Hunting Shadows (Shadows 3)

He raised the gun and pointed it at my mother. I reacted without thinking, running towards him, desperate to get between the gun and my mother. But Ryan was faster and he rushed passed me straight towards my father. He had almost reached him when my father swung the gun towards Ryan and shot him point blank in the head. I watched in horror as he fell to the ground, blood spurting from the wound in his head. My dreams rushed into reality as I watched a pool of blood spread quickly beneath his head, but this time I wasn’t asleep. I was actually watching him die.

I made a choked sound as I ran to him, not caring what my father would do. I kneeled at his side, tears running down my cheeks as I watched helplessly as his life seeped out of him. I gripped his hand, desperate for him to not feel alone. His eyes were glazed with pain but they looked straight into mine.

“Trust yourself,” he whispered so softly I had to lean closer to hear him. “Trust your instincts. You’re strong enough to get through this. Live the life you were meant to. I’m sorry for everything. It’s for the best that my sister and I can finally find peace.”

His eyes fluttered closed and his body started to shake. His hand gripped mine so hard that I was afraid he would break it. His body bowed violently and his eyes shot open as an animalistic scream ripped from his throat. I frantically pulled my hand out of his grip and scrambled back away from him. I knew it wasn’t Ryan making those sounds. His head turned towards me and his eyes burned through me with such hatred that a chill went down my spine. His body them slumped back onto the ground and his eyes turned lifeless, still staring at me.

“What the hell?” my father said with a frown. His frown deepened as he surveyed the scene. “Enough of this playing around shit.” He nodded towards my mother who was still lying on the ground, frozen in shock. “Tie her up,” he told Philip. “I’ll figure out what to do with her once I get my answers.” He turned back to me. “Try anything else and I’ll make sure you get to watch both your mother and boyfriend be tortured on your behalf.”

I felt defeated as I watched Philip tie my mother up to a wooden plank on the side of the barn. Simon’s eyes were open and watchful as he kept his gaze trained on me. It was hard not to panic every time he lost his balance a little and fought to regain it.

“Get the others in here,” my father told Philip once he was done tying up my mother. I stood shakily as Philip exited the barn, only to return shortly with two other people.

I had never given a moment’s thought to Cecelia, the other seer from my aunt’s inner circle that had betrayed her. I had always thought of her as weak and nothing more than Lenore’s follower but she looked anything but weak as she strode in with two other women. The other women looked deathly scared but Cecelia was smiling like she didn’t have a care in the world.

My father handed Philip the gun when he came back in. “Stand guard over her mother. If I say the word, shoot her.”

Philip nodded and walked over to her, training the gun to her head with a steady hand. My mother still looked terrified and her eyes moved from me to the gun pointed at her.

“Hi, Caitlin,” Cecelia said as if we were old friends. “Remember me?”

“Why are you helping him?” I asked, confused by her demeanor. “Lenore’s dead.” Cecelia had been under Lenore’s thumb and I thought she had only been helping my father because she was afraid to disobey her. But Lenore was gone and Cecelia was seemingly still helping my father. And she didn’t look afraid. In fact, she looked cheerful.

“Everyone thought Lenore was the powerful one.” Cecelia shook her head like we were all idiots. “What people didn’t realize was that she wasn’t the powerful one; I was. I was just too stupid to put her in her place. Instead, I let her use my powers and claim them as her own.” Cecelia smiled widely at me. “She wasn’t the one who manipulated your visions before. It was me. Just like I changed your visions of Jenny.”

I clenched my fists at the mention of Jenny, wanting to throw myself at this cowardly woman and scratch her eyes out. “What did you have to do with Jenny’s death?” I asked through gritted teeth.

Cecelia shrugged nonchalantly. “Nothing besides changing your first vision so that you saw someone else besides Jenny. Philip was the one that charged her vardoger with some of his power.” She glanced at him in admiration before turning back to me. “It was amazing to see. He was able to transfer some of his energy into her vardoger, making it unbelievably strong.” She giggled like a child. “It even affected Jenny since she was connected to her vardoger. When those two boys tried to help her, they were electrocuted by the combination of the charge and the water in the pool. It was amazing!”

I wanted to slap the look of amusement off her face. Lenore had been power hungry but Cecelia was straight out insane. You couldn’t reason with insanity so I just ignored her, not wanting to give her the satisfaction of a response.

“Shut up.” My father seemed irritated by Cecelia. “We’re not here to talk. Hurry up and put her under hypnosis.”

My father grabbed my arms and pulled them painfully behind my back. He spoke close to my ear. “Fight it and I won’t hesitate to kill your mother. Your boyfriend will be close behind.”

I nodded my assent but I was afraid that my panic would prevent me from being able to go under. Cecelia and the other two women surrounded me and started chanting. I glanced up at Simon and he looked furious but I could also see his frustration due to his inability to help me. I mouthed the words “I’m okay” to reassure him, but that seemed to pain him even more.

My eyes fluttered closed as I felt a heaviness in my limbs. I was sinking lower and lower until I felt weightless, like I was floating in the air. The women’s chanting sounded farther and farther away until their voices disappeared completely. I opened my eyes and strained to see in the darkness.

“Hello?” I called out. “Is anyone there?”

“Caitlin.” The voice was barely a whisper across my subconscious, but I recognized it immediately.

“Jenny?” I strained my eyes, trying to find her, but there was nothing but blackness.

“You won’t be able to see me. I’m too far away. I’m almost to the other side but I had to make sure you were okay.”

“I’m not okay,” I said, desperation making my voice raise. “My father is holding Simon and my mother hostage, and he’s going to try to use my powers to make himself immortal. I melted down palladium and iridium together like you told me to, but what can I do with it?”

“In your hands you can use it to destroy even the strongest vardoger, including the ones that took over their humans a long time ago and have a strong hold on them. It can also save the humans that are trapped inside their bodies along with their vardogers. You can destroy the vardoger without destroying the human soul.” Jenny’s voice dropped. “But in your father’s hands, it can be used to realize everything you’re trying to prevent. Don’t let him have it.”

I was grateful for her explanation but I was desperate for more information. “Does that mean my father can use it to enter the bodies of other humans and get rid of their souls?”

“Shh!” Jenny’s voice sounded scared. “Don’t talk! They can hear us!”

“Jenny!” I called out, but she was gone. There was nothing except the emptiness of my own mind.

I gasped when I surfaced. My shoulders were aching and I realized my father