“Makka?”
“The wolf spirit who wants to devour you both now. If you really want to help, get Liam out of here and lock me in. Hurry.”
She clutches her stomach as white sparkles dance on her skin. “Run!”
Seth grabs me around the waist and lifts me onto his shoulder. I’d like to protest, but I don’t have the strength to worry about my dignity right now. He darts out the door and slams it shut just in time. Makka lunges against the bars.
He stands me on my feet, and I have to grab on to the wall so I don’t end up flat on the floor. Makka snarls and swats his paw through the bars, and Seth scoots away from the door.
“What happened? Are you okay?”
“I’m all right. I need to lie down for a bit.” I step toward my cell, but my knees buckle. He catches me by the arm and helps me onto my cot. I never thought I’d be so happy to be inside a cell. I lie down on my back, and Seth shoves his hands in his pockets. His gaze darts about the room like he’s afraid to look at me.
“I’m sorry I tried to make her kill you.” He lets out a humorless laugh. “Even to me, that sounds flat and meaningless. But it’s the truth. This whole situation has gotten out of control. And the way she looks at you, man.” He looks at his boots and swallows hard. “I dated her for six months, and she never looked at me like that. I just . . .”
His gaze finally meets mine, and tears shimmer in his eyes. “I’m desperate and jealous, and I snapped. I’m sorry.”
That’s the most sincere thing I’ve heard out of this guy’s mouth since I met him. We’ve all made mistakes, and though mine were never made out of spite or jealousy, I have gotten people killed. At least Seth won’t have to live with that on his conscience.
I nod, and my eyelids flutter shut.
“Well, I’ll let you rest.” He steps toward the door. “One question, though. If she can force herself to turn human at night, does that mean she can be forced to become the wolf during the day?”
“She’s strong.”
“But can it happen? Can the wolf take over whenever it wants now?”
Yes, and that’s most likely gonna be a problem. But it’s nothing he needs to concern himself with. He’s apologized, and I’ve accepted it, but I still don’t like him much. I roll onto my side and face the wall, hoping he’ll get the hint and leave. “Like I said. She’s strong. She can handle it.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Wren
A pair of enforcers greet us this morning, escorting Liam and me, first to the showers, and then to one of my father’s many laboratories. A metal table stands in the center of the room with a large adjustable light hanging from the ceiling above. Glass cabinets full of vials, syringes, and other medical equipment line the cold white walls, and matching white floor tiles give the room a sterile, menacing ambiance.
We sit at a small table off to one side while our guards stand expressionless on either side of the door. Liam takes my hand under the table and smiles.
“If we can make it through that, we can make it through anything,” he says.
“I don’t want to make it through anything this place has to offer. I want to make it out.”
The door swings open, and my father shuffles in, carrying a white paper sack. “Wait outside,” he says to the guards, and they obediently exit the room.
He drops the bag on the table in front of us and pulls up a chair. “I thought you might be hungry. Please eat.”
Liam opens the sack and grins. “Bear claws. My favorite.” He hands me a pastry and devours his in seconds. My mouth waters at the sweet scent of cinnamon, but my stomach churns with disgust.
“Why are we here, Michael?”
Disappointment fills my father’s eyes. “You came to me.”
“I mean why are we in this room. Don’t play games. What are you going to do with us?”
A nostalgic smile curves his lips. “Straight to the point. Just like your mother.”
“You’re not allowed to talk about her.”
He sighs and rests his palms flat on the table. “I’m not going to hand you over to the president.”
“Why not?”
“I’ve been trying to figure out why he would be so desperate to possess the Soul Catchers, and my best guess is he wants to use you as a weapon. If you can sever the soul from the body, you can defeat an entire army—or an entire race—without shedding a drop of blood.”
“That’s disgusting. I would never do that.”
“And way more power than he needs. Plus, President Martin has certain . . . tastes. I don’t want my daughter exposed to his whims.”
“So we can leave, then,” Liam says.
My father shakes his head and looks at me. “As long as that wolf spirit lives inside you, I can’t let you leave this facility. It would be irresponsible.” He turns to Liam. “And I’d be a fool to let you go without studying your powers. If I could create a machine that directs energy into healing like you do, so many lives could be saved.”
“So we’re your prisoners?” I drop the uneaten pastry in the bag.
“Consider yourselves my very special guests.” He stands and strides to the door.
“Guests you can kill with the press of a button.”
Pausing with his hand on the doorknob, he slowly turns his head. “It’s simply a precaution. A give and take. I’m risking my life by keeping your presence a secret. You’ll be risking yours if you try to leave. Now wait here. I’ll be right back.”
“He’s a real nice guy, ain’t he?” Liam says.
“Oh please.”
“I was being sarcastic.”
“He acts like he’s doing us a favor by keeping us here. How can someone be so delusional?” I pace the room, examining the various tools and vials of liquid in the cabinets, wondering what kinds of procedures happen in a lab like this. An array of delicate surgical instruments lie on a green cloth on the countertop. How many people has he cut open with that scalpel?
The scalpel.
I snatch it off the counter and slip it into my pocket. The guards still stand outside the door, but I have no idea when my father will return. It could be an hour from now, or it could be any second. I walk to Liam as quickly as I can, attempting to appear casual, and pull the scrub shirt off his shoulder.
“Whoa. If you’re going to undress me, I’d rather it be in private.”
“Shh . . .” I run my fingers across his back until I find the round protrusion beneath his skin.
“Hey! What are you—?”
“We don’t have much time.” I press the scalpel into his skin and bright-red blood pools around the blade.
“Ouch!”
Holding a piece of gauze against his skin to absorb the runoff blood, I squeeze the device through the slit. I cover the wound with my hand and heal it before wrapping the implant in more gauze and tossing it in the pastry bag.
“Hey! I was going to eat that.”
“Shut up and do mine.”
He takes the scalpel and cuts out my device, healing the wound without leaving a trace of blood. He peers sadly into the bag before stuffing the device in and burying it in the trash can. “Now what?”
“We follow along until we can figure out a way to get out of here. You broke in, so I’m sure we can break out.”
He chews his bottom lip, narrowing his eyes as he contemplates my words. “You’re forgetting one important detail: I got caught.”
The door swings open, and we both fold our hands on the table. I’m sure it looks obvious we’re up to something, but my father doesn’t notice. He’s concentrating on the rat strapped to the tray he carries in his hands. The wild look in his eyes and his mussed hair remind me of a mad scientist engrossed in an experiment. He sets the tray on the table and motions for us to come closer.
As we approach, I notice the rat’s back leg has been nearly ripped off, and it’s twisted at an awkward angle. Its little eyes are squeezed shut, and it heaves in short, rapid breaths.
&nb
sp; “She got her leg caught in the cage,” my father says. “Liam, can you heal her?”
Liam peers at the animal and takes a step back. “Wren can heal too, you know. Let her show you.”
Michael studies me for a moment before turning his attention to Liam. “That’s nice. But I’m interested in what you can do. Fix her.” He pulls a pair of steampunk-style goggles with all kinds of lenses and levers over his eyes and crouches down to be level with the rat.
Liam stares at him.
“Enhanced vision.” My father taps the goggles. “They help me see energy.”
Liam looks at me and makes a face like should I? I nod and look at the rat. The poor thing is suffering. If we have to put on a show for my father to end the animal’s pain, so be it.
Liam lifts the rat’s broken leg, and it screams an ear-splitting, high-pitched wail. He grimaces as he rotates the leg, positioning it in its natural location, and calls on the energy to heal it. As he takes away his hand, the rat’s breathing slows, and its beady red eyes open.
“Fascinating,” Michael says. “The energy doesn’t come from within, it flows through you.” He lifts his goggles onto his forehead and scribbles some notes on a pad of paper. Setting the pad aside, he repositions the goggles over his eyes. “Okay, now Wren. Release it.”
“Release it?” I look at Liam, and he shakes his head in confusion.
“You know.” My father waves his arms excitedly. “Cut the cord. Sever the soul. Send it to the next plane.”
“You mean kill it.” I cross my arms. Healing the rat for his entertainment was one thing, but there is no way I’m going to kill it so he can watch it die. “No.”
“It’s a rat,” my father says. “They don’t have feelings.”
“All living things have feelings, and I will not take its life for your pleasure. That’s sick. You’re sick.”
“I want to know how your Sense works.” He takes a thick book from a shelf and flips through the pages. “I’ve read every medical book possible, and none of them explain the Sense. So I’m writing one myself. I need to know how your powers work.” He raises the book over his head and slams it down on the rat.
“No!” I cover my eyes, dread gripping my heart, and bury my face in Liam’s chest. “Oh God. Is it dead?”
“No, it’s not.” Liam’s voice is harsh, dripping with anger.
“Can you help it?”
He takes my shoulders in his hands and gently pushes me away as he steps toward the dying animal. Covering the creature with his hands, he closes his eyes. “I can’t.”
“What? You have to.”
He shakes his head. “Its bones are crushed. A rib pierced its lung. I could maybe help a surgeon if someone here could operate, but otherwise . . . there’s nothing I can do.”
“Is it suffering?”
“Very much.”
I wipe the tears from my eyes and glare at Michael. I can’t possibly be related to a man so cruel.
He presses his lips together in a hard line and nods as he slips the goggles over his eyes. At least he has the decency not to smile.
The poor rat is in terrible shape. Its once-round body is flattened on the tray, and its newly healed leg—now broken again—jerks wildly. Its breaths come in short labored bursts, and blood oozes from the corner of its mouth.
I focus on its soul, the dimming goldish-silver glow hovering inside its body. It will die on its own in a few minutes if I do nothing, but if I can spare it those last few moments of pain . . . at least it will be at peace.
I see the cord connecting its soul to its body, and I imagine severing it in my mind. I picture tugging it between my fingers, and it separates, dissolving into shimmering silver dust. The rat spirit turns gray and dissipates like a cloud on a windy day, its energy returning to the universe from where it came.
I turn to Liam and fall into his arms, sobbing.
“You did the right thing.” His lips are pressed against my ear, his whispers raising goose bumps on my neck. “It’s over now.”
“That’s it?” Michael tosses his goggles on the table and pokes the lifeless body with a pencil. “But I didn’t see you do anything.”
“Have you ever seen a soul before, Dr. Crane?” Liam asks, still clutching me to his chest.
My father jerks his head, narrowing his eyes as if the question flusters him. “Well, no. Not exactly.”
“Then I suppose Soul Catching is a power reserved for the worthy. It can’t be reproduced.”
Michael scurries to his computer and frantically punches the keys. “That’s not right. It’s just energy. Magic is science we don’t understand yet, so there has to be a way.”
The door swings open again, and Seth steps into the room. His pressed gray uniform fits his frame perfectly, and his boots shine like they’re freshly polished. Only the dark circles ringing his blood-shot eyes give away his involvement in last night’s events.
My father glances up and waves his hand dismissively. “I don’t have time for interruptions. You’re supposed to be on a transport this morning.”
Seth leans his head out the door and says something that convinces the guards to leave their post. The enforcers shuffle away as Seth closes the door, locking it behind his back. His hand slides up to his hip, and he pulls the handgun from its holster. “I’m not going anywhere until you tell me where she is.”
Chapter Forty
Wren
“I heard about what you did to my guests last night.” My father returns his gaze to his computer. “You could have let him die, but you had a change of heart, didn’t you? You’re not going to shoot me.”
Seth’s hand trembles, but he steadies it and creeps toward Michael, the gun aimed at his chest. “Where is she?”
“Seth,” I say, “what are you doing? Put the gun away.”
He swings the barrel toward me. “This doesn’t concern you, Red. Stay out of it.”
My heart pounds; Makka’s angry energy flows through my body. Liam tries to pull me aside, but I jerk away. I don’t want to be near him if Makka gains control of my mind again. Curling my hands into fists, I take long, deep breaths, trying to keep the wolf subdued.
Seth stands two feet from my father, pointing the gun at his chest. “Tell me what you did with her.”
My father straightens to his full height and squares his shoulders. “With whom?”
“With patient number 613429. Stacey Campbell.”
“I’m sorry. The name doesn’t ring a bell. Hundreds of patients have passed through this facility.”
Seth lunges, pressing the gun against Michael’s head. “She was transferred. You’re going to get on that computer and locate her. I’m not leaving until you find my sister.”
“She’s your sister? Why didn’t you say so?” He pushes the gun away with his hand and turns to his computer. “Family’s the most important bond there is.”
My mouth hangs open, so I snap it shut. “We dated for six months, and you never told me you had a sister?”
Seth cuts his gaze toward me, raising one shoulder in a dismissive shrug. “It never came up.”
“Are you kidding me? How could something like this not come up?” Anger seethes through my veins, and it’s hard to tell which feelings are my own. I’ll never forgive Seth for what he did to Liam last night, and now I find out he’s been lying to me since the day we met. “We talked about family. You told me your parents were alcoholics, and they never spoke. Was that a lie? What else have you lied about, Seth? What else?”
“Wren . . .” Liam’s voice is full of warning.
I dig my nails into my palms to keep focus. My emotions fuel the wolf’s power, and I have to keep control.
“Nothing else,” Seth says. “I didn’t lie . . . She has the Sense, okay? They took her away, and we moved to New Portland three years ago because my parents couldn’t stand living in our house anymore. Everything reminded them of Stacey.” His eyes glisten with tears.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”<
br />
“I didn’t think you’d understand. You weren’t honest about your powers either. I’d heard rumors about you, but you did such a good job hiding it, I didn’t believe them. I didn’t want to believe them, because I cared about you.”
My body trembles with Makka’s rage. “Then why did you turn me in?”
“I had to. The enforcers didn’t recruit me, I volunteered. All of this . . .” He gestures to his uniform. “Was my attempt to make things right. I did all of this to save my sister.”
“And I was just a pawn in your plan?” I suck in a deep breath, but my anger boils. I’m losing control. “You used me.”
He shakes his head. “I used the wolf. I hate that you got used in the process, but I didn’t have a choice. I do care about you.”
“You only care about yourself. You always have.”
He lets out a dry chuckle and turns to my father. “Well?”
“What were her abilities?” Michael asks. “I remember the power more than the person.”
Seth’s jaw clenches with an audible click. “Limb regeneration. She could regrow body parts.”
“Oh yes. I remember her now.” His expression turns grim. “I’m afraid she’ll be impossible to reach. She belongs to the president.”
Seth lowers his gun. “She’s still alive.”
“She was the last time I saw her, but that was six months ago. When President Martin visited the lab, she caught his eye, and he took her to Washington to add her to his collection.”
“His collection?” I don’t like the sound of that.
“Our president has a menagerie of pets . . . people with various forms of the Sense. That’s why I can’t turn you over to him.”
“What does he do with them?”
Michael shrugs. “That I don’t know. I have no control over who he takes or what he does. I wish I did, though. Limb regeneration would be a useful power to replicate. Think of all the amputees we could help.”
“How dare you?” Seth leaps across the desk, slamming into my father, knocking him out of his chair. They fly backward into the glass cabinets, sending shattered fragments raining down on top of them.
Soul Catchers Page 21
