Tainted Souls

by Alice J Black

  “Why do I have to stay?” I asked.

  “Let’s just say, there’s a bit of a surprise waiting for you.”

  I frowned and looked at Delta and Luka behind me. “Do you know anything about this?”

  They shook their heads before looking at each other and shrugging.

  “I’m afraid it’s time for you gentlemen to vacate, for precious Ruby has her surprise waiting. Shall I assume we’ll see you tomorrow?”

  “Of course.” Luka nodded. “We wouldn’t miss Vaughn’s rehearsals. Right, Delta?” He nudged Delta.

  “Not for the world,” Delta said.

  “That’s what I like to see. A full show of family support.” Tom nodded. “Goodnight.”

  Luka and Delta took their cue, waving goodbye before walking towards the front doors. As Tom followed them out, I glimpsed the orange sky from the sunset. I just hoped Tom would leave in time. He pulled the door shut as Delta and Luka stepped into dusk, the resounding boom echoing around the empty building, and then he locked it and pocketed the key.

  He faced me, with a big grin. “Come on, dear. The clock is ticking, and someone is waiting.” Tom’s eyes continued to sparkle with mischief.

  I shot him a brief smile as he grabbed my hand and led me towards the back of the centre. Although I had no idea exactly what was coming, I knew I could trust Tom. He didn’t hold the darkness in that place. I followed him down the aisle and around the stage, glancing to my sides every now and again, heart thumping with each step. I was in on the plan and I was still excited. Nervous. I was going to be alone with Vaughn. Only for a short time, but alone all the same.

  As we rounded the stage, the café came into view. The shutter for the kiosk was pulled halfway down, and the plastic chairs were nestled in neat piles. The floor had been mopped, and it shone in the waning embers of the sun peeking through the windows.

  Pete was behind the counter, and I was grateful his back was to us.

  “Don’t mind Pete,” Tom said, as if sensing my thoughts. “He’ll finish up in the café and let himself out the fire exit. You’ll have complete privacy.”

  Breath caught in my throat. Complete privacy. Then I scolded myself. This wasn’t about me and Vaughn. This was about work. I had to stop getting so emotionally involved.

  “There we are.” Tom stopped and pointed at the door we had tried to open but failed, leading to the clock tower. “I have a few things to finish up downstairs, then I’ll also let myself out the fire exit. Here’s the key. Please pass it on.”

  “In there?” I pointed, other hand squeezing my bag strap.

  He nodded. “In and up, my dear.”

  “What’s in there?” I swallowed hard.

  “You must trust your heart and find out.” He spun on his heel.

  I heard his shoes clicking on the stone floor until they faded in the distance, and I still stared at the door in front of me. I knew Vaughn would be waiting behind it, yet my feet were rooted to the spot. My hands were sweating, my heart thumping. I grabbed the door handle and pushed. It gave, yawning as it opened. The tower led into darkness so thick it nearly obscured my vision of the stairs. I saw the deep rise of stone steps as they curved to the right and disappeared behind the pillar that held them in place. What would I find up there?

  I shook myself. I was a Hunter. I saw demons and hunted them for a living. I kept other people safe and went on cases to get rid of the scourge. I wouldn’t back down from this. I took a deep breath and was just about to take a step forward, when from the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of Pete. He was standing at the hatch that led into the back of the café, just staring at me, his hands pressed into the top of the swinging door, knuckles white. That was enough to make up my mind, and my legs propelled me forward. The stairwell’s darkness swallowed me, but I steeled my nerves and began the climb. My heart thumped in my chest and blood pulsed through my ears due to the growing apprehension rather than exertion. I neared the top, walking past a small rectangular hole in the wall that served as a window. I glanced out through the murky glass and saw the darkening sky, the orange gleam almost gone. We were running out of time. My stomach flipped. If Tom didn’t leave soon, it would just be me and Vaughn in there overnight.

  Up and up I walked, my right hand trailing the stone. I had to keep reminding myself that if we had to spend the night in here, Vaughn and I would be safe. We had all the tools we needed. I just had to keep my wits about me. I’d faced plenty of the Cursed on my own before, with less knowledge. Now I had the skills and training, yet I still couldn’t quell the unease in my chest.

  A soft light came into view as I continued to round the corners. My fingertips now sensitive from trailing the stone, and I was happy for the reality the pain brought. When the light got brighter, I almost turned back. Wasn’t sure I could do this. I took a deep breath and paused. Then I took the last few steps into the room at the top and froze.

  Vaughn sat on a tartan blanket on the floor, a basket in front of him. Candles were showcased on the ground, in a circle, their flames licking the walls with yellow light, and it made his eyes dance as he watched me. He smiled, the dimples on his cheeks darker where the light didn’t reach. His leather jacket clung to his frame, shoulders appearing wider in the meagre light.

  “Surprise,” he whispered.

  It broke the tension, and my shoulders dropped.

  “Vaughn? What’s going on?” I stepped forward.

  He stood up, and my eyes stayed connected with his. As he grabbed my hand and pulled me closer, bolts of electricity shot through me, and I was powerless to resist. Our bodies were only inches apart. He watched me the whole time, with hooded eyes.

  “Vaughn?” I whispered. “This is an awful lot of trouble just for us to let the others in. You didn’t need to put on a show like this.”

  “Remember the text I sent you earlier. Tonight isn’t all about work.” He gestured to our surroundings.

  I noticed the way the clock face lit up in the glow of the candles. I took in the blanket spread across the stone flags and the open basket of food.

  “I don’t…I don’t understand.”

  His free hand tightened around mine, and we stood with our hands clasped together. His gaze never faltered, eyes boring into mine with an intensity so deep I thought I could fall right into them.

  “Ruby,” he said, voice low, “ever since I met you for the first time, in the apartment, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. There’s something about you, about my need for you that consumes me.”

  My stomach clenched, and my jaw dropped.

  “You did all this for me?”

  “I did all this because I need you to know how important you are to me. How much I…how much I want you.”

  The breath hitched in my throat, and my cheeks burned hot.

  “You do?” My words were breathy as I struggled to take in air.

  Everything was hot, and Vaughn continued to meet my gaze, never wavering.

  “I’ve never wanted anything so much in my life.”

  My heart skipped as he took a step closer, his tongue darting from between his lips to wet them. My stomach was doing somersaults and my palms were clammy, but his grip remained just as tight.

  Vaughn reached forward, rested his fingers under my chin, and tilted my head. Our lips were dangerously close. Breath caught in my throat again.

  “I really like you, Ruby.”

  His gaze flicked from my eyes to my lips and back again. My lips parted as I stared at him, willing him to take the leap and kiss me. He inched closer. Blood was rushing through my system, roaring in my ears like a tidal wave as my stomach did somersaults.

  Was this really happening? Only in my wildest dreams did I think Vaughn could actually like me, yet there we were, hidden at the top of the tower, all alone, his lips inches from mine. I felt his breath hot against my face, peppermint riding on his breath, sweet and kissable. Then he leaned in, glancing between my eyes and lips one last time before clo
sing his eyes and pressing his lips against mine.

  Stars exploded behind my eyes as he tasted me. I pressed my lips closer, eager for more. My heart pummelled my chest, and my stomach flipped like I was housing a team of acrobatics. I worked my hand up to his face, where I felt a light spattering of stubble, and I grazed his chin before rounding my fingers over his hard shoulders. He wound his arms around my waist, pulling me into him. His hard body pressed against me, and I moaned into him. He reacted by squeezing me tighter, his grip on my waist becoming a vice that kept me moulded against his body.

  He kissed me softly, sweetly, and I knew this was the closest to heaven I would ever get.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Vaughn’s phone vibrated in his pocket. The sensation sent extra thrills to my core. He rested his forehead on mine while he kissed me one last time, and then smiled.

  “I knew it wouldn’t last,” he whispered.

  As Vaughn stepped away, he caressed my face. I was in heaven. I savoured the moment, the very taste of him. Sweet but with a hint of fierceness. I would never forget that.

  He answered the phone. “Yeah, we’re in the tower. Have you seen Tom? No. I’ll go and check.”

  He hung up and slid the mobile into his pocket, and reality came crashing back. I wanted to remain on cloud nine with Vaughn and forget about the real reason we were there.

  “Tom hasn’t left yet, and it’s getting dark. We haven’t got long before the window closes, so we have to go check.”

  He took my hand and led me downstairs, leaving the glow of the candles in our wake. His palm pressed against mine, our fingers interlaced, and my heart thumped with every step I took.

  Since I’d met Vaughn, I wanted to kiss him, to have him hold me, to know that he liked me the way I liked him, and he’d finally made that clear. I just wished I could’ve held on to the moment for that bit longer.

  When we reached the bottom of the stairwell, Vaughn let go of my hand, leaving my fingers cold. I made a fist as he peered around the door. Inside the centre, the last rays of the sun had disappeared, and the room was bathed in darkness. Without light, the whole place changed. It was colder, more menacing. I shivered as I took it all in. Now that the glow of the candles was gone. I didn’t want to be in that place anymore. The quicker we got Tom out of the building, the better.

  Moving past the kiosk of the café, I shot a look towards the kitchen. The white tables and chairs looked grey in the gloom, and as I glanced over the hatch and into the kitchen, I saw nothing but darkness. I shuddered. That was one place I didn’t want to go tonight. Who knows what we’d find there?

  We heard movement. Footsteps. I pressed into the kiosk, and ahead of me, Vaughn did the same. He glanced back, pressing his finger to his lips as he crept towards the open doorway on the left. He peered around the doorframe, then motioned for me to follow. Moving through the narrow corridor, we passed the small staff kitchen and went into the hall beyond. Chairs were scattered around, and reams of paper had been dumped. The aftermath of rehearsals.

  Vaughn kept moving, leading me past the chairs and along the wall, until he reached the far corner of the room. After steeling himself, he glanced down a long, dark corridor. My hand rested on his shoulder, and I looked, too. There were several doors, all of them closed. I could barely breathe. If Tom had come around the corner then, we would’ve been caught and flushed out.

  Vaughn started to take a step down the corridor, when a door opened, flooding the hallway with light. Tom stepped into it, reached back into the room, and turned out the light. Then, zipping his coat up, he strode down to the end of the hallway, where he pushed his weight against a door. The fire exit gave beneath the force and opened, giving me a glimpse of the midnight sky before it shut.

  “It’s looking dark out there,” Vaughn muttered, dialling his phone. It rang once and was picked up on the other side. “We’re coming to the front door now. He just left. No. What? You’re kidding?” Vaughn scratched the back of his neck and looked at me. “Must’ve missed them by seconds. Okay. Okay. Will do. Bye.” He slid the phone back into his pocket.

  “What’s going on?” I stepped closer.

  “It’s too dark. The outside of the centre is swarming with Cursed. Tom must’ve just missed them.”

  My eyes bulged as I stared at Vaughn. “What does that mean?”

  “That means we’re stuck in here alone. My dad and Luka can’t get in.”

  “You’re kidding?”

  “I wish I was.” He shook his head.

  “Vaughn, we can’t be—”

  “Hey.” He put his hands on either side of my face, his palms radiating heat. “Don’t worry. We’re safe in here. We’ll salt the doorways.”

  “What if they get in?”

  “They won’t.” He shook his head again. “And my dad and Luka are staying outside to keep watch.”

  “This was a bad idea.” I bit my lip.

  “Surely not all of it.” He moved closer to me, leaned down, and kissed me softly.

  “Okay. Maybe not that.” I smiled.

  He returned my smile. “So what now?”

  “Now we investigate.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  The last place I wanted to be was the centre, yet I was stuck with no way to escape until the sun came up.

  “Where do we start?” I asked.

  “I say we check out the offices since we’re down here anyway,” Vaughn said. “We’ll look for anything that the Cursed might be drawn to.”

  “I’m hoping that whatever it is, we’ll see it a mile off so we can run.”

  Vaughn squeezed my hand. “Whatever’s in this place, we’ll face it together, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  I reached into my bag and grabbed my torch. I flicked it on, and then made sure the salt was easily accessible. I moved my hand against the cold metal of the gun and sighed in relief. We crept down the corridor that Tom had emerged into. There were four doors. One was locked. The first led into a tiny bathroom with a toilet and a washbasin so small I wondered how anyone could wash their hands. The second was the one Tom had opened before exiting out the fire door.

  Vaughn grasped the handle and turned. It gave, and he pushed the door open into the pitch black beyond. We stepped over the threshold, our torch beams the only light. I thought about switching on the overhead lights, but someone may’ve seen it in passing and we couldn’t risk being caught. The room was a decent sized office. Directly in front of the door was a huge mahogany desk that looked like it had withstood the hands of time. I saw chips in the woodwork, and one of the legs appeared to be a replacement. The left wall was lined with bookshelves, and as my light skimmed over them, I saw an array of religious texts, with a few scatterings about community work and theatre. This place may not have been a church anymore but the residue of one still lingered. The left wall was bare except for a few hanging pictures depicting actors in varying stages of dress. I saw Tom dressed in a costume, accepting an award, with a beaming smile.

  “Don’t think there’s anything in here.” Vaughn continued roving the walls with his torch beam.

  I shook my head. “Me neither.”

  We stepped back into the corridor and closed the door. The final door was the fire exit. I knew it worked, but I also knew that to open it would invite the Cursed in. Couldn’t risk it, no matter how much I wanted to get out of there.

  “We’ll search the staff kitchen on our way into the main part of the centre,” Vaughn said as we turned back towards the big hall.

  In the dark, everything looked eerie. I swallowed and tried to keep the torch beam steady.

  Vaughn led the way, his boots falling heavy on the old flooring. Every now and then I would hear a creak or a groan, and it was comforting to know that he was just ahead.

  We passed the narrow kitchen on our way to the main part of the building. Both torches cast circles of light in the canteen, but there was nothing to see. We kept walking until we reached the former sanctuary.
Everything was silent. Almost.

  “What’s that?” I whispered.

  It sounded like scratching.

  Vaughn frowned and cocked his head. Then he took a step closer to the wall and pressed his ear to the stone. He listened for a minute. I refused to breathe. He grimaced as he finally moved.

  “Vaughn?”

  “It’s the Cursed.”

  I shuddered. They wanted in, but why?

  Further and further into the community centre we crept. While moving around the stage, the light in my hands tremble. My breath came out in pants, partly because I was trying to stay quiet, but mostly because I was on the verge of panic.

  A thump echoed.

  Vaughn froze, then reached behind for me. I caught his hand and squeezed his fingers. We both stood like rabbits in headlights, unable to move, to speak. My chest burned with the air held inside. I was scared that any noise could alert something to our presence.

  Another thump.

  Vaughn’s head snapped to the right, and I followed suit. The café. It was coming from the café.

  My stomach heaved, and I sucked in a deep breath. Vaughn squeezed my fingers and then lowered his hand. After flicking his jacket out of the way, he unholstered the pistol stashed on his right side. He held the torch in his left, with a steely resolve. He gave me one final glance, his eyes dark and his jaw set in a tense line, and then stalked towards the café. It was the last place on earth I wanted to go, but there was no way I was letting him go alone.

  As I followed, my breaths coming out in ragged gasps, I pulled my gun out of my bag. I hadn’t ever fired one in the field. Tonight might be the first. I crept along the stone floor, one foot in front of the other, following Vaughn’s trail. I couldn’t think, couldn’t feel. All I could do was walk. Every sense was on high alert. It wasn’t long before we came to the plastic tables which marked the seating area. My eyes filtered around, but I saw nothing except the garish white plastic dimmed to a dull matte in the darkness. No movement, no sound. So far so good.