Salvaged Soul (The Ignited Series Book 3) (14 page)

A goddess, though I didn’t know her name. She wasn’t any of the twelve Olympians, and wasn’t one who had passed on a specialty to the Kala. I had never seen her before, though she stared at me like she knew me. She pushed away from the wall, and walked toward me. As she approached, I realized her eyes weren’t necessarily on me, but something on me.

Her hand reached out to grab the stone hanging from my neck. “This is the work of Hecate.”

“Her daughter, actually,” I returned.

“Yes.” She smiled as she examined the stone. “I see it worked.”

Puzzled, I looked down. The quarter-sized stone had a small chip taken out of it. I took the stone from her to look closer, and I realized what had caused it. The Skotadi’s knife that had been intended for my heart. I knew it had pierced my vest . . .

I hadn’t been stabbed because the blade had hit the stone.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, and managed a weak smile.
Good job, Kris . . .

“I’m Circe,” the goddess said. “I’m glad to finally see the excellent work of my sister.”

I dove into my memory banks, grasping for what knowledge I had of Circe. She was a lesser known goddess of magic, I knew that, second to Hecate, who was far superior in her abilities. She was supposedly Hecate’s daughter, which made her . . .

I looked up to take in the goddess who was Kris’s sister, but words were lost to me.

“You know my sister well?” Though it was a question, she spoke with such conviction, I suspected Circe already knew the answer.

“Yes.”

She smiled again, and lifted her hand. It had been empty a moment ago, but now she held a small vial of fluid out to me. “I believe you may have some use for this potion.”

I took it from her hesitantly. “What is it?” I asked.

“I made it myself using a potential spell,” she answered proudly. “The soul of whoever drinks it will find their true potential, and will find security and protection from evil influence, after a three-day deep sleep.”

I studied the fluid in my hands. “I don’t know what that means.”

Circe glanced around as if searching for eavesdropping ears. Jared stood the closest to us, but he had discreetly wandered away when she approached me. She stepped closer, and dropped her voice. “Theoretically, a soul darkened by evil, with the potential for good, may find its way to the light.”

“Okay . . .” A few uses for something like this came to mind, and I wondered how exactly she intended for me to use it.

“One drop of this fluid will create another full vial,” she said. “I suspect you will find your uses for it.”

So I could use it on more than one . . .

My head snapped up with a question, but she was gone. As I spun around to look for her, Jared caught my eye, and he walked over.

“What was that all about?” he asked.

“Not exactly sure,” I murmured. She hadn’t stuck around long enough for me to ask my final, and most important, question.

Was this potion intended to sever Kris’s connection to evil? Did Circe intend for it to bring out Kris’s true potential—of goodness?

I thought, yes. That was her intent. She knew I could get the potion to Kris, so she had given it to me. As I wrapped my head around what had happened, and the possibilities of what the potion in my possession could do, the golden door swung open and Isatan approached us.

He nodded to Jared and me. “My father wishes to speak with you now.”

I felt the eyes of the other Kala on us as we walked away with Isatan. He led us to a room—not the same one as before, with the twelve seats chiseled out of the stone, but another cold stone-walled room. Zeus, Hera, and Poseidon stood in the center, waiting for us.

Hera greeted us with a smile. “Thank you for rescuing Permna and Isatan.”

I stuffed my hands in my pockets with a nod as Jared said, “It was our honor. We lost many men, but I understand the cause will be worth their sacrifice.”

“We will see to that,” Zeus vowed. “The corrupted demigods will be tracked down and destroyed. The sacrifice of your men, and the loss of the innocent villagers of Ichalia, will not be in vain.”

I assumed Isatan had filled them in on the villagers. I wondered what they knew of the situation. Was it a curse? Who had been behind it? And how was it related to the corrupted demigods’ plans to achieve immortality?

“What has been determined of the villagers’ situation?” I asked, fishing for information.

“Not much,” Hera answered with a small smile.

Zeus shot her a scalding look, and I had a feeling he didn’t like looking incompetent in front of measly hybrids. “We now know that a small group of Skotadi are working with the devious demigods, and they are using humans in their quest for immortality with the aid of a powerful Incantator.”

“And Hades’ demigods?” Jared probed.

Zeus and Poseidon shared a look, and Poseidon answered, “I always suspected they were involved.”

I thought it was obvious—they were. Otherwise, why had they been summoned to the village by a group of Skotadi that was in cahoots with a group of demigods that was rising against the gods? I agreed with Poseidon—they were in on it too. Which meant there were now ten corrupted demigods to deal with . . . against two.

“This curse,” Hera said softly, “is more than just a curse. They seem to be draining the life forces of a large number of humans. If enough human life is sacrificed at once, and the correct magic is used to capture the essence of their souls, the demigods can use that power to gain their immortality.”

Zeus murmured something to Hera that I couldn’t hear, and she shook her head in return. It resembled something of a marital dispute, which was an odd sight to witness between two gods.

Finally, Hera turned to Jared and me with a tight smile, but she still spoke to Zeus. “Nothing will be hurt by them knowing the truth. Besides, they are friends of Hecate’s daughter, and she will be our ally.”

Poseidon made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a snort, and I decided that, when it came to Kris’s safety, he couldn’t be trusted. Hera was definitely on Kris’s side, and Zeus seemed on the fence. I hoped that, when the time came, Hera would have the influence over Zeus she seemed to have today.

Zeus grumbled, then spoke to us. “We will be needing the girl’s assistance as soon as she is able. With the level of Incantation being used in this curse, she may be the only demigod we have capable of stopping it. Hecate would be ideal, of course, but she cannot help as long as she is imprisoned by Hades, and Circe doesn’t have the strength to do it.”

Jared glanced at me before responding. “We will inform you upon her reaching maturity.”

Zeus nodded. “Until then, I ask for your assistance in the pursuit of the corrupted demigods. I know your men are tired and injured, but if you could spare an army to assist our demigods, we would be grateful.”

And that was the ball I had been waiting for to drop. Just as I had suspected . . . the mission had only begun.

Chapter 14

{Kris}

“What about this one?”

I flipped the massive book around and pointed to the spell half way down the page.
‘Repairing a damaged vessel.’
It had taken me some time to get used to the language used in these ancient spell books, but I now knew that
‘vessel’
meant body.

And Callie’s body was definitely damaged. If only we knew exactly what Lillian had done to cause the damage, we could find a more specific spell. Right now, generic spells like this one were all we had to work with.

Micah read the specifics, like what materials were needed and how the spell was performed, and nodded his head. “Tag it. We can try it.”

By
‘we’
, he meant me. I would be the one to try it since I was the practicing Incantator of the group. Micah and Alec were there to help me find the right spell, and for moral support. Because I really needed it. Because I wasn’t very good at this whole Incantation thing. Which really sucked, because now was when I needed to be good. I needed to be able to do what I was supposed to be able to do now more than ever.

Because I would never forgive myself if Callie died.

“That makes three,” Alec announced.

I had learned the hard way that I couldn’t attempt more than three complicated spells at a time, and even that was taxing. The first time I tried to do a bunch, I thought I was going to die. I ended up sleeping the rest of the day, and then needed a four-course meal when I woke up. Apparently, casting spells expended a lot of energy. The more involved the spell, the more it took out of me.

“I can swing by the lab to pick up the materials and meet you there,” Micah volunteered.

“Yeah, okay.” I looked at Alec. “You coming with me?”

“You bet.” Alec gathered up the two spell books, and stood.

“I guess that means I’m going too,” Kim said, her tone brusque and business-like as usual. She had hovered in the background the past few days while we searched for a way to help Callie, and though she hadn’t said or offered much, I suspected that Kim had come to care about what happened to Callie. That was one thing about Kim I had been able to determine with confidence. She took her role as a Kala seriously—especially their credo to protect humans from the forces of evil.

“Let’s go. That girl isn’t going to get better with us hanging around here.” Bruce opened the door and ushered us out ahead of him.

Once we reached the village center, Micah and Richie split from the rest of us with a promise to meet up in the Infirmary in a few minutes. As I watched them walk away, I realized that even Richie had become a source of support. The extra spring to his step, and eagerness that I rarely saw from him, came purely out of concern for Callie. The guy might not like me because of who—and what—I was, but after all the time he had unwillingly spent around me, there seemed to have been a truce developed between us somewhere along the way. He still watched me cautiously around Micah, but I had also seen him let his guard down a few times. He never would have done that three months ago.

The rest of the island . . . well, they still treaded carefully around me.

Except for the moron who came out of nowhere, bumped into me, then spun around and slammed into Alec.

“Hey! What the hell is your problem?” Alec shoved the kid so hard his feet lifted off the ground, and I was convinced that the only reason he didn’t land on his ass was because he was graced with the superhuman balance of a hybrid.

Bruce jumped to attention, though I wondered if he intended to protect the Kala, or defend Alec and me. But then, the kid didn’t really stick around for the ass-kicking Alec appeared ready to dish out.

I doubted he realized who exactly he had plowed into. “Sorry,” he muttered as he scampered off. Almost as if it were an afterthought, he glanced back to offer an explanation. “They’re back.”

My feet froze as I watched the boy dash away—in the direction of the beach.
They’re back.

They? As in . . .

My feet started moving toward the beach. To the docks, along with what appeared to be the rest of the island, all of whom must have just gotten the same memo.

They were back.

Pushing through the horde that had assembled on the narrow trail leading to the dock, I spotted the boat. I caught glimpses of a few unfamiliar faces still on it, and spotted a few that had already disembarked, but I didn’t see the face I longed to see.

“Excuse me,” I said, pushing past two Kala who were talking and laughing like this was any other day. Obviously they weren’t eagerly awaiting someone’s return. Not like I was.

The crowd thinned once I reached the beach. Like the day the team left, clusters of Kala scattered all over, waiting for their loved ones. A few lucky ones were already entangled in an embrace. A few others hung their heads in tears. Most, like me, looked toward the boat with a hopeful expression.

I finally got a good look at the few who remained on the boat, and my stomach dropped.

Where is he?

I turned in a slow circle, taking in the scene around me. Only then did I realize that most of the waiting Kala were crying, or close to it, and only a small handful were rejoicing. From what I saw, I determined that only half of the team had returned. I scanned the horizon through blurry eyes, looking for a second boat.

There had to be a second boat because the alternative wasn’t acceptable. Each second that ticked by made it more real. More painful.

Seeing no sign of another boat, I spun around to search the beach again.

Alec stood in front of me. “Kris . . .” His expression was grim, his voice soothing. He held a hand out to me, but I didn’t take it. I wouldn’t take it, because it was a gesture of pity, and if I took it then I would be admitting what I was too afraid to admit.

That Nathan wasn’t on the beach. He wasn’t on the island.

He hadn’t come back.

“No.” I shook my head and ran past Alec. The crowd on the trail had doubled from moments ago as more Kala hurried to the dock. I pushed against them, needing to get as far away from there as I could.

“Kris!”

I tuned Alec out, and kept pushing through the thick crowd. He called my name again, but I didn’t stop, didn’t turn. I hit a wall of Kala blocking my escape. Choking back the sob rising in my throat, I tried to go around them.

I couldn’t cry yet. Because once I started, I wouldn’t stop.

“Kris!” Fingers grazed my hand, and I snatched my arm back as if I had been jolted with electricity.

I didn’t want to be touched. I didn’t want sympathy. If Alec thought I needed a friend right now, he was wrong. I needed to put distance between me and that damn beach.

I started to elbow my way between two Kala girls, cutting off their excited chatter, when the hand found mine again. This time, it grabbed me firmly and pulled, spinning me around in the process. I had a few choice words ready for Alec, but they were forgotten the moment I saw blue.

The sob I had been holding back finally escaped as I threw myself into Nathan’s arms. His strength enveloped me, and my feet lifted off the ground as he pulled me close. My face nuzzled the side of his neck—his rough and stubbly and perfect neck—as relief washed over me.

“I didn’t see you,” I mumbled. “I didn’t . . . and I thought . . .”

Nathan’s arm tightened around my waist. “It’s alright,” he crooned. His fingers combed through my hair in a soothing gesture. “I’m here. It’s alright.”

Nathan swayed slightly when a Kala bumped into us, reminding me that we weren’t alone. My ears picked up a few hushed whispers, and I realized we were causing quite the scandalous scene. We were surrounded by an island of Kala who weren’t supposed to know about us, but I didn’t care. I had Nathan back, and I wasn’t ready to let go of him yet.

“Kris?” Nathan leaned away, and I reluctantly vacated the sweet spot under his chin. But then I got to see his face, and that was pretty great, too. His lips were parted like he wanted to say something, but whatever thought he had drifted away the moment our eyes met.

His gaze dropped to my mouth, and his lips quickly followed. Right there, in the middle of the trail, surrounded by a crowd of stunned Kala, Nathan kissed me. An insanely soft and slow
I missed you so much and I want to remember what your lips feel like
kind of kiss—the kind of kiss so intimate that anyone watching had to look away to give it the privacy it deserved.

Though it would have been nice to imagine that Nathan and I were in our own little world with each other, I felt the penetrating stares of many Kala on the back of my head. That, and that alone, was probably the only reason Nathan cut the kiss short. He peeled away slowly, and I felt his sigh of agony against my lips just before he set my feet on the ground.

One arm remained firmly around me as his eyes scanned the crowd over my head. “Looks like the cat is out of the bag,” he mumbled.

I met the curious eyes of a passing Kala girl with a challenging glare. “I don’t care. I’ll take whatever they dish out if it means you’ll kiss me like that more often.”

Nathan chuckled as his grip on me lessened. But only so he could slip his fingers between mine. His head tipped down so that we were nearly eye to eye. “Are you okay now?”

He was alive, so yeah. I nodded. “Where were you?”

His lips curled into a lopsided smile. “I was the first one off the boat. We must have passed each other in the crowd. I spotted you when you started running off.”

I guessed that had been him calling my name then, not Alec. Speaking of . . .

I looked around, but only saw a bunch of Kala I didn’t know casting me uneasy glances. “Did you see Alec? He was here a minute ago.”

Nathan’s chin jutted forward. “Yeah. They’re back there, waiting at the top of the trail.”

They? That likely included Micah. Ugh . . . wait . . .

Callie!

I gasped when I remembered where I had been going before hearing the team was back. “I have to go,” I told Nathan.

“Oh. Okay.” His brow furrowed. “What’s going on?”

“They brought Callie to the island,” I explained quickly. “She’s sick. Really sick. They think Lillian put some spell on her, and . . . no one knows what’s wrong or what to do, so we’re trying a bunch of different spells to break the one Lillian did. We were on our way to the Infirmary when . . .” I gestured to Nathan. His return had temporarily put everything on hold. But now I had to get back to my best friend.

His grip on my hand tightened, and then he started moving, pushing his way through the crowd and pulling me after him. With him leading the way, Kala who would have otherwise laughed in my face moved to the side. A few raised their eyebrows at our conjoined hands, but no one spoke up.

We reached the others quickly, which wasn’t surprising. Nathan cared a lot about Callie, and like the rest of us, I knew he would stop at nothing to help her.

“Welcome back,” Alec greeted Nathan with a grin. Surprisingly, he looked and sounded genuine.

Micah, on the other hand, looked like he had swallowed a bug. He said nothing as we made our way through the village center to the Infirmary.

The guard opened the door ahead of our entrance, and nodded at Nathan as we passed. He was either greeted by name or acknowledged with a respectful head nod by every guard we encountered as we worked our way through the building.

“Does everyone on this island know you?” I whispered to him.

“Pretty much.” Nathan pushed through a set of swinging doors and stopped. “Which way?”

“Down here.” I led the way now, with Nathan’s hand still entwined with mine and I had no intention of dropping it.

Jake stood outside Callie’s door, and smiled as we approached. “Here to do a few more spells?”

“I’m going to try,” I muttered as I passed by him. 

I entered the room first, and was the first one to see the difference another day had made. I hadn’t thought it possible for her to get worse, but she had. Her skin was even more pale, her eyes more bloodshot. Her breaths now came in shallow, rapid wheezes.

I immediately went to her side and smoothed a few stray hairs out of her face. Her thin lips curved and her eyes drifted over my shoulder. Only then did I realize that my hand was free, and Nathan wasn’t beside me anymore.

“Well, look who finally showed up,” Callie said, her voice barely a whisper.

I looked over my shoulder in time to catch the anguish etched on Nathan’s face before he covered it with a smile. A fake smile, but a smile for Callie.

“Like I could stay away.” He stepped forward, coming up beside me to take one of Callie’s hands in his.

If it were possible, I fell even more in love with him.

“How did this start, Callie?” he asked gently.

She tried to laugh, but ended up coughing. By the time she caught her breath, her voice was hoarse. “Everyone thought it was mono.”

“You don’t remember any more about what Lillian did, or what she said?”

She shook her head instead of speaking.