Shadow Soul (Narun Book 1) Page 3

  “Don’t think so. Why?”

  “I keep seeing him around campus.”

  I cocked my head to the side. “Have you considered he might be a student?”

  “Maybe.” Tony ignored the sarcasm. “It’s just that I normally see him hanging around. You know, not really doing anything. Seems out of place sometimes.”

  My eyes narrowed. The guy’s face was shadowed by his cap, hiding his features. Surely, I would’ve noticed if someone was following Tony around. I did spend most of my time with him.

  “So, do you think he’s after you for your one-line lecture notes or your winsome personality?”

  Tony gave me a dirty look. I bumped my shoulder into him but made a mental note to pay more attention the next time I was on campus. Or anywhere else. There could be people looking for me.

  “Or…maybe you have a secret admirer?”

  “Me? I thought he was following you?”

  “First of all,” —Tony swung his arm around my shoulders and leaned in— “he’s not following. He’s just there, mainly when I’m with you. Come to think of it, he only has eyes for you…”

  I shoved his arm off me. “Knock it off. You’re reaching.” Although, he probably isn’t. After all, I did have some mysterious cop-wannabe after me.

  “Come on, you’re a pretty girl,” Tony teased. “In that unusual kind of way.”

  “Okay, I know we’re just friends, but you need to work on your compliments. For Jill’s sake.”

  Tony laughed. “I didn’t mean it like that. You look a bit...foreign, that’s all. You got that exotic look. Don’t worry. Guys dig that.”

  “And you call me a weirdo.”

  Tony tackled me into a hug, pinning my arms against my ribcage. I shook him off and turned the conversation back to the film, swapping lazy ideas for a sequel.

  As we neared Cumber Park, I pointed at the metal gates. “Let’s take a shortcut through the park. The pub’s on the other side.” I grabbed a handful of Tony’s jacket and pulled him towards the entry.

  “What? No way.” He yanked free the slippery material of his jacket from my grasp. His chin lowered down a second too late; I’d already registered the flinch on his face.

  “What’s up with you?” I narrowed in on the subtle changes in his facial expression. “Scared of the dark?”

  “Nothing’s up.” Tony snorted. I bit my teeth together repeatedly as if sending a message in Morse code while Tony dug his fingers in his hair. “Sorry,” he muttered into the air. “I overreacted.”

  I’ll say. Tony inched further from the park as if afraid the shadows might come alive. “Come on, it’s getting late—”

  “No.” I set my jaw. “Not until you tell me what’s going on. You were acting strange yesterday as well.”

  “What you on about?” Tony’s darting eyes failed him.

  “Yesterday at the pub, something seriously bugged you. And now this!” I flicked my thumb towards the park.

  “Milla, you’re imagining things.”

  I stepped back from him, looking deeper into his eyes, which now faced the park.

  Tony squinted, focusing on something, his chin slightly raised. “It’s…him. That’s him again, the guy I was on about!” Tony’s face scrunched in disbelief.

  My head whipped around and met the object of his stare. Within a stone’s throw from the park’s entrance, under the branches of a willow tree, stood a form, slender and tall. A cap hid his face, but his features were now familiar in their unfamiliarity.

  My legs sprang into action and I raced towards him. I leapt over a flowerbed, eyes glued on his dark form. The guy stayed still, his chin slightly lowered, even as I swallowed the distance between us. And then, in a blink, he vanished, leaving behind nothing but the whooshing branches. I came to an instant halt, scanning the surroundings frantically.

  He was gone.

  Tony’s panting voice rang nearer and soon he caught up with me. “What are you doing?”

  Accepting there wasn’t a trace left of the guy, I faced Tony’s puffing cheeks. His expression was one to record: a blend of confusion and astonishment.

  “Are you out of your mind? He’ll think you’re a psycho, running after him like that!” Tony steadied his breath with three long inhales and I released my tensed shoulders.

  “It was him, the guy from earlier. He was right there!” I couldn’t be bothered to point.

  “I know.” Tony turned his voice down a notch. “I’m the one who saw him, remember? What were you thinking charging at him like that?”

  Granted, I felt a little dumb. “He’s been stalking you—”

  Tony’s grunt interrupted me. “What do I know? A blind mouse is more perceptive than I am!”

  “You said he’s been following you!” I insisted, chin jutting out and my cheeks catching a tint of red.

  “I know what I said. I didn’t think you’d chase after him like a maniac! And by the way, I’m signing you up for the track team.”

  I sighed out the frustration and rubbed my thudding temples. Stalker or not, I knew what I’d seen. It was not down to chance we’d seen the guy twice within such a short period. Cap or no cap, I could have sworn his eyes were drilled on me. Besides, why would he disappear into thin air if he had nothing to hide?

  Tony waved a hand at face level. “Oy, are you even listening?”

  No. I was not.

  “I said: did you see the guy’s face?” Tony repeated.

  I sniffed. “No, his hat was too low.” I had another scan of the area. Nothing but abandoned park trails, trees, and flowers that’d lost their colour to the night sky.

  “I think we’ve watched too many spy films. Next time pick a rom-com. Like a normal girl.” He headed back towards the gates, muttering to himself.

  I rubbed my hand along the length of my face and allowed myself a quick glance back. He was probably right, yet the uneasiness wouldn’t shake off. The guy knew what he was doing. There were only few who could vanish seemingly into thin air, and none of them had business anywhere near here.

  Tony and I walked in silence the rest of the way. The incident in the park played on repeat in my head. Plus, with Tony acting weird earlier on—Hold on.

  Tony bumped into me as I stopped on the doorstep of the pub.

  “Whoa, little warning would be nice,” he remarked.

  I apologised and walked to the nearest empty table. Tony unzipped his jacket but left it on.

  Once the waiter had taken our food order, I set my elbows on the table. It was time for some answers. “Now, tell me, why you been acting so strange?”

  Tony shrugged; I gave him a warning look.

  “Fine.” He rubbed his chin with his thumb. “It has nothing to do with you. But this is going to sound strange.”

  “I’m strange. It’ll be right up my street.” I smiled close to flirty.

  Tony offered a slight chuckle, but he didn’t sound humorous. Come on, Tony, slugs would finish slithering a marathon at this pace.

  “I’ve been stumbling across some interesting articles lately.” He leaned in and I relaxed a little. “Seems wherever I look I read things about police asking for information regarding a Jane Doe, or a girl getting beat up and ending up in hospital. I mean, some of the stuff looks like police reports so I have no idea how they ended up in my path but…they did.”

  The blood drained from my face and I took a gulp of my drink. “Okay,” I cleared my throat, “what does that have to do with anything?”

  “Well, nothing.” Tony fidgeted. “But when Matthew brought up the girl last night, something clicked. Even though they’re all seemingly separate events, I think the articles are all about the same girl.”

  My pulse resembled a game of professional ping pong. “I’d no idea you were such a detective.”

  “I’m fascinated, what can I say. If it is the same girl…I may be onto something newsworthy!” Tony reached for his drink.

  I smoothed the top of my hair a few times, fighting
for a clear head. I needed to know exactly what he knew. “What makes you think it’s the same girl?”

  Tony inhaled between his teeth. “Similarities. She’s always described as a young girl, late teens. Skinny. Straight, black hair, kinda like yours, I guess.” Tony stopped to point at my hair. Note to self: buy hair dye. “She never has any ID, no one visits at the hospital, and then she seems to just disappear.”

  I crinkled my nose, needing to kill Tony’s curiosity. “All probably coincidental. If she was the same girl, the police would know. They’d have pictures and she’d be a person-of-interest.” As far as I was aware, I’d burned all the photos the crime scene investigators had taken.

  “Maybe. I don’t know. Some of these articles or reports, or whatever they are, are from abroad, though, so…maybe no one’s connected the dots.”

  I felt like someone punched me in the jaw, the blow making me dig my fingernails into my palms. The food arrived just in time to give me a saving few seconds. Tony dug in like he hadn’t eaten for days.

  “How” —I tapped my teeth together a few times— “exactly did you come across all this stuff?”

  Tony wiped a smear of ketchup from his face. “Totally” —he stopped to swallow— “by chance. Like I sit at a café and there’s a newspaper folded open, or at lectures, a previous student has left an analysis of a police report.” He ignored my questioning glare and carried on eating.

  For a moment, the past year fast-forwarded in my mind: the different countries I didn’t care to recall, the cities blending into one, the people whose faces were a blur, and I—fallen out of grace—in the middle of it all. All Tony could see was me twirling a strand of hair, occasionally dipping a chicken strip into sauce, when under the surface my thoughts kickboxed each other.

  It all sounded too coincidental, too ridiculous, too unbelievable. If I was the one who Tony was unknowingly building up a case against—and the evidence was piling up against me— how did such a trace still exist? And how did it end up in Tony’s path?

  I’d have to see these stories Tony was referring to. And destroy them.

  “It all sounds pretty far-fetched, Tony,” I finally said. “Without a photo—”

  “I bet I could find one.”

  “What? Why? How?”

  Tony gave me a peculiar look. “It is the digital age. There’s bound to be a police report or a social media account somewhere with a picture.”

  Panic circulated in my veins. I couldn’t have this come out; I didn’t want to face it. If Tony did follow the breadcrumbs, somehow Anita might find out the truth.

  It was too big a risk.

  “As for why,” Tony continued, but I barely heard him. “I’m officially interested. When I was a kid, I wanted to become a detective. Guess that part of me never grew up.” Tony winked and dug out his ringing phone from his pocket. He signalled he was taking the call outside and hurried out, pressing the phone to his ear.

  I lingered on the memory of him for a few seconds. It’d been nice knowing him.

  Fighting the gnawing emptiness inside of me, I threw down a few notes on the table and snuck out through a side entrance.

  This is it then.

  I had to get back on the road. Forget Anita and Tony. Forget the idea of a home. Forget about having friends ever again. I couldn’t have my lies hurting anyone ever again.

  I’d hurt enough people in my life.

  Chapter 5

  I surveyed the still silhouette of Anita’s house from across the road.

  She deserved a goodbye.

  As I stepped through the front door I sensed something was amiss. Anita sat in the lounge, staring blankly at the phone in her hand. She remained motionless even when I walked in the room.

  “Hi,” I greeted softly.

  Anita sucked in a sharp breath as if waking from a dream. Tendons on her neck bulged as she faced me.

  I prepared for the worst.

  “Your friend Tony rang.” The iciness of her voice gave me chills.

  Worst was an understatement.

  “How’d—” I stuttered, panic promoting my every nerve on high alert.

  “You’re not the only one who can keep secrets.” Anita placed the phone down, her thumb moving to slide along her wedding ring. “Tony got my number off your phone yesterday.” Why would he do that? “Ironically, he just wanted my insight as a nurse in the hospital that treated, well, you.”

  Me? What had Tony said?

  “Oh.” I sat down opposite her. I should’ve sacked goodbyes and hopped on the bus instead.

  “Oh? That’s all? That’s all you have to say?”

  “I’m so sorry.” I stared at her blankly, mind racing to figure out how much Tony knew and to what extent he’d connected the dots.

  “For what?” she spat out.

  “I thought Tony—”

  “Oh, he did. He told me everything. The comas, disappearing acts, cover stories, amnesia...you name it.”

  I blanched at her words. I didn’t understand how but she knew. He knew. I was officially a fraud.

  “There’s no point in acting clueless,” Anita finally said. “We know what you do.”

  Panic again rang in my ears. This was bad—really, really bad. What was worse, all I could do was gape.

  “Aren’t you going to say anything?” Her tone became more demanding.

  “I…” I said voiceless and had to start again. “I don’t know what there is to say. Except that I’m sorry. I never meant to—”

  “Meant to what?” Anita stood up. “Get beat up so you’d end up in a coma? Lie your way into people’s lives and then disappear? And for what? Money? Drugs? Free hospital bed?”

  I tried to stop my fidgeting hands by pressing a thumb into the middle of my palm. “It’s not what you think.”

  “Then tell me,” Anita retorted as if returning a slap.

  I’d walked into that one. But how could I explain? How could I make her believe I never meant to hurt anyone but myself? That the physical pain relieved the anguish inside? That all I had wanted was for time to pass while I lay there unconscious, not having the constant torment of my thoughts assaulting me?

  “I’m not who you think I am,” was all I could muster to say.

  Anita laughed wryly. “Well, that’s obvious.”

  The lump in my throat made swallowing difficult. “You’re right. There’s nothing I can say to make things right. I’m not a good person. I never meant any harm. Though, I guess I can’t help but…cause it.” My palms slid along my jeans. “I really did care for your family and it killed me to lie to you—”

  “You don’t lie to and hurt the people you care about.” Her voice carried sufficient disappointment to nearly strangle me. Her eyes reflected how I’d let her down. “You should go.”

  I stood immediately, unable to bear her condemning scrutiny any longer.

  “You have one night,” she added. “David will ring the police in the morning.”

  I nodded, emotionally battered. “Thank you. For everything.”

  I turned to walk to the door as Aaron stepped down the stairs. Suddenly, my body came alive in a way it hadn’t done in a long time, every sense heightened, every muscle begging to listen to my instincts. I recognised the voice of my internal radar, telling me exactly what was wrong with Aaron.

  My eyes flashed to him and I knew. Inside, unseen to the eye, he was bleeding to death. He didn’t have long.

  “Mummy, I want some water,” the little boy mumbled sleepily.

  “What happened to him?” I demanded.

  “Just a minute, honey,” Anita reassured her son. “Camilla, I need you to go now.”

  “What happened to him? How did he hurt himself?”

  Aaron portrayed a blue plaster on his forearm. “I fell out of a tree. Mummy said I was really brave.”

  Blood drained from my cheeks. “Anita, you need to take him to A&E. Now.” There was no time for explanations. She would never believe me. She would never believe I w
as born with an intuition that was more accurate than an MRI scan.

  Anita pinched the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger. “Aaron, go upstairs, please. Mummy will bring you some water in a minute.” Obediently, Aaron lifted a leg up a stair.

  “No, you need to listen: if you don’t take him to the hospital right now, your son’s going to die.” I tried to lower my voice for Aaron’s benefit, but I had to get through to her.

  Anita threw daggers at me while Aaron’s frame twisted, and he fixed his upset, hazel eyes at his mum.

  “Camilla, please, I’ve had enough. Enough of the lies! Go before I call the police.”

  In seconds, I assessed the situation. She wasn’t going to listen; why would she? And Aaron didn’t have the time for me to explain my unconventional gifting. I had to get him out of the house within the next few minutes for him to live.

  I reached and pressed my thumb and fingers on the carotid arteries pressure points in the front of Anita’s neck, causing her blood pressure to plummet. Suddenly lightheaded, her knees wobbled. I took her weight as she fell to the floor unconscious. Aaron whimpered as he watched his mother crumble. Without a second to waste, I picked him up and dashed outside. Thankfully, Anita had a tendency of leaving her car keys in the ignition.

  Ignoring Aaron’s growing resistance, I fastened him in his car seat and jumped in the front. Driving lesson number one would have to be a crash course.

  The engine roared as I reversed out of the driveway, barely missing a lamp post.

  “Aaron, I need you to listen to me carefully.” I glanced at the sobbing boy from the rear-view mirror. He was in shock. “Everything’s gonna be fine. Mummy’s fine, she’s only sleeping. She’ll meet us at the hospital.” Grinding the gears, I passed a learner driver and almost made them veer into a ditch. “Aaron, I need you to trust me and be really brave, like you said you were before? I’m taking you to the hospital, so the doctors can make you better, okay?”

  Aaron begged for his mummy, kicking against the seat in front. The traffic camera’s flash caused little dark spots in my vision.