Half Black Soul (2 page)

So, I knew that at least one Lamia would be looking for me, and I doubted she’d come alone. I had all of eight hours before the sun sank and that hunt began.

I made my way around to the rear of the building, having parked in the lot behind it in an attempt to travel as inconspicuously as possible. The rain fell on and around me. I dug into my jacket pocket for my keys as I made my way to Tommy’s Mercedes.

A breeze ran through the parking lot and brought chill bumps up on my arms. It also brought a scent; clove cigarettes, fried food, and body odor.

I stopped in my tracks and scanned the scene carefully, my senses going on high alert. An old red truck to my far right. A downward slope at the edge of the concrete, with yellowed grass and a small stream, directly ahead of me. A white conversion van parked ten spaces away from the Mercedes to the left. The diner directly behind my back, with twin dumpsters placed conveniently near the rear exit of the restaurant.

I tilted my head back and inhaled deeply. The breeze had come and gone, taking with it the majority of the scent, leaving behind the chill bumps. But, very faintly, I could still smell the cloves, food and stink of the man lying under that of the wet air and spoiled food in the dumpsters. He was somewhere very close to the white van, waiting for me. My senses told me the first part, my instincts provided the last.

I resumed my approach, my mind hopping instantly to the whereabouts of my Gladius; the silver Warrior’s sword my Mother had given me the morning before my life had collapsed around me. It lay under the driver’s seat in Tommy’s car. Somehow I knew I wasn’t going to let it out of my sight again after whatever happened next, that leaving it in the car had been a very stupid mistake.

I was only five feet from the door to the Mercedes when he appeared from behind the white van. I stopped once more. I might have been able to get into the car before he could reach me if I hadn’t stopped. But, stop I did.

He was even more unappealing when dripping wet; a sight that was something akin to grotesque. His once-white shirt clung to his large belly. His jeans had darkened to the color of soaked denim, and his few patches of straight, black hair hugged his head, revealing an oddly shaped cranium. Rain ran down his hooked nose and jowls. Hunger, deep and wild shined brilliantly behind his black, beady eyes. The belly of my own beast rumbled in response.

And when my left eye twitched, I knew then that this encounter was going to end badly.

He made his move toward me, swifter than what his stature would have suggested possible, but he may as well have been moving in slow motion. The usually dormant presence that resides inside of me was fully awake now, replacing what was 
my
 unease in the situation with its own intrigue in it. And the world always slowed down when my monster surfaced, in a way that it would never yield to just 
me
.

I saw 
everything
; crisp, clear, and precise. The way his tan work boots flicked the rain in their forward motion. The way his meaty forearms rubbed against the sides of his fat stomach in time with his long, deliberate strides. The way his cheeks rippled, and how his thin, pink lips pursed as he grew closer to his prey; closer to me.

I also saw very clearly that a large knife was clutched in his right hand.

Nelly

I slumped down a little in my seat, even though I don’t make a habit of slouching. I couldn’t help it. I was not in the least bit happy at the moment, and I didn’t want to pretend to be. If I wasn’t currently in a classroom surrounded by my peers, I would probably have my thumb stuck in my mouth like a baby. I only sucked my thumb in times of horrible stress, and this certainly qualified as that. Alexa was gone. Just 
gone.
 I was sure that as soon as classes let out, and I had time to myself to think, I was going to be crying my eyes out, like I had earlier this morning. Right now, it seemed as though the day was crying for me.

I stared out of the classroom window, watching the rain fall and fall. I was almost glad that the day wasn’t bright and sunny. For one, it matched my mood. For two, my sister 
hates
 traveling in the rain, so I kept hoping that maybe she’d be back soon, having changed her mind about whatever had made her leave in the first place.

Yes, this was absolutely a horrible, awful, thumb-sucking day.

To add to that, the thing that had happened earlier with the letter was still freaking me out. When I’d seen Jackson standing in the spot where Alexa and I usually meet up in the morning before school, I knew immediately that something was wrong. I suppose it is one of my “abilities”, but the true feelings of others are never lost to me.

I’m what is called a Searcher, a blood-drinker that has the ability to literally “Search souls”. But my blood is not pure. I am half of another race; I’m half Lamia, which is the reason I can do things other Searchers aren’t able to do. Things that 
no one
 should be able to do. Things I don’t always have control of.

The unrest in Jackson’s soul was so thick when I’d seen him this morning that to me it seemed almost palpable. It was so different from the positive, sunny soul I so often glimpsed in him that I couldn’t stop my mind from reaching out. So, from fifty yards away, I’d Searched him. I hadn’t meant to, it just happened. I’d pulled it back as soon as I could manage, but from Jackson’s head I’d known that he had a letter for me; a letter from my sister. And it didn’t hold good news.

When I’d reached him, I could tell that Jackson had no idea of what I’d done. He hadn’t felt my Search; a Search that no one should have been able to accomplish at such a distance. It seemed to me that my abilities were growing stronger and more unpredictable by the day. And what happened next with the letter was further proof of this.

I’d said, “Hey, Jackson.”

He’d smiled that charming smile of his, but I could tell upset hid behind it. There was something else too, a different feeling that I decided not to dig into. Whatever was going on in Jackson’s head was none of my business. And, I’d already invaded his privacy a little by accident.

“Hey, Nelly,” he’d replied.

Then Jackson pulled a piece of paper out of his flannel shirt pocket and handed it to me. I still haven’t opened the letter, I haven’t had to. At the moment, it was sitting in the side pocket of my backpack. I was kind of afraid to touch it again.

When the note from my sister had passed from Jackson’s hand to mine, something that has never happened to me before happened. Something that I had never even known was possible.

I’d Searched the 
letter
.

One moment I had been standing in the center square of the school’s dormitories with Jackson, and the next I was somewhere else completely.  It was like I’d been sucked into a mental black hole, my mind ripping out of my skull in the present and being deposited in some other time.

I’d recognized the room immediately. The bed was unmade, the trash bin overflowing, and there were absolutely no “feminine touches” to speak of. I was standing in Alexa’s dorm room.

I couldn’t see Alexa, however, and very sparse light was coming in through the windows. I noticed all of this through peripheral vision, though, because I’d also found that I had no control over my movements. And when I’d looked down at the small, scarred hand that was hastily scribbling on a sheet of paper, I saw that that didn’t belong to me either.

No, the bruised knuckles and unpolished, chewed fingernails weren’t mine. They were Alexa’s. I’d watched as the words were scribbled hastily across the page.

Nell,

Please don’t be pissed, okay? I’m leaving, and no, I can’t tell you where I’m going or why I’m going because I know you would do something stupid and try to follow me. I just need you to trust me, Nell. I know what I’m doing. More importantly, I need you to be careful for me. I know you think I’m just paranoid, but I also know in my gut that things aren’t right at Two Rivers. I’m not sure what kind of danger I’ve just left you in, but you know I wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t have a good reason. So, just be careful, okay? Try to act normal about my being gone. Make up a story or something. And, yes, I know you’re pissed, but I also know you’ll do this for me because you are my sister and you love me. And one more thing, be strong, Nell. You don’t know how strong you are, but I do. I know you can take care of yourself 
because
 you are strong. I’m not sure what will happen while I’m gone, but do 
whatever you must
 to keep yourself safe… and don’t trust anyone unless you 
know
 you can trust them.  I’ve got to go, but I love you, Nell. I love you more than life itself.

-Alexa

My world had come tumbling down around me as I read the words. Alexa was gone. I was all alone. It had never really occurred to me before how much I depended on her to be there for me; to take care of me. A life without Alexa, even temporarily, was the worst thing I could imagine.

Some part of me had known she couldn’t hear me. I had just been experiencing a flashback; a memory of the moment the letter had been composed. Alexa was already long gone. But at the time, that hadn’t stopped me from trying to scream at her while I’d watched her fold the note and stuff it in her pocket.

It had been a soundless, throat aching scream. And, it ripped me out of the scene and sent me crashing back down to earth. The first thing I’d seen when I had regained my own vision was a blue and black flannel pattern. Jackson.

He had gripped my arms and shaken me frantically. His face was pulled tight with concern. “Nelly? Nelly, what’s going on? Are you okay?” he’d asked.

I had most absolutely 
not
 been okay. I 
still
 wasn’t okay. For several long moments, I hadn’t been able to find my voice. Tears had come tumbling, hot and wet, down my cheeks, and the rain that was currently falling heavier and heavier outside of the classroom had begun.

“She’s gone,” I’d said, not recognizing the tone of my own voice. It had been all I could manage. Jackson had caught me and held me tight as I’d fallen forward, sobbing into his arms.

And, now, here I sat; listening to some lecture that couldn’t mean less to me at the moment. Watching the rain fall, wondering where the heck my sister was. And hoping, 
praying
, that she wasn’t getting herself into some kind of horrible trouble.

Problem was, this was 
Alexa
 we were talking about here.

Alexa

The events of the next few moments were going to change me forever. The worst part is, if I could go back, I’m not sure that I would have been 
able
 to act any differently.

The sight of the knife didn’t scare me. It should have, but it didn’t. Instead, the inappropriate feeling of 
admiration 
was ignited upon seeing the weapon. And behind the eyes of my time-slowing monster, I had a moment to study the blade.

The handle was a polished ivory with what looked like a hand-carved surface, though I couldn’t be sure because the man’s thick digits covered a great portion of it. The large blade curved upward, in an arch, and ended in a sharp point rolled slightly inward like a trimmed talon. Combined with the serrated base down by the handle, there was something incredibly 
final 
about it. It seemed to me rather lovely, and I could only imagine how the sun would reflect off the arch of the steel, were there any sun to be seen. Instead, cold rain dripped from the claw end of it. Nonetheless, a fine weapon indeed.

He didn’t waste any time with words. He simply held the knife up so as to make sure that I saw it, and moved to grab me.

I had the longest split second in history to decide what to do. Apparently, I didn’t think fast enough, and what my Mother would so generously call 
instincts,
 but what I would call 
monster
, acted for me.

I had fully and instantaneously relinquished control; and not truly by my own volition. But, I knew in the dark side of my soul, the side that could recognize a kindred spirit, that this man meant to do bad things to me; that he had almost definitely done those same despicable things to other girls like me. Well, other girls that 
seemed
 like me; small and weak and…. 
helpless
. And, unfortunately for him, he was horribly mistaken on two out of the three.

So the low roundhouse kick was naturally aimed at his right leg; the
 weak point
 that my rather observant monster had pointed out earlier
.
 And what I knew had to be a crooked, crazed smile came to my lips when I heard the essential ligaments in his right knee rip into two worthless pieces. To his credit, he didn’t cry out, and for a moment, nothing at all registered on his face.