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meant putting her in danger. Freedom is only mourned by those who no longer have it. Those who’ve never known it don’t have that luxury. She didn’t know what she was missing, but I did, and I wasn’t keeping it from her for another second.
    These were the first days of the rest of her life. Later, I would teach her how to draw from the veil in order to protect herself. She didn’t yet have the maturity to handle that much power, but I could show her what it meant to be a half blood. I would teach her how to look out for herself, and maybe, if we were lucky, we’d have some fun.
    Salem was a sprawling town with suburban-style residential areas. Dominated by Canobie Lake, it also boasted one of the largest malls in New Hampshire, and that’s where we were headed. Parking up at Rockingham Park Mall, I stashed my gun in the glove box, noticing Ryder’s phone inside. A text message blinked onscreen. From Stefan.
    Answer your phone
    As Dawn’s wide eyes drank in the sight of the mall, I checked the calls list and found four missed calls from Stefan and one voicemail. I sat back in the driver’s seat and humphed a disgruntled noise. Stefan had made it clear he wanted nothing to do with me, and the cellphone was Ryder’s. I shouldn’t even be poking around his messages... Although he had given me the phone, so technically it wasn’t snooping. Right?
    I tucked the phone into my pocket and gave Dawn a bright smile. “C’mon, let’s shop.”
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    W e didn’t have much cash. Ryder had given me enough to survive for a few days, but I was fast eating through that. Once it was gone, bankcards were out of the question. I’d worry about it then. Right now, I had to teach a little girl about retail therapy. Hell knew she could do with the distraction. My first stop had been a new set of clothes for me: jeans and a lightweight V-neck white wool sweater. I’d hastily changed into both, stuffing my blood-splattered clothes back into the bag. I’d also grabbed a charger for Ryder’s cell. The pre-weekend crowd had swelled, and I didn’t fancy explaining to security why I looked like I’d been in a fight with a mincer. After securing Dawn a Hello Kitty dress more befitting a nine-year-old girl, complete with shoes that fit, we roamed the mall. For fifteen minutes, Dawn stuck to my side, wide eyes darting back and forth, absorbing the crisp white lines, glistening floors, and shining glass. When we arrived at the central staircase, her mouth fell open. Sunlight streamed in through the domed glass ceiling. Her eyes traced the graceful fall of the stairs until the steps flared at our feet like the train of a wedding dress.
    “It’s a palace.” Without taking her eyes off the stairs, she reached up and took my hand. I closed my fingers around hers and felt the feather light touch of a smile lighten my lips. I’d done the right thing in bringing her here. Never mind the risk, it was worth it just to see the wonderment on her face. She said little as we walked, but her eyes glistened like jewels when we passed stores and joined streams of people.
    Grande latte in one hand, half a dozen bags in the other, I waited in line to pay for the Krispy Kreme donuts I’d just spent the last five minutes convincing Dawn to try. She still stayed close, but occasionally, she’d break away and dash over to something that had caught her eye.
    The tills chimed, and the chatter of the crowd ebbed and flowed around me. My thoughts wandered. Now that Dawn and I could relax, I needed a plan. The Institute suspected I was up to something, but they didn’t know about Dawn. That was good. If she stayed at Blackstone, she’d be safe enough. I couldn’t stay with her though. I might be able to wring another weeks’ vacation out of Adam, citing post-traumatic stress from the garden incident. He’d buy it with suspicion, but he didn’t have a choice. That gave me two weeks to figure out why the demons wanted Dawn and how I was going to shake