Seers (14 page)

“Lee!” He called, grinning as he stepped around me. “Yo!” I released him without a choice, because I refused to look like an idiot in front of Lee. But I know he didn’t miss my seething look. Not that it bothered him at all. He only smiled, and then stepped around me.

I turned with him to see Lee carrying a large bag. Of course,

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it was black.

“Hey,” she grinned, looking a bit too pleased to see him. “I wondered if I’d run into you again. Toni, right?”

“Exactly. And you won’t believe how badly I’ve been wanting to run into you.” He took her hand, and actually kissed it. He then turned quickly back to me. “Your friend here was just telling me that you guys were getting hungry. My treat?”

“I thought you said you didn’t have any cash on you,” I inserted darkly.

“Posh,” he shrugged me off. “I’ve always got a little something to spend on beautiful girls. What do you say?” I didn’t miss the fact that he was pretty much just staring at her.

It was true that I believed he was pretty harmless at this point, but I still didn’t want to leave him alone with my best friend. So when Lee gushed a much too happy yes, I reluctantly followed them, feeling more than a little shut out as Toni held her arm and Lee laughed at almost everything he said.

Once at the food court Toni led her to a Chinese place, and as he pulled her chair out for her, he handed me her shopping bag.

Rolling my eyes a little, I took my own seat, and then Toni went to get our food.

Lee turned surprised but happy eyes toward me. “Kate, seriously, what just happened?”

“A creepy Hispanic guy just kissed your hand,” I said dully.

“Don’t be racist—it’s so not you.” But she wasn’t upset with me—her eyes were just wide and pleased. “He remembered me! I can’t believe that just happened. That’s the sort of thing that happens to popular girls—or to you. Not me. He held my arm!” I sighed, but didn’t reply—what was the point arguing? She wasn’t going to listen. Besides, I didn’t want her to know that he was the Invisible Man. If she found out about that, she would have to find out about the rest. And that wasn’t happening.

“‘Kay, I know this is sort of cheating,” she whispered, leaning over the table toward me. “But, what’s his aura like? Is he as happy 104 K • • •

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as I am?”

I regarded her aura carefully. “Actually, I’d say you’re more excited than happy. You’re as pink as a Barbie’s favorite ball gown.” She slapped my arm, but before she could question me again about his aura, he was returning.

Once Toni was back we all began eating a nice late lunch/early dinner of ham fried rice and orange chicken. During the meal I became the invisible person. Toni and Lee talked nonstop to each other, and seemed to totally forget about my existence. As a result I finished a lot sooner than they did, and I was left to watch them flirt with each other.

I used a lot more concentration and precision to crack my fortune cookie than was absolutely necessary, and carefully studied my fortune.

Good things are coming your way.

Ha. Like I believed that. Between Toni and Patrick, and troubles with Aaron—I really doubted there was a lot of good in my future. Still, I folded the slip of paper and slid it into my purse. It would go in a wooden box that sat on my bookshelf, containing a hundred other fortunes.

As I was bending over, my phone vibrated, signaling a message. Lee was still talking animatedly with Toni, but as I flipped open the phone and saw it was from her, I realized that she was more proficient in the texting art than I’d ever imagined.

Plz!

That was all, but it was enough. I closed my phone and glanced up, and Lee was turning toward me. “Kate, I know we had our plans, but—could you meet me back at my house? Toni can take me back later.”

I looked between them—Lee’s silent pleading, Toni’s grin and rapidly bobbing eyebrows. “Sure,” I said at last, perhaps a moment too late. I looked between them again, then took the more than obvious hint to stand. My purse was balanced on my shoulder, and I picked up Lee’s bag with the other hand. “I guess I’ll—I’ll

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see you guys later, then.”

Lee smiled thankfully, and Toni’s grin impossibly widened.

“Can’t wait—it was good to run into you again, Kate.” His words could have been ominous, but looking at his cocky face I only wanted to roll my eyes.

I turned away from them, hoping that I was right in assuming he wasn’t dangerous as I slowly walked away. For a moment I debated wandering the mall a little longer, but I knew Lee wouldn’t want me running into them again, so I decided just to head back to her house. I walked around a small group of whining children and their distressed mother, and circled the large fountain that dominated the main floor of the mall. The floor was crowded and noisy, and the pounding of the water made it seem even more chaotic.

But despite the crazy surroundings, somehow I heard the footsteps behind me. Call it heightened senses or stalker aware-ness, but I was distinctly aware of the sound of someone following me. I glanced cautiously over my shoulder, but I couldn’t see anyone directly behind me. I was about to turn back around when I noticed—several long paces behind me—there was a large, middle-aged man.

He had tanned skin, and was dressed well in lightly colored slacks. It almost looked like he’d just got off from a day at the office, even though it was a Saturday. He had a phone pressed against his ear, but so did half the other people around us. No, there were really only two things that made this man different from the others. For one thing, he had a thin black aura. For another, he was staring right at me, slowly tracing my steps.

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Thirteen

A man with a black aura was following me.

He was smiling a little, as he caught my eye and realized I knew what he was doing.

My throat constricted, and I had trouble breathing. I bit my lower lip and quickened my step, but not too much—I was trembling so badly I worried I wouldn’t be able to run if he tried to chase.

My heart throbbed against my chest, my wide eyes searched for an answer—for a safe getaway. A distant part of me was wondering if Toni was somehow responsible for this, but I didn’t let myself pursue that avenue of thought for long. Instead, I did the only thing I could think of doing—I snatched my phone out of my pocket and in a short second it was against my ear.

It rang three times, and I was starting to really panic when there was a sudden click. I heard his lilting voice, sounding confused.

“Hello?”

“Patrick,” I said, forcing myself to sound calm. “It’s me.”

“Kate?”

“Yeah. So, um . . .” I glanced back over my shoulder, and sure enough, the man was still following me, though there were a couple Emo boys between us now. It was a small relief to see that he was not closing the distance between us, only maintaining it.

“I’m sorry I haven’t called before now.”

“No, that’s fine—I told you to take your time.” His voice, though he tried to mask it, was laced with excitement. Though normally I

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might have blushed at the thought that he was glad I’d called, I was too nervous about my situation to care about girlie things like that.

“Look, I think I have a problem,” I said, talking the instant he’d stopped. “You know how you told me about those black auras?” There was a very slight pause, and then, “Where are you?” He demanded, excitement gone in an instant, replaced by a serious tone that bordered on dangerous. “What’s going on?” His protective words made my body thrill in unfamiliar ways, and I had to swallow hard before I could speak. “I’m at the mall.

There’s a man—he’s following me, and he has a black aura.”

“Kate, I need you to listen to me very carefully. Do not let him near you. Don’t touch his skin, no matter what.”

“What should I do?” I asked. Despite my hard efforts, fear underlined my words, and I hated that.

“Are you with anyone?” I heard something slam on Patrick’s end, and I imagined it was a door.

“No. I was with Lee, but then—Toni—they’re hanging out somewhere . . .”

“Toni’s there?” Patrick’s voice was surprised, along with a balanced mix of exasperation and gratitude. “Can you find him?”

“I don’t know—they left—I’m almost to the outer doors.” I heard muttering, and though it probably wasn’t meant for me, I heard the words anyway. “Of course he’d take the car. I’m going to kill him . . . Kate—” His voice was suddenly louder. “I’m going to call him. I want you to keep walking, and—”

“No, wait! I don’t want Lee to know what’s happening!”

“Kate—”

I overrode his protest. “No. I don’t want her to know. I can’t have her know.”

“I . . . Kate, I’m running, but I’m not going to get there in time to do—”

“I can make it to my car.” My voice was growing more confident. “I shouldn’t have even called, I overreacted—”

“Kate,” he interrupted firmly. “Don’t hang up.” He sighed 108 K • • •

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loudly—somehow it sounded like a silent curse. “How close is he?” I glanced over my shoulder and blinked in surprise. I stopped walking and scanned the crowd, but it was as if he’d disappeared.

“Kate?” Patrick’s voice was tight, and I could hear his pounding footfalls.

“He—He’s gone,” I said, hardly believing my own words.

There was a very brief silence, and then he was speaking quickly. “I want you to go to your car. If you see him, scream.

Cause some commotion—just don’t let him get close to you.”

“Why?”

“I’ll explain la—”

“Right now,” I cut in, my fear channeling into anger. “You’ll explain right now.”

He groaned loudly. “Of all the—Look, can you just wait for five minutes?”

“No. What does he want? Who is he?” I was starting to lose it, and the people around me seemed to notice. I ignored the few weird looks, and continued darting through the crowd a bit too quickly to be considered normal. In seconds I was outside, hesitating on the sidewalk as I stared out across the vast parking lot.

Where on earth had I parked?

I knew Patrick was reluctant to say anything, but I guess he decided that appeasing me was better than refusing. Smart of him. “He’s a Demon.”

“A Demon?” I admit, I was disbelieving. I randomly chose a row, and started fast-walking past the line of parked cars.

“Yes. I know it hardly makes sense, but—he can’t hurt you.

Demons can’t touch humans unless humans first touch them. A safety precaution, not that they haven’t found ways around it.”

“What does he want with me?” I asked again, spotting my car two rows over. I cut between some SUVs and all but ran toward my car. It looked like the most inviting sanctuary I’d ever seen.

Amazing how it had been my escape twice now in the same week.

Patrick’s intense running was beginning to reveal itself in his

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voice. He was starting to sound winded. “He wants your help—

I’ll get into all that later, though. Are you to your car yet?” Though I don’t know what he thought he’d achieve by still running toward me—he’d made it perfectly clear that he was far away from here—

the thought that he was still running caused my stomach to flip.

“Almost—” A car honked loudly at me, and I hopped around the hood, probably less affected by the near-miss than I should have been.

At last I was at my car. I dropped Lee’s bag to the ground as I dug in my purse for my keys. “Come on, come on, come on,” I muttered. Patrick didn’t comment on my ramblings. But then, he was busy panting.

Finally I heard them jingle, and a second later I snatched them up. As soon as the door was open I was jumping inside—

Lee’s bag caught up and thrown on the passenger seat as almost an afterthought. “I’m in,” I gasped into the phone, slapping the lock back into place with an open palm.

“Good,” he said, sounding extremely relieved.

“Did Toni do this?” I couldn’t help but demand, now that I was relatively safe. “Was this some sort of trap?”

“No. Toni may be irresponsible, but he couldn’t have known a Demon was there.”

“Why not?” I asked sharply. I didn’t like how he was shooting down my theory without any consideration.

“Because, Guardians can’t see Demons.”

“Guardians? Seriously, what is going on?”

“Kate, can you come get me? I’ll explain everything, I promise.” I sat in the driver’s seat, breathing hard—more from the adrenaline rush than the actual hurry to get to safety. For a moment, I wavered, wondering if it was really such a good idea to be alone with him. Then I saw the black aura man—the Demon—

just coming out of the mall and I caved.

“Where are you?” I asked Patrick, forcing the key into the ignition and keeping my head low as the Demon scanned the lot.

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Fourteen

We remained on our phones until we made eye contact a few minutes later—he was walking on the sidewalk, and I was pulling up to the curb beside him. He closed his phone without a word and moved smoothly the last steps to the idling car. I shut my phone a half second after he did, but continued to hold it as I leaned over to flip his lock open. As I drew back into my seat I took in his appearance with a quick glance through the window.

He looked like he always did; faded light jeans, and a blue button up shirt with sleeves rolled at the elbows. I noticed for the first time that he had a bracelet on his wrist, and I wondered if he’d always had it and I just hadn’t noticed. It appeared to be homemade, and made up of some dark kind of leather braiding. His thick brown hair appeared somewhat shaggier than usual, but his clear blue eyes were as captivating as ever. His strong jaw was tight with worry, and as he opened the door and lowered himself inside I found myself staring at his muscular body—so lean and hard and powerful. I hated to admit it to myself, but I felt infinitely safer with him in the car than I had for a long time. And I wasn’t just referring to the Demon from the mall, or any of the other strange things that had started happening since I’d met him. I hadn’t felt this relaxed and safe since my parents had died.