Born of Shadow - Book 1 (complete)

Chapter 23

Back to Liam and Kami! As always, thanks so much for reading and for your feedback.

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“Uh, yeah. Fresh air sounds nice,” Kami said, feeling awkward.

“Should we be worrying about running into any shadow creatures out there? Or zombies?” Liam asked Samuel.

“They’re not zombies, just possessed,” Samuel said matter-of-factly, as if that made it somehow better. “Probably not. We set up a perimeter.”

Kami followed Liam through the flap and outside, around the tent. The cool air felt refreshing as she breathed in deeply. A flame blazed in the firepit, and she held her hands out to soak in the warmth. She looked around for Chris, but he had disappeared somewhere.

All of a sudden, she felt Liam’s cool hand on her face, turning her toward him. She looked up at him with questioning eyes.

“You have a dirt smear on your cheek,” he said.

Her hand flew to her face self-consciously.

“No, on the other side. Do you mind?”

She glanced at his other hand and noticed a handkerchief. 

“Thanks,” she said.

He gently rubbed her face with the soft cloth. She felt very aware of him, the brilliant stars heightening the intensity of the night. She couldn’t tell if she felt relieved or sorry when he finished with her face and pulled away. It was confusing being around him. He was still so nice, even after she had pretty much accused him of working with those shadow things.

“There, that’s better,” Liam said. “Not perfect, but I have a feeling it would be impossible to stay clean out here.”

Kami couldn't understand how he could still be so kind after what she had done. Liam stuffed the handkerchief into his pocket and held his hands to the crackling fire as well.

They stood silently, staring into the flames. She could feel the emotions churning inside. She opened her mouth to speak a few times, but hesitated, until she finally forced the word out.

“Liam?”

“Yes?”

“I think back there at the dig site, when we saw those shadow creatures? I think I may have,” she paused, why was this so hard,“ jumped the gun a little bit. I was scared out of my mind, but it wasn't right for me to assume you were part of it, even if you were standing there with this crazy glazed look in your eye and those shadow creatures swirling around you like you were controlling them.”

She winced. This apology wasn't going too well.

“What I mean to say is, I'm sorry. You have every right to feel hurt.”

There was another long pause. Kami's heart ached. Deep down she wasn't even sure if she needed to apologize, but it seemed the right thing to do. She had always tried to believe the best in people. She'd feel terrible if she was accused wrongly, and Liam deserved to be considered innocent until proven guilty. 

Liam sighed.

“I can't deny I was hurt. But, looking back at everything we've been through, I can see why you might be suspicious. First there was the plane attack, then your missing grandparents, and then those freakish shadow things. I swear, I don't even remember what happened. One minute Yasmin was standing by me, then next I was in the car.”