Shadow Watcher (Darkness #6)(4)

“Your mom…sacrificed her life?” I put my hands in my pockets, trying not to look nosey. Charles, staring like he was, wasn’t trying at all.

“Yeah. We had a hole-in-the-wall place. Caught fire when I was a kid. Real young. I don’t remember too much. She got me out and went back for my cousin. They didn’t make it out. That’s what they told me at that scum orphanage.”

“And you didn’t get a foster family?”

A sneer crossed his face for the first time. He spit. “I’m half black, I talked about invisible people, and I was huge for my age. Naw. Best I got was some joint homes, but got kicked out of a few of them before I got smart.” He spit again.

“I learned to shut my mouth. I learned really quickly,” I admitted, stepping closer. I recognized that lost look in his eyes. The feeling that he’d never been loved. That no one wanted him. Utterly and completely alone.

I’d been lucky enough to find Stefan. Then a father and a weird uncle with a staring problem. And a bunch of guys and gals who had pledged their life to me. I had family now. This guy was still trying to make it on his own. He was trying to deal with some crazy secrets while getting his life on track. It was commendable, and for better or worse, I was totally going to adopt him.

If he didn’t try to kill me, at least.

“Your mother was a human?” I asked, already considering letting loose those bands.

“I’d think you were crazy for askin’ that shit ten minutes ago.” The man chuckled and looked away from me. “Yeah, she was human. Didn’t know my dad. Saw a picture of him once. Big, white f*cker. He was standing in the shadows, staring at the camera. My mom said she didn’t know who he was.”

“Then why’d she keep the picture?” Charles was still staring.

“Jesus, Charles, grab some popcorn while you’re at it.”

“What? This is some entertaining shit. Real life drama.”

The man glanced at Charles before turning his focus back to me. “She didn’t want to let go of that picture. She had no idea why, neither. Had it framed and everything. Kept it by her bed. But had no idea who it was.”

“Then how’d you figure it was your dad?” I asked softly.

He shrugged and went back to staring away from us. “I was young, but always thought my mom being so interested in that picture was weird. It was just in the back of my head, you know. When I got older I tried to confront one of those big f*ckers—a chick—I woke up in a park a few days later. Naked with a hard on and no memory. That freaked me out, you know? What the hell, right? I skipped out on a few jobs and just tried to make sense of that shit. Then, one night, it just…came to me. I woke up and I remembered f*cking some chick’s brains out. Great sex. Kinky shit, too. I was with a few girls at one time. And that picture came back to me. My mom never recovered her memory—or if she did, she didn’t say nothing. But maybe there was some feeling there. Maybe some part of her realized where I’d come from. I don’t know. I lost her too early to find out.”

Charles was right—this was fascinating. I cleared my throat. “Did you…ever seek them out again? Try to confront that chick?”

The man looked at me in disbelief. “Are you for real? And have my memory stolen again? What if I couldn’t get it back the next time? Naw, man. I’ve thought about those chicks, sure. They were hot. And the sex was…” He glanced away from me. “Anyway, I didn’t want to risk it. I ain’t stupid.”

“Ha! She was that stupid! Twice!” Charles pointed at me.

“Can you ever keep your mouth shut?” I berated Charles. I also ignored the man’s stare. “Too bad we can’t find out if you’re right and prove your dad was really one of Charles’ kind.”

I bit my lip, considering letting him go again.

“Yes there is—I’ve heard of a few halvsies. It doesn’t happen that often, but occasionally…” Charles pushed me aside and stood directly in front of the smaller man. He bent down to be on eye-level. “Human male. I am going to bite your neck right on your vein and suck out some blood. Do not be afraid. There is nothing to worry about.”

“What the—“

“Charles!” I batted him away. “Would you stop? Let a pretty girl at the Mansion do it at least. Good God—he doesn’t want some guy… Have you lost your mind?”

I faced the man. “Have you ever…like… really wanted something and the unexplainable happened?”

“Sometimes my gun turns a weird shade of red…” the guy admitted in a mumble.

“Awesome. Red will work.”

“But it’s not great,” Charles mediated.

“Charles, he’s human. If we teach him how, he can probably get a higher power brewing. I started out red, remember? Quit interrupting.” I wished I’d brought Jonas, who was usually quiet and left me to it when he could see that I knew what I was doing. “So, look. I can help you. You aren’t a freak or anything. Those guys in the shadows are real. Obviously--there’s one standing right next to me. And, you know, you had sex with one. Or many.” I cleared my throat again. Finding magical humans had never been this awkward before.

I assessed the spell. “So… You aren’t going to do something violent if I release you, right?”