Light the Shadows (A Grimm Novel) by Michelle Clay Page A

touch her—afraid of never touching her again. She was a broken mess. Her bodice and skirt were torn, covered in blood and dirt. Some of the bones in her legs were visible. Pain radiated from her frightened eyes as he held her close.
    “I’m so sorry, Sarah.” He stroked a thumb across her cheek.
    “James.” Sarah’s eyes fluttered shut and her features relaxed slightly. Her soft Georgia accent grew faint as she slipped away. “I suppose we’ll have to postpone tomorrow's wedding.”
    He held Sarah in his arms until her heart stopped beating. His broke into a million pieces.
    It had been one of the hardest lessons he’d had to learn. Since then, he hadn’t allowed himself to get close to or care about anyone.
    ****
    He stealthily followed Micah and her annoying ghost. It had to be the mystery surrounding Micah that drew him. This overwhelming attraction he felt, the inability to get her out of his head, had to have something to do with that mystery. It was nothing more than that. Once he deciphered this riddle, her charm would no longer sway him, and he could decide what needed to be done. And he’d better do it fast because all he could think about was how badly he wanted to fuck her.
    Following her toward the elevators, he overheard her whisper to Anna. “I just want to ask the doctor if he remembers a woman being brought in around the same time the old Micah was. You said I died by overdose.”
    “I did?” Anna spotted Sully lurking nearby and made an ugly face.
    “I just want to know who I was.” Micah sounded lost and unsure as she jabbed at the elevator buttons. “You know, before I became Micah. I need some kind of closure.”
    The doors hissed shut, effectively silencing the rest of their conversation.
    Sometime later, Micah came out of the building alone and moved down the sidewalk toward her car. She was lost in thought and didn’t notice him as she bent to stow her purse inside.
    Sully examined the curves of her body and marveled at how unlike the original she was. It was then he decided to follow her and see where she went next. There were worse ways to spend an afternoon.
    She was constantly on his mind. Their make -out session at the condo a few days ago had fueled some rather decadent fantasies. The problem was his fantasy girl was probably a shadow and definitely a liar.
    According to the good shepherd, whoever Micah had been died an untimely death. Had she not had the sense to go through the doorway on her own, Micah would have become one of those foul shadows for sure. Anna had just happened to be there when she crossed over, but had been unprepared to lead her onward. Anna hadn’t been able to coax Micah down the corridor and through a doorway that would lead to her special forever. Micah had turned back, flinging herself through a nearby doorway. Anna claimed that none of the doors should have opened unless it was meant for her. She surmised that Micah got lucky and fell through to a body that had just been vacated. Of course, when he’d questioned Anna she was scared and angry. She’d probably tell him anything to get away from him. Some people held grudges for an awfully long time.
    Sully kept his distance, following Micah's car all the way to the cemetery gates at the other end of town. What was she up to? He parked his bike out of sight then moved along a row of headstones. Micah certainly didn’t look or behave like one of the shadows. She didn’t kiss like one either.
    Micah seemed to be searching for a particular gravestone. She turned her head this way and that, squinting in the late afternoon sunshine.
    He only took his eyes off her for a moment then she was gone. Damn it, where did she go? He turned in a tight circle and spotted something low and dark moving fast. It shot toward the mausoleum at the center of the cemetery. Two more lifted from nearby headstones and drifted in the same direction. Great.
    “Micah!” He had to warn her. The shadowy spirits could be malicious