Light the Shadows (A Grimm Novel) (9 page)

Afternoon sunshine should have flooded the room with natural light, but now it seemed overcast and gloomy. The atmosphere felt heavy and full of remorse and anger. Theirs? Gripping the front of his shirt, she whispered, "What's happening?"

Sully moved his body in front of hers, one hand still holding her against the wall. His wary gaze searched the shadowy room. His voice was low and guarded. “Stay behind me.”

An ethereal form emerged from the adjoining bathroom. The front of the young man’s dress shirt was covered in dark blood. He wore a jacket with
a corsage, both of which were covered in gore. His chin, or what was left of it, quivered as he attempted to speak.

The creepy specter grabbed at Micah. His fingers scraped across her arm, leaving angry red welts. She screamed then ducked down when the thing swiped at her again.

"Fucking shadows." Sully's free hand snapped up, a glint of metal arcing toward the figure. The shadow's tortured moan dissipated along with its image.

Micah pulled herself off the floor. Her stomach was knotted
, and her knees quivered, threatening to dump her back onto the plush beige carpet. “It touched me!”

“Never mind that.” Sully's gaze turned toward her. "Who are you,
really
?"

Micah stared up at him. "What are you talking about? You know who I am."

"You aren't the real Micah Munroe." His hand was heavy on her shoulder as he pressed her against the wall once again.

"I am." She took a deep breath then released it. "Micah."

His face lowered to within inches of hers. For a fleeting moment, she hoped he might kiss her again. She could still taste him on her tongue and in her mouth. Instead he scowled then straightened to his full height.

A thick lump of anxiety formed at the back of her throat
, and she experienced trouble swallowing. It had been incredibly stupid for her to agree to show houses to him. Squirming beneath his scrutiny, she said, "I have to go. I have another appointment."

Micah twisted away from him and scurried toward the door. She didn't dare look back until she reached the bottom of the stairs. He was right behind her, studying her and following at a casual pace.

****

Anna was nowhere to be found when Micah returned home. She moped around a bit then finally gave in. She flopped back onto the bed and shouted at the ceiling, “Okay, I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have called you a brat.”

She listened to the silent house then sighed. There was so much she wanted to tell the teenage ghost. “Come on, Anna. I said I was sorry!”

Her cell phone vibrated against the nightstand
, and Ben’s name came up on the readout. She faltered a moment, wondering whether she should answer. Finally, she snatched it up and said hello.

Ben’s voice was cautious. “How did it go?”

“Fine.” Micah answered quickly and tried not to think about the make-out session she’d had with Sully. Her voice was a bit high, so she took a calming breath. “He didn’t like the condo.”

Ben chuckled. “Listen, I thought maybe I could come over. We could talk?”

“That’s not a good idea, Ben.” Micah sighed, hating to have this conversation.

“Maybe we could have dinner, talk about things?”

“We don’t have anything to talk about, Ben.” Micah’s skin crawled at the idea that there might be something to Diane’s suspicions.

“It doesn’t have to be like this,” Ben said in a hopeful voice.

Micah groaned in exasperation. “Look, you’re married to Diane. Aside from work, we’re not going to hang out together.”

He hung up on her.

Shortly afterward, Micah located the book she’d started reading a few nights ago. She hated to admit it, but the old Micah’s books intrigued her. Not that she believed in this lovey dovey, happily ever after crap. The lust at first sight though, she totally got that. But this particular book was different from the rest of the stuffy old historicals. This one was about a hot hero who could transform into a werecat at will.
How fascinating!

Her nose had been buried in the book for nearly an hour before Anna finally flickered into existence. Micah glanced up at the teenager then returned to the book. They sat in silence, though it was torture for Micah. There was so much she wanted to say.

Anna made it easy by speaking first. “Did you mean what you said earlier? About being sorry?”

Micah smiled. So, Anna had been hanging around after all. She replaced the post-it note she was using as a bookmark then closed the book. The
bookmark Anna had knocked beneath the bed was still missing. “Of course.”

Anna moved a bit closer to lean a shoulder against hers. Micah couldn’t actually feel it. Not like two people really touching, but a tingly sensation raced down her arm. It was cool and numbing, like when her arm fell asleep.

“What happens when a Reaper leads a spirit to you? Where do you take the spirit?” Micah tossed the book aside.

Anna’s face scrunched in thought. “I don’t know exactly.”

“You lead them down that hallway with all the doors, but you don’t go with them? You don’t know what will happen once they go through?”

Anna’s mouth flapped open then snapped shut. Her brows knit. “No, not exactly. Shepherds aren't privy to that information. It’s unique to each spirit. They go to their special ever-after. We don’t go with them after we take them to the door that’s meant for them. We could be trapped.”

"And what exactly is a shadow? Are they ghosts or something more?" Micah shivered, remembering the overwhelming anger and sadness that had emanated from the man at the condo. “Can they hurt the living?”

"Micah
."

“Tell me.”

"They're spirits that have died before their time or that refuse to cross over. Or sometimes they just can’t for whatever reason." Anna stood to pace the space between the bed and wall. It was quite disconcerting how half her shoulder and hip kept disappearing into the wall. "They're usually pretty pissed off and cause lots of problems. Why?”

“One tried to attack me today. It touched me.”

Anna stopped pacing, her expression going from concerned to seriously freaked out. “It touched you? No, that can’t be right. They can affect your thoughts, but I don’t know of them ever touching anyone.”

"Sully made it disappear." A blush stained Micah's cheeks. What would have happened if the angry spirit hadn't shown up and forced her and Sully apart? Obviously it would have been a mistake, as he'd only asked her to show him houses so he could figure out who she really was.

"You saw him again?" Anna's features were pinched. "You like flirting with danger, don't you? I'm telling you, he's bad news."

The muscles in Micah’s shoulders and neck were drawn tight. Feeling she should come clean with her friend, she pointed at the light scratches on her arm. "The spirit came out of nowhere. It came right at me and grabbed my arm.”

"I can't even touch you." Anna stood at the end of the bed and stared at her own hand. “Then what happened?”

"Sully slashed it with something that appeared in his hand. Metal, I think. Afterward, it just kind of faded away like fog or something."

"I told you, he's a Reaper. It was probably a scythe or maybe a sickle," Anna said. “Unfortunately, he can’t get rid of it permanently.”

Micah frowned, trying to piece it all together. “But it disappeared.”

“It will come back. Sully’s a Reaper, a taker of life. He reaps the souls of the living. The shadows are already dead. His scythe has no power over them.”

Micah swung her feet off the bed and moved toward the adjoining bathroom. Perhaps a bubble bath would help cleanse the icky feeling she had. On her way out of the room she said, “He asked how a shadow managed to jump into this body.”

Anna sighed and shook her head.

After twisting the brushed nickel knob, Micah shook bath crystals into the tub. “He called
me
a shadow.”

"I told you to stay away from him." Anna said from the bedroom.

Micah groaned as she sank into the hot, bubbly water and shut her eyes. Yes, Anna had warned her about Sully, but Micah hadn't been prepared for his seduction. She should have put a stop to his fondling, but she’d been too caught up in the moment. Plus, the man was a gifted kisser. The way he'd devoured her mouth left her fantasizing about him tasting her elsewhere. Although the door was locked, it didn’t keep her resident ghost out for long. Anna appeared in the steamy room and tried to peer at herself through the condensation on the mirror. She gave up then paced the small area between the tub and sink, deep in thought.

Micah sank lower into the bubbles and shut her eyes. “Why do you dislike Sully so much?”

“I died fifty years ago.” There was an accusatory tone in Anna’s voice as she came to sit on the closed commode lid. “I was working as a candy striper at the hospital at the time. Eighteen years old and I thought I had all the time in the world. I never had a boyfriend, never even got to go on a date."

Lilac infused bubbles were no longer calming. Words seemed so inadequate, but
Micah said them anyway. “I’m sorry.”

"I thought my whole life was ahead of me. I planned on going to college, meeting a guy and falling in love. I dreamed of a fairy tale wedding, white picket fence, a couple kids
, and a family dog. But all that was ripped away from me."

The water in the tub had cooled considerably. "How did it happen?"

The teenager planted herself on the edge of the tub. “James Sullivan came into the hospital with some minor injury. That’s how they do it, you know?”

“The
Reapers?” Micah pulled the stopper and watched the lukewarm water swirl down the drain.

“
Reapers are great pretenders. That’s how they do their job. Sully pretended to be hurt so he could get close to me. I helped patch him up. He patted me on the shoulder and said thanks. That was it. That’s how he did it. He murdered me.”

Dry and wrapped in a towel now, Micah whirled to face the ghost. “Oh my
God, Anna!”

“Murdered me, reaped my soul. Whatever." Anna lowered her gaze and pouted. "Same difference as far as I’m concerned.”

Micah moved toward the adjoining closet. What had he done to reap the real Micah’s soul? And if he'd taken Anna's, how old did that make him exactly?

Anna drifted through the wall, into the bedroom. She said, “I went to the laundry room right before the end of my shift at the hospital. I was going to get sheets and gowns out of the dryer like I always did, but it blew up. A piece of machinery went through my chest
, and I died instantly."

The ghost stared at her own reflection in the dresser mirror. "I refused to cross over, wouldn’t believe I died. I was so worried about my mom and dad. How would my little brother feel?”

Micah thrust her head through a clean t-shirt then gaped at her friend. “You became a shadow?”

“
Not exactly. I opened the door, but didn’t go through.” Anna’s image flickered. “James Sullivan lost patience. He pushed me across the threshold. He didn’t even give me a choice. He forced me to cross over so I wouldn’t become a shadow.”

"
Is that really a bad thing, Anna? The one I saw today was frightening."

Anna’s shoulders sagged. “You can’t just hang out in purgatory. I was taken to an office where a man called Death gave me a choice. He said I didn’t have to cross over to my idea of heaven or hell
, but there was a condition. I had to guide others as a shepherd.”“That doesn’t sound too terrible.”

"
I’ve had to watch Reapers kill all my friends, my family … there's no one left. They’ve taken them all. I’ve watched everyone I care about die. I’ve even guided them through the doorways leading out of purgatory.” Anna's voice drifted away along with her image. “Sometimes, I don’t know if being a shepherd is a gift or a curse.”

Chapter Seven

Sully moved down the hospital corridor after the mark had been delivered to the shepherd waiting on the other side. When he spotted Micah Munroe breeze through the sliding glass doors, he decided to stick around. He’d behaved badly the last time he saw her
, and for the life of him, he couldn’t figure out why. He’d been doing this job for ages, and no one had ever affected him like this. Not since Sarah.

He twisted the silver ring on his middle finger and frowned. Thoughts of Sarah hadn’t haunted him in a long while. It had been close to a hundred years since she’d lived and died. Why would he think of her now?

****

He’d
been a Reaper for many years and knew things like love, marriage, and children were never going to be an option for him.. Then Sarah came along, and he forgot all about those rules.

In a cruel turn of fate,
Sully had been the one sent to reap the soul of the woman he loved. Even knowing it was inevitable, he nearly lost his mind with grief. He would have refused, but knew another would be sent in his place. Sully couldn’t imagine someone else doing the deed. He thought it would be easier for Sarah if in the throes of death, it was his familiar face she saw. He’d been terribly mistaken.