Deception - Episode 3 (Lost Souls)

by Laurel O'Donnell

  She lifted up on the tips of her toes and pressed her lips to his.

  ~ ~ ~

  Christian paced. He should never have let Sam go alone. But what could he do? Sam was not the kind of woman to be commanded.

  “Sam’s a big girl,” Lucas said. “She can take care of herself.”

  “Not where her husband is concerned. I’m thinking Eugene was right.”

  “Look. You might as well relax and give her time. The way I see it, you can’t win if you rush over there as the gallant knight trying to protect her. Sam’s not like that.”

  Christian sighed. Lucas was right. Sam didn’t need his protection. She didn’t need anyone’s protection. At least that’s what she wanted everyone to believe. And for now, Christian would not interfere.

  His thoughts turned to Rose. She was out there all alone, probably terrified of her future. He was afraid for her. He didn’t stop pacing the room.

  ~ ~ ~

  Ben’s stomach rolled. He felt physically sick. He didn’t have much energy left to keep this up. Maybe he could rest for a while.

  When he looked at Cora, he knew that would be impossible. She was so happy; her black eyes twinkled. She sat beside him with a grin on her lips.

  He lay on the regeneration table, staring at a black wall. Cora needed him. And even though he knew what he was doing was right, that it was the only way to save her, he felt guilty. He should tell Sam. She would want to see Cora.

  “Cora,” Ben said. “I have to meet Sam. I promised her I would be back before dark. You know how she is. She’ll worry.”

  Cora frowned.

  “I’ll be back.” He sat up. “Just wait here. I’ll be right back. I’ll tell her I’m okay and come back.”

  Cora crossed her arms over her chest. “Alright,” she sniped. “But hurry.”

  He fazed.

  ~ ~ ~

  The touch of his lips to hers was hot and exciting. Sam didn’t know when Damien’s hand released her wrist and moved to the nape of her neck, drawing her closer. She didn’t know when her own arms wrapped around his neck. All she knew was that her husband was kissing her like he used to, with all the passion they felt so long ago. None of it had dissipated. None of it had lessened over the long years.

  She never wanted this moment to end. She never wanted it to…

  “Sammie…” Damien whispered against her lips. “God, Sam.”

  Pulsing need coursed through every fiber of her body, a need so strong it blocked out rational sense. She pushed her fingers through his dark hair, pulling him closer so she could taste him again.

  He pushed her back against the wall, nipping the skin at her neck, at the point where her pulse would have been.

  “I missed you, Damien,” Sam whispered into his ear before lightly kissing his skin.

  “I would be disappointed if you hadn’t.”

  His soft chuckle rolled through her, igniting warmth throughout her body.

  Suddenly he stiffened. He pulled back and looked around the small alley, then up at the twinkling sky, behind him. He stepped away from Sam.

  Sam followed his gaze, looking for something that wasn’t there. Then she looked back at him. His head was bowed. “What is it?” she asked.

  He shook his head. “I thought I heard something.”

  Sam’s gaze swept the alley again. She had made certain when she parked her car here there were no dumpsters, no big objects, nothing for the Changed to hide behind, nothing that could offer a hiding place for those monsters. And then her gaze settled on Damien. He needed nothing to hide behind.

  Slowly, he lifted his gaze. “You have to stop him.”

  “You said that before.”

  “And yet, I don’t think you understand.”

  Sam waited for him to continue.

  “It’s Ben.”

  “Ben?” she echoed, caught totally off guard.

  “Have you seen him lately?”

  Sam shrugged. “Yesterday, I think.”

  “He’s been a very busy Soul,” Damien said, turning to run his hand over her sleek silver Audi.

  He was the only Changed she would ever let lay a hand on her baby.

  “He’s feeding a Changed.”

  Sam straightened. Her eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”

  Damien didn’t look at her. He laid his hand flat on her car. It needed no explanation.

  “No.” Sam shook her head. “Not Ben.” Her instinct to protect him was instantaneous. Yet, even as she did, she remembered the way he looked the last time she saw him. Drained. Weak. And she knew the truth.

  “Stop him.” Damien lifted his black eyes to look at her. “If you don’t stop him, I will.”

  ~ ~ ~

  Ben fazed into the apartment to find Christian standing over Lucas who was playing cards.

  Lucas’s pleased greeting died on his lips.

  Christian stared at Ben in shock, his brows drawn together in a scowl of concern. “Are you sick?”

  Ben shook his head. “No. I’m fine. Why?”

  “You look like shit.”

  He closed his mouth and turned away.

  “What’s wrong with you?” Lucas asked.

  “I’m not feeling very well,” Ben admitted.

  “Souls don’t get sick,” Lucas said.

  Ben realized what a mistake he had made. He should have finished with Cora and then come back. But he didn’t want Sam to worry.

  “What’s wrong with you?” Christian stressed. “Do you want to sit down?”

  Ben shook his head. “No. I’m fine. Really.”

  “Why do you look like that?” Lucas asked.

  “Yes, Ben. Tell us why you look like you’re sick.” Sam materialized near the doorway.

  Ben swallowed and turned to her. There was no sympathy in her eyes, no concern. Only condemnation.

  “Sam!” Christian exclaimed. “What happened?”

  Sam held up her hand, her gaze never moving from Ben. “Let’s hear from Ben first.”

  Ben looked at Lucas. He shook his head. “I’m not sick. Just tired.”

  Sam lowered her hand slowly. She addressed Christian without looking away from Ben. “Ben and I know an old Soul, a genius, really. He figured out how to make the armor for Souls. The regeneration chairs, tables and chambers were all his idea.”

  “William De Flore,” Ben supplied.

  Sam nodded, stepping into the room. “He was the one that came up with the idea of regeneration sickness. Do you remember?”

  Ben scowled. He hadn’t remembered. But now, it vaguely came to mind.

  “His theory was that if you continually used the regen facilities, the exertion of being drained and then recharged, the push and pull of the energy entering and leaving a Soul, would wear on their corporeal being. He believed that eventually, the Soul would become weak and…sick.”

  Lucas and Christian swiveled their heads to look at Ben.

  Ben looked down.

  “You must be fighting a lot of Changed,” Sam said.

  Her tone was too careful, too even. Ben looked at her, his brow wrinkled.

  “I mean, why else would you need to recharge so much?”

  The tension in the air was thick. She knew. Ben was certain she knew what he was doing. “I need to talk to you, Sam. Alone.”

  “I think Christian should hear this, too.” She looked at Lucas. “You should stay with Esme.”

  Lucas nodded.

  Ben thought of fazing and escaping.

  Sam grabbed his arm, meeting his stare evenly. “Go ahead. Faze us anywhere.” She reached out and touched Christian’s shoulder.

  She was going to be angry, Ben knew. And he didn’t know if he had the strength to deal with her right now.

  Chapter Four

  Ben fazed them to the street. He didn’t think he could faze them farther than that. He was weak and felt oddly out of breath, which should not have even been possible for a Soul. Regeneration sickness. He had forgotten about that. And he should ha
ve remembered. When they had first heard of it, it had just been a theory of De Flore’s. No one had actually gotten sick.

  Ben ran a hand through his hair. “You’re right. I have been fighting a lot of Changed. I found a nest of them.” He couldn’t tell Sam the truth. Not yet. Not until Cora was freed. Not until she made the Jump and went with the lady in white.

  “A nest?” Christian echoed. He looked at Sam. “I thought you said they usually work alone.”

  “They do,” Sam said.

  “Then what’s a nest?”

  “I just said a nest because that’s what it felt like. I’ve never seen so many together.” He looked at Christian. He couldn’t look at Sam and lie to her.

  “Why didn’t you tell us?” Christian asked. “We could have helped you.”

  Ben shook his head. “You were in the middle of helping Rose.”

  “I heard a different story,” Sam said. Her voice was even and controlled. Cold.

  Ben looked at her. Dread slithered up his spine and prickles danced across his neck.

  “I heard you were feeding Cora.”

  An immobilizing anxiety shot through Ben. She knew.

  “Feeding?” Christian echoed.

  “Giving a Changed his energy.” Christian’s head snapped to Ben as Sam continued. “I wasn’t told the name of the Changed, but it wasn’t hard to figure out. Our sister is the only Changed you would sacrifice yourself for.”

  Ben shook his head. She didn’t understand. He was helping her! He was doing nothing wrong.

  “Allowing her to drain you. Regenerating. And then returning.” Sam clenched her teeth. “The only thing I couldn’t figure out was why. Why would you want her to make the Jump?”

  The way she said it, thrown into his face with disgust, made him feel dirty. Made what he was doing seem wrong. Ben dropped his head, scowling, not liking the feeling of it. “Who did you hear that from?”

  Sam hesitated.

  At her silence, he lifted his gaze to meet hers.

  She tilted her chin up slightly. “Damien.”

  Ben’s eyes widened. “A Changed?” Anger speared through him. “You’re taking the word of a Changed over mine?”

  “Then tell me you’re not feeding a Changed.”

  His lips thinned and he straightened. “I already did.” Ben stared at Sam for a long, silent moment. How could she pick Damien over him? How could she pick Damien over their own sister? She had done that from the very beginning when she made them all stay for Damien. He shook his head and turned his back on her.

  “Look, regardless of what Ben did or didn’t do, his energy is low,” Christian said. “We need to find Rose and help her. Especially if all these Changed are around. She’s in danger.”

  Ben’s brow furrowed even more. “Rose?”

  Christian nodded. “We need to help her.”

  “If you had been around to help us, you would know that,” Sam chided.

  “Is that what’s bothering you?” Ben demanded, glaring at her. “That I’m not here to help you?”

  “What’s bothering me is that you’re not thinking clearly,” Sam said. “You took on a whole nest of Changed by yourself. You should have asked us for help. You should have told us what was happening. Instead of regenerating so much that you made yourself sick!”

  “I have to regenerate,” Ben said. “I can’t go anywhere like this.”

  Sam scowled. “I’ll go with you.” She grabbed his arm.

  His nostrils flared with fury as he looked at her. “Are you coming with me to make sure I’m going to a regen chamber?”

  Sam dropped her hand.

  “I’ll meet you at Lucas’s when I’m done.” Ben stepped away from her and fazed.

  Sam stared at the spot Ben had been for a long moment. She didn’t know who to trust anymore. She looked at Christian. “I need to get some answers. Meet me back at Lucas’s.”

  “I’m going to check on Rose’s mother;” Christian said. “See if Rose shows up.”

  Sam nodded agreement and fazed.

  ~ ~ ~

  What he was doing was right. Ben was certain of it. Cora was family. He had to help her. He fazed back to the regen chamber.

  Cora paced the room. Her black eyes filled with tears when she saw him. “I thought… I thought she wouldn’t let you return to me.” She threw herself into his arms.

  Ben hugged her tightly. And now he was even more certain. Cora needed him.

  ~ ~ ~

  Sam fazed to her car, wanting Damien to explain himself. Who was she supposed to trust? Her brother or a Changed? Why would Ben lie to her? That answer was easy. Because what he was doing was wrong. A Soul doesn’t feed a Changed. They were evil!

  Then why should she believe Damien?

  He wasn’t there. Only her silver Audi waited for her.

  She wanted to believe Damien. But the truth of the matter was Damien had more reason to lie to her. He was a Changed. He was evil. She had watched him coldly kill the human Scala made the Jump into. And being a Changed, Damien would want to put a fracture into her and Ben’s relationship. After all, she and Ben were the best at what they did. They were the best at fighting the Changed out of all the Souls. They were the ones that figured out how to save the humans. How many Changed had she weakened?

  It made more sense to believe Ben, she told herself. The problem was she wanted to believe Damien.

  ~ ~ ~

  Sam waited hours at her car for Damien, but he never returned. Reluctantly, she fazed back to Lucas’s apartment.

  Lucas looked up at her from his card game when she appeared. He quickly stood and walked up to her. “I found Rose. She wants to talk to you.”

  Surprise and jubilation filled Sam. “Where was she? Where’d you find her? I’m so relieved she’s safe!”

  “In the theater. I was looking for you and Rose was there.”

  “What did she say?”

  Lucas shook his head. “She wouldn’t tell me. She said she had to speak to you.”

  “That’s all she said?”

  He nodded. He looked around before asking, “Where’s Ben?”

  “He’ll be here.”

  Just then Christian appeared.

  Sam immediately turned to him. “Lucas saw Rose.”

  “What? Where?”

  “In the theater.”

  “That’s great!” Christian said. “Is she okay? I mean, she was pretty angry when she left.”

  Lucas lifted his hands palm up. “I guess. She looked okay. I’ll take you right to her,” Lucas said. He laid a hand on her shoulder and one on Christian’s. “It’ll be quicker this way.”

  ~ ~ ~

  Cora fazed herself and Ben to the hospital. They stood in the doorway of a patient’s room. Inside the white room, a woman looked to be sleeping peacefully on the bed. Her eyes were closed; her cheeks sunken. She looked fragile even though she was young.

  A nurse in blue scrubs stood over her, gently touching the woman’s wrist and looking at her watch.

  Cora watched the woman with an odd, hesitant expression. Tiny ripples of electricity danced around her body.

  He should have felt excitement for Cora, but the only thing Ben felt was exhaustion. “This is the woman you’ve chosen?”

  Cora nodded. “She’s going to die soon. Cancer.”

  “She’s alone.”

  “She has no family. Her body is failing. Look how frail she looks,” Cora whispered as if in reverence.

  “She’s dying.”

  “I’ve never been that sick. The thought of making the Jump into her is repulsive.”

  Like a lightning bolt, shock shot through Ben. His sister wasn’t looking at the poor woman with any kind of respect. She was looking at her with utter contempt. “You won’t have to be in her for long,” Ben reassured her. “Just until the end.”

  “Do you think death is quick?”

  Ben shrugged. “Sometimes.”

  She tilted her head slightly. “She’s disgusting. Weak.”r />
  Prickles of trepidation danced across Ben’s shoulders. “I suppose that’s what happens when you are dying of a disease.”

  “I don’t think I want to do this anymore.”

  Ben turned to Cora. “This is the only way if you want to see the angel.”

  Cora chewed on her lower lip. “I’ve been thinking about that…”

  Ben’s gaze swept Cora’s face. The blue lightning danced from her hairline down over her cheek and beneath her chin. His stomach twisted with an ill feeling that had nothing to do with the regeneration sickness.

  “This power is amazing. I mean…” She looked down at her hands. Blue electricity danced across her knuckles and up her fingers. “I’ve never felt like this.”

  “Cora,” Ben said sternly. “You have to do this.”

  Cora bridled. “I don’t think I can.”

  “I only did this because it was what you wanted.”

  “And now, I think I want to live.”

  Complete and utter dread filled Ben. What had he done? What kind of power had he given her? “Cora, think about what you’re saying.”

  She smiled. “I’m saying that I don’t want to die. I want to live like a human. I want to be a human like I was before the fire.”

  “No.”

  “I’m disappointed, Ben. I thought you wanted me to be happy.”

  “Not by taking over someone else’s life. That’s not right.”

  “You’re not one to talk about what’s right.”

  Ben looked at her with disbelief. He had made a mistake. A huge mistake.

  “You wanted this for me. You would have done anything to help me. And if you thought about it, you would have known I never intended to do it.” She leaned toward him. “There’s no lifeline between you and her.”

  A stabbing guilt of betrayal pierced him. His chest tightened. She had used him. Lied to him. Manipulated him. And he had allowed her to do it. This old woman had no connection to him at all. She was a total stranger. A Changed could only make the Jump into a human who was connected to a Soul they had drained energy from. Cora couldn’t make the Jump into her because there was no connection between him and the old woman. He should have thought about the lifeline!