What the fuck?
Footsteps pound on the pavement behind me. I turn my head to see Damon and Noah sprinting toward us, their hands on their weapons.
“What’s going on?” Damon demands, his gaze moving from the screaming woman to me.
“I don’t know,” I say, holding my hands up. “I touched her arm, and she started screaming.”
The woman is still screaming, a wordless, horrified sound that echoes off the buildings. She backs away from us, her eyes darting around as if she sees threats lurking in every shadow.
“Dahlia,” Noah says, his tone one of dawning recognition. “That’s Dahlia Cross.”
“Shit,” Damon mutters. He lowers his hand from his weapon, his entire demeanor shifting.Concern. “Maggie got a call about twenty minutes ago. Her mother said she was missing. She took off from the house.”
Damon takes a slow, careful step toward the woman, his hands held out in a non-threatening way. “Dahlia,” he says, his tone soft, placating. “It’s okay. It’s Damon. You’re safe now.”
Dahlia stops screaming, her chest heaving with ragged breaths. She stares at Damon, her eyes still wide with fear, but a flicker of recognition cuts through the panic. “Damon?”
“Yeah, it’s me,” he says, closing the distance between them. He doesn’t touch her, just stands there. “You’re okay. We’re going to take you home.”
She looks down at her hands, then back at the street. “I saw… I saw the horseman.”
“I know,” Damon says gently. “But you’re safe now. Come on.”
He reaches out, and she doesn’t flinch. She allows him to put a hand on her shoulder, to guide her. She stumbles, and he catches her, his arm wrapping around her waist to support her.
“What is she?” I ask. “What’s a horseman?”
Noah looks at me, his expression grim. “She’s an Omega shadow witch.”
The words hit me with the force of a physical blow. A shadow witch. They are the stuff of legends, boogeymen whispered about in the darkest corners of the magical world. They work with hidden, taboo magic. Magic of death, of spirits, of things that should not be disturbed.
They are feared, but they are also said to be immensely powerful. And they are, without exception, Alphas. The raw, dark energy required for that kind of magic is not compatible with an Omega’s life-giving nature. It is a fundamental rule of magical biology.
“That’s not possible,” I say, my mind reeling. “Shadow witches are Alphas. Always.”
“Dahlia’s an exception,” Noah says, his eyes on the girl. “No one knows why. She just is.”
Damon is checking Dahlia over now, his hands moving, looking for injuries. She has a few shallow scratches on her hands and cheeks, probably from a fall, but otherwise, she seems to be physically unharmed. She’s just out of it. Her gaze is distant, her body trembling.
“I’m taking her to the station,” Damon says to Noah. He looks at me. “You can head out. We’ve got this.”
I should go. I’m exhausted and hungry. My involvement with this town’s strangeness should end with the wards. But I don’t move. I’m too curious. An Omega shadow witch. This changes everything. It’s a secret of monumental proportions, a secret the Council would kill to know. I make a mental note. This town is a nest of secrets, each one more convoluted than the last.
“Noah, you call Maggie,” Damon continues, his tone all business again. “Let her know we have Dahlia, and we’re bringing her in. Have her notify the mother.”
“On it,” Noah says, already pulling out his phone.
Damon doesn’t wait. He carefully scoops Dahlia into his arms. She’s tall, but she seems weightless, her head lolling against his shoulder. He carries her toward his parked cruiser with an easy strength. I find myself following, my feet moving of their own accord.
My car is at the station anyway. This is just practical.
I watch as Damon gently sets her down in the back seat of his cruiser, buckling her in like a child. He speaks to her in a low, soothing murmur I can’t quite make out. She just stares blankly ahead.
Noah jogs over. “Maggie’s calling her mother. I have an idea. How about instead of making that poor woman drive all the way to the station, I take her? It will save either of you a trip.”
Damon pauses. “You do have a point. The fire station is closer to the Cross residence.”
“Exactly. It’ll save you the trip back out.”
