Soul Catchers

by Carrie Pulkinen

  “It’s just until I figure out what to do. My life is on the line here too. If I don’t hand you over, I’ll be charged with treason.”

  “And if you do?”

  He starts to speak but pauses, his brow furrowing in confusion. “I don’t think I could live with myself.”

  But he can live with the fact that he let my grandparents die? And everyone else on the reservation? I can’t even begin to comprehend the way his mind works.

  “People will come looking for us,” Liam says from the cell next door.

  “I wondered how you broke in so easily. Is Missy one of these people? She gave you the intel to get inside, didn’t she?”

  Liam doesn’t reply.

  My father nods. “I’m glad she made it out alive. I’ve wondered what happened to her. It was all too much for her to handle.”

  “Because she has a conscience,” Liam says.

  He sighs. “I don’t know how else to convince you. I work here in the name of science. We’re creating such advancements for humankind . . . Look at your face. We studied the power of a healer—not nearly as powerful as you—and were able to re-create the energy needed to restore your skin to optimum health. We’re doing good here.”

  “What you’re doing would be unnecessary if you’d let people use the Sense,” I say.

  He whirls toward me, an exasperated expression contorting his features. “But there’s no money to be made in magic. The world runs on money, and the government will never allow something that threatens the livelihood of its biggest investment. I’m fighting the system from the inside, you see? I’m replicating the powers of the Sense with science.”

  “You’re destroying lives.”

  “I’m improving them.” He shoves his hands in his pockets and smiles. “I’m not going to argue with you about this. I’m going home. You.” He looks at Liam. “Get some rest. And you.” He turns to me. “Try not to break anything else tonight.”

  He waltzes away, whistling like he doesn’t have a care in the world.

  “He really believes he’s doing a good thing here, doesn’t he?” Liam says.

  I rest my cheek against the cool metal door. “I think he does. Twisted, isn’t it?”

  Liam leans his elbows on a horizontal bar and folds his hands together outside the cell. His magic hands. Even in this hopeless situation, I can’t help but smile at how amazing he is. How important to me he’s become.

  “You sure impressed him, though,” I say.

  “I suppose.”

  “He didn’t even bat an eye at my telekinesis, but he was in awe of you. I guess my power is no more impressive than my mom’s.”

  His hands disappear behind the door. “I don’t give a damn what that man thinks of me, and you shouldn’t either. Maybe he did save your mom from genocide, but let’s not forget, he’s implanted us with devices that can kill us with the touch of a button. And he’s gone home to cuddle up in his nice cozy bed while he decides our fates.” He reaches his arm through the door toward my cell. I reciprocate, and our hands clasp together between us.

  “You’re right. I don’t know why I care.”

  “Because he’s your dad. Believe me, I know what it feels like to not live up to your father’s expectations. I was defective. Everything I ever did was wrong in his eyes. Even when I tried to do right. Eventually, I gave up trying. Bad attention is better than no attention at all, ain’t it?”

  I squeeze his hand. “I’m sorry, Liam. I didn’t realize . . .”

  “That’s why I set that book on fire that day, you know? He hadn’t so much as looked at me in over a week. I wanted to get his attention.”

  “Mission accomplished.” I laugh dryly.

  “Wren, if I’d had any idea how it would turn out, I never would’ve—”

  “I know. Sometimes bad things happen to good people, and it’s nobody’s fault. Don’t worry. I’m not afraid anymore. And I don’t blame you for anything.”

  Heavy-booted footsteps sound in the hallway, growing louder as the person approaches. Could it be my father coming to set us free? That’s wishful thinking. Liam squeezes my hand and releases his hold as Seth steps into view.

  “You two just can’t get enough of each other, can you?” His voice drips with venom. “I suggest you keep your hands off my girlfriend, Stevens.”

  “I am not your girlfriend, Seth. Not anymore.”

  “Well.” He rests his hand on his sidearm. “Your little display of power has rendered me useless here, and that’s unacceptable. I’m on a mission, and I’m not leaving until I complete it.”

  “Oh, you’ve completed your mission. You finally caught me. You captured the wolf, so you’ll get your big promotion now. What are you worried about? Go home.”

  He lets out a dry laugh and shakes his head. “I can’t go home, and I don’t care about the promotion. I need to be here, and I don’t need Liam around screwing up my chances.”

  “Your chances at what?”

  “It doesn’t matter what. I had a plan, and getting into this facility was just the beginning. I only needed you for that. I’m supposed to be the one you trust. The one you have a connection with. Not him.”

  “What are you going to do, then? Kill me?” Liam says.

  “I’m not a murderer like . . .” Seth’s menacing gaze crawls over me. “Like the wolf.” He slinks toward Liam’s cell. “No, see . . . I thought I’d do you a favor. I’ve seen the way you look at her. You’re in love with her, aren’t you?” Jealousy oozes over his words like green slime.

  Liam doesn’t answer.

  “I bet you’re dying to spend the night with my girl, aren’t you?” He pulls a ring of keys out of his pocket.

  “Seth, what are you doing?” I try to snatch the keys, but the bars keep me from reaching.

  “Just being helpful.” He unlocks Liam’s door and in seconds has him in a half nelson with a gun to his head. He drops the key into Liam’s hand. “Now unlock her door. And Wren, I swear to God, if you try anything, I will blow his head off.”

  “Seth, stop it! This isn’t you. You’re not a killer.” He can’t put Liam in my cell when I’m about to turn into Makka. This can’t be happening.

  “No, but you are. You two have a nice night.” He shoves Liam inside my cell and slams the door.

  “Please, Seth! No!” I cling to the bars, pleading, with tears in my eyes as he walks away.

  “Hey, maybe it’ll be all right,” Liam says. “I still have the amulet.”

  “Amulet?” Seth rushes back to the door and grabs a fistful of my hair through the bars. “Give it to me.”

  “No, Liam. Don’t. It’s our only hope.”

  He presses the barrel of his gun to my head, cold metal boring into my temple. “Give me the amulet, or I will shoot her.” His voice is cold, enunciating each syllable. “Give it to me now.”

  Liam unclasps the necklace and passes it through the bars. Seth examines the pendant and sneers. “This is your necklace, isn’t it? He’s wearing your jewelry now? How sweet.” He releases my hair, and I back away from the door. “Why is it pulsing? It’s warm.”

  “It’s enchanted. My mom made it for me for protection against the wolf.”

  He laughs. “A lot of good that did you.” He slams the amulet on the ground and smashes it with his heel. The coral shatters, sending a shimmering shower of magic into the air as he walks away. “Good luck.”

  “What do we do, Liam? I can feel the sun setting in my soul. Makka will be here any minute, and he’ll kill you.” My stomach churns at the thought of watching the wolf tear him apart.

  “He won’t kill me.” He takes my hands in his and stares intently into my eyes. Calmness radiates from him, tempering my panic. “You are going to control the wolf this time.”

  “I can’t.”

  “You have to now, don’t you? You don’t have another choice.” He pulls me into an embrace and strokes the back of my head. His fingers trail down my neck and trace circles around my implant. �
��It’s a shame your dad didn’t leave the remote with us. We could make Makka sleep all night.”

  I pull away and sink into a corner, cradling my head in my hands. “He’s coming, Liam. I’m so sorry.”

  “Listen to me.” He kneels in front me, resting his hands on my knees. “You can do this, okay? I know you can.”

  “But the wolf is so strong.”

  “You’re stronger.”

  “He’s coming.”

  Liam backs to the other side of the cell as my body transforms into Makka’s. The wolf blinks, scanning the room. Escape is the first thing on his mind. He focuses on the door, springing toward it and slamming his shoulder into the bars. It doesn’t budge, so he backs up and flings himself toward it again. Pain spreads through his bruised shoulder as he tries over and over again to knock down the gate.

  It won’t work, I want to tell him, but I keep my thoughts to myself. As long as he’s concentrating on breaking down the door, he’s ignoring Liam. The wolf won’t keep this up all night, but at least for the moment Liam is safe.

  Makka exhales, admitting defeat, and turns away from the door. For the first time, he notices Liam standing with his back against the concrete wall. The wolf growls, crouching in an attack position as he studies the boy in front of him. He recognizes Liam, the one who kept him caged for so many years, and he thinks Liam put him in this cage too.

  This isn’t his doing. I send my thoughts along the golden fibers of Makka’s soul. Please don’t hurt him.

  The wolf grunts and sits on his haunches, contemplating the thoughts I send him. I hate him. I hate all humans. I feel Makka’s thoughts spinning back to me. Kill. He stands, baring his teeth, his muscles coiling to strike.

  “Hey, Makka,” Liam says. “It’s all right. We’re buddies, remember? I know you hate me because I kept you locked up, but I’ve been trying to help you all these years. You know that, right? I want you to be free just as much as you want it.”

  Makka lunges, his monstrous jaws snapping inches away from Liam’s face. A flaming hand swipes at the wolf’s maw, burning skin through fur. He yelps and steps back, surprised by the counterattack.

  “I’m sorry, Wren. I hope you can’t feel his pain.”

  I can.

  “I promise I’ll heal the burns when you come back to me. And you will come back to me, do you hear me? I know you’re in there, Wren Lewis. I can see your soul. Stay with me.”

  I pluck at Makka’s thought strings with my mind, sending calming thoughts, images of rest, of sleep. If he is able to send me anger during the day, surely I can send him peace at night.

  The wolf paces in a circle, his thoughts battling mine for control of his body. We’ll find a way out of this. Killing isn’t the answer. Slowly the tension in his muscles releases. His anger turns to confusion, and he stands still, facing Liam.

  Liam is your friend. He wants to help you. My strength grows. My power over the wolf takes hold, and I force him to sit. To lie down. His gaze remains locked on Liam, but his body is relaxed.

  I’m doing it. I’m actually controlling the wolf. His muscles start to tense at my momentary lack of concentration, so I send another wave of calming thoughts to his soul. He sighs and rests his massive head on his paws.

  Liam smiles, peeling himself off the wall. “Look at you, taking charge of the Big Bad Wolf. I knew you could do it.”

  The sound of his voice triggers the wolf, and Makka yanks control from my grasp. His leg muscles are tightly coiled springs, and they propel him at Liam before I realize what’s happening. His paw makes contact, slicing through flesh, sending Liam hurtling across the room. His body slams into the wall and crumples on the floor.

  Makka exhales a satisfied grunt and stands over his prey. He nudges the body with his nose, but Liam doesn’t move.

  Oh, please, no. He can’t be dead.

  The wolf nudges him again, and Liam’s head rolls to the side, his eyelids fluttering. He’s alive, but not for long. Makka growls and opens his jaws to deliver the death bite.

  No. I won’t let you do this! I force a wave of energy through the wolf’s body, rendering him immobile. I feel the shock register in his mind as I force my will upon him, backing his body away like a puppet. I lift one leg and then the other, battling Makka’s resolve with each step. The movements are awkward, out of sync with his usual grace, and it takes all my concentration to make him move.

  Liam lies on the floor, his shirt torn in half, a massive bloody wound extending from his breastbone to his hip. His eyes move slowly beneath his lids, and his chest barely rises with each ragged breath. He needs help. Even if I could keep Makka still all night, Liam won’t make it without healing.

  His soul’s light, usually brilliant gold, begins to dim. I’m helpless, trapped in this big bag of fur, and all I can do is watch him fade. But he can’t die. Not after everything we’ve been through. I won’t let it happen.

  I can fight the wolf. I have to. Focusing my energy, I expand my presence through every fiber of this body. I infuse myself in every hair, every cell, and focus on being human. I imagine my fingers, my arms, my blunt human teeth. Standing on two legs, speaking with a voice rather than a growl. I have lips, not a maw. Hands and feet, short coppery hair. My body tingles, electricity shoots through my limbs, and I am me again.

  I rush to Liam and press my hands against his wound, but the bleeding won’t stop. “Someone help us!” I shout, but the only sound I hear is my heartbeat thrumming in my ears. No one can see us. I destroyed the camera.

  “Please, Liam. Don’t leave me.”

  He doesn’t respond. His soul grows dimmer with each ounce of blood lost. He’s going to die if I don’t do something.

  I have to heal him.

  I close my eyes and focus on the energy around me like he tried to teach me to do. It flows into the crown of my head, and I force it out through my hands in stuttered bursts. Bits of his abdomen heal, but not enough to save him.

  I’m trying too hard. He’d tell me to calm down. To relax and let the energy flow on its own.

  How can I relax when my stomach is tied in knots and his is torn to shreds?

  I have to. I take a deep breath and exhale slowly, allowing the energy to flow through my entire body. It fills me with warm white light that travels through my fingertips, slowly stitching the wound.

  But I’m not fast enough. His soul dims, floating above his body, and he looks at me. I’m sorry I let you down.

  “No. You didn’t.” I grab his arm with one hand and continue the healing with the other. “You’re not leaving me, Liam.” His soul floats higher, but I refuse to let him go. I will heal him.

  My body is ruined. There’s so much pain.

  Tears roll down my cheeks, mixing with the blood on his stomach. “I’m fixing you, just hold on.” Then I see it. The shimmering cord connecting his soul to his dying body. I know instinctively I could sever it with my mind. A simple snip, and he’d be free of the pain.

  His soul lifts higher, and he rests his icy hand on mine. Cut it, Wren. Let me go.

  There are two kinds of strength. One is being able to take on a seemingly impossible challenge and crush it with your might. The other is being able to let go and walk away.

  I look at his silver soul and his half-healed body, and I know what I have to do. I have no other option. “Remember when you said I’m the strongest woman you know? Well, I believe you now.”

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Liam

  Wren’s grip on my soul is firm. Tears stream down her cheeks as she tries desperately to heal me. But Makka’s claws are huge, and they cut deep. I’ve never felt so much pain in my life, having my insides torn up like they are. Floating outside my body like this, I don’t feel the pain anymore, and I’m glad for that. But I don’t think Wren is gonna let me go.

  “You’re. Not. Leaving. Me,” she says through gritted teeth. Sweat pours down her forehead, and her skin has a sickly green tinge. She’s fighting off the wolf, holding my s
oul on this plane, and trying to heal my broken body all at once.

  I’m about to ask her again to let me go when she grabs on to me with her mind and shoves me into my body. I gasp and cough and clutch my middle. I’m still covered in blood, but the wound is completely healed.

  “Liam!” She pulls me into her lap and lets out a relieved laugh. She holds me tightly and rocks me back and forth and nuzzles into my hair. I wish I could relax and enjoy the attention, but I feel woozy and faint. She healed the wounds, but my body hasn’t fully recovered.

  I look up into her tear-streaked face. “How did you do that? How are you you?”

  “I’m the strongest woman you know, remember?”

  “That you are.” She’s incredible.

  She pulls me into another hug and runs her fingers through my hair. “I don’t know if I can hold off Makka all night, though . . . We need—” Her body goes rigid, and she releases her hold on me. I lean back against the wall as her face contorts with rage, and she marches toward the cell door.

  “What do you want, Seth?”

  Oh man. The last thing she needs is to get mad again. Makka feeds on her anger, and she’s surely not gonna be able to fight him off with Seth around.

  “It wasn’t enough to try to make me kill him? You had to come make sure the deed was done?” She clenches her fists and squeezes her eyes shut.

  “I . . . I came . . .” He can’t seem to form the words, so he takes a deep breath and tries again. “I felt bad for what I did, so I came to help.”

  “You felt bad? You tried to murder him, and you felt bad? That’s the best you can do?” Her body trembles, her voice cracking as she speaks.

  “Look, I’m sorry, but . . . you don’t look so good. Are you okay?”

  Sweat pours down her face; her skin glows ghostly white.

  He fumbles with the keys and unlocks the door. “You need help.” He tries to take her arm, but she swats him away.

  “I don’t need help. He does.” She pulls me to my feet, bracing my weight with her shoulder. The whole room flips on its side, and I stumble.

  “I healed him, but he needs rest to recover, and he can’t stay here. I can’t fight off Makka much longer.”