directly in front of her. “How can I help?”
A smile tugged on Grace’s mouth. “Just be her friend.”
Emily’s shining lips curved up in response. “Okay, I can do that. She gave Grace a hug, promising to talk more later, and hurried off to class.
Grace kept her gaze on the floor as she walked through the hall, too lost in thoughts of her conversation with Emily to look up. She rounded the corner to her next class, glancing up only slightly to make sure no one was around the bend, and was surprised to find Darius leaning against the wall, Latté Da’s coffee in hand. “I thought this would help you wake up.”
She was so happy to see him, she almost cried. Grace took it from his hand, leaned against him, and kissed his lips softly. “I’m awake now,” she said against his mouth.
Darius chuckled quietly. “Good, get to class.” She never wanted to skip class more in her life. He must have sensed it because he grabbed her hand and put it on the door handle of the classroom. “I’ll call you later, angel.” He kissed her on the corner of her mouth and disappeared around the corner.
The rest of Grace’s day went by at a snail’s pace, mirroring History. Thankful she didn’t have any homework for the night, she hung her backpack inside her locker and waited for Amanda.
When she showed up a few minutes later, Amanda dug through her locker for books she needed overnight and tossed them into her backpack. As she slammed her locker, she said, “I forgot I have a biology test I have to make up. Leah has a lab she’s making up, and said she’d give me a ride.”
Grace frowned and tilted her head, eyeing her suspiciously. Usually Amanda couldn’t stand Leah. “Oh… okay. Good luck. See you at home,” Grace said. They quickly hugged. “Be nice,” Grace whispered in her ear.
“Always.” Amanda winked at her and hurried to the biology room. Grace watched her leave.
While pulling her phone from her pocket, she shouldered the school door open. An odd, almost ethereal wind blew over her as soon as she stepped outside, and time itself seemed to lag. Every fine hair on her body stood on end, and adrenaline kicked in her veins. Panicking, she swiveled her head around, trying to find the source of what she was feeling. Everything and everyone seemed to suddenly click into slow motion. Sticky black shadows crawled out from a jagged crevice in the ground several feet away, moaning and growling as they coiled toward her. At first, she thought each was one large shadow, but she was wrong. Inside each inky void, thousands of tiny claw-like hands reached for her, while their heads jerked and teeth gnashed. Paralyzed with fear, she couldn’t tear her eyes from the wraiths. Her breath was coming in and out so fast, small white spots shot like stars all throughout her peripheral vision.
In the distance, she heard the familiar throttle of a motorcycle. Darius’ motorcycle. He was parked at the curb, shouting at her and waving his arms to get her attention. She thought he’d left a couple of hours ago. She couldn’t hear over the swooshing in her ears, or the growling and snapping of the Shadow Hounds slowly moving close—hunting her.
Suddenly, the squeal of tires brought her attention to the other side of the parking lot. Smoke billowed and the smell of burning rubber stung her nose as Quentin skidded the Jag to a stop, separating Grace from five guys dressed in black she hadn’t noticed who had appeared out of nowhere. They moved purposefully together in a V formation, its apex directed straight at her. All their attention zeroed in on Grace, as if Quentin wasn’t even there. The eyes they fixed on her burned red—reflecting pure evil. She shuddered, horrified that she could actually feel the tendrils of their hatred that licked at her skin from clear across the parking lot.
Without warning, everything around her slammed back into normal time, and Grace lurched into action. The close gnashing of teeth had her moving in Chosen speed to Darius’ bike. She didn’t think about who might see her. Nor did she care. She threw her arms around Darius, clinging to him for dear life as soon as she jumped on the back of his bike, hoping and praying he would just get them out of there. As the bike rocketed out of the parking lot, Grace’s hair whipped