Hunting Shadows (Shadow Series #3) (23 page)

Both Simon and Ryan looked like they wanted to argue. I glanced at Sam
worriedly, having forgotten he was there, but he
didn’t seem surprised by our conversation. He obviously knew our cover story was
fake but it didn’t seem to perturb him in the least.

“We should go,” Marie said before the conversation could continue. She turned to Sam
and kissed him quickly
on the lips
. “Thanks for your help.”

I couldn’t help wondering about the
nature
of
Sam and Marie’s
relationship as we walked out.
I was no longer surprised that Sam had gotten out of bed and helped us so late at
night since there seemed to be something romantic between the two of them. I wonder
ed
how much he knew about Marie being a seer. Despite the fabrication she had told him
about why we needed his help, he hadn’t seemed the least bit surprised to hear us
talking about powers.

We were quiet on the way back to the apartment, fatigue weighing heavily on all of
us. I collapsed onto the sofa when we got back and Simon sat next to me, putting his
arm around my shoulders.
I leaned into him, comforted by his warmth.

“Now what?” Marie asked, sitting in
the chair opposite us. I held the metal disk tightly in my hand, trying to will it
to give me some insight.

“There’s no reason to stay up all night worrying about what to do next,” Ryan answered.
“I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m exhausted. I say we get some sleep and
try to get a new perspective on things in the morning.”

I didn
’t argue because I was tired as well
, especially after being put under hypnosis, and Simon and Marie didn’t disagree either.
We silently got ready for bed although there was brief argument about who would take
the bedroom.
I insisted that Marie take it since she had more of a claim on this apartment than
any
of us, but she refused, insisting
that she found the couch more comfortable. It was finally agreed
upon
that Simon and I would take the bedroom while Marie would ta
ke the couch and Ryan would sleep on
the floor.

“How are you feeling?” Simon asked softly when we had finally settled into bed. Despite
the darkness, I could feel his gaze on me.

“Tired. Confused. Ready for something to happen,” I replied. “I’m tired of waiting
for my father to attack. I’m tired of
being on the defensive
.”

“I know, but you’re not just waiting
around
for things to happen. You pu
t your life at risk by going
under hypnosis today.
I would say that’s pretty proactive.
”

I couldn’t help giving a small bitter laugh. “That’s not worth much considering how
I failed Jenny.
I thought I was getting so strong. That I could defeat any va
rdoger. And then when it mattered
the most, I failed.”

Simon pulled me towards him, cradling me close. I buried my face in his neck, wanting
to blot out the image of Jenny’s cold gray lips and lifeless body as she
lay
next to the pool. I tried to replace it with the memory of what she had looked like
alive; laughing green eyes and an infectious smile. I remembered the first time we
had met. Sarah had introduced us and despite my shyness, I had felt an immediate connection
to her as she hugged
me enthusiastically despite
us being strangers
. Even though she hadn’t known my secrets, she had accepted me despite what must have
seemed like my quirks and eccentricities. It was so unfair that her life had been
so easily taken away. The thought of her life that would never be realized,
the thought
that she would never graduate college,
have a first job,
or get married and
have children, was too cruel. I felt a wetness on Simon’s neck
, not realizing until I pulled back that it was my own tears.

“It’s not your fault,” Simon whispered as he wiped the tears from my cheeks. His eyes
glinted in the dim moonlight streaming through the window. “I don’t know what the
hell happened when we tried to pull her out. One moment I had my hand around her arm,
the next moment I was being shot back like I was electrocuted.” His jaw tensed. “I
don’t understand it. I should have been able to save her. If it’s anyone’s fault,
it’s mine, not yours.”

He looked down at me and I could see in his eyes that he really believed it was his
fault. I reached up and gently caressed his jaw, realizing that I wasn’t the only
one in pain.

“It wasn’t your fault. You tried to save her.” I took a deep shuddering breath. “Let’s
not waste time blaming ourselves. The real person responsible is my father. I know
he’s connected somehow.
He’s going to pay.”

Simon
gently
cupp
ed my cheek with his hand
. “We’ll make sure he gets what he deserves. But don’t lose yourself in all the hate.
You’re more than just a device to get revenge on your father. You have your life ahead
of you as well. Don’t forget that. Don’t do anything that risks your future.”

I knew Simon was telling me not to be reckless and put myself in jeopardy, but
I was the last person I was worried about
.
I didn’t want to talk anymore. I wanted to get out of my head and just feel. I pulled
his head down towards me so that our lips were almost touching.

“Just promise to always stay with me,” I whispered, feeling a sharp need for him.
I couldn’t imagine going through this without him and I told him so. “I can’t do this
without you.”

Simon tightened his arm around me, pulling my body flush against his. His voice was
fierce when he spoke.
“You’ll never have to worry about that.
I promise I’ll always be with
you. I love you, Caitlin.”

Instead of telling him,
I showe
d him how much I loved him
with my lips and hands and body. Soon I was lost in
a sea of sensations, trying
desperately
to
replace my pain with pleasure.

Chapter
Nineteen

I woke up breathless, the images of my dream still fresh in
my mind as if it had just actually
happened. I tried to squelch the
automatic horror at the gruesomeness of my dream so that I could recall every detail.
It had been the same one of Ryan lying in a pool of blood in my apartment as he pressed
his mother’s iridium medallion into my hand.

Simon was still fast asleep beside me and I tried not to disturb
him as I shifted in bed, attempting
to get comfortable as I analyzed my dream. It was then that I heard a shout from
the living room. Simon shot up in bed at the same time I did, but he was much faster
than
I
was
as he jumpe
d out of bed and bounded to
the bedroom door, flinging it open. I followed him quickly, my heart pounding against
my chest so hard that I wouldn’t have been surprised if
Simon had
hear
d
it.

Simon flicked on the light and my heart started to calm when I saw Marie sitting up
on the couch, rubbing her eyes against the s
udden light. Ryan was already up and crouched
as
if he were getting ready to attack
at a moment’s notice. He looked
at us blankly when the light
turned on
, as if he wasn’t fully awake
. He slowly seemed to become aware of his surroundings as his body relaxed and he
slumped into a sitting position on the floor.

“What the hell is going on?” Simon asked grumpily.
“We heard shouting.”

Ryan looked up at us wearily, looking spent. His gaze honed in on me. “
That was me.
I had a dream about your father. He’s getting closer. I’m able to feel his energy
again.”

Instead of frightening me, I felt a stir of anticipation. It was finally time to face
my father and I was more than ready.

“How close i
s he?” Marie asked, looking
less
than
enthusiastic.

“We still have time, but he’s moving fast. At the rate he’s going, he should be here
in about a day.”

“We have to get ready for him,”
I said with nervous determination
. I turned around to go back into the bedroom
to grab the palladium and iridium
disk
but I froze when I saw the bedside table. My cell phone, along with Simon’s, was
still
on the table where
I had placed i
t before going to bed, but it
was completely void of the palladium an
d iridium disk
. Horror and shock ran through me
as I dropped to my knees next t
o the table, frantically searching
the floor and underneath the bed and table
in c
ase it had fallen
, but it was nowhe
re to be found
.
With mounting trepidation,
I stood up and made
my way back to the living room. I couldn’t keep the accusation from my voice when
I spoke.

“The palladium and iridium that was melted down is gone.
I put it on the bedside table before I went to bed
and now it’s disappeared
.
” I looked at each of them closely
as I spoke
. Simon’s jaw tightened when my gaze settled on him and I felt guilty for including
him in my accusatory look but I couldn’t help it. After all, he had the easiest access
to it while I was sleeping. Maybe he had taken it under the misguided n
otion that he was protecting me, although his glare told me that he
saw my doubt and was angered by it.

Marie was the first one to speak. “Shit. Where could it have gone?” Her gaze strayed
to Simon and his expression became even more thunderous. I knew Marie didn’t fully
trust Simon since he was a vardoger. It didn’t help when Ryan narrowed his eyes suspiciously
as he studied Simon.

“You were the closest one to it,” Ryan said as he stood up. He advanced towards Simon,
his expression growing fierce. “You could have easily taken it while she was sleeping.”

I could almost see Simon’s body vibrating with anger as he stepped towards Ryan, his
eyes dark with fury. “You’re the unk
nown factor here. You could
have just
as easily sneaked into the bedroom while we were asleep and taken it.
Why the hell would
I
have taken it?
”

“Why would you
have
take
n
it?” Ryan
parroted back to Simon as he
laughed hollowly, although his expression looked anything but amused. “Because you’re
a damned vardoger. Because you’re built for killing and betrayal.”

Simon was about to pounce and I stepped in between them before things could escalate.
“Stop.” I turned towards Ryan. “Simon didn’t take it. You accusing him isn’t helping
matters.” I felt guilty that I had momentarily suspected Simon
as well
. I wanted to blame it on the shock of seeing the metal disk missing, but I couldn’t
h
elp wondering if it was due to the fact that
I hadn’t fully accepted him because he was a vardoger. I pushed the thought aside.
I loved Simon. That’s all that mattered.

“You’re blinding yourself to
his true nature,” Ryan said to me
, but he was still glaring at Simon. “He’s a vardoger. Vardo
gers aren’t on our side. How does
your father know where we are?
He
probably told him somehow.”

Before I knew what was happening, Simon flew towards Ryan in a murderous rage.
He moved so fast that I barely had time to register what was happening
as he
punched Ryan in th
e face with enough force that Ryan
fell back onto the ground.
Blood started gushing out of his nose and I had a flashback to my
dream of Ryan l
ying in a pool of blood.
Simon picked him up by the front of his shirt, hauling him up so he was dangling
before him, his toes barely touching the ground.

“Say it again,” Simon spat out, his expression enraged. “Say it again and I’ll be
happy to finish you off.”

“Stop it!” I yelled, finally finding my voice.
I grabbed Simon’s arm, trying to get him to let go of Ryan. “You’re making
things
worse! Just stop it!”

Simon let go of Ryan, who staggered back as he tried to regain his balance. He cupped
his hand around his bleeding nose and Marie got up from the couch and went into the
kitchen, coming back quickly wit
h a washcloth. She silently handed
it to Ryan who pressed it against his nose. Simon was breathing harshly as his hands
opened and cl
enched into fists, his menacing gaze
still fixed on Ryan.

“You son of a bitch,” Ryan finally said, although his voice was muffled by the washcloth.
“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that your first instinct is to become violent.”

I grabbed Simon’s arm when he made a move to approach Ryan again. Ryan, to his credi
t, stood his ground as he scowled
at Simon.

“Stop it,” I said in a low voice, pulling Simon back. When he turned to me, his eyes
were full of rage and
animosity.
Slowly, t
he fierce intensity fade
d until his expression was
simply
bleak.

“You think I took it.” It was a statement, not a question, and I shook my head in
protest.

“No, I don’t think you took it,” I said quietly so that the others couldn’t hear.
“I know you didn’t.”

Simon’s expression turned grim. “Don’t lie to me. I saw the way you looked at me.”

I bit my lip and debated telling him the truth. I decided I had to since he had already
seen right through me. “You’re right. When I first realized it was gone, I was
so upset that I wasn’t thinking straight. For a split second I thought maybe you
had taken it, but only because of some misguided notion that you were protecting me.
I never thought you took it for a malicious reason. But then I came to my senses and
realized you wouldn’t do something like that.” I took his hand in mine and squeezed
tightly. “I’m sorry.”

Simon’s tensed shoulders slowly relaxed and he nodded, alt
hough he still looked grim
. I turned back towards Ryan and Marie. Ryan’s nose finally seemed to have stopped
bleeding, although the washcloth in his hand was blood-soaked.

“Working under the premise that Simon didn’t take it,” Marie started although she
didn’t seem convinced of the fact. “We have to determine who took the palladium and
iridium disk.” I saw her give
Ryan a sidelong look
which didn’t go unnoticed
by him
.

“I didn’t take it,” he said exasperated.

Marie looked back at me and shrugged. “I didn’t take it either.”

“It didn’t just disappear on its own,” I said in frustration. “Where could it have
gone?”

Before anyone could an
swer, there was a knock at
the door.
We all froze at the sound. No one besides Sophia knew we were here and I doubted
she was coming to visit at five o’clock in the morn
ing. Besides, we hadn’t buzzed anyone through
the front door of
the apartment building
.

The knock sounded again, this time louder.

“Who is it?” Marie called out, not able to hide the quaver in her voice. My trepidation
grew when there was no answer to her question except an even louder knock.

“Shit,” Simon
said under his breath. He stalked
towards the door. “I’m answering it. Move back.”

We all stood frozen in place, not heeding Simon’s warning to move away from the door.
Instead of opening it right away, he put his ear against the door to see if he could
hear anything. I had to swallow a scream
when there was an even loud
er
bang against the door
, causing even Simon to jump back.

“Fuck this,” he muttered and swung open the door. I gasped when a woman covered in
blood staggered through the door, dropping to her knees as she barely made it through
the doorway. Simon caught her from completely collapsing on
to
the floor.

“Sophia!” Marie exclaimed in horror as she rushed towards the figure. I hadn’t recognized
her through all the blood but now I could make out her face and
the glazed expression of terror
.

Marie pushed
back her hair
that was stringy with blood. “What happened to you?”
she asked, her voice choked with emotion.

Sophia
opened her mouth to speak but
only
a gurgling sound came out
. I had to bite back a moan of horror when I s
aw that her throat had been slashed
.

Simon carefully picked her up and placed her on the couch so she was lying down. I
tried
to not
look at the trail of blood she left behind her and instead focused on her face. Her
mouth opened again as if she
were
urgently trying
to say
something.

“What is it, Sophia?” Marie cried out. “Who did this to you?” She looked up at Ryan.
“Call an ambulance!”

Sophia’s mouth worked fervently and finally she was able to emit a slight croak that
was unintelligible. We all leaned closer except for Ryan who was scrambling in his
bag for his cell phone. Sophia’s mouth started moving again and I was finally able
to und
erstand her when she spoke this time
.

“Run.”

Before I could even fully register what she had said, I felt a rushing of air behind
me. Terror cou
ldn’t fully describe my emotion
when I
turned and
saw
a horde
of
vardogers fighting to get through the door.
But they were vardogers unattached to bodies. My mind blanked, not understanding
how the vardogers could sustain themselves
without their human counterparts
. The only person I knew who
had the power to
allow vardogers to detach from their
humans
and exist apart from
them was Claudia,
but she was long gone.

“Get ready!” Ryan yelled, his phone long forgot
ten. He looked at me with grim determination but
I could
also
see the fear in his eyes. I forced myself to block everything out as I started to
funnel
my energy
together. My powers started gathering and growing into a large burning orb full of
anxiety and fear, but just as I was about to throw it out towards the vardogers, they
slamm
ed into me with the force of a M
ack truck, throwing me against the wall. I could feel them trying to sink inside me
as I slid to the floor. I vaguely heard someone cry out my name but I concentrated
on gathering my energy again, trying to ignore the searing pain as I felt them trying
to invade every corner of my body, pushing against my soul.