Chapter Thirteen:

SUMMER FINDS OUT ABOUT SILVER

Jack and Trina waited in Silver’s bedroom after arriving only to find the house empty. The Reigns were probably out hunting. It was too bad they hadn’t been at the party. Maybe they would have known what to do about the wraiths. Trina put her hand in the hamster’s cage. The tiny furry creature dashed around, avoiding Trina’s groping fingers, but she didn’t stop until she caught it.

Jack stood in the corner. Uncomfortable being in Silver’s room without her, he waited with crossed arms. Everywhere he looked he saw a different memory. There was the bed where he’d slept next to Silver, and the window he’d seen his first sunlight in ten years through The book she’d dropped because she was nervous at having him in her bedroom was still on the corner of the desk where she’d put it that night.

The front door slammed shut below the carpeted floor. He felt it through the bottom of his feet. Footsteps raced up the stairs. In seconds the bedroom door opened, and Silver’s eyes went straight to him. Her lips compressed into a hard line. Shaking her head, she stepped inside and shut the door behind her. “I ought to call my dad up here to kill you. What do you want?”

Trina closed the hamster cage and stepped forward, giving Silver her first glimpse of the girl. Although Trina had been smiling while playing with the hamster, the waterworks turned on as soon as she saw Silver’s face. She ran across the room and threw herself into Silver’s arms, bawling uncontrollably.

“Are you okay?” Silver patted Trina on the back. “What’s wrong? Did Jack do something to you?”

Silver glared at him.

“He saved my life tonight.” Trina lifted a tear-stained face. “We were at the party, you know, the one you didn’t want to go to, and these things attacked us. They were like real scary looking ghosts with claws and teeth. I almost died tonight. One of them tried to get me, and Jack threw himself on top of me. It almost got him instead.”

Silver gently pushed her friend aside to look at Jack. Her expression turned from accusing to concerned. “Are you okay?”

He shuffled from one foot to the other, unable to meet her gaze head on. “I’m fine. It wasn’t that big a deal.”

“Not a big deal?” Trina grabbed Silver’s shoulders and shook her. “We were almost killed by those things. After he threw himself on me to keep it from getting me, we had to run to the car. Two of them chased us. It was crazy intense, and he says it wasn’t a big deal.”

Jack said, “They were wraiths.”

“Did you know about wraiths?” Trina asked her. “Cause you never told me about them. You warned me about vampires and werewolves. You didn’t say anything about wraiths.”

Silver sat on the edge of her bed. “That’s because wraiths are very rare. I’ve never even seen a wraith and neither have my parents. Lovely mentioned them in her book, half a page, but I never thought anyone I knew would cross paths with one.”

Jack forgot about being uncomfortable. He sat next to her. In business mode now, he said, “I think maybe you should tell me about them in case I see them again. Can they be killed?”

“Yes, but it isn’t easy.” Her gaze met his for half a second before dropping to her hands. She twisted her fingers and played with the colorful bangles on her wrists. “Wraiths can only be created by the lead werewolf. Now we know. He’s definitely here in town. He’s probably already building his army.”

“How can a wraith be killed?”

“They have to be killed when they aren’t in their bodies.” She got up, walked to the window. “Wraiths are women infected by the head werewolf. Instead of turning into wolves, they become ghost-like. What you need to know about them is that they are trapped in their bodies during the day. They’re immortal like werewolves, but their bodies decay. They’re in horrible pain during the day, but at night their spirits leave their bodies. That’s what you saw tonight.”

Trina shivered. “That’s sick.”

Silver nodded. “I feel sorry for them. Being a werewolf or a vampire would be a hundred times better than being a wraith. Anyway, to kill one of them you have to drive a blade through their heart while their spirit is within them.”

“What if you stab them during the night while their spirit is gone?” Jack asked.

“Nothing happens. They can’t be killed during the night. You have to catch them when they’re together, body and spirit. It’s the only way.”

“Can they be stopped somehow when they’re attacking? I didn’t know what to do when they were flying away with those kids.”

“Wraiths can’t be stopped. They’re ghosts. If you try to hit them, your hand will go through them. It’s not fair, I know, but they can touch us. We just can’t touch them.”

Jack slowly took in the information. He felt better knowing there was nothing he could have done at the party to save those kids. At least he wouldn’t have that on his conscious. His eyes returned to Silver. She looked good, incredible even. The girl standing near the window didn’t resemble the one he’d seen crying in her car. Maybe she was over him.

Silver added, “Wraiths are like slaves to the head werewolf. Whoever he is, he sent the wraiths to the party.”

“Why would anyone do that?” Trina asked.

“I have no idea.”

Jack asked, “What happened to the kids they took? What do they do with them?”

“I don’t know that either. Lovely didn’t get into it. She wrote very little about wraiths, just how to kill them basically. Without knowing who the head werewolf is, there’s no way we can find the wraiths, let alone kill them. They’ll be living under his roof where he can keep human eyes off them. They would be extremely hard to explain.”

Silver went to her friend and placed an arm around her shoulders. They shared a brief hug. She added, “I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Thanks to Jack.” Trina smiled at him. “I’m going to go home now. Maybe I can get your father to give me a ride.”

“I’m sure he’ll be happy to. Please don’t mention Jack to him.”

Trina told her it wasn’t a problem and headed out the door with one more smile for Jack. After she was gone, the tension solidified. The air seemed to have been sucked from the room at the closing of the door.

Silver’s eyes turned glacial. “I told you everything I know about wraiths. Maybe you should leave now.”

“I don’t want to leave yet.”

“Too bad.” She went to the door, yanked it open. “If you don’t get out right now, I’ll yell for my dad. You want to deal with him? He’ll blow your stupid head off, and I won’t try to stop him.” She closed the door and crossed to the window, opening it. “Changed my mind. You should go out the window instead. No reason for my dad to go to prison because of you.”

She motioned to the window, an angry gesture. She kept her eyes averted when he closed the distance between them. Instead of going out the window, he put his hands on her shoulders and turned her in his direction. She swallowed and blinked her eyes a few times. She still didn’t look at him.

Jack placed a finger under her chin, tilted her face. Their eyes finally met. There was a great deal of hurt and anger inside of those bright blue orbs. “I’m sorry,” he said. “For everything. I shouldn’t have written the stupid note. I shouldn’t have treated you the way I did. Trina was right. I am a total jerk.”

Surprise registered on her face. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying I’ve missed you, and I want us to be friends again.”

“You think it’s that simple?” She knocked his hands away. “You hurt me.”

“I know.”

“No, I don’t think you do or you wouldn’t think throwing yourself on the mercy of the court is going to fix everything. I thought I knew you. I thought you were kind and good, but you ripped my heart out and stomped on it. I’m not ready to forgive you yet. Maybe I never will be.”

He took a deep breath and tried again. “I did it to protect you.” A doubtful glint entered her eyes and he added, “It’s true. My friends came to see me. They threatened to hurt Billy. I figured they would be after you next.”

The tip of Silver’s tongue slipped over her bottom lip, wetting it. “I’m a hunter, and I don’t need to be protected. I swear you’re worse than my parents. I thought you would understand more than anyone. I can take care of myself.”

“You’re mortal. No matter how good you are, you can make a mistake. You can be killed. If you died because of me, I wouldn’t be able to…I couldn’t take it.”

Her eyes softened. “I feel the same way about you.”

He touched her cheek. “I have missed you so much, you have no idea.”

“Me too.” Her gaze drifted to the door. “I told my mom and dad I was going to bed. Will you stay and talk to me for a while?”

He nodded. There were so many things he needed to tell her. He wanted her to know everything that had happened to him since they’d split up. It felt like a lifetime since they’d spoken. In a short time she had become very important to him, a best friend. Yet she was more than that. Much, much more.

 

****

 

They rested comfortably next to each other on her bed, talking softly and laughing for over hour. At some point she had lifted her hand for him to take. He laced his fingers with hers. They held hands as they talked about anything and everything. She wanted him to know how much pain he’d caused her; he wanted her to know how much he’d missed her.

“I have tons to tell you,” he finally said. “It killed me not being able to pick up the phone. Every time something major happened, I wanted to start dialing.”

Lying next to her in the dark, holding her hand felt incredible. He couldn’t get over it. He was with Silver again, and everything was right with the world.

“I want to hear everything,” she said.

“I’m not sure where to start.”

“Try the first thing that pops into your head.”

“Okay.” The first thing he thought about was Jersey, but he didn’t want to start with the fact their teacher was a werewolf. He didn’t think she would take the news well. So he went with the second thing that popped into his head. “I found the werewolf who killed my parents.”

Her hand stiffened in his. “Where is he? Who is he? Do I know him?”

“I expect so since it’s the janitor at the school.”

He told her the whole sordid story about how he was walking down the hallway and the janitor sloshed water on his shoes. He ended with how shocked he was to see the familiar eyes hiding behind the scraggly hair.

“Don’t try to take care of him on your own,” she said. “He could be the leader. If he is, he’s too strong for anyone to kill right now. I’ll have to grow up, train some more, get better at sucking souls out before I can do him.”

Jack nodded before realizing she couldn’t see him. “I understand.”

“Unless we use the stone, of course. But we’d have to be sure about him first.”

“What about this dream stuff? I dreamed about you the other night. I turned into a werewolf and attacked you. It seemed so real and familiar.”

“That’s because we have shared dreams.” She giggled before turning serious. “I had the dream about you changing into a werewolf too. I was there with you. It was real.”

“How is that possible?”

“We’re connected, Jack. I’ve been trying to tell you that. I’ve been dreaming about you for years, and you’ve been dreaming about me too, even if you don’t remember.”

He turned his head to look at her. “Now you tell me something new about you. How did your week go?”

“Well,” she said. “I know you broke up with me to save my life and keep your nutty vampire friends away from me, but it didn’t work. I was approached by the one you call Summer—Ow! You’re holding my hand too tight.”

“Sorry.” He let go. “Did she try to hurt you?”

“She threatened to if I don’t stay away from you.”

“Never mind. Don’t tell me. Show me.”

“What?”

Jack sat up, facing her in the dark. “I’ve developed a new power. I can touch someone and see the memory they’re thinking about. Let me see what happened with Summer. I need to know.”

Without waiting for her to give him permission, he took her hand again. Instead of lacing their fingers, he held her hand between both of his. This time he concentrated on seeing the scene she’d had with Summer. Electricity coursed through him and he was transported until he was once again inside Silver, looking at the world through her eyes.

 

****

 

Silver and her parents were hunting at the old Miller place. No one had lived there for years, so it was a good place for the occasional vampire or werewolf to take up residence. Silver and her parents had split up to search the area. Each of them had a whistle just in case they found something—or something found them.

She walked behind the barn, a stake in one hand and the whistle in the other. Her father was inside the barn, and her mother was searching the yard. Silver heard soft footsteps. She spun around, hoping it was one of her parents.

The blond girl from the cemetery, one of Jack’s friends, approached without a sign of caution. She didn’t seem concerned about the wooden stake. Her hard crystal eyes pinned Silver like a bug on a corkscrew board. She sniffed the air with obvious disdain. “It’s you. You’re the one Jack was hanging with. Is it true that it’s over?”

No introductions. No polite conversation. The girl went straight for the information she wanted. A reckless part of Silver wanted to lie and say they were still an item, but the intelligent part of her brain wouldn’t let her do it.

“He dumped me,” Silver admitted.

A satisfied smile stretched the other girl’s lips. “Good. Lucky you.”

“I’m not the one who needs to be lucky right now.” Silver lifted the stake. “I’m a hunter, and you’re a vampire. What do you think I’m gonna do about it?”

Summer laughed. “You couldn’t take me on my worst day. I know tricks you haven’t dreamed of. Anyway, you stay away from Jack and we’ll be cool.”

Summer turned to go.

Silver took a step after her. “Maybe I don’t want to stay away from him.”

The vampire girl slowly revolved, the smile stretched thin. “You haven’t a chance with him. Jack and I are soul-mates.”

“What makes you think that?”

“I don’t think it. I know it.” She tapped the place where her heart would have been if she’d had one. “I know it in here. The first time I saw him, I knew he was destined to be mine.”

No. His destiny was entwined with Silver’s. Silver thought about cluing the girl in, telling her about Lovely and the diary and what it had to say about Jack. Silver and Jack were major players in the diary. This girl wasn’t even mentioned. She was nothing, just another vampire to be staked.

“He isn’t a vampire anymore,” Silver said. “He isn’t anything like you.”

“He will be after I change him back. I almost did it tonight.” A smug gleam entered her eyes. “That’s right. We were at a party together, and I asked him to rejoin us. He was about to go with me when some ignorant fool werewolf interrupted us, but that’s okay. I saw how much Jack wants to be one of us again. He’ll be coming to me, asking me to bite him soon enough.”

The vampire girl laughed and added, “When you are old and shriveled, Jack and I will still be beautiful, and we’ll be together. We’ll be together forever.”

“I don’t believe you.” Silver said the words with great confidence even though her heart was breaking. “Jack hated being a vampire. He’ll never go back to it willingly.”

“That’s where you’re wrong.” Summer took on a menacing expression. “You weren’t with us. Jack was happy. He loved car surfing, rock climbing, scuba diving, and jumping out of high buildings. He was wild and crazy and reckless. That’s the Jack I know. The Jack you’ll never get to see.”

Summer leaned forward, baring her teeth.

Silver clutched the stake tighter and set the point against Summer’s chest.

“Stay away from him or die,” Summer said.

Before Silver could drive the stake forward, Summer was gone. Faster than the wind, she ran in the direction of Keppler’s farm. Silver remained where she was, frozen in anger and grief. She replayed every word the vampire had said to her. She had been at the party with Jack. Was it true he had almost gone with her? Did he want to become a vampire again?

 

****

 

“I was tempted,” Jack admitted as he returned to the present. “When Summer asked me to rejoin them, I was very tempted.”

“How can you even think about returning to your old life? You were unhappy.”

“Maybe I wasn’t.” He lay back down with a frustrated sigh and stared at the ceiling. “Maybe I’m just the kind of person who is never satisfied with where they are. Maybe I can’t be happy.”

“I don’t believe that.”

Silver lay her head against his chest. Her arm went around his waist, and Jack forgot to breathe. He was happy at this moment, happy being close to Silver. In this intimate position with her ear pressed to his heart, it was easy to forget his problems. He didn’t know what to do with his arm. He carefully placed it around her, his hand stroking her hair.

“Can you keep your family away from the Miller place for a couple weeks?”

“Why?”

“My old clan is using it for a temporary hideout. We always stay there when we travel through here.”

“Why are you still trying to protect them after the way they’ve been acting? They threatened me and your brother.”

“They were my family for ten years. I’m sure they won’t really try to hurt anyone I care about. If they do, I’ll kill them myself.”

Heavy sigh. “I’ll do what I can, but my parents don’t always consult me before they go hunting.”

“Speaking of hunting, my brother took me with him the other night. Your mom told him to train me.”

“How did it go?”

Jack told her the whole awful story. He reminded her of the kid at school, the one they’d seen infected. He explained he had wanted to save the kid but wound up killing him by accident. She gasped when he told her about the claws.

“It’s happening,” she said. “You’re getting powers of both vampire and werewolf.”

“I guess so.”

“How do you feel about that?”

Funny, it hadn’t occurred to him to feel anything about it. He was used to accepting things as they came his way, good and bad. He thought about it a moment before answering. “Well, considering I live in a place overrun with vampires and werewolves, not to mention hunters, I think having powers might be a good thing.”

“What else happened when we weren’t speaking?”

He told her about his interesting conversation with her mother and was surprised to find out she already knew about it. He told her about Billy sharpening his stakes when he thought Jack was reverting back to being a vampire. She laughed even though he didn’t see anything funny about his brother wanting to kill him.

Jack was silent for a long time, knowing there was one more thing left to tell her about, one more secret to share. He didn’t want to do it, but it had to be done.

“The English teacher is a werewolf.”

Silver bolted upright in bed. “Are you talking about Jersey Clifford? Are you sure?”

“I saw it with my own eyes.” Jack explained how he’d touched the man and got a flashback from his life. “You killed one of his buddies the night we met. He didn’t take the news well. Fortunately he doesn’t seem to want to kill you. He told his employee you don’t scare him.”

“I don’t believe this.” She got out of bed and began to pace the floor. He could see in the dark, but she couldn’t. She continuously bumped into things. He offered to turn on the light, but she shook her head and said, “Let me think. Usually my necklace burns a little when I’m close to a werewolf. It doesn’t do that around Jersey.”

“What about the janitor?” He reminded her, “You didn’t suspect him either.”

“I’ve only seen him from a distance. He doesn’t allow me to get that close.”

“I wonder why.”

Silver returned to the bed, stood next to it and looked down at Jack. “I think Jersey is the head werewolf.”

“He’s not.” Jack knew he should have kept the information to himself. “The janitor is the leader. I know he is.”

“You want him to be the big heavy because he killed your parents. That doesn’t make it true.”

Jack jumped out of bed on the other side. They faced each other over the mattress, both fighting for what they believed. “It’s him!” Jack said in a loud voice.

Her hands went to her hips. “Then how did Jersey manage to fool me and my necklace this whole time? I’ve been within spitting distance of him.”

“Maybe the dumb thing won’t burn around the janitor either. Maybe it’s broken. Why do you want it to be Jersey so badly?”

“I think the question is why are you insisting it isn’t him? What is Jersey Clifford to you?”

Jack didn’t get the chance to answer because the bedroom door swung open and hit the interior wall with a loud bang. Andrew Reign stood in the doorway with his shotgun, loaded and aimed at Jack’s chest.