Walking Shadows Read Free Page A

jacket, tight dark jeans (they looked like leather), boots, and a wreath of women. Yeah, he was a cutie. And always noticed. I moved in closer and took up a position near the bar. The bartender was female—which made me feel a little better. First time I'd ever seen Dags was at a bar.  
    Fadó. Buckhead. I'd been following Daniel.  
    So…  
    Get a grip! He doesn't remember you!
    What was wrong with me? Did I have one of those curses on my ass? Any guy that starts to like me either gets possessed or has his memories erased.  
    God…I was my own kind of Abysmal Emo.  
    Manuel sensed me because he looked right at me and winked.  
    Nothing so far , Morgan said inside my head. I really liked her voice. It was kinda like Stevie Nicks. All throaty and sexy.  
    I see Manuel's as popular as ever.  
    Uh huh . She sounded bored. Poor First Born. To be a woman trapped inside the body of a hot guy.  
    I sort of hung out there for a while, watching as people came and ordered drinks. The bartender was a machine, cranking them out with a smile and a nod. And not one complaint. Me? I'd have mixed the rum with the vodka and been shot.  
    I watched Manuel play. Drink. And dance. Wow…he could dance.  
    This isn't all him. I used to be a pretty good dancer.
    I laughed. You mean with Elizabeth?  
    Of course. You should ask Jason sometime.  
    I would—when I saw him. He hadn't been around much, he and Ghoul, Nick. I wondered what they were up to.  
    Suddenly—it was there. Just…there.  
    A feeling of incredible…pressure.  
    The Abysmal hairs on the back of my neck rose as I levitated a few inches off the floor to look out over the heads of people. It was here. Or something was here.  
    Manuel sensed it too and made his way back to the bar next to me. "You feel that?" he said.  
    Yes I do , I told him. He'd be able to hear me, just as Morgan could. You think that's it?  
    "Yeah…" he said as he scanned the crowd.  
    The wave started on the far side of the bar. One by one, dancers stopped dancing. They just…froze. I touched Manuel's shoulder. He saw it too and braced himself as the wave of stillness traveled slowly, but steadily, toward the bar.  
    That feeling of OMG continued as the wave hit those near us. They stopped in whatever it was they were doing, as if someone had freeze-framed a movie. But I could see their faces. Everything was still but their eyes. They were aware. And they were trapped.  
    And then I saw it .  
    And I wasn't sure if it was a man or a woman. And I didn't think it mattered.  
    It was beautiful to look at. White hair that seemed to move of its own down to broad shoulders. Its skin was nearly the same color, and it wore a long white coat of some kind. Even the shoes were a shade of white.  
    If I wasn't so freak'n scared, I'd have made a crack about a white chocolate Barbie-Man.  
    Zoë—we can't move.
    What? I looked on my left to Manuel. He wasn't moving. Can Manuel feel it?  
    Yes, and he's panicking. I can't blame him. I literally can't move this body.  
    Shit.  
    But I could move mine. Was it because I was incorporeal?  
    The creature finished weaving through the still bodies and stood directly in front of Manuel. I glanced back at the bartender. She was in mid-shake of a martini.  
    Now that he was closer, I saw that he wore a cassock, just like I'd seen priests wear. Only this one was white. I could see his face now. And I'd say it was a he. But he was a pretty he. Kinda reminded me of Vanilla Ice only with a lot of hair and not a flat-top.
    But his eyes…were red not gold. Ruby red.  
    He held out his right hand. "Oh great knower of all truths, I take this sinner into me, I take his evil, I take all of his worldly mistakes so that when he enters the kingdom he will be clean, he will be absolved, and he will be worthy."  
    I frowned. What the fuck was that?  
    Zoë! Morgan's voice was louder than ever. Azrael was right—it's a Dominion! You have to stop it!  
    How?