Souls

by Kahilah Harry

  Rita tsked and sat on the floor. “Ah, all he would get was a little icy burn that would heal in seconds. He would live,” she answered nonchalantly, picking at her boots.

  “Excuse me, what did you mean warn him about Caspian and danger? What did Caspian do?” I interjected, trying to figure out what was going on and how all of them knew who Caspian was.

  Rita glared at me and scoffed, looking over my head. “What’s wrong with this chick? Did she get hit over the head with poscaudian?” she asked Dmitri.

  I glanced at Dax and mouthed, What’s poscaudian?

  He slid over quietly to where I was standing and whispered in my ear. “It’s a memory erasing element.”

  My mouth formed an ‘o’ as I understood what Rita was asking.

  Dmitri moved from behind and walked in front of me, blocking Rita’s view of me. “Caspian got to her before I could, and it was too late,” he said, and she laughed dryly, shaking her head.

  “Too bad, huh. So is she going to stay like this, or is there a way to get her memories back?” Rita asked in a bored tone.

  “I’m still figuring that out, but right now, we need to focus on stopping Victor and Caspian.” He walked to the table in the middle of the living room and turned to me, nodding for me to join him.

  I walked up next to him and watched Rita’s eyebrows dip. Her lip curled when my arm brushed Dmitri’s. I stared at her in confusion, and when she made eye contact with me, she looked away quickly, disgust on her face. I looked up at Dmitri then back down at her. Did she have a thing for Dmitri? I smiled at the thought and tried my best not to laugh at the fact that she was jealous. That was probably why every time she spoke to me it was with an attitude. I barely knew the guy. I turned my attention back to Dmitri.

  “Caspian has caused destruction among humans ever since I left The Comitye. I was the most skilled and powerful in the group, but their ways turned corrupt, so I left.” Dmitri paused and looked down at me to see if I was paying attention, and I was. This sounded very interesting. He continued. “The Comitye started going around kidnapping humans and began transitioning them, trying to find a replacement for me. But they have failed many times. Not one was a success.”

  “That’s what they were talking about on the ship. It all makes sense now, kind of,” I added, and he nodded his head in confirmation.

  “Wait a goddamn minute. You were on a ship with her?” Axel asked, sitting up on the couch from his slouched position.

  “We were, and he almost got to her again,” Dmitri answered, raising his head slightly at Axel’s tone. He?

  Axel scoffed and threw his hands up in the air. “Then what am I here for if you already know about Caspian’s plan?” He stood with an annoyed look on his face. I thought Dmitri was the king of not smiling, but this guy took the throne by a landslide.

  “You’re here because Caspian already has somewhat of an army that only a few know about. He plans on ambushing Dmitri when he least expects it, so he can take him out for good,” Rita answered, standing as well.

  “Where did you get that information from?” Dmitri asked, tensing.

  Rita pulled out a silver, circular device from her pocket and waved her hand over it. A digital screen popped up in front of her. She held her hands up in the air and moved them outward slowly, expanding the screen. She swiped the screen in the air, and different images popped up and disappeared as she searched for something. “Aha.” She tapped on a video.

  “Is everything in place?” A terrifyingly monstrous voice asked from the video. Caspian appeared in a purple cloak, looking like the cloaked man from the ship and at the headquarters.

  I gasped as everything Dmitri had been saying hit me. Caspian was the cloaked man.

  My heart sank.

  “Everything is in place, sir. I have a small crew waiting in plain sight in a city called The Valley. Dmitri won’t be aware of what’s coming,” Caspian responded to the speaker. No one else was in the frame, so I didn’t see who he was speaking to.

  Rita swiped the air, and the whole thing disappeared, right back into the device. “I intercepted it during my rounds. That’s when I called Dax and Axel for help. We have to stop him. Dax located the place in The Valley called Lights, Inc., a fake business as a front for where he’s keeping his small crew. I’m not sure where he has his actual army, but I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough,” she informed Dmitri.

  He leaned on the table, his face down toward the floor. I still couldn’t believe that everything he told me about Caspian was true. How could this be? I didn’t even know who he was anymore.

  Dmitri punched the table, causing me to jump back, startled. “I thought I had time.” He cursed and started pacing back and forth.

  “Well, now we have to tell her what we are so she understands everything that’s going on,” Dax told Dmitri, glancing at me sideways.

  I glanced back, eyes wide. “What are you?” I whispered, trying to prepare myself for the answer.

  Dmitri stopped pacing and faced me, his eyes locked on mine. “We’re vampires, Meadow.”

  12

  My mouth dropped. I made eye contact with each of them slowly, trying to see if this was all a joke. Every single one of them had the same serious look on their faces. Even Dax.

  This wasn’t a joke.

  “Is this a joke?” I asked anyway. I had to hear it again because one time wasn’t cutting it.

  “No, it’s not a joke. The sooner you get over it, the sooner we can start coming up with a plan to stop Victor and Caspian.” Rita was the first to answer, of course, with an attitude. She rolled her eyes after her statement and turned her attention to her nails.

  “What Rita is actually trying to say is that yes, it’s true that we are vampires, and although you are probably doubting everything we are telling you, we really need you to believe us so we can start planning.” Dax’s translation made me a little more comfortable with the bomb that had dropped on me.

  “I understand. It’s just that…vampires are fiction, so it’s kind of hard to believe that tales and fables can actually be real.”

  Dax nodded, but Rita hissed under her breath. Axel still had a bored look on his face, as if he didn’t care about anything that happened.

  “We can show her something to get her to believe us before we leave,” Dax spoke up, looking at everyone. Dmitri nodded and gestured for Dax to go ahead. He smiled and rubbed his hands together excitedly.

  “Don’t destroy my house, Dax, just show her your fangs or something,” Dmitri told him, and Dax frowned, shoulders slumping.

  “Fine.” Dax turned to me and placed his hands on my shoulders. “Don’t be scared, okay?”

  I nodded cautiously, not sure what to expect. Dax closed his eyes, and I waited for something to happen. His head started twitching slightly, and he moved his mouth, eyes squeezing shut like he was uncomfortable. His hands squeezed my shoulders, and I winced from his tight grip.

  “Dax,” I started but quickly shut my mouth when he opened his, saliva dripping down his enlarged canines. I gasped as he opened his eyes, the violet color trapping me in my position.

  A throat was cleared after long seconds passed, and Dax blinked, his eyes returning to their normal chocolate color. He closed his mouth and opened it back just as quickly, passing his tongue over his teeth, which were normal again.

  I just stared at him. Enlarged teeth? I mean, it wasn’t normal, but not impossible. Dax seemed to understand my look and sighed, glancing at Dmitri.

  “I got this,” Dmitri spoke in a hushed tone, dropping his arms to his sides. “Pay attention, Meadow.”

  I looked at him, and he jerked his head toward the black table in the middle of the room. There was nothing different about it. “Um, what am I supposed to be…?” My throat dried up, stopping me from finishing my sentence. The table was floating. My eyes widened as it floated higher in the air, and I whipped my head to Dmitri, who was staring at the table. A concentrated stare.

  “Are y
ou?” I pointed at the table, not trusting my voice.

  He nodded at me, lifting his hand, and I turned in time to see the table land back on the ground.

  “Wow,” I breathed, placing a hand over my rapidly beating chest. “Vampires, you say? Can all vampires do that?” I asked, wanting to know more. This was amazing. Chuckles filled the air, and I glanced at all of them, confused.

  “No, not all of us possess the power of telekinesis. It’s different for everyone, and some don’t have extra abilities at all,” Axel explained, his tone sounding bitter. His face scrunched up and turned his attention to the couch.

  “Oh, okay.” I took a seat on the couch. They are all vampires. Caspian is a vampire, and he is trying to make vampires like Dmitri.

  They never told me if I was a vampire. If I wasn’t a vampire and I wasn’t human, what was I?

  “First things first. Caspian does not need to be anywhere near the daggers because he will not hesitate to kill any of us,” Dmitri informed everyone.

  I raised my hand. It was a respect thing. I didn’t like interrupting anyone.

  Dmitri nodded at me.

  “Why keep him from the daggers specifically and not just any weapon in general?”

  “Because the daggers are made out of the element Jestraetrium. The only thing that can truly kill a vampire.”

  My mouth formed into an ‘o’ shape. Does that mean Donatella…no way, I shook my head. She couldn’t be.

  “Good thing I happened to be on the ship because somehow Caspian already had the daggers. I made sure to grab them from him,” Dmitri told the others as he gave me a sideways glance.

  Whoops.

  Everyone else had confused looks on their faces.

  “How in the world did he have them? Last time I checked, they were locked up securely. The only way for the vault to be discovered and unlocked is by a…” Dax trailed off and slowly turned my way. “Meadow, how did Caspian end up with daggers?” he asked me, accusation seeping through his tone.

  I held my hands up. “I didn’t give them to him, I swear.” They looked like they didn’t believe me. I sighed. “The only thing I did was help a criminal named Donatella steal some daggers that look exactly like the ones you guys have now. She said that they were for her boss,” I finished, trying to decipher the looks on their faces. I saw confusion, annoyance, shock, but most of all, anger, especially from Dmitri.

  “I was there that night, disguised as a guard trying to stop you and Donatella, an—”

  “Yeah, and all you were doing was playing mind games on me, confusing me rather than helping me,” I interrupted, annoyed at the memory.

  He glanced at me and smirked a little, probably thinking of when he smashed my face in the dirt.

  “You weren’t smirking when Donatella knocked the daylights out of you,” I muttered, now knowing all of them could hear me clearly. Snickers filled the air, and I made sure not to look up because I could already feel the heat of Dmitri’s glare on my face.

  “Anyway, Donatella knows who you really are and took advantage of your abilities, knowing you wouldn’t remember who she was.” Dmitri shook his head and stared at the ceiling, clearly annoyed. Abilities? What abilities?

  “You helped Donatella steal the daggers for Caspian? The same daggers made from the only thing that could truly kill us? Geez, Dmitri she really needs her memories back before anyone else decides to take advantage of her. This is getting out of hand!” Axel raised his voice at the end, frustration evident on his face.

  “I know. I have a plan in place for that. But right now, let’s focus on Caspian. We have the daggers now, not him, so we need to use that to our advantage.”

  Everyone nodded, and I joined in, even though deep down, I didn’t want to hurt Caspian in any way. Maybe I could get through to him and get him to stop this foolishness.

  For the rest of the evening, the team mapped out a plan for how to infiltrate the fake business filled with new vampires, and even included me in the planning, informing me about the daggers and how to properly use them. They wanted me to be in the shadows as much as possible so that I wouldn’t get hurt in the process.

  Dmitri wouldn’t let me have a word in about possibly talking to Caspian. He didn’t want me near him in any way because he said all Caspian wanted to do was kill me, which I still didn’t believe.

  Maybe our friendship had changed him, and he would actually listen to me. Whatever happened, I would find a way to talk to Caspian alone.

  “I think that’s everything. Be back tomorrow morning to go over everything again as a refresher, and then it’ll be showtime.” Dmitri dismissed us. We all got up, and they walked to the door as I stretched from the long hours of sitting. That didn’t seem to bother any of them. Perks of being a vampire, I guess.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” Dmitri’s voice stopped me, and I turned, a confused look forming on my face.

  “Uh, home?” I answered. “You literally just said to come back tomorrow morning.”

  “No, you’re not. Caspian knows where you live and will definitely try to attack you there since he didn’t finish the job. You’re staying here tonight.” His tone indicated that what he said was final, and I sighed, not really caring to argue.

  “All right, where am I sleeping?” I asked, watching as the last of the team finally left. Lucky them.

  Dmitri pointed down the hallway to the stairs. “Up the stairs, first door on the right. It’s a guest room. Check the drawers. There should be a change of clothes in there. There is also a bathroom in your room, so you have access to a shower.”

  I nodded, grateful for his hospitality.

  I felt a little awkward with him staring at me so intensely, so I went upstairs to the guest room. As I opened the bedroom door, I turned on the light and pushed the dim option so that it wasn’t so bright.

  The guest room was more like a master bedroom, and it was amazing. The queen-sized bed sat in the middle of the room, draped with dark gray bedding and light gray pillows. The headboard was a shade lighter than the pale pillows, tufted with dark gray buttons.

  Walking into the spacious room, I noticed a dark bookcase in the corner, completely filled with books. I would have to check it out later.

  There was a little chest by the bed with a black lamp on it. I turned the main light off and turned the lamp on, creating a pleasantly dark atmosphere with a little light. Comforting. A taller dresser graced the wall opposite the bed, close to a door that led to the bathroom. The bathroom had the same dark gray walls as the bedroom and had a walk-in shower with a spacious tub next to it. I could literally live in this room. Dark colors soothed me.

  My loft didn’t even feel this comforting. Going back to the tall dresser, I rifled through it to look for something to wear to bed. Dark colored everything—shirts, tanks, and even underwear. I looked at the tag of one of the pairs of underwear and turned a little red. It was my exact size. This was awkward. I was definitely going to have to ask him about this. If I was indeed at least a thousand years old like he claimed, did we have some sort of history? And if we did, what kind of history?

  “Are you finding everything you need?”

  I jumped, startled at the intrusion of my thoughts. Dmitri stood at the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest, making his biceps bulge. I quickly looked away from his arms and focused on his face, not that it was any better. He was handsome, more in a rugged way than conventional beauty. His dominance added to his attractiveness, making him seem almost irresistible. Not that it swayed me, it was just an observation.

  “Um, yes, I am, thank you,” I finally answered after a few seconds.

  He nodded, narrowing his eyes to analyze me like I had done. “You have a question.”

  “Yeah, I do. A few,” I responded, leaning on the wall next to the dresser. I took a second to process all of my thoughts so I wouldn’t stumble over them, and so he could actually understand me.

  “Is it true that I’m a thousand years old?”
I asked, trying not to cringe at how idiotic that question sounded coming out of my mouth.

  “A thousand and more.”

  “How?” I couldn’t understand how that was possible.

  He sighed and shifted, adjusting how he was leaning on the doorframe. “As I’ve said before, you’re not human. You may think you’re human, and all the memories you have make you believe you are, but trust me, you’re not.” He paused, staring at the floor, deep in thought. “All I can tell you is that when you get your memories back, everything will finally connect and make sense.”

  I nodded, trying to understand. “So, my memories, will you be in them?” I asked softly, a little nervous to hear his answer. Rita had to be jealous for an actual reason, and these clothes being my exact size wasn’t a coincidence.

  He sighed again and straightened, shoving his hands into his pockets. “I will be in quite a few memories, yes,” he answered just as softly, as if he was hesitant to give me all of the information.

  I inhaled deeply and nodded, processing everything. I went to the bed and sat down, rubbing the soft sheets. “So, we have a history.” I peered up at him through my lashes, and he nodded, eyes cautious.

  “A long one, yes.”

  “What kind of history?” I pressed, wanting to get straight to the point.

  He looked around the room slowly, eyes landing back on me. “It’s getting late. We have a long day tomorrow, so you’re going to need all the rest you can get. I’ll see you in the morning, okay?” He nodded at me and patted the doorframe as he left.

  I scoffed at how he avoided my question and got up from the bed, gathering everything I needed for my shower.

  If he thought I would let it go after he totally ignored my question, he was wrong. He should definitely know that if we had a history together. Pushing all the thoughts aside, I took a relaxing shower and prepared myself for bed. Turning off the lamp, I thought about everything that was going to happen tomorrow.

  If Dmitri knew me well, he knew I would talk to Caspian, and he would try to stop me. I had to make sure he was distracted long enough for me to reach Caspian. Because I would get to him—no matter what.