The Shadow Stealer

by Melissa Giorgio

  “What thing?” Evan demanded. I filled him in on what Charles and I had discovered, pausing a few times as Evan let loose a string of curses. “No wonder he hasn’t been himself! That’s a huge bombshell. Those bastards—if Rafe needs any help killing them, I’m there.”

  I opened my mouth to mention Collins, but then closed it. Right now that was just a theory, something that was just between me and Rafe. Tomorrow we could explore it further with everyone else, but tonight the focus of this phone call was convincing Evan to join us.

  “And you said he’s still in pain from the spell?” Evan continued.

  “Yeah. He won’t let me see the injury, but depending on how he moves—like diving for a ball, for example—it’ll start acting up. It must’ve been bothering him today. He made a few errors at practice, and then he snapped at Kain.”

  “Ugh, Kain. That was probably his fault, for being a pretentious asshole.”

  “Evan…” I began warningly.

  “Nope, not going to take that back,” he answered cheerfully. “Is he going to be there tomorrow?”

  “Yep.” I waited for Evan to refuse to come over.

  He sighed, long and loudly, like he was the one who was suffering. “Damn. What a great person I am, still agreeing to come over. Kain at your house, and Rafe probably killing me the moment he sees me. Someone should give me a medal for this.”

  “Rafe isn’t going to kill you,” I said sourly, even though I’d worried about the same thing. “He knows I’d be in big trouble with Dad if I had to explain a sudden bloodstain on the carpet.”

  “Haha. So glad you’re more concerned about your carpet than my well-being.”

  “The carpet doesn’t annoy me like you do.” I paused. “Hey, Evan?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Thanks for doing this. For helping Rafe.”

  “He is my best friend, Gabi. I’d do anything for him.” I could almost picture the sad smile Evan was probably wearing as he spoke. “I’ll never forgive myself for what I did to the two of you, and I don’t expect him to, either, but if I can help him somehow? I’ll do it. I’ll be there tomorrow. Promise. No more hiding from you guys.”

  “Good,” I said, “because Alex is coming, too.” After our heart-to-heart, Rafe had called Alexandra back, putting her on speaker phone so I could talk to her as well. It had been a little awkward in the beginning, talking to someone I didn’t know, but had unintentionally saved with my crazy powers, but when Rafe had gone quiet, I’d realized it was up to me to explain to her what was going on. “We can have one giant love fest, where everyone stops hating one another and we work together to help Rafe. Sound good?”

  “I—”

  Whoa. I think for the first time in his life, Evan had been struck speechless. I might have smiled evilly as I listened to him sputter incoherently for a full minute.

  “Does she know?” he finally managed to say.

  “What? That you’re going to be here? Yeah. I won’t tell you what she said, because it’s not very nice, but she’s willing to work together with everyone to help Rafe. Just like you. Right, Evan?” I sent him a death glare. I wasn’t sure if it worked through phones, though.

  He sighed deeply. “You’re very mean. I hope you know that.”

  “I do. And I’m proud of it, too!”

  “Okay, as long as you know,” Evan replied. “See you tomorrow, you big meanie.”

  “Tomorrow,” I echoed. Gripping the phone tighter, I whispered, “Thank you, Evan.”

  Even though he didn’t answer, I knew he’d heard me.

  Chapter Six

  The next morning I woke early, my stomach already clenching with nerves. For a moment, I forgot what I was so nervous about, but then it all came back to me.

  Rafe. We were going to try to help Rafe.

  For a moment I lay there, my eyes squeezed shut as I sent a silent prayer out to whoever may be listening. Please let this work; please let us help Rafe feel better. And please let us get through this day without anyone killing anyone else.

  My phone started buzzing, and I reached over to grab it. “Hey, Phil, what’s up?”

  “Just making sure we’re still on for today?”

  “Yep. Everyone, surprisingly, agreed to come over. Even Alex. Although you might want to steer clear of her.” When we’d spoken last night, Alexandra hadn’t been thrilled when I said I was inviting Evan over, and she was even more upset when I mentioned Philip’s name. I knew there was bad history between them because of what had happened with her brother, Sam, but that made no difference to me. Philip was one of my closest friends now, and it was my damn house, so if I wanted him over, he was coming over. Alexandra had paused at that before laughing, telling me she could foresee me and her becoming good friends. When Rafe had smiled fondly, I knew I was doing the right thing by having everyone over.

  “Don’t worry, I always make a point to avoid her,” Philip replied. In the background I could hear Kain asking him a question, and Philip told him, “Alex.” He paused. “No, I don’t think you flirting with her will help the situation. She’ll probably just kick you in the balls and toss you outside.” Another pause. “Yes, she would. I don’t care how good-looking you are—I mean, how good-looking you think you are—No, I didn’t just say that—Will you shut up?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Um, I have better things to do than listen to you and your boyfriend flirt, so I’m going to go, okay?”

  “We’re not flirting—”

  “Bye, Phil.” I disconnected the call, sent Rafe a quick text telling him to stop by whenever he felt like it (the others were coming around noon), grabbed some clean clothes, and headed into the bathroom to take a shower.

  By the time I made it downstairs for breakfast, Dad had already left for work. There was a folded piece of paper sitting by my empty glass. I flipped it open to see, “NO ORGIES” written in all caps and underlined thirty times. Give me a break, Dad! Shaking my head in amusement, I tossed the paper back on the table and fixed myself some cereal for breakfast.

  I’d just finished eating when the bell rang. Rafe stood on the porch, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his jacket. I let him in, kissing him softly on the lips before pulling away to assess him. He looked a little nervous, which was expected, but the dark shadows under his eyes that had been present since I’d told him about his parents had faded somewhat. Had he slept well for once? Maybe talking about it had helped take some of the weight off his shoulders.

  Rafe slipped out of his coat and hung it on the rack by the stairs before slipping an arm around my waist and pulling me in for another kiss. Right before our lips met, he paused and asked, “Your dad isn’t here, right? I didn’t see his car, but you never know with him. He could pop up at any moment.”

  Laughing, I said, “Nope, he’s not here. Neither is Chloe. We can talk about anything without worrying about them overhearing stuff they shouldn’t be hearing.”

  “Right now, I’m not interested in talking.” He closed the distance between us and I melted into his embrace, wrapping my arms around his neck.

  “Maybe,” I said, talking between his kisses, “we should tell the others to forget it and just spend the day doing this…”

  At the mention of the others, the light died in Rafe’s eyes, and he pulled away. Exhaling loudly, he shook his head. “No. This was a good idea. We should all talk…”

  I rested my hand on his chest, feeling his heart racing beneath the fabric of his shirt. “It’s going to be okay, Rafe. They’re our friends. They care about you. All of them.” I didn’t say his name, but I knew Rafe knew I was referring to Evan. “I don’t want you dealing with this stuff by yourself, because you’re not alone. Maybe you think you’re bothering us with your problems, but you’re not. This is what friends do. We help each other.” I tugged him closer to me. “But because I’m your girlfriend, I get to do other things to help you.”

  Rafe smiled. “Oh, yeah? Like what?”

  “Hmm, I think I need to show y
ou—” The doorbell rang, and I frowned. It wasn’t even eleven yet! After detangling myself from Rafe, I opened the door to see—

  Evan halfway down my walkway, heading for his car. Idiot! I fumed, ripping open the front door and stepping onto the porch. “Where are you going?”

  Evan froze. He was hunched over, his head down, as he slowly turned around to face me. He winced when Rafe joined me on the porch, draping his jacket around my shoulders. I shoved my hands into the sleeves gratefully; it was freezing out, and standing around yelling at this moron while I turned into a block of ice wasn’t high on my list of things to do today.

  “Oh, hey,” Evan said, lifting his hand in a weak attempt at a wave. “I realized I was early, so I was going to leave and come back lat—”

  “Evan Underwood, I swear if you don’t march your butt back up these stairs and into my house, I will kill you!” Without waiting to see if he actually listened to me, I turned around and went back into my toasty house. Rafe followed, and I swore he was chuckling, but when I looked at him, his face was blank. I shrugged out of Rafe’s jacket and handed it back to him, crossing my arms over my chest and tapping my foot against the floor as I waited for Evan to haul his ass inside.

  He came. Slowly, and with a pained look on his face, but he opened the door and stepped into the front room, so there was that, at least. I left the door unlocked, knowing Philip and Kain would show up soon.

  I studied him. While I’d expected Evan to be a hot mess, much like the night he’d betrayed us, with wild hair and bloodshot eyes, it actually seemed as if he’d made an effort to be presentable. His golden hair was pulled back into a neat ponytail, there were no rips on his jeans that I could see, and his black shirt was even tucked into his pants. Whoa. Who was this person and what had he done with the real Evan?

  Unless… I fought against the urge to grin. Was he trying to impress Alexandra? No, it couldn’t be.

  Could it?

  Holy crap, I had to bite down hard on the inside of my cheeks to stop myself from laughing. This is serious, Gabi! Pull yourself together!

  Okay, deep breaths.

  After I’d successfully managed to control myself, I turned my attention back to the two boys. Rafe had become fascinated with a magazine on the table and was thumbing through the pages.

  Evan, meanwhile, stared at a spot on the wall. “So,” he said.

  “Actually, it’s good that you’re early,” I told him.

  Evan blinked. “It is?”

  “Yes, because now it gives you and Rafe a chance to talk.” I guided Rafe to the couch. “Sit.” Frowning, he sat. I fixed Evan with a look. “Sit. Down.”

  After a moment’s hesitation, he sat in the recliner adjacent to the couch. As I joined Rafe on the couch, I noticed that they still weren’t looking at one another.

  Or speaking. God, must I do everything?

  “How have you been, Evan?” I asked. Rafe let out a snort and I glared at him. “What?”

  “Are we really doing this?” He returned my glare with a cool gaze of his own. “We’re just going to sit around and make small talk?”

  “I should have brought a platter of cheeses for us to snack on.” Evan looked like he regretted the words the moment they left his mouth, especially when Rafe started to rise.

  “Rafe—” I began.

  Rafe gestured toward Evan. “Clearly this is a joke to him, so why should I sit here and pretend like nothing’s wrong—”

  “It’s not,” Evan said quickly, standing as well. He held his hands out in front of him, motioning for Rafe to sit. When he didn’t, Evan added, “It’s not a joke. You’re right. I don’t know why I said that. Probably because I’m nervous as hell.”

  Chapter Seven

  Much to my relief, Rafe slowly sat back down next to me on the couch. “Why are you nervous?” he asked.

  “Because I came here expecting you to run me through with your sword,” Evan said. He went to comb a hand through his hair but jerked it away, as if he suddenly remembered he’d actually, you know, brushed it before coming here. “And you know what? I wouldn’t blame you if you did. I screwed everything up, and I deserve your anger.

  “But not,” he continued in a quiet voice, “your silence.”

  Rafe’s hands curled into fists. “I’m not going to scream at you, Evan.”

  “That’s not what I meant. I want you to talk to me. I haven’t seen you in two months—”

  “And whose fault is that?” Rafe demanded. “I came home from the hospital to find your stuff missing. Where are you staying, anyway?” I was glad he asked because I’d been wondering the same thing myself.

  Scratching the back of his neck, Evan looked wildly uncomfortable. “I have a place.”

  “Oh my god,” I said, watching as Evan fidgeted. Dread began pooling in my stomach. “You’re staying with a hooker, aren’t you?”

  “What!” Evan almost fell off the recliner. “No—of course I’m not! What the hell, Gabs? Why would you even think that?”

  I traded glances with Rafe, who seemed mildly amused at Evan’s reaction. “Um, because it’s you, Evan. Nothing you do would surprise me anymore.”

  He buried his face in his hands and groaned. “I’m staying at the Chens’ apartment, okay?”

  There was dead silence for a beat, and then Rafe and I started speaking at the same time.

  “You’re staying with the Chens?” Rafe’s eyebrows rose high up on his forehead.

  “You’ve been in touch with Alex? I thought she wasn’t talking to you!” I exclaimed.

  “Guys, guys!” Evan held his hands up again. “Shut up and let me talk. God, you two.” He rolled his eyes. “I didn’t say I was staying with them, I said I was staying at their apartment. It’s the one they used here when they came to visit Alex on weekends. They decided to loan it to me after I helped bring Alex back.” Slumping back in the recliner, Evan raised his eyes to the ceiling. “I refused at first, but I really didn’t have a place to stay. That sorta happens when everyone hates you, you know? Sure, I could have stayed with my uncle, but he’s two hours away and I didn’t want to be far away in case…” Evan spread his hands in front of him. “So I agreed and have been crashing there. I’m not proud of myself, but I didn’t have a choice.” He gazed at each of us in turn. “There? You happy you asked now?”

  I chewed on my lip. “It’s better than a hooker, I guess.”

  “You guess?” Evan shook his head. “Anyway, I answered your question, Rafe. Now how about you start talking to me?”

  “I have nothing to say to you—”

  “Really? That’s how you’re going to do it?” Evan asked. “This is just like the bullshit you pulled five years ago, when they died. You pushed me away, refusing to let me help—”

  Rafe launched himself to his feet again. “Do not talk about them—” He cut off midsentence, grabbing his side and wincing.

  I went ice-cold with fear. “Rafe!” Gently, I helped him sit down and rested my hand over his. Rafe shut his eyes and concentrated on breathing steadily. My heart hammered as he struggled, clearly in pain, and I wished I could do something, anything, to help him through this. Stupid useless hands! What’s the point in having this power if I can’t even use it when I need to?

  Evan pressed his lips together tightly. “The spell is still hurting you.” He didn’t voice that as a question, but as a statement.

  Rafe’s eyes snapped open. “That’s none of your business.”

  “Rafe, come on,” I said. “He deserves to know.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I’m your best friend, you ass,” Evan snarled, furious. He joined us on the couch; Rafe made a face, but didn’t move away. “I bet you haven’t gone to the doctor since then, right? You’re just going to tough this out, like you do with everything else. Like with your parents. Like with me.”

  Rafe’s green eyes narrowed to slits. I couldn’t tell if it was because he was in pain, or because he was two seconds away from slamming
his fist into Evan’s face. “You want to know what I think about you, Evan? I think you’re a selfish asshole. You didn’t listen to a word I said about Gabi, because all you cared about was using her powers to save Alex. You never saw Gabi as a person, just as a means to get what you wanted, and I will never, ever forgive you for that. I don’t even care about me—she got hurt because of you. What if we weren’t there? What if Nina had killed her?” He shifted closer to me, almost unconsciously, because he was staring at Evan the entire time he spoke. “You almost made me lose the person I care about most in this world. After what happened with my parents, how could you do that to me? How could you do that and still call yourself my best friend?”

  I was blinking really fast to keep my tears in check. Rafe probably didn’t realize the impact his words had on me, probably forgot I was sitting next to him, listening to everything he said, but I knew I would never, ever forget it. Especially when I’d come just as close to losing him, too.

  “I’m not going to make excuses for what I did,” Evan said quietly. He sat hunched over, his arms resting on his knees, his eyes trained on the floor. “It was wrong, plain and simple. I woke up after she healed me and I suddenly had a chance to save Alex, so I took it. I told you I was going to check the building for other demons, but instead I called Charles. I regretted it the moment I hung up the phone—no, I regretted it as I was talking to him, but by then, it was too late. I couldn’t take it back. I desperately wanted to take it back, but I couldn’t.”

  “And then you pretended nothing was wrong.” Rafe stopped clutching his side to entwine our fingers. He was holding me tighter than he normally would, but I didn’t dare pull away. I understood why he was gripping me so firmly. “For almost two months, you kept your dirty deed a secret. You hung out with us. You talked with Gabi. You knew you had sentenced her to a terrible fate, and you pretended like nothing was wrong!”