Luminous Spirits (Shadow Eyes Series Book 2)

by Dusty Crabtree

  The dark haired minion placed both hands on our table and leaned forward until it was clear the only audience she cared for was Patrick. “Feel like doing a little…bartering? Information you need for something you know I want.” She eyed Patrick hungrily. She may as well have licked her lips. Or Patrick.

  The hostility in Patrick’s eyes was blazing full force now. I was fairly certain that wasn’t the type of fire she’d wanted to stoke, but she winked at Patrick and sauntered off.

  Patrick’s mouth tightened to a thin line, and his hand clenched into a fist.

  I probably would’ve enjoyed the fact that the beautiful girl frustrated him rather than turned him on had I not been so anxious and suspicious. Patrick must have been hiding something from me.

  I squinted my eyes to slits and cocked my head to the side. “So, tell me again. How exactly do you know this girl?” I’d intended on sounding like a trained interrogator. Instead, insecure, overly jealous girlfriend is what came out.

  Patrick sighed, dropping his fork on his tray. The rattling echoed through the tension at our table. He put his hand to his face and squeezed the bridge of his nose. “Her name is Lila. We used to...” He lowered his hand as his eyes shifted to Lexi for a second. I’d forgotten she was even there. “...work together. Back in Indianapolis. She’s a horrible person, although I’m sure you can gather that yourselves.”

  He picked up his fork and then paused to look at me directly. “Oh, and she used to like me. Probably still does. But I told her then there is no way on earth I would ever date her, and I’m pretty sure I’m sending a clear enough message now.” He grabbed his tray to scoot it closer to him and stabbed at his chicken alfredo with new fervor, shoveling the pasta into his mouth.

  I easily deciphered his coded explanation. He and Lila had been dark servants together under Donovan, probably even partners. She’d had the hots for him but he’d refused. Somehow, knowing all that didn’t make me feel better.

  Chapter 4

  Kyra and Lexi were already waiting outside the theater when Patrick and I showed up. The excitement I’d had earlier about the prospect of going to the movies with friends had dissipated with the arrival of Lila. My new nemesis.

  If that hadn’t been enough, which it definitely was, I’d surprisingly remembered to invite our ex-friend Nicole as promised. Only to get openly rejected.

  “Took you guys long enough.” Kyra smiled in spite of her snide comment as we walked up to them.

  “Whatever,” I said. “You just always have to be early everywhere you go.”

  “Tell me about it,” Lexi complained as she led us all to the ticket booth. “I was still putting on my make-up and she was hustling me out the door.”

  “So, no Nicole then?” Kyra asked, even though she could’ve easily guessed the answer. “I forgot to check with you earlier how it went in science.” I couldn’t blame her for forgetting. Although Lila’s presence bothered me more than Kyra, her arrival meant bad things for all of us.

  I rolled my eyes and sighed. “Well, not great.” That was an understatement. I’d tried to use my aura on Nicole, even though I wasn’t a pro at that yet. All I could muster in my frazzled state was a small glimmer, not enough to affect her shadow, which reappeared the second I asked her and Tyler to join us for a movie.

  “She told me she and Tyler had plans to eat with his parents.” I flashed Kyra a look that told her exactly what I thought of Nicole’s ‘excuse.’ They were most likely at a party. Lexi didn’t see my face and nodded solemnly, though I gathered from her pinched lips that she had her own suspicions of Nicole’s honesty.

  Patrick stepped up behind me and squeezed my shoulders. “Well, no use dwelling over it now. Did we decide on Tidal Wave?”

  I cringed slightly, hating that Patrick’s touch reminded me of Lila. Was I really going to be that girlfriend? I tried to relax. “Sure.”

  “Sounds fine to me.”

  Patrick and I followed Kyra and Lexi to officially get in line, which was short, so everyone started to get out their money for their tickets. But something seemed odd. Kyra was staring off to the side instead of her wallet as she pulled out her money. And Patrick was stiff beside me, staring at the same spot.

  I didn’t have to look to know what I would see. The creepy tension already crawling over my skin was so familiar and brought on the strongest sense of déjà vu. I had been in this same situation recently. Someone—or something—was staring at us.

  As Kyra and Lexi went inside and Patrick paid for our tickets, I chanced a quick glance. Two dark silhouettes were eyeing us as they whispered to each other. The same shadows from the bar. And the “unwelcome company” that Lila had mentioned in the cafeteria.

  But I hadn’t gotten a good look at them in the bar. Both were so solidly formed that their ink-black figures almost appeared to be pacing back and forth as they spied on us. Solid, well-defined forms signified intelligence. What that meant, though, I didn’t know.

  “What do they want?” I whispered to Patrick on our way into the theatre.

  He reached for the handle slowly so he could answer before we stepped inside where Lexi and Kyra were waiting for us. “I don’t know. But I can tell they’re just messenger shadows. I can’t detect any other intentions other than spying on us. They’ll probably report back to someone what they saw.”

  “Report back to who? Lila?”

  Patrick shrugged but his face was grim. “I don’t know. But if Lila is involved, Donovan probably is too since Lila’s most likely still working for him.”

  I couldn’t enjoy the movie. I was too preoccupied with the shadows I’d seen outside and their connection to Lila and Donovan. We were being watched? That couldn’t be good, could it? And if Donovan was involved that meant they must be after Patrick. Neither of us had said the fact out loud, but it had to be true. Donovan didn’t even know me.

  I suddenly felt a strong urge to protect my boyfriend. But I was still in training. What if I wasn’t ready to deal with something major?

  Lexi must have noticed my being distracted, which she honestly was probably used to. But Patrick and Kyra had to have looked troubled as well, and that she wasn’t used to.

  After the credits started rolling, we walked quietly out to the car. I scanned the area for the two shadows but didn’t find them.

  Lexi finally broke the silence. “Okay, either you are all zombies, or something’s bothering you. None of you even flinched when that house got flooded and that kid nearly drowned or when the biggest wave came crashing down on those people. I think I almost peed my pants twice! What’s wrong with you guys?”

  I brushed my bangs from my face but avoided her eyes. “I don’t know. I guess I just have a lot on my mind,”

  “It wasn’t that great of a movie.” Kyra shrugged. “I think I was falling asleep with my eyes open.”

  “Well, I don’t know about you guys, but nothing phases me. I am made of steel.” Patrick flexed his muscles as if to prove his point. I grinned, but not just because he was adorable. He was purposefully attempting to lighten the mood and take the attention away from us.

  Lexi rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I swear, sometimes I feel like the fourth wheel with you three.” She was smiling but I could tell only partially kidding.

  I swallowed hard. Keeping her in the dark, essentially lying to her twenty-four seven, hurt. Bad. Some parts of this gift were more of a curse than a gift. Would things ever be different?

  “Yeah…” Kyra grinned. “But four wheels are always better than three in my book.” She nodded to Patrick and me as she opened her car door. Lexi got in the passenger seat. “See you guys.”

  “Bye.” I smiled as warmly as I could to show Lexi I still loved her. I didn’t begin to relax, though, until we were safe on my own porch. Well, mostly relax.

  “So, what do you think Lila could be planning? And why would she have those shadows just spy on us?

  Patrick groaned. “Ugh, I don’t know. Iris, can we please talk abou
t something other than Lila?”

  I pinched my mouth to one side but didn’t tell him no. Though I wasn’t too happy about his clear avoidance of the topic of his ex-partner, I guessed I could see him not wanting to bring it up now and ruin the end of our night.

  He must’ve taken my silence as compliance because his shoulders visibly relaxed as he let out a sigh of relief and then changed the subject.

  “Well, you’d better be on your game tomorrow.” Patrick grinned as he leaned against the front door, taking both my hands in his. The gleam from the porch light enveloped his tall frame, making his silhouette glow—almost as breathtaking as his own aura. “I’m a very strict teacher.” He squinted his eyes in a seductive, trance-like gaze that lasted all of ten seconds before he laughed and drew me into his arms.

  Even though his teasing was meant to be lighthearted, I had to gather my wits before I could say anything since he had done such a good job of scattering them to the wind.

  “You know,” I said, pulling back from him, but only slightly. “You really underestimate how sexy you are.” His mouth curled up on one side, and I looked away. Although he was my boyfriend, I was embarrassed to admit he had this power over me.

  I peered back up at him. His smile had faded. He let go of me and ran a hand through his hair as he stared at the ground. But then he cleared his throat and pretended to be all business. “I can just not touch you at all if that helps.”

  “No.” I grabbed his hand and yanked him back. “That might be a tad extreme, don’t you think?”

  He rested his forehead on mine and we stared into each other’s eyes. That is until the front door opened.

  “Iris, it’s getting late, dear.” My mother never called me dear.

  She turned her attention to Patrick, who had respectfully stepped back a foot or two from me. “Good night, Patrick Morris.” She smiled, but her tone of voice sent a different message: “We’re done here, thank you.”

  “Good night, Ms. Kohl,” he replied with a nod, and my mom shut the door leaving us alone again.

  “Sorry.” I rolled my eyes. “Don’t take it personally. She just thinks you’re like most men she knows—no good.”

  “She’s been hurt a lot. I understand.” He kissed me softly, brushing his fingers on my cheek, and then left.

  ***

  “Any time you want to begin would be great.” Patrick drew out the first two words—his attempt at encouraging instead of demanding me to start my test of identifying shadows.

  We sat on a bench in the crossroads section of the mall where traffic was highest. New people trekked through every second, many dragging shadowy leeches with them. The wooden benches, deep green rugs, and large, potted trees made our spot seem more like a quiet, peaceful park than a mall. An ironic oasis in the center of cacophony and nightmarish visions.

  “I’m perfectly content to just continue the small talk we’ve got going on here.” I scooted towards him and leaned against his chest with my head on his shoulder. His arm rested on the back of the bench behind me. We’d agreed not to talk about Lila for the afternoon and although it felt like he was using the excuse to avoid the subject, I’d agreed. My brain was tired of worrying and being upset over her.

  “Oh, is that what we were doing? See, I thought you were just stalling.”

  I craned my neck enough for him to see my heavily furrowed eyebrows. “You were the one asking me about my sisters.”

  “Oh, right.” He squeezed my shoulder and then began playing with my hair, picking apart long, wavy strands and winding them around his fingers. “Go ahead and finish. You’d already mentioned how Hanna was doing better. What about Jenny?”

  I settled back onto his shoulder. “Oh, I don’t know. I guess she and Austin are making progress. They’re seeing a marriage counselor now. Austin’s idea. I’m hoping it won’t be too long until she moves back in with him, but the counselor said they should start out slow. Like going on dates and everything.”

  “Hmm. Good idea. They’re starting from scratch so they can kind of try to forget what happened.”

  “Not that you can ever forget someone cheating on you.”

  “True. But at least they can move on.”

  I nodded and went back to people watching until Patrick nudged me, keeping his eyes trained ahead just in front of us. I followed them to a brilliant mass of light that I could have sworn wasn’t there a second ago. The light was wavering within its loose form to the left of a teenage boy who was bending over to pick up something off of the ground.

  As he rose back up, another much darker figure appeared on his right. The boy hesitated, staring at the small object in his hands. The moment the shadow appeared, the light figure picked up speed as if its message was more urgent. Although the whole thing only lasted a few moments and I couldn’t actually hear anything, the intensity of the two figures competing for the boy’s attention, relentlessly shifting and fluctuating around his ears, was palpable from where we sat.

  After his brief indecision, the boy lifted his head and the darker figure dissipated. Once his friends realized he was no longer keeping up, they turned around, but the kid was already jogging down the side hallway to a middle-aged woman who was sticking something in her overstuffed wallet.

  I couldn’t hear the conversation that transpired between the two, but the kid handed the woman what he’d picked up, apparently some money. She must have dropped a pretty large bill because upon receiving it the woman gasped and pulled the boy in for an unexpected hug. After she finally released him, she mouthed the words, “Thank you,” and the boy walked back to his friends who proceeded to tease him.

  “Well, that was awesome.” I didn’t know what else to say. Witnessing stuff like that produced all sorts of warm fuzzies, but putting those feelings into words was difficult.

  “I’m glad you got to see that,” Patrick said.

  “Why?”

  “Because after all the shadows and shadowy people you’ll have to see today, you’re going to need a little reminder that there are still people in the world who choose good over evil.”

  I pursed my lips into a pout. “Well, now I really don’t want to do this.”

  I looked up at him for support but he simply stared at me, so I gave in with a sigh. “Okay, fine. Let the testing commence. Let’s start with...” I scanned the flood of mall patrons, but Patrick was faster.

  “That one.” He pointed to a middle-aged woman standing outside a department store staring at her phone. A heavy, fog hung over her.

  I crossed my arms. “Really?”

  “Hey, I’m throwing you a bone here. Emotional shadows are your forte.”

  “I know. So this isn’t necessary. Between Jenny’s, Austin’s, my mom’s, my dad’s, my old one, and half the people in school, I think I’ve seen enough emotional shadows to blanket the entire state of Indiana in a dense, dark fog.”

  He stared at me, so I sighed heavily and gave him what I hoped he wanted. “Emotional shadows are cloudy or foggy, just a big mass. This particular shadow…” I threw a quick glance at the fog in question. “…means depression.”

  But then I did a double take. Something else was going on inside the dark fog. A sort of electrical frenzy zapped around inside. Realization finally hit and I turned back to Patrick. “And she’s stressed out too.”

  He nodded, but I wasn’t done. “And emotional shadows are not intelligent like some of the others. They’re only there because people choose to have them there. Plus, the bigger the fog is, the stronger a hold it has on the person. With a giant, stormy mass, the emotions run deep, and it’s probably been there a while.”

  I raised my eyebrows and smirked at him, daring him to question me about the one area of shadow knowledge in which I was confident.

  “All right,” he laughed and lifted his hands in surrender. “Down killer. Down! I give. So you know your emotional shadows.”

  “Thank you,” I said, lifting my chin slightly.

  “Alright, hot s
hot, now why don’t you make those pretty violet eyes useful and pick a more difficult test subject.”

  I rolled said eyes and then glared at him.

  “Hey, vibrant, unique eye color is the mark of our trade. So get over your desire to be normal and enjoy the perks.”

  I stared into his uncanny green eyes and had to admit that from my view, this particular light warrior distinction was definitely a perk. “Fine.

  An hour and a half later, I was beaming having identified more types of shadows than I’d thought I could. The thin, sheet-like illness-related shadows I was already familiar with having been around Hanna’s for so long. But then there were all the immoral-type shadows—the sloshy fogs related to problems with alcohol (different from the wavering ones that just appeared when someone was drunk), the swirling funnel clouds related to lust, and the lava-lamp-looking blobs related to drugs (coincidentally enough).

  There were more, of course, but that’s as far as we’d gotten, and I was satisfied.

  Okay, so I realized while picking out these shadows that there aren’t many people in high school, or even middle school for that matter, who would call partying or drinking immoral. For most teenagers, partying was just…normal. When I’d brought that up to Patrick, he’d reminded me that light warriors are different. We follow a strict moral code that we’re pretty much born with. A moral code most people our age would laugh at. Even something small like having a few beers at a party would not mix well with our inner light. And any damage to our light could compromise our missions. Not to mention, if I did allow any gray areas into my light, I would become vulnerable to the darkness itself. Light warriors are still human—we can be tempted and go off course and even be led totally astray. Like Patrick had.

  But I wasn’t going to dwell on that. I had a newfound pride and confidence in my shadow-identifying skills, and I was going to ride that as long as I could.

  “Well done!” Patrick gave me a high-five. “See, you’re a natural. For me, identifying these types of shadows is easy, but you... Well, you just haven’t been around as many as I have.” His smile dissolved and he went back to scanning the sea of people.