Shadow Rising

There was a lot going on in my head as I went inside the house and tiptoed up to my room. The fact my stepdad-to-be was a murderer being the most pressing thought.

I desperately wanted to call Gus and off-load. He’d only been out of reach for a day but already it felt like too long.

Once I reached my room, I slumped into bed and stared up at the ceiling, my mind spinning. I’d already been less than thrilled about coming to New York, gaining a stepfamily, and starting a new school. Now I’d signed up to a whole covert spy operation to bring down the establishment. So much for keeping my head down and getting through senior year.

I heard a knock on my door. I sat up and groaned. It was probably Heidi.

“I’m in the middle of homework!” I shouted.

The door handle rattled.

I leaped up and hurried for the door as it began to open, ready to slam my palm against it and shut it right in Heidi’s nosy face.

But it wasn’t Heidi. It was Geiser.

I froze with surprise as he marched right in.

“Uhh, come on in?” I said.

Having him standing in my room felt so wrong. From the expression on his face, I knew straight away that this wasn’t a friendly stop-by. He knew I’d been out during dusk. What else did he know? That I’d been chatting with Nik? That I knew he was a murderous asswipe?

A feeling of disquiet swept through my body. My pulse quickened with dread.

“What do you want?” I asked.

“I want you to stop upsetting my fiancée.”

I frowned. “What? What did I do?”

Geiser had a stern, parental expression on his face. I was so not in the mood for it. I’d known him for precisely one day. It was way too soon for him to pull the stand-in dad routine on me. Not to mention the fact I was almost an adult and the days of a stern talking-to having any effect on me were way in the distant past. And, you know, him being a murderer and all.

“Emerald told us about your behavior at school,” he said.

I sighed. Of course she had, the little snitch. So much for helping me out with some friendly advice. Bet she couldn’t wait to get her cell phone out and show Mom my pink-pantied wrestle with the Baphomet.

“Why do you insist on carrying that stupid thing around with you?” Geiser sneered, nodding his head to where my bow lay across my bed.

I felt a sting in my chest. “It was my father’s.”

“It’s a security blanket. Stop acting like a baby and grow up.”

His words were so cold and harsh they were in complete contrast to the schmoozing of yesterday. It was like he’d had a personality transplant overnight. I guess psychopaths could do that, switch their charm on when it suited them.

“Everything she does, she does for you,” Geiser continued. “Do you understand that?”

I raised an eyebrow to convey my disagreement. “You mean like how she kept you a secret from me?”

“That was to protect you.”

“Protect me from what? Getting upset about how quickly she forgot Dad? Because springing it on me at the last second only made it worse.”

“Your mother is only ever trying to do what’s right for you.”

I scoffed. “Clearly you don’t know her very well.”

Suddenly he grabbed me. I gasped in stunned surprise as his hands tightened on my arms, his fingertips like little pincers digging into my flesh. Then he slammed me back against the wall, knocking the wind out of me.

I “oofed” with pain.

“You’re only here because of her,” he sneered.

A sharp ache radiated from the place he held me. Panic fluttered in my chest. I faltered. “What do you mean?”

“I love your mother, Theia. But that feeling does not extend to you. The last thing I want in my life is a stupid, ugly, dirty, uncivilized Elkie daughter. Do you know how bad that looks for my publicity? In this political climate?”

I was stunned. So I’d been right, even if I hadn’t expected my suspicion to be confirmed so soon. The gifts and schmoozing had all been an act. He hated me just as much as I hated him. The cold look in his eyes was terrifying. I bet it was the same look he had in his eye as he watched Carmella Reed die.

“You’re a dick,” I told him.

At my words, a strange evil smile spread across his lips. “If you make any trouble, Theia, I have ways of dealing with you. So don’t tempt me.”

He shoved me one last time against the wall, then marched out of my room.

I slid down the wall, panting. William Geiser had just threatened to kill me. Before, I’d thought Mom was marrying a jerk. Now I knew for certain she was marrying a violent, murderous psychopath.

I reached for the necklace around my neck, yanked it off, and threw it across the room.

A surge of determination swelled inside of me.

I was going to stop William Geiser.