by Kasi Blake
Van returned from his visit to the Realm a few days after Nick’s birthday. Knowing the man had spies everywhere—Van called them Loyalists—Nick was waiting at the front door to greet him. Van would take the news better if it came from him. As soon as the door opened Nick was on his feet. If Van was surprised to find him waiting, it didn’t show on his face. His expression remained passive, guarded.
“How is my daughter?”
“She’s fine.” Nick stood on the last step on the wide staircase, hands shoved deep into his pockets. The foyer was huge with openings on the first and second levels so his voice echoed. Irritated by the noise, he tried to talk lower. “I do need to talk to you about her though.”
Van’s shoulders slumped. The lines around his mouth seemed more prominent, and there were dark circles beneath his eyes. “Believe me, I am immensely relieved to see you alive after what was sure to be an eventful birthday, but can it wait? Miles to go before I sleep and all that.”
“If I don’t tell you, someone else will.”
“It’s that bad, hmm? What did you do?”
Nick’s jaw tightened. “Nothing.” He’d rehearsed his story a hundred times while waiting for Van to get home. Now that it was time to deliver the speech he could barely remember what he wanted to say. “I was going to take the wraith on alone, but Bay-Lee and Keisha showed up with a spell. They released the wraith.”
“And it went after its master.” Van smiled. The news seemed to take ten years off his aged appearance. “Good. I assume it killed the culprit.” After Nick nodded, Van asked, “Who was it?”
“Gavin Murdoch.”
Van looked shocked. “Are you serious?”
“All I know is we released the thing and it went straight for Gavin. It broke his neck before we could get there. There were witnesses. We went into his room afterwards and found a bunch of stuff he shouldn’t have had including a bowl with the ashes of my burned photo.”
“What else did you find?”
“Pictures of the victims, birth dates, a list of dead relatives for each student here and stolen items from the victims, it was all in his room.” Nick swore beneath his breath before adding, “Bay-Lee told me she caught him with her necklace the night of the party. The guy was stealing stuff and using it to send out wraiths.”
Van stalked off without another word. Nick followed Van to his study. Once inside his home office, Van pulled out a large file and flipped through it. Shaking his head at each page, he said, “I find it very hard to believe Gavin Murdoch created wraiths. Even if he had the power, he wouldn’t do such a thing. I’ve known him and his family for years. He’s been a nearly perfect hunter in every way.”
Nick pursed his lips together. “Bay-Lee caught him with her necklace actually on him.”
“Why would he do it? That’s the question.”
Nick shrugged.
For the next few minutes they indulged in small talk. Van complained about his uneasy flight. Turbulence made him airsick. He’d spent most of the flight in the restroom. After that subject was exhausted they discussed mundane things like the weather and combat training. Then the conversation took a dark turn.
Nick couldn’t hold it in anymore. “You aren’t going to tell Bay-Lee you’re her father, and I am not going to break up with her.”
Van’s entire body froze. Hunched over his desk, eyes on the file, he didn’t move for at least forty-five seconds of awkwardness. Without looking up he said, “I don’t care for your tone.”
Nick straightened his spine, determined to stand his ground. “I love her, and she loves me. We’re going to be together no matter what you say or do.”
“If she knew the prophecy was coming true—”
“It isn’t,” Nick snapped, cutting Van off in mid-sentence. “Being with Bay-Lee is good for me. I’m not going dark side.”
Van collapsed onto his leather office chair as if his legs refused to hold him a second longer. “Remember the story of Nostradamus?”
“I remember.”
“No one can stop the inevitable from happening, I am sad to say. If you are meant to turn evil, you will.”
“Screw that!” Nick clenched his hands into fists and tried to keep a grip on his temper. This would be a great time for an hour of meditation. Maybe two hours. “I might not be able to control outside events, but I can definitely control myself. If I don’t want to be a bad guy, I’m not going to be a bad guy.”
“There are certain aspects of your personality that could lead you down the wrong path. Pride, anger, an inability to forgive. Under the right circumstances those traits can override the good in you.”
“What circumstances?” Nick was certain there wasn’t anything under the sun that could drive him to open the doorway between this world and the Spirit Realm.
Van threw his hands into the air. “Something could happen to Bay-Lee. Maybe the two of you are happy for a short time and then she dies. Her death could push you over the edge. Or maybe she leaves you for another man. Jealousy has driven more than one person to homicide.”
The mere thought of anything happening to Bay-Lee tore a hole in his heart. Van was right. Losing her would rip out every ounce of compassion inside of him. Still, he wasn’t going to walk away from her. He couldn’t. “If losing her will send me over the edge, then you should want us together. I can’t handle losing her even now. This is the first time I’ve been happy since... I can’t let her go.”
Van considered the statement with a frown on his face. A light burned bright behind his eyes. Nick was familiar with this particular look. It meant Van had a brilliant idea. The older man sighed. “I will give you what you want most. I will bring Tyler Beck back to life, but only if you walk away from my daughter.”
Stunned, Nick said, “But you told me it wasn’t possible. How can you bring Tyler back and keep me from going to prison for sixteen counts of murder?”
“I can produce proof for the police that you had a twin. I will also produce witnesses who will swear they knew him. If all that isn’t enough, I will convince someone to turn themselves in for aiding in your kidnapping, perhaps someone who is already about to die and wants money for their family. That would explain why you haven’t come forward to clear your name. The story is simple. Your brother had you kidnapped and stole your identity. You can have your old life back. You can tour with your band. All you have to do is leave Bay-Lee alone.”
If Van had made the offer a few weeks ago, he would have jumped on it. “I’m sorry. I can’t lose her. It’s already too late.”
“I know my daughter. She’ll leave you as soon as she hears I’m her father. She won’t be willing to risk your future or the future of the world.”
Nick stiffened. “You aren’t going to tell her a thing.”
“You think you can stop me, boy?” His voice thundered in the small room.
“I know I can.” Remorse hit Nick hard. He hated the idea of blackmailing Van, but he wasn’t willing to lose Bay-Lee. This was the only way he could think of to keep her in his life. “If you even try to tell her you’re her father, I’ll take her away. She loves me. I know I can convince her to leave this place and never look back. You won’t see her again.”
“How dare you threaten me!”
“It’s not a threat.” Nick worked to keep his voice low and controlled. “I will do it. You won’t see either of us again.”
Van took his time pondering the implications. He was obviously thrown off balance by Nick’s demands. The confusion in Van’s eyes wouldn’t last long. If Nick didn’t twist the knife, keep the pressure up, Van would figure out another way to deal with them.
“I swear to you the fortune teller was wrong about me. No matter what happens, I won’t open the doorway. You have my word.”
“The prophecy clearly states you won’t have a choice. Something my daughter does will turn you into one of them, into a
monster.”
“Unless she kills me first,” Nick said. “That’s part of the prophecy too, so it’s not written in stone. The fortune teller saw more than one future.” He forced a smile. “You know Bay-Lee isn’t going to let me go dark side. If I turn into a monster, she’ll kill me.”
“What if she can’t kill you because you kill her first?”
The blood drained from Nick’s face. “I would never... I’d kill myself before I’d do anything to hurt her.”
“I believe you.” Changing tactics, Van asked, “Did I ever tell you why I went against the board, why I took you in when they wanted to terminate you?”
Nick shook his head, not trusting his voice.
Van told the story with a dry expression. “When your parents came to me with the information, they were in shock. No one knew what to do. Our first inclination was to check out the fortune teller. We put her through a few tests. She was the real deal. I questioned her myself. There wasn’t a sign of ulterior motives or monster involvement from the other side. The prophecy seemed genuine.
“The second thing we did was discuss our options in private. Our board members disagreed at every turn. Some wanted to kill you while others wanted to lock you up, put you in a prison of our making for the rest of your life. A couple of them thought it was ridiculous and you should be allowed to live your life however you wanted.
“Your parents were against killing you at first. I want you to understand that above all else. They argued, bartered, and threatened others for your life, but in the end they were shown the error of their thinking by angry and powerful individuals. I didn’t say much, preferring to watch and listen instead. It was fascinating how my calm and rational board turned into a posse of witch hunters. They grew angrier by the day. Eventually all of them voted to have you killed and that was when you were brought before us.”
A hard lump formed in Nick’s throat. “I remember.”
“I’d hoped once they saw you, saw how innocent and young you were, they would reconsider the matter and allow your parents to take you home.”
“But they didn’t.” The memory was excruciating. His father’s cold expression and his mother’s refusal to even look at him caused a part of him to die.
“Our world is a mess sometimes,” Van said. “Paranoia and fear makes people do things they wouldn’t ordinarily do. Your parents were good people. I’d known them for years.”
Now Van sounded like his brother. “Good people don’t kill their children.”
“They were afraid of you, afraid they’d raised a monster. After a while it was all they could see when they looked at you. Their son was gone, replaced by something terrifying. They had to make themselves hate you in order to survive what they thought was going to happen.”
“But you didn’t let them kill me.”
“I couldn’t.” Van got up and poured himself a drink. When he lifted the glass in Nick’s direction, silently offering him one, Nick shook his head in refusal. Van continued. “You were just a boy, and I’d lived long enough to know things aren’t always as they seem. A prophecy could just be the fantasy of a bored ex-housewife. Or it could have been planted by a monster from the other side. Anything was possible. I didn’t want to kill a child over what could be nothing.
“So I offered to give you a home. It wasn’t a hardship for me. Since I couldn’t have my own daughters living under my roof, having you there was the next best thing.” Van’s eyes softened. “I always secretly wanted a son.”
Nick wondered if Van was trying to manipulate him. “You won’t change my mind about her no matter what you say.”
“I am aware.” Van downed half the contents of his glass before saying, “I hope it works out for you and Bay-Lee. I seriously do.”
“Thanks.”
“I also want you to know if you do turn evil, I will not hesitate to kill you. It will destroy me to do it. I love you like my own, but I will do what I have to do to ensure the world keeps turning.”
A cold chill skated over Nick’s nerves. “I understand.”
