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Now
There was nothing Silver could do to shield Theresa from the putrid smell of burning flesh, but she at least made sure the girl stayed away until the bodies were six feet under.
They were standing in an empty lot behind the factory. This side of the building was just as deserted as the front, though it was even further away from the nearest patch of civilization.
“Why did you burn them if you were going to bury them after?” Theresa wondered.
Silver kept her face impassive as she answered with a half-truth. “To hide the evidence in case they get dug up somehow.”
In truth, this was probably the most important part of her job.
After every mission, she would use her powers to open a hole in the ground and lay in it the bodies of the supernaturals she had killed, which she would then set ablaze. They didn’t need to burn all the way to ash; simply setting them on fire for a few minutes would marginally increase her powers the next time she used magic. One time, she had waited until the bodies turned to ash, but the effect was the same no matter how long she let them burn. After that, she would use the removed earth to bury the dead and cover up the hole again.
Silver turned toward Theresa and once again reached out with her mind. She was trying to alter the girl’s memory of what she just heard, but like before, there was nothing to hold on to. It was as if Theresa’s mind was somehow blank. If not for the orange glow of her aura, Silver would think no one was standing next to her.
Theresa missed the moment Silver dropped her magic, her gaze locked on the patch of freshly dug and reburied earth covering the four hybrids.
“Also to hide the fact that they’re not human?” she guessed.
Staring ahead, Silver took a deep breath. “Okay, let’s get this out of the way since we’re pretty much stuck together for now. Yes, supernatural creatures exist, but—”
Theresa cut her off by suddenly turning and grabbing her arm. “I knew it! Those people that took me, they were werewolves, weren’t they?”
Grimacing, Silver extracted her arm away from Theresa’s hold. “Hybrids, but that’s not—”
“Whoa, really? So they were born with the ability to turn into wolves, and then some vampire turned them, right?”
Silver opened her mouth to explain the difference between skinwalkers and werewolves, but Theresa didn’t leave her room to speak.
“Ooh! Or maybe they got the werewolf gene because they were bitten, and then later on, a vampire also turned them. I’ve seen both in movies. Or books. Lots of TV shows, too. Everyone has a different interpretation. Which one is true? Were they close at least?”
All Silver could do was blink. This level of enthusiasm was staggering—and more than a little annoying. How could one person speak so fast? It also seemed to reinforce the theory that Theresa was putting on an act and fishing for insider information. Right now, however, Silver’s irritation was stronger than her doubt.
“How can you be excited at a time like this? You were kidnapped. Taken hostage by dangerous creatures that could kill you with a snap of their fingers. And then some stranger showed up and started killing everyone, and you think this is fun?”
Theresa shrugged. “I was out for most of it. I mean, it was scary when I was grabbed, but I didn’t have much time to panic before they chloroformed me. I woke up when they were running down the stairs to face you, and I knew I was safe as soon as I saw you. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love a good YA fantasy, but I’m more of a superhero kind of gal. I knew you were here to help me.”
A tired sigh escaped Silver’s lips, and she ran a hand over her face. “Let’s get one other thing straight; I’m not a superhero. Not by a long shot. What I do, it’s killing creatures like these hybrids.”
“That’s the same thing I said.”
She gritted her teeth. “No, it’s not, because I get hired to do it.”
“Whoa, seriously? People pay you to kill bad guys?”
“Nobody pays me!” Some clients gave her food and shelter in repayment, but she was no mercenary. “Look, I only have one rule: I never go after humans, only supernaturals.”
Theresa paused for a moment, processing all that information. “So what’s in it for you? I mean, if you don’t care about saving people or getting money, then why do it?”
That was the big question, one that Silver had to navigate carefully to avoid giving the truth away, just in case Theresa was indeed spying on her. And even if that wasn’t the case, Theresa was human, potential powers notwithstanding. Perhaps her eager and trusting nature was simply a result of her being young and naïve. If she wasn’t working with Master, her fragile mind would not survive the traumatic reality that Silver lived in—one where she enjoyed taking vengeance on her former tormentors and anyone associated with them.
“I never said I don’t care about saving people,” she simply said, which made Theresa smile in an infuriatingly smug way.
“So you are doing what you think is right.”
That was one way to put it, though Silver wasn’t sure if her idea of what was right would win her any brownie points.
“You ask too many questions. Right now, we need to think of a realistic alibi for you.”
Thankfully, this seemed to sober the girl back into serious mode. “I have an idea about what to say to Ollie, but I don’t like it.”
Finally, something helpful. “What is it?”
She nervously pulled a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. “I can use the fight against him and say I need space. He’ll leave me alone for a while.”
“How long is a while?”
“Couple weeks, maybe. More if I play it off like I’m really mad.”
“What about your family?”
Theresa waved her hand dismissively. “They’re in Colorado. They won’t think I’m missing.”
“They’ll still notice you not answering your phone next time they call or text.”
“Good point...” She thought for a moment, frowning in concentration. “Well, we don’t call each other much, mostly text. I’ll tell them I lost my phone and that I’m overwhelmed with my studies so I can’t get a new phone yet. But they’ll still try to check in through Ollie every once in a while, so I have to talk to him first.”
That might not be enough, but Silver could figure something out along the way. Maybe they could concoct a story about Theresa dropping out of school and running off on a spontaneous trip with a friend or something, perhaps even fabricate evidence to convince the police. Once it was safe to send her back, she would ‘realize’ the trip was a mistake and return to her life.
Reaching into her back pocket, Silver pulled out the burner phone Remi had given her and held it out. “Call him. Pretend you borrowed this phone from some stranger.”
Nodding, Theresa turned her back and dialed. It rang a couple of times before someone picked up. Silver pretended not to listen and knelt down, busying herself with cleaning the blood off her staff. Secretly, she was gauging the tone of Theresa’s friend and trying to catch as much of the conversation as she could, looking for any possible red flags that would poke a hole in the girl’s kidnapping story. To be fair, it did sound like the person on the other end of the call was worried. Also, their fight was apparently about how Theresa had switched majors just before classes started without telling him. They’d been planning to go to college together their whole life, and now she was backing out of their chosen major.
By that point, Silver had heard enough, so she turned around and resumed sharpening the blades of her staff. At one point, she looked up at the figure slumped on the ground, propped against the wall where she had left him.
It was surprising that Vince would abandon one of his squad members, but it made sense if he thought Adam was dead. Silver herself didn’t have the heart to leave him there. Given the vampiric community’s view on hybrids, a lone one wouldn’t survive long, and she didn’t want that fate for her old friend. His transformation and role in recent events felt like a betrayal, but she owed him for the months he guided and protected her at the estate when she was most scared or alone. She intended to repay her debt somehow.
Besides, he might have the answers she needed about his former hostage.
Said former hostage chose that moment to join Silver, phone in hand. “Is that one of the bad guys?”
The childish question had Silver closing her eyes for a moment and praying for patience. “How did the call go?”
“It worked,” Theresa said sadly, plopping herself down on the ground next to Silver. “He bought it.”
“And your parents?”
“They believed it, too.”
“Good.” Silver would have to finish sharpening her blade later. She slipped her equipment back into the big side pocket of her black army pants and then held her hand out.
“Phone.”
The request startled Theresa, but she wordlessly handed the device over.
Done, Silver texted the single saved number. Drop-off location?
The response came seconds later. Stand by.
“What now?” Theresa asked.
“Now we wait for a reply.”
“From who?”
“An old friend,” Silver said. “He’ll tell us where to meet him. You’ll be safe with him.”
“What about you? What will you do?”
“That’s my business.”
She never planned on staying in Arizona too long, but she was on a mission that no one knew about, not even Remi or Levi. The need to get back to it mingled with the itch to flee the state, and the longer she was around Theresa, the stronger that urge became.
The girl in question was currently picking at the ground in front of her. “How’d you get into all this anyway? The whole saving people, killing evil monsters, being a grade-A badass and all that.”
Silver rolled her eyes, but this was one question she didn’t mind answering. “Same friend. He runs a sanctuary that helps people who need to hide from supernaturals.”
“Is that where we’re going?”
“Not yet, but maybe eventually.”
Theresa suddenly brightened again, glancing at the only car remaining in the parking lot. “Ooh, are we going to steal the hybrids’ car?”
The question made Silver uneasy for so many reasons. “No, we can walk.”
“What? The nearest town is like two hours away, and that’s if we drive. Do you expect me to walk the whole way?”
Her outrage didn’t faze Silver in the slightest. “Of course not.”
She relaxed.
“We’ll stop at a motel for the night.” Theresa started to protest again, but Silver cut her off. “Before we go anywhere, there’s something I have to do.”
“What?” she asked warily.
That was when Silver stood up and turned to Adam. “I need to find out what he knows.”
