by K. G. Reuss
I let her leave the house, following behind her the best I could. Melding with the shadows was a gift I was especially good at. Being a member of the Conexus, we were one cohesive unit, each member sharing their strengths to the group, thus me giving my group the gift of shade—the ability to turn to shadow and shadow meld. All of my gifts were exceptional, making me an anomaly. We could also shimmer in and out of visibility so the Natties—the Naturals, people not Special like us—wouldn’t see us. That worked well when we had to pursue the Cipher in public. To be fair, all Specials could remain hidden from the Nattie eye. It was one of the things we learned to do at Dementon.
The Order took me in at a young age and began training me, citing very early on that I’d one day become a Conexus general. By thirteen, I was a general, and my abilities began to manifest stronger with new ones cropping up every few months. Everyone who knew me figured I was a shifter, which was true. However, it meant more than what other people thought. I could shift like a normal shifter into creatures, but I could also shift my gifts to become a different Special—with the exception of vampire—a “gift” I’d never in a million years want anyway. I could be a lock—warlock—or a healer or anything else I wanted. No one knew of my gifts. No one, not even my best friends within Conexus knew what I was truly capable of.
My thoughts froze as Everly crossed the street and headed to the school grounds. Her head ducked low causing her dark hair to create a curtain over her pretty face. I slipped through the shadows of trees and followed her into the school, my curiosity over her eating at me like a hungry, insatiable monster. She must have been hungry because she grabbed a few items from the breakfast line before sitting down across from a pretty blonde girl.
“Hey, Nina.” She let out a yawn. Her voice was as beautiful as she was. Feminine. Delicate. Soothing in my ears. I breathed out deeply, trying to get my head together. The girl was completely mesmerizing.
“You look exhausted.” Nina’s eyes swept over her worriedly. She cared deeply for Everly, that much was certain. “What’s wrong? Is it Dylan?”
I bristled at the sound of his name. Who the hell was Dylan, and what had he done to her? I shook my sudden anger off, becoming irritated with myself for my feelings. Ugh! I pushed them away and shifted to be closer to her.
“No.” Everly’s plump lips turned down into a frown, her green eyes darkening.
“It’s OK if it is. He was a total douchebag,” Nina proclaimed. Everly’s eyes traveled to a guy a few tables over as he laughed with his friends. An all-American looking guy with dark hair styled in a faux hawk and a tight polo shirt that showcased how much he worked out. I immediately hated him. He looked like the kind of guy who wouldn’t appreciate Everly. The kind of guy who couldn’t last even a round with me in the ring. Everything he had was just for show. The fact that I cared made me sick to my stomach.
“I don’t care,” Everly muttered, pushing the slice of toast and breakfast bar she was holding in her hands away. “He can have Brit. He clearly wanted her, so I guess we both win.”
He’d really hurt her. The sorrow flowed from her, her sadness and heartbreak. It made me angry that he had. All I could think about was going to him in that moment and wrapping my fingers around his neck. Then squeezing until he apologized to her. I backed away from her, knowing if I stuck around, I’d have trouble controlling myself. Now, I was even more torn—my old feelings for her kicking the shit out of my hatred for her.
Besides, I’d been gone far too long as it was. I hadn’t checked in with Conexus, and that was a hard and fast rule—my rule. And I’d broken it to spend the night at Everly’s home. If she needed me again, I’d know. Then I’d come for her and do what I had to do. Plus, I’d just disappeared into thin air on the guys. I imagined my group had been frantic, going crazy with worry. Eric, being next in command, probably organized a search party and notified the Order of my disappearance in an attempt to find me.
I slinked deeper into the shadows and traveled quickly back to Dementon with my heart in my throat at having Everly back in my life because deep down, I knew she belonged to me. She always had. Even if I did hate her. She was mine.
Chapter 4
“Dude, where the hell have you been?” Eric demanded, turning to me as I stepped in the commons of our dorm at Dementon. Everyone was gathered, all ten of them. A map of the area was laid out on the coffee table, and red tabs marked various places. They’d definitely been looking for me.
“We were leaving to go search for you. Again,” Brandon folded his arms over his broad chest and stared pointedly at me as I removed my cloak. I didn’t say anything as I walked deeper into the room. I wasn’t even sure how to address everything. Whatever happened, still had me feeling shell-shocked. It didn’t help that I couldn’t seem to sort out my feelings properly.
“You freaking disappeared into thin air! Do you have any idea how worried we’ve been? We didn’t hear from you all night! We were going to contact the Order!” Adam added, his dark eyes trained on me.
“Are you going to answer one of us?” Damien asked from his perch on the couch. “Seriously, Shadow, it’s your rule that we always check in with one another. What happened to stop that last night? I mean, you were there, then you weren’t. How the hell—you know what—just, where the hell were you?”
I went to my high-backed, black velvet chair and sat down in it, rubbing my face tiredly. I didn’t know how to tell them what had happened. Eric and Damien didn’t know about Everly. No one did, not even Amara, my werewolf girlfriend who was glaring at me with her lips pursed from a corner of the room beside Sloane, our caster. A sinking feeling filled my stomach. I’d forgotten about Amara.
“I can’t explain it,” I started, deciding I had to say something. Leaning forward, I rested my elbows on my knees and let my head hang down. I ran my fingers through my shaggy, silver hair in frustration. Internally, I tried to gather my thoughts before speaking. I had to choose my words wisely. “I was pulled to a Nattie home far from here. There I got caught up with a wraith. I followed it and managed to send it back to the Veil. In the process, I received intel that more will be coming—a lot more. We’re going to need to start planning for them.”
“A wraith?” Jared, a lock asked, his dark brows knit. “Why would a wraith appear at a Nattie home? That’s one of the darkest creatures of our world. What’s really going on, Shadow?”
“Should we be worried?” Chloe got to her feet, already tying her blonde hair up into a ponytail, ready to fight. That was the best thing about her, the werewolf was always ready to go. The girl had no fear, one of the reasons I chose her to join us—that and the fact that she could fight like crazy.
I drew in a deep breath and shook my head. Why did they want Everly so bad? I’d spent years trying to figure it out but had always come up empty-handed. Even her own father wanted to give her to them. And not just to wraiths. To the dead. Why would the dead want her to join them? How was her dad able to see them and not be a registered Special? It didn’t make any sense!
“I don’t know,” I answered softly, a rush of foreboding coursing through me. “But I feel like it’s going to be something big once I figure it out. I think we should start upping our training and start doing some research. I’m going to pay a visit to Xanan and speak to the Order. I’ll check the registry to see if maybe the family is registered on our lists of Specials. Maybe I’ll get some answers that way. I could even talk to Headmaster Brighton. For now, everyone just be extra careful. Classes are going to be ending here soon, so many of the students will be leaving. Those who don’t, we need to make sure they’re safe. Double up patrols. Make sure all entrances and exits are sealed. Sloane, I’m going to need you to make sure the wards are up. You, Adam, and Jared,” I nodded to my resident warlocks and caster, “can make sure that gets done. Now.”
They didn’t question me. They scampered through the front door to complete the task.
“The rest of you, start putting together patrols
. Let’s get some investigating done. I want information on wraiths on my desk by sunrise. And get me the latest on Cipher nests. Go. Now.”
Everyone left the room. Everyone except Eric, Damien, and Amara. A sigh huffed out my lips. I knew I wouldn’t be able to get away from Amara. She’d been eyeing me from across the room, no doubt itching to bombard me with questions.
“Shadow,” Amara’s voice was small as she stared at me with her hazel eyes. A tilt of her head made her red hair tumble from her shoulders. Amara was completely gorgeous. Last spring, I’d started dating her after realizing how lonely I’d been. Guiltily, I stared at her as she stood close to me. The thoughts I’d had concerning Everly last night still running through my mind—the good thoughts about how beautiful she was, how I longed to hold her and kiss her, and tell her everything was going to be OK. I wasn’t like that with Amara. In fact, recently I’d started to think that maybe I wasn’t normal because I didn’t have overwhelming feelings of love when I was with my girlfriend. I wasn’t affectionate. I didn’t long to kiss her or hold her. For the most part, I wasn’t a touchy, huggy, and kissy kind of guy. I never had been. With anyone. Except with Everly. And even those feelings were marred by my hatred now. “I was worried about you.”
“I’m fine,” I stated evenly, my voice hard, a tactic I employed often to keep people at arm’s length when I needed to be alone. And right now, I desperately needed to be alone. “Go tend to what I’ve told you to do.”
“I missed you,” she pressed with a sultry pout, her hands coming up to rest on my chest as she gazed up at me through her dark eyelashes. “I’m worried. The guys said you just disappeared. I want to know what’s going on!”
“Amara,” I said roughly. “We’ll talk later. Please. You need to go.”
She pouted for another moment before going up on her toes and planting a soft kiss on my lips. I half-heartedly kissed her back, my body not really excited for it at all. Honestly, I just wanted her gone. Before now, I’d at least feel a tiny smattering of hopeful butterflies whenever I kissed her. Or maybe it had simply just been me wanting to be normal with a girl for a change. Maybe I’d been lying to myself the entire time about my feelings. Now, with her lips pressed to mine, I had nothing, not even a tiny flutter. It caused me to worry. Something within me had changed in the last few hours. Any progress I’d potentially made over the last few months with Amara was flung from the highest tower and lay smashed at my feet.
“What’s really going on?” Eric asked as Amara disappeared through the door. Both my friends stood staring at me, waiting for me to answer.
“I really don’t know.” I grew quiet. I had to tell them about Everly. I’d been friends with Eric and Damien since we were old enough to walk. We grew up together, fought together, and even been there for each other during the worst moments of our lives. I could trust them with anything.
“Do you remember when we were kids and I asked you guys if you thought it was possible for a Special to walk through the void and you guys laughed at me?”
“Yeah,” Damien said, Eric nodding.
“I know the answer to it,” I continued softly.
“What? What the hell’s going on?” Damien demanded. I sighed and gestured for them to follow me into my office located off the commons. Eric closed the door behind him. Damien propped himself up on a couch near the fireplace and my desk.
“Come on, man,” Eric encouraged, his blue eyes focused on me as I started pacing the room, something I always did when I was deep in thought.
“When I was four, I was in bed. The same thing happened to me then that happened to me last night. It wasn’t nearly as bad… but I disappeared then, too.”
Damien and Eric exchanged looks but didn’t speak.
I launched into the story of Everly—telling them everything I knew about her, describing from the first time I saw her and ending with how the last time was in that closet after rescuing her when she was twelve. How I’d spent my childhood protecting her. How I’d come to care very deeply for her. And how I’d left my mother alone to save Everly that last time only to return to find my mother drained by a vamp.
“Is that where you were tonight?” Eric asked when I finished. “She drew you back to her?”
“Yeah.” I nodded angrily as I saw my mother in my mind’s eye, her pale body lying in the cold grass with her wildflowers scattered around her. “I spent the last five years thinking about her, hoping I’d get to see her again... so I could kill her.”
“You want to kill her?” Eric asked, horrified, his blue eyes opening wide.
“It’s against our laws to kill a Nattie,” Damien cut in, just as shocked as Eric by my words.
“I know,” I mumbled, running my fingers through my hair in frustration. “I didn’t. I didn’t even touch her. I left her.”
“And? Was she OK?” Damien demanded, leaning forward to look at me. “I guess I should say, will she be OK, because you’re talking like a madman.”
“She’s being terrorized by something. I disposed of the wraith. I don’t know why it was there, but I do know that she’s going to be needing me again. And I’ll go and finish what should’ve been done ages ago.”
“This is nuts,” Eric whistled, shaking his head. “So, what are you going to do? Just walk in and kill her? What if the Order finds out? I’m sorry, man. I can’t get on board with this. You can’t go around killing innocent girls because you blame them for your mother’s death. It’s not her fault.”
“It is her fault!” I snapped heatedly. “I’d have been there to save my mother if I hadn’t gone to Everly! This is all her fault!”
“It’s not,” Eric returned evenly, not wavering in the slightest. He and Damien were the only ones in our group that could rival me, so I knew he wasn’t afraid to go toe-to-toe with me. “She was just a kid. From what you’ve said, I highly doubt she even knew what was happening to her. It’s not her fault. Not even a little. You need to push that shit aside and remember the girl you fell for because that’s the same girl you’re talking about murdering. And it would be murder. She’s an innocent.”
I let out a breath of frustration as I thought about Everly. Though I abhorred it, my heart ached for her. I knew if she died I wouldn’t be able to survive without her. Even through the years I’d thought about her, and not just about killing her. Actually, I’d probably thought more about holding her than killing her. And I hated myself for it. It felt like I was betraying my mother because I let her die to save someone else.
“I’m going to take it to the Order. See if I can find out anything new about her. I didn’t tell them when I was younger because I didn’t think they’d believe me. But now, I’m in a better position to speak out. Maybe that’ll help,” I said finally.
“Being a general in the most elite group in Special history helps.” Damien grinned at me.
“And you won’t harm her?” Eric narrowed his eyes at me.
“I won’t,” I grunted, not really believing myself but knowing I didn’t exactly have a choice. They were right. It was a huge crime to harm anyone, Natties included. Did I really want that hanging over my head?
“I wonder why she wasn’t brought to Dementon back when all this started,” Eric mused with a frown, accepting my answer without question. “She’s clearly a Special.”
“That’s what I’m thinking too. But what kind of Special? What kind could pull someone from anywhere and bring them to their bedroom door?” I thought aloud.
“The kind I want to meet.” Damien chuckled. I scowled, and Eric rolled his eyes at him.
“I’m not sure, but I’m going to get some answers.” I was beyond frustrated.
“What about Amara?” Eric ventured. “You going to tell her about this girl who seems to have some sort of control over you?”
“I don’t know.” I shook my head. “You know how she gets. I know I need to tell her. Maybe I’ll put it out there for her to know. Just don’t say anything to anyone else about this. I’ll ex
plain it away for them once I have more answers.”
“You know we got you, brother.” Eric clapped me on the shoulder, making me feel a little more at ease.
“Don’t you think it’s odd that the Order hasn’t brought her in?” Damien asked thoughtfully. He glanced at me for a moment before continuing, “I mean, if she doesn’t already attend a Special school. Maybe there’s a reason she hasn’t been brought here. Maybe she’s dangerous.”
“She’s not dangerous,” I snorted at him, thinking about how small she was and remembering how scared she’d always been. “She’s tiny and afraid.”
“I’m not talking about size, man,” Damien replied earnestly. “I’m talking about abilities. What is she capable of? Does she just see the dead or something? And if so, that’s a bit of a big deal. Remember the Wards?”
“You can’t possibly be suggesting what I think you’re suggesting,” Eric interrupted wide-eyed.
“He’s right,” I murmured. “A mancer can commune with the dead. Can walk in the Veil and still come back to life. Can bring the dead back to life.” My breath caught in my throat as I thought about the possibilities of what she could be capable of if it proved to be true.
“What if she is one?” Damien pressed. “Then that means you’re—”
“No.” I shook my head firmly, my heart thrashing wildly in my chest. “No way. Not possible. This is speculation only. A mancer hasn’t been born in centuries, and there’s no history of a Reever ever being born. No one even knows if there is such a thing as reever. It’s just from the Old Words.”
“Shadow’s right,” Eric agreed tightly. “Let’s just wait to see what the Order has to say about it. There’s no sense in getting upset over it right now.”
