Chapter One
CHAPTER ONE
Staring out the window of his Uptown New York office at what would likely be the last snowfall of the year, Juan Paxton wondered where he had gone wrong. He was living the life he'd once sworn he would never live, running a multimillion dollar corporation, married to his second wife, who was barely half his age, and following the stock market religiously. He loved his wife and their twin toddlers, but the rest of this corporate life, he could do without.
"What are you doing, Juan?" He asked his reflection in the glass. "You have no reason to be depressed. You have everything."
Something made him turn around then, although he wasn't sure what. There was a dark feeling in the room which had not been present previously. "Is someone there?" Juan asked nervously. He saw no one, but he knew better than to assume that meant he was safe. Every psychic sensor he possessed was shrieking at him to get out of the office immediately.
I know what scares you, a voice inside of his mind whispered. I know your regrets, your dreams, and your desires.
"Who are you?" Juan demanded. "What do you want from me?"
I am Death, he said. I've come for you.
Juan tried to run then, but he knew on some level that it was too late. The door slammed shut as he reached it. Bobbi, he thought. Dear Gods, please let Bobbi be safe.
Oh, your little jailbait trophy wife is perfectly safe, the voice taunted. I have other plans for her, you see, and she needs to stay alive for them to succeed.
"If you hurt my wife, I'll destroy you," Juan said, annoyed that the voice was not only able to taunt him, but could hear his every thought.
That will be impressive, seeing as how you'll be dead and all. The voice laughed. Juan still saw no one in the room. Was it possible to be killed by an attacker in their astral form? Sadly, he had never thought to ask his contacts at the New York Unit this, but he suspected he was about to find out.
"Why are you doing this?" Juan asked.
It's nothing personal, Juan. This is just what I do.
"You aren't a Reaper. This isn't your job."
How would you know?
"I know what Reapers feel like. You're something else."
"Clever, clever, Juan," The voice said, now speaking outside of his mind. "Unfortunately, it won't help you now."
Alex... Alex, help me, Juan thought, praying the words would reach his son in Salem, Massachusetts. It was the only way he might have a chance of surviving this. Alex was a body splitter. He could get to New York in seconds. He was also very close to the strongest Reaper on the East Coast, Aideen Phillips, who shared the body splitting talent and could join him.
"That's not how we play this game," the voice said. He stood beside Juan now, and Juan was horrified to see his eyes from behind a plastic mask. They were completely empty and cold, the eyes of a sociopath. He knew what he was doing, and he didn't care. He was going to kill Juan without the slightest hesitation. "You don't get to call for help. They will never reach you in time. Connect to anyone again, and I'll invade their mind as well and make them watch you die."
"No," Juan whispered. "Please don't go after him. I'm sorry. Kill me, do whatever the hell you want, but don't hurt him."
"Ah, yes, love. I never did understand the loyalty it produces in people," the voice replied. He laughed. Pulling out a blade which Juan knew would soon pierce his flesh, the owner of the voice smiled at Juan and said, "This will hurt, but don't worry. It won't matter soon."
Juan made one final desperate attempt to open the door, but it was sealed. As the blade was shoved through his chest, Juan thought of Bobbi, of Alex, of his daughter Hillary, of the twins and, oddly, of his ex-wife Jodi. It was her image which somehow provided him with comfort as a final breath escaped from his lips.
~*~
Alex Paxton awoke sweating and trembling. He had fallen asleep on the couch in his living room, and now Melissa Morgan and Jesse Rodriguez, his "stray kids," watched him in alarm. Melissa's naturally green eyes were blue and wide, and her hair was purple, thanks to her ability to change her appearance at will. Jesse, whose form changes usually involved shifting into a wolf, was human at the moment.
"Man, Alex, are you okay?" Jesse asked. "You scared the hell out of us. We've been trying to wake you up for, like, two hours."
"I'm fine," Alex forced himself to reply. He sat up and tried to clear his mind. It was just a dream, he told himself. It had to be.
"You're a really lousy liar, Alex," Melissa said gently. "Remember how you're always telling us it's a waste of time and energy to lie to psychics? The same is true for you."
"I just had a nightmare," Alex insisted. "Really, it was nothing."
The telephone rang. Alex stared at it in alarm and did not move to answer it. If he answered it, the dream which had replayed in his mind several times before he had finally woken up would be true, and he could not deny it any longer. He wasn't ready to hear what he knew was coming. Melissa looked at him, confused, before walking toward the phone.
"Don't answer that!" Alex snapped at her.
Melissa blinked. Alex never yelled at her or Jesse, and she was startled. "Alex, what the hell's wrong?" Jesse demanded.
"Just... Don't, okay?" Alex's voice was much softer now, almost like that of a terrified child, and it was begging for them to just do as he requested without questioning him.
"Okay," Melissa said softly. The phone stopped ringing, and everyone was silent for a moment. Suddenly, the doorbell rang.
"Damnit," Alex mumbled.
"Should we ignore that?" Melissa asked.
"No," Alex replied. "There's no point. Tell Tony I know and I will be in New York as soon as possible."
Melissa opened the door to reveal a tall man wearing a suit standing on the other side. He had short, meticulously neat brown hair and concerned brown eyes. "Hi," Melissa said.
"Hello," the man replied gently, clearly concerned he might intimidate Melissa. "My name is-"
"Tony," Melissa finished for him. "Alex told me. He says he knows and will be in New York as soon as possible."
"I really need to speak with him directly," Tony said.
"There's nothing to talk about," Alex replied, appearing behind Melissa. "I know why you're here. Melissa, wait inside, okay?" Melissa nodded and rejoined Jesse in the living room.
"I'm sorry, Alex. They found him an hour ago and identified him immediately. When they ran his file, your name came up and since you're cross-referenced as a former employee of the New York Unit, they called me. They thought I should be the one to tell you," Tony said.
"And to think, they don't even know that you're a body splitter and can get here in about ten seconds," Alex replied bitterly. "Just go, Tony. I'll handle things, but I can't do this right now. I need a little bit of time."
Tony hesitated, then took a deep breath and said, "Alex, there's more."
"More? How the hell is there more?" Alex demanded.
"They've arrested Bobbi," Tony replied.
This threw Alex enough that the sarcasm and anger left him instantly. "What? They can't possibly think that she-"
"The murder weapon has her prints all over it, and no one else's."
"She didn't do it, Tony. It was a man. A psychic man, I might add, so the Unit should take the case, not the local homicide team."
"You saw it?"
"Yeah, about fifty times. I got stuck."
"I'm sorry, Alex." Tony's sympathy was genuine, and Alex appreciated that, but that didn't mean he wanted to hear the words, so he simply shrugged.
"Look, Alex, you don't have to handle this alone. I'll call your sister and your mother," Tony offered.
"No, let me do it," Alex replied. "I should be the one to tell them." He paused as something occurred to him. "Hold on... Bobbi's in jail, so who's got Jack and Jill?"
"Right now, they're with Bobbi's parents. I pulled some strings and they should be able to stay with them for the duration unless you or Hillary want to take them."
"Can't you just get Bobbi acquitted? She didn't do this, Tony. She may be significantly younger than my dad, but she's not a killer."
"I know, but we can't prove that. You know we can't get someone released just because of a vision. That doesn't hold up in court."
"What good is the Unit if they have to prove things the same way the regular cops do?" Alex asked in frustration.
"We have an edge," Tony reminded him. "Our psychic abilities lead us in the right direction. Look, I don't want Bobbi in jail, either. I'll do what I can to get her released on bail for now. She certainly has money, so I'm sure it can be paid."
"Work on it, and I'll be in New York tomorrow, okay?" Alex asked.
"Alright. I'll see you then. Do you need a place to stay?"
"I'll stay at the penthouse. They have a couple of spare rooms. I'm sure Hill will want to stay there, too," Alex replied.
"Doesn't she have school?"
"Yeah, but I know my sister, and she's stubborn. I'm not going to try to win that argument. It's like trying to win a debate against Aideen."
"Alright. I truly am sorry, Alex."
"I know. Thanks, Tony."
Tony nodded, acknowledging the dismissal, and disappeared. "Neat trick," Jesse said, appearing next to Alex in the doorway. "I wish I was a body splitter."
"Jesse, you attract enough drama with one body," Melissa pointed out as she joined him. "I think you're better off this way, no offense."
"None taken," Jesse replied. "You're right. We were just coming to check on you, Alex."
"Yeah," Melissa added, unable to mask her curiosity as her hair turned hot pink. "What was all of that about?"
"My father died," Alex replied tonelessly. The words felt strange as they left his lips. It was beyond surreal. It couldn't have happened.
"Oh, Alex, that's awful!" Melissa said.
"What happened?" Jesse asked.
"He was murdered," Alex replied. "And they arrested my stepmother."
"Wow," Jesse said softly. He paused before asking, "Did she do it?"
"No," Alex replied. "It was a man, but her prints are all over the murder weapon."
"I'm sorry, Alex," Jesse said. Having lost his mother a few years earlier at his father's hands, Jesse understood Alex's grief. Alex tried to take this into consideration and not snap at Jesse for saying the words he did not want to hear.
Alex shook his head. "I can't do this," he mumbled. He walked into his bedroom and shut the door, and moments later, Jesse and Melissa could hear him crying softly on the other side.
"Alex doesn't cry," Melissa whispered, "does he?"
"Not really," Jesse confirmed. "He might tear up a little, but he never breaks down. He's always been really tough, you know? He's the rock of the Silver Society. I guess it comes with being the guardian."
"What can we do to help him? We can't just leave him like this."
"I don't know. I wish I did, but honestly, nothing makes this kind of pain go away. I went nuts after my mom died. Literally." Jesse shuddered, pushing images of his time in the psychiatric ward out of his mind. Alex had saved him from spending his life locked up in either prison or a loony bin, but he wasn't sure how to repay the favor.
"I know it doesn't go away. My parents died when I was two, and I can't remember them at all, but there's not a day that goes by when I don't mourn them," Melissa reminded him.
The doorbell rang and Jesse and Melissa exchanged a glance. "I know we're superheroes and we keep odd hours by nature, but isn't it kind of late for people to keep ringing the doorbell?" Melissa asked.
Jesse answered the door this time, relieved to see Aideen Phillips, her blonde hair streaked purple and her wardrobe distinctly punk. "Deenie, wow," Jesse said. "You look great."
"Keep it in your pants, Jesse," Aideen replied playfully. She kissed her boyfriend gently before saying, "I'm here to see Alex."
"It's not a great time."
"I know. That's why I'm here. Death touched him, hard. I feel it. What happened?"
"His father was just murdered," Jesse said as gently as he could.
Aideen paused for a moment, and Jesse was worried she might turn around and leave. Her father, who she had been closer to than anyone in the world, had been murdered less than a year earlier during an attempt to prevent the opening of the "apocalypse in a box," as the members of the Silver Society usually called it these days. It was a loss she still struggled with.
"Oh Gods, where is he?" Aideen asked.
"He's in his room," Melissa replied.
Aideen walked toward the door. "It's locked," Jesse said.
"Like that's going to stop me? Come on, Jesse, you're supposed to be a slayer. Breaking and entering is Slaying 101," Aideen reminded him. She had the door open in moments and left Jesse and Melissa outside as she closed it behind herself.
Aideen was startled, but not entirely surprised, to see Alex curled up in a tight ball on his bed, crying so hard that no sound escaped from him as his body shook violently. She crawled into the bed beside him, as her best friend Arnie Gelman had often done for her, and wrapped her body around his.
Alex did not protest, but merely allowed Aideen to hold him until he could breathe again. He finally freed himself from her embrace and sat up. Aideen followed suit.
"Hi, Deenie," Alex managed. His voice was hoarse.
"Hey," Aideen replied. She knew better than to say she was sorry for his loss. She had hated those words so much after her father's death, and she suspected Alex was already feeling the same way. "Do you want some cookies? I could send Jesse and Melissa out for them. Jesse can pick himself up a doggy treat."
Alex laughed in spite of himself. "How do you do that?" He asked her.
"Do what?" Aideen asked innocently.
"How do you know what will make me laugh when I really don't want to?"
"I've been where you are. Besides, chocolate and cookies make everything better, if only temporarily."
"Thanks."
"No problem." Aideen walked over to the door and opened it slightly. "Cookie run," she said to Jesse. "You know what Alex likes. Take Melissa and go pick it up."
"Okay," Jesse replied, not questioning this. Aideen was one of the few people Alex let his guard down around. Jesse knew she would be able to help him.
"Deenie," Alex began when Jesse and Melissa had left, "I need to go to New York for a while. I'll keep a body here, too, so you guys have me, but-"
"But you need some help with running things," Aideen guessed. "No problem, Alex. I'll keep everyone functioning and safe. You can go to New York fully if you want. I can handle things here. Everything's been quiet since February anyway."
"And it is already the middle of April, which means we're overdue for chaos," Alex pointed out.
"Hey, we didn't have any issues during the Ides of March, right? I'd say we're doing pretty well."
"Things have been too quiet. The bad guys will show themselves soon. They always do."
"You're such an optimist, Alex," Aideen teased him.
"Alright, so maybe I sound paranoid, but I think I'm being realistic."
"You are, but there's no point in dwelling on it. Whatever is going to happen will happen, and we'll survive it, like we always do."
"I really hope you're right."
"Just like you, I usually am."
Alex smiled weakly. "Thanks, Deenie."
"For what?" She asked.
"For coming over. For being you. For not saying you're sorry. Take your pick."
Aideen returned his smile. "Anytime, Alex." She looked at him thoughtfully before asking, "Is there anything you need help with?"
"Not really."
"You don't have to do this alone, Alex. You've got all of us."
"I'll be fine, Deenie."
"I met your dad, remember? I really liked him. I'd like to help, and I know how much planning a funeral sucks. Mom had help. You should, too."
"How did you know I'd be planning it?"
"What, were you going to leave it up to Bambi?"
"You mean Bobbi," he corrected her.
"Same thing." Aideen twirled her hair and said, "That's Bobbi with, like, an i!"
"Come on, she's not that bad. Bobbi's actually a complete sweetheart."
"You just think she's hot."
"She is hot, but that's not the point here."
"No, the point is that she should have been dating you, not your dad. I mean she's like, what, eighteen?"
"She's twenty-six, actually."
"Oh, big difference. She's barely older than you are, Alex."
"Yeah, I know, but they loved each other." Alex sighed. "Besides, Bam- I mean, Bobbi's in jail."
"Wait, they think she did it?" Aideen asked, suddenly serious. "She doesn't have that kind of strength. Your dad was too big for her to overpower."
"I know, but they can't prove otherwise."
"Guilty until proven innocent, huh?"
"Yeah. My guess is that they think she married him for the money."
"Did she?"
"No," Alex said after a pause. "I know that she actually loved him. I never really liked that Dad was with someone so young, but she's harmless, and I really think it was karma. If you watched them together for two minutes, you wouldn't question that they were soulmates."
"Well, that happens, sometimes," Aideen replied, trying not to think of her first real "boyfriend," the married father of her friends, who she had helped kill when he turned out to be a warlock. Alex did not know about her relationship with Lewis Ashford. As far as she knew, almost no one did, and she planned to keep it that way. "Karma has a way of making its own rules."
"I need to get Bobbi some help. She won't last long in prison," Alex said.
"No, she's flakey and looks like a cheerleader. She'll end up as someone's bitch."
"Pretty much." He sighed. "Johnny's not a body splitter, and the only other lawyer I'd trust with something this important is Danny. He's Uanie, so he can be in New York without leaving Salem."
"I'm sure Danny will help," Aideen said. "He's a goon, but when it comes to his clients, he's almost never lost a case."
Alex nodded and dialed the number he knew by heart. Danny was Jesse's lawyer, and had helped Alex get custody of Jesse when the courts wanted to lock him up forever after he killed his foster family. They were corrupt slayers, and Jesse was out of his mind with grief when he did it, but with the long list of petty but frequent crimes in his past, the police had practically wanted him on death row.
"Eckerd," Danny answered, sounding annoyed.
"Look, Danny, I know it's late, but you never sleep anyway," Alex began.
"Alex? What did Jesse do now?" Danny asked.
"It's not Jesse. I need a favor."
"Don't tell me you got arrested! And isn't Johnny your lawyer?"
"I'm not in jail, and yeah, he is, but I need a body splitter."
"Okay, give me a minute. I'll come over." Moments later, Danny was standing outside of Alex's house, still in his pajamas. They looked like a child's pajamas, with spaceships on them and booties attached to the pants. Ignoring this as well as Aideen's giggle fit at the sight of Danny's ensemble, Alex led him inside and explained the situation.
Danny paused to take everything in before saying, "Of course I'll help. I can be in New York later this morning."
"Thanks. And Danny?" Alex began.
"Yeah?" Danny replied.
"She's young. Very young. She's also really pretty and I know you. Please don't flirt with her."
"Hey, the woman just lost her husband. I've got more tact than that."
"Bullshit," Aideen coughed. She blinked at Danny innocently.
Danny ignored her. "I won't hit on a grieving widow. That would be wrong. Besides, I don't date clients."
"Good," Alex replied.
"So, I'm going home to work on a plan, and I'll see you later," Danny said.
"Okay," Alex replied. "Thank you, Danny."
As Danny left, Alex picked up the phone and dialed his sister's number. Hillary answered on the first ring. "Who the hell is calling me at this hour?" She demanded.
"Your brother," Alex replied.
"What's wrong?" Hillary demanded.
Alex sighed. He couldn't say the words again, could he? "Hill, I have bad news. Really bad."
"What is it, Al?"
"It's Dad..."
Hillary knew what was coming now. "How?" She asked softly.
"He was murdered."
"What? Who the hell would want to kill Dad?"
"The cops think it was Bobbi, but I know she didn't do it. It was some guy."
"Who's got the babies?"
"The in-laws."
"Yuck. We need to liberate them."
"Yeah, I agree."
"I'll be in New York tonight."
"I'll be there by the afternoon. See you later."
"Yeah." Hillary hung up before Alex could hear her crying, but he knew that she was.
"Who's going with you?" Aideen asked.
"Um, no one?" Alex replied.
"Wrong answer, Alex. You aren't doing this alone. Let me go. I can split a body."
"I don't want to ask you to do that."
"You didn't ask. I offered. Besides, you need me."
Alex knew better than to argue further. "Alright. Thanks. Company would be nice."
Aideen smiled and asked, "So, what are we packing?"
~*~
By eleven that morning, the entire Silver Society was gathered in Alex's house. Melissa sat in her usual spot on Arnie's lap. Jesse was curled up beside Aideen. Dylan Messina was strumming his guitar absentmindedly while they waited for Alex to appear. Jade Collins sat between Bethany Ashford, her unlikely best friend, and Spencer Connelly, her boyfriend. On Spencer's other side was Cierra Denton, who was flipping through a book but unable to fully focus. Everyone knew what had happened, as Aideen had informed them all, but no one was sure what would happen next. Randy Schwartz was reading the sports section of a newspaper that had been tossed aside by someone earlier. Cassandra Jones, as usual, stood slightly apart from the others, watching the scene stoically.
When Alex entered the living room, everyone fell silent. "Hey, Kids," he said softly. Alex affectionately called everyone "Kid." Cassandra hated the habit, but no one else seemed to mind. Today, however, Cassandra did not protest. "Thanks for coming today. By now, I'm sure you guys know what happened."
"Can we do anything to help?" Arnie asked.
"I don't know," Alex replied. "I'm partially going to New York, but I'll still have a body here. I just wanted to check in with you guys and let you know what's going on."
"We're here for you, man," Dylan said. "All of us."
"Thanks," Alex replied numbly.
It will be fun to break him, a voice whispered.
The words were so clear, Jade glanced around the room to see who had spoken them. No one else seemed to have heard anything. That was abnormally loud for accidental telepathy, Jade thought.
Yes, Alex Paxton... So brave and strong, the fearless leader of an entire group of new psychics I can feed on, the voice continued. I love that type. They seem so perfect and strong, then I break them and they always crash the hardest. He'll shatter into a million pieces by the time I'm through with him.
Knowing that this voice belonged to someone who was clearly a danger Jade instinctively threw her blocks up and shielded her own thoughts. He did not appear to know she had heard him, and she planned to keep it that way.
"Alex, can I talk to you for a second?" Jade asked.
"Sure, Kid," Alex said, hearing the urgency in her voice. He led her out of the room and into the kitchen. "What's up?" He asked.
"I think you're in danger," she explained.
"What else is new?"
"I'm serious. I heard someone thinking about you... Specifically about breaking you."
"Who was it?" Alex asked.
"I don't know. I've never felt him before, but he... He felt... Cold." Jade didn't scare easily, but something about this man's mind terrified her.
"Thanks for letting me know, Kid. If you hear him again, get in touch with me, okay? Don't reach out, though. I don't want you in danger."
"O-" Before Jade could finish the word she grabbed her head and doubled over in pain.
The flashes came so suddenly, Jade could not sort through them. She saw dozens of people, possibly more, screaming and being tortured. Finally, a man who Jade recognized only from his features died before her eyes.
"Jade? Jade! Can you hear me?" Alex was asking as Jade came back into awareness of the present time. His hands were planted firmly on her shoulders and she was lying on the floor. Beth knelt over her, the concern clear in her eyes.
Jade sat up slowly and shook her head to try and clear the images out. "Those poor people," she whispered.
"Thank Gods," Alex said as he realized Jade was aware again. He refused to ease his grip on her, and pulled her body against his own, hugging her tightly.
"Are you okay?" Spencer asked.
Jade finally realized that everyone from the Silver Society was standing in the kitchen that she and Alex had previously been alone in. "What happened?" She asked. "How long was I down?"
"About fifteen minutes," Alex replied. "I was getting ready to call an ambulance."
"An ambulance? Why?" Jade asked in confusion.
"You had a seizure, Jade," Cierra explained gently.
"A seizure? I don't have seizures."
"Well, thanks to growing up with a doctor, I know a lot about medicine, and that was a seizure," Beth replied. "It was pretty bad, too." She took a deep breath, clearly trying to calm herself down. "Are you okay now?"
"I don't know," Jade admitted. "My head is killing me."
"What happened? What did you see?" Spencer asked.
"People... I saw a lot of people, and they were all being killed by the man I heard." She paused, trying to shake off the memories. "Alex..." Jade began, but she shook her head, unable to say it.
"What is it, Kid?" Alex asked.
"He's the one, Alex."
"What do you mean?"
"I saw your father. I mean, I'm guessing it was your father, from his features. Do you have a picture?"
"Yeah," Alex replied, finally releasing Jade so he could pull out his wallet. She was free only for a moment, however, before Spencer wrapped her protectively in his arms. She had never seen him look so shaken up before.
"That's him," Jade confirmed when she saw the picture. "The man I'm hearing, the one who wants to go after you... He killed your father, Alex."
"Then I hope he does come after me," Alex replied. "I want to show him what happens when you mess with the people I love." He sighed. "I don't like that he was able to throw you into seizures. It means you received too many images at once, and too much electrical energy hit your brain."
"I don't think he knows I can hear him," Jade replied. "He didn't talk to me. He was just thinking really loud."
"Just be careful, Kid. I don't want this becoming a habit."
"I'm with you on that one."
"So..." Arnie said to break the uncomfortable silence that was starting to take over the room. "Who wants pizza?"
"Do you always think about food, Arnie?" Cassandra asked.
"He's a guy," Aideen replied. "That's what they do."
"Pizza sounds good," Dylan said.
"Yeah, I'm starving," Randy added.
"You're always starving," Melissa teased him.
"I have a fast metabolism," Randy replied awkwardly. "Besides, like my Ma says, I'm a growing boy... Plus, I'm always extremely active. I burn through food quickly."
"I'm not hungry," Jade decided aloud.
"Jade, you should probably eat something," Alex said.
The thought of eating anything made Jade's stomach feel queasy. "I won't hold it down. I'll eat later, when my body's calmer."
One look into Jade's eyes told Alex he needed to let it go. "Okay, Kid," he said. "Jesse, call the pizzeria and order a few pies. You know what everyone likes."
"Sure," Jesse replied, clearly glad to have a task to focus on.
You can do this, Alex told himself. Just stay focused on everyone else and things will work out. They always do. Even as he thought the words, he doubted them.
