A call came through on Tristan’s cell. I knew it was Meili before he answered it. They’d probably found a parking space and had been searching the street looking for us.
“Hello?” Tristan peeled away from my side and headed to the door. “We’re in the alley.” The jingle of the bell above the door sounded as he made his way out.
“Breath and soul is the only way to tap into your essence,” Kalisa said, drawing my attention back to her. Her eyes were locked on my brother, and the eerie expression twisting her lips was still in place. There was something off about this woman. I could sense it. The problem was, I thought my brother was too blinded by his desire to save Anna to see it.
This wasn’t good.
“And what would you need my essence for exactly?” Jasper asked.
“To push into your beloved so she may rise again,” the old woman said. “Think of it as a magical jump start for her system.”
“How would you extract them from me?”
While there was no fear in my brother’s voice when he asked the question, I was positive it was because there was enough residing in me for the both of us. “Jasper, I don’t have a good feeling about this. What if something goes wrong? What does taking breath and soul from you do to you? What if Anna comes back different?”
“How long has she been deceased?” the woman asked.
“An hour, tops.” Jasper ignored me and answered her instead.
“She will be fine. As long as twenty-four hours hasn’t passed since the incident, she will come to safely. To her, it will only feel as though she has fallen asleep.”
It sounded too good to be true. I knew magic. I wielded it. There had to be a catch.
“And what about the balance? A spell of that magnitude would shift things. I know it would.” If my brother wasn’t going to ask, then I would. Hopefully, he’d listen to whatever she said and reconsider. I didn’t want Anna to come back only to have Jasper die moments later.
Magic wasn’t always kind; sometimes it could be a trickster.
Trickster! Hadn’t the guy at the other shop mentioned something about a trickster being in the group? Could he have meant Kalisa? I knew she wasn’t in our group, but she was going to become part of it if she helped bring Anna back, right?
“I never said it wouldn’t, child.” Her answer was simple, but infuriating.
I wanted her to say the horrible things that could go wrong with this so my brother would think twice before agreeing.
“It’s magic, Piper. Something can always go wrong,” Jasper said, his back still to me.
“Tell us what taking a portion of my brother’s breath and soul means for him.” I insisted, ignoring Jasper’s nonchalant comment.
“Filling her with his essence means not only will his power be weakened for a short span of time, but his lifespan might lessen as well.”
“Permanently?” His magic being weakened for a while was one thing, but his life, that was quite another.
“I cannot say,” the old woman said.
My brows furrowed. Did she not know or was she simply refusing to tell me? “Why?”
“Because I myself am unsure of the answer.”
I stepped to Jasper’s side and forced him to look at me. “You heard what she just said. Think this through from all angles first, okay?”
“I have, Piper. She’s worth it to me. Can’t you see that?” His eyes dimmed as he spoke. “I was stupid to let her go the first time, but by some stroke of crazy luck, we ended up together again, and then she was ripped away from me before we could see where things would go during our second chance. I can’t let it end like this, Piper. I can’t let her go that easily. Not this time.”
The threat of tears constricted my throat. I couldn’t speak even if I’d wanted to. There was no way I would be able to make him see reason.
“It’s Anna, Piper. How could you say goodbye to her so easily when there’s a way to get her back dangling in front of your face?” he demanded. “She would do the same for either of us and you know it.”
His words slammed me in the gut. He was right. She would.
Anna would do whatever she could to make sure we came back from something like this. She wouldn’t claim there was too much already on her shoulders or that the price was too high and say goodbye for good. She would suck it up and do what needed to be done.
“You’re right,” I whispered. My attention shifted to the old woman next. “Tell us more about the spell.”
Jasper pulled me into his side and kissed me on the temple. “Thank you.”
“I’m not doing anything, you are. I have my own costs and spells to worry about,” I teased, leaning into him.
“Bring her here,” Kalisa said. She’d gone back to staring at the yellowed pages of the leather-bound book in front of her. “I’ll gather the ingredients needed.”
“Okay.” Jasper released me and started for the door.
“Not you,” the old woman said, surprising us both. “You stay with me. I need a few things from you in preparation.”
My face screwed up as I wondered if she was talking about money. Nothing was ever free. Not from the balance of nature and certainly not from people.
The door to the shop opened and Tristan walked in. Meili, Liam, and one of her two goons followed close behind. They were as scratched up as the rest of us. I didn’t ask where the other guy was, because I knew he hadn’t survived the vicious attack from the birds. Guilt trickled through me as I realized we were attempting to bring Anna back and not him. Who were we to choose who lived and died today? Sickness sloshed through my stomach as I wondered if anyone else would have the same thoughts, or if I was alone with them.
“How will she get here then?” Jasper asked the old woman, oblivious to the others having entered the store. “Piper can’t carry her.”
“I can,” Tristan offered, easily able to figure out where we were in the conversation.
Jasper glanced over his shoulder at Tristan and nodded. There was a hint of something in his eyes, but I couldn’t figure out what. His face softened, and I realized what I’d seen might have been the first scrap of a thank you he’d ever sent Tristan’s way.
“What can’t Piper carry? What’s going on?” Liam asked.
“Anna. She didn’t survive the birds.” Jasper’s face crumbled as the reality of what he said pressed against his shoulders full force. “We’re bringing her back though.”
“Bringing her back?” Meili asked. There was a sharp tone to her voice. Clearly, she didn’t approve of what we were about to do. “We have no time for this.”
My lips pressed together as I stared at her. The sickness churning through my stomach intensified as rage built inside of me. She was cruel and heartless. Maybe the trickster wasn’t the old woman, but instead exactly whom I’d thought it was—Meili.
She wasn’t objecting because no one had mentioned bringing back her fallen tribe member. No, all she was worried about was the time it would take away from finding the mirror.
What a bitch.
“Is that all you care about?” I snapped. “Shouldn’t you be asking if your lost tribe member can be brought back as well?”
“No.” Kalisa spoke before Meili could. My eyes shifted to her, taking in how she was shaking her head. Her dreadlocks swept across her shoulders with the movement. “There is only one I can bring back this day. You will have to choose.”
My heart centered in my throat. I knew who Jasper would pick, same as I knew he would fight with anyone who went against his decision. I only hoped Meili didn’t see a need to go against him.
My mind was all over the place. My thoughts out of control. I ran a hand through my hair and closed my eyes. Inhaling a deep breath, I released it and attempted to center myself. Exhaustion was starting to grip me, and the twinge of an oncoming headache thumped dully behind my eyes.
“Ari died with honor,” Meili said. Her tone was clear and crisp as the words rolled off her tongue. She believed them.
Wholeheartedly. In fact, she almost seemed proud. “His life helped to see that the rest of us could continue on. Obtaining our magic before it dies is the most important thing. He knew this. We honor him.” She bowed her head as though giving him praise in the afterlife.
All I could do was stare at her. I didn’t understand how she could be so nonchalant when it came to the death of someone she knew. No tears pooled in her eyes, and her voice hadn’t quivered with any emotion.
Meili was a heartless robot, and I hated her.
“Tristan, go get Anna and bring her here,” Jasper said, ignoring everything Meili had said.
“We have no time for this,” Meili insisted. “You must say goodbye to her the way you did the old woman and keep pressing forward.”
I stared at my brother. Tension radiated off him. Whatever was building on the tip of his tongue wouldn’t be anything good when it finally passed his lips. Meili was in for a fight if she tried to stop him from bringing Anna back. She had to know, because her gaze narrowed and I noticed her hands flex into fists at her sides. While I hoped it wouldn’t come to a fist fight, I wouldn’t be surprised if it did. Jasper was that passionate about bringing Anna back, and Meili was just as passionate about regaining her magic.
Stubborn against stubborn. Never a good match.
I stepped to where Tristan was standing and grabbed his hand. “Let’s go get Anna.”
“I’ll come with you, love,” Liam insisted. “Puny arms there might not be able to carry her far enough.”
“Whatever,” Tristan grumbled as we stepped onto the sidewalk.
Noises from inside the shop filtered to my ears, but I couldn’t make out what was being said. All I knew was Jasper had raised his voice to Meili, and she seemed to be raising hers right back. Her goon stayed behind. I was sure he was thinking he might have to protect Meili from Jasper any second. Jasper would never throw the first punch though. He’d actually take quite a few hits from a woman before he lifted a hand.
The street was busier than before. I had a feeling the amount of people milling about would only increase. This made me nervous. I wasn’t sure how we were going to carry Anna unnoticed through the streets. While Jasper had cloaked her so no one would see her in the truck, it wouldn’t matter. The cloak would vanish the moment we removed her. I went through the list of cloaks I knew we had on hand, wondering if I should use my invisibility one so she’d remain hidden from sight while we carried her through the crowd or if it even mattered. My gaze shifted from person to person as I passed them, trying to decide if they were paying attention to their surroundings. While many of them were on their cell phones, still drunk from a night of fun, or soaking in the things that vie for ones attention on the side of the road I still believed, if one of the guys was carrying Anna over their shoulder, people would stare.
Invisibility cloak it was then.
Chapter 21
Once Jasper’s truck came into view, Tristan reached in his pocket for the keys and unlocked the truck. None of us moved to open a door. The three of us stood there, staring.
“So what’s the plan?” Tristan asked. His eyes were on me, but I wasn’t sure why. I didn’t know what I should do in this situation any more than he did.
“I don’t know.” I shrugged.
“Shouldn’t you place a cloak on her before we drag her out for all to see?” Liam suggested.
“Yeah, I should.” I stepped to the driver’s side door and popped it open.
Without looking into the backseat, I rummaged through the middle console for the set of the cloaks I’d witnessed Jasper shove inside before we left the house. It was his emergency stash. If there wasn’t a cloak for invisibility there, then I’d have to go through the bag stuffed in the back. With Anna. I caught sight of her in my peripheral vision lying in the backseat and tried to trick my mind into thinking she was sleeping. It was harder than I thought.
When I found what I was looking for, I stuffed all the other bottles where my brother had them stashed and climbed out of the truck. The second my feet hit the ground, an eerie silence numbed my thoughts. I froze, thinking I’d gone deaf. Everything was too quiet, too still.
“What the heck just happened?” I asked, glad I was able to hear my voice.
I glanced around. The chatter of conversations, bluesy music stemming from the band on the corner, and the hustle and bustle of the streets muted. People were frozen mid-step.
“I have no idea,” Tristan muttered. “Is it me, or is everything and everyone frozen?”
”It’s not you,” I assured him. “I’m witnessing it all too.”
“Did you do a spell?” Tristan nodded to the bottle in my hand.
“No. This wouldn’t do all this anyway.” I motioned to all the frozen people around me. “I don’t know what happened.” I was positive it had something to do with the Vodun though.
“I’m sure they do.” Liam pointed to someone behind me. Something in his expression had my nerves sizzling to life.
I glanced over my shoulder to see who he’d spotted. Four women stood in a straight line less than a few feet away from us. Each of them was dressed in black leather with a matching menacing look directed our way. It didn’t take me long to spot the raven tattoos they each had, letting me know they were Vodun witches.
“Jesus, it’s like the Vodun have an army of women with tattoos and badass attitudes waiting at their disposal.” Tristan reached for me. He attempted to shift me behind him in some protective stance, but I refused to move. What was the point?
My eyes grazed over each of them, taking in their stoic expressions and toned bodies. These ladies meant business, and their business was to kill me. My stomach churned as thoughts of how difficult it had been to kill the last Vodun follower I’d encountered surfaced. Walking away from this alive would be nearly impossible.
“Hello, ladies.” Tristan released his grip on me and lifted his hands in surrender as he spoke. “How’s it going?”
No one answered. No one moved. The women only continued to stare; their eyes narrowed on me.
The only way I was going to get out of this situation alive was if I was smart and alert. There were four of them and only three of us. Logically, it would be best to take down the weakest one first, per my brother’s lifelong attacker lessons, but the question was: who was the weak link?
Since determining such a thing could only happen once the fighting began, I decided to focus on what weapons I had at my disposal. There were cloaks in the console of Jasper’s truck and a few duffle bags filled with cloaks and a variety of weapons in the back. None of that could help me right now though. I had to use what was on me at the moment, which was an invisibility cloak and the dagger strapped to my ankle.
Now that I’d taken stock, all I needed to decide was what my first move would be. Should I use the cloak in my hand to become invisible, and then take them out using the element of surprise? While it seemed like a badass move, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to pull it off. There were too many ways it could go wrong simply because I knew nothing about these women or their abilities, if they had any.
Before I could decide on a plan of action, one of the women lunged forward. A sword as long as I was tall released from the satchel on her back, and I knew right then I was going to die. Murder glimmered in her eyes and vibrated through her every move. Suddenly able to gain my whits back, I reached for the dagger along my ankle and widened my stance. I couldn’t afford to stand there, waiting for her to reach me, and I damn sure wasn’t going to run. This chick would catch me, I was positive. There was too much determination rippling off her for me to believe anything else.
Tristan lurched forward with nothing besides his bare fists to protect him. I didn’t know what he was thinking, and I didn’t have time to analyze it. The woman didn’t slow. She didn’t even appear to have seen him moving toward her. Her attention was on me. Her face twisted into a darkened expression as she continued in her advance toward me. The samurai sword she held lifte
d, and a battle cry pushed past her lips as she neared me. In seconds she would unleash a blow with that massive sword that would kill me. This was what I thought as I stood with my puny dagger clasped in my palm, my legs wide in the fighting stance my brother had taught me so long ago. I was as ready as I would ever be.
I watched as she sidestepped Tristan, dancing around him as though the entire movement had been choreographed between the two. Relief burst through me. I hadn’t wanted him in her way. He had no weapon besides his fists. He hadn’t stood a chance against her. Neither did I with my tiny dagger, but at least I had something.
Before she reached me, the woman spun and forced her arm wielding the sword into a large arc. I watched as she connected with Tristan’s chest, slicing his clothes and revealing his skin. The cut was so deep it didn’t bleed. Not at first. When it did, it flowed like a river.
“No!” My feet propelled me forward before I could think about what I was doing. The only thing on my mind was getting to Tristan. It was all that mattered. A need more powerful than anything I’d ever felt rippled through me. “Tristan!”
My legs wouldn’t move fast enough. My screams weren’t loud enough. My lungs couldn’t pull in enough air. Whatever kept the people around me frozen had worked its way into me, because I couldn’t seem to do anything at the pace I wanted.
I never made it to him. Something stopped me, and I wasn’t sure what it was until the pain of a thousand deaths burned through the center of my chest.
I crumbled to my knees. My hands shook as they lifted to grip the blade protruding from my chest. The distance between Tristan and me was all I could think about, even then. Not the blade. Not the fact I knew this wound would kill me. Only the space. The space was enough to make me cry, because when I died I wanted to be beside him. Not alone in the street.
Falling on my side, I glanced up at the sky. My vision was already growing fuzzy. Darkness speckled the edges, but I still could make out when a figure stepped close. It was Liam.
He stood above me, staring at me. My vision blurred, but I swore I thought there was a smirk on his face. He leaned down and opened his mouth. I waited for whatever he was about to say to fall out, but something caught his attention elsewhere. Noises made their way to my ears as my eyes finally shut. The familiar sound of someone’s voice. Metal against metal. My eyes fluttered open for a fraction of a second, just long enough for me to see Meili, fighting like a warrior.
Of Breath And Soul Page 13