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  “About Prudence,” he replied slowly. I could tell my reaction had caught his attention yet again. “We will get her back into her body as soon as we can.”

  “Thanks, Dad. Remind me to punch her for opening the link I never knew was there,” I said dryly, turning back toward the door.

  I dodged a bullet there. I thought to myself as I took a deep breath to steady my heart.

  Well, that was mean. I heard Prudence in my head again.

  I’m not going to get used to this, you know, I warned her.

  I’m quite used to it already, she said sternly.

  Of course, you are. You’ve been in there for months just listening, I groaned in my head.

  My father was looking at me, puzzled. Then I realized I was still standing at the back door, having a conversation with myself. I smiled at him awkwardly, turned the doorknob, and walked outside into the warm sunshine.

  I made my way through the field, stopping for a second to gaze at the sky. I had no idea why I found it so interesting that day. Any other day I was never impressed with the daylight. It was the night that consumed me.

  I made it to Krista relatively quickly, all things considered. She was working with her group on basic weather maneuvers — tiny tornados and other wind phenomenon spinning and twirling around me in blissful dance. Her eyes rested on me, and an exquisite smile spread across her face. Putting her finger up, she came running toward me.

  “What’s going on?” she asked sweetly.

  “Just checking on you,” I replied, looking around the field. I actually had no idea why I had sought her out. There had to be a reason I wanted to see Krista, other than an escape plan to get away from my father and his mind-reading ability.

  “Doing fine. You ok?” She looked concerned.

  I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

  “Yeah,” I replied, and she gave me a stern look. “Ok, no.”

  “What’s going on?” she asked.

  “Adam went home to Midvale,” I stated, trying not to tear up.

  “Yeah, I know. Rose went with him,” she said softly.

  “I didn’t get to say goodbye,” I pouted.

  “None of us did. I woke up this morning and went to her room. I was shocked to find it dark,” she stated with a shrug.

  “He said he was leaving in a few days, not today,” I sighed. This wasn’t making me feel any better.

  “Kim is here. She came in last night. Apparently, the old farmhouse has quite a few people as well. They are coming out of the woodwork it would seem.” Krista touched my shoulder. “You know they are going to be ok. Right?”

  “Yeah. I know that they are both in good hands.” I crossed my arms like I was hugging myself.

  “You are upset. He’s your Protector, and yet he seems to spend more time protecting Rose.” Krista was sympathetic, but she didn’t understand what Adam meant to me.

  “That is probably it. I will be over it soon,” I smiled weakly. “I will let you get back to it.”

  “You know, I’m surprised you aren’t with your group today. Shawn pulled everyone out of bed at the crack of dawn.” She raised an eyebrow.

  “I was told I had to take a few more days to finish healing,” I said.

  “You seem healed to me,” she pointed out.

  “Yeah, well, you tell my brother that,” I groaned.

  “I will find you in a bit, ok?” she said, hugging me.

  I put my head on her shoulder. The hug was warm, and something I needed. I was sad when she pulled away and looked me in the eyes. I could tell she was concerned.

  “Ok,” I said with a nod as I turned around and started the walk back toward the house.

  I should have probably spent the day doing something productive. Maybe read a book or watching a movie I hadn’t seen in a long time. I rolled my eyes. I had been doing all of that for the last week. I wanted to be in the field with my people. I wanted my sword in my hand, sparring with my brother. I wanted this other presence out of my body.

  “Penny for your thoughts?” I heard a voice ask in the shadows. I turned my head toward Edmund and growled. Today his power was going to have no control over me.

  “Your girlfriend is driving me mad,” I snapped at him.

  “I’m sure.” He laughed and stepped closer to the edge of the shadows.

  “How did she even wind up in Purgatory anyway?” I asked. Right now, a conversation was better than counting the bumps on the ceiling.

  “Prudence is an incredibly old being. Even you have said power comes with age. She was Sheridan’s friend. When Xic left Sheridan, before Miranda was born, Prudence told her that she deserved it for the way she was treating him.” Edmund frowned. “Sheridan sent her there. Which is why I find it odd now that Sheridan ever thought Prudence would be on her side.”

  I was a bit puzzled by his explanation, but I still wanted to know more. How were Prudence and Sheridan connected? How did they meet? I had my reasons for wanting to know the answers, but nobody was giving me any hints. The voice in my head had gone silent once Edmund had called out to me.

  “What does she look like?” I asked.

  Edmund had already established the fact she was ancient, so the little known facts were, of course, more intriguing at this point.

  “You’ve seen her. You don’t think that, by going undercover as her, she didn’t influence the way you looked?” He laughed at me like I was a child.

  “I don’t follow,” I said, confused.

  “She looks like you.” He laughed again. I was becoming irritated by the vampire.

  “How is that possible?” I crossed my arms and glared at him.

  I was the product of a Demon and Angel, I had my father’s eyes and my mother's nose. I was one in a million, just like every person put on Earth. There was no way Prudence looked anything like me.

  “Do you think each soul is new? Do you honestly believe a body cannot be replicated to house another spirit?” Edmund took a few more steps. I could hear Prudence purring in my mind.

  “I don’t know what I believe,” I scoffed.

  “When you were a little girl, what did you call your religion?” He looked at me, his eyes narrowing.

  “The Church of Dawn,” I replied, cracking a smile. “Don’t laugh at me; I was a kid.”

  “You still are in many ways. Still, the resemblance between the two of you is uncanny.” How can a simple hair color and eye color make that much of a difference? He was moving closer to me again. I couldn’t have another episode like the night before. Wesley would have killed Edmund if it had been allowed.

  “I wouldn’t come too close,” I told him, putting my hand up.

  “Do I scare you now, young one?” He cocked his head to the side and looked at me curiously.

  “No, you make me nervous right now. The last thing I need is Wesley trying to be all big and bad.” I shook my head at him.

  “That little anomaly of yours isn’t going to do any damage to me. He is strong, yes, but he lacks the most crucial element.” Edmund chuckled to himself.

  “What is that?” I asked.

  “Age. He’s just a baby.” Edmund put his hands up in surrender. “However, I will agree with you about getting too close. I can sense her when I’m near you, and it does all but drive me mad.”

  “How is it you had no idea it was her the night we had dinner?” I asked slowly. I could tell he was in the beginning stages of a frenzy, and I was in no mood to fight with him.

  “I’ve been trying to figure that out myself. I have a feeling your stepmother had you cloaked in some form of mystery spell. Once you left the restaurant, everything came flooding back at me.” He shook his head and fumbled with his hands.

  “What is she like?” I raised an eyebrow and awaited his answer. He was keeping his distance, so I didn’t feel the need to excuse myself.

  “She’s amazing. So elegant and refined.” He looked love-struck.

  What I wouldn’t give to have that expression again.
However, as we have all learned, love for me is a deathtrap.

  I grumbled and stomped my feet. I knew what he was getting at.

  “You have five minutes.” I saw the smile spread across his lips.

  Don’t read too far into this; I told her when she squealed in my head.

  I wouldn’t look, she said as she took over my body.

  I cowered in the back of my mind with my memories. I was playing through the old images that still haunted me. Adam’s face seemed to be the more dominant image. His brown eyes were always so large and innocent, like a child. The brown hair that had started out spiky now hung past his ears.

  I chose to ignore what was happening outside of my mind. I found I could be content just standing there and staring at these memories. This way, there was less pain, less fear. I reached out and touched Adam’s face in the image.

  Dawn! Dawn! Prudence’s thoughts tore through my head like a bullet.

  What? I asked, perturbed that she had invaded my moment. I had never invaded hers. Well, not that I knew of at least.

  You have company. Her voice was stressed.

  Well, if you were making out with Edmund, it is probably Wesley again, I said sternly.

  No, not Wesley. Her voice was excited.

  Then who the hell is it? I demanded, fighting for control of my body.

  My eyes focused on Edmund’s face first. His eyes were wide, and his mouth was tight. It would appear he was just as irritated at the interruption as I was. I turned my head toward the intruder.

  “Hi, Dawn.” His voice was the same as it had always been before. I looked at him and choked down my saliva.

  “How is this possible?” I breathed, reaching for Edmund to steady me.

  “I had to go into hiding. To protect the two of you,” he said, his eyes pleading for forgiveness.

  “I watched her die, you son of a bitch!” Rage surged through me as I leaped for the man, my fingers spread, fire in my eyes.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Lies! More Lies!

  “Dawn, calm down,” Edmund demanded, soothing me after Chase, my stepfather, had grabbed me around the waist.

  “She was at your funeral!” I screamed at him, fighting Edmund’s tight hold.

  “I’m sorry, Dawn,” he replied apologetically.

  “She’s not here. Does she know? Does she know you are alive?” I demanded. I felt Edmund tighten his grip.

  “No, she doesn’t.” He gave me another look and then glanced away.

  “You are a selfish bastard!” I shrieked at him. The tears started to fall down my face. Edmund flipped me around and threw his arms around me.

  “If you would hear me out, you might actually understand,” he pleaded.

  “Why would I want to hear you out? You left her,” I spat.

  “Because I did it to save both of you,” he said again. I didn’t care about the pained expression on his face. I hated him.

  “Sir, I would suggest getting out of her direct sight,” Edmund warned. “I am quite strong, but one more thing she says about hurting someone, I may just let her go.”

  “Understood,” he replied, walking away from us.

  “Who was that?” Edmund demanded as he let me go.

  “That was my mother’s husband, Nick’s uncle. We were told he was dead!” I felt the tears swelling my eyes, and I fought to regain composure. Still, all I did was sob onto Edmund’s shoulder, gripping on to the back of his black shirt tightly as the vampire consoled me.

  I had wept on Edmund’s shirt for quite some time before he put his hands on my shoulders and forced me back to arms’ distance. I heard glass shatter from the direction of the house. Edmund and I looked at each other, confused, and then headed off toward the manor at full speed.

  I was still not as fast as a vampire, but I did have enough speed at least to keep up with one. Edmund threw me out of the way just as my stepfather was thrown through a second-story window. I picked myself up off the ground and dusted off my butt. I made sure to give Edmund a nice pissed smile.

  Wesley jumped out the exposed hole to the ground below. His eyes were red as fire; his fangs were extended. Sometimes I forgot he wasn’t human. This, though, was not one of those times. He looked pissed as he came at my stepfather again.

  “Why are you here?” Wesley demanded, grabbing the man by the throat and holding him six inches off the ground.

  “Damn it, Wesley,” my stepfather choked.

  Wesley dropped him to the ground and started pacing, growling under his breath.

  “How do you know him?” I glared at my stepfather.

  “Pay no mind to that.” I looked at Wesley, awaiting an answer.

  “He’s a Peterson.” Wesley wouldn’t stop moving; it almost looked like he was stalking his prey.

  “So is my mother by marriage, but you haven’t tried to rip her throat out?” I yelled at him.

  “Ask him who he works for.” Wesley looked at me with a crazed expression. “Ask him!”

  I jumped. The anger in Wesley’s voice was more than I could handle. I heatedly looked back at my stepdad.

  “Who do you work for?” I demanded.

  He looked at me, dumbfounded. There was a pain in his eyes. However, he chose to remain silent.

  “Yeah, Chase, who are you working for these days?” my father asked, walking out of the house in his signature suit and a cigar in his mouth.

  “Shit!” My stepfather’s voice faltered. “I should have known you would be here, Damien.”

  “Yes, you should have.” My father smiled at him, cruelly.

  “I was protecting my family,” he said, glancing at Wesley.

  “Correction. You were protecting my family,” my father bit at him.

  “Dawn.” His face turned to me. “I didn’t know what was happening. I was following orders.”

  I didn’t have time to respond to his plea. My eyes were focused on my father.

  “So, tell me, Chase, how is Sheridan these days?” my father asked. His eyes were turning black.

  “Sheridan!” I screamed, lunging for him again. This time nobody stopped me as my body flew into his.

  I had him down on the ground, my fists furiously pounding into his face. Tears were streaming down mine. How could he hurt my mother? How could he let her fall apart? I thought he loved her. It only felt like seconds but could have been minutes, before I felt a set of muscular arms pulling me from my stepfather’s body. I looked down at him, fighting the hands that held me. I didn’t care who they belonged to; I just wanted to beat the hell out of him. If he wasn’t dead after all, I was going to make sure he wished he was.

  “Dawn, calm down,” I heard my father’s voice in my ear.

  “How can I calm down?” I screamed.

  “How did you find us, Chase?” my father asked, holding on to me tightly as I fought.

  “When I heard about the attacks in the States, I left Iraq. I made my way home to the house in El Paso to find it was empty. The neighbor told me they had moved to Midvale, so I drove to Missouri. I stopped at the local gas station and asked about Dawn and her mother. I figured Angie would go back to Weathers, but I also knew Dawn was the most recognizable out of the two. The lady pointed me outside of town, where I found the house with Dawn’s car parked in the driveway. Nobody was home. I remembered Angie telling me if anything ever happened and she had to get out of town with Dawn, she would come to Harrisville. So, I got in my car and came here.” My stepdad was rubbing his face. I was amazed after all that wailing, not even a single welt burned his skin.

  “So, you thought you could just come here, and everything would be fine?” I spat, calming down enough for my father to let me go.

  “I wasn’t expecting this that is for sure,” he said, glancing at Wesley. “How do you know this boy?”

  “I’m her boyfriend,” Wesley growled. He was still pacing, but at least his eyes had lightened.

  “Boyfriend, huh?” He looked back at me. “You are pissed off that I was
working for Sheridan, but your boyfriend was Lilliana’s lapdog.”

  “You seem to have missed something, Peterson,” Wesley said, grabbing my hand. “She is the reason I’m no longer there.”

  “You were always weak,” My stepfather said. I didn’t stop Wesley when his fist collided with my stepdad’s face.

  “Why are you here?” my dad asked again, amused by this display of anger.

  “I want my wife back.” He brushed the trail of blood from his face with the back of his hand.

  “Do you really think that is going to happen now?” I asked.

  “I don’t know, Dawn. I left when I learned what was happening.” He lowered his head and looked up at us.

  “What happened?” My father raised an eyebrow and took a drag from his cigar.

  “I was told to stay low. So, I did.” He paused. “Sheridan had me meet with her daughter outside of New York a few months ago. Lilly gave me an envelope with instructions from her mother. She sent this boy with me back to Iraq to make sure I followed orders.”

  “What were they?” I looked at Wesley, fuming.

  “He was supposed to set up a safe house in the desert for Sheridan. Lilly met us there. He was told to stay put.” Wesley growled. “I’m not happy with going with him, but as you know, I was bound to her.”

  “They left two days later, and I was alone. We spoke by phone and Skype; she said there were some people coming to me. I didn’t know who the hell they were.” He frowned. “When they showed up, they were talking about the attacks in the States. That they were taking out the Carriers to weaken the Wardens.”

  “You knew?” I screamed. “Did all of you know before I did?”

  There was an uneasy silence. When my mother left me with my father, she wasn’t leaving me because something was after her. She was leaving because something was after me and she wasn’t sure she could protect me.

  “I didn’t really know until Miranda told me. Still, I think it was before you knew,” Wesley said. “The day I called you was the day I found out.”

  “Did you really think Sheridan was going to be a compassionate employer?” my father laughed.

  “I was following orders. I am only one of many, and I’m not as strong as the others,” he answered. He glanced at me, pleading with his eyes again.