by CC Solomon
“Let them try,” Phillip spat, lowering the lamp to his collar bone. “I’m not scared of them. In fact, maybe it’s time these original soulmates start fearing the new soulmates.”
“So, I guess we’re going to Baltimore,” I announced. And hopefully, we won’t die when we got there.
Chapter 2
The nightmare sent by the original soulmates had certainly rattled me, but I wouldn’t let them change the course of what we planned to do. I still had so much on my plate. I still needed to go to Hagerstown and pack my things. While I was there, I’d have to talk to Colonel Robinson about the regressions while somehow impressing upon him that telling people to keep their magic hidden wasn’t the answer. If anything, it’d lead to in-fighting.
I had to keep an eye on Blake to determine if she was really the female soulmate or simply a pawn to throw us off track. We had to get rid of the all known allies of the originals, especially close ones, like the Baltimore community. And of course, we had to get our own followers too if war really was inevitable. Times like this made my first year of law school back in the Pre-world seem like a walk in the park.
I gave out a quiet laugh as I got dressed for the day. Erik poked his head in the bedroom and raised his eyebrow. “Have you finally lost your mind?” He gave me a slight smile that I liked to think was only reserved for me, since he rarely did more than scowl in his day-to-day.
I shook my head and quickly walked over to him. I wrapped my arms around him and rested my head on his chest. He was tall and handsome with beautiful, golden hazel eyes and muscular arms that I loved having wrapped around me. I still couldn’t quite figure out how he was mine, but he was, and I was his.
He kissed the top of my head.
I still melted slightly when he did that. It was innocent and yet satisfyingly sweet to me. “I haven’t lost my mind. I’m just a bit overwhelmed with the number of things going on. I started a list. I thought we’d have more time.”
“You don’t have to do this alone. That’s what The Six are for.”
I looked up at him, and he kissed me. And just like always, my body tingled. We’d been apart for so long when I had been banished, it was going to take a while to get used to again. Oh, who was I kidding? I was hoping to never get used to his kisses.
He gently pulled away from me and held out an index finger before running to his side of the bed and opening a drawer in the side table. He pulled out what looked like a photo, but I couldn’t tell. He rushed back with a serious face.
He looked shy at that moment. It was incredibly adorable. He pushed the photo out to me, and I took it, looking down. The photo was of a beautiful beach hotel overlooking smooth sand and crystal blue water. “Where’s this?”
“Do you know my favorite place in the world?” he asked me, looking at me with hesitant eyes.
I shook my head slowly. I hadn’t known Erik long enough to know those little, but important, things. Sure, we engaged in small talk in bed or over a meal, but our world was so busy trying to kill us that asking the mundane things was a rare opportunity. And when humankind was still trying to rebuild society, thoughts of vacations seemed like an impossible luxury.
“Well, I would say any place I can be with you, but that might be too corny, although I mean it.” He brushed a stray curl from my forehead, and I smiled up at him in appreciation. “So, this is actually my second favorite place in the world, Costa Rica. I went there on vacation about fifteen years ago.”
“With your ex?”
He shook his head. “No. I went solo. Traveled the whole country for two weeks. Have you been?”
“Nope.”
“It’s got its issues with the paranormal, of course, but people are living and surviving there. I still have some buddies who I was able to reach via email. They’re staying in a community beach town. This is one of the resorts. They say it’s still amazing. I’d like to take you there. They have a room ready for us when this is all done.”
“That’s so awesome. Thank you so much for thinking of me.” I looked back down at the photo. I would love to go on vacation with him. I would love to be anywhere we didn’t have to watch our backs because someone was trying to kill us. The thought of being a normal couple with him seemed almost silly. I couldn’t help but wonder if he’d even still like me when we didn’t have the pressure of a big battle looming over our heads. Maybe he’d come to his senses and find me boring then or that he could get a prettier woman.
“I can’t wait to vacation with you and be boring together.” He gave me a slight grin.
I looked back up at him with wide eyes. Had he been listening to my thoughts? If he had, his face gave away nothing. Not that I wasn’t good at showing my emotions all over my face. I would suck at any game of poker. “You’re kind of amazing, you know that?” I got on my toes and kissed him again.
Someone coughed behind me. “Get a room.” Charles crossed his arms as he stood in the hallway.
Erik looked over to him with an annoyed expression. He playfully pulled me closer to him, if it was possible to get any closer. “This is my apartment.”
Charles snapped his fingers. “Got me there.”
I shook my head. “Why are you here, Charles? I thought you were in Hagerstown packing up to move back here.”
Charles let out a loud sigh and leaned against the frame of the doorway as if standing straight was way too much energy. “Yeah, well, the whole bleeding out dream and Blake being a possible baddie kind of messed me up,” he explained. “So, I teleported here to get some answers. I need you both to come with me to visit Blake. I really don’t believe she’s a soulmate. We have to talk to her, and you guys can get the truth out.”
I reluctantly moved away from the comforting heat of Erik’s body to face my brother. “She doesn’t even know we have the lamp yet, and we are trying to keep that quiet so we can observe her,” I replied. “It’s only been a day. We’d be giving away our hand if we confronted her now.”
“Won’t they figure it out anyway if the lamp is missing?”
“We left behind the box we found it in.”
“Well, assuming she’s the baddie, if she randomly checks it and finds out it’s not there, then she will know something is up. Then what?”
Fair point. “I get that, which is why we aren’t going to be in observation mode for too long.”
“If you confront her, she might fight back, and we need to be ready for that,” Erik stated, flopping down on the bed. It wasn’t a graceful move, but somehow, he made it look sexy. I wanted to push him on his back and climb on top of him. Not the time or place, Amina, I reminded my dirty minded self. Focusing on the larger issues at hand was starting to become a struggle for me.
“Yeah, well, it’ll be worse if she finds out we took it instead of us telling her on our own terms. Again, assuming she’s the baddie,” Charles countered pushing away from the door frame.
Erik cleared his throat. “Can I say the thing we’re not supposed to say because it has to be said.”
I cocked an eyebrow. It was not like Erik to be so indirect with his words. “Uh-oh, you’re about to say something we don’t want to hear.”
“I’m only thinking strategically. That’s the military guy in me.”
“Spit it out, dude,” Charles replied.
“We visit Blake, she doesn’t know we’re on to her. We kill her. Both soulmates die when one dies. Problem solved.” He gave us both a grim look before shrugging. “This might be our only shot to fight back with no casualties.”
“Except for Blake getting killed.” Charles pushed his sunglasses, currently propped on his head, down over his eyes. “I don’t need this kind of stress in my life, man. Let’s resolve this.”
It was understandable that he wouldn’t take the idea of killing his girlfriend, friends with benefits, or whatever she was to him, so lightly. “But if she is a soulmate, she wasn’t honest with us in the first place. There’s no loss there,” Erik countered.
“A
nd what if she’s innocent?” I was banking on her being a soulmate, but the thought of killing her still made me a little queasy. “Then we’ve killed a friend and given away our hand. Not to mention we would probably get killed by Seth for killing his right hand. First, let’s see if she’s even evil, which you should be able to sense, and Phillip should be able to tell since he’s her consort.”
“You are one dark dude,” Charles grumbled glaring at Erik. At least I think he was, glaring at him behind those glasses. His head was lowered in Erik’s direction. “My sister might be better off single.”
“Really, man?” I said, more than asked.
“I had to say it,” Erik stated with an unapologetic face.
I patted his back. “And it has to be considered, but I’m not sure we want to go down that path. Phillip and I should talk to Blake. Two soulmates against one might be to our advantage.”
Charles swore and shifted in his stance. “Oh, God, I hate that dude, but you’re probably right. Let’s get the asshole.”
I tilted my head. What was the rush? “Charles, it’s nine a.m. Most vampires are asleep this time of day. I can’t figure out why you’re awake. Go back to sleep. We’ll talk to her this evening. Let’s meet at five and head over. I’ll bring Phillip. If we sense evil in her—and not the curse kind of evil that Phillip had but something more— then we might have to do the thing we aren’t supposed to say.”
Charles gave us a suspicious look and then pointed at both of us as he backed away to leave. “We don’t kill her until we’re absolutely sure.”
I put my hands up in surrender. “Okay, okay.”
As much as I wanted to take out the soulmates the quick and effortless way, I would never forgive myself for harming an innocent person. I really hoped Blake was not the soulmate. But if it wasn’t her, then who the hell was it? We were running on borrowed time now to figure that out.
Erik went to work before I left. Just as I headed out of the apartment to go to Hagerstown, Phillip appeared at my door.
“What?” I asked, trying to contain a sigh. I tried my best to reduce my Phillip time, and unscheduled house calls really messed with that effort.
“Today is a good day to do something nice for those in need. We got a minor victory by getting the lamp and Ahmed to our side, so it’s time to spread the joy and do some healing with our soulmate magic,” he stated with hands spread out. He looked like he was about to stand on the pulpit and testify.
I twisted my lips. His joy was not making its way over to me, I had things to do. “So, the nightmare didn’t get you renewed to focus on fighting these guys?”
He lowered his hands. “Well, doing good helps us get followers. Where were you headed?”
He didn’t really need to know about my off-mission visit to Hagerstown. “None of your business. I already have plans, so can’t help you.”
He gave me his best puppy dog eyes, blinking rapidly.
“You’re a grown ass man, that’s not gonna work on me.”
He rolled his eyes. “Look, I’ve been a shit for a while, and I need to make amends. Only, I can’t do what I need to do without your help. Can your errand possibly wait until later so that we can help someone in need? They’re suffering.”
“Well, when you put it that way,” I started. After that dream, where I was so helpless, maybe actually doing some good with my magic might be just what I needed. I suppose there was time for packing up later. “Okay let’s be do-gooders for the day. This evening we’ve got to confront a possible soulmate.”
“Huh, you want to visit Blake?”
“We need to get some answers. The clock is ticking, and Charles is going to crack if we don’t.” I purposely left out the part about Erik wanting to kill her. I figured Phillip wouldn’t take too kindly to the idea of us offing his bestie. I closed the door behind me and moved out into the hallway. “So, where to?”
Our first mission of the day was to attempt to actually grow back a hand that Phillip had ordered chopped off. The victim had gone against town rules, using magic to aid a fighter during a challenge for a high-ranking position in the Were pack. However, it was Phillip who had controlled Wilfred into misusing the magic, just as he had controlled the were who’d bitten Lisa.
When we visited Wilfred in his apartment, he’d actually looked in good spirits. It had been half a year since the incident, but he had seemed to be getting on very well without a left hand.
Wilfred welcomed us with tea.
After we’d covered pleasantries, Phillip cut to the chase. “We’re here to heal you.” He leaned on the dining room table. He was such a good actor. We had no clue if we could actually grow back a limb. There were very few beings who had that kind of power.
The short man pushed his glasses back up his nose. “You both are working together now?”
“Yes. Look, I wasn’t myself before. Amina is helping me. I now promise to be a better person, but I first want to right all my wrongs if I can.”
Wilfred looked over to me with sorrowful eyes. “I don’t remember using magic, Amina. I wouldn’t do that to Erik. He’s a good guy. I don’t know what came over me. I deserved to lose my hand.”
I leaned forward and patted him on the arm. “No, you didn’t. It was all a misunderstanding.” If I told him the truth, he’d never get it. My friends sure weren’t convinced yet of Phillip being bespelled, and they trusted me. I patted Wilfred’s hand. “We are going to try to help you now. Our magic—Phillip’s and mine— can do really remarkable things when we work together. We’ve never done this before, but it’s important we try.”
“Let’s begin,” Phillip stated. “This may itch some.”
Phillip opened his hand to me, and I took it. We hovered our free hands over the space where Wilfred’s missing hand would be. I closed my eyes and connected to our magic. I steadied my breathing as Liz taught us and opened my aura to Phillip. My magic poured through me with a ticklish energy, followed by a comforting warmth; Phillip’s power. In my mind’s eye, I focused on Wilfred’s hand. I pictured bone, muscle, skin.
Wilfred shouted out in pain.
I faltered slightly, shaken by the man’s screams.
Phillip tightened his grip. “Don’t move. Either of you.”
Wilfred let out a series of curses. He stomped the floor and pounded his right hand on the table.
“Steady, man. It’s working.”
Thirty minutes in, and Wilfred’s hand was back. Well, almost. It was thinner than it should’ve been and a bloody mess, devoid of skin. It was only blood, muscle, and skeleton. However, it was getting there.
“The rest of your hand will heal with time, but we got the framework back,” Phillip explained. “We can come back and check in on you, but, for now, keep it wrapped.”
Wilfred looked at his hand in amazement, his mouth gaping. “I’ve never seen anything like this. You both are amazing.” He looked over to us and frowned. “Your eyes are purple.”
Phillip nodded. “Soulmate magic.”
His eyes widened. “You’re soulmates?”
He seemed genuinely surprised. I’d thought by now that everyone knew.
Phillip smirked. “Did we leave that part out?”
Wilfred gave us confused eyes and scratched his head with his right hand. “What does that mean, exactly?”
“It means we are stronger if we work together,” I explained.
“Will you forgive me of my prior wrongs and support me?” Phillip asked.
I narrowed my eyes at Phillip. He certainly looked sincere. While I trusted him more now, I still wanted to ensure that he wouldn’t use mind control to take back the town. He certainly wasn’t a saint now, no matter how hard he pretended. However, I sensed no magic being used. He was giving Wilfred the option on his own.
Wilfred looked down at his hand, then looked over to me. “Are you going to be running the town with him?”
I opened my mouth to say no, but Phillip spoke up instead. “Yes. She’ll be by my sid
e.” He put his hand over mine. “As my partner.”
That was certainly not part of the plan. What the hell was he talking about? Running the town was not on my vision board. I just wanted to teach and defend the town against these soulmates, the end. I tried to hold back a frown. If I argued in front of Wilfred that wouldn’t help Phillip’s cause, but since Phillip was being so sneaky, maybe I didn’t care.
“But aren’t you Erik’s mate?” Wilfred asked. “Wouldn’t that be a conflict of interest since Seth is running things now? I’m sure he won’t willingly go back to just head of the weres.”
“Yes, it would be.” I plastered a smile on my face trying to keep things professional and reduce the rumors that were already springing up. If I pretended nothing was wrong, maybe people would believe it. “We’ll work it out, I’m sure. Phillip is the rightful leader.” Wilfred didn’t need to know that we had plans to take Seth out of power. What happened after that, when Carter or Erik ran the pack, was another story. I suspected neither would want to follow Phillip as of now, even with me as co-lead. I was quite sure Phillip had peddled that idea around town by now.
Wilfred nodded slowly, as if running the idea through his head. “Okay. I’m in. I can get others too. Seth’s an asshole. He treats anyone who isn’t pack like second-class citizens. He’s one step away from segregating us all.”
Phillip cocked an eyebrow. “Well, we don’t want that.”
Once we left Wilfred’s, we started to walk towards the pack apartment. I stopped once we were far away from the witches’ apartment building. “I’m not running this town with you. That wasn’t the plan. I only want to figure out who these soulmates are and get rid of them. When that calms down, I want to—”
“Play happy homemaker with the jackal?” Phillip asked with an amused look on his face. “Come on, mi corazon, that’s not you. You are meant for greatness.”
“Before you cut me off, I was going to say, teach. I can teach history, English, magic. Build the youth.”
