Soul Guard (Elemental Book 5) (19 page)
Read Soul Guard (Elemental Book 5) Online
Authors: Rain Oxford
“But that was before Langril opened the door to
Dothra.”
“We don’t know that. We never found out exactly when
he went missing, only that he was gone by the time I got my key.”
“Okay, so he’s not just possessing people; he can
actually look like them. What did he want?”
“He wanted me to help him defeat Langril. He said
that he doesn’t need my key for himself; he only needs me to be there at the
tower with Hunt and Vincent while he uses Langril’s key. Before Langril went
through the door with Vincent, he said it was imperative that the four keys
weren’t brought together in front of the tower. That’s exactly what Krechea
wants to do. We need to find out why.”
“So, you might be considering it?” Henry asked.
“He temporarily called off his shadow walkers and
will do so permanently if we agree to it. We have to get rid of him somehow.”
“But not by giving him what he wants. He killed
people.”
“I know. He’s not just going to give up everything he
worked for and return to Dothra, though, and I don’t want Astrid to be trapped
there. There is only one way to kill an immortal, and that is to make him
mortal.”
Darwin tried to grill Henry on Zoe and even asked if
he was going to marry Addison. Henry finally shut him up by saying that if he
was going to talk about his relationship, it would be with Scott and Addison
first.
“I have to go,” Darwin whined.
“Tell me you’re joking,” I said. “You went fifteen
minutes ago.”
“Yeah, but they said I had to buy something, so I
bought a soda. I had coffee, milk, and orange juice this morning.”
“
My
orange juice,” Scott pointed out gently.
“You drank the last of my orange juice.”
“Sorry, little bro.”
“Fine, but don’t get another drink,” Henry said.
“I’m not daft.” Fifteen minutes later… “Hey, they had
cherry slushies!”
* * *
By the time we got to Elizabeth’s house at dusk, I
was ready to throw Darwin out. When I told Darwin to stay in the car and watch
Scott, the kid hopped out the window to avoid being left alone with Darwin.
The home was a perky little two-story, cookie-cutter
house with red brick and a rainbow garden of flowers and roses. The aura,
however, wasn’t so sunny. In fact, as soon as I stepped through the white
picket fence, the presence returned.
We approached the door, but before I could ring the bell,
it opened and a crying Elizabeth hugged me. I couldn’t do anything except pat
her back awkwardly. I hated when women cried and Elizabeth needed someone who
knew her and her sons to comfort her. Nevertheless, I wasn’t stupid enough to
push her away.
“Did you find out anything?” she asked, pulling away.
“They went missing less than twenty-four hours ago.
We’ll find them.”
“They’re only four!”
“I know. We’ll find them. These are my friends from
Logan Hunt’s university: Henry, Darwin, and Henry’s son, Scott. Guys, this is
Elizabeth Vegas.”
“Are you all wizards?”
“I’m half fae, half shifter,” Darwin said, blushing a
little.
Scott apparently realized he was allowed to reveal
his nature here, because he grinned brightly and said, “I’m a jaguar shifter,”
copying his father’s accent. Henry smiled at his son.
“Well, thank you for coming. Chase hasn’t come home;
he’s walking up and down streets, looking for the boys. I’m afraid to leave the
house because I still expect to walk back into that bedroom and…” She broke
down crying.
I guided her inside and sat her down on the couch.
The house was cozy with comfortable furniture and plenty of space between the
couch and the television for family interaction. I imagined Elizabeth had been
the kind of mother to insist on family game nights and dinners together. At
least until her daughter was killed and her sons showed signs of being evil.
“I think I can help find them using magic.”
She shuddered. “I don’t… I don’t want them to be
involved in all that. I’m sorry, but you’re John’s son and it bothers me that
you use magic like him.”
“Devon is nothing like John,” Darwin said.
“I know. I’m just…”
“If they do develop magic, what are you going to do?”
I asked, knowing full well that they were already developing magic. Well, at
least one of them was.
“I will accept them because that’s what mothers do,
but I’ll probably send them to Mr. Hunt’s schools so that they don’t turn out
like John. Okay, do what you need to do.”
“Do the boys have a favorite toy?”
“They’re kind of… distant. I think they might be
autistic. Chase thinks it’s just because they’re twins.”
“Which one was it that had bruises all over him?”
“Jason. He and Jamie are always wrestling and Jason
gets hurt.”
“He had bruises on his
throat
. Four-year-olds
shouldn’t be wrestling like that. What’s really going on with them?”
She looked heartbroken. “Jamie is a little… creepy
sometimes. Reagan was a happy four-year-old. I’ve woken up in the middle of the
night to find Jamie glaring at me. He has locked his brother in the basement
and the attic. Jason just takes it. But it’s okay, because he just needs love
and attention.”
“I need to see something that belongs to them.”
“Well, Jamie prefers to throw toys on the stairs.
Jason has a teddy, but it’s new… Jamie keeps destroying Jason’s toys.”
“As long as Jason held it, it should work.” She took
me upstairs to the first door on the right. It was a picture perfect boy’s
room. There was a bunk bed with Star Wars blankets, a big blue toy chest,
glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling, and a small fish tank. I also noticed
what was wrong with it; there was a lock on the chest, the fish tank had no
fish, and the entire room was impeccably clean.
Scott froze up at the door and shuddered. I could
pretty much see him regress to those days where he was experimented on. “Get
him out to the truck.”
Henry took his arm, but Scott whined. “No, I want to
do a case! I can be helpful.”
“Are you sure it’s okay?” Henry asked.
“Yes, Daddy, I can do this. It just reminded me of
the days when the bad guys had me.” He hid his face behind his father.
“Where’s Jason’s teddy bear?”
Elizabeth went to the bottom bunk and pulled a small
brown bear off the pillow. “You’re not going to take it, are you?” she asked.
“No, I just need to hold it for a while.” I took it
and sat down on the bed. I had to duck under the top bunk, because it was lower
than the beds at the dormitory, since it was made for kids. I pulled my ring
out, slipped it on, and the vision came on instantly.
I expected there to be darkness, demons, and death,
but that wasn’t the case at all. Although it was dark, it wasn’t ominous
because I recognized it. On top of my coffee table, in the middle of my living
room, was Vincent’s book. I hadn’t seen the old grimoire in a while. It was
full of formulas, incantations, and sigils that were very, very dangerous in
the wrong hands.
A normal four-year-old couldn’t use it, but if the
twins learned to have visions, they could probably get something from the book.
Fortunately, I didn’t develop visions until I was thirty. In fact, until I
started actively using magic, even my mind control power was limited to
communicating with animals and putting them in a trance if I had to. I always
had my instincts, though, and Jameson had tried to get into my mind the only
day I had seen him. So, it was possible that the book could be dangerous if one
of them took it.
Then it dawned on me that if Krechea or Langril got
it, we would be in trouble.
I pulled the ring off and returned to reality. “I
might know where they are,” I said, standing.
“Where?”
“I will explain if I find them. Henry, drive Darwin
and Scott home.” I focused on the symbol and followed it into the shadow pass.
When I was closed off from the world around me, I shifted my concentration to
the twins. I felt an irritation in the back of my mind, like I had forgotten
something really important. Unsure what was wrong, I focused on Jason. The
frightened look in his eyes as he stared at the floor told everyone around him
that something was wrong.
The black abyss of the shadow pass faded, along with
the gravity, the unevenness of the ground, and the dreaded silence, leaving me
standing in my living room with Jason.
The boy was sitting on my couch, alone, with
Vincent’s book on my coffee table. “Hey, kiddo. How did you get here?” I sat
down on the couch next to him and he held up a key.
“The cat gave me this.”
I took the key and recognized it as my apartment key.
“What cat?” The thought occurred to me then. “Was it a really ugly cat?” Since
only Henry, my landlord, and I had one, I checked my keying. Sure enough, it
was mine. Ghost took my damn apartment key.
“It’s not nice to call him ugly. He helped me.”
“I know. You’re right. What are you doing here and
where is your brother?”
“Jamie chose his path, but I don’t want to follow the
shadow man.”
“Kre---”
Jason interrupted me with a harsh shushing. “Don’t
say his name! He hears you when you say his name.”
Shit. That complicated things
. It also
explained things. “How do you know that?”
“I saw it. Jamie used to be nice to me, but then he
heard Dad tell Mom that he wasn’t our dad and that he might leave. Now Jamie
gets mad when I don’t do what he says. He’s mad right now because I’m talking
to you.”
“He knows you’re talking to me?”
“He always knows what I’m doing and I always know
what he’s doing. I know he’s in a dark place with dirt everywhere.”
“Dirt?”
“Yeah. The room doesn’t have walls or a ceiling, just
dirt.”
“When did the shadow man come to you and your
brother?”
“Wednesday night.”
I groaned. Of course he came right after Hunt and I
discussed the boys, because we said Krechea’s name. Anything that happened to
my younger brothers was partially my fault.
And when the hell did the two
strangers become my brothers
? The only relation I had to them was John
Cross, who I hated, killed, and hoped to never become like.
“Why did you come here, though? Why not go back to
your mother?”
“Jamie isn’t any good to the shadow man without me,
so he wants to get me back. My mom can’t stop him. I was hoping you can.”
“Why isn’t Jamie any good to the shadow man?”
“Because we only have magic when we’re together. I think
we’ll learn to do it alone later, but right now, we can read minds or see the
future when we’re together. Will you help?”
“Of course I will. I still need to call your mother
and tell her you’re safe. I know Jamie is in the dirt room, but is he safe?”
He nodded and I pulled out my phone. Elizabeth picked
up on the second ring. “Did you find them?”
“I found Jason. Although Jameson isn’t here, Jason
says he’s safe.”
“Give me your address. I’m coming to get him.”
“Hang on. I know this isn’t what you want to hear,
but they were taken. Jason found my apartment because he thinks I can protect
him with my magic, and he’s right.”
Jason scrunched his fingers lightly in my jacket
sleeve, so I gave him the phone. “Hi, Mommy. I’m okay; I just want to stay
here. I’ll be safe here. No, don’t come. It’s small because Devon’s mean wife
stole his house and the judge let her.”
“Ex-wife,” I corrected, ignoring the fact that he
knew way more about me than he should have. “You can’t tell your mother not to
come here.”
“Hang on,” he said before lowering the phone. “Then
what do I say? We can’t all stay here.”
“No, I think it’s time to move the party to the
university.”
* * *
Since Hunt couldn’t use a cell phone, I had always
resorted to calling people to ask them to get ahold of him. For the first time,
I used my uncle’s method; I wrote Hunt a letter.
Logan Hunt,
I found Jason, but Jameson is still missing. Jason
has a little more information that might help us get rid of Krechea. If the
university is ready, I need to bring Jason and his mother to the university.
Best,
Devon Sanders
It felt a little awkward, since my uncle wrote
extremely formal letters to me and Hunt, who was his best friend. Pushing that
aside, I reached out with my magic for the mind of one horribly ugly familiar
with a foul attitude who probably should have been named “Deus ex Machina.”
Ghost appeared on my coffee table a moment later, glaring at me.
While he didn’t look as rundown as he had been last
time, he still looked more haggard than normal… which was saying something. He
was sitting up, at least, and his glare was steady. “Can you take this letter
to Hunt?” I asked.
He narrowed his eyes.
I folded the letter and set it on the coffee table.
When he continued staring at me, I slowly slid it closer to him. Finally, he
stood up, set one paw on it, and he vanished along with the letter.
“Poor little guy. He’s so sad,” Jason said.
“Why?”
Jason shrugged. “Haven’t you ever asked him?”
“Normal people can’t talk to animals.”
“I can when Jamie’s with me. You can, too, can’t
you?”
“Yes. I just never asked Ghost anything because,
honestly, I’ve never wanted to get to know him. I used to try to stay away from
the magic stuff, so I always thought he was weird and creepy.”
“Weird is just another word for special.”
Ghost appeared again with another letter under his
front paws. When he stepped off of it, I took it.
Devon,
The university is prepared. However, there is an
award ceremony at the children’s school today, so I will not return until late
tonight. Some of the wizards staying at the university have been involved in
magic for as long as I have and are set in their ways. Be prepared.
Best of luck,
Logan Hunt
I called Henry. “Hey, I found Jason.”
“I heard. We didn’t leave until you called Elizabeth.
She’s following us, but I don’t think we can all stay at your apartment.”
“No, we’re going to head to the university. Take
Elizabeth there and I’ll pick up my mother and meet you there. I’m pretty sure
I remember the way.”
“Jason needs a child seat.”
“I’ll use Scott’s spare one at my mother’s house.”
“With the shadow walkers around, I wouldn’t risk
driving him to your mother’s without a child seat.”