| |
Now
Normally, Silver preferred to ignore the fact that most supernaturals were once human. It was easier to dispose of them when she believed they lacked humanity. Remi and all her old friends at the sanctuary had also been turned against their will, so her beliefs and stance on the matter went relatively unchallenged for over seven years.
But Adam was making it damn hard to forget.
Even unconscious, slumped against the wall with his eyes closed and his chin resting on his torso, he looked the same as her memories of his human self. He didn’t even seem to have aged, which meant that Master must have turned him not long after she escaped. She had yet to see his eyes, but the dark brown of his irises was probably permanently ringed in silver now that he was a hybrid. The rest, however, was just as she remembered, from his lean build and tanned complexion, to the way his soft black curls twisted around his head.
Silver vividly recalled the tour he gave her when she first arrived at the estate. Not because of the tour itself, but because meeting him was like pressing pause on the terror she’d been feeling since she got chloroformed in a stranger’s car. His calm composure and soothing deep voice reminded her of her brother, and she’d felt a bit safer with him around. The feeling lingered afterward, and she would frequently find herself in his office whenever she needed to remember it—until the day she escaped.
A conflicting mix of emotions flowed through her as she studied his unconscious form. Nostalgia hit her for the first time in years, awakening an unwelcome joy at seeing her friend again. Still, she wasn’t willing to let such emotions overtake her, so she concentrated on her suspicion until it drowned out the rest. Regardless of how much he had or hadn’t changed, she certainly wasn’t the same girl who used to go to him for guidance and comfort. She couldn’t afford to show that kind of vulnerability right now.
“Are you checking me out?” came his voice all of a sudden, deep and gravelly.
Silver stopped examining him and stepped back to focus only on his face. “Good, you’re up.”
He groaned with his eyes closed, blearily pulling himself up into a better position. “No thanks to you. What did you do to me?”
Admittedly, Silver felt bad about the state he was in. Her hypnosis had worn off a while ago, but she’d been wondering why it was taking him so long to regain consciousness. She had no idea the side effects could be so bad. Before today, she’d never had reason to wait for her targets to wake up.
Squaring her shoulders, she focused on the interrogation. “I need to ask you some questions.”
He finally opened his eyes—yep, they were definitely different. The thought made it easier to push the guilt and nostalgia further down.
“Let me guess,” he scoffed. “If I don’t answer, you’ll make me?”
She forced her face to stay impassive and said nothing.
“Wow. So this is the welcome I get after all these years?”
“Wait,” Theresa interjected. She’d been silent until that point, having agreed to stay quiet during the interrogation, though apparently, she changed her mind. “You two know each other?”
Silver’s jaw tightened, but Adam spoke before she could. “Oh, yeah! Didn’t she tell you? Shiloh and I go way back.”
Rage suddenly filled her, and her eyes instantly turned into pearls. In a fraction of a second, she sent a wave of magic to pin him down, preventing him from moving or shifting. Adam’s face dropped when he felt it, and fear flashed in his eyes.
Good.
Slowly but firmly, she marched up till they were toe-to-toe and crouched down to his level. The crystal of his aura was irritating, but since they were standing in the shade, it didn’t bother her so much. Also, with Adam still in human form, Silver had the upper hand in case of a fight.
“Don’t ever call me that again. My name is Silver.”
She enunciated each word to get her message across and watched him for any signs of defiance. From the corner of her eye, she was also watching out for Theresa’s reaction, but the latter was thankfully smart enough not to interfere.
“From now on,” Silver kept going, “you will talk to me properly and not complain about it. Whether you like it or not, you will answer every question I ask you truthfully and without keeping anything out. Otherwise, yeah, I will make you. Are we clear?”
After a pause, she released him just enough to allow him to answer either with words or gestures, and he jerked his head in a reluctant nod. Satisfied, she released him fully, his body sagging when she let go. She paused to get her anger under control before starting the interrogation.
“What happened to you?” he dared to ask, his voice barely over a whisper.
It carried a tone of genuine concern and curiosity, which aggravated her further. Why was he speaking when she just told him she had questions he was expected to answer?
“I mean, I get that seven years is a long time, but the aggressive attitude is a bit much, don’t you think? And what’s with the mind control? Since when do you have powers?”
“Since when are you a hybrid?” she turned it around.
He raised one eyebrow. “I asked you first.”
“And I already told you I’m calling the shots. Unless you want me to go digging around through your memories?”
His stare turned murderous, and she knew he hated that idea as much as she did. In truth, her magic was too depleted to do much more than hold him in place, but she wasn’t about to call her own bluff.
“I won’t do it if you cooperate,” she added a bit more softly this time. “So just stop being difficult and tell me.”
He scoffed with disdain and struggled to stand up. “Why should I? You’re going to do it anyway to make sure I’m not lying. Not much of a choice.”
The level of animosity behind his accusation took her by surprise, and her composure slipped. “What? No! I wouldn’t do that to you.”
He rolled his eyes. “Right.”
Silver frowned, stepping back to give him room to finally pull himself to his feet. “I don’t need magic to know if you’re lying to me, Adam.”
He froze just as he steadied himself, his head swiveling to face her with mingled surprise and wariness. She instantly realized her mistake and forced her features back into a mask of calm detachment.
Stupid sentimentality! This was not the time for weakness.
“Besides,” she added in a more composed tone, “you and your squad just lured me into a trap and tried to kill me. You owe me.”
A moment of silence passed between them, and Adam was the first to avert his eyes. He didn’t bother to hide his hesitation, which is what she would have done in his place.
“I don’t know the reason,” he finally said. He turned to her again when she responded with confused silence. “That’s what you want to know, right? Why her?”
He gestured to Theresa as he said that, who was too shocked to speak. For her part, Silver was taken aback that he had guessed her question, but she didn’t say anything either and waited for him to go on.
“Then what can you tell me?” she asked.
“All I know is that a couple of days ago, we were told to stop waiting for you to show up and instead go pick up a human hostage. That’s the extent of my knowledge, I promise.”
“And you never once wondered?”
“Of course I did. But Vince is the leader, not me. He gets his orders directly from Master, and he never shares with the class.”
“You still could have asked.”
He gave her an unimpressed look. “You really think that’s something we can do without consequences? Questioning orders? That’s borderline insubordination. We only know what Master wants us to know, and we go and do whatever he tells us to, no questions asked.”
This didn’t explain anything about Theresa, but Silver had no doubt that he was being honest. She had come across her fair share of liars since getting thrown into the supernatural world, starting with the teenage vampire who lured her into a car. Her time at the estate wasn’t any better, but it was even worse after she left. She had lived long enough to be able to tell when someone was lying—excluding Theresa, apparently.
Besides, she was familiar enough with Adam’s manner of speech to know when he was using subterfuge. He only gave direct answers when he was intentionally giving the truth away. Only the part about how the squad was ‘waiting for her to show up’ was vague, but Silver could guess why he didn’t go into details, from the way he glanced at Theresa during that portion of his speech. Clearly, he was trying not to frighten the girl with tales of the bodies that her former kidnappers had left behind before they got to her.
“Okay, I believe you,” Silver said after a while.
Adam’s shoulders sagged, and he nodded stiffly. “Thanks.”
“Wait a minute,” Theresa trailed off nervously, turning from Silver to Adam. “Is that why you were asking about tracking earlier? They targeted me on purpose?”
“Yeah,” he confirmed sheepishly. “Sorry about that, by the way. Are you okay? You’re not hurt, I hope?”
Surprised, Silver raised her eyebrows at his contriteness. She might believe his story, but she had yet to make up her mind about Theresa’s. It was surprising that he wouldn’t share her wariness about the girl.
Theresa waved her hand dismissively. “I’m fine, but... I thought it was random.” Slowly, her face morphed into a self-satisfied grin. “Does that mean I’m special?”
“Oh, for God’s sake,” Silver grumbled.
Adam seemed confused, but then he shook his head. “Uh, I honestly have no idea.”
Theresa turned to Silver with wide, hopeful eyes. “Am I?”
“That’s what I’m trying to find out,” she admitted. “It’s why I can’t send you home yet.”
“Where are you taking her, by the way?” Adam wondered.
She wasn’t about to tell him that, but then Theresa smugly blurted it out. “She has a friend who helps people hide from supernaturals.”
Silver face-palmed herself.
“Oh.” Adam paused, digesting. “Okay, that’s good. So how long do we need to get there?”
Bristling at the insinuation, Silver turned to him sharply. “We?”
He pulled a thick key out from his front pocket. “We can take that car.”
She blinked from him to the black sedan still parked on the side. “No. We’re not taking that, and you’re not coming.”
He seemed genuinely taken aback. “Why not?”
For some reason, Theresa also latched onto the idea. “Yeah, he can help!”
Silver stared at her incredulously. “What is wrong with you? He was one of the people who took you!”
“Yeah, but he said he was sorry. And didn’t you just say you believed him?”
“About not knowing the plan. He was still an accomplice in your kidnapping!”
This made Theresa hesitate, staring at Adam for a moment.
“If it helps, I’m done working for them,” he offered with a contrite half-smile. “I want to make things right.”
Theresa turned back to Silver like that just proved her point. “See? He’s one of the good guys now. Besides, isn’t it safer to have two people protecting me rather than one?”
Once again, the urge to slap some sense into the girl was strong. Silver might end up grinding her teeth to dust at the rate she was going.
“You are insufferable, you know that?” she muttered.
Theresa smiled innocently. “You’ll grow to love me.”
Other than closing her eyes, taking a deep breath, and grinding her teeth some more, Silver didn’t acknowledge the juvenile teasing. For a moment, she debated abandoning the girl on the spot and ridding herself of the headache. But Theresa’s blind optimism was exactly why she needed protecting. Silver had better get used to the irritation that came from dealing with someone like that, at least until she dropped her off with Remi.
“So what do you say?” Adam asked. “Can I come?”
As for that, Silver was much more conflicted. Just because she believed his story, that didn’t mean she trusted him. A lot could change in seven years, and even if he appeared the same on the outside, he was a hybrid now. It was hard to shake off her dislike of his nature and the suspicion that came with it. Besides, she was so used to doing things on her own that it became her default.
However, sentimentality was growing stronger again. The whole reason she wanted to go back to the estate eventually was to rescue people like him. It wasn’t so surprising that she’d want him to stick around.
“Why do you even want to?” she questioned.
He raised his hand and scratched the back of his neck uneasily. “Honestly, I was hoping to meet that friend of yours. There’s no chance in hell I’m going back to the estate, but I have nowhere to go. Hiding seems like a perfect option.”
Oh. She hadn’t thought of that.
Back at the estate, she’d wondered whether he had anyone to go back to in case he was released or escaped somehow. But they had an unspoken agreement not to talk about their loved ones, so neither of them ever asked about the other’s life outside of the estate.
Maybe this was the best way to save Adam. She could drop him off with Theresa and leave them both in Levi’s capable hands. After that, she’d run all the way to Alaska if she had to, just to get away from the same state as Master. Surely, there had to be some rogue vampires wreaking havoc elsewhere that she could take down. If her recent struggles were any indication, she still had a lot of bodies to burn before she was strong enough to make good on her promise.
“Fine,” she finally agreed, “but we’re not taking the car.”
“Oh, come on!” Theresa begged. “Don’t make me walk till tomorrow. I don’t have super strength like you guys.”
“I don’t either in this form,” Adam added.
This immediately reignited the girl’s obsessive excitement. “Really? So you’re basically human when you’re in this form, but you’re stronger when you turn into a wolf?”
He chuckled incredulously. “I can’t turn into a wolf. Where did you get that idea from?”
“Aren’t you part werewolf?”
“Yeah, but werewolves don’t turn into wolves; that’s skinwalkers.”
She gasped. “Wait, there are two types of werewolves?”
“In a way, I guess, but they’re not connected or alike in any way. Werewolves have nothing to do with wolves; they’re more like monstruous-looking humans but with superhuman strength.”
“So why call them that?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know... humans came up with the name. It got so popular that it eventually stuck in the supernatural community, too.”
“Whoa... Wait, what about vampires? There’s just the one kind, right?”
Adam hesitated more at this question, and that was when Silver snapped. Up until that point, she’d been watching their exchange like a ping-pong match and was bewildered at the whole thing.
“Fine, we’ll take the car, but only if you”—she pointed at Theresa—“stop asking questions. Can you handle that?”
All she saw was blonde hair before Theresa launched at her with a hug, squealing at the top of her lungs, “Road trip!”
Apparently, the touchiness was going to be as much of a problem as the enthusiastic fangirling.
“Get off me! It’s not a road trip.”
Theresa didn’t seem deterred over her hug being rejected, nor did she care about what Silver just said. She simply prattled away, though it was mercifully directed at Adam this time.
“This is gonna be so much fun! I’m an excellent road trip partner. Oh, by the way, I’m Theresa.”
“Adam.”
“I know, I gathered as much. Hey, can I pick the music?”
“No music,” Silver promptly shut down that idea.
Silver jumped into the passenger seat before the other two reached the car and laid her hand on the radio. However, it wasn’t functional, so she let it go. Just as well. It was hard enough to put up with her annoying stowaways as it was. She didn’t need to add to it the temptation that came from being around technology.
Leaning back, she buckled her seat belt tightly, folded her arms over her chest, and closed her eyes. As if that would be enough to shut down the ball of anxiety that overcame her as soon as she was inside the vehicle.
“Where to?” Adam casually asked her.
Remi had texted her back the coordinates while she was waiting for him to wake up. She recognized the location immediately, but she wasn’t excited about going back there. Still, it was better to drop off Adam and Theresa as close to the sanctuary as possible, so there would be no question that they made it there safely. She didn’t want anything weighing on her mind while she went back on her personal mission.
“Just drive east for now,” she replied. “I’ll tell you when to turn.”
“How are you gonna give directions if you’re asleep?” Theresa wondered.
“I’m not sleeping, just resting.”
If she could relax enough to calm her body and her mind, maybe she could recharge some of her magic. She could have drawn power from the radio, but that kind of short-term fix would do more harm than good. Electricity acted like an enhancement drug on her powers, giving her a temporary boost but often triggering withdrawal-like symptoms once the effects wore off. She knew better than to risk putting herself through that in present company.
“By the way, who’s this Master you mentioned earlier?” Theresa interjected.
Though her tone sounded harmless, both Adam and Silver stiffened.
“Is that your idea of not asking questions?” Silver snapped.
Theresa thankfully didn’t push it and simply retreated back in her seat with a resigned huff.
Yeah, very relaxing.
