Souls Estranged (The Souls Trilogy Book 2)

by Anne B. Cole

  “Camp called. They need me tomorrow.” The words came out harsh and cold.

  Bobby stopped searching. Suddenly he looked like a little boy, cornered and afraid.

  Gretta felt his trepidation compound with her own. “Bobby, I need you to take care of Mom. I’m worried about her.”

  He stared at the floor as if he didn’t hear. She glanced down, found the contact, and handed it to him.

  He popped it in his mouth for a moment. She winced when he stuck it on his left eye.

  “Want me to get you some ice? You have a bump on your head where I smacked you with the door.” She sat beside him.

  “I’m fine. Who’s gonna take care of you?” Bobby muttered the words softly. His gaze remained on the floor.

  “My friends will be at camp.” Another lie. “Don’t worry, just take care of yourself and Mom.” Concerned something would happen to Bobby, she grabbed the door knob. Before she had it open, a hand touched her back.

  “I never told Dad I loved him, I—”

  Gretta spun around and hugged her brother so hard it hurt. “I love you, Bobby. I’m going because I love you.”

  “Love you, too,” Bobby murmured as he returned the embrace.

  Gretta pulled back, realizing she stood a little shorter than her brother. He had grown so much in the past year, she hadn’t noticed. He would grow in different ways with Dad gone.

  Bobby’s stare matched their father’s and pierced her heart.

  “What friends? Is Sam going?”

  The tone and protective inflection in his voice startled her. “No, Sam’s back in the hospital. His shoulder became infected.”

  A graphic image of an open wound popped into Gretta’s mind, turning her stomach. This vertical gash oozed ugly fluid. The barely conscious man had blonde hair and called out her name. Anya.

  “A friend from school?”

  Bobby’s question snapped the image out of her head.

  Stupid lies. He knows all my friends.

  “No, people I just met. I gotta go. My phone is ringing. It’s probably camp.” She ran out of his room, into her own, and slammed the door shut.

  Finding a duffle bag in the back of her closet, Gretta crammed in a couple pairs of shorts, a pair of jeans, two shirts and a sweatshirt. She opened her top drawer and tossed in three pairs of underwear, a sports bra and two pairs of socks. She grabbed her sneakers from under the bed. They went in too. Plenty of room remained for her laptop and the yellow notebook.

  Run!

  The word screamed inside her head. Gretta dashed to the bathroom she shared with Emily and scooped up various bottles of toiletries.

  Back in her room, she went through the stack of graduation cards sitting on her dresser. After opening two and confirming the checks and cash remained inside, she tossed all of them in the bag. Her purse hung on the doorknob. Snatching it, she dug for her wallet. It contained a ten and a few ones, her bank card, and a new credit card she received in the mail last week. The letter that accompanied the credit card had listed a line of credit at five hundred. It would have to do.

  The purse went in. The duffel bag easily zipped closed.

  Determined to do the right thing, Gretta sat on the floor and planned. I have to get away, but where to, and for how long? Far, it has to be far away, the farther the better.

  Her phone beeped, signaling a text. She snagged it off her bed and saw Tony’s avatar.

  ‘Hey PS, how’s Sam?’

  Her fingers trembled so much, it took several moments to respond.

  ‘Back in the hospital. Staph infection. I’m scared.’

  Tony fired back a response. ‘Stay with him.’

  A sob escaped her lips as she cradled the phone to her chest. Another text came after no response from her end.

  ‘He at VCU?’

  Gretta had to answer. ‘Yes. I have to leave. Tell him I l—’

  Her fingers paused. Before she could type the words ‘love him,’ a warning popped into her head.

  Bad things happen to those close to the one who wears the ring.

  Turning her hand over, she stared at the dark red stone.

  The phone beeped a fourth time.

  ‘I’ll send B over to check on him. He loves you, too.’

  “No,” Gretta shouted, realizing she had accidentally sent her last text. Her thumbs flew across the keys, composing another.

  ‘I’m sorry. Everything is my fault.’ She powered off her phone and collapsed on her bed. Running away terrified her, but staying would endanger people she loved.

  Gretta jerked out of a doze and bolted upright, unable to recall details of what she’d just dreamed. Those memories had already faded, yet something had caused her to wake trembling and covered in sweat.

  The clock on her dresser read three twenty-two. Her heart raced, every beat pounding in her ears. The need to protect the people she loved overwhelmed her. She typed a quick text and pressed the send button before creeping silently to the main floor. Her mother remained asleep on the couch.

  “I love you, Mom,” Gretta whispered and snuck through the front door with her duffle bag and pillow. She paused on the porch and grabbed her yellow comforter off the swing before stuffing everything into the car.

  Without a single good-bye, Gretta drove away from the only town she ever called home.

  Chapter 12

  Captain Longworthy

  Sam

  Snoring. Loud snoring from two different sources woke Sam. His eyes darted around the dim room. Ruby startled and shifted uncomfortably in a chair alongside his hospital bed. A quick scan revealed Pop sawing logs in the recliner on the opposite side. The clock on the wall read ten after eight. Someone had drawn the curtains so he didn’t know if it was morning or evening.

  Confusion filled him.

  A cool hand grazed his forehead.

  “Gretta?”

  “Damn it, Sam. That fever has to come down. The doctors are going to try another combination of antibiotics.” Ruby’s voice lingered inside his head.

  “Where’s Gretta?”

  No response.

  Sam wondered if he spoke the words or dreamed them.

  He remembered calling over and over for Gretta. The doctors sedated him on his second attempt to get out of bed. Minutes, hours, perhaps even days blurred in his drugged state.

  The hand moved to his wrist.

  “Seventeen beats in ten seconds.” A sigh escaped Ruby’s lips. “A resting pulse rate of one hundred two, along with an elevated fever confirms sepsis. Stay with me, Sam. Over fifteen thousand people die each year from MRSA infections. You will not become a statistic.”

  Sam wrapped his fingers around hers.

  “I can beat this.” Again, Sam couldn’t tell if he spoke the words or not.

  Instead of pulling away, Ruby held tight.

  Sam felt it odd to have formed such a bond with the elderly nurse. But if Katarina entwined her soul within her, it made perfect sense.

  An icy burn entered Sam’s arm through the IV port.

  His head began to spin and he found himself standing in pitch darkness. Twice in the past he had experienced this strange sensation. The first time occurred when he was entwined within Lorenzo and nearly beaten to death on a pirate ship. In the other instance, he met his dead mother’s soul and spoke with her through a calling with Katarina.

  “Mom?” he blindly called.

  “Samuel.”

  A man’s voice beckoned him from behind. He spun and faced a tall stranger, wearing a white silk shirt with puffy sleeves. Crisp, charcoal colored pants were tucked neatly into shiny black boots. A sash tied around his waist matched the crimson material of his ascot. A black cap completed his military style of attire.

&
nbsp; Is he an officer or a pirate? Perhaps a privateer?

  Sam’s knees buckled as the man lifted a thin sword. “Samuel Timothy Daggett, so humble, so meek. It is not you, but Katarina I seek. For it is I, Captain James Longworthy, Kadir Haty had slain. Cursed and forgotten, Katarina ended my pain. I angered many, both mortal and god, by trickery and deceit on the sacred isle I trod.

  “Seek permission from above, roaming, and below. Within the hopeless is a fourth whom you used to know.” He shifted his weight nervously and leaned closer to Sam. “Remember the black book,” he whispered before resuming his authoritative stance.

  “Until sacrifice is made, three angry gods will be. Become one, a union provides safety. The cursed blade will follow, presenting itself in need. In wrong hands, it garners evil, all must heed. Journey to darkness you must, for you are not done. The blade will release you from the destiny of the cursed one.

  “Only the condemned can retrieve souls that are lost. Sacrifice, forgiveness, and love become the ultimate cost.”

  Unable to form words, Sam’s mouth hung open. What was James trying to tell him? The black book, sacrifices, the cursed blade, cursed souls? It had to be about Gretta and her ring.

  Sam’s mother materialized before him and stood beside James. Sam reached a hand to her. His heart wrenched when she accepted James’ open palm.

  The pirate grasped her fingertips as if she were a queen. She smiled at Sam and began to walk away.

  “Mom?” Sam cried.

  James tipped his hat and escorted his mother into the darkness.

  Sam began running after them. No matter how fast he ran, they continued walking into the distance until they disappeared altogether.

  “Katarina!” Sam screamed. She had said she would be present during a calling between living humans and passed souls even though he wouldn’t be able to see her. “Katarina!” He shouted her name into the endless darkness.

  “Sam. Open your eyes.”

  He recognized this voice. Gathering his strength, he lifted heavy eyelids. Ruby dabbed his forehead with a cloth.

  “Repeat to me what James said. Tell me everything.”

  Sam studied Ruby’s face. Not Katarina’s. A realization dawned on him. While entwined within Lorenzo, people didn’t see his physical presence. If Katarina was entwined within Ruby, he wouldn’t see his ancestor’s physical features, only Ruby’s.

  “Tell me what James said. He owes me. I deferred my release from Purgatory-In-Tartarus to him. Details, Sam. Remember every word.” Ruby’s rough tone and knowledge of the Purgatory-In-Tartarus confirmed Katarina’s presence. She pulled a notepad out of her oversized orange tote bag.

  Repeating James’ verse took every bit of energy Sam could muster. Ruby’s hand wrote furiously. Her head bobbed in confirmation. Together they pieced the riddle together.

  “Where’s Gretta? Roxana?” He watched Ruby tear off the page and fold it several times before pressing the paper into his hand.

  “They’re together. Roxana entwined within the cat and will make sure she is safe. We need your help, but you must not be near Gretta.” Her face clouded. “Rest now. I must go.”

  Sam clutched the wadded paper in his hand. He didn’t have enough energy to speak. Ruby unlocked her phone and appeared to be taking a call, but everything moved in slow motion.

  Is Katarina still entwined within Ruby? His head spun faster until his vision blurred into darkness.

  “Sam, your father’s asleep. Do you want me to wake him?”

  Sam tried desperately to form words. “Gretta?”

  “I’m sorry. Her mother just called. It seems she took a counseling job at a summer camp and left in the middle of the night.” Sadness echoed in Ruby’s tone.

  “She remembers.” Sam tried to get out of bed, but barely lifted his head off the pillow. “Tell her I remember, Katarina.” He heard his own voice fading.

  “Ruby?” Pop’s voice hung in the air.

  Sam struggled to remain coherent.

  “The antibiotics are kicking in. He will beat this.” Ruby sounded as if she was trying to convince herself.

  Sam heard the legs of a chair scraping the floor closer to his bed. Katarina and Gretta were gone, but he took comfort in Pop and Ruby’s presence. His mind worked furiously as his body fought the infection.

  Was James Longworthy the original owner of the black pirate book? What mortals and which gods did he anger? Did the treasure Lorenzo and Peter found on Kimolos come from a sacred island? The treasure consisted of three rings, two bracelets, three necklaces, and two hundred gold coins. Was everything cursed or just Gretta’s ring? What did James have to do with the curse?

  He wished he could go back in time and entwine within James to find the answers. Thoughts swirled around Sam’s head, but he couldn’t concentrate. Concern for Gretta’s safety consumed him.

  She remembers.

  He promised to never leave her during their time travels, yet he abandoned her unknowingly in Milos.

  The curses on the ring, which Gretta wore, had proven true.

  Bad luck.

  The tragic death of her father, Tony’s accident, and his own infected shoulder, all had happened within a week of their return. Katarina had warned him anyone close to Gretta would not be safe.

  Love.

  There was no doubt he was madly in love with Gretta, and he knew she had feelings for him. If she remembered, she might have left to keep him safe. Love could be a curse.

  Longevity.

  Sam took comfort in this one. The longevity curse destined Gretta to live a long, long life. Both Roxana and Katarina lived to be over ninety, even in the nineteenth century.

  Distance.

  Once the owner of the ring passed it to another, the giver would be distanced from the recipient. Gretta received the ring from her grandmother. A day later her grandmother suffered a stroke which left her unable to speak or move. She was not expected to recover.

  Damnation.

  Victor, the man who uttered the final curse on the ring, condemned Anya and Lorenzo as well as any future owner of the ring.

  Sam forced horrible thoughts of Purgatory-in-Tartarus from his mind. Supposedly, hell was worse.

  A fiery sensation entered his arm. It reminded him of the cauterization Katarina had performed on his shoulder when he was entwined with Lorenzo. The burning continued, penetrating throughout his body.

  All his muscles tightened before pain medication lulled him to sleep.

  Chapter 13

  Help Wanted

  Gretta

  After four hours of aimless driving, darkness had given way to light. Tall oak trees on the side of the interstate brought Gretta’s thoughts to Sam. Guilt flooded within her as she remembered him asking her not to leave. Even though she had met him only two weeks ago, her feelings for him ran deep, stronger than anything she had ever experienced. She left home to keep Sam, and everyone else she loved, safe.

  As her mind wandered, she found herself exiting the highway and winding into the mountains of Appalachia on rural roads. It didn’t matter where she was going, it only had to be away from home.

  Around eight, she pulled into a small-town gas station. As she pumped fuel, the scent of cinnamon rolls from a tiny diner across the street grabbed her attention.

  “Meow.”

  Gretta spun toward the backseat window of her car. A little white and gray cat with a ringed tail yawned and stretched its legs on her yellow comforter.

  “What are you doing in there?” Gretta demanded.

  The cat tentatively balanced on the head rest of the passenger seat before leaping to the dash board. It stared at the diner with its tail twitching.

  Gretta finished refueling and opened the car door. The cat cowered. Easing behind the
wheel, she moved slowly to avoid frightening the little creature.

  “It’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you. Are you hungry? I can get us something to eat.”

  The cat twitched its tail.

  Gretta drove across the street and parked. “Stay right here. I’ll only be a few minutes.” She cracked the windows and headed across the parking lot. At the door, she glanced back. The cat had jumped on the dash and sat with her tail curled around her paws.

  Just inside the doors, she faced a bulletin board with notices for an upcoming 4H fair, an antique tractor for sale, free puppies, and a ‘Help Wanted’ flyer seeking to hire a house sitter for the summer. She snatched the advertisement and crossed her fingers in hopes the position had not yet been filled.

  She stepped into the noisy diner. Silence fell upon each table. Heads rotated until all eyes focused on her.

  A rural community, in the middle of nowhere, everyone knows I’m a stranger.

  Stumbling over her sneakers, she reached a corner booth. The patrons went back to their conversations as she ordered scrambled eggs and bacon to go.

  The butter-colored paper detailed the summer job. House sitter needed for ten weeks in the Greenview area.

  Greenview? What state am I in?

  A phone number, listed at the bottom of the page, began with an area code she didn’t recognize.