The Soul Seekers (7 page)

“I see a car. And I see you driving away. Soon maybe.”

“Well then, it’s all set I guess. Since you see it and all.”

I’d miss you.

My mouth opened but no words came. Avoiding her stare, I moved past her to the front door and went outside. It wasn’t long before I heard the giant rumble of a muscle car descending the hill. It parked on the curb, a brake was cranked up hard, and then brown boots clicked up the drive toward me.

“Think we’d better take a drive.”

“Jesse.”

His hand squeezed around my arm, dragging me to the curb. “What about our plans, Emma? We were going to leave together. How is that supposed to happen when you selfishly decide to hitchhike out into nowhere?”

“I can do whatever I want. Let go of my arm.”

He let go, standing back with an angry expression, arms crossed. His eyes held accusation. “I trusted you.”

“Yeah, well . . . don’t. You barely know me.”

Our eyes locked for a long time, neither one wanting to back down. “That’s it then? You’re gonna do this?”

“Yes.”

I watched him change tactics. I wasn’t trying to notice things like that, but saw it the second it happened nevertheless. His eyes softened, his body relaxed. “Emma, what are you trying to prove? You know you can trust me now, don’t you? Or are you still afraid?”

“No, I’m not afraid.”

“What then?” He was almost purring, using everything he had to draw me in with his eyes, his voice.

“I don’t know. Look Jesse, I’m tired. How about we call it a night so I can get some rest? We can talk tomorrow, all right?”

“Yeah, sure.” He grabbed my hand and held it up, entwining his fingers with mine just like he had that afternoon. “Only, wouldn’t it be nice to go out tonight and talk about this? You can sleep in the car if you’re tired. I’d kind of like to go up to the bluffs again, you know, to hang out for a while.”

The bluffs.

I started to pull my hand away, but felt his fingers tightening, holding it there. “Gosh, I don’t know. Maybe tomorrow night, okay?”

“We can’t go tomorrow. I have a gig, remember?”

“Oh, right.”

“Well then, come on.”

Big pause. This is where a weaker person would give in. “No.” I pulled my hand away. “Honest. I need some sleep. You probably should practice anyway, for the gig.” I smiled for effect.

Sticking both hands in his back pockets, he said, “Yeah, you’re right. Will you come to the show? It starts at nine. You can’t leave town until you hear me sing.”

“Sure. I’ll be there.”

He turned away for a second, then turned back, causing his brown hair to swing under the setting sun in chocolate waves. “Oh, I almost forgot. Make sure you bring the coin. I found someone who wants to give us a wicked deal. Okay?”

I nodded, feeling a wave of sickness pass through my stomach, like the first time we’d met. “Okay.”

Jesse spun on his heel, heading for that shiny black car with the two S’s on it. I watched as he drove away, leaving me feeling like a stranger in a bus station, with no ticket and no idea of where to go.

Seeing a concession stand to the right, I stumbled over to order a soda, taking a long sip. A cool breeze washed over the wet skin on the back of my neck, sending a flash freeze down my spine. I managed to walk a few steps when I heard a quiet voice behind me. “Are you frightened?”

“No.”

“You ran from me yesterday. There’s nothing to be afraid of, not really.”

I lowered the soda to the ground with shaking hands. “I’m not afraid.”

There was a slight pause before he spoke again. “Aren’t you going to turn around and look at me?”

I did. Slow.

He smiled, a big beautiful smile. “You don’t know how long I’ve waited for this,” he said.

I was completely shook up, and here he was smiling away. About to say something evil, I cut short when he stepped forward and made my brain go numb.

“I hope you don’t mind if I just. . . .”

Without finishing, he took a staggering breath and reached up to touch my face with trepidation. His fingers moved delicate and slow, starting with the line of my chin, then upward, leaving a trail of cold electricity with every caress.

I closed my eyes and was once again in the gazebo, paralyzed in a beautiful spell. His fingers made their way across every part of my face: my eyelids, my cheekbones, the tip of my nose, the faint dimple in my left cheek, stopping with a slow trail down the curve of my neck. When I felt him pull away, I opened my eyes.

He whispered, “Thank you. You can go now if you wish.”

“I-I can go?”

“Yes. I shouldn’t have touched you like that, but I couldn’t help myself.” His expression was wistful, melancholy.

What was I to think of a boy who acted like that? I hated him and I loved him. Most of all I wanted him to kiss me the way I’d always dreamed of.

I adjusted my purse strap. “You know, you can’t just touch someone like that. You have to explain.”

“You’re right.” William looked remorseful.

“Yeah. I mean, there are rules, you know . . . between people.”

“People,” he whispered, rubbing a hand through his hair. “I can’t remember what it feels like. I’ve forgotten how it works.”

“Why do you keep saying weird things like that? You’re not making any sense.”

I gave him an angry glance, which was soon broken up by a loud throng of people passing between us. “Nothing makes any sense—not this town, or the stupid coin I found, or
you.
None of it makes sense. That’s why I’m leaving.”

“Coin,” he whispered, his eyes opening in a sudden cognizance. “You’re the one who has it.”

“Yeah, I sure am.” I heard the sound of an electric guitar being tuned up on stage. “Which reminds me, I have something to do.”

William reached out as I moved forward. “No wonder Marcus has been after me so much lately. It’s obvious now.”

“Marcus?” I knew that name. I would never forget the day those men bullied him in the library. “Isn’t he part of that church?”

“Yes.” He gently touched my shoulder. “You are in a lot of danger right now.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“It’s a matter of protection. I can’t let you stay.”

William drew in a breath and released a low curse. His cold fingers grasped my arm. “He’s right behind us.”

I couldn’t help it; like a child I turned to peek. At first I saw nothing and was about to jerk away to leave; but then a dark figure became apparent through a moving swarm of people: a flash of black heading for me. The rest of them stood by the bandstand, pretending not to look, but being obvious in their careful, shrouded movements. Instant panic set in, and I clutched at my purse.

“Fear is a good response. You’re a smart girl. Now if you’re really smart you’ll get the hell out of here right
now.
”

I was staring too long and had caught Marcus’ attention. I couldn’t move. With a dry swallow I watched as he came forward, walking slowly, like a hunter approaching a deer in a field. I realized, suddenly, that I was the deer.

“Run, Emma,” William’s voice whispered beside me.

I couldn’t.

“Run, Emma!”

I sprinted across the lawn, William next to me, matching my stride. We raced through the crowd, past the post office, and made our way to a row of parked cars along the alley beside Maggie’s Cafe. He found an unlocked van and threw the side door open, commanding me to get in fast. I did, scrambling back as he jumped in and slammed the door, hitting each lock in seconds flat. “Don’t speak!”

A lone step sounded in the street, skidding on pavement. It moved around the vehicle body, paused then moved to the other cars.

With a hesitant crane of the neck, I looked up through the dark tinted windows and almost let out a scream when a pair of horn-rimmed eyes peeked in. They seemed inhuman—phantom, not real. William squeezed me close to his body and reached to cover my mouth, causing a painful current to snap against my lips. It was stupid, but I gasped.

“Wait,” he whispered.

I could hear them. I could hear muffled speech and foot shuffles outside the van.

“What do they want from us?” I muttered through his ice-cold fingers. William issued a quiet apology and slid them away, causing warmth to spread through my skin. I felt too comfortable in his hold, entranced by the motion of his chest expanding and falling with each steady breath he took.

“Hold on,” he said. His expression changed as he listened to the men’s conversation. “They’re deciding,” he whispered at last.

“On what?”

“Whether it’s worth creating commotion when they know they’ll get what they want in the end.”

We heard a voice. “Bennett.” Pause. “We don’t need to chase anyone. It’s set.”

I felt his arms stiffen and heard a terse breath being drawn in. We heard footsteps move away from the van and across the street, softening to the thud of grass and then disappearing altogether.

William grabbed my shoulders and turned my body to face his. “You have to hide that coin! It’s very important, do you hear me? They’ll take you next, after they’re done with me. The eclipse is coming.”

He shook me when I failed to reply. “You don’t know what that means, and I don’t want you involved. Hide that coin and get back to your innocent life, the one you had before you made the mistake of meeting me.”

“Who
are
you?”

William smiled in a wretched way. “I am their most prized member. I’m worth more to them than any human on this earth, and you’ve stepped into a dangerous game, Emma Shay. Welcome to the
cult.
”

“Why did you do it? Didn’t you think it would hurt me? Didn’t you
care
?”

I thought about the night under the gazebo and felt embarrassment, remembering the things I’d said.

His voice was strained. “You’re the last person on earth I would hurt. You can believe that.”

I raised my chin. “I’m leaving, you know. Maybe in a few days. So, you don’t have to worry about me anymore.”

“I’m glad you’re leaving.”

“You are?”

“Yes,” William replied, coming closer, pushing me out the door as he stepped down onto the street. “You’ll be safe.”

“Safe?” I turned then. “Nothing’s ever safe. Life isn’t like that.”

“How right you are.”

I heard a song start up across the street and thought of Jesse. If he asked me to leave with him again, I’d say yes.

“Well, I have to go.”

“Emma.”

I allowed my eyes to meet his again. “Yes?”

“If you leave, I want you to go remembering one thing.”

“And that is?”

“That you have a gift. This whole summer I felt it radiating from you—the special deepness of intuition. How I missed you being able to see me, I’ll never know. You have something special. After being stuck in this town for twenty years with nothing better to do than watch people, I’ve seen a lot of evil, mundane cruelty. But you, you’re truly beautiful.”

“Please, just stop already. Just leave me alone.” I felt the tears forming. Damn. Damn. Damn. I tried to jerk away when he grabbed my arm again, but it was too late. The shock ran through my skin and pulsed in a series of currents. Just like the coin.

“Yes, you see I’m not normal. Things like that wouldn’t happen if I was.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” I whispered, and bit down hard on my lip.

William wasn’t making any sense, as usual, and I didn’t like the strange things that were happening to me, that were entering my brain.

His voice was full of a reticent sadness. “You do understand, don’t you? I can see that you do. It’s been so long. You don’t know how many times I’ve wished for it to happen, that someone could set me free from this oblivion.”

“No.”

“To have skin that could be touched. To be heard, seen.”

“Stop,” I breathed, eyes shut tight. “I don’t believe any of this.”

“It’s true, Emma. I’ve been like this for many years; longer than you’ve been alive. I’m angry with myself because I was selfish and dreamed that it would be you who found me. Why the
hell
did it have to be you?”

There was nothing I could say. Our faces were bathed in shadows, the sun almost completely gone. His skin began to turn translucent.