“Memphis, what’s going on down here? Where is everyone?”
He shook his head. His eyes were wide and alert. We walked into the hallway. It seemed to stretch forever. We passed more rooms, all empty.
A heartbeat came from ahead. I stopped Memphis.
“There’s someone up there.”
“Just one person?”
I listened, using my Shine to find the heartbeats. A whirring came from the light fixtures, and my own heartbeat clattered loudly. Memphis’s heart was a quiet whisper. I closed my eyes, concentrating, and found it. “Yes, only one heartbeat. Straight ahead.”
We paced forward, our footsteps quiet. The hallway curved. A hazy white glow came from the end of the corridor. The sound of popping and cracking filled the air. I knew that sound. Fire.
We stepped into another vestibule the same as the first two, except flames engulfed what was left of the desks, the doorways. A mist of water rained down from sprinklers, yet the fire still sputtered.
The heartbeats I’d heard a moment ago grew louder. Someone walked out of the flames and stood in front of us.
She stood almost six feet tall, with light hair and an athletic build. She could have been a supermodel, if supermodels wore ripped hospital gowns and had stringy, blood-matted hair. Firelight danced in her pupils, calling attention to the insanity that sparked in her eyes. She clenched a knife. A drop of blood fell from the blade and plopped to the floor.
She took a step forward and that’s when I noticed the tattoos. Slanted lines of script ran up and down her arms, from her wrists to her elbows, an exact match to Memphis’s tattoos. The words of the poem came to me. In my mind, I heard Memphis’s voice. Gathering armies approach the tide/Never hidden/Fair Alexandria/Once a beautiful land/Forever she burns.
“Alexa,” Memphis whispered.
She dropped the knife. It clanged against the floor. He stepped toward her when a form emerged from the smoke.
My breath caught in my throat. Chills broke out across my skin. He wore an old-fashioned suit with a silk necktie and long coat tails. He stood a head taller than Alexa. His eyes smoldered with raw hate, as if they burned and not the fire. But that isn’t what frightened me.
He had no heartbeat.
I backed away, sweat beading on my skin.
The man picked up Alexa’s knife. He grabbed her waist, then slit the knife across her neck. Dark, almost black blood pooled from the open gash. I heard Memphis scream. He ran to her, though I only saw him from the corner of my eye.
I couldn’t pull my gaze from the man with the knife. I couldn’t move, as if fear had overtaken my thoughts, my body. I stood motionless, paralyzed. I knew I should run, but my body refused to respond.
The man moved toward me, rage in his eyes, his face twisted in a scowl.
Evil was the word that came to mind. This is the face of Evil.
I fixated on the knife. Alexa’s blood smeared the blade. He moved with a practiced grace, each footfall a deliberate action. As he moved closer, the chill intensified. I tried to scream, to run, to do something, anything. The fear wouldn’t let go.
My heart hammered. I’d never heard it beat so fast. The man drew nearer. I noticed the odd color of his skin, pale gray, as if he had no blood to tint it pink.
The man stood only a few feet away. Memphis’s voice came as if from a great distance. I wanted to call to him, but felt too paralyzed to make a sound.
I focused on breathing. I could control the fear. It couldn’t have me. Inhaling a deep breath, I felt my thoughts become my own. Could I move again? My hands were numb with cold. I flexed my fists.
The man moved close enough for me to feel his breath on my cheeks. The silence of his stilled heart almost made me panic once again, but I fought the fear back. I stood tall.
I reached for my knife when I remembered that I’d given it to Memphis. I stumbled back. He caught me by the wrist. A zap of electricity shot into my arm, through my shoulder, and into my heart. I gasped. My own heart stopped beating.
Pain replaced my fear. I crumbled to the floor. I felt as if an anvil had collapsed onto my chest. I tried to draw in a breath of air but couldn’t.
I lay on the ground, my cheek pressed to the cold floor. The man hovered over me. He knelt, knife in hand. His lips parted. He whispered something. His voice sounded unnatural. It was too deep, too penetrating, yet almost imperceptible. His words spoke to my soul.
Votre sang devient le mien.
Your blood becomes mine.
He raised the knife.
I did the only thing I could. With my heart unresponsive, the breath sucked from my lungs, I had one option left.
I closed my eyes.
Calmness washed over me. I thought of Katelyn. I’d promised her I wouldn’t die. My broken promise would be my only regret. Would she ever forgive me? Would she understand that I had only tried to help others like me?
She would. Deep inside, I knew she would understand.
A sharp point pressed against my neck.
I’m sorry, Katelyn.
The clatter of metal hitting stone made me open my eyes. The pressure on my heart disappeared. I choked as I drew in a lungful of air. The man’s knife hit the floor. His eyes opened wide.
Memphis grabbed the man’s shoulders and pulled him off me. The man stood straight, so tall that he loomed over Memphis. The man flailed as if he’d been shot, his mouth opened in a soundless scream.
The man rounded. A knife protruded from his back. My knife.
He disappeared into the opposite corridor where the fire still raged. Thick smoke obscured his body. His footsteps faded, as if he’d never existed.
Memphis stood over me. The sound of his heart came to me as if from a great distance. His hand cradled my cheek. “Are you okay?”
I couldn’t make my voice work. I managed a nod. He picked me up and carried me out of the chamber. I pressed my head to his chest and listened to his heart, the beating that sounded more like an echo than a murmur.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The rising sun tinted the sky deep purple as we emerged from the tunnel. Naomi stood over us. Her eyes widened as she looked at me, and then at Memphis, as he placed me on the sand.
“What happened?” she gasped.
I didn’t know how to explain. I wasn’t even sure my vocal chords worked.
“We found Alexa,” he said in his too-calm voice. “I’m going back for her. Wait for me.” He disappeared inside the hatch.
Naomi knelt beside me. “June, are you okay?”
I inhaled a deep breath, letting the cool desert air fill my lungs and clear my head. “I’m okay.”
“You’re sure?”
I nodded. “How did you find us?”
“Bit of a long story—it took me hours to track you two down. You wouldn’t believe how blinkered those guards were when they found me in their security quarters. I thought I wouldn’t get out until the alarm sounded. And then they left me alone, just like that. I followed them and that’s when I realized the whole mansion was in an uproar. There was smoke in the back garden. And then Shine girls wearing jumpsuits appeared from the veranda’s drainage grate. It was bollocks. I couldn’t believe it.”
I managed a nod.
“They pulled thirteen Shines and four nurses out of that hole. I thought for sure you were with them. I looked everywhere. The ambulances showed up and took them all away, and still I couldn’t find you. But that’s when I noticed the tracks. Two sets, heading out into the desert. I knew it could only be you. No one else wore rubber-soled boots to the dance.”
I gave her a weak smile.
“Well, go on. What happened down there?” Naomi asked.
“The place was empty…except for two people.” It hurt to breathe. It hurt even more to talk, but I managed. “I don’t know how the fire started. It could have been a Shine. Like Seattle. Like Santa Monica. But I don’t think a Shine was responsible.”
“Who do you think did it?”
; “There was a man down there…” Remembering the man made me stop speaking. How could I describe him? How could I think about him without feeling completely terrified? “He killed Alexa. He tried to kill me. I wanted to fight but…” I exhaled. I had to tell Naomi. She had to know the truth.
“Go on,” she said.
I listened to my heart, forcing it to slow down. When I felt ready, I continued. “Naomi, he had no heartbeat.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Come again?”
“It was like he didn’t exist, or wasn’t alive. I don’t know how to describe it.”
“Perhaps you couldn’t hear them. I suppose it was quite noisy down there with the fire and all.”
“No. I would have heard his heart. He was so close to me. I would have heard his heartbeats.”
“You’re sure?”
I nodded.
She eyed me. “It’s a mystery, then.”
But her tone told me that she wasn’t convinced. How could she be? I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t been there. I decided I would never convince her, so I steered our conversation in another direction. “There’s more. Memphis lied. We were never rescuing his sister. Alexa was his fiancée.”
She scowled. “I knew he was lying about something.”
“It doesn’t matter anyway. Alexa is dead.” Saying it out loud made me want to cry. Not just for Alexa, but for all the other Shines whose lives had been taken away from them. Naomi said the ambulances had taken them, but where would they go after they left the hospital? Another facility? I should’ve gotten there sooner. I should’ve rescued them.
“She’s dead?” Naomi asked. “How did she die?”
I remembered how the man with the knife had cut Alexa’s neck open. My insides squirmed. “That man I told you about. It was him.”
“He killed her?”
I nodded. She must have seen the terror in my face because she hugged me. Her hair tickled my nose and smelled like strawberry shampoo. My speeding heart slowed.
“I’m so sorry,” she said. “I should’ve been down there with you.”
“It wouldn’t have mattered.” How could anyone fight a thing like that? He had no heartbeat. Was he even human? Something told me that I was in way over my head. I had to find out who that man was. I had to stop him. He would kill more Shines trying to find the blood he needed. I wouldn’t let him.
The desert sky lightened. Shades of light pink streaked through the darker purple. I heard footsteps on the ladder. Memphis emerged with Alexa draped over his shoulder. Her eyes were closed. Her face seemed too white.
He laid her body on the ground.
Dried blood wreathed her neck. Her blond hair fell over her face. Memphis brushed it back with trembling hands.
A sunray fell over her, making her no longer look pale, but gray. She lay like a priceless work of art, frozen in time. Memphis’s face revealed no emotion, yet I felt his pain with each thump of his heart.
His hands clasped hers. “This was my fault,” he whispered. “It’s my curse. Anyone who gets close to me. Everyone I’ve loved. They’re all dead.” His voice cracked. His knuckles turned white as he clasped her fingers.
I hated that he’d lied to me, but my heart hurt for him. How could anyone suffer so much? I was terrified of my sister’s death—yet he’d experienced more death than anyone I’d ever known. His family, his fellow soldiers, his fiancée.
How could anyone endure that kind of grief?
I wanted to help him. I wanted to make the pain go away. I knew I never could.
“We should leave,” he finally said. He picked up Alexa’s body. I followed. Naomi walked several paces behind us. I walked as if I were in a trance. The sun warmed my back. I heard the call of birds in the distance, yet I felt as though I walked in a dream.
Memphis turned to me. “Le Teueur Revenent. That was him. He killed her.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m certain. I’m going after him.”
I didn’t ask how. I had no idea how anyone could stop a being like that. But if it was possible, I would find out.
I focused on the horizon. The sun transformed the desert. The sand, once silver under the moonlight, looked golden, as if we walked through another place.
“You’re not going alone,” I said.
He looked at me with a questioning glance. “You don’t have to come with me.”
“I know.”
A dry wind blew past, catching the sand and whipping it into the air. I focused on the horizon where a few cop cars, their lights flashing, sat parked near the mansion. “How will you stop him?” I asked Memphis. “How will you find him? Is he even human?”
“He’s human.” His eyes didn’t meet mine. “I stabbed him in the back and he didn’t like it too much.”
“But… he had no heartbeat.”
Memphis eyed me.
“I know how it sounds, but I swear I’m being honest. I couldn’t hear his heart.”
“June, that’s not possible.”
Gandhi, even he didn’t believe me. “There has to be an explanation for what I saw.”
Sand swirled around us, whispering in the dry wind. Memphis worked his jaw back and forth, as if deep in thought. “There are some scientists who claim to have proof of the paranormal. They’ve found some compelling evidence—but it’s still hard for me to believe.”
“Why? You were there. You saw what he could do. Why is it so hard to believe?”
“Because I know for a fact that he’s not a ghost. Trust me on this one. He’s human. He’s as real as you and me.”
“You know for certain? How could you know that? Have you seen him before?”
He didn’t answer. We neared the mansion. The red and blue glare of lights flickered over the lawn. One of the officers caught sight of us and rushed to Memphis. Soon we were surrounded by police and medical personnel.
After an hour of questions, we sat in the back of an ambulance. Someone had wrapped a blanket around me and given me a cup of water. Memphis and Naomi stood outside, careful to dodge any questions about our involvement with the Shines or the fire.
Memphis looked on while Alexa’s body was loaded into an ambulance. I couldn’t read his face, but I didn’t have to. I knew how he felt. A little piece of his soul had died with her. He would never be the same.
The crowd thinned around us, and soon Memphis and I sat alone in the back of the ambulance. Naomi stayed near the mansion, eyes guarded as she chatted with a security officer.
The sun rose higher, casting its heat across the paved parking lot. Overhead spanned a cloudless blue sky, letting the heat wash over the cactus and scrub brush growing along the driveway.
A swallowtail butterfly appeared from the open desert, flitting through the hot sunlight as it danced over the empty drive. I watched it land on a cactus’s bloom, its black and yellow wings a bright spot in the empty expanse.
“You never answered my question,” I asked Memphis. “Did you see the ghost-man before today?”
“Yes,” he answered after a pause. “I saw him once before.”
“Where?”
“In the military. You remember those people I told you about—the ones who showed up to save me?”
I swallowed. “He was one of them?”
Memphis nodded. “He was with a dark-skinned woman. She looked familiar. At the airport, before I went home, he told me something.”
“What did he tell you?” Deep inside, I didn’t want to know the answer.
“He told me…” He rubbed his forehead. “This is harder to say than I thought it would be.”
“Go on, it’s okay.”
“I’m not even sure it’s true.”
“You should tell me anyway. I need to know everything I can about him if I’m going to help you kill him.”
Memphis nodded. The butterfly fluttered its wings. It flew into the air, out of sight, and then disappeared. “He claimed to be my father. My birth father.”
Episode Twelve
Storms and Spirits
by Tamara Grantham
CHAPTER ONE
“Mom?” My voice trembled as I said her name. It had only been three weeks since I’d seen her. It felt like years. So much had changed since then.
“June, where are you?”
“I’m in the New Orleans airport.”
I heard a gasp. “New Orleans? What on earth are you doing there?”
I knew I couldn’t tell her everything, but she was my mom, and the sound of her voice made me so homesick that I felt a hard knot form in my throat. “The Revens caught me. They tried to take me to a facility.”
“What?”
“I’m okay. I got out.”
“How?”
I wasn’t sure how to tell her. I glanced at Memphis. He sat beside me, his eyes distant as he watched a jumbo jet taxi across the tarmac, its engines a faint roar through the big plexi-glass windows. “I had some help.”
“Who helped you?”
“His name is Memphis. He’s here with me now.”
“Who?”
“Memphis Stone. He’s a Reven—or was one. But he helped me escape, so now I’m helping him.”
“Helping him with what?”
I blew out a breath of air. I wasn’t sure how to explain this. “There’s a man called le Tueur Revenant. He’s killing Shines, Mom. And it’s got to stop.”
“What?” she asked, disbelief in her voice. “Why?”
I knew she wouldn’t like the next part, but I had to tell her. “Because he tried to kill me. And if I don’t find him first, he’ll try again.”
She didn’t make a reply, so I kept going. “I’m not the only one he’s after. He’s a murderer. He kills girls like me. He killed Memphis’s fiancée.”
Memphis flinched when I mentioned his fiancée Alexa. She’d only been gone for a week. Her death was a fresh wound that I feared he would never heal from.
“June,” Mom said my name slow, controlled. “I can’t believe what I’m hearing. Are you being honest with me?”
“Yes.”
“But this has to be a joke, right? This Reven business—I know you’ve fought them before, but they were only in New York. I hated when you did it then, but you always handled yourself. You had Naomi with you. I can’t believe you’re in New Orleans. I wanted to ask about prom and Katelyn. Where is your sister?”
Shine: Season One (Shine Season Book 1) Page 79