Those Who Shatter

Chapter 5: Leo the Lion

By the time I make it out of the Orbs Hall and back into the Peripherals, my ring begins to tighten around my finger, burning with the light of another name. I curse to myself.

"Really? Again?" I mutter to it.

There have been more names burned into my ring in the past month than I received during last year's entirety. I think of the information that Eleanor shared with me. Exactly how many Diviners and keys have been stolen? How many portals have been opened? A plunging swoop dives into my stomach, and I place a hand on my abdomen. Though it is difficult to hold onto the fear that yet another portal has been disrupted because I have yet to be able to find even one of them.

I'm failing you.

But first, Emily Collins.

I dodge around a couple walking their golden retriever down the sidewalk and brace my back against one of the maple trees that line the park where I will supposedly find Emily Collins. Since I'm not yet a Seer, I wasn't able to read Emily's Orb. Instead, the Orb showed me only what I needed to know in order to get the job done—a face, a place, and nothing more. The sun had still been out, I was given that much at least, but no date. Nor a time. It's like skimming through the pages of the book, gaining a vague sense of the plot, but missing the details that fill in the frame.

Bloody maddening is what it is.

All I can do now is sit and wait.

For nightfall. Because Shades only detach from their hosts in the safety of the dark.

Glancing around, I don't see any humans close by let alone a dark mass of daemonic venom, so I take a breath and hold my ring finger in front of my face, pulling it upwards into my line of sight like it's a grenade about to go off. The ring remains warm from the remnants of the name. I've already broken down and seen Emily's name, and it's like now that I've given into the ring once, I can't stop myself from looking at it any longer.

I glare at the silver disdainfully.

"You're the worst," I accuse it.

The words have started to dull, but I can still make out the letters that dwindle like embers; my heart skips a beat, and I allow my eyes to soak in both words.

Jam Toast has reappeared, but I can no longer ignore the rest of the name: Jamison Clancy Miles.

An amused snort escapes my lips. Somehow, I think Jam Toast sounded better.

"Yo, Catwoman!"

My hand shoves itself behind my back on an instinct that jumps into action much quicker than I do.

"Is this your big secret then? Disorganized girl by morning, superhero by afternoon?"

I jump at the smooth voice, twisting towards it and nearly tripping over an exposed root, but my Settler shoes allow my toes to grip the grass and steady myself. A pair of brown boots peek up at me from the ground.

I drag my gaze upwards and meet Jase's grinning honey eyes. Seriously, how small is this town? My brow quirks at him. "Yo?"

"I was trying to disprove your southern stereotypes," Jase says. "Didn't work, huh?"

"Not particularly." I stare pointedly at his worn cowboy boots. "Do you have a habit for appearing out of thin air?" I keep the fingers of my left hand fisted into the thin material of my Settler outfit.

"If I said yes, could I join you on your quest to fight graphic novel villains?" he counters, eyeing my black bodysuit with bright eyes. He runs a hand through his wavy brown hair; it flops to one side just like the smirk that teeters across his expression.