Soulshifter

by Barbara Pietron

  Greedy.

  Zalnic sat up straight and narrowed his eyes. “Numbers aren’t getting us anywhere. Let’s try it this way. However many years you wish to live, I get that many years of servitude. The amount of time is up to you.” He looked immensely pleased with himself. He wanted to know how badly Jack wanted Natalie’s soul.

  The newly proposed parameters were clever. For each year he wanted to extend his life, he’d spend the same amount of time serving the ruler of the underworld. Live long; serve long. He couldn’t even imagine—didn’t want to imagine—the despicable things he’d be forced to do under Zalnic’s rule.

  Jack pictured One-eye, Charred-head, and the various guards with missing fingers. He’d seen a number of disfigurements he assumed were punishments for displeasing the underlord.

  But how could he choose when to die?

  “I’m waiting, Mr. Ironwood.”

  Jack couldn’t afford to think in long-term ramifications. He needed to get Natalie back before Zalnic tired of the negotiations. He’d just leave himself some time to figure out the rest. “Fifteen years,” he blurted. “And our earlier agreement remains intact.”

  “Done.” Zalnic’s smile revealed a flash of yellow teeth causing a tingle to crawl up Jack’s spine. The underlord motioned with his hand. “Megedagik, escort Mr. Ironwood back to his cell while the contract is drawn up.” His gaze bore into Jack’s eyes. “You’ll sign in blood. No alternatives.”

  The contract was short and concise. Jack opted to rub the clotted blood off one of the punctures from the skin-walker’s bite. He then insisted he hold the vial himself to the oozing wound. Megedagik passed him what appeared to be an old fashioned calligraphy pen, and Jack dipped into his vital fluid. He hesitated with his hand poised over the parchment, his gaze fixed on his own blood.

  Closing his eyes, he exhaled in acquiescence. There was no other way. Then he scratched his name on the document, arguing with himself that he wasn’t selling his soul.

  He was buying time.

  He was warned that his safety could not be guaranteed once he left the compound, but Jack had expected no less. At the contract signing, as he jostled his jacket off his shoulder to open a wound, he’d slipped the brimstone amulet into a pocket. Once he found cover, he removed the necklace and pulled it over his head. He had a hunch it would work for him now.

  When he reached the Eternal Chasm, it was as if time had reversed back to when he’d been attacked by the wolf. Natalie looked up at him expectantly and he threw the climbing harness down to her. When he hauled her topside, he immediately put the other brimstone amulet around her neck and then pulled her into an embrace.

  “I knew you’d be back,” Natalie murmured into his shoulder, gripping him tightly with her uninjured arm.

  Jack closed his eyes, his cheek against her soft hair, relishing her warmth, the beat of her heart and the rise and fall of every breath. “Always,” he whispered.

  She sighed. “Let’s go home, Jack.”

  He decided not to seek out the Void for their return trip for two reasons: he wasn’t sure he could find it, and if they did, he assumed that Natalie would emerge at the campground and he would return to Walleye Island. More so, Jack wanted to escape the underworld at the first opportunity, so he employed his shifter senses and found a thin spot between worlds. They crossed into a small cemetery surrounded by a rust-speckled wrought iron fence with an open gate hanging crookedly from one hinge. Judging by the full-blown color of the trees, Jack surmised that they were farther north than home.

  “How’s your arm?” he asked as they made their way through the gate and down an overgrown path.

  “It hurts like heck,” Natalie replied dryly.

  Jack took his cell phone from his pocket and checked to see if he had service. “It’s roaming. But I hear cars in that direction.” He pointed to their left. “If we find some kind of civilization, hopefully I’ll be able to call for help.”

  The path ended at a narrow blacktop road so they headed toward the rumble of passing vehicles. The sun was just peeking over the horizon and when it reached them, they paused for a moment to savor its light and warmth, glad to be out from under the gloomy, overcast skies of the underworld.

  “We need somewhere to warm up and get some food.”

  Natalie glanced at her sliced and bloody jacket sleeve and then examined Jack, whose torso was soaked with wolf blood. “I’m not sure we should be seen in public. We look like a couple of axe murderers.”

  “Crap.” Jack sighed. “You’re right.” They approached the main road hesitantly. “Maybe we should ditch our jackets.” Natalie nodded and he helped her out of her coat and then took off his own. He rolled them to hide most of the blood. “It seems like a bad idea to leave them out here.”

  About a quarter mile up the road they found a truck stop. Jack carefully put his arm around Natalie to cover her bloody arm and they made a beeline for the restrooms. Natalie cranked the handle on the women’s room and pushed the door open. “It’s a single, Jack. Just come in with me,” she whispered. They cleaned up the best they could. Jack didn’t look so bad—his clothes were randomly blood-stained, but Natalie’s entire right sleeve was soaked. “I need a different shirt. Or something to wear over this.”

  “Wait here,” Jack said.

  A minute later he was back, offering a worn flannel shirt. “Custodial closet,” he answered Natalie’s quizzical look. “Right next door.” He helped her with the shirt and then pulled a dingy sweatshirt over his head. “Hopefully the attendant won’t recognize this stuff. It looked like it’d been there a while.”

  Natalie wrinkled her nose. “It smells like it, too.”

  They stole into the diner side of the establishment and Jack grabbed the local paper before they slid into a booth. He turned it so Natalie could read the front page header which revealed they were in Newberry, in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. A waitress took their order and then Jack called Brody and relayed a brief summation of their situation.

  Natalie curled her hands around her mug of hot chocolate, took a sip and let the hot ceramic warm her fingers. When he was finished with his call, Jack stirred cream into his coffee. “Someone from the sect will come and pick us up.”

  She didn’t respond, and when he looked up, Jack found her troubled expression trained on him. “So… what really happened down there, Jack? I feel like I have some less than lucid memories.”

  He stared into his cup, swirling the spoon around idly. “What do you remember?” He hadn’t decided if he would tell her she jumped if she didn’t remember. It would be better if she never knew about his bargain.

  “I clearly remember when you came back—in the spirit-walk—and I got caught. They lowered me onto that ledge. You told me you’d come back.” She sipped and thought for a minute. The surface of the brown liquid shimmered, betraying the slight tremor of her hand. “I cut my tank top so I could pull it off and tie it around my arm to stop the bleeding. I also put small pieces of the shirt into my ears. But the voices were getting to me. I kept repeating what you told me, that you’d be back. I chanted it to myself. Then I thought how great it would be if I had my iPod. I’d brought it to listen to in the car and assumed I left it behind, but on a whim I checked the MP3 player pocket in my coat. It was in there.”

  Jack smiled and shook his head. “Yeah, I couldn’t believe you had it with you. I didn’t expect to come back and find you jamming to some tunes down there.”

  “It totally saved me. Not only did it block out the voices, but a lot of the music I listen to I like because of the way it makes me feel, you know?”

  Jack nodded.

  “Those feelings helped drown out the emotions coming from the chasm. The urge to join the souls was overwhelming, just like you warned. I curled up and tried to concentrate on the lyrics, hoping I might fall asleep like I do at home when I listen to my iPod.”

  “Were you sleeping when I came back?”

  Natalie gazed out at the street an
d narrowed her eyes. “That’s what I’m not sure of.” She shifted her eyes back to Jack. “I remember you looking over the edge—you’d come back for me.” She frowned. “Next thing I knew I was sitting up and there was a rope hanging down the cliff. I don’t remember you throwing the rope down. I feel like I missed something. Did I black out?”

  He could say yes. She didn’t remember. He’d be doing her a favor, right?

  “What is it, Jack?” She studied his face anxiously. “Something terrible happened. Something I don’t remember, right?”

  Jack stared into her sapphire eyes and realized he didn’t have a choice. He wanted a relationship with Natalie. Something real. That couldn’t happen if this lie was always between them. And if she was interested in the same thing, she had to know. It would be unfair to promise forever if forever wasn’t his to give.

  “You jumped,” he said quietly.

  “Jumped? No… I… what do you mean?”

  Jack told her. About the wolf, how he lost consciousness. “It didn’t seem like a long time, but you were waiting for me to get you off that ledge, your defenses were down. I saw you teetering on the brink and I tossed the rope. I slid down as fast as I could.” Jack turned his right hand over to show the rope burn on his palm. “I wasn’t fast enough. You jumped.”

  “But you were able to pull me out? Get me back on the ledge?”

  Jack shook his head. “No, I—”

  The waitress arrived with their food. “Breakfast special.” She set a plate in front of Jack. “Veggie omelet.” Natalie’s plate. They both murmured thanks but the unanswered questions still hung suspended between them. The waitress raised her eyebrows. “Everything okay?”

  “Yeah, it’s great,” Jack assured her. “Thanks.”

  She bustled off, leaving them alone, staring at one another. Neither picked up their silverware. “I had no way of getting you out myself.” He held his gaze steady. “Only a god has that kind of power.”

  “What god?” Natalie whispered, though her drooping shoulders said she already knew the answer.

  “Zalnic. I made a bargain.”

  “A bargain?” Natalie choked out a hollow laugh. “You made a deal with the devil?”

  Jack nodded. “Basically,” he mumbled.

  “What did you offer the ruler of the underworld?”

  “My services for your soul.”

  Her eyes were wide. “Your services? What does that mean?”

  Jack explained the contract.

  “Oh, Jack,” Natalie said softly. “You shouldn’t have done that.”

  “The idea was to save Emma. Not trade her life for yours.”

  “Yet you gave up yours for me.”

  “No. I didn’t give up my life,” Jack said. “I just bought some time.”

  Jack hammered out the last few chord progressions of the song and grinned at Natalie, who was bouncing up and down in front of her seat with a hand raised in the air. Emma was on Natalie’s right, also bobbing to the beat while maintaining enough space between them that she didn’t jostle Natalie’s immobilized right arm. All the students—as far as Jack could see—were on their feet, waving their hands to the pulse of the music.

  He finished his last strum, lifting his arm dramatically as the stage lights went out. The curtain dropped. A second later, the area was flooded with normal fluorescent light. Jack ducked out of his guitar strap and ran a hand through his curls. Tommy passed by, winding the microphone cord around his arm and ignoring Jack completely. Jack couldn’t help smiling. He’d earned the highest praise he’d probably ever get from Tommy: no comment.

  Wes approached wearing a smirk. “Keep it up and he may eventually speak to you civilly someday.”

  “God, I hope not.” Jack laughed. “I wouldn’t know how to act then.” Hearing a chuckle from the corner of the stage, he looked up and met the gaze of John, who was collapsing his keyboard. The piano player delivered a crooked grin and a nod, which Jack returned.

  When their guitars were cased, Wes and Jack helped Fletch break down his drum set. “Nice job today, Ironwood,” Fletch said as he stacked his tom-toms.

  Jack smiled and nodded his thanks. He’d never imagined what an immense feeling of gratification he’d get from being in the band—not only the validation from fellow musicians but also the infectious excitement of the crowd. Add to that the earnest enthusiasm on Natalie’s face as she watched him perform, and Jack wondered how he could have been so narrow-minded to think his happiness was tied only to the sect and Shera.

  He stacked cymbals on a drum and folded the stand. “Want help carrying this stuff out?”

  Fletch shook his head. “It’s cool man. My brother’s bringing his SUV.” Jack picked up his guitar case and amp, meeting Wes offstage. They pushed through the metal backstage doors, emerging into the hallway. Their band had been the last act in the talent expo so school was dismissed when the show ended. Only a few clusters of kids lingered in the halls. Peering around the group closest to the door, Jack caught a glimpse of Natalie and a thrill warmed his chest. Though the sensation was becoming familiar, he hoped it would never fade completely.

  “What the…” Wes’s voice was almost a whisper. Jack glanced over, taking in his friend’s stupid grin and wide-eyed gawk at the group of girls. Following his line of sight, Jack realized the blonde with her back to them was Kelly. As far as he knew, Natalie and Emma didn’t really know Kelly, which meant she must be waiting for Wes.

  Jack elbowed Wes and they exchanged a grin.

  Natalie spied them first and waved. Jack parked his amp and guitar case next to the wall and then circled behind her. He slipped an arm around her waist, leaned over her shoulder and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. She turned, still flushed from the show—or maybe the kiss—and grinned. “You were great!” She leaned in and gave him a one-armed hug.

  “Yeah, good thing they saved you guys for last,” Emma said. “No one would’ve wanted to sit down after that!” A good-sized stack of books weighted her arms down.

  “Thanks. So how was your first week back at school?” Jack held out his arm and Emma shifted the top two books to him.

  “Well, aside from the ba-zillion times I had to tell people I couldn’t really remember anything, the week was fairly mundane—in the best way possible.”

  “Right. Never undervalue ordinary life.”

  Emma turned to Natalie. “Since your knight in shining armor has arrived, I should go.”

  “Do you want a ride?” Jack offered. “I’ve got my dad’s truck.”

  “No thanks. My mom is outside the door.” She shifted her gaze to Natalie. “Literally.”

  “I guess that’s understandable.” Natalie shrugged sympathetically.

  “I know, it’s okay with me too.” Emma pulled the zipper on her coat up to her chin. “For now.”

  While Natalie said goodbye to Emma, Jack heard Kelly saying, “… looked kinda envious when I told them we went out.”

  “Envious… of me?” Wes replied.

  Kelly laughed. “Sure. Why not?”

  Jack turned to see Wes wearing a wide smile. He locked eyes with Jack for a moment, lifting his eyebrows. Then he shrugged his guitar case strap up on his shoulder and took Kelly’s hand. “See you guys later.” He said it casually, but Jack detected a hint of swagger to his voice.

  Jack hid his amused grin by bending down for his guitar.

  “Here, I can take my books.” Natalie reached for them with her good hand.

  “Whoa,” Jack exclaimed. “What do you think you’re doing?”

  “Come on Jack, my left arm isn’t useless. You’ve got enough stuff to carry.”

  “That’s not the point. You should have a free hand in case anything happens. You can’t let your…” He trailed off when he noticed she was fighting to keep the corners of her mouth from curling upward. “What?”

  Her eyes sparkled. “I was zoned out in trig today when I realized I was rubbing on my bandage. It itched.”

  I
t took a moment for Jack to process what she was telling him and then his eyebrows shot up. “It itched? Are you sure?”

  “Puh-lease, I know what an itch feels like.” Natalie laughed.

  “That’s awesome!”

  “I know, right? My dad’s going to be beyond happy.”

  While someone was dispatched to fetch Jack and Natalie from the Upper Peninsula, other sect members retrieved Natalie’s car from where Jack had left it in Wisconsin. Solving that problem had been a piece of cake compared to providing an explanation for Natalie’s wounded arm. They’d finally settled on the story that Natalie went hiking with friends Saturday. She fell in the woods and cut herself on a bacteria-laden hunting knife.

  Fortunately, Jack’s mom was at the hospital to corroborate the account, going out of her way to attend Mr. Segetich’s questions. Even better, she’d encouraged the doctors to treat Natalie’s wound as if she had a flesh eating bacteria. They’d cut away all of the damaged skin and muscle, including a five millimeter margin. Then they waited to see if the wound would heal. Her arm was not only sore, but weak from the muscle damage so the doctors had advised her to keep it immobilized.

  Jack set the books on the amp and drew Natalie into a loose embrace, keeping his left arm low. He felt like a weight had been lifted off his chest. “You’re healing,” he whispered.

  “Yeah, it’s gonna be okay,” she murmured into his shoulder.

  He released her with a broad grin. “I’ll let my mom know, too.” He slung his guitar onto his back and picked up the books and amp. They strolled toward the exit.

  “I’ll never be able to thank her enough.” Natalie’s voice was soft. “And not just for my arm, for you, too.”

  Jack chuckled. “Believe me. I’ve thanked her for that more than once.” Mr. Segetich had been impressed and charmed by Jack’s mom and thought very highly of her. So Natalie made sure to let it slip that Jack was ‘the awesome nurse’s son.’ Her father had been very cordial to Jack ever since.

  A blast of chilly air buffeted them as they pushed through the exterior doors, cutting off their conversation until they made it to the truck. Jack opened the passenger door and helped boost Natalie into the seat. Then he tossed the books, amp and guitar into the back seat and climbed into the driver’s side.