The dark Shadows retaliated, sliding across and down her Shadows in waves, burning like bile where they touched her. They pulsed and wormed, slithering over her defenses, following her Shadows through the air to settle on the skin of her hands and slowly travel along her arms through her veins.
The dark Shadows crept up toward her throat, and she stumbled, almost going to her knees under the weight of splitting her attention so many ways. Kay ignored the acidic burn and gathered her strength, fighting to push the darkness away.
The boys stood shoulder to shoulder, shuddering as the Shadows twisted over their faces, ready to attack once more.
She had never imagined anything like it. She couldn’t fight them all and maintain the battle against the darkness shredding her Shadows at the same time. What would happen if she was consumed by the dark Shadows? What could it do with her power added to its own? God.
Then Ethan was there, wrapping his big hands over hers and pulling her body back against his. He didn’t even try to fight the boys. He simply stepped in and added his strength to hers, Healing her by flooding her with energy while soothing the fiery burn where the dark Shadows had settled. He supported her while trusting her to fight for them both.
She drew on his strength, combining their Shadows to create a powerful storm that burned the oily darkness from her veins. Kay spun her hands, swirling blue-and-green Shadows together, using them to push back hard against the dark Shadows.
The stain on her skin drained back and she followed it, flinging out Shadows in a massive wave of energy across the boys. The tentacles held for one long second, and then exploded in a rush of inky smoke, fluttering away like ash.
The heavy darkness in the garage lifted abruptly, and suddenly there was air. Suddenly she could breathe.
The boys stumbled, leaning against each other to hold each other up. They looked around as if waking from a nightmare, as if they had only just realized where they were and what they’d been doing. Within seconds they were clearing out, calling to each other in low voices and running as if they’d released a demon behind them.
Kay twisted in Ethan’s arms—still breathing heavily, still horrified by how badly it could have gone, while infinitely grateful for his help—and looked up at his face. “Youcanfight.”
He shrugged. “I practiced Taekwondo all the years I was at school.”
“I’m glad it came back to you.” She grinned tiredly, letting his solid warmth anchor her after the horror of the dark Shadows crawling through her veins.
“Me too,” he said with a crooked smile. “Although I suspect you didn’t need me all that much.” He leaned his head down to speak softly into her ear. “Watching you fight is fucking hot.”
Her grin widened. Damn, she liked him. And the truth was, she had needed him. Without the extra power he’d given her, she could never have thrown those Shadows off. Her smile faltered. The dark Shadows were even worse than she’d imagined.
“We’d better get out of here,” Ethan observed. “If those boys tell someone where they were, or mention us at all, we’re going to jail.”
“Yeah….” She nodded toward the box the boys had been staring into. “Let’s just grab that.”
Ethan picked up the battered cardboard box and they ducked out of the garage and walked briskly away from the school. Before they reached the end of the street, the gates opened and hundreds of children suddenly poured out in a seething, disorganized mass of shocked faces and grim, anxious parents.
Kay stopped one of the older boys as he jogged past and asked what was going on. “A text,” he replied, “sent to everyone’s parents at the same time.” The boy gave her a wide-eyed look of horrified delight as he continued, “It said, ‘Finally, you will know your rightful place’…. Freaky, right?”
The boy sped off and Kay and Ethan turned away from the crowds, slipping into a dark doorway. “What the hell is in that box?” she asked.
Ethan balanced it on a concrete step and lifted the lid. And froze. Even in the darkness of the doorway, she could see that his face had gone a stark white. “God. Ethan. What is it?”
“I don’t think you want to know,” he muttered.
She moved to pull the box open, but he grabbed her hand. “It’s blood.”
Her whisper was almost a shriek. “What the hell?”
“Blood and fireworks.”
“Blood and fireworks? Are you serious?”
“Yes. Transfusion bags attached to fireworks. Can you imagine? Banging and whistles, noise, smoke, confusion, and blood all over everyone. Right on top of the children of the most powerful people in the country.”
Kay looked up at him and whispered, “What the hell for?”
“I don’t know.” He gave her a long look. “But we’re going to find out. Together.”
ChapterTwelve
After the disturbingbattle against the dark Shadows and then carrying the grim box through London, Ethan’s flat felt like a haven of warmth and order. It was small, but with big sash windows and a gleaming restored wood floor. Framed photographs—mountains rising above flower-filled fields, the sun setting behind a tall peak and a row of climber’s bolts leading up a rock face—hung over a well-used chocolate-brown leather sofa. There was a big desk under the window covered in papers, a computer, and a massive stack of climbing magazines.
