Disappointment hits me the moment we walk into math. There’s a new substitute. I was hoping Maddy’s Guardian, Ms. Morgan, would be here. I wish I could ask her if I’m just being paranoid or if she too noticed anything off about Maddy. I haven’t seen Ms. Morgan since we talked at the cabin outside Seattle. Come to think of it, other than the Shadowwalker, I haven’t seen any of the beings that are supposedly helping Maddy. I could use their help.
Halfway through class, Maddy becomes restless, shifting in her seat. I wonder if it’s because of Tom. He’s been staring at her legs all morning, picturing her in his mind. Thinking of touching her and kissing her in ways I myself thought about this morning. If he doesn’t stop, he’s going to have a pair of black eyes.
Suddenly Maddy’s hands curl into tight fists and she groans. It’s quiet enough that her classmates don’t hear it, but I do. She’s in pain.
I lean across the aisle. “Maddy, what’s wrong?”
She grimaces and slumps over in her seat. “I must speak with you in the hallway.”
“Now?”
She nods.
I close my eyes, focusing on the sound of the clock in the front of the room, listening for its rhythmic tic. I block out everything else. Slowly, the ticking stops. I reopen my eyes, and everyone except Maddy and I is frozen.
Her face clenches in pain again, but she puts up her hands to block me from touching her before I even make a move.
“Did you stop the whole school or just this room?” she asks.
“I . . . how do you know that’s what I did?” I’ve never told her I could do this. Did the others?
She doesn’t answer. Instead, she releases a shaky breath. She looks at me for an answer.
“The whole school,” I finally reply.
“That is good.” She leaves her desk and slowly walks out the door.
I follow, my hands in tight fists as I fight the urge to reach out and help her, to let my essence discover where this pain is coming from.
“Maddy, what’s wrong? Tell me what’s happening.”
She continues her slow pace as we walk down the hallway. Suddenly she stops, cries out in agony, and leans into a nearby locker as her body doubles over.
“Maddy, please!”
I wrap my arms around her, not caring if she tries to shove me off. As my essence enters her body, it’s met with resistance, then it’s shoved out of her. I stagger back; my hands and arms sting as if they were burned. The last time this happened . . .
“Help her!” she cries. “I did not mean for this to happen.”
Her eyes open, pleading with me, but all I can see is that Maddy’s beautiful emerald eyes are now scarlet.
Even though I stopped time, it still seems to slow as Sissy, Alexander, and Tamitha appear and surround us. All of us stare at the demon possessing Maddy.
“Who are you?” I growl.
She groans and falls to her knees as if something struck her. “I do not”—she gasps—“have a name.”
“How long have you been inside her?”
She cries out again and can barely speak. “Today. Since waking. Yesterday, for a time too. I told her to lie then. You were not ready to know of me.”
Maddy lied to me.
I have to blink just to clear my mind of the thought. Getting her back is all that matters. This demon has taken her twice now.
“What do you know about her?” I continue, my anger rising.
She spasms and shrinks lower to the ground. “I know everything. I am helping—”
“Don’t you dare say you’re helping her!”
“MJ, stop,” Tamitha says. She points to Maddy’s back. “Look!”
Maddy’s red dress is darkening. Her body spasms again, and the demon holds back a scream. A gash appears on the bare skin at her shoulder blades.
The demon is hurting my Maddy.
“Get out of her now!” I shout. I stand over her, holding back the urge to grab her and shake her. She’s holding Maddy captive.
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve performed an exorcism, but I don’t want to do that. This demon is powerful. I’m not willing to risk Maddy getting hurt any more than she already is.
“I cannot leave her. She is in a vision, and—” Another blow from something unseen rattles her body.
“A vision? Of who? Tell us!”
“Should I go as backup for Protector Steve?” Alexander says, looking at me for orders. Steve has been assigned to protect Teresa Adams, the next victim on the killer’s list.
“Wait,” I reply. Something tells me this isn’t a vision of the next victim. According to the pattern, she will die by fire.
The demon grinds her teeth in torment. “I cannot tell you what she is seeing. Only Maddy can. But she will not come out unless you help her.”
Several more blows come as I stare in silence at the demon asking for my help. She cries out again and pounds the floor.
I fall to my knees in front of the demon. I forget about the killer. If this is a vision of the next victim, the girl is likely nearly dead, anyway. I forget about everything but Maddy.
“I’ll do whatever you want. Just tell me what to do.”
“The line between sides is thinning,” she says, panting for air. “We are . . . running out of time. Touch me. I do not . . . have the strength . . . to fight you now. Call out to her. Compel her to come back.”
I shake my head. “She can’t be compelled.”
Red eyes meet mine. “She is not . . . in control right now.”
“I can’t compel you eith—”
“The vision is killing her!” she cries. “I am slipping. I am losing my hold on her.”
I hesitate, then place my hands on her shoulder. My essence flows into her slowly. I’m met with no resistance this time. I take a deep breath and push it forward.
She slumps into me as more blows hit her back. Then she raises Maddy’s arms and turns them over. Tiny little cuts mar her beautiful skin from her elbows down to her fingers. Blood trickles like rivers.
I force my eyes up to the fluorescent lights on the ceiling, trying not to cry. Trying to keep it together. Maddy needs me.
As I look back down, I feel a small glimmer of hope. Alexander, Tamitha, and Sissy all have their hands on Maddy’s body, healing her and trying to help me bring her back.
This time, even their essences flow freely.
“Tell her to come back,” the demon whispers. “No matter where Maddy is . . . she hears you. Bring her home. I am trusting you, angel . . . with this knowledge.”
I hold her closer, holding back my emotions as I reach out and connect with Maddy’s mind. I push past the darkness, forcing her to open up to me. When my essence cycles back to me, I know I’ve gained control of her.
I’ve done this countless times before, but never with Maddy. I don’t know if I should be relieved or upset that it’s working now. All I know is that it adds another question to the very long list of things I do not know about the woman I love.
As my essence pours back in, I say in the calmest voice I can manage, “Maddy. Come back to me, minn hvatvetna. I dare you.”
Even though the demon still writhes in pain, the creases in her face ease as a bit of tension leaves her.
“I meant what I said.” Her voice is weak, barely above a whisper. She looks into my eyes. “You can save her. But you must start communicating. Train her. Love her. Trust her. Everything else will fall into place. She loves you too. She is just . . . afraid to say it. Do not give up on her. She almost said it yesterday.”
A tear falls down my cheek as the demon closes her eyes. Maddy’s body slumps in our arms. I hold her closer, burying my face in her hair.
Her heart suddenly races.
I pull back just as her eyes fly open and she gasps for air.
She looks at our stunned faces, then her eyes lock on me. They’re back to her stunning shade of emerald green.
“MJ,” she says, her voice wavering.
Without thinking, I kiss her. I kiss her through my pain of nearly losing her, my anger at the demon and the killer, my frustration with myself, and my joy that she’s back.
One by one, the others remove their essences so the moment only belongs to Maddy and me. I hear them step away.
Maddy’s arms wrap around me, and she deepens our kiss. Our passion could burn the school down around us, and we would be oblivious to it.
“I’m so sorry,” I murmur against her lips.
“Me too,” she answers back.
I wrap my arms tighter around her, trying in vain to keep her with me.
She screams, breaking our kiss. Her fingernails dig into me.
Her back.
I more gently pull her against me and inspect the damage. Her dress is soaked in blood, and countless lashes leave her skin open and raw. The pale skin of her arms and hands is lost under the river of blood.
I push my essence to her back, arms, and hands, fixing the damage.
“I am so sorry,” I whisper over and over again.
The pain lessens. The scars are healing, but it will never be enough.
“Don’t,” she says, her voice weak and rough.
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t fix it all.” Her eyes plead with mine. “Pain is what saved me. I need the scars. I need to remember what happened and how close I came to—”
She turns away. A tear clings to her lashes, but before it can fall, I wipe it away. My thumb strokes her cheek.
In that moment, I realize just how close I came to losing her.