Anne Ursu - The Shadow Thieves

And it didn't matter. If Philonecron were some kind of evil simpleton, they would have had to start over, find a new Zero, steal shadows all over again. But he was a genius-a genius - and geniuses always have a Plan B. The day after Alpha and Delta came back with the first shadows, he had taken a vial of Zero's blood, gone out into the Upperworld, and done an errand of his own. It had proved quite satisfactory.

"Fret not, my sweet," he said, squeezing Alpha's shoulders. "I have a backup plan."

BACK IN THE MIELSWETZSKI DEN, CHARLOTTE STARED at her cousin while he haltingly told his story. Grandmothers, plagues, strange man-like men, and shadowless boys – she had no idea what to think. The way she saw it, there were three options:

1. Zee was pulling her leg.

2. Zee was certifiably loony.

3. Zee was telling the truth.

Charlotte meditated on these options, conscious of her cousin's eyes on her. Even Bartholomew, who had listened attentively to the entire story, was watching her.

He didn't seem like he was pulling her leg, unless he was the best actor ever. It would be a strange joke-one that, frankly, required more imagination than her cousin had shown so far. And if Charlotte was to be fair, it required a lot more meanness, too. Zee might be a little strange, but he was not mean. She glanced at her cousin and blushed.

"You think I'm having you on?" said Zee quietly. His eyes dropped.

Charlotte squinted at him. She was becoming very good at translating British to English. "No," she said. "I don't think you're pulling my leg."

It was entirely possible that Zee was crazy. He certainly had been acting like it this entire time. There was some great mystery surrounding her cousin, and Uncle John had said something about him acting "unusual." This was unusual, all right. If she had a kid who told stories like this, she'd ship him out of the country too.

Plus, he had recently had a head injury. That could explain a lot.

But when Charlotte had first thought Zee was bonkers, on the very first night, it was because he'd kept asking if anyone was sick. And then everyone got sick. If he was crazy, he was awfully prescient, too.

And there was something else. The men. The tall, thin, man-like men in the tuxedos. When Zee was talking about the creepy men on the street, something in her brain had stood at attention, and her stomach rose in her belly.

She could close her eyes and picture those men, just as he had described-the strange, old tuxedos; the grayish-white skin; the freakishly chapped lips. She had seen those men before.

But where?

An involuntary shiver ran through Charlotte. That thing in her brain started to dance around urgently. She regarded her cousin carefully.

"You think I'm barmy?" muttered Zee.

Slowly Charlotte shook her head. "No," she mumbled. "I don't think you're nuts."

And that left only one option…

Could he really be telling the truth?

Charlotte chewed on her lips. Her stomach was still floating around in her belly, and her skin felt prickly. She couldn't get the afterimage of those man-like men out of her mind. She looked up at her cousin, who was regarding her closely. His eyes were big, and for a moment he seemed very small. They looked at each other for a while, saying nothing. Zee gulped.

"So," he said in a whisper, "do you believe me?"

The words hung in the air. Charlotte couldn't help but notice how desperate he sounded. "I don't know," she answered truthfully. She closed her eyes. She shuddered. "Maybe?"

Zee exhaled loudly. "Okay. Okay," he said. "If you want, well, I know a way…I could prove it to you."

Charlotte ducked into her room to pick up what they would need, and then she and Zee walked down the stairs together as quietly as they could. Charlotte knew a confrontation with her mother was inevitable, but she still held out hope that the world was a magical, wonderful place where she could sneak in and out of the house without her mother even noticing.

"Charlotte?"

Alas, the world was not such a place.

"Mom?" Charlotte called innocently. She and Zee froze by the coat closet. Bartholomew, who had followed them downstairs, started running back and forth along the front hallway.

"What are you doing?" Mrs. Mielswetzski's voice carried in from the living room. Charlotte glanced at Zee.

"We're going out!" she said brightly.

"Oh, are we?"

Charlotte sighed as she heard footsteps approach. Her mother stood in front of them, hands on hips. "And just where do you think you're going?" she said in her very motherly way. Bartholomew started batting at her ankles.

Charlotte's eyes grew wide. "We have to give Maddy her homework. Zee wanted to come with." This is what made Charlotte a good liar; she was quick thinking, earnest, and remorseless. In fact, she was at her most sincere when she was lying. Her parents still hadn't caught on.

"Oh, did he?" Mrs. Mielswetzski gazed at Zee, and then back at Charlotte, in her I know this is all your fault kind of way.

"Mom, he's fine. He said he was feeling much better." Charlotte elbowed Zee in the kidneys.

"Um, yes, Aunt Tara," he added quickly. "I could really do with some exercise. I feel much better, but I really need some fresh air."

Charlotte exhaled. He had said just the right thing. Her mother was a great believer in fresh air.

Indeed, Mrs. Mielswetzski visibly relaxed. "All right," she said. "Just… be careful. Bundle up."

"Mom! It's really warm."

"Charlotte, there's something going around. You're lucky I'm letting you out of the house."

"Bundling up's not going to help," Charlotte muttered, glancing at Zee. She grabbed her coat.

Mrs. Mielswetzski had not heard. "I'm sure I'm going to regret this. I've never heard of them canceling school," she sighed. "You be careful out there. And your father says dinner's in an hour. Don't be late. And Charlotte?"

"Yes?"

Her mother's expression softened. "You're nice to help your friend. Tell Maddy I hope she feels better soon."

"Thanks, Mom." Charlotte smiled a little.

But her mom wasn't looking at her anymore. "What is that cat doing?"

Charlotte and Zee turned to look. Bartholomew was standing directly in front of the front door, staring at Charlotte and Zee. Her tail had puffed out to twice its size, and a low growling sound was emanating from somewhere deep within her. Charlotte and Zee took a step toward her and the growling grew louder. She backed up against the door and starting hissing.

"See?" Mrs. Mielswetzski said, laughing a little. "Even the kitten doesn't want you to go out."

Eyes wide, Charlotte approached Bartholomew, picked up the hissing, growling, scratching, puffy hell beast, and gingerly set her aside.

Charlotte had not been completely lying to her mother; they were going to Maddy's house. She had been truthful about the destination of their visit, if not the reason, the best lies having some truth to them, and all.

The cousins walked along in silence in the cooling evening air, while Charlotte mused further on Zee's story. It did sound crazy, but who was to say there weren't weird, creepy, tuxedo-wearing shadow thieves wandering around? It was possible. Anything's possible.

And, of course, Uncle John and Aunt Suzanne's reaction was so classic. Her parents would have sent her into therapy too. It would just never occur to them that he might actually be telling the truth.

And if it was true, none of them, neither the Millers nor the Mielswetzskis, were going to be any help at all. Which was so typical.

"Now," Charlotte said when they got to the Rubys' door, "let me do the talking."