Awake at Dawn (Shadow Falls #2)(28)

Only the sound of the soles of her tennis shoes hitting the earth accompanied by the normal sounds of nature.

She kept moving between the trees, finding a path or making one as she went. The thorns in the thick brush snagged on to her jeans, as if trying to stop her from going any farther. She didn't slow down.

Occasionally, a low-hanging branch would seemingly just appear in her way, but she either ducked in time or brushed it back with her arms.

She recalled trying to keep up with Della through a patch of woods very similar to this one on the night of the first campfire. She'd barely been able to walk it. That wasn't the case anymore. Her legs moved one after the other in succinct, effortless strides.

The thought hit again: change. Everything was changing. She felt it in how she moved, the speed with which she moved, she felt it in how her mouth pulled oxygen into her lungs. What else would change?

Not important, not right now, she told herself. The only thing that mattered was her understanding the ghost's message. Saving someone's life took priority. Then she could worry about herself.

She blinked, and then knocked a low-hanging cluster of leaves from her face. A loud crack sounded, and she could swear it was the limb breaking, but she didn't believe it. The deeper she moved into the woods, the thicker the brush was and the faster she ran. The faster her heart pumped with a mixture of fear and anticipation. Her whole body tingled with adrenaline.

Was she crazy for going to the falls? What if Miranda and Della were right? What if death angels looked at her sins and chose to punish her? Her mind searched for the wrongs she'd accumulated though her life: lying to her mom, standing by and watching some girl bully another kid in school, hitting a squirrel during driver's education. The more she thought the longer her list of sins seemed to be.

Was she asking for trouble by going to the falls? Or saving someone she loved from something terrible?

Then she heard it. Or rather, she didn't hear it. The only noises bouncing off the trees were the sound of her shoes and the thread-ripping sound of the vines catching and being torn from her jeans as she ran.

She stopped, folding her arms over her middle. Winded, she bent over at the waist. As she drew in shaky breaths, a stillness invaded the woods. The soundless air hung heavy, even heavier than the fog that had risen a few more feet and now snaked through the trees. And just like that she knew.

She had company.

Chapter Nine

The sound of twigs being crushed underfoot told Kylie her company stood behind her. She froze, air caught in her lungs, fear sank into the pit of her stomach. Had the death angels found her?

She hadn't decided her next move when she heard, "Holy crappers, that was fun."

Kylie recognized the singsong voice. She fought back the panic and turned around. She couldn't believe what she saw. Miranda clung to Della's back and her legs wrapped around the vampire's waist. "Ride's over. Open your eyes. We found her." Della unlocked Miranda's ankles and nudged Miranda off her back, but her gaze never left Kylie.

"You okay?" Della asked Kylie. "Your heart's really racing. Is something wrong?"

Even with raw panic still running through her veins, Kylie couldn't help but smile. They'd come. Emotion filled her chest and shot upward and knotted in her throat. Unwanted tears filled her eyes.

"You let her ride on your back?" Kylie asked, hoping they wouldn't notice her watery weakness.

"It was that or wait on her. She's slower than a three-legged turtle using a broken walker."

"Am not," Miranda said.

"Are too," Della countered.

Kylie tried to swallow the lump in her throat.

"What is it?" Miranda and Della asked at the same time, dashing Kylie's hopes that her emotion would go unnoticed. Not that it really mattered. They'd seen her cry before.

"We're sorry we told you no," Miranda piped up again, elbowing Della. "Aren't we?"

"Yeah," Della said. "Are you really okay?" she asked. "Your heart's running super fast. Really fast. Not human fast."

Kylie blinked again. She did feel weird, but not completely a bad weird. "I'm fine. Actually, I'm better than fine now that you two are here.

Thank you." The words came with sentiment and more tears formed in her eyes.

Della shrugged. "Yeah, well, if I die or something, I'm coming back and haunting your ass."

"Don't worry," Miranda said to Kylie and half smiled. "If she starts haunting you, I've got a spell that will lock her in purgatory for at least a dozen years."

Della shot Miranda a mock frown and then she reached out and latched on to Kylie's elbow. "Come on, let's go track us down some death angels."

"Can I climb on your back again?" Miranda asked, and rubbed her hands together.

"No. And if you tell anyone I gave you a ride, I'll break your kneecaps.

I'm not going to become everyone's joyride."

"Unless it's a boy, right?" Miranda giggled.

"That's gross," Della said, and Miranda giggled harder.

Kylie looked at her friends and realized it was the first time in days she'd heard Miranda laugh. "I love you guys."

"Yeah, we know," Miranda said, and they all three started walking. The humorous mood slowly faded in the dark shade of the trees.