The Fourth Soul: (Cards of Death book 4)

by Tamara Geraeds

  As much as he wants to believe it, I can tell by the sad look in his eyes that the first sliver of doubt is knocking at his heart. He has no idea what Trevor and his friends can do. To be honest, neither have I. But I have a pretty good idea of how bad it can get for this man, so I step forward, put my hand on his and abandon every attempt at sugarcoating I had in mind. Blunt or not, this man needs to know the truth, and he needs help defending himself against his enemies. “Father, this man was sent by the Devil himself to collect your soul. He needs it to escape Hell. If he succeeds, he will be one step closer to taking over the world and wiping out humanity.”

  Fear reaches his eyes, and I know that if I push him now, he’ll come with us.

  “We were sent by an angel to protect you from this threat. Please come with us.”

  He puts his other hand on mine and taps it gently. Then he shakes his head and looks up at me with a smile. “I am humbled by your presence, my son, but I cannot leave this place. This is where I belong and where I am strongest. If what you say is true, I will defeat this evil man with my faith.”

  “What if you can’t?” I press him. “What if I tell you that Trevor has powers you’ve never seen in your life? What if I tell you that he will keep killing people you love until you give in?”

  The priest’s shoulders sag even more. “God would not let that happen, unless it has a purpose. If it does, who am I to doubt his decisions?”

  I feel like grabbing him by his white collar and shaking him until he understands. But I can’t do that, so instead, I ball my fists. “Father, please… please listen to me. Trevor will keep going until he drives you crazy. He will hurt you, both mentally and physically, so bad that you will break. You won’t be able to think straight anymore. There will be no God left in your mind when this man is done with you.”

  “If that is part of my test, I will endure it.”

  “You cannot win this!” I yell at him. “He’s ruthless. Evil runs through his veins. There is nothing he won’t do. Sympathy or remorse won’t hold him back, because he does not feel these things.”

  Still, he remains calm. “If I give in, I deserve to be taken.” He bows his head.

  My nails pierce the skin of my palms, still I squeeze harder. “But does the rest of the world deserve to fall with you?” I ask, venom seeping into my voice.

  He sighs. “That is not for me to decide. Only the Lord can show me the way. If he wants me to go with you, he will let me know.”

  I throw my hands in the air. “He sent us to collect you. What more do you need?”

  “I am sorry, son.” He presses his hand onto his chest. “My heart is telling me to stay.”

  I exchange a look with Vicky. Do we take him by force? But I already know what her answer to that will be, even if it would be the only way to save him. She’ll say, ‘you can’t kidnap a priest. God wouldn’t approve’.

  The palms of my hands are starting to hurt, and I try to relax.

  Vicky is still staring at me. Even without her empath power, she must be able to sense what I’m feeling, because she slowly shakes her head as if to say, ‘don’t even think about it’. Her faith in God is probably as unwavering as this priest’s. Sometimes I wish I could feel the same way.

  The priest is smiling again. I don’t understand how he can remain so calm after what I’ve just told him. I’m starting to think he might be right. Maybe they picked the wrong guy this time. Maybe he doesn’t need our help at all. Still, I can’t leave him behind with no lifeline at all, so I pick up a piece of paper and a pen from a table behind me and write down my name and phone number.

  “I hope you’re right, Father. I hope you are strong enough to resist him.” I slide the number under his nose. “But in case you’re not, please don’t hesitate to call.”

  He nods, sadness and determination in his eyes. “Thank you, my son.”

  I turn to beckon the others.

  Charlie’s ponytail moves from left to right as he shakes his head. “That’s it? You’re just giving up?”

  I shrug. “There’s nothing more we can do. We can’t force our protection on him.”

  “Sure we can. We can protect this building with a spell, put salt at every exit.”

  “This is a holy place, there is no need for salt or spells,” the priest says calmly.

  The irritation that has faded in me has now clung to my best friend. “Oh yeah? Then how come Trevor can just walk in and out without trouble?”

  The priest tilts his head in thought. “Maybe he can still be saved.”

  Charlie snorts. “You clearly don’t know the guy very well.”

  The priest rises to his feet and takes Charlie’s hands in his. “I don’t have to. God knows him, and he will judge him. Have faith, my son.”

  Charlie lets out a frustrated growl and stomps off.

  With a small bow, I say goodbye to the priest. “Thank you for hearing us out, Father. Be safe.”

  He returns my gesture, and I leave the room.

  I halt at the next door. “Vicky, can you go invisible and check for anyone evil in there, please?”

  Without opening it, she steps through the door. It still gives me chills to see her do that. I’ve gotten used to her transparent state so much I barely ever notice it anymore. But she usually follows me through a doorway or apparates somewhere, so seeing her walk through a door like that makes my throat tighten. It reminds me of how far away from me she actually is. How close she is to death. How close I am to losing her.

  Tears form in my eyes, so I wipe them quickly and turn my attention to Charlie, who’s pacing the small hallway angrily. “I can’t believe he wouldn’t listen.”

  The others are still in the room, and I wonder what they’re doing. I want to turn back, but then Vicky sticks her head through the door and whispers. “It’s safe, just some churchgoers.”

  I avert my eyes. “Please don’t do that.”

  The rest of the Shield finally joins us, and I give them a questioning look.

  “Jeep wanted to read the priest’s feelings and see if he could change them,” D’Maeo explains quietly while Taylar is blinking in and out of sight.

  Charlie comes to a sudden halt. “Did it work?” he asks eagerly.

  Jeep shakes his head. “I could feel his emotions, but I couldn’t change them. He has a strong will.”

  After one last look at the door, I turn away. “Let’s hope it’s strong enough.”

  CHAPTER 29

  Once we’re back in the car, I don’t turn the key. Instead, I let my gaze drift from the church to the houses nearby and the people going in and out of shops and homes. It’s hard to decide whether the decision forming inside my head is a stupid or a smart one. In the end, my mouth seems to decide on its own.

  “I say we go after Trevor,” I blurt.

  Charlie stops fiddling with his hair and looks at me. “You mean keep an eye on him? I agree.”

  I’m still not completely sure, but I do shake my head. “No, I mean get rid of him. Kill him.”

  His forehead scrunches up. “I thought you said he’s too strong for us in our current state.”

  “And that you wanted to keep him around to find out what else the Devil is planning,” Vicky adds, leaning forward from the back seat.

  My hands fold around the steering wheel; squeeze, release, squeeze, release. This is a stupid plan. I should listen to my own advice and stick to keeping an eye on Trevor instead of trying to take him out.

  But an image of the first glimmer of doubt in the priest’s eyes keeps floating through my mind. If we don’t intervene, this human priest will eventually crack under the magical pressure.

  “That’s all true,” I tell my friends, “but the risk of letting Trevor walk around freely is too high. No matter what this priest says or thinks, he can’t win this. Trevor will do anything to get his soul. We have to stop him before he does.”

  D’Maeo rubs his beard. “What if we c
apture him instead of kill him? That might be easier.”

  Taylar nods. “Like we did with the Red Horseman.”

  “Right,” Jeep pipes in. “If we can bind the Red Horseman, Trevor should be a piece of cake. He’s only an elemental, isn’t he?”

  I wake up Phoenix and steer her onto the road. “He’s more than that. How else was he able to make that demon speak?”

  Jeep leans back, merging with Maël and D’Maeo. “Yeah, that is strange.”

  We drive back to Darkwood Manor in silence.

  “Get your weapons,” I tell the others. “As soon as I find Trevor again, we’re leaving.”

  A collection of frowns answers me.

  “We already have our weapons,” D’Maeo says.

  I shrug. “Oh, good. Let’s scry again then.”

  The pendant finds Trevor a couple of blocks away from the church we just visited. I grit my teeth at the thought that taking the pendant with us could’ve saved us a lot of time. But Vicky needs to stock up on ingredients, high fat snacks and stuff anyway.

  Handing the map and pendant to Vicky, I tell my friends the plan. Although it’s not much of a plan really. It’s more like following our gut feeling.

  When everyone walks back outside, I say goodbye to Mom and Mona.

  Jeep is waiting for me in the hallway.

  “You could’ve just called your mother,” he says in a hushed voice. He looks into my eyes and grins. “We didn’t have to drive all the way back here to find out she’s fine.”

  He wants to slap me on the back, but I raise my hand to stop him. “Don’t read my emotions, Jeep.”

  With an apologetic, but amused, glint in his eyes, he throws up his hands. “Sorry, master, I can’t control it yet. I understand where your concern is coming from, but we must stay focused. There are several grave situations that need our attention now. Your mother is currently―thankfully―not one of them.”

  I step closer to him, lowering my voice. “What do you mean? Did something become more urgent?”

  Now that I’m just an inch from his face, I can see the hurt and struggle behind the grin. Fear grabs my heart. “What is it, Jeep?”

  He averts his eyes. “I’m sorry, master. I am fighting as hard as I can, but I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to keep the ghosts trapped under the ink on my skin. Either they are getting stronger, or I am getting weaker. Either way, something has to be done soon, or we will have one more problem to take care of.”

  Although I’m not sure how, I open my mouth to reassure him. Tell him he’s first on our list, after the priest. But he raises a hand.

  “There’s more.”

  My fingernails dig into my palm. “Tell me.”

  He looks over my shoulder before continuing. “Have you noticed Taylar blinking in and out of sight?”

  “Sure.” I suppress the impulse to shrug. I figured it was just a reaction to his emotional distress.

  “Maybe he was just emotional,” Jeep repeats my thoughts. “Which is not surprising if you think about that premonition he had.” He steps aside to pass me, but I hold out the palm of my hand to stop him.

  “No, that’s not what you wanted to say. Tell me what you saw.”

  “I think…” He scrutinizes me for a second. “I think you have enough to worry about already, master.”

  He makes for the front door again, but I turn and call out his name. “Jeep. I order you to tell me what you’re worried about.”

  He freezes, but when he turns around, he doesn’t look angry. His eyes are sad. “I’m worried that Taylar’s unfinished business is pulling at him. He has to get rid of it, or we might lose him forever.”

  “How can he? The man that killed his brother has to be long dead by now. He was about fifty when they robbed him, wasn’t he?”

  Jeep nods. “But whether he’s dead or alive doesn’t matter. What matters is that Taylar closes the book on this. You’ll have to help him with that.”

  I stab my finger in my own chest. “Me? Why me? I don’t know anything about things like that!”

  He grabs my shoulder and leans closer. “You better figure it out quickly, because you’re the one he looks up to. He’ll listen to you.”

  Jeep’s halfway out the door before I call after him. “He looks up to D’Maeo too!”

  “Just a bit,” he calls over his shoulder. Then he stands still and points at his eyes. “Trust me.”

  Of course, Vicky’s power. That’s how he knows this. He felt it.

  Invisible pins puncture my brain when the next thought soars through them. Why didn’t Vicky tell me this? Didn’t she sense it?

  I know the answer when I look at my favorite girl, sitting in the back seat. Her shoulders are slumped, and she’s just a bit more transparent than usual.

  My eyes burn when I realize what I couldn’t see before.

  She’s so worried about the two curses that have fallen on her, that there’s no room for anyone else’s feelings anymore. And without her power, she’s not able to control her own emotions as well as she used to. Why didn’t I see this sooner?

  Of course, I know why. Fighting the Devil and his friends isn’t easy, and it takes up a lot of time. But still, she’s my girl. I should take care of her, even if she’s the toughest woman I’ve ever met.

  Jeep sticks his head through the back door. “Hey, are you coming? If we wait too long, we have to scry again.”

  “Right.” I shake my head, call out my goodbyes to Mom and Mona and vow to pay more attention to the other people I care about. I let gratitude flow through me and meet Jeep’s eyes in the rearview mirror. He nods at me, picking up on my emotions.

  When I turn left onto Oak Lane, I switch the radio on. Live and Let Die is on, and I wonder whether someone is trying to give me a hint. Should I turn back?

  I almost do, but then Freddy Mercury starts singing about people biting the dust, so I probably shouldn’t read anything in it.

  We make a quick stop at the Silver Family Market to stock up, and soon we’re on our way back to Mulling.

  In the back seat, the atmosphere is getting lighter with every song that comes on.

  I turn up the volume when Staying Alive comes on. “Well, this is appropriate.”

  We all sing along, even Maël and D’Maeo, and I relax a little. Everyone looks confident and happy again, and I almost feel guilty for turning off the engine when we reach our destination.

  The silence falls hard on us, and there’s some sighing as we get out of the car.

  “Come on guys, we can do this,” I say as cheerfully as I can manage.

  “I think we need a plan first,” D’Maeo counters.

  Jeep nods. “I agree. I mean, not a plan for fighting him, we can just repeat what we practiced during training. But how are we going to trap him?”

  “Good question.” I pull out Dad’s notebook for inspiration.

  Charlie joins me while the others stay on the look-out.

  “We should’ve done this at Darkwood Manor,” he says.

  I rub my forehead before turning the next page. “You’re right, but my head is overflowing at the moment. I haven’t had a proper break since all this madness started. Every time I try to relax, more trouble seems to come my way. I’m so tired of worrying all the time and trying to come up with solutions.”

  “Then don’t,” he responds with a bright smile.

  I grunt.

  “No, seriously. Worrying about these things doesn’t help. And you don’t have to solve everything on your own. We’re not just here to help you fight, you know.”

  “Easy for you to say,” I mope.

  He shakes his head. “No, it’s not. I don’t want the Devil to rule the world any more than you do. And in case you were wondering, I don’t want my best friend to die either, you know.”

  Several golden locks have escaped his ponytail, and he binds them back together. “I know you’re the chosen one, but it’s not
just your responsibility to save everyone.” He gestures at my Shield. “We’re all here to do that. And it’s not easy for any of us.”

  My stomach contracts when I realize my mistake. “I’m sorry, that was a stupid thing to say. I know it’s hard on everyone. It’s just that you seem to take it all a bit…”

  “Lighter?” His relaxed smile is back, but there’s pain in his eyes. “It’s not lighter, but realistic. Worrying about things doesn’t help, thinking about things does. Of course I’m worried, but I push all negative thoughts that aren’t constructive to the back of my mind and focus on thoughts that can lead to a solution.”

  My gaze drops back to the book in my hands. “I wish I could do that.”

  He punches my shoulder. “For some, it takes more practice than for others, you know. Just try it. And stop being to insecure.”

  I snort. “I’m not insecure.”

  His laugh makes the others look back. “Liar.”

  I slap him with the notebook. “Shut up.”

  CHAPTER 30

  A few minutes later, I sum up what I’ve found. “There’s a spell that can strip someone’s power. It’s probably pretty similar to what our enemy used at the entrance of the silver mine.” I flip through the book to find the other page that could be useful. “And there’s also an immobilizing spell which is a bit easier.”

  Maël steps closer and looks over my shoulder. “What if we combine them? Immobilize him first, then strip his power. It should be easy to lock him up somewhere when he’s powerless. Even if the spell doesn’t go exactly as planned.”

  “That’s not a bad idea.” I hand the book to Vicky. “Can you check if you have everything we need in your pocket? And hand Maël some more food?”

  The ghost queen throws up her hand. “Oh please, no more food. I’ve had enough, really.”

  I tilt my head, the why-question on the tip of my tongue. But it still isn’t the right time, so instead of blurting it out, I close my mouth and nod.

  “I have everything we need for the immobilizing spell. It’s a pretty easy one. It shouldn’t give us any trouble,” Vicky says. “The other one is trickier, but we’ll have more time to prepare it.”