Token of Darkness by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes Page A

People risk everything to summon them with sacrifices of blood and flesh and vows in order to gain incredible power. My best guess is that you were someone who did something like that—like the sorcerers in Ryan’s line, nominally human but with a
lot
of power. Maybe you had enough immortal power so that when you died, you could hold on to this world even without your body.”
    Samantha seemed to consider that for a while, but then she sighed. “I remember how to play hopscotch,” she said. “I remember the theme song of
The Twilight Zone
. I remember all the words to the national anthem. If I were a sorcerer, shouldn’t I remember
something
about magic?”
    Delilah sat back with a
humph
. “Good point.” So far, the only indication Delilah had that Samantha might know anything about magic was her probably random use of the correct word. “Look …” Delilah paused, but not for long. Certainly not long enough to avoid a blistering lecture from Ryan later if something went wrong. “No matter what you
are
, we know what you need, right?”
    “A pony?”
    Delilah should have seen that one coming.
    “You need mortal power.”
    “Can I find that at Target?” Samantha asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Or is it more of a special-order item?”
    The idea that Samantha had once been a sorcerer seemed less likely with every passing moment, but that didn’t matter to Delilah anymore.
    “Like I said, the greater immortals get their mortal forms by making deals with humans.” And the human sorcerers involved in those deals usually got incredible power as a result, including, but not limited to, the possibility of living forever. “Come with me. I can put up a protective circle to keep the scavengers away from both of us for a little while, and we’ll see about giving you a little of my mortality. Enough to let you protect yourself from the shadows, and maybe let you form a solid body for yourself.”
    “You would do that for me?”
    So naive
, Delilah thought. Samantha had no idea what Delilah could possibly gain from such an exchange. “I’m up for an adventure if you are,” she answered.

C ooper’s head was spinning, but he wasn’t sure whether it was the result of what Ryan had
done
, or what he was still saying.
    The doctors had told Cooper that his survival after the accident had been a miracle. Now, Ryan was telling him his continued existence was equally mysterious. How could it suddenly be so eerie to be alive?
    He looked to Brent for some kind of support, but the telepath had curled up in a chair across the room and seemed to be trying to figure out what Cooper had seen. Cooper envied him that particular blindness.
    “So, if the shadows are a symptom, not the problem, then what’s the problem?” Cooper asked.
    “Well, you have two,” Ryan answered. “The first is that you’re not well-connected to your flesh, and have theability to disconnect other people from theirs. The skin is a human’s primary defense against the scavengers, so stepping outside it gives them ample opportunity to feed. If it weren’t above their capacity for reason, I would suggest they may be keeping you alive because you’re likely to deliver them other meals.”
    “Not likely,” Cooper mumbled. Why would he want to give them anything?
    “Accidentally,” Ryan clarified. “Delilah and Brent both have more than their fair share clinging to them.” Cooper saw Brent look up swiftly, eyes wide, before Ryan continued. “Luckily, they’re both stable enough not to be in too much danger. However, I suspect you’ve infected almost everyone you’ve been in contact with since the accident.”
    Cooper shuddered at the thought. “Most of the time they don’t even bother me,” he insisted. “I see them when I try to sleep or something, but not much otherwise.”
    “Most of the time, you aren’t
able
to see them,” Ryan said. “It takes intense training or a dreadful mistake for a human to be able to see