“Can’t you just make a portal for us?” I murmured to Calan.
Calan gave a slight shake of his head. I couldn’t tell if that meant no, or not right now, but I clamped my mouth shut. We’d been through worse and I had every bit of faith in him that he would get us out of this. I just needed to trust Calan’s lead.
Calan’s powers were still depleted, but what could the Masters do? Calan was far more powerful than them, even without his magic. It was the other Chevalier I was worried about. But we’d been through worse before, and we’d get through this, too.
Master Ilsa, who sported two large white-blonde braids that trailed down her back, leaned in toward the cold-eyed Chevalier and said something I couldn’t hear. Immediately, he did an about face and walked away across the road and disappeared into the woods on the other side. I should have been glad to see him go, but inexplicable fear gripped my chest. Why did he leave? What was happening?
Master Ylang closed his eyes, as if in pain. “I must admit that I am experiencing a great deal of disappointment,” he spoke to Calan. “You were one of the most promising Chevaliers we had ever seen, which makes your fall all the more tragic.” When he opened his eyes, remorse seemed to drain away from him until someone devoid of mercy stood before us. “But you have made your choice and now you both will face the consequences.”
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Calan’s palms light up, and my heart took off at a gallop. He’d activated his supercharged powers and was ready to blow these bastards away.
I wished I could help, but the reality was I wasn’t the one with superpowers. I’m sure I had other things going for me.
It felt like someone had my heart in a tight grip. It took me a moment to realize I was experiencing Calan’s anguish. We shared a psychic connection that transmitted our heightened emotions to the other.
Calan was about to fight Ylang, the closest thing he had to a father, and it caused him pain.
I briefly touched Calan’s back, letting him know I understood and he wasn’t alone, then I stepped back. It really sucked not being able to help.
As Calan raised his arms, taking aim, all four Masters thumped the base of their staffs into the ground and everything seemed to stop. No, not everything, just Calan. His arms had frozen, aimed toward the ground at Ylang’s feet. A green glow surrounded Calan's body, like the tops of the staffs that were lit up like Christmas trees.
“Calan?” I reached out to touch his back but as my hand dipped into the light I recoiled with a hiss. It was white-hot. Sweat beaded under Calan’s dark curly hair and began to run in streaks down his face and his jaw was clenched.
“What are you doing?” I screamed. “Stop it!” I couldn’t get to Calan, so I had to stop whatever it was they were doing. I charged past Calan at the Masters, not caring anymore if I didn’t have super powers. I would beat their asses.
Hands grasped around my arms. I jerked back to find two plain-robed Luxis servants, holding me back. How the hell did they sneak up on me?
I flailed and kicked, but I couldn’t break free. Unlike Calan, the only combat training I had was from reactively fighting off demons the last couple months.
Master Ylang and the rest of the Masters closed their eyes and chanted together in a slow, haunting, ethereal echo. When Ylang’s eye snapped open they were illuminated with the same green color that encircled Calan’s body. Master Ilsa and Violetta continued to chant and sway.
All I could do was continue to yell at them to stop. My next cry died in my throat when I saw Calan’s feet had lifted off the ground and his frozen body was held mid-air by whatever force they were using. He looked like he wanted to scream but his jaw was clenched shut.
Ice cut through my stomach, as I realized more and more how screwed we were. Maybe Travis would come back and interrupt whatever creepy spell this was. Maybe the other Chevalier would change his mind and come back and save his brother.
Master’s Ylang’s voice was harsh, reverberating from the throes of concentrated energy. “You see, Calan,” he said the name Calan had chosen for himself, like it was made of acid. “Though you’ve been in possession of your soul, that has only been through the grace of our will. Just because you have a soul, it does not mean we are incapable of taking it from you.”
I realized why they had sent the other Chevalier away. They wanted him to maintain the belief Calan didn’t have a soul and this sure would blow that lie wide open.
The Masters thumped their staffs against the ground in unison once more. “So now, we shall take the soul you have used to serve the dark, and then we shall take the Propheros and repurpose her into something useful by the same means in which we shaped you.”
Though Calan could not move, could his face was contorted, his eyes sparkled with rage, and his mouth had curled into what looked like a soundless snarl. He looked like a trapped, feral beast ready to rip out their throats given the chance.
What did that mean? What were the means in which they shaped Calan? I knew little about Calan’s upbringing, but what I did know, I wouldn’t describe as warm or fuzzy. Again, I whipped my arms about in a frenzy trying to get free.
Ylang’s head fell back and the rest of the Masters followed suit. They pursed their lips and emitted a low-whistle in unison. It was simply a whistle, but the organs in my body shivered as if someone had dragged a gigantic nail down a chalkboard.
Calan’s limbs snapped out to the sides and his jaw unclenched. His eyes went wide, and the dark circles hanging under them from lack of sleep deepened until his eyes looked hollow and haunted. It as if he was looking into the Stygian itself.
“Calan!” I screamed, trying anything I could to break the Order members' hold, but I was utterly and completely hopeless to help him.
White, smoky light tunneled out from Calan’s eyes, nose, and slackened mouth. I screamed as I felt something ripping out of me. I didn’t remember falling to my knees, but I vaguely felt my knees digging into dirt as I convulsed against the pain.
I had seen this before. When a soul eater had attacked a motel, it sucked the souls out of people, leaving behind putrid bags of decaying flesh. It sounded like an inverted wind-tunnel as Calan’s soul continued to funnel out of his body and toward the gemstone set in Ylang’s staff. They were killing Calan and a part of me was dying with him.
This couldn’t be. Even as I lay writhing on the ground, I knew something was going to stop this. Something or someone always showed up to save us. Maybe Calan's other brother, Gatsby, would pop out of somewhere to protect Calan. Maybe Travis would wake up and provide a distraction. Maybe Calan could break their hold. He was the strongest person I’d ever known.
Those deep blue eyes managed to turn down toward me and time seemed to stop around us. In an instant, I read all Calan’s agony and regret. Even as he died, he was still worried about me. Tears streamed down my face and I couldn’t breathe. As abruptly as it started, the pain ceased, the green light disappeared, and Calan hit the ground. I sucked in a deep, desperate breath. It no longer felt like I was undergoing surgery sans anesthesia, but an aching emptiness remained in its stead.
The Order members had released me so I could roll in agony on the ground. Taking advantage of the freedom, I hurried to Calan’s still form. I pushed him over until he was facing the sky. The dark circles remained etched under his closed eyes. I shook his shoulders, flashing back to only a few hours ago when I thought he’d died saving me from the demon lord. It felt surreal, like a dream of a dream. I shook his shoulders and called for him to wake up. To give me any sign he was alive. Then it hit me all over again, my world was ripped apart and my heart couldn’t do anything but howl inside my chest. I was barely aware of my hysterical sobs.
Knobby fingers touched my shoulder and nausea slithered in my stomach. “He will live,” Ylang said gently in my ear. Getting a hold of my sobs, I wiped my face and looked closer. Calan’s chest rose and fell with each breath. My sobs renewed with relief this time.
The fing
ers tightened on my shoulder, digging in painfully, until I grimaced. Swallowing hard, I looked for the last time at the face of the man I loved. I knew this would be the least painful touch I would know for a long time to come.
Get Soulless Son on Amazon here to find out what happens to Emma and Calan.
About the Author
Even as Holly grew up writing romantic fanfiction for the Terminator, Matrix, and anything Joss Whedon, she would have never presumed she’d end up a professional writer.
Holly lives in the Denver area with her husband whose handsome looks are only outdone by his charming and supportive personality. She is supervised by two surly house rabbits who make sure she doesn’t spend all of her time watching Buffy reruns.
For more sample chapters, news, and more, visit www.hollyroberds.com
Prophecy Girl (The Five Orders Book 1) Page 23
