The Lost Souls

by K. D. Worth

  Spending more time with Max and not doing any crossovers, I felt good, almost whole. Definitely more able to deal with all the weights placed on my shoulders.

  Max’s body shuddered once, and then he sighed and nestled into my arms.

  We could both feel it, the love and energy uniting us.

  I pulled back with a contented sigh. “I missed you.”

  “It’s only been a couple hours,” he countered.

  “Still missed you.” I kissed the tip of his lightly freckled nose.

  Max was a lot shorter than me, stockier too. Not chubby, just solid. His brown hair was stylish and spiky, his big brown eyes so expressive. The first time we met, I’d seen age and wisdom in those eyes, though I hadn’t understood why, because Max was younger than me. But my boyfriend had wisdom, even if he didn’t always know it.

  “Where was your meeting with Slade?”

  “It was at his little yoga studio up in the mountains,” Max said, still holding my hand as we sat on the bed. “I think it’s in Tibet or somewhere like that. I’ve never asked.”

  Chuckling, I shook my head. “That would have been the first thing I asked.”

  “Sometimes ignorance is bliss.”

  “Word,” I said, raising a fist like Heather always did.

  Max returned the bump, then smiled at me. “I’m ready to get back to work. I told Slade that, and he gave us an assignment.”

  “Are you sure you’re ready?” I caressed his back. He’d made the decision rather impetuously, and I didn’t want him risking himself for me unless he was completely ready.

  Max frowned. “Yes. I’m sick of sitting around here. I wanna get back out there. I wanna help you.”

  I believed his conviction but wondered if he was being honest with himself. Because every time someone mentioned Meegan’s name, I felt his grief, as tangible and sharp as the pain he experienced when we talked about the eight months he’d believed me dead. I could feel Max’s sadness sometimes in physical waves, and I didn’t like it one bit.

  “Besides,” Max went on, “you need me. Apparently shades have found you every time you’ve been out.”

  A knot formed in my gut. “What?”

  Halting me two seconds from a full-blown freak-out, Max told me to stay seated, then explained that in a span of nine minutes, shades had discovered my presence in the mortal realm on every crossover.

  “That’s why Slade told Heather to make it quick,” Max said.

  I crossed my arms, shock replaced with anger.

  Why was everyone always keeping secrets from me? Did they think I was some fragile thing unable to defend myself?

  But I was weak.

  The only reason I felt strong now was because I hadn’t been issuing the Touch and Max was fueling me. Slade had said if I were weak, then I wouldn’t have been able to help that wraith woman—something even he’d been surprised I could do.

  But if I wasn’t so pathetic, why was he always babying me?

  “Kody,” Max warned.

  I looked at him, and I didn’t realize that I’d pretzeled my arms and pursed my lips tight. My knee bounced along a mile a minute. Letting out a sigh, I stilled my leg. “What?”

  “Talk to me.”

  I forced out a nasal breath. “I can’t believe Heather didn’t tell me. I thought she was just efficient and quick….”

  “Don’t be mad at Heather,” Max insisted, placing a hand on my knee just before it started bouncing again. “She didn’t know either. Slade just told her to be quick.”

  “Oh,” I said, immeasurably relieved. I trusted Heather, and I didn’t want our new friendship to be false like some of the ones I’d had when I’d been alive.

  Though the false sense of security I’d been enjoying was a lie.

  “Why didn’t Slade tell me?”

  Max threw up his hands. “Why does Slade do half the shit he does? Heck if I know. Maybe he wanted you to be calm and relaxed while you learned whatever special thing Heather does that I can’t do.”

  At the snark in Max’s voice, I smiled. “You sound jealous.”

  “I’m totally jealous of every person that gets to spend time with you when I’m not there,” Max admitted, dropping back onto the bed with a plop, making the mattress bounce. He blew out a breath and looked over at me. “I know, that makes me immature and crazy and stupid. But it’s the truth. Now you know everything.”

  “Everything, huh?” I teased, still piqued at Slade for not telling me about the shades. And though Max was jealous, I had learned things from Heather. After all, she made doors for her charges, and Max never did that. He just had people walk into a light the way Jake, Tristen, and Dan did.

  It dawned on me then that only the girls made doors.

  Being “like the girls” actually made me proud, instead of bothering me with imagined insults of being effeminate, as it would’ve done when I’d been alive. Such matters were nonissues on this side of life. Making a door felt right to me, as did knowing as much about that person as possible.

  Maybe I would not have picked up those nuances of the job if I’d known a shade might show up in nine minutes.

  Once again, Slade had been right.

  So annoying….

  “Check this out,” Max declared, sitting up fast. He looked so excited, I managed to let go of my frustration with Slade and his constant—albeit wise—secret keeping.

  “I made the force field.”

  “You did?” I grinned and shifted to sit cross-legged beside him, thrilled he was using his light powers again. He’d been too depressed or weak—maybe both—since Meegan left that, even at my gentle urging, he hadn’t wanted to practice much until these past few days. Sure, he’d touched my chest and watched his hand glow, but it was only yesterday that he’d attempted to shoot a blast. The unfortunate chair in the library wasn’t as happy as we had been. That might’ve been the first genuine smile I’d seen from Max in a while.

  All signs that I was slowly but surely getting my boyfriend back from the darkness of grief.

  “Yeah, check this out.” Max’s fingertips began to glow, and when he connected them to his other hand, an opalescent light seemed to pour from his fingertips. As he moved his hands apart, the light stretched with them, sparkling and beautiful in a kaleidoscope of colors.

  His face glowed from the magic and pride.

  I beamed at him and reached out to touch the light. “That’s so cool.”

  When I touched it, the light disappeared with a pop.

  “I’m sorry!”

  “It kept breaking on me every time too,” he admitted, crooking his mouth in a frown, though excitement still danced in his eyes. “It’ll take practice. But at least I can make it now.”

  I leaned over and kissed his cheek. “You’ll do it. I know you will.”

  His expression grew serious. “I will, I promise. I’ll keep you safe. Forever.”

  My heart fluttered with happiness, and sitting so close to him… on our bed, something else fluttered within me.

  Without asking, I reached up and cupped his cheek. Max raised his chin a little, his eyelids drooped, and his lips parted.

  We knew without words I wanted to kiss him and he wanted to be kissed.

  I held still, though, soaking in how handsome he looked, patiently poised and waiting. I licked my lips and lowered my head, gaze locked on his full soft lips. My mouth watered, and I swallowed it back, my breaths coming a little rougher now, the blood pounding through my body and making me harden everywhere.

  “I love you, Max,” I breathed, caressing his cheek with my thumb.

  “Me too,” he gasped out, moving quickly to join our mouths in a passionate kiss.

  We kissed for a long time, only our lips and tongues playing, my hand still on his cheek. Then Max placed both hands on my chest and gently pushed me back.

  Breathless, I gazed into his eyes. “That was some kiss,” I whispered, heart pounding and skin flushed.

  He rolled his lips as he
smiled and nodded. “Yeah, it was.” He glanced down at his hands, and I followed suit.

  I shouldn’t have been surprised, but I jumped a bit when I saw his palms glowing.

  “I wonder…,” Max began, and then he chewed his lower lip and furrowed his brows in concentration. The light from his hands glowed like before, but then the shimmering white began to spread across my chest. His heat filled me, and I gasped even as I watched it inch across my torso.

  “You’re doing it,” I whispered.

  Slowly, he removed his hands from me, and the large sheet of light stayed on my body for a moment before flickering and fading out.

  I looked up at him, and he had wonder in his eyes. “It’s easier when you’re here.”

  “Do you want to practice more?”

  Max shook his head quickly. “No more practicing. More kissing.”

  When he dove for me, I laughed, embracing him close and giving him what we both wanted. I never tired of kissing Max, and if I did say so myself, we’d really found a rhythm, anticipating each other’s needs. We only banged teeth or got too slobbery when we were kissing at night, stealing a private moment, reaching for every purchase of skin, savoring every passionate stroke and rub.

  In fact, the more we touched, the more we both wanted. It was like there was this unquenchable hunger inside me when it came to Max, an insatiable lust that was never satisfied. I knew it was because biologically and mentally we were hormone-laden sixteen- and eighteen-year-old guys, though realistically we were both twenty by now, in terms of life experience.

  But my need to be close to Max was overwhelming at times, and like now, a little painfully tight in my jeans.

  I pulled back from the kiss. “I don’t think anyone else is back from their jobs,” I murmured, quirking my brow. “How about more than just kissing?”

  “Oh, um…,” Max fumbled for words. “Actually Kelli is in the common room. And I saw Dan and Jake head to the library when I got back.”

  “We can be quiet. And it won’t take that long.”

  Max laughed.

  Another byproduct of our age, it was usually over pretty quick once things really started going. But I could sense Max’s shy side surfacing, and I wouldn’t treat Max how Tristen treated Heather.

  “Never mind, we’ll just kiss.” I delivered a peck on his freckled nose and gave him a squeeze. “You just make me crazy for you.”

  “That’s awful nice to hear.”

  “It’s the truth.”

  “I wish we could go back to our pavilion and have some real privacy,” Max whispered.

  “It’s okay, I’m happy just kissing you,” I said, and it was the truth.

  Suddenly Max gave me an impish grin. “How about we keep our pants on, just in case?”

  I quirked my brow hopefully. “Unbuttoned?”

  His grin widened. “Oh yeah.”

  MAX—Chapter 4

  “MAX!” KODY cried, face lit up with joy. “Come taste this icing.” He held up a bowl of pink fluff. “It’s strawberry.”

  After that exceptionally steamy make-out session, where hands had definitely slipped into jeans, both in the front and the back, and shirts had been magicked away by my clever boyfriend, we’d fallen asleep in each other’s arms. Kody wasn’t beside me when I woke up this morning, but I didn’t panic—which was real progress for me.

  I used to awaken terrified when I’d been sleeping alone, even bringing Kody a coffee every morning as my excuse to reassure myself that he was still here with me. Now that I’d identified the power inside me as my universal connection to Kody, the panic and fear were lessening.

  If I could feel the warmth, then Kody was okay.

  I wanted to believe Slade when he said my fears hindered the full power of my magic and our destiny was together. Though I still worried, the light and heat inside me was incredibly reassuring.

  Naturally Kody was in the kitchen, smiling and laughing with Heather. It made my heart glad to see Kody so happy, though that niggling bit of jealousy was there too. Not anything against Heather or from a distrust of Kody. But like I told him earlier, it stemmed from my own desperate desire to witness every one of Kody’s smiles, to bottle up every laugh, and to experience his every joy with him.

  Nuttier than squirrel shit, but there it was.

  I assumed Kody held no ill will toward Heather over the secret about the shades, because they looked thick as thieves.

  My heart gave a pang at the sight of their friendship.

  I glanced across the room and could almost see the silhouette of a big head of mall-wall hair peeking above the back of one of the comfy armchairs, and I could all but hear the faint snapping of gum and jingle of bracelets.

  But Meegan was gone.

  Clearing my throat, I glanced back at Kody and managed to smile.

  As I crossed the common room to the kitchen, I spied Kelli sitting alone in a corner. She’d yanked her dark hair, highlighted with honey-colored streaks, back into a messy ponytail, and she wore none of her usual makeup. I drew up short at seeing her so unkempt. Her red-rimmed eyes met mine, but then she quickly looked away, offering no snarky mean-girl rejoinder about me staring at her.

  That was unsettling.

  Shaking it off, I joined Kody and dipped my finger in the frosting.

  “Did you wash your hands first?” Heather demanded, brandishing a wooden spoon.

  “Seriously what’s a germ going to do? We’re dead,” I said. “I mean, is this frosting even real?”

  “Don’t get all existential on me,” she said. “You’re supposed to wash your hands when you cook, that’s a rule. Everyone knows that.”

  “C’mon, guys,” Kody chided, though he knew we were teasing.

  I tasted the frosting. “This is delicious!”

  “I know, right?” Wearing a grin, my super tall boyfriend dipped his head and gave me a quick kiss on the lips.

  I might not get to share every one of Kody’s smiles, but the kisses?

  Those were all mine.

  Humming, Kody began filling a pastry bag with the pink frosting. “Hopefully we can get them iced before our case this afternoon.”

  “I’m sure you will,” I said, trying to keep it light. I’d decided to wait until the last minute to let Kody know we were reaping a kid. Though we were both excited to work together again, that not-so-little tidbit about the shades finding Kody worried us both. Not even our sexy time could make us forget the destiny looming over our heads. We knew the what we were supposed to do in regards to the shades, but hadn’t perfected the how of it yet. No sense letting Kody worry about our case too, not when he had so much else going on. Let him have a few more carefree hours.

  “I wonder if candied bacon would be good on these,” Heather mused.

  Kody’s face wrinkled in disgust. “Dead animal parts do not belong on cupcakes, even if you candy them. That’s so gross.”

  Heather put a hand on her hip. “Well, this Iowa girl likes her bacon.”

  “And this Ohio vegetarian says keep your bacon far from me,” Kody teased.

  When she fake-pouted, Kody pushed three iced cupcakes toward her. “Fine, do your gross meat experiment. Just do it on the counter over there so there’s no cross-contamination.”

  Heather laughed and took the cupcakes, and then three more. When Kody scolded her with a “hey” she laughed again. “I need to make at least a half dozen of my strawberry candied bacon surprise cupcakes.”

  Shaking his head at her, he chuckled. “The surprise is that they’re gross.”

  “I’ll try one, Heather,” I said, laughing when Kody gave me an appalled look.

  “And you won’t be kissing me afterward,” he countered.

  Grinning, I hoisted myself onto the counter, still not quite eye level with Kody. Herman the house cat was just out of reach, lounging on the bar top above the counter where Kody worked. I kept my eye on that swishing tail. He liked to scratch.

  It was then I noticed something black on Heat
her’s left wrist. “You’re wearing an obsidian bracelet too?”

  “Everybody’s wearing one,” Kody said.

  My eyebrows shot up on my forehead. “Since when?”

  Granted, I’d been in my own little bubble with Kody, so I was out of the loop. But Kody usually kept me filled in.

  Slade was training all the reapers one-on-one for an impending confrontation with wraiths. And while it was a relief to know Kody and I would not carry this weight alone, I’d been too sad to worry about how the other reapers would fight the wraiths. Did they have lightning powers or force fields too? Had Slade given them the crossbow I always wanted?

  Seeing others wearing the obsidian made my stomach knot.

  Heather shrugged as she got down a bowl and began pouring bacon bits into it. “I don’t know. Ask Kody. He’s the only one that keeps track of days around here.”

  “A week,” he replied, licking frosting off his finger. “That really is delicious.”

  “I know, right?” Heather said, and they shared a grin. “But it’ll be better with bacon.”

  “Says you,” Kody teased.

  Their casual banter irritated me, and I was annoyed Kody was acting so “no big deal” about not telling me all the reapers had obsidian bracelets now. Before I could help myself, I asked, “How come you didn’t point it out to me?”

  Crap! I hadn’t meant that to sound so whiny.

  Kody was quick to place his hand on my shoulder. “Don’t make that face. Heather and I just wanted to see how long it took you to notice, that’s all.”

  “Dude, take a joke,” she said as she poured brown sugar in her bowl.

  My temper sparked, but I refrained from telling her to choke on that candied bacon. “Kody’s life is not a joke. You’re wearing those to keep wraiths away.”

  When Kody’s face fell, I felt guilty… for maybe one second.

  The three of us had witnessed a wraith possess a charge’s dead body. They both knew how serious this all was. Yet they thought it was okay to play Cupcake Wars and wait around for me to notice what the other reapers were wearing? Like I was the fashion police all of a sudden? No, Kody should have told me immediately when he found out the rest of the team were wearing obsidian.