Soulless Read online

  “That’s it, Todd. Imagine the possibilities,” Theron cooed. He’d witnessed that moment of acceptance, too. I turned my face in his direction just in time to see him reaching out to Todd with an arrogance that I almost couldn’t believe. “We will have such fun together. All you need to do is take my hand and I can show you a world you never thought possible.”

  “Todd, no!” I needed to grab his attention again, so I pushed his arms off me and stomped on his foot. He looked shocked for a moment and I thought I’d done enough, but then he glanced at Theron. Their eyes locked and my stomach plummeted. Theron had won.

  “Todd, you don’t want to do this!” I pleaded. “Trust me. It’s time for your soul to move on, not be trapped here like Theron!”

  I heard the Hunter sigh behind me. “Now, now, Nora, you know the rules. Todd must make his own decision. We’re not to influence him in any way.” Theron’s inflated confidence and condescending tone made we want to punch him. Something glinted in his eye, daring me to challenge him. Asking for it, I balled my hands into fists and fought through the heat pulsating inside my soul.

  “That also means no mind control, Theron.” Venom dripped from my voice. I whipped my whole body around to face him, anger and desperation seeping from my normally steadfast composure. “Todd’s a good kid. He’s not destined for your kind of life. He couldn’t even hurt a flea.” I tried to appeal to the old Theron I knew—the man who’d once been a Warden like me. The man who’d been my teacher, my mentor…and the man I used to love. My heart ached with something raw, but I’d do anything not to lose this soul to the darkness.

  “No,” Todd said, answering his own mind, “I’m going with him.” He pointed to Theron, and in a move so quick I didn’t see, Theron grabbed Todd’s hand to pull him away from me. He shuddered at first, but relaxed when Theron touched his shoulders. Todd closed his eyes as his body began to quiver. Moments later, he let out a long, deep breath and smiled.

  “Thus…it is done.” Theron nodded then bent forward to scrutinize Todd’s broken human body. After several moments of intense focus, he stood and started to walk toward the forest.

  “Hey, what was that for?” Todd asked.

  “I do believe that your human image will continue to serve you well.” Turning his gaze on me, Theron smiled. “The ladies love young, college boys like him.”

  I swallowed hard when Theron concluded his assessment with a wink. He planned on using Todd as bait.

  Todd twisted his head to look at Emily then slowly turned his eyes on me. I held his gaze for a few moments, wishing I could have stopped this. My anger quickly dissolved into sadness and pity. Todd tilted his head slightly, reading the thoughts on my face.

  “Nora.” He spoke softly, as if recalling a memory. “Nora.” Suddenly, his eyes darkened and his gaze transformed from college coed to predatory nemesis. “I will remember you.” Turning, Todd disappeared before ever reaching the forest.

  Upon hearing our exchange, Theron stopped to observe my response. I had none. With perfect understanding, he gave me a mock bow and blew me a kiss.

  “Until we meet again, Nora.”

  I stood frozen in place after the two of them vanished. With Todd’s decision, he made the fifth charge Theron had stole from me in as many months. Soul Hunters could be a problem every once in a while, but this seemed excessive. Was he after me for vengeance of some kind? That wouldn’t make sense. I hadn’t been the one to break us apart. He’d made a choice to leave our side and I’d simply refused to go with him. Either way, that was ancient history. I suspected something else might be going on. But no matter how hard I thought, I couldn’t wrap my brain around what the mysterious reason could be.

  Sirens filled the night and I turned to see the first police officer arrive at the scene. He rushed to the car, placed his hand on Emily’s neck, and shouted into his radio. An ambulance pulled up mere seconds after that, assaulting the darkness with flashes of red and white. Three police cars, two news vans, and way too many spectators later, the scene had turned into organized chaos.

  Still too stunned to move, I stood in the middle of the grassy field watching the action…but not really seeing. Having another soul taken from me would not please the Elders. Especially at a time when I was trying to impress them. Fire suddenly ripped through my stomach, causing me to scream out in pain. Impatient bastards. I’d ignored too many of their calls and now they’d amped up the intensity.

  “Hey! You!”

  I whipped my head up to see one of the officers running straight at me. “Shit,” I mumbled quietly. I thought I’d hidden myself between the realms, but I’d been too distracted. And now the long arm of the law rushed through the wreckage to question me.

  “Did you see what happened? Do you know the driver–?” His words trailed off and he stopped dead in his tracks. Looking from side to side, ground to sky, he attempted to locate me. From the hazy blues and grays of the in-between, I watched him try to understand the unexplainable.

  “What the…” He scratched his head and took a few steps closer to where I stood. Another sharp pain forced me to stumble to the side, and the officer looked right at me. Appearing as a shadow in the darkness, or offering a feeling of unease, some of the living could sense our presence. Our worlds overlapped and so did our existence. Cities layered cities, forests covered forests, and the space where I stood now was the thinnest connection between the realms.

  “I’m coming,” I grumbled, hand wrapped around my stomach in anticipation of another painful command. The officer’s muffled voice disappeared into the background and the ambulance electric light show looked like an entirely different event as I stepped further through the realm. Leaving the confused officer behind, I finished my crossing into my own world, where souls became whole again and those of us who had died earned a second chance at life.

  This time when the Elders summoned me, it no longer hurt. Now that I was closer to them, my body tingled from head to toe followed by a sensation that made me only slightly nauseous. I didn’t think I’d ever get used to that. At least when Theron used to call for me, it felt fantastic.

  Wallowing in my anger at losing Todd, and hating my heart for feeling what it did, I trudged along a parallel road in our world until I saw the towers rise up in front of me. While a cathedral sat on this spot in the living realm, the Elders had created a monument of sorts on our side. Actually, a castle would probably be a better way to describe the monstrosity. Large stone walls and even larger turrets formed the headquarters for our civilized society. Despite being miles away from where I’d lost my charge, it only took minutes to travel here. Another quirk of this realm and one that still left me mystified.

  I’d often use my time with the living to enjoy all the colors their world could bring. The greens, browns and reds seemed so vibrant compared to this place of monochrome pastels. However, as I looked up at the large oak trees covered with leaves of blue, silver and gray, I couldn’t help but admire their beauty. Large, perfectly round boulders, lined the road leading to the castle’s entrance, and a small brook glistened in the forest off to the side. A feeling of peace washed over me as I enjoyed my homecoming.

  When I stepped through the large gray doors, an older man immediately hustled out of the shadows and met me at the entrance. His shoulder-length silver hair and even longer beard had always reminded me of a wizard, but Charles was anything but magical.

  “Where have you been?” he screeched. His light tan tunic hung like a poncho and his extra-long pants brushed along the stone floor producing a swishing sound that grated on my last nerve. “And what the hell are you wearing? Did you swallow a gothic child?”

  I looked down at my very dark frat party outfit, and smiled. “What? You don’t think they’ll like it?” I pushed past him and walked toward the Great Room where all our meetings took place. “Get ready. I’m going to tell them it was all your idea.”

  “Nora!” Charles started to argue, but then pressed his lips together when I
giggled. “Oh no. You will not goad me today, young lady.” Charles considered himself a father figure of sorts. I knew I was one of his favorites—all the more reason why I could tease him so incessantly.

  “Nora, change your clothes…now!”

  I had just one more bend to pass through before entering the room where I’d face my Elders. With the crushing reality settling in, I asked, “Do you know what they want, Charles?”

  He huffed. “Probably to tell you to get out of those awful clothes. You know, you’re not a teenager anymore.”

  “Actually, I’m eighteen.”

  “Plus forty years give or take,” he countered, bending down to touch the black leather boots hugging my legs. “Where did you get those?”

  I couldn’t tell if he was impressed or appalled. I shrugged. “Saw them on a billboard where I crossed through and thought they would work for the night.” I dropped my eyes and sighed.

  “Nora?” Our teasing suddenly ceased and Charles rested his hands on my shoulders in comfort. Being a short man, we stood eye–to-eye because of the boots.

  “They took another one.” My voice quivered.

  “Who?”

  “Todd.”

  “No, who took him?”

  I raised my gaze and felt traitorous tears burning behind them. I didn’t even need to respond.

  “Theron?” Charles guessed and I nodded, unable to speak for fear of losing control like a devastated schoolgirl. I hated that my emotions betrayed me in this way. It’d been two years. When would these ridiculous feelings stop?

  Charles pulled me into a hug. “You did the right thing,” he said. “You belong here. You’re one of us. He chose darkness over you and you must stop beating yourself up over that.”

  I tried to push away but he held me too tight. “I’m not beating—”

  “You are,” he interrupted. “I’m not going to tell you it will be easy, but you must move on.” He squeezed me harder. “You were too good for him anyway.”

  This time I laughed through the tears. “You never liked him,” I said.

  “No, I didn’t.”

  “But you didn’t stop us from being together.”

  “No. You needed to experience that for yourself.” Charles stepped away and wiped the tears from under my eyes. When he pulled his thumb back, he looked down in disgust. “How much of that black stuff did you put under your eyes?”

  I chuckled again and morphed the makeup away. “It’s called liquid eyeliner. Is this better?” He shrugged, and I leaned forward to kiss him on the cheek. “Thanks, Charles.”

  “Anytime, Nora.” His smile warmed my heart. Charles really did feel like a father to me. Or at least he was the closest I’d ever had to one. “Now, get rid of those stupid clothes.”

  I winked and turned on my heel. Charles gasped the second my back faced him.

  “Is that a tattoo? And are your undergarments sticking out?”

  I glanced over my shoulder to see that he’d thrown a hand over his mouth in shock. “It’s a thong,” I said.

  I heard the pants rustling along the ground behind me. His overprotective nature may irritate me at times but, in all fairness, I couldn’t imagine my life without him. He was the most stable part of my existence, both as the living and as the dead.

  When I rounded the corner to enter the Great Room, I almost ran directly into a well-built man dressed in desert fatigues waiting near the door. He looked up in surprise; his brown eyes widened as he took in my outfit. Though stoic on the outside, his hands twisted nervously around the matching camouflage cap crushed in his grip.

  My breath caught for the briefest of seconds. The wrinkle on his forehead and haunted look in his eyes took away from the handsome face. Although I guessed he was close to me in age, my living age, he looked like he’d experienced generations of life. I assumed his last days hadn’t been pleasant if he was now standing here in this realm.

  “Ma’am,” he said with a slight southern drawl and a way-too-formal tone.

  Our eyes locked and a thousand messages passed between us. I wanted to hear his story. I wanted to know what caused him all that pain. I smiled at him a second before Charles bumped into my back. Attempting to step away, my heel caught, propelling me into the soldier’s arms.

  “Whoa,” he said, breaking my fall. His hands touched the bare skin of my back and brushed over the tattoo. Goosebumps rushed to the surface where our bodies met.

  My arms instinctively wrapped around his waist, feeling nothing but taut muscles underneath. He wasn’t as warm as the living, and it suddenly reminded me of my time in Theron’s arms. Jumping back, I glared at Charles.

  “Ma’am, are you okay?” the young man asked.

  “I’m fine,” I said, frowning at Charles and afraid to look up at the soldier. Another silent call from my Elders sent a shiver through my body. I pulled open the door but, just before entering, I leaned back and spoke to Charles. “See? He’s wearing regular clothes too.”

  “Nora!” Charles yelled, but the creak of the door closing behind me and muted his protests.

  I walked into the Great Room feeling small and insignificant. Had they heard about Theron already? Who was I kidding? Of course they knew. They probably knew the second I lost my charge.

  Until two years ago when everything in my life had crumbled down around me, I’d been one of their best Wardens. I enjoyed befriending the living, becoming their confidante and helping to ease their transition after death. Their spirits responded to me. I had been good at my job.

  But now…I had lost five souls.

  My boots echoed; the vaulted stone ceiling made the clicks sound like I had a posse following behind me. A part of me wished it were true. Rows of empty white chairs lined the aisle. I didn’t think I’d ever seen them full. In fact, I didn’t know what else this room was used for aside from the summons of the Elders.

  “Nora?” Elder Mazie’s gentle voice pulled me from my thoughts. Standing behind the large table in the front of the room, where four other Elders sat in silence, she lifted her blonde eyebrows and looked at my boots.

  I really didn’t intend on them seeing me like this, but I forgot to shift my attire after falling into the soldier’s arms. I blamed Charles.

  “Are you returning to the living world?” she asked, giving me a chance to explain.

  I didn’t want to lie, so I morphed back into the unflattering light blue tunic and matching pants, while trying to control the blush creeping up my neck. “I’m sorry,” I said, being sure to avoid eye contact.

  “Nora, we’d like to talk to you about your future role within our society.” Rollin, the leader of the Elderhood, spoke with a grace I envied. His deep voice resonated, and felt like a welcomed blanket on a cold night. With chestnut hair that framed his chin, and small wrinkles around his eyes, the middle-aged man looked down on me as if I was a scorned pupil. “We know you’d like to take on more responsibility.” I nodded. “And we also know that you’ve lost a few of your charges recently.”

  Swallowing the anger inside, I nodded again. “I’m sorry for that,” I said, barely audible in the giant room. None of the Elders at the table reacted.

  Elder Rollin smiled. “I’m sure you are.”

  Something about his tone set my nerves on edge. I shifted from side to side, attempting to still my frantic heart and also trying to get the sandals to sit on my feet the right way. I already missed the boots.

  “We’ve been discussing this among ourselves,” Rollin gestured to the four other Elders at the table, “and we think it’s time for you to have your own ward.”

  My own ward? Like what I had been to Theron? They wished to give me a newbie who needed guidance, mentoring, and companionship. With Theron, it had become love. I couldn’t be that for somebody else. My heart hadn’t completely let go of my past, and now they were asking me to take on one of the biggest responsibilities in our world. What if I failed?

  “But I…I…”

  “You are ready for t
his,” Elder Mazie stated with a certainty that made me wish I could agree with. Her shoulders squared, as she tucked her long blonde hair behind her ears. Eyes bore through mine like she was trying to make me believe her no matter how long it took.

  “We also want you to meet with a new Advisor. He will mentor you as you take on the responsibility of your own ward.” Rollin smiled down at me, and I shivered. They’d learned about Theron and I after he left. I hadn’t been placed with anyone else since, and I’d figured that was for my punishment.

  I cleared my throat. “When will I meet them?”

  “In two days time, he will be here. There are still many things for you to learn, Nora, and we all believe your new Advisor will suit you well. Certainly better than your last one.”

  I cringed, briefly wishing I could crawl under one of the white chairs. But I didn’t want them to see my weakness. “No, I mean my ward. When will I meet my first ward?”

  Everyone at the table smiled and I thought they looked a little too eager. “Well, right now,” Rollin said.

  The large doors swung open behind me in dramatic fashion. I needed to learn how to manipulate our environment like that. For a second, only the hallway revealed itself. I swear I heard Charles swishing away, but a moment later I was too shocked to care.

  The solemn soldier with the chiseled chest walked through the door.

  “Nora, i’d like you to meet Jason,” Rollin’s voice echoed in my head as waves of frantic thoughts rushed through my mind. Part of me felt excited to prove myself, but another part of me wanted to run away in sheer terror.

  I looked at Jason as he shuffled down the aisle, eyes forward and movements hesitant. I wanted to reach out to him, hug him, and tell him that whatever had recently happened, he was not to worry. He was in a far better place now.

  But instead, I stood perfectly still. The pressure and the responsibility of taking on a ward was like an anvil sitting on my chest. Theron had been the perfect Advisor for me—tough when he had to be and gentle when I needed it. For three decades he worked by my side, teaching me how to handle death every day while comforting my charges long before they knew my true nature. It wasn’t until the last ten years that he finally broke down and stepped over that line and into my heart. The traitorous heart that still ached for him at my weakest moments.