Even now, weariness pulled at my muscles and mind, insisting rest was necessary. I was conditioned and used to pushing through the chemical warnings. It was also why I did not wish to face the Soul Eater so soon again. I would not last long in my state. I needed some time, and meditation if it were available.
“And a Propheros?” Emma asked, nodding to Travis. “I heard the… mist monster call him that.”
“He is…” I trailed off. I shouldn’t be telling her any of this. If my Master were here, he would say the girl was of no importance, especially under the circumstances. At the very least, I should drop her off somewhere after this, leaving her with as little information as possible. But the soul eater might find her, and I couldn’t bear the thought.
I took a breath. “He is an important figure of a prophecy written over a thousand years ago. He is to protect the world from the coming darkness.”
She scrunched up her nose and shot Travis a skeptical look. “No offense, but I think you should nominate a new prophecy guy. I doubt Travis has even killed a spider.”
I shrugged as I grabbed the empty oil drum then pulled it into the aisle between Travis and Emma. I didn’t name the Propheros. My job was just to protect him.
Another bang bang bang and Emma retreated into the coat like a turtle into its shell.
I walked over to her and reached into the pew in front of her. The movement forced me to lean close to Emma. Her eyes rounded like marbles behind her thick-rimmed glasses, and her lips parted. This close, I could feel the heat of her body radiating out from under the confines of my thick coat. The temptation to lean forward and capture those lips in a kiss was so strong it made my entire being ache. It ached like it had when I returned from the trials, broken and bruised from surviving the elements, except this ache had a fire to it. With a jerk, I ripped the rotted wood out of the pew and made a pile of broken wood.
Soon I had a contained blaze burning. Emma removed her hands from the coat pockets and held them up to the fire. “Nice dumpster fire skills you got there.”
“Thank you,” I said, feeling proud I was able to impress her, but then I realized there was something in her voice I missed, at first. Sarcasm. I was unused to it and ducked my head away so she couldn’t see the heat in my cheeks.
“It’s weird seeing such a manly warrior type blush,” she said, keeping her gaze on me which I avoided. “Especially one who can fight a soul eater, whatever that is.”
“It’s a kind of malevolent spirit,” I explained, bypassing the other comment she made.
“Funny,” she said, “Last I checked, spirits weren’t supposed to take physical form.”
I couldn’t help but smile at her this time. “You are smart indeed. It must be from all those books you read. It was astounding to watch you absorb one a day.”
She reared back, startled, but I wasn’t sure why.
“You’ve been watching me?”
I shrugged, uncomfortable. I moved to sit across from her, next to Travis. I hunched over the fire. “No, or I mean yes. I mean, I was keeping an eye on the area. I tracked the soul eater to Smoky Badger.”
She blinked. “You knew it would attack the liquor store?”
I continued, avoiding her intense gaze. “No,” then in a quiet voice I added, “But it was warmer in there than keeping watch on the town from outside all day and night.”
She cocked her head to the side. “Warmer, huh?” It was like she knew I was withholding information.
I wasn’t lying. Smoky Badger Liquors was considerably warmer than outside, but I had no problems posting up in a pine tree to keep watch. It was sometimes quite cozy perching in a place where I could see everything from a bird’s eye view. But I certainly spent more time in the liquor store than I intended, because of her.
“Yes, I like to read. I don’t always finish a book every day.” She muttered under her breath, “Sometimes it takes me two days.”
“You must be terribly wise, consuming that much literature,” I said.
Her face twisted up in disbelief and I knew I said something wrong again, but I wasn’t sure what.
“Is that a joke?” she demanded, a hard edge to her tone once again.
I sat up and shook my head. “No, it’s not a joke. Even the best of scholars I know cannot finish a book in a year. From what I understand, it sometimes takes them years to finish reading one volume. You must be very wise to read so much.”
She shook her head slowly and asked, “Where did you come from?”
Travis let out a long groan and brought a hand to the already darkening bruise on his cheek where Emma punched him. “Wha- what happened?” he mumbled before he jerked up as if hit by lightning.
CHAPTER FIVE
Travis’s eyes were wild as they rolled around, taking in his surroundings.
“Calm down, Travis,” Emma said.
Her mouth turned down at the corners, making me think maybe she was also disappointed he had awakened. I could only assume her displeasure came from having to endure his hysteria again. Whereas, I was disappointed because, as uncomfortable as it was, I enjoyed feeling like Emma and I were alone together.
Bang bang bang.
Emma gave the door a crooked smile. “There now, not nearly as loud or thundering as last time. Just like…” She looked at me as if horrified by some fact. “Oh my god, I don’t even know your name.” She clapped a hand over her mouth.
“Calan,” I said.
Again, I wondered what my Masters would think of my disclosure, especially Master Ylang. I should have only told her I was a Chevalier, a servant. To name myself to a civilian of no consequence in the greater battle was a sin of vanity. The delight on Emma’s face chased away my thoughts of coming punishment.
“You look like a Calan.”
Travis was still rubbing at his puffy face. “Yeah dude. What, do you like workout every day? Wouldn’t know to look at you in that big coat, but it’s clear now you’re swole.”
I nodded though I didn’t know what ‘swole’ meant. “I train every day, yes. For three hours. It is necessary for someone of my position to do so.”
Emma’s eyes fluttered down behind her glasses to my torso and arms again. This time I recognized the expression. Lust. My stomach shifted hotly.
If Travis weren’t here, I couldn’t be sure what I would have done. I decided in the end it was good he was here acting as a chaperone.
“So can we go home now?” Travis whined, hope lighting his words. “Haven’t heard any banging in a minute.”
I shook my head. “No, we must go to my Master.”
“Me too?” Emma asked, her voice hopeful.
“The soul eater has your scent now. It will come for you no matter where you are.” I added slowly, “If you want to live, I believe it’s best if you stay with me.”
Travis folded his arms. “How very Terminator of you.”
My brows scrunched up. “Pardon?”
“Don’t mind him,” Emma said, waving him off. “He’s just being a baby. But yes, very interested in living.”
“A baby?” Travis flailed his arms, bordering on hysteria again. “Something is trying to kill us. A… what did you call it? A soul eater? I think it’s totally normal for me to freak out over being chased by a monster.”
“It’s a spirit,” I corrected.
“What?”
“It’s a malevolent spirit. Well, it was until it became corporeal, but technically it’s still a spirit. Not a monster.”
Travis looked like he was sucking on un-ripened berries as he asked in a deadpan voice. “What? Are you telling me there are such things as monsters, too?”
“No, of course not,” I scoffed.
Travis gave a watery smile and ran a shaky hand through his hair.
“Demons are very real though.”
He blanched.
“They would probably be closer to a monster than a spirit. Demons are obviously solid all the time.”
Emma eyed Travis, as if anti
cipating he might snap. “So Calan, I need to go back to my place to pick something up before we go anywhere.”
“No,” I shook my head. “As I said, we must immediately go to my Master. He will know what to do. I can create the portal, now that we cannot be trailed by the soul eater and I am strong enough again to do so.”
Travis’s eyes were round and glazed as he nodded. “Oh yes, a portal. Of course, that’s what we should do. Makes perfect sense. Beam us up, Scotty.”
“Don’t lose it, Travis.” Emma snapped.
Travis’s ire rose but his hysteria lessened. “Just because we dated a couple weeks in high school, it doesn’t mean you know me or can tell me what to do.”
Highly uncomfortable with both the friction between the two of them as well as the discovery that they were once romantically involved, I walked to the back corner of the church and knelt. Focusing, I called forth my will to create a portal.
“Sure it does,” Emma said. “Believe me, dating you for two weeks, I learned all there was to know. You’re just upset you can’t hit the bong to solve this problem like you do everything else.”
After a couple minutes, I turned around. I had to raise my voice to be heard over their bickering. “It takes a great amount of concentration and energy to create a portal. It would be helpful if you could be silent.”
I didn’t mean for the edge in my voice to be so sharp, but I wasn’t used to being around people, much less their conflicts.
Emma threw her hands up. “Shutting up now.”
Travis just folded his arms and glared.
“Thank you,” I said with genuine gratitude then turned back to manifesting my will. This time I made a box shape out of my hands to take us back to the Temple.
My will did not flow. I blinked.
“How’s that portal coming?” Travis called out.
I shrugged my shoulders back, ignoring him, closed my eyes and focused my will again.
Several more minutes passed in silence before Emma chimed in, “How long does this usually take?”
My jaw clenched of its own accord and my back muscles tightened.
She continued, “Do I have time to take a nap or should we be ready to go here shortly?”
I got off my knees and back onto my feet. Irritation pulsed under my skin, a strange, foreign sensation to me. I was so often in alignment with the Light, I rarely knew of external conditions to break my peace.
“It should have formed by now,” I mumbled, reluctant to say it out loud.
“What?” Travis asked.
I spoke louder this time. “The portal should have formed by now. I’m not sure if it’s this place, or if I need more rest….”
Emma took a few steps toward me. “Has this happened before?”
I shook my head.
Travis rocked on his heels and slapped an open hand against a fist. “Can’t get the old juices working there, eh? I feel ya. I mean not me personally, but I’ve had some buddies couldn’t perform when the time came.”
“Travis. Shut. Up.” Emma looked like she was close to punching him again.
I felt as though he were alluding to something else but didn’t know what. From Emma’s reaction, it wasn’t a good implication.
Emma sighed, turning to me, “Well, we can’t stay here all night. It’s getting colder every minute, and there are only so many things we can break and set on fire in here before we bring the whole church down on us.”
Trying to focus on what could be done, and not ruminating on my failure to create a portal, I nodded in agreement. “Yes, we must find safe shelter for the night.”
Take her back to the building you were staying in. Get the blanket, and offer her one of those wines you bought….
I cut off my own thoughts. This was no time for fantasy. My priority was the Propheros, not sharing a meal with this adorable yet alluring girl.
Lost in thought about where we should take shelter quickly devolved into self-recriminations about not being able to conjure a portal.
Emma’s warm hand on my forearm pulled me away from the dark thoughts of what my Masters would do when they heard of my failing. It had never been so crucial to use my abilities as now when I needed to protect the Propheros.
“We could go back to my place,” she said softly.
Afraid to move an inch so that it might compel her to take her hand off me, I said in an equally low tone. “It won’t be safe. Under no circumstances can we return to your home.”
I have never been touched before like Emma was touching me at that moment. It was gentle and caring. I wished the sleeve of my shirt was pushed up so I could feel her flesh against mine. At the Temple, anointment was the closest thing to a gentle touch I’d known. In watching from a distance, I was always entranced by couples who cuddled, or a child who ran into the arms of a parent. Embrace was something I’d never known and from the outside, it looked… nice. Now I’d had a taste of that touch and found my assumption to be true. It was both gratifying to know as well as dissatisfactory. This was probably the only moment I’d know any such affections and it left me wanting.
Brushing aside my cresting desires, I reminded myself such things could never be for me. Not until I atoned and was deemed worthy. My purpose was the mission.
“Calan,” Emma said, and I liked the way my name sounded coming out of her mouth. “Since we can’t use your portal, we might as well go back to my place to figure things out.”
I shook my head. “Absolutely not.”
Her hand slipped from my arm, and I immediately missed it. “It will take two seconds.”
“Two seconds?” I asked quizzically.
“Not literally,” Travis said when he saw my expression. “Geez, you act like you popped straight out of the dark ages.”
Emma’s eyes widened. “Wait, are you from the past? I mean your clothes are modern, but he is kind of right. You’re kind of old fashioned.”
My lips tightened. “No, I am not a time traveler.” I didn’t offer further explanation as to where I came from. “We cannot go back to either of your abodes,” I insisted, hoping that would be the end of such ideas. “We need a more long-term safe house.”
Emma smiled brightly and gave my arm a squeeze. “Actually, I know just the place.”
CHAPTER SIX
Fifteen minutes later we were hurrying back out in the frozen, dark woods.
Through chattering teeth, Travis said to Emma, “You think you’re really clever, don’t you?”
I didn’t know what he meant.
“Did you have a better idea? You want to take him home to your parents’ house and show off the basement where you live?” she shot back at him. When he didn’t respond, she added, “That’s what I thought.”
“We aren’t far now,” I threw back at the two of them. As they tried to keep pace, I had to remember to slow down. Soon we arrived back at Smoky Badger Liquors. The windows of the shop had been blown out, but no one was around. The soul eater had returned to the Stygian to regather its energy, but would no doubt come back to the physical plane to destroy the Propheros and Emma. I knew I must inform my Masters but I counted on my magic to relay information as well as transport my physical body. I had no such way to do so now that my magic failed to flow to my will.
“Where was the portal supposed to lead to anyway?” Emma asked. Her eyes remained fastened on me as if avoiding looking at the store’s wreckage.
“It is to the Temple where I was trained. It is where my Masters are. They will help us.”
“Maybe we could just grab a plane to this Temple?” Emma asked.
I frowned. I’d never been in an airplane and had no intention of climbing the sky in an oversized metal bird. It was unnatural. “I’ve only ever used portals to return to my home. I wouldn’t know how to use any other transport system to get there.”
“But where is this Temple on a map?” Emma asked.
“I don’t know.” I shrugged, uncomfortable with her continued persistence to find
another route. The only one we needed was by way of my magic. I was sure I would be able to generate a portal soon. “My masters told me once we lived in a world between worlds. Where we could protect the old ways. The true ways.”
“So it could be another planet.” Emma’s mouth fell into a small ‘o.’
They were confusing me. “No, it is in the World, on Earth. It is hidden in a jungle, far from humanity’s reach.”
“That explains a lot,” Travis said, his tone dry.
“What does it explain?”
He threw his hands in the air, “Why you don’t get what we are talking about half the time. You’re like some kind of warrior Rain Man.”
Emma shot Travis a glare.
I straightened, taking Emma’s look to mean I’d been insulted. “My missions take me all over the world, but I do not interact with civilians longer than duty calls for. I speak over fifty languages, not all of them well, but I can navigate any terrain. So no, I do not stay long enough to familiarize myself with eccentricities of any one culture. I show up, I adapt, I hunt, and then I return to the Temple.”
They quieted, seeming to process. I stalked toward the vehicles, feeling foolish. I’d never exposed myself in such a way. It felt like I’d roll over to show them the soft underside of my belly, like a pig unaware it was ever in danger of being slaughtered.
After a brief discussion, we piled into Emma’s black jeep over Travis’s rusted truck, which had only two seats in the small cab. Travis complained that he got carsick and should be allowed to sit in the front. However, I pressed the necessity of my being in front to watch for any impending threats. Plus, it was tactically optimal for him to sit in the back where he would be most protected. He begrudgingly got in the back but only after Emma threatened to slug him again if he didn’t get into the vehicle.
As Emma drove, Travis slumped back and crossed his arms, sulking. “Always believe a pretty face, do you?” he asked me. “Safe house, my ass.”
Before I could ask him what he meant, Emma put her hand on me again, silencing my thoughts with a pleasurable heat that was only intensified by her smile. “Don’t listen to him, he’s just upset he has to sit in the back.”
Prophecy Girl (The Five Orders Book 1) Page 3