Souled

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by Diana Murdock


  Maksim fell back, and I was finally able to relax.

  There is the other girl, the one in black. She is of a bloodline that haunts me, but from which one, I cannot be sure. Her darkened eyes hide her well as does the shield she has surrounded herself with. Her curiosity is strong. But then again, so am I.

  ~ Maksim

  Chapter 14

  While the wrestling team practiced at the upper level of the gym—prepping for the state championships—the basketball team was running drills down below on the court. No one seemed to notice how thick the tension was on the practice mat.

  Except me. While everyone stepped in it, over it, around it, I lived it. I was battling for balance, always straddling the line between sanity and insanity, light and dark.

  Light and Dark.

  I glanced in Dani’s direction. She sat on the extra mats stacked along the wall, with a book open next to her and a pad of paper on her lap. Light.

  The Goth girl stood against the wall in her usual spot, wearing a calf-length black skirt with black tights that disappeared into black Doc Martens. An oversized black messenger bag, slung across her body, rested against her hip. Charcoal-lined blue eyes, peering out from under spikes of black bangs, pierced me. Dark.

  She looked at me, or rather, looked through me, in a way that made my muscles tighten up in knots. It wasn’t like she was trying to hit on me. That I could handle. This one looked at me with fascination. Like a little kid discovering a caterpillar for the first time, or a scientist stumbling upon an interesting find.

  What exactly did she see? Was it possible she could see the soul that swam shark-like beneath my skin?

  A low vibration hummed in my chest and I turned to my next opponent. Unfortunately it was Dirk.

  “Your latest groupie, Thompson?” he sneered, looking in Goth’s direction. “Not too selective these days, are you?”

  I ignored the barb and instead planted my feet firmly into the mat, crouching low in ready-stance. I could take him easy. I was stronger now, faster, and meaner.

  At the coach’s signal, Dirk and I tried to tie up, but we kept knocking each other’s arm away.

  Prove to him who is stronger now.

  A fire blazed inside of me so fast, I couldn’t stop it, but the rush was incredible. My solar plexus burned as my core energy burst out of my chest and pulled on the threads shooting out from Dirk and tied them tight with mine. I fought it, trying to block off the pathway, trying to use what Maksim had taught me, but this was different, something he didn’t bother to teach me. It wasn’t like shutting down everyone’s emotions. It was as if I were hanging on like a leach, drawing on Dirk’s energy to fuel my own, making it like a life force, a tool of survival. And I couldn’t shut it off any more than I could shut off my breath.

  I dug in and circled to bring Dirk’s foot forward. Shooting down onto both of my knees, I grabbed his leg and held onto his arm. I was quick to hit my hip and flip him over, throwing my arm over him. My arm slid around his arm and head and I locked my hands behind his head, pulling in tight.

  Though I had pinned Dirk again, it didn’t seem to bother him at all. In fact, he was hardly put up a fight and… he was smiling at me? What the hell?

  He looked at me like he was high or something. That was just creepy. A hard shake of my head cleared my thoughts for the next round. We switched opponents. This time it was Troy, a guy who weighed about twenty pounds less than I did. I dug my feet in again. It would’ve been an easy pin—had I not been distracted.

  A second before the coach had given the signal, Goth Girl had headed towards Dani and stood next to her. I couldn’t tell what Goth was saying because that was when I hit the mat. All I saw were her lips moving and Dani looking up, saying something back to her.

  Troy took advantage of my distraction. He snapped my head down, put it under his arm, and leaned down. I was still trying to focus when the pain hit. Troy’s shoulder was pressed into mine and he had my arm stretched out so far it felt like it was slipping out of its socket. He held me in a headlock and wouldn’t let up. With my forehead and nose smashed against the mat, I still managed to look at the girls from beneath his arm. Goth Girl leaned over, talking to Dani. Both girls glanced at me; Dani looked confused, Goth Girl looked intrigued.

  Not good. I didn’t trust the girl in black. I needed to break up their little chat.

  In a smooth motion, I reached around to wrap my arm around Troy’s neck. I rolled fast, leaning back and pinning him.

  But I was too late. Goth walked away, headed down the stairs that led to the gym below, looking at me over her shoulder, with Dani following.

  I didn’t like the way Goth had stared at me so intently. I tried sensing what she was thinking, but there was nothing. Not one shred of emotion coming off her, no thoughts, nothing. I didn’t understand. There was no way someone could be that intense and not be shooting off vibes like missiles.

  I had to see for myself what Dani and the Goth Girl were up to, so I quickly pinned the next guy, James, a scrawny kid. I probably was a little too harsh on him, but I didn’t have time to mess around. I sprinted to the wall and looked over the top of the railing.

  ~ ~ ~

  “You have no love for me?” Silura demanded.

  He placed his hands on her shoulders and sent out a gentle wave of heat through her, spreading it across her collarbone, to the hollow below her throat.

  Any other time she would have welcomed such seduction, but not now. She would have his answer to her question! Though she could delay the progress of aging, one day her raven hair would be streaked with gray and her senses would dim. So, while she was young, she wanted—no, needed—to feel cherished and loved unconditionally by this man.

  “I have much affection and gratitude for you,” he said, glancing away.

  “Those are not the same as love.”

  When he did not respond, she pushed for an answer. “What is it you fear about love?” She gave a little nudge into his mind. She knew he would feel her invasion, but she did not care.

  “I fear love will end.” He frowned. “And I think I would go mad if it did.”

  “So you take no chances?” she demanded. “Is the joy of being in love not worth risking all?”

  He shook his head. “There could never be enough joy to counter the possibility of pain.”

  Her spirits lifted a little. So, it was love he opposed, not her. She smiled at him. That was the difference between men and women, she thought. Women had foolish hearts and men… well, they were just foolish. She could change his mind. She knew she could.

  ~ ~ ~

  This girl, the one who favors darkness, is quickly becoming a nuisance. She could destroy me and the boy. She seeks to hide from me, but by karmic souls, there is no place she cannot be found.

  ~ Maksim

  Chapter 15

  By the time Dani reached the bottom of the stairs, Goth was halfway across the gym, headed towards the Commons, her shoes thudding against the polished floor.

  “Alyx! Wait up!” I heard Dani yell to the girl.

  She stopped and turned to face Dani.

  They both stood, Goth looking bored and Dani standing defensively as if she were confronting the girl with something. Goth had obviously said something to Dani before she had gone down the stairs and knowing Dani, she wasn’t going to let it go until she got some answers, whatever they were.

  The way Dani shifted her weight on her feet, the way she bounced between speaking animatedly with her hands and crossing her arms over her chest, I could see she wasn’t getting those answers.

  They should not be together. Maksim whispered.

  I know. I answered. I have my reasons, but what about you? What do you have against Goth?

  He was silent, but pressure built up against my eyes, like he was watching her through mine.

  This entire time, Goth’s face was a clean slate, free of emotion, but she stood still, seeming to listen intently to what Dani was saying. Then her eyes got
wide and her mouth opened and quickly closed like she started to say something, but changed her mind. Her eyes drifted up past Dani’s shoulder and found me where I stood upstairs at the railing. I knew the second she registered it was me, because her mask of boredom slid into place.

  Dani turned and followed her gaze, and once she saw it was me, she quickly turned back to Alyx.

  A second or two passed before Goth turned on her heel and walked from the gym, letting the door slam behind her.

  I’d stepped back from the railing just as Dani began to turn around. I found a partner and began doing drills with the others, keeping an eye on the top of the stairs.

  A couple minutes later, Dani stepped through the door of the wrestling area and walked to the book and papers she’d left laying on the floor. Scooping them up, she shoved them into her backpack and zipped it up. On her way back to the stairs, she waved and then made the telephone sign to me, telling me to call her. She didn’t look back as she disappeared down the stairwell.

  I made a snap decision to follow her. Running off the mat, I grabbed my sweats and threw them on, leaving my gym bag behind as I bolted across the wrestling floor.

  “Hey, Thompson!” the coach called to me. “Where do you think you’re going?”

  “I’ve gotta take care of something, Coach,” I yelled over my shoulder.

  I got a few looks with that answer because nobody ever just took off like I was, but there was no way I was going to be able to concentrate anyway, so… yeah. Whatever. I passed Justin on the way out. “Hey, grab my bag, will you?” I asked him. “I’ll pick it up from you later.” I didn’t wait for an answer and instead picked up my pace.

  I reached the bottom of the stairs just as Dani slipped out the gym doors. I had a pretty good guess what she was up to, but I needed to be sure.

  # # #

  War Memorial Field, the community field where most of the town’s school sports and special events were held, was hardly the first place I would’ve chosen to meet someone. The field was tucked out of the way, next to the lake, and during the winter months, it was cold and uninviting. Personally I would’ve been a lot happier at Dub’s, but then again, the Goth Girl isn’t me.

  It hadn’t been difficult to follow Dani from the school unnoticed. She’d probably thought I was still at practice so she had no reason to be going stealth. I’d sort of hoped she would see me. If she had, maybe she would’ve given up on whatever it was she was trying so hard to find out from Goth. There was no chance, though. The residue of curiosity that lingered in her wake when she left the school was strong and confrontation with Goth would be the only way to satisfy her curiosity.

  From where I had pulled my truck over at Lakeview Park, I watched Dani push on the fence surrounding the field, duck under the chain that held the gate together, and walk toward the bleachers. She didn’t even look back. Yeah, she was definitely on a mission.

  Quietly getting out of my truck, I jogged through the park behind the bleachers, climbed over and dropped down the other side of the fence. Unless they were looking over the top of the wall that enclosed the bleachers, they wouldn’t know I was there. Then again, I really didn’t care if they did, but if I could hear what they were saying, that would be all the better.

  I walked close to the wall around the side of the bleachers and peeked around the corner to see where they were sitting. It was too bad I didn’t have super Batman ears or something because the girls were too far up the bleachers for me to hear.

  My options were limited. In fact, I had none. I wasn’t about to leave them alone to talk about God knows what, and since I couldn’t hear them, I decided it was time to make an appearance.

  The air around the bleachers suddenly became quiet as I made my way up the stairs and stepped into view.

  The girl in black with the blue eyes. I have seen her kind before. Light seekers, they call themselves. Witch-hunters, in truth. They only seek to destroy, to rid the world of our kind. But the only truth to be had, the only one that matters is this: I cannot be destroyed.

  ~ Maksim

  Chapter 16

  Dani’s face turned pale when she saw me standing at the bottom of the bleachers. By the way Dani had been standing, with her arms crossed over her chest, totally closing herself up, it would be my guess that they weren’t having a cozy conversation. Especially since Goth had been writing in her notebook. Undoubtedly things about me, because as soon as she saw me, she’d slipped the pad into her bag and buckled it shut.

  Though I took the steps two at a time, closing the gap between us faster, Goth was hardly intimidated. She sat calmly, her chin resting in one hand, a cigarette in the other, with her eyes fixed on my face.

  Dani was the first to break the silence. “Hey, babe!” She wrapped an arm around my waist. “How’d you know I’d be here?”

  I shrugged away her question. “Aren’t you going to introduce us?” I tipped my chin at Goth.

  The girl took hit from her cigarette and blew the smoke in my direction, her eyes never leaving mine.

  Dani looked from me to Goth and back again. “Seth, this is Alyx. Alyx, this is Seth.”

  I managed a small smile. “How’s it going?” I asked. Not like I cared or anything. I was being nice for Dani’s sake. My core exploded in its rush to punch through Goth’s space and feel her energy, to figure out why she insisted on hanging out with Dani, but not only did I get blocked, I was pushed back, and instinctively my walls went up, protecting my own thoughts. What the hell?

  She is searching, looking for her own answers, Maksim’s voice echoed in my head

  Really. I hardly needed you to tell me that.

  “Nice to finally meet you,” Alyx said to me with a hint of sarcasm. She glanced at Dani. “I’ve gotta go. We’ll talk later.”

  “Okay. Yeah, sure,” Dani said.

  Alyx slung her bag over her shoulder and clomped down the stairs.

  “What were you two talking about?” I asked when Goth was out of earshot.

  “Not much.” Dani wrapped her arms tighter around me, shivering a little.

  It was cold here. Bone-chilling cold. “This is a strange place to not talk about much,” I said.

  She’s hiding something. The voice whispered.

  Well, that much was obvious.

  “Hey, I’m cold,” Dani said. “Let’s go get some hot chocolate, okay?” She reached for her backpack, and for the first time, she avoided looking into my eyes.

  # # #

  “Really, what Alyx and I were talking about wasn’t a big deal. You know. Just girl talk.” Dani’s hands were wrapped tightly around her cup of hot chocolate. Bringing it to her lips, she blew over the top of it before taking a sip. “Oh, that tastes good.” She leaned back against the booth in our usual seat at Dub’s, with me next to her on the bench.

  It was quiet during the lull between the high-schoolers’ after-school meal and the dinner crowd. Only a few people drifted in and out with ice cream or burgers in hand.

  I’d been mostly silent since we arrived, looking at Dani with the patience of a police interrogator, knowing that my subject was about to crack.

  “She really is an interesting person. Not at all like I thought,” Dani volunteered.

  “So interesting that you had to meet her at the field? What’s the matter? Are you embarrassed to be seen with her or something?” I grazed her jaw with my fingertips, intentionally spreading warmth to her cheeks.

  She leaned into my touch for a moment before jerking back. “I thought she might be interested in you, so I was going to talk to her, okay?”

  She won’t look at you. She’s lying, the voice hissed.

  I reached a hand behind her neck to massage her muscles. Without guilt, without thinking, I used Maksim’s power to get her to talk.

  Rubbing her neck, I pushed waves of ecstasy up and down her spine. I leaned in close and brushed her lips with mine, teasing the corners of her mouth with the tip of my tongue before kissing her, wrapping her up wit
h enough heat to make her melt against me.

  And her lips moved with mine in perfect compliance.

  As it should be, Maksim breathed her in.

  “What did she say to you?” I whispered against her mouth.

  “Alyx said… you have it bad,” Dani said breathlessly, pulling back slightly. She brought her hand up to my face and gently touched my cheek. “You take my breath way when you kiss me like that, Seth,” she sighed, “and my mind along with it.”

  This Alyx, what else does she say?

  Back off, Maksim.

  I didn’t care. I’d heard enough. If Goth was telling Dani things that would turn her against me… I couldn’t let that happen.

  “Don’t hang around with her. She’s trouble.” It was then that I realized how serious I was about that. I didn’t yet know why, but Goth could make things a lot worse for us. I didn’t want to lose Dani. Especially not now. I drew a deep breath and let it out. “Please don’t leave me, Dani.”

  She laughed. “But I have to go home sometime, Seth” she said.

  “Do homework at my house tonight,” I said, resting my forehead against hers.

  “Seth?”

  “Yeah?” I closed my eyes.

  “I love you. I would do anything for you. You know that, right?”

  I did know, but would she still say that knowing what I’ve done? Would she want to be with me if she found out I have another soul looking over my shoulder all day every day? One day when she looked at me, would she see him? Shit. I really screwed up this time. I could only nod my head, afraid my voice would give me away.

  This is how it should have been from the moment he bought me. We move as one. He depends on me and I on him.

 

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