The Soul's Agent

by Wendy Knight

  Navi watched him. "I'm sorry, Bryson. But I'm not giving up. We'll figure out how to save you." There wasn't much hope in Bryson's eyes. Navi swallowed hard, like maybe she was fighting tears. "Hey. On the bright side, you're very powerful for a new spirit. It took Elizabeth months before she could manipulate air currents. And you're still here in the daylight. That takes strength, too."

  Awesome. Not only did he get to spend all his alive time with her, but he was impressive when he was mostly dead, too. Any hope I had of changing her mind about me was slipping through my fingers. No. No, we're staying away from her, remember? We can't hurt her again. And… I seemed to be talking to my heart. Perfect.

  "There's nothing left for us to do here. I need to get some rest so I can go see Death tonight. Can you take us back to your house?" She finally looked at me. I'd noticed she didn't unless she absolutely had to.

  "Should we try again? Maybe try something else? I don't want to just leave me here. Or maybe we should go to your house? Isn't it safer there?" Bryson paced around his body, sometimes walking, sometimes floating. It was creepy, really. Navi, however, didn't seem to notice. Maybe because she hung out with ghosts on a regular basis. "What about Konstanz?"

  "You can't be at my house, Bryson, or stay here. We run the risk of you opening Konstanz's eyes, and I will not make anyone else a target. We'll have to stay at your house until we get this figured out." Navi slung her purse over her shoulder and marched out. Apparently I didn't have a say in the matter. Not that I'd protest. Navi in my house for an indefinite amount of time?

  Yeah, no complaints here.

  I did wish I could get rid of Bryson so I could talk to her, though. I had some things I wanted clarification on. And, if it was as I suspected, I had some serious apologizing to do.

  "I won't open their eyes. I'll stay in your room."

  "I share that room with Konstanz, Bryson." Navi hurried down the hall, eyes constantly scanning everything around us. I stayed close by so she didn't look like she was talking to herself. "You know that."

  Damn. I hated it when she reminded him that he'd been in her room. I wondered what exactly had happened between them before Bryson realized it was actually her roommate he was in love with.

  The wondering hurt.

  "Anyway, if you're in the house, they'll sense you. And I doubt very much you'd be happy hanging around outside with Elizabeth."

  Bryson scowled. Without another word, he faded away.

  "Where'd he go?" I asked, turning in a circle without slowing because Navi didn't even pause.

  "He's upset. It's a lot to deal with. He'll be back."

  "Okay well while he's gone, I have questions." Suddenly my palms were sweaty and my throat convulsed. I felt like when we were freshman and I'd been trying to work up the courage to ask her out.

  "Of course you do." She sighed and glanced over at me, slowing her pace. "This is a lot to take in for you, too. I'm so sorry it's been thrust on you like this. I tried—I tried to protect you."

  I nodded, overeager, like a puppy. How pathetic was I? "I know. I know you did. I just need to know." I grabbed her wrist and pulled her to a stop. She slid closer to me, almost as if her body had a will of its own. Then her chin came up and she pulled away. "Those times I thought you were with someone else—?" I didn't know how to finish that sentence.

  Luckily, she didn't make me. "I was killing demons." Jerking her wrist free, she spun on her heel and stalked away. I watched her go, feeling like I'd just been shattered under the weight of my own stupidity.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Navi

  Being so close to him was going to kill me. It absolutely, positively was going to kill me dead. My nerves were frayed. I couldn't think straight. Every single cell of my body screamed to be closer to him, and sometimes my brain lost control and let them. He'd hurt me.

  Remember, heart? Remember how we've been completely demolished the past two months without him? Remember how we tried for four freaking years to forget him and failed? Remember how after two days he had the power to crush us?

  Yes, let's remember that.

  But he was in a ton of danger and no matter how much it hurt me and my heart, I had to protect him. Because losing him completely would hurt me so much more. At least now, I couldn't have him but he was still here. In this world. And the world wasn't quite so dark because he was in it.

  But dang it! I was tired of hurting! I wanted the pain in my chest to stop for a while. Was that really too much to ask? Couldn't someone just invent a potion so I could forget he ever existed?

  Well no. No, that wouldn't work. If I forgot he existed, I'd probably fail at keeping him alive, wouldn't I?

  As we got in the truck, Bryson settled on my lap, I tried for a conversational tone—at least as conversational as one could get when discussing demons coming after one's soul. "So, you're in more danger today than you would be most days."

  Bad start, clearly, by the way Alec's face whitened and his eyes widened in horror. I thought I should probably drive, given his current mental state. "No, listen, it's okay. See, the asuwangs—the demons that will hunt you—they only come out at night. That's when I have, like, super powers and big tough swords and an army and I can kill them." I nodded, trying to look encouraging.

  He didn't buy it. "Then why am I in trouble today?"

  I bit my lip, twisting my fingers in my hands. "Well… they've been super aggressive lately, and last night three of them got away from me. Once they make it up the beach, they hide from me until daylight, when they shift into human form or animal form or, ya know, something normal. Which, of course, makes them even harder to find, until the moon rises and they're forced back into their natural form."

  "So there are three of these things out there that are after me?" He glanced at me as he drove, somewhat erratically, through the streets to his apartment.

  "No, only two. One—the one I'm thinking got Bryson" — I glanced apologetically at the ghost on my lap—"I caught that one and killed it just as it was shifting. And I'll catch the other two tonight." Unless there was another attack. I couldn't be in two places at once and my army was stretched thin. Even with my new recruits, we were going down fast.

  "You can sleep in my bed," Bryson said, appearing in front of me as I followed Alec into the apartment.

  I glanced uncomfortably at Alec. This might be awkward. "I have to sleep where he sleeps."

  Alec stopped so suddenly I ran into the back of him. "What?" he gasped.

  I stumbled backward and tried not to notice the way every inch of skin that had just touched him felt like it was on fire. "I can't—I can't protect you if they find you and I'm in Bryson's room. I probably wouldn't even hear them."

  Alec turned slowly, running a hand over his face. He had stubble along his jaw and he looked rough and… dang it. He looked sexy. That was all there was to it. Especially as he peered at me through his fingers. "You have to sleep in the same room as me?"

  "Are you sure that's a good idea, Navi? What about… everything?" Bryson whispered, as if Alec, who was standing right next to me, could somehow not hear him. "I don't think it's a good idea at all."

  I ignored him. I had to. If I didn't, I'd be forced to admit he was right—me and Alec in that same room—it had memories. And intimacy. But I had to keep them safe.

  "I'm sorry, Alec."

  "Navi, no offense, but you're, like, half my size. You said you don't have super powers until the moon rises, so what, exactly, are you going to do to protect me?"

  I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at him. "I might be half your size and weigh less than you do, but I've been fighting demons for over ten freaking years, Alec. If one attacks, I can fight it off, super powers or no."

  I expected more arguing. Clearly the thought of spending the day stuck in a room with me—even sleeping—was not pleasant. If Bryson had a problem with it, I could understand why Alec would be hesitant. His girlfriend was going to love it.

  And of
course he would tell her. Because he didn't keep secrets like I did.

  "I promise, I will stay on my side of the room," I said more gently.

  "That's not what I'm worried about," he grumbled as he turned and sorta stumbled away. "You can sleep in my shirt again if you want."

  I froze. That memory nearly demolished me. He froze, too, which told me he wasn't completely unaffected, either. Hastily, I cleared my throat, trying to keep the pain from climbing its way out. "It's okay. I have pajamas here."

  "What?" he asked without turning. He was asking me that a lot lately.

  "You're gone a lot." Bryson shrugged as he wafted past Alec. It sounded so much worse than it was. Bryson and I had never done a thing.

  "I told you she couldn't be here, Bryson." Alec's voice was deadly in the quiet apartment. And it tore through my chest like one of those arrows that have the split, spread tips, leaving a horrible gaping wound that only I could see.

  "It's not like that, Alec. I only—" I started but he shook his head, glaring at Bryson.

  I was too tired for this. I went into Bryson's room and dug through the drawer he'd designated for me, pulling out my fluffy pajama pants and a tank top and thank the heavens, a toothbrush.

  "Can I take a shower without you standing guard?" Alec asked when I emerged. He was leaning against the door frame, eyes dark and unreadable.

  There were no windows in the bathroom, so I nodded without looking at him and went to wait on the couch. Bryson appeared next to me, looking forlorn. "Hey." I rolled my head to the side so I could watch him. "How ya holdin' up?"

  "I've been better. Do you think she's safe at the hospital?"

  "Yes. And Death will know what to do." I smiled encouragingly. "We'll get this all figured out in no time."

  "Yeah. And while we're doing that, how about you remember that you swore him off? He's gonna hurt you again, Navi."

  I sat up, blinking because I couldn't even think of a cohesive response to that. "What?" I finally asked. It was as good as I could come up with.

  "I'm only saying this because I've been there while you tried to get over him. I've seen the worry in Konstanz's eyes, and the pain in yours." He eyed me. "And I mean this is in the most supportive way possible, but what can you really do? You're tiny."

  Seriously. The big guys thinking I was a helpless little girl was getting old. So old. "Bryson, I understand that you are struggling right now with everything that has happened," I said through gritted teeth, "But trust me when I say I am doing the job I was born to do, despite how inefficient you both think me to be."

  "I don't think anything, Navi. " I'd been so mad at Bryson I hadn't even heard Alec get out of the shower until his voice was right behind me. "Except that I'm tired, so you must be exhausted. Ready?"

  I peeked over my shoulder. He was towel drying his hair, his basketball shorts resting low on his hips and he wasn't wearing a shirt.

  Dear sweet heavens.

  I closed my eyes and prayed for strength or a cold shower or a semblance of rational thought. None appeared, so I nodded meekly and followed him into his room. It hadn't changed at all since I'd been there last. The bed was unmade. That was about it.

  "Bryson, can I borrow your comforter and pillow?" I asked, but he didn't answer. I stuck my head back into the living room, but he wasn't there. "Awesome."

  "You can sleep in my bed." Alec sounded like he was forcing the words past a lump the size of Mount Fiji in his throat. "I'll sleep on the floor."

  Strength. Cold shower. Rational thought.

  Nothing.

  "No, no," I yelped. "No. Despite the fact that you don't think I can protect you, I need to stay between you and the window."

  "I never said you couldn't protect me, Navi."

  "Well then good. You won't argue with me."

  He swallowed hard, looking from the bed to the floor to me and back again. "I'll sleep by the wall. You can sleep on the bed between me and the window."

  By the wall. In the bed. In the bed next to me. "We can build a pillow fort if it'd make you more comfortable." I could swear I heard hope in his voice. Or vulnerability. Or maybe that was my hope or vulnerability and I was projecting it onto him.

  I was so confused.

  And tired.

  And weak. So weak.

  Because I nodded. "Okay," I whispered. "I'll sleep next to you."

  I should have known I wouldn't get any sleep. And not because Alec was lying next to me, as tense as that made everything. Not even because Bryson had figured out how to interact with objects and was making as much noise as ghostly possible in the other room.

  No, I should have known because I know demons. And when they hunted, they were fast and ruthless.

  Alec's clock read 4:56 p.m. when I heard the scratching at the window. It sent chills of terror up my spine, but Alec was snoring lightly and didn't hear it. Praying I was wrong or paranoid or anything else, I slid out of bed, being careful not to wake Alec, and crossed the room to the window.

  A face, distorted and discolored, stared back at me.

  It was still struggling to figure out how to use its fingers, so it scrabbled at the window where it clung, two stories up. Swallowing my revulsion, I inched closer, my breath caught in my throat, so I could see around it. "Please be alone. Please be alone." My face was dangerously close to its face, only separated by the thick glass, and I could see into its very soul through the red, glowing eyes. Tearing my gaze away, I checked the ground below, wincing as it squealed right next to my head and bashed its face against the glass.

  The other one I'd lost last night stood below it.

  Awesome.

  "Navi?" Bryson asked, appearing next to me.

  And promptly started screaming. His screams woke Alec, who swore in three different languages as he sat up. "What the hell?" he finally sputtered.

  "You need to go into the living room. Get your shoes on and your car keys and be ready to run." Despite the way my heart was pounding in my chest, I sounded perfectly calm. Go me.

  "Holy shit!" Alec yelled. Ah, so he'd just now noticed the demons clawing at his window.

  "Alec, go!" I yelled, abandoning all sense of calm. I heard him crash out of the bed and stumble around, probably trying to free himself from the blankets he'd been tangled in, but I couldn't look away to check. If I looked away, the asuwangs would make their move and I would miss it.

  And we'd die.

  "Navi, come on. We'll run."

  "Alec, they'll chase us. If I fight them—"

  He was having none of that. "No." He snarled behind me. "I'm not going to leave you here to face them." He grabbed me around the waist and hauled me out of the room, grabbing his keys off the table. "I'm gonna put you down and we're gonna run like hell to my truck. Do you understand me?" His voice didn't sound calm at all. He sounded scared out of his mind.

  "Alec, I can fight them. It will give you enough time to run—"

  "Dammit, Navi!" he yelled, cutting me off, somewhat impolitely. "I know you can fight them. But there's not enough willpower in the world to make me leave you so if you don't want me in there fighting with you, you're running with me."

  The window broke.

  Alec spun, grabbing my wrist, and we sprinted out the door. He leaped down six stairs, dragging me with him, half-turning to catch me when he realized my legs weren't nearly as long as his. I shoved him forward and he raced to his truck as the creatures crashed through the door above us.

  Metal splinters rained down on my head. I skidded to a stop, searching desperately for anything that could be dangerous at all. Squealing when I heard the asuwangs on the stairs, I grabbed a metal shard that looked like it could be useful and smashed it on the ground twice, shattering the blunt end into sharp, lethal looking pieces. I whirled around, hurled it end over end at the first asuwang's face as it appeared on the stairwell. It screamed and clawed at the shard, but I'd blinded it, and it fell the rest of the way down the stairs, shoving the piece further in.


  Right into its brain.

  It wasn't dead. It could only be killed by soul blades, and I had none. But it was immobilized for who knew how long.

  Unfortunately, the other one wasn't, and it didn't even seem to notice that its friend was laying with a stick shoved into its head. The human form leaped over the twitching demon and ran straight at me, zombie-like in the unfamiliar shape, but still faster than I'd been expecting.

  "Go. We'll take care of this one." Elizabeth was suddenly just there, Bryson already running toward the fallen demon, and I spun away and ran for all I was worth toward Alec's truck. He leaned across the driver's seat, swearing at me as he shoved open the door.

  I leaped in like a hurdler and he slammed on the gas. The truck rocketed out of the parking lot while I struggled to pull the door shut behind me. Alec had a death grip on my wrist, like he thought I might get any crazy ideas about jumping out or something.

  "You couldn't just run. You had to stay and fight. They almost had you, Navi!" he bellowed as he drove like a madman through rush hour traffic. Which, in Astoria, was thankfully very light.

  I slumped against the seat, breathing hard. "I need some weapons. And maybe some shoes. Can you take me to my apartment?" I worried for my ghosts. Elizabeth could take down the one I'd hurt and keep it down until dusk when their weapons would allow them to kill it, but what if the other one stayed to fight? What if he took her soul? And Bryson wasn't trained at all, but he'd jumped right in after Elizabeth. I shouldn't have left them. But if I'd stayed, Alec would have been in even more danger.

  Why had no one figured out how to clone me yet?

  "I thought you said your sword things didn't come until nighttime?" He spun the wheel hard as we careened around a corner, watching the rear view mirror more than he was watching the road in front of us.

  "They don't. But I have other weapons that can slow them down until I get my swords. Something a little better than broken door bits."