The Burning Shadow

by Armentrout, Jennifer L.

  “I can’t believe she’s a Luxen. Damn.” Heidi suddenly laughed. “Is that why Zoe never went over to your place when your mom was home?”

  I nodded. “Yeah, Mom would’ve known what she was. Zoe steered clear.”

  “Damn.” She smoothed a hand over the fine wisps of hair framing her forehead. “Damn, Evie.”

  My lips twitched. “I know.”

  “It kind of makes sense—at least the whole Luc part. How he was with you. Emery couldn’t figure it out. As long as she’s known him, he’s never been the way he is around you with anyone else.”

  Pressing my lips together, I took a tiny breath and then closed my eyes, saying something I didn’t really even let myself think. “I like him, Heidi.”

  “I know.”

  I shook my head, keeping my eyes closed. “Things with him are complicated. I like him. I can feel it in here.” I raised my hand to the center of my chest. “I like Luc and his stupid shirts and his really dumb pickup lines, Heidi. They’re so bad, you have no idea. And I like the way he looks at me like—” My voice caught. “He looks at me like you look at Emery. And I like the way he makes me feel special. I like that he’s funny and that he’s super-smart. I even like how … unrepentant he can be, even though that’s wrong. I don’t even care. I know that I like Luc, and now he’s mad at me.”

  “That’s all good, Evie. Not the Luc being mad at you part, but everything else.”

  Slowly, I opened my eyes. “I know I like him for who he is, but he likes me for who I was.”

  Understanding crept into her eyes. “Evie, you don’t know that.”

  “But I do. Maybe that will change? Or maybe that doesn’t matter, because I am her, but it terrifies me, because what if I don’t ever hold up to her? You know?”

  “Oh, Evie. I didn’t know you—Nadia, whatever—back then, but you’re cooler than shit now, and you do not give yourself enough credit.”

  I smiled at her. “You have to say that.”

  “No. I don’t. I could just pretend like I have a phone call and leave this conversation.”

  A laugh burst out of me. “That’s terrible.” Exhaling heavily, I straightened. “I’m glad you know the truth now.”

  “So am I.” She took a deep breath. “Okay. So, what are you doing with the camera?”

  Welcoming the distraction so I didn’t break down in tears, I decided to show her the picture of April. “The last picture she was in was like this, too. See? Nothing else about the photo is weird except her.”

  She frowned. “And you have another pic of her like that?”

  “Yes.” I told her about checking out the yearbook. “It’s so freaking weird. I’ve never seen anything like that, and you know what I was thinking?” I lowered my voice as I looked around the library to make sure no one was near us. “I couldn’t help but think about the Arum, but wouldn’t Zoe know if she was one?”

  “I think so. At least, that’s what Emery has said. They can kind of sense one another, even the Origins and hybrids.” She brushed a thin wisp of red hair back from her face. “Maybe she’s got one of those ghosts from that old movie—you know? What was it called? Aha! The Grudge. Maybe the grudge ghost is attached to her,” she said, frowning at the screen of my camera. “You know what I’m talking about? The creepy ghost girl—”

  “I know what you’re talking about.” I stared at her, eyebrow raised. “I don’t think that’s what this is.”

  “Then what is it?”

  “I don’t know.” I studied the weird shadowy outline. “I wish I had another picture of her, one indoors to see if it’s just some kind of weird exposure issue outside versus…”

  “Versus her being haunted by a revenge ghost?” she suggested.

  I shrugged. A revenge ghost sounded just as plausible as April being … who knows what.

  “I mean, that would make sense, you know? Maybe that’s why she’s so bitter and mean.” She sat up straight. “Let’s go get a picture of her.”

  I laughed. “April is really not a fan of mine.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Like April is a fan of anyone. I like seeing April get mad. It brings me an indescribable amount of joy.”

  “Whenever April gets mad, you literally disappear!” I whisper-yelled at her. “Like, there one second and gone the next.”

  She grinned, and I felt my lips start to curve in return. “That’s true, but if you take the picture, then she’ll get mad at you and not me, and I can just witness it.”

  “That’s messed up.”

  “Come on. Let’s do it. She was in the hall when I came down here, doing her stupid ‘No Luxen, no fear’ stuff,’” she said.

  I groaned. “I thought they were banned from doing that inside the school.”

  “Me, too, but they were doing it when I came to find you. You can snap a pic of her and post it on the internet. Name and shame, baby.”

  Heidi didn’t really give me much of a choice. Picking up my camera, she started walking toward the front of the library.

  Crap.

  I grabbed my stuff and hurried to catch up with her. She was already at the exit while I was zipping up my bag. “Give me my camera.”

  “Only if you promise to take a picture of April.” She held it up too high for me to reach.

  “This is stupid.” It really was, because I was almost positive that the photo would come out normal, but I was smiling, and I wasn’t thinking about how I was a mess, and I knew that was why Heidi was doing this. “Okay. Give me the camera.”

  “Do you promise?”

  “Yes. I promise.”

  “Score.” Heidi handed over the camera, and we made our way to the hallway near the cafeteria.

  “I don’t hear any chanting.” We rounded the corner, finding about a dozen students standing near the trophy case, holding their stupid posters. Brandon was among them. Ugh. His hand was in a cast, and a rather cruel grin tugged at my lips as I scanned the group. There was a teacher standing in front of them, arms crossed. I hoped that meant they were all in trouble. “And I don’t see April.”

  “Hey.” She stepped in front of me, waving her hands at one of the girls holding a poster. “Where’s your ringleader?”

  “Who?” a girl responded snottily.

  Heidi let out a sigh that would’ve made Grayson proud. “April. Where’s April?”

  “In the bathroom.”

  Turning to me, Heidi grabbed my hand. “Perfect.”

  “You seriously want me to bust up in the bathroom and take a pic of her? Pretty sure that’s against the law.”

  “You don’t have to take a picture of her when she’s in the stall.” She dragged me back down the hall, around the corner, and toward the bathrooms. Our steps slowed as we both came to the same realization. April was in the bathroom that Colleen had been found in.

  I stopped walking, like I’d hit a brick wall. “I’m not going in there.”

  Heidi stood beside me. “Well, I’m not, either.”

  There was only us in the hall, and I had to think it was because no one in their right mind wanted to be anywhere near where Colleen was found. The whole area just gave bad vibes. I started to turn away, but the bathroom door opened, and out stepped April, hair slicked back into her standard ponytail and wearing a fresh coat of red lipstick.

  She drew up short when she spotted us.

  “Do it,” Heidi whispered, and then she elbowed me so hard in my arm, she almost knocked me over.

  April began to frown. “Do what?”

  Feeling goofy, I lifted the camera and chirped, “Merry Christmas!”

  “What? It’s not even Thanksgiving—” April sucked in a shrill breath as the flash on my camera went off. “What the hell?” she exploded.

  Heidi giggled, reminding me of a hyena, as I lowered the camera and switched the screen to the images taken. “Sorry,” I murmured, not at all sorry as I stepped back. “I just wanted to check something out.”

  “Did you seriously just take a picture
of me?” April demanded.

  “No,” I lied, clicking on the image I just took. There was April. Eyes narrowed and lips pursed. I was unsure of what the hell I was looking at, because there it was again, the weird shadow outline all around April’s form. “There it is.”

  “Again?” Some of the humor faded from Heidi’s voice.

  “Yeah.” I lifted my gaze.

  April looked completely normal standing in front of me. Maybe it was a revenge ghost.

  “What?” April demanded. “Let me see.”

  Before I could respond, April snatched the camera out of my hand. I half expected her to throw it against the wall, but all she did was stare at the image, her lips thinning until nothing was left but a slash of red.

  “Well,” Heidi said, drawing the word out. “This is really—”

  I turned to Heidi as she made this weird choking sound. Her mouth was moving, but no words were coming out. Her entire body jerked like something had grabbed her.

  Heidi blinked as her bag slid off her arm and hit the floor.

  Time stopped.

  Something red leaked out of the corner of her mouth. Confusion swamped me. What was that red? My gaze dropped. There was—oh my God—her shirt was ripped open over her right shoulder, and red—red was everywhere. Horror seized every part of me in its icy grip.

  “Heidi?”

  She fell—folded like an accordion—and I shot forward, trying to catch her, but my feet slipped under me, and her sudden weight was too much. I went down, my knees cracking off the floor, and I tried to hold her, but she slipped out of my arms, rolling onto her back.

  “Heidi,” I whispered, grabbing at her shirt. “Heidi.”

  Her eyes were open, and her face was so pale, too pale. She started to speak, but the only sound that came out of her was a wet, bloody cough as she clutched at my arm.

  Slowly, I looked up at April.

  She held my camera in one hand, and her other … wasn’t right. Her hand looked almost see-through, but her forearm was covered with blood … and tissue. Pressure clamped down on my chest.

  Smoke wafted from my camera. The smell of burned plastic mingled with the overwhelming scent of blood. April’s gaze met mine, and I shrank back. Her eyes—oh my God, her eyes.

  The entirety of her eyes was as black as obsidian, but her pupils shone like white diamonds.

  I’d seen eyes like that once before.

  Sarah.

  The girl Kent strongly believed had turned into a zombie and launched herself out the window.

  April dropped the ruined, smoking camera. “Look at what you made me do.”

  17

  Every muscle in my body locked up as I stared at April.

  She laughed as if someone had just told a joke. “You should see your face right now. It reminds me of Andy before, well, you know. He died.”

  I jerked, my gaze swinging back to Heidi. The deaths Micah had said he hadn’t caused. Andy. Those families …

  “You,” I whispered. “It was you.”

  April’s mouth twisted into a semblance of a smile. “Guilty.”

  Heidi’s hand slipped off my arm. Rage rolled over the horror, and I wanted to dig into April, rip into her with my nails and teeth like an animal, but the logical part of my brain was in control. Heidi was the priority. I knew I needed to get her out of here fast. Luc could heal her—fix her like he’d fixed me before, because Heidi was not going to die.

  I would not allow that to happen.

  April reached for me, and my heart seized as I threw my arm out but didn’t make contact. Her ponytail lifted off her shoulder as she stumbled back several steps. She caught herself before she went down.

  Her chin dipped as she bared her perfect, straight teeth in a growl that did not remotely sound human.

  Holy crap.

  Springing into action, I scrambled backward. I shot to my feet and turned, running toward the wall behind me—to the red metal square. Wrapping my fingers around the white lever, I pulled the fire alarm.

  The high, shrill buzz of the alarm was immediate. I spun as the small bright lights flashed up and down the hall.

  April stepped back, her head swiveling toward the increasing sound of voices and footsteps. She whirled on me, letting out an unnerving trilling sound that sent a chill down my spine.

  It was the same sound Sarah had made.

  April blew me a kiss, smirking as she spun away. She was gone in a heartbeat, nothing but a blur.

  I didn’t give her a second thought. Not right then. I rushed to Heidi’s side and gripped her right arm. “You’ve got to get up, Heidi. Please. You have to help me get you out of here. Please.”

  Heidi groaned as I pulled her upright. She didn’t speak.

  Panic blossomed in my chest. “Heidi. Please.” My voice broke. “Oh God, please get up.”

  Shoving my arm around her waist, I used every ounce of strength I had in me to lift her up onto her feet. Her entire body was trembling as I guided her down the hall to the nearest exit. “It’ll be okay. I promise. I’m getting you help.”

  Even though Luc and I hadn’t spoken since our argument, I needed him. I didn’t know if Zoe could heal Heidi. I knew it wasn’t something all Origins or even Luxen could do, but I knew Luc could. “I promise. Please hang in there.”

  Using my hip, I pushed open the door, and we tripped onto the gravel part of the back parking lot. Reaching into my back pocket, I found Luc’s number through the haze of tears. Please, answer the phone. Please.

  Heidi whimpered as I forced her up the small grass hill, toward the line of cars. Her breath was coming out in shallow pants and strange wheezes. “Evie, I … I don’t…”

  “Just hold on. Please.” The phone rang once in my ear, and then there was Luc’s voice. “I need your help. Right now.”

  “Where are you?” he demanded immediately.

  “Heidi is hurt—she’s hurt really badly.” My grip started to slip as we reached the second row of cars. “It was April. She’s … I don’t know what she is, but she attacked Heidi. It’s—”

  “You at school? Where are you?”

  “In the parking lot—Heidi!” I screamed, nearly dropping the phone.

  Her knees gave out, and I eased her down the best I could. “Please, hurry. Oh God, please tell me you can get here now.”

  “I’ll be right there.”

  I dropped the phone and pressed my hand down on Heidi’s shoulder. The skin felt wrong under my palm, uneven and too soft to be right. “It’s going to be okay. Luc’s coming.”

  Her wide-eyed stare kept darting from me to the sky. “That … that was … a dumb … idea. The … whole picture thing.”

  “Stop.” Tears tracked down my face. Blood was seeping through my fingers. How could she lose so much blood and have any left? Her face was even paler, the skin starting to turn blue around her lips. Was calling Luc the right choice? “It’s okay.” I kept saying that. “It’s okay.”

  “I want…” She coughed, spraying fine droplets of blood. “I want to see … Emery.”

  “You will.” I leaned down, kissing her forehead. “You will totally see her.”

  Suddenly, Zoe was there, her face obscured by a wealth of curls. “Luc called. He’s on his way.”

  “Can you heal her?” Blood ran down my arm, under the sleeves of my shirt.

  Zoe shook her head as she scrambled to Heidi’s side. With a shocking display of strength, she lifted Heidi into her arms. “My car is the closest.”

  Grabbing my phone and bag, I lurched to my feet, following Zoe as she raced two rows down. Everything at this point was a blur. Zoe put Heidi in the back seat, and I had a terrible sense of déjà vu, but it was me who was now holding on to Heidi. Her head was in my lap as I kept my hand on her shoulder. Zoe climbed into the driver’s seat. She’d just turned the car on when the passenger door across from me opened.

  It wasn’t Luc.

  Emery climbed through, her expression stricken. “Oh, God—oh no,
Heidi.” She brushed my hand aside, placing hers where mine had been. “Open those eyes for me, babe. Open those beautiful eyes for me, Heidi. Come on, please open your eyes for me.”

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered, my hands hovering over Heidi. “I’m sorry—”

  The door opened behind me, and the moment arms circled my waist, I knew it was Luc. He hauled me out of the car, keeping one arm around my waist as he leaned around me. “Get them to the club.”

  He closed the door just as I saw Emery slip into her true form. The entire back seat of the car filled with brilliant white light.

  “I have to go with them.” I pulled at his arm, reaching for the back door. “I have to—”

  Gravel kicked up as Zoe tore out of the parking spot, flying down the narrow opening. I twisted, my blood-soaked hands slipping off Luc’s arm. “No. I need—”

  “There’s nothing more you can do.” He whipped me around, keeping an arm secured around my waist as he cupped my chin. “Are you okay?”

  “Emery said before she wasn’t good at healing. That’s why I called you—”

  “She’s in the best possible hands. Evie, I need to know if you’re—”

  “I’m okay!” I shrieked, trying to pull away, but Luc held on. “Emery said—”

  “Emery loves her.” Luc pulled me against him as his hand slipped around the back of my neck. “Listen to me. You do not get between a Luxen and who they love, no matter what.”

  “What?” None of that mattered to me at the moment. “Heidi can’t die, Luc. She can’t—”

  “She won’t. Emery will not allow that.” He dropped his arm and took my hand. “Give me your keys. I’ll drive us to the club.”

  “She’ll be okay?” I reached around, grabbing my keys out of my bag as I heard the fire trucks wailing. “She’ll be okay?”

  Luc took my keys. “Emery won’t let her die.”

  “I don’t understand,” I said, hands shaking as we hurried to my car. “Emery said she wasn’t good at healing.”

  Luc opened the driver’s door. “Remember how I told you that all Luxen have the ability to heal? Some are better at it than others, but I’m telling you, when it’s someone they love, there is no one else better to heal them.”