Chapter 0536
“I do,” Jackson replies, nodding once. “Not important right now. Just… let’s get these shadows tucked away, all right? I want you to imagine like…a fishing rod, with all the shadows attached to the line. And now slowly, mentally, just…start to reel that fish in, okay?”

A moment passes as Jesse stares at Jackson, a little disbelief in his panicked eyes, but then he exhales a long breath and concentrates. My arms tighten around Rafe’s arm, my fingers digging into his skin a little, when I see the shadows begin to change shape, transforming – my eyes widen to see – into a shadow river, complete with currents, still swirling around Jesse –

But including, of all things…tiny little shadow fish inside.

“There you go, man,” Jackson says, sounding completely at ease now, even laughing a little when he sees the fish moving in their shadow streams, swirling around his wrist and his hand, still pressed to Jesse’s chest.

Jesse stares around at the shadow scene in awe but – clearly encouraged by the result – he begins to take Jackson’s advice, breathing easier and I suppose…beginning to reel it all in.

The shadows slowly start to lessen, to seep, to disappear backwards into Jesse as he calls them mentally back. They fade in density and in color, all slipping away like smoke from the air until they’re just a haze around his skin.

And then Jesse takes one last sharp inhale and the final shadows slip back into his mouth, swallowed down…I don’t know where. His soul?