"Believe me," Kylie said. "I know."
They lay stretched out on the damp ground for several long minutes without talking. The sun leaked light through the trees and created shimmering golden shadows throughout the woods. Through the leaves, Kylie saw the sky painted in an array of stormy-looking clouds in a variety of colors. Her mind went round and round and somehow landed back on Derek.
"I can't believe he brought Ellie with him." The idea of having to see Derek with Ellie made Kylie's chest tighten.
"Yeah, that'll be tough. I mean, if I had to see Lee with his girlfriend, I'd end up killing someone."
"No, you wouldn't." Kylie sat up, pulled her hair over one shoulder, and removed a few clinging twigs. "You'd do exactly what I'm going to do."
"What's that?" Della sat up.
"Pretend it doesn't hurt, and hope like hell that one day it doesn't anymore."
"Nope. I'd rather kill someone." Della stood and dusted off the wet grass that clung to her backside. Then she looked down at Kylie. "So does this mean you're actually going to give Lucas a real chance?"
Kylie stood up and gave her own butt a few swipes to dislodge most of the grass. "Maybe. If it's what he wants, too."
"If? Didn't you hear him getting pissy with Burnett about shadowing you? He's got it bad for you. I mean, I know you're hurting over Derek, but he doesn't deserve you angsting over him. You have an opportunity with Lucas. Go for it."
She hesitated to say anything, but it spilled out. "Fredericka said something that made it sound like his pack doesn't want us seeing each other."
"Don't listen to anything that b with an itch says. She'll say anything to come between you and Lucas."
Kylie nodded, knowing that Della was right. Or at least she hoped she was.
The bird in the tree called out. Kylie looked up and wondered if that was a mating call. Did birds experience romance? Did they ever suffer from broken hearts? She had to admit it looked awfully lonely up in the tree alone. Almost as lonely as it was where she stood.
"Let's make a deal," Della said. "You give Lucas a chance and I'll give Steve a chance."
Kylie smiled. "Are you that worried about me, or do you just need an excuse to go after the good-looking shape-shifter?"
"Maybe both." Della grinned. "We got a deal?"
Kylie considered it, and mentally she stopped trying to hang on, stopped trying to fix something that didn't seem fixable, and opened herself up to other possibilities. "Yeah."
Della started walking, and Kylie took a step. Then the cold grabbed her. She turned and watched Jane Doe's spirit materialize in the beam of sunlight.
The woman met Kylie's gaze. "Do you know?"
"Know what?" Kylie asked.
Della turned around. "What?" She stared at Kylie for a second and then said, "Oh shit. Not again." She backed up. "I'm not freaking out. I'm not. Really, I'm not freaking out."
Kylie held up a hand to silence Della and stared at the spirit as she edged closer.
"Do you know what I am?" Jane spoke in a hushed tone that seemed to whisper through the trees. The blue jay in the tree chirped extra loud.
"No," Kylie said. "I don't." Then the bird chirped oddly and fell from the tree and landed with a lifeless thud at the spirit's feet.
Chapter Eight
"What was that?" Della demanded.
Kylie stared at the bird. It didn't move. Didn't make a noise. Was it...? Her heart squeezed.
"Screw this! It's raining dead birds. Now I'm freaking out. Can we leave, please?"
The spirit looked from the blue jay to Kylie. "Is it dead?" She knelt and stared at it. When she looked up, she had tears in her eyes. "It's dead. Just like me. Just like the death angels warned. Someone lives and someone dies."
"No one is going to die."
Kylie picked up the limp bird. Its neck flopped to one side. She remembered seeing the bird so full of life just moments before. What happened? She looked back at the spirit. "Did you kill it?"
"No, I didn't kill it," Della said. "Wait, you aren't talking to me, are you? Is this a death angel or just a ghost?"
"No." Jane looked around as if she were as frightened as Della. She moved closer. "The others did. They're not nice."
Kylie shivered from the ghostly cold. "What others?"
"Shh." The spirit lifted her finger to her lips. "They're coming." She faded away.
Della stood back and continued to stare. Kylie cupped her hands around the blue jay. She'd healed Sara. Was it possible that she might be able to...?
Kylie closed her eyes and tried to think healing thoughts.
The bird started quivering. Kylie opened her hands and its wings spread. Its feathers, a bright royal blue and white, caught a spray of sunshine and shimmered in the light, then the bird lunged to its feet and flew away. Kylie watched it disappear into the tops of the trees, her emotions ambivalent. On the one hand, she'd given something life, and that was cool. On the other ... Well, it was just too freaky.
"Did you do what I think you did?" Della asked. "Did you just bring that dead bird back to life?"
Kylie looked up. "I'm not sure." Suddenly silence filled the forest. The spirit's words echoed in Kylie's head. They're coming.
The lack of noise seemed ominous.
She looked at Della. "Can you sense anyone here?"
Della sniffed the air. "No. But it's too damn quiet."
"We should go," Kylie whispered.
"You don't have to ask me twice." Della tore out.
Kylie was right behind her, hoping to outrun the silence, the feeling of danger, and another startling realization about her powers.
* * *
"You sure it was dead?" Holiday asked.
"I didn't listen to its heartbeat." Kylie paced the small office. "But do birds regularly fall out of trees unconscious?"
Holiday bit back a smile. "I don't think so."
For some reason, this news didn't seem near as startling to her camp leader as it did to Kylie.
Kylie, still winded from her run, had left the woods and come straight to find Holiday. Della, who took the job of shadowing seriously, waited outside.
"The ghost was there. Do you think her presence did this? Maybe it had nothing to do with me. The bird came back to life when she left. So maybe it was just her."
"It could be. However, I've never heard of a ghost's presence killing wildlife, even temporarily. Maybe the bird was just stunned. Maybe all this is a clue."