Born at Midnight (Shadow Falls #1)(66)

"I said what?" he asked.

"I gotta go." Kylie closed her phone and shot through the doors seeking a place to be alone. Only she wasn't alone. She felt the cold presence fol owing her al the way to the cabin. Anger and hurt fil ed her chest so ful , Kylie could hardly breathe. Hand on the doorknob, she paused. The cold seemed to press against her back, so she peered over her shoulder.

Not only was he there, but like her, he was crying. Only the tears rol ing down his face were the color of blood. Fear tried to find room in her chest, but her anger knocked it out of the way. "Go away!" she yel ed at the ghost. "Leave! Me! Alone!"

Chapter Thirty

The next morning Kylie stepped out of her bedroom and was shocked to find Del a typing at the computer. Del a was never here in the mornings.

"You didn't have an early morning thing to attend?" Kylie asked.

"Not real y," Del a said. Her mood came off as somber. Actual y, al three of them had been pretty somber since yesterday. They hadn't even participated in their usual before-bedtime-chat at the kitchen table. No doubt, after parents day, they al had demons to deal with, and demondealing was usual y best done solo. Not that Kylie had been alone for a big part of the night. Soldier Dude had popped in and out al night. She hadn't seen him exactly, but she'd felt his cold presence. She only hoped that she caught on to the whole meditation thing soon so she could put a stop to this.

Del a's hands paused on the keyboard and she looked over at Kylie. "I'm sorry if my dad was rude to you. And thanks for coming and getting me like that."

"He wasn't real y rude to me." It was you he was rude to, Kylie almost said, but decided Del a probably already knew that about him and didn't need to be reminded.

"Yeah, wel , he's hard to take sometimes. But believe it or not, he means wel ."

"At least your dad showed up." Kylie remembered how she'd walked a thin line between lying and changing the subject last night to avoid tel ing her mom that her dad hadn't come. Her mom would have had a fit if Kylie had told her about his no-show. And her mom's fits weren't pretty. Stil , a part of Kylie almost wished she had.

After al , her dad had acted as though he'd never promised to be there.

"Do you want to check your e-mail?" Del a asked. "I think you got one from your dad."

Kylie's chest gripped. "No. I'l ... check it later. Or not. Right now she wasn't ready to hear any excuses. Kylie looked around. "Where's Miranda?"

"She's outside. She's hoping to catch a glimpse of Chris but she said she'd wait for us. You ready to go?"

Kylie nodded. "Sure."

Seconds later, she and Del a stepped out the door to find Miranda standing at the side of the cabin. Miranda glanced toward them. "Hey guys, there's a baby bird that looks like it fel from its nest. Oh crappers, I think its wing is broken, too. Poor thing."

Del a and Kylie hurried over to join her. Miranda, palms outstretched, had the smal bird held up to her face. One of the bird's wings was hanging at an odd angle.

"Can't you just zap it wel ?" Del a asked.

"I wish. But I'm afraid I would ... screw that up, too," Miranda said, her tone fil ed with a bit of self-loathing-no doubt a result of her visit with her mom.

Miranda looked at Kylie. "Do you think that girl ... the one who scanned you for a tumor ... might be able to heal it?"

"I don't know," Kylie said, and noticed how the bird's eye color had gone from black to blue. Then she noted how the bird stared at Miranda. Cal Kylie suspicious if you want, but she'd seen that gaga-look before on a certain shape-shifter's face. She glanced at Del a, who met her gaze and then rol ed her eyes.

Oh, yeah. It was definitely Perry.

"I think the humane thing to do is break its neck," Kylie said.

"Oh, definitely," Del a echoed.

Kylie edged closer. The bird turned his head to peer at her and actual y flinched. That's right, you little twerp, you'd better be afraid of me.

"You're so cruel." Miranda brought the bird to her breasts, then tucked her chin down to talk to it. "Don't you worry, Miranda's gonna take care of you," she cooed.

"Why don't you check its sex to see if it's a boy or girl?" Kylie couldn't help but snicker. Miranda's poor-thing expression twisted upside down as she final y caught on to what Kylie was saying. Miranda glared suspiciously at the bird. "Perry, is that you?"

The sparkles started popping al around Miranda's hands. Miranda jerked her palms from beneath the bird. Landing right on his butt was a redfaced Perry.

"I was just flying by. I didn't ... I didn't do anything wrong. I wasn't even looking in the windows." His gaze shot to Kylie. "And don't you touch my ears or my neck." He got up and ran off.

"I should turn him into the rat he real y is," Miranda said, apparently embarrassed she'd been fooled. Kylie completely understood Miranda's feelings, then she remembered seeing embarrassment on Perry's face, and she knew why, too. The last person he wanted to look bad in front of was the girl he had a crush on. "You know he likes you, don't you?"

Miranda's mouth dropped open. "No, he doesn't."

Del a snorted but didn't say anything.