Page 47 of Shadebound
I felt the memory slide into place whether I wanted it to or not. The day I bought it, leaning against the counter in a little shop in town, flipping the clasp open and shut because I liked the weight of it in my palm. I’d told Jinx I was going to put a picture of myself inside, because why waste space on anyone else? She’d looked at me with that flat, unimpressed expression only she could manage and said, “Lockets are meant to be for people you love.”
So I’d grinned, gone home, and printed a picture of her instead — her hair a little straighter than mine, her eyeliner sharper. I’d slid it into place and held it up. Told her it was like a selfie, but if I’d turned goth. We’d laughed until my sides hurt. Or at least, I’d laughed, and she’d twisted her mouth up at the corners a bit.
Now that stupid joke had found its way into the hands of the person who had killed me.
“They had it?” My voice came out quieter than I expected.
The guy nodded. “I thought it was strange, but I was... occupied.” His gaze flicked again to his own body, lying broken in the grass. “Being murdered takes up most of your attention.”
The glow around him deepened, pulling upward in slow ribbons that unravelled from his shape. His edges blurred, pieces lifting away as if they were too light to stay. But he shook his head, not looking at himself as he stared at me.
“I think... I think they want you.” He said slowly. “Not you, now but... but you with black hair. That’s what they said. What my brain seems to remember.”
Before I could comprehend that shit show of a comment, he kept talking.
“I feel weird.” He mused. “Like I’m light enough to float.” He looked at me. “I’m Connor, by the way. And I know I probably ought to be freaking out, but I can’t seem to.”
“I’m Jezebel.” I replied. “And it’s normal. Your mind won’t process the bad things. You’re only allowed positive from now on. I don’t know why. I presume it’s something magical I’m not dead enough to understand.”
He cocked his head as the glowing got worse. “Do you feel bad things?”
“Every single minute I’m awake.” I forced a grin. “Good luck,” I told him. “See you in paradise if I ever get there.”
His eyes didn’t leave mine until the light took the last of him, and the place where he’d been was only mist and night air.
I stayed there for a long moment, not because I was sad. Or interested in exploring. But becauseIfelt different.
It was one thing to know the killer was here. It was another to know they had been carrying something of mine all this time.
And that they were after my sister.
By the time morning came, I was hours deep into my plan to warn my sister and attempt to avenge myself.
The cafeteria was already buzzing when I drifted in, voices rising and falling under the constant scrape of spoons on metal bowls. The smell of porridge clung to the air. Maya sat at the back, her braids neat and tight. I knew she’d hate waking up like that, the hair ties digging into her scalp, so I’d undo them tonight as I always did when I was alive. It took time and care — ghost fingers pinching until the elastic loosened, unravelling the plaits one twist at a time. But it was the closest I would come to touching someone with kindness these days.
The closest I could get to her without hurting my feelings too much.
But not every act I performed was kind or emotionally ruining.
Across the room, I spotted the seer I’d scoured Mors student records for threading her way between tables with her tray. She was careful with her steps, inky eyes flicking down to avoid spills, but that wouldn’t save her from me.
I waited for the perfect opportunity.
Tyler the dragon oaf lumbered toward her with his head turned to laugh at someone across the room. Without a sound, I slipped behind him and used every bit of ghostly power I could muster, and shoved.
He lurched forward, colliding with the girl just as I hooked my energy under the tray and gave it a hard upward flick. The motion tugged something out of me — a stretch that left my edges thin — but the payoff was worth it. Metal clattered against stone, porridge splattering in pale clumps across the floor.
And Jinx saw it.
She had just left the food queue, her own tray balanced carefully in her hands. She slowed, shifting her grip before stepping toward them. Her head dipped in that way she had when she was deciding if someone was worth her time, but her feet still carried her closer. She still predictably bent to help theseer gather herself, and the two of them ended up at the same table. Heads bent, talking.
Perfect.
Barely any time later Eris was doing what I’d wanted her to do.
I heard her mention the serial killer.
My killer.
