Free Shadows of New York by Heather Fraser Brainerd Page B

maintain his grip.
    Over Aiden’s fierce growls, Josh heard Siegfried say, “Almost good, but what are you going to do now? Let go with either hand—excuse me, paw—and he runs you through.”
    The struggle came to an end, Aiden and the shadow standing side by side, listening to Siegfried.
    “You need to—”
    Josh didn’t catch what Aiden needed to do. A hand on his shoulder made him jump. Turning around, he saw Cleo motioning for him to come back up front.
    He followed, finding Britney in her cubicle and a vanilla milkshake waiting for him on Cleo’s desk. He sat down across from her, his eyes on his cup to avoid the disapproving look she was sending his way.
    “That was fast,” he mumbled. “I thought it would take a lot longer.”
    “I had a milkshake finder app on my phone,” came Britney’s voice.
    “She heard werewolves like milkshakes,” Lindsay scoffed.
    * * * *
    The walk home was quiet. Two blocks away from the apartment, Aiden said, “That wasn’t cool, Josh. I thought we had a deal. You were supposed to stay up front.”
    It wasn’t getting caught that upset Josh the most. It was the hurt tone in Aiden’s voice. “I’m sorry, okay? I just needed to know what’s going on. I know this Mr. Midnight guy is real.”
    Aiden stopped walking and looked at Josh. “You don’t need to worry about him.”
    “But you and Mrs. F-G worry about him, so I worry about you guys.”
    The disappointment seemed to drain away from Aiden in an instant. He walked to a nearby bench and patted it for Josh to sit down next to him.
    “I can’t be too mad at you. I did a lot worse when I was your age. It’d be that pot calling the kettle black thing,” said Aiden with a small smile.
    Josh sat and stared straight ahead at the passing cars.
    “Okay, you’re right,” Aiden continued. “He’s real. And he’s got the whole Imaginary World worried. And he’s right here in New York. So maybe you deserve to know. Ask me anything. I’ll try to answer what I can. Just, you know, don’t tell Mrs. F-G we talked about him.”
    “So, um, he might try to steal your soul?” asked Josh in a quivering voice, getting right to what he wanted to know the most.
    “No. Larry was joking. Mr. Midnight doesn’t work like that. He takes away what you might call our powers. He makes us human.”
    “You wouldn’t want to be human again?”
    “Maybe sometimes,” said Aiden with a wistful look. “There’s a lot of both good and bad that comes with being what I am. I’ve only been like this for a few years, but, for good or bad, this is me now.”
    The two were quiet for a few minutes, each lost in thought.
    “So, any more questions?” Aiden finally asked.
    “I guess not,” Josh answered, his mind whirling with all that he’d seen and learned. “At least, not right now.”
    Aiden shook his head. “Josh, man, I have to admit that I’m a little surprised. You haven’t thought to ask me why I’m being trained for this in the first place.”
    “You mean there’s more to it than just learning to protect yourself?” Josh had assumed that wraith training was being offered to any Imaginary creature who wanted to learn it.
    “Oh, yeah.” Aiden’s voice carried a note of determination. “There’s more to it than that.”
    Josh sat in quiet thought for a minute. “Oh, I know!” he said. “It’s what you said before, about how sometimes you have to stand up for the people you care about, no matter what.”
    “Well, that’s a big part of it, I’ll admit. And I’m darn proud of you for remembering what I told you. It’s very, very important.” Josh felt proud of the praise. “But there’s one more thing.”
    “Okay, I give up. Why are you wraith training?”
    “Because I’m gonna catch him.”
    This wasn’t an answer Josh was expecting. Everything about Aiden so far had been about defense, about protecting him and his family.
    Aiden waited a few seconds before continuing, looking at Josh’s mouth open and