by Jamie Loeak
human lives in war and whenever someone upset me. Back then, I was a monster.” His voice came out as a whisper now, and Kate bit the inside of her cheek, hoping that he wouldn’t stop now.
Rico swallowed and pushed his hair from his cobalt eyes. “One day, when I was roaming through the forest, I saw a pair of lovers.” He flinched at his words but kept moving. “They were so consumed with each other physically and emotionally, and I couldn’t understand how they connected in both manners, because until then I had only witnessed a physical satisfaction,” he said as a pink blush crept across his straight nose. “That was the first soul I took.”
Rico looked into Kate’s grey eyes, searching her thoughts. Kate could sense his fear, his worry at her reaction. All she did was nod, a silent okay to continue. He did.
“I’ve taken many souls; I’ve taken so many that I lost count over the millennia. Even after the treaty, I took souls. I craved the love, the emotions; I craved everything about being human, right down to their physical weakness and their inability to remember things. I wanted it all, as long as it meant that I was able to have a soul.
I searched for evidence that supported my desires. I hoped to find a shred of information that could lead me to a soul of my own. I figured that until then, I would share one with a human host. You see, I couldn’t understand that it was wrong of me to steal from others, especially when I wanted it for myself. I knew that if I had a soul I wouldn’t want anyone to take it, but I didn’t generalize that information and think about it when I took the soul of another.”
Suddenly, Rico moved so that he sat up. He faced away from Kate while he looked out the window. His thoughts roamed in a different era, a different life. Kate wanted to reach out, to make him feel better about who he had been, but she didn’t see how she could. Rico seemed lost, stuck inside a world of self-hatred. She could tell that he hated telling her, hated her seeing the darkest parts of his soul, but it changed nothing for her. Rico was still Rico. He would always be Rico.
Rico licked his lips. He let out a shaky breath. Then, he glanced over his shoulder at Kate. His cobalt eyes were filled with that familiar storm, but he still smiled down at her. He still held on to his kindness, the goodness within his heart.
“When Adriana found me,” he said, “I was living in India. The people in the slums give in easily. They don’t mind giving their souls over to you. The people there, though, are weakened by starvation and dehydration. They don’t last long. I would take another soul every couple of days. Adriana found out about me, my reckless behavior.” Rico sighed and lay back down, turning to face Kate once more. “She came to kill me,” he whispered. His words pulled him back into his torturous memories, and Kate saw his eyes clouding over. Then, quick as lightning, he pulled himself out of it.
“However,” he said after blinking several times, “as you can see, Adriana and I work on the same team now. I am like Donovan in every way when it comes to Adriana. She saved me from myself. I thank her for it each day; I thank her for giving me another chance to exist, to change who I was and become who I wanted to be. She still listens out for news of how to obtain a soul without possessions. She does that for me, because that’s all I really want. There are rumors that it can be done, but that’s where it ends.”
Rico stopped speaking and looked at Kate. They looked into each other’s eyes for a moment but didn’t talk. Kate could tell that Rico was reading her thoughts, and she attempted to read his as well. She saw the storms break; she saw same calm blue that shimmered in his eyes the night they drank coffee together. Kate loved seeing his cobalt eyes like this. She loved knowing that his thoughts weren’t swirling around evil memories; she wanted him to stay like this forever, to remain open to her and her heart.
She knew that it wouldn’t, though. She knew it would end within moments; for now, all she could do was try to hold on to it. “Thank you again for telling me about your life,” she said after a moment of silence.
Rico smiled and lifted his fingers, flexing them. He tilted his head and bit his lower lip. Then, he reached forward and ran his fingers through the ends of her hair, untangling her curls. A shock of electricity bolted through Kate’s veins; a nervous, yet calming, energy rushed from her heart and into her body. She liked the feeling of his hands running through her hair. It felt good even though he wasn’t really touching her. She could live like this, she thought as she savored the feeling of his hands almost touching her.
“Your hair is so soft,” Rico said bravely. He pushed Kate’s hair over her shoulder, lightly touching her cheek, making sure that he pulled away quickly. Kate closed her eyes, enjoying his touch, and fell asleep within a few minutes. Rico placed a pillow under Kate’s head and tucked her in tightly. Turning away, he reached for his book. Something stopped him, though, and he turned back around.
Without hesitation, Rico leaned forward and kissed Kate lightly on her forehead. Then, he picked up Pride and Prejudice and read while he kept watch.
18
Kate was standing in the middle of the street again. This time it was foggy like it had been the day of her accident. She kept looking around, searching for signs of a car, and jogged to the side of the road, afraid that this dream world had the potential to hurt her in real life. Kate walked slowly, barely able to see what was two feet in front of her. She had no idea where she was headed; the fog enveloped her in a bubble that kept the rest of her surroundings hidden from view. She shivered, despite the heat, but kept walking. She knew from her previous dreams that she would be shown something important.
Up ahead, something shimmered in the sunlight. The surface was golden, the light a beacon in the shadows. Kate headed toward it, eager to release herself from the fog’s grasp. A moment later, the shimmering light turned into a shape, and Kate realized that she was looking at the telescope that she previously found at the log cabin. Kate’s heart beat furiously as she looked around. Why was she able to see the cabin here? Why wasn’t she able to see it in real life?
Kate moved closer and stepped through the fog. She shook her head disbelievingly. It wasn’t the log cabin anymore; the ramshackle house stood in front of her now. What was going on?
Suddenly, the scene shifted. Kate was standing on the front porch of the house directly in front of the log cabin. She could see it clearly here. Inside, her heart beat calmly, the pieces shifting in her mind as she organized her thoughts. The pieces clicked together, and Kate smiled a beautifully determined smile.
Kate’s eyes fluttered open. The first thing she saw was Rico; he had fallen asleep in her pale green reading chair. His features were smooth, his expression peaceful; there was nothing that darkened his thoughts or crept into his dreams. Kate hated to wake him but knew that she had no choice. She couldn’t figure this out on her own. Not this time.
Kate slipped off the bed and shook Rico gently. He stirred before opening his eyes. She watched as he stretched and stood up before saying anything to her. She could tell that he wasn’t really a morning person. “What’s wrong, Kate?” he asked, finally taking in her slightly disheveled appearance, her messy curls and ashen face.
Kate steeled herself, knowing that she had to open up to him. He had opened up to her. It was her turn now. “I had a dream, Rico. It was about Erik.”
“A dream?” he asked.
“Actually,” she said, tiptoeing around the issue, trying to figure out how to say it. “I think it might have been a vision of some sort.” Kate held her breath, waiting for Rico’s laughter or denial or worse. Instead, she was pleasantly met with an acceptance.
“Okay,” Rico said as he sat up and leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees and hands clasped together. “Tell me everything you saw.”
Kate decided to back things up a bit and first told Rico about what she had seen during her first vision. She told him about the log cabin and the telescopes. She told him that she was hit by Donovan’s car because she had gone down to investigate, only to find the worn down house. Then, she told Rico about
the dream she had just woken from. “What do you think it means?” she asked when she was finished.
“I didn’t think it was possible,” Rico muttered.
“What isn’t possible, Rico?”
Rico looked into Kate’s eyes then, and she could see a touch of fear in his. Kate grew worried, knowing that if Rico was afraid then she should be terrified. “Dark magic,” he said softly. “Kern must be using Darkness’ powers, harnessing them as his own. It’s the only way that Erik would have been able to hide the true identity of the house from you, from everyone that walked by it.”
Kate thought for a moment. She didn’t want him to take all of her words as is. He needed to see for himself. “Shouldn’t we go see if we can see the real thing before tossing out answers?” she asked him. “What if we can see it? What if I’m wrong about this?”
Rico shook his head as he sat down again. He looked up at Kate, then took her hands into his own and squeezed them gently. He took a deep breath before speaking. “Adriana and I have suspected that you have special abilities. Do you remember the day that we first met?”
Kate nodded.
“I wasn’t looking at the trash that you left on the ground. I was looking at the picture that you drew
