NEARLY MIDNIGHT
Daniel was oddly quiet as I drove the Corolla—it’d been too cold for the motorcycle, considering my short-shorts—down an old country road that led to Frightmare Farms, just outside of Rose Crest. The boys followed in April’s red hatchback, borrowed as payback for my ridiculous outfit.
Shortly after the “pleather shorts incident,” Daniel became more and more withdrawn as time drew closer to go hunt down Pete at the trance party. He hadn’t even protested April’s insistence that he wear the black mask she’d pilfered from a Zorro costume. The perfect finishing touch for his “Bad A outfit”—as she put it.
I’d figured he must have been bothered that I’d had to turn to Talbot for information, but the way he stared far out the passenger’s-side window made me worry that something deeper was eating at him.
I parked in a field full of cars outside the decrepit “haunted” farmhouse. Possessed-looking scarecrows hung limp from their stands in front of the entrance gate, and part of the roof of the barn that loomed behind the house looked like it could cave in at any given moment.
I knew from experience that a corn maze stretched out for a good five acres beyond the barn. Secluded from town, I could see why Akhs would choose this place for one of their creepy trance parties—and based on the crowds of teens that headed from the parking field to the farm, they’d pulled in a pretty good turnout.
“Are you okay?” I asked as I pulled the keys out of the ignition.
Daniel shrugged.
“I’m sorry you’ve gotten dragged into this mess. And I’m sorry you had to see Talbot.”
“It’s not any of that.” Daniel sighed heavily and pushed his hand through his golden hair. “I’ve been trying not to let it get to me all day. Move on and get the job done, you know. It’s just that … she looked at me like I was a monster.”
“Who?” I hadn’t seen anything like that from April.
“Charity.” He looked down at his finely muscled hands. “After I was cured, before my powers came back—when I was normal for once—there was a time when I thought I’d never have to deal with anyone looking at me like that again. Calling me that. And now, I don’t even know what I am anymore.… Maybe ‘monster’ is all I’ll ever be.”
“Daniel.” I placed my hand on his shoulder. “You are not a monster. And no, you’re not normal anymore. You never have been, really.”
He winced. Being normal was what Daniel had always desired more than anything. Normal meant Trenton, and family, and having a life. But I saw in him a potential to have all of that and so much more.
“You’re something greater than that. I really think you’re like an—”
“Angel?” He shook his head and looked out the window instead of at me. “I don’t think so.”
“Daniel, I really think you can use your powers for good. I thought that before you were even cured. I know you’re skeptical, and I know you’ve always felt that being an Urbat made you a monster. But Gabriel told me about the original Urbat, and the good things they were created to do. Like protect people. Like we’re about to do now. I think, together, we can be heroes.”
“Didn’t the quest to become a hero almost get you killed?”
“Only because I was trying to do it alone—or not exactly alone, but with the wrong help. But now that I have you to be a hero with me, it could totally work.”
A bubbling of hope trilled up my body into my heart, and I suddenly wondered, if I could convince Daniel that his powers could be blessing instead of a curse—that he could become a hero—then maybe there was a chance to convince other Urbat, like Sirhan’s pack, that they could do it, too. I could help them reclaim their blessings—just like Gabriel had said I could.
“I’ve never seen myself as a hero,” Daniel said.
“Maybe it’s time you start.”
I could tell Daniel was about to protest, but he then suddenly sat up in his seat. “He’s here.”
I looked up just in time to see Pete Bradshaw, looking all too alive, slink through the line of teens gathered outside the entrance gate. A couple of burly-looking guys stood aside to let him enter the farmhouse.
“Bouncers,” I said. “I didn’t think an Akh party would have bouncers.”
“I’m sure they’d want to keep people like us from crashing their fun.”
“Right.” I took in a deep breath and let it out in a puff. “So this is it? The end of our story with Pete Bradshaw? As much trouble as he’s given us, I never thought I’d be the one to kill him.”
Daniel put his hand on my arm. “Are you sure you’re ready for this?”
“I’ve killed a demon before. He was a Gelal, but according to Talbot, Akhs die the same way. They just explode into dust instead of burning acid. It should be cleaner, I guess.”
“That’s not what I meant.” Daniel looked me right in the eyes. “I know Pete isn’t really Pete anymore. But we still knew him. You guys were friends once. Killing a demon wearing the face of your old friend, that’s got to affect you differently than just killing some random Gelal. And we both know what happened last time.…”
I bowed my head. “I know.” The first, and last, time I’d killed a demon, I’d experienced such a power rush that I’d almost lost control and given in to the wolf. “But I think I’m ready. I need to clean up the messes I’ve made.”
Because deep down, I knew Pete’s undeath had happened, ultimately, because of me. Even if I wasn’t the one who killed him the first time, it was my responsibility to do it now.
“Either way, I want you to wear this. Maybe it will help you avoid any side effects.” Daniel removed his moonstone necklace and handed it to me.
“Thanks,” I said, remembering what it had been like to go into battle against a demon without one.
Daniel opened the weapons pack that April had sent us with. He handed me a stake bedazzled with bright pink and orange gemstones, and he selected for himself a stake that had a gold wolf’s head attached to the end.
“Sure you don’t want the sparkly one?” I dangled my stake in front of him.
“I don’t do sparkles,” Daniel said. He cracked a smile for the first time since we left April’s. “But the whole ensemble looks pretty darn hot on you.”