Altered Souls (20 page)

“I’m going to try to see your mom tomorrow. I think she’s the only one here that hasn’t been altered. I performed the spell on my mom. She’s there somewhat, but I don’t even know —”

“We can’t think that way.”

“I know. I can’t believe the change in her though. When I performed the spell on Jenna I got a strong sense of who she was. When I did it on my mom tonight, I barely could sense her. Time is running out.”

“I’m so sorry, but be careful.”

“I will. This whole place is frightening.
I know he’s using the chemicals from mushrooms and who knows what else, but I have to say his mind control techniques are like no other. The people around here idolize him.
It’s beyond scary.
”

“I can’t even imagine.
It kills me that you’re in a place like that for a cause we don’t even know we can win.
”

“If I didn’t believe we could win it, I wouldn’t be here.”

I felt his smile. I wished I could feel his embrace, the strength in his arms as he wrapped himself around me, but I couldn’t.

“Did you eat?”

“I’m not hungry, but I’ve had water. I should be able to get what I need tomorrow. I’m walking the grounds with my mother, and she’s pretty out of it so it shouldn’t be difficult.”

“Dace thinks they have enough antidote for everyone now. But, Triss, if the bond is too deep it might not work on your mom.”

I was silent for a moment, quieting my mind.

“All we can do is hope. When will it be dropped off?”

“Tomorrow night.”

It was quiet between us once more until he asked the question I dreaded.

“Have you seen Trevor?”
The words made me ill. I didn’t want to lie, but I didn’t want Logan to worry. I chose truth.

“I did.”

“And?”
his internal voice pained.

“There’s nothing to worry about. I love you. There’s no danger, but I promise to tell you if anything crosses the line on his end.”

I could sense the relief spread through his body.

“I’ve got something planned tomorrow. You may see it or you may not, but I didn’t want you to be alarmed.”

“That’s vague. Tell me what you’re doing.”

“I can’t.”

Then I realized that Logan wasn’t certain that I could remain unaltered.

“Oh. You think I might get turned?”

“I think it’s better this way. Stick to the original plan and everything will go fine. This is to protect you.”

My bossy self wanted to argue with him, but I knew he was right.

“
In a
world of lies,
know the love I share with you is real.
We can
count on it and
each other. We’re going to have to depend on that more than anything,
” he continued.

“
I love you, Logan. We
should probably
stop
in case the party lets out downstairs
and someone actually decides to care about me
.”

I could feel his laughter. He understood me in a world where no one else ever would.

“
Goodnight, my love.”

“Goodnight,”
I
whispered out loud and internally
.

“Goodnight,” my father’s voice echoed from my bedroom door that he opened. “I’m surprised you knew I was here.”

“Like father like daughter,” I whispered, trying to hide my fear.

Was there anything else I said out loud? Did he know?

“Have a wonderful night. It’s nice having you home,” he replied closing the door.

Chapter 21

Being within the walls of the Great Camp churned a loneliness that I hadn’t prepared for. It didn’t help knowing that this was part of a plan. In the here and now, I was alone. I tamped down the fear that wanted to paralyze me, and the paranoia that made me second-guess every thought and movement I made. There was no one here, besides Ellsy, who knew of my father’s evilness. I had to get to her.

My father’s camp was filled with people who seemed oblivious to his master plan. I watched them wander along on their way to complete some inconsequential task my father or his circle thought up. It was quite sad.

Walking toward the building that housed Ellsy, my mind strayed back to Logan. How much it must hurt him knowing his mom was here being held against her will. I remembered the pain I felt when I first thought about my mother’s disappearance. Now I wasn’t sure what I felt.

I didn’t have to meet my mom or Trevor for another hour or so, which should give me enough time to see Ellsy. I didn’t know what to expect. My hand turned the doorknob with an ease that concerned me. It was unlocked. I pushed it open only far enough to allow myself to slide through.

The room was completely empty. There was the familiar grey, stone for the walls and flooring, but there was no furniture. It felt damp, even though we were in the early part of fall. The building reminded me of a storage shed that was emptied quickly.

There was a spiral metal staircase in the corner that I walked to.

“Who’s there?” Ellsy’s voice called out as my feet hit the metal steps.

“Are you alone?” I asked, not sure what I would do if the answer was no.

“Yes,” she cried. “Triss, you shouldn’t be here.”

I ran up the steps and found her sitting in the corner, shackled. Hay was spread out for bedding on one side of the floor. Her hair was a tangled mess, and she looked deathly thin but still managed to smile.

I ran to her and hugged her not wanting to let go. She felt like bones. Tears
streamed
down her face, and I couldn’t hold mine in either.

“I’m so sorry,” I mumbled.

“Triss, this isn’t your fault,” she said, releasing me.

“Here,” I said, reaching into my pockets. “I have some granola bars. I know it’s not much, but I’ve got more stuff waiting on the side of the wall. I’m going to get you out of here.”

She shook her head. “No, Triss. You need to only be concerned with getting yourself out of here.”

Not wanting to divulge any details, I only shook my head.

“What made them put you here?”

“The moment I arrived I created a problem and —” she stopped. “You need to get out of here. They’re going to be back.”

“How many?” I asked, standing up to leave.

“Usually two,” she whispered. “Triss, how’s Logan?”

“He’s good, amazingly so,” I paused. “You’ve raised the most incredible man I’ve ever met.”

She smiled. “Thank you.”

A brightness quickly flashed in her eyes.

“No, Thank you.” I held her hand.

“Be careful.”

“I’m meeting my mother and Trevor today, but I will be back. In the meantime, make sure you eat these. You’ll need your strength, but this place is coming to an end. I’m not leaving you, so you need to stay as strong as possible.”

I bent down and gave her a quick hug, I
peeked
down the stairwell opening to make sure no one had come in since I arrived, and it was all clear.

I opened the front door slowly and made my escape back to the main house where Trevor and my mother were waiting.

“Where to first? I asked, trying to calm down from my encounter with Ellsy.

“I thought the gardens of the gods would be a great introduction,” my mother replied.

“Sounds incredible,” I lied.

Trevor reached for my hand, and my gut twisted in a violent response that my lips couldn’t repeat. Letting him grasp it, I looked at him and smiled.

“Thanks,” he replied softly as we went outside.

He had the ability to be decent if he let himself. My mother carried a basket similar to the one we used to carry at home in Seattle for our gathering purposes. I wondered if she was content. For someone so oblivious would I be doing her a disservice getting her to come back to reality?

“It’s really nice having you here,” Trevor said, interrupting my thoughts.

“Thank you.”

“It really is,” my mom seconded.

We were following along behind her on a path that was edged in periwinkle.

“Have you been to wherever we’re going?” I asked Trevor.

“Selfishly, that’s also why I wanted to come along. It wasn’t only to spend time with you.” He smiled.  I’ve been so busy planning and helping your father there’s a lot of this property I haven’t seen.”

“What have you been helping him with?” I asked.

“He’s been waiting for this meeting for quite sometime.”

“Who is it with?”

My mother turned around and gave Trevor a warning stare.
Oh
, now she comes to life?

“I’ll tell you later,” Trevor whispered.

The earthy scent began emerging the longer we stayed on this path.  Were we headed to more mushroom fields?

“Almost there,” my mother hummed.

Rounding the corner my eyes met rows and rows of beautiful gardens. As far as my eyes could see, there were flowers in every direction. There were ornamental gardens, herb gardens, vegetable gardens, anything I could imagine was right in front of me. I also noticed many workers tending to the plants.

“Wow, those red sunflowers are huge and so gorgeous,” I replied, understanding the army of workers it would take to keep this going.

“What’s beyond the gardens?” I asked, as Trevor and I wandered through the flowers. My mother had roamed off in another direction, and surprisingly I was relieved to be with Trevor. I wondered if he knew anything about the mushrooms.

“I really haven’t been to this area, but I know your dad’s propagating all types of things everywhere he can find room.”

A woman was deadheading all of the flowers, and we walked by silencing our discussion until we were father away.

“Who’s my dad meeting?”

“There’s an elder of the P
raedivinus
Order who only comes to the states every decade or so. I guess your father has only seen him two other times,” Trevor whispered, as if there were recording devices in the fields.

“I thought my father was the head of that?” I asked.

“You know about it?” he asked, narrowing his eyes.

“Only what I saw on the flyer at Starbucks.” I divulged.

“Well, he’s next in line, but he’s the head of it in the states.”

“What is the goal, do you know?”

“
Transcendence
of the soul.”

“Wow. That’s kind of a lofty statement,” I blurted out.

Trevor stopped walking and glared at me.

“Are you making fun of it?”

“Not at all. I think that’s a pretty hard thing to accomplish on a wide-spread scale.”

“You haven’t seen him in action. Your father can work wonders.”

“Is it all magic or does he have any help?”

“What do you mean?”

“Like potions you guys drink or —”

“Everything is done by searching deep within one’s own soul.” Trevor interrupted.

He has no idea, but why isn’t he as far gone as my mother?

“Kids?” My mother’s voice rang through the air. I suddenly felt like I was ten again.

I bent down and ripped some lavender to smell. Bringing it to my face I froze as I recognized the earthy scent that was definitely not lavender. Dropping the herb, I ran to the nearest worker.

“Do you guys fertilize everything out here?” I asked, startling the worker.

“Of course. You can’t get gardens like this without fertilizer. It’s all organic though. Nicholas wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“Everything’s beautiful,” I muttered.

“What’s your deal?” Trevor asked, coming up behind me.

“Nothing,” I said, wiping my hands on my clothes.

“You look like you saw a ghost.”

I started laughing trying to throw him off.

“Come on, let’s go get some lunch. This is just me with low blood sugar.”

We met up with my mom and walked back to the main house. Stopping in the kitchen, I grabbed some fruit that I never intended to eat and watched Trevor carefully. He seemed to get more nervous on our way back, and now that we were in the kitchen, he seemed almost terrified.

“What’s up?” I asked. It pained me to continue this playacting. Did I really care?

My mother came up behind me and rested her palm on my shoulder.

“Is that all you’re going to eat?” she asked.

“For now. I think the dinner from last night is still with me. I was actually going to go take a nap.” I looked at her and realized I was treating her as a stranger, but I was only following her lead.

“I know the feeling. I gotta go finish some stuff for your dad,” Trevor replied, waving as he left the kitchen.

“I was thinking about doing that too,” My mother replied, leaving me standing in the kitchen by myself. Looking around the space, I was completely stumped at how easy it was to rid myself of everyone. I plopped the fruit back in the bowl and took off back outside.

I walked by the building that Ellsy was being held in. There were now two people chatting downstairs
exactly
as she described. I nodded at them as they watched me with curiosity as I continued toward the woods.

As I neared the forest, I heard a large knocking. Looking up quickly, I saw a woodpecker, pecking away at a dying tree. It was such a large creature and quite beautiful. It seemed fitting as the dead wood crumbled from the sky. Lately it felt like the sky was falling.

Walking into the darkened woodland, the chirping and warbling from the many birds sounded wonderful. It brought me as close to peace as I would find for the moment.

I found the stone
wall that was only as high as my hip, and I followed it along the property, attempting to get my bearings. I was getting thirsty and looked for one of the markers that indicated I was getting close to one of the drop-off points. If I could get a few nutrition bars and a couple bottled waters, I’d be set. My eye spotted the grey piece of fabric tucked in a branch and relief flooded my system.

I leaned over the wall and found the bag immediately. I quickly stuffed the bars in all my pockets, and twisted the cap off of one of the waters, drinking it as fast as I could. I placed the empty bottle back in the bag and grabbed two more. I tucked the bottles in my socks and secured each around my ankle with a ribbon that was provided. This brought new meaning to the word bootlegging as I pulled the cuff of my jeans back down over my hidden goods. Tossing the bag back where I found it, I decided that I might as well grab the pendant at the end of the wall since I was out here.

I wanted to believe that Logan was watching me. Like he and the others were only hiding in the woods, waiting for me to come search everything out, but I knew that wasn’t the case. I was alone.

Reaching the corner of the wall, I slid my hand along the wall, until I found the coldness of the metal. I quickly fastened the chain around my neck and hid the pendant under my shirt. Rather than make my way back along the way I came, I decided to weave my way through the woods. Calmness met me out here amongst the trees and the birds chirping. It centered me. I could see the buildings from where I was, and I didn’t want to go back yet.

I sat down and leaned against the tree, wondering if I’d be able to find out what I needed from my father and if that would even prove anything. It seemed like the only way to stop the traditions from my father’s past was to stop him and ensure that I didn’t pick up any bad habits along the way.

A bank swallow landed on the ground in front of me and began singing her song. I thought back to when Logan and I were at the beach and somehow I compared myself to a crazy cat lady. Even though it seemed like the weight of the world was on our shoulders, and I narrowly avoided being attacked, I
’d
felt loved and comforted.
L
ike the possibilities all led to a good place. I didn’t believe that any longer. Instead, it felt like any choice I made was going to be the wrong one.

The bank swallow flew away, and I closed my eyes letting the sounds of the forest wrap around me. The cheerfulness of the songs surrounding me came to an abrupt halt as their silence warned of a predator. I opened my eyes to see my father talking with the elder Trevor
had
mentioned earlier.