The police. She would call 911, report that intruders had broken into Sophie’s house—with no mention of the supernatural. She came to a stop and hunkered down behind a fence separating one family’s yard from another, gulping down big swallows of the freezing night air. It felt like liquid ice. At the same time, she slipped her hand into the pocket of her ski jacket, in which she’d carried her cell phone.
It wasn’t there. “What? Oh come on!” Dana stood up and patted frantically at her other pockets, then in her frenzy patted at her tights even though they had no pockets. The phone was gone…must have bounced up out of her open jacket pocket when she was bolting from Sophie’s house.
She had no other option, now, but to continue running before Ethan caught up with her.
So where should she run to? Her house? The police station? Her parents and the police would both be equally skeptical at even the barest bones of her story. But what else could she do? Her mind was too electrified to sort out a plan.
What she needed to do was find a safer place to hide and catch her breath until she could slow her noisy brain down enough for it to formulate some kind of strategy.
Dana slipped between two more houses, and then ahead of her she saw the high school track and football field, bordered by a high fence that glittered in the night like an immense spider web blocking her way. Before she could get over to the high school, though, there was a long deep ditch that blocked her way, like a castle moat. Water ran through the drainage ditch, but the last thing Dana was worried about was getting her shoes wet. She started down the slick grassy side of the ditch, but in her hurry she slipped and fell on her hip and slid the rest of the way down. Her feet went into the trickling cold water, and her sneakers filled up.
She got to her feet quickly, rubbing her hands on the outsides of her legs as she moved to stand on a board some kids, or maybe Sophie, had placed across the water as a crude bridge. She was just about to climb up the other side of the drainage ditch when a low, ominous rumble came to her ears...like the sound of a far-off thunder storm approaching.
Ethan.
Where was he? Frantically, she jerked her head back and forth, her eyes sweeping the houses and trees on the edge of the high school property. Was he lurking in one of those yards? Could he see her? She thought that she might detect the violet glow of his eyes at any second, but she saw nothing. She heard no more rumbles.
He must have passed on, she decided. Was he afraid to cross running water, like evil creatures of legend were said to be, or had he simply lost her scent? Whatever the case, there was no sign of him. Dana decided she should keep moving. If she got caught down here in this ditch, she’d be trapped. Swallowing several times to soothe her wind-parched throat, trying to will her heart to beat more slowly, she did her best to force herself calm. Force herself not to think of Will.
Then, stealthy as a Shadow Being herself, she started crawling up the other side of the ditch. In fact, she left her ski jacket behind her. It was cold out, and snow was still spitting down, but now her black clothing camouflaged her more effectively with the night.
She reached the top, but now she was out in the open. A long driveway ran into the student parking lot in back of the school, where the gym and cafeteria were located. The driveway was bordered on the right by the ditch, on the other side by the tall fence. Until she reached the parking lot she was easy prey, so without further hesitation Dana began running again. She ignored the squishiness of her soaked socks and sneakers, and blinked at the icy snowflakes that pricked sharply against her eyeballs as she ran.
The driveway seemed endless, seemed to grow longer and longer ahead of her. But, at last, the back parking lot lay ahead of her. Relief flooded her, and she mustered more strength. There were all kinds of corners and nooks and crannies she could hide in on the school grounds, until she could figure out her options.
She made it across the empty lot and fell against the outside of the cafeteria, panting like a someone who had been buried in an avalanche, and just about as cold. Her reflected face in the dark glass of the windows was ghostly, her eyes wide and crazed. This must be how a deer looked when it was running from a wolf.
Inside the black cafeteria, juice and snack machines glowed colorfully. There were pay phones in there, if only she could get to them, but she knew the doors would be securely locked against vandals. If she tried to force the doors would an alarm go off and summon the police? They might not believe a thing she had to say, but at least they could get her safely home. She moved to the outer doors and tugged, but they wouldn’t budge a microbe.
A soft, deep rumbling slithered through the air.
It was as if her heart was the deer, and the sound had pounced upon it inside her chest. Dana backed up flat against the metal doors, and meekly peeked around the edge of the wall to see if she could tell where the sound had originated from.
There he was.
A moving shadow. The Shadow Being was slinking up the concrete steps near the gym, up to a higher level of the school grounds.
Dana had to force herself not to scream.
The shadowy predators that had attacked her in the Passage had been spirits more than material bodies—so insubstantial that her soul had easily carried three of them like leeches. But now that Ethan was becoming human, his other shape was also becoming more solid. Dana wouldn’t be able to carry one of these creatures, let alone three. And though it was dark, she could make out the form of the monster more clearly than had been possible in the spirit world.
The creature looked very much like a black leopard in size and shape. It was one long, sleek moving muscle, walking on all fours. It had a sinuous tail like a leopard, but more pointed at the end. There didn’t appear to be ears, however, on its broad head. Its powerful muscles shifted under its glossy black hide, which reflected the school’s pinkish-colored night lights.
Watching the thing steal up the stairs, it was hard to believe it was Ethan. And harder still for Dana to believe that she had ever had feelings for this monster.
The Shadow Being paused at the top of the steps. It—he—appeared to be sniffing the air. The thing—Ethan—turned its head, and Dana saw those terrible narrow eyes glowing purple. She ducked back into the door recess quickly.
“Dana!” she heard a soft voice call to her.
“Dana?” another voice repeated.
The first voice was a young girl’s, farther away. Was it Celeste? It had almost sounded like...Sophie.
The second voice, an inhuman cross between a gurgle and a growl, had been Ethan’s. And now she heard that hideous voice again.
“Dana, my pet...I know you can hear me. I can smell your fear.”
She held her breath. Didn’t dare even blink, as if he might hear even that.
Then his rumble faded. Had he moved on again?
A few seconds ticked by, and then, slowly, Dana leaned out of the recessed doorway to peek around the corner.
The Shadow Being stepped directly in front of her.
He had risen onto his hind legs and stood as tall as Ethan. That pointed snake-like tail flicked in the air with playful menace.
A great big grin spread below those violet eyes. A grin full of gleaming white teeth...every one of them a curved, sharp dagger. It was more the mouth of a carnivorous dinosaur than the mouth of a cat.
Dana’s scream lodged in her throat. Her heart slammed to a stop in her chest like a car into a brick wall.
“Well, well, well,” the nightmare creature croaked. “Don’t you look appealing all dressed in black. You look like one of us, Dana. Hmm...that would be nice, if you could join me as my bride. But, I’m afraid that it isn’t possible. At least you can join me in another way, my dear. You can become a part of me. You can give me your delicious soul. You can make me human.”
“No,” Dana managed to gasp, “please...”
She tried to dart to the left, but he blocked her with a lightning-fast arm. He braced his other arm to the right of her. She was
trapped, his face only inches from hers. His breath was even colder than the wintry night air.
“Now, now...I don’t take kindly to rejection. What’s the matter, Dana, aren’t I good enough for you? Like your angelic little friend Will was? You don’t like bad boys? Don’t you know bad boys are a lot more fun?”
“Dana?” that voice called out again. It was getting closer...and it was definitely Sophie’s voice.
The voice distracted the Shadow Being. He turned his sleek feline head to look over his shoulder.
That was all Dana needed. She ducked under his right arm and bolted.
She heard his loud, chilling roar of anger.
A hand snapped out and seized her bad wrist. She was brought to a quick halt that nearly wrenched her arm out of its socket, and Dana shrieked in pain. Worse than that, though, were the sharp claws that pressed into her flesh.
Ethan slammed her up against the bricks again so hard that she struck the back of her head. Her vision filled with dazzling sparkles, like a shower of stardust, as she limply slid down the wall.
Ethan leaned his face down into hers. “Where did you think you were going, little angel? We have a date, remember?” Again that jagged grin. “Do you kiss on the first date? Hmm?” And without waiting for her response, the vampiric creature pressed his mouth over hers.
Dana’s eyes shot open wide in suffocating panic. She tried to claw at his burning purple eyes, but he grabbed hold of her other wrist, pinning it. She attempted to twist her head to the side, but couldn’t.
She felt the strength draining from her limbs. The air draining from her lungs. The thoughts draining from her brain.
The life was draining out of her.
The sparkling fall of stardust was getting heavier. She realized it was the snow. She could see around one side of the Shadow Being’s head as he kissed her, and she watched the glittering snow fall. It was pretty, the way it was lit in the pinkish blaze of one of the school’s light posts. The post illuminated the softball field right outside the cafeteria. She had played softball in junior high. Never again, her mind droned in a weak sleepy voice. Never, never again...
That pink light was so pretty. It seemed to invite her. It seemed to call out to her, “Come to me...come to me...”
And then it was as if she could. As if she could rise right out of her body, and drift through the air—through the sparkling illuminated snow—toward that inviting light.
As she began to lose consciousness, Dana saw an odd thing over Ethan’s shoulder. A person stepped into view, blocking the lamp post, becoming a silhouette with the pink light glowing around their head like a soft halo.
It was Sophie.
She’s come to help Ethan, Dana thought. She’s come to help her boyfriend. The thought made Dana sad. It was too late to be angry.
Just as her eyes started to flicker shut, Dana saw one last thing. A very strange thing.
Sophie was raising a baseball bat above her head in both fists. She must have found the bat in the softball field, forgotten there by someone who had been using it. Raising it high above her head like a sword.
And then the world went black.
16
A light flared to life in the darkness, like the beacon of a lighthouse to guide her way.
Dana had regained consciousness, and she knew immediately where she was. After all, she had been here once before.
The Passage.
And at the end of the Passage glowed the beautiful Gate of Light.
But she wasn’t alone.
Ethan had come with her. The Shadow Being still held her arms, but he was no longer kissing her, draining her life force. He twisted his head around and gazed toward the Gate of Light in shock. Dana could see the horror in his expression as he snarled in anger and fear. He squinted his purple eyes as the harsh white light burned them.
“What’s the matter?” Dana asked her fellow spirit. “Forgot your shades?”
The Ethan-thing kept holding onto her arms, but not to restrain her. He held onto her arms in terror.
“What have you done?” he rumbled. “What have you done?”
“Don’t you see? You’re the one who sent me here,” she explained calmly. “You almost killed me, but you didn’t quite finish me off. I’m near death. But then...so are you.”
“How?” he growled in panic. “How?”
“I’m not sure, but it looked to me like Sophie was about to give you a nice crack with that softball bat. That’s what you get for making your body almost mortal...and vulnerable. I guess you should have been a better boyfriend to Sophie, Ethan. I guess you shouldn’t have let her see what you really look like.”
“This can’t be!” the creature wailed in desperate fury. “It isn’t fair! It isn’t fair!”
“I brought you out of this world with me, Ethan. Now I’ve brought you back with me. I think that’s very fair.”
Dana jerked her arms out of his grasp. It was surprisingly easy. Either the Shadow Being’s strength was being sapped by the Gate of Light, or he was too weak with fright to resist her.
Dana’s spirit smiled, and now it was her turn to grab hold of him. She seized him by one arm and the furry scruff of his neck...and began dragging him toward the light.
“No!” he screamed.
The beast writhed and struggled in her grasp, clawed at her arms. The wounds he left in the substance of her spirit hurt her, but she was determined. Her spirit felt very strong.
“I was so close!” the Shadow Being cried out. “It isn’t fair, isn’t fair, isn’t fair!”
“We’ll both go into the light, Ethan,” Dana told him. Her voice was sad, but she was resolved. “This time I’m not afraid.”
“Dana!” a voice behind her cried. Then another, and another. She recognized all three voices. One was Sophie. Another was Sophie’s mother, Mrs. Girard. And the third voice...but it wasn’t possible.
The third voice was Will Garner’s.
Still holding onto the Shadow Being, Dana stopped in her tracks and looked back the way she had come.
At first she saw only darkness down the other end of the hall-like Passage. But, as she watched, her vision cleared and she saw three huge faces at the end of the corridor. The giant faces belonged, once again, to Sophie and her mother—and Will.
“Will!” Dana whispered. “How?”
“Dana,” Sophie said, “can you hear me? Dana, wake up!”
“Oh no...is she dead?” Mrs. Girard said. “What did that horrible thing do to her?”
Dana realized that Sophie and her mother were staring at Dana’s unconscious body on the ground outside the high school cafeteria. She could see and hear them, but they couldn’t see or hear her in the Passage.
“Dana, please!” Sophie said, and Dana saw tears in her friend’s eyes.
“You saved me, Soph,” Dana told her, even though her friend couldn’t hear her. “You saved my spirit, at least. Thanks.”
Will wasn’t saying anything. He was only staring at Dana’s unconscious face with great intensity. Dana felt as if he was trying to stare his way into the Passage. It was almost as if he was beginning to make out her spirit form.
A clawed hand swiped the cheek of Dana’s spirit and she cried out in alarm.
Startled, she let go of the Shadow Being’s arm.
The monster roared in triumph and began to dash away. Dash away back down the hall, toward the world of mortals.
With a great leap Dana threw herself after him, as if to tackle him. She missed his legs, but grasped onto the only thing she could get a hold of—his pointed, serpentine tail.
Wrenched to a stop, Ethan fell on his belly with a grunt. His claws raked madly at the dark floor of the Passage, trying to dig in. They couldn’t.
Still holding onto that tail, Dana got to her feet...began dragging him back toward the light.
“No!” he growled. “No!”
The Gate of Light was right behind her now. Dana reached down, took hold of the Shadow Being
’s loose scruff, and hoisted him to his feet.
“No, NO, NOOOO...” Ethan roared—as Dana swung him around into the dazzling glare. And let him go.
The shadowy figure fell into the light, his arms pinwheeling crazily, as if he were falling off a skyscraper.
And then he was gone. No explosion, no melting, no burning. Just gone, like he had never existed...the way a shadow disappears when the sun’s rays touch it.
Dana heaved a big sigh.
Now...it was her turn. Wasn’t it?
She looked back down the Passage.
“Dana, please,” Sophie sobbed again. “Wake up. Come back. I’m sorry...I’m so sorry...”
Sophie’s huge face was crumpled in misery. But Will’s wasn’t. Strangely, Will was smiling.
Suddenly his eyes were glowing white, and a moment later dancing arcs of electricity began to flow from them. Squirming snakes of bright white energy, writhing in the air. It was the same thing Dana had seen in the hospital, when Ethan had passed his energy into Mike Costello.
She realized Will was doing the same thing now, only the white forks of electricity were touching her own closed eyes this time.
“What are you doing to her?” Sophie sobbed.
Will didn’t answer her. He was speaking to Dana when he said, “Please don’t go into the light yet, Dana. It isn’t your time. Wait for me...keep the Passage open.”
Listening to him inside the Passage, Dana smiled.
“I’m coming to you, Dana,” he told her. “You did it. You opened the Passage. I’m coming to you...”
And then, suddenly, there he was. Will Garner stepped into the Passage, directly in front of her. The light no longer danced from his eyes, but his smile had grown larger.
Dana held her hands out to him, and he took hold of them.
“You did it,” he repeated, not sure she had heard him before. “You opened up the Passage. Now I’m back home.”
“Ethan did it, really,” she told him. “He brought me close to death. And speaking of death, I thought Celeste had destroyed you.”
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