Changeling (Black Petals Book 2)

by Marie, Tarisa

  “Hey,” I call and wave to him.

  He musters a tiny smile. “Megan.”

  “Are you alright?” I ask him wearily.

  “A demon asking me if I’m alright. That’s a new one.” He takes a drink from a small flask. “I’m alright, Megan, thanks for asking.”

  He’s clearly not alright. I notice now that his hair is in disarray and his eyes seem droopy, tired-looking. I approach him carefully, still not trusting him one hundred percent. How can you trust someone a hundred percent after they’ve said such terrible things to you?

  “Well, you look like shit,” I say honestly. “When was the last time you slept?”

  He brushes off the question. “Have you seen Aria?”

  “She was on the beach sun tanning last I saw,” I lie. I doubt she wants him knowing that she’s gone off to talk to Forrest. Crispen would be bothered by this.

  He relaxes a little.

  “I’m surprised you’re not out watching her from afar,” I half tease.

  He snorts, “I would but I’d rather her not hate me forever. I’m trying to get her back not push her away again. I know Aria likes to have her space so that’s what I’m giving her even though we’re on an island full of demons that I can’t trust one hundred percent and I am worried about her.” He rubs his hand against the back of his neck and his jaw clenches.

  I feel like I need to somehow comfort him even after all he’s done to me. I leave a couple feet of space between us. “I…understand what you mean, but I can assure you that no one on this island would ever harm your sister.”

  The tense muscles in his jaw move but he says nothing.

  “You’ve spoken to Mason. He’s still the same guy, isn’t he?” I

  Crispen shifts his weight. “In some way yes, in some ways no. The Mason I knew wouldn’t be able to take souls from people without any remorse. The Megan I knew wouldn’t be able to do that either. Someone needs to explain to me how someone can take someone else’s chance at living future lives and not even feel anything. I mean, even to just take a human life in general.” He shakes his head and almost looks like he’s about to be sick. “It’s monstrous.”

  I don’t know how to explain it to him even though I know that the lack of remorse is not a positive characteristic of a demon.

  “Megan, there’s something wrong with you, with all of you and none of you see it.” Crispen takes a step back from me as if I might be contagious. “I’ve been trying so hard to accept all of you as if you’re regular human beings, but I can’t because of that one thing. How am I to trust people who take innocent human lives and have no remorse? Hell, Megan, how do I trust any of you not to take my sister’s soul just because you feel like it?”

  “I would never hurt Aria-” I begin to say but he cuts me off.

  “Why? What’s the difference between her and whoever you snacked on last?” he begs me to answer but I don’t have an answer, not really. I care about Aria. That’s why I would never hurt her, but shouldn’t I care about humans? Aren’t demons supposed to care about humans? Wouldn’t humans be better off if demons did care about the souls they took? What about Aiden? How, after so many years of having no remorse or each soul he takes, can he still remember that human emotion so clearly that he only consumes the bare minimum?

  “You’re right.” I take a step closer to him. “I know it’s wrong, and yet I don’t feel all that bad when I take a soul. It’s like something is missing up here.” I tap my head. “Remind me what it’s like to feel remorse, Crispen.”

  Crispen swallows and leans against the porch railing easily. “I can’t explain something to you that you can’t feel.”

  “I’ve felt it before so I can remember what it feels like. You’re a doctor, what would a doctor do if a patient came in and had no remorse.”

  “A sociopath?” Crispen asks. “Are you comparing yourself to a sociopath?”

  I am. How messed up is that? “What would you compare me to?”

  He bites his lip a moment. “A sociopath.”

  “Exactly.”

  “As a doctor, first and foremost, I’d get you into counselling.”

  I have a feeling that’s not going to do a single thing. We’re interrupted by Aiden bursting out the front door of the house. He sees me and Crispen and motions for us to come into the house. Mason notices from across the yard and also comes running. “Forrest! Aria! Come to the house!” Mason shouts across the island, knowing that no matter where they are, they’ll hear.

  Chapter 17

  Moments later, we are all standing around a barely conscious Terry in the living room. He looks like he’s been drugged by the way his eyes are bloodshot and drooping.

  “It worked,” Landon explain. “His body took the soul. It was his.”

  “Dad?!” Forrest cries, not bothering to take off his shoes. He rushes to Terry’s side and kneels down by his head.

  Terry smiles limply at Forrest. “I’m alright. Just weak.”

  “He’s tired,” Landon confirms. “He needs to sleep.”

  Terry nods to his son. “I need to rest.”

  Forrest backs off looking taken aback. It’s clear that he didn’t think that the soul belonged to his father. His eyes are slightly widened and for once he’s quiet. He runs a hand through his hair quickly as Terry drifts off to sleep and then bursts through the front door and out of the house. We’re all surprised by this but Forrest can be strange at times. We’re even more surprised when Aria races after him out the door. Well, I’m not as surprised as the others. Crispen starts for the door but stops. He takes a deep breath, closes his eyes for a long moment and then turns back to the rest of us who all expected him to go racing after Aria.

  I grin at him in support but he looks sick to the stomach. I can’t imagine how hard this is for him, well, I can because there was a point in time I was once terrified of all things demon.

  “Megan, Aiden, I need your blood for your part in this,” Landon calls, holding up a long syringe. Stupidly, the thing causes fright to creep up my spine.

  I glance over to Crispen who is actually a certified doctor. “Uh, Landon, can Crispen do this? I trust him far more that I do you with that thing.”

  Landon doesn’t look hurt by my suggestion. “Crispen? You up to lend a hand here? I guess this is more your area of expertise.”

  Crispen snaps out of his daze and turns from the door to us. He takes the syringe from Landon and removes the cap. “How much am I taking?”

  “Just a little. We shouldn’t need too much.” Landon grabs a glass bowl and places it by Crispen. “Put both in here with Terry’s blood.”

  “How much is ‘just a little’?” Crispen asks in a harsh tone.

  Landon sighs. “Half the syringe, Mr. Grump.”

  Crispen sits in a chair across from me. I notice that I’m shaking. I’ve always hated needles. “Megan, you’re going to have to relax.”

  Like hell I’m going to relax as he’s holding a long needle. “I hate needles.”

  He cocks his head at me. “Seriously?”

  I don’t have to answer because apparently my look of terror is enough to prove it.

  “Okay, it won’t hurt. It’ll feel like a mosquito bite. Roll up your sleeve past your elbow,” he instructs in a less tense, gentler voice. I do as he says. “Okay, now look over at Aiden until I tell you to stop.”

  I look over at Aiden who instead of looking at me like I’m a baby, looks at me with warmth and affection, support. Crispen is right of course, I don’t feel the needle slip into my skin, not really anyway. He’s so gentle that before I know it, it’s done and he’s putting my blood into the bowl with Terry’s. My blood is thick and black, a healthy reminder that I’m no longer human. Terry’s blood however is between black and red. Something has changed or is changing inside of him.

  Crispen then moves to Aiden and draws his blood in far quicker time because Aiden isn’t near the big baby that I am. As Crispen places Aiden’s blood in with mine and T
erry’s the blood in the bowl begins to bubble almost like it’s boiling.

  Landon takes the bowl and drops some sort of herb mixtures into it before lighting the bowl on fire with a match and letting it burn. The stench is impossibly more disgusting than the smell of the church basement in Montana.

  We all stare at the flaming bowl until the fire goes out completely, leaving no trace of anything in the bowl. Landon looks at it curiously.

  “Now what?” I ask under my breath.

  Landon looks at his book as if he’s reading a recipe. “Well, that’s it until Terry wakes up. As far as I can tell, he’ll have the next step.”

  The question is, how long is Terry going to be asleep for?

  We don’t have to wait long because he stirs on the couch less than an hour later screaming words that I don’t understand. Aiden is the first to rush to his side and try to console him.

  Soon it’s not just Terry uttering words I can’t decipher, but Aiden as well. Landon watches the two of them closely as Forrest, Mason, Aria, and Crispen come in from outside. Forrest then begins speaking in the same language as the other two followed by Landon. Soon everyone besides me, Crispen, and Aria are speaking in a native tongue.

  “Any idea what’s going on?” I ask Aria, nudging her shoulder.

  She wrinkles her nose. “Terry doesn’t remember who he is.”

  “It’s like whatever version of him that was in the soul has taken over the Terry we know,” Crispen adds.

  “You understand what they’re saying?” I ask incredulously.

  Both nod and Aria answers, “Yes, it’s Latin. The ancient language. It’s the language most demons used to speak before English. A lot of people used to use it, alchemists used it as well for quite some time. The things Landon’s been studying in regards to alchemy has all been in Latin. It’d benefit you to learn the language.”

  The last time I attempted to learn a second language was in middle school when I attempted to learn Spanish from my Mexican playmate. She got frustrated and gave up on me. I just stare at Aria because I’m not sure how to answer her.

  Forrest takes Aiden’s place in front of Terry and from the looks of it he begins begging his father for something.

  “Poor guy never got to say good bye,” Aria whispers very quietly to Crispen.

  Terry doesn’t remember Forrest.

  “Theodoric. I guess I can understand how Terry was derived from that,” Aria mutters. “I thought it was fairly weird that such an old guy had such a not so ancient name.”

  “Forrest! He doesn’t remember you, but memory might return over time give it a few days,” Landon attempts to soothe Forrest.

  Forrest steps back from Terry. “I can’t even be mad because he wanted this. I doubt he’ll ever remember anything from his demon life. Think about it, how can a human brain store that much memory? It can’t. It’s fine I just wish I would’ve said something to him before he just disappeared. I’m angry with myself. I’ve lost my father in my brother—who have both been around my entire life—in a matter of days.”

  Landon wraps an arm around Forrest, and instead of pulling away, Forrest hugs Landon back.

  “Okay, I know it’s a touchy time and all, but we can’t waste any more time. Can we just ask him how we can win this war?” Crispen asks shifting his weight between feet.

  Aiden looks to Terry and approaches him again, kneeling down beside him. He asks him a question in a string of words I can’t make out.

  Terry sits up quickly, seeming to understand where he is and why. His eyes land on me and a crooked smile appears on his face. “Megan,” he says flatly and then in another string of words he tells Aiden something more. Everyone in the room turns to look at me and I’m stuck standing clueless like an idiot.

  Aria leans in to whisper in my ear. “He claims you are the secret weapon needed to win this war. Well, not you exactly, but your soul.”

  “But my soul is gone, Maxwell consumed it,” I remind her, heart falling.

  Her grin brightens. “Well, apparently he thinks it’s still around. He doesn’t think Maxwell destroyed it. He believes that he stored it to use as leverage one day.”

  “Leverage?” I bite my cheek. A spark of excitement lights within me as I think of the possibility of my soul still being intact.

  Aria tells me that Terry or Theodoric believes that Maxwell took my soul and put into a pearl to use against me as leverage. He thought that I would accept a deal. My soul for Aiden.

  “Does he not speak English? He’s talking about Megan and she can’t understand him,” Mason interjects, interrupting Terry.

  Mason’s question is ignored and Aria continues to translate for me. “Your soul is believed to be hidden in hell somewhere.”

  When I ask her how my soul is supposed to win the war, she claims that my humanity is needed for an alchemy elixir which is supposed to restore humanity in all demons who drink it and all demons made from those demons and so forth.

  Great, so basically my soul is going to get ground up into little bits and fed to demons. Aiden helps Terry up to his feet and brings him towards me.

  “He wants to get a better look at you.” Aiden looks frazzled.

  I take in Terry’s warm expression. At least he looks happy to see me I guess. Leave it to me to get wrapped up in some stupid ancient prophecy.

  “Forrest, I realize that this is a terrible time,” Aiden begins, his brows drooping. “But I need your expertise. I need you to search hell high and low for Megan’s soul.”

  Forrest snaps out of his grief. Well, he pushes it to the back of his mind somehow. The loss of both his father and his brother are obviously very much on his mind, but this is war and we don’t have time to grieve anyone or anything until the war is done. “Of course, Aiden. I’m on it. My grief can wait.”

  Forrest asks Terry a question and Latin and he gets a short response before he turns to me. “Megan, you might be able to sense your soul when you’re near it. Are you willing to come with me to aid my findings?”

  It’s not like I have much of a choice so I agree to go with him. Aiden looks torn like he wants to come along as well but knows that he can’t. Aria starts forward but stops because she has no place in hell. Mason looks like he’s about to come with us.

  Aiden clears his throat. “I don’t like this. I don’t like Megan being a part of any of this, but if that’s the way it is, I certainly don’t want her leaving my side and going off to hell.”

  “Aiden, he needs her to go you know that,” Landon points out. “I don’t like her going either, trust me, but it must be done if we want to win this war.”

  Aiden tensely clenches his fists. “Megan, I want you checking in every hour.”

  I don’t argue because I know it won’t get me anywhere.

  “Forrest, protect her with your life. Do you hear me? She is naive and weak. She’d be no match for an angry succubus or vampire. She wouldn’t even be able to spot one on her own. Keep her close.”

  Aiden wraps me in a tight hug before giving me over to Forrest who leads me out of the house and towards the portal.

  Chapter 18

  “Where do we start?” I ask him. “From what I understand, my soul could be anywhere in hell. It’s like hiding a pebble somewhere on a planet and trying to find it.”

  Forrest frowns. “I honestly don’t have many ideas, but to start, Maxwell was a pretty smart guy. If he were to hide it anywhere, he’d either hide it somewhere where no demon would just stumble upon it. He wouldn’t want anyone finding it and consuming it. We’re going to start in the woods west of here.

  Woods? You mean we’re not going to be looking for my soul in Tartarus? I’m not so excited to be in hell to begin with let alone in the woods in hell. That doesn’t sound at all pleasant. I’m about to ask Forrest what kind of things are in the woods here when I think better of it. I don’t want to know.

  After a few minutes of jogging, we stop at the edge of a densely wooded area. It’s dark. Too dark.
<
br />   “Watch your step. Anything that’s colorful, stay away from it,” he warns. “That includes anything glowing.”

  Okay, not so difficult. The moment we step into the trees, a sense of dread comes over me for no reason at all. The trees are crooked and old, they look brittle and yet haunting at the same time. I half expect one to move like in some horror flick. The silence is too silent. Each step we make sounds incredibly loud.

  After a few miles, the woods take on a purple tinge and things begin to get strange, well stranger than they already are.

  “Don’t leave my side,” Forrest warns through gritted teeth. “No matter what.” He grips my wrist in one hand as we walk. Although I’m not in need to consume a soul, Forrest’s is enticing as I attempt to distract myself from the uncomfortable scene in front of me. “This is where this gets dark.”

  Oh, they’re just now about to get dark?

  “If Aiden knew I was taking you here, there’s no way he would’ve let you come,” Forrest admits. “This is no place for someone as brittle as you. There’s a reason demons don’t come here often.”

  A disturbing stench invades my nostrils and I look around to place it. I regret my search when I see what appears to be a half-eaten horse a few feet from us. Whatever was munching on the poor thing had teeth the size of the horse’s head.

  Forrest pulls me forward. “There’s a vampire coven in these parts. Sometimes they make deals with local demons. It shouldn’t be far now.”

  Did he just say what I think he said? We’re going to visit a coven of vampires? He must be joking. A coven implies more than just one. In fact, it implies many. There are only two of us. What’s stopping them from doing to us whatever terrible thing vampires do?

  “What do vampires do to demons who piss them off?” I ask Forrest quietly.

  Forrest snorts, “Well, contrary to popular belief, vampires more enjoy demonic blood than human blood. Any demon bitten by a vampire, turns into a vampire. So you don’t want to get bitten. If my brother was going to have someone hide a soul from a demon, he'd leave it with a vampire. Demons with brains don't mess with vampires because they're very loyal to one another. You mess with one, a whole coven will be on your ass.”