The Shadow Stealer (Silver Moon Saga Book 3) (26 page)

Chapter Forty-six

“Don’t you grow tired of this?”

I was sitting on the bench in my garden, staring at the blooming flowers. It was spring, and the sun was shining brightly enough that I didn’t need my jacket. This was my favorite time of year, and I was perfectly content—

Or I had been until
it
had spoken.

Turning to my left with a sigh, I saw the demon standing there, studying me, not unlike the way I’d been studying my flowers. It cocked its head to the side, tapping one of its long talons against its bony arm when I didn’t respond.

Like before, I knew this was a dream. I also knew this was something I shouldn’t be dreaming about; Mom said demons couldn’t contact us from their realm. So why was this happening?

“I need to give you a name,” I declared.

The demon blinked. “A name?”

“I always name your buddies. But for some reason I’ve never named you. I wonder why?” I leaned back in my seat, staring up at the perfect sky. At least, I thought it was perfect. Like the last dream, everything was gray. So maybe the sky was blue, or maybe it wasn’t. It could be purple for all I knew. Was this how the demon saw things? In tones of gray and more gray? That would really suck. Especially considering how gorgeous my garden looked in the spring. “Dude, you are missing out,” I said. I decided to return to its original question. “What am I supposed to be tired of, exactly?”

It spread its arms wide. “This. The waiting game. Don’t you wish it were over?”

I wrinkled my nose. “Over? No way! If it were over, then you’d be controlling me! And that is never going to happen!” I crossed my arms over my chest as if to prove how untouchable I was.

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that.” The demon smirked, and suddenly I didn’t feel nearly as cocky as I had ten seconds before. “Your mother thinks she’s so clever, but she can’t keep you from me forever. We made a deal, and I will have you.”

“No, you won’t.” My voice shook, and when the demon’s grin widened, I knew it had noticed.

“Is that so? Your friends plan on fighting that hunter; do you truly believe they will emerge unscathed? That you won’t need to heal them?” Its black eyes glittered as it watched me for my reaction.

I couldn’t hide my shock. The demon knew—it
knew.
Mom had been wrong; the demon could find me in my sleep. And it was watching me while I was awake, too. How else would it have known about Collins?

“One more time,” the demon whispered as the shadows appeared, wrapping around its legs like a living skin. “I will allow you to heal one more time, and then you are mine. Will you do it, girl? Or will you stand to the side and watch your friends die?

“The choice,” it said as the shadows continued their path up its body, consuming it, “is yours.”

***

“Gabi.”

I jerked awake with a gasp. Rafe was crouched in front of me, his hand on my shoulders as he gently shook me. Ugh, my mouth tasted like stale popcorn. Struggling into a sitting position, I ignored the jolts of pain that shot through my sore body and asked, “What time is it?” Sunlight streamed through the window.

“A little after eleven. We let you sleep, considering everything that had happened.”

Besides us, the living room was empty, but I could hear my friends’ voices echoing down the hallway from another room. “Did Dad…?”

“See you sleeping in my lap?” Rafe winced. “Yeah, he did. But I think he realized nothing had happened, not with everyone else in the room with us. You’re not in trouble.”

Dad was being super, super lenient. Something told me I shouldn’t get used to that; he’d probably be back to his strict ways by the weekend. A sudden thought occurred to me. “Oh,
crap
, Rafe.”

He instantly looked worried. “What?”

“You probably could have stayed in my bedroom last night and he wouldn’t have said anything! We just missed the opportunity of a lifetime!”

“What!”
Sputtering, he turned bright red. “Gabi—you don’t—not after last night—everyone was here—we couldn’t—I mean—” His hands flailed wildly in the air.

“Relax!” I covered his mouth with my fingertips, unsuccessfully fighting a smile. “Stop freaking out; you might have a heart attack!”

“And whose fault would that be?”

I gave him my most innocent smile. “I have no idea.”

“Evil girl,” he muttered under his breath.

“Says the person who ripped off his shirt and couldn’t keep his hands off of me while standing in my
dad’s
closet,” I reminded him.

Still blushing, Rafe shot me a scowl. “That was
not
my fault! When you healed me, it did something to me! I told you I don’t normally act like that!”

At his words, my smile slipped away as I remembered my dream.
One more time.
And then I was demon bait. Shivering, I crossed my arms over my chest and hugged myself tightly.

Rafe noticed the change in my demeanor immediately. Sitting down on the couch next to me, he pulled me into his arms while he kissed the top of my head. “It’s going to be okay, Gabi.”

I wished I could share his optimism. I also wished I could tell him about my dreams, but if I did, I knew he would team up with Dad and never, ever let me leave the house. No one had protested me going along with them when they faced Collins, and I didn’t want to give them any reason to change their minds.

If I could help them, I would. No matter the consequences. These were my friends, and I loved them fiercely. They continued to risk everything for me without being asked; now it was
my
turn to protect
them
.

Demons and curses be dammed,
I thought bitterly.

Although, with the seal in place I shouldn’t be able to heal, anyway. Which meant I might be worrying for nothing.

But… Something told me the demon could break that seal, if it wanted to.

Rafe’s phone began vibrating, and he shifted so he could he pull it out of his jeans pocket. I couldn’t stop my gasp when I saw Mom’s name on the screen. Had she found out something new?

The text message was simple:
Meet me at the lake, as soon as you can. Much to discuss.

Much to discuss? Really, Mom? Could you be any vaguer?

“Which lake?” Rafe asked, watching me carefully. No doubt he saw the disappointment etched across my face.

I slid out of his lap with a sigh and yanked my hair out of its sloppy ponytail so I could run my fingers through it. “The one at the park. She used to take me and Chloe there all the time; that’s the place Charles saw her.” I tugged on a strand of my hair. “Honestly, I’m surprised she wants to go back there, but she really did love it. That’s where you were supposed to take me today, after school. She wanted to explain why she was leaving without bothering to tell me first. But…” I bit my lip and gestured toward the couch and the rest of the furniture. “What’s wrong with my house?”

“Maybe she didn’t want to see your dad?” Rafe suggested. “She probably thought he would take off from work after seeing the state you were in last night.”

“Maybe,” I said. That made sense; she
had
slipped out Monday before he came home because she hadn’t wanted to see him again. “Should we go?”

He looked surprised at my question. “You don’t want to?”

“I’m still pissed about yesterday. I can’t believe she thought I’d be fine with her taking off without telling me!” I began pacing as I spoke, my stupid knees voicing their protest with every step I took. “Maybe she’s rusty and forgot what it’s like to be a parent, but—” I came to a halt in the middle of the room and stared at Rafe. “But that still doesn’t make it right.”

“Of course it doesn’t.” He rose and joined me, placing his hands on my shoulders. “And that’s what you should tell her when you see her today. You and Phil need to talk to her. Figure this out. Yes, she has another life, with people who rely on her, but she also has a family. And if she wants to be in your lives, then she has to make time for you. Doesn’t she realize how short life can be?”

I could tell from the grief in his eyes that he was thinking about his parents and all the things they’d missed. Seeing him go to high school, play baseball, take me to the winter formal—

Prom.

Graduation.

College.

And all the things that came after that. Rafe’s parents would never get to see him experience any of it. But my mom could. And should. Despite everything, I wanted her in my life. Chloe did too, and I knew Philip would come around in time. We could start fresh, the four of us, and begin building new memories together.

I wanted that. I wanted it so badly.

Today was a start. A new beginning. We’d go to the park and talk to her. And if she told me she had to go back to Manhattan, I would understand. As long as she stayed in touch, as long as we didn’t go through seven more years of silence, I would always understand.

“Okay,” I said, squaring my shoulders. “Let’s go see her.”

Chapter Forty-seven

We drove to the park in two separate cars: me and Rafe with Philip and Kain, and Evan and Alexandra in the other car. Philip hadn’t been too happy when I told him Mom wanted to see us, but he’d at least kept his complaints to a minimum. Despite his misgivings toward Mom, I knew he would always back me up, no matter what.

Rafe turned into the parking lot with Evan pulling up alongside him. There was only one other car in the lot, and I assumed it was Mom’s rental.

“You okay?” Rafe said as he turned the car off and pocketed his keys.

I nodded instead of speaking. For some reason, I was nervous. About what? Seeing Mom? That didn’t make any sense. But there was something about the somber mood in the car—and in the house, when I’d told them Mom wanted to see us—that set me on edge. The previous night, surrounded by my friends, I’d managed to forget my worries for a few hours. But now, everything was pressing down on me, making it hard to breathe. I was scared Mom’s news was going to be bad, adding to the stress I already felt.

I pushed open my car door, letting in the wintry air. The sky was gray and overcast, and it felt like snow was coming. More snow, I meant. The park was already covered in a thick, frozen white blanket, and our boots made soft crunching noises as we followed the trail to the lake. We were definitely the only idiots out here.

“We should have stopped for hot chocolate,” I complained, my breath coming out in small puffs of smoke. Alexandra nudged me with her shoulder, nearly toppling me over in the process while everyone else chuckled quietly.

It was eerily quiet. No birds, no people—I could barely hear the sounds of traffic coming off the main road. Mom and Nina, her pink hair and jacket a bright blaze against the white that surrounded her, waited for us at the edge of the lake. Rafe put a hand on my arm, stopping me before I could get too close. Mom looked pale and tired, and I wondered if she’d been able to get any sleep. Nina, on the other hand, looked better than when I’d last seen her, but her dark eyes kept darting around nervously, as if she expected someone else to show up.

Like Collins.

I swallowed hard and stepped closer to Rafe.

“What the hell is she doing here?” Philip asked, gesturing toward Nina. “Did you forget that she tried to kill Gabi a few hours ago?”

“Of course not,” Mom said. “But Nina has been very cooperative. She’s told me all about Collins, and I needed to share that information with you.”

The wind from the lake picked up, and I zipped my jacket up as high as I could. “And you couldn’t do that at home? Where it’s warm?”

“I didn’t want to risk it,” Mom said. “We know Collins is consorting with demons, but we don’t know what they’ve taught him as far as magic goes. There’s a good chance his tracking spell—used with demon magic—will be able to trace
everywhere
Nina’s been. If we brought her to your house…”

“Collins could come looking for her, even if she’s not there,” I answered, shivering at that thought.

“Exactly.” Mom glanced at each of us at turn. “I called you here to say goodbye.” My heart dropped as panic rippled through me. “I’m going to take Nina back to the city with me.” I opened my mouth to protest, but Mom shook her head. “I
have
to, Gabi. Not just for your safety, but hers as well.”

Jealousy shot through me. I knew I should be happy that she was at least telling me in advance that she was leaving, but I hated that I wasn’t the one who was going with her. Why should Nina get to spend time with my mom? That wasn’t fair.

“Hold on.” Evan raised his hand. “Since when do we care about Miss Pink? She keeps trying to kill us!”

“It wasn’t her fault.” Mom’s eyes pleaded with me to understand. “Collins manipulated her. Charles, too. You can’t blame her for her mistakes.”

To my left, Philip took a step forward, his anger radiating off of him in dark waves. “We are
not
helping her. Not after everything she did!” He pointed at my face. “Look at what she did to Gabi
last night
!”

“I’m not asking
you
to help her, Phil,” Morgan said quietly.

He blinked and faltered, looking hurt.

“But what if Collins comes looking for you?” I didn’t like the thought of Mom as bait, especially when she looked so tired. The last few days must have really taken their toll on her. “I know you’re strong, Mom, but he uses demon magic. Do you really think you can face him on your own and win?”

Mom managed a smile. “I do.”

“Is that so?” a new voice asked. Everyone jumped as a figure materialized out of thin air. Cursing, Rafe pushed me behind him as he summoned his sword, but that didn’t stop me from seeing Collins standing there, assessing us with a smug look on his face. How long had he been standing there? And how come no one had sensed him? Was he using demon magic?

“No,” Mom breathed, her face going pale. “I cloaked her. You shouldn’t have been able to trace her here!”

Or make himself invisible,
I added silently as my heart raced. Collins was so much stronger than any of us imagined. How could we expect to beat him?

But we had to try, I thought as I pulled my knife from my coat’s pocket and unsheathed it. For Rafe’s sake.

And his parents.

And mine, too,
I allowed myself to add.

Collins smirked. “How adorable. You thought your pathetic magic was any match for mine?” He paused, confused. “I know you, don’t I? Weren’t you with Charles, years ago? And didn’t you die?” Comprehension dawned on his face. “That was
you
in HQ the other day, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, that was me,” she said, matching his haughty tone perfectly, “and I used my ‘pathetic magic’ to escape death. Twice.”

They stared one another down, and then Collins abruptly laughed. “I knew you should have been my student. Think of the things I could have shown you.”

“With your demon magic?” Mom asked. “No, thank you.”

Collins tsked. “You know about that? Nina, why couldn’t you have kept your mouth shut?”

Even though her eyes were full of tears, Nina’s voice was steady when she spoke. “You’re breaking the edict, Collins. You can’t be allowed to live.”

“Stupid Nina,” Collins said fondly. “You’ve been using demon magic all this time. Doesn’t that mean you should be killed as well?” He probably expected his words to be a shattering blow, but Nina merely lifted her chin and sniffled loudly. Collins frowned. “You know, I must say this is disappointing. Now I’ll have to search for a new apprentice again.”

“You’ll do no such thing.” Everyone turned to see Charles, slightly breathless, run up to us. Unlike Collins, he hadn’t appeared out of thin air, but we’d been so intent on what Collins had been saying that no one had noticed him approach.

“Dad?” Philip nearly dropped his knife. “What are
you
doing here?”

“I was following Collins—” He trailed off as his gaze found Mom, his mouth forming a perfect “o.” “Morgan… How is this possible?” Charles reached for Mom. “I saw it. I saw you die!”

Mom gave him a frosty look, and he dropped his hand. “You saw what I wanted you to see.”

“But—”

“As touching as this reunion is,” Collins said, “can we please get on with things?” He pointed in my direction, and my friends tightened their circle around me. “I want to see what that girl can do.”

“You’re not touching my daughter,” Morgan snapped. “We won’t let you.”

“Really?” Collins assessed us all in turn, his brows raised. “And who is going to stop me? The one allergic to magic?” Philip flushed angrily but kept quiet. “The girl, who, up until a few months ago, was in a coma?” Alexandra flashed her teeth in response. “The Sightless one, who couldn’t even save his parents—”

“Shut up,” I snapped, finally having enough. I could stay quiet for only so long. “And stop saying that. Everyone knows you killed Rafe’s parents! We know you and Liam were arguing right before he was killed; Rafe overheard you!”

“Did he now?” Collins asked pleasantly.

“Yes,” I said, as Rafe trembled beside me. “I bet Liam found out about your plans to raise a demon army, and when he threatened you, you sent a demon to silence him!”

Everyone stared at Collins, waiting for him to speak. I held my breath, reaching for Rafe with my free hand. His fingers found mine, and we entwined them together, holding on to one another tightly, like we were each other’s lifeline.

Collins’s face stretched into a slow smile. “I never did like Liam Fitzgerald. Cocky, headstrong, always thought he was better than everyone else. The day he found out his brat was Sightless is a day I’ll never forget. The disappointment and grief on his face… I relished that.” Eyes narrowing, Collins’s smile slipped away. “But that lasted all of a week before he brought that abomination into the halls of HQ, proclaiming he would train his son to be one of us.” He pointed a finger at Rafe, who stiffened and adjusted his grip on his sword. “You will never be one of us! You are a liability, a hindrance, and you sully this organization’s name by pretending to be a hunter!”

“
You work with demons!
” Evan burst out, his face blotchy and red. I’d never seen him so angry before. “You learned spells from them! How can you talk about ruining Silver Moon’s name when you’re the biggest offender?”

“Evan, you stupid boy. Do you really think this organization rose to greatness by following the rules?” Collins eyed Charles, smirking slightly. “Yes, we do have people like Charles, who blindly follow the rules and kill their lovers because they think it’s the right thing to do,” he said, his words dripping with disdain. “But there are plenty of us who don’t give a damn about the edict and the rules. The rules were established to clip our wings, to stop us from exploring our potential for greatness.”

“And what is this
greatness
you speak of?” Charles asked as he struggled to remain calm. “Cavorting with demons?”

“Charles, hunters have been doing exactly that for thousands of years.” Unlike Charles, his stance was relaxed, like he didn’t mind or care that everyone else was aiming a weapon at him. “Do you truly believe the elders were the only ones who mixed their blood with demons’? Have you already forgotten about Matthew Davenport? And countless others? How many times have I been sent to other HQs to dispatch a hunter who broke an edict?”

“That’s highly ironic, isn’t it?” Kain asked with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “You, the champion of justice, felling the evil ones when you’re exactly the same as them.”

“I wonder,” Collins said, “if you children would be standing here, judging me, if your parents hadn’t stepped in and prevented me from training you. If you’d grown up following
my
teachings, you wouldn’t think I was so wrong.”

“No, we’d be more like Miss Crazy over there,” Evan said, hooking a thumb over his shoulder to point to Nina. “Thanks, but no thanks.”

“Nina knew what she was getting herself into when she agreed to become my apprentice—”

“You’re lying!” Nina cried. “You never told me we’d be learning spells from demons! You know how I feel about them; they killed my parents! But you didn’t care, did you? You taught me those spells and were probably laughing at me behind my back the entire time!”

Collins shrugged. “If you were smarter, my dear, you would have realized where the magic came from. But that was always your problem—you were never intelligent enough. You weren’t my first, second, or even third choice for an apprentice. You were my only choice, and I had to make do.”

Nina’s face went red with embarrassment. If she hadn’t called me stupid so many times, I might have felt bad for her.

(Okay, I did. I’m not entirely heartless, you know.)

“So my dad found out.” Rafe spoke softly, but everyone turned to him. It was the first time he’d said anything since Collins appeared. I expected him to be angry, but his eyes were only sad. “He found out and threatened you, so you killed him. Is that right?”

“More or less.” Collins said that so casually, like we were discussing the weather. “I’d done a very good job of covering my tracks—the demons taught me how to cover the stain that appears when you summon one of them fairly early on—but he’d been watching me closely since the day I tried to make Evan my apprentice. He saw me speaking with one, making plans for my army, but instead of reporting me, Liam thought he could scare me into admitting my wrongdoings.” Collins chuckled darkly. “I told you he was arrogant. He figured he would win more votes for his precious director’s position if I said he’d caught me. Foolishly, he thought I was afraid of him, but he was a mere mortal. Compared to a demon, he was nothing! So I took that cocky arrogance and threw it right back at him. I’d been hoping to wipe the whole family out, but the demon thought it better to keep you alive, Rafe. They do like to make their victims suffer.” Collins took a step closer to Rafe. “And I agree, that
was
a better plan. You’ve been grieving for five years, haven’t you? Thinking you killed them?” He gave my boyfriend a mock bow. “Well, now you know the truth. It was your father’s fault he and your mother died that day. Does that make you feel better?”