Soul Guard (Elemental Book 5) (26 page)

“Hey, Devon. What’s wrong?”

“Darwin was taken. He’s wherever Jameson is and I
need Jason to help me find him.”

She moved out of the way to let me enter. “Jason has
been trying to reach his brother.” The room looked identical to all other
rooms, except for the toys all over the floor. Jason was coloring in a coloring
book and Scott was drawing something in a sketchpad. The little jaguar shifter
definitely inherited his father’s skill. Unfortunately, so did Jason.

And thinking that made me hate my plan even more. I
sat down on the floor next to him. “Jason, the shadow man has taken Darwin and
I know he’s with Jameson. I need you to help me find your brother.”

“Where is Daddy?” Scott asked.

“He’s coming; he’ll just be a minute.”

Scott stood. “I’m going to go find him.”

Elizabeth shut the door behind him. “Just be careful.
Don’t hurt him,” she said.

“Of course I wouldn’t hurt him.”

Jason pushed the coloring book away and sat up on his
knees. “I don’t know where Jamie is,” he said softly.

“I think we can find him if we work together.”

“Jamie doesn’t want to be found. He wants to go with
the shadow man. I don’t like the shadow man, so I came to find you. If we get
him back, I think he’ll be good. He’s not bad, not like the shadow man is.”

“Good. What I’m going to do is start by looking into
your mind. I want you to focus on your brother and finding him.”

He nodded. “Okay.”

I reached out with my power for his mind. His
mother’s was wide open, as most non-paranormal minds were. Although Jason’s
mind was open as well, it was sort of like a disarmed bomb. While I knew he
wasn’t about to explode, I also knew he was extremely powerful. He was John’s
son.

I felt him focus on his brother, put all my power
behind him, and let him lead. Jameson was his twin brother, not mine, so I just
gave him enough magic to push further. It was an odd sensation as my magic met
his. We weren’t twins, possibly not even brothers if Vincent was my father, yet
our magic came from the same source. Jason had so much growing up to do, but
his power was formidable already. If this was him without his brother, who he
said he couldn’t do magic without, I’d hate to see them work together against a
common enemy. Or rather, I’d hate to be their common enemy.

Instead of seeing the boy’s location, I sensed it,
and groaned aloud at my own oversight.

“
I don’t understand
,” Jason said in my mind. “
How
can he be here
?”

“
There are at least six levels of tunnels and
caves below the castle, including numerous traps and rooms. You were right when
you said he was in a room of dirt. I should have realized it before
.” I
pulled away from his mind.

“Did you find out anything?” Elizabeth asked, picking
up her son and hugging him.

“I know where they are, but getting to them is not
going to be easy. Fortunately, I have three people in mind who would be perfect
for this rescue mission.” I got up and returned to my room, where Henry and
Scott were drawing something together on another sketchpad. Since Henry
discovered his parents had lied to him his entire life, drawing pads, paint
brushes, and fancy pencils kept cropping up everywhere. There was no telling
where he kept his supplies.

“Did you find him?” Henry asked, setting his pencil
down.

“I did. He’s in the underground tunnels. We need to
find Professor Nightshade and Heather.”

“Nightshade isn’t here,” he said. I overheard some of
the wizards in the dining room talk about it earlier. She’s on a honeymoon with
Professor Watson.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes.”

“Well, hopefully, Heather can help.”

“Why Heather?”

“Langril said she was a master of earth magic.”

“I want to help,” Scott said.

“Kitten, the underground tunnels are dark and there
are traps down there,” Henry said. He looked at me. “The entire reason we came
to the school was because Hunt said the shadow walkers couldn’t get in. How do
we protect them and go after Darwin?”

“I can leave Rocky here to protect them and you can
come with me, or… you can stay here and I’ll take Rocky with me. I know you can
get past the traps, but I’m sure Rocky can as well.”

Henry looked very unsure. “The shadow walker was able
to subdue me, not your gargoyle. Kitten will probably be safer with Rocky since
he’s impervious to magic.”

“It’s up to you.”

He looked at Scott, who gave him a completely fake
smile. “Go save Uncle Darwin. I’ll stay and help Jason.”

Henry nodded.

*          *          *

Ten minutes later, Henry and I were standing in front
of Heather’s room. I had already instructed my gargoyle to watch over Scott,
Jason, Elizabeth, and my mother. A minute after I knocked, I got worried.
“Heather?” I called through the door.

The door opened and I saw why it took her so long.
Her gold hair was mussed and she was dressed in a white tank-top with pink
panties. “Don’t you people ever sleep?” she asked.

“Sorry. I didn’t pay attention to the time. Darwin is
missing and Henry and I are going after him.”

“Thanks for the update.”

She tried to shut the door, but I stopped it. “Darwin
is in the underground tunnels. Your father said you were the best at earth
magic and I think we’ll need your help.”

She sighed and leaned her head against the doorframe.
“Why can’t you three get into trouble during business hours?” She stepped out
into the hall and shut the door.

“Shouldn’t you get dressed?”

“Why?” she looked down at herself. “How many times
have you referred to me as a dead girl or a demon? Why should this bother you?”
She started down the hallway before I could say anything, not that I knew what
to say.

I wasn’t typically crude with women, but I didn’t go
out of my way to sugarcoat things. However, it also wasn’t in my nature to put
someone down. It never really occurred to me that I upset Heather after her
“death.” From her point of view, she went to sleep here and woke up in Dothra
just as alive as before. The worst part was that she had no idea what was
happening to her. Considering her mother’s religious background, Heather
probably believed she was in Hell for a long time.

We reached the staircase to the next level down and I
grabbed a torch off the wall.

“I’m sorry for calling you dead,” I finally said a
few minutes later. Henry held out his hand to stop me and pointed out what
looked like a square platform hidden in the dirt. As I stepped around it, I
searched for Darwin’s mind, but didn’t find him. I continued letting my
instincts guide me.

Heather shrugged. “I’m going to take my frustrations
out on my father when I finally see him again anyway. He’s the one who didn’t
tell me the truth.”

“Maybe he didn’t want to consider that you could
die.”

“That would mean he cared about me at all, which he
doesn’t.”

“He did everything he could to get me to make a deal
with you so that you would be free.”

“Except go after me himself.”

“He did! He went after you and the shadow man
escaped! In fact, he left Dothra and abandoned his followers to keep you safe.”

Henry halted us to change direction. The tunnel he
was directing us away from smelled sweet. “Not to interrupt, but where are we
going?” he asked.

Heather ignored Henry and shot me a quick glare. “He
only saved me because my mother begged him to when the Shadow Master killed
her.”

I tried again to find Darwin’s mind, and again, I
failed. “We’re following my instincts.”

“Everyone has a different view of everything,
especially in the paranormal world,” Henry said to Heather. When we didn’t
argue, he went on. “In all of my life, I never met anyone who lived a perfect
life with two loving parents and no physical, magical, or mental ailments.”

I tried to think of someone in the paranormal world
who was well-adjusted. “Becky is---”

“The daughter of an ex-councilman,” Henry
interrupted.

“Jackson is---”

“A twat,” Henry interrupted again.

“He got thrown out of the house when his mother found
out he was a wizard,” Heather added. “She’d had a one-nighter with his father
and never knew what he was.”

“Li Na and Zhang Wei are---”

“The list is miles long, starting with the fact that
they’re not siblings,” Henry said.

“What do you mean they’re not siblings? They’re rare
tiger shifters.”

Heather sighed. “I was there when Zhang Wei started,”
she said. “Li Na is either his cousin or adopted, and they’re really private
about it. There might have been some philandering. I think they’re part of the
same family, but they’re definitely not siblings.”

“They always call each other siblings and Zhang Wei
is extremely protective of her.”

“Have you ever seen his face when he looks at her? I
believe she thinks he’s her brother and he knows he’s not, and that really
sucks for him.”

“Why would that suck for him?”

“Are you purposefully being an idiot right now? He’s
in love with her.”

“Gross.”

Heather sighed again. “That’s what Li Na would say if
he ever told her his feelings. Like I said, I don’t think she knows they’re not
siblings; he’s way too careful around her. Even if they were completely
unrelated, he couldn’t even fantasize about telling her how he feels. All he
can do is be a brother to her. His first two semesters were the longest he was
away from her since she was born, and it did some emotional damage.”

“He couldn’t go back home between the semesters?”

“His father wouldn’t let him. Then, the first chance
they get to be away from his father, you show up.”

“Me? What have I got to do with this?”

They both sighed simultaneously. “Li Na likes you,
Devon.”

“Shit. That’s complicated. Alright, I give. Nobody in
the paranormal world had a perfect life, except for your mother.”

Heather frowned at me. “What do you mean? My mother’s
life wasn’t perfect. She didn’t have a father. How do you even know anything
about her anyway?”

“Langril gave her a perfect life.”

“You mean he sold it to her. Screw that.”

Just as I was about to ask her to explain, I felt
Darwin’s mind. I also sensed extreme danger. Unfortunately, I assumed it was
Darwin who was in danger, which was a mistake. Before I could even tell Henry,
he shoved me down. There was a soft sound followed by Henry’s pained grunt.
After a few seconds, he let me go and stood.

“Shit,” I said when I saw the metal spike sticking
out of his shoulder. I pulled it out since he couldn’t reach it. “Sorry, I
should have been more focused on my instincts.”

“It was my slow reaction time at fault. I should have
been able to respond faster.”

“Is it your headache?” He nodded. I dropped the spike
and we continued in the right direction. “That’s not going to get infected, is
it?”

He shook his head. “It’s very unlikely. My shifting
heals most physical damage and I have a very strong immune system.”

“I can sense Darwin now, but almost getting skewered
distracted me. I’ll see if I can find out more about where he is, so… try not
to let any of us get skewered.”

“You take the fun out of life,” he said.

I focused on Darwin’s mind and was quickly bombarded
with formulas and puzzles. He was keeping himself entertained. When he sensed
me in his mind, he shoved all that deeper and said, “
Took you long enough
.”

“
Don’t start. I feel like I’ve had eight thousand
visions in the last twenty-four hours and Henry has a new hole in his shoulder
.”

“
Sorry, Dev. I guess I just got distracted being
kidnapped by a psycho and dropped into complete darkness with your little bro.
And, for the record, you did not fully forewarn me of the creepiness that is
your brother. I woke up in the dark with him petting my shirt, saying that he
could see me and that he would eat me when the shadow man let him. Also,
Vincent isn’t Vincent
.” Every word grew more hysterical until the last
sentence, which was perfectly calm.

“Is he complaining instead of telling you how to find
him?” Henry asked.

“Yes. Are you sure you’re okay?” I asked when he leaned
against the wall. I moved the torch closer and saw that he was sweating.

He shook his head. “My headache is starting to make
me feel sick. I don’t get sick. I feel like something is pressing in on me,
almost trying to suffocate me, but there’s nothing there. It’s like if you
tried to force your way into my mind.”

“
Darwin, we need to get you out now. Something’s
going on with Henry. Do you have any idea where you are
?”

“
No, man, but take care of Henry first if he’s in
the shit. I don’t think I’m about to be done in just yet
.”

I ignored him and turned to Heather. “Make sure Henry
makes it to Dr. Martin okay.”

“There are still traps down here, so I’m not leaving
you,” Henry said, standing straighter.

“Jesus, men are fucking stubborn,” Heather said.

I didn’t know a man alive as stubborn as Remington
Hunt, but I wasn’t about to say that out loud. “Let’s just find Darwin and
Jameson and get out of here.” I continued following my instincts, since I knew
it was working. That is until I felt danger strongly enough to stop me in my
tracks. “Stop!” I instinctively used my magic to force Henry and Heather to
obey. My instincts practically roared at me. “Get back!”

Henry, Heather, and I retreated, but not fast enough.
I heard a hissing sound and then a loud rumble as dirt flew up to form a wall
between us and whatever was attacking. After a moment, the rock wall fell and
all three of us gaped. It wasn’t a hissing sound I had heard but a spraying
one. Acid now clung to the rock and dirt of the tunnel, slowly eating away at
it.