Death Before Daylight

by Shannon A. Thompson

  “Eric,” Pierce was the only one who saw me among the crowd. “Did you hear from her?”

  I stared at his attire. Unlike the others, he was dressed in normal clothes. “No,” I managed. “What happened?”

  Pierce’s shoulders fell as his gaze dropped. “I was hoping—” He shook his head. “I refuse to get dressed. I won’t until I see her.”

  My best friend—Jessica’s guard—would not give up on her, and I wouldn’t either. She asked me to trust her, and I did. I had to.

  “She did it for a reason,” I agreed, searching the crowd. “Where’s my father?”

  “Right here.” Somehow, in all the chaos, my dad had found me, too. “You two need to prepare—”

  “Dad,” I said and latched onto his arm before he could walk away. “She isn’t on their side.”

  He pulled away from me, but his eyes closed. “Just get dressed, Shoman.”

  “I won’t,” I called after him. “I’m not fighting her.”

  The entire crowd stopped, and for a millisecond, I thought it was because of me, but their eyes were nowhere near me. They stared behind my shoulder. Even Pierce was frozen.

  I spun around and knew what they saw even before I saw it for myself. The energy had consumed the air—Light energy—and Jessica wasn’t herself. She had white hair.

  “Listen to me,” she started, but it was too late.

  The shades lunged forward. I was the only one who fought them. I transformed, and the shelter succumbed to the power I shot out. It blasted everyone away, everyone but Jessica.

  She stood her ground, completely untouched.

  “I trust you,” I managed, knowing I couldn’t hold everyone off for long. They were already beating against the barrier I had put up. “I do.”

  She didn’t waste any time. She transported the few feet between us and grabbed my shoulder. “It’s going to hurt,” she whispered. Despite her transformation, her voice was the same as her shade one. It was delicate, and so was her touch as it rose to my neck.

  Her fingers clasped the nape of my neck, and I screamed. I had felt the pain before. It was Darthon’s. He had placed an illusion inside of me, imbedding it in my flesh. Jessica was touching that exact flesh, and the spot moved like a metal plate had been screwed into my spine.

  It shattered, breaking into pieces around my bones, and I collapsed. My barrier did, too.

  I couldn’t breathe until Jessica let me go, and it was only then that I realized my transformation had been torn apart in the pain. I was human again, and so was Jessica.

  “He can’t control you anymore,” she said right before Luthicer grabbed her by the hair.

  “Wait,” I shouted, but no one listened.

  Luthicer was already plunging a blade toward her, but he wasn’t fast enough. She shoved his chest, and a burst of light exploded between them. The elder fell to the ground, and I stood up before anyone else could fight Jessica.

  “She’s on our side,” I screamed and felt her hands dig into my back. “Darthon,” I managed to speak his name before I felt the last burn of his illusion burn away. “I know who Darthon is.”

  I could speak again. I was free, and everyone finally stopped fighting Jessica. They only stared at us, and I moved my hand behind my back to hold her hand.

  “It’s Robb McLain,” I said. “Darthon is Robb.”

  50

  Eric

  “I’m sorry for hurting you,” Jessica spoke to Luthicer as he bandaged himself. His chest was covered in a blue bruise.

  “I should be the one apologizing.” He didn’t look at her as he finished the wrap. “I shouldn’t have attacked you.”

  Jessica fell into the nearest seat. “I didn’t want to attack you either.”

  “Let it go, Jess,” he said, finally looking at her for a moment. “We all make mistakes.”

  She nodded, but put her head in her hands. Every bit of her was shaking. I laid my hand on her back, but she didn’t stop. She just grabbed my hand. “So, it’s Robb.”

  “Yeah.” The ability to confirm it was foreign, even though I had already explained it all. Jessica had, too.

  After I shouted out Darthon’s identity, the entire collection of shades stopped attacking. My father ordered them to hold back, but he also told them to keep their gear on. The war was going to happen tonight. It was undeniable. The heavy air proved it, but we sat in the elder’s room as if we had the luxury of time to talk about it.

  “He will come,” Urte was the only one willing to speak the truth.

  “He can’t come here,” I said. “Kids are here.” Almost every member was. Even the untrained ones had been dragged in by their parents. When Jessica had gone back, everyone had felt it, and panic controlled the crowd.

  “I should’ve warned everyone,” Jessica said, only lifting her face to lay her chin on her hands, “but I knew you wouldn’t let me go.” She wasn’t wrong. I wouldn’t have allowed it. “We couldn’t win if Eric was under his control.”

  “It was just his voice,” Luthicer scoffed.

  “And he couldn’t tell us who he was,” Jessica argued. “Now, we can use it against him.”

  “How?” Luthicer growled, but his growl died out. “We can’t set him up. Not now.”

  “We can,” she argued. “He doesn’t know everyone is prepared for war. He doesn’t even know that Eric can talk—”

  “Enough.”

  “No.” Jessica stood up. “I went back so we could fight back.” She practically screamed. “And we can now, but we have to move quickly.”

  Luthicer opened his mouth, but my father laid a hand on his shoulder, and the half-breed silenced.

  “Do you have a plan, Jess?” Every part of my dad’s tone told me what I had seen in his face before. He never gave up on her either.

  “Not exactly,” she admitted, “but if we can get him to meet us away from the shelter, the others won’t get hurt.”

  “She’s right,” I said. “Even if he suspects it’s a setup, Darthon’s desperate for a chance to win. He’ll go somewhere else.” I had to take a long breath before I could continue, “He would meet me.”

  “He won’t meet you at night,” Pierce pointed out the time.

  “He will if it means he can check the spell,” I said. “He will if it gives him a chance to kill me alone.”

  Everyone was quiet, but Jada’s foot tapped against the ground. My attention was on her before she even spoke, “They might be right.” She leaned over to brush Luthicer’s arm. “Especially if they’re talking about Robb.”

  I glanced at Jessica, half-expecting to see dread on her face, but nothing crossed it. She might not have known his identity for certain, but a part of her had been prepared for the truth all along.

  “I can’t risk this,” my father said and shook his head.

  “You either risk this or risk everyone in this shelter,” I said back.

  My dad stared at me. “Darthon will know it’s a setup.”

  “So, send some warriors with me,” I said, “but let’s keep the Light away from here as long as we can. At least until you can get the kids out.”

  “It would give us enough time,” Urte said. Everyone knew Brenthan was among the children at the shelter. Even though he had his full powers, he wasn’t strong enough to fight. He would definitely be among the casualties.

  “We don’t exactly have a lot of time to debate this,” Jessica said.

  My dad blew out a rigid breath, but his stare was unreadable as he turned from Jessica to look at me. “Do you want this?”

  “It’s the only choice I want,” I said. Both of the options would result in death, but preventing more was my only goal, and I knew it was Jessica’s, too. She wouldn’t have gone back if that weren’t the case.

  “Then, go,” my father decided before his attention averted to Urte. “Prepare the others, and get the kids out. You, too, Luthicer.”

  The half-breed didn’t argue, but he did linger by Jada’s side. “And you? Where
are you going?”

  She straightened up. “With Eric.”

  Luthicer nodded. “I will see you later, then.” He left without another word, and Urte followed my father. The only ones left made up my team—Pierce, Jessica, Jada, and I.

  Pierce laid his forearm on Jada’s shoulder. “I knew you’d come in handy.”

  Jada brushed him off. “Don’t get excited at a time like this.”

  Every part of her reminded me of Camille.

  “Let’s do this, then,” I said, but Jessica grabbed my arm.

  “There’s something else you need to know,” she said. “Darthon knows about the rings.”

  I glanced at her hand, the one that held the jewelry, the piece of metal that kept me alive. “It’s too late for him to take it off again.”

  “Why do your rings matter?” Pierce asked.

  I told him what I knew. “We think it’s imbedded with a spell.”

  “An immortality spell?” Jada was the one to give it a name, but she crossed the room so she could see the jewelry herself. “That’s wicked.”

  “What are you talking about?” Jessica asked.

  Jada stared at us. “You two don’t know?”

  We shook our heads in unison.

  “Immortality spells exist,” she said, “but they’re practically legends. They’re almost impossible to make.” A blush ran across her cheeks. “I’ve been doing a lot of reading in the library.”

  “My mother made them,” I said.

  Jada’s blush paled into a grimace. “That makes sense,” she said, “but she couldn’t have been the only one to do it.”

  “How do you know?” Jessica asked.

  “Because,” Jada drew out the single word, “two people have to die for them to work, one from each side.”

  Camille’s death may not have been a plan, but it was always a possibility considering her position as my guard. It made sense to create something just in case. And her relationship with my mother wasn’t a coincidence. It was my mother’s suicide that destroyed me. It was never out of depression, after all.

  I had to sit down. Jessica sat right next to me.

  When we didn’t speak, Jada continued, “How did you think the ancient ones kept both of the sects’ powers alive?” She took the moment to look at each of us. “The elders at the time killed themselves.”

  “Well,” Pierce leaned against the wall. He didn’t make a joke.

  “It’s a legend,” Jada repeated, but her voice lowered when she looked at me, “but I guess I should’ve kept that to myself.”

  “No, no,” I found the words, but I had to grab Jessica’s hand to speak. “Thank you, Jada.”

  She beamed. “So, are we going to set up Robb or not?”

  “You seem entirely too eager for this,” Pierce noted.

  “I’ve been following the guy for a decade,” she said. “It’s about time the story breaks.”

  “Crystal?”

  Jessica said it, and her question changed everything.

  Jada met her eyes. “I told you I was the best reporter Hayworth would ever see.”

  I couldn’t believe it. Jada—the new breed of shade with multicolored eyes—was Jessica’s best friend, and she was going to fight with us. I was numb to it. The only memories I had of Crystal were ones that included Robb. She had been by my side just as much as he had been, and I had deserted her when she never left me at all. She had followed Robb for a reason.

  Jessica shot up from her chair and wrapped her arms around Jada. “I can’t believe it.”

  “I would shift out, but it’s kind of painful to shift back,” she managed to squeeze out the words during their hug. “I thought you would’ve figured it out when I gave you the necklace.”

  “I’m sorry,” Jessica said. “I thought—”

  “It’s all right, Jess.” Jada pushed herself out of the hug. “Let’s get through this, and then we can talk about it.”

  Jessica nodded, but they kept chatting.

  Pierce took Jessica’s seat, and he leaned against me. “Crystal, as in Crystal Hutchins, right?”

  “Right,” I breathed.

  “I thought Luthicer was Jada’s father.”

  “He is.”

  “But Crystal only has a mother,” Pierce said.

  Lola Hutchins—practically the only reporter in town—was a woman, and Luthicer clearly wasn’t.

  I shook the contradiction out of my head. “I’m not questioning it,” I said. If Jessica believed it, I did, too. “Hand me my phone.” It was on the table closest to Pierce, after all, but he didn’t reach for it.

  “Why do you want your phone?”

  I cracked a smile at him. “I have to ask someone out on a date.”

  51

  Eric

  Out of all the places in Hayworth, Robb McLain wanted to meet at the coffee shop. He didn’t even question why I wanted to meet, but he agreed to it, and that was all that mattered.

  “What happens when he figures out the illusion was removed?” Crystal’s question echoed through the alley we stood in. We were all humans, and surprisingly, having her with us didn’t seem outlandish at all. Her punk appearance fit in right between Jessica’s focused stare and Jonathon’s forced smirk.

  “We’ll fight,” I answered when no one else did. We knew it would happen. Getting him away from the shelter was the only thing that mattered, but even Robb wouldn’t start a battle in front of humans. He would find a way out, and the Dark would clear out the children by then. In a way, we had already succeeded in the first part of our mission.

  “The elders are ready.” Jonathon’s eyes shifted around as he used his telepathy to speak to my father. Their adrenaline was the only reason they could speak, but I was relieved by the news.

  We were in the clear, and a few warriors were near us. I could sense their energy in the air the way I sensed rain coming. It was heavy.

  I straightened my jacket. “I’ll let you know if I need you guys.”

  “When you need us,” Jessica corrected. When I glanced at her, she smiled. “We’ll be right here.”

  I nodded, but didn’t respond before walking away. I held my head high. Robb couldn’t kill me, after all—not unless he removed my ring—and I wouldn’t let that happen. Or rather, I would do my best not to let it happen. Jessica and the others would, too. Unlike Darthon, my people watched my back, and when it came down to it, I believed Linda would have mine, too. It would only be a matter of time before we found out.

  The entrance bell chimed as I pushed the door open.

  He was sitting at a table in the corner with his back to the wall. He faced me, and his head was held high. His chin was practically pointed to the ceiling. It was just like Robb to overdo everything. I had to fight a grin as I crossed the room.

  I sat down across from him without saying a word, but I let my chair do the talking for me. It screeched against the floor.

  “Welborn.” We were back to my last name.

  “McLain.” I had never used his before, but it came out easily. “How are you?”

  He didn’t smile. “Where’s Jess?”

  “I thought you would know.”

  He simply stared back, and for a moment, his brown eyes were as hollow as Darthon’s black ones were.

  “She’s with Jonathon,” I said. Not a lie.

  Robb’s eyebrows rose as if they were connected in the middle. “You expect me to believe that?”

  “He’s her guard.” I shrugged. “Is there somewhere else she should be?”

  Robb leaned forward, and this time, the table screeched. “She came to see me today.”

  “I didn’t know.”

  “I don’t believe that either,” he snarled under his breath.

  His eyes never shifted away from me, but I was tempted to look around the shop. For the small size, it was practically full. Even though I glanced at the crowd when I walked in, I knew there was a chance Light members were among them. Knowing my father, Dark warriors were her
e, too. Humans as well. It was as much of a comfort as it was disturbing.

  “Then, why meet me?” I asked, knowing every reason why we wanted to be away from the shelter.

  Robb grinned. “My people need to prepare just as much as yours do.”

  He had a plan of his own, and somewhere in the silence, war had been declared. Tonight would be the last night for some, but I wouldn’t allow it to be written on my gravestone.

  “Don’t think you’re safe anymore, Welborn,” he continued.

  As if I would.

  “I never thought I was.” My life had never been about safety. Neither of ours had been—not even when we were born—but right when I thought he would attack, the entrance bell broke his stare.

  It was the only reason I glimpsed over my shoulder, and what I saw made me turn fully around. Jessica and Jonathon had entered. Crystal wasn’t with them, but that wasn’t important. Their interruption was.

  “What the hell are you doing?” I asked Jessica telepathically.

  She didn’t meet my eyes as she sent a message back, “We watched your back long enough.” She sat down next to me, but smiled at Robb. “How are you?”

  His brown eyes lightened. “Great,” he said. “Just catching up with an old friend.”

  He didn’t know she knew his identity—not for certain—but she did, and so did Jonathon.

  “Well, does anyone actually want a drink?” Jonathon chirped, but no one responded. He chuckled and stepped toward the counter. “I’ll be back.”

  I could not believe him.

  Robb’s eyes never left Jessica’s. “Some guard you have.”

  I couldn’t believe Robb more. He had confirmed his identity right to Jessica’s face. If he wasn’t sure before, he was positive now. We no longer had time to play games, and even Robb was making that clear.

  Jessica didn’t flinch. “You’re right,” she said. “He’s pretty great.” She didn’t deny it either.

  Robb leaned back against his chair. He smiled, but it broke apart as he shook his head. “So,” he said, “you chose him, after all.” He spoke as if I weren’t even there, as if I were already dead.