Page 45 of Soul of Shadow #1

The gym was all done up in stars and twinkling lights.

Black paper covered the walls, as if to hide that they were inside the room where they usually played dodgeball.

Speakers had been set up on a makeshift stage, playing loud pop music spun by a DJ that Charlie thought she recognized as a cashier at the local supermarket.

Tables covered in sparkling cloths were scattered throughout the edges of the space.

The center of the room was wide open and already filled with a crowd of dancing couples.

“Let’s go, date,” said Lou, grabbing Mason’s hand and leading him toward the dance floor. “I’m ready to let my hair down.”

Despite being dragged, Mason appeared perfectly happy to be holding Lou’s hand.

“Should we get some punch?” Abigail asked Bex. “I’m parched.”

Bex nodded shyly, then followed Abigail over to the refreshment table. The v?tte, who had ridden on the floor of the Bronco as they drove to the event, skittered out from under Charlie’s legs and made a beeline for the bleachers, where he could waddle up and get a good view of the whole dance.

Which only left Charlie and Elias .

“Just as I thought,” Elias said, folding his hands behind his back as he surveyed the space. “Absolutely awful. Not a single severed head in sight.”

Charlie shot him a bewildered look.

“Everyone in this room is too…” He made a face of disgust. “ Happy . Absolutely no one is afraid. I’m nearly as weak as you are right now.”

She rolled her eyes. “God forbid.”

“Should we dance?” He gestured to the bodies bouncing up and down in the center of the room. “Or would you rather drink some watered-down fruit juice that someone has probably already spiked with vodka?”

Charlie surveyed the gym, weighing the possibilities.

She needed to speak privately with Elias, and none of the options presented by the gym were particularly promising: jumping around to loud music, clustering together with the crowd around the punch bowl, getting in line for the photo booth, or sitting at one of the sparkling tables, most of which had two or three people already sitting at them.

She could lead Elias over to the bleachers, but he would no doubt be suspicious of why she wanted to sit outside of the action, as far away from her friends as possible.

She couldn’t suggest anything without being too obvious. Charlie would have to bide her time, waiting for an opportunity to present itself.

Turning to Elias, she held out a hand. “Dance?”

A smile slid onto his face and he took her hand, gesturing toward the crowd. “After you.”

She pulled Elias out onto the dance floor, stopping a good ten or fifteen feet away from Lou and Mason.

When Lou spotted Charlie, she tried to wave her over, but Charlie shook her head.

Lou gave a pleading face, jerking her head at Mason, who was flailing his body around like a wet rag.

Charlie just smiled and shook her head again.

Lou might pretend that she was here as Mason’s date against her will, but Charlie had a feeling her best friend secretly thrilled at her brother’s attention.

Tonight was the perfect night to give Lou a chance to realize that.

“So,” Elias said, stepping back and forth as he bobbed his head to the poppy-techno song that was playing. “Lou and Mason, huh?”

“They’ve been at each other’s throats for as long as I can remember,” Charlie said with a small smile.

“Ahhh.” He nodded, holding out a hand. “Perfect fodder for a romance novel.”

“I wouldn’t know.” She took his hand, allowing herself to be spun in a circle. His skin was a nice, warm temperature, like paper fresh out of a printer. It made her want to press his palm to her cheek. “My mom is always trying to get me to read them, but they’re not really my thing.”

“Of course not.” He spun her to face him, catching her other hand in the crook of his palm. “So. What do you think of the dress?”

She let him lead her around, their steps lively on the wooden gym floor. “I wish I could say that I hated it, but to be honest, it’s beautiful. It reminds me of the outfits that Dorothy Dietrich used to wear.”

“Who’s that?” Elias asked.

“One of the most famous female magicians ever. I’m a little bit obsessed with her. With figuring out how she pulled off her tricks. ”

“Obsessed, eh?” He raised an eyebrow, which made the word feel oddly suggestive. “Do you have a favorite?”

“Have you heard of the bullet catch?”

He raised one arm, signaling for Charlie to spin underneath. “Can’t say I have.”

She obliged, spinning in a tight circle.

He caught her at the other end, dipping her slightly.

“It’s an incredibly dangerous trick. One that has only been attempted by a few magicians, including my personal favorite, Dorothy Dietrich.

” Elias raised her back to standing. “Someone fires a gun directly at the magician, and they catch the bullet between their teeth.”

“But that’s impossible,” he said. “The gun must be empty. And then they have the bullet already in their mouth.”

Charlie shook her head. “That’s the thing. Some magicians even set up glass in between the gun and themselves, so you know the bullet went through.”

“How do they do it, then?”

She eyed him slyly. “A magician never reveals their secrets.”

He looked delighted. “Then you do know how they do it.”

“I have my theories.”

Elias hummed with satisfaction. “Of course you do.”

They fell quiet then, spinning and dipping to the pounding music. Charlie tried to keep her attention on her feet, but the whole time she felt Elias watching her. Studying her. Looking for what, she wasn’t sure.

At last, he broke the silence between them. “You really don’t like romance novels?” he asked. “Not even the ones where the bad boy falls head over heels for the golden girl?”

She looked up at him, narrowing her eyes. “This wouldn’t be a targeted question, would it? ”

“Not at all,” he said. “It has nothing to do with the kissing. Or how you seemed to like it. A lot, if we’re being honest he—”

Charlie stepped purposely on his foot.

“Ouch,” said Elias, pouting. “That would hurt a lot if I weren’t a supernatural night-dwelling fear-eater.”

She raised her eyebrows, glancing around the room. “That’s awfully brazen of you to say right in the middle of a crowded room.”

“Oh, please.” He rolled his eyes. “This music is so loud I can barely hear myself think.”

As if in response to Elias’s complaint, the song ended, transitioning to a slower tune. Softer, acoustic. Elias slid his hand lower on her back and pulled her in until her cheek rested on his chest.

Charlie felt her pulse beating in her throat.

“We have an audience,” he whispered against her hair.

She tilted her head back and shot him a questioning look. He nodded over to the bleachers, where the v?tte sat in the very last row. When he saw Charlie looking, he waved one little arm frantically back and forth. Charlie smiled and gave a small wave back.

“He’s quite attached to you,” Elias said. “You really haven’t given him a name?”

“It’s not my place,” Charlie said, settling her cheek onto Elias’s chest. She would never admit to how good it felt resting there. “For all I know, that little guy had a mother and father who gave him a name a long time ago.”

“That’s not the way of the v?tte.” He turned their bodies in a slow circle, their feet rocking back and forth in time. “The v?tte are abandoned by their parents shortly after birth. It is not in their nature to raise their young; they’re born with the sole purpose of finding a human companion.”

Charlie’s eyes flickered over to the little v?tte, who was now waddling across the bleachers, likely in search of stray food. Thinking of him being abandoned by his parents did something funny to her chest. “But why?”

“It’s just the way of things,” Elias said. “Before there was a Seal, humans and v?tte were very close. The v?tte would seek out someone brave and pure of heart to protect them. In turn, they offered to assist the human however they could, using their supernatural abilities.”

“You mean the v?tte have actual powers?” Charlie asked, surprised. “Besides just being unbearably cute?”

Elias laughed softly in her ear. “They do. V?tte are remarkably fast for their size. And strong and nimble. But they’re such solitary creatures that almost no one knows the full extent of their power.

We do know, however, that they have a special tether to their human companion, which enables them to know whenever the human is in danger. And vice versa.”

“A tether? But I’ve never felt any sort of connection to him.”

“That’s because you haven’t named him. The bond isn’t official.”

“Hmm,” Charlie said, going quiet as Elias pulled her closer.

They moved slowly to the music, any space between them seeming to disappear.

Longing stirred, low and tight in her belly.

She squeezed her eyes shut. She needed to stop this.

The longer they were pressed together, the more she was losing her senses.

Losing sight of why she was really here. What she needed to do.

They had at least half a song left. That was enough time to plant the seed .

She opened her eyes and cleared her throat. “Speaking of supernatural creatures,” she said, a half-baked attempt at a logical segue, “where are we at with the investigation?”

Elias sighed. “You are such a workhorse, Charlotte. Can’t we take the weekend off?”

“Obviously not, Elias,” she said. “Every day that we delay, those kids are stuck God only knows where. Probably even dead.”

“Exactly,” he said cheerily. “If they’re dead, it won’t matter when we find them, will it?”

“Elias,” she said, chastising.

“Mmm.” His fingers ran up and down her back, leaving behind little trails of sparks and shivers in their wake. “I love when you say my name like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like you could take a bite of it and swallow it whole.”

“I’m serious, Elias.” She bent her head back, looking up into his green eyes.