“She’s right,” Charlie announced, examining me with wonder and confusion.
“Right about what?” Gideon demanded, not following.
“When I see Candy’s footprint shadow, it’s green. Tim’s is gray,” Charlie explained with excitement. He began to pace in a tight circle. “While we can’t detect Daisy’s footprint, it looks like she can detect ours.”
“And that’s helpful because?” I asked, leaning back on Gideon for balance.
“Hang on,” Charlie said, glancing over at Tim, who was still in retreat. “Tim, come back.”
Tim sprinted over and grinned. “Our girl is gifted.” Tim gave me a thumbs up.
“I only see the color when people are walking away from me,” I told everyone. “It disappears when someone is walking towards me.”
Charlie whispered something to Gideon, then motioned for him to walk away. “Tell me what you see.”
“Black,” I said without hesitation. “Gideon leaves a trail of black glitter.”
Gideon stopped dead in his tracks, turned and stared at me. “Death,” he said flatly. “I leave a trail of death.”
“Not buying what you’re selling, Reaper,” I said, raising my brow. “You are the best person I know.”
The smile came slowly to his full lips and the tension in my body relaxed. I knew a lot about Gideon, but there were thousands of years I knew nothing of. If I asked, I knew he would share. However, he would tell me when he was ready. Also, covering thousands of years would be challenging. I couldn’t remember what I ate yesterday or where my car keys were.
“I’m curious,” Charlie said. “I have no clue what color my own footprint leaves. Can you tell me, Daisy?”
Charlie walked away from me and kept glancing back over his shoulder.
“Turquoise,” I told him. “Sparkly turquoise.”
“Interesting.” Charlie clapped his hands with delight. “Shall we get started then?”
“Started?” I asked.
“With your training, my dear.”
“Wait,” I said, trying to make the jagged line of information linear. “Why is it good that I can see footprints?”
“Because if you can see ours, you can see Clarissa’s,” Tim replied. “It could be the difference between life and death.”
Inhaling deeply and pushing aside the new knowledge that I shouldn’t have and didn’t know if I wanted, I nodded. It was time to train.
No pain. No gain.
I just hoped it didn’t hurt too much.
Chapter Three
Never again. Never again would I willingly or semi-willingly go on a field trip with Immortals. Never ever, ever, ever. Period. Hanging out at my house with dead people was easier and far more fun.
“Pretty sure the cops are going to show up,” I shouted over the explosive thunder and lightning. Gideon and Charlie flew overhead like avenging Angels trying to kill each other.
I could feel my heart beating in my throat and my stomach roiled. If I didn’t know better—and unfortunately, I did—I’d think I was watching a high-budget special effects movie playing out in real time. It was somehow easier to accept that my lover and my friends were Immortal without seeing the bloody and savage evidence.
Tim looked alarmed at my words and quickly waved his hands in a circular motion. The frigid air was replaced with a warmer temperature and an iridescent bluish glow surrounded the open field where more violence was taking place than I’d ever witnessed.
“What did you just do?” I asked as I winced and closed my eyes. Charlie attacked Gideon with so much force, I was sure the love of my life was a goner.
The fact that they were laughing calmed me slightly—slightly being the operative word.
“Your point was well made,” Tim said with a thumbs up. “We were unwise not to cloak what we’re doing. The police are the least of our issues. I created a bubble. In our excitement, we were sloppy.”
“Excitement to tear each other apart?” I asked, gasping as Gideon roared and body-slammed Charlie, sending him hurtling into a massive tree.
Charlie was fine. The tree, not so much.
Tim nodded and grinned. “It’s quite rare for us to let loose like this.”
“Probably a good thing,” I replied, then quickly dodged an explosion that sent silver and purple fireballs across the field.
“My turn,” Candy yelled as she shot into the air and headbutted Charlie, creating a blast of debris that should have blinded both of them.
“I’m gonna die,” I choked out, ducking as rocks and branches flew unchecked through the air.
“Do something about it,” Tim urged, snapping his fingers and setting a cackling Candy Vargo on fire.
“Like what?” I demanded, gaping at him like he was insane.
Actually, he was. They all were… and clearly, I was too.
“Figure it out,” Tim yelled as he joined the bloody fray.
Hiding behind the remains of the hundred-year-old tree that had fallen to the ground, I eyed the four Immortals who were joyously trying to exterminate each other. I was fully aware that all had promised not to use death blows on each other, but while that might prevent them from kicking the bucket, I knew I wouldn’t be as lucky.
“Do something about it,” I muttered, repeating Tim. “What the heck am I supposed to do about it?”
My socially inept buddy had far more confidence in me than I did. There was no way I could compete by diving into the magical shitshow, but…
But I could slow them down.
Maybe.
I’d knocked down a tree with my bare hands. I’d leveled a house just by thinking about it. I’d put out a fire Clarissa had caused with a swipe of my hand. And most importantly, I’d escaped the embrace of death. It could add up to a big fat nothing, but it was worth a try.
Or I could wait until they exhausted themselves and yell at them until my face turned blue. While that might make my friends feel bad, it would do absolutely nothing if I came across Clarissa on my own.
“Fine,” I snapped, even though I was the only one who could hear myself over the massive cracks of thunder and destruction going on. “I will do something.”
Waiting patiently for an opening, my heartbeat sped up as Candy positioned herself for a new attack in a small grove of giant trees. Without a second thought, I sprinted like the Devil was on my heels. Both hands extended forward, I hit the first tree, pivoted on a dime and hit the one to the right. I inhaled and kicked the two trees behind me with a grunt and a scream.
The sound of my voice echoed in my ears and seemed to come from someplace unfamiliar. The trees uprooted and trapped a shocked Candy in their tangled wooden embrace. I guesstimated that bought me approximately a minute or two to take down Gideon, Charlie and Tim.
“Damn, I wish there was a house to blow up,” I muttered, then froze. If I could level a house, could I create one?
The degree of violence around me escalated and Tim’s arm went spiraling through the air, landing at my feet. I knew it was Tim’s arm because his list of gross trivia was clutched in the fingers. Silently, I thanked my deceased house guests for getting me used to disembodied appendages. Of course, Tim’s arm wasn’t ghostly, but I didn’t puke. Point for me.