Soulstone (3 page)

I couldn’t hold back the laugh that bubbled up from my chest.

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Fallon said with a smile and turned to me. “Glad to see you laughing again. It’s been a while.”

“Sorry, guys. I know I’ve been a downer lately. I’ve just got so much on my mind.”

Fallon reached out and placed her hand on mine. “I know, and I feel bad I haven’t been around much for you, and I’m sorry.”

I lifted my head and met Fallon’s deep brown eyes. She hadn’t been around
at all
, and part of me hated her for it. She’d begun seriously dating Aiden, one of the Olde Town wolf pack members and practically fallen off the face of the earth. The other part of me, however, understood the pull of a new relationship.

“Yeah, and the one night you’re here, I’m not.” I sighed, slouched into my seat, and started picking at the label on Fallon’s empty beer bottle.

“Really, I hadn’t noticed. So, what’s on your mind tonight?” she asked in her most sympathetic voice.

 “Have you talked to Crystal or Drew lately? They were acting really strange at the house.”

She shook her head.

Ian shrugged. “They’re no stranger than they’ve been since they got here. No offense, but your whole group are a melancholy bunch.”

 “Ignore him,” Fallon said. “The whole clan has been through a lot, and it’s not like we’re all home and living the comfortable life back in Vegas…”

The waitress, a fair-skinned, freckle-faced redhead sauntered up to our table. “Need another round, or are you all set?”

“We’re good, thanks,” Fallon said with a hint of annoyance, and held up the bottle she was still nursing.

Ian flashed her a devilish smile and ran his hand through his slick back hair. “I’m all set, but if you need anything, don’t be afraid to ask.”

The waitress turned on her heel, mumbled something that sounded like “Jerk,” and sauntered off.

“Ian, go flirt at the bar or something,” Fallon said, and then turned toward me. “We’ve all been through a lot in the last few weeks. There’s bound to be some weirdness.”

“I get that, but they’re acting weird toward
me
. Like they’re hiding something.”

Fallon took another swig from her beer. “What makes you say that?”

“When I went up to ask them if they were going to come out with us, they got all quiet. It was like they were having some secret meeting and didn’t want to include me.”

Ian leaned back into his chair. “Did you ask them what they were talking about?”

 “Well, no.” I scrunched up my face in confusion. “I assumed if it was clan business they would tell me.”

 “That’s your first mistake. Don’t blame them for not telling you something if you didn’t ask.” 

I didn’t appreciate Ian’s mocking tone. “That’s not the point. It doesn’t matter what they were discussing. It’s how they were acting about it that bothers me.”

“Well, you’ve been very moody lately.” Fallon cringed as if she were expecting a backlash. “Maybe they were just trying to act cautious around you.”

“Moody… and how would
you
know?” I realized a second too late that I was yelling. A sudden silence filled the air, and I sensed the eyes of the humans around us zeroing in on me. I shrugged sheepishly. “Sorry, but you haven’t been around much to see me being moody.”

“See, this is exactly what I mean. Look at how you’re snapping at me, just because I pointed out something you didn’t want to hear.”

Embarrassment sent heat creeping up to my cheeks. She was right; even if she hadn’t been friend enough to be around for my mood swings, I’d been on edge since the incident with the box. “Okay. I see your point there. It still seems odd, though. And they didn’t even flinch when I mentioned the crystal was fading.”

Fallon’s eyes widened and she choked on her beer. “What? The crystal is fading? What does that mean?”

“See. That’s the reaction I expected to see when I mentioned it to them. Instead, they just smiled and nodded as if I’d said the sun had come up this morning.”

“Yeah, that
is
a bit weird.”

Ian sighed loudly. “Well, if you ask me... Not that anyone has, thank you… I think it’s a good thing, and you ladies need to just relax. The whole point of this evening was to paint the town red, not blue. Remind me never to take you two out again.”

My temper momentarily got the better of me. “You know, Ian, if you’re not having a good time, you can leave.”

“I’ll do one better.” He winked over Fallon’s shoulder at a tall blonde girl wearing a miniskirt and knee-high boots.

“Tell Chlamydia I said hi,” Fallon said with a smirk.

For the second time tonight, I couldn’t help but burst out laughing. Ian, seemingly unaffected by our mockery, stood up and headed toward the bar—and his next conquest.

“That’s what I wanted to see. Smiling and laughing.” Fallon tapped me on the shoulder. “I knew my old friend Alyssa was in there somewhere.”

“Thanks. I needed that. And you got Ian off our backs too. Good job.”

“He’s right, though. We aren’t having much of a night on the town.”

“I want to be happy and have fun, but I’m worried about Lysander, and I just can’t shake the feeling that there’s something going on. And for whatever reason, I’m being kept out of the loop.”

“Should we just go back to the house then? Call it an early night and maybe veg out in front of the TV.”

“Ariana was supposed to come by tonight.”

“So that’s it. You want to get home early so you don’t miss her.”

“Do you hate me?” I asked sheepishly.

“Nah. I get it. Lysander is your man. I’d be the same way if something happened to Aiden.”

“How’s that going?”

“He asked me to the next full moon revelry. He wants to formally introduce me to the pack as his girlfriend.”

“Oooh, sounds serious.”

“For them, it is. You know these wolves… everything is a ceremony.”

“See, you should have become a vamp. We’re very low-key.”

She narrowed her brown eyes at me. “I’m not becoming anything, thank you.”

“Oh, so you’re not thinking of signing up to be Mrs. Werewolf?” I said playfully.

“Lyssa, we’ve only been dating a few weeks.”

I gave her a knowing look, and then stood and turned toward the door. “Back to the house then?”
“Yes, and hopefully Ariana can put all your fears to rest.” Fallon took a final swig of beer and walked with me to the door.

CHAPTER 4

“We’re back,” I called as I walked through the front door of Zuri’s house.

But no one answered.

In a house filled with supernatural creatures, it was common courtesy to announce yourself. This avoided any problems that could arise with surprise guests. Vampires and werewolves have excellent hearing, and even if someone were on an upper floor of the old brick row house, they should have heard me call, and responded.

“Hello,” I shouted louder.  “Anyone home? Nicholas, you here?”

Fallon walked to the stairs and turned her head skyward. “Aiden… honey, are you home?”

Still no response.

Fallon followed me into the foyer, through the main floor parlor and dining room. It seemed like the place was empty; yet all the lights had been left on, and a fire was still burning in the fireplace.

“Strange. Why is no one answering?” I mumbled. “Something’s not right.”

Fallon removed her coat and tossed it over the back of a large L-shaped sectional sofa in the parlor. “Don’t be so worried. Maybe they stepped out for a minute.” She flopped down onto the couch, kicked up her feet on the oversized ottoman, and started fishing in the cushions for the remote.

Crystal and Drew had mentioned plans, so I assumed they would be gone. I knew Zuri was on duty, watching the tourist spots for rogue vampire activity, so I hadn’t expected to see her. But Nicholas should have been home; he’d been in a state of mourning since Rozaline’s death, and hardly left the house.

“I guess you could be right, but where would they
step out
to? It’s not like anyone is going to run down to the corner market for some bread.”

Fallon cleared her throat. “Excuse me…Not all the people in this house are dead, you know. Some of us do eat real food.”

“I’m not dead; my heart still beats. How many times do I have to remind you of that?” I didn’t bother to hide the aggravation in my voice. “And I seriously doubt Aiden stepped out for a loaf of bread, okay?”

“You’re right.” She stuck her tongue at me. “He’d probably grab a burger… or ten. My point is, I’m sure whoever left the fire going didn’t plan to burn the house down. They’ll be back soon. He and Brady are probably outside smoking a cigarette.”

“Nasty habit.” I joined her on the couch.

“Don’t start with me,” Fallon warned.

I’d been trying to get her to quit for years, but it wasn’t working.

A loud crash rumbled through the house. It shook the floor below our feet.

“What the hell?” I yelled and jumped to my feet. “That doesn’t sound like someone stepping out for a smoke.”

Fallon and I exchanged worried looks.

The door to the basement burst open and Nicholas came rushing out, coughing. A trail of smoke followed in his wake.

“What the hell happened? What the hell are you doing down there, and why the hell are you smoking?” I asked.

“I don’t smoke,” Nicholas snapped at me.

“I mean, you’re on fire. Turn around and let me see.”

Nicholas grumbled something under his breath as he turned his back toward me. There were no flames, and the smoke had dissipated, but his shirt had a large scorched area in the middle. Thankfully, his skin looked undamaged. 

“You’re fine, but that shirt isn’t. Is everything okay? What was going on down there? Is Lysander—”

“Take a breath,” he said dismissively. “Everything is okay. What are you doing home anyway? Aren’t you supposed to be out?”

“I didn’t really feel much like painting the town red.  What were you doing down there?” I started heading toward the basement door, but quick as a blur he stepped in front of it, blocking my path.

“What the hell, Nicholas?” I was really beginning to get sick of the strange way the members of my clan were acting. They were definitely excluding me from something, but what? “Let me down there.”

“You’re not going into the basement right now.” His words came out stern but the concerned expression on his face told me he was more worried about what I might find than just imposing his will.

Fallon was at my side in a moment. “Why can’t she go down there? What have you done?”

“
I
have done nothing, little human. Stay out of this.” His concerned expression turned into sneer.

“It’s okay, let them come.” Ariana’s voice floated up from the basement. 

“When did she get here?” I pushed past Nicholas and barreled down the creaky steps.

In the basement, Crystal and Drew were busy lifting Lysander’s coffin back onto its stand. Smoke cleared out of the room through two small windows near the ceiling. Broken glass lay on the floor next to a greenish colored substance. Below Lysander’s coffin lay a charred body.

I rushed to the coffin. “Oh my God!”

“No, it’s all right,” Crystal said soothingly. “We were just trying something. We thought we could free Lysander, but it didn’t work.”

“What about the smoke and why is the body? That’s not…”

Her eyes followed the same path mine had taken and focused on the charred body lying at our feet. “On, no! That’s not Lysander. Everything’s okay. That was a human we used for blood.”

My hands shook on the lid of the coffin. Part of me needed to open it to confirm her words, while the other part of me was too scared to look.

“That was my doing.” Ariana lowered her head as if ashamed and wiped her hands on her jeans. “My potion backfired and sort of exploded.”

“Why didn’t anyone tell me what was going on?” I shot angry glances around the room. “You all had this planned and didn’t include me. Why?”

The room fell silent. Crystal bit her lip and looked away from me, toward the open window. Drew and Nicholas exchanged serious glances. But none of them appeared to be willing to speak. Even Fallon, who had followed me down the stairs, remained silent where she stood.

I turned to Ariana. “You I could understand keeping secrets, but not the rest of you. And yes, I’m including you too, Fallon.” I pointed a finger at her. “You’ve been too busy to hang out for the last couple of weeks and then suddenly tonight of all nights, you’re able to go out.” I flung my hands up in exasperation. “I can’t believe you would all do this to me. He’s my mate, and you were all keeping secrets from me.”

Drew opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but Crystal cut him off. “We didn’t know if what we were doing would work.”

“That doesn’t matter,” I yelled. “You still should have told me.”

Crystal reached out to me. “We wanted to spare you the pain—”

“Well, you fucked up there, didn’t you? You just caused me more pain. How can I ever trust you?”

I finally mustered the confidence and opened the lid, expecting the worst. Thankfully, to my great surprise, I found Lysander still intact, and if possible, looking better than he had earlier in the evening. The crystal too, residing on his chest, looked as if it had been rejuvenated. It had returned to a deep crimson again, as if it had never begun to fade. I reached out, hesitating as I touched it, and quieted my mind to sense Lysander’s presence. Like a beacon, it was there, stronger than before.

“What did you do?” I whispered. Whatever it was, it had strengthened him, and for that small part I was thankful.

Ariana was the one to speak this time. “We thought that maybe he needed to be stronger to break free from the crystal’s hold. We tried experimenting with blood and a summoning spell, but something went wrong and my potion backfired. I’m not sure what happened.”

Those words angered me even more. “Then why are you messing with magic you don’t know? You could have killed him!”

“And that’s precisely why we all thought it was best you weren’t around for this.” Drew’s voice boomed through the room. “You want him back, right? Well, you have to take some risks. Untested magic put him into that crystal, and it’s likely that untested magic will get him out.”