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Zach slipped on his shoes and headed across the street, to the sporty two-door Mom gave him when he moved out. It had been her car, but once she and Marcus got married, she claimed she didn’t need more than one car between them.
Zach had been more shocked than anything. Now he was grateful for the freedom it gave him—though they did do a lot of fancy juggling to come up with enough evidence that proved he was old enough to drive.
“Right,” he said. If he counted his time as an angel, he had a lot of centuries under his belt.
He started plotting the fastest way to Emmettsville as he slid into the car. Even though he wasn’t a student at the high school, he was pretty sure he could blend in long enough to get to the door leading to the basement.
The twenty-minute drive along the coast road seemed to take forever. Zach focused on what he could do once he got down there. Alex had told him where Simon disappeared, so it wouldn’t be hard to find.
Finally, he swung into the school parking lot, and into the first spot he found. It was afternoon, and the full lot told him that classes were still in session.
“Just walk in, look like you know where you’re going.”
By the time he reached the front door he felt out of place. He ignored it, pushed open the door—and nearly ran over the girl on the other side.
“Jeez—I’m so sorry... Alex?”
“Hey, Zach.” She smiled up at him, amusement in the dark blue eyes. It startled him again just how pretty she was, and how strong. She’d proved that when she saved her boyfriend, Sam, by facing down a crazy woman with a knife. “What brings you to my unassuming little town?”
Laughter burst out of him. Unassuming would be the last word he’d use to describe Emmettsville. The amusement faded quickly.
“I came to check out the basement, where Simon disappeared.”
“He’s still missing?” She touched his wrist before he could stop her. Huh—it didn’t hurt. He could figure out why later.
“Yeah. Can you—”
“No need to even ask,” she said. “Come on.” She led the way down the empty hall, her ballet flats hardly making a sound on the linoleum. Zach remembered she was a dancer, which would explain her graceful movements. “How are you? The glow around you looks dark.”
Shock almost stopped him She saw his aura. “You can see it?”
“Ever since you healed my throat. But you’re the only one. I didn’t develop some super-secret gift.”
“Um—good?”
She laughed again, glancing over her shoulder. “Yeah, good.” She rounded the corner, and opened a metal door. Stairs led down into the darkness.
“I’m not keeping you from a class, am I?”
“Nope. I was just on my way out when you—”
“Nearly ran over you?”
She flipped on a light and waved him ahead of her, closing the door before she followed him down the narrow staircase. “Simon being gone hurts you, doesn’t it?” Her voice was gentle.
Swallowing, Zach nodded. “Some days are worse than others.” Like today. “You’re the first person who’s touched me on one of my bad days and not set off a fresh wave of pain.”
“Maybe I’m just special.” She smiled up at him. “Or maybe it’s because I touched your tattoo.”
They both glanced down at his wrist, where the blue outline of wings and a flaming sword marked his pale skin. It was the symbol of a guardian, and had been burned into him when he was condemned to exist in Between, helping others find their way back to the right path, with no redemption for him. Ever.
After he fell, it became a tattoo. The only mark of his former life, if he didn’t count the long scars on his back where his wings used to be. He’d spent hours online trying to figure out what might have caused those scars, before he learned the truth.
“You’re the first, in a while,” he said. “Most people don’t even notice it.”
“Seriously? How can they miss it?”
He shrugged, and changed the subject. “Can you tell me exactly what happened with Simon? And show me where?”
“Yeah.” Alex opened the door, and stepped into the basement, halting before she took two steps. “Sorry. I haven’t been back here since...” Her voice faded, and she touched her left side. Zach knew that was where the crazy woman threatening Sam had stabbed her, nearly killing her in the process. “Okay, let’s move.”
She walked past a dark stain on the floor, her shoulders hunching, but she didn’t halt, or even flinch. Zach’s admiration for her jumped. She stopped in front of a dented metal door, and Zach’s tattoo started to throb.
“He was here,” he whispered.
“Zach.” Alex pointed to his wrist.
He knew before he looked down—his tattoo was glowing. His fingers shook as they closed over the doorknob and turned it.
There was a short tunnel, and then a hole in the ground.
“It happened at the base of the ladder,” Alex whispered. “Can you make it down?”
“Yeah.” He had to—he was so close now.
His body protested the entire way, but he made it, breathless and shaky by the time he reached the bottom. The first thing he saw when he turned around was Simon’s blood on the hard-packed dirt. It was bright red, and looked fresh. Like he’d just been here.
Zach knelt, afraid to touch the blood, needing to, in order to see if there was any connection, anything left of Simon.
Alex’s voice jerked him back, reminded him he wasn’t alone. “I saw it happen, and I still have a hard time believing what I saw.”
“Tell me.” His whisper was raw, and more than a little desperate.
Alex knelt beside him. “We made it this far, Simon right next to me. He seemed so alive, so solid, I kept forgetting he was a ghost. Then, without any warning, he doubled over, and started—bleeding. It spread across his t-shirt, from—”
“His chest,” Zach whispered. “Where he was stabbed.”
“Oh, God. Is that how he died?” Alex took his hand, and this time he felt the pain of contact. But he didn’t care; her touch helped ground him. “I’m so sorry, Zach.”
“He died because of me.”
“Stop, right there.” She raised her eyebrows when he looked at her. “I didn’t spend all that much time with Simon, but I’m pretty sure he’d be the first to shut you down for even thinking it. Now,” she tightened her grip on his hand. “What can I do?”
“Just—” He hadn’t thought this far ahead. Gently, he freed his hand. “Catch me if I pass out.”
Before he could talk himself out of it, he laid his hand over the blood.