Plagued: Book 1

by Eden Crowne

  The spasms still shook Vanessa's body grotesquely. Lights darted out of gaping holes in her flesh. I think I was beyond screaming by that point. I slipped behind Julian's back and gripping him around the waist, hid my face in his coat.

  “Her physical body is dead. These are but phantasms.” Julian's voice sounded cold and distant again. “Manifestations of the souls and the portions of souls she has ingested. They empowered her and, now that she has no more sway over them, they are escaping. The spell has come full circle. They will not be denied their revenge. Don't worry, such phantoms have no interest in you or me.”

  Ironically, precisely at that moment, one of the bolts of light broke away from the group hovering over Vanessa and shot over to float directly in front of us.

  Julian gasped as though he'd been struck and the fear flared up in me again.

  “It's all right, it, she, oh...” He seemed incapable of saying more. He sank to his knees, staring at the light, obviously seeing far more than the flashing blur of color I was looking at.

  After a few heartbeats, the light wound around his head, his chest, back up to his throat, like a caress. It lingered by his face before softly moving towards me. I drew back at first, afraid. Then, staring deeply into the glow, inexplicably, I no longer was. Putting out my hands the beam settled in my outstretched palms, purring like a kitten. Deep within, for a moment I saw the ghost of a form. A fair girl. She looked at me and smiled. Julian gave a cry of despair and put his face in his hands. The light jumped from me back to him, hovering over his hair as though stroking it. I knew then who this phantasm was.

  Caroline.

  It couldn't be anyone else. Vanessa was one of the Soul Eaters who stole Caroline's soul, the one that had gotten away and doomed the girl at last to dust.

  “I didn't know,” Julian moaned. “Vanessa, it was Vanessa all along, and I didn't know. She was Captain of the cell, just like Chen said. She should not have taken part in the lottery. Why he gave Vanessa up so easily. She killed the one who had this portion, Rafael. It was why I couldn't find him. God, I searched and searched for Rafael. I thought Vanessa would lead me to him, that was why I came to Japan. To help me find Caroline's last remnant of soul. Then to take my revenge. I never suspected her, never. What a fool I was! To look for honor in such as them. Or myself!” Those last words seemed especially bitter. “Forgive me, Caroline.”

  One of the bolts of bright energy came flying over, gamboling around like a puppy let off the leash. It nearly knocked me off my feet and I knew in an instant it was part of my soul. I could feel it call to me with such longing. Though it must have cost him a great deal of effort, Julian stood, turning from Caroline's little portion of soul energy to me. Putting his hand in an inside pocket of his coat, he pulled out a clear crystal attached to a strip of leather. He said a word. I thought it was a beautiful word, so unlike all the curses and spells I had heard up to now. The soul flew from me to the center of the crystal and stayed there, glowing with a golden light. It reminded me of Disney's Tinkerbell lighting up the lantern in Peter Pan.

  Caroline's soul seemed to shine brighter as well, as though she approved of Julian's actions. Bending down, he slipped the leather over my neck and I felt, indefinably, a little more complete. As though something very important had been returned. Which it had.

  “Two more to go,” he said, almost smiling.

  “Thank you, Julian.” I reached out and hugged him to me, pressing my face into his shredded shirt that smelled of him and blood in equal mixtures. “You risked so much for me, you and Albert. I'm so sorry.”

  I felt him stiffen and draw away. His emotions were very clear, it was like being plugged into a Julian hard drive. 'Shame' came through as though he shouted it. 'So ashamed.' Why would he feel that? Maybe because he hadn't figured the Vanessa angle out in time to save Caroline.

  Caroline's little remnant of herself fluttered around us and I could feel Julian's emotions change. There was a surge of happiness at her presence. We were very closely connected at this moment, I had ingested a lot of his blood. Those high, strong walls he kept around himself were wavering and I felt I could almost see through. Feeling Julian's joy in this unexpected reunion – fey and insubstantial as it was – spotlighted a nasty seed of worry that had been lying mostly on fallow ground. Now it pushed itself in deeper where it could burrow under my skin. Savan said Julian needed to capture this last remnant of Caroline's soul, that he already held the other two. With all three portions in hand, he then must gather my soul together to power a super spell that could bring Caroline back. At that time the process seemed so impossible to achieve.

  Yet, here it was. Caroline's third and last soul piece. The set complete at last. I reached out to touch our connection again. Besides happiness there was an avalanche of other feelings surging through him: triumph and the sweet taste of revenge, foreboding, and – hatred. Knowing I shouldn't, but unable to stop myself, I pushed a little deeper. The hatred was directed at himself. 'Liar, liar, liar,' his heart chanted.

  The seed of doubt burrowed deeper, sending out roots.

  As I watched, the glowing light that was all that remained of Caroline sped off to join the others circling Vanessa's still form. She was only a few feet away. I could see her clearly from where I stood. Julian made no move to follow Caroline, or weave some intricate spell with his hexagram or long, clever fingers to call her back. No little crystal pendant that I could see. I breathed a sigh of relief I didn't realize I was holding in. Savan was a cruel bastard. He'd just been messing with my mind. Julian had no intention of capturing that last piece.

  The lights from the souls Vanessa had stolen turned from bright to dark and then an even darker inky black. Anger and hate radiated from them like heat off a blast furnace.

  “Can they ever rest?”

  “Only God knows that. I think, incomplete as they are, they don't really know how.”

  The phantasms began to scream.

  I covered my ears. “What are they doing?” I had to shout to be heard over the awful cries.

  “She still has her soul. It has not yet left her body. They will take it now and she herself will become as lost as they.”

  “Are they strong enough? She was so powerful.”

  “The dead are far stronger than we give them credit for, believe me.”

  He was right. I could feel the ripples of energy emanating from the spectral forms.

  I turned away then. I didn't want to see anymore.

  Limping over to Blaze, I was sore everywhere, I fell, more than sat by the Shadow Hound. Blaze whimpered. There was a terrible wound in his side and blood everywhere. Gently lifting the huge head to cradle in my lap, I stroked his ears and kissed his furry forehead, whispering, “We got her Blaze, we got Vanessa. She's gone for good.”

  Blaze wagged his long tail weakly, thumping it on the deck. His fur warmed under my hands and glowed a dull red. He gave me his goofy doggy smile and a little of his tiger-like chuffle that meant he was pleased. In a scene eerily reminiscent of only a short time before, I cradled Blaze's head in my lap. His blood mixing with the blood of Albert's covering the front of my shirt and jeans, as was only fitting. I kissed him again and told him what a very, very good dog he was and how proud Albert would be of him when he recovered. How proud Julian and I were of him as well. That he was absolutely the best dog in the entire world.

  He licked my hand, sighed a long shuddering breath, and he was gone.

  Just like that.

  Cradling the massive head, I cried. Cried for Blaze. For Albert. For Vanessa. For myself and the girl I would never be again after this terrible night.

  Somewhere quite close came the wail of sirens. Swearing in several languages, Julian stepped over to scoop up the now-unconscious cat-thing. It was smaller now, looking a little more “cat” and little less “thing.” He stuffed it into one of those oversized, fold-out nylon shopping bags pulled from yet another pocket, and slung the creature over his shoulder.

&nb
sp; I stood. Weakness washed over me, like a wave pulling me under.

  “Alexandra,” I heard him call my name as if from very far away. I was sinking, sinking into the deep. He was beside me then, I wasn't sure how, lifting me effortlessly. As he did, the half light from the docks caught and reflected off a small crystal hanging from a narrow strip of leather wound round his wrist. A crystal glowing with a warm golden light exactly like the one I now wore around my neck. Pulling the darkness around us, Julian took me from that place of blood and death. The shadow of Caroline on us both.

  Chapter 40

  Dream a Little Scream With Me

  We hid through the night in a deep darkness that was part magic, part real. Concealed beneath the tunnel of an overhead expressway, gray with damp, the cars whizzing by above us. My wrist ached from being dragged around by the goblin. Cutting his shirt into strips Julian fashioned a bandage, wrapping it firmly. I was cut, bruised and battered, just as much emotionally as physically. What I had seen, what I had done. I wanted to hide, put my hands over my eyes like Isobel used to do in the scary parts of movies. Block it out. Wipe away all the images of the past few hours. Maybe Julian had magic for that.

  “How can you do this?” I sobbed. “How can you stand it?”

  He stopped wrapping my wrist, though he still held it in his hands. “Sometimes I think I can't.”

  Through our growing bond, I was able to sense the turmoil of emotions running along Julian's nervous system almost as strongly as my own. The tortured longing and sadness. Feelings he could only barely keep under control. I probed, needing to know the truth. Caroline was not there, at least not near the surface. The loss of Blaze was weighing heavily on his heart and the worry for Albert was palpable. He blamed himself. Which was foolish, because all of it was my fault. That was so obvious. Through my vanity, my weakness, I had somehow caused this to happen. Maybe that was why my mom left. She knew, could see I was nothing but trouble to everyone past, present and future.

  My mother. Automatically I reached for the broken-heart key chain tucked into my jean pocket. Yes, it was there. Chen's words had created a whole new level of weirdness to what was happening. Despite Julian's reassurance that the Club was just messing with my mind, I felt deep inside there was far more to it than that. Probably more than I wanted to know.

  The cat-thing lay half-in and half-out of the nylon carry bag where Julian had dropped it. The beast hadn't budged, maybe it was dead. The lights from the expressway shone down on where it lay in the dirt. One ear, I saw, was completely missing. I couldn't help thinking I'd seen something like it before.

  “What is that?” I pointed at the creature.

  “That is my mother's cat, Hex.”

  I stared from him to the furry, fangy thing, “A cat? That's a cat?”

  “She's a werecat. Terribly lazy though. You need to really piss her off to get her to change. Hence shoving her in the piece of luggage and jostling her about.”

  I stared at it and thought back. Back to my neighborhood and walks home, trips to the coffee house/bookstore down the street and the parking lot nearby. “You know it looks sort of like a really ugly cat that used to hang out near my house.”

  Julian gave me a quick, odd sort of glance as though he wasn't sure what to say. “Um, actually, she, well, she was keeping an eye on you for me. There in your neighborhood. Not in werecat mode, just ugly cat mode. Despite the lazy and admittedly nasty exterior, she is very observant. Hex is the one who told me to watch for the Fetch.”

  My mouth fell open. “You had your cat spy on me?”

  “Sort of. At first she was on the look out for Club members. I thought they might come to your house. Then, after the ceremony, in case something came hunting you or your father. Amber was correct when she said these plans were in effect before you left Paris. Plans to take your soul.”

  “You knew? About me? Do you know anything about my mother?” After the past few days, I didn't think anything else could shock me. Boy, was I wrong. The revelation that I had been manipulated into the Club's grasping hands was devastating.

  Julian gave a sigh. “Look, I understand, I do, how you want to know absolutely everything and you have that right. It's just I think I am either going to throw up or pass out or both. Could we talk about it when I've stopped bleeding at least?”

  “But my mother! Chen said...”

  “Please, Alexandra?”

  It was the first time I heard that tone in his voice. Almost pleading. I nodded. After all, he was bleeding because of me. At least I wanted to think so. Not because of Caroline.

  Julian took off his coat to spread over us. As he did, he pulled out something white. My feather.

  “You never mentioned a feather.” He handed it to me almost fearfully, like something sharp that could cut him.

  “It came with the medallion. Or maybe the other way around.”

  The feather was perfect again. No stain of blood. No sign of magic. I looked at Julian who shook his head.

  “Don't look at me. I have absolutely no idea how you did that. Turning a feather into a dagger. I think you saved my life.”

  I tucked it back in my bra over my heart. The silkiness felt comforting there somehow.

  We huddled together beneath the highway backed up against the concrete foundation. Eventually I felt Julian's body relax into sleep or perhaps unconsciousness. His arms kept their tight hold. I entwined my fingers in his. Seeing the remnant of Caroline's soul had shaken him badly, I could feel it. His defenses were down as his mind slipped its leash to roam at will in dreams. I had ingested a lot of his blood tonight and perhaps, because of the magic, we were closer than ever. The images flowed like water from his fingertips to my mind.

  Confused and tangled, I thought I caught a glimpse of Caroline's face, smiling. She was pretty. Slim and small, her hair pale, almost white. I felt the caress of her soul at Vanessa's death there on the barge. Caroline's touch was warm and gentle. She hadn't felt vindictive, or vengeful, or hungry. Hungry in a supernatural way. As in hungry for me. I didn't need to be haunted. One supernatural calamity at a time, please. At least I didn't look like her. Somehow, that was a relief.

  I knew my feelings for Julian were not entirely under my control tonight. Maybe any time. And not just the scary, wary feelings. Somewhere along this twisted and tangled road I was stumbling down, I found I wanted to see him. Looked forward to it everyday. There was a great comfort that at least he seemed to have a plan, which was certainly more than I did. Was it all just a side effect of the potions and the blood? Maybe. Keeping me close physically and emotionally. I wanted to think the best of Julian, I did. It was just, that niggling, aching little doubt refused to go away. Honestly though, what good would doubts do me? One way or the other, I needed him.

  Maybe if I shifted around just a bit, I could push up Julian's shirt sleeve. Check to see if I had only imagined the glowing soul crystal. 'Glowing soul crystal', I didn't even know that phrase a few hours ago. A little peace of mind wasn't wrong, was it? He gave a moan of pain as I tried to move and I stopped, suddenly ashamed. Julian fought hard and nearly died for me. I took my hand away after that, breaking the hold on his dreams. Settling back against him, feeling the rise and fall of his chest, I decided future Lexie could worry about his motives. Against all odds, I was still alive. Julian was still alive. And Albert, please, please let him be alive. Keeping those thoughts in mind, I finally followed him down into that velvet-soft well of sleep.

  Hiro, the kami, floated silently in front of me, held up by the whisper of a breeze that tickled my bangs into my eyes. 'Dreamy, dream,' my sleepy brain hummed. 'Dreamy, dreamy, dream...'

  “Hello, Lexie.”

  “Hello, Hiro,” my sleeping self answered.

  He waved one hand and the little breeze moved away from my face to tug at my jacket. Out of my shirt floated the silky magic feather. I made a grab for it then remembered this was just a dream. Nothing more. So float away feather.

  The feather m
oved as though an invisible hand held it. Golden script flowed from the tip, shining in the night, illuminating Hiro's face.

  “Watch,” Hiro whispered. “Watch and remember.” He pointed at the script and I did as he said.

  The writing made no sense to me. Just a random number of lines: vertical, diagonal, horizontal. Gradually the lines squirmed around in a wormy sort of way resolving themselves into letters. The feather paused. Leannan si floated in front of me.

  I shook my head. “Sorry, not getting it.”

  He held up one hand. “Wait.”

  The feather moved again for another set of lines that, like before, slowly changed into recognizable letters: Tuatha De Danann.

  “I cannot say more.” Hiro gave me a really serious, 'I am actually saying so much' look.

  Leannan si and Tuatha De Danann bobbed on invisible air currents.

  “Seems to me you haven't said anything at all. Still no clue, Hiro.” I gave a sleepy sigh. Magical dreams were as confusing as magical realities. Magic never seemed to make any sense at all.

  “There are wards around you, powerful ones, Lexie. This is all I can manage for now. You have much to discover about yourself and your family. Your father especially.”

  The feather floated closer. I reached up, took it, and tucked it back into my shirt.

  “Be careful of Julian Lake.”

  I gave a very unladylike snort. “Now that is something I understand very well.”

  Hiro ran a finger lightly across my cheek and I felt the wonderful bubbly, tickling buzz of his touch. He placed something in my hand. “This is from Taka. Good luck, little sprite.”

  My sleeping self smiled. A Crunky bar! I gave a dream laugh as Hiro floated away on his spirit wind.

  The morning sun shining in my eyes, I awoke. It seemed as though everything should change, the earth tilting on its axis sort of thing. As I looked around, the sky and clouds, the rocks and dirt and pitted concrete of the expressway seemed ordinary in the extreme. It was only me who was different. Around my neck I could feel the piece of my soul beating in tempo to my heart. The moon pendant, too, had it's own power, the rhythms in sync. My hand went to my shirt. The feather was there, tucked over my heart, just where I'd put it last night. I would think about my mother's heart charm later.