Souls

by Kahilah Harry

  “Open your eyes, Meadow.”

  “No!” I shouted into his chest. I wanted to wake up from this nightmare. It had to be a nightmare. Had to be. There was no way any of this was real.

  “Meadow.” He repeated my name and peeled my arms from around his chest.

  I opened my eyes and realized how tightly I was clutching him and moved backward, not wanting to be in his vicinity anymore. I backed into something hard and looked behind me. It was my car. None of this was real. Wake up! I repeated to myself.

  “Stop. Meadow, stop it.” He started snapping his fingers in front of my face.

  I held my hand up, palm out. “H-how? How did we get here? I don’t understand…” I trailed off, trying to comprehend. The guard possibly was not…no. That wasn’t possible.

  He gave me an exasperated look, his jaw ticking. “Get in the car,” was all he said.

  It was still dark, and there were no lights around this area, so I could only see part of his face and his piercing gray eyes.

  “No.” I crossed my arms, setting my foot down. I heard a shout from down the boardwalk and dropped my arms, eyes growing wide as saucers when I saw the cloaked figure walking down the boardwalk. I yanked my keys out of my pocket, trying my hardest not to drop them. “Let’s go.” I hopped in the driver’s seat. The guard was already in the car before I could push start. I peeled out of the parking lot, not knowing where I was going, but knowing I had to get out of there, pronto.

  “Can this thing go any faster?” the guard asked, tapping his fingers so hard on my armrest that he actually put a dent in it.

  “Can you please stop destroying my car? And no, it cannot go any faster. I am already going almost fifteen over the speed limit, mister…” I realized I didn’t know his name. “Who are you and what is your name anyway?” I asked.

  He glanced at me and gave me a lazy smirk, breaking his usual angry expression. “My name is Dmitri.”

  I almost slammed on the brakes.

  “If he catches us, he will kill us,” Dmitri warned me, and I stared at him like he had three heads.

  “You’re like him, aren’t you? You’re the traitor they were talking about!” I hit my steering wheel a few times, frustrated. Caspian had tried to warn me about him. “Get out of my car right now. All of this nonsense is between you and him, so leave me out of it.” I unlocked his door, emphasizing how much I wanted him to get out.

  “He’s not after me. He’s after you.”

  I slammed my foot on the accelerator.

  9

  “Why is he after me? I haven’t done anything—I don’t even know who he is!” I groaned, a headache forming from the information overload.

  Dmitri didn’t answer.

  I glanced at him. He was wearing all black from head to toe. He wore a long-sleeved turtleneck with black jeans, complete with black boots. He had a black stud earring in his left ear, but I couldn’t see if there was anything in his right ear. There was silence for a few more minutes until he finally spoke.

  “You will understand everything soon, but right now, you need to focus on driving.” He pointed to the road.

  I rolled my eyes. “Where am I going anyway?” I asked as I sped along the dark highway.

  “My safe house. Keep going straight. I’ll let you know where to go.” He tapped his fingers on his knee, a concentrated look on his face.

  “So, how far away is this safe house of yours?”

  He stared forward, tapping.

  “Is it even really safe? What if someone tries to get in?” I tried again, hoping to get a response out of him or even a little twitch that he heard me. I got nothing. He was totally ignoring me. I huffed and turned my attention back to the road. “Fine. I’ll be quiet.” I frowned. He was still a stranger, and I still had so many questions that needed answering. He did say that I would get my answers soon, so I guess I could have some patience. I hoped he would keep his word. Sighing, I put my car in cruise control, giving my foot a rest. I was exhausted, and the long distance didn’t help at all, but I didn’t trust that Dmitri wouldn’t pull some trick on me, so I was going to stay behind the wheel.

  For the rest of the ride, it was silent. The only time Dmitri spoke was to tell me which direction to go, but nothing more. It was annoying, but I had time to think about places he would get that accent from. Spain? Italy? Greece? I couldn’t decide.

  When we finally reached the safe house two hours later, my feet were cramped, and I was starving. I almost fell getting out of the car, but a hand reached out and grabbed my arm, saving me from eating dirt. I yanked my arm away. “I don’t need your help.” I stretched, raising my arms above my head in the air. “I need your answers,” I finished and stared up at him, trying to seem intimidating.

  He rolled his silvery eyes, turned, and walked to the house.

  I looked at the home and blinked, trying to focus. It was a box house. Not your regular pointed roof one, but a modern-day Jetsons, advanced-technology shape. It was painted black, the only color being the windows since they were clear. Despite the monotonous color, it was actually beautiful.

  “If you follow me, you’ll get your answers.” He spoke to me from the middle of the driveway.

  I looked around. It was very dark, with a lamp post at the driveway’s bottom as the only source of light in the area. There were no other houses close by. The last place I had seen was about ten minutes away. Trees surrounded the area, almost like a mini forest. Shivering in the light breeze, I walked up the few steps in front of the house.

  The inside was exactly how I thought it would be. All black. The only other color was gold in a random painting above a couch in the living room and a statue sitting on a little table. I could explore the rest of the house, but I was too tired to do anything but rest. I walked to the black couch and plopped down on it, my body instantly relaxing.

  Dmitri knelt over a black chest in the middle of the living room floor and opened it.

  “What are you doing?” I asked as he placed the dagger on his black table next to the chest—the same type of dagger I had seen the other day.

  “I have to stop Victor from getting more people killed.”

  I gasped at his unexpected truthfulness. “Victor is the killer? I can have him arrested for that, you know,” I pointed out. I could literally bring him in for questioning based on that. Caspian would be thrilled to question a viable suspect.

  Dmitri stopped what he was doing and chuckled, a small dimple forming in his left cheek. “Meadow, you could try to arrest Victor, but trust me, you will not succeed. As for the killings, Victor is responsible for their deaths, but he isn’t the killer.”

  I waited for him to continue, but he didn’t say anything else. He just went back to browsing through his treasure chest.

  “Who is the killer then?”

  He paused and looked back up at me, narrowing his eyes. “It doesn’t matter, but I can tell you that the bodies you are finding—the ones from your current case—are because of Victor. He may not be the one actually taking the life, but he does bring them to be killed. Which is why I need to stop him before he does it again.”

  I leaned back into the couch. “So, you’re telling me that this case doesn’t matter because I can’t do anything about it legally, but you’re going to do something about it?”

  “Exactly.”

  I sighed and ran a hand down my face. Solving this case was supposed to be the highlight of my career. Agent Saar, the first agent to solve hundred-year-old cold cases. Gave so many families closure. But now that would all be taken away from me because of Victor?

  I was too tired for this, but my heart ached because I failed all of those people. What would Caspian think about this information? I had to know more. I studied Dmitri, watching his body language and facial expressions as he continued to search the chest. Was he telling the truth? Should I trust him? I mean, I did let him bring me to his safe house, and I didn’t get creepy vibes from him. I still didn’t know how to truly
felt about him, though.

  He reached for the golden statue, and I caught a glimpse of his right ear. Dangling off the lobe was a cross—the same intricate cross I’d seen at the warehouse and on the bodies. What Mary said about the man with the violet eyes and bloody hands with a cross earring in his right ear came to mind.

  I sprang from the couch. “Are you sure you’re not the one killing all of those innocent people? You match the exact description of the killer that witnesses have seen. That’s not a coincidence.” I backed up a little faster to the door, keeping my eyes on him. I had to get out of here. There was no way he was exactly how Mary described him and not the killer.

  “I am not the killer, Meadow. Do not leave, it’s not safe for you out there. Trust me.”

  “I don’t believe you. Plus, I can take care of myself, and I have Caspian.”

  He stared at me for a long second and threw his head back. The weirdest sound came from his mouth, and his shoulders were shaking. Was he laughing? He could barely smile. I didn’t think he could laugh.

  I crossed my arms. “What’s funny?” I glared at him.

  He sat down fully on the floor and raised his legs to his chest, placing one arm on his knees. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly, an almost smile. “Trust me when I tell you Caspian is not on your side. At all.”

  I scrunched my eyebrows together and dropped my arms. I’d known Caspian for years, and he’d always had my back. Now, this stranger who claimed to know him was trying to tell me how my best friend really was? That pissed me off.

  “You don’t even know Caspian like that or our relationship. Who are you to say that he doesn’t have my back? He has always had my back and always will,” I snapped at him, clenching my fists at my sides.

  He got up from the floor, and I stood my ground as he walked my way.

  Confidence flowed off him as he made his way over to me, his shoulders squared, strides long and sturdy. He stopped toes away from me, forcing me to tilt my head back.

  “Stop trying to intimidate me. It’s not working.” I jammed my finger into his chest.

  “If it’s not working, then why is your heart rate speeding up?” he asked me softly, making me drop my guard a little.

  I couldn’t tell him that his dominant presence created the complete opposite of fear in me. I barely knew him. I actually didn’t know him at all. I mentally smacked myself, told myself to get it together and focus back on the matter at hand.

  “Because you’re making assumptions about my best friend. Untrue statements.”

  His chest rumbled at my statement, and I finally looked him fully in the eyes.

  “Caspian is not your best friend. He’s not your ally at all.”

  I snorted. “And you think you are?”

  He nodded, his full lips pressing together tightly when I chuckled at him.

  “Then why did he say he was protecting me from you if he’s not my ally or friend?” His logic made no sense.

  “Because he wants to keep you away from the truth. He knows that I have been trying to get you to truly open your eyes again. If you knew the truth, it would destroy his life,” he answered, his eyes laser-focused on my face, trying to gauge my reaction. I was so confused.

  “All of this is crazy, and I don’t want to be a part of it. Thanks for the save and all, but I think I’m good now. Trust me when I say I will solve this case without you.” I turned to the door.

  “You aren’t safe, Meadow. He will come after you no matter where you go.”

  I opened the front door and paused. “I don’t care. I can take care of myself. Bye, Dmitri,” I said without turning around. I couldn’t trust the word of a stranger I just met, especially about my own life. I walked to my car and looked up when I got in and saw Dmitri standing in the doorway, leaning on the frame, watching me. I rolled my eyes at him, even though he probably couldn’t see me from this far, and drove away.

  Even though I was suspended, I went to headquarters the next day to speak to Caspian about Dmitri and the information he gave me. How we might not have a case anymore, and about how they knew each other.

  He wasn’t in his office, so I went to mine and I pulled the notes up on the screen, typing everything I found out yesterday about the case. About the area I observed and its feel, and then about the conversation I had with Mary Taymer, the witness, but I didn’t include anything about not trusting Victor. Or the events that occurred after my conversation with Mary.

  Caspian was supposed to have his notes typed up, but his page was blank for this week. I shook my head. He’d been slacking. Looking at the time, it had already been a few hours since I got there. Caspian should be in by now. I got up to leave my office, but before I could get to my door, I heard a commotion outside of it.

  Yanking my door open, I peered out and jerked backward quickly as one of the employees down the hall ran past me, screaming. I turned to where he came from and saw a crowd of people running in my direction, screaming.

  “What’s happening?” I stopped one of the front desk employees that was running past close to my office. She stopped and bent over, placing her hands on her knees to catch her breath.

  “There’s a—” she gulped, out of breath. I repeatedly gestured, trying to get her to hurry up. “There’s a man in the lobby. He has Rachel in the air somehow. He was demanding to know where you were. Do you know who he is?”

  My heart dropped. This was real.

  “No, but thank you for letting me know. I’ll handle it.”

  She nodded and ran off.

  I stepped out of my office and walked through the chaos, taking my time. If he wanted me, then he was going to get me. I got closer to the lobby and saw Rachel hovering in the air, her legs kicking back and forth in fear.

  Her screams filled the building. A chill shot up my spine when my eyes landed on him. I still couldn’t see his face, but his hand was stretched out in the air, just like on the ship.

  10

  I looked for something to throw, but there was nothing close by or hard enough. Rachel started making noises as if she couldn’t breathe, and the cloaked man slowly curled his hand like he had it wrapped around her throat. I couldn’t let her go through this.

  I readied my feet to bulldoze him and was about to charge at the cloaked man when I heard someone shout my name. I glanced back, and there was Caspian, waving his arms down the hallway in the air, trying to catch my attention. A wave of calm spread through me. I’d missed his face during all of this chaos.

  “Caspian!” I ran toward him, pushing people out of the way to reach him. He pulled me into his arms when I reached him, and I squeezed his middle, welcoming his familiar scent and touch.

  “What are you doing? Were you really about to try and fight that guy?” Caspian asked, still holding me against his chest.

  I laughed, but it came out dry as my fear was still trying to go away. “He has Rachel, and he wanted me for some reason, so I was going to distract him so he would let her go.”

  He chuckled and pulled me away from his chest and looked at me, eyes filled with worry. “There’s nothing you could do to stop him, Meadow. You need to stop putting yourself in these dangerous situations.”

  “But did you see how he held Rachel up? It was im—”

  Caspian interrupted me by grabbing my arms and spinning around, crushing me to his chest as we slammed into the wall. There was a crash behind me and I glanced back, spotting a desk that was snapped in half, right where we were just standing. I gasped and looked up at Caspian. His eyes narrowed as he quickly looked in the direction the desk came from. More employees ran toward every exit in the building, it seemed, so I pulled on his arm, wanting to get us to safety.

  “Come on, Caspian, let’s go before we become like that desk over there.” I nodded at the mangled desk.

  He nodded and grabbed my arm, running in the opposite direction of danger. We ran through the hallways, pushing people out of the way as we went, trying to get as far away from the thre
at as possible. I tried to figure out where we were going since we were passing up so many exits, but I couldn’t figure it out. The hallways stopped looking familiar the longer we ran.

  “Caspian, where are we going? I’ve never been to this part of the building before.” I looked around as we slowed down. This area was very dim and slightly congested, and the walls felt like they were closing around us.

  “This is a private area that was used for more serious interrogation. Only a few people in the higher ranks know about it. It’s not really used much anymore besides for storage mainly.” He stopped in front of a door and opened it, turning a light on. He peered inside, then looked back at me, waving me into the room. I walked past him, taking in the large space. I thought it would be a small interrogation room, but it was actually pretty big and spacious. A single table was sitting in the middle of the room with handcuffs attached to it. The light he turned on didn’t help much; it was still dim.

  “How do you know about this place? Especially if only the higher-ups can know about this?” I asked him as I looked around, trying to familiarize myself with the space.

  His eyes lit up and a smile formed on his face that was slightly menacing, and it actually made me a little uncomfortable. I’d never noticed him smile like that before. Dmitri’s words about Caspian came to mind, but I quickly pushed them away. I wasn’t about to let those words taint how I viewed my friend.

  “I have my ways. You’re safe here. Stay in here until I come back for you, okay? Don’t leave this room, no matter what.”

  I was confused. “Uh, where are you going? You’re just going to leave me here alone? I don’t even know my way out.”

  “I’m going to take care of Rachel and everyone else. I wanted to make sure you were in a safe place first,” he answered, walking toward me.

  I smiled up at him, cursing myself for doubting him. “Of course, I’m sorry. I’m just really pumped with adrenaline from all of this. Be safe and hurry back please so we can get out of here.”