“Watch this,” he smiled.
In a blur, he was gone, but seconds later, he was back and holding a fluffy bear that had been on my bed.
I smiled and took it from him. “Okay, very impressive.”
“Your turn, I want to see you move,” he said.
I raised my eyebrows at the way he’d said it.
“What?” he chuckled. “I just want to see how fast you can go.”
“Okay, but don’t expect too much. I haven’t had time to practice anything, you know?”
“It’s pretty easy. Just concentrate on where you want to go and then start moving your legs.”
“That easy, huh?”
“Yep. Go on,” he urged.
I thought about the dock and began running. In less than two seconds, I was staring at the spot where I’d last seen Sonny, next to the boat house. I closed my eyes and shuddered.
“You okay?” asked Duncan, coming up behind me after a few seconds.
I cleared my throat. “So, where is he?”
“My dad?”
I nodded.
“I buried him,” he answered, gruffly.
I touched his arm. “I’m so sorry, Duncan.”
He stared out towards the lake. “I still can’t believe it myself.”
I motioned towards the lake. “My dad’s out there.”
He turned to me in surprise. “What?”
I nodded. “Celeste killed him. Ethan told me.”
“What a surprise,” he mumbled. “Ethan was around when your dad died.”
“Ethan didn’t kill my dad. He told me the truth.”
Duncan sighed. “And of course, as always, you believed him.”
“For the love of God, he didn’t do it! I know it wasn’t him. In fact, the night you were attacked and turned into a vampire, it wasn’t Ethan, either.”
His eyes widened. “Of course it was, we both saw him!”
I shook my head. “No, it was Faye. She’s a shape-shifter! Don’t you understand? She is the one who tried killing you! She wanted you to seek revenge on Ethan because of her own jealous, twisted mind.”
“Why didn’t she just kill him herself?”
I shrugged. “Who knows? The point is, Faye’s dangerous and we have to find Nathan and my mom before she does.”
He let out a long breath. “Okay, let’s practice flying and then we’ll go.”
I nodded, very reluctantly.
“Someone’s coming,” he said, turning towards a pair of headlights in the distance. “We’d better hide.”
I nodded.
He grabbed me and flew us up onto the roof of the cabin, where we both crouched down. As the vehicle moved closer I recognized Rosie.
“I wonder what she’s doing here,” I whispered.
“Probably looking for you. You’ve been gone for a couple of days and I think it’s pretty safe to say you probably haven’t filled her in on what’s going on.”
“I should talk to her. Maybe she knows something.”
He grabbed my arm. “It’s not a good idea. The less she knows, the safer she’ll probably be.”
I sighed and watched as Rosie got out of her car and walked up the steps to ring the doorbell. When nobody answered, she started back down the steps.
“What in the hell?” whispered Duncan.
I looked to where he was staring and my breath caught in my throat.
“That’s impossible,” I whispered in horror.
A lone man was walking out of the woods; his smile was one that I’d recognized growing up. It was a cold smile that meant trouble.
My father.
“It’s my dad,” I whispered.
Duncan stared at me in shock.
“I know,” I mumbled. “Something’s going on here.”
“Can I help you?” hollered my dad, moving closer. He was dressed in the sheriff’s uniform and looked more alive than I did at the moment.
Rosie turned towards him and I could tell she was more than a little taken aback. “Oh, I’m sorry – I was looking for Nikki!” she called back.
We watched as he moved closer to her. “I’m looking for her, too, as a matter of fact. She’s missing, so are her brother and mother. You haven’t seen any of them?”
Rosie shook her head and moved closer to her car. “No, I haven’t. I’m sorry, have we met before?”
“I’m the new sheriff in town, Jim Smith,” he lied, holding out his hand.
“Hello, I’m Rosie,” she said.
Both of them were far away but my new senses caught their conversation as if I was standing there right beside them.
“So, you really haven’t spoken to any of them?” he repeated.
She shook her head. “No, that’s why I came out here. Nikki’s missed work and hasn’t returned my phone calls. That’s not like her at all. As for her mom and brother, I haven’t any idea where they are, either.”
He sighed and stared out towards the road. “Well, I guess you won’t be much help. But that’s okay.”
“What do you mean by that?” she asked in confusion.
The next thing I knew, he grabbed Rosie by the throat and twisted her neck, snapping it.
“Oh, my God!” I choked, as he tossed her body aside.
Duncan grabbed my hand tightly. “Shit, we have to get the hell out of here.”