He let out a humorless snort. “I’ve changed from how I was before, but not completely. Not like what I’ve seen in the past few days.”

I clasped my hands tightly to keep them from shaking. “So this guy—he was one of the zombies, and then he...then he came back from that?”

He nodded.

I couldn’t speak for a full minute, just staring at him. “Why are you telling me this? Why did you want to meet me here?”

He looked at me steadily. “Because it’s my fault you’re like this. I wanted to warn you.”

There was a big part of Stephen that had been changed forever by becoming a gray, one that could be manipulated by Natalie to do bad things on her behalf—but he wasn’t completely changed yet. There was still some part of him that remained the same Stephen that I’d had a crush on.

He was afraid of what was to come. For himself...and for me.

I fought to find the words to speak. “How long before it happens?”

He didn’t speak for a moment. “All I know is—it’s coming, Samantha. And I don’t know how it’ll go for me.”

My stomach clenched. “What do you mean?”

“Stasis either evolves you into something dark, something evil—worse than anything I ever could have imagined.” He hesitated. “Or...it kills you.”

Chapter 9

Stephen didn’t start laughing and tell me he was just messing with me. He was totally serious. This horrible situation didn’t have a happy ending, a slow fading of the hunger like my aunt had suggested, and a return to normal life.

It had a death sentence.

I grabbed hold of his sleeve as my numbness over his deadly proclamation faded and panic set in like somebody lighting up a firecracker inside me. “You need to give me back my soul...and Carly’s, too. Please, Stephen, before it’s too late.”

His expression turned stony. “You mean before I change. Or die.”

I dug my fingers into his arm as he began to pull away from me. “Stephen—”

“Oh. My. God. You have got to be kidding me right now, right?”

My stomach sank at the sound of the familiar voice behind me. I didn’t have to turn around. I knew who it was.

If I had a nemesis, Jordan Fitzpatrick was it. She was a drop-dead gorgeous redhead, and an aspiring model. We went to the same school.

She hated me. And the feeling was completely mutual. I didn’t like coming face-to-face with her in public places since she never held back on her opinion, especially when it came to me. Sometimes I could take it and throw it right back at her. But other times words could hurt me, even if they weren’t sticks and stones.

Did I mention that Stephen was her ex, and he’d broken her heart?

While still reeling from the horrific news Stephen had shared with me, I turned slowly to see Jordan standing there with her best friend and trusty blond sidekick, Julie Travis. Julie was another one who wasn’t thrilled by my continuing existence—and vice versa. Julie was the reason that Colin and Carly had broken up over the summer. She’d slept with him while he’d been drunk at a party.

It wasn’t all Julie’s fault, of course. Colin was at least fifty percent to blame. But still. If anyone hurts my friends and has zero remorse about it, then that’s a nice shortcut to getting on my hate list.

Julie shot daggers at me through her eyeballs for standing here in the middle of the mall talking to Stephen Keyes. She still considered him Jordan’s property. Jordan, however, didn’t even glance at me. Her attention was fully fixed on Stephen.

“You,” Jordan began shakily, as if grappling for the right words. “I—I didn’t even know you were back from university.”

He didn’t speak for a moment. He appeared to be stunned, his face pale. “I am.”

“You haven’t replied to any of my texts.”

He averted his gaze, instead choosing to look at the crystal birds above us. “I thought we dealt with this, Jordan. It’s over between us.”

“Oh, you made that clear in your email, don’t worry.”

I already knew he’d dumped her via email. That was cold.

Jordan swallowed hard. “I guess I don’t feel like I should be blamed for wanting to know the reason why.” Finally, I received a withering look of death. “Or maybe I do know.”

Here we go.

Stephen flicked a glance at me before returning his attention to her. “It’s not what you think.”

“Isn’t that what they always say in the movies? Pathetic. No, I think it’s exactly what I think. You’re interested in Samantha, the town klepto.”

I winced at that. But at least she didn’t call me a slut this time.

When Stephen kissed me at Crave, people saw it. But they hadn’t seen a monster devouring a victim’s soul. They thought they’d just witnessed a hot kiss.

News got back to Jordan through the grapevine while she was still dealing with the heartbreak of being dumped in such a cold, impersonal way. I couldn’t totally blame her for being angry. I would have been hurt, too, if the guy I really liked was seen kissing somebody I disliked so much.

Still, Jordan’s high school drama didn’t trump my life-and-death struggle. I needed time with Stephen to convince him to give me my soul back before it was too late.

“We’re just talking,” I told her as calmly as I could.

Sounded so harmless: just talking.

Only it was a subject that had the potential to destroy not only mine and Stephen’s, but the lives of every single person in Trinity if we didn’t find a solution.