Thief of Souls

by Emma L. Adams

  Translation: please stay out of the way. The more people were involved, the more likely it was that this would go sideways. Three of us wouldn’t fare any better than two against the combined strength of a trio of full-grown vampires.

  No, our best bet was to let the Air Element do the work. The vamps would take the fall for carrying the amulet, while it would end up back in the right hands where it belonged. Win/win.

  “Clear.” Dex appeared out of the air. “Be quick about it. Those vamps are still running in circles trying to shake that phantom off.”

  “Good.” I made for the door, but Brant put a hand on my shoulder.

  “Be careful,” he said. “You’re vulnerable with the scent of fresh blood on you. Other vamps might sniff it out.”

  “If I don’t get that cantrip, they’ll be able to see as well as smell me.” I pulled away, angry with myself for getting bitten to begin with. And angrier still for knowing there was something Brant wasn’t telling me. Vaugh too, but he was a relative stranger. She’s the one? he’d asked Brant. I needed to have words with him, but not in front of his wisecracking friend with a group of vampires hunting us down.

  I followed Dex’s lead, treading through the back alley where we’d fled from the vampires and towards the area in front of the warehouses where the city merged with the swampland. Dex halted near the spot where I’d landed after the mage had thrown me out and pointed into a nearby gutter. “There’s your cantrip.”

  “You know I can’t reach that, don’t you?” I craned my neck, standing on tiptoe to see onto the warehouse roof.

  Brant stepped in. “I’ll grab it.”

  As he did so, Vaughn caught my arm. “Don’t think badly of him. He didn’t expect you to wind up caught in our drama.”

  “I didn’t expect me to get caught in your drama,” I said evenly. “People lying to me is a sore point, just so you know.”

  “Brant would never do it to you on purpose,” he said in a low voice. “He’s never stopped talking about you since we met. Brant is willing to walk through fire for you, girl.”

  Dex snickered. “He’s a fire mage. That’s not noteworthy.”

  Vaughn burst into laughter. I glanced in Brant’s direction, feeling slightly guilty, but he didn’t seem to have heard. He lowered his hand, holding the invisibility cantrip, and headed back to us.

  “Thanks.” I took the cantrip from him, turning it over in my hand. “Dex, which way are the vampires?”

  He pointed among the warehouses. “Want me to drive them this way? Into the line of fire, so to speak?”

  “Perfect.” I turned to Brant. “You go with Dex. Vaughn… you can join them, or you can hang back here, whichever you want. I’ll head into the swamp ready to ambush the vampires.”

  Brant opened his mouth to argue, but the sound of snarls and crashes erupted from the nearest alley. At once, I flicked the cantrip’s switch, and vanished. So did Brant, though his hands were solid as he took my arm, leaning closer to me. “Please be careful.”

  I didn’t respond, not that he’d have heard me with the racket coming from the alley. Dex zipped out, and two of the vampires pelted after him, pursued by the furious phantom. Damn, that thing was persistent.

  “Vampires hate phantoms,” Brant said in my ear. “And the phantom blames them for its capture. I thought that’s why you set it loose.”

  “Nope, I forgot I had the jar in my bag,” I whispered back. “I’m guessing it’s trying to get back home to the swamp.”

  Dex’s laugh sounded as he flew overhead, drawing the vampires along with him. Brant’s retreating footsteps sounded, and he appeared with a popping sound behind the vampires.

  “It’s him!” one of them crowed, dodging the phantom’s outstretched hands.

  I made a mental note to bring a whole collection of trapped phantoms the next time I went into a vampire’s lair and resumed my retreat into the swampland. The vampires followed. There wasn’t anywhere else to go, with Dex and Brant shooting fireballs at them from above and the phantom’s relentless pursuit. Their shouts mingled with the crackling of flames and the distant sound of clopping hooves—

  Oh, bugger.

  The air split down the middle, and a torrent of wind slammed into the vampires like a physical force. I flung myself to the side just in time, as the air current sent the vampires flying backwards. The amulet flew loose, arcing though the air over the warehouses. Cursing inwardly, I took off after it, still invisible. The hoofbeats grew louder. The Air Element wasn’t riding a horse, so they must have brought reinforcements.

  The amulet hit the warehouse roof, clattering to a halt. I swore quietly and ran around the side, seeking a way to climb up and retrieve it. The sagging walls were made of some kind of corrugated metal, which creaked alarmingly when I dug my hands into the side and attempted to climb. It took three flying leaps before I got a substantial grip on the edge.

  My hands slipped and slid as I pulled myself upward. The amulet protruded over the ledge. Almost there—

  The pale, livid face of a vampire appeared opposite me, peering over the roof’s edge. “I smell a rat.”

  “Dammit.” I grabbed for the amulet, but the vampire’s swift hand knocked mine aside. The warehouse gave an alarming shake under the vampire’s overwhelming physical strength, and the amulet slid in my direction. I grinned up at the vampire. “Bad idea, that.”

  The roof split down the middle, and the vampire snarled with rage as the crumpled metal collapsed on top of him. As for me, I let go, dropping to the ground along with the amulet. Scooping up the chain with my fingertips, I gave the vampire the finger and backed away from the warehouse.

  “Whoever you are, you’re more trouble than you’re worth,” I told the skull on the amulet.

  Then I looped the chain around my neck and ran like hell.

  9

  As I ran, I shoved the amulet into my cleavage and tucked the chain beneath my collar. The other two vampires had vanished somewhere in the swampland along with Brant, Vaughn, and the Air Element. I didn’t know where Dex had disappeared to, either, but perhaps even a fire sprite wasn’t immune to the sheer power of the Air Element.

  So much for returning the amulet to its owner. I slowed as I reached the stretch of open ground behind the warehouses. The vampire might not be able to see me, but the cantrip wouldn’t last forever, and without my allies, I was at a disadvantage. I needed to find a node and get the hell out, but I wouldn’t leave Brant to the vamps’ mercy.

  Footsteps sounded. The vampire walked unsteadily towards me, his pupils dilated, his lips peeled back from his teeth to display sharp canines.

  “I smell you,” he hissed. “I smell a spirit mage. I know you’re here.”

  What?

  I remained still, trying to breathe as quietly as possible. If I could get the jump on him before he realised how close I was, I might stand a shot of bringing him down, but his words sent a cold chill through my veins. Spirit mage. They were extinct, no matter what Dirk Alban might have claimed. I was pretty sure even I would remember if anyone had found evidence otherwise.

  Slowly, I reached into my pocket for another cantrip, hoping I’d picked the right one. That was the downside to being invisible—too much guesswork. The vampire staggered towards me, limping a little, and I turned the cantrip on.

  A blaze of light sent the vampire cringing backwards. Seizing my chance, I snatched up a sharp-looking branch and swung wildly at the vampire. The improvised stake struck the vampire in the neck, sending blood pouring down his front.

  As he crumpled, I lowered the stick, breathing hard. A howl sounded from the swamp ahead, and the second vampire ran at me, releasing a snarl. “You’ll pay for that, bitch.”

  “No, she won’t.”

  The vampire burst into flames. He didn’t even have the chance to cry out before Brant’s fire ripped open his skin and disintegrated the undead flesh beneath. Brant hurried over to me, brushing the vampire’s ashes off his hands. The invisibility c
antrip had worn off again. Checking my pocket confirmed my suspicion that I’d run through the time limit. With one vamp still alive and the amulet still in my hands.

  “Thanks,” I said. “Where’s your friend?”

  “Chasing the third guy.” He took my arm, concern brimming in his eyes. “You’re not hurt?”

  “Not at all,” I said. “I got the amulet back, but I’m guessing the Air Element still isn’t playing nice.”

  “The Air Element isn’t alone,” he said in grim tones. “The liches are out. Shelter first. Questions later.”

  I didn’t argue. Standing beside the remains of two dead vampires with a group of liches on patrol seemed too much like tempting fate.

  He led the way back to the street where his hideout lay and opened the door. I checked in my pockets to see which cantrips I still had on me. “I’ll need to take some of those cantrips, if it’s okay. I doubt I’ll be able to get to my hiding place anytime soon.”

  I’d been stashing my weapons in that tree for years, relying on most people’s avoidance of the swamp to keep them safe from being stolen, and now it seemed everyone was using that place as their stomping ground. It pissed me off.

  “Take whatever you like,” Brant said easily. “Nice job staking that vampire.”

  “Nothing like the element of surprise,” I said. “Almost the only Element I’m a fan of.”

  A smile flickered on his mouth. “Except for me?”

  I didn’t return his smile. “Brant, that vampire said something weird. He said—he could smell that I’m a spirit mage. Which is absurd, but he didn’t sound like he was joking.”

  His expression turned serious. “I was afraid of this.”

  “Not helping my trust levels, Brant.”

  He took in a breath. “Spirit magic isn’t something that goes away on its own, despite what the Order might want to pretend. They took your memories, but not your magic.”

  My throat went dry. “Doesn’t make me a real mage.”

  “Vampires have strong senses,” he added. “They can tell if someone’s a mage or a regular practitioner. They can also sniff out our gifts.”

  “Not a gift.” A cold hand clenched inside my chest. I’d thought I’d closed the door on that part of my past. Wanting my memories back didn’t make me want the mistakes that came with them, mistakes which had led to me winding up in a room with a dead body and my mentor’s blood all over my hands.

  “Regardless, their vampire senses registered you as a spirit mage,” he said. “Not a good or a bad thing, it just is.”

  “Is that what Vaughn meant when he said, ‘she’s the one’?” I swallowed hard. “What are you hiding from me?”

  “Vaughn…” He paused. “It’s complicated. I did say your name came up—not from me, Liv, I promise. But your case was pretty well-known.”

  “Yeah, you might say that.” A bitter laugh escaped. “If this spirit thief thinks I might be a worthy adversary, he’ll be disappointed.”

  “I won’t let him get to you,” Brant said firmly. “I hoped you’d escape his attention, but when you were handed the soul amulet…”

  “You mean, when I stole it from a thief.”

  He shook his head. “No. The Order as good as placed it in your hands. They wanted you to fall into the line of fire.”

  “I thought—” I broke off. His claim sounded utterly absurd, and yet… and yet I hadn’t seen anything to contradict his word. “I thought you said the soul thief was allied with the vampires against the mages. Spirit mages don’t count. We barely exist.”

  “No, but a spirit mage would prove a serious obstacle to a thief of souls,” he said.

  “I wasn’t in his way,” I insisted. “Not until the Order sent me here.”

  Then it hit me. Who outside of the Order even knew I’d been involved in spirit magic? Not many people. Even Brant hadn’t known until I’d let it slip one day when I’d been injured and half delirious. I’d been afraid he’d ditch me, and when he’d left, part of me had wondered if that hadn’t played a part in his choice. Now, though…

  Someone at the Order wants me dead.

  Was this all because of Dirk Alban? If so, it was hardly fair. I didn’t remember a word of our lessons. The Order had done their job well. But if I was still registering as a spirit mage as far as vampires’ enhanced senses were concerned, then perhaps they’d ruled that it was safer for me to be gone.

  Brant’s gaze was full of sadness. “I’m sorry. I wish I knew who it was, but I’m operating on mostly rumour here, and I don’t know the Order’s personnel. But I don’t think it’s coincidental that the Order sent you after the thief. There’s no way the person who ordered the mission didn’t know what it was they were dealing with.”

  “If they sent me after the thief, why did they then order me to take it back into the Parallel once I had the amulet?” That part, I didn’t get. Was there a genuine mistake at work, or were parts of the Order at cross-purposes? “Was the thief supposed to kill me, or the Death King?”

  That, I suspected, depended on whether they thought I’d team up with the soul thief or not. Perhaps they wanted me taken down before I had the chance to break the rules again. But that was as much of a guess as the notion of a faceless soul thief lurking in the city’s shadows, sending vampires out to do his bidding.

  Brant released a breath. “I don’t know. I also have no idea what the Death King’s relationship is with the Order. If I did, I’d feel safer leaving the amulet in their hands.”

  “Yeah, that plan went up in smoke the instant they brought out the threats.” Anger clenched inside me. “I don’t even know any bloody spirit magic. The Order knows that.”

  He put an arm around my shoulder and gave a reassuring squeeze. “And so do I. Once the amulet is out of your hands, your part in this will be over.”

  “Not if I want to keep working in the Parallel,” I said. “Also, I doubt this is going to die down overnight. Phantoms and wights have followed me to the other side before, and I still don’t know what the hell that other dude was playing at, hitting human witnesses with a cantrip. Besides, I don’t think handing you the amulet and going into hiding will increase anyone’s survival rate.”

  “She’s got you there,” Dex said. “Nice job on that vampire, by the way. Somewhere between crispy and well done.”

  “Ha.” I turned back to Brant. “Seriously. If you have anything else to tell me about how you ended up involved in this case, it’ll help me decide whether to trust you. I’ll freely admit I don’t trust your friend.”

  Dex cleared his throat. “I’ll leave you two alone for a while.”

  He vanished, and Brant sighed. “You’d like Vaughn, if you’d met under different circumstances.”

  “I doubt it. He’s a mage.” Brant was one of the few elemental mages who didn’t make me want to throw things at him every time he opened his mouth. “I notice he didn’t step in to risk his neck against the vampires.”

  “They took us both by surprise,” he said. “He’s fighting on our side, trust me. He knows what’s at stake.”

  “Which is…?” I prompted. “Why are you here? Don’t lie. There’s something in it for you, too. You’re not just chasing this soul thief down for my sake. It’s not all about the Order, either. Why’d you come back? What’s at stake for you?”

  “My soul.”

  “Excuse me?”

  His mouth pinched. “A few months ago, the vampires tried to set up a trade deal with the surviving mages. You know how it is, we can’t work in the same areas without someone starting a fight. I hoped a proper formal agreement with the vampires’ council would change that.”

  “I take it that didn’t quite work out, then?” I said.

  “We showed up at this vampire’s fancy old house on the other side of the city,” he said. “The council members weren’t there, but I didn’t think anything of it. There was music and entertainment, and gatherings of practitioners. I’d never been invited to an event among t
he vampires which was open to mages. Vaughn hadn’t, either. That’s where I first heard the soul thief mentioned.”

  “By the vampires?”

  “By their lackeys,” he said. “There were… contests, among the guests. I may have got cocky and staked rather more money than I had on me on a game with a vampire. Vaughn did, too.”

  “Oh, boy.” I could see where this was going.

  “We lost,” he said. “Badly. And since we couldn’t pay up, the vampire was going to slit our throats and drink every drop of our blood. But he claimed that he’d spare us if we pledged to hand over our souls to their benefactor.”

  I gaped at him. “You’re still living and breathing and walking around. You aren’t a lich.”

  “I never said they took my soul… yet.” He grimaced. “But the soul thief has me on a list, as the vampires make a point of reminding me every time we run into one another. The vamp’s exact words were, he will claim your soul when the war is won. I assumed he meant the vamps were going to start a scuffle with the local mages and that his threat would disappear when we won, but so far, there’s been nothing.”

  “If he’s collecting mages’ souls, then why take one from the Death King?” I asked.

  “I don’t know,” he said. “That one took me by surprise. Vaughn and I were only two of the victims… there was a water mage who lost a game to the vampires when we were there, too.”

  I clapped my hands to my mouth. “The one who stole the amulet and hid in the swamp.”

  “Yeah,” he said. “Perhaps he hoped doing the soul thief’s bidding would make him spare his life.”

  “Got himself burned to a crisp instead,” I said. “Too bad for him. Why does this soul thief need the souls of elemental mages, then?”

  “To use in a spell, I think,” he responded. “The rumours say that if one gains possession of a mage’s soul and conducts a certain ritual, they can take our magic for their own.”

  A chill raised goose-bumps on my arms. His words sounded vaguely familiar, as though I’d heard them before. “But… it’s not like a regular practitioner can actually remove someone’s soul like the Death King can.”