Soul Guard (Elemental Book 5) (25 page)

There was hope in her eyes. “My… virginity? I thought
it might be that, so I… you know… protected it.”

He grinned. “Oh, you are a sweet, innocent thing. I
would love to take your virginity, but what I really need is your soul. You
see, blood magic is amateur. I need a sacrifice much more powerful than just a
mere body for what I have in mind. The only difficult part of this spell I’m doing
is that the soul has to be willingly offered.”

“You want me to die?”

“Of course not,” he laughed. “I would never dream of
that! You should have a long and lovely life. I would only get your soul when
you die. Think of it like this; you continue living the dream until the rest of
your time is up.” He stroked her hair back intimately. “Once your life is over,
your soul comes to me. It would be like a second, eternal life for you. Your
soul will become pure magic for me and only me to use. You would be making me
stronger for the rest of eternity and you would never feel a difference.”

“So I would be with you for eternity?”

“With my heart, at least. I don’t fancy staying home
all day.”

“Why do you need my soul?”

“Well, that’s actually not what I need. The act of
offering your pure soul to me is what I need. The reason is that I am going to
do a very powerful spell which will protect my heart against a very nasty
threat.”

“So, basically… I’ll be saving you?” Miranda asked.

Langril smiled fondly. “Yes.”

“I’ll do it.”

*          *          *

Once again, I was pulled out of the vision almost
violently. For a few minutes, I had no idea why I was on the floor in the
infirmary with Vincent, Dr. Martin, Darwin, and Henry. “What happened?”

“Your vision was too long,” Darwin said.

Dr. Martin held up a thermometer and I realized I was
covered in sweat again. Only then did I remember why I was there. I decided not
to mention the momentary amnesia.

“Did you find out anything?” Vincent asked.

I shook my head. “I learned some stuff about Miranda,
but nothing about where Langril’s heart is.”

Vincent cursed and vanished into the shadows.

“Miranda is beginning to
fade. Is there anything else you would like to ask her?” Dr. Martin asked.

“Ask her if she’s happy or if she regrets the deal.”

He paused to listen. “She says yes.”

“Yes, she’s happy, or yes, she regrets the deal?”

She vanished, the candles went out, and the room lit
with light from an unseen source. The “blood” hardened and darkened into black
wax. The ball seemed to float to the top as the substance solidified. I picked
up the ball, which had no waxy residue on it.

“What did you learn about Miranda?” Darwin asked,
handing me my ring.

“Let’s go see if Remy has found her attacker and I’ll
explain on the way.”

“Remy’s attacker?” Dr. Martin asked. “The
headmaster’s daughter was attacked?” He didn’t know the woman as well as the
other professors because she was born during his thirty-year disappearance. His
disappearance was caused by another professor’s plot to take over the school.

“Yes, one of the wizards attacked her.”

“In Logan Hunt’s school? I’m shocked anyone in the
paranormal world is that foolish. Logan may not be the most powerful wizard in
the world, but when angered, the man is like a Doberman.”

“He doesn’t seem the type,” Darwin said.

“Rosin is very careful to prevent Logan from reaching
that point. The only one I know who can always get under Logan’s skin is
Keigan.”

“He must be happy the professor is gone.”

“Quite the opposite. They hate each other, but
they’re also friends. They’ll fight each other in times of peace, but when a
common enemy arose, they have always put aside their differences and fought on
the same side. That is, until Logan became obsessed with the key. Since the
fourth key became available, they both changed. Then Rosin started dating
Logan’s daughter, and the tension is palpable. Logan is a very difficult man to
get along with and he needs a balance of friends, friends/enemies, and enemies.
People like Logan want progress in the world, but don’t actually like change,
and three very important people in his life have completely changed. I’m afraid
that the university may not last that much longer.”

“What about the children’s school and orphanage?”

“They would be passed down to someone else and probably
relocated to Europe. The university, however, has only lasted this long because
of Logan.”

“But I like this school,” Darwin said. “What do we
have to do to fix it?”

“I wish I knew,” Dr. Martin said before turning back
to fiddle with some potions.

Darwin, Henry, and I left. Deep in thought, we
reached the ground floor in silence before I realized I hadn’t told them about
Miranda. On the way to Remy’s office, I told them everything that happened in
the vision.

Just as we reached Remy’s office, my instincts warned
me of danger and Henry growled. “Someone is in there who shouldn’t be,” Henry
said.

Darwin sighed. I tried the knob, found it was locked,
and sent a burst of energy through it. Unfortunately, the energy rebounded
violently and zapped my hand. “Shit.”

“You didn’t think Remington Hunt’s office would have
a ward in place against breaking and entering?” Darwin asked.

“Well, you could have given me a warning if you
expected that.”

“I didn’t expect you to do something stupid like
that.”

At that point, Henry kicked the door. Magic ward or
not, the door broke right off its hinges. The man inside jumped in surprise,
then pulled a sword from the belt harness at his side. Although he hid it in a
scabbard, I recognized the sinister red glow of the shadow walkers’ weapon. He
held up his hand as if about to strike me, so I reacted instinctively.

I reached out with my magic. “Stop!” I demanded.
Henry and Darwin shuddered as some of the residual magic affected them, but the
shadow walker froze. I could feel the shock in his mind.

“Devon, that’s not the one who attacked Remington,”
Henry said quietly. “He is, however, the one who searched your apartment.”

When he said that, I realized where else I had seen
him. “You were the one who picked up that woman on the street.”

His eyes widened. “You saw me?”

“What did you do to her?”

“Nothing.”

“Tell the truth,” I demanded. Even I felt the weight
of my magic crushing his willpower. This was a feeling I’m sure John basked in
all the time.

“She’s my wife!” he exclaimed in obvious pain. I
instantly let up on my power, not enough to let him go but enough to where he
wasn’t suffering. “I’m her soul guard. She only wanted someone to love her and
give her a normal life, so we’re married and have two kids.”

“And you love her?”

“Of course! It was required in the contract.”

“Then what’s your name and what are you doing here?”

“I’m Cathus. I’m here to stop the Shadow Master from
getting the keys of the tower.”

“What the hell does that have to do with why you’re
in Remington’s office?”

He winced subtly, as if ashamed. “I am looking for a
way out. I was able to get in, but the wards around the school and even the
room trapped me.”

“Put the sword away.” He did, and then stopped
struggling against my power. “You shouldn’t have even been able to get in. Why
should I believe you?”

“You shouldn’t. I’ve told my wife a thousand times
that you humans are far too trusting. If I thought for a split second that it
would get me even an inch closer to my goal, I would lie, manipulate, or kill
you. I learned that one of the shadow walkers managed to get inside and tried
to kidnap Remington Hunt in order to get the key from Logan Hunt for the Shadow
Master. I came to intercept the shadow walker, but I got stuck in here instead.
Did he get her?”

“No, but if he got in once, I’m sure this isn’t the
end.” I turned to Darwin. “Warn Hunt and Remy that it’s not a wizard but a
shadow walker who attacked her.”

“That explains why you two couldn’t find him. I’m on
it.” He took off running out the door.

I turned back to the shadow walker. “Why are you
trying to help Remington?”

“I’m not. I’m trying to stop the Shadow Master from
taking over this world. I spent my entire life trying to get out of Dothra, and
now that I’m here, I don’t want him infecting this world with that darkness.”

I didn’t know if my mind powers could be tricked, but
I couldn’t detect any lie in his words. I was pretty good at identifying when
people were lying even without my powers. Furthermore, my instincts were
telling me I wasn’t in any danger, so I let his mind go and he sighed with
relief.

“Why were you in my apartment and why did you attack
Regina?”

“I was not the one who attacked your wife; I was the
one who stopped her attacker from going after Darwin next. I searched your
apartment to find out if you had anything he could get ahold of and use against
you. I thought he was after a magic staff you have, but I’ve also heard it was
a sword, so I assumed it was a rumor. I do know we’re on the same side.”

“You think you can stop the shadow man?” I asked.

“No. I’m nowhere near powerful enough. I’m only
trying to stop him until the true master returns to save us. He is the only one
who can stop the Shadow Master.”

“So, what are we going to do with him?” Henry asked
me.

The shadow walker looked slightly nervous. “Just
allow me to walk out of the ward unharmed and I will continue trying to slow
the Shadow Master down. You have too many enemies to start destroying your
allies.”

I nodded. “Alright, but I can kill you with my mind,
so you’d better not be lying.”

His eyes widened. “That can’t be true. You’re not
powerful enough.”

“I was trained by Leara Kingling himself to destroy
the shadow man.” I turned and walked out. Henry followed.

“Are we walking away from a possible enemy to make a
statement or to test him?” he asked a couple minutes later.

“Both. If he’s working for the shadow man, either
he’ll stick around because failure’s not an option, or he’ll return to his
master and I can get into his mind to spy on the shadow man’s plans. If he’s
working against the shadow man, we have another ally out there, and we need as
many of those as possible right now.”

We arrived at Hunt’s office, where I heard Remington
yelling at her father about responsibility and trust through the door. I
knocked, not even bothering to try to snoop. Remy stopped cold. “Come in,” Hunt
called.

Hunt was standing in front of the couch, Remy was
sitting on the couch, and Flagstone was facing the fireplace. I figured Remy
had been standing and only sat so as not to be tempted to continue yelling at
her father. Flagstone stood with a stiffness that told me he wanted to be
anywhere else in the world but here. The tension was unmistakable.

“Where’s Darwin?” I asked.

“He hasn’t been here,” Hunt said.

Henry sniffed the air and the door. “He’s been here.
He was right outside the door in the last… probably ten minutes.”

I let my power out to search for Darwin, but I
couldn’t find it. It wasn’t just blocked. “I can’t find him.”

Henry knew that meant the situation was serious. “Not
a lot can happen in ten minutes. My jaguar will pick up more.” He started
stripping and handing me his clothes. I shut the door. It never seemed to
bother shifters when they were naked in front of others. As Henry shifted and
started sniffing around, I gently opened a link between our minds.

“Why did you think Darwin was here?” Remy asked.

“Because he came to tell you it wasn’t a wizard who
attacked you; it was a shadow walker.”

“Impossible,” Hunt argued. “My wards are infallible.”

“So then the shadow walker I just talked to in Remy’s
office was a figment of my imagination?”

“
And mine
,” Henry added in my mind.

“
You must be a figment of my imagination, too
.”
I opened the door for Henry.

He gave Flagstone a quick glare, as if daring the
wolf to follow us, and took off out the door. I followed him for about five
minutes before he stopped. “
This is where the trail ends. He meets with
another scent and then he vanishes
.”

“
What other scent
?
Who was here
?”

“
You don’t want to know
.”

“
Darwin’s life is at stake. Who was it
?”

“
Vincent
.”

*          *          *

Half an hour later, I was pacing in my room. I had
tried using the shadow pass to find him or Vincent and failed. I also wasn’t
even able to find their minds. Henry was sitting at his desk. “Why would Vincent
take Darwin?” Henry asked.

“I don’t think that’s Vincent.”

“I know his scent.”

“We already know the shadow man can disguise himself,
what if he can disguise his scent? He would have to in order to get past
Flagstone. He knew things that only Vincent should know… but we said the shadow
man’s name all the time. He was listening in every damn time. When Vincent made
the antidote for Ghost, he said the name. When he told me Hunt stabbed Langril
in the chest, he said the name. I think my instincts, dreams, and even Ghost
was trying to tell me that wasn’t the real Vincent.”

“If that is the case?” Where is the real Vincent?”

“Ghost has been avoiding Vincent for months. I think
the real Vincent is in Kadin; that Langril pulled Vincent into Kadin, believing
it was Draumr, and the shadow man appeared disguised as Vincent. In one of my
dreams, Langril said that he meant to take Vincent into Draumr but mistook the
door. Vincent couldn’t possibly have known that, but the shadow man could,
because we said his name.”

“Do you think you can handle a vision?”

“Yes,” I lied with a sigh. I was exhausted and after
two major visions, I needed to eat and sleep. Unfortunately, Darwin’s life was
at stake, so I didn’t have a choice. “What did he bring that we can use?”

Henry searched his desk. “I’ve never seen him with
any personal trinkets. He brings a bag of school supplies like a child, but he
forgets a pencil, his paper, his notebooks, and anything he has in the
classrooms. He pretty much loses everything but his clothes in the first week.”

“Yeah, it usually takes a month before he’s borrowing
ours.” I grabbed the backpack off the floor and started searching it.

“I keep telling him not to take his clothes off in
class. I get it when he loses his jackets, but how does he walk out of the room
and not realize he left his shoes?”

“I think it’s a fae thing; I’ve seen others do it as
well. There’s nothing but clothes in here.” I tossed the bag onto Darwin’s bed.
“Maybe we could call his father and use one of his laptops.” A loud meow made
me turn to my desk, where Ghost was sitting. When I reached out to pet him, he
purred. “Can you help me find Darwin?”

He nodded.

I opened my mind to him and immediately saw Darwin in
his memory. Darwin was sitting in the dark next to Jameson. At least, I hoped
it was Jameson and not Jason. I was thrown out of the familiar’s mind before I
could get any more information. “Where is he?”

The cat made a soft, apologetic meow and flopped over
onto his side.

I turned to Henry. “I don’t know where he is, but
he’s with Jameson.”

“So, if we find out where Jameson is, we can find
Darwin, and you can probably use Jason as a link to his brother.”

“Exactly.” I started to leave the room, but Henry
leaned against his desk. “What’s wrong?”

He shook his head. “Go on ahead. I have a headache,
but I’ll be there in just a minute.”

“You’ve never gotten sick before.”

He gave me a tight smile. “Things have changed a lot
for me in the past year. I haven’t slept well lately and I don’t want Kitten
getting worried.”

I nodded. “Alright, if you’re sure it’s nothing.” I
didn’t think it was nothing, but I left the room anyway. The first door I
knocked on, Elizabeth answered.