“Xoe,” Allison said softly. “You just need to stay with us.”

  I shook my head back and forth and little too quickly. “I can't just sit here. I don't know where my mom, dad, or Chase are. I have to do something.”

  I pushed past her and went back downstairs to find Jason using the couch as a support to keep himself standing. “Sit back down,” I ordered.

  “You're not going without me,” he replied through gritted teeth.

  I walked over to him and guided him back down to the couch. “I did not go to all of the effort of saving you just to have you overexert yourself and ruin it all,” I chided.

  Jason pulled me down onto the couch with him and forced me to meet his eyes. “Please don't go,” he begged. “I cannot deal with you putting yourself in constant danger like this.”

  “It's not like I chose to live this way-” I began.

  “It is a choice though,” he replied. “You didn't have to get involved with the werewolves, and that led to everything else. You need to stop trying to save everyone.”

  I pulled away from him so that I could turn my gaze down to my lap. “It's just how I am,” I mumbled, but the response sounded weak even to me.

  Jason sighed and leaned back fully onto the couch. “Sometimes we have to change in order to survive,” he said softly. “I am not the person I used to be.”

  I looked at him as a lump of anxiety began to build in my throat. “You would change who I am?” I asked, truly shocked.

  “Sometimes Xoe,” he said dejectedly. “I think I would.”

  “You would seriously have me stay here and not help my dad and Chase?” I pressed, not wanting to believe what I was hearing.

  “Don't you see that they're trying to protect you?” he blurted out in frustration. “Why can't you let them?”

  “They could die,” I said harshly. “And then I would have to live with the fact that I did nothing to help them.”

  “And if I let you go now,” Jason countered, “and something happened to you, I'd have to live with that fact as well.”

  “There is no letting me go,” I snapped. “Whether I go or stay is my choice. This is my dad we're talking about here. It's family. Heck, for all I know, Josie could have taken my mom as bait for whatever scheme her twisted mind has come up with now.”

  “And Chase?” Jason prompted. “What about him?”

  I took a deep breath and let it out. “He's risking his life for me. You can't ask me not to do the same for him.”

  “Well I am asking you,” Jason replied simply.

  I felt like I was going to cry, but I forced myself to hold back. “And I'm saying no,” I answered quietly.

  It would have been nice to just say okay, and stay nice and safe with Jason, but I couldn't. I just couldn't. It wasn't right to let others risk their lives because of me. All of my dad's problems were because of me, yet he continued to look out for me. Chase could have left all of the danger behind at any point, but he had stayed. It wasn't right to let them shoulder all of the risk.

  I stood to leave, feeling terrified and offended all at the same time. Terrified at the prospect of Jason getting fed up with me and leaving, and offended that he really thought I could abandon the people taking care of me.

  I fought back the tears that tried to well up in my eyes, and it was one of the most difficult battles I had faced. Just because I knew that I was making the right choice, didn't make it any easier. The expression on Jason's face as my decision sank in made things harder still.

  Yet, no matter what Jason wanted, I couldn't just leave the people trying to protect me on their own. It wasn't fair, and they wouldn't leave me if the situation was reversed. Apparently that made me hard to love. So be it. I had plenty of other good qualities.

  12

  Lucy and Max had shown up with a few other wolves in human clothing, but unfortunately there was no time for a big reunion. The wolves that I didn't know demanded that I tell them everything that was going on so that they could report to Abel. I ignored them until they demanded that I go with them. I told them to make me, and they backed down.

  Jason grabbed my wrist as I helped him into the large SUV the wolves had driven. “Please Xoe,” he said one last time, “just come with us.”

  I shook my head. “You know I can't.”

  He shook his head in return and sat back against his seat. Apparently I wasn't getting a goodbye kiss.

  I backed away so he could close the car door, then watched forlornly as the SUV drove away. I started to shiver, which was a strange phenomenon for me, given that I hadn't really felt the cold in months. Yet I felt it right in that moment, as if it would freeze my very bones until they cracked. I shook away the imagery and went back inside my empty house.

  Lucy was going to try and scent out my mom, so I either needed to go after my dad or Chase. Chase couldn't travel like my dad and I could, so he would probably be the easiest to find. In fact, he was likely still in the demon city, looking for signs of Josie.

  I closed my eyes and thought of my dad's house. My living room began to shake and I almost lost my concentration, then I had a moment of being airborne before everything went black. The next thing I knew, I was opening my eyes and there was a terrible pain in my side.

  I slowly sat up as I gripped at the pain. My hand came away with blood. Shocked, I observed my surroundings. The room I was in looked sort of like my dad's kitchen, but everything was destroyed. The stools were little more than broken shards, and many of the tiles were jutting upward like something large had pushed its way through them. One of the tiles was what had stabbed my side. I held my hand against the wound as I got to my feet. Everything was still and silent, except I could hear a distant sound like someone crying.

  I stumbled across the broken floor and into the hallway. The light fixture had been ripped partially out of the wall and was flickering on and off ominously. Blood was beginning to seep through my fingers to drip onto the mostly shredded carpet, leaving a morbid trail behind me.

  The crying sound got louder as I neared the bedroom where Jason, Allison, and I had departed from. The room was dark, but I could make out a glittering white form huddled in the corner.

  “Dorrie!” I exclaimed as I realized what I was seeing.

  Dorrie lifted her head out of her hands. “Xoe?” she questioned, sounding like she didn't quite believe it was me. “W-when you left I thought-”

  “I'm sorry,” I interrupted. I was glad that it was dark enough that she probably couldn't see me blushing from embarrassment. “There was just so much going on that I forgot-”

  “Well you remembered now,” she said with a soft smile. “Thanks for coming back for me pork chop.”

  I didn't have the heart to tell her that she wasn't the reason I'd come back. Instead I asked, “What on earth happened here? It looks like a tornado passed through.”

  Dorrie rose shakily to her feet. “I think it happened when you left,” she explained. “I was just coming to find you, and the whole house started shaking. I opened the door just in time to see you disappear.”

  “I'm sorry Dorrie-”

  “You're bleeding!” she interrupted as she darted towards me.

  “Dorrie,” I said, cringing as she ripped my hand away from the wound to take a look at it. “Did you say all of this happened because of us leaving?”

  She nodded somberly. “I think something is going wrong with your portals pot pie.”

  I cringed, and not from the pain this time. The earth had shook when I left my mom's house too. I had a sickening feeling that destroying my mom's entire house like I'd apparently done to my dad's would not help things with our relationship.

  “Dorrie,” I began again, pulling my wounded side away from her, “I need to find Chase.”

  “Your granny was here,” she said, too sidetracked by pushing a stray tee shirt against my wound to listen to me. “She felt your portal and came to see what went wrong.”

  “And she just left you here?” I asked, exasperated.

  Dorrie shrugged. “No offense, but your granny isn't very nice. She went off in a huff when I told her I didn't know where you'd gone.”

  “Of course,” I grumbled as Dorrie finished tying a second, torn-up tee shirt around my waist.

  Dorrie straightened back up and looked down at her handy work. “You sure are a gangly little thing,” she commented.

  “Gee thanks,” I replied sarcastically.

  “Sure,” she said, not catching my sarcasm. “So you need to find Chase? He's the cute tall one right?”

  “Sure,” I replied, mimicking her tone. “He left before us, but he can't create portals or travel like my dad does, so I think he's still down here somewhere.”

  Dorrie suddenly looked worried. “I can't go out there with you poppy seed,” she said sadly. “I'll be caught and unmade.”

  I bit my lip, feeling guiltier than ever. “I have to find Chase,” I explained, “but I promise I'll come back here for you and put things right. Don't be scared.”

  Dorrie nodded, though her glittery eyes shone with unshed tears. “Please hurry,” she said softly.

  I turned to leave, but she pulled me into a fierce hug before I could take two steps. I gasped in pain as the movement strained at the wound in my side. Dorrie instantly released me with an apologetic cringe. I forced a smile, though the entire left side of my body was on fire, and turned to go once again.

  “Be safe!” Dorrie called down the hallway as I reached the kitchen.

  I went through the kitchen and stopped in the entry room to paw through the coat closet. The entry room was surprisingly intact, as if the destruction of my portal could only reach so far. Finally I found a dark blue zip-up hoodie that I highly doubted belonged to my father.

  Judging by the way it fit me as I pulled it over my arms, it belonged to Chase. Whatever. It would cover my wound, and maybe it would bring me luck in finding him. I pulled the zipper most of the way up my chest and tugged the hoodie forward to cover my hair and shadow my face.

  I took a deep breath and went outside, expecting for some reason to be instantly accosted, but I was greeted with an empty street. I set off at a fast pace, ignoring the pain in my side and the protests from my empty stomach. Walking was a difficult task, as I felt incredibly weak, and I could also feel the blood beginning to seep through Dorrie's makeshift bandages.

  Once I reached the more populated area of the city, I began asking some of the younger-looking demons if they knew Chase or had seen him. Most of them just gave me strange looks and walked away, and one completely normal looking boy hissed at me as he whipped his forked tongue out towards my face.

  Feeling defeated, I went and sat on the front steps of the large, golden library. My dad had a way of finding me no matter where I was, but unfortunately the ability didn't seem to be hereditary.

  Someone came and sat down beside me, and I was shocked when I turned to see Josie's smiling face. She grabbed my wrist and pulled me up to my feet. I struggled, but she pulled me close to her like we were the best of friends, and I was too weak from blood loss to fight her.

  “There's no need to cause a scene,” she said pleasantly. She dragged me forward, then down a nearby deserted alleyway.

  I looked back over my shoulder as the busy street disappeared from view, then turned around as we turned a corner that put us behind the library. I didn't like being alone with Josie in my weakened state. Well, I didn't like being alone with her regardless, but being helpless made things that much worse.

  “What do you want?” I snapped as I tried to hide the fact that I was about to fall over.

  “I want what any self-respecting demon wants,” she replied. “Power.”

  “Let me rephrase that,” I said, letting my annoyance show clearly in my tone. “What do you want from me?”

  “Well, my first plan died with Bart,” she said as she causally looked around us for any passersby. “So I've devised a new one. You're going to make portals for the more powerful demons, and I'm going to reap all of the benefits.”

  I snorted. “I don't think so.”

  Josie's smile disappeared from her face. “You don't seem to know how this blackmail thing works. Also, are you aware that you're bleeding?”

  I followed her gaze down to the small trickle of blood that was forming on the side of my jeans. Ignoring the blood, I turned my gaze back to Josie. “Where are Chase and my father?” I demanded.

  “I don't know where Chase is,” she answered, “but your dad is trying to wait me out at the courthouse. He thinks I plan on reporting you for breaking your contract, but what would I gain from that?”

  I let out a breath of relief that made my side ache. “And what's to stop me from just killing you to shut you up?” I pressed.

  “My brother knows what you did. If I go missing, he'll go right to the court. I know you're new around here, so you should know that the court has ways of making you tell the truth. If they question you, you're cooked.”

  I was beginning to feel dizzy with blood loss. “And what if I just kill your brother?” I asked, trying to keep the pain out of my voice.

  “I don't think that will be necessary,” someone said from behind us.

  Josie and I both turned to see Verril leaning against the wall of the library and looking quite smug.

  “You idiot!” Josie chided, “You're supposed to be a thousand miles away from here right now.”

  “And you're supposed to be my sister,” he countered hotly.

  “What is that supposed to mean?” Josie snapped as she stood to face him.

  “It means, dear sister,” Verril replied, pausing between words for dramatic emphasis, “that I'm about to pay you back for leaving me to deal with the consequences of your schemes, yet again.”

  “They wouldn't have hurt you,” Josie said, rolling her eyes.

  I raised my hand weakly. “I would have.”

  “I can't blame you,” Verril said pleasantly as he finally turned to acknowledge me. “And I'm here to tell you that you don't have to worry about me turning you in. My sister is going to get me killed one of these days. I'll be much better off if she just gets killed instead.”

  “Verril!” Josie gasped.

  Josie looked at her brother in horror. When he didn't assuage her fears, her expression turned to anger. “Well I suppose I'll just have to go straight to the courts after all,” she snapped. “We'll let your father try and stop me,” she added, turning towards me, “and he'll go down with you.”

  She started to dissipate, but Verril darted forward and grabbed her wrist. Instantly she became solid again. Josie looked at her brother with tears in her eyes. “She'll kill me,” she whispered up at him.

  “No she won't,” another voice said as a figure stepped around the corner.

  The figure's face was hidden underneath the hood of his black sweatshirt as he approached Verril and Josie. Josie looked up at the face underneath the hood and smiled. “I knew you wouldn't let anything happen to me,” she said.

  I started backing away from the scene, not liking the odds of Verril and I standing against Josie and the newcomer. I froze in my tracks though as the figure stabbed a knife into Josie's stomach and up underneath her ribs. Josie let out a harsh grunt of surprise.

  I finally recognized Chase's voice as he said, “I didn't mean that I was going to save you from her. I just meant that I was going to kill you first.”

  Josie stared up at Chase as her body slumped forward. Chase pulled the knife away, and Verril caught his sister's body as she fell. The two men stared at each other for a moment, then Verril nodded and lifted his sister's body into his arms. He turned and nodded towards me as well, then backed away farther into the network of alleyways.

  Chase rushed to my side and caught me just as I was about to fall to my knees. “You're injured,” he observed worriedly.

  “And you're holding a knife covered in the blood of the woman you just murdered,” I commented back as the sides of my vision began to go gray.

  Chase dropped the knife to the ground like he'd just realized he was holding a venomous snake. We both stared at the bloody knife on the ground, then I summoned a weak fireball into my palm. I almost missed as I threw it at the knife, melting it into an indistinguishable puddle.

  “Are you upset that I killed her?” he asked, incorrectly reading my expression.

  “I'm more worried about how it might affect you,” I admitted as I let most of my weight fall against him.

  “It had to be done,” he said sadly. “We could have all died and she wouldn't have batted an eye. She was evil. Even her brother agreed.”

  “Why the change of heart?” I pressed. “In Bart's lair you seemed pretty bent on saving her.”

  Chase shook his head. “That was before she had the power to turn you into the courts. They can never find out about what happened.”

  I didn't know what to say to that, so instead I asked, “So you worked with Verril to find Josie?”

  Chase nodded as we began to hobble forward. “He came to me as soon as she told him her plan. This wasn't the first time she'd betrayed him to better her own standing.”

  We walked in silence for a while. Well, Chase walked and basically dragged me along. “You cared about her once,” I commented. I wasn't sure why I said it. Probably the blood loss.

  “Well I care about you more,” he said quietly.

  I pulled him to a stop, and he turned a concerned gaze to me. “What's wrong?” he asked. “Are you going to pass out?”

  I put my hands on either side of his face and did something that I would never admit to thinking about on several occasions. I pulled his face down and kissed him. At first he was surprised, then kissed me back. I felt my last bit of strength leave me as I pulled away.

  He looked down at me, completely shocked. “I'm going to assume that was the blood loss,” he said, though he smiled while he said it.

  “Yes,” I mumbled. “Blood loss,” and then I fainted.

 

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