by Rain Oxford
“So, what are we going to do with him?” Henry asked me.
The shadow walker looked slightly nervous. “Just allow me to walk out of the ward unharmed and I will continue trying to slow the Shadow Master down. You have too many enemies to start destroying your allies.”
I nodded. “Alright, but I can kill you with my mind, so you’d better not be lying.”
His eyes widened. “That can’t be true. You’re not powerful enough.”
“I was trained by Leara Kingling himself to destroy the shadow man.” I turned and walked out. Henry followed.
“Are we walking away from a possible enemy to make a statement or to test him?” he asked a couple minutes later.
“Both. If he’s working for the shadow man, either he’ll stick around because failure’s not an option, or he’ll return to his master and I can get into his mind to spy on the shadow man’s plans. If he’s working against the shadow man, we have another ally out there, and we need as many of those as possible right now.”
We arrived at Hunt’s office, where I heard Remington yelling at her father about responsibility and trust through the door. I knocked, not even bothering to try to snoop. Remy stopped cold. “Come in,” Hunt called.
Hunt was standing in front of the couch, Remy was sitting on the couch, and Flagstone was facing the fireplace. I figured Remy had been standing and only sat so as not to be tempted to continue yelling at her father. Flagstone stood with a stiffness that told me he wanted to be anywhere else in the world but here. The tension was unmistakable.
“Where’s Darwin?” I asked.
“He hasn’t been here,” Hunt said.
Henry sniffed the air and the door. “He’s been here. He was right outside the door in the last… probably ten minutes.”
I let my power out to search for Darwin, but I couldn’t find it. It wasn’t just blocked. “I can’t find him.”
Henry knew that meant the situation was serious. “Not a lot can happen in ten minutes. My jaguar will pick up more.” He started stripping and handing me his clothes. I shut the door. It never seemed to bother shifters when they were naked in front of others. As Henry shifted and started sniffing around, I gently opened a link between our minds.
“Why did you think Darwin was here?” Remy asked.
“Because he came to tell you it wasn’t a wizard who attacked you; it was a shadow walker.”
“Impossible,” Hunt argued. “My wards are infallible.”
“So then the shadow walker I just talked to in Remy’s office was a figment of my imagination?”
“And mine,” Henry added in my mind.
“You must be a figment of my imagination, too.” I opened the door for Henry.
He gave Flagstone a quick glare, as if daring the wolf to follow us, and took off out the door. I followed him for about five minutes before he stopped. “This is where the trail ends. He meets with another scent and then he vanishes.”
“What other scent? Who was here?”
“You don’t want to know.”
“Darwin’s life is at stake. Who was it?”
“Vincent.”
* * *
Half an hour later, I was pacing in my room. I had tried using the shadow pass to find him or Vincent and failed. I also wasn’t even able to find their minds. Henry was sitting at his desk. “Why would Vincent take Darwin?” Henry asked.
“I don’t think that’s Vincent.”
“I know his scent.”
“We already know the shadow man can disguise himself, what if he can disguise his scent? He would have to in order to get past Flagstone. He knew things that only Vincent should know… but we said the shadow man’s name all the time. He was listening in every damn time. When Vincent made the antidote for Ghost, he said the name. When he told me Hunt stabbed Langril in the chest, he said the name. I think my instincts, dreams, and even Ghost was trying to tell me that wasn’t the real Vincent.”
“If that is the case?” Where is the real Vincent?”
“Ghost has been avoiding Vincent for months. I think the real Vincent is in Kadin; that Langril pulled Vincent into Kadin, believing it was Draumr, and the shadow man appeared disguised as Vincent. In one of my dreams, Langril said that he meant to take Vincent into Draumr but mistook the door. Vincent couldn’t possibly have known that, but the shadow man could, because we said his name.”
“Do you think you can handle a vision?”
“Yes,” I lied with a sigh. I was exhausted and after two major visions, I needed to eat and sleep. Unfortunately, Darwin’s life was at stake, so I didn’t have a choice. “What did he bring that we can use?”
Henry searched his desk. “I’ve never seen him with any personal trinkets. He brings a bag of school supplies like a child, but he forgets a pencil, his paper, his notebooks, and anything he has in the classrooms. He pretty much loses everything but his clothes in the first week.”
“Yeah, it usually takes a month before he’s borrowing ours.” I grabbed the backpack off the floor and started searching it.
“I keep telling him not to take his clothes off in class. I get it when he loses his jackets, but how does he walk out of the room and not realize he left his shoes?”
“I think it’s a fae thing; I’ve seen others do it as well. There’s nothing but clothes in here.” I tossed the bag onto Darwin’s bed. “Maybe we could call his father and use one of his laptops.” A loud meow made me turn to my desk, where Ghost was sitting. When I reached out to pet him, he purred. “Can you help me find Darwin?”
He nodded.
I opened my mind to him and immediately saw Darwin in his memory. Darwin was sitting in the dark next to Jameson. At least, I hoped it was Jameson and not Jason. I was thrown out of the familiar’s mind before I could get any more information. “Where is he?”
The cat made a soft, apologetic meow and flopped over onto his side.
I turned to Henry. “I don’t know where he is, but he’s with Jameson.”
“So, if we find out where Jameson is, we can find Darwin, and you can probably use Jason as a link to his brother.”
“Exactly.” I started to leave the room, but Henry leaned against his desk. “What’s wrong?”
He shook his head. “Go on ahead. I have a headache, but I’ll be there in just a minute.”
“You’ve never gotten sick before.”
He gave me a tight smile. “Things have changed a lot for me in the past year. I haven’t slept well lately and I don’t want Kitten getting worried.”
I nodded. “Alright, if you’re sure it’s nothing.” I didn’t think it was nothing, but I left the room anyway. The first door I knocked on, Elizabeth answered.
“Hey, Devon. What’s wrong?”
“Darwin was taken. He’s wherever Jameson is and I need Jason to help me find him.”
She moved out of the way to let me enter. “Jason has been trying to reach his brother.” The room looked identical to all other rooms, except for the toys all over the floor. Jason was coloring in a coloring book and Scott was drawing something in a sketchpad. The little jaguar shifter definitely inherited his father’s skill. Unfortunately, so did Jason.
And thinking that made me hate my plan even more. I sat down on the floor next to him. “Jason, the shadow man has taken Darwin and I know he’s with Jameson. I need you to help me find your brother.”
“Where is Daddy?” Scott asked.
“He’s coming; he’ll just be a minute.”
Scott stood. “I’m going to go find him.”
Elizabeth shut the door behind him. “Just be careful. Don’t hurt him,” she said.
“Of course I wouldn’t hurt him.”
Jason pushed the coloring book away and sat up on his knees. “I don’t know where Jamie is,” he said softly.
“I think we can find him if we work together.”
“Jamie doesn’t want to be found. He wants to go with the shadow man. I don’t like the shadow man, so I came to find you.
If we get him back, I think he’ll be good. He’s not bad, not like the shadow man is.”
“Good. What I’m going to do is start by looking into your mind. I want you to focus on your brother and finding him.”
He nodded. “Okay.”
I reached out with my power for his mind. His mother’s was wide open, as most non-paranormal minds were. Although Jason’s mind was open as well, it was sort of like a disarmed bomb. While I knew he wasn’t about to explode, I also knew he was extremely powerful. He was John’s son.
I felt him focus on his brother, put all my power behind him, and let him lead. Jameson was his twin brother, not mine, so I just gave him enough magic to push further. It was an odd sensation as my magic met his. We weren’t twins, possibly not even brothers if Vincent was my father, yet our magic came from the same source. Jason had so much growing up to do, but his power was formidable already. If this was him without his brother, who he said he couldn’t do magic without, I’d hate to see them work together against a common enemy. Or rather, I’d hate to be their common enemy.
Instead of seeing the boy’s location, I sensed it, and groaned aloud at my own oversight.
“I don’t understand,” Jason said in my mind. “How can he be here?”
“There are at least six levels of tunnels and caves below the castle, including numerous traps and rooms. You were right when you said he was in a room of dirt. I should have realized it before.” I pulled away from his mind.
“Did you find out anything?” Elizabeth asked, picking up her son and hugging him.
“I know where they are, but getting to them is not going to be easy. Fortunately, I have three people in mind who would be perfect for this rescue mission.” I got up and returned to my room, where Henry and Scott were drawing something together on another sketchpad. Since Henry discovered his parents had lied to him his entire life, drawing pads, paint brushes, and fancy pencils kept cropping up everywhere. There was no telling where he kept his supplies.
“Did you find him?” Henry asked, setting his pencil down.
“I did. He’s in the underground tunnels. We need to find Professor Nightshade and Heather.”
“Nightshade isn’t here,” he said. I overheard some of the wizards in the dining room talk about it earlier. She’s on a honeymoon with Professor Watson.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes.”
“Well, hopefully, Heather can help.”
“Why Heather?”
“Langril said she was a master of earth magic.”
“I want to help,” Scott said.
“Kitten, the underground tunnels are dark and there are traps down there,” Henry said. He looked at me. “The entire reason we came to the school was because Hunt said the shadow walkers couldn’t get in. How do we protect them and go after Darwin?”
“I can leave Rocky here to protect them and you can come with me, or… you can stay here and I’ll take Rocky with me. I know you can get past the traps, but I’m sure Rocky can as well.”
Henry looked very unsure. “The shadow walker was able to subdue me, not your gargoyle. Kitten will probably be safer with Rocky since he’s impervious to magic.”
“It’s up to you.”
He looked at Scott, who gave him a completely fake smile. “Go save Uncle Darwin. I’ll stay and help Jason.”
Henry nodded.
* * *
Ten minutes later, Henry and I were standing in front of Heather’s room. I had already instructed my gargoyle to watch over Scott, Jason, Elizabeth, and my mother. A minute after I knocked, I got worried. “Heather?” I called through the door.
The door opened and I saw why it took her so long. Her gold hair was mussed and she was dressed in a white tank-top with pink panties. “Don’t you people ever sleep?” she asked.
“Sorry. I didn’t pay attention to the time. Darwin is missing and Henry and I are going after him.”
“Thanks for the update.”
She tried to shut the door, but I stopped it. “Darwin is in the underground tunnels. Your father said you were the best at earth magic and I think we’ll need your help.”
She sighed and leaned her head against the doorframe. “Why can’t you three get into trouble during business hours?” She stepped out into the hall and shut the door.
“Shouldn’t you get dressed?”
“Why?” she looked down at herself. “How many times have you referred to me as a dead girl or a demon? Why should this bother you?” She started down the hallway before I could say anything, not that I knew what to say.
I wasn’t typically crude with women, but I didn’t go out of my way to sugarcoat things. However, it also wasn’t in my nature to put someone down. It never really occurred to me that I upset Heather after her “death.” From her point of view, she went to sleep here and woke up in Dothra just as alive as before. The worst part was that she had no idea what was happening to her. Considering her mother’s religious background, Heather probably believed she was in Hell for a long time.
We reached the staircase to the next level down and I grabbed a torch off the wall.
“I’m sorry for calling you dead,” I finally said a few minutes later. Henry held out his hand to stop me and pointed out what looked like a square platform hidden in the dirt. As I stepped around it, I searched for Darwin’s mind, but didn’t find him. I continued letting my instincts guide me.
Heather shrugged. “I’m going to take my frustrations out on my father when I finally see him again anyway. He’s the one who didn’t tell me the truth.”
“Maybe he didn’t want to consider that you could die.”
“That would mean he cared about me at all, which he doesn’t.”
“He did everything he could to get me to make a deal with you so that you would be free.”
“Except go after me himself.”
“He did! He went after you and the shadow man escaped! In fact, he left Dothra and abandoned his followers to keep you safe.”
Henry halted us to change direction. The tunnel he was directing us away from smelled sweet. “Not to interrupt, but where are we going?” he asked.
Heather ignored Henry and shot me a quick glare. “He only saved me because my mother begged him to when the Shadow Master killed her.”
I tried again to find Darwin’s mind, and again, I failed. “We’re following my instincts.”
“Everyone has a different view of everything, especially in the paranormal world,” Henry said to Heather. When we didn’t argue, he went on. “In all of my life, I never met anyone who lived a perfect life with two loving parents and no physical, magical, or mental ailments.”
I tried to think of someone in the paranormal world who was well-adjusted. “Becky is---”
“The daughter of an ex-councilman,” Henry interrupted.
“Jackson is---”
“A twat,” Henry interrupted again.
“He got thrown out of the house when his mother found out he was a wizard,” Heather added. “She’d had a one-nighter with his father and never knew what he was.”
“Li Na and Zhang Wei are---”
“The list is miles long, starting with the fact that they’re not siblings,” Henry said.
“What do you mean they’re not siblings? They’re rare tiger shifters.”
Heather sighed. “I was there when Zhang Wei started,” she said. “Li Na is either his cousin or adopted, and they’re really private about it. There might have been some philandering. I think they’re part of the same family, but they’re definitely not siblings.”
“They always call each other siblings and Zhang Wei is extremely protective of her.”
“Have you ever seen his face when he looks at her? I believe she thinks he’s her brother and he knows he’s not, and that really sucks for him.”
“Why would that suck for him?”
“Are you purposefully being an idiot right now? He’s in love with her.”
“Gross.”
“He couldn’t go back home between the semesters?”
“His father wouldn’t let him. Then, the first chance they get to be away from his father, you show up.”
“Me? What have I got to do with this?”
They both sighed simultaneously. “Li Na likes you, Devon.”
“Shit. That’s complicated. Alright, I give. Nobody in the paranormal world had a perfect life, except for your mother.”
Heather frowned at me. “What do you mean? My mother’s life wasn’t perfect. She didn’t have a father. How do you even know anything about her anyway?”
“Langril gave her a perfect life.”
“You mean he sold it to her. Screw that.”
Just as I was about to ask her to explain, I felt Darwin’s mind. I also sensed extreme danger. Unfortunately, I assumed it was Darwin who was in danger, which was a mistake. Before I could even tell Henry, he shoved me down. There was a soft sound followed by Henry’s pained grunt. After a few seconds, he let me go and stood.
“Shit,” I said when I saw the metal spike sticking out of his shoulder. I pulled it out since he couldn’t reach it. “Sorry, I should have been more focused on my instincts.”
“It was my slow reaction time at fault. I should have been able to respond faster.”
“Is it your headache?” He nodded. I dropped the spike and we continued in the right direction. “That’s not going to get infected, is it?”
He shook his head. “It’s very unlikely. My shifting heals most physical damage and I have a very strong immune system.”
“I can sense Darwin now, but almost getting skewered distracted me. I’ll see if I can find out more about where he is, so… try not to let any of us get skewered.”