The Soul Healer

by Melissa Giorgio

  We reached the elevator and I hit the down arrow. I glanced at the glowing red digital number above the door, like I always did, and frowned. “You took the elevator here, right?”

  “Yes. I left them in the lobby and came to fetch you, figuring your father had magicked the door to keep you locked inside.”

  I pointed to the number that was currently counting down. “Then who rode the elevator up to the eighth floor?”

  Kain paused.

  “The elevator should have been waiting here.” I pulled a knife from my belt, and Kain lifted his rapier as the elevator arrived with a ding. The doors opened, but it was empty inside. I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I had been holding and stepped forward, hitting the button for the lobby. Kain joined me after a moment’s hesitation. “What is it?” I asked.

  “Just…” Kain’s blue-green eyes darkened as he stared straight ahead at the closed elevator doors. He was uncharacteristically serious, which scared me more than I liked to admit. “Be ready. For anything.”

  Swallowing hard, I squeezed the hilt of my knife and hoped Kain was wrong.

  Chapter Forty-five

  Philip

  I didn’t know what to expect when we reached the lobby, but Rafe on the floor, obviously wounded, was not it.

  “Bloody hell,” Kain hissed, holding out a hand to prevent me from racing straight to Rafe’s side. Together, we exited the elevator, weapons held high as we scanned the room. Parts of the floor had been destroyed, with giant craters carved out of the marble in more than one spot. Lying past Rafe was the beheaded demon, surrounded by a dark pool of its own green blood. Farther past that was a girl kneeling; my heart jumped, thinking for a moment that it was Gabi, but then I saw the pink hair and realized who it was.

  “Nina?” I asked, thoroughly confused. Hadn’t she been captured as well? Had she managed to get past Dad’s spells, or had he let her go? My father had always had a soft spot for the pink-haired girl, due to both the circumstances that had brought her to the New York HQ and her undying loyalty to him. Her betrayal must have been crushing to Dad, I thought, wondering what she had said to make him let her go. I took a few steps toward her, while Kain continued to Rafe’s side. “Are you okay? What happened?”

  There was a soft moan, coming from behind Nina. A male voice. A familiar male voice. I stopped in my tracks, holding up my knife. Kain saw the change in my posture and shifted closer to me, sucking in a quiet breath as he began calling magic to him. The air around him rippled, and I swallowed against the tickle of nausea in the back of my throat, faint enough that I could ignore it.

  “Nina,” I said slowly, “what’s going on? Who’s behind you?” I already knew, but I asked anyway.

  She stood on shaky legs, her left arm hanging limp at her side like it was broken, to reveal Evan lying on his stomach, his blonde hair matted with blood. Red human blood. The fine hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Something was very wrong, but what, exactly, I didn’t know. It was like doing a jigsaw puzzle only to realize three-quarters of the way in you didn’t have all of the pieces. Nina and Evan and Rafe were all on the same side, and yet two were down for the count and I had no idea why or what had happened in the short amount of time Kain had left them to free me.

  And Gabi. She was nowhere to be seen. The realization hit me hard and I desperately hoped she was okay. Things couldn’t end like this, with my friends on the floor, broken and discarded like trash. I would find out who was responsible for this, and I would make them pay.

  “Oh, Phil, Kain, it was so horrible,” Nina said, limping toward us with tears in her eyes. “She went crazy, she did this—”

  “She who?” There was only one “she” Nina could mean, but it didn’t make sense. None of it made sense!

  “Gabi!” Nina sobbed. “There’s something wrong with her. She stabbed Rafe and attacked Evan and me and—”

  “Lying,” Evan suddenly said, struggling to pick himself up off the floor. “She’s lying. She did this, not Gabi. She hurt Rafe; it’s a bad spell, I can’t figure it out.” His eyes were bright and focused on me with a sort of raw desperation, as if he were begging me to believe him. And I did. At that moment, when Evan said Nina was lying, I suddenly had the last few puzzle pieces in my hand, and I knew what was going on.

  But I didn’t know why things had turned out this way.

  “You were the one who told my dad about us escaping,” I said quietly. Next to me, Kain cursed. “Why, Nina? We’re your friends—”

  “Because,” Nina said loudly, talking over me, her eyes now clear of her crocodile tears, “I’m the only one who still seems to know what Silver Moon stands for. We kill demons, not cater to them, worshipping them for their powers, like you’re all doing with that stupid Soul Healer!”

  “You think Gabi is a demon?” I couldn’t stop myself from sounding skeptical. I knew Nina was a little bit out there, but this was too crazy, even for her.

  “Yes!” Nina looked frustrated, like she had explained this again and again to people who refused to listen. She must have told Rafe and Evan, and when they told her she was wrong, she attacked them. I couldn’t see any blood on or around Rafe, but Evan had said it was bad. If it was magic, then Kain needed to handle it. I wanted to tell Kain to go, to leave me to deal with Nina, but I was afraid any sudden movement would set her off again, and she’d use that spell on me.

  Or worse, on Kain.

  At that moment, I knew with absolute certainty that two things needed to happen. One, I couldn’t let anything happen to Kain, and two, I needed to risk my life to stop Nina before she hurt someone again. I would be quick and I would be fast, and I would let my father deal with the fallout.

  “Help Rafe,” I said quietly, barely a whisper, and prayed Kain heard me. He didn’t respond, but I heard the soft swish of his feet sliding ever so slightly to the right, toward Rafe. To distract Nina, I asked, “Why do you think she’s a demon?”

  “Because humans don’t heal! Not like that, not like her. Her powers must have come from a demon, which means she needs to die!” Nina’s face twisted into an uncharacteristically scary scowl. “Or have you forgotten the edict, too?”

  No, I hadn’t forgotten that Silver Moon killed first and asked questions later, but Gabi was innocent, of that I was certain. We hadn’t managed to gather enough information about Soul Healers, and until I knew everything there was to know about them, I wasn’t about to listen to the words of a deranged girl.

  Nina must have seen that, in my expression, because her face darkened with anger. I prepared myself, knowing I had to give this fight my all in order to give Kain a chance to help Rafe, but Nina moved fast, surprising me. Her uninjured hand glowed pink, the magic sickening me even from a distance. My vision blurred, but I heard her footsteps and ducked, narrowly avoiding a blast of magic to the face. I swept my foot out, tripping her. As she hit the floor, I stumbled backwards, panting and sweaty as I fought against a sudden powerful onslaught of nausea.

  It usually wasn’t this bad. Magic sickened me, but it affected me more when the magic was actually used against me. Like the previous night, with Jonathan. Someone casting a spell wasn’t supposed to weaken me, mess with my vision, make me fall to my knees, gasping for breath. It was getting worse as the seconds ticked by, as Nina scrambled to her feet and ran to me, her palm out and glowing dangerously bright.

  A blast of pink came hurtling at me and I tried to throw myself to my right, but my movements were slow, jerky. Move! my brain screamed in frustration, my body’s slowness alien to me. Nina grinned, as if she knew what was wrong with me, and I hated that that image would be the last thing I would see before I died.

  The magic shot straight at my heart, but it fizzled out before it could pierce my skin. I stared, confused. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kain slump over and thought, for one frightening second, that Kain had somehow been struck instead.

  But that was impossible, and seconds later—seconds that felt like years—Kain lif
ted his face, pale and shining with sweat, and gave me a small smile, with just the corners of his lips tugging upwards. Kain had saved me, I realized, both relieved and horrified. I had never seen Kain look so weak before, and if he had been somehow hurt, I would never forgive Nina for it.

  Nina charged forward, screaming curses as she lifted her hand again. Rage coursing through my veins, I struggled to my feet, pulled back my arm, and slammed my fist into her wounded shoulder, sending her spinning and gasping with pain. Nina’s spell shot upwards, into the ceiling, and bits of plaster rained down on us, making me cough. That moment of distraction was enough for Nina, who threw herself at me, raking her nails across my forearms. She was insane, and I knew, even though I didn’t like it, that I needed to hurt her, really hurt her, or I would end up dead.

  We struggled on the floor, punching and kicking, Nina trying to claw my eyes out and bite me, using every dirty trick in the book, her magic weakening me the whole time. She managed to get on top, pinning me down with her body, and she called the magic again, smiling. We both knew, with her this close and her fingers inches from my chest, there was no way Kain could save me this time. But I struggled all the same, my punches weak and ineffective. I didn’t stop fighting, wouldn’t stop fighting until I was dead by her hand.

  “Enough!” Dad’s voice boomed throughout the lobby, and Nina froze, her eyes wide.

  She turned to him, sputtering an explanation. “Director Adler—”

  “Get off of my son.” My dad’s tone of voice was icy-cold and it sent shivers down my spine. I had never heard him speak that way, not to me, not to anyone. I peered at my father from where I lay on the floor, the image upside-down, but still conveying the fury on his face. Dad held a long sword in one hand, and a spell in the other. He walked toward us, slowly, deliberately.

  “I’m trying to help you,” Nina said desperately. She called off the spell, and I immediately felt its absence, like a giant weight had been removed from my chest. I breathed steadily, waiting. I could have shoved her off, but I feared any sudden movement would cause her to strike me, quick as a viper. “Director, all of them, even your son, refuse to follow the rules. They won’t listen to me. We need to kill the Soul Healer—”

  “I said, get off of my son,” Dad repeated, his long sword a silent flash of silver as it swung through the air. For a moment, I thought he had just slashed it to threaten Nina, but then she cried out and warm blood sprayed from a cut on her wounded shoulder, staining my face and clothes.

  Nina clutched the wound, confused and heartbroken. “Director Adler, why?”

  “Because,” he said simply, lifting the sword again, “you tried to kill Philip.”

  It was like the man standing in front of us wasn’t even my father. There was such a coldness to him, mixing with the fury, and I didn’t think Dad even knew what he was doing. The sword was aimed for Nina’s throat and she closed her eyes, accepting her fate.

  “Dad, stop!” Despite what she had done, I couldn’t let her die like that. Let Silver Moon judge her, let her pay for her crimes. Then, at least, it would be fair.

  Then, at least, Dad wouldn’t be a murderer.

  The long sword halted, and some clarity returned to Dad’s eyes. He changed his grip on the sword and swung the hilt at Nina’s temple, knocking her out cold. I caught her and laid her down on the lobby floor, my eyes never leaving my dad’s face. I was afraid to say anything further, afraid Dad would turn the sword on me next.

  Instead my dad looked at Kain, who was hovering by Rafe’s side. “Can you help him?”

  Kain’s brow was furrowed in concentration. “Trying. It’s a beastly spell—like a parasite, eating him from the inside out.”

  I shuddered. I had been so close to having that spell inside of me, too.

  Dad nodded, pulling a cellphone from his jacket pocket. “Do what you must to keep him alive.” He hit a button and began speaking in a low tone, calling for one of Silver Moon’s private ambulances.

  I crawled over to Kain’s side, my eyes darting from Kain to Rafe. Rafe didn’t look good; his skin was chalky, with deep, dark bruises around his eyes. Kain’s hands were pressed against a hole in Rafe’s side, his fingers glowing slightly with magic. “A Soul Healer would come in handy right about now,” he grunted to me.

  “What can I do to help?” I refused to sit by and watch Rafe die. “Should I go look for Gabi? Do you think she can help? Where the hell is she anyway?”

  “Mrs. Chen took her,” Evan said, hobbling over to us. He brushed blood from his face before kneeling in front of Rafe and also putting his hands over the wound. Kain was too busy concentrating to complain. I watched in amazement. I had never imagined I’d see the day when the two would work together toward a common goal.

  “She took her? Where?”

  “Gabi started healing Rafe,” Evan explained. “And Mrs. Chen appeared and dragged her to the elevator.” He swallowed, looking pained. “To heal Alex, I bet.”

  It must be killing him, to be here, when he could be up there, reunited with Alex. Then again, it must also kill Evan to know he’s the reason that all of this had happened. If he hadn’t told Dad about Gabi, Rafe wouldn’t be sprawled out in front of us, dying.

  “I’ll get her,” I said, already on my feet. “She can heal Rafe—”

  “No,” Kain gasped, shaking his head. He looked ready to topple over, but his eyes were shining brightly with resolve. “You could kill her. We don’t know if what Nina said was true. About the demon blood. But if it’s not, and if Gabi already brought someone out of a coma—”

  “Then healing Rafe could kill her,” I finished. The possibility she was already dead, dead from healing Alexandra, was one I wouldn’t even consider. Right now, I needed to find her and make sure she was okay. An ambulance was coming; she would have to be taken to the hospital, inspected by one of the doctors. I couldn’t imagine she had emerged from the battle unscathed. Rafe had been hurt trying to protect her, no doubt. Nina’s target had been Gabi—the girl she thought had demon blood inside of her.

  I refused to think about that now. Too much was happening, too much was at stake, and getting through these next few hours with everyone alive and intact demanded all of my attention. There would be time to sort through the mess later.

  I hoped.

  “I’ll get Gabi,” I said again. “You keep Rafe alive so she won’t need to heal him.”

  The two hunters, one dark-haired and the other blonde, glanced up at me and nodded in unison. It was such a bizarre sight, I almost thought I had imagined it.

  “You needn’t worry about us, Philip,” Kain said. “We can handle this.”

  “Yeah, it’ll be a piece of cake,” Evan added with a ghost of a grin.

  I couldn’t smile back, but I gave them a curt nod and left quickly, hoping when I returned with Gabi there wouldn’t be another corpse lying on the lobby floor.

  Chapter Forty-six

  The sound of two voices quietly murmuring broke through my dreamless sleep. I shifted and let out a pathetic moan, my body aching and sore.

  “Look, Sleeping Beauty has awakened.” A pause. “Or should I say Snow White?”

  “Snow White had black hair, not white.”

  “Really? Then why was she called Snow White?”

  “I think her skin was really pale or something—why are we even talking about this?”

  “You must be bored,” I croaked, finally succeeding in opening my eyes. I was lying in bed, with Philip and Kain sitting on chairs to my right. A steady beeping noise filled the air, and I managed to turn my head slightly to the left to see a large monitor tracking my heartbeat. Holy crap, I thought, I’m in the hospital. What the hell had happened?

  “Gabi?” Philip half-stood, hovering over me awkwardly. The last time I had seen him, he had been struck unconscious by Jonathan’s magic and I had expected the worst. But aside from some scratches on his face and neck, he was fine. I felt my eyes well up with tears and wished I had the strength
to reach out and touch him. As if reading my mind, Philip’s hand found mine as he sat back down. “How do you feel?”

  “Awful.” Besides my weakened state, my head was pounding a steady rhythm, making me nauseous. “My head is killing me.”

  “You had a concussion,” Philip explained in a soft voice, as if he expected me to break into a billion pieces if he wasn’t gentle with me. “Do you remember what happened?”

  “Me, wall, boom.”

  Philip and Kain exchanged a glance and Philip asked, “Do you remember anything else?”

  Obviously I must have healed someone, or else I wouldn’t be so weak, but the question was, who? I thought back, remembered our failed attempt at escaping, Charles yelling at me, and Charlotte chasing me down the stairs.

  Everything that happened next came back to me at the same time, images like snapshots overloading my already rattled brain, and I squeezed my eyes shut, fighting against the sickening lurch in my stomach. The beeping noise from the machine increased in speed, matching my heartbeat.

  “Gabi?”

  “Rafe,” I whispered, opening my eyes after the nausea had passed. “What happened to Rafe?”

  Instead of answering me, the two hunters exchanged another long look. I opened my mouth to start screaming (not that my rage would last very long, but I would make it count) and Philip quickly spoke. “He’s in the hospital, but they patched him up and he’s going to be fine.” Kain nodded in agreement, his head bobbing up and down. “Once he wakes up,” Philip added, chasing away whatever hope I had begun feeling two seconds ago.

  Rafe was unconscious. What did that mean? I glared at Philip, telling him with my eyes that he better start explaining himself right now.

  Philip shot Kain another desperate glance and the dark-haired hunter cleared his throat, leaning forward. “It’s a bit complicated, Gabiella. Nina used a two-part spell. One part, the one you saw that caused your powers to activate, was the one that stabbed him. That part, the doctors were able to fix.” Kain placed a hand on the thin blanket that covered me, pinching the fabric between his fingers. “The second part, however, was a nasty little surprise that no human doctor could ever fix.” He paused, struggling to find a way to explain it to someone with no magical knowledge. “The best way to describe it is as a parasite. It latched onto Rafe’s… essence, for lack of a better word, and drained him of…” Kain gestured helplessly. “Of his life?”