Soul to Shepherd (50 page)

I’d waited three
Mora
days for Quinn to “wake up.” And of all the places he could’ve chosen as his mental safe haven to help him transition into the afterlife, he’d created the illusion of the Falls. I was reminded of the first time I saw him after being reassigned as his Shepherd. I remembered how nervous I’d felt then, but I wasn’t nervous now. I was full of joy, relief, and love. My soul was singing.

“Hey, stranger,” I called out softly when I spotted him sitting at the water’s edge, his back to me.

Quinn turned around to look at me. “Am I dreaming?” he asked cautiously.

“No.” I couldn’t help but smile as I walked over to the water’s edge and sat down next to him. I was careful not to touch him yet. His mind was racing with question after question, and I could now hear every single one of them. I remembered feeling just as confused and anxious when I made my transition into the afterlife. I knew Quinn was going to have to decide for himself this wasn’t all just a delusion. He’d have to make the first move for his mind to be able to accept the transition.

“But, the last thing I remember was being in your arms and—”

“And?” I prodded optimistically, following his thoughts as he connected the dots.

“And,” Quinn replied, struggling to get his bearings, “now, I’m here in the Falls—with you sitting next to me.”

“It would appear so.” I was on the edge of my seat, mentally crossing my fingers, hoping Quinn would figure this out on his own so the transition to immortality would be easier on him.

“Are you going to let me in on the big secret?” Curiosity sparked in his eyes.

“First, tell me more about what you remember.”

He looked off into the water. “Well, I was on the ground, in your arms—I’m not sure, but I think I was hurt pretty badly.” He paused and then zeroed back in on me with wide eyes. Something had clicked. “I was—I was
dying.”
He averted his gaze away from me and back over the water’s surface. “I—I didn’t survive the night of the ritual, did I?”

“No,” I replied, shaking my head.

“But, you did.”

I nodded.

Quinn seemed to sigh in relief. “So, what is this? Heaven?”

“No,” I replied.

“Well, if you’re here then I know I can’t be in Hell, unless—” Quinn reached out to touch me, but pulled his hand back before making contact. He was still shell shocked from the separation of his mind from his body, grappling with what was real and what wasn’t.

“I promise I’m not a delusion,” I assured him, fighting back a smile. “Quinn,” I continued, taking a deep breath. “You were chosen to become a Shepherd.”

“A Shepherd,” he repeated slowly. “Is this some sort of prank?”

“No,” I affirmed. “When you—when your body gave out, I thought it was over. I thought even if I searched high and low to find your soul, I’d never see
you
again. Your soul would be bound to some stranger’s body with a different face, a different personality. The very thought of it was enough to crush me, but then Tara told me the Order had chosen you. Quinn, you’re one of us now,” I announced, trying to restrain my enthusiasm.

“A Shepherd.” His mind was deep in thought, processing what I’d just told him. He turned to watch the water cascading over the rocks. “So, what happens now?” he hesitantly asked a few minutes later.

“Now, you take this one step at a time, with me by your side.” I offered Quinn my hand.

“So, we can be together?” he asked guardedly, looking at my outstretched hand but not yet ready to take it.

“You’re stuck with me for a
long, long
time.” I smiled, and a crooked little grin appeared on his face.

“And Dylan and Minerva?” he asked. “Are they okay?”

“No worse for wear.” I shrugged slightly. “From what I’ve heard, Minerva’s got Dylan on recovery lockdown, so no one has seen either of them for
days
. Not such a bad idea if you ask me.” I winked at him playfully.

“I bet he’s loving every minute of it,” he joked uncertainly. He looked down at my outstretched hand again. “So, this is all real?”

“As real as I am.”

“I really died?”

I answered his question with a nod of my head. “I’m sorry.”

“Wow.” He turned back to face the cascading water.

“Quinn, I realize this is a lot to take in, but you’ll get through this. I’ll help you.” I tried to sound as encouraging as I could. “Hey, if
I
could do this, then you
definitely
can.”

“Are—are you going to erase my memory again? Am I going to forget my past?” Quinn asked in concern.

“No,” I replied. “It’s too great a risk to erase a mind twice, so you get to remember your life, but you don’t get to
live
it anymore. School, your friends, your
family
—you’re going to have to learn to let them all go.”

“Oh,” he said blankly. A tortured expression appeared on his face. “And my parents? What do they think happened to me?”

“They think you were killed in the explosion.”

He nodded sadly. “And Brady?”

“As far as they’re concerned, he’s still off in Vegas somewhere.”

“Is he still—?”

“A Servant? Yes, as far as I know.”

He sighed heavily. “How is the rest of my family dealing with my—with me being gone?”

“They’re doing as well as can be expected under the circumstances.”

“In other words, they’re a complete train wreck.” He shook his head and sighed once more. This time, I was the one averting my eyes, not wanting him to see the truth of his statement behind them.

“So, can I ever see them again?” he asked.

“Officially, I’m supposed to tell you ‘no.’
Unofficially,
I say let’s give them some time to heal before you start haunting them.”

He nodded slowly.

“Look, keeping your memory means exceptions must be made—everyone knows that. And you know I like nothing more than finding exceptions to the Rules.” I winked. “I promise, we’ll figure out some way for you to see your parents, your family, okay? Maybe we can even find a way for you to talk to them, to say good-bye, when the time is right. Until then, I’ll go check on them whenever you want me to.”

“Thanks,” he said soberly. “So, how did this happen? Why was I chosen?”

“Why? Well, I think Ronald put in a good word for you. Like you said, we fascinate him, and I don’t think he was ready for our story to end. As to how—you became eligible the night the ritual took place,” I replied.

“But the Servants weren’t responsible for my death.”

“Actually, they were—
indirectly.
The energy, the power, you absorbed from Minerva was theirs, and that energy was too much for your mortal body to handle.”

“Damn demon juice,” he quipped, knowing, for better or worse, that the “juice” was the very reason he was sitting here with me now.

I paused momentarily. “How did you think to do that, by the way? How did you convince Minerva to transfer the energy to you?”

“I saw it in a dream. And then Ronald told me it’d be wise for me to consider the benefits of Minerva’s ‘gifts’ the last time we spoke. I told her what Ronald said, and she told me about you asking her to end my life if it came down to it, so we agreed to make it our plan of last resort.”

I thought back to my making her promise me she’d end Quinn’s life if need be and shuddered. I knew it couldn’t have been easy for her to do what she did.

“So, that was the big Ronald secret? That’s what you wouldn’t tell me?”

“Would you have agreed with the plan?”

“Not on your life!” I replied, stunned he would even ask the question.

“Exactly. And neither would have Dylan. So Minerva and I kept it our little secret.”

“Yeah, well just because you’re immortal now doesn’t mean you’re invincible, so no more stunts like that again without me knowing, got it?” I demanded.

“Got it,” he agreed. “What happened to the Key? And Mathius?”

“The Key was removed from your soul and tagged to a new one. And Mathius escaped. As far as I know, he has no good leads as to the identity of either human now carrying a Key.”

“So, he has to start from scratch again?”

“Yup. Apparently, his master plan for domination of the Realms has been reset.”

“But he’ll still keep trying.”

“Yeah, he’ll keep trying.”

“Then so will we,” Quinn stated. “There has to be away to stop him—
permanently
.” The deer in the headlights expression on his face was beginning to fade, and I saw a hint of a twinkle in his eyes.

“I think the Order is close to developing a plan. And when the time is right, I think I know just how to draw him out.”

“How?”

“I’ll explain it all to you later.
After
your training.”

“
More
training?” he moaned.

“Yup.” I grinned.

“Hey, if I’m a Shepherd, don’t I have all of the same superpowers as you?” he asked mischievously.

“You will, well, most of them anyway, once you
train
and learn how to use them.”

“And
you’re
in charge of teaching me the ropes?” I heard a hint of mockery in his voice.

“So what if I am?” I asked with raised eyebrows.

“Then I think I’m in big trouble.” He chuckled a little.

“If you think you’re in trouble with
me
as your mentor, just wait until you meet Eli.” I giggled.

“Why? Who’s Eli?” he asked nervously.

“You’ll find out soon enough.” I smiled wickedly.

I stood up and held out my hand again to Quinn. I could feel our souls reach out to each other, and my aura began to glow a little brighter. He was ready. Quinn slowly reached up took my hand. The instant we made contact our auras began to glow more intensely; they began to dance around each other. He smiled as he looked at our hands and then at me.

“Come on,” I said as I pulled him to his feet. “There are some Shepherds who are anxious to meet you.”

“Evie,” he said, tugging at my hand a bit just before I teleported us to the Archives.

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

“And I love you,” I replied. “I always will—for eternity.”

“‘For eternity,’” he repeated, grinning as he bent down and kissed me.

The end.

Linda Lamberson is a Chicago-area native, an author, and a devoted mother and wife. After studying at Indiana University in Bloomington, she attended graduate school at The University of Chicago, where she received her Master’s degree in Social Service Administration and then her Juris Doctor degree, and worked as an intellectual property attorney.

In 2009, Linda was inspired to create the Evie Sanders series while on a flight home. A conversation with a neighboring passenger made Linda think about a car accident she’d been in while a freshman in college—an accident she was lucky enough to walk away from unscathed, much to the surprise and shock of witnesses. For the remainder of the flight she couldn’t shake the thought, “What if I hadn’t survived? Would that have been the end of my story?” That same night, Linda started writing.

Read Borrowed Heart and Peace of Mind, the first and second installments of the Evie Sanders series, available through all major re-sellers.

Visit Linda at:
www.lindalamberson.com