“Yeah. He told me what to say. Told me not to tell another living soul, that he would know and kill my mom. I’m scared for her now. What have I done?” He pulls at his hair again and begins rocking.
I reach out and calm him down, letting his subconscious mind know that his mother would be safe. This does the trick, and he folds his arms and sits back. Whether or not Travis would know that Jamie just admitted the truth, I didn’t know. Even I don’t have control or access to someone’s thoughts from a long distance. Either way, his mother might be in legit danger.
“What do I do?” he asks me.
“Tell the truth. And I’ll make sure he never touches you or your mom again.”
Jamie blinks at me like I’m a miracle he didn’t expect. “But how?”
I let him know that I’m the next best thing to a superhero. I make sure he believes it, too.
“Do you promise?” he asks.
“Pinkie promise,” I say, and hold out my pale pinkie. He eagerly wraps his own around mine.
With the deal sealed, I step back out of the room. Sherbet’s already on his phone, probably ordering a search warrant for Travis. I fill him in on the rest.
“Kid’s a shield,” I say. “Abused, scared, and noble. He needs protection.”
“I’ll get him transferred to a safe holding facility,” Sherbet says. “And we’ll drag this Trent guy in. Maybe with a little help from you, we can get a confession.”
“Depends,” I say.
“On what?”
“If he’s controlled by a demon or not. He’s got mind control abilities.”
“A dark master?”
“Whoa. Did you just say that?”
“I did, and I’m not proud of it. Guess I’ve been hanging around you a little too long.”
“Or... have been hanging around me exactly the right length?”
“Sheesh, Sam. Do you have to make everything weird? What’s next?”
“Let’s bring in his mother. She needs protection, too.”
“Want us to get her?”
“No, let me talk to her.”
“Want her address?”
“That would be swell.”
Chapter Eight
From the police station bathroom stall, safe from prying eyes, I teleport home.
There, I open my laptop and plug in the address Sherbet texted me. The house is in La Habra, not far. Normally, I’d let the cops handle it, but Jamie’s mom’s boyfriend, Trent, has no idea his story’s blown. And if he thinks Jamie’s sacrifice has bought him some freedom, he might do something stupid or seriously dangerous.
Thanks to Google Maps and its ‘street view’ option, I have a landing place in mind. I summon the single flame and make the leap...
And find myself standing under a lemon tree in the Rodriguez’s tidy front yard, bathed in dappled sunlight. Admittedly, I still hate daylight, but that’s mostly PTSD talking. Shifting from blood vamp to energy vamp cured me of the sunlight issues, among other things. Still, the memory of my skin smoking and burning is only a few years removed.
I shove my issues aside and head up the walkway and knock. A woman answers. Mid-fifties. Steel-gray eyes. She looks like someone who hasn’t slept in days.
