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  “This can’t be good,” Prudence muttered under her breath.

  Marshall said nothing, but I could feel him cower in the back seat. Something about the way Adam was standing gave him a bad feeling.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” I asked, jumping out of the car.

  “I should be asking you that, Dawn?” he yelled at me. His eyes were on fire, something that I had not seen in the longest of times.

  “I’m on a mission,” I mentioned, pushing past him and unlocking the front door. The rest of my companions were slowly getting out of the car.

  “A mission?” he demanded, following me into the house.

  “Yes. I have to find Sheridan.” I turned on him. My face was hot. I could feel the fire percolating. It was going to come flying in his direction at any moment.

  “Why do you have to find the Queen?” he demanded.

  “Because I have to,” I growled.

  Here it comes. I tried to hold in all the emotions I felt right then. I was still reeling from the fight, my mind was still trying to wrap around John’s presence that morning, and I was confused as to why my best friend felt he needed to police me.

  “Why!?” he screamed.

  “Because she has Nadine.” The fire flew off me and hit him square in the chest.

  Adam flew backward and landed on the floor next to the front door. He whimpered for a second before getting to his feet. He brushed himself off and looked at the burnt hole in his shirt and frowned. I stood there, staring at my fingers and then at him. Nobody had ever stood up after I hit them with a fireball of that magnitude.

  “This was my favorite shirt,” he snarled, glaring at me. “Now, what do you mean she has Nadine?”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Round Two

  “Sit down,” I demanded as I pointed at the couch.

  There had not been any intention to share with Adam what I had learned. He had left me at the compound; therefore, he did not deserve to be part of any mission until he returned. He wanted a break, and I was going to give it to him.

  Adam sat while I explained everything. He frowned the entire time, which only pissed me off. Then when I would take those rare moments to breathe, he kept looking at his shirt and shaking his head. This honestly annoyed me further. The puzzling part of the whole situation was, I had never attacked a friend. Which only made me feel guilty on top of the irritation.

  Why had I unleashed my fire on my best friend?

  “Let me get this straight. Sheridan is holding Nadine hostage??” Adam groaned.

  If I didn’t know any better, I would assume he didn’t believe me. Why would he? In the last few months, I had almost shattered my relationship with him. He shook his head and began to rub his hands, nervously on his jeans.

  “We are leaving in the morning for El Paso.” I looked at him. I was trying to get it through his head that it was the four of us, not the five.

  “That’s why I sent Rose back to the compound. I had a feeling you were going to need me,” he replied coolly, and I felt my body tense.

  No!

  “We don’t need anyone else, Adam. You have school starting soon,” I pointed out. He was the one who wanted to return to Midvale so he could finish high school.

  “It’s still a week away. We have time.” He looked at Prudence. “Nice to see you came out, ok.”

  “Yes, Mr. Snyder, I am as well.” She gave him a warm smile and then glared at me. I could see what she was trying to say, but I chose to ignore it.

  “Whether you like it or not, Dawn, you are stuck with me. I was chosen to protect you, and that is what I’m going to do. You have already proven to me I can withstand a Warden’s blows.” He gave me a sly smile, and I had an urge to smack him. I had never felt that toward Adam. I must have been overly stressed.

  “I’m serious, Adam. I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself,” I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest and glancing at Prudence. She did not look pleased with my speech.

  “Yeah, you showed that tonight when you nearly wiped out a whole coven of vampires. Next time how about you tarnish your reputation another way.” His eyes narrowed. Apparently, news of the night's events had made their way to him faster than I had anticipated.

  “Yes, because being diplomatic was going to help me get my hands on a damned eye. Simply asking sure didn’t do any good,” I groaned.

  I knew when he told me we were better off friends; it was going to change things between us. We never fought before Dallas. Now every glance I took at him, he was glaring at me. I knew he had every right not to trust me. I had done a horrible thing to him. However, I needed him to understand I was a big girl and didn’t need a white knight.

  “Well, maybe not, but you still didn’t need to kill all of them.” He looked at Prudence. “Can you talk some sense into her?”

  “Honey, I was there. They really gave no other option but attack.” She shrugged. “I’m with Dawn on this one. Not that I condone anything other than a peaceful discussion but, when other lives are at stake, there will be some collateral damage.”

  “You are saying those lives were sacrificed to save Nadine?” He raised an eyebrow.

  “Humans are far more important than a group of vampires. Don’t forget his coven were hybrids; they were chosen from human families. Many of them were plucked from their loved ones and forced into darkness. So, if it takes the death of five to save one, then so be it.” Prudence sighed and patted Adam on the knee. “I’m going to let you guys talk. I already know the whole story, so I don’t need to be in this awkward situation.”

  She got up and left the room. Kelly and Marshall were both passed out in the guest room. I had no idea how much energy it took for them to transition. Marshall had hardly made it up the front steps with Kelly in his arms.

  “I don’t understand why you are fighting me on this.” He stood up and paced the room.

  “You chose to leave. I’m not going to let you give up on your objective. You wanted to finish high school here, so you should stay here.” I stayed seated on the floor, pulling my knees to me and wrapping my arms around them.

  “Is that what this is about?” Adam huffed. “That talk we had before I left?”

  “You told me you were leaving in two days. I woke up the next morning, and you were gone.” I looked away from him.

  “Your mother thought that it would be best to head out. She thought something was about to happen. Apparently, she was right because I wasn’t gone long before something did.” He stopped pacing and stood by the wall, looking at a picture of me as a baby.

  “She apparently thought I could handle it if she brought you back early.” I was making excuses, and I knew it.

  “Why are you so bitter? Did you and Wesley have a fight?” His eyes flared as he turned toward me.

  “I’m not bitter. And everything is fine between him and me. Couldn’t be better,” I growled at him.

  “Yeah, sounds like everything is perfect.” He put his hand to his forehead.

  “I’m sure you and Rose are doing fantastic,” I remarked softly. It hurt to say her name. I mean, I knew we were sisters by marriage and all but still. She had the one thing I wanted.

  Maybe Prudence is right. Perhaps I am settling.

  “She’s weak,” he shrugged. “I mean, she’s weakened. She will be fine; she seemed thrilled to be going back. I think my mother was driving her nuts.”

  “Let me guess you sent her back and hoped you could just hop in the car with us?” I rolled my eyes at him. This action seemed to piss him off.

  “Let me put it to you this way. Either I’m in that car in the morning, or I’m in the SUV behind it. Don’t put it past me for one second not to call Wesley and tell him where you really are,” he threatened.

  “You wouldn’t.” My eyes widened.

  “Don’t try me.” He gave me a warning smile. I could see the triumph in his eyes.

  “You are playing dirty, Snyder,” I scowled at him.
r />   “You are stubborn, Weathers,” he bit back at me.

  “This is ridiculous, Adam,” I pouted.

  “Sucks not getting your way, doesn’t it?” He looked at me with understanding.

  “I don’t need to be protected.” I amused myself with this one. History would prove that, in some small way, protection would have kept me from nearly dying, weakened by poison, hijacked by the Queen. I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction. I was just fine on my own.

  “On the contrary.” He put his index finger up. “You need plenty of protection. Listen, I know this is hard for you. It’s hard for me too. We just have to accept fate is not on our side. You have Wesley; I have Rose, we are better off as friends.”

  Why did he have to bring this up again? We had this conversation already. I didn’t want to think about it. All that kept going through my mind was Prudence and her nagging at me that I was with the wrong man. Apparently, I wasn’t, since Adam specifically told me we were not destined to be together. It just wasn’t the cards for him and me.

  “That has nothing to do with it.” My voice cracked. I regained my composure and glared at him. He made me feel weak.

  “You expect me to believe that? Dawn, ever since you got back, there has been a huge hole between us. Yes, it has a lot to do with what you had Shawn do to my memories. I understand why you did it. It doesn’t mean I agree with it, but I do understand. We can’t let all of these changes end our friendship. I mean, you are the only girl I would even consider a trusted best friend.” He was looking at me kindly now.

  I know I had done wrong. Wasn’t it obvious? If I had just left things alone, I would have been able to fight the urge to be with Wesley. I would have been strong. There was no point in playing ‘what if.’ The outcome was already decided. The light side of my soul suddenly become depressed. With this realization, the darker side laughed. She had won, she had got her way.

  “I never wanted any of this to happen. All I wanted was to finish high school and travel the world with my mother. There weren’t supposed to be vampires and werewolves. There weren’t supposed to be hybrids of any sort. It was just supposed to be me and her seeing the damned world. Is that too much to ask for?” Subject change successfully maneuvered.

  “You know things happen for a reason. You would have found out one way or another what you were,” he groaned.

  I sat there in silence, ignoring his last comment. This whole thing wasn’t my fault, and I knew it, but still, in a way, I felt it was. My mother and father didn’t tell me the whole truth for a reason. Yeah, I admit I hated them keeping me in the dark, but if things happened for a reason, then they had their motives.

  “Are you just going to give me the silent treatment? That is so mature, Dawn,” he said as I continued to sit in my silence. “I’m going to go to sleep.”

  When he turned to walk toward my bedroom, my eyes widened, and I had a momentary anxiety attack.

  “What are you doing?” I called after him. He turned around with a smile on his face.

  “I’m going to sleep,” he said again.

  “You can’t sleep in my room,” I mumbled, standing up. My knees knocked, and I nearly fell over, but I managed to get to a standing position.

  “Why not? I slept in there before.” I could tell he knew he had me.

  Those days of us sleeping in the same bed were over. I was not going to risk hurting Rose, let alone Wesley.

  “Because. The last time we slept in the same bed.” I looked away from him. I had done so well trying to keep the memory of him at bay. It was hard enough to control my emotions around him.

  “Seriously? We just came full circle.” He groaned and put his hands in his hair. “Then let me get a pillow and blanket, and I will sleep on the damned couch.”

  “No, I will. It’s only customary for the hostess to open all her doors to her guests.” I pushed past him and into my room. I eyeballed my bed for a moment but shook off the desire to lay down on the perfect mattress. The same one I had slept on for the last four years before being ushered off to Harrisville.

  I returned to the living room with my pillow and my comforter. I had tossed some spares on the bed for Adam, but I didn’t go the extra mile and make the bed for him.

  “Good night,” he said finally, walking out of the living room and leaving me to the pain in my soul.

  Wesley was going to be even more pissed when he realized I had let Adam tag along on this odd mission. This was my one free day; the next day, my father would tell him where I had gone. I sighed. He had probably already had a vision and knew damn well what was going on.

  I laid down on the comfortable couch and fell asleep in an instant. My body, as well as my mind, was completely drained.

  I woke up to the smell of fresh coffee.

  My room was so far away from the kitchen in Harrisville. I wasn’t blessed with the smell of cooking food or coffee in the early morning. It is one of those few perks you do not realize you miss until it’s gone. When I got up, I had to walk nearly a mile just to get one cup. Half the time, the pot was already empty when I arrived. Helen was known to drink more than half before leaving for the fields.

  I sauntered into the kitchen, scratching the top of my head and yawning. In my daze, I didn’t notice Prudence was already sitting at the table, sucking down a cup of the sweet sustenance.

  “I would have made pancakes, but I think I forgot how to cook.” She gave me a warm smile and put down her cup.

  “Did you ever cook in the past?” I asked as I opened the cabinet. Someone had gone shopping, but I had never heard of the brands on the shelves. I rubbed my eyes a few times and chose not to ask any questions.

  “You know, now that I think about it, I don’t think I ever did.” She let out a little laugh and tapped her fingers on the top of the table. “Pancakes do sound good, right?”

  She winked at me, and I groaned. I knew exactly what she was wanting.

  “Let me have one cup, and I will make us a whole stack of them.” I reached for the pot.

  “Deal.” She gave me a warm smile and returned to her cup. “How was your talk last night with you-know-who?”

  I was quite sure my eyes shot daggers toward her. I knew exactly what she thought happened, and I hated to be the bearer of bad news.

  “Adam is joining us.” I moaned.

  “I figured as much. Kelly and Marshall, while much needed, are worn out and unable to proceed as needed for now. However, with a few spells and a nap on the way to El Paso, they should be fine.” She pointed at the sugar next to the pot. “Bring that with you.”

  I poured my cup and grabbed the sugar, taking a seat at the table across from the Priestess.

  “What do you think Sheridan’s going to do when she realizes you are on the other side?” I was merely asking to make conversation. I didn’t think she would actually answer the question.

  “I think she’s going to be pissed. That is if she doesn’t already know. I mean, I’m sure she knows. I just don’t know how much she knows. How could she believe I would return and lead her armies to victory after what she did to me?” Prudence shook her head violently.

  “Maybe she thinks you got over it,” I laughed, setting down my mug.

  “She would be stupid to think that. You know what there is to do in Purgatory?” She looked at me blankly.

  “No,” I replied shrugging. The two times I had been there being had been for other reasons. Not to mention the only part of Purgatory I had seen was the inside of the old house.

  “If you are lucky, you can get out for short periods. However, Sheridan made my stay quite exotic.” She rolled her eyes. “When I heard the chanting to bring your friend back, I latched on to her and prayed she would get me out.”

  “Lucky for you, it worked.” I nodded at her.

  “Yes. Still, I feel bad for latching on to you the way I did. Not that the Earth girl isn’t powerful; you just have something more to you. I think it was the blessings.” She took a sip
of her coffee and looked toward the counter. The way her eyes shot around the room, I had a feeling, there were other reasons besides this.

  “Want me to show you?” I asked as her head shot back toward me, and she blushed.

  “Would you mind? I have a feeling in this modern era. I’m going to have to learn to take care of myself.”

  “No, I wouldn’t mind. Just warning you it isn’t as easy as it looks the first time.”

  I got up and walked back to the cupboard. Finding the odd brand pancake mix, I began to pull together everything we needed. I had a bad feeling in my stomach; it was not the smartest idea to teach a Priestess how to cook, but she was right, sooner or later she would have to learn.

  “Should I change?” she asked, pointing at her high-dollar t-shirt.

  “My mom has an apron around here somewhere. Just have to find it.”

  I opened the drawers until I came across my mother’s cooking apron. I had never noticed she had wings stitched on the front. I stifled a laugh and threw it to Prudence.

  Aside from a burnt pan, charred towel, and the smoke detectors going off, Prudence grasped the concept of pancakes. Mind you I say concept, I didn’t mention anything on taste. The woman was a wrecking ball in the kitchen.

  The others joined us shortly after the fire alarm started going off. They sat at the table, more in amusement than actually helping. Yet they were as gracious as they could be after they choked down the burnt pancakes, chasing them with coffee and water.

  Prudence sat at the table, making faces with each bite. I just opted to sit and stare, knowing I was going to have to clean the kitchen before we left. I glanced at the counter tops and wanted to cry; she had almost destroyed the room.

  “You have the eye?” Kelly asked as she put her paper plate into the trash can.

  “Yeah, Prudence put it in some magical elixir, so it won’t turn to dust before we get to El Paso.” I touched her shoulder softly.

  “It sucks I don’t remember what happened.” She shook her head and brushed her hands off on her pants.