Soul Bound: Dark Souls, Book 1

by Anne Hope

  The creature turned on her. “You should. You see, bloodlines are critical among our kind,” he explained in a smooth, mellifluous voice. “Ancients rank first, of course. Their power is incomparable. Then there’s me, the first to be born to an Ancient in the New World.” He gazed at Jace as if he were a giant rat, caged for his amusement. “Hybrids are at the bottom of the hierarchy, none worse than the Watchers. Watchers are weak because they refuse to ingest souls, traitors to the core.”

  He clenched his fists, and Jace thrashed with anguish again. His pain tore through Lia like a knife wound. A wave of dizziness gripped her.

  “Fascinating.” Kyros approached her. “Every time I incite pain in him, it echoes within you.”

  “What, exactly, are you doing to him?” Lia struggled to hold herself together.

  “Making him feel every painful experience of his miserable, forgotten life. A hundred times over. Despite how it appears, he’s not in physical pain. His distress is purely emotional. I’m impressed by how susceptible he is.”

  He stroked her cheek with icy fingers. “His connection to his lost soul is very strong. It’s almost as though it’s right here in the room with us.”

  She slapped his hand away. Kyros’s pale blue eyes morphed to silver, and Jace’s screams escalated. Lia’s blood congealed in her veins. She couldn’t stand it much longer. His agony reached out to her, snaked around her heart, made her gut gather in a tight snarl. Energy spiraled inside her, shot through her limbs, churned in her belly. Something exploded deep within her, spilling from her body to flood the room with light. Walls cracked, windows shattered, a fissure slithered across the hardwood floor. Regan materialized in the attic in time to see Kyros shoot backward and land in an unceremonious sprawl, knocked unconscious.

  Jace’s suffering came to an abrupt end. Lia wanted to run to him, but she couldn’t bring herself to move. Her knees gave out from under her. With a miserable moan, she crashed to the floor, joining Kyros in the land of nightmares.

  Marcus plowed across the unsightly grass and climbed the steps to the front door of the Cutler mansion, where Regan had summoned him. He still couldn’t wrap his brain around what the woman had just confessed. For some reason unbeknownst to him, she’d elected to help Jace on her own. For days she’d been lying to him and Cal, sneaking around behind their backs, all for the purpose of training Cutler and Benson on the sly.

  A Watcher never acted alone. It was against the code. Why Regan had chosen to do so remained a mystery. One he’d like nothing better than to solve.

  But first he had to deal with that son of a bitch Kyros.

  The door swung open on creaking hinges, and Regan stood on the threshold. “He’s upstairs. Hurry,” she urged. “I’m not sure how long he’ll be out.”

  He followed her to the attic, where the firstborn lay sprawled, still and defenseless. “How the hell did you manage this?”

  Regan had told him what to expect, but seeing the all-powerful Kyros this way still delivered a jolt to his system.

  “I didn’t. Lia did.”

  Marcus shouldn’t have been surprised after what he’d witnessed at the Watchers’ complex, yet shock still rippled through him. “Where is she?”

  “Downstairs, resting. Jace is with her.”

  Studying the woman he’d been working side-by-side with for decades, he realized he didn’t know her at all. “Why did you decide to help Cutler on your own? You’re aware of the rules. No Watcher acts alone.”

  “You’re not really standing here giving me a lecture on Cal’s famous code, are you? Not when I’ve seen you bend the rules more times than I can count.”

  “Yeah, I’ve been known to break the rules a time or two. But you haven’t, which makes me curious.”

  Something flickered in the depths of her eyes, a flash of emotion. As much as she tried to hide it, Regan felt more than most, and that was her one weakness. “Cal keeps saying Jace Cutler’s important, that he may be the one. If that’s true, we need him. Alive.”

  She was hiding something. He could tell by the stiffness in her shoulders, by the way she kept averting her gaze.

  “You brought the wire?” she asked, putting an end to the discussion.

  He dug into his weapons bag and withdrew the braided copper snarl with a gloved hand, which he then secured around a slumbering Kyros.

  “I hope it holds him.” Regan didn’t sound convinced.

  “It’s covered in angel’s blood,” Marcus said. “And the copper should subdue him long enough for us to get him to the complex.” Copper had special properties that sapped the strength of all descendants of the Nephilim, temporarily robbing them of their powers.

  With Regan’s help, Marcus hoisted Kyros over his shoulder, carried him to his black Escalade, and locked him in the trunk. Sliding behind the steering wheel, he positioned his foot on the gas pedal. “You coming?”

  Regan shook her head, sending a tumble of red curls bouncing around her face. “Not yet. I need to check on Jace and Lia first.”

  Marcus started the ignition, his gaze trained on the woman he’d known for over thirty years but still failed to understand. “Try to get the hard-headed mule to listen to reason. The complex is the safest place for him.”

  Regan stared at the road ahead, her expression distant, her eyes sparkling like liquid amber.

  “Did you hear what I said?”

  She turned to him and mustered an emotionless smile. “I heard you. I’ll do my best.”

  “I hope so, because all our fates are at stake.”

  With that warning hanging in the air between them, he pressed on the accelerator and shot across the blacktop.

  When Regan returned to the house, she found Jace rummaging through her weapons bag, a lethal expression on his face. One by one, he examined her meager supply of blades.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Trying to decide which one of these fancy knives I’m gonna use to send Athanatos to hell.”

  Regan didn’t like the determined tone in his voice. She’d seen too many Hybrids go down because they chose to act on impulse. Hybrids were unpredictable creatures, caught between two worlds. For the most part, they were calm and emotionless, but sometimes they grew impetuous and stubborn. The purebloods were much easier to read, ruled only by pride, greed and ruthless intellect. They didn’t suffer from guilt, fear, responsibility or remorse. Their only allegiance was to themselves and to their twisted leader.

  “And how are you planning to find him?”

  “You said the Kleptopsychs’ nest is in the catacombs. I’ll start there.”

  Regan tamped down an echo of exasperation. Marcus was right. Her son was as mule-headed as they came. “If it were that easy, the Watchers would’ve unearthed them ages ago. The laws of physics don’t apply down there. Space is warped. You can travel great distances in mere seconds. There are exits everywhere, but only a few strategic entrance points. If you don’t know exactly where those entrances are, you’re basically looking for a needle in a haystack.”

  Ignoring her, Jace hooked a couple of daggers to his belt and donned his leather jacket to hide them.

  “And who’s going to look after Lia while you’re out hunting monsters?” Jace’s twin soul was not only the source of his strength but his most significant weakness, and Regan wasn’t above using that undisputable truth to her advantage.

  “You are.”

  Regan rolled her eyes. “If you think I’m going to let you invade the Kleptopsychs’ lair on your own, you’re stupider than I thought.”

  “Guess I got my brains from you, Mom.”

  It was the first time he’d called her that. Too bad the word dripped with sarcasm. Regan let the insult slide. “If you go after Athanatos, I promise you I’m going straight to Cal. Once he hears you’ve gone all vigilante on us, he’s going to track you down, lock you up and throw away the key.”

  He angled an assessing stare her way. “You’d do that? Turn your own son in?”

&
nbsp; Regan matched his unflinching gaze with one of her own. “If it keeps you alive, you bet.”

  “So what do you suggest I do?” His stance mirrored the frustration saturating his voice. “Wait for Athanatos and his goons to come knocking on my door again?”

  “No, I’ve got a far better idea. Let’s pool our resources, work together. Thanks to Lia, we’ve got Kyros exactly where we want him. With your particular talents, we can extract the Kleptopsychs’ exact location from him. No need to go hunting around in the dark.”

  He hesitated. She was finally starting to get through to him. “Work with us, Jace. Just this once.”

  His shoulders tensed, his stance grew rigid, and yet indecision contorted his features. He was at least considering her proposal, which was more than she’d expected.

  “We’ll take Lia to the complex,” she persisted. “She’ll be safe there. Then we’ll plan our next move. Together.”

  A hesitation followed by a belligerent sigh. “And Cal won’t expect me to sign my departed soul over to him?”

  “Right now I’m pretty sure he’ll take whatever he can get.”

  He shot a fleeting glance toward the stairs, which led to Lia’s room, then reluctantly nodded. “Fine. Have it your way. All I care about is seeing Athanatos go down. I won’t allow the bastard to put her through that again.”

  Regan understood. That was why she’d used his desire to keep Lia safe as a bargaining chip. “You’re making the right decision.”

  “I sure hope so.” He withdrew the daggers from his belt, handed them to her in a gesture of surrender. “I’ll get Lia. The sooner we’re out of here, the better.” And with that, he rocketed up the stairs.

  Pitching the blades back in her bag, Regan inhaled deep and hard. One crisis had been averted, but another still loomed ahead. One that would make what they’d experienced today look like a walk in the park. She only hoped her hotheaded son was ready for it.

  Jace hadn’t planned on coming back to the Watchers’ complex. Ever. But here he was, following Regan down a stark, winding hallway, Lia’s delicate hand firmly gripped in his. Touching her gave him strength, infused him with courage and reminded him that he’d make a deal with the devil himself to keep her safe. No one would come after her again. Not as long as he lived and breathed.

  “Cal’s private quarters are just around the corner,” Regan tossed over her shoulder.

  She stopped at a tall metal door, knocked twice and waited. The door swung open, though no one stood behind it. Inside, Cal sat at a heavyset desk, pensively rotating the thick silver band on his finger.

  Standing next to him was Marcus, who looked more than a little surprised to see them. “Well, I’ll be damned,” he said. “If it isn’t the chosen one, finally deciding to grace us with his presence.”

  “Cool it, Marcus,” Regan warned. “Jace is here to help.”

  Cal stood and circled the desk. “There is no question his special skill set would prove infinitely useful right now.”

  Jace took a step forward. “That’s the only reason I’m here,” he clarified, just in case Cal entertained any notions of Jace joining his freaky army.

  “Where’s Kyros?” Regan asked.

  “Secured in one of the interrogation rooms,” Marcus replied. “Drake is guarding the door.”

  Cal focused his penetrating mercury gaze on Regan. “Before we go any further, I think you better explain exactly what happened today.”

  Jace and Lia stood by silently as Regan recounted the events of the day to Cal. While she spoke, Cal’s face remained perfectly impassive, but Jace could see the wheels spinning inside his head.

  “And why were you there,” he accused when Regan lapsed into silence, “without my knowledge?”

  His mother adopted a defensive posture. Her back went ramrod straight, her shoulders grew taut and her mouth became a thin, firm line. “I was only trying to help. Jace doesn’t trust you or Marcus. That much is evident. I thought I might have better luck.”

  Jace was starting to grow antsy. “Instead of standing here grilling her, why don’t you take me to Kyros? Do you want me to mess with the bastard’s head or not?”

  Cal didn’t bother to answer his question. For what seemed like an eternity, he studied him and Lia with an incisive stare. Then he walked up to them and spread out his palms, as if trying to touch their life-forces. Jace felt he was being sliced open, examined from the inside out.

  “Something’s changed,” he declared. “Your connection has been cemented. You’re feeding off each other’s energy.” He shook his flaxen head. “Light and darkness working in perfect harmony. Remarkable.”

  “Is that why I was able to do what I did to Kyros?” Lia’s eyes were wide, curious and a little frightened.

  Cal nodded. “Partly. Your soul is exceptionally strong, forged by an archangel. In its divided form, that soul seemed quite ordinary, but now that both halves have been reunited within you, its true power is beginning to manifest itself. The more these two halves fuse, the more their properties change. Alcohol and chlorine are perfectly harmless on their own, but mix them together—” he slapped his palms for added emphasis, “—and you produce an explosion.”

  “So you’re saying I’m some kind of bomb?” She wrapped her arms around her body, leaned against Jace.

  Jace pulled her closer in an attempt to chase away the sudden weakness he sensed in her. “You’re not a bomb.” He aimed a pointed glare at Cal. “You’re just more powerful than your average human.”

  She released a self-deprecating snort. “I think that’s an understatement. I nearly blew that guy apart.”

  “He had it coming.” Jace refused to let her believe she’d done anything wrong. She’d saved him, saved them all. As far as he was concerned, she deserved a goddamn medal.

  Cal continued watching Lia with that x-ray vision of his, looking puzzled. Then his features smoothed out, and he turned abruptly to Marcus. “Escort Jace to Kyros’s cell, see what information he can extract from the firstborn.” His gaze narrowed on Regan. “Assemble the team. Have them ready to move at a moment’s notice.”

  Regan nodded and instantly vanished.

  “As for you—” the Watchers’ leader directed a sympathetic smile Lia’s way, gesturing to a plush leather chair at the far corner of the room, “—settle in and get comfortable. It’s going to be a long day.”

  Years ago, Cascade Head had been used by the government as a secret military base. Strategically positioned high in the mountains, the buildings that now made up the Watchers’ complex were nearly impossible to discern, hidden behind a thick fence of trees. Add to that the shields Cal had erected around the place thanks to his cloaking abilities, and the facility was virtually invisible to anyone but the Watchers. Within this complex, numerous secret rooms existed, windowless, underground cells that had been used for purposes that were best left unspoken.

  Marcus escorted Jace to one of these rooms, where Kyros was being held, fastened to a cement beam with the blood-smeared copper wire. If his bonds did what they were supposed to, the firstborn would be powerless by now, totally at their mercy.

  He saluted the guard, Drake, then unlocked the door with a large steel key. This door could not be opened by sheer will. Cal had made sure of it. Unless Kyros possessed Regan’s rare ability to bend space, not to mention an unlikely immunity to both angel’s blood and copper, he could not escape.

  The creature raised a pair of pale, icy eyes their way when they entered. Although he’d recovered his senses, he had yet to recover his strength, courtesy of his bloody bonds. The room was draped in shadows, with only an old, rusty lamp to punch holes in the darkness.

  Marcus stepped into the meager beam of light it produced. “Good. You’re awake. Now we can get down to business.”

  Jace ventured farther into the prison cell, his expression unreadable. Interest flashed in Kyros’s gaze the second he caught sight of Cutler. “Are you one of them now? Has Cal succeeded in adding yet anoth
er limp cock to his impressive collection?”

  Anger contorted Jace’s features. He balled his hands into fists, prepared to strike.

  “Won’t do you any good,” Marcus told him. “No amount of battering will damage the maggot. Not unless your fist is covered in angel’s blood.” He grabbed the dagger secured to his belt, yanked it free from its scabbard and handed it to Jace. “This, on the other hand, can inflict a world of pain.”

  Kyros smiled. “Is that the best you can do? You used to be far more ruthless, Marcus. Becoming a Watcher has softened you.”

  In Kyros’s eyes, Marcus saw the reflection of his ugliest memories, and it elicited a slow churn in his gut. Mostly he was numb inside, but when he thought of his past, the part of him that had once been human came alive.

  Cutler was sharper than he looked. His glance traveled from Kyros to Marcus. “You two know each other?”

  “Our paths have crossed once or twice.”

  “A notable understatement,” Kyros taunted. “Come now, Marcus, you know as well as I do we were great friends once, some would even say family.”

  Doubt and mistrust drenched Cutler’s face.

  “Don’t listen to him,” Marcus said. “He’s just trying to derail you from your purpose. Emotional manipulation is what he does best.”

  Kyros had a way of tapping into a Hybrid’s lost soul. He sought out the connection, found the weak spots and poked at them until the pain became debilitating. He couldn’t use his special skills right now—he was too weak—but that didn’t mean he couldn’t resort to psychological warfare.

  “Go ahead,” Marcus urged Jace. “Show us what you’re made of.”

  Jace stepped closer, leaned over Kyros and stared the creature straight in the eyes. “Where is it? The entrance to your snake hole? Your nest?”

  Kyros grunted but held his ground. “I won’t tell you.”

  Concentration pinched Cutler’s features. “Tell me.”

  “No.” The word ended in a scream.