Chapter 19

Maddy opened her eyes the next morning to the sunlight streaming through the bedroom window. Part of her wished she could stay there and cover her face in the hope that if she didn't find the day then it wouldn't find her. But she knew it was futile. She knew what time it was and she knew what she needed to do. Turning onto her side, she gently reached over and shook Rhydian awake from where he was lying next to her. She hadn't dared to lie on him like she usually did because of his injuries, so she'd spent the night wrapped securely in his embrace. It was just as comfy, although sometimes his breathing had sounded slightly laboured over the night and it had worried her a bit.

"Rhydian? Rhydian, wake up!" It was a tense few seconds before he slowly drifted back to consciousness. She looked him over and decided that he looked like he'd definitely seen better days. "How are you doing? Want some more of that ibuprofen gel?"

"Is there any more?" he asked hopefully. Maddy nodded and turned over to grab the tube off the bedside table. She knew he hadn't properly woken up yet so decided to get up and give him a second. She hauled herself out of bed, her muscles screaming in protest, and grabbed her phone while leaving Rhydian to tend to his injuries. As much as she would have loved to help him, she had plans to set in motion. The three of them had been discussing the plan for today for over an hour and now it was time to put it into motion. Not wasting any time, she fired off a text to Tom and one to Shannon telling them to come over urgently. With that done, she quickly threw open her wardrobe and grabbed something casual and comfy before getting changed and heading downstairs.

She'd hoped that her parents wouldn't want to talk when she came down. She'd hoped to just get breakfast for herself and Rhydian and avoid having to hear anything from them until later. Unfortunately, they were in full 'Pretend Nothing Ever Happened' mode.

"Morning, Maddy." Emma was manning the cooker, brandishing a frying pan and getting ready to crack some eggs into it. "How does bacon and mushroom omelette sound?"

"Fine." Maddy replied with a shrug as she flopped down into a chair and ignored the glances her parents exchanged.

"So is Rhydian coming down or did he sneak back to the Vaughans' last night?" Dan asked, closing his woodworking magazine and arching his back to work out the early-morning kinks.

"He's upstairs. He'll be down shortly." Maddy was keeping it short and to the point. She didn't want to waste any words on them that she didn't have to. "Oh and by the way, Sarah wants a word with all of us as soon as possible. Tom and Shannon too. They're coming over in a bit." Another glance exchanged. They clearly didn't like where this was going, but were doing everything to hide it. It was all in vain. Maddy could practically smell the nervousness coming off them. It continued right up until Emma walked over with a plate of bacon and mushroom omelette and set it down in front of her. As she did, Maddy noticed Rhydian come down the stairs. He looked stronger now that he was back on his feet. The night's sleep seemed to have done him some good, although she also acknowledged that he'd proven just last night how good he was at hiding pain. Wolfbloods always had a high degree of pain tolerance- a trait they'd inherited from the very creatures they shared DNA with- but some of them took it to a whole new level. Maddy was beginning to suspect Rhydian was one of them, especially when she considered that he completely put on the busted ankle act at Lindisfarne to spend the night there. When she brought that into the equation, she realised she'd never once seen him show any pain other than a dark moon day.

"Come and sit down, pet." Emma beckoned him over to the table as she started cracking more eggs into the pan. "Is bacon and mushroom omelette okay?" Rhydian was about to reply when his stomach gave a ferocious growl. It was all the answer Emma needed as she made a start. At that moment, the doorbell rang. Maddy took a breath as the scent of two humans registered in her nose.

"You're going to need more eggs." As she spoke, Dan got up to answer the door. Maddy could see the caution in his movements. It was understandable. He hadn't been with them last night. "It's okay, Dad. It's Tom and Shannon. And I know it's them."

"How?" Dan asked, looking perplexed as the doorbell rang again.

"It can't take two forms at once, remember?" Rhydian called over his shoulder before winking at Maddy. She knew what he was thinking and she couldn't help but agree. No need to tell anyone until they were telling everyone. That would save them having to repeat themselves.

Tom and Shannon were let in and led to the table to sit down. After a quick catch-up with Maddy and Rhydian and a breakfast from Emma, they all ate in relative silence. For Maddy, the meal was hell. The silence grated on her and she hated that she didn't get chance to cook her own breakfast and feel less reliant on her parents, especially now. It was made even worse by the fact it tasted delicious as always. That really got on her nerves.

Once they'd all finished eating, they all moved to the living room. As soon as everyone was seated, Maddy and Rhydian told them everything. They filled them in on the midnight meeting, the meeting with the shapeshifter, seeing the other Maddy and finally Segolia. By the time they'd finished, Tom and Shannon were glaring at Dan and Emma with undisguised fury. Tears were running down Shannon's face as both of them hung their heads in shame.

"We've already told you we're not going to try and justify what we did, Maddy." Dan shrugged, but Maddy could tell how broken he felt. "From the standpoint of keeping the secret, we did what we thought was right at the time. From a personal angle, it was the worst thing we could have done. It should never have come to light. I can't help but feel either Maddy or that other shapeshifter might have had something to do with that. If they mimicked the right forms, they could get wherever they wanted and do what they liked once they were there. Now that it has, do you think you can ever forgive us?" Maddy didn't even have to think about it.

"As we are? No." She saw Dan visibly deflate at that. Emma, on the other hand, picked up on Maddy's specific choice of words just as she'd hoped she would.

"What do you mean 'As we are'? What are you planning, Maddy?" As Emma asked, Maddy felt a sad grin cross her lips. This couldn't be allowed to go on. There was only one way to stop it and that was to cut it off at the beginning. With that, she reached behind her and turned on the TV.

"Sarah?" Instantly, the screen came to life in an explosion of light and sound as Sarah's image appeared. A silver glitter effect shimmered behind her as her image adjusted to compensate for the screen's dimensions. As Tom and Shannon swapped questioning looks between each other, Maddy turned to glare at the TV screen, wincing at the brightness of it. Quickly, she grabbed the remote and hit the button to turn the gamma level down a bit.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Sarah scowled as she grabbed the Brightness bar with one hand and tried to wrestle the slider back to maximum, causing everyone else to burst out laughing.

"How are they doing that?" Tom asked, staring curiously as Maddy continued to wrestle with the TV remote.

"Sarah, turn it down!" she snapped. "It's hurting my eyes!"

"Well say that, then!" Sarah grabbed the slider again and put it to a more sensible level, dimming the screen down enough that they could look at it. "Just so you know, I'm putting it back up later. I need it if we're going to pull this off. But seriously, can't a Wolfblood make an entrance on the last time she's going to see someone?"

"Sarah?" Shannon was staring at the screen with amazement. "That's actually you? What, are you on a video call or something? I don't remember Maddy having a webcam set up." Maddy sighed, feeling a weird sense of deja-vu from the previous day. As much as she desperately wanted to fill them in, she knew there wasn't time.

"No, we don't have a webcam." Maddy told her. "We can see her but she can't see us. She's probably listening in through your phones to hear what you're saying." That got a few shocked stares as Tom and Rhydian both pulled their phones from their pockets. It was almost comical watching them stare dumbly at them for a few seconds. Eventually though, Maddy knew she'd have to call an end to it. "Okay boys, keep them in your trousers. Thanks."

"Actually, on their laps would be better." Sarah pointed out. "It's a clearer signal when they don't have a pocket obscuring them." Maddy mentally slapped herself. She hadn't thought of that. Tom and Rhydian each dropped their phones into their laps and refocused on the TV as Maddy slowly paced around to the back of the sofa to stand behind her parents.

"So, are you ready then, Sarah?" she asked. On the screen, Sarah nodded. Maddy felt herself mentally bracing for what she knew was coming. It was time. This was the only way.

"Ready for what?" Dan asked. It was the first time he'd spoken after asking Maddy for forgiveness and she noted how hollow his voice sounded. That was about to change.

"Just keep your eyes on the TV for a second." Maddy told him.

"Yeah, everyone look directly at the TV." Sarah told them. "Don't worry, it won't turn your eyes square. Don't be afraid of a digital screen." The glare on Emma's face said it all, even though Maddy knew Sarah would need some kind of camera to see it. Still, it was impressive.

"I still don't get it." Dan shrugged. "What are we doing?" As he spoke, Sarah cranked the TV brightness back up to full. The picture flashed white as the light erupted from the TV screen and a frequency assaulted all their ears. The headache hit instantly, everyone's brains going numb in a second. Only too late did they realise what was happening. It was too late to do anything about it. The whiteness of the TV was all they knew. In less than a second, it was over. The darkness that followed embraced them all.