The Burning Shadow (Origin 2)

Luc’s chuckle ended in a groan. “Ouch.”

“You should’ve said that first.” Grayson hung up.

“I think he’s coming.” I slipped his phone into my back pocket.

“He’s coming. With his help, I’ll heal … faster, but…” Lifting one arm, his brow pinched as the whitish-blue light swallowed his hand. “You may want to look away, because this is … gonna be gross.”

There was no way I was going to even blink, because I feared if I did, he would stop talking, stop breathing, and I couldn’t risk that.

“I’ve got to get these bullets out. There’s something … off about them.” Luc’s jaw clenched, and his head kicked back against the carpet as his hand trembled and the light of the Source pulsed. A heartbeat later, his back arched and then three bullets tore free from his chest, hovering under his palm.

My mouth dropped open as I fell back on my ass. “Holy shit.”

I couldn’t even believe what I was seeing, and I’d seen Luc do some crazy stuff before. Rip up trees from the roots. Throw Micah several feet through the ground. Recover from injuries that would kill a human in under a nanosecond. But this …

Luc collapsed back, breathing heavily. “Fun times.”

“How?” I pitched forward, grasping his hand. “How did you do that?”

“Special,” he gasped, his pupils ultra-white as he looked at me. “I’m not a … weapons expert, but they don’t look like normal bullets to you, do they?”

The bloodied, small, cylindrical bullets were … odd. The rounded tips were clear, and inside was something that looked like blue light or water.

“No.” I watched his hand close around them. “Shouldn’t they look more … used?”

“I think so. Something must’ve gone wrong with them.” A trickle of blood seeped out the corner of his lip. “I’m sorry.”

I shook my head as I quickly wiped away the smear of blood along his mouth. “For what?”

“You having to shoot her. I should’ve taken her out.”

Muscles along my back locked up as I brought his hand to my chest. “It’s not your fault. I sneezed like an idiot, and I had to do it. Right? She shot at you immediately, before she could even see who you were. She had to be bad, right?”

“Right.”

His eyes closed, and my heart stopped.

“Luc! Open your eyes. Please.”

When he did, his pupils were black once more, and all the blood seemed to have drained from his face.

“I’ve seen you get impaled with branches and get back up, but—”

“Something is up with the bullets.”

“What—”

“Well, this is a freaking mess,” Grayson announced from the doorway, and then he was beside Luc, checking out his chest. “Can it wait until we get you out of here?”

“He can’t wait.” I squeezed Luc’s hand. “Fix him.”

Piercing blue eyes met mine. “You’re a curse, you know that?” Grayson spat. “Heidi yesterday. Luc today. Who’s the lucky SOB going to be tomorrow?”

I sucked in a shrill breath, unable to respond, because I was beginning to feel like a curse.

“Shut up,” Luc groaned, “and get me out of here.”

Grayson shook his head as he got an arm under Luc’s shoulders, helping him sit up and then stand. I rose, legs shaky as I let go of Luc’s hand. I turned to the bed—

“Don’t,” Luc groaned. “Don’t look at her, Peaches. No good will come from that.”

Luc was probably right. As I started to avert my gaze, I saw it on the carpet: the item the woman must’ve pulled out of the dresser. It was a small white zippered pouch about the size of a hardcover book. I grabbed it, and then I followed Luc and Grayson through the house and out the back door. The fact that Luc was upright was nothing short of a miracle.

Thank God Kent was pulling up to the curb as we burst out from around the side of the house.

Barely able to catch my breath, I looked back at April’s house. There was a sedan in the driveway that hadn’t been there before. Everything looked normal, but the neighbors had to have heard something.

“Peaches,” Luc said, tone urgent.

The back door of the SUV was open, and I climbed in, scooting over as Grayson helped Luc into the seat beside me. Immediately, I reached out to grab Luc’s hand.

“How can I help?” I asked, placing the white pouch beside me.

He rested his head back against the seat, jaw working. “Just be here.”

“I can do that,” I promised, heart squeezing as the back of my throat burned. “I can definitely do that.”

“Are you going to bleed all over the inside of this car?” Kent was leaning between the two front seats. “Because I’m, like, an Uber driver. Blood or vomit, I’m going to hit you with a fine.” Kent gave me a look. “Would you like water?”

I stared back at him.

“He likes to pretend that he’s an Uber driver sometimes.” Luc’s grin was weaker than normal. “And he doesn’t have water.”