The Shadow Stealer (Silver Moon Saga Book 3) (12 page)

Chapter Nineteen

We broke free of the crowd at the corner, but Rafe didn’t let go or speak as he pulled me down two blocks, turning right on Sixteenth. Here, the air still smelled strongly of smoke, but, except for a few people gathered at the end of the block, the street was deserted.

Rafe let go of my hand and marched away, his face tight with anger. I knew some of that rage was directed at me, so I wisely kept my distance, waiting for him to calm down.

I was also waiting for my body to stop shaking, but something told me it was going to be a long time before I stopped feeling so frightened.

“What is wrong with you?” Alexandra demanded, looking like she wanted nothing more than to hit me. “Do you ever listen to anyone, Gabi? Or do you like being hunted? Now Collins knows about you, and it won’t take him long to connect the dots. You couldn’t just walk away, could you?”

“No, I couldn’t!” I said hotly as some of my uneasiness melted away. I stepped up close to her, but Alexandra didn’t flinch. “I will
never
walk away from Rafe because he would never walk away from me. Or any of you.” I realized something. “And what about you?”

“What about me?”

“It wasn’t such a good idea having him see
you
walking around, fully cured,” I pointed out. “But the moment Evan was threatened, you rushed to his defense.”

Her cheeks turned pink as she muttered, “Shut up. That wasn’t why!”

Evan, meanwhile, grinned. “I knew you couldn’t resist my Evan Charm forever, Alex.”

“I said, shut up!”

Using their bickering as a distraction, I went after Rafe, who was halfway down the block, pacing back and forth. His hands were stuffed into the pockets of his jacket and he refused to look at me as I approached. Sighing softly, I leaned against the doorframe to a brownstone and waited.

It wasn’t until his pacing brought him in front of me that he finally spoke. “What were you thinking, Gabi?”

“Honestly? I was wondering if I could break his nose if I hit him hard enough.”

Normally, that would have earned me a laugh, but Rafe’s jaw clenched tighter as he shook his head.

“I’m not sorry,” I said.

He came to a halt. “
What
—”

“I’m not.” I spoke loudly, my words drowning out his. “I don’t care that Collins knows about me. Do you know why?” I reached up and placed a hand on his chin, tilting his face until he was looking at me. His brows were drawn low over his eyes. “Rafe, I would hate myself forever if I just stood there while Collins said those horrible things to you.
About
you. What kind of person would I be?” I shook my head, my eyes welling up with tears. “Definitely not someone who deserves your love.”

Rafe sucked in a sharp breath. “Gabi. No. Don’t you dare think that. Whatever Collins said doesn’t matter. Keeping you safe is the important thing.”

“You’re
wrong
. It does matter. I saw how much what he said affected you.” I lifted my other arm, framing his face between my hands. “How it’s affected you your whole life. I never liked hearing about how the hunters teased you for not having the Sight. To see it in person?” I scowled. “Collins is freaking lucky I don’t know how to fight, or I would have kicked his butt to New Jersey.”

Rafe let out a low chuckle, and my heart sang at the sound. “I would have loved to have seen that.”

“Teach me how to summon a sword like you can and you
will
see it.”

His gaze clouded over again. “He knows about you now.”

“We don’t know that for sure,” I said, trying to reassure both of us. “He just knows you’re dating a so-called normal human girl. There’s no reason for him to believe I can heal.”

“I wish I could share your optimism.”

“This isn’t really optimism. This is me trying not to curl up in a ball and hyperventilate.”

Rafe’s arms encircled my back, pulling me to his chest, and it felt like home. For a few minutes, I’d been so afraid he would never hold me like this again, but I’d been stupid to doubt his love. “You just risked everything for me,” Rafe whispered. “Your safety, your
life…
” He kissed me. “I won’t let anything happen to you, Gabi. I promise.”

I hugged him back as I swallowed against the torrent of tears that threatened to spill down my cheeks and onto his jacket.

“Do you think it’s true?” I asked. “Did sorcerers really bomb HQ?”

Rafe shook his head. “I don’t know. They’ve never been so bold as to attack Silver Moon before. Normally I’d say it’s their problem, but with Kain inside…”

I shuddered. “I really hope he’s okay.” But I was prepared to help him, if I had to.

The number of people at the end of the block had increased, and as Rafe held me and Evan and Alexandra continued to bicker behind us, I watched them curiously. They seemed to be gathered around a guy who was resting on the pavement.
Why’s he sitting on the ground?
I thought.
It’s cold and, ick, it’s gotta be filthy. I wonder if he’s sick?
For some reason, I couldn’t stop staring at him, his presence nagging me as warning bells went off in my head. But why? Why did I care so much about some random stranger—

No.
I squinted, and my stomach dropped.
Not a stranger. That’s not a stranger!

I must have stiffened, because Rafe asked, “Gabi? What’s wrong?”

“Kain,” I said, tearing out of Rafe’s grasp and racing down the block. Rafe let out a startled yelp and followed me. “Kain!”

The people gathered around Kain, dressed in hoodies and jeans and totally reminding me of a cult, snapped to attention as we approached. About five of them stepped in front of Kain, while the rest formed a circle around him. When the ones in front lifted their
glowing
hands, I skidded to a halt, grateful that, for once, my body seemed to be working faster than my brain.

Because my brain was having a really hard time trying to understand what I was seeing. People with glowing hands? Magic? A group of people who wielded magic?

Sorcerers?

Oh my god,
I thought.
Collins was right!

Before I could start asking questions, the girl nearest to me flashed a wicked grin before tossing a ball of magic in my direction.

“No!” Rafe threw himself in front of me. The magic connected with his torso and he let out a strangled yelp as he staggered backward. I tried to catch him, but all I succeeded in doing was cushioning his fall a little bit with my body as we both went down hard on the pavement.

“Rafe!” Ignoring the pain, I scrambled over to him, my heart stopping when I saw him clutching his side, where his old wound was.
No. No, no, no, not again, no—

Evan and Alexandra appeared, their weapons drawn as they put themselves between us and the sorcerers. “Stay back!” Evan snapped, one hand holding a knife while the other one clutched a blue fireball. “That’s right, bitches, you’re not the only ones who can use magic. Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t hurl this in your faces!”

“Who hit Fitz?” Alexandra demanded.

The girl who had struck first stepped forward, more magic in her hands. “It was me. What are you going to do about it, you stupid hunter?”

Alexandra matched her cruel smile with one of her own. “Kill you, of course.” She and Evan launched themselves into the fray, and suddenly the world was filled with flashes of light and grunts of pain as the two hunters and the group of sorcerers fought.

Rafe moaned as he struggled into a sitting position. I carefully helped him up, then unzipped his jacket and pulled up his shirt to inspect the damage. He wasn’t bleeding—thank god—but the skin where Nina had hit him with the parasite spell was dark red and swollen, like it was infected.
That’s not good,
I thought worriedly.
Why hasn’t it healed yet?
I wasn’t a doctor, but even I knew the wound should have scabbed up or something by now.

No wonder Rafe hadn’t let me see it.

“I’m okay,” Rafe said, pushing down his shirt before I could say anything. “How about you?”

I decided to let the state of his injury drop—for now. “Fine. Scared, but fine.” We stood up slowly, and Rafe summoned his sword. He tried to step forward, so he was shielding me, but I was having none of that. “Don’t scowl at me like that, Rafe,” I said. “You already got hurt protecting me once. I’m not going to let you do that again.” As I spoke, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and sent Philip a quick text, letting him know we’d found Kain. The English hunter was sprawled on the ground, unmoving, which worried me. While I didn’t see any blood, his face was chalky white. I had to get over to him, to see if he needed to be healed, but the five sorcerers who weren’t fighting Evan and Alexandra didn’t look like they would move out of the way if I asked them nicely.

“How many of them can you take down your with trusty sword?” I asked Rafe.

He shrugged. “Enough.”

I pulled my knife out of my purse, the blade a comforting weight in my hands. “Then let’s go save Kain.”

It only took me about twenty seconds to realize sorcerers had a completely different type of fighting style. While Silver Moon hunters loved to throw themselves—literally—into the middle of a battle, the sorcerers hung back, relying on the spells they flung in our direction to do the work for them.

And they didn’t all fight at the same time. There were five of them, and only two of us (well, probably one and half. I didn’t really count as a fighter), so you would think they would attack in unison, but they didn’t. Two, one a girl, the other a guy, stepped forward, while the other three hung back, guarding Kain. The guy, who looked a little older than Rafe, lifted his hands, but before he could summon the magic, Rafe dashed forward and knocked him out with the hilt of his sword. The girl blinked in surprise and took a step back, eyeing me nervously.

I gave her a fierce grin as I waved my knife in the air, trying to intimidate her, but when she saw I wasn’t going to attack her, she went on the offensive. Magic shot out of her fingers and I yelped, jumping out of the way. Rafe was busy fighting two of the three guys who guarded Kain (ah, they
had
learned to attack in teams), so it was up to me to stop Miss Flashy Fingers.

(Gee, and here I thought I was the only one with special glowing fingers. How disappointing!)

I took a step forward, and she stepped back. Hmm. Another step forward, another step back. She really didn’t want to face me head on. Interesting. Shrugging my shoulders, I let out a war cry, swinging my knife like a crazy person. The sorcerer shrieked and ran away. I halted, my mouth dropping open in surprise.
I can’t believe that worked!

So now it was just me and the remaining sorcerer. This guy was in his mid-twenties, dressed in jeans and a tattered brown hoodie, and the scowl on his face told me screaming wouldn’t scare him away.

“Hey,” I said, pointing at Kain’s prone form. “That’s my friend. Can I have him back, please?”

The sorcerer continued to stare at me.

“You should say yes, you know. You really don’t want to face me and my friends.”

“You’re not a hunter,” he said, pushing his messy blond hair out of his eyes. “I could wave my hand and send you flying across the street.”

Having already experienced that once in my life, I definitely had no desire for a repeat performance. Gritting my teeth in frustration, I asked, “What do you want with him, anyway?”

Before he could answer, Philip raced past me, bellowing Kain’s name.

The sorcerer snapped to attention, calling forth magic and aiming it in my brother’s direction. Seeing—or maybe sensing—the magic, Philip stumbled, and, without thinking, I threw myself in front of him with my arms outstretched.

I would
not
see him harmed by magic again.

The air shimmered as the magic closed in on us, and I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing myself for the pain.

Chapter Twenty

“No! Jared, stop!”

That voice,
I thought, my heart tripping over itself.
No.
It couldn’t be.

There was a whoosh of air against my face as it blew my hair back, and I opened my eyes to see the magic fly up and over us, toward the sky. My knees were shaking, but Philip reached out and steadied me. He was trembling too, with his skin chalky white and sweaty. Even though the magic hadn’t hit him, it had still affected him. What would have happened if he’d been hit? I wanted to fling my arms around his neck, but there wasn’t any time. The newcomer approached us.

“All of you, stop!” It was a woman who spoke, her hood drawn over her face as she walked past Kain and stood next to the sorcerer—Jared—who’d nearly fried us with magic. The sorcerers stopped fighting, falling back so they flanked her. Rafe and the others quickly joined us; I was relieved to see no one was bleeding or appeared hurt. When Rafe gently pushed my arm down, I realized that I was still standing there with my arms outstretched. Shivering, I let my hands drop and took a step closer to Rafe.

“You okay?” he murmured in my ear.

My eyes were glued to the woman, watching her whisper with her associates. “I don’t know. Rafe, that woman—”

“Get away from him,” Philip growled. Honestly, I was surprised he’d stayed quiet for so long, with Kain still out cold on the pavement.

“Phil, wait,” I said.

He directed his anger at me. “Wait for
what
?”

I held up my hand, the one not holding the knife in a sweaty death grip, and pointed. “Show us your face,” I said to the woman.

She hesitated, and the sorcerers glared at me, like they didn’t like the way I was talking to their leader. Well, tough. She let out a sigh before she reached up, flipping the hood back to reveal a woman in her late thirties and a face so familiar it made my heart ache.

“Mom.” One single word that would forever change my life.

“
Mom?
” Philip demanded, while Rafe cursed softly in surprise. My brother’s head shot back and forth, from me to Mom and back to me again, his face a mixture of confusion and disbelief. “Are you—”

Was I sure? Of course I was sure. It may have been seven years, and Dad may have thrown out nearly all traces of her, but I knew my own mother. I would always know my own mother. I remembered those soft brown eyes, the same shade as mine, and Philip’s, and Chloe’s. I remembered her straight golden-brown hair (how could I have forgotten that shade, even for a moment?), longer now than it used to be, and how I used to spend hours brushing and braiding it. And that voice. That voice that would read me bedtime stories, or explain how to take care of the plants in her garden. I could never, ever forget that voice.

But what I wasn’t sure about was what she was doing here, inches from me and very much alive. Hadn’t I just mourned her death the day before?
Was that really only yesterday?
Sitting in Bryant Park, hearing Charles’s story—it felt like a million years ago. Crying in Rafe’s arms, telling Dad Mom was dead… Had that really happened?

Was this really happening?

“Am I dreaming?” I whispered to no one in particular, but it was Mom who answered.

“No, honey, you’re not.”

“You’re dead,” Philip said, his voice shaking. “You’re dead, he said you were dead, and now you’re here, with HQ on fire and my boyfriend hurt—what the hell is going on?” Philip looked like he was moments away from a complete mental breakdown, and I didn’t blame him.

Mom’s—it was so weird calling her that, but that’s who she was, who she would always be—gaze landed on Kain. “Boyfriend?”

“Yes, and can you please tell your lackeys to get out of the way so we can see if he’s all right?” I demanded, not caring about how rude I sounded. (Although I
had
said “please.”)

She nodded, much to the annoyance of the other sorcerers, and as soon as they stepped aside, Philip rushed forward. He fell to the ground and shook Kain gently. When there was no response, Philip glared at Mom. “What did you
do
to him?”

“I saved his life.”

A pause.

And then Philip and I started speaking at the same time.

“
You
saved
his
life?” That was Philip.

“Wait, I thought
you
blew up HQ!” That was me.

“How can you possibly expect us to believe you saved him?” Philip demanded.

“Yeah!” I added hotly. “Your friends just attacked us!”

“No, you attacked us first,” said the girl who threw the magic at Rafe. Her bottom lip was split and bleeding, and she looked like she wanted nothing more than to start fighting us again.

“Are you kidding me?” Alexandra asked. “You hit Fitz first!”

As everyone started talking, Mom shouted, “Enough!” We fell silent, waiting for her to explain herself.

But before she could, Kain moaned softly and his eyes fluttered open. “Philip.”

“Can you stand?” Philip asked, looking relieved. He hooked an arm around Kain’s shoulders and helped him to his feet. Kain wobbled for a moment, his face tight with pain.

Then he surprised everyone by swiping the knife from Philip’s free hand and whirling to face Jared. Slamming him against the trunk of a tree, Kain pressed Philip’s knife against Jared’s throat. Mom made a sound of protest as a thin line of blood dribbled down the knife’s sharp blade.

“Kain!” Philip shouted.

“Listen to me, you son of a bitch,” Kain snarled, his accent so thick it was almost impossible to understand him. “If you ever even
think
about using magic against my boyfriend again, I will slice you open and gut you like a fish with a rusty, dull blade.” He shoved Jared against the tree again. “Do you understand me?” When Jared didn’t answer, Kain pressed the knife harder against his neck. “I said,
do you understand me
?”

“Kain, he probably can’t answer you with a knife shoved into his throat,” Philip said weakly. His eyes were wide with shock as he watched his usually calm boyfriend completely lose it. I felt more or less the same way Philip looked; I never thought I’d ever see Kain
mad
.

“Oh. Right.” Kain blinked and released Jared, who slumped to the ground, one of his hands clutching his throat. “Do you understand me
now
?”

“Y-Yes,” Jared rasped.

Kain smiled. “Good.” He swayed, and Philip caught him.

“You’re hurt, you idiot!”

“It appears you’re right,” Kain said, pulling up his jacket and shirt to reveal a cut on his chest. “When did that happen?” He touched the back of his head, wincing. “And this?” His fingers were stained red.

“Probably when the building you were in blew up!” Philip’s face was tight with stress. “I need a first aid kit!”

No, he didn’t. I stepped forward, fully intent on helping them, when Mom grabbed my arm, yanking me backward. An electric pulse surged through my body and I yelped. “What are you doing?” I demanded, furious. She was using magic on
me
?

“Don’t you dare,” she said. “He doesn’t need you; it’s a small wound.”

And that’s when I realized: she knew.

Mom knew what I could do.

Rafe pushed in front of me, his sword drawn. “Stay away from her. I don’t care who you are, or if you supposedly saved Kain’s life. You hurt her, and I won’t hesitate to attack you.” His voice was cold, but his eyes were flashing hotly.

The tension in the air was thick as the hunters and the sorcerers had a stare-down. “Enough,” Mom said, softly but firmly. “We won’t get anywhere by threatening each other.”

“Uh, maybe you should have thought of that before you blew up HQ,” Evan said. “Although thanks for knocking Kain around a bit. I’ve wanted to do that for years.”

“Keep talking, Underwood,” Kain said, flashing his teeth, “and you’ll be the next one to feel the sting of my knife.”

“Whatever.” Evan rolled his eyes. “You can barely stand. What are you going to do, bleed on me?”

“Come over here and I’ll show you—”

“Guys,” I interrupted, rubbing my still-stinging elbow.

“Let’s get out of here,” Philip said. “You can walk, right?” He directed that question to Kain, who took one step and nearly toppled over. “Kain!”

“Ouch,” he said. “Maybe I’ll just sit for a moment…”

Mom pulled out a phone and typed a quick text. “I have first aid kits back at my office.”

“So what?” Philip asked. “That’s not going to help us. We need one right now.”

“Which is why I just texted for a car to come pick us up,” Mom said. “We’re going to go back to my office, where I will explain everything.” She gave me a pointed look, and I knew what she meant.

My powers.

I was finally going to get some answers.

“Okay,” I said, speaking for everyone. They stared at me in surprise.

“Remember when I told you about walking away?” Alexandra started.

“This is crazy,” Evan said at the same time. “These are
sorcerers
. You know, our
mortal enemies
? The people who just tried to kill us? And you want to go
with
them?”

I nodded.

Evan raised his eyes to the sky and muttered something under his breath that sounded a lot like, “Crazy girl.”

Rafe touched me lightly on the arm. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. She knows things about me. And besides that, I want to know why she left.

“And why,” I said, staring hard at Mom, “she summoned a demon seven years ago.”