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“Come on, Simon. I know you can hear me.”
Zach stood in the middle of his old bedroom at Annie and Eric Malone’s house, hoping—praying—that calling for Simon in the first place he appeared would push Zach’s plea out there. Louder, maybe. Farther.
Since Simon had been shoved into only God knew where after helping Alex Finch save her friends, Zach lived with a constant, energy shredding version of the mind-bending pain that doubled him over if someone happened to say the F word. It even invaded his sleep, waking him up in the middle of the night, sweating and exhausted.
He found the effects harder to hide, and started avoiding everyone. Worse than the pain was the loss of control. He had almost instinctively blocked the emotions of the people around him since he’d acquired the ability. Now that control was slipping, and even with the protection of his amethyst, he was bombarded every time he walked out the door.
Coming here when the house was empty was a risk, since he knew that if Annie showed, she’d take one look at him and know in a hot second he was in trouble. But this was his last hope—he didn’t have anything else to try.
“Simon—please—”
“Zach?”
He froze as Annie pushed the door open. Even though he was taller now, topping her six feet by over an inch, one raised eyebrow could make him feel like the fumbling teenager he’d been—not all that long ago.
“Annie—I was—”
“Eric told me...” Her voice faded as she studied him. Uh oh—there went the eyebrow. “How long?”
“What—”
“Don’t lie to me, Zach. You’re in pain.” She moved closer. “How can I help?”
“You can’t. It’s just—a glitch in my power.”
“Right. Have I ever told you how bad a liar you are?”
Zach would have shrugged, or laughed it off, but today was a bad day, which had prompted him to head over here. “Probably.”
“Tell me, bud. You know I’ll believe you. And if you don’t want anyone else knowing, it stays inside this room.”
That was the cool thing about Annie—she always gave him space, and kept her promise.
“Okay,” he said. “But I have to sit down. And you better—it’s going to be a shocker.”
He lowered himself to the bed, resisting the need to sprawl over it. Sleeping wasn’t part of the agenda, and his dreams lately had been—vivid.
Annie sat next to him, hands clasped together in her lap. “The seeker thing—it’s not going well, is it?”
“That’s part of it. I—you’re probably not going to believe me, but here it is. Simon’s back.”
Her eyes widened. “What exactly do you mean by back?”
“He kind of—haunts me. Since the funeral.”
She didn’t look as freaked out as he expected. Nope—she looked mad. “What the hell—why didn’t you say anything? Is he here now? Would I be able to see him?”
“No.” Zach rubbed his forehead, another headache pounding behind his eyes. “Besides me, only a friend has been able to. He—disappeared, just after Thanksgiving, helping her with a—”
“That was over four months ago, Zach. Why didn’t you say anything before now?”
“I just—couldn’t.” He wasn’t about to reveal the whole monster connection with Alex, not after he made a promise to keep the existence of the monster havens under wraps. Though Annie might actually believe him. “I have to figure out what happened to him, Annie. I’ve been—hurting, since he vanished, and I can’t stop the pain.”
Tears he didn’t expect leaked into his voice. She moved closer, one hand hovering over his shoulder.
“Does it hurt to touch?”
He shook his head. “Not normally, but today has been worse than usual.” He stared past her, blinking to clear his vision. To his horror, those tears slid down his face. “Damn—”
“Hey, bud. No need to hide anything, not from me. I really want to hug you right now, but I won’t. Just know I do.”
“Okay.” He wiped at his face, mortified that he’d cried in front of her. Jeez—like a baby. “I don’t know what to do, Annie. And you can’t tell Mom,” he said, panic jolting through him. “She’s dealing with enough right now.”
Annie smiled. “I’ll let you tell her.”
“You mean I’m going to tell her no matter what, but not right this second.”
“Exactly.” Her smile faded. “Is there anything I can do? Or Marcus? He can wave some of his Jinn mojo over you.”
“I don’t think it’ll help. Thanks, though. For listening.”
She rubbed her face, and he knew she was frustrated. “Is there anything else I can do?”
“Yeah.” Zach forced a smile. “Don’t say the F word.”
“Har, har. It’s already been erased from my vocabulary. Damn it, I feel helpless. You’ve already been through so much—”
“Annie.”
“I know—you’re a big boy now.”
Laughter burst out of him. “Thanks,” he said when he could talk again. The distraction sure kept him from thinking about the pain. “I should go. I’m meeting Misty for an early dinner, and I want to try and get some rest.”
“Speaking of meeting—when do we get to meet the mystery girlfriend?”
“Uh...” He wanted to say never. But they’d have to meet her at some point. It wasn’t like he was embarrassed or anything; Misty met him because her best friend Alex helped him and Simon. So she already knew about his ghost attachment, and his seeker thing. And—hell, Alex knew all his secrets. She might have already told Misty. Didn’t girls tell each other everything? He was sure he read that somewhere. “When I can introduce her without the chance of doubling over in pain?”
“Oh, Zach.” She reached for him, and he held still, not sure which would hurt more—her touching him, or him trying to avoid her touching him. Annie stopped before her fingers hit his cheek. “If I can do anything, you know where I am.”
“Okay, Annie. I’ll get out of your hair now.”
“Hey.” Her quiet voice stopped him in the doorway. “You are never in my hair, Zach.” Her wicked smile made him laugh. He really needed this, more than he thought. Annie always helped him just get over it. “Come back anytime. I miss having you underfoot. And Lizzie misses you, period.”
“Where is she?”
“At the beach with Eric. That girl cannot get enough of the water.” She smiled, and held out her hand. “Come with me—we can surprise them with a late lunch. From Lily’s.”
He was about to say no—until she mentioned Lily’s. His mouth watered at just the thought of one of her roast beef sandwiches. Okay, maybe two.
“Deal,” he said. He took Annie’s hand, not caring about the twinge of pain. She smiled at him as she led him down the hall. “What?”
“Do I know how to bribe, or do I know how to bribe?”
His laughter echoed around them. It had been a long time since he’d laughed so much.
***
Eric and Lizzie weren’t alone. His mom crouched next to the toddler, helping her dig a hole in the sand, both of them intent on the task.
Claire Wiche wasn’t his mom in the real sense of the word. But she gave him her grace, helped him fall when all he wanted was to be mortal, and took him into her life when he couldn’t even remember his own name. He figured that qualified.
She looked up, and saw him standing on the boardwalk. “Zach, come and join us.”
“Be right there.” He kicked off his tennis shoes and hopped down to the sand.
The cold, crisp spring wind, with the smell of the ocean, helped push back the headache, and relaxed him more than he had been in a while. He moved behind Lizzie, tiptoeing as quietly as possible. She spun around with a shriek right before he touched her. The kid had definitely inherited Annie’s power—he’d never been able to sneak up on her successfully, even when she was a baby.
“Zach!”
He squatted until he was at eye level. “Hey, squirt.”
She threw herself at him, short arms grabbing him around the neck. He ignored the jolt of pain. “Fly, Zach. Fly!”
He pretended to choke. “Let me breathe, squirt, and I’ll help you fly.”
Grabbing her waist, Zach held her up. She spread her arms and flung her head back, her expression serious as she focused completely. He carried her down to the water, touched her down just as the tail end of a wave washed over his feet. She squealed, dropping down to splash in the water before it receded.
“You’re so good with her.” Mom’s voice brought him around.
“It’s easy—she’s a good kid.”
“She is.” Mom bent down and lifted Lizzie into her arms. Zach watched her for any sign of the weakness that had plagued her since her demon side merged with her human side. Or something like that. She refused to tell him exactly what had happened. “Let’s go say hi to Mommy, sweet girl.”
“Mom?”
“I am better, Zach. Every day.” She touched the amethyst heart she wore at her throat. The amethyst he’d given her for Christmas their first year together. The one he wore used to be hers, and her connection to it was still strong. So strong the amethyst pulsed when she was in trouble. It had been quiet for almost a year now, much to his relief. “Marcus wouldn’t let me out of the house if he thought otherwise.”
“Yeah.” He joined her, hiking across the sand. “I just—you scared the hell out of me, more than once. I worry, you know.”
“I do know.” She reached up and cradled his cheek. Her barely five feet always made him feel like a giant. “And I love you for it.”
“Mom.”
“Too much in public?”
“Duh.”
She laughed, Lizzie echoing it with a high-pitched version. “Can you join us for lunch?”
“Annie already bribed me.”
“Good—then I don’t have to.”
Zach relaxed, plopping down on the sand next to the bag that Annie brought with them. He knew he wouldn’t have to worry, or try to put up a block. This was family, and they were used to avoiding the F word, almost effortlessly now.
He wolfed down two sandwiches, a giant bag of chips, and grabbed the last of his iced tea before he stood. “I have to get back. I have a couple things to do before—um. I have to—”
“Misty is coming over tonight?”
Heat spread over his cheeks. He hated being embarrassed. Even with the light tan he’d finally managed to acquire, his skin showed every emotion. “Yes, Mom. She has permission—”
“She’s a lovely girl, Zach, from what you told me.” He tried not to flinch. He knew Misty would have to meet her sooner or later. He was trying to figure out how to explain—everything. “Tell her I said hello.”
“Right. Okay.” He picked up his tennis shoes, and escaped as fast as he could, without it looking like he was trying to escape. Not easy with a mom who knew him so well.
He decided to walk along the beach, and take the shortcut behind the playground. Too busy staring out at the waves, he almost ran into the figure that stepped in his path.
“Whoa—” He slipped on the damp sand trying to avoid her. “Watch where you’re stopping—”
“You lost someone.” Her low voice froze him.
“What?”
“Someone close. He came back, and you lost him again. Now you’re trying to—no, that word,” she closed her eyes. “That word hurts you—”
Zach grabbed her arms. “Who the hell are you?”
Blue eyes studied him, calm in a pretty face. Really pretty. She wasn’t much taller than Mom, but she had a presence that would have stopped him on the street.
“My name is Diana.” Her name threw a load of bad memories at him. Thank heaven she didn’t look anything like the other Diana. He still woke from nightmares of facing the fire elemental, and not stopping it. She started talking again, and jerked him back to the present. “I don’t normally—throw myself at strangers, but your pain just—pulled at me. I see death.”
She said it like it was just a part of her. Zach wondered if he could ever toss off “I’m a fallen angel” like that. Probably not.
“And you’re drawn to me—why?”
“Someone you love died not long ago, and he—haunts you.”
He stared at her. “No.”
“I’m never wrong. You may not be able to see him, but he’s—no, he was—here. Something took him from you. Some power he couldn’t fight, or escape.”
His fingers dug into her arms. He knew it had to hurt, but he didn’t care. “Who the hell are you?”
“I was in a car accident. I died, and came back. Now I can see what I call an aura around people who have lost someone, or are near death themselves. I really don’t enjoy that part of my—gift,” she muttered, her gaze on his chest. “But that’s not relevant here, thank goodness. Though your aura is unusual. I can’t quite place—”
Zach yanked her off her feet, dragging her after him as he headed away from anyone who could hear what had turned into a surreal conversation. Stopping next to the closed toy store in the short back street, he let go of her and used his height to loom.
“What do you want?”
“Nothing—I saw y’all on the beach, and your pain practically knocked me off my feet. I can’t let that kind of reaction go, not until I’m sure I’ve done everything I can.”
“And what can you do?”
“Help you with your missing friend.”
***
Zach took a few steps back. He knew Santa Luna drew its share of strange—he lived with a good part of it—but someone who could see death? Not even Mom had that ability.
“How?”
Diana let out a sigh. “You don’t believe me.”
“No, no I don’t.” He crossed his arms. “Why don’t you try and convince me.”
A smile tugged at her mouth. “Okay.” She held out one hand. “I need to touch you for this part.”
Zach took her hand—and heat shot up his arm. His tattoo lit up like a neon sign, but there wasn’t pain, not like with Simon. “Whoa,” he whispered.
She stared at his tattoo, blue eyes narrowed. That gaze moved to his face. “You’re a guardian.”
He kept his face neutral, even as panic skated through him. “A what?”
“Unless there’s some fancy new ink that glows when you touch it, that,” she pointed to his right wrist, “marks you as a guardian.”
With more effort than he expected he yanked his hand out of her grip. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but we’re done.”
He wanted to run away, but he forced himself to a fast walk.
“I can help you, Zachariah.” He flinched at the use of his full name, but kept moving. He didn’t care how she knew, he wanted out of here. All he had to do was reach the corner and he could run— “You need to go back to the beginning.”
Zach froze. Her small hand touched his wrist, fingers spread over the tattoo. “What?” he whispered.
“Y’all are connected.” She twined her fingers with his. “You have to look for him where it started. Sorry,” she rubbed her forehead. “That’s all I got from you.”
He stared down at their joined hands, at his tattoo just above, still lit up, the blue lines glowing. “I don’t know what you’re...”
His voice faded as the answer jolted him, so obvious he wanted to smack himself.
Stupid—why didn’t I think of it before?
He needed to start where Simon had disappeared.