There. Proven. He, too, crumpled.
Thats our boy, Caleb said proudly.
Yes, but now isnt the time for rest, Eve added, and she was right.
I know. He had to clean up the mess or someone would stumble upon the desecrated remains. News stations would swarm the place like flies, begging the entire town to help locate the evil, twisted person responsible. Plus, others were going to rise whether he stayed here or not. He needed to be ready for them. But as he lay there, squinting up at the sky, hurting, the sun glared down at him, draining what little energy he had left.
By the end of the day, the salivas poison would have worked through his system and hed be hunched over a toilet, his cornflakes nothing but a fond memory. Hed sweat profusely from fever, shake uncontrollably and pray for death. Here, now, though, he had a moments respite. It was what hed been searching for all day.
Up and at em, sweetheart, Eve urged.
I will, I promise. In a minute. Aden didnt know his real mother, his parents having signed him over to the state at the age of three, so he likedsometimesthat Eve tried to fill the role. Actually, he loved her for it. He did. He loved all four of the souls, in fact. Even Julian, the corpse whisperer. But every other kid in the world could walk away from their families for a little me time. They could do things other sixteen-year-old boys were doing. Things likewell, things. They could date and attend school and play sports. Have fun.
Not Aden. Never Aden.
Whatever he did, wherever he went, he had an audience. An audience that liked to comment and critique and offer suggestions. Next time do this. Next time do that. Idiot, you shouldnt have done that.
They meant well, he knew they did, but Aden hadnt even kissed a girl yet. And no, the beautiful brunette from Elijahs visions didnt count. No matter how real those visions felt. But God, when was she going to arrive? Would she?
Only yesterday, hed had another vision of her. They had been standing in a forest, the moon high and golden. Shed thrown her arms around him and hugged him tight, her warm breath stroking his neck.
Ill protect you, shed said. Ill always protect you.
From what? hed wondered ever since. Not corpses, obviously.
He drew in a breath, then grimaced. Hello, stinky. The scent of rot seemed glued to the inside of his nose. Probably was. Hed have to scrub himself with a Brillo pad from head to toe.
He released the dagger he still held and wiped his hands on his jeans, leaving streaks of that poisonous goo. What a life, huh?
If you want to get technical, this really isnt our fault, Julian said, obviously no longer willing to shoulder the blame. Youre the one who absorbed us into that fat skull of yours.
Aden ground his teeth. It seemed like he received a similar reminder a thousand times a day. Ive told you. I didnt absorb you.
You did something, cause we sure didnt get bodies of our own. Nooo. We got stuck with yours. And no control button!
FYI, I was born with you already swimming in my mind. He thought so, at least. Theyd always been with him. Its not like I could stop what happened. Whatever happened. Even you dont know.
Just once hed like a flash of total peace. No voices in his head, no dead rising to eat himor any of the other unnatural things he had to deal with on a daily basis.
Things like Julian waking the dead and Elijah predicting the death of anyone who passed him. Things like Eve whisking him to the past, into a younger version of himself. One wrong move, one wrong word, and he would change his future. Not always for the better. Things like Caleb forcing him to possess someone elses body with only a touch.
Just one of those abilities would have set him apart. But all four? He was in a different stratosphere. Something no one, especially the boys at the ranch, let him forget.
But despite the fact that he didnt get along with them, he wasnt ready to be sent away so soon.
Dan Reeves, the guy who ran the D and M, wasnt too bad a guy. He was a former pro-football player who had given up the game because of a back injury, but he hadnt given up the disciplined, by-the-book way of life. Aden liked Dan, even though Dan didnt understand what it was like to have voices chattering inside his head and vying for attention he couldnt hope to give. Even though Dan thought Aden needed to spend his time reading, interacting with others or pondering his future rather than rocking out and roaming. If he only knew.
Uh, Aden? Julian said, bringing him back to the present.
What? he snapped. His good mood must have died with the corpse. He was tired, sore, and knew things were only going to get worse.
Just another day in the life of Aden Stone, he thought with a bitter laugh.
Hate to be the one to tell you this, buttheres more.
What? Even as he spoke, he heard the shattering of another tombstone. Then another.
Others were indeed rising.
He pried his eyelids apart. For a moment, only a moment, he didnt breathe. Just pretended he was an ordinary guy whose only concern was what to buy his girlfriend for her birthday.
Where was the brunette? he wondered. When was her birthday?
Aden, honey, Eve said. You still with us?
Still here. For him, concentrating was the equivalent of counting to infinity, and Eve knew that. I hate this. Im at the edge, and Im either going to jump myself or kick someone in the
Language, Aden, Eve said with a tsk.
He sighed. Kick someone in the butt and force them to fall, he finished properly.
Id leave you if I could, but Im stuck, Julian said, solemn.
I know. His stomach protested and his neck wounds burned from strain as he pulled himself to a crouch. The pain didnt slow him; it, too, angered him and that anger gave him strength. He saw four sets of hands breaking through the dirt, uprooting grass and the colorful bouquets left by loved ones.
He swiped up one of his daggers. The other was still embedded in the first corpses neck, and he had to jimmy it free. He might have been hesitant to battle in the beginning, but he was mad enough now to sprint in swinging this time.
Besides, there was only one way to handle four at a timeEyes narrowing, he dashed to the corpse closest to him. The top of its head had just emerged. It was completely bald, no skin remaining. A living skeleton, the kind of thing nightmares were made of.
You can do it, Eve cheered.
Arm upbackwaitingwaitingFinally, its shoulders came into sight, giving Aden the canvas he needed to work his magic. He struck, in one fluid motion rendering the deaddead. Again.
Im sorry, he whispered. Not that it could hear him. Made him feel better to say it, though.
One down, Julian said.
Aden was already running to the next grave. He didnt slow when he reached it, just raised his arm and slashed.
Im sorry, he said again as this newest corpse fell, head one way, body the other, its bones separating on impact.
Thats the way, Elijah praised.
Instinct was finally kicking in. His hands were soaked, sweat pouring from his face and chest, and as he hurried to the third, battered grave, pride blended with his guilt and sadness. Feral red eyes watched him.
We should be paid for this stuff, Caleb said, every word dripping with excitement. Clearly, he was hot. Again.
A growl sounded behind Aden a split second before a skeletal weight landed on his back and sharp teeth sank into his shoulder, ripping through shirt and skin and hitting muscle. Stupid, stupid! Hed missed one.
He groaned, propelled to the ground. Another bite, more poison. Later, more pain.
He reached over his shoulder, grabbed the fiend by the clavicle and jerked. Rather than tug the carcass off him, his hand wrenched away with a piece of lace and bone. A woman this time. Dont think about that. Hed hesitate, and that hesitation would cost him.
Those sharp teeth latched onto his ear, drawing blood.
He pressed his lips together to cut off his shout. God, that hurt. Reaching back once more, he managed to grip its neck this time. But just before he jerked, the corpse fell to the ground, motionless, and all four voices inside his head began screaming as if in pain, then fadingfadingsilent.
Frowning in confusion, Aden quickly shimmied out from under the lifeless body and jackknifed to his feet. His neck, shoulder and ear throbbed and burned as he whirled around and looked down.
The corpse didnt move. Its head was still attached, but it didnt freaking move.
He spun in a circle, gaze roving, cataloging, searching. The other corpse, the one hed been racing for, had fallen, too, despite the fact that it, too, still possessed its head, and now remained immobile. Even the light in its eyes had died.
O-kay. What the hell had just happened?
Oddly, none of his companions had a smart-ass comment.
Guys? he said.
Still no response.
Why were you His words trailed off. In the distance, he caught a glimpse of a young girl and forgot about everything else. She was dressed in a white T-shirt streaked with dirt, faded jeans and tennis shoes, strolling just in front of the cemetery. She was tall and thin with straight brown hair anchored in a ponytail, tanned skin and a prettyvery prettyface. She had earbuds in her ears and seemed to be singing.
All that dark hairwas shecould she be the girl from Elijahs visions?
Aden stood in place, covered in mud and grime, confused, excited, and trying not to panic. If she spotted him and the carnage surrounding him, shed shriek. People would come gunning for him. Theyd track him, wherever he went. They always tracked him. As hed feared, hed be sent away and the kinda sorta freedom he now had would be a thing of the past.
Dont look, dont look, please dont look. The prayer was his own, the souls still strangely quiet. And yet, part of him did want her to look, to see him, to be as intrigued by him as he was by her. If she was the girl hed seen in those visionsfinally
She was almost past him. Would soon disappear around the corner. And then, as if she sensed his secret desire, she threw a glance over her shoulder. Aden tensed, catching a glimpse of big hazel eyes and pink lips she couldnt stop chewing.
She scanned the area.
A second later, their gazes met. There was a blast of sound as the world suddenly zoomed in on themand then nothing. There were no movements. Not their heartbeats, not even their lungs filling with air. There was no yesterday or tomorrow, only here and now.
They were the only two people who existed.
This was peace, Aden thought with shock. True peace. Calm and quiet, no voices in his head, pressing him down, pulling him under, vying for his attention.
Then, everything exploded. There was another blast of sound, as if the worlds focus expanded this time. Cars started back up, birds began chirping and wind whistled through the trees. A sharp gust of it slammed into him and tossed him backward. He landed with a thump, chin jarring his sternum.
That same wind must have hit her, because she stumbled to her butt with a yelp.
There was a twinge of sickness in his stomach, and as he stood his limbs hung loose and heavy. A need to run to her filled himfollowed quickly by a need to run from her.
She scrambled upright. After another silent glance, she turned away and rushed down the pass, soon disappearing from view.
The moment Aden lost sight of her, everything returned to normal.
Caleb growled, What the hell?
Pain. Darkness, Eve said, voice trembling. Horrible.
Theyd been hurt? How could souls with no bodies feel pain? What do you mean? he asked them, though he suspected part of the answer. The girl. Somehow, some way. That odd stillness when their eyes first metthat strange gust of wind
Shed approached and the dead had fallen. The voices inside his head had faded. Shed looked at him and a peace hed only dreamed about had encompassed him. Shed left and boom, everything had kicked back to terrible life.
He had to experience that peace again. Could she really be responsible? Was she the one hed been waiting for?
Fearing the corpses would rise again, he hurriedly removed the heads of the remaining two. But rather than clean the mess, hiding the evidence of what had happened, he found himself gathering his backpack and chasing after her. There was only one way to find out whether shed done what he thought shed done. Only one way to find out who exactly she was.
Dude, tell us what happened before I start screaming, Julian said.
I dont know what happened. Not exactly. Truth. He was determined to find out, though. Are you okay?
Multiple shouts of No! rang out.
Go back to the house. I have a bad feeling about this, Elijah said, sounding more afraid than Aden had ever heard him.
Aden slowed. Elijahd had bad feelings before, and while they hadnt been actual predictions, Aden had always heeded them. But what if this was his one and only chance to meet the brunette from those visions?
Ill be careful. I swear, he said.
Aden spotted the girl a block from the cemetery. Once again a strong wind jolted him, sickness seeped into his stomach, and then the world around him became all that hed ever dreamed. Silent, his thoughts his own.
Dear Lord. She was responsible.
His palms began to sweat. She rounded a corner, heading into a busy intersection. He stuffed his hands into his backpack and dug out his wet wipes, quickening his step and cleaning his face as best he could. He withdrew a clean shirt and stepped into the shadows, then changed, never taking his gaze from the girl.
Would she run screaming if he approached her? Bones had been piled around him, after all.
He waited for his companions to toss out answers, but all remained quiet. It was odd, not having someone tell him what to do, how to do it, or how badly things would end. Odd and strangely agonizing, when hed thought for years it would be freakishly cool.
For the first time in his life, he was truly on his own. If he messed this up, hed have no one but himself to blame.