Bone Cold: A Soul Shamans Novel (Volume 2) (22 page)

My breath got caught in my throat as I listened to Constantine’s words. I didn’t know what had caused him to finally open up about his past, but I was glad he had. The two of us really weren’t so different. It was hard not having a solid family around, and it was even harder when you felt trapped from being able to do the one thing you wanted with your life. I could understand now why he faced the world with a stony exterior. He’d grown up in a life that required him to be strong, and it was the only thing he really knew.

“Most of the other guys on the team come from similar circumstances,” he said. “The Congress created themselves an army, and we’re it.”

“I had no idea they were doing something like this,” I said. “Taking kids and transforming them into soldiers.”

“It’s not so bad,” he said, meeting my gaze. “We’ve been groomed for it, which is exactly why your dad is overprotective about you being involved. You haven’t trained for years like we have. As strong as you may be, you aren’t one of us.”

“I can be,” I said, jutting out my chin. I’d never known what I wanted to do with my life, not like Constantine and his dream of going into space. The only thing I ever wanted was to be as strong as my mom and as smart as my dad. Battling spirits might be the only way I could make a difference in the world.

“I believe you can.” He tapped the window and pointed to the beach. “We just need to convince your dad you’re as capable as we know you are. We’re going to go down to that beach, and you’re going to kill that spirit. If anything unexpected happens, do whatever I say.”

“Good,” I said, gripping my weapon tight. “Anything else?”

“Aim for its head.”

Constantine and I climbed out of his car and headed down the boardwalk to the beach. The moon shone high overhead, amplifying the churning waves. At the moment, the tide was low enough for us to cross between the jagged rocks to reach the cove, but only just. My feet scuffed the sharp ground as we made the trek to the other side, the weapon weighing heavy on my back.

The outcropping cliffs rose high on every side as we gazed around the small circular cove. Seaport still called this section of the coast a beach, though it was only large enough to fit ten cars across and five deep. No one ever came here except in the summer. There’d been too many deaths from people caught up in the tide for anyone to take their chances getting caught in the rocky waves.

The rushing sound of water echoed around us, along with the high-pitched whistle of the wind cutting through the rocks. Constantine turned and scanned our surroundings until his eyes landed on me. He gazed down at me from his six foot frame, his head blotting out the moon behind. Those dark eyes raked over my face, and his body went still. My heart flickered inside my chest, and I swallowed down the sudden lump in my throat.

“Are you sure a spirit is here?” My voice came out high-pitched and thin.

“According to Bennett’s readings, yes,” he said, hands limp at his sides. He didn’t raise his gun or resume his scan of the beach. He simply crossed his arms over his ripped chest and raised his eyebrows. “All yours, Cinderella.”

I scowled. “You did not just call me Cinderella.”

“Get this right, and I’ll give your nickname an upgrade.”

Rolling my eyes, I turned toward the cliffs. The night cast shadows along the edges, plunging their jagged forms into darkness. As I stared at the looming crags, my skin pebbled with goosebumps, and the hair on the back of my neck stood on end. The unmistakable presence of a spirit swept across the beach, and before I could react, pain ripped through my head.

A thousand tiny needles punctured my skin, and knives slammed into my skull. Gritting my teeth, I pressed my shaking hands against my forehead to stop the pain. My rifle clattered to the ground just a voice screamed into the night.

I whirled around. Constantine was on his knees, bowed over, entire body caught by violent shakes. The world tilted underneath my feet as I stumbled toward him. Another wave of pain tore through my skull, and my knees slammed into the ground. I dug my fingernails into the sand as sweat poured down my face.

Constantine screamed again, his voice echoing off the cliffs around us. The sound tore through the haze in my eyes, and I pushed myself off the ground. My hands found the rifle. I lifted it to my shoulder, sucked deep breaths through my nose, and pressed my finger hard against the rune.

Suddenly, the world went mute, all sound replaced by the swirling haze of the Borderland. The looming spirit blinked in before me, hovering over Constantine’s shuddering body. I narrowed my eyes as I stared at it through the scope. These things were responsible for so many terrible things that had happened in my life. Nathan’s attack and capture, Jason’s inevitable death, and the deaths of so many more in this town.

I pulled the trigger, and the spirit disappeared into nothing.

CHAPTER 20

W
hen Constantine finally revived himself from the spirit attack, the tide was brushing up against our feet and blocking our escape from the cove. He blinked up at me, sand peppering his hair and face, and I gave him an apologetic smile.

“Sorry it took me so long to shoot the thing,” I said. “I had no idea it would go after you.”

“I let it.” He pushed up off the ground and dusted the wet sand from his dark jeans. “It was a lesson, and I hope you learned something from it.”

“You
let
it? Are you crazy? You could have died out here.”

“Exactly.” He lifted his gun from the sand and swiped off the water with the edge of his shirt. “So, don’t let it happen next time.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” The cool wind blew against my tangled hair as I stomped closer to him. “This is how you train someone? By letting yourself die?”

“It’s an important fact to learn. The more you hesitate, the more those around you are at risk. In this instance, it was me. Luckily, you snapped out of your stupor.”

“And what if I hadn’t?” My heart turned to ice as my voice dropped to a whisper.

He slung the rifle over his back and peered across the churning waves, eyeing up the water between us and the rest of the shore. “Then, you would have someone’s death on your hands.”

“You’re insane.”

“You want to be a soldier. This is the life you have to lead. Think fast. Act fast. Or someone will die.” He motioned me to follow him to the edge of the sand. Waves lapped against our shoes as he peered around the rocky hillside.

“The only way to get out of here is to swim,” I finally said. “And there are rocks everywhere.”

He let out a low whistle before turning back to me. “It looks like we aren’t alone.”

“What do you mean?” My heartbeat kicked up a notch and I leaned forward to see what new surprise sat waiting for us on the other side of the rocks. A few cop cars had pulled up to the boardwalk, and Sheriff Lynch was shining his flashlight into Constantine’s car. “Crap.”

“Maybe we could climb up this cliff,” Constantine said, leaning back to peer up at the rocks. “It’ll be a long walk back to town, but I think it’s best if we avoid detection tonight.”

“Nope.” I moved back from the shore and fell into a heap on the only dry section of the beach. “Tons of people have tried it. Impossible.”

“I’m not everyone,” he said.

“Yeah, well, you’re not invincible either,” I said.

“You think the cops will come into the cove?”

“They won’t risk it until the tide goes back out again. And they’ll probably be gone by then.”

Constantine settled beside me on the dry patch of sand. “How long will that be exactly?”

“A few hours.” I wrapped my arms around my knees and pulled them close to my chest, shivering against the night air.

He let out a soft laugh. “A few hours. Of course.”

“In a few hours, it’ll all be over, won’t it?” I asked, reading his tone. If we were trapped here until the tide went out, the rest of the spirits would be defeated before we could join our forces with the others. Even though we’d taken out one spirit here, it couldn’t help but feel like we were stuck in the bleachers while the real players made the winning scores.

“They’ll have swept through Seaport by the time we’re able to get back to the car,” he said with a nod. “The team works fast.”

“And then what?” I asked. “Dad will hightail it out of here again?”

“I don’t think so.” He clenched his jaw as he stared out at the swirling water. “We can’t keep letting this happen, and as long as whoever is behind the attacks is still out there, it will.”

“So, he’ll send a team to take down George,” I said.

Constantine gave me a solemn nod.

“We’re going to need a sorcerer for that,” I said. “Laura is trying to get in contact with someone who can come in and take down the invisible wall George set up to keep us from getting inside her house.”

Constantine tapped the rifle on his back. “This weapon can tear through any magic.”

I glanced at the shiny steel glinting under the moonlight. He was right. I’d seen it myself. Whatever they’d done to these guns, it was enough that it could rip a hole in the Borderland and destroy a spirit completely. I didn’t know why I hadn’t thought of it myself.

“Nathan’s inside that house,” I said. “If these things shoot through anything, they could end up hurting him, too.”

“We won’t shoot your boyfriend,” Constantine said. “I’ll do everything I can to make sure he isn’t harmed. I can promise you that much.”

The heavy anchor resting on my shoulders seemed to disappear at Constantine’s words. Ever since I’d found out Nathan had been kidnapped, my entire body had been tight with an unyielding tension. Nothing mattered to me more than doing whatever it took to get Nathan safe. It was my fault he was in this situation, and I was the one who had to get him out. But knowing there was someone else to count on made all the difference in the world. I wasn’t alone in this. Not this time.

“Thank you,” I finally said with a tear slipping down my cheek. Before Constantine could see it, I brushed it aside.

But his eagle eyes caught it first. “He means a lot to you.”

I nodded, unable to say anything more.

“Being a soldier means leaving that kind of life behind. I hope you realize that.”

I hugged my knees closer to my chest. “What do you mean?”

“We’re always on the move. Always in danger. Having a relationship under those circumstances is next to impossible.”

“Next to impossible doesn’t mean impossible,” I said.

Constantine gave me a sad smile. “Not quite, but before you decide to go all in on this, you should probably have a very long discussion with your boyfriend about it.”

I shifted and frowned out at the ocean, feeling the true weight of his words. An hour before, I’d felt like I might finally have a purpose and a future, but not if that meant leaving Nathan behind. He’d come into my life right when I needed him, and he’d been everything I could ever want. Caring, understanding, funny. I couldn’t fight my hardest to get him back and then turn around and leave him for a life I’d only just realized I could have.

But knowing this didn’t change the disappointment I felt deep inside my gut. Being a soldier could mean making a difference in a world that sorely needed people to take up the fight. It could mean saving souls. It could mean stopping spirits from wrecking lives the same way they had mine. Maybe I could do that on a small scale myself, picking up cases here and there like my mom, but it wouldn’t be the same.

Constantine must have read my mind when he gave me a heavy pat on the back. “You have time to think about it. You’d need to finish high school before they’d let you join anyway.”

“How old are you?” I asked. “When did you join?”

“Eighteen,” he said. “I joined the day after graduation.”

“So, that gives Nathan a year and a half to get used to the idea of it,” I said. “Maybe that’s long enough.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

The two of us fell silent, the sound of the waves filling up the empty space between our conversation. I shivered in my hoodie and dug my chin into my knees, my entire body aching from exhaustion. I hadn’t had much sleep in over a week, and the adrenaline of the past few hours had disappeared from my veins. Eyes heavy, I let myself drift away.

***

When I awoke, I found myself horizontal with my head resting against Constantine’s arm and wet sand soaking into my jeans. I bolted upright and quickly jumped to my feet. I wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but the waves were back out to sea again and the sky was a deeper blue. Prodding Constantine with my foot, I cleared my throat.

His eyelids fluttered open, a lazy smile on his face, until he saw me frowning down at him. Instantly, he was alert and on his feet. “Time to go back into town.”

The cops were gone from the boardwalk when we reached the SUV. After we’d kicked off our wet shoes and socks, Constantine cranked up the heat and dialled into the station while I stuck my frozen hands against the vents. Dad’s voice immediately barked over the line.

“Where have you been? Where is Holly?” He didn’t say ‘over’ or any of the other protocol words Constantine had explained to me earlier.