Light the Shadows (A Grimm Novel) (26 page)

“I don’t know.” Thomas dropped his head into his hands and sighed. “Natalie takes the other shadows
’ energy. It makes her stronger. I don’t know if we can fight her.”

Anna said, “That’s not possible
—is it?”

Micah’s head swam with worry, fear
, and rage. “We’ve got to do something! We can’t just leave him there.”

“You’re right.” Thomas lifted his head to look at Micah. “You’ve got to go to him. You’re the only one who can save him.”

“No!” Anna glared at Thomas, seeming to dare him to argue. “We’re not sacrificing my best friend.”

He stood now, angry gaze narrowed on the teenager. “And you’d allow mine to die?”

“No one’s letting Sully die,” Micah said then glanced at Thomas. “And you are going to help me.” 

“No, I can’t. She wants you
. You have to do this yourself.”

Micah lunged at Thomas with an angry growl.

In his rush to escape her and the dagger’s deadly arc, the stool toppled beneath him, and he spilled onto the floor. Micah was crouched over him in a matter of moments, the dagger pressed against his throat.

Anna did nothing to stop Micah. Her frightened eyes were large as saucers as she stood on the other side of the breakfast bar.

Micah said, “You’ve been lying to me all along, Thomas. Natalie is your daughter. Have you been hiding her away, keeping the other Grimms from destroying her?”

Thomas didn’t bother to struggle beneath her. Instead, he stared up at her with mournful eyes. “It’s true. I couldn’t bear to be without her. She came to me, begged for help. I just couldn’t do it.”

“It’s your job,” Micah said through clenched teeth. The tip of the blade nicked the underside of Thomas’s throat, and the flash of fiery light flickered. Thomas winced but didn’t cry out. Micah eased back. She didn’t want to destroy him just yet. He would help her whether he liked it or not. “You should have put her soul to rest. Now she’s this hateful, evil spirit that’s going to kill Sully. This is your fault.”

“She’s my daughter.
My adopted daughter. She was just a baby when her mom and I got together,” Thomas said softly and shut his eyes. A single tear leaked down the side of his face and disappeared at the hairline above his ear. “I love her like she’s my own flesh and blood.”

“Maybe she used to be, but all humanity has left her.” Micah snarled. “She’s a shadow now.”

“I was a terrible dad. I couldn’t save her. I wasn’t there when she was taken. She wasn’t supposed to die..” Thomas gazed up at her, his expression dour. Tears slid down the sides of his face. “I hid Natalie away, but didn’t realize she was slipping out while I was gone.”

“You held her prisoner? For how long, Thomas? Since she died?”

“She was never a prisoner. I was trying to protect her. I thought I could keep her from becoming like the other shadows. I thought if I kept her close to me, continued to love her, she’d be okay.”

“You failed.” Micah wanted to draw the blade across his throat or stab him in the face. Instead, she got to her feet. The blade disappeared. “Now Sully is in danger because of your negligence. Those pitiful souls that couldn’t escape her are shadows because of you.”

“I know,” Thomas whispered. “Don’t you think I’m sorry for that?”

“What are we gonna do?” Anna asked in a quiet voice.

“You’re going to take me to Azrael, or I’ll find a way to get there myself.”

Anna nodded in acceptance. “What if he still won’t help?”

Micah’s hand balled into a fist at her side. “He will, or so help me, I’ll find a way to hurt him, too.”

Thomas stood now. “Let’s just hope he doesn’t write Sullivan off as a lost cause like he did me.”

Damn, Thomas is a barrel of optimism.
Micah turned her attention back to Anna. “How do we get there?”

“Someone has to die,” Anna said then glanced at Thomas who had edged closer.

“Isn’t there another way?” Micah asked. “How do you keep crossing over?”

Anna bit her bottom lip. “It takes a lot of energy. I’m supposed to be over on the other side all the time. I’ll get in trouble if Mr. Azrael finds out I’ve been crossing back and forth.”

“Tell him I brought her over,” Thomas said, his eyes hopeful as he stared at Micah. “He’ll believe it. Azrael knows Sullivan and I are close. We have to find a doorway.”

Anna seemed to consider this then finally nodded. “Let’s hurry.”

Gripping Thomas’s arm, Micah leaned close. “Just because you’re being helpful doesn’t mean I forgive you.”

Thomas patted her hand then offered a sad smile. “I’d expect no less.”

****

Finding a doorway wasn’t as hard as Micah thought it would be. They’d only driven a few miles when Anna shouted, “Pull over!”

An ambulance had just pulled away from the nursing home’s curb as they piled out of the car. There were several of the residents standing on the sidewalk watching as the flashing lights faded around the street corner.

“If we hurry, they may not notice us slip in,” Micah whispered.

Together, they crept across the lawn and into the building. They moved quickly down the hallway, past the unoccupied nurse’s station.

“Over there.” Anna pointed toward the end of the hall. A wheelchair sat outside the only room with lights off.

A woman who had aged beyond her years due to illness stood at the end of the bed. Her fingers trailed across the foot rail, and a small smile softened her features. “I thought it would never come. No more pain, no more heartache.”

Anna went into shepherd mode. She touched the woman’s shoulder and smiled. “In a moment, a doorway will appear, Mrs. Gavitt. I’m going to guide you through it, to your next journey.”

The woman nodded, clearly relieved to have been released from the illness that had stolen so many years of her life. She clutched Anna’s hand and shuffled forward.

A barn red door with a brushed nickel knob appeared just behind the heart monitor. A small handmade welcome sign hung from a nail at the top. The woman’s eyes lit up
, and she smiled. “It’s my mama’s door. I haven’t seen it since she died, could never make myself go back home after that.”

“Everything is going to be okay now.” Anna nodded toward the door. “It’s time to go through. Perhaps your mama is waiting for you on the other side.”

“They’re coming,” Thomas whispered close to Micah’s ear.

“Shadows?”

He nodded then edged closer to her as if he meant to protect her. “You don’t feel them?”

The dagger slipped into Micah’s hand
, and she searched the dim room for any sign of their arrival. The monitor on the wall hummed with static, and a wispy shadow began to take shape by the opposite wall.

The old woman had already opened the door. The short amount of time they had to accomplish the crossover was diminishing.

“Hurry!” Anna shouted. “The door won’t last long.”

When the shadow became solid, it dashed forward, eager to stop them from going through. Micah slashed at it, but it evaded her blade by disappearing.

Thomas gripped the door, holding it open. Anna glanced up at him. “I’ll meet you inside. Don’t let anyone see you.”

Then she and the woman moved down the brightly lit hallway. The intensity of it seemed to swallow them up until they were little black specks.

Thomas shouted, “Behind you!”

Micah whirled, the blade slashing upward into the shadow’s chest. The dark form grappled at its wound for a moment then burst into ashy sparks. She didn’t wait around to see if more were coming. Instead, she ran toward the door and Thomas.

As soon as she was inside the bright corridor, Thomas slammed the door shut. “That was too close.”

A weird sense of déjà vu prickled Micah’s skin. The hallway looked the same as it had when she’d died before, when she’d come through as Kelly Banks. Thomas’s hand on her wrist made her jump in surprise. He leaned close and said, “Where do you think Azrael’s office is?”

“Not sure.” Micah jiggled the knob of the first door to their left, but it didn’t budge. Sighing, she moved farther down the corridor that seemed to never end. Each door she tried offered the same result. No entrance.

Thomas walked behind her, trying the ones she missed. Micah turned and put her hands on her hips. “Don’t you dare try to sneak out of here, Thomas St. Clair. You’re not going to heaven, hell
, or wherever until after you help me rescue Sully.”

His hand dropped to his side
, and his cheeks flushed. He didn’t offer an excuse, but rushed to catch up to her.

They’d only gone a few steps when he gripped Micah’s shoulder and jerked her backward against him. Thomas guided them into an alcove hidden behind a large potted plant then released her. He leaned close. “Someone’s coming.”

A man and woman, both with the same sort of wispy, ghostly appearance as Anna, walked past. They spoke in low voices about someone alerting Mr. Azrael about a living, breathing person in the corridor.

The female shepherd said, “He’s livid. Wants them pushed back through as quickly as possible.”

The man shook his head as they passed by Thomas and Micah’s hiding place. “How did they get here anyway?”

The woman’s harsh laugh echoed down the hallway. It was a less than angelic sound. In fact, it reminded Micah of a donkey’s bray. “My guess would be that Anna did it. She’s been sneaking over to the other side, you know? She probably left a doorway open or something.”

“Why would she want to go over there?” the man asked with incredulity in his voice.

The woman shrugged. “I think she’s sneaking over to see someone.”

Micah glanced at Thomas. Where the hell was Anna anyway?

The male shepherd stopped walking, turned his ear toward where they were hiding. When he turned to shove the potted plant aside, Micah darted past him. “Thomas, come on!”

“Hey!” The woman yelled in surprise.

Thomas sprinted down the hallway, his hand clasped over hers. He dragged her along at a faster pace than she could have managed on her own. Micah was overjoyed that he hadn’t demanded to know the game plan because she had no idea what they were going to do.

The couple appeared a few feet in front of them. The woman with the horsey laugh pointed at a door. “Thomas St. Clair, we’ve been expecting you. This is your doorway.”

Thomas stopped, nearly dragging Micah down. His facial features relaxed
, and his hand began to loosen in hers. Micah grabbed at his hand, but it was too late. He’d already opened the door.

Beyond the doorway, a petite woman with dark hair moved gracefully around the kitchen. She bent to peer into the oven
, and when she opened it, Micah swore she could smell apple pie. Somewhere in the background, a child sang a song while she played.

Thomas looked on with longing. He took a step forward
, and the shepherds smiled reassuringly. The man said, “Yes, that’s right. Go to her.”

Thomas stopped just outside the door. His smile fell away and he said, “The only problem is, Elizabeth and I weren’t right for each other.
Elizabeth had been cheating on me with her ex. She went back to him after Natalie died.”

He turned away, gripped Micah’s hand
, and moved quickly down the hallway.

The shepherds glanced at each other in surprise. The woman dashed after them. She said, “This is what it could have been, Thomas! Don’t deny yourself this happiness. This is what you’ve dreamed of for so long.”

“No, it’s a lie.” Thomas backed away, pulling Micah along with him.

The male shepherd pushed another door open. This time, the scene inside depicted what looked to be a church or monastery. Monks in long brown robes moved between the pews. “What if you could go back even further? Start over from the very beginning?”

Thomas looked a bit pale in Micah’s opinion. She glared up at the man offering the fresh start then said, “Why are you doing this to him? You’re supposed to be sweet and reassuring, not a complete dick.”

The man smirked. “If he doesn’t accept one of these choices, we can’t promise Azrael will offer it again.”

“Fuck him.” Thomas spat the words as if they’d left a foul taste in his mouth. He gripped Micah’s hand a little tighter then turned away from them. Surprisingly, they didn’t follow.

They called after Micah. “You can’t be here. You have to go back to the other side.”

“Fuck off!” Micah said, mimicking Thomas’s bravado. This won a little smile from her cohort.

Micah was still a bit cross with Thomas, but by turning down two happily ever after scenarios, he’d won some serious respect from her. He’d really stepped up in the last few minutes
, and she owed him a big apology. “Thomas—”

“Don’t. We’re going to ask Azrael to help us. If he doesn’t, we’ll figure a way to get Sullivan ourselves.”

“There! That’s got to be it.” Micah pointed at the black, glossy door at the end of the hall.

When they reached it, Micah slung the door open
, and together they rushed inside. The sight that met them was not what Micah expected.