“I’ve tried to keep it from you, Dani. I’ve tried to keep it from everybody.”
I held his face between my hands, forcing him to look at me. His brows were scrunched together so tightly, the space between them almost disappeared. He had to be feeling overwhelmed with this soul that was proving to be so horribly strong. I pressed my hands closer against his cheeks. He leaned into them as if he were transferring his heavy burden onto me. It seemed to help because the lines on his face smoothed out a little.
“You have no idea, Dani. If only you understood, you’d be running.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “I wish I could run away from it, but I can’t.”
“Help me understand,” I said. “Start at the beginning.”
His fingers wrapped around my wrists and pulled my hands from his face. He straightened up, taking back his burden again. “He’s not just in my mind, Dani. He’s in my body. He’s trying to take over.”
A shiver raked my body with brutal force. It took everything I had not to let it show. Seth didn’t need to know how scared I was for him—for us. “Seth,” I said as gently as I could. “Who is he?”
He looked right through me at first, his eyes wide before he finally focused on my face. “A soul. Another soul is inside me.” He shoved his fingers through his hair again, then dropped his hands to his lap. Blowing out a big breath, he stared up at the ceiling. His shoulders slumped once again. “It tries to make me to do things that I don’t want to. Like treat you badly, treat Justin badly. He wants me to be friends with Dirk.” Glancing back at me, he made sure I was listening. “I really hate that.” He let out a shaky laugh. “If you could only see what goes on inside of me. God, I feel like I’m bleeding.”
His brows pulled together. “And then there are the things I do want to do. He gives me these… powers. At first, it was cool. Then I realized that the more I used the powers, the more power I gave him.” He shook his head. “I’m trying not to use it, but sometimes I have no choice.”
“What powers?”
“You never noticed, did you?” He slowly shook his head. “I thought you might ask, but you never did.” His finger lightly traced the line of my jaw towards my chin and his finger brushed over my lips. His touch was just warm enough and sensual enough to melt my spine. It was my turn to lean into his touch. My lids dipped a little, and a subtle white noise echoed in my ears, almost washing out his next words.
“Didn’t you ever wonder how you turned to putty in my hands lately?”
I snapped up, my eyes wide—really wide—and I pushed Seth’s hand away. Oh, my God. It wasn’t Seth. It had been that soul. That demon soul that touched me. How dare he violate me! How dare he violate Seth! He was going to pay dearly for that.
“You can’t stop fighting it, babe,” I said, determined to fight. “We have to find a way to get rid of it.”
Seth shook his head. “There’s no way, Dani.” He took a deep, shuddering breath. “I’ve screwed up. I’ve tried to push him out, but he won’t let me.” He added, his voice low, “I won’t give in, but it’s not getting any easier.” He put his hand over mine and I winced at the pressure of his squeeze.
“Is he listening right now?” I asked quietly. As if whispering would help.
Seth hissed out his breath. “He’s always listening. And waiting. Waiting until I get too tired to fight him off. I don’t want you to go away because I need you. But you’re not safe around me,” he said, lacing his fingers with mine. “Even now we’re taking a big risk. I just had to see you one more time.”
“What do you mean, one more time? What’s going to happen?”
He wouldn’t meet my eyes. “I don’t know.”
“Where did you get him, Seth? How did he find you?”
“I…” He stopped, a small choke cutting him off. “… bought… it.” He let go and shoved both hands over his hair, his fingertips digging into his scalp. Air pushed past his lips in short bursts.
I leaned into him, sliding my hands up his arms, gripping them to pull him closer. “I’m here, Seth. It’s okay. Don’t talk. Just stay with me.”
“I don’t know how long I can do this, Dani.” This time when he looked up his eyes glistened from tears that threatened to erupt and his voice became raspy. “I feel like I’m getting weaker.”
“No, Seth. You are the strongest guy I know.”
Again, he shook his head. “I bought it because I wanted so much for you. I wanted to give you reason to stay with me. I wanted to get Dad off the road and home with me.” He swiped at his eyes and took a deep breath. “Now it looks like everything I’ve ever wanted, everything I had, is about to be taken from me.”
“We can fight it. Alyx and I can help.”
He clutched his stomach. “I bought something bad. Really bad. And now it is a part of me. A part of me I can’t let go.”
I couldn’t take it anymore. To see him suffer like this, to blame himself for this, this, demon. I ran my lips across his brow, his eyes, and over his lips. I put everything I had into those kisses.
At first Seth wouldn’t respond, his lips too rigid, but I was relentless, not knowing how much time we had. I gently coaxed him to kiss me back, and was rewarded when he pulled me close and pressed his lips hard against mine. Our breath mingled before fusing into a soul-searing kiss, and I mean searing. I launched into an all-out assault on Seth’s senses, using everything I had. My fingers threaded through his hair and held on. There was no way I was letting go now. Our tongues tangled in a frenzy. I hoped like hell that Seth wouldn’t stop me, because I needed him to feel my love and give him whatever strength he could take away from it.
Seth pushed me up the bed before covering my body with his. I had every intention of taking this all the way. Any reason I’d had to hold back until marriage washed away with my tears because this was where I needed to be, exactly what I needed to do.
I pulled up the edge of his t-shirt, desperate to have skin-to-skin contact and to have nothing between us. I wanted Seth in me, on me, around me. I wanted him to take pieces of my soul back inside him.
Breaking our kiss, he sat up and peeled off his shirt. His eyes, though heavy-lidded, were still golden, still burning bright.
Still Seth.
His wide chest rose and fell with his breath, but caught and held when I ran my fingertips down his stomach.
I knew there was no turning back now. My intensity matched his as I pulled him back down over me. My clothes felt like a barrier between us, keeping my energy from reaching its destination—inside Seth to where the monster lay waiting.
Our bodies moved in rhythm with each other. Soon I would be Seth’s and he would be mine. Soon I would have victory over the dark soul. I closed my eyes and arched my back, pressing my body into him, my neck exposed to his kisses. I ached for more of the heat that consumed us both, burning away the dark soul.
Then…
Seth stopped.
A chill spread across my skin and I opened my eyes to see Seth towering over me.
“Get out of here, Dani.” He turned his face away.
“No, Seth!” I reached for him. This couldn’t be happening! “Seth…” Frustration stuck in my throat. “Don’t stop! Please!”
He pushed my hand aside. “I know what you’re doing. He knows what you’re doing.”
I scrambled to sit up. “Then hurry up and take me, Seth!” My fist landed a solid punch on his thigh. “Damn it! Take me!”
The muscles of his chest flexed hard, and his breathing pushed out fast and shallow. “He’s trying to get back in control. Shit. He’s really pissed.” He groaned. “This is going to hurt.”
My one chance and it hadn’t worked!
Seth’s thick lashes covered his eyes for a moment. My gut rolled at the empty dullness in his eyes when he finally looked at me. Sadness turned to regret, and then…
I could see the shadows smoking in his eyes and the hardening of the lines around his mouth. I was losing him.
Rising to my
knees, I grabbed his face between my hands. “Fight it!” I pushed through my gritted teeth. “Seth! Look at me and fight it!”
He shoved me backwards. “Go, Dani! It’s too late!”
“No, damn it!” I wasn’t scared. I knew Seth wouldn’t hurt me.
Which explains my complete shock when Seth backhanded me. Hard.
The right side of my face was throbbing even before I hit the floor, a shrill whine ringing in my ears. My skin was already hot against my palm as I stared through my fingers at Seth. His face was contorted with rage… and pain.
I scrambled backwards along the floor, crab-like, to press against the wall. He took a step off the bed towards me.
Okay, now I was scared.
But Seth’s legs buckled underneath him at the same time he clutched his stomach.
“Dani.” He swallowed hard. “I’m so sorry!” Pulling himself up to one knee, he tried to stand up. He collapsed onto all fours, panting like a hurt animal. Determined to get to me—to protect me or to hurt me, I didn’t know—he tried to crawl, but his arms gave out and he flattened onto the floor.
I pushed myself off the wall, “Seth!”
He didn’t move. I pushed his hair from his face, afraid of what I might see. But his features were disturbingly peaceful. Except for the imprint of creases between his brows and around his eyes, that was the Seth I knew and adored.
Finding a pulse in his neck, I relaxed a little. The pain must have caused Seth to pass out. For now, I thought, he was safe. But for how long?
I put my hands under his arms and yanked his body until I had his head resting on my lap. I let my fingers trace Seth’s face, his brows, nose, and lips. Cradling his head, I kissed him, wishing desperately he would kiss me back.
“Fight, Seth,” I said against his lips. “Fight for me. Fight for us. I won’t lose you.”
But emptiness poured into me and hope was slipping away.
Drawing a ragged breath, I took my cell phone out of my back pocket and dialed my mom.
“Hi. It’s me.” I hoped I sounded calmer than I felt. “I’m staying here tonight. Seth is sick and I need to take care of him.” My jaw set hard. “No, Mom. It’s nothing like that.” I winced as I gingerly touched my cheek. “Trust me, okay? No. No doctor. He just needs me right now. He’ll be fine. Okay. I love you, too.” I let the cover slap closed.
“He’ll be fine,” I said out loud to the eerily quiet room. “He has to be. He has to be.”
I leaned my head against the bed, holding Seth, getting ready for the long night ahead.
~ ~ ~
Thoughtfully, she tapped a finger to her lips, staring at him from across the blanket she had spread out over the grass. Here, under the trees and surrounded by the elements, Silura would have the power she needed, should it come to that.
“So you love this girl?” she asked him.
Maksim remained silent, staring cautiously at Silura.
What he didn’t know, what he couldn’t know, because she had never taught him how, was exactly what she was thinking. After much contemplation, she had devised a curse that she knew would cause him the most pain. The kind of pain he had caused her.
She softened her voice. “Would it sadden you greatly, Maksim, to lose this girl? Would it break your heart to see her die? Die by your own hand? I would imagine your lover’s death by your hand would be devastating.”
“What is this you speak of?” he spat out. “I would never cause her harm.”
“So you do love her.” She smiled sadly. “Well then. I have decided on the price you must pay for the all the knowledge I have given you… and all the pain you have caused me,” Her voice suddenly hardened. “You will be forced to have the blood of your love on your hands. As well as the blood of every lover you will ever have—throughout eternity,” she said coldly.
His eyes narrowed at the implication. “But… that would include you, Silura.”
A moment passed as she contemplated his words. “Yes. Yes, I suppose so,” she agreed.
He hesitated. “You wouldn’t.”
“Yes. I would.” She shrugged. Life was no longer attractive to her. She did not mind sealing her fate along with his.
His eyes raged, but his voice betrayed little. “You seem to forget that you have taught me well. I am a powerful sorcerer in my own right.” He leaned forward to cup her face with his hands, stroking her cheeks with his thumbs before sliding his fingers down her neck. “I will not be commanded, or threatened, by a mere woman.”
“You think to break a bargain with a high-ranking sorceress?” she challenged. “A dangerous attempt.”
“Ah, but I am in no danger.” He laughed. “You cannot force my hand in this.”
“Oh, but I can.” A knowing smile flashed across her face.
“Whatever you do, I can counter,” he said.
She tried to pull out of his reach, but his hands held her still.
“Not everything.” Silura chose her next words carefully. “I never intended to teach you everything I know.” She watched his face change from confidence to confusion and then to rage. It seemed that Maksim now understood that she had kept secrets from him. He’d blindly trusted that the devotion she felt for him would also render her without sense.
Fool. He had been so very wrong.
~ ~ ~
The virgin sacrifice. The ultimate act of love. Had she surrendered her body to him, her light would have become his. Now he lives in purgatory within his body. I would have killed her then had he not shut himself down, rendering his body useless to me.
~ Maksim
Chapter 29
My chin fell to my chest, waking me up with a jolt. I saw pale gray light brightening the neighborhood beyond the window, but it still felt like the middle of the night in this room. The air was heavy, dark, and stagnant, smelling of decay. It took me a few seconds to get my bearings.
Underneath my hand, Seth’s chest rose and fell with steady breaths. He looked peaceful, the crease between his brows now gone. Whatever was in his mind made his eyes move slowly behind his lids. I hoped he dreamed of me.
Seven o’clock in the morning.
I rested my head against the bed, sorting out my options. I didn’t want to leave Seth like this, but I didn’t see a choice. I couldn’t see how I could help him now, especially after last night. Seth wanted me out of his house. No, not Seth, but that thing inside him wanted me gone.
My cheek ached. I was obviously no match for either of them. Staying all night had been risky and staying any longer was just plain stupid. I wasn’t any good to Seth if I was injured… or worse. I needed to get help. I had to talk to Alyx before school started.
Trying my best not to wake him, I grabbed a pillow off the bed and put it under Seth’s head as I slid my legs out from underneath him. I stifled a groan. I was surprised I could even move after being in one position for the last eleven hours.
First I made a bee-line for the bathroom. I came out, and seeing he was still passed out on the floor, I sneaked past him and out the bedroom door. I would come back later to check on him, maybe with Alyx and Justin. Maybe the three of us could handle him.
I made it to the front door before I realized I didn’t have my keys. Damn! Seth had tossed them on his desk! I turned to go back and when I got just inside the bedroom door, I froze.
Seth was gone.
The room was completely empty and the pillow that Seth had laid on still had the imprint of his head.
A shiver rolled across my skin, making the hair on the back of my neck stand at alert. “Seth?” His name came out as more of a croak than a whisper.
I was afraid to see him just as much as I was not to see him. Something told me, though, that it wouldn’t be Seth I would find.
The keys were still where Seth had left them, but too far away. Grabbing them too fast would mean noise, sudden movement, and attracting attention. Inching towards them slowly would mean I’d spend too long being an easy target.
Wh
ere the hell was Seth? Where could he have gone so quickly, and without a sound?
Cold sweat broke on the surface of my arms and neck, like tiny pricks of ice. I was beginning to feel like I was in a really bad horror movie. Screw it. I didn’t have time to think about this anymore. I went for it and grabbed my keys. Even though I’d dozed off with the demon soul practically in my lap, I’d felt relatively brave because Seth was asleep, but now that he was moving around, I wasn’t so anxious to see either of them. Not now. Not until I had some help.
Inching backwards until the door jam stopped me, I took one last look around me before turning and jogging past the pictures of the baby boy with his beaming parents that lined the walls leading to the front door.
Once outside, once in the growing light of the morning, the reality of Seth’s situation hit me. I was stupid to believe that I could take this on myself. I wasn’t some superhero or someone with magical powers. All I had was love and determination. How can that possibly stack up against something as evil as this attachment was? I could have gotten myself killed in there. Then what good would I be to Seth? The only hope I had now was Alyx. Yanking open my car door, I got in and started up the engine. I didn’t want to be here any longer than I had to.
I gunned it down the road, checking my rear-view mirror at least a dozen times in the few seconds it took me to drive the block to the grocery store parking lot.
My hands were shaking as I opened my cell phone and dialed Alyx’s number. She answered on the second ring.
“What’s up?” She asked.
“Are you at school?”
“Almost there now. What’s up?” she asked again.
“Can you meet me at the south portables in ten minutes?”
“Yep.”
Just like that. No questions. I got the feeling she wasn’t surprised to hear from me.
Souled Page 18