The Shadow Stealer

by Melissa Giorgio

  But… Wasn’t that selfish of me? If Chloe crossed paths with Mom, wouldn’t I want to know? Didn’t I deserve to know?

  Didn’t they?

  Her face fell when I was silent for too long. Feeling bad, I looked to Rafe for help, and he squeezed my hand. That’s when I realized: I was being given a second chance, something Rafe would never have with his parents.

  “Okay,” I said softly. “We can try. Together.”

  Mom’s eyes lit up, and I knew I’d said the right thing.

  We tromped through the field, heading toward the bright lights in the distance. No one spoke as we approached the train station and walked over to Rafe’s car, and we drove in silence as I stared out the window at the familiar scenery, my stomach hurting more and more the closer we got to home.

  The entire time, I was clutching my phone tightly between my fingers, praying that it would start vibrating with either a call or a text from Philip. But the screen remained black, and my hope continued to diminish.

  He’s fine, I scolded myself. He said he would call when he could. He’s probably busy dealing with the mess Mom left behind, just like you. By the time I got home and Dad had finished screaming at me (rightfully so), I bet I would have a ton of messages from Philip. I just hoped Dad didn’t take my phone away as part of my punishment. Maybe if I told him I needed to hear if my brother had survived a potential attack from members of his secret organization, he would be lenient with me.

  Haha, yeah right.

  When Rafe pulled up in front of my house, the front door was thrown open and Dad came stalking out onto the porch. I groaned. He must have been watching from the window, waiting for me. And he has no problem with yelling at me outside so the entire neighborhood can hear him. This morning, he’d just wanted me home, but I think me not coming home much earlier and ignoring his calls had done nothing to help the situation.

  I slumped in my seat. “Nice knowing you, Rafe.”

  My boyfriend shot me a worried look.

  From the backseat, Mom exhaled loudly. “This is ridiculous.” She reached for her door and I spun around in my seat.

  “Wait, Mom, let me at least prepare him first—”

  Ignoring me, she opened her door and stepped out. Dad stumbled to a halt, looking like he’d just seen a ghost. That was pretty accurate, actually. I had told him this morning that she was dead.

  “M-Morgan?” he whispered. He was frozen in place, his chest rising up and down rapidly as he stared at the woman who had left him suddenly one night.

  “Steven.”

  I exchanged one panicked look with Rafe before propelling myself out of his car so quickly I nearly did a face-plant on the sidewalk. “Dad, I can explain—”

  “She said you were dead.” Dad’s eyes flicked from Mom to me and back to Mom again. “She called me up in tears this morning and said you were dead.”

  Mom nodded once. “I know.”

  “You know?” he repeated, his voice rising with each syllable. “You know? How can you calmly stand there and tell me you know? Our daughter took off yesterday, convinced that her friend Phil was her brother, and somehow in her quest to find out the truth, she’s told you’re dead.” Dad was practically screaming now, and I winced, wondering how many of our neighbors were listening to our exchange. “You don’t find any of this odd, Morgan? These crazy lies she’s been fed—”

  “They weren’t lies.” Mom paused as Dad raised his brows. “Okay, the one about me being dead is a lie, yes. But Philip is my son. She wasn’t wrong about that.”

  All of his rage disappeared as Dad deflated like a balloon. “So it’s true then.” His shoulder slumped and he sighed wearily. My heart ached for him. This was exactly what I wanted to avoid! Then you shouldn’t have gone to the city in the first place, you idiot! If you’d stayed home, none of this would have happened! But then I wouldn’t have known the truth. And I deserved to know the truth, didn’t I?

  “Yes.” Mom gestured toward the house. “Look, can we have this discussion inside? I don’t really want the entire neighborhood knowing all of our business.” When Dad hesitated, she softly said, “Steven, please. Let me make things right.”

  Dad swallowed hard, still uncertain. Surprisingly, he looked to me, and I nodded. To Mom, he said, “If you hurt us again—”

  “I won’t. I swear I won’t.”

  “Then, I guess… Come in.”

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  I covered my ears as I listened to my parents yell at each other in the kitchen. Huge mistake? More like, most epic fail Gabi has ever committed, ever.

  “Oh my god,” Chloe said from my right. We were sitting in the living room, her and Rafe flanking me as our parents fought. My little sister had surprisingly accepted Mom’s sudden appearance a hell of a lot better than I expected. I mean, she’d taken one look at Mom and stormed out of the room without saying anything, and then proceeded to throw some stuff around, creating both a huge racket and a mess in the process, but I’d expected… I don’t know. Hysterics? Threats? Maybe some screaming?

  Instead, she was frowning at the TV (we had it on but muted so we could hear our parents better), looking more annoyed than anything. Turning to me, she said, “This is all the stuff we missed, right? The screaming and the fighting and you and me hiding upstairs in the closet, silently crying and hoping our parents wouldn’t get a divorce?” Chloe rolled her eyes. “God, maybe it was better that she just left! Who needs this crap?”

  “Chloe!”

  “What? It’s true, isn’t it?” She pointed at the doorway. “Do you enjoy hearing them fight? No? Well, me neither. So we’re lucky we missed all of that.”

  “How were we lucky?” I burst into tears, surprising both her and me. I was too tired to fight my emotions any longer. “She destroyed our lives once, and I’m scared she’s going to do it again!”

  “Gabi,” Rafe started.

  Chloe held up her hand. “I got this, Rafe.” My boyfriend nodded and slid off the couch, crossing the room to give us some space. Putting an arm around my shoulders, my sister hugged me. I started crying harder, staining her shirt with tears and probably snot, but Chloe didn’t protest. “Gabi. Gabi, Gabi, Gabi. Since when are you the crybaby in this family? That’s my job.” When I didn’t respond, she hugged me tighter. “Well, since you always fix things for me, I’m going to help you now by telling you it’s not going to be the same this time.”

  I rubbed at my eyes. “How do you know that?”

  “Because we’re not little kids anymore, for one thing,” Chloe said. “And we’re not stupid. We know the world is full of crap. We know because we experienced it firsthand. So we’re stronger, because of what she did to us. Do you really think we’re just going to fall apart, now that she’s come back?” Chloe wrinkled her nose. “How long is she going to be here, anyway? She isn’t expecting to waltz back into our lives like nothing’s ever happened, is she?”

  “No.” I pulled away slightly so I could see my sister’s face clearly. “She wanted a chance to explain things to Dad—and us—but I don’t think anyone is expecting her to, like, move in or something.”

  “What is she explaining to him?”

  Nervously, I played with the hem of my shirt. Dad hadn’t told Chloe anything about my phone call this morning. “She was with someone else, before she married Dad. And they had a kid together.”

  “Holy shit.” Chloe’s eyes nearly popped out of her head. “Are you for real?”

  “Yeah, and this kid—our brother—is Phil.”

  “Shut up!” Chloe shoved me so hard I fell off the couch and landed hard on my butt. There was a moment of stunned silence—it really hurt, my poor butt—and then I started laughing hysterically. It was like all the stress and fear and heartbreak from the entire weekend had brought me to this moment, where I was sprawled unattractively on the floor, looking up into the shocked face of my baby sister. After a moment’s hesitation, she started laughing as well, sliding down the couch so we could hug e
ach other and share all of our laughter and tears together.

  Mom and Dad found us like that a half an hour later, still on the floor, watching TV (this time the sound was on) and quietly speaking to each other. Rafe had sat back down on the couch, and I would occasionally glance at him over my shoulder, as if to make sure he was still there with me. Each time, his eyes would be glued to me, instead of the screen, filling me with warmth. Things might not have been good, but at least right now, in this moment, I was surrounded by people who loved me.

  We waited expectantly for our parents to speak. They’d stopped yelling a while ago, and while we heard murmurs coming from the kitchen, it had been impossible to make out what they were saying. We’d played with the idea of eavesdropping, but decided it wasn’t worth it. I already knew about Mom’s past (although I doubted she would fill Dad in on the magic stuff), and Chloe had proclaimed she didn’t care (although I knew she did).

  They were both exhausted and pale, their voices raw with emotion. “Your mother is leaving now,” Dad said. “Rafe is going to drive her to a hotel.” I was about to protest when Dad sent me a look, telling me I better not dare contradict him. I sighed. I’d thought, for a brief moment, that I would be off the hook after my little stunt this weekend, but obviously I was very wrong about that.

  While I remained quiet, Chloe, on the other hand, piped up. “That’s it? She’s leaving? Just like that?”

  “It’s late,” Dad said shortly, “and she needs to go.”

  Hurt flashed across Mom’s face, but she nodded. “Sorry, Rafe, I need to bum another ride off of you.”

  “It’s fine.”

  I stood when he did. Placing my hand on his chin, I searched his eyes for an answer to the question I was silently asking.

  “I’m okay.” He kissed me softly on the lips, despite both of my parents watching. “Can I call her?” he asked my dad, and I groaned loudly. God, Rafe, way to give Dad the idea to take my phone away from me!

  Dad watched me thoughtfully. “I suppose that’s okay.”

  Behind his back, Mom made a face. “Is he always this strict?”

  “Yes,” Chloe and I said in unison. For a moment, everyone in the room froze. What were we doing? This was too normal, too much like a regular family. But then Dad chuckled, which he quickly tried to hide with a cough, and the tension melted away. My eyes were nearly bugging out of my head as I gave Rafe a “what the hell?” look. He smiled and shrugged in response.

  Weird. This was too, too weird.

  “Goodnight,” Dad said, a little too loudly and forcefully, and Mom and Rafe showed themselves out. After the front door closed behind them, Dad left the room and I looked at Chloe.

  “That was totally bizarre,” she said. “We’re either really awesome at dealing with crazy stuff, or we’re just seriously messed up.”

  “I’d like to think we’re awesome.”

  “You and I are,” she agreed, linking arms with me, “but I don’t know about them. They’re weirdos.”

  “Time for bed, girls,” Dad called from the other room, leading me to believe he had heard every word of our exchange.

  But hey, Chloe was right. They were weirdos.

  ***

  Oh, it felt good to be home, with my own bathroom and my own bed. Not that I hadn’t enjoyed waking up wrapped in Rafe’s arms. As I remembered the previous night my cheeks began heating up, and I scowled at my reflection in the bathroom mirror. It’s not like we’d done anything, so what was I getting so embarrassed for?

  Because you’re probably imagining what the two of you could have done if the bed wasn’t so small.

  “No, brain, do not go there,” I said, shaking my head back and forth rapidly. I knew I liked to tease Rafe, to see him blush, but the truth was I was just as nervous about that stuff as he was. Sure, I wanted to do…things…eventually, but right now? I was absolutely fine with taking things slow. For example, how perfect was his confession? All I had to do was remember the sweet things he’d said and my eyes would instantly well up with tears. I wished I’d been able to record that special moment, but that probably would have been both creepy and awkward. Oh well. I would have to rely on my memory.

  After running my comb through my wet hair, I left the bathroom and sat down on my bed, my fingers immediately reaching for my phone. There was still no message from Philip, and I set the phone down with a sigh as I tried to squash away my fears. He’s fine, I told myself firmly. But I couldn’t help but picture a ton of situations where things had gone horribly wrong for my brother. I knew, despite my exhaustion, I wouldn’t be getting any sleep tonight until I heard from him.

  When my phone began buzzing, my heart gave a nervous leap. Rafe’s name appeared on the screen, and I allowed myself one second of disappointment before answering. “Hey,” I said, a little breathless. “What’s the matter?”

  “Nothing,” he said. “I just wanted to make sure you’re okay. Your dad said I could call, so I’m not breaking any rules.” Even though his voice was casual, I could definitely picture the worried look on his face. It was too funny that my boyfriend faced off against the nastiest creatures, no problem, but he was still deathly afraid of my dad.

  “I think he meant tomorrow, but whatever. I’m not arguing.” I sat cross-legged on the bed, balancing the phone between my ear and shoulder as I reached for my blanket and draped it across my legs. “I’m glad you called. I’m trying not to go crazy with worry. Have you heard from them?”

  “No, not yet, but I’m sure they’re fine. The hunters who found them at your mom’s building probably wanted to ask them a lot of questions. They have all these strict rules and protocols to follow. It would drive you crazy. So trust me; I’m sure Phil wants to call, but he can’t. Same with Alex. As soon as they get away, I’m sure we’ll both get phone calls. Unless they just want to wait until morning,” Rafe added. “Everyone knows how strict your dad is. Phil’s probably afraid he’ll get you in trouble if he calls too late.”

  “I guess so.” It wouldn’t do us any good to keep obsessing over something we had no control over, so I decided to change the subject. “Did you get Mom to a hotel?”

  “About that…”

  I frowned. “Oh, god, what did she do now?”

  “Um, well… She’s kind of staying here, with me.”

  Chapter Thirty

  I dropped my phone. One second it was next to my ear, and the next it bounced off my lap and landed on my carpeted floor. Rafe’s worried voice floated up from the speaker, calling my name repeatedly.

  I stared at the phone, wondering if I should pick it up. Picking it up would mean hearing Rafe’s explanation, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to know it. If I just ignored him—

  If I just ignored him, he’d probably race over here, thinking Silver Moon had just knocked on my front door. (Hey, it had happened before. The knocking, I meant.)

  Grumbling to myself, I scooped up the phone and said, “You have two seconds to explain yourself.”

  “What did you do, throw the phone across the room?” Rafe teased.

  I didn’t bother telling him I’d dropped it.

  “It was late when we left, and we were both tired, so instead of driving to a hotel, I just went home.” His voice was laced with guilt. “I knew it; I should have asked you first.”

  “No,” I said. “I mean, this is weird as hell, but I get it. She’s tired, you’re probably in pain… It wasn’t fair to ask you to take her to a hotel. We should have called a cab.”

  “I really don’t mind. I was going to give her Evan’s old room, but she collapsed on the couch and immediately went to sleep.”

  She must have been a lot more tired than she was willing to admit. And yet she’d had no problem fighting with Dad in the kitchen…

  I guess between HQ blowing up while you were still in it, seeing two of your children for the first time in years, having Silver Moon show up at your doorstep, casting a teleporting spell, and then seeing your other child and husband, it made
sense that she was exhausted.

  Still… “I hope her crashing on the couch means she won’t get up in the middle of the night and run away.”

  “I don’t think she will,” he reassured me. “You heard her in the field. She wants to make things right between you two, Gabi. You just need to give her a chance.”

  “You’re right. I know you’re right, but there’s a part of me that’s afraid she’s going to leave,” I said, repeating what I’d told Chloe earlier. “And I don’t think I’ll ever be able to not feel that way.” I gripped my phone tighter. “I just don’t want her to come back, after all these years, and leave again. I don’t know what I’ll do if she does that.”

  “I know. And I’m hoping she meant what she said earlier and doesn’t do that to you, but you should keep in mind everything she’s done. She summoned a demon. We’re supposed to kill her for that without any sort of trial. She shouldn’t be around you. It’s not safe. So I understand why she left in the first place.”

  “I do, too,” I admitted, “but I don’t like it.”

  “You don’t have to like it. There’s nothing to like about any of this. It sucks.”

  “But at least she’s not dead,” I whispered.

  “And she sealed your powers.”

  I curled a strand of wet hair around my finger. “Is it weird that I’m not exactly happy about that? It’s good that I don’t have to worry about that scary-ass demon coming to eat me, but what if one of you gets hurt? What if I need to heal and I can’t and something horrible happens?”

  “We’ve been hunting and getting hurt long before we met you, Gabi,” Rafe said gently. “And no one ever expected you to be our on-call healer. It’s not fair to assume that you’ll always be there, ready to sacrifice part of yourself to help us. We just need to be careful.”