Ghost Billionaire

"Steak… I can't remember the last time I had one. You said you will pay, right? Should I get another dessert?" Teddy said, beaming as he looked over the menu of the famous restaurant they were in. After seeing the exam results, Matthew had decided to treat him to a proper meal. He figured they both earned it.

"That looks delicious!" the ghost girl exclaimed. She'd been fussing over the menu ever since they walked in. "I want some too."

The server placed the cast-iron plate on the table with a soft sizzle. At the center was a thick Wagyu strip, its marbled fat forming perfect white webs through the meat. Butter pooled at the corners, mixing with a dark soy glaze that sent up a rich, smoky aroma. On the side, pink salt crystals sparkled like tiny bits of quartz.

Matthew's stomach tightened. Sadly, he couldn't even focus on his own steak right now.

One bite would melt—he knew that—but his focus stayed on the mirrored wall across the dining room. Two men lounged in a half-booth near the exit. Their suits looked standard issue, their shoes too polished for locals. They spoke little, eyes drifting to him whenever they thought he wasn't watching.

Nexians, he thought.

"There are more of them outside," the ghost girl suddenly said. "I noticed two more in a car, just driving around this block."

Matthew clenched his jaw as he watched Teddy snap a photo of his plate. "This is A5, imported straight from Hyogo. Look at that marbling. It's like snow inside beef. This is my first time seeing it personally," Teddy sprinkled salt and took a bite, humming through a grin. "At a hundred dollars a plate, I'd polish the plate afterward."

Matthew cut a small square from his steak but didn't lift it. He knew that this restaurant had three exits. One that the customers used and two at the back. One for the employees and one for delivery that also acts as an emergency exit. He had used his ability earlier to map out the exits when he got in.

Teddy waved his fork. "Man, this is good."

"Eat," Matthew said. A muted drum of spirit energy leaked from the booth. These two people had been following him since he left the school.

Since the two didn't approach him, he figured that they didn't want to reveal themselves to both Teddy and Otep.

"All right, strategy session," Teddy's words interrupted his stupor. "The final exams are eight weeks out. We ride this high or it fades. I say we double the morning review slots." He took a bite, humming as the meat dissolved. "Two hours before first period, library study room C. We start with chem because you hate chem, then switch to calc drills. We have stats, but it looks like you are doing well at that. What do you think?"

"Let's do that," Matthew said.

Teddy continued, oblivious. "Afternoons, I keep the tutor gigs, but on Wednesdays we cut them short and do physics problem sets together. I already downloaded last year's questions. And Sundays—hear me out—we run simulated exams with timed sections. I'll print blank grids. What do you think?"

Matthew's fork hovered over the steak cube. "Sounds solid."

Teddy leaned forward. "We also need balanced breaks. Tuesday basketball stays, you need blood flow. And sleep, Matt—ten p.m. cutoff for screens."

Matthew finally tasted the meat—silk, nutty, gone before he could chew twice. He set the knife down. One of the suited men checked his watch while the other scanned doorways in an orderly sweep. They murmured, settled the check with a black card, then rose.

"Matt?" Teddy asked.

"Keep going," Matthew said.

"Right. Essay practice, literature prompts every other night. You draft, I critique, then swap. You'll pull a ninety in English easy." Teddy took another photo of the fading steam. "You sure you're okay? You're zoning."

Matthew's probe brushed the nearer man. He said something to his partner, and both shifted toward the main door. Are they leaving? No. Impossible. They have been following him since earlier.

Matthew sipped water. "I'm fine. Finish up. We'll take dessert to go."

"What are you doing?" the ghost girl asked. "Hold on… are you going to fight against them?"

Meanwhile, Teddy blinked. "You barely touched yours."

"Change of plans." Matthew slid three crisp hundred-dollar bills under his plate and stood. "Outside, two minutes."

Teddy chewed quickly, eyes darting from the steak to his friend. "Is something wrong?"

"Just meet me." Matthew clapped his shoulder once and moved off.

Matthew exited through the main doors and spotted Otep waiting beside the sedan. Streetlights threw long bars of yellow across the curb.

"Take Teddy home," Matthew said. "No stops."

Otep opened the rear door without a word. Teddy hurried out behind Matthew, napkin still in hand. "Hey, what about you?"

"I have an errand," Matthew replied. "Go. I'll call later."

Teddy frowned, but climbed in. The door shut, and Otep pulled away, merging into light traffic.

Matthew adjusted his jacket and started south on foot.

"Hold on, you can't do this!" the ghost girl said. "You are a Reader! These two… they aren't. How could you fight them? Readers are physically weak. You—You are being stupid. What are you doing? Why aren't you running!?"

Matthew ignored her as a black sedan rolled forward at walking speed on the opposite side of the street. The ghost girl hovered at his elbow.

"They're not backing off," she said. "Car holds two more. That makes four. You can't fight this. You—I know you are new at this, but there's no way that you will win a fight against shapers!"

The ghost girl was right. A Reader couldn't possibly win against Shapers or other Nexians with real combat skills. Still, Matthew had just learned a new set of information from Dr. Muni, and among it was something important he didn't want to believe—something that he wanted to experience himself.

Matthew checked storefront glass for angles. No civilians within ten meters. Street ahead split toward a construction lane as he weighed his options. Running would invite a chase and risk drawing attention. Better to pick ground himself.

He turned left, then entered the narrow construction lane. Yellow mesh fencing lined one side, stacked plywood lined the other.

"You could still slip them," the girl urged. "Take a bus, fade the trail. Or are you here to talk to them? You—How could you even think about talking to these people! They looked like they were up to no good!"

"They won't quit," Matthew muttered. He sent a thin pulse onto the pavement. The lane ended in an L-shaped alcove behind a closed bakery—one exit. He stopped five meters short of the dead end and waited.

Soon enough, the two men wearing black suits rounded the corner. He sensed the car stopped just in front of the exit. The driver stayed in the car while the other one got out and stayed back to block the alley mouth.

Matthew eyed the two men who approached him. Judging from what he could sense, it seemed that these two had the same classes. From the knowledge that Dr. Muni gave him, they were both Shapers—meaning, they were both physically strong. For some reason, he felt a heavier pressure from the sedan idling at the curb. Conduits, he thought. Three Shapers, one Conduit.

Who has the ability to send so many people after him?

He flexed his fingers and followed some instructions that he learned from Dr. Muni. SE gathered low in his core, steady. Being a Reader has many disadvantages, and one of them was the fact that their abilities are mostly passive. Well… that's probably except him.

Matthew's heart thundered against his chest as he watched the two approach. Now that they were closer, he could sense their cores clearly. He pushed his own SE into studying their bodies just as a bold idea suddenly filled his head.

Matthew nudged a thread of energy outward. His vision immediately shifted. The alley darkened while the two Shapers brightened from the inside out—like reverse silhouettes.

Veins of orange-red light ran along their arms, pulsing with each heartbeat. Muscle bundles glowed faint amber where SE pooled for power. In the sedan, the Conduit's outline shimmered electric blue, current sparking between nodes near the spine and throat.

Dr. Muni was right. A Shaper's core is amber while a Conduit's is blue.

This was a simple technique that Dr. Muni included when he imprinted something on his mind. An X-ray-like ability that is unique only to readers. Except he wasn't seeing bone or tissue, he was reading the flow of Spiritual Energy itself. Every joint, every tendon lit up in real time.

Then a spike of pain knifed through his skull. Damnit, he thought.

The colors wobbled. He clenched his jaw and forced the probe to narrow. Details snapped sharper. The left Shaper nursed a cooling scar on his right biceps, energy avoided the tissue in a thin gray streak. A weak spot, he thought.

He continued watching.

He could see twin crimson flares burned just above the waist where the kidneys sat. Vascular lines shimmered scarlet, carrying the surge into shoulders and thighs. The whole outline jittered, like a figure caught in a strobe. Muscles showed ragged orange streaks, overloaded and moments from tearing once the rush wore off. If he was right, the one on the left's ability has something to do with strength.

The second Shaper's knees flared hotter than the rest. A bright copper strip ran down the man's backbone. Mid-spine, three segments glowed white-hot, flexing apart and knitting together in a sickening rhythm. Tendons in the right leg shone tensed gold, wound tight, ready to sling the limb in a sweeping arc no joint should allow. This person's ability has something to do with his legs!

"Mr. Lindberg, we'd like a word."