Chapter One
AUTHOR’S NOTE:
Welcome to Salem Shadows. This book is a companion novel to the Silver Society series. It takes place fifteen years after the end of Book Nine, Eternal Night, but before Book Ten, Shattered Sanctuary. It should be read between those two books.
This book is a little bit different from the main series. It focuses on Joey, who is now almost nineteen and is about to become the leader of the next generation of Salem's protectors. His group is made up of the children of characters you already know from the main series. This is their story.
Many of the characters from the main series play a major role in this book. I must warn you that several members of the Silver Society who were alive when you last saw them have died in the last fifteen years. (Remember, they reincarnate every forty years or so and they all have to die before that can happen.) Don't be too heartbroken. I won't spoil how it happens, but I promise you will see them all again in the tenth book.
Thanks for joining our friends from Salem on this latest adventure. I hope you'll enjoy reading about Joey as an adult and the kids he's meant to guide. I've already fallen in love with all of them.
Without further delay, I bring you Salem Shadows...
CHAPTER ONE
The first thing Joey Collins noticed was the enormous amount of electricity in the air near Proctor's Ledge. As he headed toward it, he realized someone was misfiring and cursing under his breath.
"Shooter?" Joey called cautiously. It certainly felt like Shooter Berkely. No one else radiated with electricity quite the way he did.
"Ah! Son of a bitch..." A boy mumbled.
Curious, Joey moved closer, although he was careful to stay outside of zapping range. He had plenty of experience dealing with Shooter's misfirings and knew how to avoid getting hurt.
"Hey... Are you okay?" Joey asked softly.
"Do I look okay?" The boy demanded. "I mean, that was a really dumb que- Ow! Shit..." He shook his hands out and sparks flew toward the ground. The memorial light under Rebecca Nurse's stone brightened significantly as the electricity hit it.
"I know someone who can help you," Joey said. "My name's Joey... Joey Collins. What's yours?"
"Chris Cabr- Damnit! Cabrera."
"It's going to be okay, Chris," Joey said soothingly as he wrapped a shield around Chris to calm his misfiring a bit. "Has this ever happened to you before?"
"No. I have no idea what the hell is going on! My mother warned me not to come to Salem, but..." He paused.
"But what?" Joey coaxed him gently.
"But she got herself killed back in New York, and my dad lives here, so I decided to track him down. An invisible dad's gotta be better than foster care, right?"
Joey softened even more. "I'm sorry about your mom," he replied. "I'm actually originally from New York, too." He smiled at Chris eagerly.
"You don't act like you're from New York," Chris said skeptically.
"I've lived here since I was two... But I go back and visit a lot." He paused. "Look, I know a lot of people here. Maybe I can help. What's your dad's name?"
"Mom wouldn't tell me... But he lives by the waterfront and he's a cop."
Joey's eyes widened. "I think I know who your dad is, Chris."
He couldn't say anything else as a group of vampires suddenly ran down the street toward them before surrounding the small memorial to the nineteen people who had been hanged for witchcraft on that spot back in the 1690's. It was an odd spot for trouble to appear, as it was out of the way of the main tourist area of Salem.
"Um... Hi, guys," Joey said in confusion. "Is there something we can do for you?"
One of them hissed at him in response. He didn't recognize the vampires. They seemed almost feral, glaring and growling but not speaking.
"Chris..." He began. "In a minute, I want you to follow me. I'll explain after." He prepared to open a door out of there.
"Joey!" A girl suddenly screamed.
Joey spun around as he heard her voice coming from up the street. She was easily identifiable by her bright red hair, and he'd known her for her entire life. She was bleeding from too many places at once. "Echo, hang on!" He cried in alarm. "Okay, Chris, new plan... Zap the vamps!"
"How am I supposed to do that?" Chris replied.
"Just let it out. Don't fight it right now."
Chris shrugged. "Screw it. Might as well," he decided.
All of a sudden, a voice sang loudly, "Who let the vamps out?"
A second person hissed to the rhythm in the barking portion of Who Let the Dogs Out?
Thank the Gods, Joey thought as he recognized the James twins, Jagger and Lyric. "Jagger! Lyric! We need to get to Echo!" He explained.
"I'm on it!" AJ Schwartz said as he swooped in and rescued Echo Gelman, pulling her out of the way before any of the vampires could put holes in her neck.
"What the hell is going on?" Solstice Jones demanded as she joined them. She immediately began staking vampires swiftly and efficiently.
"Whoa..." Chris mumbled.
"Sol's the top slayer in the state," Joey explained. "Just like her mom used to be," he added sadly. He missed Cassandra more than he could express in words. Half of the bad guys on the East Coast had joined together to ambush her and finally take her down when Solstice was only two years old. Her father, Kurt Flint, had become the number one slayer in Massachusetts after that until Solstice came of ranking age and quickly knocked him back to being the runner up.
"Lyric, Echo needs a healer," AJ said in alarm. He was visibly struggling not to take on her injuries.
"Be right there," Lyric replied. She killed a vampire who was trying to bite her brother before heading to help.
"Dad's probably bleeding, too," Echo mumbled weakly. Her father, Arnie, was extremely empathic and often got pulled into empathic visions that caused him to take on the injuries of others.
"We'll fix him next," Joey promised.
Chris suddenly electrocuted the last dozen or so feral vampires at once. Solstice raised an eyebrow at that. "Who's the new guy?" She asked.
"Chris," Joey replied. "I'll explain later. I need to talk to Shooter first."
Solstice didn't question him. Like the others, she'd known Joey for her entire life. He'd always looked after the supernatural kids who were younger than him. He sort of felt like it was his job. He especially tried to watch over the few children who were born to Silver Society members. After all, Joey had been the first.
His mother, Jade, had only been thirteen when she had him, through no fault of her own. After she was told that he was dead, she killed her parents, and Joey remained hidden from her for months. They were finally reunited shortly before his second birthday. Joey was the furthest thing from a normal kid, and his mom was still young, but she'd done an amazing job raising him.
Joey's other "mom" was his Aunt Beth. She wasn't actually his aunt or his mom, but as his mother's best friend, she'd been in his life for almost all of it. Jade and Beth essentially raised Joey together, which wasn't so strange since the two acted like a married couple half the time anyway. Beth was AJ's mother, so AJ was practically Joey's cousin.
"Awww, did we miss all the fun? Too bad," Killian White said with a laugh.
"Is everyone okay?" His older sister Genie asked.
"We're good!" Echo replied cheerfully, giving her a thumbs up.
"Joey, what happened here? I sensed death all around you!" Angelina Phillips cried in shock as she came running toward him. She flung her arms around him and refused to let him go. Angelina had been Joey's best friend for years. The oldest daughter of Courtney Phillips had been born when Courtney was still in high school, and Courtney still refused to identify her father. She'd used magic to hide the girl until her twin sister, Aideen, had learned the truth. Joey had immediately adopted Angelina as his best friend.
Aunt Deenie... Joey thought with a sigh. Sometimes he missed her so much that it physically hurt. She'd been dead for several years now, but it felt like it had only happened recently. Some wounds never healed.
"Hello? Earth to Joey? Return to Valley!" Angelina teased him gently.
"Sorry," Joey replied, offering her a reassuring smile. "I'm not totally sure what's going on, but it involved us getting attacked by feral vampires."
"Feral? What do you mean?"
One of the vampires rose back to its feet, apparently not so dead after all. It hissed before trying to bite Angelina. She let out a squeak of surprise before pulling the stake out of his chest and putting it back in a few centimeters over, killing him for real.
"Pretty much that," Joey said with a laugh.
"Who is responsible for this?" Solstice demanded.
Lyric and Jagger immediately pointed at each other. Solstice practically growled. "Work on your damn aim!" She snapped. "You've been training as slayers for as long as you could walk. There is no excuse for missing the heart!"
A flashy stretch limo suddenly pulled up. As the door opened, a familiar face greeted them. "Get in," Chad Ko said without preamble. "You're all coming with me."
"I don't ride with warlocks," Solstice replied sharply.
"But, Sol, he's got a limo!" Jagger protested.
"And body glitter," Lyric added with a smirk.
"Your fathers taught you better than to get in the car with bad guys," Solstice reminded them.
"Just get in the car, Children, before I have to hex you," Chad said.
"Dad..." The girl sitting beside him said softly. She had light brown skin and eyes that seemed familiar to Joey.
He smiled at her automatically, uncertain why he trusted her immediately. Chad's adopted daughter, Danika, was rarely seen in public. He kept her under lock and key for her own protection. Even the warlocks rarely saw her except at mandatory gatherings. This was the first time that Joey was seeing her in person and he was startled as he examined her energy curiously. He eyed Chad questioningly.
"Not right now," Chad said to him.
"What's going on, Chad?" Joey asked cautiously.
"What's going on is that this attack isn't over and I'm bringing you all somewhere safe," Chad replied.
"To sacrifice us?" Echo joked.
"In this outfit?" Chad replied in horror. "Honey, do you know how hard it is to get blood out of this material? Just get in already."
"He's telling the truth," Joey said.
"Yeah, he'd never ruin such a great outfit," Killian agreed sarcastically.
"Killian White, get in my limo right now or I swear on everything unholy I'll call your mother," Chad said sharply.
Killian cringed and visibly paled. "Crap. Come on, Genie. Let's go."
Genie and Killian obediently entered the limo. Joey sensed a threat lurking nearby. "Guys... I think we should go with Chad," he said.
"Seriously, Joey? He kidnapped you and handed you off to warlocks when you were a toddler," Solstice reminded him.
"He'd not so bad once you get to know him," Joey replied. "Besides, he's telling the truth. Something's coming."
AJ tensed nervously. "I trust you, Joey," he said before getting into the limo.
"It's a limo," Echo said. "I'm in." She hurried in beside AJ, taking everything in with wide blue eyes.
Her mom's eyes used to turn blue when she was curious, too, Joey recalled with a sad smile. Like Melissa Morgan, Echo's eyes were naturally green.
Lyric and Jagger eagerly slid in next, followed by Angelina. Joey looked at Solstice. "Come on, Sol," he said encouragingly.
Solstice sighed and rolled her eyes before glaring at Chad. "Try anything stupid and I'll end you, Warlock," she informed him.
"You can try, honey," Chad replied. "Hurry up, Joey. We don't have all night."
"After you," Joey said, holding the door for Chris.
"I guess riding in a limo beats walking," Chris replied before getting in.
Joey took the final seat beside Chris before closing the door. The driver took off immediately.
"It's too quiet," Lyric complained. "Doesn't this thing have a radio? Crank it!"
"This isn't a trip to the club," Chad snapped. "We're escaping a threat. Let's not draw unnecessary attention to ourselves."
"Where are we going?" Joey asked.
"To a sanctuary."
"Vague much?" Echo joked.
Chad ignored her. The limo raced through the streets of Salem until they pulled up behind a beautiful old house on Bridge Street. "Everyone out," Chad said.
The other passengers emerged from the limo and followed Chad into the house. It was pitch black inside until Chad whispered a spell and a hundred or so candles ignited to light up the room. It was filled with magickal objects and books.
"Whoa... What is this place?" Chris asked.
"This property belonged to Erica Vitti," Chad explained. "No one can enter it without being with someone who has Vitti blood."
"Then how did we enter it?" Angelina asked.
Chad pulled out a jade dagger. "My soul is the protector of the Vitti bloodline. This dagger allows me to enter the property whenever I want." He paused. "Alright, for those of you I haven't officially met, I'm Chad Ko, proud member of the Erica Vitti Society, exceptionally powerful warlock, and style extraordinaire. I brought you all here because my daughter had a vision that it was necessary. I'm not one of the good guys, but I also don't ignore destiny."
"Destiny?" Echo repeated.
"Let me put this bluntly so you all can understand. You're the children of exceptionally gifted psychics and supernatural beings from Salem. You are this city's next generation of protectors... Sort of like the junior Silver Society, if you will."
"What's the Silver Society?" Chris asked as Joey's eyes widened once more.
Chad sighed. "I see this is going to be a remedial lesson," he said. "Alright, here we go. Going back to when people first began incarnating in this world, a group made up of powerful psychics was charged with protecting the innocent from the forces of Evil. Every forty years or so, as soon as the last member of that group dies, the cycle begins again. Their current cycle is right here in Salem. There are thirteen of them, although they always start at twelve. The sexy hitman is usually a surprise. He joins after the first death of a member. This time around, the first to die was Spencer Connelly."
Joey felt sorrow in his heart at the mention of Spencer, his mother's first love. He had died less than a year after Joey met him, but Joey had been very attached to him, and Spencer's death had broken his mother.
"What does this have to do with us?" Killian asked. "Mom and Dad weren't exactly part of their little club."
"Of course not. Your parents are E.V.S. members... However, Arthur started the Great Teenage Warlock Rebellion, and Kit... Well, she's not exactly good, but she's not evil, either. They are both allies to the Silver Society. Such a disgrace..." Chad tsk-tsked.
"You're their ally, too, Chad," Joey said.
"How dare you call me an ally to those goody-two-shoes with no style! I was Cierra's ally. Cierra was the descendant of Erica Vitti. It was my job to protect her. It's not my fault that her pathetic friends happened to be around so much when she needed rescuing."
"I still don't understand why I'm here," Chris said.
"Let me explain... Danika, where's the list?" Chad asked. Danika handed him a silver scroll.
Joey gasped. "Where did you get that?" He demanded. He moved closer and ripped it out of Chad's perfectly manicured hands with tears in his eyes.
"I found it," Danika explained. "It showed up in my room last night. I only noticed because it started glowing."
"Isn't that...?" Solstice began.
"Alex's scroll," Joey confirmed as he clutched it to his chest. "It vanished after he died." His voice cracked slightly with emotion. Angelina squeezed his shoulder supportively.
"I'm sorry... I'm still lost," Chris said as he looked at Joey with obvious concern.
"Alex was the leader of the Silver Society. His soul is my soul's grandfather," Joey explained. "We were pretty close. It's kind of a shock to see the scroll here."
"Why would Alex's scroll appear to a warlock?" Solstice asked suspiciously.
"I'll explain that soon," Chad promised. He paused before saying, "Can I have that back now, Joey?"
Joey shook his head, still clinging to the scroll as if it was Alex himself. Chad sighed. "Fine. It's far less dramatic without the scroll in my hands, but I memorized the list anyway."
He took a deep breath and began reciting. "River Joseph Collins, son of Jade Collins... It is your destiny to guide these wayward misfits, just as it was Alex's destiny to guide the Silver Society. You are the oldest and you are by far the most thoroughly trained with magick, with the possible exception of my Danika. You open doors between dimensions, are a practicing witch and necromancer, and are an all-around psychic just like Alex was. You are also a Reaper."
"Only by blood," Joey replied as he tried to take in what Chad was saying. "Other than seeing spirits, I have no real connection to my Reaper powers. My biological father was the Reaper, not me."
"The potential is in your blood, Joey, even if the gifts haven't woken up yet," Chad insisted. "Next, we have Echo Gelman, daughter of Arnie and Melissa. Like your mother, you're a shapeshifting witch, like your father, you're an empathic healer, and like both of your parents, you're a slayer. Your mom was murdered when you were pretty little, but your dad's still alive and kicking."
"That was blunt," Chris mumbled.
"It's fine. I'm remarkably well-adjusted," Echo replied with a grin.
"The twins, Jagger and Lyric James, are the children of Dylan Messina and Logan James, a member of the Silver Society and the king of the wererats. Your fathers used the same surrogate and tried their luck at who'd father the kid, only to learn that she was having twins and that Dylan is Lyric's biological father and Logan is Jagger's. Like her father, Lyric is a powerful healer. Both of you are slayers, just as your dads are, and Jagger was born a wererat. He infected Lyric to save her life when they were nine, so Lyric is also a rat, but not a royal one."
"It's like he stalked us," Lyric quipped.
"Someone needs a hobby," Jagger agreed.
"Believe me, this is the last thing I want to be doing," Chad said. "My time is valuable, so shut up and stop wasting it."
"Dad, come on," Danika said. "Be nice."
"I don't have that setting," he replied in a tone that told Joey they'd had this debate many times before and it was a bit of an inside joke between them.
"Keep going," Danika encouraged him.
"Right. Aiden Jeremy Schwartz..."
"I go by AJ," he corrected Chad.
"Names have power. You're named after the infamous warlock assassin, Aideen Phillips, and a fairly talented but rebellious warlock your parents were close to named Jeremy Getty who died to save your father's life. You should honor that, AJ," Chad said, rolling his eyes at the nickname. "As I was saying, you are the son of Randy Schwartz and Bethany Ashford. You're a slayer and are telekinetic. You have your mother's empathy. You're also a necromancer who can command armies of the dead, including zombies."
AJ cringed. "I hate zombies..." He mumbled.
"Solstice Jones is the daughter of Cassandra Jones, the greatest slayer in Salem's history, and Kurtis Flint, the wereleopard king. You are a wereleopard royal, an extremely badass slayer, and a powerful warrior who should never be crossed. Unlike your mother, you're also a practicing witch, thanks to your dad. Your mother was part of the Silver Society and your father is their ally."
Solstice stood there looking a little bit lost. Joey knew that, as tough as she acted, she had a softer side. She got that from Kurt. Joey knew how much Solstice longed to live up to her mother's legacy and make her proud. If this was connected to Cassandra, Solstice would agree to help.
"Angelina Phillips is the daughter of Courtney and the niece of Aideen. Father unknown," Chad continued.
"Even to the scroll? Unbelievable!" Angelina whined.
"Your mom was close to Alex," Joey reminded her. "She probably did something to block it from telling him who your father was."
"Angelina is a powerful witch, healer, and vampire. Unlike her mother, she is also a slayer," Chad explained. "Genie Blaire White is the daughter of Arthur White and Lydia Blaire. She is a prophetess like her mother. Her visions are always accurate, even if that isn't obvious in the moment. Killian White is the son of Arthur White and Kitten McPherson. He is a very powerful young warlock and is hydrokinetic like his mother. And, finally, we have Christopher Cabrera. Christopher is an extremely powerful energy sensitive and manipulator. His mother bound his powers when he was a baby, but they unlocked upon her death."
"Wait... She bound me? That's why this is only kicking in now?" Chris asked.
"Exactly. Your mom and dad had a one night stand and she decided to hide you from him."
"Do you know who he is?"
"Yes I do. Your father is-"
"Shooter," Joey said, cutting Chad off.
"Holy crap!" The twins cried in unison.
"Whoa..." AJ mumbled.
"Way to ruin my dramatic reveal, Joey," Chad said with a pout. "That's okay, I have an even bigger one."
"My dad's name is Shooter?" Chris repeated.
"It's Oscar Berkely, actually, but no one calls him that," Joey explained. "Shooter's really close to my mom. He has the same powers you do."
"And, finally... Danika Ko," Chad said. "As most of you know, my sweet daughter was adopted. Officially, I found this young, helpless warlock after her parents died and I decided to take her in. That, my young misfits, is a lie."
"A warlock lied? Impossible!" Echo joked.
"Danika's mother was someone very important to me. When she was born, her parents knew she wouldn't be safe, so they entrusted her to my care. I split off a body and took her back in time to raise her here, in secret, until she was old enough that no one would suspect the truth."
"You walk the time line?" Joey asked in surprise.
"I do a lot of things, Joey." He looked at Danika with genuine affection. "I despise children, but my Danika was different. She was this sweet, powerful little thing and she was helpless... So I took care of her, and I grew to love her." He paused. "If any of you repeat that, I will destroy you."
"Your secret's safe with us," Joey promised.
"It better be... Because I have a really important one to tell you." He eyed Danika nervously.
"Dad, go on... I'm ready," she said.
"Danika is the daughter of two Silver Society members... Cierra Denton and Alex Paxton."
Everyone froze. "Cierra never had a kid," Solstice finally objected, breaking the stunned silence.
"She asked me to accelerate her pregnancy with magick so no one would know the truth. She and Alex visited Danika as often as they could, here, in secret, until Cierra died. Even after that, Alex kept coming. He helped me train her. Danika is clairvoyant, like Cierra. She has all the powers of the Vitti line. She also has her father's gifts as an all-around psychic. She is truly special."
"Why would Cierra and Alex trust you to raise their kid?" Solstice demanded.
"Because I'm the guardian of the Vitti line. I take my job seriously. They knew I'd never harm her or let anyone else do it."
"So what happens now?" Jagger asked curiously.
"Now, you all process what I said, and I leave you to it."
"You're not staying? Aren't you our mentor or whatever?" Killian asked.
"Like I would ever lower myself to that," Chad replied in disgust. "Joey's your leader. He can figure it out. Danika, I'll see you at home."
"Hold on... If we're in so much danger, shouldn't you help us?" Chris asked.
"You aren't my responsibility, but use the sanctuary as a base if you must. Danika can come and go from here freely. She'll bring you back whenever you need it."
"What about those things that attacked us?" Echo asked. "They weren't normal vampires."
"No. They weren't. They're also not my problem. This is your destiny. Figure it out." With that, Chad dramatically strutted out of the house.
"Joey... You're being awfully quiet," Angelina said.
He sighed as everyone looked at him expectantly. The first thing he did was force himself to give the scroll back to Danika.
"You're our leader," she said in confusion. "Shouldn't you keep it?"
"It belonged to your father," Joey replied softly. "It's your birthright until he reincarnates. The Scroll appeared to you for a reason."
"Thank you," she said sadly. "My dad's been great to me, but I miss my birth father. I was really little when my mom died, but I still remember Alex."
"Joey... What do we do now?" AJ asked nervously.
"We train," Joey replied. "I can teach you guys to use your powers, and I do have some training in physical combat, but the slayers are better at that."
"And what do we do about the feral vampires?" Angelina asked.
"We stake them," Lyric replied.
"In the heart," Jagger added with a smirk.
"Joey... Can you introduce me to my dad?" Chris asked.
"Of course I can. Shooter's basically family," Joey replied.
"How long do we have to stay here?" Solstice asked.
"Just a few more minutes," Danika replied. "The activity calmed down. I think it's safe."
Genie began drawing furiously in the notebook she carried everywhere. "Sis is at it again," Killian said as he watched her.
Joey moved closer and looked at the page. What he saw made him gasp. A body lay beside a severed head. The eyes stared at Joey blankly.
"Jacob..." He whispered.
"Do you know the dead guy?" Chris asked.
"Jacob was the Master Vampire of Salem for a long time... He died when I was pretty little, during the Silver Society's last big battle..."
Genie turned the page and kept drawing. This time, Jacob's head was attached again. He was pointing at something on the ground. Joey was even more startled as Genie quickly sketched a field filled with corpses.
"Ashes, ashes, we all fall down..." Genie sang softly.
"Sis, you're creeping me out," Killian said softly. "Come back to us." He tried to touch her. Genie began screaming before starting a third sketch. This time, Salem was in ruins. Standing in the center of the destruction was Giles Corey.
"Oh no..." Joey mumbled.
"What's wrong?" Solstice asked.
"That's Giles Corey," he explained. "The last two times he showed himself, there was major trouble. The first time, Cierra's half-sister, Rikki, and a group of lycanthrope hunters almost killed everyone."
"Everyone?" Angelina repeated.
"Everyone."
"And the second time?" Chris asked.
"This dimension and Mirror were nearly destroyed. The In-Between had to be rebuilt from scratch... It was the closest we've ever come to the end of all worlds," Joey replied.
"Should we panic?" AJ asked.
"Not until we see him in person," Joey replied, trying to calm the others down. Panicking wouldn't help. "Then we'll know for sure if there's a real threat."
"It's safe now," Genie said as she snapped out of her vision. "We can go."
Joey nodded. "We'll meet up tomorrow at my mom's store," he decided. "Or maybe we should just come here, since Danika can let us in. Come on, guys. I'll bring everyone home." He opened a door to the hall which led to all other realms.
"Whoa... What is this place?" Chris asked.
"The portal to my world, and all worlds," Joey replied. "It's the safest way to travel." He offered Chris his hand.
"What if I spark again?" Chris asked.
"I can handle a few sparks," Joey replied with a reassuring smile. "Come on, Chris. I promise after I bring everyone else home I'll take you to Shooter."
Chris took his hand and allowed Joey to lead him into the portal. One by one, he dropped his friends off until only he and Chris were left.
"This is incredible..." Chris mumbled.
"Thanks. I'm the key to the Tenth Dimension... My world. Maybe I'll bring you there sometime," Joey said eagerly.
Too fast, Joey, he scolded himself. You just met the guy. Give him time to adjust before inviting him back to your place.
He blushed at his own thoughts. He was terribly awkward sometimes because he'd never been a normal kid. Joey was very comfortable with people he knew well, but he had trouble with strangers because he didn't always know what would sound weird or awkward to someone who didn't know the truth about him.
They emerged at Pickering Wharf. "Hmmm..." Joey mumbled. "I guess Shooter's here."
He followed his instincts until he found himself standing in front of Om Shanti, the new age store his mother and Beth owned. Sure enough, Shooter was inside talking to Jade.
"Hey, Mom! Shooter," Joey greeted them cheerfully.
His mother hugged him before looking at Chris and asking, "Who's your friend, Joey?"
"Mom, this is Chris," Joey explained. "Chris, meet my mom, Jade Collins."
"It's a pleasure," Chris replied. "Joey sort of saved my ass a little while ago."
Jade raised an eyebrow at his accent. "You're a New Yorker," she said.
"Yeah... Born and raised in Brooklyn," he replied.
"I grew up in Manhattan. So, what brings you boys by?"
"Well, Chris came to Salem looking for his father," Joey began. "I found him at Proctor's Ledge... Sparking."
Jade's eyes widened. "That explains the energy you felt, Shooter," she said. She studied Chris and Joey knew that she understood.
"That was you? You're strong, kid," Shooter said. "Shooter Berkely, by the way."
"Chris Cabrera," Chris replied. "I'm your son."
Shooter sighed. "That would explain your energy," he said after a few moments.
"You're not surprised to find out you have a long-lost son?" Chris asked.
"I'm hardly a monk, Chris. It was bound to happen eventually in my eternal existence."
"Eternal?" Chris repeated.
"My Goth Chick and Deenie, bless them, accidentally turned me immortal in an attempt to keep me from dying. And it worked... Forever. Impulsive teenagers probably shouldn't be allowed to marathon-cast spells unsupervised."
"So that's it?" Chris asked. "You're just going to accept this?"
"You're my kid. I can tell just from the energy, but we'll do a DNA test to make it official. How old are you?"
"Seventeen. I'll be eighteen in about a month."
"Where's your mom?"
"Six feet under."
Shooter frowned. "Sorry... I guess you need a place to stay? I've got a guest room you can take over."
"Just like that?"
"This is Salem, Chris. This news isn't even remotely strange compared to everything else in my life. I've never been a father before, but I know this much... I'm supposed to give you shelter."
"Thanks, I guess."
Jade watched them as they studied each other awkwardly. Joey could tell that his mother was hearing their thoughts and getting a headache.
"Come on," Jade said. "We're going to dinner. My treat."
"No way, Goth Chick. I'll pay," Shooter replied.
"You can pay next time. This one's on me. Let's go." She practically dragged them out of the shop, locking the door behind them.
As they headed to one of Joey's favorite spots, he thought at his mother, Smooth.
Someone had to give them something to focus on, she replied. I couldn't take much more awkwardness.
I need to talk to you, Mom. Something kind of huge happened.
She nodded and he knew they'd discuss it at home later. As Joey tried to process everything that had just happened, he focused on eating to ground himself. Whatever was coming, it was big, and he knew they'd need to be ready for it sooner rather than later.
