Retriever of the Lost Souls (Retriever Series Book 1)

by Brian

  “Taaaaaliiiiiitttthhhhaaaa”

  “Who are you?” he asked. Silence ensued as Isabella lay still.

  Once again Eoin asked, “Who are you?”

  Slowly, and drawn out again, as if learning to speak for the first time, the staccato voice replied, “I. Am. Talitha.”

  Talitha appeared to have fallen asleep, so he placed his hands on her shoulders and gently shook her once more. Her eyes slowly opened, as they tried to focus on her surroundings. He repeated his question a third time.

  “Who are you?” Eoin whispered as he looked at her intently.

  He suspected they had accidentally opened a portal of some kind. Talitha struggled to free her wrists that Eoin was holding down but was no match for Eoin’s strength.

  He relaxed his grip slightly so as not to hurt Talitha or Isabella’s body.

  Talitha spoke again.

  “I am a Seeker. I have been told to come to you.”

  “Told? By whom?” Eoin asked.

  “By Tedor,” she replied. “I am a Seeker from below.”

  There didn’t seem to be any immediate threat from Talitha, so he let go of her wrists and sat down beside her on the bed. She did not move other than to twist her wrists back and forth, slowly rubbing them with each hand to get the circulation flowing again.

  He waited for her to continue.

  “I am a Seeker of lust. That is part of what I do.”

  He couldn’t help but wonder why else she was there. She paused again.

  “Why do you come to me, then?” Eoin asked.

  His mind was racing. Lilith was his girlfriend, and Isabella was an ex-girlfriend of sorts. Eoin understood that Talitha was a spirit, sent to him from another time and place. He was trying to process this information when Talitha put her hands on his shoulders and pulled him down toward her, her lips slightly parted.

  Eoin was powerless to stop, kissing her as their lips met. He had kissed Isabella countless times, but this was not Isabella. Her hips were grinding against his, fanning his desire like he had never felt before. Next, her hands reached between his legs, gently grasping him, rendering him incapable of further rational thoughts. Warmth enveloped him, as he slid easily into her. As he began moving, she met his every thrust with her hips. His desire was building to a crescendo, and he knew he couldn’t last much longer before releasing his seed.

  “I am not allowed to release,” Talitha said. “I can only give pleasure but am not allowed to feel it.” She whispered breathlessly.

  Unable to hold out any longer, he released his seed with fury inside of Talitha.

  “I have never felt my body respond to anyone like that before. What did you do to me?” He asked.

  She just shrugged.

  “I have been taught in the ways of giving pleasure.”

  “Why can’t you feel passion?”

  Talitha replied very quietly, “With passion, come feelings. With feelings, come emotions, and with emotions come…”

  She stopped, suddenly wide-eyed and very scared.

  Encouraging her to finish, she only responded with, “I must go.”

  He watched with amazement as she drew in a deep breath and let it out. Her head rolled to one side as if she was unconscious. After a moment, her head went back to the center position, she drew in another deep breath, and her eyes popped open.

  Chapter 36

  Eoin knew that Isabella was back and looked at her in astonishment.

  “Are you ok?” he asked tentatively.

  “What just happened, Eoin?”

  He was silent at first, wanting to choose his words carefully so as not to scare her.

  “Eoin, something happened. What. Just. Happened?”

  “Well,” he continued, “I am not entirely sure what just happened.”

  His words were labored and ragged. How could he explain to Isabella what happened when he couldn’t understand himself?

  “I think that…. there…. was some entity or spirit… that came to you.”

  He winced as he realized how ridiculous that statement sounded, but it was the best he could do.

  Isabella was silent as she looked at him, trying to decide if he was playing with her or not. The last thing she remembered was her body floating, enjoying a feeling of freedom she had never felt before. The rest was blank.

  “Eoin? Did something bad happen to me?”

  “Yes,” he said. “I think so.”

  He told her of the convulsions and of the names that came from her lips. She had no recollection of saying them. He quickly jotted as much as he could remember to keep it fresh in his mind.

  When things slowly came into focus, it became clear to them both that something truly extraordinary had happened. They had opened a portal into another realm. Isabella could feel the fading essence of foreign energy as she made a mental checklist of her body from head to toe, confirming that everything was in working order.

  She once again asked, “What happened?”

  Before Eoin could answer she added, “The body knows….”

  Eoin told her the truth that he had made love to a girl named Talitha.

  At first, Isabella didn’t believe him and felt he was playing a joke on her, or worse, playing with her mind. As he told her more and more of what happened, she slowly began to understand this wasn’t a game to him. Isabella didn’t panic, but she was furious at Eoin for making love to this girl Talitha. She yelled at him telling him that she was already dealing with Lilith and him being together and would not allow anyone else to be with him, whether it was with her body or not. She was about to give him an ultimatum, when suddenly she felt completely exhausted, not knowing that Talitha had drained her of all her energy. Looking at Eoin with a pained and hurt expression, she moved away from him, laid down on the far side of the bed and swiftly fell asleep.

  When they woke the next morning, Isabella was still angry with Eoin. She could contain her ire no longer.

  “I cannot and will not tolerate you sleeping with anybody else! Isn’t two enough for you anyway?” She screamed.

  “I’m truly sorry,” Eoin said remorsefully. “I don’t know what came over me.”

  “I don’t care! Keep it in your pants from now on! I will not stay if you have sex with just anybody who shows up at the door!”

  Eoin once more attempted to explain as best he could just what transpired the previous evening. Isabella could see that he was serious and softened a little.

  “Okay. I can see that you’re not joking and I’m not sure I believe your story, but I do believe that something happened. Also, it’s your birthday and Lilith will soon be over, so for now, I’m going to go home but I will see you tonight.”

  She gathered up her things, kissed him on the cheek, and even though she was still angry with him, she reluctantly left.

  Chapter 37

  When Lilith came over later that morning, she immediately knew Isabella had been there. Eoin tried in many ways to convince her otherwise, but she wouldn’t give in. Then, without warning, when she turned to him, her eyes momentarily flashed red.

  “Let’s drop this for now,” she said.

  Lilith was extremely angry, but she knew she had to keep it in check or he would see the other side of her. She had seen firsthand what the small vial of managa had done to him for a short while, but it did not last long enough. This time she had ordered a much larger vial of the evil drug. Her hand in her pocket, she began to rub the smooth glass of the large vial that had just been delivered to her early that morning, thus keeping her anger reigned in as tightly as possible.

  The two sisters were in constant communication finalizing their plans while ensuring that Eoin wouldn’t find out about the party. Isabella arrived at the bar early to reserve the tables and became nervous when they hadn’t shown by the time friends began arriving. The plan was to make Eoin believe that Isabella was intoxicated and unable to drive home. Lilith and Eoin finally came about an hour past the appointed time, and even though several of
Eoin’s friends had already left, they still had an enjoyable time laughing, dancing and flirting, not only within the party but with many of the patrons of the bar that knew Eoin as well.

  Throughout the night Lilith could see as well as feel, the attraction between Eoin and Isabella. She knew that she had to do something fast. After dancing with Eoin a few times, Lilith motioned for Isabella to take her spot. She watched them with a sly grin on her face as she pulled the vial from her pocket and poured the full contents into Eoin’s beer. Since the managa worked only on its intended target, she picked up his beer and walked to the dance floor where they were dancing. She looked at Isabella and said with a smirk “my turn” and winked at him. Defeated Isabella walked back to her seat. Lilith handed him his half-filled beer and he quickly drank it all in one gulp. The change in Eoin was immediate and he no longer looked, flirted, or laughed with anyone at the bar. Isabella tried to catch his attention, but he would not turn his head from his loving target. Lilith smiled slyly at Isabella and told her they had to go home and celebrate his birthday in private. Isabella was crushed and told the few remaining that she was going home.

  When they arrived back at his home, he felt her ire as she glared at him. Eoin didn't know what he had done wrong, as they had seemed to be enjoying themselves. He was afraid that he would lose her so as they lay in bed, he clung to her.

  “I love you, Lilith. I don’t know what I did to make you angry, but I want to marry you and be a father to your children.” Eoin said with growing trepidation, hoping his words would make her calm down.

  He began to feel overwhelmed with emotion from the evening and put his arms around Lilith to hold her as she fell asleep.

  Shaymo made an appearance, looked in the mirror and smiled at the reflection. Lilith smiled at her husband and told him that all was working as expected, then made passionate love to him. When they finished he placed the memories in Eoin’s head and left. When Eoin came back, he took her back in his arms and eventually fell asleep. He woke at 3 AM from a deep sleep feeling as if someone was staring at him. Lilith was awake and glaring at him.

  “What’s the matter?” he asked again afraid of making her angry at him, for he wanted to please her as much as he could.

  “Nothing,” she said with a pout on her face.

  “You’re angry with me. Please don’t be angry with me” he begged.

  She didn’t say anything as she began to gather her belongings.

  “What are you doing?” He asked, feeling panicked.

  “I’m leaving,” she said quite emphatically.

  “Did I do something wrong?”

  “I know that you and Isabella have been seeing each other for quite a while now, and I’m tired of this. When I drove Isabella home the other night, she showed me all your texts, so don’t try to deny it,” she said, toying with him.

  He felt guilty and scared of losing her. After much begging, he convinced her to stay.

  “I’ll stay on one condition,” She said. “You will send her a text and tell her you won’t see or talk to her any more. I’m a one-woman man, and I grow weary of sharing you with her.”

  She handed Eoin his phone and watched as he composed the message. After he was done, he took a deep breath but hadn’t yet sent it.

  “Let me see it,” she demanded.

  Eoin handed her his phone, and when she was satisfied of its content, she sent the message. Smiling, she undressed and came back to bed, allowing him to hold her once more.

  The next morning when Isabella woke up, she found the text from Eoin, and couldn’t believe her eyes. She quickly sent him a text back, asking what was going on. Isabella waited but received no answer. Finally, she picked up the phone and called him, but her call went directly to voicemail. After many attempts to reach him, she finally called Lilith.

  “Don’t even try. Leave us alone. I know about you and Eoin.”

  She heard a click as the phone went dead. Feeling utterly alone and panicked, she attempted to call Eoin, but there was still no answer. Finally, she received an email from him.

  Dear Isabella,

  I’m terribly sorry for all I have done to you. I’m not sure what happened that night, but I can no longer be with you. Last night I asked Lilith to marry me and she said “yes.”

  I’ve done a lot of soul-searching and believe this to be the right decision for me and my children. Lilith has requested that I have no further contact with you and I will respect her wishes.

  I wish you well.

  Eoin

  Isabella drove to their usual bar to drink and think things over and became very intoxicated. The bartender offered to call her a taxi, but she declined and called her one remaining friend, Evelyn, who agreed to come get her, lecturing her all the way home.

  The loss of Eoin was profound and left a gaping hole in her heart, and Isabella often drove home in a drunken fog night after night. More than once her daughter would help her out of the car, into the house, and put her to bed. Little did Isabella know, but there were those above who were watching over her to make sure she got home safely. One night, after helping her from the car to her bed, Cassie quietly spoke.

  “Mom, I want to talk to you.”

  Her words had a sobering effect as she looked at her daughter expectantly.

  “You keep coming home drunk every night. It’s not fair that I must put you to bed every night. You’re the parent, not me. Do you know what are you showing me? You’re showing me that it’s okay to drink and drive, not to mention that it’s okay to get all crazy over some one that doesn’t care about you. My Aunt Lilith said that you are nothing but a lush and I should just let you do whatever.”

  Isabella eyes widened and then closed. She realized that Lilith was not only taking away the man she loved but was trying to turn her daughter against her.

  Turning to Cassie she said, “First of all, you are right. I have been a poor role model for you. I am sorry, and it stops here. I will not drink anymore, and I will try not to think about Eoin either. Second, I don’t want you talking to your aunt anymore. She is not a nice person and that was wrong of what she told you. Please just leave her and her kids alone.”

  “Yes mama. I love you so much! I’m glad that this talk finally opened your eyes.”

  Chapter 38

  Isabella now saw where her life was headed and after much thinking, she decided to join an online dating site. Being a tall, curvy, Mexican woman, she had no shortage of dates, and even though men found her very alluring, her dates went badly because none of them made her feel as Eoin used to. Some of the dates she had were often comical in nature. There was the guy who had a foot fetish and when he saw her for the first time he told her “Wow, you have gigantor feet”. She quickly ended that date. Then there was the man who told her he loved her ten minutes after he met her. He too met the same fate. After more of the same results, she decided to stop dating for a while.

  Then, as divine providence would have it, her computer crashed, and she was unable to fix it. She started sending a text to Eoin, knowing he knew a lot about computers and was quite skilled in fixing them but vividly remembered his last message to her. Before she could talk herself out of it, she sent the text message anyway, and when he Immediately responded back, her heart soared with happiness.

  Eoin took one look at her computer and knew her hard drive was no longer viable. Eoin told her that she needed a new hard drive.

  Isabella sighed. “I don’t have that kind of money, Eoin. What am I supposed to do?”

  Eoin thought for a moment.

  “I have an idea. I’ll buy it for you on the condition that you come have a mid-day drink at the bar with me,” he said with a hint of gleam in his eyes.

  “Deal. I can only have one drink though. I’ve been a poor role model for Cassie and I promised her I’d not come home drunk anymore.” Isabella quickly called to her daughter, when she saw who she was leaving with she uttered a heavy sigh and rolled her eyes but said nothing else.

/>   True to her word, they only had one drink each, then parted ways knowing that something had kindled once more between them.

  Isabella lay in her bed that night and realized that she had completely and utterly fallen in love with Eoin. When she was with him, everything felt so right, and she knew that if she didn’t fight for him, she would regret it for the rest of her life.

  Eoin was thoroughly enjoying being with Isabella again, and the more time he spent with her, the more he desired to be with her on a permanent basis. But he still could not get Lilith out of his mind. Every time he was near her, nothing else mattered.

  One evening while he and his son were home, Philip approached him wanting to talk.

  “Hey dad, I want to tell you something, but I don’t want you to get you mad.”

  “Ok, I won’t. So, tell me.” Eoin said matter-of-factly.

  “I really don’t like that lady Lilith very much. She is just straight out weird. I don’t want to be around her anymore. Is that okay with you?”

  Eoin looked at his son and understood what he was feeling. He too had an aversion to Lilith, but at the same time he could not stop being with her.

  “I understand Philip. If she comes over just stay in your room or go to Danny’s house down the street.”

  Philip nodded and went back to playing his video games.

  When he started seeing Isabella again, he was able to see Talitha as well, who resumed her attempts to entice Eoin. For some reason he did not fear her, and in fact, could not get rid of the feeling that he had known her before. Complicating this situation even more was that he also felt like he had feelings for Talitha as well. He kept asking her if he had known her sometime before, but she was quite adamant that this was their first encounter together.

  One day he decided to videotape Talitha. So, with Isabella’s permission, he watched through his video camera as Talitha slowly filled Isabella’s body.

  “Hello, Talitha.”