by Bonnie Vanak
Sam scrubbed his face with a hand. “And he’s not the only one. There are more who agree with him. Tiger and Stephen pinned down the location of this meeting. Farm in West Virginia at four o’clock tomorrow. They’re planning to start rounding up Arcanes.”
Her throat went dry. “Can’t your team stop this?”
“Dakota tried, but Admiral Byrne’s hands are tied because of council politics. It’s not a military matter. Until the slaughter begins, he’s powerless to stop it.” Sam looked bleak. “My whole life, I’ve looked up to that man. I damn near worshipped the ground he walked on. And now...knowing he’s aiding in the slaughter of thousands?”
Silently, she slipped into his arms. As Sam embraced her, she whispered, “What are we doing to do?”
He tilted up her chin, his eyes fierce. “You’re going to J.T.’s sister’s house. I’ve made up my mind.”
His cell chirped. Sam fished it out and walked out of the room. When he returned, his expression was tight. “I’ve been ordered back to base by Admiral Byrne. SOP for a security leak. We’ve taken care of the problem of the fake Curt.”
“How...”
“He’s dead.”
Seeing his expression, she didn’t ask how. Someone had avenged Curt. But something else shaded his expression.
“What’s wrong, Sam?”
Tensing, he shook his head. “Curt’s doppelgänger was a Phantom Elemental.”
Kelly’s jaw dropped. “That’s impossible! Why would an Elemental imitate him?”
“I don’t know and it bugs the hell out of me that our hands are tied, ordered to base while something’s going down. But yeah, he was Elemental.” Sam clenched his fists. “Dallas recognized him when the bastard died and shifted back into his true form. Good friend of Curt’s from Desert Storm.”
A chill shuddered down her spine. Betrayed by a friend and then tortured by demons. “Do you think it was personal and had nothing to do with the Arcanes’ plans to create a Dark Lord?”
“Maybe. Dallas said the guy had issues, never advanced in rank like Curt. But if it was personal, why did his doppelgänger give the kill order on us and set up the ambush?”
“Sam, I’m worried.” Kelly hugged herself. “If other Phantoms are involved, their powers makes this even more dangerous. Can you imagine an all-out war, brother against sister, no one knowing who is who, whom to trust?”
They both fell silent.
Sam rubbed his neck. “Tomorrow, I’m heading back, after I drop you off at J.T.’s sister’s house.”
“But your father...”
“I’ll figure it out later, after I’m back at base.” He stroked a finger down her cheek. “If I don’t, they’ll report me as AWOL, Kel. I have to do this. Got no choice.”
* * *
They stayed in a guest room that night. As Sam slept, Kelly slipped out of bed. Taking the flashlight, she went into his parents’ bedroom.
Sam had started to renovate the room, but stopped. The walls sported new Sheetrock, but the flooring was only partly finished. Only the brick fireplace looked the same. Emotion tightened her throat. All these years she wondered if her father was truly innocent.
Did he set the fire?
Kelly tried to envision the room as it was, the elegant furniture, cheerful fire crackling on the brick hearth...
She went to the fireplace and bent down. Workers had dumped plaster and trash into the hearth, probably in their haste to leave. No one had bothered to clean it. Kelly crouched down and sorted through the trash, looking for any small clue from the past.
After a few minutes, she started to give up when she saw something glint.
She swept the circle of light over the object.
Plaster dusted her trembling fingers as she picked up the twisted, partly melted find that she’d almost missed amid the trash. Gripping the fireplace for support, she stared in disbelief. And then everything became clear.
Colton hated her father for killing his wife and son. But the hate was misdirected. Now she understood what truly happened here. Kelly hung her head and sobbed.
Her father was dead.
Finally, she clenched the object and stood, her mind racing.
If she told Sam, it would crush him. He’d go after Colton himself, risking his career.
And maybe, if she confronted Colton before his meeting, it might snap him free of blind hatred. Sam’s father hated her, but she could protect herself.
Back in the guest bedroom, Kelly dressed in silence. She went into Sam’s pack and removed the GPS transponder.
For a moment she stood over him, watching him sleep, thrashing about on the bed. I love you, she thought in agony. I wish I had the courage to tell you.
Silently she stole out of the house.
With luck, she could catch a flight to West Virginia and be there by morning.
* * *
Kelly was gone. So was the GPS transponder.
Shay jammed a hand into his hair, glancing at the clock and cursing himself for sleeping past dawn.
In five hours, he’d be officially AWOL. But Kelly was missing.
He needed the location of that meeting, now. Standing by the desk in the library, Shay dialed Dakota. When he was done speaking, the Draicon werewolf sighed.
“Get your ass back here, Shay. The admiral has Stephen spying on that group.”
And the vampire wouldn’t be at full strength until sundown. She might be dead by then. His fingers tightened around the phone. “Screw it. I’m going after Kelly.”
“You’re throwing away your career.”
So be it. Shay leaned his forehead against the wall, seeing everything he’d accomplished slip away like dust. Logic dictated returning to base and following orders.
But logic didn’t account for a fiery redhead with a strong will, a woman who’d claimed his heart.
All his life, he’d lived according to everyone else’s standards. His father’s. And now the navy’s. Those standards had given him control in a crazy world filled with grief and pain.
No longer did he want to live by standards imposed on him by others. I make my own choices now.
Life wasn’t about control. It was about doing the right thing. Such as following your heart to West Virginia to protect the woman you loved.
“Sorry, Dakota. Got to do this. Give me the location of where my father headed. I’m going after Kelly.”
He scribbled it on a piece of paper. Then Shay gave a wry smile. “Thanks, man. After they kick me out of the navy, maybe we can share a beer sometime.”
Shay thumbed off the phone and headed for the door.
Chapter 23
Nestled amid the rugged Allegheny Mountains, the Sweet Valley farm had a rolling vista of meadow and sunflowers. It was a lovely spot to toss down a blanket, enjoy a picnic.
Or hold a gathering of Mages intent on eradicating an entire race.
Kelly parked her rental car out of sight on the roadway and walked along the long gravel drive. Disguised as Sam. She had his DNA, after all.
The white farmhouse had a wide porch filled with rocking chairs. Kelly mounted the steps and didn’t bother knocking.
She opened the screen door and stepped into a living room with plaid furniture, a basket of wildflowers in the fireplace hearth and Colton Shaymore sitting on a chair.
His face lit up with an enthusiastic smile as he stood. Kelly felt ill, knowing the reason.
“Samuel. You decided to join us.”
Kelly shifted back into her true form. “Not exactly...Dad.”
Shock twisted Colton’s face. And fear. Of all the emotions, she’d come prepared for hatred, prepared for him to attack and kill her.
Not this.
A dawning suspicion pushed aside her dread. He was afraid of her. The knowledge fed her strength. No longer would she remain silent, a cowering ghost in his household.
Disgusted, she advanced, watching his wary look. “I came here to settle old scores, Colton.”
Finally, a
fter all these years, she’d dared to speak his first name.
“I found something of yours in your old bedroom, something you probably never wanted back.”
Kelly opened her palm. In it lay the twisted, partly melted remains of Colton Shaymore’s most precious possession.
His wedding ring.
“Your wife used to brag at her tea parties about how you loved her so much you never removed your wedding ring. I found this in the master bedroom, where the fire originated. If you loved your wife that much, you’d leave your wedding ring on after her death. My father never removed his wedding ring after my mother died. But you took yours off.
“You threw it in the fireplace, didn’t you? You lied to Sam. You hadn’t been outside, after all. You were in the bedroom when the fire started.”
Blood drained from his face. Colton stepped back as if she waved a sword. “Stop it,” he said hoarsely.
“What happened that night? Did you see Dad in your bedroom with your wife? Thought they were having an affair, not realizing he was there to clean up the oil he’d spilled on the carpeting?”
Anguish twisted his face. “That bastard stole my wife!”
“And you stole his life, goddammit. Your hatred blinded you to the truth. You’re a Phantom. You can imitate anyone.” Words bubbled up like lava, the pressure on her chest increasing.
“Did you duplicate my father and run out of the house, knowing he’d be blamed?” she screamed.
Silence hung in the air.
“Yes,” he whispered.
Staggering backward, he collapsed into a chair. Colton buried his head in his hands. “Annabelle,” he moaned.
Hatred boiled inside her. She wanted to shake Sam’s father, kick and scream at him for what he’d done. Ruining her life. Ruining Sam’s.
The man, unlike his son, was a coward.
Kelly took a deep breath. Hatred solved nothing, only brought more grief. Something eased deep inside her.
“I should hate you, but I don’t. I’m only sorry you’re Sam’s father. He’s a good person who deserves much better than you.”
It felt oddly freeing to state those words, as if they’d been locked away for a long time. Now she finally believed them.
A noise sounded in the doorway.
Dressed in camouflage, pistol in hand, Sam stood in the room. Shock slackened his jaw.
“You killed Mom and Pete?” he asked in a broken voice. “Dad?”
“Yes.” Tears glistened in Colton Shaymore’s hazel eyes, so much like his son’s. “They’re dead and it’s all my fault.”
* * *
Shay couldn’t think. Breathe. He stared helplessly at his father, and the world stopped spinning on its axis.
He must be dead and this was hell, the claws of his father’s words reaching into his heart and shredding it. Blood rushed to his fingers as they loosened from the death grip he kept on his Sig.
Shay holstered the weapon. He’d come here expecting to save Kelly, the headstrong, brave woman who thought she could stop a genocide.
Instead, he walked into a nightmare.
Colton wiped his eyes. “Annabelle, my beautiful Annabelle...I found out she never went to her bridge club. She was with Cedric, that bastard. Christmas Eve I saw them in our bedroom, whispering. They looked guilty as they jumped apart. I tore off my wedding ring and threw it into the fireplace. Picked up the poker, came swinging, shouting he would never take away my wife. Annabelle tried to stop me, but I kept hitting until he dropped. And then I turned and saw Annabelle...lying on the floor, so much blood...”
Shay’s chest squeezed tight. His mother, always the peacemaker.
“It was an accident. I never meant to hurt her.”
“Where is my father?” Kelly whispered.
“Burned. I incinerated his body to erase evidence. And then the fire got out of control. I ran to grab an extinguisher down the hallway and I heard Pete screaming. I tried to go back, but the flames were too much.”
Shay staggered to the sofa and collapsed. I know my heart’s beating because I can feel it pounding against my chest.
Ever since becoming a SEAL, he’d sought to live with honor, fight with honor, hoped to die with honor in combat. Just doing his job, like the other operators on the team.
He followed his father’s example of discipline, courage and control.
His father, whose uncontrollable jealous rage caused the deaths of Shay’s family and Kelly’s father.
For the first time, nothing was worth fighting for. Then he felt the softness of a warm hand sliding into his, the gentle reassuring pressure squeezing his palm.
Nothing worth fighting for? Kelly was. His team. His country.
The future of all Mages.
“Can you forgive me, son?” Colton asked.
Shay found his feet and went to his father, his idol.
For the second time in his life, he hit him. Colton fell down, blood streaming from his split lip.
Wiping away the blood, Colton sat up, gazing at the floor. Shay felt an eerie sense of déjà vu. So many times he’d looked like this, head hung in shame as his larger-than-life father verbally thrashed him for failing to live up to the Shaymore name.
Gods, he wanted to vomit, but he forced himself to swallow the bile burning in his throat.
“Is this why you wanted to kill Kelly’s people? Because you blamed Cedric, thinking they had an affair?”
Colton remained silent.
“They weren’t,” Kelly put in quietly. “Annabelle was aiding my father with an underground resistance to achieve equality for Arcanes. That’s why they whispered. Your wife was a gentle soul who loathed injustice but knew how much you hated my people.”
Blind panic spread over Colton’s face. “No, it couldn’t be. The man organizing us into a coalition convinced me it was Cedric’s fault because he was Arcane. In fact, he is organizing others who believe as I do, others who would eliminate the Arcane threat for good. The cleansing campaign starts tonight.”
Shay stared at his father, a once honorable, good man. “You’re condoning genocide.”
“Of course not,” Colton snapped. “I support elimination of the threat against Elementals.”
“By killing my people, even those who are innocent?” Kelly cried out.
“Are they innocent?” he scoffed.
“My father was. He didn’t kill your wife. And he didn’t take her away from you. You drove her away, with your blind hatred and jealousy. Would you have killed your wife had you known she was aiding Arcanes?”
The man’s eyes widened and he stared at her, as if the truth finally slammed full force into him. “I loved Annabelle with all my heart. I’d never hurt her.”
“But you did,” she said softly. “She died by your hand, not my father’s.”
Colton pressed fingers to his temples. “The committee chairperson said I was within my rights to destroy Cedric and administer justice. Oh, gods...what have I done?”
A horrible suspicion filled Sam. “Who is this person organizing the committee?”
“Senator Rogers, the council Elder. He should have been here by now. He wanted to meet with me early.” Colton sounded uncertain for the first time in his life.
Shay stared at the man. The crunch of tires on the gravel driveway drew them to the window. Shay scanned the open room and spied a closet, shuttling Kelly inside.
“If you dare tell him we’re here, you’ll regret it,” he told his father.
Colton looked shaken, broken, a shell of the man he’d once known. Shay didn’t give a damn. He joined Kelly in the closet and cracked the door a notch.
The screen door slammed. Footsteps sounded. Not the heavy tread he’d expected.
Shocked, Shay watched a woman enter the room and look around, her nostrils flaring, the aristocratic cheekbones sharp blades against her skin.
Moira Rogers, the pampered and privileged wife of Senator Robert Rogers.
“Moira? Where’s your husband?” Colt
on’s voice was courteous but suspicious.
She gazed around the room. “Colton. Has your son killed Kelly Denning yet?”
“I thought you were more inclined to hair appointments, not politics and assassinations,” Colton said, dropping the veneer of politeness.
“You fool. You have no idea of the real power behind my husband.”
A flicker across his father’s face. Behind him, Shay heard Kelly’s muffled gasp.
“A shame your son is so disobedient. Denning’s death would herald the new era of our people no longer tolerating the Arcane threat. The first wave takes place tonight, in this community. A small pocket, but enough to declare a victory against those roaches.”
Colton hardened his expression.
“No. I’ve had a change of heart. There will be no killing of Arcanes until this entire matter is officially investigated by the council. And if you, or your husband, try to start, I’ll not only have you arrested, goddammit it, I’ll toss you into prison myself.”
Flesh tightened against the woman’s cheekbones. “You would not dare. You lack the power.”
“I am an Elemental Phantom Mage. Try me.”
The senator’s wife raised her hands and began a series of chants Shay remembered well. Chants to call for the powers...
Hellfire! Dark energy snaked out of the sky, burned through the screen door and shot into her hands. She released the tendrils and struck Colton. He sailed backward, hitting the fireplace and sending pottery smashing to the floor.
Enraged, Shay emerged from the closet and fired, but the bullets burst into metallic dust in midair.
A soft, almost gentle laugh as Moira flicked a finger. Agony blasted through him as the burn of dark magick hit.
“You can’t destroy me with bullets,” she said, her tone amused.
The pain faded like a needle prick. Shay narrowed his gaze, moving around Moira, gauging the best way to take her down. Kelly crept out of the closet. “Sam, use this!”
He caught the triskele one-handed. Power hummed in his blood, a gathering force swelling like the sea, thundering through his pores. But before he could release it, Moira hurled more dark energy, sending him flying backward.
