Her name was Emory, and she was taking a year off. She was meeting up with a group of her friends in Anaheim. She was talkative, but I wasn’t really in the mood to talk. It hurt that Kari couldn’t say those words back to me, and I wondered if we would ever be okay again, but something told me we wouldn’t be.We got off the plane, walked to the baggage claim together, and waited for our luggage. She was the complete opposite of Kari. She had blonde hair, blue eyes, and a tattoo behind her ear, Hebrew letters that I hadn’t asked the meaning of, talkative, flirtatious, and hot. Kari was beautiful and more conservative, soft spoken, and comforting.“Where are you headed?” She asked me, as she pointed out her suitcase, which I took it off the conveyor belt for her.“Anaheim,” I said, and she smiled.“Same. You should give me your number,” she said with a smile, and I rattled off the number to her. She saved it on her phone, and we walked out of the airport together. Two girls started screa
Malachi stood in Kiran’s study and sighed. It was a terrible time for all of them as they watched James retreat and cling to Kari as if she was the only thing that could keep him from falling apart.“You need to speak to James,” Malachi said to Kiran.“There’s nothing I can say that will change anything,” Kiran said, and dropped his pen on the desk.“He’s falling,” Malachi said, solemnly.“I know, Dad. It’s breaking my heart, but we both know what it feels like to lose a son. There’s nothing I can say,” Kiran said. Malachi had lost Kai at birth, and Kiran had lost Christian. They both knew exactly how James was feeling.“I know, but not everything is Kai’s fault. He’s still a kid,” Malachi said.“I know. How do you think all this makes me feel?” Kiran asked, as he stood up.“Kai’s just like you, you know,” Malachi said. “He goes off and does what he believes is right.”“It’s infuriating, to say the least,” Kiran admitted, and Malachi smiled.“James needs to let go of his hate,” Malach
Back upstairs in my room, I took a shower, and I felt useless, helpless, broken, and alone. In the blink of an eye, I had lost both Gunnar and Kari. I wasn’t sure which one hurt more, I loved them both, and now they were both gone.Sleep didn’t come easy that night, and I kept replaying that night’s events in my head. I should have known that Gunnar would try something. I shouldn’t have trusted his easy acceptance. If only he hadn’t moved, if only he had stayed at our house ... if only. I hadn’t really cried yet, and I sensed someone in my room.“I’m sorry, Kai,” Chrissie said to me.“Go away,” I said. I didn’t have the energy for more of her tricks, and I didn’t want her condolences, either. She’d made me a murderer, and the only part I didn’t regret was that it had been me, and not Saga.“Don’t be so mean,” she said to me. I turned my back on her and closed my eyes. I just wanted her to leave me alone.“We had a deal. I kept to my part of the deal, so go away,” I said, but she was a
Kari’s resurrection ceremony was done the very next night. James had insisted on it. He didn’t want her to be vulnerable without her healing again. Kari hadn’t spoken to me since that night we brought Gunnar home, as if she too blamed me, like I blamed myself. I called and texted, but all I got in return was silence. She read my texts, but that was the only thing I got, a read notification.Her resurrection had been done in private. Only James was with her in the clearing. He was shutting everyone out, and we only knew she’d shifted successfully, when we heard her sorrowful howls from deep within the forest.Four days later, we stood in the clearing with Gunnar’s body lying in the middle. We’d already held his funeral, and the church had been packed. The lie we told was that he’d died from anaphylactic shock from an allergy we hadn’t known about. It was hard to swallow, but it was still better than the truth.Kari stood next to James looking down. She looked different since her resurr
In the study, Levi highlighted the locations of the properties Jeffrey White owned. He tapped on the map showing the property in Salamatof. “He owns a cottage here on the lake. It’s remote, and there’s nothing for miles. That’s where I believe he’s keeping her.”“Okay, let’s go,” I said, and stood up.“Not so fast, Kai. You see that footpath? We’ll enter that stretch of woods from this side, then move towards the cottage, so we can line up with the building from different angles. We don’t know if he’s armed or not. Chances are, he is; he took her for a reason, and I believe he wants us to find him. I suggest I go in from the front, and you two can follow behind me, in your other invisible realm thing,” Levi said, and I nodded my head.“Now can we go?” I asked him half an hour later, when Levi finished talking about entry points and exit routes.“Kai, your only concern when we breach, is Kari, and getting her out. We’ll handle Jeffrey. Do you understand? I don’t care how mad you are o
Levi was the calmest one of us all, he always had been. I was pacing up and down, feeling like I was going out of my mind with worry. I needed to do something. I needed to find her. James was beyond hysterical, and Adara had eventually sedated him.Gunnar stood quietly to one side, but I knew he wasn’t okay. Kiran and Levi kept whispering to each other, then Kiran looked at me and walked down the hall to his study. I followed him inside, and a few seconds later, Levi joined us.“What’s going on?” I asked Kiran, and he looked at Levi. I couldn’t decipher the look on his face but something told me I was about to find out.“His name’s Jeffrey White,” Levi said, and my eyes snapped up to him. Jeffrey White. I knew that name. Son of a bitch. No wonder he looked so familiar.“He was in our school. He’s four years older than us,” I said.“He owns some property in Sterling, Salamatof, and Nikiski,” Levi said.“Three different towns?” I said, in dismay.“Bluebird’s getting addresses and aerial