Hunting Shadows (Shadow Series #3) (24 page)

It took everything I had not to lose consciousness, to gather my strength and grow
my energy into a fury of power. I
finally
pushed it out with all my might and felt momentary relief as the vardogers
attempting to overtake
me were destroyed, shimmering in the air until they completely disappeared.

“Fuck! I can’t do anything to stop them because they’re not in bodies!” Simon looked
frantic as he kneeled over me, looking
terrified and
out of control
. I saw Ryan and Marie behind him struggling
in their own fights with vardogers. I turned back t
o Simon, to tell
him that I
was okay, when two more vardogers slammed into me, t
aking my breath away
.
I was weaker now, and I struggled
to gather my powers as my energy waned.
The pain was affecting
me more now, making it hard for me to concentrate on funneling my powers. It seemed
to take forever but I was finally able to gather enough energy and
I
shot it out with as much force as I could muster.
When the vardogers vaporized and dissipated into the air,
I could barely feel relief
because I was so weak

I felt Simon’s hands on me and I struggled
to prop myself up
until I was sitting up straight. “I’m okay, Simon,” I said, although my strained voice
belied my statement. I
focused on Ryan behind him who had just finished destroying a vardoger.
He rested
his hands on his knees
, breathing heavily
as he tried to catch his breath
. He looked up after a few moments, his gaze zeroing
in
on me.

“Are you okay?” His voice was hoarse but still strong. I nodded and t
hen searched the room, confusion
settling in.

“Where’s Marie?” I aske
d. Simon helped me as I stood
. I grabbed his arm when I felt
how unsteady my knees were
.

Ryan’s expression darkened as he straightened. “She ran off.”

“What do you mean she ran off?”

“I don’t know if it was too much for her or if she was scared,” Ryan answered grimly.
“One moment she was fighting a vardoger, the next moment she was running out of the
apartment.
”

“I don’t understand. Why would she just run away?” My he
ad felt clouded
and I tried to put my thoughts in order. Marie running away was uncharacteristic
of the seer I had come to know. She had taken so many chances helping me that it didn’t
seem to make sense that she would just run off because we were being attacked by vardogers.
Then again,
I knew
fear could make a person do things they
wouldn’t normally do.
Still, it was hard to accept.

Simon guided
me to a chair and gently put pressure on my shoulders until I was sitting
down. I didn’t protest although I felt my strength starting to return.

“I don’t know,” Ryan said. “It doesn’t seem like s
omething Marie would do, but who
knows nowadays.”

My mind was working frantically, trying to make sense of things. A thought kept interjecting
itself into my mind, and I kept pushing it away until I could no longer ignore it.

“Do you think she’s the one that stole the palladium and iridium disk? Maybe she ran
off because she didn’t want to get caught.”

Simon frowned. “Why would she do that? She’s the one who helped us to find someone
to melt it down in the first place.”

“I know, but maybe she was having second thoughts
.
Or maybe…” I trailed
off
before continuing. “Maybe she’s not on our side after all. Maybe she’s working for
my father.”

There was a grim silence as the idea sunk in. Ryan clenched a hand into a fist, looking
angry. “I never would have suspected her of it. But it makes sense.”

Thoughts of Marie vanished
as I turned towards the couch. I had completely forgotten about Sophia, who still
lay there. “Shit,” I said, rising from the chair. “We need to call 9-1-1.”

Ryan leaned over Sophia and lifted
her arm, putting two fingers
against her wrist. He shook his head after a few moments. “She’s dead.”

I swallowed the hysteria that was threatening to bubble up inside me. How many
more
dead bodies would I have to see before my father was stopped? “We can’t be sure. We
still need to call an ambulance.”

Ryan shook his head. “We
don’t want anyone to know that
we were involved
, including the police
. We need to get out of here right now. If Marie really is a traitor, your father
knows exactly where we are
.
His energy isn’t getting stronger so he’s not any closer, but we can’t take any chances.
We’re too weak right now to fight him.”

“We can’t just leave her here!” I was unwilling to leave her battered body alone in
the apartment, regardless of whether or not she had already passed. She was still
a human being that deserved to be treated like one. “It’s not right.”

“There’s a pay phone outside the apartment building,” Simon said. “I’ll call the police
anonymously
from there
.”

“It’s not a good idea,” Ryan started but Simon interrupted him.

“It’s not your call.” Simon’s
steely
expression
softened when he turned to
me.
“Let’s hurry and pack our things and I’
ll make the call on our way out
.”

I went
on autopilot as I blindly shoved my things back into my bag. Simon grabbed both our
bags and
I followed him and Ryan
out the door, but
I couldn’t help glancing back at
Sophia one last time. She had been so scared the last time I had seen her
,
when she
had
helped put me under hypnosis
, terrified at even the mention of palladium. But she had used her last breath to
warn us to run. She was yet another person whose death
I vowed to avenge. I just prayed
the list didn’t grow any longer.

We quickly ran down t
he stairs and Ryan and I got
into his car while Simon made the call on the pay phone.

“Are you okay?” Ryan asked as we watched Simon
through the windshield
.

“Yes
,” I said quietly, not wanting to talk.

“All the vardogers seemed to go for you. Marie and I didn’t have multiple vardogers
attack us. They attacked us one at a time like they were just trying to keep us distracted.
But five attacked you at once. I’
ve never seen anything like it
.
Marie told me about Claudia’s powers to sustain vardogers without bodies, but I never
would have believed it if I hadn’t just seen it for myself.
The fact that your father
seems
to have found someone else with those powers shows the magnitud
e of what we’re up against. Yet
you’re even more powerful than I thought.
I don’t know how you destro
yed all those vardogers at once
.”

I didn’t answer him
.
The last thing I wanted to do was talk about Claudia and what had happened in the
past.
I didn’t want to talk
about my great powers and
h
ow strong I was. There was
a dead person upstairs in the apartment and I hadn’t been able to do anything to
prevent that.

Ryan didn’t say anything more
when I didn’t respond. I was relieved when Simon
finished the call and walked over to the car. He
slid into the ba
ckseat
and no
one commented when I opened the passenger
door and climbed in next to him.
I needed to be near him
right now
. I wanted to shudder with relief when he enveloped me in his arms
. I didn’t feel safe but I felt loved. It had to be enough for now.

I saw Ryan watching us
from the rearview mi
rror but I couldn’t decipher the
look in his eyes. His voice was expressionless when he spoke.

“Where to now?”

“Just drive,” Simon answ
ered. “I
don’t know wher
e the hell to go, but we know Caitlin’s father isn’t
far behind. We’ll figure out
where we’re going
on the way there.”

Instead of arguing, Ryan just nodded and pulled the car into the street. We were silent
as we drove nowhere. I hoped that we would soon figure out what the hell to do and
where to go.
Our lives
, and everyone else’s,
depended on it.

Chapter Twenty

We drove for hal
f an hour before anyone spoke
. I was the one to finally break the silence, not able to take the aimlessness of
our direction anymore.

“Can you still feel my father’s energy?” I asked Ryan.

“Yes, it
’s pretty much the same strength
as before, which means he’s tracking us somehow.”

“I think we should stop running,” I said. “We need to face him and end this.”

“Do you feel strong enough?” Simon asked, looking concerned. “You spent a lot of energy
destroying those vardogers.”

My strength had returned rapidly and I wanted nothing more
than
to finally end things with my father. “I feel strong enough to face my father,” I
reassured Simon, but I couldn’t help frowning. “I’m just pissed that I don’t have
the palladium and iridium disk anymore. It was the key to winning against my father,
I’m sure of it. But we can’t wait around until we can find another piece of palladium
to melt down. We can’t afford the collateral damage.” I took a deep breath before
continuing. “Let’s go to my aunt’s house. I’m su
re it’s still vacant
and it’s a good enough place as any to wait for my father.”

Simon frowned at me. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

I nodded determinedly. “I want him to be able to find me easily. I’m ready for him.
I’m much stronger t
han before and I know what he’s capable of
. As long as I don’t have any palladium on me, I’ll be able to
fight him. And this time, I’m not willing to lose the fight.”

Simon
looked grim
as
he gave Ryan directions to my aunt’s house since he knew his
way around Connecticut much better
than I did. Ry
an didn’t comment on our destination
and
just followed Simon’s directions.

It was eerie to see my aunt’s house again when we pulled up in front of it. The exterior
of the house still looked neat and tidy, at o
dds with the horrors I had witnessed and experienced
inside
. But I reminded myself that it was also the place where I had met Aunt Brenda for
the first time. For all the bad memories the house held, I refused to let it ruin
the moment when I had met my aunt who had embraced me with open arms and an open heart.
She died risking her life for me, and in a way the house was a memorial to her. I
promised myself that I would make her self-sacrifice worthwhile.

“It’s locked,” Ryan said when we tried the front door. I walked around to the side
of the house and they both followed me. Simon looked resigned as he helped me through
the small basement window
without me having to ask
. I wriggled through, trying to tamp down the
fear that someone would grab my legs
from the other side.
I was relieved
when I finally made it through. Besides being dustier, the basement looked exactly
as I had remembered it.
I quickly made my way up the stairs and opened the door
leading to the first floor
. There was a stillness to the house that was unsettling, as if it had died along
with its owner, which made
no sense since it was inanimate
. I avoided looking into the living room as I walked to the front door and unlocked
it. It was more than a little reassuring when Simon and Ryan joined me inside.

“Nothing’s been touched,” Simon said as he made his way into the living room. “It’s
exactly the same.”

“I’m not sure who owns it now.” My mouth twisted at my next thought. “I wouldn’t be
surprised if my f
ather
is the owner
,
since he’s her
brother.”

I followed Simon into the living room, trying to fight the rush of memories
that swamped my mind
of all the awful things
that had happened in this room.

“Are you okay?” Ryan’s voice
behind me
was gentle and I nodded
,
although my emotions
were feeling a little
un
steady. I glanced at him as he walked
past me
towards
the kitchen carrying a bag of groceries
that we had picked
up
on the drive over
. It seemed so banal to go through the motions of normal life, but I couldn’t deny
the grumble in my stomach.

“
I’m assuming the kitchen is back here.
I’ll play chef and make us something to eat,” Ryan suggested and disappeared.

“I wouldn’t put it past him to poison my food,” Simon grumbled but there was no heat
behind his words.
When
he announced that
he was going to search the house to make sure we were alone
, I just nodded, not feeling the need to go with him
. As he bounded up the stairs, I
looked out the
front
window
of the living room
. It was still m
orning and the street was
quiet
with no motions of life
.
Earlier,
Ryan had said my father’s energy was getting closer and that he would
n’t be surprised if he arrived
by nightfall.
I wondered if Marie would be with him.
The more I thought about it, the more I was convinced that Marie had stolen the metal
disk. There was no other reason for her to run. I just wished I knew why she had done
it after going to such lengths to help us. The thought of her reporting
details of our activities to my father the
whole time was a bitter pill to swallow.

I turned around as Simon
came back downstairs and
sat down on the couch. “
It’s
all
clear,” he said. “Nobody’s here besides us.” He studied my face
when I didn’t comment. “
W
hat are you thinking about?”

I sighed heavily. “
I know the logical conclusion is that Marie stole the palladium and iridium disk,
but I’m having a hard time accepting it. She hates my father. You didn’t see the look
on her face when she told me about how they killed her sister. I just can’t believe
that she would betray us like that.”

“We don’t know for sure that she did.” Simon jerked his head towards the kitchen.
“For all we know, he could have it stashed away somewhere.”

“But that still doesn’t explain why Marie ran.”

Simon raised an eyebrow. “Did she? I was
totally
focused on you when the vardoge
rs attacked
so I have no idea what was going on with either of them. You didn’t see her run either.
We’re just going on Ryan’s word.”

I crossed my arms against my chest and tried to see past Simon’s bias against Ryan.
He wasn’t completely wrong that we couldn’t rule out Ryan as a potential thief, but
I didn’t want to believe it. As much as Marie had helped me, Ryan had been by my side
h
elp
ing me fight vardogers
. He was continually enc
ouraging me to become a stronger
seer and to believe in my own powers. Why would he make me stronger only to tear
me down?

“Sandwiches are
the best I could come up with
,” Ryan announced as he
strode
back into the living room
and I had to stop myself from jumping guiltily, hoping that he hadn’t overheard anything.
He was carrying
a plate piled h
igh with sandwiches and seemed
oblivious to our conversation.

“That’s fine
,” I said.
I thanked Ryan a
nd took a sandwich gratefully, my stomach growling again
at the sight of food. I watched as Ryan offered the plate to Simon
and was
relieved when he simply took one without comment.

I sat next to Simon on the couch and Ryan sat in the armchair opposi
te us. We were silent as we ate, each of us lost in our own thoughts. Simon and Ryan
ate several more sandwiches but I couldn’t stomach anymore after the initial one.
Now that my hunger had been satiated, I was feeling jittery with nervous energy.

“Do you feel my father getting closer?” I asked. Ryan finished the last bite of his
sandwich before answering.

“He is, but he hasn’t picked up speed. I still expect him to make it here by tonight.”
Ryan paused before continuing. “H
e’s not alone. I can feel the
energies of other vardogers with him.”

I tried not to panic by his revelation.
“We need to have some sort of plan.” I rubbed my forehead, trying to push myself to
think strategically. “We can’t
just sit around waiting for him. We know he’s coming with other vardogers. We need
to think of a plan of attack.”

“
Not only is your father going to come with
vardogers
in
ove
rtaken bodies,
he’s probably
going to
bring
bodiless
vardogers as well,” Simon said. “You and R
yan should focus on the unattached
ones since I can’t fight them. I’ll focus on the vardogers in physical bodies.”

“I need to focus on my father. He’s coming here for me and he’s not going to be distracted
by you or Ryan. I just need to make sure that he’s not able to get any palladium on
me.”

Simon looked like he was about to argue, but Ryan spoke up before he could object.
“Caitlin’s right. You probably know better than we do about how unbelievably strong
her father’s become. And whatever san
ity he
once
possessed
has left him. He’s obsessed with becoming immortal and he’ll do anything to make
it happen. In his mind, that’s synonymous with getting his hands on Caitlin. She’s
the only one strong enough to fight him.”

“I’m not just serving her up on a godda
mn platter to
him,” Simon bit out. He turned to me, his expression determined. “
As much as you want revenge on your father, you can’t sacrifice yourself either. The
worst thing you can do is
to
be so intent on killing him that you get yourself killed in the process.”

I understood that Simon was worried about my safety, but the last thing I was concerned
about was
me
. Instead of telling him what I truly believed, that sacrificing myself would be worth
it if it meant defeating my father, I tried to reassure him. “I’m not going to be
reckless, but this is my fight. I’ll accept all the help I can get, but at the end
of the day, it’s between me and my father.”

Simon’s expression was grim but he didn’t argue any further. I just hoped he wouldn’t
complicate matters by trying to protect me.

“Simon’s right that he should focus on the ot
her vardogers in bodies except for
your father.” I was just as amazed as Simon was by Ryan’s agreement with him, but
if Ryan noticed our surprise he ignored it and continued talking. “I’ll focus on the
bodiless vardogers but I’m not sure how effective I’ll be since I’m sure palladium
will be used against me. Regardless, I’ll try.”

“So I guess that’s our plan.” I tried to not sound disheartened. Even though I was
much stronger than when I had initially faced my father, I couldn’t help feeling afraid
the closer he got.
I had to repeatedly tell myself that I could do this; that I could defeat my father.

The hours dragged on as we hashed and rehashed dozens of scenarios, trying to predict
how my father would attack and what our strongest
positions would be. When it
felt like we had exhausted every sc
enario, one of us
would come up with another
and it would be picked apart at length. It was fiercely debated whether Rya
n would use his gun
. Simon was wholeheartedly for it, but
the last thing I wanted was
the
police to arrive at the scene
, and I was sure they would if gunshots were fired
. Also, even though I knew the human’s s
oul was probably long extinguished
, I couldn’t dismiss the
slight
chance that
it could still be present
, trapped while the
ir
vardoger controlled their actions.
I
wasn’t willing to take the chance of killing a human soul. Simon argued that staying
alive was more important. Ryan
compromised between the two positions
, saying that he would only use his gun if he felt there was no other choice.

During our conversations and arguments, Ryan felt my father’s energy coming closer
at a faster rate. Adrenaline was pumping through my veins in anticipation of his arrival.
The sun was just starting to set when Ryan tensed, snapping his head toward the front
door.