Lost Souls

by Chelsea Mueller

  “Nate did this,” he said as though it were fact.

  His rage was hers. It glowed in his eyes, and that same spark kindled her own. “Yes. He did. Whether he snatched this soul from someone else or shoved one of the sullied souls from the back room into that guy, this is Nate’s fault.”

  “We’re going to find him.” Derek nodded to himself. “Are you ready to recollect the souls when we do?”

  “Stopping Nate comes first. Souls are second. We need a plan, though, because if he’s got them stored like he had in the van, I’m going to have some difficulty.”

  “How bad?”

  “Full-body flame,” she said honestly. When he flinched, she added, “But I have a better idea of how it works now. I just need more time to test. I can try it with the souls here first before we go there.”

  “Practice as much as you need, doll. He isn’t going to know what’s coming, so let’s make sure to bring the new tricks.”

  Agreed. She was not willing to look at the face of another dead guy because of Nate and shitty attempts at soul magic.

  Beck poked his head past the velvet curtain. “We clear for you two to come back here?”

  Derek didn’t move until Callie agreed. She led the way and he followed closely behind her.

  The image of the postmortem photo continued to bat at Callie’s brain. That man might have died as a result of soul magic. Callie thought of Lexi then, and her lolling head and limp limbs. Had she damaged the woman permanently? The Soul Charmer had thrown his magic at Callie from day one, and it hadn’t knocked her out. He’d turned her into a human soul detector out the gate, and now she was sucking souls from other planes. Other than the overall ick factor and the mountain of guilt that continued to grow at her back, she wasn’t ill. But not everyone could take the magic like she could. She wrapped a hand around her wrist, and could almost believe the wings beneath were fluttering.

  “Is everything okay downstairs?” she asked when they were back in the relative sanctuary of the back workspace.

  “Why wouldn’t it be?” Beck asked.

  “Just answer her.” Derek loomed over Beck. When they stood this close the differences widened. Derek’s height, his broad shoulders, and his glare offering the plausibility of potential murder were juxtaposed against Beck’s rangy frame and whatever-the-fuck attitude.

  Callie rested a hand on Derek’s arm. The cops clearly put him on edge, and she could relate.

  “The woman’s sleeping. Miguel is reading a book. No big news from the basement contingent,” Beck said without looking at Callie.

  Derek shrugged like it was an apology. Beck nodded. Whatever worked.

  “So what news do you have?” Callie didn’t want his take on the Gem City PD visit.

  “I heard from the man I’ve got in front of the warehouse. A couple guys just showed up.”

  “Nate?” Derek prompted.

  “No, but he said they were toting oversized backpacks and were definitely not in school.”

  Those backpacks could hold anything: groceries, drugs, souls.

  “They still inside or did they drop and dash?” Derek asked.

  “Still inside as of five minutes ago,” Beck said. “I didn’t want to interrupt.”

  Callie inhaled sharply, and Beck didn’t continue that thread.

  “When do you want to do this?” Derek asked.

  “They could move tomorrow for all we know.” She couldn’t have that. She couldn’t miss this shot to block those souls from finding hosts. What if Josh had taken one? Or Zara? She wasn’t going to lose someone she loved, and she wasn’t about to be the reason someone else fell into that heartache, either.

  She squeezed Derek’s arm, and hoped to absorb some of his stoic determination. She continued, “I think I need to test a few tricks now, and we plan to go tonight.”

  Derek rapped his knuckles against the desk. “We can make that work. We keep the guys scouting the place. We need all the entrances and our best guess on a head count.”

  “I can help with that,” Beck offered. He picked his phone up from the desk, unlocked it, and began tapping out messages.

  “Is that second room downstairs manageable for me to free a few souls to see how I do with control?” she asked Derek. He might not have first-hand experience with the magic, but he understood the Charmer’s setup better than anyone.

  “It’s probably safer up here. That room would work if we didn’t have someone in the other room.” He didn’t point out that if it went wrong the soul might find the soul dealer or she might burn something important. Other than herself.

  “I can work with that.” She began pulling the souls she’d collected from the well from the shelves. The labels on their jars were bare, but as she picked up each container a glimmer of memory fluttered before her. The familiarity was new, but nice.

  Callie phone vibrated. She set the next jar onto the desk, and then pulled the mobile from her pocket. The number was unknown. “Would the hospital call with an unlisted number?”

  She wasn’t certain whom she had been asking, but Derek answered. “Probably not, but answer it on speaker.”

  Nothing good came from unlisted phone numbers calling her. Collections used that. Her debts were paid up right now, so no one would have to hear about the medical bill she was seven months late on or the disconnection threat on the electric bill. She swallowed her concern, and accepted the call.

  “Hello?”

  “Callie girl. What cha wearing?” Even without the disgusting commentary she would have recognized Nate’s sleaze-slathered voice.

  “Fuck off.”

  “Aw, now now. Is that any way to treat the man who spared your mommy’s life? I could take it back.”

  Callie’s hand began to shake. Derek slid his beneath hers. The act both kept the phone steady and rooted Callie into the moment, here with her lover. “Why are you calling me, Nate?”

  “Well, it would have been nice to get a thank you,” he sneered.

  “Pretty sure the bonus gifts I sent along with your soul covered that.”

  His breath hissed on the line as though his mouth covered the whole of the receiver. “That was payment.”

  Her patience was waning and taking her worry with it. “Did you really call to gloat?”

  “I called with a proposition for you, Callie girl.”

  She didn’t need to hear whatever he was about to say. “I’ll pass.”

  “No you won’t.”

  “We’re done. I returned your soul. I gave you what you asked for. The deal is done. Move on.”

  “I am moving forward. I’m finding the soul business is easy to break into these days. No wonder the Soul Charmer never leaves his work. Everyone’s looking for a quick soul these days, and the bank on it is fucking nice.”

  Callie was not about to snap at that jab about the Soul Charmer. Nate might know he was missing. Whatever. She was not on this call to talk to him. “There’s only one Soul Charmer in Gem City,” she said. Her thumb already hovering over the end button.

  “Or none.” He waited for a long moment before giving her anything more. “Funny thing, I liked the souls you brought me. It’s time for round two.”

  “If you want to rent souls from the Soul Charmer, you know exactly how that works.”

  “You know that’s not what I mean.”

  “We’re done.”

  “Wonder how dear Henry here feels about that? Henry, did you want to let Callie know how you feel about her disinterest in bringing me souls?” Wood scraped against something harder in the background. Two heavy, wet smacks rang across the line followed by a long, low groan.

  “Looks like the priest has taken a vow of silence, too. If you’re not going to help me, I get to find out what it takes to break a man of God. I win either way, but I thought you’d want the chance to save your priest buddy.”

  “Nate…” she ground his name between her teeth. If only it would pulverize him.

  “Are you not fucking that br
ick wall asshole anymore? This is his brother. Did you know that? Enforcer for the Soul Charmer and his brother is spending his days trying to save souls. Wonder how their mom feels. How many fingernails do you think it’ll take before Henry tells me? I’m putting my money on three, but cards are really my game.”

  Had Nate been this demented before? He’d been scary in a grabby way, in the kind of unnerving way where you were certain he saw you as an object to undress and use. Her gut had always put Ford as the one who would stab and slice. Nate’s gleeful tone, though, crawled beneath Callie’s skin until she thought her muscles would all lock.

  “Torturing a priest. Really? I know rising to Heaven was off the table for you, but you planning to bypass purgatory and just burn for millennia?”

  “I’ve got souls now, bitch. I can kill and maim to my heart’s delight and the Big Man still has to let me in with open arms.”

  The fuck he did.

  “Why a priest?” Would avoiding Henry’s name make a difference at this point?

  “Other than he’s your boyfriend’s brother? He could let me have access to souls. I know it. He refused, and now you’re going to have to do.”

  Another wet smack rang from Nate’s end.

  “What do you want?” Desperation leaked into her words.

  “Souls. You’re going to bring me a dozen souls today, and I’ll let you have the padre back.”

  “That’s a lot of souls…”

  “Bullshit. You’ve got them, and you’re going to keep bringing me souls every week or I can pay another visit to your brother at work or maybe put a hit on that giant asshole you like to screw. Deliver for me, or I’ll cut away what you love. You hear me, Callie girl?”

  She fucking heard him. This couldn’t be happening, but she heard every syllable sliding from his forked tongue.

  “Yeah.” If rage could be packed into four little letters, her reply would have combusted.

  “I’ll text you an address. I expect my souls by six tonight or I find out how much pain a priest can take before he curses his maker.”

  The call died, and so did a piece of Callie.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  Every bit of guilt gristle Callie had packed to her ribs in the last fifteen years sloughed from the bone and turned on her organs until spikes skewered her insides.

  “We can’t wait to go to the warehouse.” Her voice was shaking, but even she didn’t know if it was from fury or fear. Her hands fluttered. Should she put the souls away? Should she find the car keys and haul ass over there now? They couldn’t let Nate have Henry. Whatever it took, she was getting him back.

  Derek wrapped his hands around hers, and he brought them to his chest. The heavy battering ram heartbeat beneath focused her. It was his brother this time, and yet he was here comforting her. She pressed herself closer and let him wrap his arms around her. He squeezed tighter than he ever had before, and she didn’t make a noise. The hitch in his breathing made it clear he needed this, and if that meant she skipped a little oxygen, so be it. She nuzzled closer and kissed the cotton covering his heart.

  Steel scraped over steel when he spoke. “Killing that fucker is priority number one.”

  Callie escaped his grasp, but left her hand on his chest. “Saving Henry is the top priority.”

  He huffed.

  “If Nate dies in the process, I’m not stopping you. But speaking from experience, you want to put Henry first here.” Being the voice of reason was weird. Having experience in this kind of shit was weirder.

  “So,” Beck dragged the word out until they cared he was in the room. “Nate’s definitely behind Anonymous Souls. Figures.”

  “We’ll shut that shit down today.” Derek’s eyes narrowed.

  The hate was for the man who held his brother captive, but Beck still dropped his gaze. “If Nate wants souls, luring you two out of here makes this place prime pickings. Now, I know you have to save that priest—not saying you shouldn’t—but can we have a plan?”

  “There’s not time for a plan. We need to get over there now.” Strategy would have been fucking nice, but that shit didn’t matter when family was on the line. Derek was family, and apparently that meant Henry was, too.

  “We can’t go in until we know what we’re walking into.” Molasses could have poured faster than Derek’s admission.

  “Fine,” Callie said. “What do we need to figure out, because if we wait until the pickup time he’ll be ready for us and might move the warehouse?”

  Her phone buzzed, and she showed the guys the display with the cross streets for the drop-off.

  “Ten minutes from the warehouse,” Beck said.

  Derek’s breathing was steadier now. “If he knew about Henry, he’s been watching us. He probably still has a lookout on the shop.”

  “How do we get rid of eyes on this place?” Beck asked. “It ain’t easy to get here without being seen.”

  Getting rid of people was do-able. “We give them business,” Callie said.

  “You can’t give them souls,” Beck said.

  “Cash comes first for Nate. He’ll do whatever it takes to get a buck in his pocket. We need to draw his guy away from here.”

  Beck cocked his head to the side. “You want to bribe them, but not with souls?”

  Derek followed her, though. He knew Callie better than most anyone these days. “No, she wants to keep them so busy they don’t have time to watch us.”

  “Exactly. Do you have enough people on the streets who we could have order soul delivery from Anonymous Souls? If we pick drop sites that are far from downtown and the warehouse, we should be able to draw everyone away.”

  “My woman’s brain is fucking perfect.” Derek’s gloating was fleeting.

  Beck nodded. “We can make sure enough people use burners to make it happen.”

  “How much time do you need to get it done?”

  Beck was already typing like a madman. “I’ll have them all over town in thirty minutes.”

  Callie tugged Derek toward the corner of the room. “As soon as his guys say they’ve got Anonymous’s dealers en route, I want to go to the warehouse. If we have all the souls, we have Nate by the balls, which means we can get Henry.”

  “We should take his dealer from the basement as leverage,” he said.

  “He does hostages, we don’t.” Bringing people in for questioning was bad enough. She wasn’t going to trade the woman. She wasn’t going to be that person.

  “Fine, then barter with her if it makes you feel better. That woman is our best way to get inside the building and force Nate’s hand.”

  “Nate doesn’t value her.”

  “How do you know that?”

  Because if he said half the shit he’d said to Callie to that woman, she wasn’t going to be running to him for safety. “Gut feeling.”

  The muscle at Derek’s temple twitched. “She knows the building, Callie. She can get us inside.”

  She was loath to bring more people into this clusterfuck, but he had a point. Still… “I don’t know about trusting her with your brother’s life.”

  “You haven’t seen her recently, Callie. She’s not in a state to do damage.” He’s lucky she loved him, because that hard slap of words wasn’t welcome. She’d freaked when Zara was taken, too, though. This was what family did to us.

  Callie headed downstairs to see Lexi. If Derek was right and she wouldn’t risk Henry’s life, this might be okay. She pushed open the interrogation room door to find the chillest ambiance that room had ever held. Miguel had one leg folded with his ankle over his knee. He had a tattered copy of One Hundred Years of Solitude open in his right hand. He lifted his head to acknowledge them, but then went back to reading.

  The soul dealer didn’t stir at first. Callie squatted near the woman until their faces were level. “Lexi?” she said softly.

  Her only response was a groggy denial. This woman better not be hemorrhaging somewhere. Callie reached forward to lift one of Lexi’s eyelids. She
wanted to see pupil response, but got Lexi reeling back instead. “What the fuck you doing?”

  “Making sure you’re not dying.”

  The other woman’s eyes were wide now, and her pupils were a little dilated due to the dimness of the room, but exactly as expected.

  “How do you feel?” Callie asked.

  Lexi sucked her teeth. “Like I’ve been tied to a chair for too long.”

  She had set herself up for that one. “Want to change that?”

  The Anonymous Souls worker narrowed her eyes. Callie watched the woman’s hands, though. She expected them to be fiddling the with zip ties. Hers would have been. Instead the skin had shifted sallow and plumped, and she began to understand Derek’s assessment. Lexi was weakened, and did need real medical attention. Callie pushed quickly with her magic, and found the other woman’s soul humming along just fine.

  If nothing else, she hadn’t broken this person.

  “You’re not going to kill me?” The wariness in Lexi’s tone, the confidence that this ordeal was going to end everything for her reminded Callie of how different she was than the Soul Charmer. He didn’t see anything but enemies and tools when he looked around a room, and delighted in doing so. Callie had to use this woman, but she wasn’t going to enjoy it.

  “If we wanted you dead, you’d be dead,” Derek intoned from somewhere behind her.

  “Let’s make a deal, Lexi.”

  “What kind of deal? I’m keeping my soul.” Her words rushed together.

  Callie didn’t bother telling the woman that if someone with the skill wanted her soul, it was going either way. That wasn’t useful. “I don’t want your soul. I want your help.”

  Lexi was agreeable, but then she’d been bound to a chair and offered an out. Callie promised that if the dealer could get them inside the warehouse without a problem, they’d let her go. While the suggestion she should get out of the soul delivery business was obvious, Callie said it anyway.

  Miguel took care of releasing Lexi and keeping an eye on her. Derek and Callie returned to the tiled office upstairs.

  “Souls are ordered,” Beck said. “My guys already saw two cars out on the street from here pull away.”