Torn From the Shadows (16 page)

“No.” I looked at the glass—the intact glass. “How did the window fix itself?”

“It’s shatterproof.”

The waitress wrapped an arm around my shoulder and guided me to the door. She held it open while squeezing me closer to her side. “So you didn’t suspect anything strange about this diner, huh, Catcher?” The shine in her eyes made me feel like she was teasing me.

I shook my head. “I’d just assumed it was an all-night joint catering for insomniacs and freaks like me.”

She laughed. “You’re not far from the truth.” She gave me a squeeze. “Maybe the next time you’re here, you should take a
proper
look around.” She winked, dropped her arm, gave me a little prod out the door, and wandered outside with me.

The cool night air hit my warm cheeks and helped to wake me out of my stupor.

“C’mon, hon, I’m not going back inside until you’re locked inside your car.” The waitress walked close beside me, glaring at the street as we moved and only shifting her protective stance when I unlocked the car door.

“Thanks,” I whispered.

“You need to be more careful, Sierra,” she said with a stern look on her face. “My name is Sheila, by the way.”

I nodded, climbed into the car, and locked the door as soon as I was sitting in the driver’s seat. I couldn’t help but stare at the intact glass for a second, before turning the key in the ignition and putting the car into gear. I waved at Sheila the waitress and headed home.

Why the hell had Vixen killed Henry?

Chapter Seven

My life was one insane incident after another. Although deep down inside I knew there would always be sacrifices to be made, I just couldn’t wrap my mind around what happened at the diner.

Now that my day was morphing into another one of my usual anxiety-filled experiences, I kept replaying my meeting with Henry inside my head. He wanted my help to clear the spooks Mace was keeping entrapped beneath the Council Tower, but thanks to Vixen, I had no way of sneaking in. How did Vixen know Henry was about to give me valuable information, or see past the Look-Away Gem?

There was only one answer—
Mace.

Only he could twist things enough to get Vixen on his side. After all, she hated me. I didn’t want to think about the big picture. Mace was part of the
Obscurus
so he had to be setting up something big.

These insane thoughts swamped me as I turned onto my street and headed home.

I parked my whale of a car in the driveway and stared at the closed garage door. I couldn’t believe there was a secret room on the other side. A room that for some reason held the spiritual imprint of a ghost I knew in my childhood. I really had to start reading Grandma’s journal, because I was facing a whole bunch of problems with no answers.

A sigh escaped me. When I switched off the ignition and pulled the keys out, I noticed the dark splotches of blood on my skin and sleeves. I ignored them, jumped out of the car and let Oren’s protective barriers wash over me. They were guaranteed to keep danger out, so I was no longer scared whenever I arrived home in the wee hours of the morning. I’d carried that fear for some time after Mauricio the
Perro Negro
attacked me in my own front yard.

I quickened my pace on the path, but paused when I felt something prickle the back of my neck.

“Hey, Sierra, you got a minute?”

I spun around, almost catching the heel of my boot on the concrete path. “Vixen, what do you want?” My fingers itched to grab one of my trusty blades. Had she followed me home?

“I need to talk to you for a sec.” Her dark eyes were wide, skin glistening with sweat. She wore a pair of tights and a tank top exposing the scar tissue on her arm—a result of being burned by a phantom. Mace had done this to her, yet she had to be in cahoots with him. Why?

“I don’t have anything to say to you,” I spat.

Her lips spread into a smirk. “Come on. You’re not upset about what happened at the diner, are you?” Her skin looked feverish and her black hair, pulled back in a very messy ponytail, didn’t cover the bald patch.

“You just killed a man in cold blood.” I kept my ground, not inching any closer. Our mutual dislike pulsed between us. I was sick of her stalking the dark. This wasn’t the first time she’d decided to drop in unannounced—unwanted.

She sighed, taking a step off the sidewalk and onto the grass. “You’re always so dramatic and focus on irrelevant details. You should just be happy I didn’t aim for you.”

“Why did you kill him?”

She shrugged. “I hunt other things now.”

“Get off my property.” I had nothing to say to this bitch and so far the magical barrier hadn’t reacted, so the sooner she left the better.

“You always make things so difficult.” She looked away, up and down the deserted street. Everyone was already in bed by now. “Is Jason here?”

“Don’t play games with me, you bitch!” I spat, stepping closer.

She watched me with an amused expression so I turned and headed for the house.

“Wait!”

I didn’t bother to turn, instead focused on the front door. She wasn’t going to answer any of my questions. Was either here to gloat or kill me.

The door opened and Willow appeared but the Kelpie bounded out the door, almost knocking her over. He reached me and pressed his body against my legs. I tried to pat him but he wouldn’t stop squirming and wagging his tail.

“Who are you talking to?” Willow asked.

“Don’t come out here. Stay where you are,” I called. “Aren’t you supposed to be in bed?”

She frowned but didn’t move an inch.

Freddy’s excited yips suddenly halted. I felt the rigidness spread over his scrawny body as he circled around my legs and started growling in Vixen’s direction.

“It’s okay, Freddy. I know she’s a pain but she can’t get any closer—”

The dog raced out in front of me, headed for Vixen.

“No!” I yelled. Damn, he wasn’t stopping. If he left the protection barrier around the house he would be exposed, and Vixen was already glaring at him.

“Freddy, come back,” Willow called behind me.

“You stay there,” I said to my sister. “I’ll get him.”

I dashed after him and managed to wrap my fingers around his collar with a second to spare from his paws hitting the sidewalk. He didn’t stop his frenzied barking and kept snapping at Vixen. I yanked him back and in the process lost my footing. His collar slid from my hand and I landed on my side with my left arm crushed between my body and the sidewalk. I tried to get up but a sudden weight stifled my attempts. Vixen was holding me down.

“Sierra!” Willow yelled.

“Don’t come out here,” I called back.

She didn’t, instead I heard her yelling out Papan’s name.

“Vixen, what the hell are you doing?” She was pinning me down in this awkward position. Freddy snagged her tights and was trying to drag her away. I managed to squirm out enough to roll over onto my back, which still didn’t shake her off.

When I caught sight of her, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Vixen wasn’t human. She’d shifted into an even more hideous version of the black dog than Mauricio. She snarled at Freddy, snapping her teeth in his direction.

Since her attention was elsewhere I sat up and pulled the silver dagger from its boot sheath.

“No!” Willow yelled from inside the house. “Papan, hurry…please!”

Freddy whined when Vixen slashed her claws across his ribs. He released her, backed away and ran for the house with blood glistening from his side. Vixen’s back leg was bleeding too, but that didn’t stop her approach.

She slinked towards me, red glowing eyes fixed on mine as her lips pulled back to reveal a wicked set of sharp teeth. Drool dribbled from the sides of her mouth as she stretched her lithe, yet deformed body and growled low in her throat.

From where she stood, I probably looked defenseless, but my dagger was partially hidden by my thigh.

Vixen tilted her head and howled at the night sky before leaping on top of me. The impact pushed me to the ground, my spine hitting the sidewalk so hard the breath gushed out of my lungs in a painful rush.

I tightened my grip on the dagger and stabbed it into her belly.

She faltered, climbed off me, and before I could stab her again a cream-colored ball of fur jumped over my body and tackled her with so much force they ended up in the middle of the road. She didn’t fight him when he towered above her, instead lowered her eyes as she whined. Papan pressed his huge paws against her bleeding midsection.

I tucked the dagger into its sheath, got to my feet and rushed for the house. As much as I wanted the bitch dead, I had to find out why she’d killed Henry and who’d put her up to it. For that, I needed a different weapon. There was no way I was going to let her get away with what she’d done. I was over playing this stupid game of cat and mouse.

“Where are you going?” Willow asked as I stormed past her. She was kneeling next to Freddy, but I couldn’t stop to explain.

I pumped my legs as fast as I could, taking the stairs two at a time. I managed to unlock my top dresser drawer with shaky fingers. Inside the leather case Oren had given me were tranquilizer darts and a silver hand crossbow.

Sucking in a quick breath, I loaded the crossbow and ran back downstairs, snatching Papan’s discarded jeans from the porch on the way. I threw them over my shoulder and raced outside, surprised to find Vixen no longer sitting in a submissive pose but instead circling Papan as if she was considering her next move. I saved us the trouble of dealing with her bullshit by firing a dart into her flank.

Her red eyes met mine—surprise and hate burning inside—and she collapsed into a heap of stringy fur.

Good to see the shooting range helped my aim.

“Tranquilizer dart,” I said, showing Papan’s wolf the crossbow. “I don’t want her dead just yet.”

He stalked closer, pressing his side against my legs while I patted his snout and he licked my fingers. I made sure the silver crossbow wasn’t anywhere near him.

“You can shift back if you want. I’ve got your jeans.” With Willow watching, modesty actually mattered.

He raised his nose into the air.

“Willow, turn around,” I said.

“Why?”

“Just do it!”

I didn’t bother to double-check if she’d turned away or not, because I had my eyes on Papan. He shifted from wolf to man in a matter of seconds—his bones and joints making popping sounds until the transformation was complete. When he was done, his skin glistened with sweat and he looked as beautiful as ever. After a shift, every muscle in his human body became pronounced. I couldn’t stop myself from ogling his impressive physique before passing him the jeans.

“What the fuck was she doing here?” he asked more to himself than anyone else. “I thought we’d dealt with her.”

It was true. He’d spent two moon cycles watching over Vixen and she hadn’t shifted. So how did this happen? “Why do you suppose it took so long for her first shift?”

Papan shook his head, stepping into his jeans. “This might not have been her first shift.”

“What?”

He zipped and buttoned them up. “Maybe being so close to a blue moon forced her to shift.”

“That might be it. And would explain why she went after me.” This wasn’t the best way to end what had started out as a great day, but I wasn’t surprised.

This is my life.

“I hate to agree, but I think you’re right, Fox,” he said, shaking his head and prodding Vixen with his toes. She didn’t stir. “How long do you think she’ll be under?”

“She should be unconscious for at least eight hours,” someone answered.

I looked up to find Oren crossing the road.

“Where did you come from?” I asked.

“The alarms went off, so I rushed over.” Oren was looking down at the monstrous dog lying at Papan’s feet. “Is that Anna?”

“The one and only,” I replied. “She wanted to finish what Mauricio began.”

“She’s bleeding.”

“I stabbed her.”

Papan chuckled. “You stabbed her and then tranquilized her? I love how efficient you’ve become with your weapons.”

“Thanks to you and the old guy,” I said with a wink.

“Guys, can someone help Freddy?”

We all turned to find Willow sitting in the doorway with Freddy’s head on her lap. He was whining and his eyes were closed. The poor thing had gotten hurt trying to protect me. I felt bad.

“I should—”

“Sierra, I’ll take care of him,” Oren said, walking past and heading for the house.

“Thanks for coming to my rescue, Papan.”

“Don’t think you needed me.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that. I
did
need Freddy’s help getting the bitch off me,” I said. “Besides, I reckon I could let you be my furry knight in shining armor every now and then.”

He glared at Vixen, unconscious and bleeding on the asphalt. “I guess we better get her inside before anyone notices.”

I nodded. Even if Oren’s protection barrier started in the front yard and ended in the back, he’d also performed a cloaking spell just beyond. My neighbors wouldn’t have noticed any of tonight’s craziness, though they’d certainly see Vixen’s blood on the road.