Everwild (Skinjacker 2)

Allie reached over and secretly squeezed Mikey's hand, leaving him to wonder what the squeeze meant. Was it a show of affection, or was she trying to tell him he was revealing too much information?

"Now it's your turn," said Allie, changing the subject. "Tell us about Jackin' Jill."

Clearly this was a sore spot with the other skinjackers, because they all looked away. Finally Milos spoke up.

"She and I were very close," he said.

"How close?" Mikey asked, realizing Milos had a nice wound worthy of being prodded and poked.

"Close," was the only answer he gave. "We traveled together, doing jobs for other Afterlights, in exchange for crossed objects."

"Jobs?" asked Allie. "What kinds of jobs?"

"Jobs that could only be accomplished by skinjackers," Milos said. "We would tell family members that their loved one in Everlost was all right. We would pass on some information that they otherwise would have taken to the grave. We would finish their unfinished business in the living world."

"Yeah, yeah," said Squirrel. "There was one kid who was obsessed with finishing his model airplane. So Moose and I skinjacked a couple of neighbor kids and finished it for him."

"And don't forget the time we got hired by that kid in Philly to beat up the fleshie that got him killed." Milos sighed. "Some tasks were more appropriate for Moose and Squirrel than others."

"Impressive," said Mikey, in spite of himself. The idea of using skinjacking as a profitable skill tickled Mikey where he lived.

"Yeah, yeah--we were very impressive--and we were rich, too," said Squirrel.

Milos nodded. "By Everlost standards. We had quite a collection of crossed objects--and these were not just ordinary items. We had gold and diamonds--our customers would trade us their prized possessions in return for what we could offer. We even had a Porsche."

"No way!" said Allie.

"It's true, it's true," said Squirrel, "but it was a pain in the neck, 'cause it could only drive on roads that don't exist no more."

"Jill would be the one to pass on messages to the living. She was best at convincing the living that the message was real." Milos looked off, caught in the memory. "Then, one day we woke up, and Jill was gone, along with the car and all of our finest things--and she even stole things from the vapor of Afterlights that had taken us in. There were many, and they were all furious."

"Yeah, yeah--they thought we had done it. We had to skinjack our way to safety. Lucky there were some fleshies around."

"Jackin' Jill took everything worth taking," said Moose. "Everything! But we're gonna find her. And when we do ..."He smashed his fist into his palm.

"I'm sorry," Allie said to Milos, with a level of compassion that made Mikey sick. "Serves them right!" Mikey said. "It's what you get for being greedy."

Allie threw him a disapproving glare. "You of all people shouldn't talk about greed!"

When she turned her eyes back to Milos they were all sympathetic again, and Mikey just couldn't stand it. He stood up and strode away.

"Where are you going?" Allie asked.

"I don't know," he said. "Maybe I'll catch up with Jackin' Jill."

Allie started after Mikey, but snared herself on a barbed wire fence that, for reasons unknown, had crossed into Everlost. A sharp steel barb tore a deep gash on her arm that felt momentarily weird before it zipped itself closed. By the time she looked up, Mikey was gone.

"Let him go," said Milos, coming up behind her. "Clearly he has ... what is that expression?'Skeletons in his closet.' "

"Yeah, and bats in his belfry," Allie said.

Milos looked at her, puzzled. "This expression I do not know."

"Never mind," she said, not wanting to get into it. Mikey's temper tantrums had gotten fewer and further between, but they never went away completely. His moodiness always surfaced in the company of other Afterlights. Social skills were never his strong point. As for "skeletons in his closet," that implied he had secrets Allie didn't know-- but she knew all his secrets, didn't she?

"Whatever bee he's got in his bonnet, he'll get over it," Allie said. Milos smiled. "Bats in belfries, bees in bonnets--this is why I love English."

Allie turned to return to their campsite on the highway, but then Milos said something that stopped her.