Tainted (The Soul Chronicles Book 1)

by Morgan L. Busse

  “You found Dr. Latimer?”

  Stephen stuffed his hands into his pockets and averted his gaze from the hope in her face. “Not quite.”

  The driver came around the other side of the coach, a pocket watch in his hand. He looked up and nodded toward Stephen and Kat. “Just in time. We need to leave now if we want to make it to World City before nightfall.”

  The driver’s gaze moved toward Kat, and he smiled. “Looks like your wife is doing much better. I’m glad to see it.”

  Before Kat could answer, Stephen had her by the elbow and was guiding her to the door.

  The driver chuckled and hauled himself up to his perch at the top of the coach.

  When they were safely inside, Kat pinned him with a sharp look. “What did he mean, ‘your wife’?”

  “The man made an assumption I never bothered to correct.”

  Pink dotted her cheeks. Yesterday her look would have made his insides do flips, but they did nothing to him now. Everything Kat did, every look she wore only made him think of Vanessa.

  Vanessa was never convicted of her offense. But Kat would be. And justice would win out in the end.

  The setting sun turned red within the haze of World City as the coach approached from the south. Kat hardly said a word during the rest of the trip, something which Stephen was thankful for. As each hour passed and they drew closer to their final destination, his questions grew until he felt like two ravenous dogs were fighting inside his chest.

  Maybe there was still more to Kat’s story.

  But she murdered someone!

  She said she was looking for a cure.

  She is a danger to society and needs to be locked u—

  “Thank you.”

  Stephen started and looked over.

  Kat leaned against the side of the coach, the buildings of World City taking shape outside the window as they entered the city perimeter. The dying light played across her face. He could see no trace of the other Kat, but he knew she was there, lurking somewhere beneath. “For what?”

  She gave him a soft smile, sending his guilt-meter to a ten. “For helping me. You saw what I was and”—she looked down and pulled at her fingers—“you’re still willing to help me. I don’t know where I would be if it weren’t for you.”

  Stephen turned away from Kat and looked out his own window. “I always fulfill my contracts.” Only, he would be turning her in first. Then he would look for Dr. Latimer. No one should have that kind of power.

  They reached the station just as the sun set. Stephen pulled out a couple of bills, handed them to the driver, and hailed a smaller cab. “We need to stop at my office first,” he explained to Kat as he helped her inside the small cabin. She just nodded, dark circles staining the skin beneath her eyes and her posture drooping. She was probably exhausted. He was too, having barely slept the past week. And considering what he was going to do, he probably wouldn’t ever sleep again.

  You don’t have to turn her in.

  He ignored the voice.

  Instead, he gave the driver the address to his office and settled down inside the cab next to Kat. She blinked a couple of times and leaned her head back. The cab took off with a lurch and rode through the narrow streets of World City.

  Lamplighters were already making their way to the street corners and lighting the street lamps. Couples walked side by side on their nightly stroll. Cats prowled in alleyways looking for their evening meal.

  Stephen leaned forward and shrugged off his duster. With all the buildings and paved streets, the day’s heat clung to the city well past sunset. Kat breathed quietly next to him, those deep, even breaths of sleep.

  He folded the coat across his knees and watched her. The fire inside his chest had cooled. He had not changed his mind, but he no longer burned with bitterness. “I wish things could have been different,” he said quietly.

  Perhaps he was destined to find the wrong kind of woman, to never marry and raise a family.

  He sighed and looked out the other window. It was best just to get this over with and move on.

  A half hour later they reached his office. Stephen left Kat sleeping in the coach and hurried inside the three-story building. At the end of the hall, he went up the stairs, taking them two at a time to the second floor. A light shone through the frosted glass door with his name across the top. Good. Jerod was still here.

  Stephen held up his coat, pulled out his ring of keys and inserted the right one into the keyhole. The lock gave a small click and he opened the door.

  Jerod sat as his desk, his tawny hair even greasier than usual, his glasses halfway down his nose. He looked up and pushed on the bridge of the wire rims. “Stephen. You made it back.”

  “Yes. Just arrived a half hour ago. Did you get the information I was seeking?”

  Jerod pulled out a long piece of paper from beneath a stack of fliers. “I did. But—” He looked up, troubled. “It doesn’t make sense.”

  “What do you mean?” Stephen held out his hand. Jerod placed the piece of paper across his palm.

  The familiar World City logo was printed across the top. Kat’s full name and the bounty amount came below. Then a couple of paragraphs about her offense. Blaylock and the two young men were listed. Then in bold letters that the fugitive was wanted live. And . . .

  Stephen held the paper up closer and shook his head. “They want her brought to the Tower? That doesn’t make any sense. A convict is always brought to precinct.”

  “Yes. And that’s not the only thing. How in the world could Miss Bloodmayne have done those things? We have both met her. Kill two men, burn a third? All three from World City families no less.” Jerod leaned forward across his desk, causing a couple of pieces of paper to flutter to the floor. “It seems more like a cover up for something else. We both know the Sterlings would do something like this to hide something distasteful done by one of their sons.”

  Stephen shrugged, his heart cold inside his chest. “Perhaps there is more to Miss Bloodmayne than we know. Or maybe one of Dr. Bloodmayne’s enemies is targeting his daughter and the accusation is false.”

  Jerod leaned back in his wooden chair and wrapped his hands around his knee. “I would have thought so too, except that it was her father, acting with the World City council, that put the bounty out on her.”

  Stephen looked up, the paper held tight in his hand. “Dr. Bloodmayne placed the bounty?”

  “Yes! Doesn’t that seem odd to you? Her own father! What kind of man puts out a bounty on his daughter?”

  Stephen shrugged, but his insides coiled at the thought. What father, indeed? Given what Kat had said about her father, maybe Dr. Bloodmayne could. Especially if he knew what she could do.

  “I don’t know, Stephen.” Jerod let go of his knee and pulled out a piece of paper with scribbling across it that looked vaguely like his handwriting. “Things are not adding up with this whole situation.”

  Just when Stephen was going to acquiesce to Jerod’s points, the scene from that morning blazed again across his mind: The bounty hunters thrown across the room, the furniture moving, and Kat’s high-pitched laugh. No, Jerod was wrong. He just didn’t know all the facts. Anyone would think what Jerod did, unless they knew the truth. “I don’t think we know Miss Bloodmayne as well as we think we do.”

  Jerod looked up from his notes. “Wait, are you saying you agree with the bounty? You really think Miss Bloodmayne could have done those things?”

  Stephen carefully folded the piece of paper in his hand. “I know from my own past that women are capable of many things, more than we give them credit for.”

  Jerod stood and leaned across his desk. “Stephen, Miss Bloodmayne is not your former fiancée. You can’t keep placing Vanessa’s face across every woman who crosses your pa—”

  “That’s enough!”

  Jerod shut his mou
th and his face paled. A drop of sweat dripped off the edge of his nose.

  Stephen breathed deeply and looked away. He hadn’t meant to snap. “My past is my own. And you will never bring it up. Do you understand?”

  Jerod slowly sat down. “I understand. My apologies.”

  Stephen took another breath and let it out. “Having been with Miss Bloodmayne for the last couple of days, I can assure you that there is more to her than you know.”

  Jerod steepled his fingers together, the emotions from moments ago erased, leaving behind a neutral face. “Just one more thing. Be careful, Stephen. Something is happening inside this city. More convicts are disappearing from Delmar Penitentiary, Antonio and his gang have pulled out of the southern district, and there are several cases of grave robbery from the St. Lucias Cemetery.”

  Stephen frowned. “How do you know all this?”

  “Rumors on the streets. Even the police are on edge right now. And now this bounty on Miss Bloodmayne, right after the death of your aunt—her housekeeper. It’s all just strange.”

  Stephen stuffed the paper into the pocket of his duster. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  “So you’re still going to turn her in?”

  Stephen let his breath out. “Yes. I am.”

  Jerod pressed his lips together. “I’ll be in tomorrow to process the check. Please be sure you’re doing this for the right reason.”

  His face darkened. “I am.”

  Jerod nodded and stood. He grabbed his hat and coat from the nearby coat rack. “Will there be anything else tonight?”

  “No, thank you, Jerod. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  Jerod jammed his hat on, gave Stephen a curt nod, and headed for the door.

  A minute later Stephen found himself standing in the middle of his office alone and silent. The dogs were fighting once again inside his chest. To give Kat over or to keep her safe. He ran a hand through his hair. He could still see her face in the shadows on the stairs, her dark eyes, her lips slightly parted. He could hear the loneliness in her voice again. I don’t want to be alone. And the way she tasted when he kissed her . . .

  He spun around and let out a growl. No. I will not be tied to a woman again. She is a danger to society. I must do this.

  Jerod’s warning rang in his ears. Be sure you’re doing this for the right reason.

  Stephen tore the door open and headed out into the hallway. “I am.” He shut the door behind him and locked it up. His hand paused by the keyhole.

  But was he really?

  28

  Kat sat up, jolted from the darkness of her mind by the sound of the cab door opening. She stifled a yawn with the back of her hand as Stephen slid into the seat across from her. “Did you get what you needed?”

  “I did.”

  “So you have a new lead?” A pool of warmth sprang up inside her middle.

  “Not exactly.”

  The cab lurched forward and started down the streets of World City with a steady cadence. Lamplights were lit, casting the smog-filled city into something more soft and warm.

  Kat studied Stephen. His face was turned toward his own window, his chin resting on a closed fist. The light played across his face, accentuating the firm lines, his lips pressed tight, and the small mustache and beard he kept trimmed. His eyes moved back and forth as if searching for something outside the window.

  Slowly, the warmth inside her belly turned to something more, like she had missed a step and was falling. Heat spread across her cheeks, and she placed a hand across her middle.

  A fuzzy memory played at the back of her mind. Something about last night. Standing in the stairway. Staring into Stephen’s eyes. And . . .

  Her heart flew up into her throat and for one moment she felt like she was suspended in air.

  They had kissed.

  Kat pressed a hand to her cheek, her mouth dry.

  It all came back now.

  Stephen had pulled away, but she had reached for him again.

  And then everything had become a jumble of feeling, colors, and fire.

  She sat frozen, staring at Stephen, her body fluctuating between hot and cold. She had kissed him. She, who had never even been courted by a man, had kissed him. Against all that was proper and right, she had kissed him.

  She couldn’t breathe. Even as she tried to draw in a mouthful of air, everything fell into place, like one of those wooden puzzle toys she played with as a child.

  Somewhere over the last few days, she had fallen in love with Stephen.

  Her hand stole to her neck. How could this happen? And yet . . .

  She trusted him. Respected him. Found something in him she wanted to connect with.

  But what do I do now?

  Stephen turned and looked at her, not speaking.

  Kat sat back and hoped the shadows could hide her heated face. Every part of her could feel the distance—or lack thereof—between them.

  At that moment everything she knew about propriety and etiquette vanished. In a different time and in a different world, they would never have been in a coach together at night, unescorted. They would have met at a ball. He would have asked her father if he could court her. She would have said yes. And after many supervised meetings, there would have been a chaste kiss followed by a proposal.

  But she didn’t live in that world. She lived in this one, where evil dwelt inside her, and, with her mind, she could cause the world to stand still, move furniture, or throw men against the wall. Or burn it all with a wave of her hand.

  In this world she was a monster.

  The coach jostled, throwing Kat forward. Before she could react, Stephen caught her by the forearms. They stared at each other. Her heart pounded inside her ears.

  “Kat,” he said hoarsely. “I . . .”

  He dropped his hands and sat back, shaking his head as if in answer to some unspoken question. “We should be there soon,” he said, turning his attention back to his window.

  She licked her lips, her whole body tingling. “Where?” The word came out breathless. She blushed and turned her face aside, hoping Stephen hadn’t heard the change in her voice.

  “You’ll see.”

  She gripped her hands and sat back as well. Was it possible, after all this was over—after they found Dr. Latimer and she was cured—that she could live a normal life, like every other woman in World City?

  She glanced at Stephen. She hoped so.

  Wait . . .

  Kat turned and looked out her own window. She knew this part of town. The classic architecture of the northern part of World City passed by the window. The many-paned windows, the dark brick with white trim. Classic, clean lines. And in the middle of this neighborhood . . .

  Her scalp prickled and a shiver went down her back. She gripped the window and leaned closer. There had to be some mistake. Maybe they were just passing through the science district. But something didn’t feel right.

  When the coach turned right, the Tower stood at the end of the block. Lights flickered in the topmost windows. Additional lights were lit along the ground, leading to the double set of oak doors that led into that ancient place of learning. The coach rumbled along outside the iron fence that surrounded the Tower.

  The hairs on her arms and neck rose. Her thoughts raced at such a speed that she could barely put them together. Stephen couldn’t possibly be taking her to the Tower, could he?

  She shook her head. No, he wouldn’t. Not after what she shared, about her life, about her father. He wouldn’t do that to her.

  Kat worked her mouth, trying to get enough moisture to form words.

  They drew closer to the Tower.

  “Stephen,” she finally said, barely able to push the word past her dry lips.

  He didn’t say anything, didn’t move.

  “Stephen,
” she said again, a bit louder. They were now a block away from the Tower.

  Her thoughts buzzed inside her mind like a hive of bees, and adrenaline drowned out every other feeling. Her breath burst in and out. “Stephen! Are you—are you taking me . . .”

  The coach slowed to a stop next to the gates.

  Stephen never looked at her, never turned around, and never said a word.

  Kat’s question died on her lips.

  He really was taking her back.

  A fire rushed through her, thrusting her into action. She reached across the cabin and grabbed his arm. “You can’t do this! Please! Anything but this!”

  Stephen shrugged her off and opened the door.

  “Stephen!” Her foot caught on the bottom edge of her skirt and she fell forward. She hit the floor of the coach, her hands tingling from the impact. The other Kat was awakening inside her, the burn and desire growing. “No, no,” she murmured, pressing a fist to her chest.

  The burn dimmed. She scrambled across the floor of the coach. Thirty feet away, past the iron fence, three men emerged from the Tower. Stephen waited a couple of feet away.

  Kat glanced left, then right. She had to get away, before the men came, or before the monster inside her emerged.

  Stephen spun around as if sensing what she was planning. Before she could react, he closed the distance between them and clamped his hands down around both of her wrists.

  Kat looked up into his face. He stared back, hard and cold. “It has to be this way, Kat.”

  Black spots appeared before her eyes. She swayed. “Why are you doing this? I thought you were my friend. I thought I could trust—”

  Everything broke inside her. She dropped her head and let out a sob. Tears followed, like a river let loose. “I was wrong. I was wrong!”

  She tried to raise her hands, but Stephen clamped down even harder.

  The monster roared and her vision turned red. Kat sucked in a gurgled breath, her eyes wide. No! I can’t lose control.

  She focused on him. Even now, her heart beat for him. “Stephen, please,” she whispered, her face wet. “Don’t do this. Don’t let them take me.”