by Parker Blue
But I didn’t get a chance to finish as Tessa knocked on the door, saying, “Val? Can you come out? Micah needs you.”
I jumped away from Austin, stupidly feeling guilty. Not that I had any reason to. After all, everyone out there knew what we were doing in here. Heck, Micah had practically forced us to do it. So why now was he having Tessa interrupt us?
Then again, maybe he could sense when Lola was done. After all, I’d been able to sense him using his incubus energy. “For what?” I asked, straightening my clothes and hair.
“It’s important,” she said.
I opened the door, and her elfin eyes were wide and surprised-looking. She gestured at a woman in the outer office waiting area. “He has a visitor, and he needs you.”
For what? I glanced around the door and saw a blonde, a girl about my age, standing there wearing something cute and perky and carrying a tiny dog—a teacup Chihuahua—in her huge purse. She looked vaguely familiar, but it was probably just because I’d seen her type before. A Paris Hilton wannabe?
She didn’t look dangerous, but Micah’s face was tight, as if he was trying to hold his expression in.
As Tessa left the stranger with us, I asked Micah, “You want your office back?” I was trying to get a sense of what was wrong, and wishing Fang was there to pass on some intel for me.
Micah smiled tightly. “Sure. Let’s go inside.” The two of them joined the two of us, and Micah said, “This is Val, my Paladin, and Austin, an ally from the New Blood Movement. Val, Austin, this is Sharra. She’s from the Denver Underground, looking for shadow demons.”
Whoa. Alarm thrilled through me. “What do you want with shadow demons?” I demanded.
“That’s my business, Paladin,” she said, saying the title as if it were a dirty word. “As I was just telling the leader of your Underground here.”
“My business, too,” I said. “And as Paladin, I need to know why you’re hunting shadow demons.”
Her mouth parted in surprise. “Hunting? I’m not hunting demons.”
“Then what are you doing?”
“I’m looking for my brother, Shawn.”
“And what does that have to with us and shadow demons?”
“Because my brother—my twin brother—is a shadow demon. After he moved here, I believe he took the name Shade.”
And with that, she raised her hand from the little toy dog and went into total swirl mode, just like Shade. Only, with her, the swirls were bright, like sunlight, not dark and moody like Shade’s.
Shocked, I could only stare for a moment. “You—you’re Shade’s sister?”
“Yes,” she said. “I’m his twin.”
Well, butter my butt and call me a biscuit. Shade didn’t even remember his own twin? Or did he just not trust me with the information?
While I gaped at her, Micah recovered sooner. “Sharra, we didn’t know Shade had a sister.”
She grimaced. “I know. That’s my fault.”
“Why?” I asked. “How?” I was too flabbergasted to form more than monosyllables.
She put her hand back on the dog, and her face reappeared. Now that I was looking for it, I could definitely see the resemblance. She was just as good-looking as he was. And my opinion of her revised. It was pretty clever of her to carry a toy dog with her so she could stay looking human most of the time. I wondered how she’d found a non-hellhound dog who would come near a demon, though.
“Kathryn from the Albuquerque Underground called to warn me that someone was looking for shadow demons,” Sharra told us.
“She knows what you are?” I asked, having regained my ability to utter more than one syllable.
“Yes, of course. We used to live in New Mexico.”
Yet another thing I didn’t know about Shade. Again, I felt like an idiot.
“So why did you come to San Antonio?” Austin asked.
Sharra looked surprised, as if it should be obvious. “To join forces with my brother and stay safe.”
“Does Shade know you’re here?” Micah asked.
“No, that’s why I’ve come to you first. Things didn’t go well when I last saw him, and we parted on a bad note. I learned a couple of weeks ago that your Lethe removed all his memories of me. I’ve come to get them back for him.”
A gasp sounded at the door, and I turned in surprise to see Shade standing there next to Mood and Elspeth, the vampire’s hand on his arm.
He looked positively stunned. “Sunshine Girl?” he whispered.
Sharra beamed and held out her arms. “You remembered!”
Shade clutched his head and fell to his knees, his expression momentarily filled with agony until Elspeth lost her hold on him, and he blipped out of focus.
Panic filled me, and I froze. What the heck?
Chapter Fourteen
Shade
THE DAM HOLDING back Shade’s memories burst loose, and a flood of remembrances crashed through him. He huddled on the floor against the onslaught, helpless against them.
Images, emotions, snatches of conversation flitted through his head, too fast to process. He tried to grasp onto one or more, but they flew by too fast to make sense of them.
His human mother, laughing . . .
His shadow demon father lecturing him . . .
Sharra whooping as she beat him at some game . . .
The gut-wrenching verdict of his father’s judgment ritual…
But the emotions were the worst—love, anger, joy, fear, betrayal—they all flashed through him, leaving him sick to his stomach.
“Stop,” he heard Elspeth say fiercely. “He is having a memory cascade. Leave him be for a moment.”
Cascade? Heck, it felt more like a tsunami. But though he could hear everything going on around him, he wasn’t capable of responding to anything yet.
“Here,” Micah said. “Bring him here.”
Elspeth helped Shade stumble to the couch where it was at least a little more comfortable. He sank into the soft cushions and clutched his head in his hands, willing it all to stop.
It didn’t help. He had absolutely no control over this process.
“What’s wrong?” Val asked as memories pounded him. He felt her kneel beside him, sounding as helpless as he felt. She brushed his hair from his brow. “What’s a memory cascade?”
“He is remembering his past all at once, instead of in bits and pieces,” Elspeth said. “It will feel as though everything crashed down upon him like a bomb exploding in a confined space.”
She had that right. Memories flipped past like pages in a rapidly-fanning book, too fast to understand, to absorb.
Elspeth continued, “Mood, can you help him, please?”
Mood took his hand, and Shade soon felt soothing waves of calm emanate from her and wash through him. It didn’t slow the gushing memories much, but it did make them seem a bit more remote, easier to deal with—gave him a bit of relief. He fought to get his body back under his own control.
“I’m so sorry,” someone said.
Shade realized it was his sister. He had a sister, a twin . . . wasn’t that a kick in the head? He wasn’t alone. He tried to isolate the memories surrounding her and got nothing but sadness and pain.
Sharra added brokenly, “I didn’t . . . didn’t realize this would happen.”
“You should have,” Elspeth snapped. “You knew he wanted to forget you and what you did to him.”
Yes, that felt right. Everyone had left him, including the one person he thought never would—his twin, his best friend. It had hurt so much, he’d chosen to forget rather than remember the pain. Unfortunately, now he was reliving it all over again, fresh as the day it happened. The day everyone had gone, and he’d been alone. God, would it never stop?
“Are you okay?” Val
asked.
Did it look like he was okay? “Everyone, leave . . . me . . . alone,” he managed to gasp out. He needed to deal with this by himself.
Somehow, he needed to get through this without shattering into tiny pieces.
Chapter Fifteen
Val
I FELT SO HELPLESS, watching Shade go through all of this. He sat on the couch, clutching his head in his hands as if he had the mother of all headaches and could get rid of it by sheer force of will.
How could I help against something going on inside his head? Especially when he didn’t want me anywhere near him?
“Give him some space,” Micah ordered. “Everyone, back away.”
Shade clutched at Mood’s hand. “Stay,” he said, his expression still tortured.
Mood shot me a triumphant glance, and her eyes glowed violet. Crap. Why could she help him when I couldn’t?
Despite myself, I cast a glance at Austin, wondering what he thought. He nodded encouragingly then joined Micah on the opposite side of the room and gestured for Elspeth and me to join him. It didn’t look like I had a choice. Unfortunately, Sharra followed us, though she stayed several paces away, petting her dog, as if unsure of her welcome. Smart girl.
“What happened?” I asked Elspeth. “What did he remember?” And, most importantly, what had his twin done to him?
Sharra, who was stroking her small dog again, looked sulky. “You tell them,” she said, pointing her chin at Elspeth. “After all, I hear you’re the one who ate his memories.”
At Micah’s nod, Elspeth inclined her head. “I will keep this brief. Their father, who was one-fourth shadow demon, accidentally brought a full demon into this world. When the Albuquerque Paladin caught him, their father elected to commit suicide rather than have his abilities removed. Sharra blamed her brother and told him she never wanted to see him again.” Elspeth gave Sharra a disappointed look. “So your brother Shawn came here, changed his name to Shade, and asked for the boon of forgetfulness. Micah’s father granted it to him, and I performed the procedure.”
Holy cow. My gaze darted between Elspeth, Shade, and Sharra, looking for . . . I don’t know what. Confirmation? I didn’t know what to say to that.
Elspeth added, “He was beginning to remember, but it was coming slowly. Your appearance, young woman, made it crash upon him like Thor’s hammer.”
“So what does this mysterious shadow demon hunter want with you two?” I asked Sharra.
“I don’t know,” she said. “But I intend to find out and take care of it.”
“All by your lonesome?” Austin asked with a raised eyebrow.
I suppressed a grin. Go, Austin!
“With my brother’s help,” she corrected.
“And mine,” I declared.
She gave me a dismissive glance. “We’ve had enough so-called help from Paladins.”
Enough of that crap. “I didn’t have anything to do with your father’s capture. And you sure need help from someone.”
Austin sneered at her. “You shouldn’t disdain help from the one person most qualified to give it.”
He was defending me now? Well, I had to admit it felt good for a change.
She pointedly ignored us.
“Neither of you need to go to New Mexico,” Micah pointed out. “Whoever is looking for you has come here. We know this area. That should make it easier to find him.”
“Shawn and I can do it together,” Sharra insisted. “Right, Shawn?” she called toward the couch.
I glanced at Shade. He didn’t look quite so tortured and pale now, but either he didn’t hear his sister or chose not to answer.
Mood frowned at Sharra. “You’ve upset Shade. Go away.”
Shade’s sister looked annoyed. “Don’t be ridiculous. We’re family.”
Elspeth stepped forward, and Sharra recoiled a bit. I’d gotten used to her, but she was still pretty creepy looking.
“His memories are fresh and raw,” Elspeth explained. “His mind is busy processing them. It’s difficult for him to think of anything right now except for what’s going on inside his head.”
Sharra frowned, and her tough demeanor cracked a bit as she looked longingly at Shade. “So, when can I get my brother back?”
I stepped forward, my hands clenched into fists. “I’m not sure you can. That’s up to him,” I said, not sure I liked her attitude at all. Or what she’d done to Shade.
Sharra bit her lip. “Yes, but I need to apologize. I know now that I was wrong to blame him. I screwed up five years ago. I was just a child and didn’t know any better. I do now, and I want to make up for it.”
Shade raised his head from his hands, looking as if war had broken loose on his face. “Why now?” he croaked.
“Because I’m here now.”
“Or is it because you need help?” Austin asked, saying what I had been thinking.
Shade shook his head, rejecting both answers, but didn’t seem to be able to say more.
Elspeth spoke for him, her hand on his shoulder. “I believe what he is asking is, why did you wait so long to seek him out to make your apology?”
Sharra glanced around at the office full of demons and vamps. “That’s between him and me. None of your business.”
“On the contrary, it is our business,” Micah corrected her. “The shadow demon hunters have come after Shade here in our territory. They have attacked people in our homes and place of business. If we are to keep Shade safe, we need to know everything about him and his past.”
“Yeah,” Mood said challengingly. “How do we know you’re not the one trying to destroy him?”
Sharra rolled her eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m a shadow demon myself. Why would I be hunting other shadow demons?”
“So you can be the only game in town?” Austin suggested.
I hated to admit it, but both Mood and Austin had plausible scenarios.
“What?” she said incredulously. “No.” She glanced around at our faces and saw the same thing I did—suspicion. “Look, the reason I’m here is because Kathryn called me from New Mexico and told me someone was looking for shadow demons. My brother is the only other one I know of, so I thought we should join forces.”
Yeah, right. “So answer the question. If you’re so concerned about your brother, why did you wait so long to get in touch with him? You didn’t have your memories taken away, did you?”
“No, but—”
“And you knew where he was all this time, right?” I persisted.
She looked uncomfortable. “Yes, but I didn’t know at the time that he’d had his memories removed. I kept expecting him to come find me.”
“Why would he do that?” Mood asked bitingly. “Especially after you blamed him for your father’s death.”
Sharra made a helpless gesture. “Because he had to know I didn’t mean it.” She wiped a tear from her eye. “We used to be so close. Inseparable. I thought . . .”
“What?” Mood demanded.
“I thought he hated me for saying that, that when he finally decided to forgive me for wanting to be separated from him, he’d come find me.”
“How would he know where to go?” I asked, confused.
She glanced at me as if surprised by the question. “The same way I found him. I asked the Albuquerque Underground. I didn’t know he’d removed his memories and had forgotten all about me and them. The longer I stayed away, the harder it was to believe he’d come after me. So when the Underground finally gave me an excuse to find him, I jumped at it, hoping to find he was still alive.”
“Wait,” I said, some pieces finally starting to drop into place in this puzzle. “You’re from Albuquerque?”
“From a small town not too far from there,” she confirmed. “But I’ve been living in Denv
er since . . . since we were separated.”
Shade raised his head again. “I believe her.” He spoke slowly, as if he believed that if he spoke too fast, something would fall out of his noggin. “I don’t think she’s involved in this.”
Was he a bit biased, perhaps? I glanced at Micah, wondering if he wanted to take over the interrogation, but he nodded at me to continue. Gladly. “Are you aware that the men who are trying to kill shadow demons are also from New Mexico?” I asked Sharra.
“I wasn’t before, but I gathered that from the conversation.”
“Do you know who there would want to kill you and your brother?”
She shook her head. “Not a clue. We were just kids when we left and didn’t hurt anyone. How could we? Our father kept us confined to the house. Plus we haven’t lived there for years. Why would they want to come after us now?”
That’s what I’d been wondering.
“What about your father?” Austin asked. “Did he do something that someone might want to seek revenge for?”
“I doubt it,” Sharra said. “He kept a pretty low profile. The only major problem I know of is when he accidentally brought two full demons into the world. But he paid for that—twice over.”
“Twice?” I asked.
Her face clouded, and she shook her head sharply, not answering.
Elspeth explained. “One demon he brought through killed their mother.”
Sharra’s chin tilted up. “Yes, and then he killed himself rather than submit to a Paladin’s judgment,” she said, with a resentful look at me.
Good grief—no wonder Shade wanted to forget his horrible childhood. No wonder becoming Paladin had driven a wedge between him and me. Sounded like Sharra wasn’t quite reconciled with their childhood, either.
“Did the demon kill anyone else?” I asked. “Maybe someone’s family wants revenge?”
“Not that I know of,” Sharra said, her lips tight with annoyance. “But I think the Underground would’ve blamed him for that, too, if they knew of any. They didn’t.”
I wasn’t sure I trusted her, so I pressed some more. “Kathryn said Diesel, their Paladin, is missing, and some demons and vamps have been attacked. Do you know anything about that?”