The Shadow Stealer

by Melissa Giorgio

  Eventually, it became too much for me, and I hid my face in Rafe’s chest. His arms encircled me, holding me close. I’d never liked Jonathan, had hated him for hurting Philip the night we’d tried to escape, but I didn’t want to see this.

  I didn’t want to watch him die.

  My fingers were unresponsive, though, and all I could do was huddle next to Rafe and hope that Kain had met a better fate.

  There was more noise from the entrance as another person spilled out of HQ. He waved away an EMT and looked at us, as if he had known and expected us to be there. Next to me, Philip sucked in a shaky breath. It wasn’t the person he wanted to see come out of the building, relatively untouched, but I knew, however angry he might have been yesterday, this was still someone Philip was thankful to see.

  Locking gazes with his son, Charles headed toward us.

  Chapter Eighteen

  “She shouldn’t be here,” Charles said by way of greeting. Rafe’s hold on me tightened, his features growing dangerous as he morphed into his scary, protective mode, but Charles didn’t even notice because he was too busy staring at his son. There was a deep-looking cut over his right eye, and blood flowed freely down his cheek, staining his dress shirt. He looked like he was wearing a creepy, crimson mask on just half of his face, and I tried to concentrate on the left side of it. That side was unmarked, although it was dirty with soot. It was much better than the bloody side, which made him look like a freaking murderer.

  “Where’s Kain?” Philip demanded, obviously not affected by his father’s deranged appearance.

  “Kain?” Charles squinted at Philip, and I wasn’t sure if it was because he was confused, or blood had just splashed in his eye. He smeared some of the blood away with the back of his hand (that definitely did not make things better) and asked, “He’s in HQ? Are you sure?”

  “Yes, I’m sure!” Philip shouted. He was at his breaking point, and I doubted I would be able to calm him down again. He needs Kain, I thought. Kain would be the one helping him get a grip right now. Despite that realization, I didn’t feel jealous. I knew, if I was in the same position, I would need Rafe by my side to keep me sane.

  Our eyes met, as if Rafe knew I was thinking about him, and some of the fierceness left his eyes as he leaned down to plant a kiss on my forehead. “I’m scared,” I admitted in a soft whisper, not wanting Philip to overhear.

  “Me too,” Rafe said. “And I know I said you shouldn’t be here, but…” He trailed off, watching the paramedics continue to work on Jonathan. “It’s a good thing you’re here.”

  My mouth parted slightly. “You’ll let me help Kain, if he needs me?”

  “That’s not my decision to make,” he told me. Just like that. As if we were on a date at a restaurant and he knew he’d never have a chance to pick what dessert we were going to share. (And by share I mean he’d let me eat most of it.) I waited for Rafe to amend his sentence, but he didn’t. He meant it. This was my choice, and he respected that.

  Seriously. I must have been a saint in a previous life to land a boyfriend this supportive. Because we all knew I wasn’t exactly the nicest of people in this life.

  But, no— There would be time to gush over him later (I hoped). What mattered right now was Kain.

  Charles was shaking his head as Philip shouted at him, demanding to know if he saw Kain. “No, I didn’t. I was alone in my office when the explosion occurred. Why would Kain even be here, and not with you?”

  “He was packing some of my stuff up. I’m not staying in HQ anymore. I can’t.”

  Pain flitted across Charles’s face, and he fell silent.

  “Who set off the spell—err, bomb? Do you know?” Evan asked after a quick glance in the cop’s direction. When Rafe elbowed him hard in the side, Evan shot him an annoyed look. “What?”

  “Don’t say the b-word,” Rafe muttered. “Or else they’ll think you did it.”

  “No, they won’t!”

  “Yes, they really will!”

  “I don’t know who it was,” Charles said in answer to Evan’s question. “There was no warning, and then—well, you must have felt it, Evan.”

  The blond nodded. “Yeah, all the way from Rafe’s apartment. Let me tell you, whoever set it off is someone I will never, ever want to meet in a dark alleyway.” He shuddered, which was odd for Evan. He was always so confident in his abilities; in fact, I couldn’t remember ever seeing him scared before.

  “Could it have been Collins?” I asked.

  Everyone turned to stare at me, as if they’d forgotten I was there. Charles’s mouth dropped open. “How do you know about Collins?”

  “I know all about him, unfortunately. And I know he had issues with Liam and Rafe,” I explained. “We think… Charles, we think he killed Rafe’s parents.”

  I watched Charles work through my bombshell. When his face paled, making the soot and blood stand out even more severely, I knew he’d come to the same conclusion as we had.

  Collins was our guy.

  Rafe realized this the same time I did and his grip on my arm tightened. “Is Collins in New York?” he asked Charles.

  Charles nodded slightly. “He flew in on Thursday.”

  “Get her out of here,” Philip growled. “Now.”

  “But—” My eyes darted to HQ again. The smoke was continuing to billow out the shattered windows, but no one else had emerged from the building since Charles. If Kain was still in there, then he must be unconscious and injured.

  And he needed me.

  “Go.” My brother wasn’t looking at me when he spoke. “We can’t risk Collins finding you. Go, Gabi.”

  I shut my eyes briefly. Philip was right, and I knew there was no arguing with him. But I also knew I wasn’t going far, not if Kain needed me. “We’ll be right around the corner,” I told him. “If you need me, call me, Phil.”

  He nodded unhappily before turning his attention back to HQ. Rafe put a hand on the small of my back and began guiding me through the crowd, which had grown since we’d arrived. I scowled. Don’t they have anything better to do than gawk at this tragedy?

  Before we could make it to the corner, Rafe grabbed me, pulling me behind him. I stepped on someone’s toes and was rewarded with an elbow in the side. Grimacing, I went to snarl at the person, but Alexandra and Evan materialized next to me and pulled me even farther into the crowd, away from Rafe.

  “What are you doing?” I demanded.

  Evan spoke quickly, his face white. “It’s Collins. He’s here.” He dropped his hand from my arm and pushed through the crowd until he joined Rafe. Alexandra stayed with me, her hand clutching my forearm tight enough that I wondered if she was going to cut off my circulation.

  I craned my neck to see who Evan meant, my heart racing.

  A middle-aged man stood in front of Rafe and Evan. Surprise flitted over his face, which he quickly hid as he assessed the two hunters. I did the same with him, noting his dark, nearly black eyes, which were a harsh contrast to his silver-streaked brown hair. Looking older than my dad, Collins was tall and slim, and his dark, form-fitting coat did nothing to hide his broad shoulders. There was something about the sharp look in his dark eyes that reminded me of a predator.

  How convenient, I thought. HQ is bombed, and here’s Collins.

  Rage washed over me, and I found myself cutting through the crowd, ignoring Alexandra’s orders to stay back. There was no way I would let Rafe face this man without me.

  “Evan Underwood and Rafe Fitzgerald,” Collins said by way of greeting. “I thought I sensed something amiss.”

  They stared at him, their faces grim.

  When it became obvious they weren’t going to answer, Collins sighed. “What a mess. Why am I not surprised something like this happened under Charles’s watch?”

  “Something like what, exactly?” Evan shot Collins a suspicious look. He probably hoped Collins would admit to being responsible for the blast.

  “Isn’t it obvious?” Collin’s voice drip
ped with disdain. “Sorcerers broke into HQ and set off the explosion. It was an act of war, and we need to strike back immediately.”

  War? With the sorcerers? Holy crap, we really needed to get out of Manhattan now. As soon as Kain emerged from the building, we were taking him and running far, far away. It was bad enough dealing with Collins and demons. We didn’t need to add sorcerers to the mix! From the look of horror on Rafe’s face, I knew he was thinking the same thing.

  “But Charles… He can’t be trusted to do the right thing in this case.” Collins shook his head, disappointed. “He’s not much of a leader, and he was never known for his intelligence.” Collins glanced at Rafe. “He was better known for riding Liam’s coattails to glory. The only reason Charles is the director is because you let your father die, Rafe.”

  I gasped, Collins’s barbs like razor sharp needles piercing my heart. How dare he! Rafe went still as his face paled. He looked like he had the night we’d fought Davenport and the deranged hunter had told him about the test. The shock had been so great Rafe had been unable to move, and I was afraid the same thing was happening now.

  Well, I’m sorry, but there’s no way I’m going to stand to the side and listen to this jerk torment Rafe! I surged forward, my hands clenched into fists as I contemplated the best place to hit Collins. His face, I decided. Maybe if I swing hard enough, I can break his stupid nose.

  Collins’s eyes landed on me as I emerged from the crowd and stood between Rafe and Evan. My boyfriend didn’t move, but Evan latched onto my elbow, refusing to let go. “And who is this?” Collins asked.

  “Someone who isn’t going to let you talk shit about Rafe,” I said. “So how about you shut up, okay?”

  Collins smiled, but it wasn’t a real smile, and it did nothing to erase the coldness in his eyes. “Did you find yourself a normal girlfriend, Rafe? How precious. Considering how close to a regular human being you are, with your Sightlessness and all, this is a sensible choice. If only your parents had lived that day; how proud they would be.”

  Evan let go of my arm. “Dude, seriously shut the hell up right now or else—”

  “Or else what?” Collins’s dark eyes glittered madly. “Do you honestly think you can threaten me, Evan? Perhaps if you’d joined me that day, as my apprentice, you might stand a chance. But Davenport showed you nothing. You wouldn’t last a moment against me. Your magic is insignificant. Let me show you what great power looks like.” He lifted a hand, but before he could do anything, Alexandra launched herself into the fray, standing in front of Evan with a knife drawn.

  It probably wasn’t a good idea to be wielding a knife in the middle of a crowd, but everyone was too busy watching HQ burning to pay attention.

  “Back off, asshole,” Alexandra snapped.

  “Alexandra Chen.” Now Collins looked genuinely surprised. “So the rumors are true. You’re among the living again. How did that happen?”

  She spoke through gritted teeth. “It was a medical miracle.”

  “Really…” Collins glanced at me, for only a second, but it was enough for me to realize I’d screwed up.

  Coming to his senses, Rafe clamped his hand around my wrist as he began pushing through the crowd once more, away from Collins and HQ.

  “So good to see you again, Rafe,” Collins called after us. “And it was nice to meet you, Rafe’s girlfriend. Do take care, won’t you?”

  Chapter Nineteen

  We broke free of the crowd at the corner, but Rafe didn’t let go or speak as he pulled me down two blocks, turning right on Sixteenth. Here, the air still smelled strongly of smoke, but, except for a few people gathered at the end of the block, the street was deserted.

  Rafe let go of my hand and marched away, his face tight with anger. I knew some of that rage was directed at me, so I wisely kept my distance, waiting for him to calm down.

  I was also waiting for my body to stop shaking, but something told me it was going to be a long time before I stopped feeling so frightened.

  “What is wrong with you?” Alexandra demanded, looking like she wanted nothing more than to hit me. “Do you ever listen to anyone, Gabi? Or do you like being hunted? Now Collins knows about you, and it won’t take him long to connect the dots. You couldn’t just walk away, could you?”

  “No, I couldn’t!” I said hotly as some of my uneasiness melted away. I stepped up close to her, but Alexandra didn’t flinch. “I will never walk away from Rafe because he would never walk away from me. Or any of you.” I realized something. “And what about you?”

  “What about me?”

  “It wasn’t such a good idea having him see you walking around, fully cured,” I pointed out. “But the moment Evan was threatened, you rushed to his defense.”

  Her cheeks turned pink as she muttered, “Shut up. That wasn’t why!”

  Evan, meanwhile, grinned. “I knew you couldn’t resist my Evan Charm forever, Alex.”

  “I said, shut up!”

  Using their bickering as a distraction, I went after Rafe, who was halfway down the block, pacing back and forth. His hands were stuffed into the pockets of his jacket and he refused to look at me as I approached. Sighing softly, I leaned against the doorframe to a brownstone and waited.

  It wasn’t until his pacing brought him in front of me that he finally spoke. “What were you thinking, Gabi?”

  “Honestly? I was wondering if I could break his nose if I hit him hard enough.”

  Normally, that would have earned me a laugh, but Rafe’s jaw clenched tighter as he shook his head.

  “I’m not sorry,” I said.

  He came to a halt. “What—”

  “I’m not.” I spoke loudly, my words drowning out his. “I don’t care that Collins knows about me. Do you know why?” I reached up and placed a hand on his chin, tilting his face until he was looking at me. His brows were drawn low over his eyes. “Rafe, I would hate myself forever if I just stood there while Collins said those horrible things to you. About you. What kind of person would I be?” I shook my head, my eyes welling up with tears. “Definitely not someone who deserves your love.”

  Rafe sucked in a sharp breath. “Gabi. No. Don’t you dare think that. Whatever Collins said doesn’t matter. Keeping you safe is the important thing.”

  “You’re wrong. It does matter. I saw how much what he said affected you.” I lifted my other arm, framing his face between my hands. “How it’s affected you your whole life. I never liked hearing about how the hunters teased you for not having the Sight. To see it in person?” I scowled. “Collins is freaking lucky I don’t know how to fight, or I would have kicked his butt to New Jersey.”

  Rafe let out a low chuckle, and my heart sang at the sound. “I would have loved to have seen that.”

  “Teach me how to summon a sword like you can and you will see it.”

  His gaze clouded over again. “He knows about you now.”

  “We don’t know that for sure,” I said, trying to reassure both of us. “He just knows you’re dating a so-called normal human girl. There’s no reason for him to believe I can heal.”

  “I wish I could share your optimism.”

  “This isn’t really optimism. This is me trying not to curl up in a ball and hyperventilate.”

  Rafe’s arms encircled my back, pulling me to his chest, and it felt like home. For a few minutes, I’d been so afraid he would never hold me like this again, but I’d been stupid to doubt his love. “You just risked everything for me,” Rafe whispered. “Your safety, your life…” He kissed me. “I won’t let anything happen to you, Gabi. I promise.”

  I hugged him back as I swallowed against the torrent of tears that threatened to spill down my cheeks and onto his jacket.

  “Do you think it’s true?” I asked. “Did sorcerers really bomb HQ?”

  Rafe shook his head. “I don’t know. They’ve never been so bold as to attack Silver Moon before. Normally I’d say it’s their problem, but with Kain inside…”

  I shuddered
. “I really hope he’s okay.” But I was prepared to help him, if I had to.

  The number of people at the end of the block had increased, and as Rafe held me and Evan and Alexandra continued to bicker behind us, I watched them curiously. They seemed to be gathered around a guy who was resting on the pavement. Why’s he sitting on the ground? I thought. It’s cold and, ick, it’s gotta be filthy. I wonder if he’s sick? For some reason, I couldn’t stop staring at him, his presence nagging me as warning bells went off in my head. But why? Why did I care so much about some random stranger—

  No. I squinted, and my stomach dropped. Not a stranger. That’s not a stranger!

  I must have stiffened, because Rafe asked, “Gabi? What’s wrong?”

  “Kain,” I said, tearing out of Rafe’s grasp and racing down the block. Rafe let out a startled yelp and followed me. “Kain!”

  The people gathered around Kain, dressed in hoodies and jeans and totally reminding me of a cult, snapped to attention as we approached. About five of them stepped in front of Kain, while the rest formed a circle around him. When the ones in front lifted their glowing hands, I skidded to a halt, grateful that, for once, my body seemed to be working faster than my brain.

  Because my brain was having a really hard time trying to understand what I was seeing. People with glowing hands? Magic? A group of people who wielded magic?

  Sorcerers?

  Oh my god, I thought. Collins was right!

  Before I could start asking questions, the girl nearest to me flashed a wicked grin before tossing a ball of magic in my direction.

  “No!” Rafe threw himself in front of me. The magic connected with his torso and he let out a strangled yelp as he staggered backward. I tried to catch him, but all I succeeded in doing was cushioning his fall a little bit with my body as we both went down hard on the pavement.