Soul Thief (6 page)

I still didn't know which side that meant.

“THREE COKES AND ONE
ICED TEA
, coming right up.” I dropped the plate with drinks on the table and handed one to each of my friends.

After I told Katie that Stacey had invited us to the Shack, she turned into a whirlwind of determination and dragged us all along, even though Michelle insisted she had to study for an important test.

The Shack was a local bar decorated in the typical 1960's style, with giant neon lights on the walls, metallic-colored tables and chairs, and round tables in the corners with red vinyl couches behind them. The owner was a bulky, square-faced guy named Greg, who always took the time to joke with his customers even though none of his jokes were funny. We liked to hang around The Shack after school because there were pool tables, a karaoke machine, and the crowd tended to be about our age.

I sat down next to Michelle and took a sip of my Coke. “So you all know how I spent my weekend. What did you guys do?”

“I spent most of my weekend worrying about you.” Michelle took a sip of her Coke. “And studying. Don't forget about that Spanish test we have coming up.”

“As if anyone could forget.” Craig toggled his fingers on the table. “I've been studying the whole week and I still can't remember half of the vocabulary.” He turned to look at me. “I went to that photography class I talked about.”

“The one with the cute guy?” My lips cracked into a smile.

“The one and only. He was really nice. We talked for a while and then we went for coffee.”

“I'm sensing a ‘but' coming on.” Katie arched an eyebrow and looked at Craig.

“Well, I don't think he's gay.”

“Bummer. Want me to give it a shot so you know for sure?”

Craig rolled his eyes. His brown, curly hair fell in front of his eyes. He was thin as a pencil and perpetually pale. You'd think he was allergic to the sun, except he probably spent more time outside than the rest of us since his parents owned a farm and he helped them day in and day out. “No, I don't think I'd like you to ‘give it a shot'.”

“What's with you and all the dating talk today anyway?” Michelle asked Katie. “First, with that psychologist guy…” She stopped talking and glanced at me, as if she was trying to see if I was okay with her mentioning it.

“Hmmm.” Katie moved her lips from left to right. “Should I tell you guys? Maybe I should.”

“Tell us what? Come on, spill the beans.” Craig gave her a soft nudge.

“All right, all right.” She paused dramatically, smiling at our combined curiosity. “I met a guy.”

“A guy? Can you be any more cryptic?” I asked.

“Not just a guy. His name is Myron. He's gorgeous. Seriously, like even hotter than that psychologist guy.”

“We need more than ‘gorgeous',” Craig said. “Hair color, height, weight, muscles or not?”

“He has dark brown hair, the fiercest green eyes I've ever seen. He's at least six feet tall. Not too muscular, but I like them that way. And he has a scar just above his left eyebrow. It makes him look badass.”

“Let me guess. He
is
a badass?” Michelle snorted and took another sip from her Coke. “He sounds like a slightly upgraded version of your last boyfriend, what's his name again?”

“Motorcycle guy?” I asked, stifling a laugh. Michelle and I always came up with nicknames for Katie's boyfriends because we couldn't be bothered to remember their names. She switched boyfriends like she switched handbags — at least a new one every month.

“He's not at all like motorcycle guy,” Katie protested.

I grinned, Michelle pulled a ‘yeah, right' face, and Craig wiggled his eyebrows.

“Fine.” She sighed. “You could say they hang around in the same social circles. But Myron is about one thousand times hotter. He's mysterious too. He didn't even give me his last name.”

“Hold on. You're dating a guy and you don't even know his last name? Maybe you're playing this one a bit too fast.” Michelle shot me a look requesting back up.

“No, it's not like that. We're not
dating
dating. He's taking me out on a date tomorrow night. It's nothing serious yet.”

“But you're smiling from ear to ear,” I said, “so you must really like this guy.”

She bit her lower lip and started blushing.

I almost tumbled out of my seat. Katie didn't blush. This was the first time that I'd ever seen her embarrassed about something.

Michelle and I exchanged a worried look.

“I do. I think… he might be the one.”

“Oh please.” Craig waved his hand, as if dismissing the idea. “I don't believe in that true love crap and neither should you.”

Katie rolled her eyes. “I'm not talking
true love
, I'm talking the one I can stand for more than a month. My first real relationship.”

“We're moving a bit fast here.” Michelle kept her eyes glued to the table, as if she didn't want Katie to notice her worried look. “You only saw the guy once.”

“I know. He just… God, at the risk of sounding cheesy, he makes me feel things I've never felt before.”

“Well I, for one, am curious to meet this guy who can make our Katie blush like that,” I said, trying to lighten the mood.

Before Katie could say anything else, Stacey appeared at our table. She had a big smile plastered on her face and she waved at me as if I was the Queen of England. She'd pulled her long, brown hair back into a ponytail. She wore dark jeans and a purple cashmere sweater. “I'm so glad you could come.”

I blinked. “Um, well, I'm glad I'm here too.”

“Scoot over.” She nodded at the couch.

Michelle and I moved over so Stacey could sit down next to me. Her wavy brown hair tickled my neck when she leaned closer.

“All right, so give me the real story,” she said.

“Real story? About what?”

“About how you're feeling. In class, you said you were fine, but that's a standard reply. You don't look fine.”

“Yeah, I'm not sure what to think about that comment.” My smile wavered for a second. Around my friends, I could keep up pretenses that I was fine, but Stacey was apparently a lot more perceptive. “I'm still a little shaky, I guess.”

Stacey's questioning had bombarded me into the center of attention, the spot I hated the most. My friends stared at me and then at each other, wondering what to say next.

“You can talk to me anytime.” She put a hand on my back. “I went through something similar”

That got my interest. “You…”

“My parents and I got into a car accident when I was seven years old. My parents were okay, but I was badly injured. They brought me to the hospital, and for a while, they didn't think I'd survive. But I made it.” She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes.

“That sounds a lot worse than what I went through. I wasn't even injured that bad.”

“You have a bruise the size of a small country,” Katie said.

“Well, it doesn't matter,” Stacey continued, ignoring her comment, “I know how bad it can be. Someone else got hurt in the accident. A little girl who'd been sitting in the car we hit. It was an accident, but I kept feeling guilty about that girl.”

I completely understood what she meant. I felt the same guilt toward the little boy who'd died.

“Come on, guys, don't be so gloomy,” Katie said, poking me from across the table. “Cheer up. I'll buy another round. Coca-Cola, everyone?”

“Iced tea.” Craig waved his empty glass up and down.

“Coke is fine,” Stacey said. “And you're right, less gloom, more cheer. Anyone want to join me Saturday afternoon? I'm going to write some letters for Amnesty International.”

“If that's your idea of fun, then I'm out.” Craig snorted.

Want to meet?

I almost jumped out of my skin when Leander's voice spoke in my mind. My hand clenched around my empty glass.

I can't meet for long. Need to be home by eight for dinner.

I hoped he'd get my message, but I didn't have to wait for long to get a response.

That will work. Come find me.

What? What do you mean ‘come find me'?

Exactly that. I'm not that far. Angels can sense other Angels. So come find me. Use your instincts.

Great. Exactly what I needed. Another challenge for today.

Fine. I'll come find you. But I'm not walking very far, so you better make sure you're around.

“Guys, I'm going to head out,” I said, just as Katie came back with the drinks.

“What?” She arched her eyebrows and blinked at me. “I just bought you something to drink.”

“I know, and I'm sorry, but I just remembered something I have to do. It's rather urgent.”

“Are you all right?” Little worry lines appeared next to Michelle's eyes as she looked at me.

“I'm fine. I'll text you guys later, okay?”

Stacey got up to let me pass. She grabbed my arm when I was about to go. “If anything's wrong, you can tell me about it.”

“Thanks. But I really have to go now.”

“How will you get home?” Katie asked. “Want me to give you a ride?” We'd gone to the Shack in her car.

“No, it's no biggie, I'll walk. Clear my head.”

“It's a half hour walk.” She frowned. “We all know you're as lazy as you can get and you wouldn't just go for a walk, so tell us what's up.”

“Nothing,” I lied. “I just want to be alone for a while, okay?”

Katie looked down and I bit my tongue, wishing I'd never said that. “I'll make it up to you guys tomorrow, promise.”

“We're just worried,” Michelle said.

“Don't be. Walking will do me so good. To be honest, I'm not that fond of cars anymore.”

“Oh.” Katie's eyes went wide. “I'm sorry, Riles, I just…”

“No, it's okay. See you tomorrow.” I waved at them and hurried out of the Shack.

* * *

“Come on, this isn't funny anymore.” My teeth chattered and I wrapped my arms around myself. It was seven-thirty, and the temperature had dropped. Of course I'd neglected to bring a coat. “I'm going to catch a cold and you'll be sorry because that means no more training time.”

Angels don't get ill. Stop whining. Focus.

“Easy for you to say. I'm the one trudging through a damn forest. If my parents found out, they'd kill me.”

After I'd left the Shack, Leander told me to go to the forest and look for him there. The town's forest wasn't all that big, but it was almost impossible to find someone once you got inside. Thick trees blocked the sunlight, weeds grew everywhere, and the sky was covered by a canopy of green leaves.

“This could potentially be dangerous. What if I run into a serial killer? Or a rapist?”

No one around for miles. Besides, super-strength, remember?

I sighed and kicked a loose stone. I'd tried to lure him into saying something, wishing that maybe the sound of his voice would lead me somewhere, but he didn't fall for it.

“Throw me a bone here. Please.”

All right, all right. Stand still. Close your eyes. Focus on your mind's eye. Try to sense me.

I snorted and did as he told me to. I probably looked like an imbecile, but the sooner I got this over with, the better.

Blocking out the noise was harder than I thought. Wind screeched through the trees and cars honked in the distance. I tried to think about Leander, about where he could be.

Minutes stretched on, and except for a throbbing headache, I got nothing.

“I give up.” I threw my hands in the air in defeat. “Nothing comes through.”

“It's okay.”

I spun around on my heels toward the voice, and found myself only inches away from him. “How… did you fly here?”

“I was right behind that tree. You should've been able to sense me from such a short distance.”

“Well, maybe I suck at this whole being an Angel thing.” Frustration welled up inside of me along with a glaring anger. I kicked one of the larger stones lying around and grimaced when it hurt. The stones were remnants of a cemetery that had been here centuries ago. At least, that's what Gran once told me when we'd gone for a walk here. I patted the stone, showing I was sorry for kicking it. “Don't send an evil spirit after me.”

“Don't get all wound up over this,” Leander said, ignoring my weird conversation with the tombstone. “It's not worth it. You'll get it right next time.”

“Hmph.” I grunted. “Anything else? I'd like to get home.” I wrapped my arms around myself to indicate how cold I felt.

“Come here,” Leander said.

I frowned and walked over to him. He stared at me for a few seconds and then put his hand on my forehead.

“You're burning up.”

“I thought you said we couldn't get sick.”

“We can't. But when we drain our powers too much, we become feverish. No more training for you today. You should get some sleep.”

“I haven't exactly been sleeping well.” I sighed and lifted up my backpack from the ground. “I can't stop thinking about this boy at the accident. He died. He was just a little kid.” I had no idea why I was telling Leander this when I hadn't told it to anyone else yet — not my parents, not my friends, no one.

“I'm sorry.” He put a hand on my shoulder. “I forget what it's like for humans sometimes. When you live as long as I have, you're used to people dying.”

“I thought Angels were practically immortal?”

“They are, but I'm talking about humans. If you think I lived so long without communicating with them, or befriending some of them, then you'd be very wrong.”

“I never even considered it.” I started walking in the direction I came from, and he followed. “It's a lot to take in. My mom cheating on my dad with an Angel, for instance. My dad not being my dad. That's a tougher shock than the whole being an Angel thing.”