“I heard some people talking about it today. He and his dad just moved into that old place on Spruce Drive. So what?”
“Spruce? You mean that old Victorian? It’s practically falling down. I thought that place was condemned? Why would they move there?”
“I don’t know. I heard they have contractors working on it night and day to fix it up. Look, why does this matter? Why are you so freaked out?”
I slow my breathing and try to come up with a way to say what I’m thinking without sounding crazy. “I’ve seen him before.”
“When? He just moved in.”
“It was Saturday, at the festival. After Arianna and Kayla fought. He was standing off on the edge of the woods, staring at us. He saw the whole thing.”
His face darkens. “Yeah, well, a lot of people saw that little scene. But, as you said, nothing really happened. He couldn’t have seen much. Why, did he say something about it?”
“Well, no. He just introduced himself but... Doesn’t it seem weird? He’s at the Fall Festival, watching us, and now he moves into our town and into our school at the drop of a hat? With no warning? I mean, what if he’s a part of the whole Silver Lake thing?”
Caiden places his hand on my shoulders and gently massages my tense muscles. “Em, if the pack were making a move, Caroline would know about it.”
I shake my head a little. “I don’t know, I just have a really strange feeling about this...”
“Well, just in case, it might be best to keep our distance from him, but I don’t think we have anything to worry about. Not from him, at least. But, time is running out. You need to make up your mind about Caroline’s offer. She’s going to want an answer in the next day or two.”
My head starts swimming. There are so many things I still need to figure out before I can begin to make a decision. I still need answers about my mom. Without thinking, I move closer to Caiden, wrapping my arms around his waist and resting my head against his chest. He inhales sharply before hesitantly wrapping his arms around me.
“Caiden, before I can think about Caroline or any of this, I still need to know a few things...”
After a moment, his hand begins moving in comforting circles on my back.
“What do you need to know?”
“I still have a lot of questions about my mom. About how she died.” I hold my breath, waiting for his response. His hand stills and he leans back slightly to look at my face.
“Caroline already told you how she died.”
My eyebrows draw together angrily. “Yeah, well she wasn’t there, was she? How can she possibly know?”
“You think she’s lying to you?” He asks with a hint of anger himself.
I pull away from him and cross my arms in front of me protectively. I should have known he’d say this. As far as he’s concerned, the case is closed. Caroline’s right, I’m wrong.
“Look, forget it. Let’s just go. I have a lot of homework,” I lie, turning my back on him.
I walk out of the room, aware of Caiden following along silently.
With the things Arianna’s been teaching me about glamours these past two days, I’ve been slowly forming a plan to get more information about my mother. It would be easier with Caiden’s help, but I’ll just have to figure out a way to do it on my own.
Chapter 16
I jump out of the car as soon as Caiden pulls up to my house. If I’m going to have time to follow through on my plan before Arianna shows up for guard duty, I’d better get cracking. I rush through the front door, but when I try to close it behind me, Caiden’s hand reaches out to stop it.
“What are you doing?” I ask him.
“Coming in.” Caiden moves to step past me, but I block him.
“Um, why?”
“You know why.”
“Isn’t Arianna coming over?”
“Not yet. I thought we could talk.”
I hesitate. I would really rather have him with me on this, the way he was with me for Ashwood Creek. I don’t want to have to do this all alone. But his mind is made up — he isn’t going to help me get the answers I need, so I really need to get him to leave before my next babysitter shows up.
“We’re not in school anymore Caid. You don’t have to pretend to like me,” I say nastily, ignoring the guilt I feel when a shadow of pain crosses his face. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I try to close the door again, but he puts his foot in between the jamb, his eyes turning speculative. I feel a brushing inside my mind and I know he’s tasting my emotions, sensing the urgency and anxiousness I can’t disguise.
“Em...” He warns. “You know I can’t leave you unprotected. You don’t want to let me in? Fine. I’ll just stand guard from out here. But I know you’re too smart to believe that kicking me out is going to make me drive home so you can sneak away on your own.”
Studying his resolute expression, I know I’ve lost.
“Fine,” I grumble, opening the door wide. I turn away and sullenly walk to the kitchen, not even checking to see if he’s following.
I turn on the coffee maker and take a seat at the breakfast bar, waiting for Caiden to join me. He sits down across from me, appraising me with narrowed eyes.
When the coffee’s ready, I get back up and make us both a cup. Sliding it across to Caiden, I take a sip of the steaming mug, hissing as the liquid burns my tongue. I stare down at my coffee, trying to ignore Caiden and figure out how I can still carry out my plan with him watchdogging me.
“Em, I know you don’t want to believe what Caroline said, but–”
“That’s because Caroline’s story doesn’t make sense!” I burst out.
“So you do think she’s lying?” His jaw tightens.
“I know you trust her, but–”
“And you don’t? She promised your mother that she’d take care of you, and she’s doing everything she can to keep that promise, including putting the coven at risk. Do you think anyone else would stick their neck out for you, especially if it meant facing off with Silver Lake?”
“I’m not saying that she hasn’t helped me, just that her story doesn’t seem right. Why would my mom kill herself if she knew werewolves were hunting me? How could that possibly help?” All my anger and frustration comes boiling out. “If she thought I was in danger, why the hell would she leave me unprotected?”
“She didn’t leave you unprotected — she knew Caroline would take care of you.”
“Right,” I scoff. “She was on the run for my entire life, but after three months of knowing Caroline, she decided to put my life in her hands? And besides, you said yourself that she was yelling at Caroline the night she died, saying that it wasn’t safe, telling everyone to run… It doesn’t sound like she exactly trusted Caroline, at least not the night she died.”
“And how, exactly, do you plan on proving Caroline wrong? Look, I know you don’t want to believe that she killed herself, but your mom was–”
“DO NOT say crazy! She wasn’t psychotic! She was scared! You really think that any mother, afraid for her daughter’s life, would take the easy way out: just kill herself and leave her child’s safety to a stranger? No. Not a chance. I told you, my mom was about to run again. She had us pack bags, remember? She was even willing to leave my dad behind just to get us away from here.”
He thinks this over for another minute, his brows furrowing slightly. “Okay, say it does sound a little off. What are you suggesting?”
“I think this pack killed my mom.”
“Witnesses saw your mom jump off that bridge.”
“Maybe they were wrong, or tricked, or threatened. I don’t know. If I can get a hold of the police file — go see these witnesses myself — maybe I can find out what really happened.”
“And how are you going to get that file? They’re not just going to hand it over.”
“There is another way to get it….” I hedge.
“What? Steal it?” He asks sarcastically.
When I don’t res
pond, his face goes slack with shock. “No. Absolutely not! You want us to break into the sheriff’s office?” He hisses.
“If you don’t want to, fine. I’ll find a way to do it on my own. But it would be a lot easier with your help.”
“No, Emerson. We are not going to break into the police station. That’s insane.”
“I just need the witness list. That’s all. You can cast that spell that keeps us from being seen. We’ll be in and out; no one will even know we were there!”
“That spell only works with sight, not hearing. You think no one is going to hear us opening doors or rifling through papers?”
“I’ll distract them. If they do notice, you can always make them forget we were there, right?”
He glowers at me.
I hold up my hands in a staying motion. “I know you don’t like to do that, it’s only a last resort. Please Caiden? I’m telling you, something isn’t right about this. If my mother was murdered by the pack, we need to know!”
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why do we need to know?” His face softens slightly, sympathy in his eyes, but something harder too. Determination to force me into facing the truth. “She’ll still be dead. Finding out how she died won’t change anything.”
“It will for me. You’re asking me to blood bond myself to Caroline, essentially giving her the ability to wipe out the entire Silver Lake Pack. Before I condemn them all to death, the least I can do is find out if they’re guilty or not. Maybe my mom was hiding from someone else entirely. It’s a long shot, I know, but...”
“And you think this witness list will tell you that?”
“It’s the only shot I have left, other than calling Madelyn and trying to get some answers out of her–”
“No. You can’t call her; for all we know, she’s involved with the pack.” He’s silent a moment, thinking. Finally, he huffs out a breath. “I don’t know why I let you talk me into these things...”
I jerk my eyes up to look at him. He’s shaking his head in exasperation.
“You’ll help me?”
“If I don’t, you’ll just find another way to do it. At least if I’m there I can keep you out of trouble.”
“Trouble? Me?”
He rolls his eyes. “If we’re going to do this, we need a plan.”
He brings his hand up to his face, fingers skimming back and forth over his mouth in thought. I stare distractedly at this for a moment, thinking about what happened in lunch today, wishing I could kiss him again.
I tear my gaze away before he can read those emotions, but when he catches my eyes, the glint in his tells me it’s too late. I blush, but thankfully he doesn’t say anything.
What is wrong with me? This is Caiden. I shouldn’t be thinking about him like this. It must be one of his abilities as part of the Love and Lust God class; unintentional sexual attraction.
“We can’t just waltz on in,” Caiden continues, acting as if nothing just happened. “We don’t even know where they keep the files.”
“I can distract them, keep them talking, while you sneak in the back. The building isn’t that big, I’m sure you can find it...” I trail off, thinking about another time I had to find something, when I needed the key to my dad’s filing cabinet. When I closed my eyes and I focused on it, I saw exactly where it was hidden.
“Hold on.” I close my eyes and take a deep breathe.
“What are you doing?”
“Give me a second,” I say, looking at him. “I think I can find where they keep the files.”
He raises an eyebrow at me but doesn’t comment. I close my eyes again and try to focus.
Behind my eyelids I picture a folder file with “Elizabeth Greenwood” stamped on it. I concentrate on this folder, trying to picture where it is now.
A gray mist swims in front of my vision. The mist parts to reveal a large gray file cabinet, six feet tall and at least as wide. I picture the file, and the visions zooms in on the filing cabinet all the way on the right hand side. Moving in even further, there are divisions by dates, then by names. Got it!
Now I focus on expanding the view to see what room the cabinet is in. There’s a door to the left that leads into the main part of the building: an open space with desks scattered about. I study the layout, and once I’m sure I have it memorized, I relax, letting the images dissolve.
When I open my eyes, Caiden’s face is right in front of mine, his brows drawn together in concern.
“Em,” he’s saying, his hand gently shaking my shoulder. “Em? Are you okay?”
I blink a few times to clear my vision. “I’m fine.”
“What just happened? I’ve been trying to snap you out of whatever trance you went into for ten minutes.”
“I’m fine — and I know where the file is.” I smile at him, excitement coursing through me.
“What? How?”
“I don’t know. I can’t explain it. I just pictured it, and then these images came...”
Surprise flits across his face. “How’d you learn to do that?”
I shrug. “I don’t know; it doesn’t matter. I know where the file is. When you first walk in–” I start to explain how to get to it, but Caiden stops me.
“You saw where it is?”
“Yes, that’s what I’m trying to tell you,” I answer impatiently.
“It would be better if you showed me. That way I’ll know exactly where to go.”
“How do I show you?”
Caiden puts his hands on my shoulders and looks me directly in the eye. “Just let me in and concentrate on what you saw. I’ll see it too.”
“Let you in?”
“Yeah, into your mind. Like when you let me calm you down in lunch last week? I promise, I’ll make sure there are no...side effects...this time.”
I nod and feel myself relax as I gaze into the emerald depths of his eyes. My muscles loosen and my head turns fuzzy. I try to picture the file, but it seems like too much work. Then I feel something else.
It’s a fluttery sort of feeling, like when Caiden reads my emotions, but it penetrates deeper. It doesn’t hurt, but it is uncomfortable. I tense up, not liking this sensation. It feels like someone is trying to share my head with me.
*Think about the file. Show me where it is.*
Caiden. I relax. Caiden won’t hurt me. I picture the file again, looking at the cabinet, the dividers, then the whole room and out into the open floor, all the way up to the entrance. I can still feel Caiden there, watching with me, thinking with me, breathing with me. When I finish with the images, I feel him slowly pull away, a little bit at a time. Separating himself from me again.
As strange as it felt to have him merging with me, it feels even weirder to have him leave. Like he’s taking a part of me with him. Like I’ll never be whole again.
Then he’s gone. I feel empty, lost.
“Shhh, it’s okay.” Caiden’s hands are on my face, wiping away tears. “It’s okay Emerson. The feeling will pass. Give it a minute.”
He gently cradles my face, stroking my cheek with his thumb. The crushing feeling in my chest gradually starts to subside. I open my eyes, confused.
“What was that?”
His face is grim, mouth twisted in disgust. “Another side effect. I don’t know why these things only happen with you; I’ve done this sort of merging a hundred times and I’ve never had that reaction before. I’m sorry. How are you feeling?”
“Better.” I pull away, wiping the last of the moisture out of my eyes, and change the subject. I don’t want him brooding over this the way he did the last time.
“Did it work? Did you see where it is?”
“It worked,” he says, eyes grim.
And the brooding begins...
“Okay, so let’s go.” I stand up and grab my jacket.
“What? We’re not going yet. We’re not ready.”
“Why not? We know where it is. Let’s go get it.”
“We need a
better plan than ‘walk in and get it.’ You don’t even know how you’re going to distract them. And how am I going to get past the door in the file room? You did notice the keypad next to it, didn’t you?”
“Ummm...”
“You need a code to get in. I might be able to short circuit it, but that might set off an alarm...”
I take off my jacket and sit back down. “Dammit. What’s the point of being a witch if we can’t even get through a stupid door?”
Caiden’s head snaps up. “That’s it.”
“What’s it?”
“We’ll go through the door.”
“I’m not following you, Caid. Even witches can’t walk through doors.”
“Lydia can.”
“What? I thought she was a messenger or something? You said she gets visions and stuff.”
“She is. But messengers, like Hermes, were able to flash from one place to another in seconds. Helpful for when they have to travel far to deliver a message. Lydia found out she could do this a few months back, but it takes a lot of energy and she hasn’t really practiced much with it. It can be really dangerous if you can’t see where you’re going, but this isn’t a huge distance, and as long as your vision is accurate, I think she’ll be able to pull it off.”
“Will she do it though?” I think about the way she watches me and Caiden.
“Of course, why not? I’ll give her a call and see if she can stop by.”
Yeah, good luck with that...
Chapter 17
Since we aren’t going anywhere yet, I head into the living room to catch up on some homework. My teachers have threatened to call my father in for a conference if I miss anymore assignments, and that’s just one more thing that I don’t want to deal with right now. So I buckle down and get to work, starting with the English essay that’s due tomorrow.
I can hear Caiden in the other room, talking to whom I assume is Lydia on the other line. I strain my ears to make out his exact words: “...have something to ask you. Can you come by?”
Concentrating even more, I can just hear her response: “Sure! I’ll be right over.”
Deceitful Circle (Silent Circle Book 2) Page 11
