“Yeah, he is. But we’ll get him. Right now, don’t worry about any of that. You need to regain your strength, and then we’ll have to figure things out. No one on our team got seriously hurt, thank God. And Brandon told us about the Vampire that had trailed you from KC.”
“You know, then, that the poem Giovani left was about me?” I asked.
Cadence nodded. “We figured it out just a few minutes too late.”
I dropped my eyes. “Cadence, I know I shouldn’t have ever gotten on that train. It was reckless and stupid. Someone could’ve ended up dead because of me.”
“Yeah, they could’ve,” she agreed. “And it was almost you.”
“It could’ve been you, too,” I reminded her. “I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself.”
She leaned forward and brushed my hair back from my face. “I told you. Don’t worry abou
People talk about not knowing themselves, like not being in touch with who they really are, but when I returned to Shenandoah that rainy Tuesday afternoon, I honestly felt like I was someone else completely, not the innocent young girl who’d left my home just a few days before, and despite everyone’s reassurances, I knew there was nothing that would ever make me who I’d been the last time I was home.My sister had been forced to call my parents while I was still out since I was supposed to be home in time for school the next day, and they were wondering where I was. Cadence tried to keep it all nonchalant, saying something had come up, and she wouldn’t be able to bring me home until a day later than expected. Apparently, my mom wasn’t very happy, but Cadence assured her Jamie, the doctor who worked as part of the LIGHTS team, would write me an excuse for school.And it probably wouldn’t be for just one day, I imagined, considering ho
Aaron pulled into the driveway, and I took a few deep breaths while they waited on me. Before I even finished climbing out of the vehicle, I saw my parents standing at the door. Normally, my dad wouldn’t be home from work yet. But he was here.My mom greeted and hugged each of us, as did my dad, except he shook Aaron’s hand, and we all moved into the living room. Obviously, my parents knew something was up, but I think they were relieved to see we were all alive. My parents sat in their chairs, my sister and Aaron on the couch, and I lowered myself into the chair across from my mom.“What’s going on?” she asked, looking at each of our faces. “You kids are scaring me.”Cadence looked at me, and I wished Brandon—or someone—was here to hold my hand the way she was grasping Aaron’s. But I was on my own. And I’d asked for this. I knew I could back out, and Cadence would tell them, but this really was s
Aaron’s calm voice filled our living room, and while I felt bad that he was the one who had to relay this information when he was the least to blame, I was thankful someone who wasn’t overly emotional was recounting the tale. “We got word late Saturday night that Steven Gibbon, the Jogging Path Killer, had been kidnapped from the hospital in Philadelphia where he was recovering from his gunshot wounds. We had intelligence that let us know that Giovani, the same Vampire that had been with Jack when he went on the killing spree in Cabo, was planning to turn Gibbon to use him against Cadence, so our team flew to Philly Sunday morning, hoping to locate Gibbon.”My parents nodded, letting him know they were following along. “We had asked Brandon, a new Guardian who hasn’t completed his training yet, to drive Cassidy home, and he agreed to do that. But… instead, they took a train to Philly.”My mom turned and looked at me, and
On Wednesday, I didn’t get out of bed until almost noon, and when I went downstairs, I discovered my sister had left a few minutes after I went to bed the afternoon before. She’d left me a note telling me she’d call me soon. I couldn’t blame her. She needed to get back to headquarters so they could figure out what to do about Gibbon, and I honestly didn’t want to talk to her anymore anyway. It would be hard to get past what we’d been through together. She’d keep blaming herself, and I’d keep feeling guilty for putting her in a position where she had to trade herself for me.My dad had gone to work like everything was normal, and his daughter wasn’t some freak. My mom was sitting at the kitchen table eating a sandwich and reading a magazine. When I walked in, she looked up and said, “Hi, honey,” and went back to what she was doing. I looked around the room, thinking there must be some sort of crew filming us or
My mom gasped and covered her mouth with her free hand. “Elliott? Elliott had a son?”“Elliott had a son,” I nodded.“But… I didn’t know Elliott had a son.”“Elliott didn’t know Elliott had a son.”I was getting a little tired of saying my deceased friend’s name. “Mom, I am sure that your impression of Brandon is less than stellar right now, but I can assure you, he’s a great guy. Once Zabrina took me, and he caught up, he never left my side again. The whole time I was on the ground, he’s the one that was protecting me. When Jamie was administering the serum—it hurt, and I was terrified—but Brandon was right there. And when I woke up in that hotel room, not knowing who or what I was, he was there, too. I don’t blame you for being angry at him. Or me. But… if you can find it in your heart to forgive me, please give him a chance to prove that
“So who is going to come show you how to use it?” I asked, thinking the more time we spent talking about him, the less time we’d have to spend talking about me.“I’m not sure. Your sister said she’d come check on me later, so maybe her. They said I’d have a mentor. I don’t know who that is yet.”“A mentor? That sounds good.” I wondered who mine would be. I hoped not Cadence. She wouldn’t know how to talk to me in a way that was productive.“Yeah, I think so. As long as it’s not Techy Long Stockings.”I burst out laughing. “What did you say?”“Didn’t they wear those really high socks back then, the white ones? With their breeches?”“Oh, yeah. I guess so. I thought you meant stalkings as in stalker.”“Well, if the nickname fits…. Anyway, how have you been? Are you all rested up? Ready for schoo
Going back to school was so surreal. I walked among hundreds of kids who knew nothing about what they didn’t know. I had been just like them once, really not that long ago. Walking around with no idea how much evil there is in the world and how close to home that evil can strike.Lots of people said hello to me in the hallway and welcomed me back. I knew most of that was because of Elliott. Everyone on campus had loved him, and his death had sort of made me a celebrity since I had known him personally, outside of school. They all knew I’d attended his memorial. Sometimes they asked me questions about it, which was a bit macabre. Today, they nodded and smiled, said they were glad I was feeling better. No one seemed to think I resembled Edward Cullen at all or accused me of being too sparkly under the fluorescent hallway lighting.“Hey, you’re back,” Lucy said, giving me a quick hug as we headed to choir class which we both had first period.
Brandon grew reflective and didn’t say anything for another span of lengthy seconds. “My mom is… an alcoholic.”I really wasn’t expecting that. I’m not sure why. I think, in retrospect, all the signs were there. I just didn’t really know anyone with a serious drinking problem, so maybe I didn’t know what to look for. I definitely had no words to show I understood, so I said, “I can imagine that’s hard for both of you.”He sort of chuckled, like he wanted to say, “To put it lightly,” or something, but he didn’t. Instead, he said, “She’s been one my whole life. When my grandparents were still alive, I spent a lot of time with them. But they died when I was ten. So, after that, I had to fend for myself a lot. She’s managed to hold down a job somehow, but the rest of the time, she’s pretty dysfunctional. And sometimes… living with her has been more than uncom
Cadence was glowing, holding both of her babies, one in each arm. I smiled at her and then focused on Josephina. She wasn’t crying now, but her little face was wrinkled as if she might burst into tears at any moment. Aaron had his hand on her back, beaming with pride as he looked at his little family. Jamie and another Healer, Ona, were cleaning up a tray table, but I caught his eye, and he winked at me. I hoped he could tell how grateful I was. If it wasn’t for him and his life saving blue magical healing powers, not to mention his medical skills, Cadence never would’ve come back to life.“Where’s my new favorite lil girl?” Elliott asked beside me.“Hey! I’m your lil girl. You’re going to have to think of something else to call her.” I threw an elbow at him.“Oh, I’m just teasing,” Elliott assured me. “Still, she is definitely lil. And she is my girl.”“I&rsqu
I’ll never forget the day my sister died. Even now, eight months later, sitting outside of Jamie’s operating room with Brandon’s hand in mine, every time I think about what happened that day, I get tears in my eyes. So many things could’ve gone differently, if only one of us would’ve made a different choice. I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on what I could’ve done differently myself that day, and even though everyone tells me there’s no point in dwelling on it, what’s done is done, it still haunts me sometimes when I’m trying to fall asleep at night, when I can so vividly see Cadence hanging there in the air before she plummeted to the ground, the whoosh of power that left my hand just missing its mark.The new Hunter Leader is a guy named Daniel Bower. He came in from California a few months ago. He’s awesome. I’ve known him for a while. He’s the one who helped capture Professor Stewart after th
I continued to beg and plead with her to come back to us. At fifteen minutes, Scarlet’s whispers were loud enough for me to detect what she was saying to Cale. “How long will he give it?”“I don’t know.” Cale seemed agitated and upset, certainly more connected to my sister than Scarlet. “Not yet.”“Please... Cadey, please.” I felt as far and as deep as I could, thinking about how I’d had to go so very far into her brain to plant that dream. The clock continued to tick. Cadence still wasn’t breathing, and Jamie began to sound desperate. At twenty-five minutes, when Jamie said “thirty,” his voice broke. He knew that the chances of her coming back to us now, after this long, were minute at best. He couldn’t give up, though. We couldn’t give up.Aaron blew two breaths of air into my sister’s lungs, and Jamie started counting again.Something was diff
After Aaron finally moved forward, I followed, staying back a little bit. I didn’t want to see her like that. I had never seen a person’s body after they’ve fallen that far, but I could imagine what it was like.Only when I finally did take a few hesitant steps around the trees, Brandon’s hands on my shoulders, she didn’t look like I expected her to at all.Cadence was lying flat on the ground with her hands folded over her abdomen, sort of like Snow White. Her feet were out straight, and her hair was blown out around her. She looked absolutely beautiful. And still. So very, very still.Jamie was doing chest compressions, and when it was time to breathe, Aaron did that for my sister. Some sort of automatic pilot must’ve turned on for him because his movements were very robotic. Jamie would say thirty, and Aaron would breathe into my sister’s open mouth twice before Jamie started counting again.Tears were rolling
“No!” My scream echoed across the mountainside as I watched in horror as my sister fell. I cannot guide what I cannot see, and I didn’t have a chance to get a grip on her before she plummeted. My hands shot out in her direction, but the surge of power I’d sent to grab her went over her head. I saw a streak of blue do the same and knew Jamie had missed as well.Fumbling through Cadence’s stream of consciousness, I tried again, hoping I’d be able to figure out how to get my powers around her before she hit the ground, but she was moving too fast, and without my eyes on her, I wouldn’t be able to get a grip.Part of me wanted to at least jump into her head, to be with her, to let her know she was okay, but then, the thought of what she was about to endure, when she hit the tops of the trees and then cascaded down through them to the earth, I couldn’t bear the thought, and I knew she wouldn’t want me to see it.I
“Brandon!” I shouted, floating over to where he had disappeared. He didn’t answer, and I realized he must’ve fallen all the way in. “Dang it.” I looked around the battlefield. I knew he was safe down there, but I hated that he was in that miserable place. Cadence was firing at Daunator now while Christian moved in, to place the grenade, I assumed, so I thought perhaps she’d be safe for a few minutes. I decided to help Brandon.“Are you all right?” I asked, using my telepathy.“Thank goodness,” he thought, probably not even to me. “Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just really dark in here.”“I know. Hold on, and I’ll get you out.”“If I hold on, won’t it be harder for you to get me out?”“All right smarty pants.” I needed to focus all of my energy if I was going to do this
“You okay?” Brandon shouted to me as he moved a little closer to where I was standing. The holes in the ground were not shaking now as much as they had been before, but they were still an obstacle we had to consider. I didn’t want him to get too close because of my tornadoes, but I was glad he was nearby.“Great,” I called back, sending another pile of creatures over the side of the mountain.Aaron was fighting his way through the crowd of black creatures, working his way to Cadence. The path was getting clearer, as far as the minions were concerned, but once he got within about a hundred yards of Cadence’s location, one of the Vampires that had been engaged with our forces closer to the top of the mountain broke off, clearly on his way to intercept the Guardian Leader.Whether he liked it or not, Aaron wasn’t alone now. I wasn’t sure where she’d come from, but Eliza was running parallel to him, fighting off
Moving the black creatures off of the ledge worked well, and I was just starting my second round when I realized my sister had taken off running toward Daunator. Christian had reached him already, a grenade in his hand. I prayed he didn’t get sucked down into another hole. The fact that Cadence was so far away from Aaron was worrisome, but he was busy with the creatures. While Cadence was slowed a few times by the minions sinking their teeth into her arm or grabbing at her heels, for the most part, they seemed to be letting her through, which seemed like a bad sign to me. Did Daunator want her to fight him?A blast of light illuminated the mountain, and then a wave of smoke obscured my view of Christian and Daunator. He’d thrown a grenade, the old kind, the ones he knew wouldn’t work. When the smoke cleared, Daunator’s laughter echoed through the air, and Christian went flying twenty feet in the air.Paul’s voice came over the IAC as I tos
Christian’s eyes widened. “Get out of here? We can’t. We have to get Daunator.”“We will. But for now, we need to go back and regroup. The most important thing is that you’re safe now,” Cadence explained to him.Christian was starting to freak out again. “No, Cadence, you don’t understand. We can’t just leave from here! We can’t just let him go!” His eyes were wild, and he reached forward and grabbed my sister’s shoulders. That lasted about half a second before Aaron grabbed him and pulled him off.“Listen, Christian, I agree. It’s important we come back and end this, but you need medical attention. And a good visit with Hannah.”And a shower, I thought to myself. But I was staying out of this one for the moment. I felt a stirring in the ground and a shift in energy somewhere further up the mountain. The argument was about to be moot.“No,