Soul to Shepherd (44 page)

We increased our sparring sessions, pitting three of us against one in an attempt to deal with the new odds we’d have to face, using rubber-tipped knives to improve our accuracy. But in a week’s time, we were hovering around an eighty-eight percent kill rate, which wasn’t nearly good enough in my opinion.

One night, after a particularly grueling training session, my fears got the best of me. Quinn and my connection had strengthened to the point that his body would heal if I just stood next to him, but his mind was exhausted. I could tell he was torturing himself over the fact the Servants had his brother—afraid of what they were doing to Brady. And I knew Quinn was focusing on whatever “plan” he’d dreamt of and discussed with Ronald.

My efforts to convince Quinn the Servants would keep his brother alive until after they’d captured him continued to fall on deaf ears, and Quinn still couldn’t convince me to end his life as a last resort because the very idea of making that promise made it somehow sound all that much more like a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Not to mention, my “in case of emergency” plan to kidnap Quinn was also falling apart. If I hijacked him and held him against his will in the portal, and something bad happened to his brother on the next full moon, Quinn would never forgive me—and I’d never forgive myself.

Unfortunately, Quinn and I were at a very precarious impasse. If we were thrust into a situation in which we had to fight our way out of the Servants’ clutches, I had no idea how we were going to keep Quinn and his soul alive—none of us did.

The following evening, I was sitting next to Minerva out on the veranda while Quinn and Dylan were sparring again. Dylan was a relentless mentor, and thankfully, he had an equally determined student.

“Quinn asked me to take his life if it was the only way to stop the Servants from converting him.”

“I know,” she replied. “He told me.”

“He did?” I asked in surprise. I didn’t know what to think of Quinn sharing our private conversations with her. Then again, I wasn’t surprised he needed to turn to someone about my denying his request, and there weren’t that many ears to turn to given our circumstances.

“Yes.”

“Did he tell you I refused to do it?”

“Yes.” Thankfully, her tone was without judgment.

“How can he ask me to end his life when he knows doing so would be the end of my world?”

“I’m not even going to try to pretend to understand what you’re going through—what either of you is going through. But wouldn’t you agree taking his life would be much more merciful than letting him suffer through the ritual only to become a ruthless demon? And at least you two could find each other again if you save his soul.”

“You know it wouldn’t be the same. It’d be his soul, but it wouldn’t be
him
.”

“Seriously? That’s the card you’re playing to justify your refusal?” she asked, calling me out.

“No,” I replied dejectedly.

“Evie, Quinn doesn’t deserve the kind of ending Mathius has in store for him.”

“I know, I know,” I readily conceded. “It’s just, even if I made the promise, I’d be so afraid I wouldn’t be able to keep it in the end. I’m afraid I’d fail him and then the worst-case scenario—” I stopped and choked on my tears before taking a deep breath.

“And I doubt Dylan could see it through either. He’s Quinn’s Shepherd.” I smiled sadly. “So if it comes down to the wire and the only way to prevent the Servants from converting him is to end his life—” I took another deep breath. “I want you to promise me you’ll do it,” I barely managed. I felt a tear roll down my cheek.

“Evie—”

“
Please.
I don’t want to see Quinn as the monster that haunts him in his sleep.” I blinked to clear my eyes of the tears so I could see her more clearly. “It has to be you,” I begged. “Promise me you’ll do it.”

Minerva took my hands in hers and squeezed them gently as an agonized look swept across her face. “Okay. I promise.”

August thirteenth. My birthday. I would’ve been twenty years old today.

“Happy Birthday,” Quinn said groggily as he woke up to find me next to him in bed.

“Thanks,” I replied rather unenthusiastically.

“What’s wrong?” He sat up and propped himself against the headboard. I looked at his particularly funky bed head that morning and smiled.

“That’s better.” He smiled in response and ran his hand through his messed-up hair. “So, what does the birthday girl want to do this morning?”

“You know, with everything going on, maybe we shouldn’t make all that big a deal about it.”

“Oh, it’s too bad you feel that way because I had something special planned just for you, but if you’re not in the mood to celebrate …” He sighed dramatically.

“You planned something?” I asked, taking the bait.

“Yup,” he replied nonchalantly.

“What?”

“If I told you, it would ruin the surprise.” He smiled.

“It’s a surprise?” I couldn’t help but get excited.

“Yup.”

“You know I’m a total sucker for surprises.”

“I know.” He smiled even wider.

“Okay, so maybe we can celebrate my birthday. Just please promise me that whatever it is you have planned is up here in the portal and not too over the top—and, please, no more nightclubs
anywhere
.”

“I promise what I have planned will be the perfect amount of ‘over the top,’ and it will not be in a nightclub or anywhere on Earth.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. “Okay.”

“Okay then. Ready for your surprise?” He pulled me in closer and kissed me as he began to remove my shirt.

“So
this
is my big birthday surprise, huh?” I joked, flipping over onto my belly and pulling my arms underneath me to make it more difficult for him to undress me.

“Yup.” He smiled and wiggled his brows.

“This seems more like something
you
want to do—on
my
birthday,” I clarified. “Isn’t that kind of backwards?”

“Okay, so this is
not
your birthday surprise. Consider it a thank you from you to me for planning your birthday surprise,” he said with a perfectly straight face as he leaned back against the headboard with his arms behind his head.

“A ‘thank you’
for a birthday surprise I haven’t even seen yet?” I propped myself up on my elbows. “What if I don’t even like it?”

“Oh, you’ll like it. Regardless, I should get something for the effort, right? Oh, and how about breakfast in bed—blueberry pancakes, bacon, eggs.” He paused as if to mull over all of his choices. “Oh, and coffee.”

“You’re kidding, right?”

“Nope.” He playfully smacked me on my butt. “Well? C’mon, time’s a wasting.”

“‘Time’s a wasting’?” I exclaimed, feeling more miffed by the second. I’d never seen this male chauvinistic side of him, and I didn’t like it one bit. I sure as hell wasn’t going to put up with it.

“Yeah, c’mon, I’m a hungry boy!” he replied, but this time he cracked a smile. A second later, he busted out laughing.

“You are such a jerk!” I exclaimed, feeling both relieved and annoyed, and playfully punched him in the arm.

He laughed even louder as he tackled me, pinning my arms down. “In my family, we always play a birthday prank.”

“A birthday prank, huh?”

“Yup, and now that you’re family …”

“You couldn’t just have made me an honorary member of the birthday prank club?”

“No way! That’s getting off too easy.” He chuckled. “You should’ve seen the look on your face—priceless.” He leaned down to kiss me, and I turned my head to one side to avoid his kiss. He went in for another attempt, but I turned my head to the other side.

“No more pranks, I swear,” he pledged.

I looked at him skeptically.

“Scouts’ honor.” He was still smiling wickedly.

“Fine. And forget about breakfast in bed—or any breakfast for that matter,” I threw in. “In fact, if I ate,
you’d
be making
me
breakfast for the next week.”

“I guess I deserve that.” He leaned in once more to kiss me, and this time I let him. “Now, what do
you
want to do on your birthday?”

“Well, this seems like a pretty good start.” I grinned, kissing him again.

We left La Casa and got Quinn home by dawn. He swam laps in the pool house and ate breakfast with his parents, after which they left for the day to run some errands. Apparently, Quinn also had to run some of his own errands—translation, Dylan and he had to finalize my birthday plans.

Quinn got a call from Tommy before he headed out with Dylan. Tommy was planning on watching the Chicago Air and Water Show from the rooftop of Doug’s apartment building and wanted to see if Quinn could join them.

“Sounds great. What time do you want us to show up?” Quinn asked.

“
Us?”
Tommy asked.

“I already have plans to hang out with Evie and a couple of friends tomorrow—is it cool if I bring them?”

“Yeah, absolutely. Just bring more beer.”

I looked at Quinn like he’d just lost his mind completely. In fact, I was half-tempted to take him to the portal and hold him hostage until he came to his senses.

“What?” he asked when he ended the call and noticed me glaring at him.

“Quinn, the full moon is in
four
days.”

“Exactly. This may be the only chance I get to hang out with my brothers before then.”

“You can hang out with them
after
this all blows over.”

“What if I can’t? What if this is my last chance to see them?” His face contorted slightly, and I could tell he was trying not to think too hard about all the “what ifs” in his near future. I sighed. As much as I wanted to, I knew I couldn’t deny him this.

“Fine,” I replied, reluctantly. “But no screwing around. If any one of us says it’s time to go, it’s time to go. No arguments. No negotiations. No questions. Got it?”

“Yes, ma’am.” He saluted me.

I was a wreck the entire time Dylan and Quinn were gone—so much so that Minerva suggested I go to the Archives and see if I could find Peter. And since I was desperate to learn anything else about the Servants’ ritual, I jumped at the chance. It would get my mind off Quinn and pass the time more quickly.

“You know where to reach me,” I said just before I phased out of view.

“Be sure to be back in Quinn’s room by four o’clock,” Minerva reminded me.

“Right—my birthday surprise.” I sighed.

“When the time comes, try to be a little more enthusiastic or you’re really going to disappoint Quinn. Dylan told me what Quinn has planned, and I have to say he’s really put a lot of thought into this.”

“He has?” Immediately, my spirits lifted and I smiled.

“Yeah.” She grinned. “You’re going to love it.”

“Okay, four it is.” Feeling a little more excited, I set the alarm on my watch to make sure I didn’t lose track of time while I was in the Archives. “I’ll meet you back in his room.”

Before heading to the main Archives library, I stopped in Tartuf’s office, as was now my routine, to see if he’d checked in since the last time I was here. Of course, he hadn’t. My note from weeks ago was just where I’d left it. Frustrated, I sighed and headed to the main room. I was surprised to see dozens of Shepherds hovering around the Global Locator, most of whom I’d never met, much less seen, before. I spotted Teddy in the crowd and made my way over to him.

“What’s with the party?” I asked.

“It’s not a party, doll.” He shook his head sadly. “Quite the opposite, actually. There was an ambush. Three Shepherds and their charges were taken down.”

“An ambush?” I asked in alarm. “Where? When?”

“In Amsterdam, ten minutes ago
Aura
time. Seems the Servants orchestrated three separate targets to converge in the same location at the same time and then took them all out in a small explosion—a car at a gas station. The Shepherds were ambushed trying to save their charges and limit the collateral damage.”

“Who were they?” I asked.

“Two I don’t believe you knew, but one …” Teddy frowned.

“Who?” I asked anxiously, the monster in the pit of my stomach howled loudly. Somehow, I already knew the identity of the third victim before Teddy even opened his mouth.

“Petey,” he said sadly.

“Peter?” I gasped loudly as a searing pain ripped through my chest. Everyone stopped and looked at me. “But,” I continued in barely a whisper, “I thought he didn’t take on any more assignments. I thought he was only a mentor.”

“This was a real tricky case. We needed a pro, so Peter stepped up and volunteered.”

So that’s where he’d been.

“And now he’s—he’s gone?” I couldn’t believe it. I took a step backwards, unable to process what I was hearing. The relationship between Peter and me had been a rollercoaster built on friendship, guidance, love, sacrifice, and betrayal. And just when I felt like Peter and I were back on the right track, that the old wounds had healed, he was now gone forever? How could that possibly be?

“No,” I said forcefully, shaking my head. “No, I don’t believe it. I
refuse
to believe it. Peter can’t be gone. He just
can’t.”
I began to hyperventilate. My head started to spin, making me dizzy, and I had to sit down before I collapsed onto the floor.

“Love,” Teddy said, crouching down next to me. “I know this is hard to accept, but it’s the truth.”

“How do you know it’s the truth?”

“His aura is no longer visible on the Global Locator.”

“Well, can’t he be up here?” I asked.
“Can’t he be somewhere else?”
I asked Teddy telepathically, staring at him intently.
“Like on the top of a mountain?”

Teddy looked at me in surprise.

“
I know,”
I said.
“I’ve been there.”

“
Of course you have,”
Teddy replied, flashing me a sullen smile.
“Peter really did love you, ya know? Enough to trust you with his secrets.”

Tears streamed down my cheeks. I never wanted to hurt Peter, but I knew I had by being unable to return his feelings.

“
Anyway, I already checked around. He’s not here—or there.”

“
Couldn’t he have found another portal? I mean, according to Dylan, they’re everywhere.”

Teddy cocked his head, his brows raised in curiosity.
“Not that I’m aware of.”

Apparently, Peter had yet to mention Dylan’s “gift” to his mentor. I closed my eyes and felt my cheeks flush with awkwardness for letting the cat out of the bag.
“So, there’s no other way to find him?”

“
Afraid not.”

“So that’s it?” I asked aloud. “After ten minutes, you’re all just giving up on him—on all of them?” I was so angry with my colleagues, my fellow Good Samaritans, for abandoning each other so quickly.

“There’s nothing we can do for them if we can’t locate them,” Teddy explained. “The way I see it, their bodies were either destroyed in the blast or the bastards took them down to the Underworld. Either way, they’re as good as gone.”

“No Shepherd has ever escaped from their lair once they’ve been captured,” another Shepherd chimed in.

“So let them be the first! Let’s go rescue them!” I declared.

“And how do you propose we do that?” yet another Shepherd asked.

“I don’t know. Gather as many Shepherds as we can and get them ready to—to—”

“To do what? Fight a war?” Teddy asked.

I stopped short and froze. “Holy crap! It really has begun, hasn’t it?”

“Looks like it, darlin’.” He sighed in defeat. “It definitely looks like it.” I felt terrible for Teddy. He’d just lost one of his best friends. And to top it off, everything he’d known for the last several centuries was on the verge of collapse if Mathius got his hands on the Key woven into Quinn’s soul.

“So what do we do?” I asked.

“I’m not sure what
we
should do, but I know what
you’ve
got
to do, honey.”

“Save Quinn,” I stated. He nodded, leaving me feeling completely overwhelmed. A low rumble of thunder caught my attention, and I looked up at the frescoed ceiling. It was the onset of a perfect storm. Dark skies and clouds were crashing into one another—total chaos was about to ensue. Out of the blue, a streak of lightning shot across the painted sky like an arrow—or a spear.

“Of course!” I gasped. “Did you see that?” I asked Teddy excitedly.

“See what?”

“The lightning!” I cried. “It’s the spear of light!”

“And that’s good because …” Teddy looked at me like I was off my rocker.

“It’s good because I think I just figured out part of the Servants’ conversion ritual. They need a spear of light, and what’s a better spear of light than a lighting bolt?”

“Nothing?” he replied, unsure.

“Exactly!” I exclaimed triumphantly. “Look, Teddy—”

“I know, I know, a Shepherd’s work is never done,” he winked, temporarily masking the pained look in his eyes.

“You really think there’s no hope left for Peter?” I asked more reservedly.

He shrugged his shoulders slightly and frowned.

“I can’t believe it,” I said. “We were just talking—things were good between us again. We were back on track, you know?”

“I do,” he said sadly.

“I’m really going to miss him.” Fresh tears welled up in my eyes.

“I know you are, sweetheart,” he said, resting his hands on my shoulder. “Hey, do me a favor and break the bad news to that crazy mentee of mine, okay?”

“Yeah, okay.”

Teddy squeezed my shoulders gently, and I lunged into him, giving him a huge bear hug.

“Just remember that everything happens for a reason,” Teddy said reassuringly. “Things have a way of working out how they’re supposed to.”

“I refuse to believe the deaths of three humans and the destruction of three Shepherds at the hands of the Servants are examples of things working out the way they’re supposed to.”

“You’re a good egg, kiddo,” Teddy remarked.