Souls Estranged (The Souls Trilogy Book 2)

by Anne B. Cole

  Scanning the passengers, she noted several people who could be her contact. She touched the beads on her necklace with her fingertips as she stepped aboard, making her way to the deck rail. When the ship departed, Raja pulled the sticker out of her pocket and punched the numbers into the phone in reverse order.

  “Good Morning.” The male contact spoke in English.

  “A blueberry donut, please.” She spoke the password without a trace of hesitation.

  He gave her instructions to be completed at precisely noon. Before she could respond he complimented her earrings, and hung up.

  They’re watching me.

  She forced her shoulders to relax. A week ago she would have been furious with the simplicity of this assignment.

  Holding the phone in her hand, Raja discerned the task as a test in which her skills would be carefully scrutinized in preparation for the assignment she had been trained to carry out. Leaning on the rail, she watched the Statue of Liberty pass in the distance. The phone, purchased less than an hour earlier, intentionally slipped into the murky water without notice.

  I’ll complete this delivery and gather any additional information to be used against Jamal. Tonight, I’ll explain everything to JD before surrendering to American authorities.

  Her life as she had known it was over.

  Throughout the ferry ride to Staten Island and during her immediate return to Manhattan, she stared into the dirty waters of the Hudson River. Once she spoke the truth to JD, everything would change. She needed to tell the authorities, despite the fact Jamal or one of his invisible cohorts could kill her with ease. Her training had prepared her to be willing to die for what she believed.

  Meeting JD had changed her beliefs. She would admit the truth; that she had been trained to be what Americans called a terrorist.

  I won’t blame JD if he hates me.

  The information she possessed could lead to the breakdown of the current infiltration. She trusted JD enough to be honest, to hope he would spot the good in her.

  And somehow forgive her.

  The ferry docked back in Manhattan. She walked two blocks to where a beggar sat propped against a mail collection box with his chin on his chest. After she dropped a ten dollar bill and two quarters into his plastic cup, he shifted to his left.

  She bent down, picked up the brown paper covered package from under his trench coat, and walked away.

  Her assignment required her to deliver the package, roughly the size of a tissue box, to a specific vehicle parked on the street three blocks away. The car would be unlocked. She needed to enter the car, put the package on the passenger seat, and walk twenty-five yards to a vendor cart for further instruction.

  She believed she would be personally approached by Jamal, who would give her marks and corrections on her first assignment. She rehearsed the lie she planned to tell him. He would be pleased with her declaration of commitment and intention to sever ties with JD.

  There it is.

  Raja quickened her step and trained her sight on an old, dark green Nissan parallel parked between a BMW and a Ford Taurus. She casually stepped into the street, approached the driver’s door, and seized the handle. It opened easily. She climbed in behind the wheel, setting the parcel on the seat beside her.

  Following instructions, she adjusted the rear view mirror and applied lipstick she found in the glove compartment.

  Red. Figures. I hate red lipstick.

  After smoothing her hair, she readjusted the mirror before exiting the vehicle. Without looking back, she crossed the street to the pretzel vendor on the corner.

  “Raja?”

  The voice, from a distance behind, made her blood run cold.

  He sounds like JD. Impossible, he’s at work.

  “Raja?”

  Realization struck.

  Without turning, she understood the target of her assignment and exactly what the package contained.

  “Run!” she screamed, but her voice sliced off within a thundering explosion. The force of the blast knocked her to the ground. She covered her head as fragments of metal and glass fell to the street.

  Shielding her face from the billowing smoke, she ran to the burning remains of the Nissan. Two uniformed police officers writhed in pain on the sidewalk. Raja knelt beside JD whose leg, nearly severed above his knee by a piece of smoldering debris, bled profusely.

  “Hold on JD, please.” Raja tore off her shoe and pulled the lace out, wrapping it taut around JD’s thigh. He clutched her hand and groaned in pain. She cradled his head. Blood flowed freely between her fingers from the back of his neck.

  “I had no idea you . . . Jamal knew you were a cop . . . they had me—”

  “Raja, I know who you were, who they created you to be. You’re no longer that person. Believe in yourself, I do.” JD’s eyes bore into hers, softened, and unfocused.

  The grip on her hand released.

  “No!” Raja screamed. She shook him, but he didn’t respond. Pulling his face to hers, she stroked his cheek.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t know it was a bomb. I swear. I didn’t know. They killed you because of me.” She rocked his lifeless body. Warm blood trailed down her arms. She wished she was the one dead.

  A voice snarled above her.

  She didn’t comprehend the words until she felt a cold metal barrel against her temple.

  She froze. Maybe whoever held the gun would pull the trigger.

  “Don’t touch him.” The other police officer had crawled to her side. Blood covered his upper right thigh and trickled down his forehead.

  Raja refused to let go of JD.

  “I heard what you said. Get away from him,” the cop commanded.

  She rocked JD in her arms and prayed he would kill her. When he didn’t, she took a deep breath and clung tighter to JD’s body.

  The officer grabbed her wrist and saw the ligature scars.

  “Raja?” He removed the gun from her head. “I’m Rocky, JD’s partner. He knows you—”

  Before he could say more, she cried, “I was going to tell him everything. I want out.”

  Sobbing hysterically, Raja didn’t care if her declaration sealed her fate. She touched the black bead on her necklace, the one that, once crushed between her teeth, would end her life. She had been instructed to do so, if ever caught. The poison inside would stop her heart, giving her the opportunity to die without revealing secrets.

  She screamed as JD’s head lolled backward. Fury swelled inside of her. Jamal would pay for killing him.

  “I will to tell you everything, sir, please.” Raja cradled JD’s head to her chest as sirens filled the air.

  Rocky’s gaze jerked away from her as several footsteps sounded. Movement caught her eye. The man who purchased the bagel and coffee slithered closer, pulling a gun from his inner pocket. Pulsing hatred built inside her heart. Years of training took over.

  “Stay down,” she ordered. Grabbing JD’s gun, she fired twice, killing the man with a shot to the head and one to the chest. She scanned the street for others.

  Rocky reached for his gun. Another police officer rushed forward.

  “Drop your weapon,” the officer demanded.

  Jamal stood no more than twenty feet away with his gun drawn. She raised her gun and aimed.

  A shot fired.

  Raja heard Rocky’s muffled request to hold their fire.

  A second shot popped. Both hit their mark. Others followed.

  JD’s unfired gun slipped from her fingers. Struck in the chest and shoulder, she welcomed the pain, for she deserved to die.

  Taking a ragged breath, she watched Jamal disappear into the crowd. Rocky’s arms supported her back and eased her to the ground.

  “The man I killed was part of the cell
. The leader, Jamal, has plans. My phone contains . . . numbers . . . codes—”

  What was left of her existence drained away as her spirit detached. When Rocky positioned her body beside JD’s, she knew only horror. Outrage.

  Contempt.

  Chapter 28

  The Unlucky

  Raja

  “You. Killed. Him.”

  Those three words repeatedly drilled through Raja as she became swallowed by darkness. Her spirit spiraled downward into a perpetual unknown. I’m dead.

  Despair filled her.

  She felt a presence within herself, a volatile soul filled with fury, sorrow, and turmoil. It surged and tore away from her being, leaving her falling alone in the black abyss.

  “Come back,” Raja cried out, wanting the agony she deserved for killing JD to return.

  Her fall abruptly ended on her back, in a vast pool of knee-deep mud. So much hatred rippled through the mucky surface. She watched in horror as a woman rose out of the ooze. Piercing gray-blue eyes fixed upon her.

  “Damn you.” The woman lunged forward, knocking Raja under the putrid sludge.

  Instinct to fight back forced Raja into action and she flung the little woman off.

  “You killed him. You must be judged. What went wrong?” the woman cried. Her head and shoulders hovered above the murky slop.

  Fists pounded Raja’s face. Mud sprayed as the feisty woman continued her tirade. Bony hands encircled her throat, pulling her back under the mire.

  Raja welcomed the inability to breathe, wanting only to die again and somehow find JD so she could explain, apologize, and beg forgiveness. She inhaled sludge deep into her lungs and longed for unconsciousness. She felt a hand grasp her hair before being yanked out of the mud.

  “You’re dead, stupid girl,” the woman spat. “You killed JD and the other. Why did we not move on? Damn you!”

  A clang of swords interrupted her outburst.

  Raja made out two men, dueling in the misty distance. Their impressive blows distracted her attacker, and she broke free.

  “I didn’t mean to kill JD,” Raja pleaded with the woman. She crawled a few feet out of reach. “I never intended to kill anyone.”

  “You were trained to kill and you killed the man in the crowd with every intent.” The woman reached forward, grabbed hold of Raja’s neck, and slammed her face first into the mud.

  She fought back, gripped her attacker’s shoulders, and shook her until the muck slid off.

  Raja held an elderly, extremely angry woman at arm’s length. “I wish I did kill him with intent, but I didn’t. It just happened.”

  “Nothing just happens.” A gruff voice sounded from behind them.

  The old woman pulled free as the men dueled their way closer. The taller man struck the shorter, stockier man’s ear. It fell to his cheek, still attached by a fold of tissue. Appearing more annoyed than hurt, he fought back with a flurry of blows.

  The woman sighed and thrust her foot behind the taller, dark haired man.

  Raja gasped as he tripped backward into the slop. The one-eared competitor didn’t hesitate and thrust his curved sword deep into the downed man’s chest.

  “Where are we, Peter? I don’t have time for this nonsense.” The old woman walked straight to the victor.

  He pulled his sword out of the dead man, with a huge grin on his face. “Katarina, this is the Purgatory of The Unlucky.” He pushed his flopping ear away from his cheek and pointed a finger at the body. “Quite unlucky for you today, Kadir.” He opened his hand in a gesture to help the dead man to his feet.

  Kadir’s body twitched before he accepted and stood with a grunt. He took out a crude pencil and crumpled parchment from his coat and marked a tally.

  “Ladies, it is my pleasure to meet you.” His gaze lingered on Raja. “Especially you, my dear."

  Katarina stepped in front of her and spat on his black boots.

  He recoiled as if he recognized her.

  “Until we meet again, Peter.” Kadir tripped over his own boots. He caught himself in a dramatic display of slips and slides before scuttling out of sight.

  Katarina stormed up to Peter. “He is Kadir, Kadir Haty? The pirate Lorenzo called, ‘Lubber?’”

  Peter dismissed her fury. “I cut Kadir’s lead to two.” He laughed and tapped his ear back in position with one palm. “He’s here, in The Unlucky, because I killed him. Well, Theo really killed him. My spirit influenced Theo to do it. I had to get Kadir into The Unlucky so I could duel him again and win. At last count, I’ve beat him four hundred and sixty-three times.”

  “Never mind this dueling nonsense. Get Kadir back here. I need to talk to him about the bad luck curse on Anya’s ring,” Katarina demanded before readjusting his crooked ear. “I have to break it and get Tatiana and Anya out of Tartarus.”

  “I don’t know much about the curse. Doubt if Kadir does, either. I can tell you this, there is a dagger. It enabled several to escape from Tartarus. Lorenzo is permitted to exit that world, but he refuses to leave Anya.” Peter took the old lady’s arm and led her out of the muck.

  Raja followed cautiously, wondering who Lorenzo and Anya were.

  Katarina came to an abrupt stop. “Tell me about this dagger and how it is connected to Roxana’s ring.” Her voice had mellowed.

  Peter tugged on his short beard in thought. “I don’t know if there is a connection between the ring and Asclepius’ blade. What I do know is Asclepius has the power to bring souls out of the underworld. Some say he can even give dead humans life. I’m not sure he can do that, but I do know that because Kadir killed me with Asclepius’ dagger, I walked straight out of Tartarus.”

  “You escaped Hades’ domain?” Katarina pressed.

  “Queen P wasn’t very happy. The gatekeeper, Janus, had to allow me out because the dagger contains the blood of two, one to kill and one to bring life back,” Peter declared.

  “You’re still dead,” Raja stated. She had studied mythology, both Greek and Roman, and figured ‘Queen P’ must be the Greek goddess, Persephone, wife of the god of the Underworld, Hades. Janus, a Roman god, the gatekeeper, had a reputation of being a rule follower.

  “Why didn’t you move on?” Katarina demanded.

  “A bit of bad timing. Queen P left Tartarus with me during her allotted time away from Hades. She didn’t think it fair that I was free and she had to return in six months. It unnerved her witnessing Asclepius’ ability to free me from Tartarus. Even though he is a minor god, she is not powerful enough to do anything to him. Beautiful but vengeful goddess that she is, she sweet talked Janus into appointing me as gatekeeper of the purgatories.”

  Katarina’s forehead creased with interest.

  “So here I am, stuck wandering between the three purgatories, making sure souls stay where they belong until it is their time to move on. Janus keeps his two-faced self at the entrance of the Elysian Fields. Leaves all the real work to me,” Peter grumbled. “At least I have Kadir to fight to pass the time.”

  “When will it be your time to leave?” Raja asked.

  Both Peter and Katarina stared at her, appearing surprised at her concern.

  “That is not for me to know,” Peter stated before addressing Katarina. “Did you bring her here?”

  “Completely unintentional. She was supposed to end up in Tartarus.”

  “Where are we?” Raja asked.

  “Purgatory. But if you want to be specific, you’re in the purgatory called ‘The Unlucky,’” Peter replied.

  “Better than Purgatory-In-Tartarus,” Katarina muttered.

  “Much better, I’d say,” he added. “Raja, there are three purgatories. Human souls are sent to The Unlucky if they have been killed by the influence of a spirit. In your case, Katarina caused your death. Bec
ause of this, you’re unable to be judged fairly. Until you make amends with the spirit who influenced your death, you remain here.”

  “She didn’t kill me.” Raja watched Katarina glare at Peter.

  “Katarina’s anger within you swayed your actions. Tell me, when JD died, what did you want?” Peter studied her.

  “I wanted to die.”

  “Did you want revenge?”

  Raja paused, knowing the answer.

  Katarina’s scowl seemed like an admission. “All right, I wanted revenge,” she huffed. “I needed to get to Tartarus. The only way I’d get there is if you killed someone with intent. With every passing minute you veered farther away from your path to Tartarus. I tried to get you back to your evil ways, and failed.”

  Raja cringed. Peter touched her shoulder and comfort waved through her.

  “There are reasons for everything, even failure. Let me continue. Souls who are cursed go to the PIT, Purgatory-In-Tartarus, the nasty purgatory. Souls unwilling to move on will roam the earth and may roam here as well. I don’t watch the gates of The Unwilling since they have the ability to move to the Elysian Fields and choose not to.”

  Peter stared deep into Raja’s eyes before directing his comments to Katarina. “Raja is here by no fault of her own. It is true she walked with evil. The good in you, Katarina, guided Raja. She found love for the first time after your soul entwined within her. Your love for your descendant, JD, helped Raja let love enter her heart and defeat the evil she had always known.”

  “I caused JD’s death. I’m so sorry,” Raja whispered.