Released Souls

by Karice Bolton

  “How did you find us?” I asked, but my body collapsed before I could hear her answer.

  I heard a slight humming from a woman’s voice and attempted to open my eyes, but I was still too out of it. I couldn’t even get my lids to flutter. I was propped upright in a swivel chair of some sort, and my hands were tied behind my back to the chair. This wasn’t a good position to be in. Not to mention I still didn’t know where Logan was. If he returned to the house and didn’t find me, he might not think much of it. After all, the letter said that was my plan.

  “Looks like someone’s trying to wake up,” Lara said. “Did you have a restful sleep? That stuff is supposed to do wonders.”

  I shook my head slightly, not because I wanted to. It just happened naturally.

  “Well, it looks like that letter certainly did wonders for you two lovebirds,” her words stabbed me in the heart. Of course it was her, but how did she find out about it? I knew spells existed to resurrect things from flames and such, but how’d she know that it existed in the first place.

  “Do you miss him or are you relieved? That’s the real sign,” she continued, but my body remained motionless. She laughed loudly.

  “Do you miss him?”

  My head nodded yes even though I tried to stop it. I didn’t want to give her the satisfaction of supplying any answers.

  “Are you relieved?” she laughed. “I bet on some level you are.”

  My head shook violently no, still not under my control.

  Besides knocking me out there had to have been some kind of truth serum in the mixture or something. Not good.

  I could hear her rustling around in a bag and then it turned silent, right before I felt another prick of a needle jabbed into my neck.

  My eyes flashed open, revealing Lara’s evil grin right in front of me.

  Logan was right. The age of witchcraft had certainly changed.

  “It’s good to see you’re back with us.”

  I looked through my heavy lids around the room, hoping it was somewhere I recognized, but it wasn’t. It looked like I was in an attic with only the circular windows at the peak. The walls were white and so was the carpet. It was a really sterile place. I saw two metal file cabinets and a desk where Lara appeared to be working on something before my wake up call. There were a few blue pillows scattered around the floor, and a black cat sleeping on one of them. I immediately began feeling sorry for the feline.

  Lara swung her legs over the armrest of the chair and swiveled around so she could sit and stare at me. If this was all that was going to be happening, it was going to be a very long day.

  “Where are we?” I asked, my voice hoarse.

  “Wouldn’t you like to know,” she replied coyly. There’s no way she’s really related.

  “Yeah. I would like to know…otherwise I wouldn’t have asked.” I raised a brow at her, and her response was to glare at me.

  “What is it you want?” I asked, trying to sound totally bored even though I was completely panicking.

  “Oh, so many things,” she began. “World domination, you dead, Logan as my toy, life forever after. Boy, I could really go on and on.” Her eyes drilled into me.

  Hearing her mention Logan made the frenzy inside of me uncontrollable. The coolness began spilling out of my fingertips, but I couldn’t let her see it. I couldn’t let her find out I had Caneo abilities. For once, I was thankful that my hands were tied behind me. If I were to use these abilities, it would have to be to end her, not to disarm her. I couldn’t let her take this information back to Eben.

  I stared blankly at her.

  “You’re pretty crafty. I’ll give you that. But I don’t see anything so special about you. There’s no reason you’ve got what it takes over me and my experience,” she said, moving her legs from the armrest.

  Here we go again.

  “I know. I know. You’re better than me, cooler than me, more experienced than me… I get it.” I folded my fingers into a ball, hoping that the fury would die down enough. I could feel the metal still dribbling from my fingertips. Drats!

  “You know, though, age isn’t everything. Sometimes it’s just best to know when to retire,” I replied. Her eyes flashed a hatred I could use to my advantage. “Speaking of which, Eben really looked frail last time I saw him.” I raised a brow, shifting my head to one side.

  “You’re only adding to his already fragile state. He’s not a young man and whenever he shapeshifts or really does much of anything at this point, he’s drained of energy. We’ve got ways to combat it, but they’re failing. He used to take the formula once a day. Now he has to take it every hour.”

  Formula?

  “That’s why I need to take you out once and for all. He doesn’t see it. He’s got some romantic notion of you being the next leader for the order, but I know better. If I take you out, he’ll be able to recover enough, and he’ll have no choice but to appoint me.” She was grinning and uncaring. She fully believed that she was going to kill me, so it didn’t bother her that she divulged information. I tried not to let her certainty unnerve me. But it did make me wonder what she had planned.

  The cat got up and arched its back in a long, stress-free stretch and began walking toward the stairs.

  “What’s the cat’s name?” I asked, plastering a fake smile on my lips.

  She shrugged her shoulders. “I have no idea. It’s not my house.”

  Okay. So I was in a house that she wasn’t necessarily connected with. That was a start.

  “Were you ever close with my father?” I asked.

  Her eyes look pained, but she quickly dismissed the hurt.

  “When we were young. Until he married your mother.” The sharpness of her tongue, as she mentioned my mom, made my stomach queasy.

  “Were you jealous?” I asked, twisting my mouth.

  “Absolutely not! Jealous of her? She’s got nothing I want. I mean look at her. She’s a disgrace to witches everywhere,” she was seething. Her chest moved quickly with each exasperated breath.

  Must not be the first one to approach this with her.

  “Well, she has a wonderful family, a thriving business, and never had to kill anybody. I’d call that pretty successful,” I paused and bit my lip. I might as well go for it. If she thinks she’s gonna kill me, might as well not prolong it. “And she got my father. You didn’t.”

  Her eyes became so wide, the white was visible around her entire pupil, and she stood up, shoving the chair into the desk.

  “How dare you!” she screamed.

  I stared at her smiling.

  “Touched a nerve?”

  “You have no idea what you’ve done to yourself.” She was only inches away from me, her eyes narrowing on me.

  “Your priestess? She’s dead! Gone! No more. And she’s just the beginning. We’re going to dismantle your world piece by piece, member by member.”

  Jenna said she got the priestess into hiding. How many others have they killed? I felt the endless drip from my fingertips and kicked the floor, allowing my chair to swivel. I faced the back wall of the attic and kicked off the wall, shoving my fists into her flesh.

  Screams met the energy that was running between us. Once my fingers dug into her thighs, the metal began to spread across her body.

  “A caneo,” she screamed, backing away from the chair.

  I spun myself in the chair to meet her gaze again, and this time the power that was surging through me was unstoppable. I broke through the restraints that were holding me to the chair and stood up to face her.

  “You messed with the wrong witch.” I winked at her and shot the metal at her feet, watching the silver spread across her shoes, anchoring her to the attic floor.

  “You are done once I tell the others,” she cried. She attempted to cast a stillness spell on me, but it didn’t work. She tried calling to the dead to attack me. Nothing. “I will tell everyone, and we will hunt you down!”

  “You think I’m going to provide that opportu
nity?” I shook my head. “You should’ve listened to Eben. I’ve got a certain something.”

  “You think you’re so clever, but did it ever occur to you that we let you take Bakula from us? How do you think I found you,” she snarled.

  I smiled, forcing back the bile that was attempting to take over my sarcastic remarks. She’s lying! We saw the door ajar before we rescued Bakula. She’s just trying to make me doubt my abilities.

  “That’s not true,” I replied. “You were already onto us before we rescued Bakula.”

  I heard the attic door crash open and watched as Logan entered the room. His energy was overpowering, and the nectunt began throbbing— aching— between us. He refused to look at me, but moved quickly toward Lara who began casting spells on him.

  A black haze began to envelop Logan. Her spells worked on him. The haze scattered as it turned into small, winged creatures. I began to panic. Logan still wouldn’t look at me. His eyes were focused on the floor.

  I watched the creatures begin to circle him as he stood there.

  “You’ve done enough here,” Logan growled, gliding over to her with one step. He towered over her, the creatures now reversing their target. “All you seek is to destroy life. It’s time we end that.”

  He shook his head, watching Lara cower in front of him. She knew there was no match for the darkness that he had tapped into. He was fighting evil with evil.

  The horde of creatures began cyclonic motions over Lara’s head. Her whimpers being displaced by anger as she clawed at Logan’s flesh, her fingers grazing his calf.

  “Close your eyes, Triss,” he snarled.

  My stomach plummeted at the way he barked the order. He may be here saving me from myself, but I wasn’t sure if there was anything else holding him here other than the cause.

  Realizing I wasn’t following his order, he flashed me a stare, his eyes completely silver. “Do as I say, Triss.”

  But I couldn’t. I couldn’t let him go to this side of magic for me time and time again. I ran toward him, but he shifted his body quickly, his palm halting me in my path. He froze me.

  His eyes slowly returned back to meet Lara’s as she continued scraping his flesh and chanting curses and spells at Logan, which he deflected.

  “Dive Tenebris,’” his voice dark and distant.

  I watched the creatures obey his command, diving into her soul one at a time, releasing squeals and screams of delight as they were allowed to eat the soul of their latest victim.

  Witnessing this attack created a deep fear as I realized this attack had been meant for Logan. These creatures very easily could be diving at Logan and ripping him to shreds. Still frozen, I was shocked that tears were allowed to escape in this state.

  Lara’s entire existence began peeling away as the dark creatures pulled and plucked at her. Her cries were less forceful, but the screams from the beasts were louder than ever as they feasted on what was left of her spirit. My stomach twisted in knots, and I finally turned away from the sheer disgust of what I was witnessing.

  I felt Logan watching me, and I wasn’t sure what to make of it. I was afraid if I looked up, he’d vanish. The room began quieting as the spirits found their way back to where they came from. Their job here was done.

  The room felt cold, and as if I was stuck in some strange place, some strange world where I didn’t even have the love of the one person I thought I’d never lose. I heard Logan’s breathing change slightly, and I still felt his eyes on me.

  I was so confused. I could have taken care of Lara myself. I was thankful he was here, but he didn’t have to turn to the darkness to end her. I was close to finishing the job.

  The slight hitch in his breath caused me to look up, and my eyes locked with Logan’s. There was no hint of blue, only silver, and a deep sadness lurked behind them. I looked at him, speechless, with no clue how to begin anything. I couldn’t image the pain I had caused him with that letter and yet here we were.

  The distance that had come between us so quickly frightened me, and I wasn’t sure there was a way to stop the emotional gap from widening. I didn’t want to cry in front of him. I wanted to be strong. But then the thought of those creatures being turned toward Logan initially cracked me. If he hadn’t had the ability to reverse the spell, he would’ve met Lara’s fate.

  I wiped away the first tear that was threatening to make an appearance. Thankful that my fingers were no longer stiff, I attempted to wipe away the next one, but it was too late. They were coming too fast. Logan’s lips parted slightly, but he didn’t say a word. I dropped my gaze from his.

  Maybe we were done, and I should be grateful that he’s still willing to be on our side.

  “The priestess is dead,” I said, getting control of my tears. As long as I stuck to business with him, I’d be fine.

  “I know.”

  “Do you mind telling me where I am?” I asked curtly, still not looking at him. My tone jabbed me in my own heart.

  “We should’ve paid attention to the other basement door being ajar that led to the mystery house. You’re actually in the house next to ours on the other side.”

  I pressed my lips together and nodded. “Well, let’s get out of here.”

  I began walking toward the stairs and turned my body sideways as I snaked by Logan, but instead of making it by safely, a pair of hands slid around me.

  “Will you ever forgive me?” he asked.

  My head snapped toward him in surprise, and I met his words with confusion.

  “For what?” I whispered, feeling the strength and warmth in his embrace.

  “Not believing you,” he replied. The heat as he spoke skated across my forehead when he brought me in tighter.

  I began shaking my head. “I’m the one who should be sorry. It was a stupid exercise.”

  He brought his mouth closer, his breath prickling my senses as he thought about what to say next.

  “I went to the Witch Avenue home and found your mom’s box of letters. The first one I picked up and read made me realize how foolish I’d been. It was full of things I knew your mother never did, but it must have been what was rattling around inside of her. The parallels between your letters made me sick. The words I sputtered to you about your father…How can you ever forgive me?” he whispered.

  I broke free, looking into his silver eyes. He took my step back as a refusal to accept his apology. I saw the heartbreak slowly emerge in his eyes.

  “I’m the one who needs to apologize. I never should’ve written it. But seeing all of the things that were shaking me up on paper made me realize how crazy I’d been making myself for no reason,” I confessed, feeling a lump form in my throat. “I thought once I burned it, my craziness would be over, and it kind of was. The thoughts didn’t plague me anymore. When you brought up the letter I didn’t even remember it at first because I had moved on.”

  A distance still remained between us. I could feel his eyes searching me for something.

  “I love you, Logan.”

  A slight smile broke through his lips. “So do you forgive me?”

  I nodded. “Do you forgive me?”

  “You’ve done nothing wrong.” He pulled me into his arms once more, and I began to feel the distance diminish between us.

  “How did you know to look for me?” I asked, my voice muffled from pressing my face into him.

  “I knew even if you’d gone looking for me, you would’ve been back by the time I arrived and you weren’t. I went back down to the basement and saw that the small door was unlocked again so I busted through. Trevor doesn’t even know I’m over here or that you were missing.”

  “Oooh. Maybe we shouldn’t tell him. He’ll get real down on himself for not noticing this whole thing take place.” I grimaced, stretching my neck to look at Logan.

  His eyes twinkled with amusement and he nodded in agreement. “I’ve noticed he’s been a bit more touchy-feely lately.” His brow raised quizzically.

  “You noticed too, huh? I
’m hoping it’s just a passing phase.”

  Logan’s hands slowly moved down my back and off me. “Ready to get going?”

  I nodded. “Do you know where that black cat went?”

  “What black cat?” he asked puzzled.

  “There was one up here, and it took off when things were getting kind of intense between Lara and me,” I stopped, realizing where I was and what I just said.

  “It was Eben.” I let out a deep sigh. “It didn’t occur to me because I had no idea where we were, but…”

  “No one would leave an indoor cat behind for a few months while they’re off in Arizona,” he finished for me.

  “Exactly. And he didn’t even step in to help his own daughter,” I said.

  “Let’s hope he took off before the silver began dripping.”

  We walked down the attic stairs and the main stairs, finding our way through the basement tunnels, and back inside our home.

  “Guess it’s time to move again. I’ll break it to Trevor,” Logan said, heading to Trevor’s house.

  I nodded and realized I better grab the note Dace left for me about my father’s location before we left this place. I had the choice to destroy my dad back in the forest, but something inside me wouldn’t let that happen — not yet anyway. I felt he still had a purpose or maybe it was misguided hope. Regardless, I was grateful that the fairies respected my wishes. It certainly wasn’t what they had hoped.

  Stretching as tall as I could, I felt around the top of the refrigerator and felt nothing. Shoot! Maybe he didn’t leave it for me. I hopped on the counter and looked on top the fridge, finding a folded piece of paper with a key taped to it. I tucked it in my pocket, knowing releasing my father was next on my list.

  Chapter 19

  The graveyard’s darkened paths split in many different directions along the grass and grave markers with only the light of my wand leading the way. Maybe I should have told Logan. The breeze was picking up, and I cinched my coat a little tighter, but it didn’t stop the goose bumps from spreading as worry quickly displaced the chill in the air. A Barrel Owl was hooting off in the distance, and I suddenly felt like it might be the only ally I’d have right now. But this had to be done. I had to speak to my father. I had to know what Eben was after and why he’d stop at nothing to achieve it. And I had to find out why the fairies couldn’t just tell me.