I remembered hearing my sister cry a few moments ago. Had she done something to hurt Drew? Was it on purpose, or an accident, like my dad said? I couldn’t imagine Cadence hurting anyone. Even though we were siblings, we never roughhoused the way that some kids did. She’d never done more than throw a pillow at me. My insides felt all tangled up. So many more questions burned in my mind, but I didn’t feel safe asking any of them right now for fear I’d give my sister’s secret away. As it was, I may have already said too much. Would my parents wonder who the man was that was in my sister’s room? What had Cadence told them about the woman with the purple hair?
Holding back all of the questions that threatened to bubble to the surface, I nodded my head. “Will you tell me if you hear anything more about Drew? Or if Cadence calls?”
“Of course, honey,” my mom said. “But don’t worry. You’re perfectly safe. Any noises you heard have a logical explanation.” She was smiling in reassurance, and I wanted to believe her, but she hadn’t seen what I did.
Nevertheless, I pulled myself up off of the bed and headed toward the door. My parents’ smiles were straightened, tight with anxiety, and they both watched me like they were waiting for me to step outside of the door so that they could breathe again.
I acquiesced and walked out into the hallway, pulling their door closed behind me. As expected, I heard two loud exhales as soon as it clicked. I considered lingering for a moment to see if they said anything I needed to know, but then, my parents were smarter than I was giving them credit for, and they waited for me to walk away before either of them said a word.
As I passed through the living room on the way to the stairs, I noticed the chain on the front door was unlocked. There was no way Cadence could’ve locked it behind herself when she left, so I slid it into place before heading up the stairs, satisfied that the door was secure.
I didn’t go straight to my room, though. Instead, I went to hers. I carefully pushed the door open, afraid that man, or someone else, might be in there, waiting for me to become the curious cat. Nothing stirred, and nothing appeared to be out of place. Even the bedroom window appeared to be locked from the inside. I opened a few drawers and Cadence’s closet, noticing some of her favorite clothes were gone. An inspection of her bathroom proved she’d managed to grab some of her favorite products and little more. I noticed she’d forgotten her phone charger and wondered if her new friends would have one she could borrow since I was pretty sure the only phone my grandma had likely used a rotary dial. The fact that I know what that is should prove I’m not kidding.
I stepped back into the hallway, looking around to make sure I was alone before I headed back to my bedroom. I closed and locked the door behind me and even took my chair out from under my desk and propped it under the handle. I realized that if these people could come in and out of locked windows, jumping up and down from the second story, my flimsy desk chair probably wasn’t going to do much, but it made me feel marginally safer.
Out the window, the street looked just as sleepy as it usually did that time of morning. The sun wasn’t up yet, although I imagined it would be beginning to climb the sky soon enough. The neighbors’ roofs all looked as they should, and I heard nothing else above me.
Blowing out a breath through my mouth, I climbed back under the covers, thinking there was no way I could go back to sleep. I prayed that Drew would be okay and that whatever was going on with Cadence, she wouldn’t be in any trouble. I saw my own phone next to me on the nightstand and thought about calling her, but whatever was going on with her, the last thing she needed was to think that she’d involved me somehow. My sister was overly protective, and I knew I’d be doing her a solid by not letting her know I’d seen or heard anything. For all she knew, I’d slept through the whole thing, and that’s the way it needed to stay until I could figure out what in the world was going on.
I also considered calling Lucy or Emma but quickly pushed those ideas away, too. Lucy likely wouldn’t be up until closer to noon, despite the fact that it was a holiday. And Em had a very strict rule that people shouldn’t be out of bed until the sun was up. Once it climbed above the horizon, then, by all means, start your day, but if the sun was down, so was Em, at least in the morning. Sometimes her rules were a little hard for us to understand, but we did our best to abide by them, which meant I’d have to wait a few more hours to call her, too. It wasn’t likely she would know anything anyway. She didn’t care much for any people other than me or Lucy, so it wasn’t like she would’ve heard anything. Lucy on the other hand had quite a social network. As soon as she was conscious, Lucy Burk would know what was going on. She’d probably hear what had happened to my own sister before I did.
I slumped down into the bed, pulling the covers up over my shoulders, wishing I could just forget the last half hour or so of my existence. Drew was hurt; Cadence was in trouble; and there were some sort of weird beings invading our lives. Whatever had happened at that Eidolon Festival, I needed to find out because, if Cadence’s life would never be the same, neither would mine, and I wasn’t sure I was ready for the kind of drastic changes that brought sports cars to your house in the middle of the night.
Somehow, I must’ve managed to fall back to sleep because when I opened my eyes again, the sun was streaming in between my curtains, and the clock said it was 9:27. I was so alarmed that I’d missed something important, I leapt out of my bed and ran to the door, listening for more weird sounds. The house was eerily silent without Cadence next door. I was sure my parents were up, but they were likely in the kitchen preparing for Thanksgiving dinner, and I wouldn’t be able to hear them from here.I went back and sat on the edge of my bed, trying to decide what to do. I could check all the usual social media sites to see if anyone knew how Drew was or what had happened, but I was a little hesitant to do that. What if someone knew my sister was involved? Did I really want to read that Cadence had killed someone on Facebook? I also considered calling my sister again but decided not to bother her. With a sigh, I grabbed some clean clothes and decided to head down th
Nevertheless, I was not one for letting looks deceive me. I’d seen enough documentaries to know how people like Ted Bundy worked. I did not falter in my caution as I stood there, waiting for him to declare his intentions.He must’ve been expecting my parents to open the door or something because it took him a minute to respond. “Hi,” he said, injecting a cheerfulness into his voice I was sure wouldn’t typically be there if it weren’t a teenage girl staring at him from the doorjamb. “Are your parents around?”As soon as he finished the sentence, a bolt of recognition struck me surer than if Zeus had tossed down a shock from heaven. I knew that voice! This was the guy from my sister’s room the night before! My eyes widened, my mouth dropped open, and I felt my heart pounding in my chest. If there were words formulating in my head, they were not connecting with my mouth.“Cassidy?” he said quietly, &
The color seemed to drain out of my mom’s face. She looked at my dad, and he seemed just as lost. My questions lingered in the air as I began to think of all of the horrible things that might’ve happened to my sister and her friend. The only person who seemed to think I deserved answers wasn’t even related to me (as far as I knew. Things were getting so weird!). “Cassidy, your sister is fine. I just came to talk to your parents about that. She’s with your grandma.”This raised a million other questions. Why didn’t Grandma Janette just call? Why would he need to be the one to tell them anything about their own kid? But I nodded. At least Cadence was okay, and someone was answering my questions.“Honey,” my mom said, unfreezing and turning to face me, “Drew… passed away.”Even though I’d been bracing for bad news about Drew all mor
That all came out in one long, drawn out breath, and I knew if I was actually going to answer her before she started talking again, I’d have to act quickly. “You may know more than I do,” I admitted. “My parents won’t tell me much.” I didn’t tell her about the strange man downstairs. Not yet, anyway. “Do you know what happened to Drew?”“I know what everyone is saying. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me, but every single one of her friends that was with he swears it’s the truth. Except for maybe your sis because she’s not here. She’s not there, right?”“No, she’s at my grandma’s.” That much I did believe, though I wasn’t sure why.“Well, I guess Drew told her parents she was going to spend the night at her friend Sidney Cox’s house last night, but instead they all went out somewhere.” I was positive I knew what Lucy wo
I was a little relieved to hear that my dad was talking to Aaron outside when I came down the stairs with my mother. There was just something about the intensity of his eyes that made me uncomfortable. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but their voices seemed lighter than they had a few minutes ago when the stranger had first arrived.My mom led me into the living room, and I followed as if I’d never been to this particular part of our home before, each step feeling a bit like a death sentence. Dr. Sanderson unfolded himself from my mother’s recliner as we approached, and I had a hard time taking in how someone so large could occupy the same space as my dainty mother.“Cassidy, honey, this is Dr. Sanderson.”He extended his large hand to me, and I let it envelop mine. There was something hauntingly familiar about his green eyes. It was like I’d seen them before, frequently, and while I was certain I would remember meeting
Thanksgiving dinner was delicious, even though it was so odd to me that my sister wasn’t there. I really wished she could’ve been, but I understood that Cadence needed to rest. I wanted to know more about her new job, but I also realized there was no reason to ask about it. Everything was just fine.After I helped my mom clear the table and put the dishes in the dishwasher, I decided to head upstairs. I doubted Lucy or Em would have called since I’d already talked to one and the other would be busy trying to avoid her family. Emma really hated crowds of any kind, even if they were related to her, and I was pretty sure the meal this year was supposed to be at her house. I did think maybe Milo or Wes would’ve called, though. They both lived just down the street from Jack Cook, and it was possible they might’ve seen him. They might want to know what was going on, and I’d be happy to explain to them that it was an accident and nothing to worry
A knock at the door interrupted what would’ve been a pretty good buck-toothed rabbit face my dad was constructing on a short stack. “I’ll get it,” my mom said, pulling herself away from blueberry eyes. I could tell by the way she looked at my dad that she was reluctant to see who had come calling. They exchanged nervous glances.Something twisted inside of me, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. Have you ever had something really terrible going on in your life, and for a few moments you lose track of it, like it’s not consciously on your mind, but then it starts to creep in, and before it even registers in your brain, your stomach starts to hurt, like a sharp knife has been plummeted in from the side, a sneak attack? It was like that. I looked at my dad and he offered a small smile before he, too, pushed back his chair. “Go ahead and eat, Cass. We’ll be back in a few minutes.”I nodded, and he exited the dinin
My parents seemed to buy my routine. My mom looked at my dad and gave him that reassuring smile she makes when she’s certain her children are the most precious creatures in the world. My dad did his complimentary, “I concur,” smile.I took another, much smaller, bite of my pancakes and chewed it slowly. After trying to eat nearly a quarter of them in one bite, they were less appealing than they had been when my dad and I had initially made them.My mom cleared her throat the way she does when something important needs to be said, but she is not sure if she should say it or if my dad should. They were looking at each other making small shrugging motions. Finally, my mom said, “Cassidy, you should probably know that your sister has decided not to go back to school right now.”My fork clattered out of my hand onto my plate. “What?” I asked. I had heard some unusual things recently, I guess—maybe they weren’t tha
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,