The Soulkeepers Box Set

by G. P. Ching

  But she also had a figure. She reminded Malini of one of those girls in a video game, all muscles and boobs. If that wasn’t enough to make Malini feel inadequate, the girl’s roving peeps landed on Jacob. Her eyes worked their way from his head to his feet, then back up again. When she reached his face, she stood up straighter.

  Malini tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and hugged her stomach. Maybe, after this, she could start working out.

  “This is our new Horseman, Mara Kane. She comes from Chicago. She witnessed the kill.”

  Mara did not attempt to shake anyone’s hand. Instead she reached inside her jacket and pulled out a sucker, the cheap kind they gave away free at the bank. She yanked the wrapper off the red candy top and popped it in her mouth. She rolled it across her tongue as she turned toward Dr. Silva. “When do we start?”

  “It’s nice to meet you, Mara,” Lillian said with exaggerated zeal. She extended her hand to the girl, who shook it without enthusiasm.

  The prompt spurred a rash of similar greetings from the others. Malini smiled and nodded to be polite.

  “Perhaps each of you can demonstrate your gifts. It’s customary when Horsemen meet for the first time,” Dr. Silva said. “Jacob, you first.”

  Jacob removed the flask he kept strapped to his ankle and stepped to the center of the room. Into his hand he poured a pillar of water that rotated before freezing and reshaping into a double-edged sword. He maneuvered the weapon around his body so quickly Malini saw only flashes of white. When he’d completed a turn around the room, he tossed the blade into the air. It revolved to the ceiling where it exploded into a billion bits of white.

  Snow floated down overhead, fluffy white flakes that settled on everything. Mara caught one in her palm but before she could close her fingers, Jacob whistled. The flake jumped from her hand and flew across the room to Jacob’s waiting flask. The remaining flakes followed, until every drop returned to its origin. He screwed the lid back on.

  Malini clapped excitedly until she realized she was the only one applauding.

  “Nicely done, Jacob,” Dr. Silva said. “Lillian?”

  In a flash, Lillian dove forward, executing a series of handsprings between the other Horsemen before landing with a short knife in each hand. Malini noticed the sheaths at her thighs, but hadn’t seen her draw the weapons. Slicing at the air in a whirlwind of acrobatics, she kicked up a random piece of paper from the desk against the wall. Her knives worked swiftly as it floated to the floor. When she was done, she sheathed the knives and lifted the paper up to the light. In perfectly carved letters it said, Hello, Mara. Welcome to Paris.

  Malini applauded again. She couldn’t help herself. Lillian smiled and nodded in her direction.

  “That’s cool,” Mara said around her sucker. She sounded bored.

  “Mara, your turn,” Dr. Silva said.

  Mara pulled the candy from her mouth and folded it into the saved wrapper. She stuffed it back into her pocket.

  Then she disappeared.

  “What the hell?” Jacob rushed forward, toward the spot where she’d been.

  Malini felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around. Mara stood behind her, close enough that turning had caused her to brush the edge of the new Horseman’s open jacket. There was something in her hand, something metal with a wooden handle. Malini tried to see what it was but in the blink of an eye Mara was gone again.

  Jacob’s laugh brought Malini’s attention back to the center of the room. Mara’s arm was around his neck, the metal object enclosed in a fist in the center of his back.

  “Is it super-speed?” Lillian asked.

  “Invisibility?” Jacob guessed.

  In a flash, Mara was gone again, reappearing a moment later standing on Dr. Silva’s desk. With her hands on her hips, she flashed a smug grin. “Guess again.”

  The answer popped into Malini’s head without any effort on her part. “She’s stopping time.”

  Everyone turned toward Malini.

  “How did you figure it out?” Gideon asked in a deep bass that reverberated in the circular room.

  Malini rubbed her hands together, uncomfortable with the attention, and tried to answer honestly. “It just popped into my head. But, now that I think about it, I noticed that the papers on the desk didn’t move. Invisible or not, if she’d moved fast enough to get across the room that quickly, she would have upset the stack on the corner. She must have got up there carefully, which would have taken time, time she must have made for herself.”

  Mara retrieved the sucker from her pocket, unwrapped it noisily, and slid it into the side of her mouth. “She’s smarter than she looks.”

  Malini folded her arms against the backhanded compliment.

  “How does it work?” Jacob asked, oblivious to the tension between the two girls.

  Mara rolled her eyes as if Jacob’s question marked him as a complete oaf. She held out her hand. The metal object that Malini glimpsed was cradled in her fingers.

  “An enchanted bell?” Jacob asked.

  “The bell isn’t enchanted, I am,” she scoffed. She lowered her chin in Jacob’s direction. “Well, if you count being a Horseman enchanted. I can use any bell. It’s the act of my ringing it that stops and restarts time.”

  Malini watched a blush crawl across Jacob’s cheeks. Mara had embarrassed him on purpose. Jacob hadn’t met any other Horsemen. He didn’t know how it worked. It wasn’t his fault he thought it was the bell. She suspected Mara enjoyed correcting Jacob. It probably made her feel good about herself.

  Worse, she was afraid the blush on Jacob’s face was from more than just embarrassment. Malini didn’t usually make snap judgments about people, but she didn’t like this new Soulkeeper. In fact, at the moment, if Mara had burst into flames, someone else would’ve had to put her out.

  “Something wrong, Malini?” Gideon asked. He’d filed in next to her, following the other Soulkeepers toward the spiral staircase.

  Up ahead, Mara walked side by side with Jacob. She was laughing too loudly. Jacob wasn’t that funny.

  “Look how she touches him every two seconds. What’s that all about?” Malini complained.

  “It appears Mara is physically attracted to Jacob,” Gideon said.

  “Thank you, Mr. Obvious. Would you like a spoon to gouge my heart out with?”

  “I’m sensing sarcasm in your voice, Malini. Were you expecting me to lie to you? I’m not familiar with all of your human conventions yet. Abigail is much better at untruths than I am.”

  Malini sighed and stopped Gideon at the top of the stairs. “I don’t want you to lie, but some reassurance would be nice.”

  “He loves you, Malini.” Gideon’s eyes grew wide with the statement. “Clearly, he does. He does not return her affections.”

  “Hmph. How do you know for sure? Look at her! And she’s a Horseman, just like him.”

  “Beauty is subjective and you are a Soulkeeper of some kind.” Gideon laid a hand on her shoulder and her entire body was infused with warmth.

  “I’m not. If I were, Dr. Silva would have figured it out by now. Gideon, she doesn’t even meet with me anymore. She makes excuse after excuse and is obviously uncomfortable around me. She knows. I’m nothing.”

  “Sometimes these things happen in their own time. You must not give up. You must trust that you were put here for a reason.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes.”

  Malini started down the steps. “What you angels fail to admit is sometimes the reason is to take a bullet for someone else.”

  He nodded in agreement.

  “I hate it when you agree with me.”

  They reached the base of the staircase. Malini was about to jump through the wall when Gideon nudged her arm.

  “Malini, remember that I am an angel in love with someone I have never been able to touch, someone I thought was worth … everything. When I came for Abigail, I knew I might be throwing away eternity for the chance at a life I might never earn.
How much more must Jacob love you? You, who have proven yourself to be his purpose and his destiny. You, who he can touch and hold. Nothing stands in your way but a few years and your parents’ fleeting punishment. Why should you worry?”

  Tears welled in Malini’s eyes as she thought about the centuries Gideon had waited for Dr. Silva and the day in Nod when Jacob had said he was her destiny, her protector. She thought of the parchment given to her by a Buddhist monk when she was six. On it was the Sanskrit word apas, meaning water. The monk told her it was her destiny. She knew now that it meant Jacob.

  “You’re right,” she said. She had no reason to be jealous. She had no reason to be anything but thankful. “Jacob and I were meant for each other. No one can come between us.”

  Gideon smiled. “Not unless you let them.”

  He led the way to the other side of the wall.

  Chapter 3

  The Mission

  The group of Soulkeepers moved to the parlor, where Dr. Silva said they would be more comfortable. Certainly the plush seats were better than standing in the tower. She’d brought out some tea and lemonade, along with a tray of cookies that smelled strongly of dark spices. Malini remembered the tea Dr. Silva had made her drink in Nod, how whatever was in it made her heart race like it wanted out of her chest. She decided to stick to the lemonade. Dr. Silva was a whiz at creating herbal concoctions with medicinal properties. Usually she used them for the greater good. Usually.

  When they were settled, Dr. Silva spread a newspaper on the coffee table. The headline read: SERIAL KILLER BAFFLES CHICAGO PD.

  “There’s a killer in Chicago,” Dr. Silva began. “There’ve been four deaths so far. The police believe a psychopath is murdering homeless people. We believe there is a Watcher living in the city, feeding in order to stay above ground. Our mission is to find and kill the Watcher before it strikes again.”

  “How do you know it was a Watcher and not a human murderer?” Jacob asked.

  Mara chewed what remained of her sucker and tossed the stick on Dr. Silva’s silver tray. “That would be because of me. I live in the area and I felt … drawn to the last kill. I didn’t see the killing but when I arrived, the wounds were fresh. The police hadn’t been there yet to mess up the scene for me. Every instinct I had told me it was a Watcher. I stopped time and searched for the monster until my power was exhausted but I couldn’t find it.”

  “I thought most Horsemen couldn’t sense Watchers?” Malini said.

  “They can’t,” Dr. Silva explained. “But they can sense evil. They are drawn to it like a moth to a flame.”

  “But what makes you so sure?” Lillian asked Mara. “Instinct can be wrong. If you didn’t see it—”

  “The flesh had been stripped away,” Mara rattled off, “and the throat cut. The police think the throat was cut first and it was rats that ate away the flesh after the death. I was there. The cuts were clean. The rats came after. Watchers always eat their victims alive. I think the injury on the neck was to cover the marks from crushing his wind pipe so no one could hear him scream.”

  Malini shuddered in disgust and Jacob placed his hand over hers on her thigh.

  “I’m sorry I upset your delicate sensibilities,” Mara said through a cynical grin. “Hey, what’s your gift anyway, besides emanating super-sweet feminine energy?”

  Lillian scooted to the edge of the couch, leaning toward Mara and meeting her eyes. “Mara, I don’t know how things are where you come from but here that was incredibly rude. Malini is in transition. She doesn’t know what she is yet and she isn’t jaded like you are.”

  Mara didn’t apologize. Instead, she locked eyes with Lillian in an unblinking challenge.

  “We should have properly introduced Malini upstairs,” Dr. Silva said. “Lillian, Mara has been the only Soulkeeper in Chicago for some time. You have to agree that the stress of this find might cause any of us to react in ways we normally wouldn’t.”

  “Of course,” Lillian said. She blinked and looked away, effectively ending the stare-off.

  Mara fixated on the zipper of her jacket, flipping the silver pull forward and back between her fingers. “I’m sorry,” she said toward the floor.

  Malini sighed. “It’s okay.”

  Jacob’s attention bounced between them like a doubles tennis match. He finally exchanged frustrated looks with Gideon. “So, what can we do? How do we find and stop it?”

  “The one thing we can count on is that the Watcher will be lazy and arrogant,” Gideon said. “It won’t have moved far from the feed, but the illusion it uses will make it hard to find. We’ll work in teams. Dr. Silva, Malini, and myself can detect the Watchers. We’ll each pair with a Horseman, branching out in separate directions from the site of the murder.”

  “Wait, I thought you said she was in transition?” Mara said, pointing a hand at Malini. “If Malini’s not ready, why are you putting her out front?”

  “She can smell Watchers, Mara. We need to use her ability to balance the teams,” Dr. Silva responded.

  Jacob leapt to his feet. “I agree with Mara. Malini isn’t ready. We don’t even fully understand what her abilities are. She can’t protect herself. It’s too dangerous.”

  “Jacob, don’t you think I should make that decision for myself?” Malini said. “Maybe if I’m put in a situation like this it will trigger what I am. I have to be useful for something.”

  “It’s too dangerous!” Jacob insisted, pacing to the gold mantel. A groan came from the pipes as he passed near the wall.

  “Please, Jacob—my plumbing. If you’re going to have a tantrum, go outside,” Dr. Silva said.

  Gideon crossed the room and placed a hand on Jacob’s shoulder. “It’s her purpose, Jacob. Give her the chance to find it, just like you did.”

  Jacob’s hands clenched into fists. He turned to face Malini. “If you’re going to do this, do it with me. I want you to be my partner.”

  “Okay. We’ll do this together,” Malini said.

  “I want Dr. Silva,” Mara said. “No way am I charging up Cicero Avenue with super-glow-bright over there.”

  Gideon scowled. “I will go as the cat. I won’t be a danger to anyone.”

  “Gideon can pair up with me,” Lillian said. “I’m not afraid of the Watcher finding us. I want it to find us.”

  Mara leaned back in her chair and folded her arms across her chest. “It’s settled. When do we go?”

  “Tomorrow. Sunrise.”

  Malini exchanged glances with Jacob. It was the weekend, the end of spring break. She didn’t have school, but her father wasn’t going to make it easy for her to disappear for an entire day. How many more lies could they pile on before they collapsed under their own weight?

  Chapter 4

  Missing Pieces

  As it turned out, Dr. Silva was a huge help in finding an excuse for Malini to be gone all day. She told Mr. Gupta she needed help in her garden and because Jacob, who had worked for her last year, was now working for his uncle at the flower shop, she was willing to pay an embarrassingly high wage for Malini’s help. Mr. Gupta, whose weakness was an all-American work ethic, had insisted Malini pick up the extra job.

  Malini met the Soulkeepers in the tower, enchanted staff at the ready. Because Mara didn’t have a staff, Dr. Silva and Gideon used their sorcery to send her back the way she’d arrived. Once she was safely on the other side, Malini tapped her staff on the floor, producing a loud crack like a firecracker that made her ears ring, and a split second later joined the others in an alley near the intersection of Fifth and Cicero.

  “This is where it happened.” Mara pointed to a patch of pavement near a dumpster. “That building over there—the one with bars on the windows— it’s a shelter for the homeless. It was full that night. He’d likely gotten something to eat there, then came here to sleep.”

  Malini watched the muscles in Mara’s cheek tighten as she told the story. Maybe Dr. Silva was right. Maybe the chip on Mara’s shoulder was the result of
seeing some horrific stuff.

  “We should check out the shelter. Ask if anyone saw him that day,” Jacob said.

  “Good idea,” Mara chimed in.

  “Wait, you haven’t already done that?” Malini asked. “I thought you found him right after it happened? Why wouldn’t you have asked some questions then?”

  “This place was swarming with cops and news reporters. No way was anyone going to give a kid like me the time of day,” Mara said defensively. She shot Malini a deadly glare that seemed to suck all of the oxygen out of the alley.

  But it was more than Mara’s look that caused Malini to tug at the neck of her hooded jacket. “I feel hot, like I might get sick,” she said.

  “Malini, is it the Watcher? Can you still smell it here?” Jacob asked.

  Nausea often accompanied the noxious odor that told Malini a Watcher was near. She’d noticed it the first time when the Watcher, Auriel, had come to her high school looking for Jacob. Later, she’d guessed Dr. Silva was a fallen angel when her presence produced the same symptoms.

  A cool breeze picked up in the alleyway. The air swept away her nausea and cooled her burning skin. She straightened up. “Yes, Jacob. It’s been here, but I think not recently. I can only smell it when the wind isn’t blowing.”

  “Yes, I believe you’re right, Malini,” Dr. Silva said. “Only remnants of evil.”

  At her feet, Gideon growled in agreement.

  “So we search. Give me your staffs. You don’t want to call attention to yourselves walking around the city with a tree branch in your hand,” Dr. Silva said.

  “How do I get one of those anyway?” Mara asked.

  “You don’t,” Malini quipped in a not-so-nice way.

  “Malini—” Jacob started.

  Dr. Silva saved him from finishing the statement. “Mara, the staffs were made from the branches of a tree that grew out of my dead husband. Sorry, but his soul has moved on, the tree is dead, and we can’t make any more.”