Soul to Shepherd (4 page)

“What do you mean ‘
work hazard’
?” He obviously did not find my remark all that amusing. He spun me towards the candlelight so he could see the full extent of the damage.

“Holy shit!” he gasped in horror and he ran his fingers over each of the four distinct, large bite marks now forever etched across my back. “These—they’re from—” Quinn was choking on his words as he realized how I got the scars. “What the hell did those bastards do to you?” he asked through gritted teeth as his hands trembled with anger.

“To
us
,” I corrected him. I turned to face him. “Apparently, certain types of demons are capable of giving some pretty nasty love bites,” I joked weakly, forcing a smile even though there was nothing funny about just how close the Servants had come to finishing us off.

“Evie—” Quinn took a step backwards and ran both of his hands through his hair. I could see the tears welling up in his eyes. The distance he’d just put between us scared me. What if the scars were a constant reminder of the traumatic attack? What if he could never look at me the same way again? What if every time he saw me he’d be reminded of someone he used to think was beautiful? Knots were forming one on top of the other in the pit of my stomach. Panic began to bubble up inside of me, and I tried my best to swallow back my own tears. I immediately shimmered into a pair of black underwear and a tank top.

“Hey, please don’t,” he implored, tugging on the bottom of my tank top. “Please.”

I closed my eyes, and morphed back out of my clothes. I held my breath and waited. I sensed Quinn slowly circle behind me. He gently swept my hair to one side and traced each scar with his fingers, making me shiver anxiously.

“I’m so sorry,” Quinn whispered in my ear just before he kissed the scar just below my right shoulder so tenderly that tears immediately sprang into my eyes and ran down my cheeks. “I’ll never be able to thank you enough for saving my life that day.”

I wanted to say something. I wanted to tell him that he didn’t need to thank me, that these scars were a small price to pay for saving his life, that I’d do anything to protect him even if it weren’t my job, but the painful knot in my throat blocked any words from coming out.

“Evie.” He sighed loudly. “Every time I look at you, at these marks on your back, I’ll remember what you did for me.” He kissed the back of my neck and then gently brushed his lips against a different scar. I took a deep breath and swallowed hard, forcing down the knot in my throat.

“Don’t sell yourself short,” I said hesitantly, still yet to be fully reassured that he didn’t view me as irreparably broken and ugly. “You insisted I hold on to you, remember? It’s not like you didn’t suffer the pain right along with me.”

“I didn’t want to lose you.” He kissed another scar on my left shoulder blade. “I don’t ever want to lose you.”

“So, you don’t—” My voice was trembling, and I exhaled loudly, trying to find the right words to say. “The scars … they don’t bother you?”

“Evie, you’ve never been more beautiful.”

I turned around and looked into Quinn’s eyes—the eyes that now gave away all his secrets.

“You really mean that, don’t you?” I whispered.

“With all my heart.” Quinn placed his hand on my chest, knowing I could feel his heart beating within me.

Tears of relief welled up in my eyes. I threw my arms around him with such force I sent us both toppling down onto the bed behind him, making us laugh. I stared into the sapphire blue windows to his soul and was overwhelmed by how much I suddenly understood about him—about his feelings for me. He, too, seemed lost in my eyes. We kissed, and for a moment it felt like we were no longer two separate people. I sat up and looked at him. Even in the candlelight, I could see his aura was lighter, brighter in hue, reminding me of the kiss we’d shared months ago after vowing to love each other absolutely and forever.

“Did you feel that?” I asked.

“Feel what?” he asked in confusion.

“It’s just—I know this is going to sound crazy, but I think our
souls
might have connected for a second when we just kissed.”

“Are you sure you’re not mistaking our ‘souls’ for something else?” he teased and tried to kiss me again.

I resisted him. “Quinn, I’m serious. There’s this energy about us—this bond. And there’s something about your eyes. It’s like I know how you’re feeling just by looking into them.”

“If that’s so, then how am I feeling right now?” he challenged me.

I accepted the test and looked into his smoldering eyes, now almost black with desire; it was so raw, so pure—so fierce.

“Oh,” was all I could manage as a wave of lust and hunger crashed down on me, drowning me in my own desire for him. As if Quinn was capable of reading my mind, he flipped me over and rolled on top of me.

“Welcome home, Evie.” He crushed his mouth against mine, and the world around me soon faded away completely. All that was left was Quinn.

I lay in bed, curled up in Quinn’s arms and watched the flame of a nearby candle as it flickered perilously on a wick, dancing like it was trying to escape the pool of hot wax collecting beneath it. I slowly exhaled and extinguished the flame, following the thin trail of smoke as it gracefully furled and twisted in the air, wafting up to the cave ceiling. The way the smoke dissipated reminded me of Ronald—and of Council Member Tara’s suggestion that I speak with him. I sighed heavily as the reality of Quinn’s and my predicament settled like a weight on my shoulders.

“What are you thinking about?” Quinn asked as he wrapped a lock of my hair around his finger, only to release it and do it again.

“Nothing fun,” I said soberly as I rolled over to face him.

He traced my frown with his finger. “That good, huh?” He propped himself up on one elbow. “Care to share?”

“I will.” I maneuvered myself on top of him. “But first, I was hoping we could extend my welcome home reception a little while longer.”

Quinn exhaled loudly. I knew he was worried I was holding out on him.

“Hey,” I began, “I haven’t forgotten we’re in this together. In fact, we are now officially a team.”

“You and me—a team?” His derision cut through the air like a knife. “That’ll be the day.”

“Well that day is here,” I announced. “I’m serious,” I added when Quinn looked at me like I was crazy. “My instructions are to work with you to figure out what’s going on and come up with a plan to keep you safe.”

Quinn’s face remained expressionless, but I could see the satisfaction creeping into his eyes. He was now legitimately part of the loop, and he was privately gloating about it.

“So, where were we?” I smiled as I traced my finger lightly down his chest.

“You said something extending your welcome home?” He grinned just before kissing me.

After having taken a dip in the cold water, Quinn and I were soaking up the sun’s warmth near the water’s edge. He sat up, placed his forearms on the tops of his knees, and rested his chin on his bicep to look at me.

“So, are you going to tell me what’s up?” he asked pointedly.

“Where do you want me to start?” I asked hesitantly. After Quinn remembered me last winter, I’d promised him I’d never intentionally hide anything from him again. But when I made that pledge, I had no idea what the Servants had in store for him. I couldn’t just come out and tell him the Servants wanted to convert him into one of them. I knew Quinn, and he wouldn’t handle it well. This information would cloud his judgment, and I needed him to remain clear-headed. I needed more time to figure out the best way to break the bad news to him.

“How about with what happened after the attack a couple of months ago when you abandoned me in the soccer field?”

Inside, I cringed at his characterization of my leaving him.

“Well,” I began, sighing, “naturally, there was another Inquiry. Only this time, I think most everyone on the Council Tribunal was out for my blood.” I rolled my eyes.

“So what happened?”

“Ronald. He stepped in and saved the day—he and Tara, she’s the head of the Council Tribunal. Despite all the trouble I’ve caused, I’m beginning to believe she actually might be sympathetic to what I—to what
we
—have been going through. She seemed to understand why I broke the Rules,
again
.

“So,” I continued, “I ended up with a slap on the wrist and a forced hiatus in my realm. I hated being up there, being unable to see or talk to you, but at least it gave me time to heal.”

“How
did
your wounds heal? Did—was it Peter?” I heard the tinge of jealously in Quinn’s voice. I knew Quinn still had a difficult time accepting he could never save me the way Peter had the night I healed Quinn’s baby niece, Mary.

“Yes, he and two other Shepherds, Teddy and Eli, made some sort of salve.” I wrinkled up my nose. “Rank, nasty stuff, but it did the trick—well, mostly.” I instinctively reached around with my right hand and felt one of the scars on my left shoulder blade.

“Anyway,” I continued, shaking my head slightly to clear it of images of my marred back. “When you got flagged again, I got reassigned to your case. Only this time, I was told to work
with
you.” I smiled, leaned over, and gave him a quick kiss.

“Why let us work together all the sudden?” he asked suspiciously.

“The way I understand it, there’s a certain energy that comes from our connection as true soul mates, and that energy allows each of us to physically grow more powerful—like, amazingly powerful. The Council wants us to work together so the bond between our souls continues to develop and, as a result, so does our super strength.”

Quinn looked doubtful. “As much as I’d like to say I feel as strong as Superman when I’m around you, right now, I feel pretty much the same as I did yesterday without you—well, strength-wise, that is,” he added with a wink.

“I don’t feel any stronger physically either.”

“Well, maybe they misunderstood what being true soul mates means … Or, maybe we’re not true soul mates after all,” Quinn said with a furrowed brow.

“No, we’re true soul mates,” I stated unequivocally. “I’d bet my immortality on it. Our souls reach out towards each other in a way that’s different from other people. I’ve
seen
it. I’ve felt the connection between us when we kiss. What we have is stronger than anything I’ve ever heard of before.”

“Then why haven’t we become the Wonder Twins yet?” he mused.

“I don’t know,” I replied. “Tara just said as our bond grows, so does our strength.”

“Well, our connection has never been stronger. You said so yourself.”

“Maybe it’s still not strong enough.” My mind was searching for a logical explanation for all of this. “Or maybe we’re supposed to develop a different kind of connection, of energy, like a mental or emotional strength,” I threw out. “Maybe we’ll have some sort of inner strength rather than a physical manifestation of it.”

“Yeah, well, unless we’ll be able to do Jedi mind tricks, I don’t think developing our ‘inner strength’ is going to cut it in another fight against the Servants.”

My mind flashed to something else Tara told me—I’d always be physically stronger than Quinn as long as he was mortal, but, theoretically, he could become the power equivalent of me, or stronger, if we were both immortal. What if that meant the only way we could both realize our full potential, our true strength, was if Quinn were ‘lucky enough’ to one day become an immortal with a soul? Or, on the flip side, one
without
a soul? I shuddered at the thought.

“Regardless of whether or not we actually become the ‘Wonder Twins,’ we’re together,” I said. “And we’ll figure out some way to get you off the Servants’ radar for good.”

“And what about you?” he asked. “As I recall, you weren’t too high on their ‘nice’ list the last time we ran into them.”

“First things first—we’ll keep you safely out of the demons’ clutches and then we’ll worry about me.”

Not quite ready to give up the freedom and refuge the portal afforded us, I offered to teleport to the local convenience store around the corner from Quinn’s old summer loft in Chicago and pick up a few things for him to eat and drink. I also wanted to use this as an opportunity to see if I could find Ronald.

“Not so fast,” Quinn said, wrapping his arm around my waist before I could phase out of view. “I believe this belongs to you.” He smiled at me as he slipped something onto my left ring finger. I looked down at the engagement ring Quinn had given me last spring and smiled back at him.

Quinn kissed me. “Don’t take too long.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” I kissed him again and then phased out of view.

I teleported to the alley nearest the convenience mart and turned the corner, hoping to see Ronald perched in his usual spot, but he wasn’t there. I picked up a few things and watched the door as I paid the cashier, practically willing Ronald to show up before I left—but no such luck.

I returned to find Quinn clean-shaven and naked in the water. I dropped the shopping bag on the ground next to me and quickly disrobed, watching my clothes vanish into thin air, before diving into the water after him.

“Was it something I said?” I smiled, gently running the back of my hand against his now-smooth jawbone.

“I think it’s safe to say the scruff’s time had come and gone.”

“What? Not working with the ladies?” I teased playfully, splashing him in the face just before he dove under the water only to reemerge behind me.

“You know you’re the only lady for me.” He wrapped his arms around me.

“Good answer.” I leaned back into him.

“Is it true you were miserable up there without me?” he asked.

“I’ve definitely had better days,” I said, trying to play it cool.

“Dylan tossed around the idea of bringing you here to see me a couple of times.” Quinn sounded a little dejected, as if he thought I’d
chosen
not to visit him.

I turned around in Quinn’s arms to face him. “I couldn’t leave the Archives. I was grounded, and Dylan knew that. But,” I continued in the same breath, “had I known Dylan’s plan, I would’ve risked getting caught sneaking out of the house if it meant I could’ve seen you.”