Soul Keeper

by Tegan Maher

  I crossed and stayed on the guy’s tail, careful not to get too close too soon. Once the alley was in sight, I moved a little faster. Callum moved to cross the street, and Michael came into view ahead. The plan went exactly as planned. Once the guy saw us, he realized he was penned in and swung into the alley. I picked up my pace to follow him, but was surprised when a flash of gray fur shot down the alley right behind him. Lonan took flight from my shoulder, and by the time I rounded the corner, the man was down. Rocky had a firm hold on his leg, and Lonan was flying about his head.

  Callum, who’d gotten there just ahead of me, already had to box off his belt loop, and I flipped the scanner on and aimed it at the guy just to confirm.

  “Stop,” he cried, kicking at Rocky. “What did I do? I was just goin’ to work!”

  “Down, Rocky. We got him.”

  Weirdly enough, when I scanned the guy, nothing came up. I slapped it in my hand and aimed it again and got the same results, which is to say, nothing.

  “Callum, wait!” I exclaimed. “He’s not showing on the scanner.”

  I got within four feet of the guy and tried one more time. Still no reading.

  “Who are you?” Michael barked. “Ronnie Perry,” the guy said, his eyes wild with fear.

  “Are you a tattoo artist?” Callum asked, and the guy shook his head.

  “No. I work on a fishin’ boat. What did I do? Man, call your bird off.”

  Lonan was still hovering over him, pecking and squawking.

  “Lonan, he’s the wrong guy. Stop.”

  He did, and resumed his place on my shoulder.

  “Do you know a guy named Fish?” Callum asked. “Tatted and pierced. Lives in the building you just came from.”

  Ronnie nodded, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “Sure I know him. But that dude’s lost it. He’s always been a little out there, but lately, he’s been off the chain. Punchin’ people just for the fun of it. Intimidatin’ them. It’s like he gets off on it.”

  I sighed, disappointment weighing heavy on my shoulders. “That’s because he does.”

  “Have you seen him today?” Michael asked.

  Ronnie shook his head. “No, man. He ain’t been hangin’ around here much, not that I’m complainin’. His eyes … I don’t know what’s happened to him, but it’s like somebody stole his soul.”

  Michael rubbed his face, impatience and irritation glowing in his eyes. He reached a hand toward the guy, who took it with a wary eye.

  “What apartment is he staying in?” I asked.

  “He’s got the whole top floor,” Ronnie said. “They converted it to one big loft apartment a few years back when the owner’s kid was managin’ the building. Kid moved away, and Fish took it over. If you don’t need anything else, I gotta go.”

  “Sure thing. Are you okay?” Michael asked.

  Ronnie nodded. “Yeah. He just got my pants leg. No damage.”

  Callum pulled money out of his pocket and handed it to the guy. Here’s enough for a new pair of pants and a couple pints of beer on top of it. We thought you were him.”

  The guy gave him the side-eye but snatched the money and hauled ass out of the alley, looking back a couple times to make sure none of us were following.

  “Now what?” I asked, my shoulders slumping in defeat. “That was all we had.”

  “Now we switch to phase two,” Michael said.

  “I think I can safely speak for both of us when I say we’re all ears,” Callum said, shaking his head.

  I turned to Michael, hoping against hope that he had something, even if it was a longshot. It seemed like those were working for us so far.

  13

  “I don’t know if it will work with demons or not,” Michael said. “As you know, Mila is amazing with potions, and recently she’s been working with another witch who is, too. Emma—that’s the other girl—came up with a tracking potion that we know for certain works on witches. We’ve never tried it on anything else, but it’s worth a shot, and I think Mila knows the recipe.”

  “That sounds amazing!” I exclaimed, but then reality came crashing in. “But don’t some potions take forever to brew and require special ingredients?”

  “They do,” he said, “but it won’t hurt to ask, right? I want to catch this guy before he can hurt anybody else.”

  “Then let’s do it,” I said, hope bubbling in my chest. “I’ll meet you at her place.”

  He shook his head. “I’m almost positive the spell requires something of his. I want to check his apartment out, anyway.”

  That wasn’t a horrible idea. It was possible we’d find something that would lead us to him if Mila’s potion didn’t work.

  I was a little surprised when we discovered the door of the building was unlocked.

  “Watch your step,” Callum said, motioning to a gooey pile of orangish chucks on the step that I didn’t want to examine closely enough to identify. The paint on the walls was yellowing and covered in graffiti, and chunks were missing from the drywall in places. The stench of old booze, cigarettes, and desperation oozed from every surface, and I did my best to breathe through my nose.

  The third floor wasn’t like the other two. The stairwell was closed in on all sides with the stairs ending at the door. Michael muttered a few words over the knob, and I was surprised when the knob turned.

  “For a big, bad dude, his security is lax,” I said, brow raised.

  “Being big and bad is his security,” Michael replied as he pushed the door open and we followed him in, each of us turning in a different direction once we did just in case we caught him at home. “An average person would be suicidal to come in here without his permission.”

  The place was a wreck. Dirty dishes and empty pizza boxes everywhere, and I’m pretty sure there were things growing in the sink. Dirty magazines were strewn on the night tables, and the sheets hadn’t seen a washer in … ever, probably.

  We did a complete sweep of the apartment, but aside from tattoo equipment, there was nothing personal. I checked the bathroom and found a hairbrush, which I promptly dropped into a plastic grocery bag I found on the counter.

  “I have a hairbrush,” I said, “and from the looks of it, it hasn’t been cleaned since the dishes were done.”

  “Did you make sure the hairs are short?” Callum asked. “It would suck to track the wrong person.”

  I rechecked it, and sure enough, the strands wrapped in among the oil and dandruff were short.

  “Then let’s head to Mila’s straight from here,” Michael said, holding out a hand. We took it, and I smiled as the vortex pulled me through space.

  Ten seconds later, we were all standing outside Mila’s shop. Michael pulled the door open for us, and the cool interior was a welcome relief to the heat. So was the happy feeling her bell her brought.

  “Hey,” she said, poking her head out from the back. “I didn’t expect to see you guys again today. How’s it going?”

  “Better than good,” I said. “We’ve managed to catch three lesser souls and figure out who the killer is.”

  “That’s great!” she exclaimed, shoving a strand of dark hair behind her ears. “But what are you doing here? Not that I’m not happy to see you, of course.”

  “We know who the soul is, but not where to find him,” Michael said. “I was hoping you could brew up Emma’s tracking potion.”

  She furrowed her forehead. “Do you have something that belongs to him?”

  “We do,” I said, handing her the plastic bag.

  Mila glanced in it and grinned. “That’ll do nicely, and It just so happens that I have a batch already brewed.”

  “And why would you keep something like that just laying around?” Callum asked.

  Mila laughed as she led us to the back. “Sweetie, you have no idea how crazy my life’s become lately. Let’s just say I’ve gotten used to being prepared for anything.”

  She plucked a purple potion from a shelf and brought it to the table along with a parchment map
of the city. “Now the way this works is that I put his hair in the tonic, say the spell, and it will lead you to the person. It’s only good for a couple hours, though, so you gotta be fast.”

  “Oh,” Callum said, “that won’t be an issue.”

  “Good, then,” Mila said, pulling a couple of hairs from the brush. She dropped them into the potion, which swirled and fizzed. “Hold out your wrists,” she said.

  We did, and she dabbed a little of the potion on each of us. Instantly, a light purple line shot from each of our wrists and out the front door of the shop.

  “Now just follow the strand,” she said.

  “Do you have any idea how far away he is?” I asked, picturing an on-foot trip to the Alps.

  She pulled a map of the city from a nearby shelf and dripped a bit onto it at our location. It swirled for a minute, then meandered a few blocks away and stopped.

  “That’s not good,” Michael said, worry creasing his brow.

  “What’s not good?” I asked.

  “He’s at the Haunted Mansion. It’s a big abandoned place where the city puts on a Halloween party every year. The council gets together and makes half of the house kid-friendly, but the other half is only for adults. I can tell you, they’ve come up with some stuff that’ll curl your hair. They’re good.”

  I pulled in a deep breath and blew it out through my cheeks. “Great, so we’re following a fear demon into a place built specifically to induce terror.”

  Mila pinched her lips together and nodded. “That pretty much sums it up.”

  “Then I suppose we better get started,” Callum said. “It’s almost dusk, and that just adds a layer to the freak-out factor. Everything’s scarier in the dark.”

  “Good luck,” Mila said. “I’d come with you, but I have my own thing to do right now.”

  She and Michael exchanged a look, and I wondered what was behind it.

  “Are you going the Enchanted Coast for the party tomorrow?” she asked Michael.

  “If I can,” he replied, heading toward the door. “I’ll bring these two with me if they’re still around.”

  “You have to come!” Mila said to us. If nothing else, come back tomorrow after you get your stuff done. Have you ever been to the Enchanted Coast?”

  I shook my head. “No, but I’ve heard fantastic things about it.”

  “Then you definitely have to come. It’s settled. Meet me here tomorrow at three. Wear a costume.”

  Her enthusiasm was strangely contagious even though I was on my way to fight a demon. I suppose my brain was already starting to adapt.

  Fortunately, we were all in good shape, so we were able to jog all the way to the haunted house, which is exactly where the purple bands led us. Michael had assured us that the purple light was only visible to us, which was a good thing since we were headed into a crowd of people.

  The mansion was already crowded, and we quickly debated whether or not we wanted to evacuate it.

  “I don’t think we should,” I said, chewing on my lip in thought. “That’ll create even more fear, which will make him stronger, plus it’ll give him a heads up that we’re looking for him.”

  “She’s right,” Callum said. “Let’s just go do it.”

  The trail led us to the top floor, where a man dressed in a grim reaper costume was standing with a length of rope. To any of the revelers, he would look like the rest of the props, but we knew him for what he was. That rope was intended to be used rather than just to scare people.

  We managed to make it to within fifty feet or so of him—the place really was massive—when he snapped his head up, sniffed the air, and looked straight at us. There were about twenty people between us, and he took advantage of that to make his way to the stairs.

  “Bind him,” I said to Callum under my breath as we were pushing through people dressed in costumes ranging from fairies to cartoon characters and horror-movie stars.

  “I can’t,” he replied. “Too many people.”

  “Then we need a way to disguise ourselves,” I hissed as he slipped out of sight.

  “Duh,” Michael said, and I glanced at him just in time to see him roll his eyes and mutter a few words.

  In just a second, he was dressed as an old-school monk in a brown, burlap-ish robe that had a hood that covered his face.

  I went for one of my go-to favorites: a genie costume. The veil covered my face, and I glamoured my blonde hair red.

  Callum shook his head, a half-smile on his face. A second later, he was Batman, complete with mask and cape.

  We bolted down the steps and out onto the lawn just in time to see him jump out of Dennis McDonald’s body and assume his true demon form. He was about eight feet tall and had leathery wings and red eyes. People screamed in delighted terror when he roared, obviously thinking he was part of the show.

  Disguised, we managed to get within just a few feet of him before he sensed my presence. I had to assume it was me he’d identified before since I was likely the only unique magical person there. Witches abounded, and there was surely a mage or two, too. The dagger was warming against my skin.

  He roared again when he couldn’t see me right off the bat and scanned the crowd. Thanks to the crush of people and our disguises, we were almost on top of him before he realized it. The dagger was so hot it was almost burning my leg, and I pulled it out of my sheath. He caught sight of it just as I sliced at him and he managed to box my ears before I made contact.

  I fell to the ground, my ears ringing and my vision swimming. I should have seen that coming, but I’d gotten overconfident. Meanwhile, Michael summoned a ball of light and flung it at him while Callum muttered the words to a spell that would freeze him in his solid form.

  Pushing to my feet, I shook my head to clear it. His attention was on Michael, but I didn’t think I’d get a chance to get close enough to use the dagger. Rocky was circling, looking for an opening, and Lonan was flying around his head, buzzing in for a few pecks, then drawing back again before the demon could touch him.

  People had cleared the space, and those who hadn’t caught on that it was a real battle were recording it with their phones or snapping pictures. Two flashes went off at the same time right as the demon looked toward the crowd. I couldn’t believe my luck. In the two seconds he was blinded, I threw the dagger. I felt like I was watching it flip end over end in slow motion, and I held my breath when he saw it coming and threw his hand up at the very last second. He was too slow, though, and the dagger nailed him right in the chest. He exploded into a cloud of foul-smelling black smoke and Callum tossed his soul collector at him, shouting the spell as he did.

  The box opened up, but it didn’t just suck him in with the ease it had with the others. Wind howled as he fought capture, and my hair whipped around my face. I held out my hand and summoned the dagger, and was about half shocked when it obeyed. Michael and Callum were shielding their eyes from the flying debris, and some of the crowd had realized we weren’t part of the entertainment and were darting around in all directions, screaming.

  Finally, after one last massive gust of wind, he let loose with an ear-splitting wail as the box won and sucked in. The unit fell to the ground, shrunk back to its portable size, and came to a stop, smoking as always.

  . It was all over in just a few seconds, and the silence that followed was intense, then broken as onlookers whooped, whistled, and clapped in approval. I looked at Callum and Michael, who were both grinning and shaking their heads, then walked to them.

  Taking each of their hands in mine, I pivoted us toward the crowd, and we took a bow.

  Epilogue

  An hour later, we were back at Adam’s, standing on the turret and looking out over the sea. We’d checked the souls back into The Valley, but rather than stay at the farm where my aunts would fuss over me, I’d wanted a little quiet.

  “That was quite the show,” I said, watching as dolphins swum in the strip of moonlight shining on the ocean.

  “It was,” Callu
m replied. “We work well as a team.”

  “Listen,” I said, “I know I apologized earlier, but I want to do it again. I realize I’m immature and brash sometimes, and I don’t always think before I act. I’m working on that, though.”

  He leaned against the stone and propped his elbows on the ledge. “And I’m bossy and overbearing sometimes. And also a little more reactive than I should be. I definitely have trigger points, but in my defense, I have my reasons.”

  “Care to share those reasons?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “Not really. Someday, maybe, but not today.”

  “Fair enough,” I said. I had my own skeletons I didn’t particularly want to parade out in the moonlight.

  “Partners, then?” he asked, holding out his fist. After a few seconds, I smiled and bumped it with mine as the waves crashed on the rocks far below.

  “Partners,” I replied, and I knew, standing there gazing out at the ocean, that no matter what was coming, I was glad he’d have my back.

  Author’s Note

  Thank you for spending the last few hours with Kira and Callum. I hope you enjoyed reading the story as much as I enjoyed writing it. I wanted to take the first book to introduce you to them and to Abaddon’s Gate. The next book, Demons & Discord, is a bit of a grander adventure and will be about twice this long. I hope to see you along for that adventure, too! If you’d like to preorder it, you can do that here!

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