Released Souls

by Karice Bolton

  She reached up and touched my arm. “No, Triss. You’re right. It’s not the magical world I once knew.” Her eyes filled with sadness, and she followed me into the family room where Logan was sitting on the couch, with Dace and the other fairies perched on the armrest.

  My aunt flipped on the light, and I was shocked to see Logan’s flesh almost completely healed. He flashed me a brilliant smile and dropped his eyes to the bowl I was carrying in.

  “You certainly know how to take good care of me.” He beamed.

  “You’re a lucky one,” Dace echoed Logan’s praise.

  Why was everyone ignoring the fact that this wouldn’t have happened in the first place if it weren’t for me? Trying to focus on the positives, I sat next to Logan and began placing the wet compresses on his arms. I couldn’t go to that place in my mind — not now.

  “That’s nice and cooling. Thanks, babe.” He winked at me and a flood of guilt ran through me. I was being thanked for almost getting him killed?

  Logan caught my expression and raised a concerned brow at me.

  I smiled at him and scrunched my nose up to divert his attention.

  “The good news is that Lara thinks you’re both dead. That’s why we brought Troni and Coter over. We want to keep the cover going. If there’s anything you need, these two will get it for you,” Dace said, pointing at the two fairies.

  Neither of them looked particularly friendly, but they at least weren’t staring at us with the predator look in their eyes, and as long as they didn’t show teeth I think I could get to like them.

  Bakula flew over to sit next to Dace and placed her tiny hand on his knee. “They’re also here to protect you two while you recover. We can’t chance your safety, especially as these…talents unfold,” she explained.

  “We can’t leave the house?” I asked.

  Logan shot a look my way meant only for me, and it was hard to not break out laughing.

  A weird mixture of relief and excitement channeled through me at the concept of getting to spend a few days with Logan free of interruption. We’ve never had that luxury. Instead of hanging out watching movies and ordering in pizza, we’ve been faced with horrors I didn’t even know existed until several months ago. The thought of possibly getting to steal a few days with him was beyond exhilarating.

  “It’ll be a great time to get our plan of attack set up and share with you what we found out about the covens around the world,” Dace replied excitedly, completely dismantling word by word the fantasy that I had built up in my mind with Logan.

  Bakula caught my look and began chuckling. “Oh, dear. I’m sorry about that. It’s not a vacation by any means. I certainly didn’t mean to imply that. But we’ll make sure we give you two some space. Troni and Coter will be stationed outside at all times, unless you ask for their assistance with something inside.”

  With that announcement, I groaned in embarrassment and refused to look at my aunt.

  “On that piece of news, I think it’s time I get home to your mother. She was sleeping when I left, and I want to make sure she’s doing okay. She’s pulling through really well, but I don’t want to be absent when she hits a hiccup.”

  “I hope the others that we released are faring just as well,” I replied softly.

  “Well, they never had the chance until they were freed. That’s the most important step,” Dace said proudly, flying over to my aunt. “And we have you to thank for that.”

  “Tell my mom I love her,” I muttered to my aunt.

  “Will do.” My aunt hugged me and walked to the door with Dace flying by her side. She turned around to look at me before exiting. “I’m really proud of you, Triss. Your mother will be too.”

  She closed the door and I watched her dark shadow walk toward her car. Dropping my gaze to the floor I was surrounded with silence until I heard my aunt’s screams for help.

  Chapter 7

  “Stay inside!” Dace barked, running outside with Bakula following right behind. “Troni and Coter come with us.”

  As the fairies went outside, I ran to the window to see my aunt cowering on the sidewalk, but I didn’t see anyone or anything around her vehicle. Her head was bowed, and her entire body was shaking with every cry that she emitted into the night.

  “What’s going on?” Logan came up behind me.

  “I don’t know,” I whispered, peering through the glass. “But I want to go out there and help.”

  “Babe, they’ve got it covered. This is what they’re talking about. We need to lay low. We probably shouldn’t even be by the window.”

  “I don’t understand why they’re targeting anyone and everyone.”

  I continued watching my aunt writhe on the concrete sidewalk as the fairies flew over to her. I was pressing my palms against the glass, but my flesh began to ache. Removing my hands quickly, I realized they weren’t aching; they were frozen.

  “What’s up?” Logan asked as I began rubbing my hands together quickly and blowing my warm breath on them.

  “The glass is like an ice-cube.”

  “Really?” He reached over and touched it, whipping his fingers back. “Oh no. We need to get away from the window now.”

  A pure white frost began creeping up the glass, slowly clouding over the entire window and the only view of my aunt. The glacial effect spread across the glass like a spider web and the temperature in the room began to drop.

  I ran to the stairs, taking them two at a time, with Logan right behind me.

  “All the windows downstairs are icing up,” he hollered, as I swung my bedroom door open and ran to the window.

  Making it to the window, I found my aunt still hunkered down on the concrete, but the situation was rapidly changing. The fairies darted around her in a circular formation, creating a spiral of light that shot to the sky. As the fairies moved faster, the tunnel of light expanded in all directions. I had no idea what I was witnessing, especially since I didn’t see anything besides my aunt and the fairies on the sidewalk.

  “What’s happening out there? Why is she still on the ground?” I turned to face Logan.

  “There’s an attack on her soul.” Logan grew still, holding my waist tightly as if I might still run for it.

  I spun back to the window and no longer were the tiny, winged creatures recognizable. What replaced their bodies was a spectacular wall around my aunt with golden rays spraying in every direction.

  “Where’d they go?” I asked.

  “That’s them, babe. They’re deflecting the spectre from entering her. We’re just lucky they got to her in time.”

  “When will it be over?”

  “You’ll see.” He squeezed my hand and nodded toward the window.

  “How do you know so much about this?” I asked, searching his eyes for answers, hoping my fears wouldn’t be realized.

  He paused and I glanced quickly to see the wall around my aunt expanding.

  “Remember how you didn’t really believe in fairies back in the day?”

  I nodded.

  “I had firsthand experience with not only fairies but this—” He pointed out the window, “the spectres. My first encounter was with them trying to stop a possession from completing. It was in the woods in Illinois, and I was trying to find my way back to our family’s campsite when I stumbled upon it,” he paused, hurt threading every syllable. “It was the last trip with my father, actually.”

  My breath caught in my throat. I knew what he was going to say, but I didn’t want him to say it.

  “The attempt had been on my dad. The fairies stopped it. We never knew who would have tried something so horrible on my father. I mean back then we never figured he had enemies. It didn’t make sense. Now, of course, it makes complete sense.”

  “I’m so sorry. I had—”

  “It’s not your fault,” he interrupted me. “This is not your fault.” He pointed to my aunt.

  How could he love me when members of my family had been responsible for causing so much pain t
o his?

  “Get ready to watch some pretty spectacular fireworks,” he whispered, turning my attention outside the window.

  “Huh?” I asked confused.

  “In order to ensure the spectre is destroyed, they discharge it. Fairies are about the only creature I can think of that can do that.”

  “So the spectre is like a demon? They can actually destroy it?”

  “Yeah. Well, there’s a belief out there that fairies have a connection to demons through their lineage. Like fairies can’t die because they’re already dead type of thing. And no, there’s no point in asking because they’ll never tell. They just get angry.”

  “I guess that would explain their ability to knock the demons out then. But I haven’t been able to see the demon attacking my aunt this entire time.”

  “Believe me, you will.”

  I looked back out at the wall of fairies encircling my aunt and wasn’t sure what I thought about the little creatures any longer, but remembering my first encounter with them certainly put what Logan said in perspective. Encountering dozens of silver eyes glowering back at a person isn’t easily forgotten, especially when they show off their razor sharp teeth.

  “Are their silver eyes connected to the underworld?” I asked, pausing briefly. “Are yours?”

  “When certain aspects of dark sorcery are harnessed there are certain attributes that tend to show up depending on the situation.” He stopped himself.

  I began to feel queasy wondering if a person could ever really escape dark magic once they’d tapped into it? Was that why Logan’s eyes turned silver? Was Logan as susceptible as my father?

  I turned my attention back outside and watched as the wall began to erode, cascading a multitude of white light as the golden hues diminished. In the center, rising above my aunt, was an obscure figure that I hadn’t been able to see before now. As the haze lifted a beautiful woman with crimson lips emerged. Her hands were reaching toward the heavens with her eyes closed. Her blonde hair fell down her chest, covering the white robe she was wearing. Every movement of the spectre was graceful, slow.

  “Who is that?” I whispered.

  “That the Vitulamen. She’s a demon.”

  “She’s in human form…”

  “They can shift into any form.”

  I watched my aunt cowering beneath the demon as the fairies backed off and returned to their tiny forms once more.

  “Why are the fairies stopping?”

  “They’ve finished. It just takes a few moments before the residuals of the spell take over. Keep watching.”

  The demon’s mouth began to gradually open, screaming a deafening silence. The hush of the demon’s call was paralyzing. It felt like I was suddenly thrown into a room with sound dampening material everywhere. I had lost my hearing. I watched Logan’s breathing, but heard nothing. I scuffed my foot along the wall, hearing nothing — only feeling the sensation. My head began spinning as my body began swaying. Logan grasped me tightly. His voice turned only to a breath that I could feel as he spoke into my ear.

  Logan held onto me securely, brushing my hair away from my face. He nodded toward the window. Forcing myself to look outside, I slowly turned my head to get a glimpse of the spectacle that was becoming more intense by the second.

  The fairies were all holding hands near the front door, leaving my aunt on the ground, shaking. My heart ached for her, but there was nothing I could do. The demon’s body continued to hover over my aunt, but then it began cracking. It was never human in the first place but watching the shell, the façade of beauty break away bit by bit became mesmerizing.

  Pieces of the demon began falling, but not before they turned to flecks of lighted particles, dashing through the air. The crumbling began at the hem of the demon’s robe, slowly working its way up the Vitulamen’s hardened flesh. With every section falling away, the pieces sparked colorful light specks. No pyrotechnic show could match the beauty of watching the demon exploding into an array of colors.

  The idea of a soul—sucking demon becoming the propellant for a beautiful fireworks show was intriguing, and I couldn’t help myself from thinking about what could be done to Lara and Eben. There had to be a way to ignite them in such a fantastic way…Make their exit from the world grander than anything they could ever produce while they were on it.

  A prick of guilt settled into my stomach, but I pushed it aside remembering what Logan had been through because of me. Lara and Eben deserved whatever was coming to them.

  Slowly sound began to creep back into my world as each piece of the Vitulamen turned to ash. I began claiming my world again and shivered realizing what I had allowed myself to daydream about. Maybe it wasn’t my dream at all. I watched as the Vitulamen’s last piece of ash fell to the ground.

  The fairies rushed to my aunt who was still curled up on the sidewalk. I squirmed in Logan’s arms, making an attempt to escape from his grasp, but he only held on tighter.

  “We can’t go out there,” Logan commanded.

  “I’ve got to help her.”

  “You can’t. The fairies know exactly what needs to be done. She’ll be okay.”

  “She needs comfort. She needs me.”

  Holding me tightly, he raised my face to look at his.

  “We can’t risk it. She’ll be fine,” he said forcefully.

  As I struggled to get away from him, he scooped me up taking me away from the window.

  “Let them deal with her. We only have one chance like this. I was talking to Dace —”

  I slowed my struggle, letting his words ground me.

  “And?”

  “Word on the street is that we were killed. It’s flooding through the covens on both sides. We can make this work to our advantage, if we don’t do anything rash.”

  He was still cradling me in his arms, walking me down the stairs, when I tried once more.

  “Please let me see her. I promise I won’t do anything to jeopardize things.”

  At the bottom of the steps, he placed me down on the floor and I slowly made my way to the window. I watched them talking to my aunt as she sat in her car looking dazed. I don’t know if they moved her there or she walked to the car herself. Logan was right. The fairies were able to handle my aunt. I needed to let go.

  What was happening to our world? Would we ever be safe again?

  “Should she really be driving?” I asked, reaching for Logan’s hand.

  “She’ll be fine.” His mouth tightened into a thin line, and I knew he was avoiding something.

  “What could they possibly be talking about? Why don’t they let the poor woman go home?”

  Logan didn’t answer. Instead, he pulled me over to him, hugging me tightly.

  “When the demon was fragmenting, my world turned to silence. Did it do that to you?”

  He nodded.

  “That’s their last attempt to communicate with the living before they’re sent back to the underworld. You didn’t hear anything, right?”

  “What do you mean hear?” I asked. “It was completely silent.”

  “Like thoughts popping into your head?”

  That must have been it! The demon was placing those thoughts in my mind about Lara and Eben. Logan took my silence as a no.

  “That’s a good thing because they can be hard to shake,” he replied, kissing my forehead.

  Resting his head in the crook of my neck the warmth of his breath sent shivers through me while I thought about what might be on the horizon for us all. I felt like a question was looming that nobody wanted to ask. I just didn’t know what the question was yet.

  I watched my aunt’s car pull away as the fairies opened our front door, piling in with an exuberance that was undeniably odd.

  They were chattering endlessly about technique and outcomes as if they’d just played flag football in the street.

  “Is she going to be okay?” I shot them a look that meant business and they quickly calmed down. We obviously didn’t get our jollies over the
same things.

  “She’s going to be fine.” Dace glanced at Logan and then back at me.

  “What? What’s going on?” I demanded, shoving my hair back from my face.

  “Dace had asked me about some of our family members going into hiding. I told him I didn’t think it was necessary.” His breath caught. “Until now.”

  “How far into hiding?” I questioned, resting against the sofa table.

  “It wouldn’t be back at the house in Illinois. It would be somewhere that none of us knows about, except Dace.” Logan grabbed my hand. This was the question that was lingering in the house before the mess occurred.

  Somehow the doubt began to dwindle as I looked into Logan’s blue eyes. This wasn’t only to protect my family; it was to protect his too.

  I nodded, forcing the tears back at the thought of barely getting my mom back and having to say goodbye again.

  “For how long?”

  “Until everything has ended.” Bakula’s dark eyes returned, leaving the silver behind.

  “So we have no idea how long it could be before we see our families again?” My throat tightened as I spoke the words.

  “We can’t have these interferences and interruptions. We need to focus on what’s ahead. We need to amass willing witches from all over and not be bogged down worrying about who the dark sorcerers will be targeting next. With your abilities coming to life, they’ll do everything they can to distract you. I doubt your family would make it out alive with what’s ahead for us all.” Dace was always so matter-of-fact, and I usually didn’t mind it, but this time was different. Threatening that my family won’t make it out alive by being near me was far too real.

  “Fine,” I whispered, turning my head away to force the tears back. “Let me see my mom tonight to explain —”

  “We can’t let that happen,” Bakula interrupted, taking over to shield me from Dace’s harshness. “You won’t be able to say goodbye. We can’t risk it. We can’t risk you guys being seen.”

  “Does my aunt know?”

  Bakula nodded. “We spoke to her in the driveway.”

  “Well, I guess you have everything taken care of. But if you don’t mind I think the rest can wait until tomorrow. If this decision will get us one step closer to ending this once and for all then there’s nothing more to discuss tonight.”