My Soul to Take (Soul Keepers (Young Adult paranormal romance)) (10 page)

Elijah rounds the corner and I see his beautiful serene eyes fill with an anger I never knew was possible, when he spots the demon.

Elijah lunges for the demon like a wild cougar protecting her young. He is all muscle and flesh coiling for the kill. They both disappear into the red skied world and I blink to catch up to them.  Malphas dodges Elijah’s tackle and readies himself for the next.

A smile spreads on Malphas’ face.

“Well it looks like someone’s got a secret.”

“
Shut your face Malphas or you won’t have one to shut.”  Elijah lunges for him again but Malphas teleports to another spot in the room.

“
Oh Elijah, I think you should tell her,” Malphas teases. Elijah moves quicker than I‘ve ever seen him and rips the throat right out of Malphas as the demon disintegrates between his fingers. Elijah slings the blood and sinew from his hand and it dissolves into the shadows like it was never really there in the first place.

“
Is he dead?” I ask with more enthusiasm for death and carnage than I should have.

“
No,” Elijah grumbles.

“
But he barely has a neck left.” Elijah is checking me for harm as I ramble.

“
Our bodies are just manifestations of energy and sprit combined. We can be weakened but not killed. What happened, are you okay? I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have left you alone for even a minute.”

“
I’m okay.” My voice sounds far off as I still contemplate the demon’s offer. “What secret do you have Elijah?”

“
Please trust me on this one, love, you don’t want to know okay.” His voice is so sincere I back down immediately.

Elijah tips my chin up with his fingers.
“Hey, what happened? Did he say anything to you? Did he make you an offer?” My eyes look away ashamed for even considering it. “No Brennen, whatever he has offered you, it’s not good.”

“
I know.” Elijah puts his hands on my face, cradling my head in his hands. Concern deepens his brows and his eyes swim with words to convince me. My grandmother will die if I don’t take this deal. She is not even that old, she could have five happy years left with me. If it were me dying in that bed, she would do it for me. She would do anything for me. I blink back the tears and Elijah pulls me onto his lap and holds me.

He whispers softly into my ear.
“Let her go home Bren, let her see her son, she’s aching for him right now. She misses her husband. She’s waited so long to see him. Her mother and father are waiting for her Brennen.” Elijah’s words echo in my ears. She’ll get to be with Daddy.

“
Ms. Hale?” A doctor comes up to me wearing a surgical scrub cap and blue scrubs.

“
Yes.” I say standing up to meet him.

“
Your grandmother is stable now if you’d like to come in for a moment. I’m afraid she’s suffered a pulmonary embolism and it’s left her unable to breathe on her own very well. Her vitals suggest that her condition could deteriorate quickly but as you are aware she has a DNR signed on file with us. She requested that once emergency measures be taken that no further attempt be made to sustain life by the use of intubation or CPR. If you’ll follow me please.”

I remember all too well having to help her choose her last wishes when we entered in to the hospice care a couple of weeks ago. Her only moment of clarity in months had been when she pointed to those bold typeface initials. She knew she wanted to go home. She wanted to be free of this body that held her captive.

The doctor led us to her bed where my grandmother gasped for air in short little burst. The rattle in her chest was her new normal thanks to her advanced Alzheimer’s. I carefully sat in the chair Elijah pushed up next to the bed and took Grandma’s hand. “
All you have to do is call my name
,” Malphas repeats in my head. Elijah took her other hand and began performing the prayer of Last Rights over her very quietly so as not to disturb me. She would have wanted that. My grandma was a devout Catholic. She would have had a danced on the ceiling if she knew a real angel of the lord was praying over her right now.

“
I promise she won’t feel any pain.” Elijah keeps a hold of her hand and I know he is taking her discomfort away so that she may pass in peace. Her breaths come softer now like she didn’t have to try as hard. Tears flow freely down my face as my grandma seems to drift off to sleep. But I know she isn’t sleeping. I bury my head into her neck and hold her close to me. She always wore the same Channel No 5 perfume, and still bears the scent, the nurses must have kept up with her habit even when she couldn’t.

“
I love you Grandma, tell Daddy I said hi and that I miss him.” I kiss her cheek. The nurse turns off the beeping machine. A doctor comes in behind her and checks Grandma’s pulse before quietly announcing her time of death. My whole body sags upon hearing those words. Elijah grips my shoulders and I turn to him and let the tears fall onto his crisp blue shirt. He holds me in his steel cage arms where no one can hurt me.

I wait in the back of the church with Elijah as the priest comes in and begins by praying over us. He and his alter boys accompany the casket down the aisle while we follow behind. Her church is a tiny white chapel in town. Stained glass windows and ornate statues adorn the wall. It’s beyond beautiful inside. Angels painted in the clouds above us, smile warmly down upon our small gathering. She had made many friends in this little town where she spent almost half of her life. But I was her only living relative.

Elijah knows when to sit, stand, and kneel in all of the prayers. I follow along having been through my fair share of Catholic funerals. When the priest
speaks about her I get the sense that he really knew her and tears fall from my face as I listen to his stories. He makes us laugh with tales of how her quick wit and charm made her your instant best friend, even if you had only just met. She would reel you in with her words and then capture your stomach with her baked goods. No one was safe from that combination.

After it’s over, Elijah walks us out past the crowd with his arm around my shoulder to keep me up right. I notice Sam in the pew standing beside Emily. I don’t have it in me to meet his eyes. It had been weeks since I asked to talk to him and he never said a word to me. Not only has he been seeing Peyton but I’ve seen him cozy up to Ari as well.

After the burial I had arranged a dove release. The woman said the dove was trained to fly home, just as Grandma was home now. It represents her spirit flying free, unburdened by her health and her earthly body any longer. She holds the snow white bird in her hand and everyone passes a hand over it and says good-bye. When she gives the bird to me, I slowly open my hands and let it take off in flight. Its wings catch the air and it pumps itself up to the sky effortlessly.

The coordinator opens the door to a white cage and three more take flight representing the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The sound of their pristine wings beating to gain altitude reminded me of Elijah’s wings. Tears well in my eyes as she finally releases an entire flock of the doves. They circle over us, high above the oaks, soaring free, yet unified as one. I hear the nearby sniffles as tears are being spilled by men and women alike.

I sit in the chair across from the casket and ask Elijah for a little privacy. He said he wouldn’t go far. One by one guest stop by to give me their condolences until the crowd dwindles down to just two, Emily and Sam. They look good together. Perfect really. Part of me wishes they were the ones that destiny had cemented together. The other part of me longs for one of his gentle embraces right now.

Emily comes up and hugs my neck. “Brennen I’m so sorry for your loss. If you need anything at all, you call me okay. If you need me to write your next presidential speech on foreign oil subsidies, I’m there.” I crack a smile. I nod and return her hug.

Sam takes the seat next to me. He sits for several minutes with me, staring at the casket adorned in yellow roses. I didn’t know if this is all I would get out of him, but for some reason with him beside me, it felt like we would be okay one day.
“My mom had pink flowers, she loved anything that was pink, from her ceramic pig collection to those damn pink pants she used to wear with everything in her closet. “ I give him a heartfelt smile at his admission.

“
Grandma said that God made yellow to cheer up the world.” But for some reason repeating her comment makes me sad. Sam sighs right along with me and then he stands up and walks away.  I feel like a squashed bug that’s been flicked into a pile of dog doo. My hand slides along the cool wood casket and I pluck a single yellow rose from it before I walk away from my grandma for the last time.

“
Come on, let’s go home so you can rest.” Elijah takes my hand. Just as we pull away, the sky opens up and pours out its tears over the land. Thunder rumbles like a growl in the distance. Nothing makes sense.

That night Elijah lounges in my bedroom chaise while
I’m snug under my covers.

“
At least Sam didn’t bring Peyton to the funeral,” I say.

“
It would have been wrong of him to do and deep down, I think Sam is a good guy.”

“
You do?” I’m a bit shocked by his admission.

“
Well, I’m still appalled by his attack on you, and something isn’t sitting right with me about the story.”

“
What, do you suspect he was faking it?”

“
I don’t know about that. I’ve always sensed something vulnerable about his spirit.” Spirits, souls, red skied worlds, I’m only on the cusp of understanding the full meaning of these things, and thirsty for more knowledge. I hate feeling like I don’t know my way around a subject. Perhaps that is why I’ve always been a good student.

“
What should I do Elijah?” Sam took a step in my direction today. I want to keep the momentum going. I hope his feelings for Peyton are counterfeit and he is only using her as an excuse to keep me safe.

“
Let’s talk more in the morning. Get some rest, love.”

My stomach bottoms out, I love it when he calls me that. I wonder when our time will come. I hate this. I’m sure Elijah hates pushing me into the arms of the man
I’m supposed to marry. I can’t read his thoughts but he’s been so open with me about how he feels and since I know he can’t lie, then he must be a mess inside.

“
The demon wanted my soul, well he said his master wanted it. He promised I could live in his castle and he’d give my grandma her health back, even her mind.” I finally admit as I snuggle back under my heavy comforter.

“
Listen to me very carefully Brennen.” Elijah moves to my side. “Whatever he offers you, promise me you will never agree to anything. It’s not worth losing your soul. He will delight himself into making your worst nightmares come true for all of eternity. Don’t ever trust anything he has to say. They live and breathe lies. Promise me.” I can tell he is angered, not at me, but the position I had been put in.

“
Okay Elijah, I promise.” This man cares more for me than I ever knew was possible.

He brushes my hair away from my face.
“I know you don’t want to use your gifts on Sam. We’ll figure out how to turn him around.” I drink in his warm dark chocolate aroma. There’s something about the scent of this particular food group that makes me feel all velvety inside. It feels so good being in his arms. Not an ounce of flirting from either of us, yet I feel undeniably loved. He’s telling me he’s going to help me win the affections of another, yet his own love is fixed and never faltering. Maybe I’ll never understand that kind of love, and he’s not asking me to, he’s not even asking me to match it, just to accept the fact that he will always love me. I drift off in his arms as he strokes my head with his magic coma-inducing fingers.

Elijah slaps down a newspaper with something circled on it in red. I glance at the ad he points out as I spoon in a mouthful of Cheerios. I raise a brow. Nothing good can come from the smug expression he’s sporting this morning.

Wanted: Stable hand. Experience necessary, must love horses
.

The ad gives its contact information and says apply in person at Montgomery Ranch.
Sam’s ranch?

“
Shoveling horse poo?” I look up at Elijah with a what-are-you-smoking glare. That killer smile surfaces as he takes in my appalled expression. I’m sure he would revel in seeing me knee deep in manure but I doubt that would cause Sam any heart palpitations. He would more likely be repulsed by my new perfume and straw strewn hair-do. I shake my head at the inane idea.

“
Brennen sometimes a show of humility can be more alluring than beauty and intellect combined. Trust me, this is our
in.
”

“
I don’t need an
in
, Sam was in love with me.”

“
Was
... you said it.” He wrings a kitchen towel in his hands like he’s trying to strangle it even though his face is serene as a cat lying in the sun.  I down another spoon of cereal, annoyed that this is what I’m resorting to.