Intangible (43 page)

He wore his same black clothes, same black leather coat hanging open as always. Vampires must not feel the effects of weather, Sera thought, as she burrowed down into her coat in an attempt to keep every bit of warmth inside it. It was bitter cold at seven o’clock in the morning.

She was shivering when she got to Jonas, and was figuring she might never feel completely warm again, but could think of nowhere else she’d rather be at that moment. Even with the cold.

She had something to say to him.

Sera looked at him in silence for a moment. She was so glad to see him, to know he was still looking out for her. His presence had become such a comfort. But still, she felt a little nervous this first time talking to him since everything had happened.

“Hey,” she said.

“Hello.” He looked so serious her heart jumped and she wondered if they were in danger again.

“Is everything okay?”

“You mean Lilith?” he said. She nodded, bit her lip. “Yes,” he said. “Everything is fine.”

“Oh, good.” She smiled, felt her shoulders relax a bit, which unfortunately let in a bit of the frigid air, so she hiked them back up to keep her neck warm. He was looking at her intently, deeply, as he always did. She really liked that about him. “I’m so glad to see you,” she said, then paused. “I never thanked you.”

“You don’t have to.” His voice was deep, warm. She liked that, too.

“Yes, I do,” she said, and her voice got stuck as tears welled up and threatened to spill. “You saved my life and my brother’s. I do have to thank you.” Her voice trembled, she glanced around to be sure no one was near. Most of the students had already gone inside the school. She looked at Jonas again and lowered her voice to a whisper. “You are in my heart for what you did, and you always will be,” she said. “I just don’t know how to thank you. The words don’t begin to cover it.”

Jonas stared at her for a moment, then said, “You just did.”

Sera thought about Jonas again now, as she and Luke waited for Fey in the parking lot. She looked around at all the students coming out of the school, going about their normal day in their normal life.

Her life was anything but normal.

That morning Jonas had offered to take her back into the Realm. She really wanted to go back, though she wasn’t sure she was ready quite yet. But soon. The place was too amazing, too interesting to pass up a chance to see it again, explore it. Plus she’d get to spend more time with Jonas, and she was beginning to feel more and more like she might want to do that.

“Excuse me?” A pretty girl in a bright green hat and a matching jacket suddenly stood in front of them. Sera had no idea where she’d come from. “Are you Sera and Luke?”

Sera glanced at Luke.

“Yeah,” Luke said.

“Oh. My. God. I knew it was you. I could just tell.” She jumped up and down and clapped her hands. Sera took a step back.

Luke’s eyebrows shot up. “And you are…?”

“Oh! Sorry. Where are my manners?” She laughed. “I’m Raquel.” She held out her hand, Luke took it, and she pumped it up and down with gusto.

There was something about her, Sera thought. Something familiar, but not something she could quite identify. She recognized her in a way that felt instinctual, supernatural. It was similar to what she’d felt when she’d first met Marc.

“Do we know you?” Sera said as she stepped back again in hopes of not having to shake Raquel’s hand too.

Raquel’s long blonde braids whipped around as she turned to Sera.

“Not yet,” she said. “But you’re the talk, after what you did. Everyone knows about you.” She leaned in toward Sera. “Is it true that you can turn vampires back to human?”

Sera’s eyes flew to Luke. He looked as shocked as she felt. She didn’t know what to say. This girl
knew
things.

“I’m sorry, what?” Sera said. She looked around the parking lot again, but this time she looked for any sign of flickering. She hoped she wouldn’t see any. Looking hard at Raquel again, she noticed that this girl definitely did not flicker. So good. She wasn’t a vampire.

“Oh! You should totally meet my friend Brandan.” Raquel waved to some guy who was leaning against a tan car. He had a lot of piercings. “B, come over here. It’s them!” She pointed excitedly at Sera and Luke, then looked at them again. “Brandan can see ghosts and I am the best liar you’ll ever meet. Nobody can tell if I’m lying or telling the truth. Not even Elves.” She beamed.

“Okay,” Sera said.

“I’d never lie to you, though,” Raquel said, then laughed. “I’m kidding! Of course I would. I lie to everyone. Honest!”

Brandan had reached them, nodded his hello. Sera looked above their heads toward the school, searching for Fey. She wanted Fey to be here right now.

Luke cleared his throat. “Uh, we still don’t really know who you are or how you know about us,” he said.

“Oh, of course you don’t. I forgot that you two have been out of the loop.” Raquel indicated Brandan and herself. “We’re just like you. There’s a whole bunch of us. All over.”

“There are?” Sera said. “All over where?”

“The world,” Raquel said. Brandan nodded. He was apparently a guy of very few words.

Sera looked at Luke. She wasn’t sure whether that was good news or bad. Sure, it would be nice to have more people who could know about them without freaking out. But she was certain Lilith would not be happy to know there were more of them. And Sera really wanted Lilith to stay happy.

“But you two are extra special,” Raquel said. “You’ve been inside the Realm. No one else has ever been there. Gifteds, I mean.” She laughed again. “And you met Lilith? The Queen Mother of the Damned? What’s she like?”

Raquel and Brandan both waited for Sera and Luke to speak. Luke’s mouth hung open and he just stared at them. Sera covered her necklace with her hand.

“Lilith was evil,” she said, her voice quiet. “It was horrible.”

“Oh, honey,” Raquel said, placing her hand on Sera’s arm. “You don’t know evil. You don’t know it at all.” She smiled at Brandan, then looked at Sera and Luke again. “But you will.”

“What d—”

Raquel grabbed Luke’s hand, cutting off his words, whipped a pen out of her pocket and wrote something on his palm. “I just came to give you this.” She pointed at Luke’s hand she still held. She blew on his palm, then smiled up at him, a flirtatious smile on her lips. “It’s our phone number. You’re going to need to call us soon. Trust me.”

“What, do you see the future, too?” Luke said with a weak laugh.

“Nope. But I know someone who does,” Raquel said, clicked her pen closed and put it back in her pocket. “And she’s seen yours. You’ll need our help.”

Brandan nodded.

Sera and Luke just stared, struck silent.

“Well,” Raquel said, “we’re off. Gotta get back.” She turned and headed toward the car, Brandan raised his eyebrows at Sera and Luke, shrugged, and started walking away.

“Brandan?” Sera said.

He stopped and turned.

“Is this true?” Sera pointed at Luke’s hand with the phone number scrawled across it.

He looked from Sera to Luke, and back again. “As true as it gets.” Then he walked away.

Sera and Luke watched them get into their car, back out of the parking space, and drive away. It was several minutes before they spoke.

“So…?” Luke said.

“That can’t be good,” Sera said. “Can it?”

“I’m thinking no.”

Sera turned to Luke and he met her gaze. Well, whatever the future held, at least they would face it together. As always.

A Note from the Author

H
ey! Thanks for reading
Intangible
. I truly hope you enjoyed it. If you did, please share it with a friend—it’s lendable! How cool is that? (There’s nothing better than sharing a book with a friend, right?)

Also, if you have a few minutes, I would totally appreciate it if you’d write a review and post it online. It doesn’t have to be long or in-depth, a couple of lines telling what you liked about it or why you liked it—just say what you’re inspired to say. Your review will help other readers figure out whether they’d like this book too.

And if you were to recommend this book to all your friends, I might just have to love you forever.

Thanks! You’re the best. (And I really do mean that.)

Warmly,

j.

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Acknowledgements

T
he publishing of a novel is a little like raising a child—it takes a village. My heartfelt thanks go to my village:

Stevan Knapp, for insightful edits, encouragement, and giving me time.

Kim Schindler, Sandra Busby, Carrie Holcomb, Julie Nathanielsz, Molly Foust, Pam Meyers, and Joy and Jackson Morris, for being brilliant beta readers and giving honest, thoughtful comments that were always right on and that turned this into a much better book than it would have been otherwise.

Greg Busby, for sharp eyes, valuable comments, and stellar proofreading.

This book shines thanks to all of you.

Lauren Fey, Kim Schindler, and Katrina and Meghan Meyers, for beta reading and helping to fine tune “Intuition,” the bonus short story that introduced so many readers to Sera and Luke.

Most importantly my husband and four fabulous children, for sharing in my excitement, letting me spend a lot of time in my imaginary world, and filling my real world with love and laughter.

Lastly my gratitude is extended beyond my small village to anyone who reads this book and tells their friends about it. Thank you.

About the Author