Souljacker (27 page)

I feel a tremor of fear lick up my chest as
we run. I don’t have a choice, do I? I have to fight for the good
side. If I’m the only one who can save us, then how can I turn them
down? How can I condemn an entire race of people to death, just so
I’m safe?

But the fear only blossoms into a flame,
eating away at my lungs. Every breath I take burns. I don’t know
where we’re going, but it’s sure as hell not to Faela or the Safe
Hall. My stomach flips and I plant my feet.

“We’re not going the right way. MaXXX,
please! Stop!” I haul back on him and he grunts. My heart skids to
a stop as he looks at me, his face a mask of anger, pain, and
beneath that, fear.

“Come on!” His words are a growl.

“MaXXX, what’s going on?” My voice comes out
more timid than I would’ve liked. Alpha female I am not. He steps
towards me, twisting my wrist. I yelp and I’m jerked to his chest
like a ragdoll. His blue eyes are wild with a fire I’ve never seen
before.

“I don’t have a choice, Lucy. It’s you or me
and…I can’t. I just can’t.” His words are whispered, bitter. Then,
before I can react, he picks me up and throws me over his shoulder.
Then he bolts down the street and right through the wards.

Right out of Omega City. Right out of safety.
I screech and thrash, but his grip is tight.

And then I see them: The blue-black of their
fur, the gleam of metal against the twilight, the dull glow of
their cyborg eyes. Cyberhounds, waiting to pounce. They circle us
and I can smell MaXXX’s fear, mixed with traces of my own. He drops
me and I tumble forwards only to get snapped at by a pair of huge
jaws.

Without thinking, I punch the hound in the
face, then let loose a blast of power. The beast shrieks as he’s
thrown backwards. “Come on, you furry bastards!” I shout, readying
myself for another fight. I can do this. I can take them out.

And then one of MaXXX’s arms wraps around me,
pulling me snug against his chest. His breath tickles my ear as he
says, “I’m sorry…” and I don’t have a chance to register what he
means before I feel a prick of pain in my neck and a shot of fire
burning through my veins.

The world blurs and dims—did he just drug
me?—hazy colors shimmering before the blackness swallows me
whole.

***

My eyes open to reveal black velvet and white
lace curtains. I blink, hands forming fists against the coverlet
I’m laying on. Wait. I sit bolt-upright and scramble off the bed,
tearing the blanket off with me. This isn’t right. I breathe in the
soft scent of lavender…and under that, the musk of MaXXX’s
cologne.

It floods back. I remember—the cyberhounds,
MaXXX’s betrayal, the sting of a needle against my skin, drugs
coursing through my bloodstream, blackness engulfing me. My heart
aches. Iofiel… I force myself to breathe.

The room’s decorated in black, white, and
blood red. A crystal vase of roses sits on the bedside table, which
is painted white. As are the floorboards. The ceiling is spackled
red, but the walls…the walls are mirrored. I look into my
reflection—pale skin, blue veins, dark hair wild around my face,
dark circles under my eyes.

I look…terrified. Like a wild animal, trapped
and scared.

“MaXXX?” I bark loudly, the sound
reverberating around me like an echo. I waver on my feet and head
for the window. I tear back the curtains only to find it barred.
I’m in a cell. A beautiful cell, but prison is prison. “MaXXX!” My
voice is raw as I grip the bars across the window and jerk with all
my might. They hold tight.

Then I see the etched-glass double doors with
black tooled knobs and I lunge for one, escape singing through my
veins. As my fingers connect with the doorknob, a jolt of
electricity slams through me, rattling me until I break away. My
breath comes in short, sharp pants as I stare at the door.

Trapped.

No way out.

Tears burn my eyes.
Hell
no, I won’t
cry! I will not show weakness. I look around and find a little red
dot glowing in the corner of the room. I sneer at the camera, then
flip it the bird. “They’ll come for me, you know.” I force my voice
to stay strong, even though I know it’s true. Iofiel will come.
He’ll rally the gang and they’ll come…

My gut sinks. And then they’ll die. A couple
of Mithos and a cyberhound won’t stand a chance against the
Unseelie.
No…

I jump as the knob slowly twists and the
doors both swing open. My eyes narrow as MaXXX looks guiltily at me
from the doorway, which extends into a massive ballroom. I barge
over to him, pull my fist back, and aim a punch at his face.
Instead of slamming home like it should’ve, my hand bounces off an
invisible wall and the electric current surges through me once
more.

I sway on my feet, weakness dragging me down,
but I glare blades of steel at him. “You little rat! I should’ve
known. I should’ve listened to my gut—I should’ve listened to
Iofiel
and got the hell out of dodge.”

I half-expect his cocksure, carefree
attitude, his little pet names…but instead his eyes are rimmed in
pain and he looks sick. I press my eyes shut, wishing he’d be a
jerk, be a typical bad guy, something that wouldn’t make me feel
pity for the blue-haired boy standing before me.

“Why?” is all I can manage to say.

He glances over his shoulder and slowly
shakes his head. “I didn’t have a choice. I had to bring you
here—you don’t understand! I was supposed to kill you the moment I
found you, but I couldn’t do it. I’m not a killer. I’ve done some
bad things, but never… And if I didn’t, she’d…” He breaks off,
breathing in through his nose. It sounds stuffy, as if he’s been
crying.

It hits me: He looks so young right now.

“You don’t want to do this, MaXXX. Please.
Listen to your heart. We don’t belong here. Let me go and we can
fight the Unseelie. I’m a Souljacker. I can beat that evil bitch’s
ass, but I need your help.” My voice rises in pitch, edged in
panicked hysteria. I force a breath and try for calm again.
“Please, MaXXX, just—”

MaXXX’s shoulders sag just as a tall,
ethereally gorgeous woman places a hand on his shoulder. Her pale
fingers flex, digging sharp nails into his shirt, and he bows his
head. He doesn’t flinch; maybe he’s too beaten down. He won’t even
look at me now.

“Oh, Maxxie, don’t look so down in the dumps.
You did the right thing.” Her voice is like scales on a snake and
twice as slippery. She touches his chin and he smiles, but it’s
tense, his happiness far away. “Our little Souljacker just needs to
stay where she is until the fight is over. I can’t have her joining
the Seelie and giving them a chance to beat me, now can I? Not that
that will happen.”

She barks out a laugh and looks at me and
just like with Faela, I can’t breathe, I can’t move. Her eyes are
the richest shade of amber, but they’re so cold, like iced-over
honey. I feel a shiver traipse down my spine as she releases me,
smiling a little too innocently.

“Listen, you bitch—” I start to snarl, but
she holds her hand up and my mouth goes stupid, refusing to form
the words, so I lapse into silence as she grins and this time, it’s
all too wicked.

“I know my Faela well. She’ll be here, along
with her army of freaks. But she’ll be in for a little surprise,
now won’t she? My Maxxie, he’s my special warrior.”

My chest tightens. Vashna’s super warrior,
the man that Faela was going to pit me against…was MaXXX?

He’s a Souljacker? How did Faela not know?
Hell—how did
I
not know? I remember his bitterly twisted
smile, his claim of being a monster, and it hits me like a sack of
bricks. Too late. I look at him, grinding my teeth together as I
try and demand answers, but the words won’t come. MaXXX refuses to
look at me.

“You’re excused,” Vashna says airily and
MaXXX ducks out of her grip and disappears down the hall.

Once he’s gone, Vashna smiles once more.
“Won’t be long now, little Souljacker, but I promise you, once I’ve
destroyed Faela and her team of tagalongs for good, it’ll be your
turn.” Then she turns away, her black-as-night hair skimming her
shoulders as she saunters off. The doors slam shut behind her,
glass rattling.

Words burst back to my throat like neon color
splattered on a black and white painting and I’m left screaming
obscenities at the mirrored walls.

Chapter 32:

Iofiel

My inner dog pulls at my skin, begging for
release, but I hold it in as I barrel down the street. I reach a
group of very confused-looking Mithos, the energies swirling around
them telling me that they were prepped and ready to do battle right
here, right now.

Except…there’s nothing here to fight.

I breathe in, scenting the air. No smell of
Pack, no dark twist of Unseelie magic. Nothing.

The alarms are still crying like babies, the
citizens of Omega City grumbling in the background, but the world
around me fades to silence ever so slowly. My chest clenches at the
thought of Lucy. If there was no breach in the first place,
then…

I snarl, more animal than human. I tear my
gaze across the cluster of people, not surprised when I see
Caddie’s bleach-blonde head bobbing amidst the sea of strangers.
“Caddie!” I shout, but she doesn’t hear me. I jog over to her,
grabbing her arm and pulling her around to face me. Her eyes go
wide and her mouth curves into a little smile.

“Hey there, stranger,” she says, but the look
I shoot her stops her cold. She frowns. “What’s going on?”

“Where’s Lucy?”

“She’s around here somewhere, dude. She was
just here. She was gonna help fight. Why?”

I release her to rake both hands through my
hair, nails dragging through tangles and ripping them free. The
pain is dull compared to the ache of my heart. This is my fault. I
told MaXXX to take care of her. He’d known… He’d known this was a
set up, but how?

“I have to find her. Something bad’s
happening, I can feel it in my gut.” And the churning storm waging
war in my stomach told me that I needed to find her, fast.

“Calm down, Io. I’ll help you look; she
couldn’t have gone too far, right? I’ll grab Josh and Lake and
we’ll find her. Iofiel.” Her words are hard and I stop pacing to
look her in the eye. “She’s fine, okay? We’ll find her, I swear on
my momma’s grave.”

“Your mom isn’t dead,” I say quietly.

Her lips quirk. “Then you know I mean
business. Let’s go. Oi!” She calls to the gang from Polaris and
quickly stakes out the situation. It’s almost amusing how fast
Lucy’s become a favorite of theirs—their eyes narrow at the thought
of her being in danger and I feel a swell of pride, just because
she’s mine.

“Okay, Josh, you and Cele go check the Safe
Hall, make sure she didn’t double back there. Lake, you take the
girls and go find Faela. Maybe Lucy’s talking to her. Io, you’re
with me.” Her eyes soften and she touches my shoulder, reassuring.
The wind fills my sails again and I smile. “Let’s find her!”

Luckily, I’m able to pick up her scent, even
with my human nose. She was with MaXXX.
She’ll be fine,
I
chant silently to myself. Only with each step I take, my stomach
sinks further and further into my gut. I yearn to turn hound; I
know I’ll find her that way, but I can’t…not yet. It’s my last
resort.

We’re getting farther from the city itself,
each yard taking us closer to the wards that keep the bad guys out.
Then Lucy’s scent stops completely. It just ends in the middle of
the road. “Shit,” I hiss, leaning down to take another whiff, but
my nose told me right the first time.

“What’s wrong?” Caddie’s brows furrow.

“I lost Lucy’s scent. It ends right here.” I
point to the cement. Sniff again. MaXXX’s scent is still fresh and
the tinge of sweat and frustration stings my nostrils. MaXXX
wouldn’t dare… What would he have to gain by taking her?

With a growl, I follow his trail to the very
edge of Omega City, where the wards sparkle with magic. Not knowing
what’s on the other side waiting for me, I motion at Caddie to stay
put, then I step through. Immediately, the spicy scent of hound
fills my nose. I bite my tongue to keep from screaming at the
sky.

I hurry back to Caddie’s side. I’m shaking.
“They took her.”

“Who?”

“MaXXX. MaXXX took her. He took her to the
Unseelie. Hounds were right fucking here!”

“Why would MaXXX—”

“Because she’s the Souljacker. Faela even
said it herself: Without Lucy, they might not stand a chance
against the Unseelie. MaXXX could’ve been paid off, he could even
be an Unseelie spy!” I snarl, remembering the terrified look on the
boy’s face only minutes before. Was everything he told me one big
lie? “I told MaXXX to take care of Lucy. I told him to keep her
safe. I should’ve done it my damned self.”

“Deep breaths,” Caddie says, rubbing her
hands against my back, working the pads of her fingers into the
tense muscles. I shudder with a gasping breath in, unable to even
think straight. My mind haunts me:
Lucy is gone. Lucy is in
danger
. “We’ll find her, Iofiel. She’s one of us.”

“I’m going to Faela,” I say, jerking out of
Caddie’s touch. Her face falls and I feel a wave of guilt. I reach
for her, tugging her into a small hug. Lucy’s her friend too. She’s
just as worried as I am. “Come on, Cads. We’re going to save
Lucy.”

I find Faela deep in conversation with a
small group of Fae, who hush as we draw near. I take a deep breath
and shove strands of dark hair from my eyes. I clear my throat.
“Can I have a moment?”

She smiles sweetly and her curls bounce on a
nod. “Of course, Iofiel. What plagues you?”

“Lucy’s been kidnapped.”

Her sweet façade falls, brows knitting
together and she looks, for a moment, like a lost little kid. “Are
you certain? Omega City is quite vast, and—”