The Soul's Mark: FOUND (16 page)

“Not without you.”
 
Tyler gave her a look, with beseeching
eyes.
 
“I don’t know what’s going on here
but you don’t need to stay.
 
Please come
with me.
 
Just get in the car.”

You
are not leaving, Amelia.
 
If you try, I
will hunt him down and kill him.
 
Do you
want his blood on your hands?
Mitchell projected
the thoughts loud and clear and complete with images that Amelia wished she
hadn’t had to have seen.
 
She shuddered
visibly and took a gasping breath.

“I can’t go with you,” Amelia choked
out.
 
“Please just leave.”
 
Tyler didn’t move.
 
He looked as if he wasn’t going to leave and
she needed to get him out.
 
She looked
back at Mitchell.
 
“I’m just going to
walk him to the car.”

After a long minute, Mitchell gave her a
quick nod, signaling it was okay.
 
“Luke,
go with her.”
 
He turned away and left
the room.
 
He must have given some kind
of signal that Amelia had missed because Angelle and Eric turned and followed
him.
 
From the looks she got from them,
they clearly did not want to leave her.

As soon as Mitchell was gone, the color
started coming back to Tyler’s cheeks.
 
Amelia grabbed him by the hand, pretending not to notice the flash of
red in Luke’s eyes and dragged him out of the house towards the car.
 
How had she missed those eyes before?
 
She didn’t know, but she wished— truly
wished—she could have stayed in that ignorant bliss.
 
She could feel Luke following them, closely
watching.

“Millie, you need to come with me,” Tyler
whispered, obviously aware that they were being followed.
 
“You can’t stay here.
 
I don’t care who he is to this stupid town,
he can’t force you to stay here.”

Amelia didn’t answer him until they got to
the car.
 
She opened the driver’s side
door and then looked at him.
 
“I
can’t.
 
I can’t explain but you need to
go Ty.
 
I’ll call you soon and I’m so
sorry I put you in the middle of this.”
 
Tyler wasn’t moving.
 
He looked sad
and scared and she wasn’t sure what to do.

Hurry
up, Amelia,
Mitchell’s voice blasted into her head.

“Ty, please, just go.
 
He’s not going to let me leave.
 
I don’t want them to hurt you.”
 
She put a hand on his back and pushed him
towards the car.
 
“Please,” she
begged.
 
“I was wrong to call you.
 
I’ll be fine but you have to go.”

Amelia saw the resistance flee from Tyler’s
face and his shoulders sagged.
 
Confused,
she glanced over to see Luke standing in front of him, eyes foggy like milky
glasses focused on Tyler’s now expressionless face.
 
“Thank you for stopping by to check on
Amelia,” Luke said, in a soothing and strong voice.
 
“She took quite a spill last night but she is
just fine now.”

Tyler gave his head a little shake and
smiled at Amelia.
 
“You had me
worried.”
 
He got into his car and turned
the key.
 
“Glad you’re okay.
 
See you on Monday.”
 
He shut the car door and reversed out of the
driveway, grinning at her the whole time.

“How?” she breathed, once Tyler was safely
out of the driveway.

“I used persuasion,” Luke answered, as if
that was really an answer.
 
He motioned
for her to go in but Amelia stood her ground waiting for an explanation.
 
“Come on, kiddo.”
 
He smiled at her, that fatherly smile that
used to make her feel warm and loved inside, but now made her quiver.
 
“Let’s not keep Mitch waiting and make this
any worse than it already is.”

“How can you stand there so calm?” Amelia
shouted at him.
 
“You’re supposed to be
my friend.”

Without warning, Luke scooped her up,
tossing her over his shoulder and started for the door.
 
“This is your destiny, Amelia,” he said.
 
“You best get used to it because he’s not
going away.”

Before she knew it, they were in the living
room and Luke was setting her down on the couch beside Mitchell.
 
Angelle and Eric were standing by looking as
if they were caught in the middle of wanting to leave but needing to stay and
Luke took up the armchair looking completely relaxed.

Amelia waited for someone to talk and the
tension grew.
 
It was as if everyone was
waiting for something to happen, anything to happen, and finally when she
thought she would burst from the stress, she broke the silence.
 
“I would like to go to my room,” she
murmured, and waited.
 
She could feel the
turmoil bouncing around in him: anger, hurt, love, a dangerous mixture she
didn’t want to ignite.

“Not yet,” Mitchell said.
 
He took her hand and looked at her with sad,
sullen eyes.
 
“I’m sorry, love.
 
I know this must be hard for you but I want
you to know I love you.
 
I really
do.
 
I only want what’s best for
you.”
 
He paused for a moment, watching
her, trying to gauge her feelings.
 
She
could feel him poking around in her head and could sense his hope that she
would believe him.

That thought made her laugh unpleasantly,
and she snatched her hand away from him, standing up abruptly.
 
Amelia put on her best ice queen stare and
fixed it on him.
 
“What’s best for me?”
she spat.
 
“You think locking me up here
and threatening to kill my friends is best for me?”

“You were attacked last night, Amelia,” Angelle
said, deliberately stopping Mitchell before he could say anything.
 
She crossed the room to her.
 
“You were attacked by two other
vampires.
 
If we hadn’t been there, you
could have been killed.
 
Even with your
mark they still went after you.”
 
She reached
out to brush some loose curls out of Amelia’s eyes.
 
“Adam and Kandi were banished from this town
fifty years ago.
 
We don’t know why
they’re back.”
 
She sighed, a long and
stormy sound.
 
“Amelia, we’re the oldest
coven around these parts.
 
If they went
after you, there’s a reason for it.
 
No
one would cross us, not here.
 
They
wouldn’t stand a chance.
 
He really is
just looking out for you, sweetie.”

Amelia turned her ice-cold eyes on
Angelle.
 
“Don’t talk to me like you
care.
 
You’re just as bad as him.
 
I confided in you.
 
I even told you about him and you acted as if
you didn’t know anything.
 
Was your
stupid dream story even true?”
 
Hurt
flashed across Angelle’s face as she backed up.
 
“You know, I don’t even care.”
 
Amelia focused back on Mitchell.
 
“I will stay here only because I don’t want my friends to get hurt but
you should know that’s the only reason I’m staying.
 
I don’t want anything to do with you or any
of you.”
 
She glared around the room,
making sure to focus her chilly stare on each one of them.
 
“Now if you’re done, I’m going to my
room.”
 
And without waiting for an
answer, Amelia stormed out; keeping her shoulders straight, and went straight
for the refuge of her room.

Amelia was a bundle of nerves.
 
She paced her room for a full hour trying to
come up with a plan but she knew deep down there was nothing she could do.
 
She cried, she yelled into a pillow, and then
she paced some more.

Just after 7:00, Mabel brought in a bowl of
homemade chicken noodle soup.
 
Amelia
tried to talk to her.
 
She had so many
questions.
 
Did Mabel know about
them?
 
She was sure that the older woman
wasn’t a vampire.
 
But Mable wouldn’t
talk to her.
 
She just dropped the food
and left.
 
Despite her best efforts not
to, Amelia gobbled the food down.
 
She
was starving and she ate it so fast she barely even tasted it.

When the sun set, the night started to play
tricks on her.
 
Lurking shadows filled
every corner of her room, reminding her of all those horror movies she had seen
and what could be hiding under her bed or in her closet.
 
Her fairy tale castle no longer felt like a
fairy tale.
 
It felt too big, and
spine-chillingly creepy.
 
And it really
was filled with monsters, the fanged bloodsucking kind.
 
Amelia got down, peered under her bed and checked
her closet.
 
She was starting to feel
really stupid when a gust of wind hissed through the open window, whipping the
curtains around and she jumped.

She let out a nervous little laugh and went
to the window, pulling it shut.
 
She was
about to turn away, and start the restless, helpless pacing again when a
movement caught her eye.
 
She peered out
into the cloud-covered night.
 
Standing
outside her window, on her terrace was Kandi, smoldering scarlet eyes staring
in at her.
 
Amelia recoiled and blinked and
when she opened her eyes, Kandi was gone.

Keep
it together, Amelia
, she scolded herself
silently.
 
It’s just the night playing tricks on you.

Deciding she needed to relax, Amelia went
into the adjoining bathroom and turned on the taps filling the tub with warm,
steaming water.
 
She added a dollop of
strawberry-scented bubble bath to the water, and lit some vanilla spice
candles.
 
Instantly, the room filled with
their soft scent and she stripped off her clothes, tossing them wherever they
landed.
 
She took a deep calming breath,
letting the aroma soothe her.

Amelia was just about to climb into the tub
when she heard a little knock at the door, so soft that she almost missed
it.
 
And if she hadn’t still been so
jumpy she probably would have missed it, but she was so wired with jitters that
every little bump was making her jump out of her skin.
 
She snagged her silk housecoat from the hook,
and went to the door, unlocking and swinging it open.

It was Eric.
 
He had that mischievous twinkle in his eyes
and he raised his finger to his lips in a
shhhh
gesture.
 
He glanced surreptitiously over
his shoulders and then without a word snuck past her into her room, moving with
all the stealth of a cat burglar.

Amelia was speechless.
 
She hadn’t expected any of them to bother
her, not tonight.
 
She watched as he shut
the door behind him and once that door was shut and he was standing in her
room, and they were alone, she became hotly aware that she was in a thin little
housecoat, completely naked underneath.
 
She flushed.

“Did I wake you?” he whispered, still
glancing at the door as if he thought at any moment someone would burst through
and
catch
him.

“Um, no.
 
I was just about to have a
bath.
 
What do you want?”
 
Bath,
crap!
She had left the water running and rushed to go turn it off.
 
When she got back into her room, Eric was
lounging on her bed.
 
“Eric, I think you
should leave.”

He looked surprised at her reaction.
 
“What’s up with you?”

“Really?
 
You’re really going to ask
me that?”
 
Amelia rolled her eyes.
 
What was it about him that made her not want
to stay mad?
 
She should hate him.
 
Throw him out.
 
But there was something so… fun about him.
 
Folding her arms and trying to keep an
annoyed tone, she said, “Like I said, I was just about to have a bath so if you
don’t need anything, go away.”

“Oh okay, sure.
 
Here.
”
 
He slid off the bed and shoved a book at her,
looking wounded.
 
“Thought
you might want to check it out.”

“Thanks, I think.”
 
Amelia took the old leather-bound book in her
hands and examined the cover.
 
There was
no title, just the soul mark carved into the worn and weathered book.
 
“It’s the book.
 
The one you told me about the first night.”

Eric winked at her and smiled.
 
“Sure is.
 
Thought you might have some questions and since you don’t seem to be about
to ask them you should read this.”
 
He
gave her another secretive look.
 
“But
don’t tell anyone I gave it to you.”
 
He
cupped her chin in his hands lightly and tilted her face up to meet his
eyes.
 
His gaze was intense and serious,
and really, really, wrong.
 
Eric
shouldn’t look serious.
 
He was supposed
to be fun and carefree.
 
“Hey Millie?” he
asked, hesitating for a moment.

“Yeah,” she breathed, lost in his eyes.

“I’m really sorry for kissing you and I’m
sorry for leaving after.
 
I hope you
understand why now.
 
I didn’t mean to
hurt you.
 
It’s just…” he fumbled over
the words.
 
“You don’t belong to me and
even though you’re fighting it right now…” He huffed and gave her a torn and
sad smile.
 
“You love him.
 
You won’t be able to fight it forever and he
really does love you.”
 
The carefree
smile sprang back over his face and he headed towards the door.
 
“Besides, I’m a slacker.
 
You deserve better than me,” he said,
glancing over his shoulder at her and then he was gone, door clicking shut
behind him.

Amelia stared at the door for a moment,
shocked and befuddled.
 
Her heart wasn’t
racing like it normally did when Eric was around.
 
Was that because of Mitchell?
 
Even thinking his name made
her heart skip a beat, answering her silent question.
 
Yes, yes, yes, it was all because of
Mitchell.
 
She was made for him, body and
soul, and Eric just wasn’t… right.
 
After
that flabbergasting revelation, Amelia looked back at the book in her hands,
whose brittle, old pages exuded a faint scent of mold.

She opened up the book, gingerly flipping
through the pages looking for an author, but she found none.
 
She went back to the start.
 
There was no table of contents or copyrights
and the first page was entitled:
WARNING
TO ALL HUMANS WITH A SOUL’S MARK.

Amelia closed the book, wondering if she
should actually read it.
 
Would it have
answers?
 
Maybe it could tell her how to
break the bond between them.
 
Did she
want to break it?
 
She had so many
questions and really wasn’t sure if she even wanted the answers.

She padded back to the bathroom and set the
book down on the tub ledge.
 
Maybe she
would just scan through it.
 
It couldn’t
hurt.
 
She took off her housecoat and
slid into the tub, letting the hot water soothe her aching muscles, and closed
her eyes for a few seconds.
 
After a few
calming strawberry filled breaths, she reached for the book, holding it up,
well away from the water and started to read.

What
you are about to read is an overview of what you can expect before and after
you are found.
 
I speak from experience and
can guarantee that you
will
be found.
 
It may be in this
lifetime or in one to follow, but you should know it is inevitable.
 
You have been marked by a vampire’s
soul.
 
The journey you are about to
embark on will not be easy.
 
At times,
you may be blinded by love or overtaken by hatred.

From
this point on you
are no longer the master
of your
destiny.
 
It is imperative for you to
forget the notion that you have the power to control your own fate.
 
Your path has been chosen for you and whether
you like it or not always remember
you canNOT run from destiny.

That’s
not very encouraging
, she thought, rereading the
warning.
 
She considered putting the book
down and not going on.
 
If it started out
like this, it couldn’t possibly get any better, but curiosity got the best of
her and she kept reading.

A
Brief History of the Mark

The
first thing you should know is that soulmates are real.
 
They are not just some romantic idea.
 
We are made for one person and one person
alone.

When
it comes to souls, the alchemists were close to the truth.
 
They believed that we are not born with a
soul but only with sparks of spirituality and our purpose in this life and
every life to follow is to find our souls.
 
This is not entirely true.
 
Our
purpose is not to find our soul but to find the missing half.
 
Our twin.

Since
the beginning of time, souls have been divided equally amongst men and
women.
 
The theory is that we are
destined to spend our lives searching for our other half, over countless
reincarnations, in hopes to become one again.

With that bombshell, Amelia wondered how
much weirder this can all get.
 
Reincarnation wasn’t possible.
 
Of
that, she was certain.
 
She was more of a
“big bang theory” kind of girl.
 
She
looked for the scientific explanation, and reincarnation was, without a doubt,
not it.
 
Halfhearted, or at least that’s
what she tried to tell herself, she read on.

The
second and probably most important thing you need to know is that vampires do
exist.
 
The sooner you accept this, the
better off you will be.

As for
the mark, I have found records of it going back at least a thousand years.
 
Throughout time, the stories have been
altered, but they all hold a similar tale of a witch finding her lover
dead—drained of blood by a vampire.

Heartbroken
over her loss, the witch wanted to avenge her lover’s death, so she stripped
all vampires of their souls, casting them out to wander the universe.
 
Once the souls were taken, she then cursed
the vampires with an eternity of emptiness and condemned them to always be
searching but in the end never able to find their souls.
 

What
the witch did not consider is that nature always finds a way to maintain the
balance between good and evil.
 
This
curse shifted the natural balance by creating a breed of soulless, bloodsucking
monsters.

To
rectify this disturbance, nature took over, gathering the lost souls and
joining them with their human twins.
 
The
humans were then marked with the soul’s symbol, giving the vampires a chance to
find their souls.
 
Through the mark, a
bond formed between the vampire and their soulmate allowing them to keep in
touch with their humanity.

In
the pages to come, you will learn the stories of two individuals who wore the
mark.
 
By no means do we claim to be
experts on this subject.
 
We can only
hope that our stories will help others with the trials and tribulations that
are to come.
 
Learn from our choices and
let them act as a guide on your journey.

Amelia closed the book and let it drop to
the floor.
 
She had Mitchell’s soul?
 
How was that even possible?
 
She guessed it explained the connection, but
was it just his soul that was entwined with hers or was it more?
 
Was he also her true love?
 
That’s what a soulmate was, wasn’t it?
 
The questions burned through her brain,
swirling around in a whirlwind of puzzlement.
 
The hunger for knowledge, to learn the unknown was taking control of her
and she knew she just had to keep reading.
 
She had to know more.
 
What was
happening to her?
 
What was happening to
him?
 
What more was to come?