The Hunted Soul

by Miranda Brock

  Kael’s breathing quickened. He didn’t like tight spaces. This had to be a nightmare for him, being trapped in a collapsing tomb.

  “You got this,” I said. My shoulder scraped roughly against the wall as it hugged us closer. “You can get us out.”

  He didn’t say anything as he surged forward. I gasped as the steps underfoot began to give. Kael reached back and grabbed my arm in a tight grip.

  Had it taken this long to get down here? I couldn’t remember. The steps seemed to go up and up with no end. Perhaps Lor had been working with Vehrin after all, and his words were just some nefarious joke.

  Rock from the ceiling fell. Kael pushed himself harder, and I stumbled after him. Something hit our clasped hands and nearly broke our grip, but he held fast and didn’t let go. My muscles burned, and my skin stung where it had been scraped by the walls.

  We weren’t going to make it.

  I’d finally managed to find myself in a tomb I wouldn’t get out of.

  Fresh air teased me from the distance as the walls and ceiling groaned louder, their final push to bring us to an early grave.

  Then, I was in the open, and Kael was pulling me up and over the edge of the tomb. We both stumbled back as it collapsed in on itself, leaving nothing but a pile of cracked and broken black marble.

  The pair of us stood, bruised and breathing heavily, and stared at what had nearly been our demise.

  “That,” Kael said. He swallowed. “That is why I don’t like tight spaces.”

  I tried to come up with a witty remark, if only to ease the tension, but I couldn’t find the breath for it. He squeezed my hand, still held tight in his, as if to tell me he understood.

  I turned away from the tomb, and inspected my sword. Thankfully, it hadn’t been damaged.

  “I don’t know why, but it suits you.”

  I glanced at Kael. He was studying the sword with approval.

  I shrugged. “Yeah, but now what? I can’t go walking around Chicago carrying something like this.”

  If only I could hide it somehow.

  In the next moment, Soulsbane disappeared. Instead, a braided bracelet hugged my wrist, the same green and gold color of the sword. My pulse quickened, and I thought about drawing the sword out, as if from an invisible sheath. It appeared in my hand again, as solid and real as it had been a moment before. I gasped as I let it swirl back into a bracelet again.

  “Well, that is extraordinarily convenient,” I said, twisting my arm and studying the bracelet.

  Kael just shook his head as if he could expect nothing less from me. I was already a reborn ancient entity with my soul tied to a cursed key and the ability to conjure supernatural powers. What was a magical sword compared to that?

  “Now what?” Kael asked.

  I raised up on my toes and reached for his head. I wiggled my fingers through his hair, shaking dust loose. Then, I smiled.

  “Now, we go to the library.”

  Chapter 10

  I peered at the brick building smashed between a law office and what used to be a suite of offices for some sort of business, but now had a faded “For Sale” sign on the door.

  It certainly wasn’t the fanciest library I had seen. I almost felt bad for the poor thing. It looked decrepit and forgotten, the only sign of life being the sign on the front that told us it wouldn’t be open until nine the following morning.

  We walked up the steps, and Kael gave a jerk on the door handle. Locked. He shrugged. “Maybe there is a door in the back that isn’t locked?”

  It wasn’t likely, but it was worth a try. We had to round the law office before we discovered a narrow, trash-littered alley running along the back side of the buildings. I wrinkled my nose at the stench of garbage coming from a nearby dumpster. It seemed an unusual place to find a clue. Where were the guards, or anyone looking after such knowledge?

  We reached the back of the library, and Kael tensed in front of me.

  “What’s the matter?”

  As an answer, he toed a piece of jagged glass on the ground with his boot, then pointed. I followed his gesture to find a broken window. My breath caught. Someone had already broken in.

  Were we too late to find the clue that would lead us to the third key? I hurried forward.

  Kael grabbed my jacket and hauled me back a step. “Wait a minute. What are you doing?”

  My brows pinched in annoyance. “What does it look like? I’m going in.”

  “Listen, I can appreciate your whole charge in like a chivalrous warrior type of thing, but maybe you should let the agent who is actually trained in these situations go first?”

  I let out a sharp sigh. He was right, I supposed. I held my hands up. “Fine. Do your thing, Agent Rivera.”

  He smirked at me, and I realized it was the first time I’d ever called him by his proper title. It did sound good rolling off the tongue, even if I had done it in mocking.

  Kael walked to the window. Bits of broken glass still stuck up along the edges like sharp teeth.

  “Hand me that,” he said, pointing at a brick that had come loose from the building.

  I handed it to him, and he knocked the glass away so we wouldn’t get cut to ribbons climbing through the window. He hauled himself through, and then pulled me up.

  Glass cracked and crunched as we stepped inside. Immediately, the scent of aged paper hit me, along with the smell of wooden shelves. There was even a slight scent of lemon, as if someone had cleaned in the past day or so. Decrepit library, or not, someone was attempting to keep it going.

  I glanced around at the shelves spilling with books. It reminded me of my study, and I felt a tinge of homesickness. I shook it off and told myself I would get back there someday.

  The pair of us headed cautiously toward a soft yellow light down a hall. Kael’s nostrils flared as he attempted to pick up any scents that would be out of place. He grimaced and rubbed at his nose as we drew closer to the light.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “Nothing.”

  Clearly, it was something, but he wasn’t going to tell me. I rolled my eyes, but didn’t press the issue. As we reached the light, we found it was a desk lamp on a spindly table. A few books had fallen to the floor nearby. Kael walked over and started to pick them up carefully. He eyed the titles, then scanned the shelves. He started putting them back in their proper place.

  “What are you doing?” Now really wasn’t the time for Kael to be playing librarian.

  He carefully stuck a thick volume beside its brethren. “Books don’t deserve to be on the floor.”

  I laughed. “Kael, I didn’t know you were such a nerd.” He shook his head, and I suddenly found him more endearing. I had no idea the warrior shifter who had been my companion for a while had such a fondness for books. “You know, I think I like you more now.”

  Kael gave me a glance that I couldn’t read, then cleared his throat and shuffled by. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he was embarrassed. I followed after him, grinning like a cat.

  We headed down the narrow aisle in between row after row of shelves in search of clues. I told him we should split up, and he agreed after some persuasion. After all, we couldn’t spend all night in this place. Kael headed off to the right, and I turned left.

  As I walked among the shelves, I kept a lookout for runes that may help lead me to where I needed to go, but I found none. Then, in the heavy silence of the dark library, I heard a scuffle. Kael was on the opposite end, so I knew he hadn’t made the noise. With quiet steps, I made my way toward the source.

  I passed a few more rows of shelves, then found more books spilled onto the floor. Not wanting to be outshone by Kael, I bent down to replace them on the shelves, then paused. On the floor was a few drops of something dark red.

  Blood.

  Slowly, I straightened. There was more blood, and I followed the trail. It led to a desk beneath a window. A combination of moonlight and a flickering streetlight shone through the window. Old newspapers
were scattered over the desk and onto the floor. The papers were in shreds and much of it was soaked in blood.

  As I edged closer, my wide gaze fell on a being the likes of which I had never seen.

  The dull eyes were large, almost insectile on the face of what belonged to a female of whatever sort of species she was. Her skin was a pale yellow-brown that reminded me of old parchment. Her hair, a silky black like ink, was in tangled disarray around her.

  I drew in a shuddering breath and touched her shoulder. I could feel the coldness of her skin, even through the fabric of her garment.

  “Kael.” I didn’t yell his name, but I knew his keen shifter ears would hear me. He was beside me in a matter of seconds.

  “She’s a type of lesser faerie,” he explained. He crouched beside me to examine her. “Her kind are drawn to knowledge and books. She likely frequented this place at night to avoid detection from humans.”

  I frowned at her with pity. If only we had been here sooner.

  Kael got to his feet. “Whoever did this was obviously looking for something.” His sharp eyes narrowed. “No doubt they are still here, unless they already found what they were looking for.”

  I let Kael keep an eye out while I carefully filtered through the newspapers. I winced every time I touched a piece that was damp with blood, and swallowed the bile burning in my throat. It wasn’t the first time I had been around the dead body of an innocent, but my encounters were never so…fresh.

  A crumpled piece of paper shoved under the desk caught my eye. It was crammed between the leg and a small trash can. If I hadn’t been angled just right, I would have missed it. I grabbed it and did my best to smooth it out without tearing it. My heart rate accelerated.

  “Kael, I think I found something.”

  I walked to his shoulder and showed him the newspaper article. There was no date, but by the yellow of the paper, I knew it wasn’t recent.

  “A rare artifact was donated today by Alastor Glenhaven to the…” I trailed, trying to read the location, but it was darkened with blood. I let out a frustrated huff and continued. “The piece will be examined and then put on public display within the next few weeks.”

  It went on to talk about the importance of such artifacts in the preservation of history.

  “I know that man,” Kael said. “He’s a fae.”

  I twisted my bag around my shoulder and started digging through my bag. “I’ll call Ren. Maybe he knows where we can find him.”

  Kael grabbed my wrist. “No need. I know where he is.”

  “How?”

  “Alastor Glenhaven is a collector of both rare and dangerous magical objects, so PITO keeps a close eye on him. We can drop in for a visit.” Kael tapped the paper in my hands. “If this is what we are searching for, and I have a feeling it is, he can tell us where he donated it.”

  “Great,” I said. “Let’s get out of this place before―”

  My words were cut short as the bookshelves around us shuddered. Books toppled to the floor, and an uneasy sensation unfurled in my stomach.

  “I thought I smelled something when we arrived,” Kael said through clenched teeth. His grimace deepened as three figures came into view.

  Even in the poor light, I could see the pitch-black eyes in their faces. They had been sent by the mage. I could sense it in the malevolent power swirling around them. My gaze dropped to the one in the front. He had blood on his hands, blood I knew belonged to the poor, dead faerie behind me who had only come to the library to read. My brow furrowed, and I joined Kael in a snarl at the newcomers.

  The aisle was too narrow to fight with my new sword, so I called forth my magic. I let it burn the torn and stained article in my hands, then smiled with satisfaction. That was one secret no one else would learn. The ashes drifted to the floor, and as the man in front watched their fall, I charged forward.

  The concept of mercy fell from my being, and I didn’t hesitate. I loosed a powerful surge of energy forward. I missed the man in front as he dodged quickly to the side, but I managed to hit one of his comrades square in the chest. He screamed, and tore at his clothes as my magic ravaged over his body.

  The smell of burning skin made me gag. I tried to breathe through my mouth to help with the assault, but I could almost taste the mage’s soldier as he thrashed to the floor. My magic quickly consumed him, leaving little more than a pile of charred bones.

  The third man took one look at what I had done, and fled. Kael surged after him. I locked my eyes on the man I assumed was leading this attack. He ran toward me, and as my magic licked my fingers, I heard the angry snarling of Kael’s jaguar form a little way down.

  I wasn’t expecting the man to have his own magic.

  A twisting darkness shot from his hand like a serpent and wrapped around my legs. My feet were jerked out from under me and my back hit the floor. I grunted and kicked my feet, but couldn’t break the hold.

  With gritted teeth, I hurled my magic at the writhing blackness cutting the circulation from my knees down. It sent up hissing sparks, and I could sense the wrongness in the black magic as my own tried to break through it.

  The man laughed at my struggle, and something about the grating sound strengthened me. Who did he think he was? I had fought against Vehrin himself. I was powerful and strong. I was deadly.

  I gave him a fierce grin as I unleashed the dark, tainted part within me. That power rejoiced at being set free, and the hold he had on me evaporated. I jumped lithely to my feet. Suddenly, the man before me seemed hardly more than a pesky fly, one that would be easy to squash into oblivion.

  His eyes grew round, surprised by my sudden confidence as I strode toward him. He was little more than a blur: there one second, and gone the next. Some sort of power given to him by Vehrin, no doubt.

  Anger seethed through me. The dark shade of magic inside me begged for more freedom, yearned to set flesh ablaze to every person near.

  We need to kill them, before they kill us, it whispered to me. We have to be strong, we have to be powerful.

  A warm touch landed on my cheeks, and I blinked. Kael was standing before me, somehow already in his clothes again.

  “Breathe,” he ordered. “Control it. You are not that kind of magic. Fight it.”

  I did as he said. I fought it, and though it was a struggle, I bottled it back up. I let out a shaky breath.

  “He got away,” I said.

  Kael shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. Are you all right?”

  “Yes, I think so.”

  Kael still hadn’t let go of my face. I lifted my hands to his, and suddenly found I didn’t want him to pull away. His touch was comforting. I didn’t want it to end.

  “Livvie.” The sound of my name on his lips was soft, and his deep voice brought an unexpected tremor through me. He was much closer than I’d realized.

  Kael was beginning to get to me in a way that made me feel safe. Comforted. And I wasn’t sure if I should feel that way.

  I couldn’t let my guard down. Feeling safe with Kael could get me killed.

  I stepped away. “Let’s go find this hoarding fae of yours.”

  I tried to ignore the hurt that flickered over Kael’s face as I brushed past him.

  Chapter 11

  I had to admit, after surviving an avalanche, enduring a long flight, taking a romp through a cemetery, and getting into a fight at a library, I was utterly exhausted.

  I sat on the bed in our hotel room and toweled my freshly washed hair. The news was on, but I was only halfway watching it. My mind was wandering uneasily toward what we would find at Alastor Glenhaven’s place.

  Please don’t let this fae be dead and the relic stolen.

  I had wanted to go there straight away, but Kael insisted we wait until morning. The man wouldn’t open his gates to us at night, and besides, we had needed the rest. I’d been so tired, I hadn’t put up much of an argument.

  The bathroom door squeaked, and I turned to find Kael exiting in a billow of ste
am. All he had on was a towel tucked tightly around his bottom half. His hair still dripped, and sent beads of water rolling down his sculpted chest.

  I swallowed, then berated myself. It wasn’t as if I hadn’t seen him naked numerous times, and this certainly wouldn’t be the last. I gazed back at the T.V. and told myself it wasn’t just for a distraction.

  Kael rifled through his bag for some clothes, and I reached for the remote, then froze. A story came up that had me scooting to the edge of the bed. I turned up the volume.

  “…and her team have been on an archeological dig in this remote part of India.” The news reporter pointed to a highlighted section of a map. “Yesterday, the team emerged with a brand new relic, the likes of which has not been seen before.”

  A photo popped up of a disc the color of coffee grounds, but runes were etched in the surface in stark white. I squinted to try to decipher them, but then they flipped to an image of my team.

  Sarah, who was apparently the head of the expedition, had her arms around my other colleagues and was grinning widely. The report continued to say the relic would be taken back to the university for examination to further attempt to uncover its history.

  A mixture of jealousy and excitement for my friends hit me, but also a confusing sense of dread. I didn’t know why I felt them finding that disc was bad news, but I couldn’t shake it. Perhaps I should call Sarah and warn her.

  I shook my head, wet strands of hair falling into my face. I pushed them back behind my ear impatiently. I was being silly. Not every hidden and long forgotten item in this earth was magical. If I kept this up, I’d start looking at things like toasters and umbrellas with scrutiny.

  “Is something bothering you?” Kael asked.

  The man was wearing nothing but a pair of boxer briefs that left nothing to the imagination. It was an effort to lift my gaze to his face.

  “I’m not sure,” I said honestly. “It’s probably nothing.”

  Kael stepped closer, and I wished he wouldn’t because he was distracting my already frenzied thoughts. “Livvie, if there is something bothering you, tell me.”