Sick. So that’s the lie Evan had implanted in their brains, allowing them to leave. Although, no. No way. Dad would never leave me home alone if I was sick. He’d cancel the trip altogether and stay home with me. I trembled, infuriated that Silver Moon had messed with their minds like that.
“So I went over to your house,” Rafe continued. “I thought maybe you hadn’t answered the phone because you were too sick, and then I stared panicking, imagining you needed to go to the hospital…” He looked away, but not before I saw a flash of anger on his face. “Of course, the house was empty when I got there. I rang the bell and knocked on the door, but somehow I just knew you weren’t there.”
“So then what?” That still didn’t explain how he knew to come find me at HQ.
“I called Evan, who didn’t answer,” Rafe said. “I didn’t expect him to, considering what I was beginning to suspect. The stuff with Alex was just too convenient, you know? And with Evan crashing our date drunk, getting in the way and making us fight right before you were supposed to leave? But still, I didn’t want to believe it.” Rafe’s jaw was clenched with barely controlled fury. “He’s my best friend. To do this to you… I didn’t want to believe it.
“But maybe you were in the house, too sick to come to the door,” Rafe continued. “There was still one thing I could do, to prove that Evan hadn’t done the unthinkable.” He glanced at Kain, who had been watching us quietly the entire time. The dark-haired hunter nodded slightly, a gleam in his eyes, as if he knew what Rafe was talking about. I, on the other hand, was entirely clueless.
“I’m so confused,” I said, just in case they didn’t recognize my stupidity.
“I’m talking about this,” Rafe said, pointing to my rose necklace. “There’s a tracking spell on it.” He smiled when he saw my eyes widened. “Yep. Remember the winter formal and your corsage? That was practice, for the necklace. A long term spell that also had a wide range, distance wise.”
Oh my god, I really was stupid. My dreams! I had dreamt about the spell and yet I hadn’t even thought to think that Rafe would put the same one on my necklace! Of course he would! Especially with me heading off to Vermont!
And—wait. I glared at Kain, who was smirking. “You! You knew about the spell, didn’t you?”
“I told you he’d find you,” Kain replied, still smiling.
Ooooh, he was such a jerk! “You could have told me!”
“Why would I do that?” he asked. “Wasn’t Rafe’s dramatic entrance much nicer as a surprise? I know you enjoyed it. I saw the way you threw yourself into his arms.” Kain chuckled. “It looked like something out of a cinema.”
“That was pretty amazing,” Rafe said, also grinning. “I could get used to that, you know.”
I socked him on the shoulder, which of course did nothing to hurt him. “Shut. Up. Do not agree with him or I will kill you.”
Rafe laughed. “It’s nice to see things are back to normal.”
“No, they’re not.” I put my hands on my hips and glared at him until his smile slipped away. “If things were back to normal, you’d be kissing me right about n—mph!”
Yeah, Rafe shut me up by planting his lips over mine. With Kain standing right there, watching us. But after two seconds, I completely forgot about Kain. And headless Charlotte. And the fact that I was covered in green demon grossness. All of that disappeared as I concentrated on kissing the hell out of my boyfriend, like a normal girlfriend would.
Normal. Normal was nice. Normal was something I could get used to, after these hellish few days.
Chapter Forty-two
After a minute or ten (I always lost track of time when kissing Rafe), Kain cleared his throat and Rafe pulled away, looking sheepish. Annoyed that our make out time had been abruptly cut off, I rested my head against Rafe’s chest and asked Kain, “Yes?”
He smirked. “Not that I didn’t enjoy the free show, but there’s still a few unresolved issues we need to deal with.” He paused, looking at Rafe. “Unless you just want to take your girl and run? I wouldn’t blame you if you did.”
Rafe was quiet for too long, so I leaned back to look at him. He seemed to be struggling with his answer. I fully expected him to pick me up and carry me out of HQ without looking back, but he surprised me by telling Kain, “I’ll help.” He tapped Charlotte’s body with the tip of his sword. I only just realized both hunters still had their swords out, as if they expected another demon attack at any moment. “I have to admit I am a little curious about this. Since when do demons run around HQ?”
“Good question.” Kain ran a hand through his hair, wincing when it came away covered in green goo. I could only imagine how I looked. Rafe was too polite to say anything. “As you know, usually there are wards up, to prevent this sort of thing from happening, and I swear I still sense them in place, but…”
“Demon,” I said. “In HQ.”
He nodded. “Precisely. Which leads us to our next question: where is everyone?” Kain glanced at me. “Why don’t you fill us in on what happened last night?”
“Don’t flip out,” I told Rafe before launching into my tale. By the end, Rafe was on the verge of flipping out (I could tell from all the deep breaths he was taking, trying to calm himself), but he held it together somehow. “Charles never came back, and I don’t know where Phil or Nina are… Or anyone, for that matter. Shouldn’t you have more hunters running around? Considering this is your, you know, headquarters?”
The two boys shrugged. “It’s the holidays,” Rafe said, confirming what I had thought the other day. “People go home, spend it with their families.”
“There’s nothing more depressing than spending your holidays chopping up demons,” Kain said. “Not when there are pretty girls to kiss and presents to unwrap.”
I ignored him. “So everyone is away, a demon gets in, and now what? Do we just leave Charlotte?”
“Charlotte?” Rafe echoed. I gave him a beaming smile and he groaned. “Of course. Of course you named the spider demon Charlotte.”
“I should have named it Butt Ugly Piece of Crap.”
Rafe laughed at that. Together, we watched Kain head for the elevator. “What’s up? Did you sense something?”
“No.” Kain shook his head. “I could probably do a tracking spell for Philip, but instead of wasting my already spent energy, I figured I should check his room first. Gabiella said Charles locked her in his office with magic. Wouldn’t you do the same to someone who’s weak against it?”
“Makes sense,” Rafe confirmed. “Do you want some backup?”
The elevator doors dinged open and Kain stepped in. “No, I should be quick.”
“Okay, we’ll wait here,” Rafe said.
“Don’t spend all of your time snogging!” Kain yelled before the doors closed.
Rafe turned red and shook his head. “Now I remember why I never hung out with him.”
“He’s annoying, but a good guy,” I said. Rafe shot me a worried glance and I smacked his arm. “Oh, stop. I don’t mean like that. Besides, Phil is gaga for him.”
“Is he?” Rafe smiled. “I remember when he used to be crazy for Sam.” His smile turned bittersweet. “Phil is great; I’m glad you guys got to meet.”
“Me too. He really helped me, even when he didn’t have to. I mean, at first he wanted me to stick around because he thought I could bring Sam back, but once he realized using my powers might actually kill me—”
Rafe’s face paled. “What?” His grip tightened, as if he expected me to drop dead right then and there.
“Oh. I forgot. You don’t know any of that stuff,” I said sheepishly.
“No, so maybe you should tell me before I have a heart attack, Gabi!”
I filled Rafe in on what Kain had discovered about Soul Healers. The stuff still scared the crap out of me, but it felt good to unload everything on Rafe. Rafe was dependable, solid. He stayed quiet, nodding from time to time. When I finished, the first thing he said was, “But we don’t know fo
r sure if you are a Soul Healer, which means there’s a chance you won’t die from using your powers. I mean, obviously we’re not going to risk it, but holy crap, Gabi.” He put a hand over his heart and shuddered. “You just took a few years off of my life.”
“Sorry. I’m just—” I paused to swallow, my throat tight again. “I’m just so glad you’re here, you know? It was bad, and I was scared…”
Rafe pulled me into a hug. “You’re fine now. Nothing is going to happen to you, I promise.” He hesitated. “I mean, I know you want your space and I won’t suffocate you—”
“Rafe, stop.” I shook my head. “I was stupid. I didn’t mean that. I mean, you do get a tiny bit scary when I’m being threatened, but I get why. And I appreciate it. I just… I don’t want you to lose it, to become this other person and do something you regret because of me, you know?”
“I get it,” he said, running a hand up and down my arm. Even though I was wearing long sleeves, his touch still sent shivers down my spine. “I know what you mean; I can see myself losing control, but I can’t stop it. Not after I stood around watching my parents get slaughtered.” Pain flashed across Rafe’s face and I grabbed his hand and squeezed, letting him know I was there, and that I understood. “After that happened, I told myself never again. I’d never watch someone I cared about die, not when I had the power to prevent it.”
Now was probably the perfect time to tell him about Charles killing his parents, but I didn’t want to ruin the moment. Besides, Kain and Philip should be showing up at any moment, and I wanted everyone out of here and far, far away as soon as possible.
“But,” Rafe continued, bringing me back to the present, “you should have let me choke Evan. Then we would have avoided this mess altogether.”
“Believe me, I regretted stepping in and stopping you many times,” I told him. “I get him wanting Alexandra back, but to do this?”
Rafe’s green eyes had hardened. “I will never forgive him. Never.”
His words pained me, but I kept quiet. I wasn’t about to argue Evan’s case for him, no way. While I didn’t think the blonde was evil, he did have quite a bit of explaining to do. If Rafe allowed him to do so without chopping off his head first was another question altogether. And one Evan needed to find the answer to, if he was brave enough to broach it.
Honestly, if I were him, I’d run screaming in the opposite direction if I saw Rafe coming up to me, sword drawn.
Where was Evan, anyway? I hadn’t seen him since he brought the cake to the library. A scary thought rocked me: what if he had been the one to betray us? But how? Could he have been listening in somehow? He had already turned on me once, so why not again? Especially since I had promised to help him… If Evan had been the one to tattle on us, then it was my fault…
Rafe glanced at the elevator. “Where are they? I should have told Kain we’d meet up at a coffee shop or something. I don’t like keeping you here, especially after everything you’ve told me.” He unzipped his jacket and draped it around my shoulders. “Let’s go.”
“But—”
“We won’t leave without them,” Rafe promised. “But we need to…” He trailed off, looking at something over my shoulder.
I stiffened, wondering who or what was behind me. Charles, or a demon? Which was worse? As Rafe hefted his sword, I turned around. And blinked a few times. “Nina!”
The pink-haired hunter stood in front of us, dressed all in black. She didn’t smile or wave, like I expected, or even come running for a full body hug. Instead, she frowned, her lips pursed together as she glanced from me to Rafe.
Something was wrong. Rafe seemed to sense it too because he shifted so his body was shielding mine as he pointed his sword at Nina. His face was deadly serious, as if he were facing down a demon and not a fellow hunter.
“What’s going on?” I asked, not caring which one answered. But neither did. “Guys, what are you doing? Why do you look like you’re about to kill one another?”
Nina let out a small sigh and lifted a hand. It glowed with a bright, pink light. “Because, Gabi, that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”
“Excuse me?” I asked loudly. “I’m sorry, but I think I misheard you.” I touched Rafe on the shoulder, racking my memory for all the conversations I had had about him with Nina. “Since when do you hate each other? Because I certainly never got that impression from you, Nina.”
“It’s not Rafe’s fault,” she said, staring at me. “He just happens to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.” She waved her glowing hand and Rafe stiffened, as if he expected her to hurl the spell at us. “It’s your fault, actually. For being what you are.” Nina’s face hardened. “An abomination.”
I was so freaking confused. What was she smoking? Where was the pink-loving (well, from her glowing hand, I could see she still loved that color) giddy girl I had started to think of as my friend? What had they done to her after they captured her? Given her a lobotomy?
Nina laughed, a sarcastic, harsh sound. “I can tell by the stupid look on your face that you have no idea what’s going on. So here’s a little secret Gabi: I told on you.”
It only took me a second to realize what she meant. “You told Charles we were escaping? But why?”
“I told you, you’re a freak. A Soul Healer.” She shuddered. “You don’t deserve to live, not with that unnatural power.”
“That’s enough,” Rafe said, his eyes blazing.
“Actually, Rafe, I’m just getting started,” Nina snapped. “I can finally tell your little girlfriend what an idiot she’s been, and I won’t let you interfere.”
Rafe started to speak again, but I said, “Stop. I need to hear this. How long?” I asked Nina.
“How long have I been betraying you?” She studied the nails on her free hand, as if I were boring her with my questions. “Since the beginning.” She smiled at the shocked look on my face. “Yep, you’re that stupid that you didn’t even realize.”
“But—why?”
“I work for Charles,” Nina said. “I owe him everything, including my life. So when he told me to watch you, I took that role very, very seriously. I helped him however I could, but you made things very difficult by refusing to cooperate.”
“But Charles is evil!” I glanced at Rafe and decided not to mention his parents. “He hurt Mr. Snuggly!”
Nina laughed. “No, I hurt him.”
Her words were like a punch to the gut. “Why would you do that?”
“Like I said, you refused to cooperate, so I offered Mr. Snuggly as a means to guide you along.” Nina rolled her eyes. “But you had to stand around and cry like a baby, boohoo, poor Mr. Snuggly. He’s dead because of you, you know.”
Holy crap, Nina was certifiably crazy. Like, batshit, Matthew Davenport crazy.
“And then Kain showed up with that stuff about Soul Healers dying if they used their powers too much,” Nina continued. “And you were all in such a tizzy that you didn’t even bother doing any further research.”
“Because I didn’t want to die,” I said hotly. “Did you actually expect me to sit around and wait like a good little girl? Give myself up for the greater cause?” This time I was the one to laugh sarcastically.
“You were going to believe what you read from one single book? Take that as the absolute truth and leave it at that? How stupid can you be?” She gave me a pitying look and I scowled in response. This girl needs to stop calling me dumb or I swear I’m going to snap.
“You found something else, didn’t you?” Rafe asked quietly. “About Soul Healers?”
Nina nodded. “Yeah, I did. Gabi took a nap, so I went to the library and found some interesting things. A quick call to my brother confirmed it…” She tilted her head, giving me a mocking smile. “You want to know why Soul Healers are always dying? It’s not because they’re overexerting themselves. It’s because they’re evil demon spawn that need to be terminated immediately.”
Chapter Forty-three
I fel
t the floor drop out from under me. If I hadn’t grabbed onto Rafe’s arm, I would have fallen over because my shaky legs suddenly couldn’t support me. Out of everything she could have said, I never in a million years expected those words to come out of her mouth. Rafe shook his head and spat, “You’re lying.”
“Am I?” Nina raised her eyebrows innocently. “Do you really want to risk that, Rafe? Have you forgotten the edict already? You haven’t been gone from Silver Moon that long.”
She paused and shot me a very pointed look. “Humans who possess demon blood must be put to death. No exceptions.”
“Screw the edict,” Rafe snarled. “I don’t care what books you read or what your brother told you—she’s a human, not a demon. I don’t care who you are, Nina, and how we used to be friends. If you threaten my girlfriend, you deal with me.” Scary Rafe was back, but this time, I didn’t mind one bit. Her words had shaken me to my core, and a little voice whispered, What if, somehow, she’s right? I mean, it was unbelievable (last time I checked, my parents were humans!), but it would explain so much about my weird, unnatural powers.
“She’s a demon,” Nina hissed. “Humans don’t heal, not without demon blood running through their veins! You know this, Rafe! Don’t be a fool! You already let one demon escape; don’t let this one go, too!”
I knew, at that moment, that I would lose Rafe to the rage. His green eyes were burning with fury as he threw himself at Nina, swinging his sword. She lifted her hand and a pink laser beam shot toward him. I screamed his name, reaching for him.
The beam stopped, inches from piercing his chest, and vanished with a silent pop.
“What the hell is going on?” Evan, dressed in a long gray winter coat, walked up to us, taking in the scene with bugged-out eyes. I had been so involved with what Nina had been saying that I hadn’t even noticed him enter the lobby. “Why is everyone trying to kill one another?”
Nina pointed at me. “She’s a demon!”
His mouth opened slightly. “Okay, when did you start taking crazy pills?” Nina made a noise of frustration and Evan held up his hands. “Just listen to yourself. That’s Gabi! Our Gabi! She’s a human. Sure, she has the Sight and her hands glow in the dark, but she’s still a human.” Evan paused and lifted his brows. “Oh hey, Rafe. Long time no see.” Rafe let out a string of curses in response. “Oookay, guess you don’t want to thank me right now for saving your ass. That’s fine, you can thank me later.”
The Soul Healer Page 20