“Crap!” I yelped, dropping. Josh was right beside me, and Barnabas had never risen above the level of the car.

“Get down!” I almost hissed at Nakita, and yanked her toward the pavement. My pulse hammered. Okay, I know. I was dead, but try telling my mind that. It thought I was alive, and with the tactile illusion of a body, who was I to tell it different? It was embarrassing. If I was simply sitting, nothing—but the minute I got excited, the memory of my pulse started up. It was so unfair that I had to deal with all the physical crap of being scared when I was already dead, but at least I didn’t sweat anymore.

My back was pressed against the car we were hiding behind. Beside me, Josh looked worried. “It’s Officer Levy. Do you think she saw us?” I whispered. Just freaking great, I was already on the woman’s radar. She had tailed me speeding to the hospital when Nakita had almost killed Josh two weeks ago. Yup, she’d smited him, but only halfway. I wouldn’t call the two of them friends, but at least Nakita wasn’t trying to kill Josh anymore.

Crouched before me, Nakita started to rise. “I’ll smack her.”

“No!” both Barnabas and I shouted, tugging her back down.

Josh was peeping through the windows. “She’s gone.”

Son of a dead puppy. How am I supposed to save some guy’s life if I can’t even sneak out of the high school’s parking lot? I’d told the seraphs that if I could talk to him—the mark—he would make a better choice and he wouldn’t have to die to save his soul. This was likely my best chance to prove that my ideas could work. I didn’t want to lose my opportunity by getting to the party too late. And I wasn’t going to blow it all to dust because I was sitting in detention—and then my room after my dad found out.

My fingers encircled my amulet, and my worry grew stronger. I should be able to stop time using the black stone at its center, go invisible, and do all sorts of things, but the last time I tried some experimentation, I had nearly destroyed myself. But if I didn’t do something…

Barnabas put his hand around mine, both of us holding the shiny black stone that kept me looking alive, and I turned to him, blinking in surprise. “I’ll take care of this,” he said, compassion in his deep brown eyes.

My lips parted, and I nodded. I didn’t have to do this alone. He and Nakita were here to help until I could do things myself. Seeing my gratitude, he smiled, and his hand slipped from mine as he stood.