Shadows (20 page)

With a roar, the Arum reared up and expanded, tossing Dawson into the air as though he were nothing but a child.
If you give up, it will be lesss painful.

Dawson’s shoulder slammed into the ground. He rolled onto his back and popped up in his human form before the Arum reached him. Spinning out of his grasp, he avoided the thick tendrils stabbing at him.

Damn, he’d been drained once before, and he wasn’t going through that again.

The Arum shifted into his human form, letting loose a series of blasts that Dawson barely avoided as he raced toward the bastard. The matter the Arum wielded left craters in the ground, destroyed the ancient oaks it came into contact with.

He hadn’t heard Bethany make a sound for so long, the thought that something had happened to her made him falter without even meaning to. He took his eyes off the Arum, searching for her. The minute distraction cost him. Letting out another chilling laugh, the Arum threw his hand out.

In the last possible moment, Dawson switched to his true form. The dark matter hit him in the chest, and he absorbed it the best he could. The blast still knocked him off his feet but would’ve incinerated a human. Over the red-hot, slicing pain shooting through his body and the buzzing in his ears, he heard Bethany’s horrified scream.

A split second later, he sprang to his feet and took off after the Arum. The Arum was nothing more than a shadow, but he was heading straight for Beth. It was like all his nightmares were becoming reality. The terror was worse than when he’d seen Beth topple over the edge.

All he could see was Beth’s pale face, her wide eyes. It became his whole world. A part of him, probably the one that held all of his humanity, switched off. His vision sharpened and purpose filled him. Beth was threatened.

And the Arum was going to die.

Shifting into his true form, he rushed the Arum and tackled him from behind. He heard a soft gasp, but he rolled the Arum onto his back. The air around them became charged. Reaching down, he unsheathed the obsidian blade from around his lower leg.

The Arum struggled wildly under him, but Dawson clamped a hand around the SOB’s throat and pinned him there. Without saying a word, he plunged the blade deep into the Arum’s center.

There was a flash of golden light and then the Arum broke into pieces that hovered in the air for a few seconds, like an irregularly shaped puzzle. And then they simply fizzled out.

Dawson stood and swayed to the right. Pain arced up his leg. He looked down and noticed it seemed off. As if his left leg was going the wrong way, bent at an odd angle. Broken. Slipping the obsidian into his back pocket, he sighed and changed into his Luxen form so he could heal. It would take a couple of minutes to repair the damage, but at least he wouldn’t feel it now. And anyway, he had more important things to worry about.

He faced Beth.

She was standing under one of the scorched trees, her arms wrapped around her waist. Trembles ran through her body, and he hated that she’d seen this—seen him kill.

Bethany?

Her head cocked to the side and she blinked.
Are…are you okay?

Hearing her voice again in his thoughts was a heady, unexplainable feeling. Coming back to her, he knelt and cupped her cheeks. His light enveloped her as he pressed his lips to against hers. Through their bond, he heard her saying his name over and over again.
Dawson. Dawson. Dawson.

It’s okay. It’s over.
He slipped back into his human form, pulling her against his chest, resting his cheek against hers. Their pounding hearts beat in unison.
I’ll never let anything happen to you. I promise. You’re safe with me.

Bethany’s fingers dug into his shirt as she shivered.
I know. I love you.

He would never grow tired of hearing those three words, through their bond or spoken out loud.

Dawson?
A shudder rolled through her body. A moan was muffled against his neck.
I don’t feel…I don’t feel good
.

He let go, stepping back.
Beth—

She didn’t trip, but it seemed like her legs gave out on her. He reached for her, but she hit the ground, face pale as she pushed up to her knees. Her skin looked damp and clammy.

Fear tripped up his heart as he shot toward her. Was she hurt? The Arum hadn’t reached her, he was sure. “Bethany, what’s wrong?”

A shudder rolled through her body. “Dawson…”

Kneeling beside her, he grasped her shoulders. Her moan sent his heart racing. His eyes darted around quickly. “Baby, talk to me. What’s going on?”

“I don’t feel good,” she said, her voice weak. And then he heard her as clear as day in his head.
I think I’m on fire.

Placing his hands on her cheeks, he found her skin to be hot. Too hot. Her lids were heavy, hiding her eyes. “Bethany, tell me what’s wrong.”

“Something’s wrong—”

A twig snapped nearby. In a flash, four shadows swallowed them, and his stomach pitched. Oh, God, no. There were more Arum.

Gathering her close, he knew he was too drained to fight off four of them. For the first time in his life, he envied his brother’s strength. Bethany was going to die, and it was all his fault. Because he was too weak to protect her.

He held her tighter.
I’m sorry
, he said through their mind link. And he’d never meant those words more than he did then.

Tensing his shoulders, he gathered his remaining strength. This might be the end, but no way was he going out without a fight. He’d take as many of the bastards with him as he could. He squeezed Bethany one last time and turned to face them.

There was a flash of intense light, blinding even him, and before he could shed his human form, something cool was placed against his neck. Then his world went to hell. It felt like the light was being torn from underneath the skin, muscles pulling, bones snapping. Red-hot, fiery pain exploded, taking…taking everything. Him. Sight. Sound.
Everything
.

The last thing he felt was Bethany being pulled from his limp arms. A finality of black crashed over him in waves he couldn’t surface from, welcoming him into the nothingness that dug in deep, refusing to ever let him go.

“Yeah, of course.” He cupped her cheeks gently and kissed her. “I’ll call you in the morning.”

Ash gathered her stuff up and left. He lay back on his bed, suddenly exhausted. Before he knew it, he opened his eyes and it was morning. Holy hell, he’d never just conked out like that.

Pushing himself up, he scrubbed at his eyes and yawned.

The tension in his shoulders and neck was still there. Great.

On his way downstairs he passed Dawson’s bedroom. The door was cracked open. From the hallway he could smell the roses he’d bought for Bethany.

Maybe he should do something like that for Ash—wait. Daemon pushed open the door. Dawson hadn’t been home. And it was obvious that he’d been planning on coming back last night. He dug his cell out of his pocket. There were no messages from him.

“Dee?” He went down the steps, three at a time. She was sitting on the couch, huddled up in a little ball, wrapped in a quilt. “Have you heard from Dawson?”

“No.” She looked dog-tired. “Maybe he stayed over at Bethany’s.”

All night with her parents being there? He doubted that. Going into the kitchen, he made Dee and himself some breakfast. They ate in silence, which was unusual. Dee always had something to talk about.

“You feeling okay?” he asked.

She shook her head. “I feel beat.”

“Same here.” And the weird feeling in his stomach, like a bundle of knots, kept growing and growing. Nothing he did, even running, eased them.

Sometime in late morning, right before he was about to go to Bethany’s house and see if his dumbass brother just couldn’t be bothered with letting him know where he was, there was a knock on the door.

It was Officer Vaughn and Officer Lane.

Daemon took a step back without speaking. Something…something awful was creeping up his throat, into his head.

Officer Lane looked terrified. “Sorry to arrive without warning, but we need a few minutes of your time.”

Okay, they were never sorry before. Ever. As if he were moving through water, he turned to his sister. Her pale face was tight. On autopilot, he sunk down beside her.

Vaughn remained by the door, his eyes sharp. It was Lane who sat in the recliner and clasped his hands together. “I need to ask you a few questions about Dawson.”

His mouth went dry. “Why?”

“Was he with a human girl by the name of Elizabeth Williams—also known as Bethany or Liz?”

The knots had turned into acid. Had the DOD found out about Dawson and Bethany? The DOD knew that the Luxen and humans had…relationships, even though it was a little bit on the forbidden side of things—for obvious reasons.

“Why are you asking?” Daemon sat straighter, figuring two officers were about to disappear if they’d discovered Dawson had exposed what they were.

Lane glanced at Vaughn, then took a deep breath. “Was he with her last night?”

“Yes,” Dee answered. “They’re friends. Why are you asking?”

“There…there appears to have been an incident last night in Moorefield.” There was a pause and all sorts of horrible things rushed through Daemon. “We don’t know what happened, but I am sorry, he was gone. Both of them were.”

Daemon opened his mouth to speak but lost his voice. Gone? As in, they weren’t where the DOD thought they were, because he surely couldn’t mean gone as in
gone
. He started to stand but couldn’t will his legs to work.

His sister drew in a shaky breath. “He’s coming back, right? With Bethany?”

Daemon bit down on his molars.
Gone
was a term humans loved to use when they couldn’t wrap their tongue around the word
dead
. As if saying
gone
somehow lessened the blow.

Vaughn’s expression remained impassive. “Both of them were dead. I’m sorry.”

Daemon couldn’t maintain the useless task of breathing. He locked up, every muscle, every cell. A roaring sound, like a low growl, filled his ears. His vision dimmed.

“No,” Dee said, whipping toward him. Hands flew to her hair, tugging erratically. “No. Dawson’s not dead! We’d know. He’s not dead, Daemon! He’s not!”

Lane stood, visibly awkward, and cleared his throat. “I’m sorry.”

There was a pressure building in his chest. “I want to see my brother.”

“I’m sorry, but—”

“Take me to my brother’s body now!” His voice shook the windows and the humans, but he didn’t care. “So help me, if you don’t…”

Vaughn stepped forward. “Your brother’s body and the human’s have been disposed of.”

“Disposed…”
He couldn’t even finish the sentence. Nausea rose sharply. Disposed of…like nothing more than trash that needed to be taken out. “Get out…”

“Daemon,” Lane said. “We are truly—”

“Get. Out!” he screamed.

The officers couldn’t have left quicker.

The wooden floor quaked beneath his feet, rolling until a keening howl accompanied the movement. The house shook on its foundation. Windows rattled. Pictures slipped from the wall, shattering against the shaking floor. Furniture toppled over and elsewhere in the house, more things fell. He didn’t care. He would destroy everything. He had nothing left without his brother…
Dee.
Oh, God. Dee.