Page 79 of Soul of Shadow
Beast defeated, the vätte stood still on the grass for a few moments, chest heaving up and down as it stared at the remains of its victim.
Then, before Charlie could say anything, before she could thank him or chastise him or demand to know how he could have hidden this side of himself from her, he turned and ambled toward her. With each step, the vätte began to shrink. Its arms shortened. Its legs withdrew into its body. Its claws disappeared, along with the mouth full of horrifying teeth. Its skinturned from green to the milky white she was used to seeing—revealing a shallow gash on his button nose where the draugar must have swiped him. His fluffy beard settled back into place. By the time he reached Charlie’s feet, he was just as adorable as he had ever been.
“What—” Charlie began.
But before she could get the rest of the question out, the vätte waddled over to her ankle and nuzzled its nose into her skin. Its little arms struggled to wrap around her leg, like a T-Rex trying to give a hug.
Charlie’s heart swelled with fondness.
“You know what?” she said, crouching down. “I’m not even going to ask.” She scratched under the vätte’s hat. Then, before standing up to head back to the school, she whispered, “Thank you, my friend.”
34
Charlie didn’t care that she drew stares as she pushed her way through the gym. Didn’t care that her dress was torn, her makeup smeared, that she probably looked like she had been hit by a truck.Let them stare, she thought as she shoved through the crowd, searching every face until she found her brother’s.
The vätte sat on her shoulder. Thankfully, he seemed to be healing quickly—the gash on his nose had already closed, leaving behind no scar or even a sign that it had been there before.
She spotted Mason at the edge of the crowd, skin illuminated by the glow of his phone’s screen. He was typing quickly as he chewed on his bottom lip. She glanced over her shoulder, scanning to see if Abigail was anywhere nearby, but saw no sign of her.Good.Better that she remain unaware of what was happening. She barely felt okay about endangeringoneperson she loved by dragging them into this mess. Better that she not make it two.
“Mason,” she said as she pushed out of the throng.
His head shot up. “Hey. Have you seen—” But his voice shut off as he took in the torn hem of his sister’s dress, the dirt smeared on her kneecaps. “What the hell?” He hurried forward,tucking his phone into his back pocket and placing his hand on her arm. “Jesus, Char. What happened? Are you all right?”
“It’s Elias,” she said, and the words were like the snap of a rubber band, drawing Mason’s eyes up to her own.
All at once, Mason’s face darkened. His nostrils flared. His eyes turned murderous. And Charlie realized her mistake, realized what he must be thinking.
“Not like that,” she said quickly. “He didn’t… he didn’t hurt me. Not directly, anyway.”
“What do you mean, not directly?” His voice was flat, dead.
“I had to fight. But not him—something else. I’ll explain everything, I will, but Mason…”
Charlie squeezed her eyes shut. She hadn’t even considered how she was going to break this news to her brother. Hadn’t considered that he probably wouldn’t believe her. She needed backup to save her best friend, and she needed itnow.
Her eyes reopened. Mason’s expression had shifted, looking more concerned than angry.
“He’s not who you think he is,” Charlie said. “He’s dangerous. And if we don’t stop him—”
“Stop him from what?”
“Mason.” She grabbed her brother’s shoulders. “What I’m about to tell you will sound absurd. You’ll think I’ve lost my mind. But you have to listen. I need your help.”
Her brother was watching her with concern. “Charlie…”
“It’s Lou,” she said. “He took her.”
Just like that, Mason’s face shifted. Concern fled, replaced with razor-sharp focus. Everything in his gaze zeroed in on this moment, on the fact that Lou was in danger.
In a voice she’d only ever heard him use when on the brinkof violence, seconds away from laying into another guy on the baseball team, her brother said, “Tell me.”
“Let me get this straight,” Mason said as Charlie turned the Bronco off the main road, bumping into the forest. “For the past week, you’ve been seeing magical creatures everywhere you go?”
“I’m notseeinganything,” she said. “They’re there. They’re real. And I know I sound insane, but just give me five minutes. I’ll prove everything to you.”
“How?”
“The berry thing that I told you Elias gave to me? There are more inside his house. I’ll find one and give it to you.”
