My legs burn with the urge to run, but I hesitate. The hole in the ground looks intimidating, but not as terrifying as being caught again.
Liam’s face appears in the opening, then he holds out a hand. “It’s now or never.”
I catch a glimpse of enforcer gray flashing through the trees, so I don’t waste another second. Taking Liam’s hand, I slide down into the hole. It’s deep enough to stand, but not quite wide enough for two people. Our bodies press together, my back to his front, my pack wedged between the dirt and me, and he reaches over our heads to slide the door shut.
It won’t budge.
“It must be caught on a rock or something.” He grunts, squishing me up against the wall, my face pressing into the cool dirt as he tries to close the door. “We’ll be in plain sight if we can’t get it closed. It’ll be like shooting fish in a barrel.” There’s a slight panic in his voice. “I can’t move it. You try.”
I reach above my head, but my fingers barely graze the edge of the door. “I can’t reach it.” Shouting sounds in the distance, followed by rustling brush and fast-falling footsteps. Liam’s heartbeats slam against my back, keeping rapid time with my own.
“Well, it was nice knowing you,” he says with a dry laugh. “Man, Missy’s gonna be so mad at me. ‘Don’t get caught.’ That’s the last thing she said to me when I left camp. And now look at us . . . about to get caught.”
The voices grow louder as the men get closer.
I can’t get caught.
“Wait! Maybe I can move it.”
Can I?
Taking the enforcer’s gun was easy, but I was so focused then. What if I end up tossing the door farther away and drawing attention to us? What’s the worst that could happen? We’d get caught, and that’s going to happen anyway if we don’t get this door closed.
I focus on the door, allowing the energy of the world to run through me. My body buzzes with life as I hold my hands out to the piece of wood. Fear clamps down on my channel of energy like a kink in a hose, blocking the flow. I push toward the door, but nothing happens.
Our lives depend on this. I can do it. I take a deep breath and feel the energy releasing. First, the door starts to shake, sending dry leaves raining down on us. I try to slide it with my mind, with the Sense, but it is indeed hung up on a rock. I force my energy upward, freeing the wood from its captor, and it flies over the hole, landing on the opposite side. “Shoot,” I mumble, “that wasn’t supposed to happen.”
“It’s okay. I got it.” Liam reaches overhead and slides the door in place, casting us in complete darkness. “So telekinesis, eh? Sweet!”
“Shut up. I never use it. It’s illegal.”
My breathing quickens as the claustrophobia kicks in, my short, rapid breaths threatening to make me pass out. Liam must sense my panic because he rests his hands on my shoulders and whispers in my ear, “It’ll be all right. They won’t find us here.”
“It’s just so small. And so terribly dark.”
“I can fix that.” He holds his hand in front of me, palm up, and a small flame appears, casting a reddish glow in our hole. The walls are packed, black dirt with tree roots sticking through in random spots. A bug, attracted to the light, skitters across the soil, its long body rippling as its dozens of legs click like fingers across a keyboard. I liked it better when it was dark.
“Turn it off. They’ll find us. It’s bad enough I used the Sense. Bad things always—”
“You keep saying that, but I promise it’s not true. The Sense is the most natural, good thing there is left in this world. It’s—”
“Good and natural enough to cause all those wildfires that destroyed half the country.”
His body stiffens. “The Sense didn’t cause those fires.”
“I don’t care. Don’t use it here.”
“All right. If you say so.” He closes his hand, extinguishing the flame. “Enforcers don’t normally come this far into the woods. What’d you do to make them so mad?”
I can’t see his face, but it sounds like he’s smiling. Smiling in the midst of chaos. “You mean besides the fact that I turn into a murderous wolf at night?”
He shrugs his shoulders against my back. “Todd had the same problem, but no one ever came out here looking for him. Of course, I think most people thought Makkapitew killed him, not the other way around. I suppose if they saw you do it, they know who to come after. You’re lucky you got away then, ain’t you?”
“I didn’t get away. Not at first anyway.”
“Oh?”
I exhale, giving up my efforts of going through this alone. If I’m going to survive this, find my dad, and get the cure, I’m going to need Liam’s help. “They caught me. I was locked up in the Sense prison, and John . . . your dad . . . he let me go.”
Liam goes utterly still, holding his breath for an unnaturally long time. “My dad let you go?”
“Yeah. And he told me to tell you not a day goes by that he doesn’t think about you.”
He lets out a dry chuckle. “Well, good for him. Shh . . .”
A pair of boots thuds on the door over our heads, and I hold my breath. It’s covered in a thick layer of dirt and leaves, so the enforcer must not notice the wood. Please let the door hold.
“Are you insane?” A man’s voice seethes with anger.
“I didn’t mean to fire,” another man replies.
“If you’d killed it, you would have become it. Did I not make that clear?” the angry one says.
“It doesn’t matter. Look, we found its kill. We’re in the right area.” I’d recognize Seth’s voice anywhere, but now it has a . . . venom in it I’ve never heard before. “It’s going to be a lot easier for it to hide when it’s in its human form. It’s small and fast. It can outrun all of us.”
It. I’m only it to him. Not Wren. Not his girlfriend. Not even human.
“I say we go back to base, load our weapons with tranquilizers, and stick close to the city perimeter tonight. It killed a deer this time. It’ll be back for human blood.”
They stomp away.
We wait for what seems like hours, though it’s probably only minutes. Liam’s breath tickles the back of my neck, sending goose bumps running down my arms. My heartbeat slows, and by the time he slides the door aside and pokes his head out of our hiding place, I can breathe again.
“Looks like they’re gone.” He heaves himself out of the hole and offers me his hand. “We’d better get going.”
“Hey.” I place my hand on his arm. “Where exactly are we going?”
“You want to know the truth about the Sense? About the wolf and the fires? You need to meet Missy. C’mon.”
Chapter Ten
Wren
We hike for several hours before we finally make it to the mountain, and then we climb. My hands are raw and my back aches when we finally reach the plateau. At first, I don’t see any sign of civilization, but as we round a corner, a small village composed of ancient stone structures carved directly into the mountainside comes into view. Several dozen oval-shaped holes, each about six feet high, burrow into the rock, and a ring of stones surrounds a small fire pit in the center.
“Welcome home,” Liam says.
As we approach the village, a small crowd gathers outside the oval doorways. They stare at us and whisper to each other until Liam waves at them. A man hesitantly waves back, and the pack disperses.
A slender woman in her sixties, with her hair woven into a long gray braid, sits on a rock, stoking a campfire. A large cast-iron pot hangs over the flames, emitting a savory aroma that makes my mouth water and my stomach grumble.
“Is that rabbit stew you’re cooking there, Missy?” Liam guides me toward the woman.
“I had a feeling you’d be hungry.” Missy glances at me, giving me a once-over before a warm smile fills her face, crinkling her eyes. “And who do we have here?”
“I’d like to introduce Wren Lewis.” He gestures grandly at me like he’s a game show hos
t and I’m the grand prize. “Wren is an old friend from school who was kind enough to bring Makkapitew home to us after a series of rather unfortunate events.” He bows to me, then struts over to the pot, sticks his finger in the soup, and tastes it. “Delicious as ever, ma’am.”
Missy swats him away, her cheerful expression turning to sorrow. “She bears the burden of the beast now?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Liam sits on the rock, and Missy shuffles toward me.
“Do you have a cell phone? Those are traceable.”
“My mom never let me have one.”
Liam slaps his palm on his forehead. “I knew I was forgetting something.”
She walks in a tight circle around me, pausing at my back and touching my chopped-off hair. “Makkapitew has taken much from you. You must learn to control him.”
“How do you—?”
“Shh . . .” She stares into my eyes for a long moment before turning to Liam. “She’s a powerful one. There’s hope.”
Liam chuckles. “She is, but she doesn’t know it. Telekinetic and everything, but she’s never learned to use it. She’s scared of herself.”
Anger bubbles in my chest. “I am not scared!” I stomp toward him. “I’ve seen the bad stuff that can happen when people use the Sense.” I’m so mad I’m trembling. After everything I’ve been through . . . How dare he call me scared? “And it started with you! If you hadn’t set that book on fire in school, I never would’ve burned the room. I never would’ve been put in that cage and been given those drugs. You have no idea!”
“Whoa, whoa.” He raises his hands in surrender. “I didn’t mean to get you all upset. And I do know what you went through because my dad told me all about it, trying to scare me into not using my gifts. I tried to tell you sorry several times when you got back to school, but you wouldn’t talk to me.”
“Hearing about it and actually going through it are two different things. You really have no idea what it’s like to be drugged beyond stupid for days, barely eating enough to survive, and puking up what you do eat because you’re so sick, all in a futile attempt to rip a piece of your soul from your body.” I cross my arms over my chest and glare at him. “You don’t know what scared is.” My voice catches, but I refuse to cry. I’m all out of tears.
His shoulders droop as he stares at his hands in his lap. He raises his gaze to me, dark lashes fringing his sincere hazel eyes. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s a little late for that.”
He rises to his feet and looks at me with an unreadable expression. Is it guilt? Pity? I can’t tell. “Better late than never,” he mutters and shuffles away.
Missy puts her hand on my shoulder, and I jump. She waits until I unclench my jaw before she speaks. “Todd was a dear friend to us all. Please, tell me how this came to be.” She leads me to the rock, and we sit side by side as I tell her everything that happened.
“I didn’t mean to kill him,” I say when I finish the story. “I didn’t even think about him being a man. I just . . . can you ever forgive me?” Now that I’ve spent a night in the wolf’s body, I understand what Todd went through. What it must have been like to hang there, helpless against the monster’s rage as it stalked and murdered so many innocent people. I may have killed the man, but the wolf will never die. I’ll never forgive myself.
She pats my leg. “No one blames you, dear. You were trying to save your mother.”
“But I killed your friend. And he killed my mom . . . and Liam’s mom. I don’t understand how you can forgive that when I’m not even sure if I can forgive Liam for the fire.”
“Forgiveness doesn’t come easily for everyone, but it has to come if you want to find peace.”
“I don’t want to find peace. I just want to find my father. My mom said he can cure me and that someone here could help me find him. Then I can go home and have a normal life again. Well, as normal as life can be without my mom. That’s all I want. To be normal.”
She purses her lips and studies me. “I’m sure we can help you find him, but first there are some things you must know.” She stares off into the distance, reliving some private memory.
“What things? I don’t have much time—”
“I’m aware of your urgency. This won’t take long.” She puts a hand on either side of my head and closes her eyes. Her body gently sways as her breathing deepens. I glance up and notice Liam standing a few steps away. He grins as if he’s completely forgotten our argument and bounds toward us.
“She’s reading your mind,” he says. My eyes grow wide in astonishment.
“Liam . . . ,” Missy scolds, only mildly distracted by his chatter.
He shrugs. “Okay, okay. She’s not reading your mind, but she is reading you. She can’t see your thoughts, but she can feel them. Can’t you, Missy?”
Missy’s eyes flutter open, and she smiles at me apologetically. “What you know about the Sense—about the history of our people—isn’t all truth. Your mother kept things from you, probably to keep you safe. You have a unique ability the government would love to exploit.”
“Exploit?” What is she talking about? “The government keeps us safe. How could they exploit me?”
Missy sighs. “Come on.” She motions toward the dwellings. “Let’s eat, and I’ll explain.” She pulls a small towel out of her pocket and picks up the cauldron of stew. Liam rushes over.
“Let me get that, Missy,” he says, but she waves him away and carries the heavy pot herself.
At least twenty pairs of eyes bore into me as she guides us into the village. People lurk in their doorways, pretending to be busy, but they’re staring. I keep my head down, avoiding eye contact. Missy and Liam may not blame me for Todd’s death, but who’s to say the other villagers don’t?
We follow her through an arched opening into one of the houses, where she flips on a battery-powered lamp and sets the pot on a wooden table. The dim light is just enough to illuminate the small room. There’s a bed pushed up against one wall, and a small sofa lines the other. I run my fingers over the stone, feeling the tool marks some long-forgotten ancestor made with his chisel hundreds . . . maybe thousands of years before. What was life like for those who lived here so long ago? Were they cursed with the Sense like we are today? My mom told me our ancient ancestors had powers like ours, but they misused them, so the gods took them away. The Sense has only returned in the last hundred years. Why now? Why me?
“Sorry the lighting’s not so good,” Missy says. “We have to stay off the grid, so we use solar power and batteries.” She serves the soup in mismatched stoneware bowls and motions for us to sit. I inhale the food and have to stop myself from licking the bowl. I’m not sure why I’m so hungry, considering the deer I ate last night. I shiver at the image in my mind and put my spoon down, eager to change the subject of my thoughts.
The wolf ate the deer. Not me.
“Where’d you get all this stuff? I mean, if you live here in secret?”
“Off-the-Grid Walmart, of course.” Liam flashes a mischievous grin and smooths the hair over the side of his face.
Missy playfully slaps his arm and gives him a disappointed look, chiding him like he’s her own son. “The girl’s heard enough lies in her lifetime. She doesn’t need to hear them from you too.”
Liam hangs his head like a scolded schoolboy. “Sorry. I’m just trying to lighten the mood, ain’t I?” He folds his hands on the table and leans in. “We get stuff like this—furniture, tools, clothes—by raiding the unpopulated areas and stealing their stuff.”
“Stealing isn’t the right word,” Missy says. “Neither is raiding. No one lives outside the city boundaries anymore, and when they left, they left in a hurry, leaving most of their belongings behind. We take what no one’s using and make it useful again.” She refills my bowl, and I eat this helping like a civilized person.
“How many people live here? And why do you live here? Wouldn’t you rather live in the city, where you’d have electricity and showers, and whe
re the government could protect you from wildfires and stuff?”
Liam leans back and folds his arms over his chest. “Oh, you don’t really believe all that crap about the government doing everything in our best interest, do you? We can’t grow our own vegetables because their genetically modified frankenfood is ‘healthier’? We can’t use the Sense to heal people because it’s ‘unnatural’ and their drugs are so much better? What a load of hogwash! They’re keeping people fat, sick, and dependent on them for everything.”
“Calm down, Liam.” Missy places her hand on his shoulder. “If I remember right, you seemed to believe the lies when you came to join us, didn’t you?”
He huffs. “Maybe . . . maybe I believed them, but I suspected there was something fishy going on.”
It’s hard to believe what he’s saying is true, but in my heart, it makes sense. My mom and I seemed to be the healthiest people in the city, and she said it was because we ate the roots and herbs she secretly gathered in the forest and used her natural remedies when we did catch a cold. When a stomach virus would make the rounds at school, she’d give me milk thistle every morning “for protection”—everything seemed to be about protection with her—and I wouldn’t catch the bug.
“But why would a government do that to its own people? If people like my mom can cure illnesses with herbs and enchanted stones, and people like Liam can heal with energy, why would they force us to use drugs and eat contaminated food?”
“Power. Greed,” Missy says. “Because there’s no money in magic. None for the government, anyway.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Then let me start from the beginning.” Missy clears the dishes from the table and pours water from a ceramic jug into three plastic cups. The colorful cups seem so out of place in this ancient site that I smile. Liam catches my gaze and beams a smile in return, causing mine to widen. He leans back, stretching his arms over his head, and I can’t help but notice the way his muscles move beneath his skin. His shoulders are broad but not stocky, his arms lean yet muscular at the same time. He looks like the kind of strong you get from years of hard work, not time in the gym. As my gaze returns to his, he cocks an eyebrow and chuckles.
Soul Catchers Page 7
