The Soulkeepers

by G. P. Ching

  Chapter 45

  Homecoming

  When he’d finally recovered from his journey through the tree, Jacob sat up in the sand and looked around him. Malini was still on her side, holding her head. It was only her second time through Oswald. He scooted over to her and scooped her up into his arms.

  “Thank you, Malini, for coming for me.”

  Malini hugged him tightly and kissed him softly on the lips. She buried her face in his chest.

  Gideon stood in front of the tree in his angel form, chanting something Jacob couldn’t understand.

  “What’s he doing?” he asked Dr. Silva, who had pulled her knees into her chest and looked both sad and tired.

  “He’s blessing Oswald so that his soul will leave the tree and go to heaven.”

  “Well, that’s terrific, isn’t it?”

  “It means the tree won’t be a portal anymore. Oswald’s soul was what made it work. He’s closing it off so that the Watchers can’t use it to get to us.”

  “Do we need the portal? For the work that I’m supposed to do?”

  “No, not really. There are other ways. Better ways actually. I’m just going to miss Oswald.”

  Then he remembered what was at stake. “The garden—it was Oswald’s magic that kept this place alive, wasn’t it?”

  “Yes.”

  “And, all of this will die when he goes?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m so sorry, Dr. Silva. This is my fault.”

  “No, Jacob. There were problems before you ever came along. Why do you think I had a gate?”

  And then another hand was on his shoulder, a hand he never thought he would see again.

  “Mom!” he yelled and hugged her as hard as he could.

  “Jacob, I missed you so much.” Lillian’s eyes were full of love and tears.

  “But how long have you known? That you were a Horseman, I mean?” he asked. As much as he was glad to see her he was a little put off that she’d never told him.

  “Since your dad died. That was my trigger.”

  “But why didn’t you tell me?”

  “After Charles died, I noticed changes. I would be chopping vegetables at the kitchen counter and the knife would become like an extension of my arm. Someone would startle me after work and my body would move instinctively. I was faster, stronger than ever. Any weapon I touched, I knew how to use like an expert. But I didn’t know what was happening to me. I didn’t have a Helper yet.”

  “So what happened?”

  “Don’t you remember? The bruises, the arrests … I got into fights just to try out my skills, to learn what I could do. I purposely put myself into dangerous situations. I wanted to be attacked—for the exercise.”

  Jacob remembered her strange behavior, how it had gotten worse those last weeks. They’d fought the day of the accident. He’d thought she was on drugs or something. She wouldn’t tell him what was going on or where she was going. That’s why he’d followed her.

  “One night, I wandered into a martial arts academy called the Red Door. I saw weapons in the window, ones I’d never tried before. Sure, I could wield a knife and shoot a gun; these were intuitive. I wanted to know if I could fight with something I’d never touched before, a mace or a staff. Master Lee met me at the door. He said that he was my Helper and I was called to fight evil. Of course, at first I didn’t believe, but after a few meetings he had me convinced. He taught me the basics about fighting Watchers. The box and the throwing knives were my graduation present.

  “When those women went missing in Manoa Falls, I thought it was the work of Watchers. Master Lee called in a team of Horsemen to investigate. My first mission would be to help hunt the thing down and kill it before it murdered anyone else. I was too anxious. I didn’t think I needed the help of the other Horsemen, so I went to Manoa Falls myself. I found the Watcher on instinct, but I was taken.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Would you ever believe it, if you weren’t one yourself? If you hadn’t seen what you’ve seen?”

  “Maybe. You could’ve tried me.”

  He stared at her for a long time. The picture of his past had been fractured and his brain was snapping the pieces together in a different pattern, a whole different past, as he reinterpreted the events that he’d defined himself by for so long. Lilly hadn’t been a messed-up and irresponsible widow, she was a Horseman struggling to understand her power, just like him. The accident that had changed his life forever was no accident at all. His memory rang true.

  “When you are taken to Nod, Jacob, the despair of that place overwhelms you. All you can think about is the worst thing you’ve ever done. You try to resist but eventually you convince yourself that you belong there. You convict yourself and, believe me, a person is their most unmerciful judge. When I was in that cage, Jacob, I was a prisoner to one thought, one terrifying offense. I had abandoned you. I left for Manoa Falls knowing that I might never return. I left you with nothing, no means to survive.”

  “You thought you’d be successful. You didn’t mean to.”

  “It doesn’t matter, Jacob. I’m so sorry.”

  “I think you’ve suffered enough. I forgive you. Just don’t let it happen again.” He smiled knowing a weight had been lifted with his words.

  “But how will we explain this? What story will we tell for how she got here?” Malini asked. “Nobody is ever going to believe what really happened.”

  “I don’t know.” Lillian looked at Dr. Silva. “But we’ll think of something.”

  “It’s more than Lilly we have to explain,” Dr. Silva said. “You two have been gone for three days.”

  “Three days!” Malini and Jacob yelled together.

  “Yes, unfortunately time in Nod is different than time here. You’ve been gone three Earth days. Lilly, you’ve been gone almost a year,” Dr. Silva said.

  Lillian covered her face with her hands.

  “But what will I tell John?” Jacob asked.

  “Or my parents?” Malini added.

  “Oh, we will think of something. The most important thing, Jacob, is that now you are a true Horseman. I’ll connect you with others like you so that you can work together. You will apprentice with a team and participate in your first mission. Your mother being here is a blessing. She can help,” Dr. Silva said.

  “But I don’t understand. I never finished my training.”

  “That, Jacob,” she said, pointing to the tree, “was the advanced course.”

  Jacob wasn’t sure he was comfortable with that answer but he turned toward his mother, another question pressing against his lips. “Are we going back home?” He’d assumed she would want to go back to Oahu, to pick up where they’d left off.

  “It’s not safe, Jacob,” she said. “Right now, this is the safest place on Earth. There just isn’t that much here to entice the Watchers to attack. Now that the portal is closed, it will be more difficult for them to get to you.”

  “Plus, you need Malini,” Gideon said. He’d finished at the tree and now faced them, his green eyes twinkling in the late afternoon sun. “You two have been brought together, spirit to spirit, for a reason.” He stopped when Dr. Silva shot him a sharp glance.

  “Jacob, you need to know, difficult or not, they will come for you. You killed two of their top leaders. Mordechai and Turel were very powerful, what you might call vice presidents in your world. We can slow them down, but I’m afraid there are more Watchers in your future. Both of you.”

  He glanced toward Malini. He hated that he’d dragged her into this. Picking up a handful of sand, he watched it run through his fingers, thinking about the day, about everything he’d learned.

  “Why didn’t you just tell me what you were?” Jacob asked Dr. Silva.

  “Would you have trusted me if you knew I was a Watcher?”

  Gideon shook his head, his green eyes resolute. “You’re not. You are not the same as them, Abigail. I wouldn’t be here if you were.” He was beside
her in an instant. He didn’t actually touch her but sat less than an inch away, his wing sheltering her in its protective arc. Even in the daylight, his glow was undeniable.

  Malini nudged Jacob’s shoulder and shot him a look. He hadn’t meant to hurt Dr. Silva’s feelings.

  “I guess it doesn’t matter what you are, Dr. Silva, but who you are,” she said. “You’re our friend. You saved us today.”

  Malini always knew just what to say.

  “I think that honor goes to Jacob,” Dr. Silva replied. “Why don’t we all go back to the house and have some tea? Then we can talk about what to do next.”

  “I think I’ve had quite enough of your tea, thank you,” Malini said.

  “Whatever you’d like then,” she answered with a laugh.

  Malini and Jacob led the way out of the cactus maze, through the field, and up the twisting forest path. Lillian followed closely, but Dr. Silva and Gideon lagged behind. As they entered the forest, stepping from stone to stone through the blood dragons, something started to nag at Jacob, a thought, a piece of the puzzle that didn’t quite fit. He told Malini to take his mom to the gate and quietly backtracked to the edge of the glade.

  Gideon and Dr. Silva had stopped in the meadow, the setting sun a red halo behind them. His hand hovered within an inch of her cheek, his body as close to hers without touching as possible. Under the shadow of his wings, it looked as if he would kiss her at any moment. His lips were so close to hers Jacob could feel the tension between them. It was a level of intimacy that made Jacob blush. He knew he shouldn’t be watching their private moment but for some reason, he couldn’t turn away. Even a bystander could feel the love there, as intoxicating as fairy dust.

  After what seemed like an eternity, their lips finally touched—only they didn’t. At the moment of contact, Gideon transformed, folding in on himself until only the red cat remained. Jacob could see it then, the sadness between them, hanging like a lead weight around their necks.

  Dr. Silva turned for the path and Jacob didn’t bother to hide. He was too affected by what he’d seen. He swallowed the lump in his throat and waited for them to join him on the trail.

  “So, it seems like you are doomed to experience one more form of hell today,” she said softly. Then she held a hand out toward Gideon. “Witness, the curse of the angel who fell in love with the Watcher.”

  The big red cat ran ahead, making a sound like a cry.