Token of Darkness by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes Page A

laugh into a cough. Delilah was wearing
very
short cutoffs and a silky, clinging tank top. It wasn’t unusual for her. What was unusual was the fact that she looked toward Samantha at that moment, before turning back to Cooperto say, “If you were coming here for help, I figured there was probably a reason you were avoiding all of us. I thought—”
    “Delilah, didn’t you say you had a social obligation to attend?” The polished, male voice that came from behind Delilah made Cooper breathe a sigh of relief.
    Delilah rolled her eyes. “You sure you don’t want me to stick around, Coop?”
    “I’ll see you later,” Cooper replied firmly. He didn’t know what she was doing at Ryan’s place—maybe there was a perfectly reasonable explanation—but he knew he couldn’t handle his old life and this weird, paranormal nightmare mingling just yet.
    “I’ll hold you to that,” she said. “Come by the car wash?”
    “Maybe.”
    “No maybes,” Delilah responded. “Just be there. See you, Ryan.”
    She brushed past him and walked toward the driveway.
    “Skank,” Samantha mumbled. “Seriously, could she be any more all over you? I thought you said she didn’t date football players.”
    Cooper turned his attention back to the guy who had just greeted him.
    Ryan was far from the wizened old man in dusty robes Cooper had pictured when Brent described him. Instead, Ryan seemed to be in his mid-twenties, and though he wore a ring and a necklace, each of a metal darker than silver and inset with arcane symbols, that was the extent ofhis sorcerer paraphernalia. His hair was dark blond, cut short, his eyes were blue-gray, and he didn’t seem to have any piercings or tattoos unless they were hidden by his utterly normal khaki pants and T-shirt. The only thing that struck Cooper was that he was barefoot, but since he was standing in his own house, even that wasn’t so strange.
    “Sorry about Delilah,” Ryan said. “She tends to be more persistent than wise. I take it you’re Cooper Blake?” Cooper nodded, and Ryan offered his hand. “Ryan le Coire. Please, come in.”
    Cooper wondered if he was supposed to introduce Samantha, too. Considering Ryan would learn about her sooner or later, it seemed rude to just ignore her now.
    “Can you see—” He broke off, because if Ryan
could
see Samantha, he probably would have spoken to her or at least looked at her since coming to the door.
    Brent took over. “Cooper’s not the only one looking for help,” he explained briefly. “Somewhere around here is Samantha, who, as far as we can tell, is a ghost.”
    Ryan didn’t even blink with surprise. He let out a thoughtful “hmm” and then turned to lead them farther into the house. “We can talk in my study.”
    Brent followed, and Cooper started to do the same, until he heard Samantha shout, “Hey!” He looked back, and saw her slam her fist into the empty doorway. It bounced back the same way she did when she tried to touch people. “I’m stuck.”
    Feeling a little crazy talking to a new person this way,Cooper nevertheless managed to say, “Samantha can’t get through the doorway.”
    “She can come in when I say she can,” Ryan said, “and I intend to get a little more information before I extend such an invitation.”
    “How—”
    Ryan cut Cooper off with a wave. “Come upstairs. We’ll discuss all this at length.” Cooper hesitated, looking back at Samantha, who was frowning, until Ryan added, “Or you could leave. When you make up your mind, Brent knows the way.” He walked off, probably perfectly certain that Cooper had to follow, since he wouldn’t be here if he didn’t need the help.
    “I’ll be back soon,” Cooper said to Samantha.
    “Maybe I’ll go haunt your girlfriend while you’re gone,” Samantha replied, pouting.
    “I told you, she’s not—look, Samantha, I’ve got to go. Remember this is for your sake, too.”
    Samantha nodded, but she looked sad and nervous. Cooper