I think Top Hat might have chuckled.
The shadow reached for me. I tried to scramble away from his grasp, but in a flash, he caught me, clutching my ribs so tightly I couldn’t move or breathe. He was so distracted with me, Rosie was able to break free.
As my lungs were being crushed, I realized that even with death magic, I could die.
“AWAY!” Ren’s voice was the best thing I’d ever heard.
Instantly, the shadow vanished with one last hair-raising clickzzclickzz.
“Zane!” Ren rushed over with Rosie right behind her. “Are you okay?”
I got up onto all fours, gasping for air. Rosie patted my back with her giant paw as I caught my breath. “Ren…you…really”—gasp—“need to stop”—wheeze—“having nightmares that want to kill everyone!”
“I wish I could…. I’m sorry. I think…” Ren looked frantic. “I think they are like guardians, like they somehow protect me?”
“Well, they’re doing a really good job, but maybe you could tell them I’m not a threat?”
“Good thing Rosie woke me up.”
“Good thing only sobrenaturals can see your shadows.” I couldn’t imagine some innocent person out for a morning stroll only to be shocked when a shadow gutted them.
“What’re you guys doing out here, anyhow?” she asked.
“I could ask you the same thing.” Awkwardly, I got to my feet. White spots floated in my vision, and my bones felt like burned rubber. If this was what it was like to be almost dead, I hated to think how awful being totally dead would feel.
“I couldn’t breathe in that El Grito place,” Ren said. “The house gave me the creeps, so I went for a walk after everyone went to bed, and I guess I fell asleep out here.” She studied me, shaking her head. “You look terrible, Zane. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I don’t feel as bad as I look,” I said. “You should…er…get back to the house.” I didn’t have time to chat with Ren, not now.
She narrowed her cool eyes. “I don’t believe you.”
“I swear.” I held up my hands. “I feel fine.”
“That’s not what I meant. I don’t believe you told us everything the Red Queen said. I’m pretty good at sensing stuff. How do you think I sniff out fake alien reports?”
Were there any other kind? I stroked Rosie’s neck, thinking how much I hated Ren’s sixth sense. “I told you everything and, uh, I gotta go.”
“Where?”
“On a walk. Clear my head.” I started to move away, hoping she wouldn’t follow. I just needed to get to the bus station before the gateway closed, and I figured I only had about twenty minutes to get there, thanks to Top Hat.
“I’ll go with you,” Ren said. “The sun will be up soon. Aren’t we supposed to leave at dawn?”
“Right,” I said, trying to think fast. “But I, uh…I sort of wanted to light a candle. You know, say a prayer before we take off.” Man, I was such a mentiroso. And in front of a church, too! Mom would have a lot to say ab
out that.
“I’ll pray with you.”
“Ren, I have to go somewhere alone…and you can’t follow unless you want to be cursed.”
She didn’t even flinch. Actually, she seemed to be somewhere else and not listening to me at all.
“I need to tell you something.” Ren tugged on her shirt. “It’s really important, and I can’t say it in front of everyone else. Not yet.”
“Okay, but, uh, how about later? Like I said, I gotta go.”
She looked up at me with tears in her eyes. “It’s awful, Zane.”