Soul Broker (10 page)

If Poseidon kills my Master, Olesha, then I too shall die.

She tapped her long red nail on the line, and grinned. “I think you should hold off on the death threats. Don’t you?”

Poseidon shredded the paper. Rage bubbled deep in his gut and began to consume him. The shreds of paper rose from the ground with a wave of her hand, reassembled, and floated back into the desk drawer. The sheer gall, to flaunt her power over Drew in his face, snipped the last thread that kept him from exploding.

He lunged at Olesha, grabbed her by the throat and slammed her against the wall.

“I’ll negotiate with you, all right. I’ll let you watch as I release your slaves, and then have their way with you, before I kill you.” He squeezed tighter, her face a brilliant red. Her hands clawed at his. “My son is willing to die in order to save his family, and I would rather see him dead then for him to be under your control.”

He let her go and she smacked the floor with a thud,
her face red, her abdomen sucking in and out. He watched as she took shallow gasps, as if trying to suck in as much air as she could. He stalked her every move. She was his prey. He took another step closer and she stood, clawing her way up the wall for support. “You almost killed me, you bastard!”

“There won’t be an ‘almost’ next time.”

She held her arm out in front of her. “Wait, we can discuss this.”

“Okay, these are my terms. Release my son from his contract, and leave his family alone, forever.”

“And I get to keep my life in return?”

“Yes, I’ll let you live.”

She brought her hand up to her neck and gave it a rub. “I’ll need to fill out some paperwork.”

“Do what you have to do, but it better be done in fifteen minutes.”

She edged over to the desk, pulled out a chair, and sat. “I can’t promise you I can complete it in that time frame.”

“Good news then, I’m certain I can kill you in that time frame.” He stood behind her, bent down and ran his tongue across her ear lobe. “I almost hope you c
an’t do it in fifteen minutes.”

She pulled away. “I hope you rot in
Hell.”

“
You’re too late, I already am.”

Mackenzie and Drew traveled through the thick jungle in silence. She wasn’t sure where they were headed, but hoped it was away from the three brutes tracking them. From what she had learned about Drew’s Master, she didn’t want to sentence anyone to a lifetime with her, but if the choice was Mackenzie’s life or theirs she wasn’t going to die so that they could live.
Hell no.

“How much longer?” Mackenzie whispered.

“Longer for what?”

Mackenzie took a step closer to Drew. “Until we get to wherever it is we’re going.”

Drew pointed to the west where the sky was painted shades of pink and orange. A peak basked in the glow of the last rays of daylight. “We need to try and get there before dark.”

“Are you kidding me?” Drew placed his fingers over her mouth, and she pulled away, lowering her voice. “Sorry. That’s a few miles and it’s going to get dark soon.”

Drew turned and took a step forward. “Then we better walk faster.”

She grabbed his arm and pulled him to a halt. “Can’t you do your travel thing?”

He smiled. “I can if you want them to know exactly where we’re going.”

“How will they know?”

“All magic has a frequency, a sort of trail. Shifting leaves the same trail.”

“Sophie!”

Drew grabbed her by the arms and pulled her close, forcing Mackenzie to look at him. “Do you think I would lead them to Sophie? I made several stops before we got to where I took her. They won’t be able to follow it. It’s harder to follow a trail that spans over long distances. Here on this island, there’s only so much confusing I can try and do, they’d find us sooner or later, and I’d rather it be later—much later, if ever.”

Mackenzie pulled away from him. She wouldn’t allow him to see the momentary shame that filled her. She knew Drew wouldn’t let anything happen to Sophie. For some reason she did trust Drew, but right now Sophie was her first priority, and she wanted to finish this so she could get back to her. “I believe you. Let’s get moving. Hopefully your father is doing something to help our cause.”

“I’m sure he is doing everything in his power to keep you and Sophie safe.”

She headed toward the pink and orange sky to the west. She had a million questions for Drew. She wanted to know more about him. She wanted the information for Sophie.
Yeah, that’s right, I need to find out more about him so I can tell Sophie about her dad. It’s definitely not because every time he touches me, my body threatens to burst into flames. I mean, it’s only been what, a few years since I’ve had sex? If the wind blew just right that would probably start my engine revving too. It’s certainly not that I’m attracted to him.
She pushed those thoughts from her mind. There was no way for them to ever have a relationship anyway. Drew was a slave.

Mackenzie remained silent as they walked. Drew didn’t want to read her thoughts, but damn if she wasn’t broadcasting them now. He wanted to tell her to tame them down a bit, but his male ego couldn’t help but be stroked by the information that he was the last one she had sex with. He would keep this information to himself… for now.

Leaves crunched to Drew’s left. He grabbed Mackenzie and they stopped where they were. He hoped it wasn’t Eaton, Kastas, or Barak. Fighting them was something he wanted to avoid at all costs. A few warriors died over the years, but they were mere shells of the former warriors Drew had known. Olesha sold them like party favors to the highest bidders. They would be gone sometimes for years, and when they returned, they weren’t the same. Drew had once thought death would be a godsend, but he knew that was life’s greatest lie.

A few branches snapped, and then he heard a whooshing sound next to his ear. He kicked his foot out and Barak fell to his left, his sword landing on the jungle floor. Drew pulled Mackenzie to her feet, and stood with his back to hers.

Eaton and Kastas were in front of Drew. Barak regained an upright position and flanked Mackenzie’s right side. “You know where I told you to go?” Drew asked her.

“Yes, but I’m not leaving you.”

“I don’t want them dead, but I don’t want you dead either. “

“I’ll try not to kill them.”

Drew shifted his weight as Eaton took a step towards them. “Mackenzie, when you have the chance, please leave.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Mackenzie moved until their backs touched without any empty space. She then erected the force field.

“What are you doing?”

Mackenzie grabbed his arm. “Don’t move. As long as we’re touching the force field will surround us both.”

“Why do you think I need protection?” Drew was ready to pull himself free. He didn’t need to be protected by anyone, especially the mother of his child.

“It’s not to protect you.” Mackenzie shook her head and let out a sigh. “It’s to keep us from having to fight them. The force field is for their safety, not ours.”

Drew laughed.

“If I could move, I’d kiss you. You’re a very clever woman, you know that?”

“Yeah.”

“How long can you hold it?”

“I’ve never timed it before. I guess we’ll find out. That is unless your dad gets his ass in gear and your Master puts a stop to the manhunt.”

“Well, I wouldn’t count on the latter happening.”

“Perfect.”

Eaton, Barak and Kastas charged the force field.

Barak swung the Morningstar over and over. Each time, the spiked ball bounced off the bright blue sphere. Kastas brought his blade around to strike the sphere separating him from his targets. Drew watched the fire fill his eyes before those same flames filled the blade of the sword. The bright blue consumed the blade, leaving Kastas holding a silver handle. He glanced down and the flame reignited again. He raised it above his head, swinging upon the force field. Eaton’s hand glowed and orange orbs filled his palms. He flung them at the sphere, only to have the field absorb each one.

Mackenzie swayed to the side, but the shield remained intact. Drew clasped her arm, keeping their backs touching. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I’ve never had my force field assaulted before. And with the magic they’re using it’s taking a lot more to keep it intact.”

Eaton raised his hand. Barak and Kastas stopped.

“Drew! How long are you going to hide behind the witch? Fight like a man.”

Drew started to pull away, but not before Mackenzie caught his hand. “He’s baiting you. Are you really that insecure about your manhood that you would be so easily fooled? What happened to keeping them alive?”

Drew’s posture relaxed. He laughed out loud while inside he chastised himself. How could he be so stupid and fall for a childish trick? “Thank you.” That was all he could get out. Olesha’s punishment for failure must be steep for Eaton to bait him like that. He needed to stay strong for all their sakes.

Eaton’s palms lit up again, peppering the blue shield with patches of orange. Mackenzie swayed to the left and then the right before collapsing to the ground. Eaton,
Barak and Kastas charged them.

Olesha ground her teeth. Those idiots she sent to kill Drew, Mackenzie and the girl must have failed. They would have been back by now, otherwise. She hated the idea of letting one of her play-toys free, but the idea of dying did not appeal to her either. Olesha had no choice but to release Drew, but the others would pay dearly for failing her.

She sliced her wrist and placed three drops of blood on the bottom of the contract. As the last drop hit, the ivory parchment disintegrated until nothing but a pile of ash remained. She turned to Poseidon.

“His contract is cancelled. Drew is free.”

“And you won’t pursue him, his woman, or daughter?”

“No, I will not, but I can’t guarantee that the others won’t.”

Poseidon stepped in closer to Olesha, grabbed her chin, and lifted her face so their eyes met. “Oh, I think you can.” He turned in the direction of the room where the slaves were held. “I think you can
convince
them to forget about Drew and his family.”