Broken Souls

by Jade M. Phillips

  I reached down and hit the plate with my hand, causing it to propel across the room and shatter against the wall. Ruby flinched and backed away toward the door.

  “And you’re lucky they didn’t find this.” I reached down beneath my shirt and pulled the rosary from my neck. I tossed it to her feet, knowing I was being a complete jerk, but was unable to stop myself. I’d be lying if I didn’t say it killed me. Her eyes glistened and a single tear fall down her cheek. A piece of my heart fell with it.

  “Just forget about me,” I said, falling unsteadily back down on the bench, a broken man with a shattered heart. I was ready to die. “Forget all about me, Ruby. Just go.”

  Ruby’s lips quivered and her chest shook, but except for that one single tear, she did not cry.

  I was desperate. Desperate to protect the woman I loved.

  “Please,” I begged. “Please leave me.”

  And to my solemn relief, she plucked the rosary from the ground, opened the door and left without another look back, taking a part of my heart with her.

  THIRTY-THREE: RUBY

  I closed the cell bars and, taking a few steps down the hall, threw my back against the wall. I held the rosary tight to my chest, thinking what a stubborn asshole Guy Stone was. Yet, I couldn’t help but love that stubborn ass with all of my heart. I shook my head.

  His words had cut me deep, like a razor’s sharp edge, but I knew they were out of fear and he was just protecting me. I saw in his eyes, knowing it hurt him as much as it did me, but I wasn’t going to let him push me away that easily.

  I glanced down the long hall, still alone. Orie would be at the front of the Courthouse until sunrise, unless —God forbid— any unforeseeable trouble happened. I still had time. I still had time to convince Guy his life was worth fighting for.

  I pulled the rosary he’d given me what felt centuries ago over my head and let it lie flat on my chest. I then disrobed, piece by piece, until all I wore was a thin white undergarment.

  I sighed heavily, knowing this was my last chance, and walked back to the bars and slid them open again. Guy lie facing the wall, the flickering torch light catching glints of his chocolate brown hair in their wake. His muscled back shone through large tears and gaps in his shirt and I couldn’t help think he was utterly beautiful. Despite our grim circumstance, my pull of desire for him was overwhelming.

  I dropped my clothes on the ground in a pile and slid the door closed, locking myself inside yet again. I edged around the pieces of broken plate and spilled food he’d thrown in his rage, hoping I could get through to him and convince him we could make this work and escape together.

  Though he knew I was there, he didn’t as much as flinch when I neared. I knelt down and unlocked the chains from his feet, gently casting them to the side, wincing when I saw the bloodied chafing on his ankles from the cuffs. I climbed over him and slid myself onto the bench in front of him, tucking my body into his. I pulled the blanket over us and edged myself as close as possible into his chest, feeling it expand and retract against my back, his warm breath in my hair.

  “Hold me,” I whispered.

  After a long silence, and when I was almost certain he would ignore me, Guy snaked his arm around my waist and pulled me in tight. His warmth enveloped me like I was sliding into a hot spring, his manly scent swirling into my senses. For the first time in a long time, I felt safe again, like returning home.

  He brought up his fingers and slowly traced the chain of my rosary from the side of my neck down to between my breasts, sliding off to graze the skin of my chest. At his touch, my skin pebbled and I shuddered inside with warmth. I flipped over to face him, his storm-cloud eyes taking me in, his face streaked with tears. I knew it killed him to talk to me the way he had, but I also knew he didn’t mean it.

  He stroked my hair and I kissed away his tears, thinking I never wanted to be away from him again. His lips found mine and he devoured my breath as I did his, our bodies shaking together. We shook of fear and anger, but also of love and desire. Guy ran his hands up my back beneath my night gown and I felt a pull of attraction in that moment I’d never felt before, my body heating like the embers of a fire. I pulled away, becoming suddenly shy, my cheeks flushing hot. Guy paused, considering me.

  I’d never been with a man in that way, and had never had any reason to tell Guy before now. I was embarrassed, thinking I might have to do so in that moment. But I was spared an explanation when Guy’s eyes softened with understanding, as if he already knew. He pushed a stray hair from my face and kissed me deeply, before wrapping his arms around me tight. I nuzzled into his chest and listened to his heart beat. I knew when the time came and I was ready to take that next step, Guy was the one I wanted to share my first time with, but this was neither the time nor the place. Our focus needed to stay on escaping and, furthermore, surviving.

  The hours we spent together that night more so validated my feelings that I couldn’t allow him to perish away in the prison cell. I couldn’t stand for him to be taken from me. And the fact that we were so different, human and vampire, didn’t concern me. We could work that out. What concerned me was our escaping this place together, and doing so alive.

  THIRTY-FOUR: RUBY

  I breathed deeply as Guy held me after our night together, sadness and pleasure combined. He traced the lines of my face with his finger tips and placed a kiss on my collarbone.

  “You are everything to me, Faith,” he breathed against my skin, breaking the beautiful silence. He pulled away from me as we lay on our sides, gazing into each other’s eyes. “I care for you more than I could ever express in words,” he continued. “But that is why this can never work. Even if we escaped this place, the only thing you’d ever know is fear and danger. I cannot be the one who puts you in that position.”

  Always the logical one and stubborn as a bull. I ran my fingers over a patch of his bare shoulder. “But that is what I choose. I choose you. I choose danger if it means we can be together. We can figure it out. We can find somewhere safe, where neither one of us will ever be found. We can live happily together.”

  Guy smiled, but it was a sad one. “I’m a human, Faith. You will watch me grow old as you stay young. That will not be much of a life for you.”

  “Details,” I said, waving a dismissive hand as though debating the color of the sky. Guy chuckled and I laughed with him.

  I wanted more than anything to suggest he become a vampire like myself, knowing we would be stronger that way, but just as the thought entered my mind, so did the cold fingers of guilt, telling me how selfish it was. I could never do that to him.

  I then wondered if there would ever be a cure for what I was, for vampirism. If by some chance a cure did exist, I was determined to find it once we were free. But for now, all our efforts needed to be focused on escape, and I needed to convince him of that.

  “Seriously,” I continued, my lips curling into a small smile. “I don’t care as long as we’re together. I want you and you only. I don’t want to be a part of this community if I can’t have you with me. I don’t care about being a vampire, I don’t care about their rules and their ways. It’s nothing without you. My life is nothing…” I dropped my gaze, “without you.”

  Guy considered me, soaking in what I said. “Are you sure about this?”

  I glanced back up. “I’ve never been so sure of anything in my entire life.”

  He studied me again for one long moment and then nodded. “All I want is for your happiness, and if leaving this place is your wish, then so be it.”

  A beaming smile formed on my face and I kissed him gently, elation warming my heart. When our lips parted, I giggled, watching the way Guy looked at me with such depth, as though he could feel my happiness inside of him. And then something suddenly occurred to me. I’d never revealed to him that I knew of his bond to me. I cleared my throat, figuring there would be no better time, and shifted my attention between both of his grey eyes.

  “I know you’re bonded
to me,” I said in a small voice, gauging what his reaction might be.

  Guy’s joyous expression faltered, and he fell silent for a long while, studying my face. After what felt like forever, he finally spoke, his voice husky and raw. “How did you find out?”

  I looked down at my lap, and played with the hem of my nightgown. “I heard you and Wilson talking about it back at the ranch house, but it was obvious you didn’t want me to know, so I never said anything.”

  Guy shook his head and opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it again as if unsure. He sighed deeply and tried again. “It was better that way.”

  I offered him a sympathetic smile, understanding why he never told me. At the time and, as far as we were both concerned, we would go our separate ways, never seeing each other again. But now that the tides had changed, bringing us back together, we needed to be honest with each other. We both fell silent again for a few moments, pondering his connection to me.

  “I want you to know that’s not the reason I care about you,” Guy finally interjected, causing me to glance back up at him. “Though it was hard for me to admit, I started having feelings for you the minute I laid eyes on you at the battle.” His eyes then traveled my body, his fingers tracing the satin neck of my nightgown. “I’d never seen anyone so beautiful in my entire life.”

  I felt my cheeks color at his words, thinking about what he’d said. Though I didn’t want to admit it, either, I had pondered the same thing on occasion, wondering if the only reason he had a connection to me was because of that night long ago at the mission. But his admission just now verified what I truly knew in my heart; he really cared for me, and not just because of some silly blood bond. That led me to also ponder what Wilson had said about unrequited bonds and how painful they could be. I glanced up into Guy’s gaze, now seeing it soft and vulnerable.

  “Does it hurt?” I asked, and he cocked a brow. “The bond, I mean. Wilson said it was unpleasant to be bonded to someone when they are not in turn bonded to you.”

  Guy stared out into the darkness as though digging through his own memories, the flame of the torchlight dancing in his eyes. He paused for a second, his lips then peeling into a gentle smile. He glanced back down at me, and brought a thumb beneath my chin, raising my head to his. He leaned in, the closer he became, the more his scent wrapped around me— wet leather and dry leaves.

  “No. It was a comfort having you near me, if not in body, in mind. The only thing that hurt was that I could not feel your lips against mine.”

  At first, he touched his mouth gently to mine, causing my flesh to tingle with pleasure. But after a moment, he placed a hand behind my head and deepened the kiss. It must’ve lasted forever, for we were both lost in time with each other. But as I winked my eyes open, I could feel the presence of the morning like an unexplainable heat. I pulled away, breathless.

  “Guy, the sun.”

  His hooded eyes became more alert and he looked around as if he could see through the walls to the outside. But there were no windows. We then looked at each other, knowing we needed to settle on a plan, and quickly.

  “You said you’ve made friends here?” he asked, and I nodded. “And you’re positive you can trust them?”

  “Yes,” I answered with confidence.

  He shifted on the bench, rubbing the scruff on his chin.

  “Then we don’t have much time,” he mused. “We must act quickly. And it must be tonight after I’m visited by Horus. I am to be a human sacrifice and I gather it will be very soon.”

  My pulse quickened at his words of being a sacrifice. I remembered seeing the woman on the theatre’s stage that night at The Birdcage Theatre. The night they drained her of her life’s blood. I shivered. Guy, sensing my discomfort placed a soothing hand on my arm.

  “I’m assuming one of your friends must be the guard on duty tonight.”

  Again I nodded, and he exhaled loudly but said nothing. He gazed unseeing at the walls.

  “What can I do to help?” I asked, urging him on. My keen vision sensed weak light beams filtering through the building from the front doors of the courthouse. I had to hurry. Daylight was not far away and I couldn’t risk getting caught. Not now when we were so close to leaving this place. Guy searched the cell as if he would find an answer within its walls.

  “I have an idea,” he said to my relief. “But it is going to be tricky.”

  Guy quickly went over the details of his plan as well as asking me a torrent of questions about things around town. He was especially interested in Orie’s security position. I gave him the general layout of Tombstone along with certain details I thought would be helpful. I also told him about Orie and Cloe and their wish to leave this place as well. Together we came up with a plan I prayed would somehow work.

  But before leaving, I removed my rosary and tucked it into Guy’s palm. He raised his brows at me.

  I leaned over and kissed him lightly on the cheek. “Until I see you again.”

  Guy looked about to protest but thought better of it. He reluctantly let me stand and gather the pieces of plate he’d earlier broken. He flashed me a smile as I slid open the cell door.

  “Now don’t you go running off on me,” I said, glancing at him from over my shoulder.

  Guy’s lips curled into a boyish smile. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  I left the cell that dark morning with a newfound hope and my lips still tingling from Guy’s kisses. But instead of going home to hide away from the sun, I convinced Orie to meet me at the Crystal Palace so we could go see Cloe together. He agreed and, not long after his shift change, met me at the Saloon. We rushed to the infirmary and crept inside.

  I was nervous to tell the young werewolf of our plan but Cloe took matters into her own hands. To my relief Orie was on board, if not a little nervous, but I knew in my heart I could trust him.

  So instead of sleeping during the daytime hours like the rest of the town’s inhabitants, the three of us stayed in the infirmary discussing our strategy. Luckily, Morin went home for the day leaving only one witch on call and she was too busy with the other patients to notice our whereabouts. Consequently, we hid in the tiny room, running through our strategy over and over until satisfied it would work.

  It was official. We had all the pieces to our plan in place, except for one small detail that grated on my mind.

  “You want to free the blood slaves as well?” Orie yelped at my suggestion. “Are you kidding me?” He sat next to Cloe on the edge of her bed, a hand on her thigh. But I shrugged nonchalantly, as though freeing the humans would be a piece of cake, though my confidence was anything but certain.

  “I can’t leave them here,” I said. “It’s just not right.”

  Orie scoffed, raking his hands back over his smooth hair. “It’s going to be tricky enough to free your prisoner and all of us escape unnoticed. But to free a large group of weakened humans as well?” He shook his head. “Impossible.”

  “Nothing’s impossible,” I rebutted, hoping my statement held valid.

  Orie let out an exasperated breath and glanced to his side at Cloe, as if awaiting her to side with him. But she shrugged and smiled, shifting her bright eyes back and forth between us. “I think we can do it.”

  I smiled and clapped my hands together, delighted at my friend’s vote of confidence. Yet again, my hope was restored, but poor Orie looked anything but hopeful.

  “How do you propose we do that, Cloe?” he asked in shock that she would even consider supporting my crazy idea. “How do you propose we free two dozen humans from the likes of Tombstone?”

  A devious smile peeled its way across the vampire’s face. “Easy. We just walk them right out of the gates.”

  THIRTY-FIVE: RUBY

  Anxiety coursed through me and my pulse tripled its normal pace.

  This was it.

  This was the night I would free Guy, free the humans, and escape this damned place for good. But not before I finished a few tasks. I still nee
ded to complete my normal duties as not to arise any suspicion.

  Once the sun fell below the mountains, I made my way toward Vampire Hall. With Cloe being out of commission, I had officially been given laundry duty on top of everything else. I needed to pick up the clothes from Natalia, Horus’ snooty female follower. I felt uncomfortable every time I saw her because her eyes stuck to me like glue. She kept a close watch on me for the vampire leader, and I needed to be especially careful this night.

  Though my legs wanted to run and match the fast pace of my beating heart, I kept my stride slow and steady as I walked through the streets. I tried to mentally calm myself down by focusing on the crunching sounds my boots made along the dirt road.

  The town became livelier as its inhabitants emerged from their homes in the early hours of the night. Werewolves stood guard or clamored together loudly on their way to the Crystal Palace. Vampires clustered in groups as usual, and witches bustled in and out of store fronts.

  But me? I ignored the commotion and focused on the task ahead of me. Though every aspect of our plan was important —completing my duties, freeing the humans, and escaping with our lives— the one thing keeping me motivated most was Guy. A vision of him from the night before stayed burnt into my brain. His breathtaking smile. The grey gleam in his eyes. The muscles in his arms rippling as they wrapped around me. I remembered the touch of his rough fingers on my skin. His breath on my face. His heart beating against my chest.

  I blushed, still smelling his scent on me; earthy and fresh. He smelled like life and love and hope, all things opposite a vampire like me.

  As crazy as it still sounded to me, I was in fact a vampire. It resided inside of me like an inner battle, a constant struggle between good and evil. There remained a darkness there, a poison that could not be explained. I didn’t want to be what I was, but I’d accepted it none the less. I had no other choice. Yet now, with Guy by my side, I felt I could do anything. Once I broke him free and we escaped, I would find a way. We would find a way to be together forever.