Curse of Soulmate--The Complete Series

by D. N. Leo

  The heavy door slid open, and Kyle sauntered in with a tray of something that resembled edible food. His face reflected an extremely harsh life of over a hundred years, Jo thought.

  He was tall and had the frame of a once-upon-a-time warrior. He was certainly very strong when he carried her, which was especially surprising after looking as if he had disintegrated on the ground.

  "Do I look like I want food?" Jo asked.

  "Young lady, you have to do what I say if you want your boyfriend to stay alive."

  "What else can you do to him apart from the very obvious—use me as blackmail? He got you good, Kyle."

  "By sacrificing himself? Do you really believe it was wise to do so? If you could go back in time, and you had a chance to stop him, would you still have let him do that?" Kyle smirked at Jo's silence.

  He sat down next to her and tended to her injured arm. Jo shrugged him away. He grabbed her arm and held it still.

  "This is infected. The wound was opened, and a very nasty chemical that your human body can't handle has gotten in there. I'll get someone with medical skills to tend to you. But our resources at this station are limited, so you won’t see anything fancy.”

  "Which station?"

  "You don't want to know, young lady. By the way, although my staff are not as pretty as you are, they're harmless. Don't be scared."

  "I'm not on Earth? What the hell?"

  Kyle shook his head. "You're better off not knowing. We’re leaving soon. So eat your food and get your arm tended to."

  "I'm not eating your food."

  "Then be hungry."

  Kyle turned to leave. Jo spoke to his back.

  "Tadgh turned your lifetime work into shit, didn't he?"

  Kyle stopped at the door and turned around slowly to face her. “You two are a perfectly matched couple. You are the only score I couldn’t complete. I raped your soul, but you survived. You didn’t kill yourself. You intrigue me, Jo. And that stubborn boyfriend of yours . . . when I tell him to kill, he lets people live. When I tell him to stay alive, he kills himself.”

  Kyle chuckled and shook his head. “The thing is, your individual actions will not help the greater cause. Ciaran is the key to that. His weakness is that he’s human. And there’s not much he can do about that.”

  He started to laugh. “He can’t let go of human emotions, and that’s what will destroy him. So I’m going to use you guys to dangle in front of Ciaran until the opportunity’s ripe. Then I can destroy him with pleasure.”

  “Why?”

  “It’s hard to explain to a human. And I don’t feel quite compassionate enough at the moment. But I have to admit that living among you guys for a long time, I’ve gained a bit of sentiment. So the short version of the answer is that Eudaiz belongs to me. Not to Bran, and thus not to Ciaran. And I will take back what’s mine.” He turned on his heel. “You can kill yourself to avoid being a burden to your friends. But again, let me get this through your thick skull. Your individual sacrifice can only harm the bigger picture.” He walked out and slammed the door closed.

  Chapter 119

  "Now what?" Ciaran asked Pete after Tadgh had accepted the successor position and passed out again.

  "Where is the blood you’re going to transfuse into him?" Pete asked.

  "Already done."

  "Well, do some more then."

  "How much blood do you have to give, Ciaran?" Madeline asked although she knew it would make no difference.

  "What blood type do you need?" Zach asked.

  "The freak type, Zach. Don't worry. You won't have anything that matches,” Madeline muttered.

  Ciaran dragged the reading chair over to the bed and sat down.

  "I have to do it directly. Not enough time to do it any other way." He connected all the necessary tubes into Tadgh’s arm and his own. The blood started to draw, running from Ciaran to Tadgh. When the transfusion settled, Ciaran said. "How do you give your eudqi, Pete?"

  Pete pointed to his right wrist.

  "Madeline, there’s a connector right there, on top of the pole. You have to use the needle—and be careful to keep the air out. Take blood from Pete, please."

  He didn’t ask if Madeline was able to do it. There was no one else he could rely on. Madeline nodded and performed the procedure.

  The needle drew something from Pete's wrist. Something other than blood. It was a half-transparent silvery substance. It ran into the tube and mixed with Ciaran’s blood. When there was enough, Pete pulled the needle out himself.

  "That's enough to do the job. With his physique, he'll be as strong as superman. You have to distribute it throughout his system."

  "You mean pumping it in using my blood?”

  Pete nodded.

  "How do I know when to stop?"

  "He'll let you know." Pete smiled.

  Madeline waited. Each minute felt like a decade. Ciaran sat back in the chair.

  "What was significant about what Tadgh did?" Ciaran asked.

  "We just found out new information about Kyle. What Tadgh did had to do with the metaphysics of Eudaiz and the Black Rock."

  Ciaran raised an eyebrow. "Interesting,” he said.

  Zach mimed, "What the fuck?" at Madeline.

  She shrugged. Within the short period of time she’d been with Ciaran, that was not the weirdest thing she had heard.

  Pete continued. "To put it simply, while Eudaiz is built on a solid eudaimonic moral principal, the Black Rock is built on chaos. The core of their chaos theory is that if they can corrupt our moral ground, they can take over Eudaiz. Kyle betrayed Eudaiz for the Black Rock. His assignment was to prove that it was possible to corrupt innocence using his talent, which he achieved via Madeline. Tadgh disproved Kyle’s result by killing himself under the influence of Kyle's control."

  Ciaran laughed. "Backfire."

  Pete nodded. "That means everything that Kyle achieved in the last three decades has been ruined. This has discredited him with the Black Rock, which is his only supply source. He has no other choice but to infiltrate the Daimon Gate tonight. If he makes it to Eudaiz, he’ll devote his life to destroying it."

  "Now that sucks,” Zach moaned.

  "We'll deal with him," Ciaran muttered, feeling quite queasy. His vision wavered. He shook his head and willed his eyes to open. Madeline saw the signs of exhaustion but said nothing.

  "How much longer do you have to keep the blood flowing, Ciaran?" Madeline asked.

  They heard a faint sound from the bed. Then Tadgh opened his eyes. He glanced around and grumbled, "What the hell is going on here?"

  Ciaran pulled the needle from his arm. He went to the bed and pulled the tubes and needles from Tadgh.

  "You were a bit sick. That's all. You're fine now. Can you get up?"

  "Yeah . . .” Tadgh said.

  It was incredible to see, given the condition he was in before, Tadgh sat up by himself. He winced with pain from where the stab wound was, but he got off the bed easily by himself.

  Tadgh stood, looked around the room, looked at the thumbprint on his arm.

  "Jo." He let out a gasp. "Where’s Jo, Ciaran? You said she's going to die.”

  "I don't know where she is. Kyle’s got her. I was preoccupied with you—”

  "So nobody is looking for her? You told me I had to accept this Sciphil role to save her. Now you don't even know where she is? You bluffed me into accepting the Sciphil deal, didn't you, smart brother?"

  Tadgh shoved Ciaran. Ciaran staggered back and fell onto the bedpost.

  Tadgh was surprised that Ciaran fell so easily.

  Madeline stepped toward Tadgh and gave him a slap across the face, sending him reeling into the wall behind him.

  "Half of the blood in your body is Ciaran's. He located the substance that saved your life. All that because of your stupid heroic moment. I don't care how many universes you saved or destroyed. I don't care who you think you are, or what you’re entitled to. At the moment, you are a dickhead."

/>   "How long do we have until the gate opening?" Ciaran asked Pete.

  "Four hours,” Pete said.

  "I'm going to need one of those for myself,” Ciaran said dryly and walked out of the room. Madeline scurried after him.

  Zach shrugged. "I'm worried about Jo, too. But I agree with Madeline about you. If I rephrased what she said, it wouldn’t be as gentle. If I repeated what she did, no amount of superhero juice would keep you standing." Zach walked away, leaving Tadgh and Pete alone in the room.

  Chapter 120

  The cell door slid open. Jo crawled into a corner to guard herself against the two creatures strolling in.

  They walked on two legs, so Jo assumed they were at least at the ape level in the food chain. But their bodies were hideous, Dr. Frankenstein-looking creations. Although Frankenstein's work wasn’t pretty, Jo thought, it was no comparison to what she saw now.

  One creature had a combination of multicolored skins. The other was made of the face and body parts of many different animals. The body parts looked as if they were the leftovers from a cannibal’s meal.

  They said nothing. They grabbed Jo, ignoring her physical protests and verbal insults. One held her down, and the other treated her arm. They finished quickly. As much as Jo hated to admit it, she felt an instant relief from the pain.

  A moment later, Kyle entered. "We have to leave now. I normally travel on foot, but I don't want to hurt you again, so we'll take the capsule this time."

  "The capsule?"

  Kyle did not answer. He snatched Jo, pulling her out of the cell, and shoved her into a round, metal cabin that indeed looked like a capsule. There was no window, so Jo could not orient herself. In what seemed like only a few seconds, the capsule opened. Kyle pulled her out of the capsule, and they walked into a dirt tunnel that went underground.

  Upon their exit, they climbed up the stairs of a basement where hay was clustered and tools were piled up against wooden panels. When they came out of the basement, she saw a familiar sight—a farmhouse and a barn. And farm animals. Jo was sure they were Earth animals. They looked friendly, which was a bonus. She had never had a good relationship with cows and sheep. But at the moment, she loved them. She smiled graciously at a cow nearby.

  A car was parked in the distance. The driver got out and opened the door at the back for Kyle and Jo. Further away, Jo spotted a line of ten cars and saw armed men standing around. If they were Kyle's men, then her friends would be outnumbered at the gate.

  These men were worse than the soldiers at Fountains Abbey. The soldiers had been human—these men were not. They were like zombies, but maybe slightly better-looking. Jo no longer had her phone. She didn’t know how to alert Madeline and the others about this little army.

  She stumbled on her heels and fell next to one of the zombie-ish men. As he crouched to help her up, she snatched his phone. When they got to the car, Kyle opened the door for her. He reached his hand out and said, “Give it to me.”

  “Give what?” She played dumb.

  “You don’t want to upset me now, Jo. Give it back.”

  Jo grumbled some profanity and shoved the phone into Kyle’s hand. She got into the car and sank into the passenger seat. Kyle stepped in after her and sat next to her with a crooked smile on his face. Jo shifted and moved away.

  “I’m not that scary,” Kyle said.

  “Nope. Not at all. You’re a saint. I bet my life on it,” she said and looked out the window.

  She tried her best to keep a neutral expression and show a small sign of vulnerability. On the inside, she was doing a victory dance. In addition to the phone, she had also stolen a pocket knife from the zombie gangster and was overjoyed to feel its weight in her pants’ secret pocket.

  Chapter 121

  On the other side of town, Zach held the wheel. Tadgh was in the front with him, and Madeline and Ciaran sat in the back. They were heading toward an old gold mine outside Ballarat, a small historic Victorian town.

  Ciaran obviously needed more than an hour to recoup, Tadgh contemplated. Otherwise, he would never have let Zach take the wheel.

  Tadgh couldn’t drive because if he did, they would never get to the site in time. He worried about Jo. But he had a feeling that she would be fine. She was smart and resourceful. She knew how to handle herself—even if he had to go through the Daimon Gate with Ciaran as the successor of Sciphil Nine and leave her alone on Earth.

  Tadgh shook his head. He worried about Ciaran more.

  His brother sat in the back, saying nothing. That was a sign that Ciaran was utilizing every waking moment to regain his strength. Tadgh regretted that his action had caused so much trouble. He wondered how much longer it would be until he had even a fraction of the maturity his brother had.

  Madeline pulled Ciaran so that he leaned on her and lay his head on her shoulder. She liked the feel of their bodies together. Leaning on her shoulder, Ciaran nuzzled into the nape of Madeline’s neck. He kissed her neck and gave it a little bite. Madeline chuckled. She turned his face toward her and kissed him.

  An hour later, they were at the site. It was forty minutes before sunset.

  "Do you see the gate?" Ciaran asked.

  "Well, that's the gate of an old gold mine. I assume the Daimon Gate will be a bit grander," Zach said.

  There was nothing around them except the bare hills. The cattle were quietly heading home, single file. Everything seemed to be settling in preparation for the sunset.

  They got out of the car.

  Tadgh looked at Ciaran as if he wanted to say something. Madeline saw the hint and went to talk to Zach.

  Ciaran stood leaning against the trunk of the car. Tadgh approached. "I'm sorry about what I said and did at the mansion, Ciaran. I don't know what got into me."

  "Don't worry about it. I know what it feels like to be left out."

  "What?"

  "You knew you were susceptible to Kyle's mind tricks. Nobody wants to be the weak link, Tadgh. I understand that. And the fact that I threatened to send you home didn’t help. I’m sorry for that. But I wish you’d told me."

  Tadgh nodded. "Should’ve, could’ve, didn't."

  "I suppose I'm not exactly easy to talk to."

  "You've got that right." Tadgh chuckled.

  "Let's leave that behind us, shall we?" Ciaran gave Tadgh a pat on the shoulder. "You're my little brother. It's my job to look out for you."

  The air cooled down quickly.

  The opening time was approaching. The sun began sinking behind the hills.

  They got back into the car. Ciaran took the wheel this time. They lowered the car windows to feel the movement of the air.

  It was coming.

  The air thickened. They heard a rumbling sound. But there was no sign of a storm.

  The rumbling sound came from behind them.

  "Kyle's here,” Madeline said. She could sense him.

  Ciaran looked in the rearview mirror and saw a line of cars coming toward them.

  "I suppose they’re real cars with real people,” he muttered to himself. Ciaran put the car into gear quickly and turned around in the blink of an eye.

  "Ten against one, coward,” Ciaran said. "Got your guns ready, people?" Ciaran asked. Before getting a response, he turned the steering wheel and drove in a circle. He fishtailed and smashed into one of the cars at the far end. Before the car driver could register the impact, Zach took him out with a bullet.

  Ciaran continued to drive in a circle. The nine cars left made a bigger circle so that Ciaran could not break away. Bullets rained on them, but most missed the car because of the speed at which Ciaran was driving.

  "Get two more will you?" He charged at one car and swirled his steering wheel in the last second to sneak in between the two running cars. Before they could react, Tadgh and Zach took down the two cars.

  Cars drove around and around at incredible speeds. Dirt and grass flew everywhere. Ciaran was too fast for the other cars to see or anticipate his location. They coul
dn’t even see which way his car was facing, let alone shoot at it.

  Ciaran drove head-on into a car. He said to Madeline, who was sitting in the front with him, "Can you take him down before we hit?" It was a rhetorical question. Regardless of whether she could do it or not, he maintained his head-on path and assumed she could shoot the other car.

  Madeline pointed the gun and shot, taking the driver out.

  "Two sides, Tadgh and Zach."

  Ciaran maneuvered in an S around and behind the six remaining cars. As soon as he got close enough, Tadgh and Zach fired.

  In the grass and dirt, and amid the chaotic sounds of car engines, they took the remaining cars out quickly.

  Ciaran stopped the car. Madeline got out without realizing that a man behind them had stood up and grabbed a gun.

  In the blink of an eye, Zach sent a sound signal into the man's head. He grunted out a sound, grabbed his ears, and had his head blown off by a bullet from Tadgh's gun.

  The air thickened and started whirling.

  "The gate is opening,” Zach said.

  They checked their daggers and headed toward the gate of the old gold mine. The air in front of it stirred more strongly. The wind circle sucked in objects from the immediate area and ejected them in all directions.

  In the strong wind, blue and white light beams swirled around like gigantic cylinders. It was similar to the tornado Juliette had created, but this one was colorful and much bigger.

  "What now, Zach? Should we just walk right in there?" Ciaran asked.

  "Wait. Ayana has to take us in."

  In the middle of the wind circle, Ayana appeared, a gracious smile on her face. She stepped outside the circle. "Welcome to you all. Follow me."

  Before they could take a step, Ayana swung her sword and pointed at a dark corner. "Come out," she said.

  A whirl of black dirt and wind came. It created a blade of wind and knocked everyone on the ground except Ayana.

  Kyle appeared. "Thanks for opening the gate. Long time no see, Ayana. You are still as beautiful as ever."

  Kyle swung his arm at Ayana. Ayana pushed up her sword to block. The wind circle shrank instantly and started to collapse on her. Ayana stabbed her sword into the ground and regained her stance. The circle opened again.