A Soulmark Series

by Rebecca Main

  “I wish they would hurry up,” Nova complains. She sports a nasty black eye, made complete with a popped blood vessel that stains her sclera a vibrant red. Her sisters and I fair better, though we all sport some variation of black and blue across our bodies.

  Naomi nods her agreement, but it’s Noelle who responds to her sister. “I need a hot shower.”

  A hot shower. A warm bed. Some kind of laser removal treatment for the blasphemous mark on my hip. I still feel some strange phantom reverberation from our earlier contact. Small flashes of euphoria send little bursts of electricity throughout my body when my mind draws his face into focus. That handsome face with its cross demeanor and slightly crooked nose. Or his arms stacked with muscles and lined with ink. Or the way he seemed to tower over me. He exuded masculinity effortlessly, and there was no denying the fact that my body took notice.

  “Callie?” My gaze snaps to Nova and her expectant expression.

  “Sorry, what did you say?” I ask, giving a small shake of my head to rid myself of my reflections.

  “Are you all right?” It’s not the question she had been asking by the way her voice softens, and I catch the similar look of concern her sisters cast me.

  “Just upset that they got away with the ring,” I respond with a sigh. Some Wardens we are. As upset as I am to have been unable to protect the relics, I carry an altogether separate worry in my heart. What if the Council deems me unfit to serve the Wardens of Starlight at all? Will they rest the blame for tonight's events solely on my shoulders? Will they count this as my second strike?

  “It wasn’t your fault, Callie,” Noelle tells me firmly. “The odds were against us. We were outnumbered, and the attack was planned. This isn’t the first time the Banks has been attacked, you know.”

  “But it is the first time they’ve been successful,” Nova counters.

  “That’s not true,” Naomi corrects lightly, adjusting her glasses carefully so as not to rest them on the cut across her nose. “Three years ago, that rogue group of Eldritch Witches attacked and stole the Wand of Sorrow. A select group of Wardens and Warriors hunted them down and brought it back.”

  “Yes, but the Wand of Sorrow meant something to them. It held significant meaning. With it, they could control the shadows. Those wolves stole the Amethyst of Aztec ring. What the hell would they want with that?” My clipped rebuttal stops further protest. “I don’t get it.”

  Nova frowns, mouth opening to speak when the iron doors finally open. We file in silently. The Council arranges themselves in a semicircle with three chairs sitting slightly farther forward than the rest. In the chairs sit Sterling Hall, Karen Baker, and Joseph Sawyer—my father.

  “The Council is now prepared to hear your testimony regarding tonight's events. Noelle,” Mr. Hall has his pen poised to take notes, “begin.”

  “The testimony would best be given by Ms. Sawyer,” she responds. A murmur of discontent arises from the Council. “Ms. Sawyer took the lead position in response to the attack. She should give testimony.”

  “Very well,” he says, voice neutral and pen still poised. “Ms. Sawyer, when you’re ready.”

  I take a fraction of a step forward and begin, relaying the evening’s time line in succinct detail. After completing my version of events, the Council turns its unnerving attention back to Noelle. She explains what occurred when she and Nova separated from the group. Then Naomi gives her account. After answering a multitude of questions, the Council dismisses us to review our testimony.

  “Do you think they’ll demote us?” Naomi asks, her nerves naturally frayed. The Council had directed most of their questioning toward the youngest Stavok, making their displeasure clear at her lack of action. My intervention on her behalf had done nothing to help.

  “No,” I tell her, my hand reaching out to give a reassuring pat on her shoulder. She gives me a small smile and shrugs out of my touch. I don’t take the minor slight offensively. The Wardens of Starlight aren’t known for being affectionate, even in such paltry measure. “They don’t gang up like that if they intend to demote or reassign you. At least not in my experience,” I say, fighting down a small swell of shame that surfaces at the mention of my past. “It’s more pointed. Plus, only one member of the Council will address you. I think we’ll be fine.”

  “We’ll be reprimanded,” Nova offers, and I nod in agreement. The reassurance does little to relieve Naomi's tension.

  “You may enter,” a cool voice calls as the door cracks open once more. We enter again, faces devoid of any emotion.

  “After reviewing the events of this evening, the Council would like to remind the Starlight Wardens of the Banks Facility of the following: first and foremost, that you vowed to forfeit your lives to protect the Relics of Terra. Yet here you stand, all in one piece,” Mrs. Baker remarks, a patronizing lilt to her voice. “Second, that leadership is based on seniority”—I keep my eyes trained on the wall behind the Council’s head, well aware of their harsh regard—“unless otherwise sanctioned with Council approval. Lastly, the Starlight Wardens act as a cohesive unit. Wardens do not act alone in their duty, such as scouts or warriors, but as a team in all efforts. I trust this reminder will not need to be issued again?”

  We give a clipped, “Yes, ma’am,” in return. Mrs. Baker lets out a small sigh and leans back slightly in her chair.

  “The Council would also like to commend the Wardens on their ingenuity. We recognize the unusual and difficult circumstances you found yourselves in; faced with a lack of support in an unstable environment, while being outnumbered threefold. You managed to take down four wolves in total and, by your accounts, injured several more. As such, we give further commendation to Ms. Noelle and Nova Stavok for the forethought of using tracking bullets in their pursuit of the attackers, and to Ms. Sawyer.” My spine straightens as I look Mrs. Baker in the eye. “Releasing the dogs was a rather clever idea. One that paid off. Furthermore, the Council recognizes your quick thinking and leadership benefited the night’s events instead of hampering them.” Gee, thanks.

  “Thank you,” I reply, tipping my head toward the Council. She returns the nod and shuffles the papers in front of her.

  “Now, onto the next matter: the retrieval of the ring.” My heart skips a beat. If the Council has any sense, they’ll choose me to go out with a small guard of warriors to retrieve the ring. Or better yet, they’ll send me alone. I possess the knowledge and training of both Warrior and Warden, and can retrieve the ring without distraction. It will be like killing two birds with one stone.

  I roll my shoulders back, chin lifting an inch. It has nothing to do with the fact that I would be able to do a little reconnaissance on the side. Find out more about the hulking specimen of a man who bore the fang that is our soulmark. Nothing. At. All.

  “—which is why the Stavok’s will go in two days’ time to retrieve the ring,” Mrs. Baker finishes.

  “Wait—what?” I receive a collective of frowns at my outburst and feel myself color.

  “Calliope.” My father's voice rings heavy with indignation, and I bow my head.

  “My apologies, I only thought—”

  “Your thoughts are not what was asked for, Ms. Sawyer. In fact, before you so rudely interrupted, we were about to explain what is expected of you while your cohorts are away.” I maintain my submissive stance, though a wave of resentment and unease takes hold. “You will stay behind along with a personal guard of Stellar Warriors to guarantee the safety of the facility and partake in your final examination with the head warden in a week’s time. Additionally, you will catalog all the relics to assess the full damage of tonight's offense. Stavok’s, you’ll be briefed tomorrow with more detail regarding the retrieval of the ring. You’re dismissed.”

  My shoulders sink as we exit the observatory and head down to the second level of the facility to our rooms. So much for my plans.

  Chapter 3

  Secrets to Keep

  “I can’t believe they don’t want me
to go,” I bemoan, “or that I have to take this stupid exam, weeks early. As if being reassigned wasn’t bad enough, now this? It’s like throwing salt in an open wound. I have the training of both a warrior and a warden. I’m more than capable of handling this assignment.”

  Nova raises a brow. “And my sisters and I aren’t?”

  I run the butterfly knife over my knuckles in quick repetition. “I didn’t say that,” I tell her flatly, my eyes tracking her movements as she places another shirt into her duffle bag. “You’re very capable of going out on assignment, but they’re not even sending warriors out with you.”

  “We’ve all been trained in the art of combat, Callie,” she reminds me tersely. I relax my rigid position and fold the butterfly knife closed in my palm.

  “I know,” I respond, voice placating and smooth, “but you’ve never been out in the field. This is the most experience you’ve had facing supernatural creatures, right?” She nods with a forlorn sigh and zips her bag closed. The triplets are two years younger than me, and though their training is just as extensive as mine—even more so as Starlight Wardens—they couldn't match my skill as a warrior.

  “That doesn’t mean we aren’t ready for this.”

  I let my silence linger, flipping the knife back open and over my knuckles. “I just think—”

  “—that you would be better suited for the mission. I know. But that doesn’t mean you’re right.” Her words bring me to a standstill.

  “Excuse me?” I ask incredulously. Nova crosses her arms over her chest, her waist-length hair catching in the action.

  “Listen, Callie. Noelle might not have noticed because she was driving, but I saw that wolf almost take you out.” I swallow the sudden lump in my throat, ignoring the discomfort I suddenly feel. “Just when I thought you were about to lose consciousness, all of a sudden it looked like you were about to break your back… and then he let you go. His face looked shocked. You looked shocked.”

  “You were at least a klick away, Nova,” I respond irritably, feeling my calm reserve waver. “How could you have possibly seen?”

  “I had a scope on the assault rifle.” The color drains from my face as I look away.

  “He was shocked because I got a grip on his radial nerve and sank my nails into it.”

  “He said something to you after. What was it?”

  “Some parting words about ‘fighting like a girl.’”

  The weight of Nova's regard feels like a ton of bricks. I fight to keep an outwardly calm composure, meeting her dark eyes unflinchingly until she unwinds. Nova offers me a small smile.

  “I hate it when they do that. Can’t guys come up with anything clever?” I let out a forced chuckle.

  “Apparently not.”

  “You’re sure everything is fine? I get why you’re upset about not being chosen, but you seem more amped up about it than I expected you to be.”

  Nova comes to sit next to me, her thigh and the length of her arm pressing infinitesimally into my own. The truth crawls at my throat. Nova is my closest friend, and if I’m honest with myself, she is the one person who might not shun me for finding out my secret. The thought carries a strand of hope with it, and I allow myself to lean into her side, taking comfort in her steady presence.

  “Can you keep a secret?” I ask quietly, eyes darting nervously to the half-open door of her private quarters.

  “I am an expert at keeping secrets,” she says with a slightly breathless quality to her voice. I cast her an uncertain glance, noticing the way she leans in closer.

  “He didn’t let me go because I pinched his nerve. And he didn’t make some sleazy, predictable comeback about me being a girl.”

  “What happened, Callie?”

  I worry my bottom lip, surprised to feel a nervous tremor run down all the way to my fingertips. Nova’s hand brushes against my own, taking hold of it with a reassuring squeeze. “He wears my soulmark,” I blurt out. Nova’s grip tightens. Her widened eyes meeting my own as her lips form a small “O.”

  “He wears your soulmark?” she asks rhetorically. “As in, you have a soulmark?” The blood recedes from her face as her gaze falls downward to our joined hands. I give the faintest squeeze in response, holding my breath for her next words. “Oh, Callie.”

  “It’s not like I planned it,” I tell her defensively, trying and failing to pull my hand from her grip.

  “I know that,” she bites back frostily. “You don’t get to choose if you have a soulmark or not. You’re either born with it or not. I can’t believe you never told me before now.” My expression goes slack.

  “What?”

  “I thought we were friends, Callie. More than that even… shit.” Nova screws her eyes shut and releases me.

  “I’m sorry, all right. You are more than just a friend—you’re like a sister to me. But you know the consequences I'll face if anyone else finds out I have it.” My voice strains at the end, the harsh reality of the Wardens of Starlight’s predictable retribution stabbing me squarely in the chest. Banishment, if I’m lucky. Death, more than likely.

  “I would never tell anyone,” she tells me earnestly, eyes lifting to meet mine. “I know how the Council would react. They’d tear the mark from your flesh with their bare hands, then banish you from the community for having it in the first place. Anything connecting a warden so intimately to the supernatural is forbidden.”

  “Anything connecting a warden to the supernatural is forbidden,” I respond flatly.

  “Where is it?”

  I let out a brief sigh. “It sits low on my hip. It’s always been hidden by my underwear, so I’ve never been too nervous about anyone spotting it.”

  “Wouldn’t your parents have noticed it when you were young?”

  “The shape only became more distinct as I got older. By the time I was eight, it was fully formed, and I didn’t need my parents to give me baths anymore,” I joke weakly.

  “Right,” she breathes, swallowing visibly as her gaze darts curiously to my waistline. “Can I see it?”

  “Close the door.” Nova rushes over to shut it while I stand slowly and unbutton my pants, tugging the zipper halfway down. When she returns to stand in front of me, she places her hands expectantly on her hips, but there are patches of red stealing up over her throat and cheeks.

  “Hurry it up,” she says jokingly. “I don’t have all day.”

  I fold down my pants on the left side, pushing down my panties an inch as well. The mark is in sharp relief against my tan skin but doesn't look remarkably out-of-place due to the number of tattoos on my body. Nova reaches out before I can protest and runs her fingertips over the slightly raised skin.

  “Does it hurt?”

  I shake my head and step away from her gentle touch, redoing up my pants. “It’s just like a birthmark,” I mutter.

  “A birthmark that just so happens to have an identical twin on some maniac wolf that also happens to house the other half of your soul.” Nova takes a large breath after her mini-rant.

  “Exactly.” We share weak smiles.

  “That’s why you wanted to go on the assignment?”

  My head bobs. “Partly. I still stand by everything I said, but yes. It is partly why I wanted to go—not to be with him. Obviously. I mean he’s a lycan for goodness sake. I don’t actually plan on going through with the binding process.” A semi-hysterical laugh bubbles forth. “That would be insane. I would be exiled, and then for good measure, they would send someone to assassinate me for daring to humiliate the cause in such a way.”