Hunting Shadows (Shadows 3)

“I told her parents,” he said wearily. “They’re flying up from Florida. Obviously they’re devastated. I think her mother collapsed from the shock.”

We were all silent for a while as we just stared at each other.

“Let’s go home,” Simon finally said. “There’s nothing else to be done here.”

Simon was right. The doctor hadn’t even let us see Jenny one last time

since we weren’t family. I didn’t speak on the drive home and just stared out the window. I felt bitter as I watched morning arrive, the sun seeming to mock me with its bright cheerfulness. Failure, it taunted. You’re a failure and that’s why Jenny’s dead. Because of you.

Sarah didn’t follow Grant back to his apartment and instead walked up the stairs. I had a feeling the only reason Grant wasn’t coming up to our apartment to question me was because he didn’t want to leave Marcus alone.

I sat on the recliner heavily once we entered, waiting for the questions. Simon’s presence next to me, as he leaned into me, normally would have been comforting but nothing could make me feel better today.

Ryan leaned against the wall nearby as Sarah sat down on the couch opposite me.

“Tell me what happened,” she said, staring straight at me. Her voice turned steely. “The truth.”

My voice was quiet and steady as I told her everything that had happened. She started crying again during my explanation but she didn’t interrupt. She took a long shuddering breath once I was finished.

“What went wrong?” she asked, her voice choked with emotion. “Why didn’t it work? If you destroyed her vardoger, she should have been saved.”

I felt powerless and just as confused as Sarah. “I don’t know. Maybe it was because I wasn’t able to destroy her vardoger on my first try.”

Ryan spoke up. “Most likely Jenny’s soul was on the cusp of leaving her body. She was on the edge of death, the moment when normally the vardoger would slip in and take over. But it was too busy attacking Caitlin so Jenny just ended up dying. I knew it was too late by the time we got her out of the pool.”

I remembered how Ryan had given her mouth-to-mouth, not letting up until the ambulance had arrived. He had tried so hard to revive her, even when he knew it was too late. It spoke volumes about his character.

“Another question is, why were we thrown back when we tried to grab Jenny the first time?” Simon asked. “I felt like I was electrocuted.”

“I felt the same thing,” Ryan said. “I’ve never experienced anything like that before. I don’t have an explanation.”

No one said anything for a while until Sarah finally spoke again. She shook her head, her face red and splotchy from crying. “I can’t believe she’s gone. It just doesn’t seem real.”

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I should have been able to save her.”

Simon’s hand on my shoulder tightened. “You did everything you could. This wasn’t a normal situation. Something was different.”

“He’s right,” Ryan said, his face hard. “This was no normal vardoger. There’s no way an ordinary vardoger would have been able to survive your first blast of power. Something else is at play here.”

My mind immediately went to one place. “Do you think my father’s involved somehow?”

Ryan’s expression was grim. “I don’t know, but it’s not a far leap to think he had something to do with this.”

“That’s it,” I said fiercely. I welcomed the anger that pushed my guilt aside. “I can’t just wait around for my father anymore. I need to find him and put a stop to this.”

I was surprised when Simon agreed with me. “You’re right. We’ve been playing his game for too long. It’s time for us to take the offensive.”

I looked at Ryan to see what he thought. He nodded grimly. “You’re strong enough for your father now. It’s time.”

Even though my mind was full of purpose and determination, I knew I had to settle things with the police first. I didn’t need them chasing after me as a possible suspect.

We went to the police station early in the morning, just a few hours after we had arrived home from the hospital. Simon, Ryan and I were questioned separately and it seemed to take forever. I was insulted by some of the questions they asked, such as whether Jenny and I had any conflicts, like dating the same guy, but I answered all of them. I was desperate to get it over with. The police officer asked about my premonition a dozen times, each in a different way, but I stuck to my story. Hours later, we returned home exhausted but the police seemed satisfied and said we didn’t have to come back for any further questioning.

“The campus is going crazy,” Sarah said when we got back. “Everyone is shocked about Jenny’s death.” Her expression turned pained. “Rumors are flying about how it happened. Some people are saying it was suicide while others are saying it was murder.”

It was all over the news and I was dismayed that I was featured in all the stories as the one who found Jenny. Many of the news channels linked it up with the incident of me killing Claudia in self-defense and speculation seemed to be running amok about my involvement in Jenny’s death. Not only did I hold myself responsible for her death, but it seemed as if the media did as well, although in a totally different way. Fortunately, the police had deemed it an accidental drowning and they kept my premonition under wraps, but that didn’t stop the news shows from reporting the police findings with skepticism.

Simon turned off the TV angrily. “We’ve seen enough of this crap.”