CHAPTER TWO

Winter

"Look!" Damon points. "Is that land?"

I lean forward, squinting through the mist.

We’ve been in this small boat for hours, with no water and no food. I’m so thirsty that it feels like there’s a thin coat of sawdust in my mouth.

I don’t want to get my hopes up, but I really, really hope it’s land.

The distinct shape of trees emerges, and I sigh in relief. “It’s land.”

Still, I hold my breath. We aren't sure we're headed in the right direction. This could be another island and not the mainland.

Then again, anything is better than endless water and getting lost at sea. Even if it is an uninhabited island, maybe a fishing boat or something will come by and spot us. And maybe there’s a water source somewhere.

The mist gets thinner, and the shore comes into better view. There's a dock with small boats, and buildings peek out through the trees.

My chest tightens. "I know this island. Alec and I came here."

It's the one that we went to the farmer's market on, after I accidentally destroyed that barn and we had to flee the first island.

Damon is silent for a moment. "We should stop. We don't have any food or water, and it'll be dark soon, and--"

"It's okay." I can't even bear to look at him. "Yeah, let's stop."

I stay in my own little world as we pull up to the docks. All the good spots are taken, so we end up tethering the small motorboat to an old pier that's falling apart. After making our way around the holes in the boards, we step onto the road and walk into town.

The street the farmer's market was on is open today, with people walking and driving down it. Still, the memory of being here with Alec is a knife to my heart.

I try to shake it off, reminding myself that he is gone and I need to focus on surviving.

Damon places a hand on my shoulder. "Are you okay?"

I shake my head, trying to push away the memories. "Yeah, I'm fine. Let's just find somewhere to stay for the night."

Damon's eyes soften with understanding. "I'm sorry, Winter. I can only imagine how hard this must be for you."

I shrug off his hand and start walking down the street, trying to avoid any eye contact with the locals. The smell of baking bread wafts out of a restaurant, and my stomach gurgles with hunger.

"God." Damon groans. "I don't even know how long it's been since I ate."

"Years for you." I study the street. I don't have any money, which will make finding meals and warm beds more than a little challenging.

As we walk, I notice two shady figures standing outside a bar. They're dressed in black leather jackets, their faces obscured by the shadows of their hoods.

Damon tenses beside me, and I can feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. I know that he's thinking the same thing that I am - these guys don't look friendly. In fact, they look like Silver Hunters, who I've only seen dressed in all black.

The only thing these two are missing is swords.

I walk past them, making sure to avoid eye contact. Before Alec and I walked into the lighthouse's light and entered the pocket dimension, the islands were swarming with Silver Hunters. It makes sense that they would still be around.

"We have to be careful," I hiss to Damon. "The Silver Hunters might still be looking for the coin, and they know what I look like."

"They know that you were looking for it?" he asks.

I hesitate, then shake my head. No, they can't know. "They know that I'm from Hawthorn."

"Gotcha." His lips draw into a tight line.

"You don't have any money, do you?" I stop in front of a fancy-looking inn with an elaborate garden next to it.

He pats his pockets. "What I went into that dimension with I lost a long time ago."

I chew my lip. "Maybe we can find a place that will let us do some work in exchange for a room and dinner."

"It's worth a shot." He studies the inn, and I'm sure he's thinking the same thing as me. This place is probably way too nice to barter.

We won't know until we try, though. I'm ashamed to walk into a place and ask for a favor, but loss of pride is also the least of my problems right now.

There's nothing like losing someone forever to put things into perspective.

Damon opens the door to the inn, and I follow him inside.

The lobby is opulent, with a grand chandelier hanging from the ceiling and plush couches lining the walls. A woman dressed in a black suit stands behind the reception desk, her blonde hair pulled back into a tight bun. She looks up as we approach her, her eyes scanning us from head to toe.

"How may I assist you?" she asks in a clipped tone.

"We were wondering if you had any rooms available," I say, trying to sound confident.

She looks us over again, her eyes lingering on our tattered clothing and unkempt appearance. "We do have one room available, but I must warn you, it is our most expensive suite."

I try not to let my disappointment show. Of course it's the most expensive suite. "Is there any way we could possibly work to pay for it?"

Her lips curl in disdain. "I'm afraid we don't have any work available for guests. You'll have to pay in cash or by credit card."

I swallow hard, knowing we don't have either. "Thank you for your time."

I'm turning away, but Damon steps forward. "Please, ma'am, we've been traveling for days. We're exhausted and hungry. We don't have any money, but we're willing to work for a room and a meal."

The woman's expression softens slightly, but only slightly. "I'm afraid we don't have any vacancies at the moment. Perhaps you should try the inn down the road."

I feel my heart sink. The inn down the road is probably similar to this one - out of our league.

Damon takes a step back, dejected. I can see the weight of our situation hitting him hard. If we can't find a place to stay, we'll be sleeping on the streets. That's assuming we don't get caught by the Silver Hunters first.

"Thank you," I say to the woman, turning around. "Let's go. We'll try somewhere else."

As we leave, I hear the woman say something under her breath. I'm not sure what she said, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't anything nice.

We walk down the street, past the farmer’s market, and towards the next inn. This one is smaller, and less impressive, but my hopes aren't high.

Damon and I step into the lobby, which smells of lavender and vanilla. A woman is sitting behind the reception desk, reading a book. She looks up when we walk in, smiling warmly.

"Hello! How can I help you?" Her smile fades when she takes in our appearance.

"We were wondering if you had any rooms available," I say, trying to sound polite but desperate.

Her face falls. "I'm sorry, but we're completely booked."

Damon steps forward again. "Please, we have nowhere to go. We don't have any money, but we can work for a room."

The woman looks between the two of us, and I don't miss the way she scrutinizes our ripped and dirty clothes, just like the other woman.

If only I could tell her the true story, about how much we’ve been through, about how we need the kindness of a stranger right now.

Then again, maybe I can tell her the true story–just not all of it.

“Please.” I step forward. “It’s not easy for us to ask, but we just lost our friend. And then we were stuck on an island, and…”

Tears fill my eyes. I can’t keep talking.

“Oh my God.” She looks at me in horror. “Do you need me to call someone?”

“No.” I blink back tears. “Thank you. We’re headed back home now.”

She sighs, a new softness entering her eyes. "Normally, I wouldn't allow this, but I do have a shed out back that the gardener sometimes sleeps in when the weather is bad and he can't take the ferry home. It's not the most comfortable, but it's warm and dry."

Relief floods through me, and I manage a grateful smile. "Thank you so much. We'll take it."

"As for dinner, there should be some leftovers. I can see what's to be scrounged up and send them out to you."

"Thank you so much." Realizing we have a place to stay, my legs get weak. It's like my body has acknowledged that it can finally relax.

The woman nods, handing us a key. "It's out back, to the left of the garden. Just make sure to lock it up when you leave."

We thank her again and step outside, heading towards the shed. It's small and cramped, half-full of gardening tools, but it's better than sleeping on the street. Plus there's a twin-sized bed with pillows and blankets.

"You can have the bed." Damon takes a pillow and blanket and settles onto the floor.

I sit on the edge of the bed. "Thank you."

He smiles at me. "Things will get better. You have the coin."

"Yeah." I reach my hand into my pocket, checking on the coin for the hundredth time.

Damon pulls a phone out of his pocket that looks like it's years old. "Look at that. I still have eighty percent. I guess the battery froze while I was in that pocket dimension."

"Is there anyone we can call for help?"

He starts texting. "The Guild."

"Who are they?"

"It's a group my father was a part of, and that I later joined. They're sort of unofficial protectors of the supernatural world."

“I like the sound of that. How come I haven't heard anything about this group before?”

There's a knock on the door, and when Damon opens it there's a tray with two plates of dinner. He brings it inside and we devour the mashed potatoes, chicken, and broccoli.

"Oh, wow." Damon closes his eyes in pleasure. "I forgot how good broccoli is. I mean, I know it sounds crazy. Who likes broccoli, right? But when you haven't had anything to eat in five years you just--"

There's a bump outside of the shed, and I shush him. Immediately, his demeanor changes. His eyes widening, he stands.

"What?" he whispers.

"I heard something," I whisper back, pointing at the wall.

Just then, we see a figure go by the window. My chest tightens. It's one of the men we saw earlier--one of the two men who are likely Silver Hunters.

Getting to my feet, I edge away from the window. Damon follows, his breathing hot on my neck.

"The door." He pulls on my sleeve. "We should run for it."

"No."

I'm probably more surprised than he is by my answer. Ever since leaving Hawthorn and going after the Golden Coin, I've done whatever I needed to stay alive. I ran when I could. Fought when I had to.

I'm tired of running, though. The Silver Hunters are the reason I'm in this mess. They're the reason Alec is dead.

If it weren't for their hatred for supernatural people of every kind, they would have never attacked Hawthorn. Which means Alec and I would never have needed to search for the coin.

Which means he would be alive now. We would be back at school--not exactly enjoying the life of normal teenagers, but something close to it.

I touch the necklace Alec gave me, the only thing I have to remember him by. Those damn Silver Hunters took the best thing I had away from me, and I'm not walking away from a chance to make them pay for it.

When the door gets kicked open, I'm ready for the fight. More ready than I've ever been or ever will be.

The two men rush the shed, swords they must have had hidden earlier raised high.

"Shift," I tell Damon, my hands curling into fists.

Adrenaline races through my veins as supernatural strength fills me. I still don't have a great hold on my abilities--hell, I don't even know what all of them are, as new ones still pop up here and there--but the strength is one that can't be denied.

Next to me, Damon shifts into his wolf form. The sight of a werewolf doesn't deter the men. One of them raises his hand, sending a blast of magic our way.

I dodge the blast easily, my instincts taking over. I lunge forward, my fist connecting with the man's jaw. He stumbles and goes down, dazed.

Damon pounces on the one on the left, his teeth sinking into the man's shoulder. His opponent yells out and tries to get Damon with another spell, but I kick him hard in the stomach. He flies into the bed frame, cracking it in two.

The first man gets to his feet, hatred blazing in his eyes. A bit of blood trickles from his mouth, but he's not deterred.

"Oh, you're not done yet?" I snarl at him. "Well, come at me, asshole."

Voices drift across the yard. People are headed this way.

"We have to go," Damon says, his wolf voice low and creepy. "We're drawing attention."

I take a step toward the man, but Damon shifts back to his human form and tugs at my arm. "Winter, now!"

Suddenly, the man turns and runs out the door.

I'm not thinking. I'm just doing it. I take after him, sprinting my way across the grass and over the fence he climbs.

I don't know where I'm going, but I don't care. Anger and adrenaline fuel me, and I feel alive in a way I haven't felt in a long time.

I can hear the sound of his footsteps, pounding the pavement as he races down the street. The city is dark and quiet, but the man's hate-filled presence is palpable. I can't let him get away. I'm tired of running. I'm tired of losing. I'm not going to let him win.

"Winter!" Damon calls from somewhere behind me, but it's like he's a hundred miles away.

I'm going to catch this man. I'll make him pay.

The man takes a sharp right turn down a street, and I push myself harder, faster. I've almost caught up to him.

I turn the corner, tasting victory...

But he's gone.

There's no one on this street, and there are multiple corners he could have turned down, as well as multiple buildings he could have entered.

I've lost him.

"Hey!" Damon catches up to me, panting with exertion. "What are you doing?"

"I have to find him," I snarl.

I start to head for the first building, but he steps in front of me. "We're drawing too much attention. We need to get out of here."

"We need to find him!" I shout.

Damon's eyes widen. For a second, he looks freaked... and then he just looks at me with pity.

"We could have run," he says quietly. "We had time to leave the shed. They were at the back of it. We could have gone out the door."

I stare at him, my chest heaving with anger and regret. He doesn't understand. He doesn't know what it's like to lose someone you love because of a group of people who hate everything supernatural.

"I'm not running anymore," I say, my voice heavy with determination. "I'm going to find those Silver Hunters and make them pay for what they did to Alec. I'm going to make them pay for what they did to all of us."

Damon's eyes soften, and he nods. "I know," he says. "But we need a plan. We need to be smart about this."

I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself down. He's right. We can't just charge blindly, looking for revenge.

"Okay," I say, my voice steady. "Let's get out of here. We'll find a place to stay for the night and come up with a plan in the morning."

Damon nods, and we start walking down the street together. I can feel his eyes on me, his worry and concern almost palpable.

What would I have done if I’d caught that Silver Hunter? Killed him?

I've taken Silver Hunters down in the last couple weeks, but it was always in defense. I never attacked one of them once they backed off.

What I was doing just now... I don't recognize that part of myself.

I should probably be scared, but the thing is that I'm not. Alec deserves vengeance, and there's not much I won't do to get it for him.