The Hunted Soul

by Miranda Brock

  I dashed toward him, but he lurched to the side. I wheeled around to find him skidding across the wall, his sharp nails ripping through the flower-patterned wallpaper.

  Gritting my teeth, I let loose a sphere of swirling energy at the intruder as his feet hit the floor. The magic collided with him, and he stumbled. He recovered quickly, much faster than was humanly possible. He yelled, and as he took a step toward me, I hit him with my magic again, forcing him to retreat into a corner.

  I’ve got him, I thought. I squared my shoulders and settled my gaze on him. I could hold him here long enough for—

  My door burst open. A brief flash of relief washed through me. Kael.

  But when I looked over my shoulder, I found another stranger dashing into my room. A man with Herculean muscles that would put Aidan to shame. He had a pair of small, black horns on his head and a peculiar greenish tint to his skin.

  A horrible odor preceded him, like rot and sour mud. I wrinkled my nose, and a grin cracked his wide face, revealing spittle hanging from his yellow teeth.

  Gross.

  I peeked quickly at the first assailant still crouched against the corner. He was peering at the giant man with narrowed eyes and a tight jaw. Obviously, these two weren’t working together.

  “Give me the key.” The second man, or thing rather since he was obviously not human, had a deep and guttural voice.

  “I was here first,” the other man argued. “She’s mine.”

  “Excuse me,” I cut in. “No one is getting me or the key.”

  They seemed unaware of the fact that I possessed two keys, or perhaps they were only interested in the one that was tied to my soul. If they managed to get the golden relic, I would have no choice but to do their bidding.

  I couldn’t let that happen. No one was going to control me.

  The horned man laughed. “You’re going to beg for mercy when I get my hands on you.”

  He started for me on heavy footsteps, and then a loud and vicious snarling broke through the room.

  A large jaguar leaped up and the man yelped, reaching back and trying to get a hold of the cat that was sinking his claws through clothes and flesh.

  Kael.

  For real this time.

  And a few other jaguar shifters that worked for PITO accompanied him. I’d seen them several times, but I would know Kael anywhere. Over our time spent chasing the mage and staying here, I had come to easily recognize the pattern of spots that splashed across his golden-brown fur. Plus, he was easily the largest jaguar shifter I had seen so far.

  I turned from Kael’s attack to the first man, but he was already getting to his feet. Idiot. I shouldn’t have let myself get distracted.

  He reached for me so fast, his sharp nails eager to take a hold of me, that I didn’t even think of releasing another attack of magic on him. Instead, my fist shot forward and smashed into his face.

  He yelled as he brought his hands up to his nose that had crunched beneath my knuckles. His strange, slit eyes narrowed as he lowered his hands. He bared his teeth, blood running down over his stretched lips.

  Intent burned in his gaze. He was going to take me.

  My hand seemed to burst into fire as something uncontrollable rose to the surface. The man’s eyes widened with greed. I smirked, then my hand shot forward…right into his chest. My magic-coated fingers tore right through skin, and muscle, and bone. He fixed me with a gaze that grew cold with confusion and fear. He let out a ragged gasp, and then his body collapsed heavily to the floor.

  The yearning for death and destruction burned through my veins and tugged at my muscles. I would kill them all to keep my power, to keep myself from being taken. I would crack the bones and spill the blood of everyone. I would hear their screams and―

  No.

  I squeezed my eyes shut and pulled in deep breaths through my nose.

  No, that isn’t me.

  I fought down the magic that felt foreign and delightful at the same time. I had to get control of it.

  I opened my eyes, and my throat burned with bile. Blood smeared up my hand and over my wrist. The man on the floor had blood soaking the front of his shirt and puddling beneath him. I swallowed, certain a few moments ago I had felt the erratic, pumping muscle of his heart in my fingers. My ears rang.

  What was I becoming?

  A warm nudge on the back of my leg made me jump, and I glanced down. It was Kael. He peered up at me with intense, amber eyes. Blood flecked his jaw, and his thick tail twitched impatiently. His sides heaved, but he didn’t appear to be injured. Behind him, the other intruder lay dead with his throat torn out.

  I pushed past Kael and went straight to the bathroom, closing and locking the door behind me. I wrenched on the handle of the sink, grabbed a washcloth and a bar of soap, and started scrubbing. Steam rose quickly, but I didn’t care if the water was near scalding. I just wanted the blood off my skin.

  It wasn’t as if it were the first time I had blood from another on me. Reality told me it wouldn’t likely be the last, either. It was the way the blood was there, and the fact that I had shoved my fist into another being’s chest. Killing with a weapon was one thing, but doing it with nothing more than my hand seemed barbaric. It wasn’t like me.

  I turned the water off, my skin pink from the hot water but thoroughly clean, and peered at myself in the mirror. A part of me was afraid I would see someone else staring back, someone ancient and dark.

  The worst part was not knowing myself. When I had first found myself with magic after my trip to the Amazon, I had been scared, but the magic had grown to be a part of me. After the fight with the mage, and binding my soul to the key, it was as if something else had tied itself to me. A different magic—more powerful, dangerous, and wild. Was it part of Vehrin’s power, leeched to me from wounding him, or had something else been unlocked from within?

  I wasn’t certain how long I stared at myself in the mirror, searching for any hint that something had changed, that someone else was hiding within, but a soft knock eventually broke me from my trance.

  “Livvie?” Kael’s voice was quiet and strained.

  Livvie. I hadn’t been certain what to think of his sudden nickname for me. Everyone else called me Olivia, but I had grown accustomed to, and even liked, Kael’s pet name for me.

  “Are you all right? Are you hurt?”

  I pulled in a deep breath and opened the door. He stepped back, gaze running up and down me in what I knew was a wound-check.

  “I said I’m fine.” My words were heavy with exhaustion. That unnerving attack of mine had left my energy drained.

  Kael didn’t say anything, but his brows were pinched with worry. More often than not when Kael was around me, his face was either creased with worry or irritation. He had a really great smile, when I could squeeze one out of him.

  Wanting the attention off of me, I jerked my head toward the bodies soaking the carpet with blood. “Who were they?”

  “Demons.”

  My mouth dropped open. Demons? I was barely used to the knowledge that shifters, witches, and fae existed, but now there were demons? I was tempted to ask if dragons and unicorns existed, but Kael continued.

  “Vehrin is growing more powerful. Dark beings are starting to wriggle up through the cracks.”

  Fantastic.

  “How can he be growing more powerful without the keys?”

  Kael shrugged. “He still has magic. I would assume it is waking, growing more powerful, just like yours.”

  I glanced at the demon I had killed. Growing more powerful seemed like a daunting prospect to me, both for Vehrin and myself.

  “Maybe your strikes aren’t as sloppy as I thought.” Kael pulled his gaze from the demon with a hole in his chest that my fist had put there. There was a rare grin on his face.

  I couldn’t bring myself to smile. “You’re back early.”

  “We have a location for the mage. I came to tell you to get your things packed. We need to go.”

&n
bsp; Packing was a short affair, since I didn’t have much. Kael had dropped his bag in the hallway, and he scooped it up and slung it onto his shoulder as we headed down the hallway. He had made a quick phone call, telling the person on the other end about the mess we’d left behind. Thank goodness we wouldn’t be required to clean up. I couldn’t stomach the thought of being around all that blood for a second longer.

  As we stepped onto the elevator, an eagerness settled into my bones. I was uncertain if it was my own, or the ancient magic within me that was looking forward to once again hunting the mage.

  Soon, excitement was replaced by a crawling fear that, eventually, I was going to lose myself. And if I did, what sort of dark, dangerous power would be unleashed then?

  Chapter 3

  “What are you doing?” Kael asked. He sat beside me as we waited to board our flight. His foot was propped on his knee and he was leaning back, though his eyes were zeroed in on the phone in my hands.

  I pulled it back so he couldn’t see what I was doing. “Nosy much?”

  The shifter huffed and shook his head, instead turning his attention to the large windows on the right.

  “I’m texting Ren.” Not that it was any of his business, really, but Kael seemed annoyed and taking a long flight with a cantankerous shifter was not something I wanted to endure.

  Kael scowled. “This is classified business.” His voice was low so the others in the airport couldn’t hear, but his tone was hard.

  I rolled my eyes. “I didn’t tell him where we were going, just that I was going to be traveling and he may not be able to get a hold of me.”

  My partner went back to the window, muttering something about “ridiculous fae.” Perhaps Ren was a bit ridiculous, but I enjoyed our chats. He was witty and mysterious, the total opposite of the blunt and emotional man beside me.

  On the other hand, Ren never failed to remind me that I still owed him a date, a debt on my part for his help. I didn’t mind, but as I glanced at Kael, I couldn’t help but wonder if he were jealous.

  Surely not. I was under no illusion that Kael felt anything toward me other than a need to protect me. Friendship, at best.

  I quickly tapped out a goodbye to Ren, more out of the desire to soothe whatever was riling up Kael, and stuck my phone in my bag. I stretched out my legs in front of me and turned my attention to a T.V. ahead. I was only watching it for a few seconds when I straightened, catching sight of someone familiar.

  It was Sarah. She was a member of my team. According to the anchor speaking on the news, there was some high-profile dig going on in India.

  I’d always wanted to go to India and now there was a dig there, with my team, that I was missing.

  That should have been my dig. My story. Now that opportunity had been stolen from me, and I’d likely never see an opportunity like that again in this lifetime

  My employer hadn’t been very happy when I’d told her I had to go on an extended leave. Aside from a couple of reports, I hadn’t had any new material to send in. But the PITO. wouldn’t allow me to go on digs, especially with who knew what after me and the keys.

  Still, for her to send my team to a place I’d always wanted to go, and for no one to tell me about it, well, I was surprised and hurt. I couldn’t blame them for taking the opportunity, but it still made me yearn to be there with them.

  Before I could fully process the unexpected news, it was time for us to board. I was thankful Kael let me have a window seat, and for a long while, I stared out of it silently.

  Eventually, Kael put his arm across my shoulders, and his warm hand cupped the side of my neck. The gesture was so surprising, it briefly took my breath away.

  “Livvie…”

  “What?” It took everything in me not to lean farther into his touch. What the hell was wrong with me?

  “Is something bothering you?”

  Other than your uncharacteristic touching? “No. Why do you say that?”

  Kael’s mouth lifted in a slight grin. “Liar. You’ve been so quiet. You’re never this quiet.”

  He took his hand from me, and I found myself regretting his withdrawal. Kael still held me with his expectant gaze.

  I crossed my arms. “I saw a news report of a dig in India. My team was there. It’s a high-profile dig, meaning they will likely find something priceless and spectacular, and I’m not there with them.” I looked down at my knees. “I guess I didn’t realize how much I missed it.”

  It seemed childish, perhaps, but I couldn’t help it. Until I had unearthed a cursed key, woken some ancient part of my past life, and found myself tangled in a battle with a dark mage, archaeology had been everything to me. The discovery, the risk, and the adventure of it all was what drove me. Now, it was scarcely a part of me.

  “It’s okay for you to miss it,” Kael said.

  I nodded, but kept my face tilted down because, to my horror, my eyes were starting to sting. I would not cry about this, especially not in front of Kael.

  The shifter wouldn’t leave it alone, though, and he took my chin and pulled it toward him. His eyes widened, but thankfully he didn’t say anything about my watery gaze.

  “You will get back to what you love, Olivia. It may take time, but you will get there.”

  I gave him a smile. “Thanks, Kael.”

  It was a small pep talk, but it did make me feel a bit better.

  The rest of our flight was filled with chit chat and sleep. By the time we got off the plane at the airport in Denver, thoughts of the India dig were pushed back.

  For now, it was time to find the mage.

  “So, what now?” I asked, hefting my bag farther up onto my shoulder.

  Kael pulled out his cell and opened up a map on a locked file. He squinted at it and zoomed in on the image. He was blocking the exit and didn’t notice a few people waiting to get out. I grabbed his arm and shuffled him to the side. He scarcely looked up.

  I leaned against the wall and waited. “How were you guys even able to pinpoint the mage? Last time we had to use the key to find him.”

  It was a shame it wasn’t working this time. I had tried. The second key had been more of a way to find the first key, not specifically the mage.

  Kael put the phone back in his pocket. “Beings such as Vehrin give off a certain kind of dark energy. It’s faint, and often hard to pinpoint, but as he grows stronger, his trail is easier to track.”

  I was almost afraid to ask, but… “Do I give off a dark energy?”

  The pair of us hadn’t talked about the brutal way I had killed the demon attacker in the hotel room. I had been grateful, too afraid to learn I may have something twisted and evil living inside of me, but curiosity finally got the better of me.

  At that moment, our rental car pulled up to the curb out front, and Kael brushed off my question to usher me outside. My breath hissed in at the sharp, biting wind I hadn’t been expecting. Colorado was definitely colder than South Carolina. I glanced at Kael as I hugged my jacket closer. He was completely at ease in his hoodie.

  Well, colder for some people.

  The vehicle Kael had rented for us turned out to be a black Jeep with big, knobby tires that looked like they could climb straight up a cliff.

  I slid into the passenger seat, though I was itching to drive this beast. “Where exactly are we going?”

  “The mountains,” he replied. He pointed to the chain of mountains rising up against the western sky. We were off to seek out the mage in the cold mountains underneath dark gray clouds that looked ready to dump a load of snow on us any moment.

  Just perfect.

  I twisted the knobs between us, cranking the heat. Kael complained, swerving slightly on the highway leading out of the city as he pulled off his hoodie.

  “Well, I’m sorry, but not everyone is blessed with perpetual warmth, you know.”

  Kael shoved his hoodie at me. “Here, take this, just quit trying to roast me.” He turned the heat back down to what was probably a more reasonable de
gree.

  I didn’t complain and instead pulled my arms in and folded the hoodie over me like a blanket. It was still warm and Kael’s scent of rain and citrus clung to it.

  “You don’t give off a dark energy.”

  “Huh?” It took me a moment to recall the question I had asked Kael before our rental arrived. I blinked. “Oh.”

  He didn’t take his eyes from the road. “I know you’ve been worried about what happened in the hotel. You aren’t dark, Livvie, just…powerful.”

  And dangerous. I could almost hear him bite back the words.

  “I don’t want to be powerful.”

  “That’s good,” Kael said. He turned off the main highway and onto what seemed to be some sort of county road. “That means you won’t abuse it. Power doesn’t make you evil, and it doesn’t make you good. It gives you strength, certainly, but how you exercise that strength is what really matters.”

  I smiled at him. “You know, you’re pretty wise when you want to be.”

  The man actually cracked a big grin, and it warmed me more than the borrowed hoodie.

  Steadily, the landscape rose. I wasn’t certain exactly how long we traveled, but we had left the county road and took twists and turns down roads that often were little more than a single lane. Kael glanced at the map on his phone once again and pulled over to the side of the road.

  “Won’t be able to get the car up through there.” He jerked his head toward my window, and I followed his line of sight.

  It was mostly evergreens, still green even in the colder months, with a few bare trees here and there. All of them were too close to allow for a vehicle.

  “Walking it is,” I agreed.

  I peered down at my boots. Thankfully, they were perfect for all types of conditions, and were well broken in without the sacrifice of worn tread.

  A lot of women spent money on high-dollar heels. I spent mine on boots that would survive an apocalypse.

  I handed Kael his hoodie, and he tried to refuse it. I shoved it onto his lap.

  “I can’t wear it. It’ll swallow me. I need to be able to move if there’s a fight.”