Hunting Shadows (Shadow Series #3) (4 page)

“Yeah, I thought the same thing, but apparently not all seers are female.”

Simon was frowning but he didn’t spe
ak while I continued to share what Marie had told me
.
“Apparently, a lot of seers are afraid to help me because of my father. But this
seer, Ryan Wisters, is
willing to help
.
Marie thinks he’s going to be pivotal in not only defeating
my father and other
vardogers, but seers who have become traitors.
”

“And we’re just supposed to trust him, sight unseen?” Simon’s tone was caustic and
he looked on edge. I was surprised when Grant chimed in to agree with Simon.

“He could be sent by your father,” Grant said. “How do we know this isn’t some sort
of trick?”

“We don’t, but we have as much reason to trust him as to not trust him. You said yourself
that we have no plan. Maybe he can help us. It’s better than waiting here like sitting
ducks.”

“Caitlin’s right,” Sarah interjected. “We can’t do this alone. We need help.”

Grant just sighed and didn’t voice any further objections, but Simon continu
ed to watch me with an unreadable
expression.

“What if you’re wrong? What if we trust this seer, only to be betrayed?” There was
underlying steel in Simon’s voice, belying the calmness of his tone.

“Let’s just wait until we meet him,” I said. “We’ll have a bett
er idea once we actually have a chance to meet him in person
.”

The rest of the day was tense as we waited for Ryan. Simon’s mood worsened as the
hours went by, while mine lifted. Waiting for Ryan was better than waiting for my
father to attack, and it ga
ve me a sense of purpose. W
e were doing more than
just
waiting to react.

It was late when the doorbell rang.
We all jumped at the sound and
Simon
immediately
walked
over
to answer it
, although I was close behind him
. He turned around
before opening the door.

“We can’t blindly trust this guy. He has to earn our trust. We have to be careful
with
how much we tell him.
” Simon’s words were directed towards
all of us, but he was looking straight at me. I felt irritation rise at the tone
of his voice, like I was some child to be
lectured, but I tamped it down
and instead just nodded at him.

I was surprised by how young Ryan was when Simon opened the door. He didn’
t look much older than
his
mid-to-
late twenties, and his height rivaled Simon’s.
His sandy brown hair was cut short and his hazel eyes looked intelligent as they
narrowed in on Simon and
me
standing before him. I was startled to feel a thrill of awareness from his gaze
. He was attractive, but it was more than that. I felt an instant connection, and
I wondered if it was because we were both seers.

“You must be Simon and Caitlin.
I’m Ryan Wisters.
” His voice was deep, a
nd the timbre of it was pleasant
. I tried to hide my reaction. The last thing I needed was for Simon to get jealous.

Simon just stared at him without answering, his gaze hard, so I answered for the both
of us. “We are. Thanks for coming here to meet us. Come in.”

I moved
back to allow him to enter
, and I was relieved when Simon didn’t stop him
from stepping
into the apartment. Sarah and Grant were standing by the couch, staring at the scene
as if they were watching a fascinating movie.

“Marie told us a little about you, Ryan,” I said, trying to ease the tension. “
How much
has
she told
you about our situation?”

“She told me everything that happened with your father.” Despite Ryan answering my
question, he was staring at Simon. “So you’re the vardoger?
”

Simon’s lips thinned but he nodded stiffly.

“Amazing.” Ryan studied Simon as if he were
a
fascinating
specimen
. “I can usually sense vardogers, even from a distance. It’s what makes me able to
track them. But I can barely feel
your energy. Are you purposely trying to mask it?”

“No,”
Simon bit out. I could
feel his impatience rising with Ryan’s questions, so I interjected.

“Why don’t we all sit down,” I suggested. “We have a lot to discuss.”

I gestured for Ryan to sit down on the couch and sat across from him in the recliner
as Simon settled on
to
the armrest
. Ryan looked surprised when Grant and Sarah sat down on the couch as well
, and I belated
ly
introduced them
to Ryan
.

“I think it’s best if we talk about this in private
,”
he said, ignoring my introductions
.

“
They know everything,”
I reassured him
. “There’s no need to hide anything from them.”

Ryan raised an eyebrow, almost looking imperious. “Still. I don’t know them, which
means I don’t trust them.” He gave them a sidelong look. “No offense.”

“You don’t know us either,” Simon countered
with a scowl
. “And I trust them a hell of a lot more than I trust you.
”

“We have as much
at
stake in this as you do,” Grant added.
“Sarah’s life is i
n danger, and we have
a right
t
o
know wh
at’s happening
.
”

I sighed
inwardly
at the in
auspicious start of the meeting, but
I
was relieved when Ryan seemed to accept the situation with a reluctant nod before
speaking again.

“I’ve been tracking your father
,
since he seems to be the leader in this mess
,” he said. “Marie thought it would lead me to you, but instead he’s headed south.
I lost track of him
after Delaware. He must be moving too fast.”

“How are you able to track vardogers?” I asked, trying to hide my awe.
“I didn’t realize that was something seers could even do.”

“It’s a rare trait, but it hap
pens. It’s almost like I can feel
individual energies and can pinpoint where they’re coming from.
Unfortunately, I can only track
the energie
s of vardogers that have
overtaken their people. I can’t sense vardogers that are still just bodiless shadows.
It’s not an exact science but I’ve honed it throughout the years and I’m pretty accurate.”

“Pretty accurate,” Simon repeated
doubtfully
. “So that means you’re not always accurate.”

Ryan’s expression tightened
, his hazel eyes looking stormy
. “It’s a hell of a lot better than nothing. What exactly can you do besides overtake
humans and destroy their souls?”

I felt S
imon tense beside me but I spoke up before he could answer
.

“We need to work together. Fighting amongst ourselves isn’t going to help anybody.
I appreciate you coming here to help, Ryan, but you have to accept Simon as an ally.”
I glanced up at Simon’s implacable face. “And he needs to do the same
with you
.”

Ryan’s lips thinned but he nodded. “I’ll try my best, but you need to understand that
this goes against everything I believe in, everything I’ve been taught. Vardogers
don’t help humans. Every seer knows that.”

I took a deep breath, hearing the implied criticism in Ryan’s words. Even though I
was a seer, I had put my trust in a vardoger. That either make me crazy or stupid.
Or both.

I was relieved when Simon didn’t react to Ryan’s words, so I took the opportunity
to ask more questions.

“So you’ll be able to know when my father is close? You’ll be able to feel his energy?”

“Yes, I’ve got a good read on his ener
gy from tracking him
. I’ll be able to sense him before we’re in danger.”

“
From how far can you feel a vardoger’s
energy?” Sarah
had a look of awe on her face as she asked the question.

“It differs from vardoger to vardoger, depending on the stren
gth of the
ir
energy.” Ryan turned to
me
. “Your father’s energy is partic
ularly strong, so I’ll
be able to sense him
in time to prepare for his attack.”

The tension t
hat had wracked my body dissipated
at
the thought of not having to live
in constant fear of my father jumping
o
ut from every corner to attack. It m
ade me almost weak with relief.

Simon didn’t seem
equally assuaged by Ryan’s reassurances
. “But what if you’re wrong? We could be lulled into a false sense of safety by believing
you’ll be able to sense when Caitlin’s father is near, only to be
taken by surprise if you’re wrong.”

Ryan studied Simon with narrowed eyes for a few moments before responding. “I’ve been
doing this for a long time. I know what I’m doing
and I’m rarely wrong
.”

I interrupted their staring match, trying to get the conversation back on track. “
Do you feel any other va
rdogers nearby
?”

Ryan didn’t answer right away as he continued to glare at Simon, who was returning
the look with the same ferocity. The tension in the room was so thick that it was
almost stifling, but Ryan finally broke the gaze as his eyes flicked back to me.

“No, at least not any vardogers that have overtaken bodies.
Have you had any visions recently?”

I shook my head. “No, and
it’s frustrating
me. I’ve
been completely blank since we left Connecticut. No visions, no dreams. That’s why
I think I should try to be hypnotized.”

“Caitlin, I already said that was too dangerous. You’ve already been put under
hypnosis
more times than any other seer I’ve ever heard of. Your body can’t handle the kind
of stress that comes along with it.” Simon was frowning as he spoke, but before I
could object Ryan chimed in.

“He’s right. Marie told me about the number of times you’ve been put under. It’s too
dangerous, at least for now.
It takes a serious toll on your body and you need time to recuperate.
Besides, it usually takes at least three seers to be able to put someone under hypnosis.
”

I threw my hands up in exasperation. “So what are we supposed to do? I can’t just
sit around anymore and wait for something to happen! May
be we should go south to try to
find my father. You said you lost track of him after Delaware. We could start there.”

Ryan leaned forward, his gaze sympa
thetic as his eyes locked with mine
. “I can only imagine how hard all of this has been for you. From
everything Marie has told me
,
I’m amazed that you’re still standing
with everything you’ve been through
; still fighting. It just shows how unbelievably strong you are. But we need to figure
out what your father’s plan is before we start tracking him again. The worst thing
we can do
is to do what he expects. And he expects us to follow him.
”

I was surprised by how much Ryan’s words affected me. I felt a warm flush at his words
o
f admiration. They meant a lot since
it was coming from a fe
llow seer, someone who understoo
d what it meant to be different from everyone else.

“How do we figure out my father’s plan without putting me under hypnosis?
” I asked.
“
Even though it’s not a guarantee of finding out the answer, it’s better than nothing.”

“Your father will come here once he realizes that you’re not falling into his trap.
And you’ll be ready for him.”

I looked at Ryan skeptically. “How will I be ready for him?”

“By
killing vardogers while we wait for him.
The more vardogers y
ou kill, the stronger you’ll become
. The stronger you become
, the more prepared you’ll be to fight your father.”