Page 41 of Stone Cold Touch

Roth faked a pout. “You’re so mean, Stony. Perhaps you have something shoved up your ass that you need to remove?”

“Roth,” I said, gripping the edge of the table. “Knock it off.”

“He started it.”

I gaped. “What? Are you guys two years old?”

He glanced at a stewing Zayne and that faint twinkle in his eyes was back. “Well, he does look like he shit himself and needs his diapers changed.”

“That’s it.” Zayne started to rise, but I placed a hand on his arm.

“Just stop. Please?” When he blew out a breath and sat back down, I kept my hand on his arm just in case. “What do you want to talk about, Roth?”

Roth’s gaze dropped to where my hand rested. “He didn’t know we share classes.”

I pulled my hand away, stiffening. “I never got around to telling him, and I seriously hope that’s not why you wanted to talk.”

He shrugged. “I just think it’s interesting that you’d keep your best little stone friend in the world in the dark.”

Zayne tapped his fingers along the table. “Get to the point, Roth.”

Leaning back in the seat, he was the picture of lazy arrogance. “There’s a reason why I’m here, other than the delicious lasagna. It’s also the reason why I’m back at the school. Although I do find it amusingly normal, there’s more.” His gaze slid to me. “We think a Lilin was or is at the school.”

“Details.”

Roth explained what had happened today and then I went over the fight from earlier in the week. “I really didn’t think about it until today. I was planning to tell you—”

“After dinner?” Zayne asked. “And that’s when you were going to tell me aboutthat?” He nodded in Roth’s direction.

Roth snorted.

“Yes,” I said. “I didn’t want it to, you know...”

“Ruin the dinner?” He smiled at Roth. “That’s understandable.”

Roth rolled his eyes. “Anyway, the strange occurrences at school aren’t the only reason. I think the Lilin will try to make contact with Layla,” he continued, surprising the Hell out of me.

“What?” I demanded. “You didn’t say that earlier.”

He smiled at me. “You really weren’t in that talkative of a mood.”

That was true, but whatever. “Why do you think that?”

“The Lilin would be drawn to you,” he explained quietly. “After all, you share the same blood.”

I shuddered. My family tree was seriously screwed up. My father was a Warden who wanted me dead. My mother was a superdemon no one messed with and now there was a Lilin who could claim me as some sort of half sibling. Yay.

“Would the Lilin be dangerous to Layla?” Zayne asked, shoulders rising like he was about to scoop me up and take flight.

Roth shook his head. “I really don’t know.”

“That’s not our biggest issue,” I said, leaning forward. “If the Lilin has been messing with people at school, then that’s already four people that we know of. What’s going to happen to them?”

“I don’t know if there’s a way to stop them from losing their souls and turning into wraiths. There could be more than the four we know of. Hundreds that are...infected by it.” Roth raised his brows.Infectedwas really a good way to look at it. “Really, there’s no telling if the ones that are infected are the ones the Lilin is trying to take.”

“Take where?” I asked.

Roth shrugged. “Remember, when Lilins create a wraith, they can control it. They are the only things that can. Think about the chaos. Not only is there a Lilin running around, but it’s creating nasty, demented spirits that really do not like the living.”

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