Soul Catchers

by Carrie Pulkinen

  “Seth! Stop it!” Makka uses my adrenaline to take control, and I fly into a rage. With strength not my own, I yank Seth off my father and throw him against the wall.

  He heaves himself up and spits blood on the floor. “All this for nothing.” His voice is raspy, distorted with anger. “I’ve spent the past year trying to get into this place, and she isn’t even here.”

  “All right, now. Let’s everybody calm down.” Liam extends his arms in a gesture of surrender. “We’ll figure something out. How’d your sister get caught in the first place?”

  Redness flushes Seth’s face, turning his ears bright crimson. “I turned her in.”

  “You did what?”

  Seth lets out an exasperated sigh. “The garbage disposal was stuck, so she put her hand in it to clear it. It started up again and chopped her fingers off. When she pulled her hand out, there was blood everywhere, but the fingers started growing back. It wasn’t natural.”

  He rakes a hand through his hair. “Then my parents started treating her like she was special. She was better than me because she had the Sense and I didn’t. I couldn’t stand being second best, so I reported her.”

  “Your own sister? You’re a monster.” I pick Seth up with my mind, pinning him to the wall. Makka has complete control over my body and my powers. My mouth forms words against my will. “You’re a selfish, controlling monster of a human, and I should kill you for what you’ve done. For what you’ve all done.”

  My hold on him slips, and he falls to the floor as my body transforms into the wolf. Makka scans the room, deciding whom to attack first. His hatred burns like an inferno.

  My father reaches for his remote and mashes the button repeatedly, his wide eyes shifting from the device to the wolf. “Why isn’t this working?”

  “We took the implants out when you left the room.” Liam climbs onto the countertop. “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

  “I’m not proud of myself.” Seth raises his hands, his back pressed against the door. “I’d take it all back if I could.”

  Makka snarls, springing toward him for the kill. At the same time, Seth lowers his pistol and fires. The bullet pierces Makka’s chest, fire ripping through flesh, and the wolf drops.

  “What did you do?” Liam screams.

  The wolf’s energy can’t hold on to our form, and his body transforms into mine, crumpled on the ground, gasping for breaths that won’t come.

  “You shot her, you idiot!” Liam is by my side, rolling me onto my back. His eyes flood with tears as he rests his magic hands on my chest. “Stay with me, Wren. Keep breathing.”

  I don’t feel his energy healing me. I don’t feel pain. I don’t feel anything.

  Seth and my father stand over me. Liam kneels with his hands on my chest, his face buried in my neck, whispering words I don’t understand. My vision tunnels, leaving nothing but tiny pinpricks of light. My blood turns to ice, freezing my entire body as the lights blink out entirely.

  And I can see again. Peacefulness washes over me as I rise like a balloon, floating away from the commotion.

  “She needs blood,” Liam says. “I can heal her, but she’s lost too much blood.”

  “I’ll give her a transfusion.” My father darts out the door.

  “Oh no you don’t.” Liam’s hand clutches my spirit wrist. “You will not die on me.”

  I smile at him. I’m already dead.

  “No.” One hand is around my wrist; his other still rests on my body. “I’m going to heal you.” His gaze fixes behind me, his eyes growing wide in terror. “Makka. He’s going for Seth.”

  The silver spirit swirls through the air, encircling Seth’s head like he did mine so many days ago. Reaching into the smoke, I grasp something solid, and the wispy form takes the shape of the wolf. Not yet, I say to Makka. I may not be done with you.

  My father rushes in with a bag of blood. He jabs the needle into my body’s arm and starts the flow. “What are you doing? Use both hands. Heal her!”

  “I am.” Liam looks at my soul, and fresh tears stream from his eyes. “All my life, I’ve felt like an outsider. Like no one understands me. And I’ve gotten myself into plenty of trouble trying to get the attention I thought I needed. But you . . .”

  He wipes his eye on the sleeve of his shirt and inhales a deep, trembling breath. His gaze drifts down to my body, and he presses his hand harder against my chest. “You get me, Wren.” He returns his gaze to my soul, and his green-gold eyes bore into me, penetrating to the depths of my very being. “And I know we’re the Soul Catchers, so we’re supposed to be partners and all, but . . . even without the legend, without the powers, without the Sense . . . I love you, Wren. I love your soul, and it doesn’t get any purer than that.”

  I can feel the love radiating from his soul. An undeniable, overpowering emotion envelops me in warmth, giving me the courage and strength to hold on.

  “Are you talking to her ghost?” Seth asks. “Is she dead?”

  “Not for long. Everything’s healed. It’s time to come back.” He pulls me down and uses his energy to nudge me back into my body.

  I try to slip inside, but Makka is intent on possessing Seth. His emotions vibrate through my soul, the anger and the need to consume a living form driving him toward my killer. My body is still dead, and the wolf refuses to come with me. I could let him go. Let Seth deal with the spirit; God knows he deserves it. But I wouldn’t wish this curse on anyone.

  There has to be a way to set it free. Maybe, since Makka isn’t attached to a body, I can release his soul from this realm. Missy said the wolf spirits were tethered to the earth. Can I dissolve the connection? I need more time to figure it out.

  “It’s not working.” Liam’s voice is frantic. “Why won’t her heart start beating?”

  It’s the wolf, I say. He won’t stay with me.

  He furrows his brow. “Then let him go.”

  I can’t.

  “Yes you can.”

  “Defibrillator,” my father says. “We’ll make it beat.”

  He grabs a bag from the cabinet and pulls out a machine with two paddles connected by coiled cord. He flips a switch, and the machine hums with electricity. “Stand back.”

  With the paddles placed firmly on my chest, my father squeezes a lever that sends a thousand volts of electricity crackling through my chest. My body jerks with the jolt, and for a moment, I feel the surge burning through my veins.

  Liam checks my pulse, but my body hasn’t responded to the shock. “It’s not working.” He squeezes my nose shut and blows two deep breaths into my mouth, filling my lungs with air. My chest rises and falls, but my heart doesn’t beat. My soul rises away from my body. Liam holds on tighter. Makka struggles to free himself from my grasp, twisting and jerking, desperate to join with his new host. Seth stands in a daze, staring at my lifeless body, oblivious to my soul and the wolf that’s trying to possess him.

  “Seth, get down here and do CPR. I can’t pump her heart and hold on to her spirit,” Liam says.

  Seth snaps out of his haze and drops to his knees. He compresses my chest, forcing blood through my veins, as Liam breathes more air into my lungs.

  Let me go. Makka’s thoughts register in my mind, and I look at his spirit.

  I won’t let you possess another person. Not as long as I have the power to hold you.

  Set me free. The wolf reaches for Seth, extending a cord of light to bind his soul to the body. I imagine the cord dissolving before it reaches its target, and Makka grunts in frustration as it obeys my command.

  Another thousand volts surge through my body as Liam pulls me down, using his mind to force my soul into my body, but it won’t stay. Another breath into the lungs. More pounding on the chest.

  Then I see it—a cord connecting the wolf spirit not to a body but to the earth. Unlike the shimmering strands of light that bind souls to their bodies, this cord is thick and dull like a metallic cable. A man-made chain.

  Liam, ask my f
ather why the wolves can’t move on. Why they have to move from body to body rather than returning to the spirit world.

  “Why are the wolves stuck here?” he says, never taking his eyes off my soul. “Why can’t they move on?”

  “It was a complicated process. They used a combination of energy, a binding spell, and radiation to create a mutated connection to the earth.” He turns a knob on the defibrillator to recharge the paddles.

  Liam looks at Michael. “Is it a cord?”

  “I don’t know. I just know they’re connected to the earth.”

  “Do you see a cord?” Liam says to me. “Can you cut it?”

  I concentrate on the chain, imagining myself pulling it apart, dissolving the fibers of the binding. Nothing happens. I focus harder, using all my will to sever the chain, but my energy has no effect.

  I can’t break it because I’m holding on to the spirit. You can’t catch and cut at the same time. Liam’s speculation is true.

  Can you hold on to Makka too?

  Liam reaches for the wolf, but his hand passes through like the spirit is made of mist. “I can’t hold two souls at once. All my energy is focused on you.”

  Then you need to let me go.

  “No way.”

  I think I can sever the cord to release Makka, but I can’t do it while I’m holding on to him. I need you to hold him, so he doesn’t possess Seth.

  “But if I let you go, I might not be able to get you back into your body. I won’t take that chance.”

  You have to. You saw how easily Makka took over today. If you put us both back into my body, I won’t survive. He’ll take over for good, and my body will be nothing more than a host. I can’t live like that.

  “No.”

  We came here for a cure, and now I’ve found it. Please, Liam. I would rather die than go on living with the wolf.

  He blows air into my lungs. Seth compresses my chest. My father prepares the paddles for another shock.

  He shakes his head, tears pooling in his eyes. “Okay. But I won’t let you slip away without a fight.”

  I know you won’t.

  He turns to the other men. “On the count of three, I’m going to let her go. Michael, you shock her, and Seth, as soon as the paddles are away from her chest, start the compressions again.”

  They nod and move into position.

  I hope this works. It has to work.

  “One . . . Two . . .” Liam looks at me and nods. “Three.” He releases me, and my soul lightens as the spirit world beckons me. The temptation to let go and walk in peace is overwhelming, but I don’t answer the call.

  Makka snarls as Liam grabs his spirit, struggling against his grasp. I concentrate on the chain, sawing it apart in my mind. The bond is unnatural, the hold strong, but I won’t give up. The process feels like an eternity as I chip away at the artificial link.

  “Clear,” my father shouts. The paddles press against my chest.

  Not yet. I’m almost there. The chain is almost broken. Electricity surges through my body, tingling my soul with the charge. Seth pounds my chest.

  “Hurry up, Wren,” Liam says. “I have to bring you back now.”

  With one final push of my power, the chain snaps in two. I’m yanked away from the wolf, and pain surges through my chest. I gasp for breath, coughing as cold air rakes through my lungs. Liam wraps his arms around me, pulling me into his lap, sitting me upright. My chest feels like it’s on fire as I fight to get my breathing under control.

  “Look.” He points to the ceiling where Makka’s spirit floats above us.

  The shimmering form circles the room, then stops to face me. He dips his head in an appreciative gesture and dissolves into the spirit world.

  I’m free.

  “We did it.” My voice comes out as a croak.

  “You did it.” Liam says.

  My mom sent me here to find a cure, when all along she knew I had it inside. I twist in his embrace and throw my arms around his neck, pressing my lips to his. He presses his hands firmly against my back, holding me tightly against his body. He’s still healing me, opening himself up to the energy of the universe and sending it into my lungs, my heart, taking away the pain.

  He tastes like mint, and he smells like home. His embrace is firm and warm, and I give myself over to the moment. To the energy. I open myself up to the flow of power, and it’s as if the two of us become one. I can feel him feeling me. The way I fit in his arms. The way my lips pressed to his make his heart sprint. And the love. I can feel the love he feels for me.

  I put my hands on his cheeks and pull back to look at him. The wonder in his eyes tells me he can feel me too.

  “Wow, Wren. I . . . don’t know what to say.”

  “I love you.”

  “I can feel that.” He takes my hands and entwines his fingers with mine. “I love you too.”

  “Fascinating.” My father adjusts his steampunk goggles. “The energy flows in a continuous circle through both of you. I’ve never witnessed a connection like this. It’s incredible.”

  Liam laughs. “Tell me about it.”

  Michael scribbles notes on a sheet of paper. “You’re sure the wolf spirit is gone?”

  “Positive.” I don’t want to let Liam go. His emotions swirl through my soul, mixing with my own to create an incredible, intoxicating feeling of elation. He’s part of me now, and if I could spend forever in this moment, I’d do it in a heartbeat. Maybe somewhere a little more private, though.

  But there are other wolves here, and I can free them.

  Liam helps me to my feet and holds me until my legs are steady. “So that’s it, then. We found the cure. We can leave.”

  A knock sounds on the door, and a pale woman in a blue pantsuit and high heels clicks into the room, oblivious to the events that just unfolded. “Dr. Crane?” Her high-pitched voice doesn’t match her refined exterior. She pauses when she sees the mess we’ve made of the room, the pool of blood on the floor, but quickly regains her composure. Apparently, fight scenes aren’t an unusual sight in this place. “A Mr. Solis is here to see you. He says you have something for him to take to the president.” She lowers her voice and cups her hand over her mouth. “He has a small army with him too.”

  Her disapproving gaze rakes over Liam and me before settling on Seth. She smiles at him and bats her eyes. “You must be new here. I’m Margot.”

  Seth doesn’t reply. He stares straight ahead, his face expressionless.

  “Tell Mr. Solis I’ll be right there,” my father says. “That will be all.”

  She winks at Seth and struts out the door as if the tiled floor were a catwalk. He ignores her.

  “Solis is here,” Michael says. “You have to leave. Now.”

  I step away from Liam, testing my ability to stand on my own. My legs hold. “I can’t leave. Not when I can save the others. They’re here, right? The other wolves?”

  Michael waves his hand dismissively. “Yes, they’re in a secure wing of the building, but you have to listen to me, Wren. Solis is President Martin’s grunt. He’s here for you.”

  “How does he know we’re here? You said you wouldn’t tell him.”

  “I didn’t. I didn’t even register you as a wolf, much less a Soul Catcher. I have no idea how he found out, but he did. You have to get out of here.” He ushers us toward the door. “Believe me, this place will seem like a vacation resort compared to how you’ll be treated in Washington.”

  Seth steps forward, his ears red with anger or shame, I can’t tell. “It was me. I told the president you were here.”

  Chapter Forty-One

  Wren

  “Why would you do that?” I brace myself for the wave of anger, but it doesn’t come. Without Makka’s energy fueling me, my only emotions are dread and resolve. I can’t have made it this far and found a cure for the wolf possession just to end up in the hands of a demented political leader.

  Liam steps toward Seth. “Boy, you just don’t know when to quit, do you?
”

  “It was better than killing you . . . When I got into the database and found out my sister had been transferred, I thought if I turned you over myself, the president might . . .” He fists his hands, pressing them against his temples. “I’m sorry.”

  “So what’s the plan?” Liam says to my father. “How do we get out of here without the small army catching us?”

  “There are plenty of exits.” Michael plops into his chair and rests his chin on his hand. “The problem is making it look like you escaped. If I simply let you go, I’m a dead man. Or worse.”

  Liam takes my hand and pulls me toward the door. “I’m sure you’ll figure something out. Point us to an exit, and we’ll get out of your hair.”

  “Wait.” I pull from his grasp. “I’m not running. There are a hundred people here possessed by wolf spirits, and we can help them. We can’t leave them behind.”

  Liam takes a deep breath and rakes his hands through his hair. He looks at the door, the longing for escape filling his eyes, and he turns to me. “You’re right. If we can save them, it’s our obligation.” He looks to my father. “Can you hold them off long enough for us to release the spirits?”

  “How long will that take? There are a hundred and twenty prisoners.”

  Liam looks at me. “All I can do is hold on to the soul when you sever it from the body. But you’ve got two cuts to make.”

  “I know how to do it now. Twenty minutes, tops.”

  My father looks at his watch. “And then?”

  Liam smiles and squeezes my shoulder. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”

  Michael raises an eyebrow doubtfully. “Right. Go to the end of this hall, make a right, then a left. Take Seth with you. Make it look like you’re being escorted, for the cameras. The lock is a standard IE-8. Are you familiar with those?”

  “Yes, sir,” Seth says.

  “The code is 77578. Then you’ll be in the wolf wing. Some of them are . . . unstable. Be careful.”

  Liam and I walk side by side with Seth following behind, the barrel of his gun pressed into my ribs. While I can never forgive Seth’s abhorrent behavior, a part of me understands why he did what he did. I killed a man without hesitation because he was hurting my mom. Love makes people do crazy things. So does fear. But just because I can empathize, it doesn’t make what he did okay. “You already shot me once, do you have to keep that thing shoved into my back?”