The Soul Healer

by Melissa Giorgio

  “Stop talking!” Rafe barked.

  Nina grabbed at her hair and tugged. “Are you listening to yourselves? You’re hunters! You swore oaths to Silver Moon, and now you’re going to allow an evil spirit to exist amongst us? You’re a disgrace, both of you!” She summoned her pink magic again, and both boys went into battle stances. “If you won’t kill her, then I will.”

  “I’m going to speak for both of us—even though Rafe clearly has an issue with me right now—and say, yeah, that’s not going to happen,” Evan said. “Besides the fact that I need her to bring back my girl, Gabi is my friend, and no psychopathic pink-haired nut job is going to hurt her.”

  “Then,” Nina said, now holding the pink light in both hands as she lifted her arms, “I guess you’ll die, too.”

  Both boys launched themselves at Nina simultaneously. They moved as one, their years of training together as best friends very obvious despite the fact that after he finished with Nina, Rafe’s next target would be Evan. I was glad they could put aside their differences of the moment to work together, and hoped it would be enough to take down Nina.

  I had never seen her fight, so I didn’t know what she was capable of. As Rafe swung his sword and Evan summoned one of his flaming blue fireballs, she twisted, slamming her hands into the floor. The entire building shook as the floor cracked loudly, and both hunters had to duck and roll as pieces of the marble flooring shot up as giant, sharp spikes. I stumbled and lost my balance, and Nina saw her chance, bringing up the flooring behind me. I teetered in slow motion, my arms flailing as I tried to stay upright and avoid being impaled.

  “No!” Rafe shouted, reaching for me.

  But it was Evan who came to my rescue, hitting me with a blast of wind that sent me flying across the room. I crashed into the wall, hitting my head hard, and slumped to the floor, momentarily dazed. I could hear Rafe shouting my name, and I shook my head a few times, trying in vain to clear it. The lobby danced around dizzily and I shut my eyes, fighting the urge to retch.

  Hands gripped my shoulders, and I stiffened, wondering if it was Nina, come to kill me. But when I opened my eyes and blinked a few times, I saw a familiar pair of green eyes staring at me worriedly. “I am going to kill him,” Rafe growled, helping me to my feet and securing a strong arm around my waist as I wobbled drunkenly.

  “Crashing into a wall is better than being turned into a shish kebab,” I said, laughing slightly, even though it wasn’t funny at all. The only reason I was laughing was to prevent myself from crying, which was what I felt like doing at the moment.

  In front of us, Evan and Nina fought, throwing spells at one another like a magical duel. The lobby flashed blue and pink, and I shut my eyes again, my head throbbing.

  Rafe planted a quick kiss on my forehead. “Do you think you can walk? We’re getting out of here.”

  Even with a muddled brain I could still tell something was wrong with that statement. “You’re…going to leave Evan?” I opened my eyes to see Rafe watching the battle, his expression pained. But when he glanced down at me, I could see he had already made up his mind about leaving Evan.

  “He owes me,” was all Rafe said. I opened my mouth to protest, but he started moving, and I was forced to follow, my limbs heavy and slow. Rafe ended up more or less carrying me as we inched along the wall, toward the exit. I kept my eyes on Evan, wincing when Nina burned his arm with one of those pink laser beams. I tried to tell Rafe to stop, but my head was so fuzzy that I had trouble coming up with the words.

  Concussion, I thought. I probably have a concussion.

  “Still with me?” Rafe asked, shaking me slightly. “Whatever you do, don’t fall asleep, Gabi. You hear me?” His grip tightened and I tried to nod, but I’m not sure if my head moved. “Gabi!”

  “Here, I’m here,” I told him. “But you should stay. Evan needs you.”

  “He’s fine—” At that exact moment, Evan let out a loud yelp as Nina burned him again. He fell to his knees, hugging his abdomen. Nina loomed over him, brandishing a cruel-looking curved dagger. She raised it over her head and Rafe released me, cursing as he crossed the room in two strides, throwing himself at Nina and knocking her away from Evan. Her dagger went flying across the room, and I knew I should go after it to prevent her from using it, but the moment Rafe let go of me, I sunk to my knees and couldn’t move. The world needed to stop spinning first.

  “Woohoo, Rafe saved me,” Evan said, struggling to his feet. “I knew he still cared!”

  “Don’t make me regret it!” Rafe shouted from the other side of the room, where he was wrestling with Nina on the floor.

  Evan smiled fiercely. “Just hold her nice and tight and I’ll finish this thing—” He cursed as Nina sent more magic flying toward him, narrowly missing his head. “I told you to hold her! What part of ‘nice and tight’ don’t you understand?”

  “I’m a little busy!” Rafe let out an oomph as Nina elbowed him hard in the stomach.

  “Oh, come on!” Evan said. “You’re going to let Little Miss Pinkie defeat you? What have you been doing since I last saw you? Sitting on the couch all depressed and pigging out on junk food while you watched Desperate Housewives?

  “Shut up!” Rafe said as he threw a punch at Nina. It connected with her shoulder and a loud crack echoed throughout the lobby. Paling, she backed away, holding her shoulder with one arm as she glared at Rafe.

  Evan started laughing. “Even from here I can see the blush on your face. Can you believe him, Gabi?” When I didn’t answer, he glanced at me and cursed. “Sweetheart? Rafe, your girl doesn’t look too good—”

  Time slowed down, and despite my dizziness, I saw everything that happened next clearly. Rafe, alerted by Evan’s warning, stopped battling Nina to come to my aid. Nina, with her left arm dangling uselessly at her side, flashed a smile of triumph as she lifted her good arm and aimed a pink spell at Rafe. Evan shouted a warning and Rafe turned, but it was too late. The light pierced his side and he stumbled backwards, clutching the wound as he gasped in pain.

  Without warning, time sped up, and I was on my feet and rushing to his side before I even realized it. A familiar buzzing sounded in my ears, and I knew without looking that my hands were glowing silver.

  Concussion or not, my body was determined to heal Rafe.

  Evan had hurled himself at Nina, and the two were sparring with magic again, their sparks of light burning spots into my vision like the flash from a camera. I ignored them as I calmly walked over to my boyfriend and knelt by his side, extending my hands over the wound. I closed my eyes, knowing exactly what I had to do—

  Hands grabbed me from behind, yanking me away from Rafe. I screamed as our connection was broken and my hands continued to glow with magic that now had no place to go. It felt like a knife slashing across my stomach, and the farther I was pulled away, the more it hurt. My entire body was on fire as I struggled with my assailant. I had to heal Rafe, I had to. It was a physical need that threatened to overtake me, and if I didn’t expend the magic, Rafe wouldn’t be the only one to die today.

  But I couldn’t fight back. Between the crippling agony and my concussion, I was a deadweight in my captor’s hands. He or she dragged me to the elevator and tossed me inside the already open doors. I crashed into the wall and slid to the floor, sobbing in pain as I struggled to lift my head. I needed to know who would do such a thing—who would sentence Rafe to die.

  “You,” I croaked.

  Mrs. Chen punched the button for the eighth floor, refusing to meet my eye. In the lobby, I saw Evan screaming my name as he raced after us, but Nina jumped in front of him, blocking the way. As the doors slid shut, I zeroed in on Rafe, his crumpled form motionless and broken.

  My hands, still glowing, lifted on their own, and I let out a pathetic moan as the doors closed, sealing his fate.

  Mrs. Chen kept her back to me as the elevator began its ascent. I was shaking, my body both hot and cold, but I managed to whisper, “Please.” Didn’t she see wh
at she was doing? Rafe needed me, and I needed to heal him. Denying the magic inside of me was ripping me apart from the inside out. Every piece of me hurt, from my limbs to the individual hairs on my head.

  I knew where she was taking me, but I wasn’t certain I would make the journey. My vision was fading, my heartbeat slowing…

  In the distance, I heard the elevators doors chime again, and I was dragged across the floor. Every little bump and jostle was like a dagger in my skin. I screamed in agony a few times, but eventually I lost even the strength to do that.

  Minutes or hours passed, I had no idea. It was like my life was flashing before me—one moment I was in the elevator, the next I opened my heavy lids to see Alexandra in bed. Behind me, voices argued. I thought it was Mr. and Mrs. Chen, but their voices were low buzzes, impossible to make out. I felt someone grab my hands and thrust them on top of Alexandra’s shoulders. The power inside of me latched on, flowing out as it worked to fix her numerous wounds. The silver light intensified, blinding me, and I felt myself slipping, slipping away…

  Chapter Forty-four

  Philip

  I sat cross-legged on my bed, watching Scott wander around my room, touching everything and making stupid comments that only he thought were hilarious. He needed to shut up because I was about two seconds away from sliding off the bed, picking up one of my weights, and chucking it at his ugly face. Imagining the sound the metal would make bouncing off Scott’s clearly hollow head made me smirk, and my fingers itched for the familiar feel of the weights.

  Scott saw, and demanded to know what was so funny. “I wouldn’t be laughing, if I were you. Not after that crap you pulled last night.” Scott crossed his arms over his chest as he peered down at me from where I sat. I was sure Scott thought that particular posture was intimidating, but no one had intimidated me in a long, long time. Not since I learned how to take care of myself, shutting up anyone who tried to mess with me with my fists. Scott, however, seemed to think that just because I was locked in my room with a damn spell on the door I had no chance of breaking, it meant I was suddenly an easy target. “How disappointed Director Adler must be, having someone like you for his son.”

  The comment was meant to rile me, but it had absolutely no effect. I knew I had disappointed my father, but I didn’t give a shit, either way. Dad’s opinion meant nothing to me. “I don’t know about that,” I drawled. “He’s probably relieved he doesn’t have to worry about some girl getting the best of me like certain other people.” I sent a silent apology to Gabi; she definitely wasn’t some girl. I would never forget the way she had threatened to toss Scott into traffic if he touched her one more time. Scott had been so afraid at that moment, he had nearly pissed his pants.

  “Shut it,” Scott growled.

  “What’s the matter?” I asked. “Did I say something wrong?” I slid off the bed and approached him. I only came up to his shoulders, but for what I lacked in height, I made up in bulk. I squeezed my hands into fists, smiling when I saw Scott swallow, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat. For all of his talk, Scott was the biggest coward I knew. How much taunting did I need to do before Scott swung first? Suddenly, I was aching for a fight. I needed to do something besides sit on my bed and watch the stupid hunter invade my space. Where was Gabi? What had my dad done to her? After Jonathan had hit me with that spell, I had lost consciousness, waking up in my room midmorning the next day, with Dad staring down at me. He had allowed me the chance to explain myself, but he had showed no reaction when I said Gabi could die from using her powers. That had pissed me off, and I had screamed at my father, calling him every horrible name I could think of. Again, there was no reaction from Dad. Instead, he called Scott in and informed us that he was placing a spell on the door, as if I was a toddler who needed a timeout.

  I hadn’t seen my father since, and the halls had been eerily quiet. Now I was trapped in my room with only Scott for company. I wondered if chucking Scott at the door would break the spell; it was a nice idea, one that grew more and more tempting by the minute.

  “At least I wasn’t stupid enough to get caught,” Scott snapped. “You’re acting too proud for someone who was dragged back to HQ. You think you’re going to be forgiven for that stunt? You tried to break out the Soul Healer! Your dad will never forgive you for that!”

  “Like I care.” I shrugged, meaning it. Let my dad do his worst. As long as Gabi was okay, I could take whatever Dad threw my way. The only reason I hadn’t raised hell was because of Gabi. I needed to see her before taking drastic measures. But where was Dad? Surely he would have been back by now, to tell me what a huge disappointment I was. The silence was unusual, and it made me uneasy. It meant something was wrong.

  “You’re so weird,” Scott continued. “If my dad was the director, I’d do everything in my power to make him proud.”

  I grinned. “Really? Your dad as the director? Hell would have to freeze over first.” God, Scott makes it so easy.

  Scott’s brown eyes hardened, and he pulled back a fist. Finally! I thought, readying myself.

  But Scott’s fist never made contact. My door started making a sizzling sound, and I stared at it, confused. Had the spell shorted itself out?

  “What the hell?” Scott muttered to himself, placing his hand on the knob at the exact moment a loud crack, like thunder, rattled the room. Scott went flying backwards, crashing into my bookshelf. A precariously placed weight teetered over the edge, narrowly avoiding clunking Scott on the head, much to my disappointment. Still, the hunter was out cold, his legs spread open in an awkward angle and his hair standing on end, like he had been electrocuted. It was hilarious, and I fumbled for my phone, determined to take a picture I’d blow up into a poster and hang on my wall. And maybe throw darts at.

  “Oh, bloody hell, that is one great pose,” Kain said from the doorway, startling me so badly I nearly dropped my phone. “Wait, take one with me next to him.” Placing his rapier on the floor, Kain crouched down next to Scott, flashing the peace sign and a toothy grin. I already knew I was going to take that photo, crop Scott out of it, and look at it often. Shit, why did Kain have to be so good looking? Why?

  I wasn’t sure if Kain was aware of the fact that he wasn’t using his stupid-sounding American accent, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to be the one to point that out. I could listen to his British—sorry, English accent all day if I could.

  Kain shook his head, as if rousing himself from sleep. “Wait, what are we doing? This is no time to be fooling around, Philip! I just saved Gabiella from a demon!” He jumped to his feet, picking up his rapier again.

  “What!” In addition to being good looking and having an accent that was sexy as hell, Kain was also a bit of an idiot. Instead of posing for pictures, that should have been the first thing he said! “Where was there a demon? Where is Gabi? You just left her alone!” Holy shit, I was going to kill him—

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa, hang on there.” Kain held up his hands, following me as I rushed out into the hallway. “The demon, which is dead, is downstairs in the lobby. I had only just arrived when Gabiella came tearing through, the demon hot on her heels. And I lied. She ended up saving me from it.”

  As we briskly walked to the elevator, I gave him a sideways glance and saw Kain appeared to be winded and sweaty. It must have been some demon, to nearly get the best of Kain. Unless… “You weren’t showing off for her, were you?” Kain’s black hair, I noted distractedly, had bits of green blood in it, but somehow each strand still managed to be perfectly styled. I scowled; how did he do that? My hair was so annoying I just cut it short so I wouldn’t have to deal with it.

  Kain smiled sheepishly. “Perhaps. But it all worked out, because then Rafe appeared and cut the thing’s head off.”

  I stumbled to a halt. Someone needed to teach Kain how to correctly relay important bits of information. I couldn’t take much more of these casual bombshells without suffering from heart failure. “Rafe is here!”

  “Yes, which is
why you were wrong in assuming I left Gabiella alone.” Kain looked affronted. “Like I would ever do such a thing. The two of them are waiting for us to join them, and then we’ll hightail it out of here. You can come back to my flat if you’d like, plan your next move, catch up on life…” He waved a hand. “Whatever you like. But you’re more than welcome to come over.”

  I often dreamt about being invited to Kain’s apartment, but it had never involved other people. No, just the two of us and little to no clothing…

  I snapped myself out of that particularly dangerous daydream as we turned a corner. “I’m sorry, then, for accusing you of leaving her. You’re a shitty storyteller. You should have told me she was with Rafe first, not make me panic like that.”

  “I was telling it in the order it occurred; how is that bad storytelling?”

  A crumpled form on the floor distracted me from answering. It was Jonathan, his eyes closed and his breathing steady with his limbs all askew, like he had been in the middle of fighting something when he was knocked out cold. Or someone. I looked at Kain pointedly.

  “He was in my way,” Kain said. He walked past Jonathan’s prone body without glancing at him, his right foot coming dangerously close to squashing Jonathan’s fingers. “Besides, I was only returning the favor.” He smiled darkly. “Maybe now he won’t go throwing people into buildings with magic.”

  I cleared my throat and turned my face away, knowing a blush was spreading across my cheeks. I wanted to believe Kain had set out to avenge me because he liked me the same way I liked him, but that was a stupid fantasy that would never, ever come true. But all the same, it was nice, and I regretted missing Kain hurl Jonathan against the wall. That was something I would have recorded and posted on YouTube.