Empath Reborn

by J. A. Culican

  I crawl, putting one elbow in front of the other. Raise a knee. Straighten a leg. Repeat. Inch by inch, I make my way to Talon as Dawson watches, expressionless. His soldiers are already coming for us, so I push myself as hard as I can, ignoring the pain and scrapes.

  I get to Talon just before the troops do, and I put my lips on his. They're soft, and delightful, and I love him. I may never feel his lips again—I close my eyes and try to burn this sensation into my memory.

  Soldiers rip him away from me a moment later, and tear my heart out along with him.

  As I'm carried off over a soldier’s shoulder, I can still feel Talon's lips on mine. Bouncing and swaying with each step the soldier takes, I close my eyes and fight a battle against my tears. It’s a battle I know I'll lose.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  True to his word, Dawson's troops dump us through a portal—literally, in my and Luka's case, since we're still shaking off the paralysis spell's effects. With a wave of his hand, one soldier creates a glowing rectangle over the door-sized portal, and once he vanishes back to Mortals Landing, the glow fades away. In its wake, it leaves behind a rune-etched stone cover over the portal.

  I lunge for the door, staggering with each step, and pound on it. I think I'm screaming, but I'm not sure. If that’s my scream, it doesn’t help me to feel any better.

  After the fourth time I feebly strike the stone door, my knees give out at last. I hate that spell. Strong hands catch me before I hit the ground. In my confusion, I think it's Talon for a moment, but then I see Glenn's face over me. There’s pity in his eyes as he eases me down to the ground.

  "Rest," he says under his breath. “You’ll be okay in a bit, trust me. I’ve seen that spell before.”

  I try to protest, but I’m too weak. My eyelids seem heavier than they should, actually. I let them close, giving up the battle to keep them open, and the darkness of sleep swallows me.

  ***

  When I come to, I'm lying on something soft and warm. I open one eye. It's just what it felt like—a big, comfy bed with big, comfy blankets.

  "Where are we?" I mutter, wiping sleep from my eyes. Then I grin as I realize that my body is doing what I tell it to do again. That discovery gives me a moment of thrill, but the scene with Dawson comes crashing back to me, ruining it.

  Talon is gone... It hardly seems real.

  "Good morning," Luka says.

  I look toward the sound and see him sitting in a recliner in a corner of the room, by the head of the bed. Confused, I murmur, "Morning?"

  "Yeah. You slept over sixteen hours. I've been up for a couple hours, but I think I was running on the energy I got when Talon brought me back."

  The mention of Talon makes me cringe, but I try to cover it by asking, "Where are we?"

  From the doorway, a woman's voice says, "A safe house, where we'll stay until we can figure out what to do and how to get my son back." Birka's voice.

  "How... Birka?" I hardly believe my eyes and ears.

  "Apparently, Dawson included me in Talon's list of people to eject. He didn't have the stomach to murder me, and he has too much integrity to let Luna do it."

  "He's a traitor," Glenn growls from another recliner in the room. "How can you say he has any integrity at all?"

  Birka raises her eyebrows, closes her eyes, and takes a deep breath, all at once. Then, she looks over at Glenn and replies, "The man is forged from pure integrity. He's a traitor because, in his own mind, it was the only right thing to do after I refused to consider a peace between us and the Shades. You know they can't be trusted to honor it."

  No, they can't. Dawson doesn't realize it, but the first time he gets in Luna's way, he's a dead man. And she has Talon. With him as her prisoner and Birka in exile, the Wraiths won't be able to mount much of a resistance.

  That thought makes my throat tighten up and tears threaten to spill again, but I blink a few times and the sensation goes away. "We'll deal with that one step at a time."

  Deal with things as they are... Speaking of which, I have questions for Luka, not to mention conflicting feelings. I add, "Can I have a minute alone with Luka?"

  Birka shows just a hint of irritation, but covers it quickly as she glances between us. "Of course, dear. We all have questions. Come downstairs whenever you're ready. Don't be too long, though," she says, glancing at Luka again just before she leaves.

  Glenn waves as he follows her out.

  I watch everyone leave until the door closes, then turn to look at Luka. I let my eyes just drink him in for a moment, then ask, "Where are Ida and Meredith?""Ida's downstairs making breakfast, and Meredith is probably back in that tunnel, hiding out.”

  “She got away?” No way. Of all of us, she’s the one who escaped? It’s almost funny.

  “No. She wasn't with us when we got shoved through the portal, that’s all, so she has to be down there. Anyway, I was startled to see that Luna allowed us to go without trying to have us killed, assuming she's really still alive."

  I have to shake my head at that. "If Dawson said she survived the lab collapse, then she did. I can only guess that she wasn't ready to risk her newfound alliance by killing a handful of exiles, but you and I both know she could send people after us. She’s the type to do that."

  Luka frowns, but nods. "Yeah. That's why we're here, actually. This is my childhood home, from before I came to Hollows Ground. It gives us a safe plate that's warded, of course, and I was here so long ago that no one would even know to look here."

  I can't stop staring at him. Not because of his chiseled good looks, although that doesn't hurt, but because I'm dying to know what only he knows.

  Before I can figure out how to ask my questions, he smiles at me. His eyes light up when he does that, like he's never seen anything so splendid, and I love it. Then, he says, "I can guess what you want to know. The answer is, I only know that my soul went somewhere else after I died. I remember nothing of it now that I'm back in my meat-suit."

  I grin at his choice of words. "Does it really feel like a suit now? I feel like my body is me, I am my body."

  He shrugs. "It doesn't feel right on me anymore. Earth isn't where I belong. I feel... It feels almost like I'm sick, actually. But don't worry about that. It'll pass."

  I find myself frowning. He can’t know for sure that it’ll pass. He’s just trying to reassure me. "That doesn't sound pleasant at all. But, now that you know souls go somewhere after we die, why would you want to stick around here?"

  I pray he doesn’t say it's for me. I'm confused enough about Luka’s return, and I’m hurt over Talon. I loved Luka—my first love, actually—but do I still? How could I not love him?

  He replies, "That one is a lot easier to explain. I want to stay here because I want to be with you.”

  “That’s it?”

  “It's that simple."

  I stare at him, trying not to cry or shout or laugh, or freak out. I don't know what I'm feeling, actually. What should I say? My thoughts spin like tires in gravel, with just as little traction. Nothing comes to mind.

  "Close your mouth," he says, smiling.

  My mouth? Oh, damn. I snap it closed. I hadn't realized I'd been staring at him, slack-jawed. "Things are, ah..."

  Luka shrugs, then stands and walks over to put his hands on my shoulders. Looking down into my eyes, he says, "I saw you and Talon kissing. I know what happened between you two. But Mirela, I’m not upset about that.”

  My heart skips a beat in relief, or so it feels. “Really? You aren’t?”

  “No. I was dead, and I can't blame you. Or him, either. And, by the same token, I know your feelings are a lot more complex than they used to be.”

  I sniffle and wipe my eyes before a tear can form. He forgives me. He understands what I’m going through.

  He says, “You just need to be aware that I realize that, about us. You're under no obligation to me, either. Things change, especially when you think the one you love is dead and gone forever.”

&nb
sp; It feels like I’m the deer in headlights, frozen in place. Then, another thought hits me. What if he’s just trying to let me down easy, and in all the time he was dead, he decided he didn’t care for me in that way, after all?

  The thought sends my spirits tumbling a lot more than I think it should, given what happened with me and Talon and the fact that he’s still alive, somewhere. Still, I have to know. “Are you saying you don’t want me, anymore?”

  “I haven't changed, no. I have my hopes for what you decide to do, but in the end, you'll follow your heart, whichever way it leads you."

  He's amazing. He understands what I'm feeling. This can't be easy for him, either, but he’s standing here with me and trying to make me feel better. Despite my best efforts, my eyes betray me and a tear rolls down my cheek, but I don’t try to hide it or turn away. I can be honest, with Luka.

  He wipes the corners of my eyes and says, "I'll give you a moment to wash up. I’m headed downstairs. You just come down when you're ready, okay?"

  I watch him go, and I can't stop the tears, though it’s a silent crying. This isn’t heartache, it’s soul-hurt. But what about Talon? Luna has the machine and she has Talon. She'll make him pay for taking away her powers, and she'll go after the people he cares about. People like me. And if she wants to get to me, she has an easy way to do it, too—she has my parents.

  Luka is here, though, and Talon isn't, but I won't pick one just because the other isn't there.

  The confusion is absolutely the worst part in all this love-triangle melodrama. It doesn't feel like a melodrama to me, though. This is my life.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  In the bathroom, I find a bunch of new, unopened makeup. That, at least, brings a smile to my face. I wonder who I have to thank for that.

  Now that I've let off some of the pressure—tears are a relief valve for the heart—I see in the mirror that my makeup is all smudged and faded to the point where I can barely tell I’m wearing any. Ha ha, no wonder Luka was willing to let me go.

  Sarcasm aside, I reapply my makeup, and once I’m satisfied with the minimal makeup I put on, I feel a lot more human.

  Ouch—I guess I'm not really human.

  Then, I head downstairs feeling refreshed, and hopefully, looking better than I feel. Before I get to the bottom, I can see the others sitting around a big kitchen table. Breakfast sprawls across the table's center, but I'm not hungry. Luka’s plate is clean as he nibbles on a piece of toast.

  The conversation stops as they turn to look at me. I’m a bit self-conscious, but that's not important right now so I shove the thought aside for the moment and get to the point. With a smile, I ask, "What are we talking about this morning?"

  Luka stands as I approach the table, and stays standing until I find my way to sit in the last available chair.

  "We’re talking about Luka's stupid idea," Glenn says.

  Ida glares at him. “I don’t see you offering any alternatives.”

  He grins, which only makes her scowl deepen. "I think we should go to China. Those Wraiths are old-school traditionalists—they won't bow down to Dawson. We can take refuge there."

  Luka snarls, but quickly composes himself. His voice monotone, he says, "Whereas I say we have to get back to Mortals Landing. We're going to stop Dawson and Luna before she gets a chance to kill him and take over the world for herself."

  Glenn shakes his head slowly. "Yeah, and don’t forget your supposed friend, Talon. Did you forget him?”

  Luka purses his lips. “No. But he wouldn’t want us to rescue him when we should be beating the crap out of Luna.”

  “I get it, she did worse than killing your parents, and she killed you. But that doesn't make your plan a good one." Glenn doesn’t seem to notice Luka’s expression, or just as likely, he’s ignoring it. Glenn’s cocky enough not to care much about other people’s feelings.

  Luka says with his voice rising, "I don't have a plan, I have a goal. Like I said before, we need to get Talon back, get Ela's parents back, and stop Dawson and Luna. Not necessarily in that order.”

  I raise my eyebrows, surprised. “I thought you said we shouldn’t go after Talon? And what’s wrong with going to China to gather an army of Wraiths?”

  Luka’s expression turns blank. I can’t read him at all. “Luna will create an army of risen dead and take over the whole planet, and Glenn’s Asian Wraiths sure aren't going to fight that war.”

  Actually, it sounds like Glenn had a great idea, so I ask, “Why not gather Chinese Wraiths? They swore loyalty to Birka just like the rest, right?”

  Luka nods, but says, “Technically, yes. But in reality, they're going to keep their heads down and wait it out behind their great wall, with all its wards and spells.”

  Glenn replies, “It’s a strategy that has worked rather well these last few thousand years. That’s why we should go there.”

  “But times have changed and the enemy has changed, even if they’re too hidebound to realize it. We wouldn’t be safe there for long. What we need to do is address the problem head-on after managing every variable we can think of—not just to run and hide."

  "That's a mouthful," Glenn says, rolling his eyes.

  Ida punches him in the arm. "Shut up, Glenn. You do want to run. At least Luka is actually trying to do something useful. I vote with Luka."

  I cut in immediately. "I vote we get Talon—your friend, Glenn and Luka. I vote we get my parents. I vote we deal with Luna and that traitor, Dawson, and all the rest. We go with Luka's goal. But we’re getting Talon first, if we can—they can’t raise that army without him."

  There’s murmuring around the table, but even Glenn is nodding. I know what I’m going to do. I’m determined to go with or without them. I’ve embarrassed them about leaving Talon out of their plans. And it should have been obvious that getting Talon prevents them from raising the returnee army. Combined, it seems, these points are getting the first unanimous opinion I’ve ever seen from these people.

  As I listen to the conversation and hear them leading themselves toward my plan, I find myself relaxing for the first time in a long time. I lean back, wondering about the future. What it holds for me and Luka, I don't know, but I'll have the opportunity to find out.

  I sit watching Luka and Glenn, Ida and Birka, all talking about short-term goals and how to strengthen ourselves, but it dawns on me that I’m seeing in Luka something that wasn’t there before. He's leading us, and even jerkface Glenn is coming around, despite his sarcasm.

  Of course, Birka tries to make my plans sound like her idea, but she, too, agrees with it.

  And so our fate, and maybe the fate of the world, is decided over breakfast. We spend the rest of the time talking about how to secure the house and how to stay hidden while we build our strength.

  We aren't going to be able to attack Dawson and Luna tomorrow, nor the next day. But someday, we'll make them pay for what they’ve done. In the meantime, I’m comfortable and safe, even in exile. I have time to figure out my feelings for Luka, too.

  I’m looking forward to that.

  Grab the final book in the Hollows Ground series, Cursed Seer available NOW!

  https://www.jaculican.com/hollows-ground/

  Books by J.A. Culican

  Novels:

  The Prince Returns-Keeper of Dragons book 1

  The Elven Alliance-Keeper of Dragons book 2

  The Mere Treaty-Keeper of Dragons book 3

  The Crowns’ Accord-Keeper of Dragons book 4

  Second Sight-Hollows Ground book 1

  Stolen Magic-Hollows Ground book 2

  Empath Reborn-Hollows Ground book 3

  Cursed Seer-Hollows Ground book 4

  Slayer-Dragon Tamer book 1

  Warrior-Dragon Tamer book 2

  Protector-Dragon Tamer book 3

  Sword of Fire-Through the Ashes book 1

  Embers of Darkness-Through the Ashes book 2

  Blaze of Magic-Through the Ashes book 3

  Sp
ark of War-Through the Ashes prequel

  Short Stories

  The Golden Dragon-Keeper of Dragons short story

  Jericho-Keeper of Dragons short story

  Phoenix-Hollows Ground short story

  Savior-Dragon Tamer short story

  About the author

  About J.A. Culican

  J.A. Culican is a USA Today Bestselling author of the middle grade fantasy series Keeper of Dragons. Her first novel in the fictional series catapulted a trajectory of titles and awards, including top selling author on the USA Today bestsellers list and Amazon, and a rightfully earned spot as an international best seller. Additional accolades include Best Fantasy Book of 2016, Runner-up in Reality Bites Book Awards, and 1st place for Best Coming of Age Book from the Indie book Awards.

  J.A. Culican holds a Master’s degree in Special Education from Niagara University, in which she has been teaching special education for over 12 years. She is also the president of the autism awareness non-profit Puzzle Peace United. J.A. Culican resides in Southern New Jersey with her husband and four young children.

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