Shattered Souls (9 page)

“Len, is
this where you were supposed to bring me?” I asked, waving the yellow post-it note in front of him.

He nodded.

The chime on the door sounded and Trevor walked in. It was hard not to notice something different about him, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. It wasn’t anything bad – just different.

“Well that was freakishly fast,” I said, laughing.

“I was at Pike Place Market, getting fish for tonight if you must know,” he said, laughing. “Hey man, what’s up?” He brought Logan in for a quick hug and then eyed Len. “This is the guy, huh?”

“Sure is,” I said.
“Thanks for doing this.”

“The least I can do,” Trevor said.

Trevor tied up Len’s wrists in an almost unnoticeable restraint and cast a quick spell on it.

“You didn’t park far from here, did you?” I asked
.

“Right out front,” Trevor said, laughing. “It’s not my first time handling something like this.”

“Right! Sorry. I just get nervous,” I replied.

I rounded up everything of Len’s, minus the a
ddress, and handed it to Trevor before he exited.

Salinah looked over at me.
“It was like time stood still. You and the guy weren’t moving. And then he dropped to his knees. I’ve never seen or felt anything like it,” Salinah said quietly.

“I’m sorry you had to experience it.
”

“Is it true about the form
ula for immortality?” she asked softly.

Shoot!
I shook my head and looked over at Logan. “I think we need to go check out who’s at this address,” I said, trying to change the topic.

“I’m sure you do,” he said, shaking his head. “I propose we send Trevor to check it out.”

“And let him have all the fun? No way.”

“You know
, I don’t think you need anything in there,” Salinah said, pointing at the bag of ingredients. “I don’t think there’s anything in there that will help you do more than you already can. Why was it you were picking it up?”

“Clarity,” I said, shifting my gaze back to Logan. “I
was told things might become clearer until my abilities completely honed in.” I knew it didn’t matter what all I told her because soon she wouldn’t be remembering any of it. Truthfully, I didn’t think I needed those remedies either.

Salinah looked at me suspiciously, and I realized what had to be done.
I didn’t want to do it, but I had to do it. I needed to shift her memories, maybe misplace a few. I looked at Logan who gave me a slight nod as I gently touched Salinah’s hand, melding our minds into one.

Chapter 9

“I feel really guilty about doing that to Salinah,” I confided.

“There was no other option,” Logan confirmed. “She saw too much, heard too much.”

Logan pulled into the driveway back at our house only to have Dace and Bakula frantically fluttering around the front of the home.

“So much for
relaxing,” I whispered, as Logan put the car in park.

“Funn
y how that works with these two,” Logan said, swinging open the car door.

“Things are far too dangerous for you to be out and about,” Bakula said. “Now hurry inside.”

“Let’s not overreact,” I said, arching a brow.

“You don’t know what we do,” Dace confirmed.

“Well, maybe it’s about time you start sharing these things before it gets to this level.”

“S
he’s got a point,” Logan agreed as he pushed open the front door to our home.

Our
house was just as we’d left it, and all I really wanted to do was hop in the tub, take a nap, and then head out to the address we’d gotten from Len. Judging by the looks on Dace and Bakula’s faces, I’d be lucky to get one out of the three.

I flip
ped on the living room light and walked over to the couch. If I couldn’t let my body rejuvenate under a blanket of bubbles, the least Dace and Bakula could do was let me sink onto the couch.

“Oh, dear,” Bakula said, noticing
Logan’s neck.

“It’s nothing,” he said, waving her away from his neck. “You’re kind of making it worse whipping around it like that.”

“Why hasn’t this been tended to?” Bakula asked, eyeing me.

“It’s been on the list, but
our day hasn’t gone as planned. Your arrival is included in that.” I sighed, letting my body slide against the cushions.

“You’re not going to like what
we came for,” Dace said.

“Let me have it then,” I said.

Dace and Bakula sat on the coffee table right next to each other. She looked a little more robust than when I last saw her. The slender fingers I was used to seeing had been replaced with pudginess, and it suited her. It softened her a bit, as long as she didn’t open her mouth too wide to expose her fangs.

“We need you to go into hiding again,” Bakula replied, pinching her lips together.

“Not gonna happen,” I replied.

“It has to happen,” Dace said, standing up to make his point.

“I’m sorry. I’m not going to go into hiding when our covens are being targeted. My father and grandfather’s vacancies created an open invitation for all of the corrupt and exploitative members to step forward. I’m not going to run into the forest every time things get rough,” I said, sitting up slightly on the couch.

“We know you went to see Maddie,” Bakula said, ignoring my protest. “And I’m glad your mom and aunt pointed you to her. Did she explain things to you or—”

“Let’s see…After setting us up and attacking Logan, she opened right up. I’m really looking forward to our next encounter, actually. I’m hoping she can step up the hostility.”

Bakula shook her head and flew over to me. Sitting on my leg, she looked over at Logan. “That’s where you got the injury?”

He nodded.

“We told her you were to be trusted,” Dace said
, pacing on the coffee table.

“You knew about her?” I asked.

“Of course we know about Maddie. We communicate with the undercities on a regular basis. Did she help clarify things for you?” Bakula said, turning her tiny frame to face me.

“Why didn’t you have us go talk to her
earlier or take us there so she wouldn’t attack us?” I asked, feeling a bit of anger swell.

“Timing is everything. And unfortunately
, we figured it would be best if it came from your family. We knew their relationship with the—“

“Relationship?” I interrupted.

“Didn’t Maddie talk about how she knows your mom?” Bakula asked, puzzled.

“No.
We were on edge, and she was too. Did my mom frequent the undercity a lot?”

“N
ot for the reason you’re probably thinking,” Bakula said, pausing for a moment. “Your mom was the muse for one of the practitioners. For Maddie, actually.”

“The muse
for Maddie?” I asked.

“I think that’s what you’d call it in your language. Sometimes language is so inadequate…” her voice trailed off.
“It’s kind of ironic, really.”

“What is?” I felt my heart pounding with every passing second.

“Well, your mom allowed Maddie to perfect her abilities on her. Play with reality and…”

“
That’s not being a muse. Was Maddie in on it with my father?” I asked. The fury building inside of me was unstoppable. My mom was used as a guinea pig before my father ever got his hands on her. I looked at Logan who realized the same things as I did. My mom wasn’t weaker than anyone else. It wasn’t love that wore her down. It was more logical than that. Her brain had been pre-wired by science experiments in the guise of magic by Maddie. She had been preconditioned to fall prey to the mind games.

“No…no definitely not,” Dace said, flying over to stand next to Bakula. “In fact when she found out what might have happened with your mother she fell into a deep depression. She realized all of the practicing she did on your mother made your mom more susceptible to mind altering of any sort.”

“That’s why
Maddie’s so protective of you,” Bakula offered, glancing at Logan. “She knew your mother and father in good times and bad. I think she wanted to make sure it wouldn’t happen twice.”

“We can say whatever we want about Maddie and her so-called good intentions, but
I don’t think I’ll ever be able to trust her. And I can’t believe my mom would send me there, knowing what happened to her.” I shook my head in disgust.

“
I understand your distrust, and that’s something we’re going to have to work on. But we actually have other things we need to discuss with you. Like getting you into hiding,” Dace said. “We’ve got a place—”

“No. I told you that I’m not going into hiding. It won’t do anyone any good.”

Dace let out a deep sigh and looked over at Logan who nodded in agreement.

“
If you’re that worried about me, though, I don’t want to put my mom in jeopardy. She’s planning on moving back here,” I said.

Bakula
marched along my knee and calf, hopping down to the couch.

“The only person I want you around is Logan
, and that’s even pushing it,” Dace ordered.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Logan asked.

“Exactly what I said.”

“You experienced something earlier today, didn’t you?” Bakula asked, attempting to tak
e a different approach. “In that bounty hunter’s mind?”

How’d she know about that?

“After talking with Maddie, I realized I had more control over things than I realized. I didn’t expect to be able to jump right in like I did.”

“Well, you’re lucky he wasn’t skilled in giving it back to you.
He could’ve turned it around on you. Granted, your skills don’t need spells or potions to read others’ minds or cause transcendence among souls, but if you run into someone who can also manipulate worlds then it could be very rough on you. It’s an entirely different type of warfare. That’s why you need to be in hiding. At least until you can block others from entering your mind.”

“So if someone knows how to cast spells to do what I can do naturally
, there is still a potential issue? I thought my abilities could overpower that.”

“Eventually your powers
will trump anyone’s. Absolutely. But you certainly aren’t there yet. Your channels can still be tapped, so to speak. It’s something we have to be cognizant of. As more things get out into the community about your abilities the more of a liability they are until you can master them. That’s why it’s imperative that you go into hiding.”

I shook my head. “No way
. I’ll move to protect my mom, but I’m not going into hiding.”

“As more coven members see your abilities firsthand, the news i
s going to spread like wildfire,” Bakula said. “It’s creating problems we don’t have time for. Most will be excited about seeing your strengths unfold, but it only takes a few to cause devastation. If you’d go into hiding while you’re learning everything it would make our lives much easier. How many saw what you were capable of today?”

I thought back to the day’s events and there were quite a few
…

“Seven
people saw what she was capable of. Four of them didn’t make it. One was captured and one was Maddie. Only one witch, Salinah, has the ability to spread what she saw, and I don’t think that can happen.”

“And why’s that?”
Dace asked.

“I did a mind wipe,” I replied. “Kind of.”

“Where did you learn that?” Bakula asked, narrowing her eyes on me.

“I pieced together my own method,” I said, shifting uncomfortably.

“If you have these eruptions everyday and leave people here and there who have seen your abilities, it will eventually catch up with us,” Bakula insisted. “Regardless of what you think you performed on Salinah, there’s always the possibility that something could go wrong.”

“We will be more careful, but I’m
not going into hiding,” I said.

I noticed Bakula eyeing the ring on my pinky finger and wondered if she was reconsidering giving me the amulet
. Not that I knew what it was for. I whipped the ring around my finger and caught her attention.

“All we can do is trust y
our judgment.” Bakula sighed. “Hopefully, what we told you has resonated, and you’ll be more careful about who sees your gifts.”

“If that’s what you want to call them,” I said.

“Let’s get on our way,” Dace said, avoiding my gaze. “We’ll let ourselves out.”

I watched the two
as they fluttered away toward the entry and heard the door click and lock.

“I
think they underestimated your level of stubbornness,” Logan said, smiling.

“Seems to be the theme,” I said, squeezing my brows together. “I’m not real
ly being that stubborn though, am I? I don’t want to spend what remaining time I have left, hiding when I could be fighting.” I didn’t give him a chance to respond. “And on that note, I think we need check out that place tonight.”

Standing up from the couch, I walked toward Logan. “Let’s get the wound cleaned up.
You’ve been dealing with it long enough.” I locked my fingers through his and pulled him into the kitchen with me.

“I think you like playing
doctor,” he murmured.

“I think you like playing patient,” I said, sitting him in the kitchen chair.
“You’ve been getting hurt a lot lately.”

I flipped on the pantry light and grabbed
some swabs and a couple tinctures that would heal his flesh wound and walked back over to where he sat. As I gently cleaned his skin, he wrapped his arm around my waist, bringing me in a little closer.

“Don’t squeeze me too tight
, or I won’t be able to properly tend to your cut,” I scolded.

His
hold tightened, bringing a smile to my lips. I placed a piece of gauze over the ointment and lightly tapped his shoulder. “All done.”

“It feels better already,” he said.

“I thought you said it didn’t hurt.”

He shrugged his shoulders and loosene
d his clutch, allowing me to slide onto his lap.

“Do you think I made the right decision?” I asked.

“You mean about not going into hiding?”

I nodded.

“You have to do what’s right for you. I think Dace and Bakula have your best interest at heart, but they may not see things from the same perspective. And you have a unique one. I can’t pretend to completely understand it either.” He let out a sigh.

“I’m not always sure that Dace and Bakula have our best
interests at heart. Their number one goal, and I don’t blame them, is self-preservation. If anything threatens that, the plan seems to change.”

“That’s true.” Logan shifted slightly, and I
stood up, thinking I was making him uncomfortable. But he slammed me back down against him. “Where do you think you’re going?” His brows creased slightly as he smiled at me.

“I was just going to take a bath,” I whispered.

“Is that so. Would you like company?” He lifted my hand to his mouth, and kissed it softly. I wilted instantly at his touch and thought about sharing the bath with him.