The Changeling's Source (Evedon Legacy Book 1)

by Sarah Lynn Gardner

  So lame.

  Asher bolted into a straight position and looked at me. His beautiful green eyes were red around the edges, and there was a tear streak down his cheek. The evidence of sadness on his face was heartbreaking.

  In its absence, I realized how much I loved the teasing mirth he often directed at me.

  The forlorn expression vanished as a smile lit his face, and a rich, deep laugh erupted out of him.

  I smiled to one side. That wasn’t so hard. “I was passing by. I thought I, well, I wanted to check on you. Make sure you’re all right.”

  “Yeah. Um.” Asher closed his eyes briefly and shook his head. Swallowing, he hesitated for a second. “I, uh, Lydia’s lotion, the smell of it.” He made a circular gesture with his hand. “It triggered a flashback.”

  My brows rose. “Oh.” Asher’s behavior in the classroom made sense.

  “And now you think I’m crazy.”

  “Not at all. Her lotion actually sparked my own flashback.” I cringed because mine was obviously different and less traumatic than his—and how could I compare it to his? “Though it was probably more happy than yours. Besides, you’re looking at the girl who everyone in this school thinks is crazy.”

  “I don’t.” A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

  “Well, then you must be crazy.”

  Asher chuckled. “Thanks, Tara,” he said. “Thank you for checking on me. It helps.”

  “Yeah, well. Don’t start expecting me to be nice. There’s a reason everyone calls me polar bear.”

  “Cute and cuddly.” Asher’s straight face stayed for less than a second.

  I was confused. “What?”

  Asher’s grin widened. “Polar bears are cute and cuddly.”

  Warmth flew into my face, my eyes widened, and I almost laughed. “And now I’m done talking to you.” I quickly slipped back out into the hall and ended up bumping into a young, dark-haired police officer who was about to enter.

  “Excuse m—”

  His hand briefly touched my arm as he helped me to balance. In that brief moment of contact, I felt a transfer of positive source from him into me, and I got this instant awareness he was full of source.

  “Oh.”

  For a moment of understanding, we looked into each other’s eyes. His were an amber color that almost glowed.

  He’s a changeling like me.

  I took several steps away from him. “I’m late for glass, I mean class,” I said, embarrassed. Asher was watching me through the glass window.

  The officer nodded his head.

  As I passed Asher, with the window dividing us, he knocked on it. “Sorry!” he called to me.

  Turning his way, I briefly pressed my palm against his and chanced a straight look into his eyes. The mirth had returned.

  I helped drive away his sadness. My conscience felt light, burning with the knowledge I’d done something good.

  My heart skipped with the realization, and I quickly broke away, hurrying down the empty hall, passing the bathroom where everything crazy had started between Asher and me.

  On top of the energizing rush of helping Asher, curiosity burned at having met another changeling.

  I glanced over my shoulder to catch a glimpse of the officer, but he was out of view.

  I’d never accidentally run into another changeling. Who is he? Does Daniel know about him?

  For once, I was grateful for a long-term substitute in science. She was barely checking attendance as I entered the room.

  Sitting down at my table, I gripped my binder to me and took a deep breath.

  “You seem happy about something.”

  I turned toward Izzy, who shared the table with me.

  After I had pointedly ignored her efforts to talk the first week of class, she had given up. This was the first time all month she’d tried.

  She had lowered her fantasy novel and was smiling in her sweet, unjudging way.

  How have I never noticed it before?

  Sam and Delilah teasing her earlier flashed across my mind. I used to be one of them, giving Izzy a hard time. How can she look at me like that now?

  “Get your worksheets done!” Mrs. Elleck called, trying to bring order to the chaos, and sat at the computer.

  I opened my binder to pull out a pencil. All around, everyone clustered in groups. Izzy and I always worked independently until we finished, then pulled out a novel and read.

  I hadn’t brought one today.

  “What if we worked together?” I said, feeling lame.

  Izzy’s face lit up. “As long as it helps us get done faster. I’m at an exciting spot in my Terry Brooks novel I really want to get back to.”

  I tried not to smile too widely as she handed me one of the textbooks from the top corner of the table. We divided the worksheet in half.

  While I read, Asher and the officer kept crossing my mind. I wanted an excuse to go back by the office to see if either was still there. I wanted to find out the name of the officer to ask Daniel about him.

  Quickly, I searched the text for the worksheet’s answers and then asked to use the bathroom.

  Trying not to look too suspicious, I passed the bathroom to look into the office. The police officer wasn’t there, nor was Asher.

  During the next passing period and after school, I looked for Asher’s tall physique amongst the flow of students, but never saw him. The officer, too, was long gone.

  Later that afternoon at home, Nathaniel got a tiny thorn stuck in his foot, and he was way too woozy to get it out himself.

  Daniel was out with Oops picking up a birthday cake for Nathaniel, and who knew if Mom would even be home before midnight. She had scheduled several surgeries for the afternoon, which meant we probably wouldn’t see her.

  Mom would have been better qualified for extracting the thorn.

  “What were you doing outside in your bare feet?” I held up his ankle with one hand and held up tweezers in the other.

  “Filling up water balloons. Max and I are going to have an epic battle tonight.”

  “It’s October.”

  “Yeah, but today was likely the last warm day of the year, and we have to celebrate.”

  That made me chuckle.

  I released positive source into Nathaniel’s foot, hoping to relieve any of his pain.

  Nathaniel relaxed. “What I don’t get is why your mom planted bushes around her house that have thorns in them.”

  “To ward off the demons.” I looked up to catch his reaction.

  “Why do you always blame things on demons?”

  “Because they’re real.”

  “You sound serious,” Nathaniel said.

  “I am serious.” I coaxed the thorn out at last. “There it is!”

  Marion, his new kitty, came racing over. She jumped onto his lap, then onto the kitchen table, leapt from there to the counter, and did another crazy plunge to the island before slipping and falling to the ground.

  “Speaking of demons, there’s one.” I grinned.

  Nathaniel chuckled.

  The kitten walked around the island with her head held high as if to overcompensate for embarrassment.

  I scooped up the kitten and cuddled her. As she purred, I felt an instant relief of the dark source I’d stored.

  “Thank you, Tara.” Nathaniel jumped down and lifted his kitten from my arms, then raced to join his friend outside in our yard.

  “Put shoes on!” I called after him. Guilt lodged in my stomach for how hostile I’d been toward Nathaniel in the past. I took a deep breath.

  The garage door echoed, and seconds later Oops raced inside. She held a package wrapped in red and orange Happy Birthday paper. “Where’s Nathaniel?” she asked, jumping up and down.

  “Out back.” I couldn’t help but grin.

  She raced toward the living room, and a second later, the back door slammed.

  Daniel came in, loaded with bags, and I stepped forward to help him.

  “Thank
you.” Surprise filled his tone. “I thought you’d be upstairs.”

  He said it matter-of-factly, but the statement caused a guilty feeling to twist in my stomach. I tried making up for it by unloading the grocery sacks as he returned out to the garage, coming back in with a circular cake, decorated in red and orange. He stooped to pull out a pot from the cupboards.

  “Daniel, do you know any police officers that are changeling?” I left out the hot dogs and other food intended for Nathaniel’s birthday dinner.

  Daniel frowned and shook his head. “No, why?”

  Disappointment but also relief he hadn’t been hiding information about another changeling danced around in my chest. “I bumped into one today at the school office.”

  Alarm lit his eyes, and I knew his thoughts were racing back to last year. “Why were you in the school office?”

  “Relax!” I grabbed the pot and filled it with water for the hot dogs. “You would have known by now if I was in trouble.”

  “Oh. Wait a second. Those are for you.”

  “What?”

  “The hot dogs—in case you wanted to cleanse.” He pulled out spaghetti noodles from one of the bags. “Nathaniel wants pasta for dinner.”

  “Oh! Thank you.” I took the package from him and set it aside. Setting the pot on the burner, I turned it on to boil.

  There was a momentary silence as Daniel pulled out a skillet to brown meat. As I opened the package of pasta, I tried to think of something to fill it with but came up blank.

  “It’s nice to have you out of your room again,” Daniel said.

  I hesitated. It’s nice being out. “Did you notice I’m trying to be nicer?”

  “I wasn’t going to say anything.”

  I let myself grin.

  Nathaniel entered through the screen door, holding Oops who was crying and struggled against him. “Daniel,” Nathaniel gasped.

  “Something’s wiggling inside me!” Oops wailed, trying to retreat outside.

  Daniel turned off the burner then rushed around the island to Nathaniel and Oops. Setting down the pasta, I followed.

  Daniel cradled Oops in his arms, gripping her firmly. “Look at me, Sweetie,” he said quietly.

  I hovered even closer.

  When she looked into Daniel’s eyes, he cursed.

  Demon fire glowed in her eyes.

  My chest squeezed, igniting a burst of dark source inside me. How’d a demon get into our backyard? I had to get it out of her.

  “Nathaniel,” I said. “Go make sure all the gates are locked in the yard.”

  He nodded, then retreated, sending a worried look my way. I took a step toward the hall, intent on retrieving one of the daggers from Holden’s room.

  Daniel looked at me, then back at Oops, then shot up to his feet, gripping Oops in his arms. He looked at such a loss.

  I stalled.

  “I can’t call Bastian,” he whispered. “He’ll take her to the Facility,” he whispered.

  The Facility. It was where troubled youth were taken.

  “No, don’t. I can get it out of her.” I rushed down the hall toward the stairs. Taking them two at a time, I hurried into Nathaniel’s room, opened the chest, and took out one of the daggers. Oops’s sobs followed me up the stairs. I headed out into the hall and met Daniel carrying Oops, thrashing in his arms

  His glasses were askew. “What do you mean you know how?” he asked.

  “Set her down.”

  Daniel then forced the dagger from my hand. Which was fine. He was the demon slayer after all.

  Kneeling by Oops, I picked up both her hands, closed my eyes, then began draining her of all her bubbly but mostly frightened source.

  Sensing she was about depleted of it, I looked her in the eyes.

  The demon fire extinguished, and a dark being sat up out of her. It had the upper figure of a girl but legs like a spider.

  It floated in front of me for a second, turning its head one way then the other, then hissed, leaping at me.

  Fear bombarded my chest, and I scurried backward. Oops screeched.

  “Go to Hell.” Daniel ran the dagger through it, and it exploded in a puff of ash.

  Oops ran to me and threw her arms around my neck. Instinctively, I returned all her bubbly source, and she calmed. Daniel collapsed next to us, breathing heavy.

  He turned and looked at me, anger snapping in his eyes. He breathed through his nose several times, clenching his jaw. Briefly, a film of tears appeared, which he hid by looking forward. “How did you know how to do that?” he asked.

  “I...well...I guess I figured out if I could give source, I could take it.”

  “We aren’t telling anyone about this.” Daniel reached for Oops, and she scrambled into his lap. “Because I’m pretty sure Holden’s father will have you locked up if he finds out you can do that.” Daniel kissed Oops’s head. “I’ve never seen that done before, and I spent ten years fighting demons.” He looked at me.

  The gleam in his eyes wasn’t anger. It was fear—for me. He patted the back of my head affectionately.

  I pressed my lips together as the emotion of the last five minutes caught up to me.

  Why is it he cares for me when I’m not his daughter? When I’ve been so horrible to him?

  Footsteps pounded on the stairs, and Nathaniel appeared. “All the gates are closed.”

  Daniel placed Oops back in my lap. “You all stay inside. I need to search the perimeter.” He stood, then looked at Nathaniel. “It might be time for you to gain sight.”

  “Sight?” he asked confused, looking down at me.

  “Wish I didn’t have to go through the proper channels first.” He glanced at me and Oops, then stormed toward the stairs, leaving Nathaniel little time to get out of his way.

  “What’s he talking about?” Nathaniel asked.

  “Demons,” I said.

  “They’re real,” Oops whispered.

  Very much so.

  On Saturday, Mom took Oops out for the day to help her recover from what had happened. Daniel also left early to go talk to Reuben Bastian—the director over at the Facility. Reuben Bastian was a pure alv. He was Holden’s uncle and a close friend of Daniel’s. Daniel promised not to say anything about how I could steal the source of an alv.

  Everyone was spooked. I caught Nathaniel peering at Holden’s daggers.

  I entered the room and leaned up against the dresser.

  “Demon sight?” Nathaniel asked.

  “Regular humans can’t see demons on their own.” I gnawed my lip, then picked up the closest dagger to study it. “Pure alvs can give them the ability to.” I picked up the dagger, thinking about Dad’s family. Dad’s brother, Einar, was born a regular human. My uncle Art gave him demon sight as a teenager. People with demon sight were monitored by the clan that gave it to them—owing their service to the alv who gave it to them.

  They were expected to become demon slayers, forming a partnership with their alv leader.

  “With how much time you and Oops spend around each other, Daniel’s been wanting you to have sight—to help protect her. Demons only possess alvs, and they especially like changelings.”

  “This is bizarre,” Nathaniel said.

  “Tell me about it.” I set the dagger down.

  “Show me.”

  “I’m not showing you a demon.”

  “No, I want to see what you can do as a changeling.” His brown eyes glinted with curiosity.

  “Oh…” One of Holden’s action figures caught my eye—an army man. Its arm was bent crookedly. Taking it off the shelf, I pulled out the arm a little, closed my eyes, and imagined what it looked like whole. Fixing things always turned out differently than I wanted it to. It was a lot easier to destroy.

  Directing positive source into the plastic, I pressed my fingers into the material, and when I opened them again, the figure’s arm had shifted forms. Now it bent and moved in a more realistic way compared to its companion.

  Nathaniel grab
bed it out of my hand. “That’s amazing—it almost looks life-like.”

  Pain shot unexpectedly through my chest, and I grabbed it back. “I can’t give it life.” Directing a burst of dark source into the figure, I made it explode.

  Nathaniel jumped back away from me.

  Tears coursed down my cheeks. “I can’t bring it life.”

  Dad’s still form grew inside my mind as I stared at the broken pieces scattering Holden and Nathaniel’s floor.

  I wished Holden was there to hold me. He used to let me give him my dark source as a way to cleanse.

  Maybe I’d given him too much. Maybe that was why he stayed away from me now—because he couldn’t handle my darkness anymore and didn’t want to tell me.

  Sunday evening, on my way to bed, I paused in the doorway of Daniel’s office. He stared at the screen of his computer, arms folded, with a sour expression.

  “Did I do something wrong?” I asked.

  “No.” His brows scrunched together.

  “That’s usually how you look when I’m driving you crazy.”

  Daniel rubbed his jaw. “I always thought Jerrick would be the one to give Nathaniel sight, if it ever came down to it.”

  “No,” I said quickly.

  He sat up and folded his hands on his desk. “Do you want to talk about why?”

  “Nope.” I turned toward the stairs.

  “Tara, please.”

  I paused, putting one foot on the bottom step. “It won’t do any good talking about it now.”

  “It might do you good,” Daniel said.

  The thought of opening up about the night Jerrick almost killed me made my jaw clamp tight, my stomach turn, my hands sweat. “Good night.” I ran up the stairs.

  Sleep came quickly. So did the nightmare. Gasping for breath, I sat up.

  Jerrick’s eyes glowed with demon fire all over again. Tonight, I didn’t even try to go back to sleep on my own. I went down to Oops’s room, but Daniel was already in bed by her.

  I hesitated, really not wanting to go back to my bed.

  Daniel stirred, looking at me. “Tara,” he whispered.

  “I’m sorry…”

  He rolled from the bed and mumbled something unintelligible but strayed out of the room.