Chapter 14

Chance tiptoed out of Ana’s bedroom, pulling the door shut behind him. He could still hear her rhythmic breathing from the hallway, although he was searching it out. Tears had sealed her eyes shut as she fell asleep just minutes before. It was his turn to soothe her, a task he’d taken seriously. After so many nights of her calming his energy, their roles were now reversed.

Lights were on in the living room so he knew someone was up. At that moment, he’d take anyone, because there was a long list of people he needed to talk to and everyone in the house was on that list. Although Mac was on the top of it.

Chance rounded the corner into the lit room and found everyone grouped up there, having their own animated conversations. He held his breath to push away the emotion that filled his heart. He’d expected most of them would have gone to bed since it was well after one-thirty in the morning.

Mac was talking with Lifen and Gabby while wearing a pleasant grin. Nothing much seemed to affect his mood, even serious topics such as death and evil superpowers. When he saw Chance, Mac lifted his head. “How is she? Sleeping, I hope?”

Chance combed his fingers through his hair. His voice came out gravely and rough. “Yeah, she’s out.”

Derek was sitting cross-legged, spinning his phone on the carpet. In a quick motion, he swiped it up. “I could just give the guy a call. It’s New Years—he’s gotta be up. I can ask him where he’s at and let him know you all are getting married. See if he bites.”

Obviously Derek had been waiting for his opportunity to speak. Jordan was lying on his back beside Derek and he nodded in agreement at the suggestion.

Mac touched Lifen’s and Gabriella’s elbows and muttered something to them. The women walked down the hallway together and the meditation room’s door slid open, then shut.

An innocent glass sculpture, sitting on the side table, was palmed by Mac. He began to roll the orb over his hands in a fluid movement like Chance had seen a magician do when he was a child. Mac answered Derek, “I love your enthusiasm, but that’s not the best route at this point. We don’t want to alert Daemon, plus there’s no real way of knowing if he’s in Ryan unless he makes a move for Ana. I don’t think he’s going to tip his hand unless he’s gloating, like he did the last time we met.”

Jordan rolled onto his stomach and sat up. He frowned. “But how do we know where he is and if Daemon’s really in Ryan?”

The glass sculpture arced through the air and Mac rolled it down his arm, into his hand. He winked at Jordan. “I figure there’s two ways. One, we wait for Ryan to contact us to see how Ana’s feeling. If he’s got Daemon in him, he’ll be itching for another opportunity to hop into Ana before anything happens to her. Although he could be prowling around the mountains trying to get that information himself.”

Chance went to the windows and scowled at the inky panorama outside, anxious and on edge.

Mac called over to him, “Don’t worry. Batukhan’s outside keeping watch. He, Lifen and I will be taking turns to make sure Ryan doesn’t sneak in.”

That only gave him a small amount of consolation. He continued to search the landscape outside. He prompted, “What else? You said there were two ways to find out about Ryan.”

“Right.” Mac stopped playing with the sculpture and went to place it back on the table. “You may not like this one though. It requires Ana using her powers to try to home in on Ryan like she’s done before. From what I hear, she found Lifen that way? And you? If we can have her try to reach out to him she might get confirmation about Daemon and where he’s hiding out.”

Chance stared at Mac’s reflection in the glass before spinning around to face him. “I thought you said she shouldn’t use her powers anymore? So, if that’s the case, then why would I want her to do something that could shave days, or weeks off her life? No, not gonna happen.”

Derek and Jordan shared a look. Derek was the one who ventured to speak. “We only want to see Ana safe, man. But if it could help us know about Ryan, that could help protect her in the long run. Right?”

The tendons in Chance’s neck were pulled so tight, they actually hurt from the strain. When he spoke, every word was said with conviction. “I don’t care about Ryan. I don’t care about Daemon. I only care about finding a phoenix feather so I can save her life. Feel me?”

They didn’t speak, but nodded. Derek and Jordan watched Mac with wide eyes, obviously hoping he knew how to resolve the problem. Chance didn’t expect much, if anything. This guy had wormed his way into Chance’s good graces, helping him get past the trauma of his shifter sickness that turned out to be more like possession. Now it was becoming clear that he was just like every other mentor he’d had. His past was buried under layers of secrets and Chance was sick of it.

Before Mac could say anything, Chance added, “You’d better not tell me anything that’ll make me want to club you on the head again. This time it’ll be me—no ancient freak forcing me to. I’m tired of this crap. If you’re going to say anything, it’d better be helpful.”

Mac glanced at the other boys. “You guys had better head to bed for now. There’s nothing you can do just yet, plus I need to talk to Chance alone.”

The guys looked at Chance. Jordan jumped up and wandered from the living room. Derek took his time. It was obvious how much he wanted to stay to hear more, but with a backwards glance, he disappeared down the hallway.

“Why don’t we sit down?” Mac held his hand out to the couch.

Chance didn’t want to be told anything right now except how to help Ana. He crossed his arms and remained standing. “Can you just tell me what I need to know?”

Mac lowered himself onto the sofa cushion and laid his arm across the top of the couch. The light expression on his face receded. “Those memories you told me about, the ones with Daemon, they’re very old.”

“Yeah, I kinda figured that out.”

“Like I said before, the memories Daemon shared with you hold dangerous knowledge. You saw what can happen when the wrong person uses it for the wrong reasons. My ancestors knew of the power to move into a host body, extending one’s lifetime. They tried to unleash the kind of power that Daemon seeks, but in the end it’s what destroyed my civilization. Since then, it has been my post to protect the world from this knowledge and the ones who wish to use it as a stepping stone to immortality and ultimate power.”

“I sense more good news,” Chance said dryly.

“It is true that Daemon is going to be hard to get rid of, but that task will not fall on your shoulders. It is my responsibility and duty to deal with him.”

“And there’s nothing I can do to protect Ana from him?”

Mac grinned. “I can see how much you love her. This is why I have lived so long, traveling alone through this world—to fight for humanity and innocence. If you think about it, innocence is really a beautiful thing. Everything’s fresh and undiscovered. The journey lies ahead of you.”

At that moment, all Chance wanted to do was wipe that stupid smile off Mac’s face. Chance couldn’t stand how pleasant he was being. Ana’s life was in danger and meanwhile Mac appeared to be taking it all in stride, like nothing major was happening.

“How can you smile like that?” Chance spat.

Mac tucked a long, dark strand of hair behind his ear. “Because love is worth fighting for and I’m happy to have known you, Chance.”

Chance sighed. “Whatever. I don’t think I can stand talking about this anymore. I’m going to try to get some sleep, or at least I’m going to keep an eye on Ana. I want to be there for her if she wakes up. See you in the morning.”

He didn’t wait for a response. Instead, he lumbered down the darkened hallway. Lifen’s soft voice whispered instructions from behind the meditation door and he wondered how late she would keep Gabby up. At least they were working hard to try to help Ana in some way.

His hand rested on Ana’s door and he let himself in, trying not to disturb her sleep. Chance stood beside the bed for a while just gazing at her. Hair tangled around her face, she seemed sad even in her dreams.

Climbing in beside her, he wrapped his arm around her waist and nuzzled his face into the back of her neck. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. For hours, his mind raced, thinking about all the things that could go wrong and how he could possibly protect her. Frightened and exhausted, he fell asleep before the sun came up while he held her tightly against him.