My Soul to Take
Page 62
Theyre not here with us. Theyre not here with us. Nashs voice seemed to chant from inside my head. I let the song loose again, marveling at the capacity of my lungs, and opened my eyes. I was determined to look only at Nash. He could get me through this; hed done it before.
But my gaze snagged instead on a beautiful man and woman slinking their way toward me through the crowd. They looked almost normal, except for their hazy gray coloring and the odd, elongated proportion of their limbsand the tail curled around the females slim ankle. As I watched, spellbound, the man walked through my science teacher, who didnt so much as flinch.
Thats it. Enough. I couldnt handle any more weird gray monsters. This time I would look at Nash, or at nothing.
My throat burned. My ears rang. My head pounded. But finally Nashs face came into focus directly across from me. But to my complete dismay, his gaze did not meet mine. He stared, rapt, at the space over Emmas body, eyes narrowed in concentration, face damp with sweat.
I looked up, and suddenly I understood. There was Emma. Not the body cooling slowly on the floor in front of me. The real Emma. Her soul hung in the air between us, the most amazing thing Id ever seen. If a soul can be called a thing.
She wasnt beautiful, like Id expected. No glowing ball of heatless light. No Emma-shaped ghost fluttering in an ethereal breeze. She was dark and formless, yet translucent, like a clear, slowly undulating shadow ofnothing. But what her soul lacked in form, it made up for in feel. It felt important. Vital.
Cold fingers touched my arm and I jumped, sure one of the Nether-creatures had come for me. But it was only the principal, kneeling next to me, saying something I couldnt hear. She was asking me what had happened, but I couldnt talk. She tried to pull me away from Emma, but I wouldnt be budged. Nor would I be silenced.
A short, round woman in a sacklike dress burst into the circle that had formed around us, shoving people out of her way. The gray creatures took no note of her, and I realized they probably couldnt see her. Or any of the other humans.
The woman squatted by Nash and said something, but he didnt answer. His eyes had glazed over; his hands lay limp on his lap. When she couldnt get through to Nash, she tossed an odd glance my way and shot to her feet. She wobbled for a moment, then dashed around him and knelt at Emmas head to check her pulse.
More people knelt on the ground, hands covering their ears, their mouths moving frantically, uselessly. They were oblivious to the creatures peppered throughout their midst, a condition which was apparently mutual. A tall, thin man made frantic motions with both arms, and the humans behind him backed up. The gray creatures seemed to press even closer, but I saw it all distantly, as the scream still tore from my throat, burning like razors biting into my flesh.
Then my eyes were drawn back to Emmas soul, which hadbegun to twist and writhe frenetically. One smoky end of it trailed toward the corner of the gym, as if struggling in that direction, while the rest wrapped around itself, sinking toward Emmas body like the heavy end of a raindrop.
Transfixed, I glanced at Nash to see sweat dripping down his face. His eyes were open but unfocused, his hands now clenching handfuls of his pressed khaki pants. And as I watched, the soul descended a little more, as if the gravity over Emmas body had been somehow boosted.
People rushed all around us, staring in my direction, shouting to be heard over me. Human hands touched my arms, tugged at my clothing, some trying to comfort me and silence my cry, others trying to pull me away. Odd colorless forms gathered in groups of two or three, watching boldly, murmuring words I couldnt hear and probably wouldnt have understood. And Emmas soul moved slowly toward her body, that one smoky tendril still winding off toward the corner.
Nash almost had her. But if he couldnt do it quickly, it would be too late. My voice was already losing volume, my throat throbbing in agony now, my lungs burning with the need for fresh oxygen.
Then, at last, the lucent shadow settled over Emmas body and seemed to melt into it. In less than a second, it was completely absorbed.
Nash exhaled forcefully, and blinked, wiping sweat from his forehead with one sleeve. My voice finally gave out, and my mouth closed with a sharp snap, loud in the sudden silence. And every single gray being, every last wisp of fog, simply winked out of existence.
For a moment, no one moved. The hands on me went still. The human onlookers were frozen in place as if they could feel the difference, though they clearly had no idea what had happened, other than that Id stopped screaming.
My gaze settled on Emma, searching out some sign of life. Rising chest, jiggling pulse. I would even have taken a wet, snotty sneeze. But for several torturous seconds, we got nothing, and I was convinced wed failed. Something had gone wrong. The unseen reaper was too strong. I was too weak. Nash was out of practice.
Then Emma breathed. I almost missed it, because there was no Oscar-worthy gasp for air. No panting, no wheezing, and no choking cough to clear sluggish lungs. She simply inhaled.
My head fell into my hands, tears of relief overflowing. I laughed, but no sound came out. I had truly lost my voice.
Emma opened her eyes, and the spell was broken. Someone in the crowd gasped, and suddenly everyone was in motion, leaning closer, whispering to companions, covering gaping mouths with shaking hands.
Emma blinked up at me, and her forehead furrowed in confusion. Why am Ion the floor?
I opened my mouth to answer, but the residual pain in my throat reminded me Id lost my voice. Nash shot me a grin of total, exhilarating triumph and answered for me. Youre fine. I think you passed out.
But my gaze snagged instead on a beautiful man and woman slinking their way toward me through the crowd. They looked almost normal, except for their hazy gray coloring and the odd, elongated proportion of their limbsand the tail curled around the females slim ankle. As I watched, spellbound, the man walked through my science teacher, who didnt so much as flinch.
Thats it. Enough. I couldnt handle any more weird gray monsters. This time I would look at Nash, or at nothing.
My throat burned. My ears rang. My head pounded. But finally Nashs face came into focus directly across from me. But to my complete dismay, his gaze did not meet mine. He stared, rapt, at the space over Emmas body, eyes narrowed in concentration, face damp with sweat.
I looked up, and suddenly I understood. There was Emma. Not the body cooling slowly on the floor in front of me. The real Emma. Her soul hung in the air between us, the most amazing thing Id ever seen. If a soul can be called a thing.
She wasnt beautiful, like Id expected. No glowing ball of heatless light. No Emma-shaped ghost fluttering in an ethereal breeze. She was dark and formless, yet translucent, like a clear, slowly undulating shadow ofnothing. But what her soul lacked in form, it made up for in feel. It felt important. Vital.
Cold fingers touched my arm and I jumped, sure one of the Nether-creatures had come for me. But it was only the principal, kneeling next to me, saying something I couldnt hear. She was asking me what had happened, but I couldnt talk. She tried to pull me away from Emma, but I wouldnt be budged. Nor would I be silenced.
A short, round woman in a sacklike dress burst into the circle that had formed around us, shoving people out of her way. The gray creatures took no note of her, and I realized they probably couldnt see her. Or any of the other humans.
The woman squatted by Nash and said something, but he didnt answer. His eyes had glazed over; his hands lay limp on his lap. When she couldnt get through to Nash, she tossed an odd glance my way and shot to her feet. She wobbled for a moment, then dashed around him and knelt at Emmas head to check her pulse.
More people knelt on the ground, hands covering their ears, their mouths moving frantically, uselessly. They were oblivious to the creatures peppered throughout their midst, a condition which was apparently mutual. A tall, thin man made frantic motions with both arms, and the humans behind him backed up. The gray creatures seemed to press even closer, but I saw it all distantly, as the scream still tore from my throat, burning like razors biting into my flesh.
Then my eyes were drawn back to Emmas soul, which hadbegun to twist and writhe frenetically. One smoky end of it trailed toward the corner of the gym, as if struggling in that direction, while the rest wrapped around itself, sinking toward Emmas body like the heavy end of a raindrop.
Transfixed, I glanced at Nash to see sweat dripping down his face. His eyes were open but unfocused, his hands now clenching handfuls of his pressed khaki pants. And as I watched, the soul descended a little more, as if the gravity over Emmas body had been somehow boosted.
People rushed all around us, staring in my direction, shouting to be heard over me. Human hands touched my arms, tugged at my clothing, some trying to comfort me and silence my cry, others trying to pull me away. Odd colorless forms gathered in groups of two or three, watching boldly, murmuring words I couldnt hear and probably wouldnt have understood. And Emmas soul moved slowly toward her body, that one smoky tendril still winding off toward the corner.
Nash almost had her. But if he couldnt do it quickly, it would be too late. My voice was already losing volume, my throat throbbing in agony now, my lungs burning with the need for fresh oxygen.
Then, at last, the lucent shadow settled over Emmas body and seemed to melt into it. In less than a second, it was completely absorbed.
Nash exhaled forcefully, and blinked, wiping sweat from his forehead with one sleeve. My voice finally gave out, and my mouth closed with a sharp snap, loud in the sudden silence. And every single gray being, every last wisp of fog, simply winked out of existence.
For a moment, no one moved. The hands on me went still. The human onlookers were frozen in place as if they could feel the difference, though they clearly had no idea what had happened, other than that Id stopped screaming.
My gaze settled on Emma, searching out some sign of life. Rising chest, jiggling pulse. I would even have taken a wet, snotty sneeze. But for several torturous seconds, we got nothing, and I was convinced wed failed. Something had gone wrong. The unseen reaper was too strong. I was too weak. Nash was out of practice.
Then Emma breathed. I almost missed it, because there was no Oscar-worthy gasp for air. No panting, no wheezing, and no choking cough to clear sluggish lungs. She simply inhaled.
My head fell into my hands, tears of relief overflowing. I laughed, but no sound came out. I had truly lost my voice.
Emma opened her eyes, and the spell was broken. Someone in the crowd gasped, and suddenly everyone was in motion, leaning closer, whispering to companions, covering gaping mouths with shaking hands.
Emma blinked up at me, and her forehead furrowed in confusion. Why am Ion the floor?
I opened my mouth to answer, but the residual pain in my throat reminded me Id lost my voice. Nash shot me a grin of total, exhilarating triumph and answered for me. Youre fine. I think you passed out.
