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My Soul to Take (Soul Keepers (Young Adult paranormal romance))

Page 7

by Melissa Solis


  Something feels off about that kid and I need to figure out what it is that’s bothering me. I’ve a strong instinct and I’m rarely wrong when I follow that instinct. In all my years, I’ve never been put on the peripheral of vital information as I’ve been on this case. This needs to stop.

  Nehemiah is getting out of control. Perhaps the wealth of power this project has brought him has turned him into some sort of dictator with a God-complex. This whole thing could come crashing down on their around their ears if they’re not careful.

  Brennen is strong, stronger than I ever dreamed she could be, but if they keep tearing away the people who love her, she may unravel one of these days. I know she has come to depend on me to be her glue and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love her with all that I’m. I will not stand idly by while Sam chips away at her confidence. I get that he thinks he is keeping her safe and I can even respect him a little bit for that, but blatantly making-out with his ex in front of her? That’s just plain ignorant. I guess I need to have another talk with the boy. Here’s hoping I can keep my hands in my pockets long enough for him to walk away from that conversation.

  Chapter 8 ~ The Deal

  My phone buzzes next to my ear, I peek one eye open and fumble for it. My screen is lit up by Grandma’s sweet face. It’s still dark out and I know her condition has deteriorated enough that she doesn’t know my number anymore. Adrenaline surges through me as I answer.

  “Hello?” The voice on the other end confirms my identity. My grandma’s nurse tells me that they had to transport her to the E.R due to a medical emergency. Elijah sits on the edge of my bed, concern spread over his face, a look he wears more often lately. I hang up with her nurse and hurry to my dresser to grab some clothes.

  “Is she okay?” Elijah grabs my shoes from the closet for me.

  “I don’t know, they won’t tell me anything over the phone.” Elijah turns away as I pull my sleeping T-shirt over my head and dress quickly. He is already fully dressed and looking like he just stepped off the pages of GQ. I walk out of the bathroom with my hair tangled around my head, sweats, and a hoodie.

  “I’ll drive,” Elijah states like it’s not up for discussion.

  I wish Elena could teleport me instantly. Elijah doesn’t have that gift. I’m learning that they all have unique specialties. He can heal the body better than any Keeper out there and his sense of knowing what is around him is acutely sensitive. We take his powder-blue classic Camaro for extra speed and arrive at the hospital in a heart stopping twenty minutes.

  I rush to the counter where a stout woman with a jolly demeanor greets me with a smile. The waiting room is bursting with all sorts of ailing people, crying babies, bleeding head wounds, and coughing elderly are all dizzying up the small space.

  “Ann Marie Hale?” I ask the woman whose name tag is ingeniously covered by a smiley face button. She types the name into her computer and confirms my identity.

  “She is in the ICU and they’re still trying to stabilize her. I’ll have her doctor come out when we know anything else. You can wait in the overflow area over there. It may be quieter.” I nod and sink into Elijah. He holds me close against his chest and walks me to a chair.

  “Can’t you heal her Elijah?” Sadness washes over his features.

  He speaks slowly. “If it were only up to me, I would have restored her mind and given her back to you months ago. I would do anything for you Brennen, but I can’t do that. Let’s pray for her together.” Elijah takes my hand in his and prays for God to heal my grandmother, to wash away her pain and fill her with his holy light. He prays for me, he prays for Sam and finally he prays for us. His words strewn together pleading for life, love and healing all around, fill me with a sense of comfort.

  We wait in the hard pleather chairs for what seems like an eternity. I’ve memorized the two small paintings that adorn the wall in front of me, a generic sail boat over a choppy sea, and a hideous vase of lilies. I look up every time those huge double doors ease open. The sun is coming up outside. I lift my head from Elijah’s shoulder and stretch my arms.

  Elijah offers to go find me a cup of coffee and I nod weary from the stress of the night. Wonder if they can run an espresso line right into my vein.

  No sooner than Elijah disappears from my sight, Malphas eases into the seat next to me. I nearly jump right out of my own skin and scramble to the floor. I open my mouth to scream for Elijah but the demon shakes his head and points his finger at my mouth. He’s made it so only my breath escapes beyond my lips. Oh no, not again.

  “Miss me?” he asks innocently enough. With my body cringing at his feet, it’s the holding cell all over again. He shrugs off my look of sheer terror and eases into his seat. I’m stunned into stone, he’s here in public for all to witness. We are in a far corner of one of the many waiting rooms this hospital has, so maybe I’m the only one blessed with this curse.

  “Gran’s not doing so well? In fact she will be meeting her untimely demise very shortly, I would stick around for the show but I’ve a feeling your beloved will be rounding the corner shortly. To be honest I thought he’d never leave. Poor judgment on his part if I may be honest.” He chuckles to himself like he is quite pleased with having me cornered yet again.

  “So, I’ll get right to the point. The offer on the table is your grandmother’s life, five good years, we’ll even throw her memory back in for good sport.” Is he seriously using my grandmother’s life as a bargaining chip? My mouth hangs agape. He points to my mouth again and my voice is returned.

  “What do you want Malphas?” A slow smile spreads across his smooth face.

  “The master wants your soul. He promises you a room in his castle.” Yeah, I bet, in his dungeon.

  “First you offer me Elijah, now my grandmother, maybe if I hold out you’ll bring my dad back.” I don’t know where the anger comes from but I’m suddenly a ball of rage. I stand up in front of him. My legs don’t agree with my sudden lack of self-preservation and they wobble beneath me unsteady.

  His smile never wavering, he doesn’t miss a beat. “No, resurrections were never his forte,” he says coolly.

  I slump down in the seat opposite from him. For a second, I consider the offer.

  “Well that’s my cue, if you decide you don’t want your grandmother’s blood on your hands, just say my name and I’ll return. You have one hour.”

  Elijah rounds the corner and I see his beautiful serene eyes fill with an anger I never knew was possible, when he spots the demon.

  Elijah lunges for the demon like a wild cougar protecting her young. He is all muscle and flesh coiling for the kill. They both disappear into the red skied world and I blink to catch up to them. Malphas dodges Elijah’s tackle and readies himself for the next.

  A smile spreads on Malphas’ face.

  “Well it looks like someone’s got a secret.”

  “Shut your face Malphas or you won’t have one to shut.” Elijah lunges for him again but Malphas teleports to another spot in the room.

  “Oh Elijah, I think you should tell her,” Malphas teases. Elijah moves quicker than I‘ve ever seen him and rips the throat right out of Malphas as the demon disintegrates between his fingers. Elijah slings the blood and sinew from his hand and it dissolves into the shadows like it was never really there in the first place.

  “Is he dead?” I ask with more enthusiasm for death and carnage than I should have.

  “No,” Elijah grumbles.

  “But he barely has a neck left.” Elijah is checking me for harm as I ramble.

  “Our bodies are just manifestations of energy and sprit combined. We can be weakened but not killed. What happened, are you okay? I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have left you alone for even a minute.”

  “I’m okay.” My voice sounds far off as I still contemplate the demon’s offer. “What secret do you have Elijah?”

  “Please trust me on this one, love, you don’t want to know okay.” His voice is so sincere I back down immedi
ately.

  Elijah tips my chin up with his fingers. “Hey, what happened? Did he say anything to you? Did he make you an offer?” My eyes look away ashamed for even considering it. “No Brennen, whatever he has offered you, it’s not good.”

  “I know.” Elijah puts his hands on my face, cradling my head in his hands. Concern deepens his brows and his eyes swim with words to convince me. My grandmother will die if I don’t take this deal. She is not even that old, she could have five happy years left with me. If it were me dying in that bed, she would do it for me. She would do anything for me. I blink back the tears and Elijah pulls me onto his lap and holds me.

  He whispers softly into my ear. “Let her go home Bren, let her see her son, she’s aching for him right now. She misses her husband. She’s waited so long to see him. Her mother and father are waiting for her Brennen.” Elijah’s words echo in my ears. She’ll get to be with Daddy.

  “Ms. Hale?” A doctor comes up to me wearing a surgical scrub cap and blue scrubs.

  “Yes.” I say standing up to meet him.

  “Your grandmother is stable now if you’d like to come in for a moment. I’m afraid she’s suffered a pulmonary embolism and it’s left her unable to breathe on her own very well. Her vitals suggest that her condition could deteriorate quickly but as you are aware she has a DNR signed on file with us. She requested that once emergency measures be taken that no further attempt be made to sustain life by the use of intubation or CPR. If you’ll follow me please.”

  I remember all too well having to help her choose her last wishes when we entered in to the hospice care a couple of weeks ago. Her only moment of clarity in months had been when she pointed to those bold typeface initials. She knew she wanted to go home. She wanted to be free of this body that held her captive.

  The doctor led us to her bed where my grandmother gasped for air in short little burst. The rattle in her chest was her new normal thanks to her advanced Alzheimer’s. I carefully sat in the chair Elijah pushed up next to the bed and took Grandma’s hand. “All you have to do is call my name,” Malphas repeats in my head. Elijah took her other hand and began performing the prayer of Last Rights over her very quietly so as not to disturb me. She would have wanted that. My grandma was a devout Catholic. She would have had a danced on the ceiling if she knew a real angel of the lord was praying over her right now.

  “I promise she won’t feel any pain.” Elijah keeps a hold of her hand and I know he is taking her discomfort away so that she may pass in peace. Her breaths come softer now like she didn’t have to try as hard. Tears flow freely down my face as my grandma seems to drift off to sleep. But I know she isn’t sleeping. I bury my head into her neck and hold her close to me. She always wore the same Channel No 5 perfume, and still bears the scent, the nurses must have kept up with her habit even when she couldn’t.

  “I love you Grandma, tell Daddy I said hi and that I miss him.” I kiss her cheek. The nurse turns off the beeping machine. A doctor comes in behind her and checks Grandma’s pulse before quietly announcing her time of death. My whole body sags upon hearing those words. Elijah grips my shoulders and I turn to him and let the tears fall onto his crisp blue shirt. He holds me in his steel cage arms where no one can hurt me.

  Chapter 9 ~ Yellow Roses

  I wait in the back of the church with Elijah as the priest comes in and begins by praying over us. He and his alter boys accompany the casket down the aisle while we follow behind. Her church is a tiny white chapel in town. Stained glass windows and ornate statues adorn the wall. It’s beyond beautiful inside. Angels painted in the clouds above us, smile warmly down upon our small gathering. She had made many friends in this little town where she spent almost half of her life. But I was her only living relative.

  Elijah knows when to sit, stand, and kneel in all of the prayers. I follow along having been through my fair share of Catholic funerals. When the priest speaks about her I get the sense that he really knew her and tears fall from my face as I listen to his stories. He makes us laugh with tales of how her quick wit and charm made her your instant best friend, even if you had only just met. She would reel you in with her words and then capture your stomach with her baked goods. No one was safe from that combination.

  After it’s over, Elijah walks us out past the crowd with his arm around my shoulder to keep me up right. I notice Sam in the pew standing beside Emily. I don’t have it in me to meet his eyes. It had been weeks since I asked to talk to him and he never said a word to me. Not only has he been seeing Peyton but I’ve seen him cozy up to Ari as well.

  After the burial I had arranged a dove release. The woman said the dove was trained to fly home, just as Grandma was home now. It represents her spirit flying free, unburdened by her health and her earthly body any longer. She holds the snow white bird in her hand and everyone passes a hand over it and says good-bye. When she gives the bird to me, I slowly open my hands and let it take off in flight. Its wings catch the air and it pumps itself up to the sky effortlessly.

  The coordinator opens the door to a white cage and three more take flight representing the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The sound of their pristine wings beating to gain altitude reminded me of Elijah’s wings. Tears well in my eyes as she finally releases an entire flock of the doves. They circle over us, high above the oaks, soaring free, yet unified as one. I hear the nearby sniffles as tears are being spilled by men and women alike.

  I sit in the chair across from the casket and ask Elijah for a little privacy. He said he wouldn’t go far. One by one guest stop by to give me their condolences until the crowd dwindles down to just two, Emily and Sam. They look good together. Perfect really. Part of me wishes they were the ones that destiny had cemented together. The other part of me longs for one of his gentle embraces right now.

  Emily comes up and hugs my neck. “Brennen I’m so sorry for your loss. If you need anything at all, you call me okay. If you need me to write your next presidential speech on foreign oil subsidies, I’m there.” I crack a smile. I nod and return her hug.

  Sam takes the seat next to me. He sits for several minutes with me, staring at the casket adorned in yellow roses. I didn’t know if this is all I would get out of him, but for some reason with him beside me, it felt like we would be okay one day. “My mom had pink flowers, she loved anything that was pink, from her ceramic pig collection to those damn pink pants she used to wear with everything in her closet. “ I give him a heartfelt smile at his admission.

  “Grandma said that God made yellow to cheer up the world.” But for some reason repeating her comment makes me sad. Sam sighs right along with me and then he stands up and walks away. I feel like a squashed bug that’s been flicked into a pile of dog doo. My hand slides along the cool wood casket and I pluck a single yellow rose from it before I walk away from my grandma for the last time.

  “Come on, let’s go home so you can rest.” Elijah takes my hand. Just as we pull away, the sky opens up and pours out its tears over the land. Thunder rumbles like a growl in the distance. Nothing makes sense.

  That night Elijah lounges in my bedroom chaise while I’m snug under my covers.

  “At least Sam didn’t bring Peyton to the funeral,” I say.

  “It would have been wrong of him to do and deep down, I think Sam is a good guy.”

  “You do?” I’m a bit shocked by his admission.

  “Well, I’m still appalled by his attack on you, and something isn’t sitting right with me about the story.”

  “What, do you suspect he was faking it?”

  “I don’t know about that. I’ve always sensed something vulnerable about his spirit.” Spirits, souls, red skied worlds, I’m only on the cusp of understanding the full meaning of these things, and thirsty for more knowledge. I hate feeling like I don’t know my way around a subject. Perhaps that is why I’ve always been a good student.

  “What should I do Elijah?” Sam took a step in my direction today. I want to keep the momentum going. I hope
his feelings for Peyton are counterfeit and he is only using her as an excuse to keep me safe.

  “Let’s talk more in the morning. Get some rest, love.”

  My stomach bottoms out, I love it when he calls me that. I wonder when our time will come. I hate this. I’m sure Elijah hates pushing me into the arms of the man I’m supposed to marry. I can’t read his thoughts but he’s been so open with me about how he feels and since I know he can’t lie, then he must be a mess inside.

  “The demon wanted my soul, well he said his master wanted it. He promised I could live in his castle and he’d give my grandma her health back, even her mind.” I finally admit as I snuggle back under my heavy comforter.

  “Listen to me very carefully Brennen.” Elijah moves to my side. “Whatever he offers you, promise me you will never agree to anything. It’s not worth losing your soul. He will delight himself into making your worst nightmares come true for all of eternity. Don’t ever trust anything he has to say. They live and breathe lies. Promise me.” I can tell he is angered, not at me, but the position I had been put in.

  “Okay Elijah, I promise.” This man cares more for me than I ever knew was possible.

  He brushes my hair away from my face. “I know you don’t want to use your gifts on Sam. We’ll figure out how to turn him around.” I drink in his warm dark chocolate aroma. There’s something about the scent of this particular food group that makes me feel all velvety inside. It feels so good being in his arms. Not an ounce of flirting from either of us, yet I feel undeniably loved. He’s telling me he’s going to help me win the affections of another, yet his own love is fixed and never faltering. Maybe I’ll never understand that kind of love, and he’s not asking me to, he’s not even asking me to match it, just to accept the fact that he will always love me. I drift off in his arms as he strokes my head with his magic coma-inducing fingers.

 

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