matter what, they were linked.

  She didn’t have to see her cousin’s face to know that she was crying. She could hear the soft muffled sounds of repressed sobs. Her heart broke for Ayana, but at the same time fury at Brent made her ball her hands into fists by her sides. The guy was a complete loser, and one day she’d tell Yaya what she really thought of him. But not now, not while Yaya was still nuts for the guy. She didn’t want Ayana to freeze her out. If Yaya turned against her over a guy, she wouldn’t know what to do.

  “I don’t know what I ever saw in you,” Brent finally said.

  A door below Sarah opened, then slammed, and then there was silence. Sarah pressed herself against the wall, trapped, listening to Ayana cry. After a while Ayana stopped sniffing and released a long, weary breath.

  “You can come out now, Sarah.”

  Sarah timidly approached the stairwell and then hurried down the stairs to give Ayana a hug. She didn’t immediately know what to say, so she allowed her embrace to speak volumes.

  “I wasn’t trying to be nosy.… I just…”

  “Sorry you had to hear that,” Ayana said in a shaky voice.

  “Yaya, why do you mess with that guy?”

  Her cousin leaned her head against Sarah’s shoulder and let out a shuddering sigh.

  “Sarah, people aren’t perfect… they’re flawed. A lot of kids here have been through a lot, things you never went through. I was out there with my mom and stepdad, and I remember the Armageddon. I was there when I was like four or five. I’ve had a vampire actually grab me, but I got away. I’ve seen demons. A lot of kids have been through even worse.”

  Sarah stroked Ayana’s back, for the first time really putting it all together. She’d heard about it; Ayana had lived it. But, still, that didn’t justify losing herself to a complete jerk. People had problems, this was true—but they didn’t all act like Brent. Wil came to mind. He wasn’t anything like that.

  “I know what it’s like to be really scared,” Ayana whispered thickly, as another large tear rolled down the bridge of her nose. “Brent and I kinda grew up the same way… we had that in common.”

  Sarah just closed her eyes and let Ayana get it all out, rocking her and holding her cousin close.

  “And like me, he came from a pair of well-to-do parents who are amazing Guardians, and they put an incredible amount of pressure on him.” Ayana lifted her head from Sarah’s shoulder and stared at her with tears in her eyes. “Our parents are wealthy by comparison to most people, if you haven’t already noticed. I understand that pressure to be a role model. I’ve lived with it all my life. ‘Yaya, you’re the oldest.’ ‘Yaya, you’ll have a whole compound to lead as a seer.’ Brent had to deal with that, too, and nobody else seemed to understand that maybe I just didn’t want to do any of that!”

  “Oh, Yaya,” Sarah said, covering her mouth and trying hard not to cry. After a moment her hand fell away to touch Ayana’s cheek. “I know how you feel,” she said finally, taking her cousin’s hand. “I don’t want to be a Neteru or any of that. I’m the child of the Neterus, my dad was a Council Level Vamp—and I’m scared of the dark. We share that.… You don’t have to think he’s the only one who’ll understand.”

  The two girls stared at each other for a moment, and then Ayana released a sad chuckle. “We’re a sad pair, aren’t we?” she said, shaking her head.

  “I don’t care what he’s been through, I still don’t like how he treats you.”

  Ayana stared down at the floor. “He’s not so bad… and like, who else is gonna really—”

  “What?” Sarah said in a rush, grabbing Ayana by her arms. “You think just because he’s good looking that—”

  “Face it,” her cousin said with a sad smile. “He could have any girl in here. There are more girls than boys in the school, and—”

  “No, no, no, no, no, I’m not going to let you say these awful things about yourself, those poisonous things.” Sarah dropped her backpack onto the stairs and dug into the front zipper pocket for her PIU. She yanked out he
r unit and held the shiny mirror-like back side up to Ayana’s face. “I want you to look in that and tell me you aren’t just as good-looking, just as worthy, just as… everything that makes you better than the way he’s treating you.”

  When Ayana looked away, Sarah rounded on her. “I’m serious, Yaya. I’m not going away until you look.”

  Ayana took the unit, glanced into it and handed it back to Sarah.

  “Say it,” Sarah whispered, new tears of anguish rising in her eyes as she thought about her cousin’s destroyed self-esteem.

  “But—”

  “No,” Sarah insisted. “Say it! You are worthy of being treated better.”

  Ayana swallowed hard, and the tears began streaming again. “Okay.”

  Sarah shook her head no. “Say it with me. I…” She waited until Ayana repeated the word after her, then went on, the two of them speaking the words together. “Am worthy of being treated better than this.”

  Sarah went to Ayana and hugged her tightly. “You are. You really, really are. And for a seer, you are so blind. You are tall and beautiful, stylish, sexy, and you know everything, and you’re popular and nice and wicked smart. You don’t have to allow him to treat you like this. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear a whole coven was working on you to make you blind to everything good about yourself.”

  “You’re family,” Ayana said, laughing sadly. “You’re supposed to be on my side.”

  Sarah held Ayana away from her. “You have a body that would stop a firefight, Yaya. Pretty brown skin that’s flawless. Gorgeous eyes, immaculate braids… I mean, why are you the only one who doesn’t see the guys breaking their necks when you walk by?”

  Her cousin shrugged and let out a long breath. “Force of habit.”

  “I think the jealous girls treated you so mean when you first came here that you finally believed them,” Sarah said quietly. “I don’t know how you did it, because I have the rest of the crew with me and it’s still hard.”