My Soul to Take (Soul Keepers (Young Adult paranormal romance))

by Melissa Solis

  “Elijah please get him out of there!” I cry out as I realize that Sam is dead, I can no longer make out his heartbeat. The thing keeping Sam hostage screeches out a hideous cacophony once again, only this time I see it come from Sam’s mouth.

  “Get out, get out of him!” Elijah is chanting the exorcism but it doesn’t seem to be working. When Will did it he practically beat Sam to death in the process. I fish my phone out of my pocket and my fingers are shaking so hard that I can’t find Elena’s number quick enough. By chance I hit the right button and she answers on the first ring.

  “Elena come quickly. The stable, hurry.”

  In less than a few seconds Elena appears and soars in to help Elijah. They both grab Sam by the waist and pull. He comes down hard and fast. Elijah carries him out of the building just before the entire building crumbles down. Elena swoops me up and carries me further away from the implosion.

  “I’m sorry Brennen, he’s gone.” Elijah lays Sam down gently on his lap. I kneel down beside him. Tears stream down my face.

  “Heal him Elijah.”

  “I can only heal the person I’m protecting. We’ll take him to the In-Between.” I nod and hold onto Elijah as he closes his eyes and takes us there.

  Chapter 13 ~ Ellison

  We enter the transport room filled with Keepers coming and going. Elijah carries Sam to the hall that leads to the medical rooms. I pass through the doors and am blinded by the light. I cover my eyes and I can’t see where to go.

  “Here Brennen.” I hear Elena’s voice say. She tucks a pair of sunglasses in my hand and I put them on in a rush to get moving again. Elijah is already gone. Elena and I catch back up to him. We enter a large open room that looks almost like a modern day hospital but there is no medical equipment anywhere. Only beds and curtains to separate them. Elijah has laid Sam on one of the nearest beds.

  A team of Keepers rush over and asses Sam. Elena keeps me away. The Keepers look worried and even a little frightened. I recognize Inara as she puts her hand over Sam’s heart. Her hand begins to glow and then the warm yellow light fades to nothing. Sam lies still and motionless. Inara shakes her head. No, No he can’t be gone. This isn’t how he’s supposed to die.

  I’ve hit rock bottom and the only thing I can do now is pray. Elena joins me. She holds my hand and tries to comfort me. Elijah comes back over to us and rubs my shoulder.

  “It’s trapped inside him,” he says.

  “The demon is trapped in Sam?” I repeat just to make sure I understand correctly.

  “If we can get it out we may be able to still save him.”

  “Elijah he’s been gone for too long.”

  “Inara is checking the oracle to see if this is Sam’s time.” Then there is hope. I walk over to Sam. He’s all alone. His chest is still and his lips are just the faintest of blues. I caress his cheek.

  “Sam if you can hear me I want you to fight. You can’t leave me, you said you’d never leave me again. Don’t break your promise.” Sam’s lips part and I jump back. That thing inside him screams out again.

  “Ah ohh,” I growl right back at it.

  “Careful love.” Elijah pulls me away from Sam’s body and holds me in his arms. After a few minutes Inara comes back into the room. We all wait for the news. She runs her small hand over Sam’s forehead in a cross pattern. Sam’s lips open again and he hisses. I shove my face into Elijah’s chest. He holds my head and pulls me in close.

  “Well Sam, it’s your lucky day.” I turn to face Inara. “Today is not the day you are going to die.” Inara turns back to us. “We’ve called to the Seraphim, there are very few who can talk a demon out. Your mother gladly volunteered.” Inara gives me a heartfelt smile as she removes her hand from Sam’s face.

  I look up at Elijah. “My mother? As in Emmagen? Is coming here. What if I’m a disappointment to her? Look at what a mess I’ve made of things.”

  “She is going to love you,” Elijah says as he nuzzles my head. His words don’t bring me any comfort. I go to Sam and run my finger over his hand.

  “Elijah he’s getting cold.” My voice is small. I’m so afraid I’ve lost him for good.

  “He’s going to be okay.”

  “Is his soul in hell right now?” Oh no it could be even worse. “Is he in that horrible place being tortured?”

  “I’m afraid so,” Elijah says full of remorse. I shudder when I think of Malphas kicking me so hard that I had bruises on my lower torso. Elijah tucks me into his arms and holds me there. He is once again my steel cage scented with the warm smell of chocolate mixed with his delicious body wash.

  He hands me a white handkerchief, pure linen with the letters E.M embroidered in silver thread in one corner. It reminds me of the blanket that my mother abandoned me in and I gasp at the similarities. Elijah pulls me back to see what’s wrong.

  “She loves you Brennen, just remember that.” Elijah knows me, he knew what I was thinking when he saw my fingers graze over the stitching.

  A woman comes into the room and walks towards us. Her long honey blond hair is draped on both sides of her face like a silk curtain. Her emerald green eyes meet mine and I’m frozen by her beauty. She is wearing a deep purple dress that flows in volumes around her as if it were her own personal cloud to ride in on. I’ve never seen anyone this beautiful.

  “Oh my baby!” She pulls me away from Elijah’s arms and into her own. Tears flow down her soft pink cheeks and wet my face. “Oh my dear sweet angel. I’ve missed you so much.”

  I’m flooded with emotions I didn’t even know I had, they overtake my eyes and spill over the brims. Being in my mother’s arms, feeling the love she has for me, and knowing what a disappointment I must be to her, has left me feeling, as the south would call it: a hot mess.

  What should I call her, Emmagen, mom– mother? I should say something, but what?

  “I’ve wondered what it would be like if I ever met you. I’ve to say, I’m sad.”

  “Oh darling why?” she asks. I wipe another round of tears from my eyes with Elijah’s handkerchief.

  “Because I just met you and I already love you. And I want to stay with you.” I didn’t even know I was feeling that way until the words spilled out of my mouth. I wonder if she has some sort of truth serum gift that makes people vomit the truth from their lips whenever she’s near. And now we’re both crying again. I guess that is where my water works gene comes from. The thought brings a little smile to my face.

  Sam, he’s suffering every minute that he is gone. I hate to cut our reunion short but she needs to get to doing what she does.

  “Please help him mother.” I called her mother. She smiles and goes over to Sam.

  “This is the boy that you are destined to marry?” I give a fleeting glance to Elijah before nodding. “And Elijah it’s so nice to see you again. You’ve been doing a wonderful job keeping Brennen safe.” She brushes her hand down Elijah’s arm with compassion. Does she know that we’re in love? Can she see me from Heaven? My mind is filled with questions.

  My mother examines Sam’s body. Her brow goes up and she pushes Sam’s shoulder to turn him over. Elijah doesn’t question what she’s doing but holds Sam in the position she propped him up in order to help her. She bends down and looks at the back of Sam’s neck. Carefully parting the hair until her fingers find what she was looking for. She glares up at Elijah.

  “This boy has been marked.” I’m curious to know what it is, she sees. So I bend down beside her and she parts the hair again. Under Sam’s golden locks is a tattoo of an upside down cross in white. You could easily mistake it for a scar or a birthmark. They lay him back down.

  “We only just found out, Emmagen,” Elijah is quick to cover. He almost sounds like he’s in trouble.

  “Brennen I will expel the demon, but I want you to know that when Sam regains consciousness he will have gone through a highly stressing ordeal over there. He will probably have suffered a great deal of pain and sadness, any number of traumatizing, excru
ciating…”

  “Okay I get it, please hurry! I know what it’s like over there.” My mother is quick to tick her head back. “Sorry mother. I…”

  “Say no more. I will begin.” She starts chanting in a language that I don’t even begin to place. She washes Sam’s wrist with a sponge and hangs his arm over the edge of the bed. She repeats the process on the other. She takes a scalpel from the same table and slices his wrist open. Elijah has already positioned a basin on both sides to catch the blood flowing out of Sam’s veins.

  “What do you mean, you know what it’s like over there?” she says, scalpel still in hand and looking oddly serene while her eyes are glued to Elijah. My mother can be scary.

  Elijah swallows hard as if he were about to confess to slaughtering dolphins and eating them. “It was my fault she was taken.” He owns up to his mistake and keeps his eyes focused on hers while he explains. My mother relaxes her shoulders and says they’ll talk about that later. Elijah looks as if he’s just been scolded but his tail his hardly between his legs.

  She resumes her ritual and circles her hand above Sam’s heart and the blood begins to come out faster. I begin to feel woozy and Inara is quick to push a chair up for me as my knees finally give way.

  “Orneus, is that you old fellow? Come on out now and leave this boy, he is of no use to you dead.” My mother appears serene as if she were only coaxing a cat down from a tree.

  “You’ve been baptized Brennen?” Her question catches me off guard.

  “Yes, ma’am,” I say in a small voice.

  “Good, we wouldn’t want this pesky spirit going into the next open vessel.”

  “Orneus, don’t make me come in there after you. I promise you, it won’t be near as pleasant.” She sings out the first part. Is she serious with this? I saw that thing nail Elijah and Elena to the ceiling with its strength. Does she think she can baby talk it out? An unearthly growl comes from inside Sam’s body, which by now must be completely drained of blood.

  The sound causes me to cringe down in my chair.

  “Elijah be ready with the, you-know-what.” She eyes a lead box on the table. Her hand hovers over Sam’s heart for a moment before diving in elbow deep. Her hand is inside of Sam’s chest, in spirit form, thank goodness. She quickly begins to pull her hand out. Clutched in her grasp is a shapeless, cat sized, plume of black smoke, dark as soot. Elijah opens the box and the demon gets inhaled by it, as if it were a satisfying meal. Elijah shuts the lid and locks it.

  And not a hair on my mother’s head is out of place. I ease out of my chair and stand at Sam’s feet. Elijah instinctively wraps his arms around me to calm me. Inara heals Sam’s wrist and kisses each wound until only a faint scar remains.

  Then a crowd of Keepers come in and begin working on him. There are blood infusions and CPR and oxygen and a whole lot of miracles going on right now. Elijah pulls me out of their way.

  Finally after what seemed like hours but I know it was only seconds. Sam takes a gasping breath of air.

  I rush to Sam’s side, paying no mind to the barrage of Keepers I knock out of my way. I never thought I would be so grateful to see the slow rise and fall of someone’s chest before, but I’m overcome with relief.

  “Now he just needs some time here. He’ll probably be unconscious for a few days –our time,” Inara says.

  “Brennen, Elijah may I’ve a word with you?” My mother calls us over, and by her tone I know it’s not good, it’s the same tone I get in my voice when I’ve to break bad news to someone.

  We follow her to a nearby empty room that appears to be a meeting room. A large glossy table, cut from a single plank of redwood, is surrounded by exotic looking wooly stools.

  “Brennen can’t marry this boy, Elijah. He’s marked. It’s too dangerous and I won’t stand by and watch as a demon murders my only daughter.”

  “I couldn’t agree more Emmagen,” of course Elijah agrees. I shoot him a glare for his split allegiance.

  “They had me captive for two weeks and didn’t kill me. What makes you think they would use Sam to?” My comment sets my mother off. I give an apologetic look to Elijah.

  “Two weeks Elijah? I ought to have you removed from her guard immediately,” she says furiously.

  “Mother no!” My arms quickly wrap around Elijah and latch on for dear life. My mother’s mouth is agape for only a second. She’s quick on the uptake I’ll give her that.

  “So I take it you two are in love.”

  “It’s complicated.”

  “It always is,” she’s quick to reply.

  I tactfully change the subject. “I know the risks with Sam and they scare me too. But Nehemiah says that Sam won’t find the cure for cancer unless he is in love with me. Millions of people will lose their lives unnecessarily if I don’t take that risk.”

  “Elijah may I’ve a moment alone with Brennen please?”

  Elijah graciously bows out of the room as if my mother were royalty. She certainly has that air about her, for all I know perhaps she is considered so here.

  “I know that you have a servant’s heart Brennen, and you want to help all of those people. However, if you are killed before you reach your own destiny, billions could die. You are going to be responsible for those lives saved.” I ease down into one of the curly furred seats. She has made an excellent point.

  “I’m sorry, but I want to do both. My teacher Mrs. Cohen, her six year old daughter is going to die from leukemia soon. Six years mom that is all that little Eva gets to live. I couldn’t live with myself if I chose my own life over hers. Elijah can keep me safe.”

  “You love him don’t you? Elijah I mean.” I nod. “And do you love this Sam, or are you going through with this relationship for the sole purpose of his destiny to be filled?”

  “That is what the hardest part of all of this is. I could love Sam. He is a wonderful person mom. But I know that I would choose Elijah and only him if Sam’s destiny didn’t save millions of lives, if he could do it without me. I just want to be able to love Elijah but they’ve even taken that away from me. He’s only allowed to be my friend.”

  “Well then that is what we will do dear girl. We will find a way for Sam to fill his destiny without you in it.” I pull my mother in my arms and hug the breath out of her. I feel her wipe a tear away and I hug her even tighter.

  “I love you mom.”

  “I love you more than you could ever fit inside your heart. I also want to help that little girl Eva, get her miracle. Let it be my gift to you for missing out on all of your birthdays and special occasions.”

  “Oh my gosh! Are you serious? You’re going to heal Eva?”

  “Most definitely.” Of course more tears are involved as I squeeze the breath out of my mother.

  We make our way back to Sam’s bed. His color has fully returned. They’ve cleaned him up and dressed him in gauzy white pants. His firm chest is left bare. I thank God he wasn’t burned in the fire.

  “Elijah says there is no way to remove his mark. Is that true?”

  “Brennen, I truly wish it wasn’t. We know that Sam’s heart is full of grace and kindness. His generosity knows no boundary.”

  “How could a mother do this to her child?”

  “I’m sure they made it sound like it was trivial, a mere inconvenience in her son’s life. Sure, they gave her a house full of children, and then they riddled her body with cancer so she wouldn’t even live to see them grow. It’s what they do Brennen. Don’t ever trust one of them. Promise me.”

  “Don’t worry, I already made the same promise to Elijah.” She pulls me in for a hug and kisses my cheek.

  “I love you my dear sweet angel.”

  “Are you leaving?”

  “Not until I find a way to help you, Nehemiah and I will be brainstorming until we find a solution.”

  Elijah comes through the door. My heart flips over at the sight of him. Will it ever beat normally around him? He has cleaned up and changed clothes. His hair still damp
from the shower.

  “Emmagen, I was just about to take Brennen to get some dinner, would you care to join us?”

  “I see why you’ve fallen for him.” My mother whispers in my ear and a smile slips across my face. Elijah gives me a side glance that says, “Keeping secrets now are we?”

  “Thank you Elijah, another time perhaps. I’ve a pressing matter I’ve to attend to.”

  “I see, well Brennen are you hungry?”

  Hungry for you. I say with my eyes. He pretends not to notice. But I catch him swallow hard. “I could eat.” We say goodbye to my mother and Elijah leads me outside. It’s dark out and the forest has come to life with the sounds of the wild. Elijah whistles a couple of notes and a glossy bay horse, dark as mahogany, comes trotting up to us.

  “Horses like me here.” He laughs as he grabs hold of the bridle. “We mostly ride at night, to be safe.” He mounts the beast without a saddle and reaches down for me. He pulls me up and sets me in front of him. His arms reach around and grab hold of the horse’s mane.

  We ride along the moss covered path with only the moon lighting our way. A break in the trees allows me to see that it’s not the earth’s moon. Where in the universe are we? This place is magical. The moon casts out its silver light turning this world into pewter and lilac. Elijah is settled against my back in a way that has my stomach lurching inside of my body. Occasionally his cheek grazes my ear, setting my entire neck on fire.

  “I brought you a bag from home if you’d like to dress for dinner.”

  “Yes, I’d like to change. I’m filthy.” We make a short stop at his house. My suitcase is laid out on a small table in Elijah’s bedroom. I shut the door to the room and undress. Just being here in this room again, brings back a flood of memories from that night. It was just a dream. I repeat in my head. A dream I wish reoccurred nightly.

  I take a quick shower to wash away the smoke odor I’ve been wearing half the night. After, I pull a navy lace dress over my body and choose striped espadrilles, surprised at how coordinated Elijah’s fashion sense is. I take a few minutes to blow dry my hair figuring it can dry the rest of the way on the trip. Elijah gaze carries up and down by body when I emerge. “You look beautiful. Shall we?” I slip my arm into his proffered elbow and we are off again.