"Ethan?"

But I didn't answer her. I pushed her shiny blond hair away from her face and leaned down, our faces only inches apart. She inhaled softly, our lips so close I could feel her breath and the scent of her skin, like honeysuckle in the springtime. She smel ed like sweet tea and old books, like she had always been here.

I pul ed my fingers through her hair and held it at the back of her neck. Her skin was soft and warm, like a Mortal girl's. There was no electric current, no shocks. We could kiss for as long as we wanted. If we had a fight, there wouldn't be a flood or a hurricane, or even a storm. I wouldn't find her on the ceiling of her bedroom. No windows would shatter. No exams would catch fire.

Liv held up her face to be kissed.

She wanted me . Not lemons and rosemary, not green eyes and black hair. Blue eyes and blond hair ...

I didn't realize I was Kelting, reaching out for someone who wasn't there. I pul ed away so fast, Liv didn't have time to react. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that."

Liv's voice was shaky, and she put her hand on her neck, where my hands had been a moment before. "It's okay."

It wasn't. I watched the emotions play out in her eyes -- disappointment, embarrassment, regret. "It's no big deal." She was lying. Her cheeks were flushed, and she was staring at the ground. "You're upset about Lena. I get it."

"Liv, I'm --"

Link's voice interrupted my lame attempt at an apology. "Hey, man, nice exit. Thanks for ditchin' me." He pretended he was joking, but his voice was edgy. "At least your cat waited for me." Lucil e was trotting casual y behind him.

"How did she get here?" I bent down to scratch her head, and she purred. Liv didn't look at either of us.

"Who knows? That cat's as crazy as your great-aunts. It was probably fol owin' you."

We started walking, and even Link could feel the weight of the silence. "So what happened back there? Was Lena with Vampire Boy, or what?" I didn't want to think about it, but I could tel he was trying not to think about someone, too.

Ridley wasn't just under his skin. She was crawling around in there.

Liv was walking a foot or so ahead of us, but she was listening.

"I don't know. That's how it looked." There was no point in trying to deny it.

"The Doorwel should be straight ahead." Liv held her head high and almost tripped over a cobblestone. I could see how awkward things were going to be between us. How many things could a guy screw up in one day? I had probably set some kind of record.

Link put his hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry, dude. That's real --" Liv stopped so fast neither of us noticed, until Link bumped right into her. "Hey, what's up, MJ?" Link nudged Liv with his elbow playful y.

But she didn't move or make a sound. Lucil e froze, the hair on her back standing on end, her eyes transfixed. I fol owed her gaze to see what she was staring at, but I had no idea what it was. There was a shadow across the street, lurking just inside a stone archway. It was formless, a dense fog, constantly shifting in a way that gave it shape. It was wrapped in some kind of material, like a shroud or a cloak. It had no eyes, but I could tel it was watching us.

Link took a step backward. "What the --"

"Shh." Liv hissed. "Don't attract its attention." The color drained from her face.

"I think it's too late for that," I whispered. The thing, whatever it was, shifted slightly, moving closer to the street and to us.

I took her hand without thinking. It was buzzing, and I realized it wasn't her hand but the contraption on her wrist. Every dial was spinning. Liv stared at its face, unbuckling the black plastic strap to get a better look.

"I'm getting insane readings," she whispered.

"I thought you made that up."

"I did," she whispered again. "At first."

"Then what? What does it mean?"

"I have no idea." She couldn't take her eyes off the device, but the black shadow shifted closer to us.

"I hate to bother you when you're having so much fun with your watch, but what is that thing? A Sheer?"

She looked up from the spinning dials, her hand shaking in mine. "I wish. It's a Vex. I've only read about them. I've never seen one, and I bloody wel hoped I never would."

"Fascinatin'. Why don't we bolt and talk about this later?" The Doorwel was in sight, but Link was already turning around, wil ing to take his chances with the Dark Casters and creatures at Exile.

"Don't run." Liv put her hand on Link's arm. "They can Travel, disappear and materialize anywhere faster than you can blink."

"Like an Incubus."

She nodded. "This could explain why we saw so many Sheers at Exile. It's possible they were responding to some kind of disturbance in the natural order. The Vex is most likely that disturbance."

"Speak English, real English." Link was panicking.

"Vexes are part of the Demon world, the Underground. They're the closest things to pure evil in the Caster or Mortal world." Liv's voice was shaky.

The Vex continued to move slightly, as if it was being blown by the wind. But it didn't come any closer. It seemed to be waiting for something.

"They aren't Sheers, ghosts as you cal them. Vexes don't have a physical being, unless they possess the living. They have to be summoned from the Underground by someone very powerful, for only the Darkest tasks."