Soul to Shepherd (5 page)

“I couldn’t tell you,” Dylan chimed in as he materialized at the portal door.

“Dude!” Quinn pulled me closer into his arms to shield my bare chest.

“I didn’t want to risk the others finding out about the portal,” Dylan continued as if he hadn’t heard Quinn. “Prying minds and all. Besides, I didn’t want to be responsible for you getting an extended sentence. This guy would’ve beaten the crap out of me—or at least tried to,” he added, pointing casually at Quinn with his thumb.

“Dylan!” I exclaimed in annoyed surprise. “How long have you been here?” I phased out of sight and reappeared on the shore, dried off and fully clothed.

“Unfortunately, not long enough to see anything all that interesting, Kitty Cat.” He flashed me a wicked smile that made me wonder exactly how he defined “interesting.”

“
Some things never change,”
I muttered telepathically.

“
Nope.”
Dylan chuckled. “Well,” he continued aloud, “you’ll be happy to know your portal is still safe. No one knows about this place.”

“How can you be sure?”

“The others might be able to shield their thoughts from me, but I doubt they’d be able to shield their actions. If they were aware of this place, they’d have followed me here by now. And in the past couple days, there haven’t been any questions about where I was headed, no one’s been tailing me, at least not successfully, and there haven’t been any signs of intruders up here.”

“The past couple days is one thing,” Quinn remarked as he walked towards us with a towel wrapped around his waist. “But what about the past couple of
months
?”

Realizing his mistake, Dylan threw me an apologetic look.

“Um, Quinn,” I began sheepishly, biting my bottom lip. “Remember how I told you that time exists differently here in the portal than down on Earth?”

“Yeah.” He nodded as he slipped on his board shorts under his towel.

“Well, time is different up in Dylan’s and my realm as well.”

“I’ll say,” Dylan snickered.

“
Shut up,”
I snapped telepathically at Dylan, shooting him a nasty look.

“What Dylan means is that Shepherds experience time at a different pace while in the Archives compared to when we’re on Earth.”

“How much different?” Quinn asked hesitantly. His expression told me he already knew he wasn’t going to like my answer.

Crap.
I took a deep breath and mentally prepared myself for the fallout.

“Okay, so, for you, we’ve been separated for a couple of months—”

“Sixty-three days to be exact,” he clarified.

“Right,” I took another breath and swallowed. “For me … it’s been more like sixty-three hours.” I cringed, waiting for his reaction.

“You’re kidding me, right?” Quinn asked in disbelief, glancing at me, then Dylan, and then back at me. Neither Dylan nor I moved. “Let me get this straight,” Quinn continued. “You’re telling me that in your world, or realm, or whatever it is you call it, only a few
days
have passed?” The volume of his voice was increasing steadily. “I’ve been missing you every minute of every day for the past
two months
, wondering what was happening to you and if you were all right, and you’ve only had to miss me for what—
a goddamned long
weekend?!?”
he exclaimed.

“It felt much longer,” I whimpered in a pathetic attempt to empathize with Quinn.

“Unbelievable,” Quinn muttered angrily under his breath as he stared at the waterfall with narrowed eyes.

“Quinn,” Dylan jumped in on behalf of my defense. “Trust me when I tell you it was no cake walk up there for K.C. She caught a lot of flack for being with you and breaking the Rules. Not to mention, she needed most of that time, and a serious amount of help, to heal from the Servants’ handy work.” He briefly glanced at my back. “Not so sweet, if you catch my drift.”

Quinn winced slightly, and I knew he was picturing my scars. He sighed before taking a deep breath to calm himself.

“Dylan,” I piped in, desperate to change the subject. “Quinn said you already knew I was reassigned to his case, so you must’ve been able to read someone’s mind up there.”

“Not exactly.”

“What do you mean, ‘not exactly’?” I asked.

“I have a source.”

“A ‘
source’
?” Quinn and I asked in unison. Dylan’s response had thankfully changed the topic and tenor of the conversation.

“Who?” Curiosity was bubbling up inside of me.

“Just someone,” Dylan answered vaguely.

“Oh man, it’s a girl,” Quinn called him out. “And not just
any
girl—you’re into her.”

“Is Quinn right?” I asked, smiling. “Are you into someone?”

“What would make you say that?” Dylan turned away to try to hide his flushed face.

“Holy crap! You are!” I remarked in shock.

Quinn laughed. “Dude, don’t tell me
you
went and got yourself a
girlfriend!”

“What? No! No way!” Dylan exclaimed, red-faced and flustered. A visible shiver ran through his body as if the very idea of being in a relationship freaked him out. “We’re just hanging out.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “And here I thought you were the poster child for commitment-phobes. I guess some things
do
change,” I noted.

“All right, all right,
ha, ha, ha!”
Dylan huffed. “Can we just give it a rest, please?”

“So, when do we get to meet this
source
?” I asked, thoroughly enjoying my making Dylan squirm—payback sometimes tasted so sweet.

“I don’t know.”

“What is it with you Shepherds and all your secrets?” Quinn asked.

“It’s not that I want to keep her from you,” Dylan replied. “It’s just I don’t want her to get in trouble.”

“Can you at least tell us how she knew when
I’d be reassigned to Quinn’s case?” I asked.

“She only knew that when you were back on deck, she’d be relieved of her assignment. She—she was Quinn’s Watcher.”

“My ‘Watcher’?” Quinn asked.

“Yeah, Watchers take over a case once a Shepherd has completed an assignment,” Dylan explained. “They make sure there are no loose ends or unforeseen events that could further compromise a human’s safety at the hands of the Servants.”

“So, now that Evie’s back, I guess it’s safe to assume that there are some loose ends when it comes to me, huh?” Quinn observed.

I nodded in confirmation.

“So, what do the Servants want from me this time?” Quinn asked.

“The same thing they wanted from you the last time they attacked,” I replied ambiguously.

“Which is?”

I had no idea how I was going to tell Quinn the Servants wanted to turn him into a soulless demon intent on destroying me and my kind. Not to mention, I knew Quinn wasn’t ready to hear it—at least not until I’d developed a solid game plan to stop the Servants and save him.

“Which is?” Quinn repeated impatiently in the wake of my silence.

I took a deep breath, and exhaled loudly. “They want to use whatever super strength they think you possess to their advantage.”

“And just how do they plan on doing that?” Quinn asked.

I sat there, silently figuring out what I should say.

Quinn studied my face, my eyes. “Evie, what is it that you’re trying so hard
not
to tell me?”

“
K.C., what’s going on?”
Dylan asked me telepathically, also trying to read me.

“I don’t want to unintentionally mislead you by telling you things I don’t know yet.”

“Then tell me what you do know.”

“It’s not that simple. If you could just wait until I can get some answers, until I can be sure—” I begged.

“How long?” Quinn demanded.

“Not long—a week,” I threw out there.

“No way. You have one day—
my
kind of day,” he added so there was no room for interpretation.

“I can’t find out anything in one day. I need more time. Give me five days,” I countered.

“
Three
,” Quinn rebutted.

“Fine,” I huffed, although I was secretly relieved to avoid an argument.

“One condition though,” Quinn threw in.

Crap, I knew he wasn’t going to let this go so easily
, I thought.

“You’ve got to come clean. You have to tell me
everything.
No secrets.”

I hesitated. “Okay.”

“Okay.” He sounded equally hesitant.

“Okay,” Dylan chimed in, unsolicited. “Well, can you at least tell us when this is all supposed to go down?”

“I don’t know. The Incident Timer is blank—no flashing numbers, no scrolling dates. Nothing.”

“So you’re basically telling us that you have no clue when the Servants will attack next?” Quinn asked.

“No, none,” I confirmed. “Do you, Dylan?”

“No,” he replied.

“So, how do we find out?” Quinn asked.

“We have to find Ronald,” I said decidedly. “He’s an Augur. He’s bound to know something.”

“Great,” Quinn mumbled in discontent. He looked at Dylan. “If Evie’s closed-lipped about things, this guy is like a monk who’s taken a vow of silence.”

Dylan chuckled a little. “Well, let’s hope he’s in a talkative mood.”

“That’s if we can even find him. He wasn’t at the mart this afternoon, and I have no idea where to even begin looking for him.” I took a deep breath. “But in case we can’t locate Ronald right away, I think I have a back up plan. I want to meet with Tartuf.”

“We’ve tried that route before, K.C., remember?” Dylan replied. “And we couldn’t find him—no one could. Face it, the guy is M.I.A.”

“Tara knows where Tartuf is hiding. She’s already contacted him. Hopefully, he’ll be willing to return to the Archives and meet with me.”

“First name basis with the boss lady, huh?” Dylan teased. “So, you’ve gone from being on the outs with the Council Tribunal to sitting all comfy-cozy with the Big Wigs on the inside?”

“Oh, I’m still doing her bidding.”

“Hey,” Dylan added, “the fact that she’s meeting with you when you’re
not
in trouble is pretty huge, let alone the fact that she’s
helping
you.”

“I don’t think she has much of a choice in the matter. There’s too much at stake for her not to help. And anyway, I have a feeling Tartuf not only knows what the Servants want from Quinn but how they plan to get it,” I added, shivering within. “In the meantime, I need to find out everything I can from every available source we can locate.”

“Well, it sounds like we have our work cut out for us,” Dylan remarked.

“
We
?” I looked at him like he was completely insane for wanting to get involved in all of this again.

“What?” Dylan asked when he saw my reaction. “With everything we’ve been through you don’t think I’m going to throw in the towel
now
, do you? Besides, I never got my chance to kick some demon ass!”

“Thanks, man.” Quinn fist-bumped Dylan.

“C’mon, K.C., we’ll be like the Three Musketeers again,” Dylan flashed me his best puppy dog eyes.

“Leave it to you to want to be in a front-row seat on the butt-kicking bandwagon to Hell,” I said.

“You know it!” Dylan chuckled.

Honestly, relief couldn’t even begin to describe what I felt knowing Dylan was on board. I’d already begun to feel seriously overwhelmed by how unprepared I was, and that wasn’t even taking into consideration how short-handed we were—even with Dylan’s help. I knew it’d be difficult enough to protect Quinn when I was around him, but what about when I wasn’t? Like if I ever ended up meeting with Tartuf? I couldn’t be in two places at once, and I couldn’t ever leave Quinn unguarded. And then there was the issue of my safety. If the Servants were out for my blood, then I had to constantly be looking over my shoulder as well.

An idea popped into my head, and the more I entertained the notion, the more quickly I convinced myself it was the best way to protect Quinn.

“
Hey, have you received your first assignment yet?”
I asked Dylan telepathically.

“
No.”

“
Do you want one?”

“
What’s going on in that pretty little head of yours, K.C.?”

I teleported myself outside the Council Tribunal’s private chambers and knocked on the large wooden door.

“Come in, Eve,” Tara called out. I tentatively pushed open the heavy door and entered the room. Rather than sitting behind the large, intimidating desk at one end of the room, Tara was reclined in one of the embroidered reading chairs by the window. I noticed her view overlooked the private Japanese garden she’d taken me to earlier.

“I have good news,” she announced. “Tartuf has agreed to speak with you. He should be here shortly. I have taken the liberty of setting up an appointment for you to meet with him in one hour
Aura
time to discuss your predicament. Please see that you are in the Archives’ library at that time.”

“Of course. Thank you for reaching out to him. Again, I really appreciate your help.”

Tara nodded. I glanced at my watch. It was sixteen hundred hours Central Standard Time, or
Mora,
time. One hour in
Aura
time gave me one day on Earth, putting me back in the Archives at four tomorrow afternoon.

“Was there something else you wished to discuss with me?” she inquired.

“Umm, yes, I wanted to ask a favor,” I stammered slightly, unsure of how begin to my unusual request.

“Yes?”

“It’s about Dylan. I think it’d be best—I mean, if he doesn’t have an upcoming assignment, then I’d like him to help me—officially.”

“Is that so? And what do you propose we do? Assign two Shepherds to protect a single human?”

“No, not exactly.” I took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. “I’d like Dylan to replace me as Quinn’s Shepherd.” I paused for her reaction, mentally prioritizing my list of arguments in support of my plan.

Tara looked at me with raised brows. “This is quite an unusual request. How, in your opinion, would his replacing you on this case be beneficial? Dylan has never had an assignment. He has never been solely responsible for protecting anyone. Are you sure you are willing to risk Quinn’s life to test whether or not Dylan is capable of the task at hand?”

“I’m not sure I have any other choice,” I began. “I need his help. And the way I see it, I’m the one who has to track down information about what, where, when, and how the Servants plan to attack Quinn. That’s in addition to having to coordinate a defense to keep Quinn safe, keep up with my training,
and
prevent the Servants from eliminating me. And since I can’t be everywhere at once, there’s no way I’ll be able to watch Quinn twenty-four-seven and do everything else I need to do.

“And there’s no way I can leave Quinn unprotected and vulnerable. Even if his Watcher could be reassigned to Quinn, it wouldn’t help. Peter told me Watchers aren’t trained to protect humans. Plus, we both know if Quinn tagged along with me up here for everyone to see, I’d be thrown out of the Archives so fast I wouldn’t even feel the door hit me on my way out … So, I thought of Dylan. As far as we know, he’s not a direct target of the Servants. And, if he’s there to help me out, I can investigate what’s going on, knowing Quinn will have protection while I’m away. Moreover, if the Servants don’t find out about the switch, we might have an edge over them—confuse them as to who’s guarding him, who’s linked to him.

“Besides,” I continued without giving Tara a chance to protest, “my being ‘officially’ removed from the case doesn’t have to change my actual level of day-to-day involvement. It’s not like I can protect someone else from the same things hunting me, so there’s no way I’ll get another assignment until all of this blows over. And, you know the Order will never let me walk away and wipe my hands clean of this case until they give the say so.

“Not to mention, this would be like on-the-job training for Dylan,” I rambled on. “I’ll stay on top of Quinn’s case by acting as a hands-on mentor. Dylan and I already have proven we work well together. And, more importantly, Quinn trusts him. Plus, I don’t have to teach Dylan how to fight a Servant because he already knows how to hunt and destroy them. He’s even been training Quinn how to defend himself.

“And, for the icing on the cake,” I continued, grasping at straws, “officially removing me from Quinn’s case, even if only really a technicality, would be viewed as you stripping me of my title—a punishment—which should earn you a few brownie points with all the Shepherds who disapprove of me and the way I’ve managed Quinn’s case thus far.”

I’d laid all my arguments out on the table and was now left with nothing to do but hold my breath and wait for her response.

Tara smirked. I could see she knew I was trying to appeal to her political side by pointing out how this arrangement would benefit her. “I can see you have given this quite a bit of thought,” she said.

“So, what do you say?” I asked hopefully.

“Are you fully aware of what you are asking?” Tara replied after a minute of silence. “If you’re removed as Quinn’s Shepherd, the change will be permanent. You might be very upset with the position in which you prematurely find yourself.”

“Yes, I’m aware of that.” I swallowed back my fears that she might be right.

“All right, then. I will persuade the Order to approve your request.”

“Thank you.” I exhaled in relief. “I really believe this is our best option.”

“For all of our sakes, I hope you’re right,” Tara said with a concerned look in her eyes. She forced a smile. “I must admit, you have a talent for discovering, or should I say
creating
, interesting loopholes.”

“Only when I believe they’re important.”

“Eve,” she continued, “I realize you often question the virtue of our traditions, our Rules, and our values, and maybe it is time to revisit some of them. But until that time comes, I feel compelled to remind you that you are under the scrutiny of the other Shepherds, most of whom do not understand what you are doing—nor do they want to. They have neither the desire nor the tolerance for change, and that is what you represent to them. In their eyes, you threaten the very foundation upon which we stand.

“So my advice to you is to tread carefully around those who are so dearly trying to hold on to our old ways. Try to uphold the Rules and to refrain from ruffling any more feathers. And for the sanctity and preservation of our ways, do not expose who we are to any more humans.” She sighed. “I would also recommend you avoid flaunting the nature of your relationship with your charge around your colleagues.” She glanced at my left hand.

Yikes!
I’d forgotten to take off my engagement ring before coming up here. I immediately removed it and shoved it into my pocket.

“Oh, um, sorry,” I apologized. “Next time, I’ll remember to take it off first.”

Tara shook her head slightly. “Well, at least that is a step in the right direction. You will see to it that you are on time for your meeting with Tartuf?”

“Yes.”

“Very well.” She paused, as if mulling over whether she should say anything more. “Eve, I fear time is not on your side. It’s important that you figure out how to protect Quinn and
yourself
sooner rather than later.” There was more than a trace of urgency in Tara’s voice, causing a shiver to run down my spine and my skin to crawl.

Dylan and Quinn were laughing when I returned to the Falls. On any other day, I would’ve felt a sense of relief they were actually getting along. But right now, I only felt jealous—jealous of the kinship they’d obviously formed while I was away. Jealous of the inherent bond they would share once Dylan became Quinn’s Shepherd.

Ignoring my budding envy, I zeroed my gaze in on Dylan. “Tag, you’re it,” I announced as cheerfully as I could.

“You’re kidding. It was that easy?” Dylan asked in amazement.

I nodded.

“What was that easy?” Quinn asked.

“Dylan’s about to replace me as your Shepherd,” I said triumphantly.

“
What?
Wait a minute!” Dylan exclaimed in alarm. “I thought you were going to ask the Council to have me assigned to Quinn’s case
with
you—not for you to go all AWOL on me and get yourself removed from the case altogether.”

A tortured expression appeared on Quinn’s face. “What the hell, Evie? So that’s it? Dylan steps in, and you just—just up and leave me?”

“No! Quinn, how could you ever think I’d agree to that?” I exclaimed, exasperated. “Look, both of you need to take a deep breath and hear me out.”

They both did as directed, and I took a deep breath as well.

Dylan spoke out first. “So, what’s this grand plan of yours?”

“You know the Rules. Two Shepherds can’t be assigned to any one human because there aren’t enough of us to go around.”

“Yeah,” Dylan interjected, “but the Council has to realize this is a really messed up case. They’ve got to be willing to make an exception and cut us some slack here.”

“They
are
making an exception,” I replied. “Officially, Quinn will have one Shepherd—you.
Unofficially,
however, he’ll have two because I’ll still be here.”

Dylan flashed me a look like he didn’t get it. Quinn, on the other hand, flashed me a look that said he just plain didn’t like my plan and wasn’t willing to hear anymore—period, end of story.

“Quinn, listen to me.” I sighed. “I’ve run through it hundreds of times and this makes the most sense. This has the best chance of actually working. I can’t be here to protect you
and
me—especially when I can’t physically be here with you every minute of the day. So Dylan and I will both protect you. Dylan’s focus will be on daily protection detail while mine will be on doing everything else to ensure you no longer need a daily protection detail.”

“Yes!” Dylan exclaimed. “I’m the muscle of the operation, and you’re the brains behind the scene. Excellent, K.C.! Really sweet!”

Quinn didn’t look any happier.

“Quinn, there’s just too much for me to do all alone. I can’t always stay here by your side, and I can’t always take you with me when I’m trying to investigate new leads and find out new information. I need a partner to help safeguard you while I figure out how to stop the Servants.”

“I thought
we
were partners—that
we
were in this together—or did you just tell me that to make me feel better,” Quinn said bitterly.

“We
are
partners,” I reassured him. “We
are
in this together. I just don’t know what all of ‘this’ is exactly, and unfortunately,
I’m
the only one of the three of us who can figure that part out at the moment.” I sighed in frustration. “What am I supposed to do? Leave you here to defend yourself while I’m who-knows-where, unable to hear or feel if you’re in trouble? Don’t you see how that’s an impossible situation for me—for
us?
I’d never leave your side. And what if I get attacked while I’m with you? Who’s going to rescue you?

“Besides, Dylan and you have been all buddy-buddy this summer anyway. And since Dylan is strong enough, and not to mention all too willing, to kick the crap out of some demons, I couldn’t think of anyone more perfect for the job. I mean, who better to help us than someone who knows you—someone we already like and trust to protect you from the dangers you’re unable to see?”

“And what about you?” Quinn asked skeptically. “Suddenly, you’re a free agent. Won’t you get assigned to a new case?”

“No.”

“How can you be so sure?” he challenged.

Because the Servants want me almost as badly as they want you,
I thought to myself.

“Because the Servants want K.C. out of the picture—
bad
,” Dylan jumped in, putting a voice to my words. “And as long as they’re after her, she’d be nothing but a liability to any human under her protection.”

“That true?” Quinn asked me point blank.

I nodded.

“And you were going to tell me this when?” Quinn looked irritated.

“You gave me three days, remember?”

Quinn nodded and relaxed his posture some, although the expression on his face remained unchanged. “So even though Dylan’s going to be my new Shepherd, you’re still sticking around,” Quinn confirmed.

“Yes.”

“For how long?” he asked.

“I’ll be around for so long you’ll be sick of me by the time this is all over,” I quipped, but Quinn did not smile in return.

“Quinn, don’t worry.” I took his hand in mine and tugged gently until he met my gaze. “This will work. It has to.”

Dylan left shortly thereafter to get the details of his “assignment,” leaving Quinn and me alone in the portal once again. Whenever he looked at me, all I could see was the reservation pooled in his eyes.

“Quinn, this is our best chance.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“Don’t you trust me?”

“With my life!” he exclaimed passionately. “I just wish you’d trust me enough to discuss the plan with me rather than keep me in the dark while you’re off with Dylan determining what is and isn’t ‘
our’
best chance and then going ahead and acting on it.”

“Quinn, I trust you more than anyone. I just didn’t want to worry you over a plan I wasn’t even sure would work. I had no idea whether Tara would be willing to replace me with Dylan as your Shepherd.”

Dejection filled his eyes. “It doesn’t matter if your plan would’ve worked or not, or whether or not I would’ve worried about it, you still should’ve told me.”

Guilt washed over me. “You’re right. I’m sorry.” I sighed. “I have every intention of including you in the game plan. I’ve just been so used to making the calls on my own. It’s like I need to personally ensure that nothing is left to chance, that no stone is left unturned, especially when it comes to you. But I promise I’ll work harder to keep you in the loop from now on, okay?”

“Okay.” He seemed to unwind a little.

I chuckled weakly. “I guess I needed to come to terms with turning over the reins to someone else before I could expect you to be comfortable with the change, you know?”

“I know.” He tucked a loose lock of hair behind my ear, caressing my cheek as he did—a tender act of forgiveness that made me feel better and worse at the same time.