Shadow People (The Forbidden Darkness Chronicles, #2)

Thirty-Five: Heather Hawkins

Opening my eyes, I wondered how long I'd been asleep. Looking at my phone, I saw the time. It hadn't been more than a half an hour. Sitting over on the chair was Kadin.

"Hey," I said. "What happened?"

Kadin laughed. "You kind of lost your shit for a few minutes a little while ago."

Oh. Right. I remembered throwing the desk and breaking down, but that was about it. Sitting up, I brushed my hair out of my face with my hand. "I'm sorry I flipped out like that."

"It's okay," he said. "It happens to the best of us. I think just a week and a half ago I threw you off a tower. Think we're even now?"

I don't know why, but a laugh escaped my throat. "Funny. I don't remember trying to kill you in that room."

He came and sat down next to me on the couch. "And I'm really sorry for trying to kill you. But saving your life from a crazy, psychotic Shadow Person should help, right?"

The truth was, I couldn't be mad at Kadin anymore. So much changed over these last couple of days. I playfully shoved him. "Nah. I think you gotta do a little bit more than that." I also noticed that we were the only ones in the room. "Where is everyone?"

"In the classroom," Kadin said. "We were thinking of ways to take down Abaddon—and we all agreed that it's probably best if you stay out of this fight."

I snorted. "Ha ha, very funny. So what's our plan?" When he stared at me, I understood that he wasn't kidding. They really didn't want me to help. "Kadin, if this is because of my breakdown, you need to understand that it was a spur of the moment type thing. I'm not going to cower any time I hear bad news."

"This stuff is a lot to handle,"Kadin said. "They all agree this is probably for the best."

"For the best?" I asked. "Did Hayden say that, too? I mean, he tried to kill himself, for crying out loud! He's probably less stable than I am. If you're going to let him help, I should be allowed to help, too. I'm not going to take no for an answer."

The Djinn gave me a half smile at the corner of his mouth. "You really don't give up, do you?"

"No," I said, standing up to go into the classroom. "I do not."