Book Six: Chapter 52

He shook his head and wiped the moisture from his eyes. Nothing could ever change what had happened, and all he could do was feel bad for the little boy playing with toy cars under that Christmas tree. Mikey had a loving family one Christmas, and they were gone the next.

“Hey.” Yuki squeezed him. “You good?”

“Just sad,” he told her. “It’s okay to be sad sometimes.”

“That’s good, because I’m sad a lot.” She shifted in his arms into a more comfortable position and nuzzled against him. “And that’s what made me weak. That ghost used my grief to get inside my head, to make me feel useless. You had to come rescue me, and it should always be the other way around.”

“Why?” he asked.

“Because that’s what I’m good for. I’m a weapon, I’m supposed to protect you.”

“You’re not just a weapon,” he replied. “You’re a person, and my friend. We protect each other. I couldn’t have survived Oregon without you, we both know that. You’re stronger than me in so many diff