I blinked in shock.
"What?" His eyes darted to the door, and he gestured towards it.
"Can you close that?" He asked with hushed urgency.
I quickly went to shut the door, and noticed Raven had left the room. I sat next to Ayro on the bed.
"I think it's me," He said quietly. He seemed so small and afraid in that moment.
"You think it's you?" I asked, confused, "Think?"
"Well, the Dealer only acts while I'm asleep. And when Alex's brother died, I remember waking up with blood on my hands," He confessed.
"How is that even possible?" I asked, "Do you hear yourself?"
"Well, who else could it be? Who else could've gotten that note into our tent? And if I'm not, then... where did the blood come from?" He asked, looking me in the eyes. He was hunched over and looked incredibly tired.
"I think you need sleep," I said.
"I kno-" He suddenly stopped talking. He closed his eyes, sitting up straight. His eyes snapped open, starting me. His eyes were pitch black. I felt like I was staring into a void rather than his eyes.
"He should have kept his mouth shut."
His voice was much deeper and seemed to echo. He gave me an eerie grin and grabbed my arm. His now sharp nails were piercing my skin. I tried to get out of his grip, but it just got tighter. He was inhumanly strong now, and I felt like I was defenseless. He forced my two hands together and held both with one hand.
"You cannot live, not after he told you everything," 'Ayro' said.
"LET GO!" I yelled, now struggling even more. I would have tried more violent methods to escape, but I didn't want to hurt Ayro. I was seeing flashes now. I would see my mom in front of me, in my old home, and she was grabbing my arms. Then the scene would shift back to Ayro, but it went back and forth. My head was beginning to hurt. I knew what was about to happen. I was going to lose control.
Instead, a nearby potted plant began to grow at a rapid rate. It wrapped itself around Ayro, prying his fingers off of my arms. I heard the door slam open behind me, and Alex stormed inside with his boyfriend in tow. James was clutching a necklace in his hand, and he began to slow down time.
The plant stopped growing, and The Dealer broke out.
"Sorry, but you won't be seeing your friend for a while," He said, laughing maniacally. A mask appeared on his face, and he was gone in a puff of black smoke.
Alex turned to me.
"Are you okay? Did he hurt you?" He asked.
I clutched my arm.
"Just a few scratches," I signed, "Nothing I'm not used to."
He looked at me, a but confused. I then realised what I did, so I repeated what I said. He turned to James, who walked into the guest bathroom. He pulled out a few small band-aids from a box and applied them to the sratches on my arm.
"What happened to that plant?" Alex asked.
I shrugged.
"I got upset, and it started growing."
"That's normal, since you have Shadow Dwellers," James said, "In fact, it should've happened sooner."
"We should probably tell Raven and Maddie what happened," I said, walking out of the room. The couple followed me.
Raven immidetly ran up to me.
"I heard yelling. You okay?" She asked, concerned.
"Physically, yes, but something important just came to light," I said.
James sat down on the couch.
"I've been suspecting him for a while, but there was no evidence, well, until now," James said.
"What tipped you off?" Alex asked.
"I noticed that he usually isn't present when all the Dealer stuff happens. And when we got here, the city's Shadow Dweller alert went off. I assumed it was just cuz' of those two, but usually trapped Shadow Dwellers don't set off the alarm," James explained, jesturing to me and Alex.
"Can you guys tell us what happened? You guys are just talking about who it is and not telling us," Raven said.
Alex turned to her, saying, "It's Ayro. Ayro is the Dealer."