Charmed Souls (Black Souls Book 1)

by Abbi Glines

  I doubted anyone loved Rathe more than Rathe loved himself. The expression on his face was one I’d seen before. Men who knew they were beautiful almost always flashed that smirk. They enjoyed a female’s reaction to it. If I could keep reminding myself of this, it would help me keep my eyes off him.

  “I’m not comfortable in crowds,” I replied honestly.

  He took a drink of his coffee and continued to study me. I knew his standing here talking to me wasn’t because he was attracted to me. The repel charm was already in effect with him. He’d walked away from me easily enough last night. He wouldn’t get too close.

  Being born into a family of witches, whose greatest power was their siren ability, required some magical power to dull men’s senses when they saw me. It had worked well, and it would save Rathe from my attraction to him.

  Rathe continued to hold his crooked amused grin and watch me. I waited for him to make his excuses and walk inside. “You’re not into girls.” He said this as if he was letting me know, in case, I wasn’t quite sure. It was odd and annoying.

  Normally, my repel charm worked better on men than this. He shouldn’t still be standing here, even if it was to discuss last night. I didn’t want to have any conversation with him. “Thank you for letting me know. I was waiting on clarification,” I replied, in the most sarcastic tone I could muster.

  He chuckled and cocked his head slightly to the left. “Why does Margo think you are?”

  Turning around and knocking on the door to get Margo was what I needed to do, it was the smart thing to do, but I was being less than brilliant today and I didn’t move.

  “She was drunk. She didn’t mean it that way,” I explained, even though I was wondering why I was telling him anything. This was not his business. Why was he still talking to me anyway?

  He motioned toward me with the hand holding his coffee and said “Please elaborate.”

  This would be where I told him to mind his own damn business. That was typically how I would respond if a man, other than Heath, had talked to me this long or shown any interest in me for more than a minute or two.

  “I don’t date. Anyone.” WHY? Why was I replying to him?

  His eyebrows rose, and those odd colored eyes of his widened. “How is that possible?”

  Okay so now I was a bit irked. Was his DNA messed up? He should be bored with me by now. Not asking me questions and showing any interest. There had been plenty of time for the dulling charm to take effect on him.

  He’d asked it, though, and it only showcased more of his superficial outlook on life. Not everyone had to be in a relationship, or in his case, get naked with someone new every other day. I was fine being alone.

  “It’s called self-worth,” I explained, as if he were a small child who had no idea what that meant. Because let’s be honest, he didn’t. He had taken off his shirt last night to draw even more attention to himself. Heath had said Rathe went through women like a revolving door.

  “I’ll look that up and see if I can make sense of it,” he replied. He was mocking me. Asshole.

  I managed to turn away from him, this time, and knock on the door. I wasn’t here to chat him up. This roommate had been a bad choice. Heath wasn’t the best at picking them. I now understood Heath’s dislike of the guy. He had made another rash decision, and he needed to fix it. Get rid of Rathe. It should be easy enough.

  The door opened, and instead of Margo, it was Heath. He didn’t look hungover at all, but he did look as if he’d just woken up. “Mornin’,” he said and smiled at me. That was sincere.

  “Good morning, sleepy head,” I replied, as he stepped back for me to come inside.

  “Seems she only has fangs with me,” Rathe drawled.

  I didn’t respond to that or watch him enter the apartment after me. Instead, I rolled my eyes at Heath. He forced a smile but shot Rathe an unamused frown.

  I glanced toward Margo’s room. “Is she ready?” I asked Heath, hoping Rathe was headed to his room.

  Heath covered his mouth as he yawned then he shrugged. “I just woke up. You talk to her already?”

  I nodded. “Yes. We’re going to get breakfast. I had to escape my house.”

  He didn’t need an explanation. “The wedding is tonight, ouch,” he frowned. “Is she acting like bridezilla?”

  “She was born a bridezilla. She’s waited all these years to have a reason to unleash it.”

  Heath laughed again. He knew my struggle with my sisters and mother. Not the exact extent of my struggles, but enough to know they were all selfish and cruel. “I’ll get dressed and take you to eat. I’m starving,” he offered.

  “Okay, I’ll see if Margo is still planning on going too.”

  Heath got an awkward look on his face before glancing at Rathe, who I had been ignoring, although I’d known he was there lounging on the sofa he’d went to after entering the apartment. I might not have looked his way, but I felt his gaze on me, and it was unsettling.

  “Uh, you, uh, want to go?” Heath asked him, and I was sure I winced. Heath always being the nice guy. I admired that about him until this very moment. He didn’t like Rathe. Why was he trying to be nice?

  “Thanks, but I’ll sit here and read in the silence,” he replied.

  Without a moment to control my mouth, I blurted out, “You read?” His response had caught me off guard. I hadn’t expected that. He didn’t look like the guys I had known who read but then I hadn’t known many guys.

  “Yes, Cat, I enjoy the written word.” His response didn’t sound insulted. Although he wasn’t smirking this time, and there was no sign of humor on his face.

  I opened my mouth to apologize but snapped it shut again. Rathe and I were not going to be friends. He didn’t need me as a friend. He needed to keep his distance from me. Besides, I was sure his ego was larger than the Grand Canyon. He’d be just fine.

  “I’ll go check on Margo,” I told Heath, who was frowning again. He either wasn’t telling me something about Rathe or he was trying to like the guy. I couldn’t figure it out.

  I didn’t knock on Margo’s bedroom door. I just opened it and went inside, needing to get out of the same room as Rathe. His steady gaze was hard to ignore when directed at me.

  Margo was splayed out on her bed, naked and lying face down. The light snoring noise and the fact her phone was still in her hand made it clear she wasn’t going to breakfast with me. She’d wanted to help me out, but it appeared she had failed at moving her body from the mattress.

  I walked over and got the blanket that was on the floor in a crumpled heap. With a gentle shake to straighten it out, I tossed it over her body. As I turned to leave, I saw a familiar face in the corner watching me. Forever six years old. She was smiling at me.

  “Hello, Mary,” I whispered softly.

  The little girl, whose face resembled Margo so much, lifted her small hand and waved at me. I’d seen Mary the first time when I had been seven years old, only a week after meeting Margo and Heath on the school bus. She never left their side for long back then. Over time, she’d told me who she was and what had happened to her. Her siblings never mentioned her, which meant I could never say anything to them about her always being near them.

  When I was younger, I’d made the mistake of telling people I didn’t know about their dead loved ones who were with them. It never went well. It had always brought tears. One lady in town had called me a witch and ran off crying after I told her that her mother was with her. She’d been correct, of course. I was a witch. But my sight was also something no Kamlock had ever been given. My mother chose to make fun of it as if I were making it up. I couldn’t prove it to her because I’d never seen any relative of ours. It was only with normal people. I often feared it was because we were absent of souls. I didn’t want that to be true, but it was the only thing that made sense. The only hope I had was the fact I’d never
seen my father, and I knew he had a soul. He wasn’t born evil. He was good.

  I didn’t need to stay with Margo, her sister was keeping watch over her. I headed back out into the living area. At least Heath was awake and willing to go with me to do something.

  Heath wasn’t in the living room anymore when I emerged from Margo’s bedroom. But lucky me, Rathe was still sitting on the sofa. His gaze met mine as he drank from his cup. Either I was going to have to avoid my friends’ apartment or learn to deal with this uneasiness I felt around him. He was here now, and unless Heath found a reason to, he wouldn’t send Rathe packing anytime soon. This was currently the only safe place I had to escape to when I wanted to get away from my family. My cousin Duely’s was also an option but one never knew what activities Duely was involved in, at any given moment. So, running off to his place wasn’t always a good idea.

  “Heath went to get ready,” Rathe said then shifted his eyes to the door I had just closed behind me. “Guess it’ll just be the two of you at breakfast.” Rathe made it sound like I preferred to be with Heath alone. I wasn’t sure why he said that so I let it go.

  “She’s passed back out,” I said simply.

  “She drank a lot last night.” He pointed out the obvious.

  I didn’t say anything in response. Instead, I walked through the living area toward the tiny corner kitchen. For the most part, their apartment had an open floor plan. The guys’ bedrooms were to the left, and Margo’s was to the right of the living room, closer to the kitchen. I wasn’t sure what I was going to the kitchen to get, but I didn’t like the way Rathe made me feel. I needed to do something other than continue this small talk we were doing.

  Before I reached the kitchen, I heard a bedroom door open from the hallway. Heath was ready. Most of the time when I saw Mary, she would be by his side. She seemed more protective of Heath. I often wondered about that. Did she feel he was the weaker of the two? I wanted to ask her, but I’d never been given a chance. It was rare I saw her without her siblings. Today, she was with Margo while we were going out. That was odd, too. Why did she think Margo needed her today?

  Five

  The Breakfast

  Our regular booth at The Bacon House was taken. If Margo had come with us this morning it would have been more dramatic. She liked to sit in that spot only. Perfect lighting for photos. Margo’s obsession with Instagram and posting pictures of everything she does in her life could get annoying. I had no doubt she would have insisted we wait until her booth opened if she was here.

  Luckily, Heath and I had no opinion on where we sat. We just wanted to eat. The moment you walked through the barnlike double doors at the entrance, the smell of bacon assaulted you. My empty stomach was rumbling with excitement. We had barely taken our seats when the round tin bowl full of small cheese biscuits was placed on our table. I already knew how delicious they were. Every bite would melt in my mouth.

  “Thank you,” Heath told the server enthusiastically. He was so focused on the biscuits he missed the attractive brunette who was blushing slightly while she checked him out. This happened often. Heath was very unaware of his appeal to females. It was the main reason he typically dated controlling women. They came after him and made him notice them. The sweeter, shy girls, who would say yes to a date with him, never got any attention from him because he had no clue they were even interested. Heath wasn’t very self-confident, and I never understood why.

  “What can I bring you both to drink?” the girl asked, barely glancing my way before studying her notepad.

  “Coffee and a glass of water please,” I replied.

  “Milk please,” Heath told her.

  She nodded before giving him one last glance. “I’ll be right back.”

  I watched her go and waited until she was at a safe distance before turning my attention to Heath. “She’s pretty,” I told him.

  He frowned. “I thought you said you weren’t into girls.”

  Rolling my eyes, I grabbed the menu that was in front of me. “She’s attractive, has a job, and she’s checking you out.”

  Finally, some small spark of understanding hit him. “Oh, you mean for me?” he asked then shook his head. “I’m not dating again for a while. I need a break from relationships. We both know how badly I suck at them.”

  “You suck at picking out girls to date. That’s all,” I corrected him.

  He leaned back in his chair and looked at me with one eyebrow slightly raised. “At least I date.”

  Our server returned, and I glanced at her name tag quickly. Brandy sounded like a nice name. She set our drinks down in front of us while smiling extra brightly in Heath’s direction. “Are y’all ready to order?” she asked me this time, but then looked back at Heath again.

  “Cat? You ready?” Heath asked me. I had barely looked at the menu, but I knew what I wanted.

  “Yes, thank you,” I replied, and Brandy turned to me. “I’ll have the bacon pancakes with maple syrup please.” Brandy quickly wrote that down then turned to Heath.

  “And what can I get for you?” she asked him.

  “The Bacon House breakfast, please. Eggs scrambled and with buttermilk biscuits.”

  “Great choice,” she told him. I was sure he could have ordered a plain biscuit with unsalted grits, and she’d have praised his order.

  He seemed nervous. Her interest was more obvious to him now that I had said something. Grinning into my coffee cup, I watched them both maneuver this attempt at flirting awkwardly.

  “I’ll get you some more cheese biscuits. Fresh ones just came out of the oven,” she blurted out then spun around to walk quickly back to the kitchen. Two of her other tables had been trying to get her attention, but she’d missed that. Poor Brandy was going to get poor tips from them if she didn’t stop flirting with Heath. We had plenty of biscuits left.

  “So, tell me why you agreed to Rathe as your new roommate when it’s obvious you aren’t really sure about him,” I said, deciding, while I had Heath alone, I’d figure this out.

  Heath took a biscuit and popped it into his mouth instead of answering. I waited. He could take all the time he wanted, but I was going to get an answer. His gaze shifted to the right of our table, and he paused. His interest somewhere else. I turned my attention to see what he was looking at, and I saw an elderly gentleman eating his breakfast. The man was staring outside the window in front of him with no real expression on his face.

  “That’s my America History Professor,” Heath said in a whisper. “His wife passed away recently unexpectedly. He’s not been back to class since.”

  I shifted my attention to the woman beside the older man. She was smiling at him, her hand on his arm. Heath didn’t see her, no one did. Not even the man. I wished I could go tell him she was there.

  “He looks so lonely,” Heath said.

  He was lonely. He missed her. If he wouldn’t think I was a crazy person I’d tell him how she was right beside him with her wedding ring still glistening on her left hand. His wedding band was also still on his hand.

  “He still has his wedding band on his hand. He loved her very much,” I said, wanting to say more but knowing I couldn’t.

  The woman’s eyes met mine, and she nodded her head in acknowledgment. They always knew I could see them. I gave her a smile then looked back at Heath.

  “I like to believe those who leave us are never really gone. We just lose the ability to see them.”

  Heath frowned and said nothing as he drank some of his milk. When he sat the cup down, he said, “That’s a nice thought, but I don’t think that’s the way it works.”

  I wasn’t going to push the truth on him. There was no reason to. After all, he’d never told me of his sister; yet, I saw her often. Mary would forever be by their side.

  Brandy arrived with a fresh tin of hot biscuits. She took the one that was still almost full from us and p
ut the fresh batch in its place. “Food should be out shortly. Can I get you more milk?” she asked Heath.

  “Yes, please, and some more coffee for you, Cat?” He was using me to evade the flirting.

  I nodded, and Brandy gave me a tight smile. My charm to mask my appearance didn’t work on those who weren’t attracted to me. Brandy was not into females, so therefore, she saw me as I was. My looks made most females feel threatened. When I was younger that hadn’t been a problem. Other girls didn’t befriend me but not because of my appearance. They avoided me because their mothers warned them away from me. My family was odd. My mother had slept with all the successful married men in town. I was the outcast. When Heath and Margo came along and accepted me so easily, it had been the most wonderful time in my life.

  Heath didn’t have his mouth full at the moment.

  “Rathe?” I repeated, bringing him back to my early question.

  Heath shrugged. “You’re reading too much into it. Rathe isn’t from around here. He’s just different.”

  “Where’s he from?” I asked.

  “He’s lived a lot of places. His dad moved often when he was growing up.”

  “Why did you choose him so quickly? You could have interviewed several people and found someone less…” I wasn’t sure how to describe Rathe.

  “He paid me a year in advance for the rent,” Heath blurted out. I could see the struggle in his gaze then.

  Oh. That was unheard of among college students. “That’s strange. If he could afford that then why didn’t he get a place of his own?” A question that Heath should have asked. He’d seen the money and lost his common sense. It seemed he was regretting it now.

  “Here we go,” Brandy announced, as she appeared beside us again with a tray full of food. Mostly Heath’s since he ordered the largest breakfast on the menu.