Twenty Three
Shade's senses tingled as she stared at the man before her. His once dark brown hair was graying an his watery blue eyes were slowly becoming weaker. Within him emotions raged and the memory of every crime he'd seen fed demons into his being. Shade's theory was proven true; Cops were stark raving mad.
Her dark eyes flickered over the man and she saw the heart of him, the cancer eating at his lungs growing strong with each puff of cigarette smoke. She grimaced. They had broken into her room and sifted through the mess, taking pictures and making notes and tracing the lines of her best friend with chalk and fingerprint dust. It wasn't only breaking into her room, it was breaking into her life, and she felt almost vulnerable in front of this man.
"Well miss Mayer, you're friend Faith is missing." His voice was choked with smoke and poison. Shade forced a tired smile to her face.
"I know nothing of Faith's disappearance, Detective Locklair." She could taste the calmness of her words, as they rolled over her tongue. "I knew she was depressed but I didn't know she would leave like she did. I'm sorry I can't be more helpful."
"Quite alright" His smile was as fake as Shades as he ground out his cigarette. "Can you tell me about Jack Kelly? I believe you are. . . a couple?"
She felt her shoulders rise in a shrug. She spread her hands, a sorry smile on her lips "We've been busy with homework recently, but I don't think Jack has anything to do with Faith's absence"
"I see."
"Alyson?" Racetrack shrugged brokenly "She and Faith were always the best of friends, please don't tell me Shade's on your list of suspects. Mr. Rodgers is more likely of having hurt Faith."
"So they were close?" Locklair asked, all the while writing in his little black book. Race shifted uncomfortably and swallowed a lump in his throat. Locklair smiled sharply "Was there fighting between them?"
"Useless bickering. They were like sisters. We were the Three Musketeers, one for all and all for one." He sighed sadly and stared up, heart broken into Locklair's failing eyes. His chocolate brown eyes filled with concern for his friend "Is she alright?"
"Faith was fine" Chaos stated calmly. Her hands were folded in her lap. This Locklair annoyed her. He was so . . . manipulative. It was gross how he was trying to twist her emotions around and get her to say something she ought not say "I wasn't that close to her. Are we finished?"
Ah yes. Quick, clean, efficient.
"Faith? Damn, I don't know, she was cool. Didn't know her that well." Jack's lips quirked in a light smirk, leaning back in the chair with his feet propped on the table top. He was sort of relishing in this, Shade's scent was all over the place; that distinctive smell of honeysuckle and blackberries with just enough blood to really get him hot. He glanced over at Peter Locklair. Old, decaying. Disgusting. Jack flicked his tongue over his lips, he could almost taste the scent's in the air. "I was closer to her roommate."
"Alyson Mayer." Locklair nodded. Jack fought the urge to smirk out right "Tell me about her?"
"Strange. Zoned lately. Really out of it. I mean hot, but zoned" He let his mind wander over Shade "Almost schizoid lately but then. . . girls get like that."
"Don't I know it" Locklair sighed and Jack noticed the wedding band on his finger. He did smirk then.
"A great girl, smells divine" He cocked his head to the side "How's your wife?"
"How did you-"
"I know a lot of things" Stated Dutchy "But nothing about what was up with Faith. She seemed a very free spirit to me. Nice, very passionate about things. I'm sorry I can't be more help."
In reality Dutchy wasn't sorry. If the cops wanted to try and get involved in something they couldn't possible comprehend, that was their issue. Not his. It was his place to go out and risk his neck so the police didn't find another dead body in the morning. He sighed and leaned back. This was the most boring thing he had ever taken part in…
"Misi? I mean…Faith?" Mondie wrung her hands worriedly. Misprint was constantly on her mind. And it was a good question Locklair asked; What drove Misprint away? Was it Stephan's death? Shade's constant slaying? Honestly she didn't even know if the girl was still alive. No. She was. She had to be. Mondie wouldn't accept the girl was dead. She couldn't accept the girl was dead. "She was more depressed lately…but one of her best friends died, so that's to be expected. I guess."
"The only difference was she was in mourning. Would you be perky and carefree if one of your closer friends was killed?" Bumlets met Locklair's piercing gaze levely. He wanted to scoff, a guy who fought the undead on a daily basis was not going to fall for some police intimidation tactic. Locklair wanted a staring contest Bumlets would meet him head on. "Faith was fine as far as I knew."
"What happened to Faith?" Locklair wheedled. Blink raised an eyebrow. The one eyed boy was pacing feverishly from one end of the cafeteria to the other. Misprint was eating at his brain as he racked it for answers. It seemed the only questions Locklair asked were questions they had no answer for. He stared at the ground.
"I don't know. We'd grown apart. But I know one thing. None of her friends would have had anything to do with it."
"She inspired a sort of fierce loyalty" Mush replied quietly. His puppy dog soft eyes were clouded with unshed tears and his hands clasped tightly in his lap. He hadn't slept well since Misprint had gone missing and it showed. There were dark circles under his eyes and he had an extra shade of pale under his tan. He licked his chapped lips and stared up at Locklair tears stinging his eyes as golden brown curls framed his face like a halo "You'll find her right? I mean isn't it your job?"
"Did she have any lovers?" Gemini stared at Locklair. Was he insane? Misprint and lovers? After the Spot fiasco? Not likely. She shook her head her normally bodied curls hanging limply around her face. A face that was drawn with fatigue and stress. Her uniform was rumpled and she wore no make up at all. Her magic was feeling particularly low and she would rather have had ice picks shoved under her toe nails than sit through an other minute with Locklair. He nodded, his smile disbelieving
"What about Stephen Carter?" He asked.
"Best friends" Shade answered, in a firm voice. Locklair raised an eyebrow. "Stephen and her were close. But they weren't lovers. Things weren't like that with them. Didn't need to be." Jesus. I don't need to get philosophical, she reminded herself adamently. "His death shook her up, but I didn't think she'd do anything drastic." Shade shrugged. "Are we finished Detective? I'd like to go now."
"Of course." Locklair forced out a sickly sweet smile "If you think of anything give me a call."
"I will." Shade lied.
"Hey, um, Chaos."
Chaos wanted to swing around and smash her back pack into the face of the person who had just uttered those words. The last person on earth she wanted to talk to. But that might cause a wee bit of suspicion.
Instead, she sifted her face into a mask of scorn, turned around, and raised a skeptical eyebrow.
"Racetrack." She acknowledged, giving a short nod. The boy gave a small smile, hands shoved uncomfortably in his pockets, eyes down on the floor. There was a weird new stain on it, but it was the science lab. This was nothing new.
"Ah…I was wonderin' if we could talk."
"About what?"
Racetrack shrugged. He was feeling very inconspicuous, after being pulled out of his first class so he could talk to the police. He could sense the gaze of every teenager in the classroom, could feel the whispers of gossip running up and down the aisles. The fact that Misprint had gone missing was full blown now, and even though the police had been as discreet as possible, everyone knew. Everyone. And with five minutes before the bell, it was a gossip-fest.
"Anythin', I guess…"
"I'd love to, but I need to get focused. I'm not doing so well in Science." She lied. Racetrack shrugged, and watched her as she turned and began walking towards her desk. Mentally kicking himself for not being as quick with words as he usually was, he hurried after her.
"What did you tell 'um?"
Chaos whirled around again, looking a little more flustered than she would have liked to look.
"Told who?" She snapped.
"Uh…the police…" He tried to say the word quietly, but as soon as it passed through his lips, he could almost feel the attention of everyone in the room. He tried to look as natural as possible. "About Mis."
Chaos's eyes flashed. "I just said I didn't know anythin'. What did you tell 'um?"
Racetrack looked into her gaze. "Same thing."
For a moment, they were comrades. Lying to the police to protect a friend. But in the next second, the moment was gone. Chaos gave a stiff nod, practically flew to her desk, and left him standing alone in the middle of the classroom, a barrage of eyes on him for company.
A few moments later, Shade came barelling in, hair helter skelter, eyes dark and tired. She caught the look that Mr. Jenson, the teacher, was eyeing her with, and gave an apologetic shrug.
"Sorry." She muttered, slipping into her seat. "Didn't get much sleep last night."
"Gemini." Gemini glanced up as Specs slid into the seat beside her. Already, the class was glancing sideways at the two of them, as though they'd both suddenly start spouting out information in the middle of Social Studies. Specs glanced around, and with a small sigh of aggravation, turned back to the witch. "Anything new?"
"Nothing. And not to sound co-dependent, or anything, but it's harder when you aren't there." She remarked softly, afraid that someone would latch onto what she was saying and horribly misinterpret it.
"Nothing?" Specs asked, sighing and slumping backwards into his chair. Automatically, he pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket, took off his glasses, and slowly started to polish them, methodically and thoughtfully. "This is turning into one of the hardest things we've ever done. Are you sure there's…"
"Nothing? Well…" Gemini trailed off, flicking at her fingernails. Specs glanced up at the note of uncertainty in her voice. "There is…there was…"
"Gem?" Specs sat forwards again, hastily pushing his glasses on again and cramming the handkerchief into his pocket. "What…did you find anything?"
"Yeah, but I could be wrong." She said quickly. "I mean, my powers are just kinda…newish and…well…" She looked up at him, her dark eyes afraid and uncertain. "I don't want to assume the worst if I just messed up, or…"
"Gemini." Specs said reassuringly, placing a hand over her own. "Listen to me. Whatever you find, you have to tell us. Even if you made a mistake. It's important that we know."
Gemini took a deep breath, glanced around her once more, then leaned forwards and began whispering in his ear.
"Shade." The girl glanced up. Bumlets stood there, his face tight with worry. "Meeting in the Rec Room after classes. Spread the word."
Shade felt her stomach drop into the bottom of her feet. Bumlets hardly ever looked as worried as he did now, which meant that whatever Specs had to say, it probably wasn't going to be of rainbows and lollipops. She felt exhausted…she had barely had time to slip into the shower, wash the blood off her skin and cover up her wounds, before flopping into bed, and nearly missing the police interviews. Mrs. Mayen had had to shake her awake and point her down to the cafeteria…
"To the slayers?" She asked, trying to regain her focus.
"To anybody that's involved or knows of Mis…well…the disappearance." He said awkwardly. Shade leaned forwards.
"Has Gemini found anything?"
"I don't know. Specs didn't say."
"What did he look like when he told you?"
Bumlets sighed in irritation. "You know Specs. He can make his face so blank, his mother could have died and you wouldn't know the difference."
Shade rolled her eyes. "Thank you, Information Jones. I'll tell the gang."
"Good." Bumlets gave a terse smile, and disappeared into the crowded halls.
"So, what's up with Jack?"
Amy frowned. She hated the way Karen would say "Jack". It was so elementary school. Besides, they had broken up at the beginning of the term. Was he really that hot a gossip item, even now?
"I don't know what's up with Jack." She said concisely, rooting through her locker. The grinning photographs of all her friends peered at her from the inside of the locker door, and she saw her own face reflected in the tiny hand mirror she had positioned carefully in the center. Her hair was ruffled at the back. She carefully smoothed it down, trying to find the right notebook and fix this fault at the same time.
"Well he got interviewed by the cops, didn't he?" Karen asked, brushing her thick red hair behind her ears. Amy was so jealous of that hair.
"Yeah, but that's just because he knew Faith. Or Misprint." She said, referring to the silly nick name her friends had given her. "It's not because he's a criminal or something."
"Oh, of course not." Karen said quickly. Amy repressed the urge to roll her eyes. She hated the way her friends still tip-toed around the subject of their past relationship. It was old news. Yet, it kept coming back to haunt her.
He was the only boy that had ever dumped her.
"So…do you know what happened to Faith? Did he tell you anything?" Karen asked offhandedly. Amy slammed her locker door shut with surprising force. Karen jumped slightly.
"No." She said firmly, glaring at her friend. "We don't talk anymore, Karen. I don't know what happened to Faith. Come on. We're going to be late."
Racetrack and Shade walked along the well-worn way to the Rec Room with almost a heavy, reluctant air. Specs wouldn't call a meeting unless something was super important, and there were only two things she thought might be super important. They had found out what happened to Misprint. Or the center of the earth had been extinguished, and they had to hop an escape pod before earth's gravity was thrown off, and it drifted into the sun.
And Shade figured it was probably the former.
"You know what this is all about?" Racetrack asked, for the fourth time that day. Shade resisted the urge to slap him.
"Of course I don't, Racetrack, I already told you."
"Yeah, but you also told me that Misprint was fine." He said sourly. Shade sighed. She had no argument.
"Well…yeah…but that was for protection."
"You think Mis needs protection from me? Shade, she's been captured by Dot!"
"Spot."
"Whatever. Bottom line is: She's in danger."
"You don't need to tell me that." Shade snapped, feeling her patience frazzle as easily as the hem of an old sweater. "Now wouldja please keep your mouth shut? I'm trying to think."
The latter sentence was a blatant lie. If anything, Shade was trying not to think, to avoid thoughts about what her best friend might be going through. The two continued the rest of the walk in silence, both irritated with each other and the lack of information they were getting.
This would definitely clear things up.
They pushed open the door to the Rec Room, and saw the rest of the gang scattered throughout it, each in conversation with either one another, or someone completely different. To Shade's surprise and slight discomfort, Jack was there, casually collapsed in a bean bag chair, idly flipping through the latest issue of "Maxim." How he had managed to smuggle it into the school was unknown to her.
"Hey Shade." Gemini said, walking up to her, with the shadow of a smile on her face. "Act natural. No big meeting. Just a bunch of us hanging out until everyone leaves for dinner. A'right?"
"Yeah. Shooah." Shade said distractedly. She and Racetrack exchanged a look, before she broke off towards the old bookcase. There were a few, spongy old novels lying at the bottom with dull names. She scanned the lot of them, before stealing an inconspicuous glance around her. There were a lot of people. That meant a long wait.
Sighing, she grabbed a book, sought out a place to sit, and opened it to the middle, and began reading it backwards to see if it would make the text more interesting.
The next thing Shade knew, she was being shaken awake by the shoulder, with a familiar voice hissing in her ear.
"Shade, wake up. Everyone's gone."
Her eyes snapped open, and she realised that she had fallen asleep over the book. The blurry words danced in front of her eyes as she blinked a few times, trying to clear her vision. The hand on her shoulder was cool through the fabric of her blouse. "Shade? Comon. We're starting the meeting." Jack whispered.
"Mmmm?" She groaned slightly, pushing the book off her lap. The Rec Room was as bright, with it's faded cheer, as usual, but outside it was dark and gloomy. The windows were splattered with rain, and the bushes outside were wilted and looked as drab as the atmosphere that hovered around the eleven teens, as they glanced over at her. "Oh…kay…"
Her limbs seemed tense and disjointed as she pushed herself to her feet, without the help of Jack, who had already made his way towards the group of bean bag chairs that they were colonizing. Frowning, slightly, she pushed her hair back behind her ears and practically limped over.
"How long was I out?" She asked, her mind feeling slightly lighter after the sleep.
"About four, mebbe five hours." Mondie said, her usual cheer obviously absent. She was absentmindedly cuddling her kitten, who was butting its head against her chin in the most adorable fashion.
"That's what I could use." It grumbled, the only being in the room with it's sense of humour still intact. "A nice…long…catnap…"
"Shut your mouth, you." She snapped softly at it. "This is no time for puns."
"It's near ten." Bumlets said quietly. "There were a few people who skipped dinner to hang around…and then there were a bunch of kids here after dinner as well…"
"So." Jack interrupted him, looking almost anxious to get out of the room. The focus immediately shifted. "What's the matter?"
There was a tense silence. Shade felt herself chewing at her lip, as her mind slowly snapped into it's alert state. The metallic taste of blood filled her mouth, and she realised she had bit too hard. Racetrack glanced up at her, from his stiff wooden chair beside her, then back to Specs. Specs cleared his throat, obviously unwilling to get this underway.
"It's about Misprint." He said. Gemini nodded, looking even paler. The weeks of searching and finding no results until now had taken it's toll on her, and it looked as though she had aged five years in the short period of time Misprint had been missing. The air became tense. "Gemini's found something."
All eyes snapped to Gemini, who took a deep breath. "Well…I was searching around The Bronx. It was the last place I had to search in the entire city, she's nowhere else in New York."
She took another breath, and continued rather shakily. "What I saw this morning I had seen before, but I wasn't sure…it was just traces, I…" Stiffening her resolve, she said; "And…I…I know why it took me so long to find her."
Shade felt a panic rise up in her throat, but fought it down. It was not a time to jump to conclusions. The words were on Gemini's lips, but she couldn't seem to urge them forwards. "There's a certain feeling that a body gives off, when it has held the source of fire. I didn't sense it before, my powers weren't strong enough. But this definitely had it. This body…was…so strong with…" She paused. "It had a huge source of power. But…the fire…it had faded." She closed her eyes and looked down. "The body was long dead."
Shade felt the ground tip out from under her.
Gemini looked up, and when she opened her eyes, she had to blink away the tears. When she spoke next, her voice was choked by frightened sobs. "It wasn't…it was even a body. Just a few bones and…and ash. I think…I think they tied her to a stake and burned her." Her gaze connected solidly with Shade. The girl was looking shocked, her pale face even paler under the weight of the news. "I'm so sorry. If I could have found her sooner…maybe…"
"Nobody's blaming you." Chaos snapped. Gemini recoiled slightly, and returned her gaze to the ground. There was a heavy silence in the room, augmented by the gasps of breath from Mondie, as she stifled back tears. Oddly enough, Shade didn't feel any tears lumping in her throat, threatening to spill over. She felt nothing.
She didn't know why the news had come as such a shock. Shouldn't she have been expecting it? Shouldn't Misprint's death be obvious, considering her position and relationship with Spot? Shouldn't…
She calmly tucked her hair behind her ears, and opened her mouth to say something, but no words were coming out. Everyone glanced over at her, as though expecting her to say something. Out of all of them, she knew Misprint the most. The two had been friends ever since…well…ever. They had met up in kindergarten, when they had both been old enough to receive schooling, and had bonded immediately. And now she was gone.
The words that Specs had said echoed back to her. To lose a part of the prophecy before their time is a very serious thing.
There was a sudden clatter that made everyone jump as Racetrack stood over so fast that his chair toppled over. Without saying so much as a word, he turned, walked out of the room, pushed out through the door, and let it slam behind him with a bang that could rival the sound of a gunshot. The silence that followed was heavier than lead.
"So…now what?" Bumlets asked slowly.
Specs was polishing his glasses. The only windows into his sadness, fear, and anxiety were his eyes. They were trained on the floor, brimming over with emotion. He calmly pushed his glasses back on, and raised his chin high.
"Now all hell breaks loose." He said heavily.
Gemini and Mondie walked back to their dorm in silence. Mondie's eyes were red around the rims, and even her kitten knew enough not to make some smart remark at a time like this. Gemini's arm was around her waist. The two of them staggered to their dorm room, unlocked it, and walked in slowly.
Mondie let the kitten down, and it scampered over to the bottom drawer of the dresser, which it had become accustomed to sleeping in. Gemini used to complain about the cat hair that she found on her socks, but she didn't utter a word tonight.
Without so much as glancing at each other, the two began preparing for bed, tears streaming down both their faces.
Dutchy entered his dorm to find Racetrack already neatly tucked into his bed, facing the wall, the only light in the room spilling from Dutchy's bedside table lamp.
"Race?" Dutchy asked quietly, shutting the door behind him with an almost inaudible click. "Racetrack? You awake?"
"Yeah. I'm awake." Racetrack choked.
"You wanna talk it out?"
"Go to hell." Racetrack told him, pulling the covers closer up to his chin.
Mush, Blink, Bumlets, and Dutchy made the trip back to the boys dorm together, leaving Chaos to fend for herself. As they left, Chaos got the strange feeling in the bottom of her stomach that this would probably be a good time to call out something comforting. To show some emotion. To prove that she had emotion.
She turned and began walking back to the girls tenement.
Shade wearily turned the key in the door, and listened for the click that signified it was unlocked. Everything seemed to be coming in slow motion, almost like she was watching a film with the sound a few seconds behind. Slowly, she turned the handle and pushed the door open, feeling a cool gust of wind greet her as the room came into view.
She cursed as she realised the window had been left open. The papers and junk below it had been soaked with rain that had blown in. She quickly closed the door behind her, and crossed over to the window, kicking the wet garbage away, and closing it with a mechanical jerk of her arms. It was like watching a robot do everything for her.
She shivered, wishing that she had been present minded enough to close the window when she had left for classes in the morning. Why did she do that? Why was she always forgetting these things?
She sat down on her mattress and hugged her arms tighter to her rib cage, wanting to derive some heat from inside of her. But it seemed as though her body temperature had plunged downwards, along with the temperature of the room. Everything was colder.
The fire elemental had gone up in her own flames.
She kicked off her shoes and lay back on her mattress, wanting the tears to come, so she could cry it all out, but strangely, nothing came.
"God dammit." She said out loud. "I'm supposed to be her best friend. Why am I not crying?"
She didn't cry when she found out that Stephen had died, either. She didn't cry when she realised that she was an orphan. Did she even have any tears in her? Or had she turned into a mindless, empty drone? A slayer who only lived for the thrill of slaying?
"But I'm not a slayer." She mumbled into her pillow. "It's not like I have the strength any more." Her voice seemed so small in the suddenly huge dorm room. She and Misprint had always complained about it being too small. It wasn't too small any more.
She's dead.
The thought was haunting her, spinning in her mind until she was sure every other thought had been wiped clean. She's dead. She's dead. She's dead…
There was a knock at the door. Probably Mrs. Mayen. She pushed herself off the bed, and wiped a few fingers over her closed eyes, to see if there were any tears to get rid of.
There weren't.
She slowly staggered to her feet, straightened her blouse, and picked her way across the junk-strewn floor. She reached the door, turned the handle, and pulled it open, ready to confront the dorm keeper, but to her surprise, saw it was the farthest thing from Mrs. Mayen that she could imagine.
Jack stood there, his eyelashes sparkling with rain, his hair wet and straggling around his forehead.
"Jack." She said, her voice sounding numb with surprise. Her brain ferociously sought out the words she was looking for, but she came up lacking. "You…You're not allowed to be here."
"I know." He said shortly. His eyes were dull and blank, with no emotion whatsoever. She felt a tiny surge of anger through her own veins, but said nothing. Her eyes probably weren't alive with joy either. There was a brief silence between the two. What was there to say?
"Come in." She offered blankly, opening the door a little wider. He paused, before entering.
She shut the door behind him, in case Mrs. Mayen should come by on her nightly patrol and chance to see the fact that this dorm held two people instead of one.
The two of them sat on the edge of the mattress, staring down at the stained, cheap carpet as though it held something interesting. The rain pounded against the closed window outside, and in the distance, Shade could hear a rumble of thunder. Someone giggled in the next room. Teenage girls. Staying up past the curfew. Gossiping and laughing. She felt the ache of loneliness settle inside her stomach, and for the first time that night, she felt a twinge of sadness.
"Are you okay?" Jack asked gruffly, chancing a glance over in her direction. She thought about her current state. She didn't feel any emotion. Was that "okay"?
"No." She said softly. She turned to him. "Are you?"
He gave her a queer look, tipping his head to one side, as though he was trying to see past her eyes into her mind. She didn't like it. She quickly looked back at the floor, feeling her insides lurch. He was so different. There was something…some sort of awkwardness…
Before she could even finish the thought, she realised that his hands were covering hers. She shivered, his skin like ice against her own.
"You're so cold." She murmured, interlacing her fingers with his. He nodded.
"It's cold outside."
"It's cold in here, too." She said aimlessly. She glanced up at him again, to find he was still regarding her with that same, frank look. She suddenly felt angry. What was it that he wanted? Why was he here? Why was he risking getting the both of them expelled, just so he could come up here and be awkward? Why couldn't he leave her alone?
"Why'd you want to come up here, anyways?" She snapped, her brows furrowing in a bit of a frown. Their gaze broke as he dropped his eyes to the mattress for a brief moment, before returning them to her own. She felt her heart skip a beat. For a flash of a moment, in his eyes, was the same, awkward, sheepish spark that the old Jack seemed to possess. He smiled slightly.
"I thought that much'd be obvious." He said.
Shade watched, peering down from the catwalk, as the puppet Shade let Jack lean in and tentatively place his lips on hers. She watched as puppet Shade drew her arms up and wrapped them around Jack's neck, pulling him deeper into the kiss, their lips heating each others. She watched as the girl on the bed shivered, as Jack's cold fingers traced the veins on her neck, watched as he began to pull at her shirt with a feverish hunger in his actions. She watched as puppet Shade pulled her own tie off and kissed a trail up and down Jack's neck, as he frantically began fumbling with the buttons on her shirt, watched as puppet Shade allowed Jack to lean over her, to push her back onto the bed, watched as he placed his cold hands on her thighs and slowly drew them upwards. Watched as her shirt fell open and he kissed down her neck, towards her collarbone, watched as she sighed in bliss, watched as the lightening flashed outside, watched as the room crackled with freezing electricity.
And, for a moment, she was her. She became Shade, as the tears spilled over, as they trailed a blazing path down her frigid skin, as Jack pushed her hips down into the mattress.
Outside, the rain poured, hard enough to extinguish fire.