Eternal Soul

by Amy Henwood

  He tensed in the final moments before his release and with one last deep thrust, he ended the desirous occasion. He placed me back onto the bed and folded over me, savouring the forceful gravity between us.

  I rested on the pillow, covered by freshly scented sheets. He reached over and peeled something off me. In his hand he held a rose petal that had clung to my moist skin. Running the single petal down my glistening cheeks, he lifted my chin upwards to tenderly kiss my flushed lips. I buried my head into his formed chest and closed my eyes.

  * * *

  Scarlett, wake up!

  My head jolted and I shot up from my deep sleep. I looked to my side and Chase was out cold. My sudden movement hadn’t caused a flicker from him.

  Scarlett, listen to me.

  Brandon’s voice was loud and firm—if that was even possible when coming through telepathically.

  Brandon, I have enough people interfering with my life and telling me what to do. I don't want another one to deal with.

  I placed my guard up and laid back, covering my naked body slowly, trying not to disturb Chase’s peaceful sleep. His deep breathing forecasted outwards to me, calming me from the rude awakening, and I snuggled back in.

  You don’t get it, do you?

  Stop it! I screamed in my mind, and I placed my barrier back up.

  Putting up a wall is not going to keep me out.

  I take it your superpower is to break down my barrier too?

  I’m an archangel. I can possess any and all powers that I desire.

  Fine, I will listen. I was in protest but had no choice in the matter as any barricade I created would only be torn down. You better make it quick because your seconds are numbered.

  I am not used to being treated with so little respect.

  Archangel. Alive angel. Dead angel. I’m human, and I don't know all your heavenly angel rules, nor do I care.

  I need you to leave the house now.

  Why? Because you said so?

  You are in grave danger.

  Danger, shmanger. I mocked him with the childish response.

  Scarlett, please. Your grandmother insists.

  Oh, now you've really crossed a line throwing my grandma into the mix.

  Scarlett, you must listen to this man.

  Grandma? You too?

  I didn’t want to get involved, hoping you would listen to Jackson and Brandon, but clearly intervening is necessary.

  No one is giving me straight answers when I ask questions about my life, so why should I have to listen to them?

  I am here to advise you. It is Jackson’s position to protect you, and Brandon’s to make sure that he does. You must listen to them before something happens that cannot be undone.

  My entire life has been filled with lies. I cannot trust anyone around me. Explain why I should trust them?

  The air around me died.

  Grandma?

  No response.

  She’s gone, Scarlett.

  She never leaves me. She’s always here when I need her.

  She is always close by watching over you, but that doesn’t mean she can choose when she can and cannot communicate with you. Now, are you ready to listen and hear what I have to say?

  Only because she asked me to. I could not betray Grandma.

  You must get out of here without waking Chase. I know it will hurt, but as soon as you are out the door, run, don’t walk. Turn left down the street and I will stay here to distract Chase as long as possible. Jackson is on his way to pick you up.

  Are you telling me that you are in the house with us? Sadie and Dominic left, but I had completely forgotten about Brandon.

  Yes, I have been here the entire time.

  Alright, I was a little weirded out.

  My head spun. Had I ever not been watched over? Oh god.

  Did you hear me and Chase—?

  Umm, well. Well, this is embarrassing.

  You don’t say. Now, can you tell me why I cannot stay?

  He wants you dead, Scarlett, and he is planning on doing it today.

  I shot up, shaking the entire bed with me.

  What?

  My breathing turned into loud hyperventilation.

  Shhh, don’t wake him.

  I needed to get out of the house. I stalled and studied the room, plotting the best, least disruptive way out. I carefully lifted myself out of his bed. Chase stirred, and I froze. He twitched and then rolled over, still in a deep sleep. I let out a silent sigh of relief and tip-toed around the bed on the hardwood floor, careful to not let it creak. Only being in his room on several occasions, I had not learned the silent versus the squeaking spots, treating the floor as a field of landmines.

  I retrieved my clothes and put them on with some struggle. I couldn’t sit on the bed to put on my socks, as the mattress sinking and rising risked the chance of him waking.

  Slowly, I turned the door handle and pulled it toward me, opening it only enough to squeeze my body out. Transitioning through the doorway, a floorboard creaked below my quivering feet. I peered over my shoulder and prayed.

  He moved restlessly and stretched his arms above his head. I ran through countless excuses, attempting to conjure up a reason for my departure. I had mounds of studying to do before final exams. A follow-up appointment with the doctor for my knee. Mia going through a college crisis and needing me. Wait, boyfriend crisis sounded much more believable. All excuses fell short on how I was to explain why there was no taxi waiting for me to whisk me off to said destination.

  He mumbled a few words I couldn’t interpret and repositioned himself on his stomach with one leg dangling off the side of the bed. Quickly, but with caution, I scrambled to grab my shoes and went out the already unlocked door. In order to prevent any additional risk factors, I didn’t bother to close it on exit.

  I walked down the driveway and to the sidewalk.

  Run. Brandon was back, reminding me of his previous instructions.

  I sped up the pace to a jog. My knee had taken an intense beating the last few days, and that was only going to delay the healing process further.

  Keep going, you are doing great. He sure was persistent with encouragement.

  I drew focus away from my knee by creating the same blockage I used to keep spirits out, casting my gift outwards.

  I was never much of an amateur athlete, but I managed to keep going with the confidence from Brandon.

  “Scarlett.” My name was being referenced for the umpteenth time today, but this time it was not a voice in my head—it was coming from behind me.

  “Jackson?” I yelled, hoping he was here to pick me up like Brandon had promised.

  “Scarlett, stop!” The voice was filled with vengeance, and it clear that it was not Jackson, but no other than Chase. “Don’t you run away from me!” He lunged faster toward me.

  Brandon, Chase is here. Where is Jackson?

  I’m on my way, just keep going. It was the first time I had heard Jackson’s voice since that morning.

  I looked behind me to measure the distance between Chase and me, and the gap had vanished. He reached for me and took hold of my arm firmly. I tried pulling away, but his grip on me was so tight I could not break loose. His hand tightened harder and he turned me vigorously around to view him.

  “Don’t you ever run away from me again,” he said, his voice sharp and rigid.

  “I don’t want you anymore or anything to do with you,” I said, more scared than angry.

  “You made your decision the night at the hockey game. You wanted me and you will have me. You don't get the choice in taking it back.”

  I switched my tactic, trying to convince him that I would obey him, knowing my life was in danger. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Chase. I will never leave you again.”

  “Sorry is not going to cut it,” he said, releasing me. “You are with me until I decide you are no longer worthy of this life.”

  “I don’t believe that you would intentionally hurt me, yet kill me,” I
said, trying to calm myself more than anything.

  “You don’t know me.”

  “Then why now?” We had been together for a while, providing ample changes to murder me.

  “I wanted you to know what it really felt like to lust, love, and then lose it all. Luring me in at the arena that night. Making me think that you wanted me over my brother. But you’re nothing better than a tasteless slut. Another trait that appears to not have left you between lives. You have no idea what it feels like to be robbed of everything you have.” His tone was angry, and veins were protruding from his forehead. “I had Marianne, a loyal woman compared to you, and I had a real fucking life. Now it’s my turn to take that all away from you and Jackson.”

  The fear of my impending death haunted me, and my new focus in life was escaping this real-life horror film. The brief absence of his hold presented me with a minuscule time to escape him. I seized the opportunity, no matter how short it was, and ran. One foot flew forward after another in my efforts to outrun him. It was short-lived and came to a painful halt when he grabbed my ponytail, yanking me backwards and causing me to crash on the ground.

  “You just don't learn, do you,” he said, laughing.

  “You won't win this. Jackson is on his way and will pound your ass into the ground.”

  “Not if he can’t find us.” He was eerily sure of himself.

  “I will tell him where I am. He will be able to locate us easily.”

  “Only if you know where you are,” he said, smirking.

  He hurled me over his shoulder and ran easily, carrying me back to his driveway and into his car.

  “Jackson!” I screamed as his car was still nowhere in sight.

  “Yell as loud as you want, sweetheart. He’s not coming for you.”

  “He will come. I know he will.” Tears formed as the realization of my escalating situation continued to worsen.

  Yes, I will, Jackson said.

  I’m scared. Help me.

  I will, but you need to pay attention to street names, landmarks and any surroundings that will assist me in locating you.

  The probability of that happening went to a zero when Chase stripped off his shirt and tied it around my head, blinding me from civilization. I shifted when he touched me, as not being able to see any impending physical interactions came at an alarming state.

  He pushed me forward and repositioned my hands behind my back. Razor-like thin stands of fraying rope cut into my satin wrists. He knotted it tightly, causing splitting pain. He forcefully pushed me back against the seat and reached over to buckle me in.

  His breath winded against my face, and where I would have normally instantly lusted for him, wanting nothing other than him, for the first time since we met, I was able to override the desire and nothing about him appealed to me.

  “Safety first,” he said. “I wouldn't want another car accident ruining my fun with you.” He kissed my neck softly as he had done many times before. I flinched away when I felt his lips brush against my bare skin.

  “You are a disgusting fuck,” I said, killing off every and any urge I had ever felt for him.

  “Ah, those fighting words are so harsh,” he sneered as he jumped in the driver’s seat.

  The tires lacked grip in the loose gravel driveway, the engine roaring as it fought for traction. I was pushed back into the seat from the sudden acceleration.

  “I am intrigued on your quick turnaround in hatred toward me,” he said. “You love me.”

  I spat in his direction, hoping it would land on his face, or better yet, an eyeball.

  “Cute,” he said.

  I concentrated on the movements of his car to gauge where we were heading, though my unfamiliarity with the area increased the challenge level. The car slowed and turned, causing me to lean to the left, which indicated a right turn was made. We drove straight and unstopped, and I was sure we were heading to the main town road, out of his subdivision.

  Right. Straight. I can’t see anything. He blindfolded me.

  Let me know every turn and any unusual sounds or road conditions.

  Chase rested a hand on my knee and ran it upwards. I shifted my legs toward my door in an effort to prevent his touch.

  We turned another corner.

  Left.

  “My ability of instant love and attraction no longer seems to affect you. Either it has dissolved, which is highly unlikely, or you have been able to combat it, building immunity.” He seemed concerned at the loss, his mood switching to frustration that he no longer had control over me.

  His ability to attract explained a lot. The first time he had touched me, I had instantly felt intense attraction toward him. It was the reason I would yell and be furious with him one second, and then once he got close, my emotions would be taken over uncontrollably and I would only want to be wrapped within him.

  “The only reason I wanted you was because you controlled my feelings, and now you don't.”

  He touched me again and I resisted any impending urge to desire him.

  “How are you doing that?” He touched my face, and I ripped away.

  “You aren’t the only one with special powers,” I boasted.

  My ability was much more powerful than I could have ever known. My mental blockage to keep spirits silent was more useful than I had realized, and I was able to cast it past my mind outwards. I had used it on my knee to subside the pain, and now I was using it to prevent myself from lusting after Chase. He no longer possessed any power over me.

  The car turned and the pavement turned into gravel. Stones spun off the tires and against the paint job as he accelerated.

  Right, gravel road.

  After driving for several kilometres, the car halted, sliding across the combination of dirt and stone. The vehicle was left running and my ears picked up the sound of Chase unbuckling himself and opening the car door. I didn't hear it close—I only heard the sounds of his footsteps crumbling the gravel beneath. A gust of chilled wind flushed my pale complexion. My seatbelt was unbuckled, and his touch did nothing for me other than grow my hate for him. He ripped me out of the seat and boldly handled me, my hands still bound and my sight still restricted.

  The loose gravel made walking difficult with no vision, as I was unable to foresee any bumps or divots in the stone ground. A fall would not grant me any sympathy or assistance—only pain and punishment.

  When we finally stopped, he removed the shirt from my face, leaving my hands bound. My eyes closed and my nose squinted as I tried to adjust to the sunlight.

  He used the shirt to cover himself back up, and I observed my immediate surroundings, trying to find a road sign or a tall landmark to relay to Jackson. I was left with nothing of significance to tell him.

  Chilled air with a warming spring sun reflected off my dull arms, the hairs standing on edge. Light bursts of wind shivered my tense mood, increasing the coldness. Stretched out before me was a deserted country road, lined with budding trees and dense emerald thistle branches of spruce trees that blocked everything behind them better than a windowless wall.

  The gravel was indented from travelling vehicles, though not as pronounced as a high traffic road. There was little hope of a passing car to save me.

  “Look,” he said, turning me around.

  Before me stood large, rusted iron gates, tightly closed and locked. Intense gusts of air did not shift the seized hinges, which were attached to decaying stone pillars. Beyond the chained and padlocked gates, the trees had overgrown with the absence of general maintenance and left only a narrow driveway, not wide enough for a small car.

  Chase turned to intimately wrap an arm around my side. With an extreme amount of mental strength of my newly discovered power of projection blocking, I moved away from him and any supernatural abilities he could and would use to control me. His head shook in defeat from my counterpower.

  “Funny you picked Darlington. Coming back to your roots without knowing it,” he said while I made understanding of it.
“This is the Applegate Estate.”

  “Marianne?” I asked to confirm the connection.

  “Very good,” he said in full sarcasm.

  If this was Marianne’s home, then my first life’s home was nearby. I wondered if my original parents or any of my relatives still lived in town. I had lived in Darlington the past four years. Working, shopping, adventuring. I could have walked past one of them or served them at Cinnamons without knowing. Chase said my ass didn’t change between lives…were my facial features the same too? What would they have thought when coming across someone identical to their dead family member?

  “Why is it vacant?” I asked.

  “Observant.”

  “You can cut the stupid comments.”

  He squeezed my arm, forming instant bruises under the pressure of his clutch. “From now on, you speak only when I say.”

  “You’re—” I was cut off.

  He let go and covered my mouth with his palm and set one of his fingers from his opposite hand to his lips, silencing me.

  “They moved away after Marianne’s unfortunate accident.”

  I wanted to know what sort of accident but couldn't ask. I didn't want to know what would ultimately become of me if I spoke.

  “One day they up and left this place with only the clothes on their backs. Loaded themselves into one of their several vehicles and drove across the country. They retreated into the furthest community from their estate as possible without leaving the country. They wanted to distance themselves from the tragedies and start their lives over. Though I’m sure they were not hard done by, considering the amount of wealth to their name.”

  He ran a single hand down the sealed gates and across the symbol dividing the centre. With closer observation, I noticed it housed an abstract apple within the vertical iron rods.

  “I appreciated their creativity in the design. Custom-made and original. Always out to impress,” he said, before suddenly yelling, “You bitch!”

  His character shifted from remembrance to storm-filled rage. His foot connected with the iron with a hollow rumble. Pieces of decaying rust softly flaked to the earth. The bars shook when he pushed and pulled them, vibrating the delicate pillars.