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  “No, I would be more worried about the ones he’s not telling you.” She looked concerned for a second. I was pretty sure it wasn’t just him I needed to be worried about. There was a reason her face had clouded over, and I was certain she already knew everything he did.

  “You think he’s hiding something?” I inquired.

  “No, not at all,” she sighed. “I’m just saying you need to be careful.”

  Warnings? Maybe that’s what these were. She had said his visions were more like warnings.

  “You think he’s going to hurt me? Go back to Miranda?” I wasn’t ready to let the conversation drop. There was a reason she was telling me all of this.

  “No, that boy loves you. There is no question there. He just has the power to control a lot more than you think. Everyone is treating him like he’s just a simple Harbinger, that his mother wasn’t as powerful as me.” Her eyes were wider, and her mouth snapped shut.

  “You have often said with age comes power,” I mumbled, trying to make sense of her last statement. My mother had never mentioned anything special about Greta other than her visions. For all I knew, Greta was an average mother with one little superpower.

  “Yes. I may have said too much in one sitting. I have a meeting with your mother to discuss other matters concerning my work here.” She leaned over and hugged me.

  “Thank you for coming,” I stated as she stood up.

  “I will be here always, Dawn. Where you go, I shall follow.” She gave me a polite bow and left the room.

  So, while Prudence’s visit was a welcome one, it also opened up a lot of questions. I felt like something had been unlocked. Wesley was far stronger than any of us thought. This also explained why Sheridan wanted him back. If things didn’t go the way she wanted, she could use him to alter the timeline to create a beneficial outcome.

  Once Prudence had left the room, I placed my face in my hands and let out a snarl. I was grateful she had come to see me, but did she have to stir up all the emotions I had fought to get under control?

  “What are you thinking about?” I heard my father ask, and I peeked at him through the cracks of my fingers before placing my hands on my knees.

  “Nothing,” I lied.

  The last thing my father wanted to hear was about Wesley’s gifts and the other abilities we were taking for granted. There was no reason to repeat my conversation with Prudence. I had a feeling my father was already aware of any communications between myself and the Priestess.

  “Oh, well, I thought maybe you were trying to figure out why you are getting sick.” He put his hands on his hips and walked toward me.

  “I’m not sick,” I stated angrily.

  I felt just fine. Maybe a little shaky and a bit unstable, but I was ok. My body just needed to recoup after Prudence’s soul was torn away.

  “Yes, you are. I should have known this would happen,” he grumbled.

  “That what would happen?” I asked. The air in the room had grown tense as my father began to pace the floor in front of me.

  “That your body would instantly shut down if you didn’t have a soul to Claim.” He sat down and grabbed my face.

  “I went over eighteen years without having this issue,” I groaned, trying to get free. He was overreacting, as my father often does.

  “Then you went off and started Claiming souls,” he declared as he dropped his hands to his lap.

  “I’m fine,” I repeated.

  “No, you are not.” His eyes flared as the words escaped his lips. He saw something in me, I could feel it in my blood. What I may have been perceiving as an overreaction could very well be a father’s intuition.

  “Then what do you suggest?” I asked slowly. It may not have been smart, but I needed to know what he was feeling.

  “I suggest we get you another Claim,” he replied woefully.

  “I don’t want another Claim,” I growled. So much for trying to entertain his proposals.

  The last two souls I had laid claim on had found a fate far worse than death. It didn’t matter what Aaron had said in the final moments we were together. I knew in my heart I was still the cause for his transformation.

  “You don’t have a choice. You’re unbalanced. This is what did it for the last girl. She thought she could go without a Claim and wound up dead.” He glared at me.

  “I don’t want to do it again. Twice is enough for me.” I crossed my arms in an instant pout. There was nothing my father could say to sway me to take his advice. There was no need for another Claim; my body was adjusting to Prudence’s absence, that was all.

  “You may not want to, but you need to. We can do it differently this time.” His tone was tense. As a daughter, I knew he was trying to help. It didn’t matter the attempt, I was in no mood to hear his suggestions.

  “No, Dad!” I yelled at him.

  “You don’t have a choice!” His voice boomed through my bedroom. I had officially pushed him past caring father and into the realm of demanding demon.

  “Yes, I do, Dad. I can choose not to Claim another person’s soul.” There is one thing my father often forgets, I am hard-headed like my mother. I truly believed if she could live without a Claim, I could do the same.

  “Then you should have thought about that before you did it the first time,” he seethed.

  “I didn’t know what I was doing. It’s not like the two of you were forthcoming with the whole blood-right bit. Like not telling me would have changed the current outcome.” I threw my hands in the air and let out a heavy breath. It was going to take fire to fight the fire in him. He was stubborn, and I was unwilling to bend to his will.

  “You are out of line.” His voice was deeper, and his eyes were beginning to change. I had never seen my father’s true form. Still, I would not budge.

  “I’m out of line! I seem to recall all of this happened because I didn’t know what I was.” I felt the fire prickling at my fingers.

  “Are you saying I should just let you die?” he questioned as his body began to shake violently.

  “If that is what it takes, not to Claim another soul.”

  The fireball hit me in the chest, hard. I flew backward, my back connecting with the wall. Landing on my feet, I turned on him. The fire that shot from my hands was weak compared to his attack, and shortly after I shot it, I fell to the floor in a ball. My dad’s hands were on me in a heartbeat, lifting me up and placing me back on my bed.

  “I wish you would just listen to me,” he groaned.

  “No more souls!” I replied harshly.

  “You need to fix this,” he insisted. He was calming, but the fact he had attacked me was running through my head. It wasn’t that I thought I was more powerful than him, but I did feel my magic should be able to withstand his. I had been wrong.

  “Just let me die,” I growled.

  “Stubborn, girl.” He sighed at me before leaving my room.

  I assumed he went to find help. Or to see if someone knew any way to trick my body into going back to normal. When he didn’t return for hours on end, I did become concerned. However, that one single fireball had drained me, and I was down for the count.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  The Quest

  I was standing outside the house in Midvale, a dense fog spreading over the front yard, hiding the pink mailbox from sight. Creatures were lurking around, their eyes occasionally glancing toward the front door as if waiting for someone to exit the house.

  Did they not know we were gone?

  “They are perfectly aware you are not here.” Sheridan’s voice echoed through the depths of my psyche.

  The hair on the back of my neck stood up on end. I was instantly uncomfortable. I knew she was there, but not being able to see her was not what I would call calming.

  “Then why do I see this?” I asked with a growl.

  How had she managed to summon me again?

  “It would appear I had no need for a weakening agent this time. You were able to weaken yourself
all on your own,” she laughed wickedly.

  I closed my eyes and pressed my lips together. I had weakened myself when I threw the fireball at my father. Genius!

  “That doesn’t explain why I am here,” I hissed.

  There was a brief silence.

  “I called you here because I have something you may want.” There was a hint of humor in her tone. This made the hairs on my neck break out into a cold sweat.

  “How could you possibly have what I might want?” I questioned nervously.

  “You see, you may have tied up loose ends with your Incubus and Protector, but you forgot about one tiny little blonde detail.” Sheridan let out a menacing laugh.

  My heart sank in my chest. I knew exactly who she had managed to get her hands on.

  “She is nothing,” I replied, as casually as I could. I knew Sheridan was crazy, but I hoped my nonchalant tone would make her question her movements.

  “She is human,” Sheridan corrected me. “A blind human at that.”

  It was one thing for Sheridan to have my friend in her grasp; it was another to expose her to the world she hadn’t known. Suddenly the cold sweat was turning into a hot mess. I could feel the fires beginning to percolate in my core.

  “What have you done with Nadine?” I demanded.

  I was angry, but the weak state of my body was not allowing me to release any of the fire within.

  “I have her in a safe place.”

  Silence hung in the air as I awaited additional information.

  “For now, that is.”

  Panic is the only word I can use to describe what was going on inside my head. I wanted to know how Sheridan had abducted my friend and why she felt taking a human would get me to comply with her demands. Whatever her desires were, we hadn’t even scratched the surface of my visit, and if she kept pushing me past the boiling point, we were never going to.

  “What do you want from me?” I clenched my fists together.

  “I no longer care about the Harbinger or the Protector. I took some time to think, and I realized they were not as important as you in this war.” Sheridan’s image flickered in front of me. Her arms crossed over her chest and a menacing grin on her angelic face.

  “Stop being so dramatic and tell me what you want!” I demanded. At this point, I would do anything to save Nadine. Wesley and Chase were fine; nothing was going to hurt them, but Nadine was human, and I had no idea what Sheridan was doing to her.

  “Find me, and the human is yours. Until then, the attacks on your people will not stop. If you are not on your way by morning, I will make sure your camp falls.”

  The reason she no longer wanted Wesley and Chase was because her sights had moved onto someone a little more powerful. She had a hunger for fire, and the only person to satiate her appetite was me.

  “You expect me to believe you?” I growled. I knew if she hit the compound hard enough, she had the forces to knock us off the map.

  “As your people grow fewer, mine grow larger.” Her confidence only made my skin crawl.

  “Because you threaten their families and kill those who do not wish to join you!” I screamed at the apparition.

  “It works, doesn’t it?” Sheridan shimmered.

  “It’s dirty. Then again, what do I expect from a woman like yourself?”

  Sheridan’s face clouded over before a dark smile spread across her red lips.

  “Dearest Dawn. How you break my heart.”

  I snarled at her in response. I could feel the fire pulling me back toward reality. I was getting stronger, which meant the connection would soon be broken.

  “I will be watching you,” she threatened as I began to fall.

  I fell through the darkness with the images of those I loved flashing before my eyes. I had to do this; there was no option. She would kill Nadine if I ignored it. I couldn’t tell Wesley; he would try and stop me. I had to find Sheridan and trade myself for Nadine’s life.

  I woke with a jump, my body hurting from head to toe. I needed strength; if I was going to do this, I needed a soul.

  “Your mother said you needed to see me?” Marshall questioned as he sauntered into my room.

  I had called my mother the moment Sheridan had released me from the summons. The fight I had with my father was still somewhat fresh, and my mother was always better prepared to deal with my odd requests. Besides, I didn’t want my father to know what I was planning.

  “Yes. I have a huge favor to ask of you.” I patted the bed beside me, and he hesitantly took a seat.

  “You know you can ask me anything,” he replied slowly.

  I frowned, the last thing I wanted to do was ask him to help me. However, if there had been any other option, I would have taken it.

  “As you can tell, I’m not doing very well.” I began with a sigh. “I need to go on a journey, but first, I need to get stronger.”

  I knew I was talking in code. Only my father would have understood what I was trying to say. Krista might have caught on after a few moments. Marshall, on the other hand, stared at me blankly.

  “What journey do you need to go on?” he asked, looking at me.

  I took a deep breath. I had told my mother what Sheridan had said, but nobody else was aware of the situation.

  “Sheridan has a friend of mine named Nadine. I have to be gone by morning, or she’s going to launch a full-out assault.” I blinked at him a few times, hoping he understood the urgency in my tone.

  “So, what do you need from me?” He raised an eyebrow.

  “I need a Claim,” I mentioned softly. “For me to get better. I need something that means the world to you.”

  “Anything.” He grabbed my hand.

  “Will you loan me your soul?” I asked, then closed my eyes. Not only was it increasing my anxiety to ask him for something so important, but I was embarrassed I had to ask in the first place.

  “Will it hurt?” he asked with raised eyebrows.

  “I don’t think so, at least I’ve never heard of it hurting the other person. Everything goes on as normal. It just means that, if you are killed, I will be able to make sure your soul is not reaped or sent to the wrong place.” I coughed, hoping he wouldn’t catch on to the last bit of my proposal. I didn’t want to think about Marshall dying. He was my friend, and I would do anything to make sure he stayed in one piece.

  He sat there for a moment, silently running my request through his mind. I didn’t blame him for taking his time to answer, but I was not expecting him to have his own set of demands.

  “I will do this on one condition,” he declared with a sigh and stared at me.

  “And that is?” I frowned. What could he possibly need from me?

  “You have to take me with you,” he replied with a stern expression.

  “I couldn’t do that.” I shook my head at him.

  I was not going to be responsible for his death if he were to be killed. I couldn’t have Marshall’s blood on my hands; he meant far too much to me. Besides, the deal I had made with myself made sure his life was well taken care of should anything happen to me. If he were to travel with me, there was no telling what could happen.

  “Yes, you can, if you want my soul to protect.” He was persistent.

  “If I take you, I’m going to have to take Kelly,” I grumbled.

  Marshall chose not to speak. Instead, he let a huge smile spread across his face. His eyes lit up as his eyebrows furrowed together with humor.

  “I have no choice, do I?” I growled. His expression alone told me the only way I was going to get what I wanted was if he got what he demanded.

  “Not unless you want to call everyone in here one by one and ask.” He smirked.

  I narrowed my eyes at him. I hated the fact he had one the battle. There was no way I was going to start asking everyone I knew.

  “Fine. Get my father, will you?” I smacked him on the arm as he jumped off the bed and retreated from the room at a sprint.

  He couldn’t have been go
ne longer than twenty minutes before he came prancing into the bedroom with my father at his heels. He had a satisfied expression on his face as he swung his arms out to introduce my father dramatically.

  “You sure you want to do this?” he asked, looking at Marshall.

  “No doubt about it,” Marshall replied with a wink.

  I was a little shocked to see the shifter so animated. I had pictured him far more reserved than his current personality. He was far too happy to be signing a contract. Most people would have run for the hills. Marshall, however, treated it as if my request was the reason he was alive.

  “Good. It’s nice to see my daughter took a bit of our conversation to heart.” My father turned his attention to me and raised an eyebrow. I hated how he believed he was the reason I was doing any of this.

  “Things happened,” I replied monotone.

  “What things?” The holier-than-thou expression disappeared from his face as his concerned father façade came into play.

  “Close the door,” I demanded with a point.

  Marshall, believing I was speaking to him, rushed toward the door and shut it with a loud thud. He glanced back at me and realized I was staring after him with my mouth hung open. I’m not sure if he ever realized I had been speaking to my father.

  “Sheridan has Nadine,” I mentioned as soon as the shock wore off.

  “How do you know?”

  I grabbed my phone and called Nadine’s cell number. When nobody answered, it went to voicemail, and my father’s face flushed.

  Hi. You’ve reached the voice mailbox of Nadine Dunst. I am currently unavailable. If you could please leave a message, I will call you back. If this is Dawn, please, for the love of all things good, come and get me.

  I hit the ‘end’ button on my phone and tossed it next to me. I had called her cell the moment I had been alone. Something had told me to double-check. Maybe Sheridan was playing a sick trick, trying to get me to believe she had my human friend. Instead, I had been struck by the realization that Nadine was in Sheridan’s hands.

  “Son of a bitch,” my father seethed.