Page 68 of Kat Bethel

It was the silhouette of a tall, skinny man with a cowboy hat on his head.

I swallowed, but my mouth was completely dry.

No.

He was made of shadows, like Abiel was, so there weren’t any features to confirm for sure. But the general outline reminded me of the wraith on my last job.

I could feel its stony gaze locked on me.

My stomach twisted painfully as I realized it was tracking every move I made, like a panther ready to pounce. The sudden thought that Abiel was the only reason it hadn’t hit me, and I scratched the back of my neck where his mark was.

Had I fucked up my last job somehow?

The flames should have destroyed the soul I’d trapped. It wasn’t possible for it to have survived.

There was something cold and unsettling about this thing. It was too still. Like he was deciding which part of me he wanted to eat first. I reached for my tool belt, only to realize that it was still inside the motel room the fire marshals declared inhabitable.

“Abiel.” I stepped backwards, where I knew he would be. I hated how my breathing stuttered.

I thought about how Abiel was created.

That thing that had nagged me when Esme told me about the theory around shadow people. That on a new moon a witch could taint a soul with her intent.

It was a new moon the night I decided to burn everything to the ground and never look back.

Margaret’s fear and regret created Ruin. What could my anger and resentment create?

Tears pricked my eyes, and my stomach dropped. Panic squeezed my lungs painfully.

I did the thing I swore I would never do.

I created a monster.

Bile rose in my throat.No. You don’t know that.

The sinking pit in my stomach disagreed.

We didn’t even know for sure that was how Abiel was made. It was just a theory.

“Yes, my dandelion.” Kisses landed on the mark on my neck.

Frustration that wasn’t Abiel’s sent shivers down my body, but when I focused on the shadow again, it was nothing more than a light pole.

Wait, keep your head on straight.

“Something else is here.”

I pointed to where I’d seen the shadow morph.

Abiel hummed in curiosity. His shadows darkened the entire space in a fog until I couldn’t see past my nose. I didn’t dare move.

I counted to three to ground myself before Abiel stood before me again. “No one else is here.”

“You’re sure?”

“I’d give you their soul to do with what you like, if there was.” I couldn’t afford to trust Abiel on much, but I knew I could trust that.

Then why did I have such a bad feeling?