Shady

“Okay…” she said reluctantly, stepping towards the door. “I’ll be fast.”

“…like what?” She stood up, looking at him anxiously. She’d not set foot in the library since… Gods. She didn't want to go back. She clearly couldn’t be trusted in ...

“…yes please,” she said quietly, feeling ill. “I… am… a little… uncomfortable with this… I would… like it to stop.” Maybe if she was careful and metered when she was ...

“Yes.” Ky nodded, forcing herself to be strong for him and appear more confident than she was. Even though she wasn’t certain at all. Her mind replayed the squishy comfort ...

“Oh…” Ky considered for a moment, remembering the feel of Liesel’s marshmallowy hand of comfort. She had an uneasy feeling that he may be on to something there. But if ...

“They can not ,” Ky assured him. “I swear. I asked a lot of times in a lot of different ways to be sure neither of them could hurt you ...

“Yes…” Ky involuntarily glanced over her shoulder again even though they were alone… for now. “I don’t know who else stayed. I only just met those last three… it spooked ...

“No, they can’t.” Ky shook her head quickly. Gods. She shouldn’t have told him. He was playing it cool but she saw the urgency of his writing. “They cannot do ...

“Liesel and Abel said they can’t stay all the time. Only when the veil is thin. And once they decide to pass on forever then they can’t change their minds ...

“No.” She looked at him for a moment. “…he's not here.”

“I just met Damian and Elise and Brea… he’s rude.” She glanced over her shoulder to be sure he wasn’t behind her.

Ky cringed. “…I know how implausible it sounds…”

“…yes,” she answered softly. “They’re very kind. I like them a lot.”

“Liesel and Abel,” Ky said, looking at him tentatively as she waited to see his face call her a liar or insane. “They were in the tunnels. I ran into ...

“Those ones were really nice… I just met— …nevermind.”