Shade 1: Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready

Author:Jeri Smith-Ready [Smith-Ready, Jeri]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Published: 2010-08-05T04:00:00+00:00

The moment I pulled away from Zachary’s apartment building, I heard a voice beside me.

“Late for a school night, isn’t it?”

My foot jammed the brake pedal in reflex. “Damn it, Logan! Not while I’m driving.”

“Sorry.” He laid his arm along the passenger-side window. “I got worried.”

“You too? Gina thinks I’ll be eaten by boll weevils or something.” I got the car moving again. “I’m probably a lot safer there than I am on my own street.”

“I bet it’s nice out in the country.”

“It’s gorgeous. I can’t get over how quiet it is.”

He snorted. “Mr. Ed doesn’t say much while you’re making your maps?”

I squinted at him, not getting the joke. “Mr. Ed?”

“I said, ‘Mr. Red.’ Your friend or whatever he is.”

“Zachary? Why do you call him that?”

“I can’t even look at him. Dude wears red shirts like they’re going out of style. Which unfortunately they never will,” he grumbled.

“What are you talking about? Zach never wears red. He doesn’t have to, because he’s a pre-Shifter. I told you that.”

“So now he’s ‘Zach’ to you? I never got a nickname.”

I thought of several nicknames he wouldn’t like. “Watch it, Logan. The jealousy routine does not give me warm fuzzies.”

“I don’t know anything about this guy. Maybe if you filled me in, I wouldn’t be so—I don’t know—”

“Threatened?”

“I’m not threatened.” His voice rose, and the edges of his form flickered and faded. The sight sent a chill ricocheting through me.

I had to calm him down. “There’s not much to tell,” I said as I turned onto the parkway, which this late at night held none of its usual traffic. “He’s a junior, he’s in my history class. Oh, and he’s from Scotland.”

“Did you know bagpipes were actually invented in Ireland?”

“No, I didn’t.”

Logan snickered. “Yeah, we gave them to Scotland as a practical joke. They still haven’t figured it out.”

I chuckled, if only to indulge him. I couldn’t expect him not to be jealous—after all, Zachary could touch me, and Logan couldn’t. All I had to do to get rid of Logan, even now, was take a turn down a new road. If I were standing in his shoes—his violet high-top Vans, to be exact—I’d be exploding with fear and frustration.

We reached a stoplight. “Logan, do you ever think about plans?”

“Plans for what?”

“For the future. Beyond next week or next month.”

He didn’t reply at first. The traffic light turned green before he spoke.

“I do have a plan,” he said quietly, but didn’t elaborate.

“Can you tell me?”

“I don’t want to ruin the time we have together. Can we just enjoy this for now?”

My fingers grew cold on the steering wheel. “What are you planning? Are you going to—change?”

“Huh?” Logan sounded genuinely confused. “Change how?”

“I don’t know.” I turned onto my street a little too fast, and the tires made a tiny squeal. “Into a shade?”

“What?” Logan’s shout echoed in the car. “Are you kidding? Aura, I would never in a million years. That’s insane.” He leaned toward me, his glow almost burning my eyes.

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