The Shadow Stealer (Silver Moon Saga Book 3) (22 page)

Chapter Thirty-nine

Upstairs in my room I called Philip, but it was Kain who answered the phone. “Hello, Gabiella!” he said, his voice cheery.

“Oh. Um.” I blinked stupidly at my phone, checking to make sure I’d called the right number. Sure enough, Philip’s name was displayed on the screen. “Hi?”

“Philip went out to get some things, and apparently he picked up my mobile instead of his. No worries—you can talk to me instead.”

Typical Kain. I laughed and shook my head. “How’s your head? And the cut on your chest?” Sitting on the edge of my bed, I picked up the chocolate-scented bear Rafe had gotten me for Valentine’s Day and inhaled deeply. (Seriously, did my boyfriend know me or what?)

“Ah, everything is healing nicely. Your brother has been taking care of me. It’s been rather nice.”

“I can imagine.” Again, I cursed my punishment. If I hadn’t been grounded, I could be over at Rafe’s apartment right now, “taking care” of him in my own special way.

Focus, Gabi.

“Oh, actually, it’s good that you answered,” I said. “I needed to tell you something.” I explained how Mom had removed the last bit of the parasite spell from Rafe, and after Kain apologized
multiple
times for missing it in the first place, I told him about her bombshell regarding the origins of the spell, and how we believed Nina learned it from Collins.

Kain cursed softly under his breath. “Demon magic? I—I had no idea. Forgive me, Gabiella.”

“None of us did, Kain, probably because no one expected it.”

“This is bloody unbelievable.” His frustration was clear, even through the phone. “Wielding demon magic is as taboo as mixing your blood with one. You have to consort with it, which means you have to summon it. What kind of hunter is Collins?” There was a pause. “Oh. Bloody hell.”

“What?” I asked, gripping the phone tightly. I didn’t like the sound of that.

“What if he’s not so much a hunter as he is a sorcerer? And I don’t mean one like Morgan,” Kain said quickly. “I’m talking about the ones who bring demons into this world to learn from them.”

My mind was spinning. “I’m confused. I thought they brought demons here because they wanted to use them to, I don’t know, take over the world. What’s the point of learning from them? And do the demons even
want
to teach humans?” I thought about the demon Mom had summoned, and how much contempt it had for her. “I feel like that’s the last thing they’d want to do.”

“Ah, but the demons are constantly at war with one another. So if a sorcerer agrees to aid them in their fight, the demon has no qualms about teaching them spells. Especially when the spells can be used on other demons—with devastating results.”

“Wait—what?”

“Think of it as like an allergy. If you use demon magic on a demon, you won’t just kill it. You’ll
destroy
it. In the most painful way possible.”

I took a minute to process that. “So the demons go around annihilating one another with their magic?” Flopping onto my back, I groaned loudly. “Why can’t the stupid things just wipe each other out and stop coming here?” A world without demons; wouldn’t that be nice?

Kain laughed. “Then I wouldn’t have anything to do.”

“You could get a job?”

“I’m too rich for that, remember?”

“Yeah, I remember. God, this sucks.”

“We must play things carefully.” Kain sighed. “I know things seem bad right now, Gabiella, but have faith, and focus on the good. Philip is your brother, Rafe is finally recovering, and you have your mum back.”

“My mum,” I teased. “I like the sound of that. Mum. I should call her that. Mummy!”

He chuckled.

I sobered almost immediately. “What are we going to do about Collins? I know poking around is dangerous, but I don’t want to be ambushed again, kidnapped in the middle of the night and taken to another gray warehouse by a couple of deranged hunters.”

“I agree. Collins needs to be stopped before he discovers what you can do.”

“But how?” I whispered, clutching the phone tightly in my hand. “I don’t want to even think about you guys having to fight him. I don’t want anyone to die…”

“Gabiella, death is always a possibility in battle.”

A trembling started in my legs and worked its way up, until my entire body was shaking. “Why can’t we be normal teenagers? Magic and demons and worrying about if we’re going to die tomorrow—what the hell kind of life is that, Kain?”

His voice was thoughtful when he responded. “It’s unfair for someone like you, who never asked for any of this. But those of us in Silver Moon? We chose this.”

“But did you ever think it was the wrong choice?”

“I have, in the past,” he admitted. “When my best mate was killed by a demon. This was back in England, before I came to New York. We were in the middle of a routine patrol when the nastiest bugger ambushed us. Killed my mate before I even knew what was happening. It was the worst moment of my life, and I nearly quit hunting after that.”

“What changed your mind?”

Kain made a humming noise as he contemplated my question. “I decided, a few months later, to go hunting one last time. Depending on how I felt at the end of the night, I would either continue or give up. As chance had it, I ended up saving a family with two little ones from a demon. When I realized what would have happened had I given up, I knew I had to keep hunting.

“And it’s a good thing I did,” he continued, his voice now cheery, “or else I never would have decided I needed a change of scenery, come to New York, and met your brother! Or you.”

“I’m glad you decided to keep hunting,” I said honestly, “even if it’s scary and dangerous. I don’t know what’s going to happen to any of us, Kain, but I hope—” I breathed in deeply, trying to calm my nerves. “I hope we get our happy endings.”

“As do I. Be strong, Gabiella. We
will
get through this.”

As I said goodbye and hung up the phone, I hoped that he was right.

***

When the sky turned dark, Mom left. I didn’t blame her. She looked tired and pale, and I knew she wasn’t up to another conversation with Dad. On the front porch, we hugged tightly, and she promised she’d be in touch the next day. She wasn’t going back to Rafe’s, but to a hotel this time, and even though I knew it would never be possible, I wished she could just end up staying on the couch in the living room.

At least then when I woke up, I would know she was still there.

She’s not leaving
, I told myself angrily as I watched her walk away. She’d promised to stay, and that’s what she was going to do. And while I believed her and had forgiven her, it was obvious it was going to take me some time to stop setting myself up for disappointment.

Chloe joined me on the porch, wrapping her arm around my waist and leaning her head against my shoulder. “I’m glad she came,” she said.

“Me too, Chlo. Me too.”

By silent agreement, we didn’t tell Dad about Mom’s visit, and he didn’t ask if we’d spoken with her. But something told me he knew we had. How could we not have? Staying away from her was like trying to live without oxygen. We
needed
Mom. Maybe I’d forgotten that, but now that she was back, I remembered how life was like with her in it.

It was good. Really good.

When I returned to my room after dinner, I noticed I had a message from Evan on my phone.
Just got in. Rafe is sleeping soundly. Talk to you tomorrow.

A weight lifted from my chest. If I couldn’t be there, at least someone else could be. Day by day, we would get through this.

Somehow.

Chapter Forty

The next afternoon, I was stuck at work (sigh) manning the register while Denise pretended to straighten up when the door mooed. Denise squealed loudly, and I looked up from the magazine I was reading (yeah, we were the world’s worst employees) to see Evan stroll in.

“Hey, sexy surfer boy!” Denise rushed over and planted a loud kiss on Evan’s cheek. My eyebrows lifted. W
hen did these two get so close?

“Hey yourself, honey,” Evan replied.

“You here for cigarettes?”

Evan shook his head. “Nah, I quit.”

My eyebrows rose even higher. “You
quit
?” That was news to me!

He leaned against the counter, giving me a cocky smile. “It was about time, don’t you think? I’m turning over a new leaf. Meet Evan 2.0. Even more handsome than the original!”

Excuse me while I puke in the garbage can.

Denise clapped her hands excitedly. “Oooh, Evan, you’re just being coy. I know that look in your eyes. You got back together with your girlfriend, didn’t you?”

She knows about Alex?
“Okay, time out,” I interrupted. “When did you guys get so buddy-buddy? And how come I didn’t know about this?”

“Aww, poor Evan here used to come in when you weren’t working to buy cigarettes because he knew you’d give him grief,” Denise said.

“Yeah, because it’s a disgusting, stupid habit.”

She ignored me. “And he always looked so glum, so one day I asked why, and then we got to talking. Not only did he tell me about his problems with his girlfriend, but he also listened to me.” Denise put a hand on Evan’s shoulder. “He’s a great listener.”

“Really,” I said flatly. “Are we talking about the same Evan here?”

“Haha.” Evan gave me a pointed look. “How about you be nice to me, considering I rushed over to take care of your boyfriend?”

“Aww, what’s wrong with Rafe?” Denise asked.

“He’s sick,” I quickly said before Evan could make up some ridiculous story about Rafe’s condition. “And I’m grounded, so I can’t go see him.” I didn’t mention my plans to somehow see him behind Dad’s back. It involved someone with a car—in this case, Evan—and someone else—Chloe—to cover for me. It wasn’t the world’s most thought-out plan, obviously.

“That sucks. Tell that boy to feel better soon.” Denise left the register, heading for the break room. “I’m going to go on my break. Let Bernard know, okay?” She didn’t even wait for me to respond before walking away.

“Okay,” I said to no one. “Have fun. Pick me up something to eat.” I rested my head on my hand and sighed deeply. “No one thinks about me anymore.”

“Yeah, I forgot to bring you cake, sorry,” Evan said, not sounding sorry at all.

I glared daggers at him, but he didn’t seem to notice.

“I was too busy taking care of Rafe.”

I stood up straighter, my heart thumping faster. “Is something wrong? Is he regressing?” Oh my god, and I had gone to school and now work? I’d texted him, but he’d only answered once to say he was feeling better.
He probably lied!
I knew I should have been there, taking care of him—

Evan held up his hands. “Easy there. He’s
fine
. He slept until noon today, and then he was complaining that he was starving, so I had to go get him food. I mean, he was so hungry he didn’t even care about me being there. He waited until after he ate to tell me to get lost.”

“I’m sure he didn’t mean it,” I said, lying through my teeth.

“No, he meant it.”

“It doesn’t matter,” I said. “He shouldn’t be alone right now.” I realized something. “You left him alone!”

“Gabi, I told you, he’s okay! He’s up and walking around. I bet if he knew I was coming here, he would have insisted on coming with me just so he could see you!” Evan said that like it was a bad thing, and it made me want to fling something at his head. “But I told him to stay home and rest. He’s still tired, but at least he’s not in pain anymore.” Evan shook his head. “I can’t believe I missed part of the spell. Kain didn’t see it because he sucks, but what’s my excuse?”

I wrapped my arms around myself. “I’m just glad it’s over. He’s going to get better, and we can finally put this behind us.” Of course, there were a million more things we needed to deal with. “Did he tell you what my mom said about the spell Nina used?”

“He did.” Evan’s face darkened. “Disturbing as hell. I knew Collins was an asshole, but I just thought he liked to get off on bullying kids. He wanted me to be his apprentice, Gabi. If my situation was like Nina’s, and I had no one in the world to speak up for me, then I would have been the one learning demon magic.” He picked up the gossip magazine I’d been reading and leafed through the glossy pages. “I never got a chance to thank Liam for telling Collins to leave me alone. Sure, my dad went with him, but I know Liam was the one who did the talking. But Liam scared the crap out of me, to be honest, and because I was such a coward, I never got to say anything.” Closing the magazine, Evan scowled. “And then I nearly got Rafe killed… I’m really surprised Liam hasn’t found a way to come back from the dead so he could
kill
me.”

It was so weird to see all these different sides of Evan. When I’d first met him he’d been flirty and annoying, but now he was serious and remorseful and even a little bit sad.
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I miss the old Evan.
“Hey.” I leaned over the counter and tapped him on the shoulder. “What happened between you and Alex? You guys looked like you were patching things up right before Mom teleported us out of there. I was a little surprised, considering how much she looked like she wanted to kill you when you were at my house. And then in Rafe’s apartment she was throwing plates at your head!”

“What, you think she could resist this forever?” Evan gestured to himself, sounding so much like his old self that I had to fight to keep a grin off of my face.
God forbid I encourage him!
“I told you she’d come around.”

“Uh, no, you were the one who gave up before you even tried to fix things with her.”

“Whatever. That doesn’t matter.” He waved a hand carelessly in the air to emphasize his point. “What
does
matter is she no longer wants to murder me in my sleep and throw my dead body out of a moving vehicle.”

“How did that even happen?” I pounded my fist against the counter. “I want details, Underwood!”

“Okay, okay.” He grabbed two chocolate bars and placed them on the counter before pulling out his wallet. “Ring me up for these—one’s for you—and I’ll tell you.”

Whoa. Free chocolate. I made a mental note to be nice to Evan—for at least the duration of his story. After that, I couldn’t make any promises.

“It was my sacrifice, really,” Evan said nobly as I unwrapped my chocolate bar. I paused in my work to give him a skeptical look, but he was gazing out into the distance, as if he were an actor on stage. Settling for rolling my eyes and sighing loudly, I went back to my chocolate. “When I let your mom use me to help you guys get away—that’s when Alex realized I was a changed man.”

I choked on my chocolate.

“After your mom borrowed my magic, I passed out, and when I woke up, my head was resting in Alex’s lap as she gently stroked my hair. Gazing up at her, I could see the love shining in her eyes—”

“Evan, seriously, if you don’t stop right now I’m going to be sick
everywhere
.” So much for me being nice to him.

He frowned at me. “You said you wanted details!”

“Yeah, but you don’t have to make it sound like a passage from a romance novel!” I complained. “Next you’re going to say you ripped your shirt off and all your muscles were glistening in the sunlight or something equally horrifying.”

“Fine, fine,” Evan said. “Although I’ll have you know my glistening muscles are
not
horrifying.” He paused, waiting for me to finish gagging. “
Ahem.
After Silver Moon finished interrogating us, Phil invited us back to Kain’s place. He and Sherlock went to the hospital, which left Alex and me plenty of time to talk.” Evan took a giant bite of his chocolate and chewed thoughtfully for a moment. “And we talked. For a really long time, and without any screaming or throwing of any glasses, plates, or cutlery. Although I wouldn’t have minded breaking some of Kain’s stuff. Would have served that cocky bastard right.”

“
Evan.
”

“You’re no fun, you know that?” He shook his head. “Anyway, like the other day in your kitchen, I explained to Alex why I did what I did to bring her back. But this time, she listened. I told her that while I regret hurting you and Rafe, I’ll never regret having her back. She said she hated that I’d used you—and nearly gotten Rafe killed in the process—and it was impossible for her to look at me and not think about what I did.” He placed his chocolate bar down on the counter and stared at his fingers. “I thought that was it. That that was her way of telling me it was hopeless for us. I’d done the unthinkable, hurt so many people, and in the end, I was still going to be alone.

“But Alex kept looking at me,” Evan continued. “It was this intense gaze, like she was trying to see inside of me or something. I asked her what was wrong, and she blurted out, ‘Can you kiss me?’”

I dropped my chocolate bar. “Seriously? She
asked
you that?” Alexandra didn’t seem like the type. She was more likely to punch him in the face.

Evan smiled wistfully. “The first time we ever kissed, we were sitting in a Japanese restaurant and she asked me the same exact thing. I was scared then, and I was scared now. But I figured if I hesitated, I would never get the chance again so—I did it. I kissed her. And it was just like before. It was like… magic.” He pointed a finger at me. “I’m not exaggerating this time, either. I kissed her and it was like we were fourteen again, falling in love for the first time. Before this whole giant mess. Before I nearly lost her… It was like that stuff had never happened.”

I placed a hand over his and squeezed gently. “I’m happy for you, Evan.”

His serious expression was replaced by a dorky grin I’d never seen him wear before. “Me too. God, I can’t believe this is even happening. I mean, we talked some more, and she threatened me—”

“Threatened you?” I asked, confused. “That doesn’t sound very romantic.”

“She told me if I ever betray Rafe again, she’s going to cut off my man parts,” Evan said with a wince.

“Your
what?
” I totally lost it then, laughing so hard I was certain Bernard was going to yell at me over the loudspeaker. But he never said anything, which must have meant he was too busy playing online poker to notice what I was doing (or not doing, in terms of working).

Evan scowled. “I’m so happy you find threats to my precious parts so amusing.”

“Please, it’s funny and you know it,” I said, wiping tears from my eyes. “Now you have incentive to behave.”

“She only said I couldn’t betray Rafe,” he reminded me. “She didn’t say anything about behaving. Besides, that’s boring.” Evan posed. “As long as I don’t make any more stupid mistakes, we should be good.” His eyes darkened. “I wish I could say we were a couple again, but even though we kissed and it felt familiar and good, it didn’t solve everything.” He laughed softly to himself. “I know I shouldn’t get my hopes up, but it’s so hard, Gabi.”

“You can’t rush her. Look at it from her point of view.” I tapped my finger against the counter, trying to imagine what Alexandra must be going through. “She just spent the last two years of her life in a coma, and when she woke up, everyone she knows is older. But she still feels like she’s sixteen. That’s gotta be bizarre, you know?” I didn’t feel the need to point out how Evan had changed—and not just physically. I was certain the Evan Alexandra knew before her coma would have never done something as drastic as betray Rafe. When she looked at Evan now, did she miss the boy he used to be?

Would she ever be able to separate the two?

“Even if I have to spend the rest of my life proving to her that I’m worth it, I will,” Evan said softly. His face was determined, the most serious I’d ever seen it. He might have been a total slacker, but when it came to Alexandra, he’d always give it his all.

“Good luck,” I said, meaning it. I wanted them to get back together. Even if I hadn’t known them before her accident, I could see how much they meant to one another. It would be stupid to stay apart!

“Ah, I don’t need luck.” His serious expression melted into a goofy smile. “I’ve got Evan Charm, remember?”

I shook my head in exasperation. “You know that’s not a real thing, right?”

“Yes, it is! It’s just so strong you don’t even know it’s working on you right now!” He leaned closer, bumping his forehead against mine.

I pushed away from him. “Ugh, that’s creepy,” I said. “Turn it off, turn it off!” I rubbed my arms vigorously. “Look, you gave me goose bumps now!”

“Creepy?” He glared at me. “This is the thanks I get for buying you chocolate, huh?”

“I would have been nicer if it had been cake…”

The door mooed again and Evan glanced behind him. “Oh, wow, people really shop here?”