There was a blur of black hair and then Gage rushed between us, grabbing his father by the neck. His fingers transformed to claws, and I gasped as Gage ripped his father’s throat clean out.
Blood spurted from the hole in Arthur’s throat, splattering Gage’s face.
Arthur went down on his knees, his eyes wide in disbelief as he brought his hands to his neck and tried to cover the wound, but there was no staunching the river of blood pouring from the opening. Arthur’s lips moved, but only a gurgling noise came from his mouth. He lifted a hand toward Gage, his red lifeblood dripping from the tips of his fingers as his black magic sparked, dimmed, and then fizzled out.
I looked away from Arthur and over at Gage as he stood above his father’s body. He looked almost normal. The only remaining evidence of his beastly transformation were the bright streaks of gold that ran through his wintergreen eyes. But with red dotting his face, and his chest heaving like he’d just run a marathon, he still reminded me of a feral animal.
My instincts were all over the place. I couldn’t decide whether to step closer and offer comfort or run away. My heart urged me to make sure he was all right, but another part of me recognized the predator in Gage and screamed at me to flee.
“We have to get rid of the body.”
I started at Indigo’s voice, temporarily having forgotten she was with us because of the enormity of what had just happened.
Gage freaking transformed into a beast and killed his dad!I could not deal right now.
“What?” I blinked back at her, my brain still taking a moment to catch up.
Gage didn’t even acknowledge she’d spoken; he was looking at me expectantly.
Indigo’s short hair was disheveled, and she had a cut on her cheek, but other than that she seemed unharmed. “Arthur,” she said, and then also pointed at the guy I’d run through with my sword, who was slumped on the ground a short distance away. “And him too.”
There was a female Shade on the ground next to a cracked gravestone a little ways away. She lay on her side with her back to me, and I couldn’t tell from this distance if she was breathing or not.
“Did you…?” A knot formed in my throat, and I couldn’t get the words out.
Indigo shook her head. “No. I didn’t kill her. I kicked her and she smashed her head on the gravestone. The others ran away.”
I nodded, feeling a little relieved. I wasn’t sorry Arthur was gone, but I was glad Indigo didn’t have the death of a fellow Watcher on her hands like I did.
I killed him.
“I’ll need to figure out what to do with her too,” Indigo went on, pointing toward the unconscious girl, “but for now you and Gage have to get to the Netherworld to save your mom.”
“You’re not coming with us?” I asked.
“Someone needs to stay and clean all this up. Listen to me, Tatum, the Shades are going to find out that Arthur is dead, and there will be hell to pay when that happens. They might go as far as to declare all-out war on the New York Lumens. If I can burn his body, then that will at least buy you some time before that happens.”
Gage finally turned from me and looked to Indigo. “We can’t leave you here to do that alone,” he argued, and I nodded my agreement.
“You can and you will. I can take care of this,” Indigo said sharply enough that I knew there was no room to debate.
Gage pressed the heel of his hands into his eyes and groaned. When he dropped his arms, the look on his face said he was resolved. “Go back to my Aunt Vera’s. Tell her I sent you and that my father is dead. She hates him enough to help you cover up his death.”
Yes, that was a good idea. Vera definitely gave off the vibe of being resourceful, so I had no doubt that if anyone knew how to dispose of or hide a body, it would be Gage’s eccentric aunt.
I grabbed Indigo’s hand. “And then get yourself to the Lumen Compound in New York and see Aurelia. Tell her what happened and where we are. And tell her I’m bringing everyone back, including her daughter. That’s a promise.”
Looking into my eyes, Indigo nodded. She was with us now, like Gage was. I knew Aurelia wouldn’t turn her away.
The next couple of minutes passed in fast forward. We bound the unconscious female Shade’s hands behind her back with Indigo’s shoelaces. It wouldn’t hold her for long, but hopefully long enough for Indigo to run and get help from Vera. We had no idea if more Shades were on the way or if the ones who ran would come back, so I needed to make this portal quickly and rejoin Drea and the others in the Netherworld.
“Get rid of the bodies, and then get your butt back to New York. Aurelia will protect you,” I reiterated to Indigo as we held hands.
“I will,” she said and then I immediately pulled on the energy from the cemetery and her to create a portal.
My mind was a mess. Gage killed his dad after he went all beasty, and he’d barely said more than two words since he told Indigo to find his aunt. I was super concerned about not only Indigo, but also my friends who I’d stranded in the Netherworld.
“Concentrate. You can do this,” Indigo encouraged me after I felt my power flare and then sputter out two times.
