CHAPTER FIVE

 

“Dane?” Gabriel shrieked. “Is that really you?” He pressed a hand against the vending machine to steady his legs.

“In the flesh,” Dane grumbled, straightening his wig. “Imagine running into you three here.” His face was a mixture of anger and frustration. “So tell me, have you seen my daughter?”

There it was. The ultimate question. Gabriel wanted to tell Dane about Tahlita, of course, but after that, he needed them to go back to Valta. For good.

“Look, Dane,” Gabriel said, pulling himself together and trying not to freak out. “We’ve been looking for you. We know where Tahlita is, but we’ll only tell you on one condition.”

Brent jerked his head back an inch and eyed Gabriel like he had lost his mind.

“Gabe … ” Piper said, widening her eyes in warning.

Gabriel knew what they were thinking. It probably wasn’t the smartest move giving an ultimatum to one of the evil Duke Malgor’s former council members, but Gabriel needed to be sure Dane had no plans on sticking around. He needed the Valtans to go home. Magical, otherworldly beings shouldn’t live in Willow Creek. Who knows what trouble they could cause? It just wasn’t … natural … or safe.

Dane tugged Gabriel up by the collar of his shirt and slammed Gabriel’s back against the side of the vending machine. The machine hummed louder and several sodas came clattering down. “The only condition, boy, is that if you don’t tell me where Tahlita is, I’ll burn your insides to a crisp!” The overhead lights surged brighter, accompanied by a crackling, electrical current sound. A bulb popped and glass shattered to the ground nearby.

Piper squealed. “No!”

“Let him go!” Brent demanded, tugging on Dane’s arm.

“Is there a problem, ma’am?” an older man stopped to ask, his forehead crinkling in obvious concern.

Dane released Gabriel, straightened Gabriel’s shirt, and patted his head. “Not at all,” Dane answered, tuning his voice up a couple of octaves. The lights flickered, hissed, and then returned to normal.

The old man nodded, stared up at the ceiling, then walked away mumbling under his breath. He must have been wondering what had caused the freaky light show. Gabriel wondered, too, but had a sneaking suspicion it had everything to do with Dane.

Gabriel cleared his throat and took a step back. “Chill. I just want you to promise that when we bring you to Tahlita, you guys will go back to Valta—forever.”

Dane snickered. “That’s not a condition, human. That would be a pleasure. I don’t care for this mad world you live in. Therefore, I say with ease that I promise I will leave with my daughter and never return.”

“Perfect,” Piper chimed in. “Except there’s one other problem. I was trying to tell you before … when you were being so rude to me.” She inched back, gnawing the corner of her lip.

Dane sneered. “It seems problems follow you three around like moss clings to a damp log.” He sighed, then snapped his fingers. “Out with it. What is this other problem you speak of? I don’t have all day.”

“Okay, well … Tahlita doesn’t remember you … or Valta … or anything really, except her name,” Piper said.

Dane’s eyebrows twisted together and his eyes took on a faraway look. “What?” His voice was a whisper, shock plastering his pale face.

“We’ve tried to get her to remember stuff,” Brent said, “but she doesn’t want to talk about it.”

As annoying as Dane was, Gabriel felt bad for the guy. Who would want someone in your family to forget you? Especially after trying to find them for so long.

“But maybe when she sees you, it’ll trigger a memory,” Gabriel added, trying to sound encouraging.

“We need to leave immediately,” Dane blurted, suddenly snapping to attention.

As they all headed back to the city bus, the sun began to set. Gabriel knew if they didn’t get home soon they’d be in major trouble.

Brent spoke to Dane, breaking into Gabriel’s thoughts as they trailed down the street. “Why didn’t you just shape-shift so that you could go around all incognito-like? You know, instead of having to wear a disguise because the police are on your trail?”

Dane grunted. “Not all Zeverons can shape-shift, you know. Me? I can control energy—I’m an energy sorcerer.”

“Cool,” Brent said, looking impressed.

Piper snorted. “That explains the light bulb busting back at the zoo.”

“Indeed,” Dane answered. “Sometimes when my emotions are strong, my powers occur un-summoned.”

Relief over finding Dane mingled with a buzz of nervousness. It shot through Gabriel’s veins like a bolt of lightning. What would happen if Tahlita didn’t recognize Dane? Or worse, what if she did and they joined forces refusing to leave Willow Creek? What if instead of leaving, Dane and Tahlita became intent on world domination like some kind of evil archenemies of Earth shown in movies? Who knew what trouble an energy sorcerer and a girl with telekinesis powers could throw down on their little town?

Gabriel settled into a seat on the bus, worried that he was unleashing something that he and his friends couldn’t control, and that Willow Creek would never be the same again.

 

***

 

Before going to the Matthews’ house across the street, where Tahlita now lived, Gabriel checked in with his parents, and Piper and Brent called theirs. Dane loitered around somewhere outside. He had told them to hurry or he’d knock on every door in the neighborhood until he found Tahlita.

When they arrived at the Matthews’ house, Dane stayed a safe distance away in the shadows. He hid behind a thick oak tree in the front yard, away from the streetlights that glowed to life. He had promised he’d wait until they got Tahlita outside. Cole answered the door, then reluctantly agreed to get Tahlita. He quickly returned saying she refused to come out. No surprise there.

Cole leaned a shoulder against the doorframe. “What is it with you and my sister anyway, Stone?” he asked, grinning. “You got a thing for girls with … issues?”

Gabriel groaned. “No, I just—”

The door creaked open behind Cole. Tahlita’s face was a wave of confusion. “What’s going on?” she asked. “Who’s yelling?” Her eyes darted over Gabriel’s shoulder. Gabriel followed her gaze, but Dane thankfully remained hidden. Gabriel didn’t know what she meant about the yelling. He and Cole didn’t even raise their voices, and Piper, Brent, and Dane hadn’t said a word.

“Nobody yelled,” Cole said, giving his newly adopted sister a “you’re Looney Tunes” glance. “They just wanted to talk to you. I don’t think they bite, you know. You don’t need to be all mad.”

Tahlita pushed by Cole and stepped onto the front porch. “But I heard a man calling my name. Loudly.” She folded her arms and twisted toward Gabriel, narrowing her eyes on him. “What did you do now?” she demanded.

Cole rolled his eyes. “I’ll be inside if you need me,” he said to Tahlita. “Video games are calling my name. And keep it down or Mom will call the cops.” The door creaked closed behind him.

Dane leapt out from behind the tree. “Tahlita,” he said, yanking off the blond wig. “It’s me.”

Tahlita spun around, facing Dane. “You’re the one! I recognize your voice. You were the one yelling.”

Gabriel whipped his head from Dane to Tahlita, to Brent, to Piper, then back to Tahlita. What did Tahlita mean Dane was yelling? Dane hadn’t said a word before, and Tahlita was accusing him of yelling.

Dane stepped forward. At first Gabriel thought he saw Tahlita’s eyes soften—smile almost. But then, Tahlita braced herself against the door. “Get away from me!” Several small rocks lifted from the grass and spun in circles in the air. “I mean it!”

Crap. Here we go with the whole unleashing of power stuff.

Piper and Brent murmured to each other, looking as uncomfortable as Gabriel felt.

Dane stopped mid-stride, but kept his focus on Tahlita. “You’re right. It was my voice you heard. I didn’t mean to yell. I was calling to you using mental telepathy.” He reached a hand out to her. “Why are you scared of me, darling?”

“Don’t you recognize him?” Piper asked her.

“Of course I recognize him!” Tahlita snapped.

Hope surged through Gabriel. “Really?”

“Yeah,” Tahlita said. “He’s the man that keeps flashing in all your minds—the one you say is my father.”

So Tahlita was like Princess Evangeline. She could read thoughts—and had definitely snuck into their minds. And tonight, she heard Dane calling to her. Freaky.

Tahlita whipped her stare back on Dane. “But I don’t know you. I don’t want to know you either. Go. Away.” She bit out each word sharply.

“But … you’re my daughter—” Dane’s voice faltered.

“Yeah well, how do you lose a daughter and leave her for dead for six months?” she hissed before spinning around and slamming the door behind her.

Gabriel barely had a chance to notice Dane’s glistening eyes before one by one the streetlights on First Street popped, crackled, then exploded in a spray of light and shattering glass across the street.

When Gabriel turned around, he wasn’t prepared for what he saw next. It wasn’t just the electrical disaster that made his eyes grow wide.

A boy that looked about seventeen stood under the lone streetlight that hadn’t smashed. His arm was raised high into the air, his hand palm-up as if he was stopping the glass from crashing on top of him. Even though his face was turned away, he looked vaguely familiar and … out of place. His shaggy, long blond hair streamed down over a navy-blue, fitted vest and his white shirt. His free hand rested on the hilt of his sword and his pants were tucked into black boots. Gabriel gulped. He had a sword!

Piper gasped. Brent blinked, frozen in place.

“Is that—” Piper started, but clamped her jaw shut and stared at the boy.

A cold sweat broke out on Gabriel’s forehead as the realization of who it was suddenly hit him, but before he could move, Dane stepped forward.

“Prince Oliver,” Dane said. “To what do we owe this pleasure?”