The Soul's Mark: FOUND

by Stoyanoff, Ashley

  “Amelia, are you okay?” Mitchell’s panicked voice sounded loud in her ears and she stopped abruptly looking around her but she saw nothing—no Mitchell. It was just her, alone in her room. She gave her head a shake, convinced she was losing her mind and staggered out the door.

  Amelia could hear the hushed voices of her roommates floating down the hallway and she pushed herself forward. She felt as if her body was giving her the finger, but she kept going. Her legs felt like they were weighted down by boulders and every time her feet hit the floor a stabbing pain shot through her head, but she didn’t allow herself to stop.

  As Amelia approached the kitchen, a new but somehow familiar voice trickled into her ears and an odd warmth settled in her stomach. For a moment, she thought she was going to be sick and stopped, leaning against the wall.

  An image of Mitchell flooded her mind. Mitchell kissing her. Her lips tingled at the memory and her face flushed. The sensation resurrected another memory. When he had kissed her neck, there had been a sharp pain, like needles breaking her skin and then burning. Her neck had been burning. She shook her head, trying to toss out the disturbing memory. It was just a dream, she told herself.

  Amelia felt another tug, as if there was a chain around her waist yanking her forward, and she stumbled. Her feet were moving again but she didn’t feel like she was in control of the movement. It felt like she was being pulled. Her pulse quickened and her stomach fluttered with anticipation, almost as if her body knew what was waiting for her.

  Amelia made it to the living room, following the sound when Luke’s booming voice broke her stupor. “That’s enough!” followed by the sounds of a struggle and the crack of a fist connecting with solid flesh. A few more incoherent shouts and grunts blasted from the kitchen.

  Suddenly, bits and pieces of the night before came flooding back. Tyler’s raspberry lips and Eric’s ridiculously protective outburst.

  Amelia remembered storming off. She hadn’t been alone. Had there been a young girl? Yes, that creepy kid… Kandi and a man named Adam. Images flashed quickly, red eyes, blazing like fire. Her blood hot and sticky trickling down her neck. Eric’s contorted face with flecks of crimson filling his vision. And she had told Luke he was a vampire! Did that really happen?

  “Where are you? Are you hurt?” Mitchell’s voice burst into her thoughts.

  “Get out of my head,” she screamed out loud. Shaky and dizzy, she needed to sit down before she passed out and she crumpled to the floor. Her breath was coming out hard and ragged.

  You need to pull yourself together, Amelia told herself. She felt hot, too hot and her eyes prickled as tears spilled over the lids. She buried her face in her hands. It didn’t happen. None of it happened. There’s no such thing as vampires. A sick feeling flooded her body.

  Amelia heard someone shuffle into the room and sit down beside her. “Are you okay, love?” He attempted to keep his voice gentle but there was an unmistakable edge to it.

  She could feel him watching her, scanning her over from head to toe. He sat so close that she could smell his sweet, tangy scent. “No,” she murmured, and a fresh avalanche of tears cascaded down her face. She looked up at him and her body flushed hot. Her breath caught in her throat. He was close enough that she could feel the heat of his skin. But even with this closeness, Amelia felt as if they were painfully far away from each other. She felt a tug, as if she was being pulled towards him by an invisible chain and without realizing it, she slid closer. He reached out, brushing away her tears and leaving behind a sizzling trail of sparks where his fingers had touched her skin. Her heart beat erratically, thumping like a jackhammer. Amelia drew in a shaky breath and shook her head. “No Mitch, I’m not okay,” she breathed, and then everything went dark.

  CHAPTER 15

  A buzzing noise filled her ears and Amelia tried to breathe, in and out, slow and steady, and after what felt like hours, the buzzing deteriorated, and the soft whispers of her friends came into focus.

  “Hey man, you weren’t here last night.” That was Eric. Amelia recognized the voice. She kept her eyes shut, trying to listen. “You need to trust me on this. She’s a scared and confused teenage girl. You gotta think of her like a time bomb and you my man, are the bomb squad. Proceed with caution. If you push too hard or move too fast she’ll go kaboom.”

  Kaboom? Time bomb? What was he talking about? Amelia didn’t know. She was about to open her eyes when someone tucked a warm blanket around her and said, “Shut up, Eric.”

  Mitchell.

  Mitchell was real. He was here. He was a vampire. They were all vampires. The thoughts were coming in a rushed blur. Her pulse picked up, beating painfully fast, the thumping of her heart was drowning out the conversation around her. She felt cold like ice. Were they going to kill her? If they wanted to, wouldn’t they have already done it? What had her dad said to her when she was a kid? It was something about bears when they were camping. Play dead and they won’t bother you? Does that work with vampires? She didn’t know but she thought she would give it a try.

  Mitchell chuckled, a warm sound, velvety and soft. “No love, playing dead with vampires doesn’t work. We can all hear your heartbeat so you might as well open your eyes.” His voice seemed to speak directly to her heart and she felt the chain tugging and tightening and as if she had no control over her body, her eyes fluttered open and landed on him.

  Amelia’s breath caught in her throat and warmth flooded in. Mitchell stood over her, looking down, a bright lemon yellow glow around him, shooting out in stripes, like rays from the sun. Amelia blinked, trying to clear her vision but the yellow haze stayed around him. The stripes of color reminded her of the second or two after you closed your eyes and flashes of colors appear before turning black. The brain wave came to her like a smack in the forehead; she could see his aura. That’s what those flashes of colors were. She remembered reading about it once. Amelia studied his face. There was so much love in his brilliant blue eyes. Not just in his eyes, she realized with a start; she could feel it, coming from him, it was as if they were linked, and his feelings were radiating from him and pulsing into her.

  Amelia didn’t think she could speak. The sight of him in front of her was absolutely awe-inspiring. The dreams had not done him justice. He had always been striking, but with the yellow glow outlining his chiseled and perfectly sculpted six-three frame and mixing with his soft light brown hair, he was so stunningly beautiful that it nearly hurt to look at him.

  Her mouth felt dry and the awful pulling around her heart urged her to get up, to go to him, to touch him. Before she could stop herself, Amelia was off the couch, the warm fleece blanket falling to the floor around her feet, and she was reaching out to brush her fingers across his cheek. “I can see your aura,” she breathed, more to herself than to him. “How are you here? You’re not supposed to be real.”

  Mitchell took her hand in his, holding it against his cheek and leaned into it. She could vaguely feel the presence of her roommates, but it didn’t matter. At that very moment, nothing mattered more than he did.

  Someone cleared their throat loudly, drawing Amelia reluctantly back to the present and Mitchell dropped her hand. “How did you know what she was thinking, Mitch?” Eric asked. He looked mad, Amelia noticed, hands balled into white fists and red tinting his face and neck. There was something staining his white shirt, which was ripped in a few places. Something brownish-red—blood? Yes, it looked like dried blood and there was some dried up under his nose and smeared on his cheek, too. He had a black eye, which to Amelia’s disbelief, was getting lighter with every passing second.

  “Yeah Mitch, how did you know?” Angelle added. She was suddenly standing in front of them, glaring daggers at him. “Because I know you wouldn’t do that to her.” Mitchell didn’t bother to answer, and Amelia thought he may have looked ashamed, which made no sense at all. What did he have to be ashamed of?

  Angelle and Mitchell stared at each other for a long, tense moment. “Dammit,
Mitch!” she said under her breath, looking away from him. She took Amelia’s chin in her hands and gently tilted her head looking over her neck. “When?” she yelled at him and Amelia had to fight hard not to whimper, because hey, she was alone in a room full of vampires and there was an angry one holding onto her and her eyes were such a glowing red, who wouldn’t want to whimper and find a rock to hide under? This wasn’t the sugary sweet girl Amelia knew. This thing standing in front of her, holding onto her chin, was a monster.

  “Leave it alone, Angelle,” Mitchell said tightly and started pacing the room. The beautiful yellow that surrounded him was fading and quickly devolving to a muddied red. It only took Amelia a second to realize what the change meant—a rising tide of anger, so strong it was suffocating.

  I should run, Amelia thought, as she watched the red deepen and black flecks, like spots of dirt, appeared. Just run. God, why can’t I run? Stupid flight reflexes. What’s wrong with me?

  You don’t need to run, love. No one is going to hurt you.

  Amelia trembled and a shiver rushed in, straightening her spine. “You didn’t talk,” she said, the tremors coming out in her voice. “You’re lips didn’t move.”

  “You project very clearly, Amelia.” Mitchell chuckled softly, and looked at her, some of the anger lifting away, and his soft smile returning. “It’s kind of like one of those amplifiers. Your thoughts just blast in, loud and clear.”

  Angelle wrapped her arms around Amelia hugging her closely. For a moment, Amelia stayed ridged and held her breath. Her lungs started to burn and like a balloon popping, she let out a pent up breath in a gush and all her resistance seemed to rush out with it. There was something about Angelle that reminded her of a mother bear protecting her cub, and Amelia felt herself relax into the hug and let herself be pulled back onto the couch. “Oh honey, it’s okay,” Angelle whispered in her ear, the way her mother used to when she had had a bad dream and rocked her softly in her arms. “You’re safe. You’re going to be okay.”

  “I can’t believe you’re really here.” Amelia glanced over at Mitchell just for a second and her heart fluttered happily in her chest. She supposed she should have known he was real but she had never really let herself think about it. But now that she thought about it, really thought about it, he had given tons of hints over the years and they were not always that subtle. Come to think of it, she was sure he had even mentioned vampires before. A sudden, uncontrollable giggle erupted from her lips and she quickly covered her mouth, trying to hold it in. Was this shock? It had to be shock. That was the only logical explanation. So if she was in shock then none of this was okay. She would soon realize that.

  Amelia pulled back from Angelle’s arms, just enough to meet her square in the eyes. “It’s not okay. None of this is okay. I’m sitting in a house full of vampires. Vampires. This is completely insane.” The last words came out in a yell.

  “What’s done is done,” Luke said matter-of-factly. Amelia hadn’t noticed him sitting in the corner. But there he was, relaxed and composed in an armchair, watching everyone with those thoughtful eyes. “All of this yelling isn’t going to change that. I think we all need to just calm down and deal with this. She loves him. We all know that, otherwise the dreams wouldn’t have happened for five years. I think you all may be underestimating her ability to handle this. Amelia is more mature than you give her credit for.”

  “But she wasn’t ready. She’s still not ready!” Angelle raged, tightening her grip on Amelia.

  “I don’t care if she is ready or not,” Mitchell said, jaw clenching. “I’m not going to let her run around with that boy!” He shot Eric a challenging look, “Or with you.”

  “You did this to her out of jealously,” Angelle choked and continued to stroke Amelia’s hair.

  “Dude,” Eric said, giving Mitchell a look of pure disgust, but bit his tongue on anything else he might have been about to say when Mitchell flashed him another terrifying look.

  Amelia couldn’t imagine what was so horrible, but the grim expressions on her roommates’ faces made its graveness very clear. She pushed her way out of Angelle’s arms and stood up on shaky legs, wobbling like a tightrope walker. A sickening feeling engulfed her, and she suddenly felt a flash of cold and waves of hot all at once.

  “I don’t understand what’s happening here,” Amelia blurted.

  “Tell her, Mitch.”

  “This is not the time, Angelle.” Mitchell sat down on the couch and pulled Amelia onto his lap, cradling her in his arms. Every place their skin touched set her on fire, burning hot. His tangy scent filled her head, pushing away all her fears. Amelia knew she should push away, but her body just didn’t want to. “Drop it.”

  “Mitch, buddy,” Luke said, completely calm and in control. “She has a right to know. Think about it. It’s better to just tell her so you can both be careful. Believe me, you don’t want it to just happen.”

  “He bit you, Amelia.” The bitterness in Angelle’s voice was as black and violent as a thunderstorm. She reached out, as if she was going to touch her, and then drew back, thinking better of it.

  “Angelle,” Mitchell roared. Suddenly, Amelia was standing, teetering unstably, and Mitchell had Angelle off the couch, holding her against the wall by her shoulders. He looked scary. Cold, hard and overpoweringly scary, and Amelia could feel everything. She could hear his thoughts; he wanted to hurt Angelle, and she could feel it, the cold, bitter anger. She wanted to do something. She needed to stop him but she couldn’t. It was as if she was frozen in place and the only thing she could do was whimper like a little baby.

  “Mitch!” Luke’s voice boomed. Amelia didn’t see him move, but he was now behind Mitchell, holding him tightly, arms pinned behind his back.

  Amelia couldn’t take it anymore and she crumpled to the floor. Her emotions were already a jumbled mess and feeling all his anger was exhausting. How could anyone have that much hatred? That much rage? She just couldn’t imagine. And why could she feel everything he was feeling? “Someone really needs to tell me what’s going on,” Amelia said in a small voice.

  She didn’t think anyone would answer her. They were all tense, watching Mitchell like a hawk. Luke must have been satisfied that he was under control because he let go of Mitchell and sat back in his chair. He never dropped his eyes from him though, watching closely for any sign he wasn’t completely in control of himself.

  Mitchell didn’t look at her and, surprisingly, that hurt more than all his anger. How could he not look at her? Amelia just didn’t understand because she couldn’t seem to look away. Like a moth to a flame, she was hopelessly drawn to him. After a few tense moments, he let out a deep sigh and sat down, purposely on the other side of the room from her.

  Eric must have taken it as a sign. He sat down beside Amelia on the floor and started rambling. “Okay, here’s the Cole’s Notes version. You’re Mitch’s soulmate. When he became a vampire, he lost his soul and it attached to you which created a bond between you guys. Sort of linking you together so he would be able to find you. That’s why he could enter your dreams. When he bit you, it strengthened that link. Now he can feel everything you feel, hear all your thoughts, talk to you through his mind. But it’s not just him; you can do all this, too. It has something to do with our sick mind control powers. It’s pretty cool.”

  “I kinda already figured all that out, Eric. Why do I feel like you’re holding something back?”

  “Because he is,” Mitchell said in a small, unsure voice. “But it doesn’t matter. The rest is not important. I’ll be careful.” He ran his fingers through his hair and still avoided looking at her. “It’s safer for you this way.”

  “As Eric said, it enhances his mind control powers over you,” Luke continued, clearly ignoring Mitchell.

  “Luke, stop it,” Mitchell pleaded. “She doesn’t need to hear all this.”

  Amelia studied him more closely and noticed his aura had changed again. Was that normal? she wondered. It seemed to ch
ange with his feelings. It was now a muddy forest green, and he was radiating jealously mixed with guilt. “Actually, I think I do need to hear this.” The clarity of her voice surprised her.

  “No you don’t, Amelia.” He looked up at her, finally, with pleading, sad eyes. “Just leave it. Why don’t you go and rest. I think you’ve heard enough for now.”

  “Just like I predicted,” Eric said, and promptly stood up and crossed the room. “The kaboom is coming. Just wait for it. She’s about to blow.”

  “Shut up, Eric,” Amelia snapped. Her face was hot, her neck was boiling and her head was throbbing from her tightly clenched teeth. “I don’t need to rest. What I need is the truth.” She jumped up, too quickly, and a hot flash of pain ran through her head. Through all the commotion, she had forgotten about the lump and it took her a moment to catch her breath.

  “Come on, love, just sit down.” Mitchell leaned back in his chair, letting his arms dangle off the side. “You don’t need to get all worked up over this.”

  “I don’t want to sit down. What I want is for someone to tell me what’s going on.” Amelia winced at a sharp, stabbing pain in her stomach. The pain moved from her stomach to her chest, then to her thighs and she doubled over, gasping for breath. “What’s happening to me?” she screamed. All of a sudden, the pain was everywhere, like hundreds of knives jabbing deeply into her flesh. Her lungs felt as if they were collapsing, falling in and she couldn’t catch her breath. She dropped to her knees and screamed. She was burning from the inside out. It was like hot lava boiling within her, burning through her flesh, and she kept screaming in agony.

  “Amelia,” Angelle cried, her voice sounded panicked but oddly far away. Within seconds, she was hovering over Amelia, stroking her hair. Amelia screamed again. And again. Even to her own ears, it sounded horrible. Like a wounded dog. “Mitch, stop it. Just stop it.”