TWENTY-THREE

A week later

ADEN WALKED THROUGH THE FOREST, flanked by Victoria, Mary Ann, Riley and Shannon. School had just ended, but they might as well have remained in class, as quiet as they were.

Everything had changed the night Eve had left him. Afterward, they’d driven to the houses his and Mary Ann’s parents had lived in all those years ago. Aden’s parents had moved, as Eve had assumed. Mary Ann had kept her eyes squeezed shut the entire time, silent, refusing to even speak about her mother.

So, after that, they had driven to St. Mary’s. With some finessing Victoria and Riley were able to get a printout of all the people who died the day of Aden’s birth. A list of fifty-three people, many of whom had perished in a bus collision that day.

The list had been in his possession this entire week, but he couldn’t seem to make himself care. Depression had settled heavily on his shoulders. He missed Eve, wanted her back.

Which was silly. He had the answers he’d been searching for all these years. The people inside his head had been ghosts, all killed on the day of his birth. He could free the remaining three now, had always thought he wanted to be alone, but being without Eve made him feel empty. And all too soon, if he figured out who Julian, Elijah and Caleb were and what their last wishes had been, he would be without them, too.

They deserved freedom, their dreams coming true, and so did he, but…This was too hard! Even the other souls missed Eve. They’d been quieter than usual. Something he would have thought he’d enjoy. Until now.

Aden sighed. Poor Mary Ann. Like him, like the others, she had yet to recover.

Sadly, things weren’t going to improve for either of them anytime soon. Tomorrow was Halloween. A holiday he’d once enjoyed, since it was the one night of the year that weirdness was actually encouraged. Admired, even. This time, however, Halloween marked the night of—he shuddered—the Vampire Ball. He was finally going to meet Vlad the Impaler. Aden thought having his entire body waxed might have been preferable.

“Did you guys hear about Tucker?” Mary Ann asked, drawing his attention, breaking the silence.

“No.” Aden kicked a pebble with the toe of his boot. “Did something happen?”

“He disappeared from the hospital this morning. He was in his room one minute and gone the next, but no one saw him leave.”

“Okay, that’s freaky. Same thing happened to a boy w-who lived at the D and M with me and Aden,” Shannon said. “This morning, Ozzie disappeared from juvie.”

Shannon knew nothing about the events that had transpired recently, nothing about Victoria’s and Riley’s true identities, but even he recognized that something bizarre was happening. “I hadn’t heard that, either,” Aden said. Tucker and Ozzie both on their own, both probably gunning for him. What a nightmare. “I’ve got a therapy session today, but maybe I can talk to Dan about it afterward. See if he’s learned anything else.”

Therapy. Ugh. His new doctor, the one he now saw because Eve had taken him back in time and he’d changed the future, was…strange. Monotonous, seemingly uncaring and all business. Aden halfway feared the man was going to try and lock him up for a while, just to observe him through those dead, emotionless eyes. He was treading very carefully right now.

“Shannon,” Victoria said. “You will race home now and you will remember that Aden walked with you.”

Dread beat through Aden as Shannon’s eyes glazed over and he picked up speed. Soon, the boy disappeared beyond the trees.

“What’s going on?” Aden asked.

“I wish Tucker and Ozzie were the worst of it,” Victoria said. “Dmi—another vampire and I found Mr. Applewood, the baseball coach, and his wife, last night. Chewed up.” She wrapped her arms around her middle, her ring glittering in the sunlight. “No one knows yet, but when they’re discovered, the police will think there’s a pack of wild animals on the loose.”

“So it has begun,” Riley said gravely. He carried two backpacks, his own and Mary Ann’s, and now he shifted both to one shoulder, freeing up one of his hands. To better reach for a weapon if needed? “I feared it had when I realized several kids were absent today.”

“Goblins?” Aden asked, recalling what they’d told him about the fearsome flesh-eaters. They liked their victims living and fresh. He, too, shifted the two backpacks he carried—his and Victoria’s—to one side.

Victoria nodded. “I suspect so.”

His stomach rolled. “We’ve got to stop them.”

“I agree,” Riley said. “But the only way to do that is to find where they’re sleeping during the day and kill them while they’re vulnerable.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do,” Mary Ann said, kicking a pile of acorns.

Riley opened his mouth to reply, probably to protest and command her away from the actual fighting, but thought the better of it.

“We’ll need weapons,” Aden said. “We’ll also need time. Time I don’t have, because of chores and watchful eyes at the ranch. But I don’t want you guys going without me.” He might not have possessed superstrength like Victoria or superspeed like Riley, but he was not without skills. Plus, he would place Victoria’s life before his own, ensuring her safety. Riley, he suspected, would do the same for Mary Ann, perhaps even placing Mary Ann’s life before Victoria’s. Therefore, they both had to be there.

“I can obtain the weapons,” Riley said. “And I will summon my brothers. They will help.”

“You have brothers?” Mary Ann asked, eyes wide.

He nodded. “Four by blood, raised by Vlad like me, and many by circumstance.”

“Wow.”

Aden heard the uncertainty in her voice and wondered what she was thinking.

“They will like you,” Riley promised. “Do not worry.”

Ah. Now he understood. He looked to Victoria, whose hair was braided in a crown around her head, giving her a regal appearance. “Do you have any siblings?”

“Two older sisters. Lauren and Stephanie. And I’m sorry to tell you this, but they will not like you. I tell you only to warn you, since you will be meeting them tomorrow. You are human and they consider humans a food source, nothing more. Already they question my…preoccupation with you.”

“You don’t have to explain,” he said. He’d been despised his entire life. Adding a few names to the list of people who hated him wasn’t a big deal. “You’re the only one I care about.”

Suddenly Victoria threw her arms around him, kissing him hard and deep. He spun her around, despite his surprise, holding her close, kissing her back with everything he had. For that single moment, he was able to forget his troubles, the future. Victoria, too. Laughing, more carefree than he’d ever seen her, she allowed her head to fall back, watching the trees spin above her.

“You’re always astounding me,” she said. “In all the years of my life, no one has managed to shock me even once, yet you have time and time again. I expected you to run from danger. You didn’t. I expected you to hate me for what I am. You don’t. I expected you to be hurt by my family’s prejudice. You aren’t.”

He stilled and gazed down at her, this beautiful girl of his dreams. “Because I, well…” He cleared his throat. He wouldn’t admit that he loved her, not with witnesses. “I told you. You’re the only one I care about.”

Her lids fell to half-mast as she planted another kiss, this one swift but soft, on his lips. “I have a surprise for you. It’s under your bed.”

“What—”

“No. Do not ask, for I will not tell you.” Reluctantly, she moved from his embrace and clasped his hand. “I hope you like it, though.”

A gift from her? “I know I will.” Now, he couldn’t wait to get home.

Riley, he saw, had Mary Ann pinned against a tree, a lock of her hair in his hands, whispering to her as she peered up at him shyly.

“Come on, you two,” Aden called.

At first they ignored him. Then Mary Ann laughed and shoved him away. Riley gave a mock growl. Aden had never seen the shifter so at ease. “Aden’s right,” Riley said. “We should go. Dmitri’s waiting for you, princess.”

The princess in question gasped, stiffened. “Shut up!”

“My bad,” Riley muttered.

That reminded him…“So who is Dmitri to you?” he asked Victoria as they all jumped back into motion.

Riley’s attention whipped to Victoria, eyes narrowed. Gone was his relaxed demeanor.

There was no color in her cheeks, and she stumbled over her own feet. “Aden,” she began.

“It’s time,” Riley said. “He needs to know.”

Oh, no, Elijah suddenly moaned. Oh, Aden. I’m so sorry. I just heard her answer. She’s going to tell you, but please don’t react right away. All right?

Aden stiffened.

Victoria gulped. “Dmitri is my…betrothed.”

Betrothed. Took him a moment to recall the meaning of the word. When he did, he stopped. Betrothed—engaged. He’d thought himself stiff before, but now his muscles clamped down on his bones with so much force, his entire body shook.

“I didn’t choose him,” she rushed out. “My father did. I want nothing to do with him. I hate him. You have to believe that.”

“But you will marry him?”

Her gaze fell to the ground. A moment passed. She nodded once. “I cannot fight my father on this. He has planned it since my birth.”

“What about your sisters?”

“They are promised to others.”

Filled with fury, he gripped her upper arms. “Why didn’t you tell me?” If she had, he would have fought the urge to love her. Or fought Dmitri when he’d had the chance.

“I wanted to be with you and I didn’t want that between us.” Slowly her lashes rose until that crystalline gaze was on him, burning deep. “You wouldn’t have kissed me.”

“You’re not marrying him,” he gritted out. “You’re not.”

“My father desires the alliance because Dmitri’s family is strong. There is no getting out of it. Not without bloodshed and death. And pain. Oh, God, the pain he can inflict…Not just on me, but on you and everyone you love. I’m sorry, Aden. So sorry.”

In the distance, he heard a twig snap. Heard Riley suck in a breath. Heard a gasp as the shape-shifter shoved Mary Ann behind him.

Riley was ripping off his clothing, snarling at the trees. “Sneaky witches.” Finally Riley was naked, Mary Ann was looking at him, blushing, and then he was changing from man to wolf, fur sprouting from his skin, bones elongating, reshaping until he was on all fours, sharp teeth bared.

“Witches?” Frowning, Victoria turned.

Aden fought past his emotions and followed suit just as woman after woman stepped between the trees, encircling their group.

“Break the circle before it solidifies,” Victoria cried. One moment she was beside him, the next she wasn’t, moving so quickly he only saw the blur of her clothing. When she hit the edge of the trees where the women were, she slammed into some type of invisible wall and flew backward, tumbling to the ground.

Aden rushed forward, placing himself in front of her. All eyes were focused on him as he bent down and drew the daggers out of his boots. He kept the silver hidden by pressing it against his arms, the hilts tight in his hands.

Witches, Riley had called them. He studied them. There were eight of them, all wearing white cloaks that draped their bodies. Hoods covered their heads, casting shadows over their faces. Power hummed from them, coating the air, glistening in the sun like flakes of snow.

“At last we have found you,” one of them said in an eerie, almost hypnotic voice. She stepped forward. She had long blond hair that hung over her shoulders, poorly concealed by her cloak. “The source of the summons.”

Riley snarled at her.

Inside Aden’s head, Caleb was sputtering, something he’d never done before. I—I think I know her.

Aden nearly moaned. Eve had said the exact same thing when they’d first seen Mary Ann. Was Caleb somehow connected to the witches? Perhaps Aden should have been studying the list of the dead and figuring out exactly who occupied his head. But he’d been too depressed, too preoccupied. He would remedy that, he decided.

If he lived.

“No way you can know her,” he whispered. “You can’t even see her.”

But I can feeeel her. Ask her to remove the hood. Please, Aden. Please.

“Let me see your face,” Aden called after only a moment’s hesitation.

He was ignored, and Caleb pushed out a frustrated breath.

Again, Riley snarled.

“Which one of you calls us?” another asked, ignoring the wolf, too, as if he were of no importance.

Victoria was on her feet and beside him a second later, panting, leaves falling from her clothing. “You will leave us,” she said, “or you will feel my father’s wrath.”

The word vampire rose on the air, voices a mix of fear and fury.

Aden raised his chin and opened his mouth to admit the truth.

“No, Aden,” he heard Mary Ann plead. “Don’t.”

He continued on. “I am the one who summoned you. Let the others go.”

Ask her again!

“Now please, show your face.”

“He lies,” Victoria shouted. “Do not listen to him. I am the one you seek.”

As they had done to the wolf, they ignored her.

“Why?” the blonde demanded, concentrating on him. “Why do you call us? If you dared plan to lead us to slaughter—”

“No,” he interjected. “Never. I can’t help what I am any more than you can help what you are. Though I might wish otherwise, I am the one who summoned you. I didn’t want to, didn’t mean to, but nonhumans feel the pull of me.”

They murmured among themselves, their words too jumbled to hear.

“We have never heard of one such as you,” the blonde said when the others quieted.

He shrugged. “I had never seen a real vampire or werewolf until a few weeks ago. That doesn’t mean they weren’t always real.”

Another witch stepped forward, hair red and long. “If you cannot help what you are, how have you masked your pull so often?”

Riley snapped at her, saliva dripping over his lips. She flinched but remained in place.

“That,” Aden said, raising his chin yet another notch, “I will not tell you. Unless you let the others go as I asked, of course.”

Trade the information for a peek at her, Caleb pleaded. I have to see her face.

“I can’t,” he whispered frantically. Information was the only card he held right now. To play it would end his usefulness—and thereby everyone else’s. The witches could attack his friends.

Again, they muttered amongst themselves. Again, he couldn’t understand what was being said. This time the words were frantic, determined. Elijah moaned inside his head, perhaps sensing the direction of their conversation.

“We will call a meeting in one week’s time, when our elders arrive. You will attend that meeting, human. If you fail to do so, the people in this circle will die. Doubt me not.”

In unison, the witches stretched out their arms and began muttering. Riley leapt forward, slamming against the same invisible wall Victoria had met. The power Aden felt pulsing from them grew in intensity, coagulating just above their upraised palms, first white, then blue, then exploding into golden flames. As one, they tossed those flames into the circle. Several hit Riley, several hit Victoria, but only one hit Mary Ann.

Riley, Victoria and Mary Ann screamed in pain, each of them dropping to their knees, panting, sweating, writhing. As Aden rushed to them, Riley morphed into human form, his bones realigning, his fur retracting under his skin, then switched back to wolf form, then returned to human form again. The sight was at once astonishing and gruesome.

“Until then,” the blonde said as if she hadn’t a care.

The witches backed up, never giving them their backs, and soon disappeared beyond the trees.

“How will I know where the meeting is?” he shouted. No response. Pushing them and their meeting to the back of his mind, for now, he crouched at Victoria’s side, patting her down for injuries. “Are you all right?”

Grimacing, she blinked up at him. He helped her sit up. “Fine, I’m fine.”

Riley had already recovered and was helping Mary Ann to her feet. “Come on,” he said, striding to his clothes and dressing. “Let’s get you guys home. We’re done with the woods. Understand? No one is to enter them again.”

“My thoughts exactly.” He wrapped an arm around Victoria and pulled her to her feet. “What’d they do to you?”

“Bespelled us.” A shudder rocked her. “With death.”

Breath froze in his lungs, sending frost through his bloodstream. So. His friends really would die if he missed that meeting. A meeting held in a location he didn’t know. No pressure. Really. “You’ll die? Even if I attend the meeting?”

“No,” Riley answered bitterly. “We’ll die only if you miss it. Once you attend, the spell will fade.”

What a wonderful day this had turned out to be, Aden thought, rubbing his temple to ward off the oncoming ache. His girlfriend was engaged to someone else, he was responsible for his friends’ lives, and Caleb might be the next to leave him for a group of witches. Caleb, who was even now pacing the confines of Aden’s mind, muttering about the stubborn blond witch who “should have bowed” to him.

Together, they rushed through the forest, jumping over fallen twigs, around rabbits and squirrels trying to rush to their homes, as well. They must have sensed the danger.

There’s a way to win Victoria away from Dmitri, Elijah said.

“How?” he rushed out.

“How what?” Victoria asked.

Convince her father that you are more important to his people than Dmitri is.

His heart rate sped up. “Can I do it?”

“Do what—oh.” She offered him a faint smile. “You aren’t talking to me, are you?”

He shook his head. For once, he wasn’t embarrassed to be caught talking to the people in his mind. He was too charged.

Anything is possible, Elijah hedged.

Which meant Elijah couldn’t see the results of such an attempt. Which meant Aden would be going in blind. Which meant anything could happen. Good or bad.