Old Souls (14 page)

“You drugged me?” Anger sizzled through my blood, heating my veins. “
Why
…Why would you do that?”

“No, I didn’t drug you. It was a potion—all natural— and it is perfectly safe.”

Mark held me by the elbow and helped me to sit up against the back of the headboard. That’s when I noticed my surroundings and his words penetrated. We weren’t in his condo? Where were we, then? The bedroom I rested in was a far cry from the contemporary palace he had back home. This room was warm and inviting, the bed smaller than his, but billowy and soft, like floating on a cloud.  A plaid comforter and pine colored wood furniture made the room cozy. And it was fairly dark for five o’clock. The reason for the dusky, shadowed room became clear when I looked out one of the three windows. There were trees everywhere.

Trees? Not something I was used to seeing from downtown
Toronto in Mark’s high rise.

“Where am I?” I asked, marginally calmer than I was a second ago. “And how did you get me here? I took a blood oath. I couldn’t leave the apartment.”

“
You
couldn’t leave, but I was able to remove you as long as you didn’t have a choice in the matter. If you’d have known what I planned it wouldn’t have worked. I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you.” He seemed sincere, but also proud for thinking of the loophole in the blood oath I had taken.

“Oh, no.” My anger suddenly disappeared, replaced by panic. “No, no, no, Mark…They’ll know it was you. What are they going to do to you for taking me away like this?”

“I don’t care, Alyssa!” He yelled. Never had I seen him so angry. “Don’t you get that? I
refuse
to live without you.”

“Please, don’t say that.”

“Why not? It’s true.” He stomped over to the dresser along the far wall and picked up a glass of water, thrusting it at me. “Here.”

“You expect me to drink that?” Petulantly, I raised one eyebrow. “How do I know you didn’t put something in it?”

He shot me a don’t-be-ridiculous expression that quickly turned to one of concern. “I thought you might be thirsty.”

How was I supposed to stay mad at him when he looked at me like that, but how could I not be angry for the danger he’d just put himself in. I was terrified. Mark had just gone behind my back with this plan he’d hatched up, and by doing so probably condemned us both. Heaping a pile of trouble onto the huge pile of trouble we were already in seemed pointless. Now instead of just me, he was in deep shit too. I didn’t like the thought of that, at all.

With all seriousness, I ignored the glass he held and looked him in the eye. “What are we going to do?”

Sighing, his shoulders slumped as he sat on the edge of the bed and leaned over to place the glass on the nightstand. “I don’t know for sure. I’ll think of something. At least this way, I’ll have
time
to think of something.”

“Won’t they find us? You said they can sense new witches.”

“I’ve put a protection spell on the cabin. It will keep us hidden for a while, but unfortunately we can’t go outside.”

Dropping my head back on the mound of pillows, I glanced up to the ceiling in frustration. “So basically your answer is to keep us secluded in a cabin in the woods until they find us and kill us, or until we think of something?”

I cast a sideways glance at him and he shrugged, unrepentant.

“You know, there are non-magical ways to track someone, too. They’ll be able to trace this cabin back to you.”

He flashed a smug grin at me. “No, they won’t.”

***

I was going stir crazy. It had been two days since I woke up in Mark’s cabin and I hadn’t been outside at all. Mark hadn’t come up with any brilliant ideas, and I was a blank. Neither of us had a clue how we were going to get ourselves out of this mess, but at least we were together.

The past two days, spending all our time together, I finally understood why he risked himself the way he did. If
I
had to let him go, if I knew
he
would be killed, no way would I sit back and allow that happen. Thinking back, I realized we shared a connection from the first time I laid eyes on Mark—before that even. That link between us was unlike anything I’d ever felt before, he was a vital part of me now.

“What are you thinking about so intently?” He asked, lying on the oversized sofa.

Relaxing, I reclined on his lap, buried in a sea of pillows. Glass covered the entire wall of the cabin’s living area and we’d been staring out at the tranquil surroundings. Mark’s cabin, located on Six Mile Lake near Georgian Bay, was surrounded by crystal clear lake water and trees as far as the eye could see. With his arms wrapped around me, he pulled me closer. My head cradled comfortably on his shoulder. The roar of boat engines on the water broke up chirping and scurrying noises of the birds and other animals, but we could still hear the peaceful lap of water against the rocks below. We enjoyed the fleeting serenity, knowing as we lay there that this was merely the calm before the storm.

“I was just thinking how peaceful it is here, and so unbelievably gorgeous. I could almost forget…” my voice trailed off. Mark and I avoided talking about our situation as much as possible. As if saying it out loud made it more real. I knew we needed to stop avoiding the subject, though.

He stroked my hair and his breath skated over my ear. “I wish we could stay like this forever.”

“We can’t though, you know that right?”

He rolled onto his back and I turned to face him, my heart breaking when I saw the look on his face. He looked so lost and defeated. “I know.”

“What are we going to do, Mark?” I pulled myself up and sat on the edge of the sofa, looking down at him. “Maybe if we turn ourselves in, they’ll listen to us.”

“And if they don’t?” His eyes caught mine and refused to budge. “Would
you
risk losing me like that? Would you be able to go back, knowing there’s a good chance they’d kill me?”

I dropped my head into my hands and sighed. “No.”

“Then don’t ask me to do it.” Silence spanned for a few minutes before he whispered. “Hey,” he nudged my shoulder and I turned to face him. “Try not to worry right now. Let’s just enjoy each other’s company. The answer will come to us, I have faith. There is no way fate could be so cruel as to let me find you, only to lose you.”

I grinned. How he could be optimistic at this time was beyond me, but I admired him for it. “Okay… for now.”

Tugging me down so I was splayed over him, he locked his eyes on mine in a hypnotizing stare. He drew me closer, slowly, until my lips brushed against his. I think we both meant for the kiss to be tender and slow. It certainly began that way, but the tension that had been building these past few days had peaked. The kiss became aggressive and desperate as his tongue invaded my mouth, his hands gripping my hair tightly.

Losing all track of time, I almost lost myself in him completely. And then the Earth shook. Literally.

Without warning, the entire cabin rocked with a force that nearly crumbled it. The walls creaked and groaned under the pressure. “You fools!” A loud voice boomed inside the room, rattling the glass in every window. We both jumped to our feet, ready to flee.

“What is that?” I screeched.

“I’m not sure, but it sounds like… Aedan.”

“You have no idea what you’ve done.” The bodiless voice boomed even louder, angrier.

“Aedan? Is that you?” Mark asked, nervously.

“Who is Aedan?” I whispered to Mark.

“He’s one of the brothers.”

“You mean one of
the
brothers…as in the three brothers?” Mark nodded, tucking me behind him protectively while his head swiveled searching for the source of the voice.

“Yes, it’s me.” Aedan answered. “Mark, you should have come to me. Running is not the answer. It took me no time to find you. How long do you think it will take my brothers?”

“I came to you once before.” He replied, snidely. “As I recall, that didn’t work out so well for me.”

“We need to get out of here.” I said, pulling frantically on Mark’s arm. But the next words from the bodiless voice froze me.

“Please, Lissy, don’t run.” The voice suddenly sounded desperate, not angry.

Lissy? What the hell? Only my family called me Lissy.

“I am not losing her again. I came to you two hundred years ago and
begged
you to help me. You said you loved Evangeline like a daughter and would do everything in your power to protect her. Well, thanks for nothing. We need to go, Alyssa.”

“Wait, if you leave it’s a death sentence for both of you. Stay.
Trust
me. I can help you.”

“Why should we trust you?” Mark snorted.

“You don’t know just how much I
did
help you back then. I loved Evangeline, but s
he
refused to listen to reason and continued to break our laws. It didn’t matter what I said to reach her, she was set on her course and believed she was doing what was right. You know that. She could have exposed us all. What would have happened to the rest of us?”

“Well, I lost her. Is that your idea of helping?”

“Did you?” The voice asked, quietly. “Lose her, I mean.”

“Of course I lost her, she died.” Mark’s pain shoved itself into me, but it didn’t seem like he was aware I could feel it.

“She died, yes. But does that mean you lost her?” Aedan’s voice had become soft, thoughtful.

Mark’s eyes widened as he turned his head and locked his gaze on mine.

“That’s right, Mark, all is not lost. Things are not always as they seem.”

“You couldn’t have known. It was luck that I found Alyssa, and I can’t believe I’m destined to give her up again. Things are different this time. Alyssa didn’t intend to do what she did, it was an accident.”

“Someone once said that luck is the residue of design.
Luck
has nothing to do with you finding her again. And, I believe you. I know it was an accident.” Goose bumps rose along the flesh of my arm as I listened to their conversation, and not just because Mark was talking to a voice that didn’t seem to be attached to a body. I had that feeling again. The feeling I’d had right before I met Mark, like something important was about to happen.

I jumped as a man suddenly took form in front of us. “Jesus,” I squealed. “Don’t do that, you scared the crap out of me.”

With a hand on my chest I panted, trying to catch my breath and still my racing heart. Just as I began to calm, I took a closer look at the familiar face that had materialized in front of us. He looked twenty years younger, but there was no mistaking the cat like green eyes that were so much like my own. His hair was no longer grey and his skin, once etched with lines, was as smooth and flawless as marble. Despite the changes, I would recognize this man anywhere. After all, I’d seen it frequently over the past twenty nine years. “Dad?”

“Dad?” Mark echoed, shocked. “Alyssa, this is Aedan, one of the three brothers.”

“Mark,
this
is my father, Dan. Well, at least it looks like him—albeit a younger version of my dad.” I stepped forward nervously, examining the familiar—yet changed—features of the man before me. “Is this some kind of a trick? Why do you look like my father?”

A huge beaming smile stretched from cheek to cheek across his handsome face. “Because I am your father, Lissy.”

“Don’t call me that, you’re not my dad. This is a trick of some kind.” I turned to Mark, brow knit in confusion. “How long have you known him? What does he really look like?”

Mark’s head toggled between us, unsure of what was happening. That made two of us. “Alyssa, I’ve known Aedan for over two hundred years and he’s always looked like this. He’s the one who contacted us when our powers were triggered back then. He trained us, and for a time we were…close. I considered him a friend.” His
gaze settled on Aedan with a pleading expression. “What’s happening here?”

“Will you both take a seat? We don’t have much time and I have a lot to explain.” With an arm stretched in invitation toward the sofa, we both complied without thought.

I sat next to Mark and he reached for my hand, twining our fingers and resting them on his lap. It was strange seeing my father under these circumstances…and he was so
young
. In fact, he looked like he was around my age. God, this was strange.

“We’re listening.” I said, trying to put aside my confusion.

In the large chair across from us, he took a seat. “Mark, a long time ago you asked for my help saving Evangeline. No matter what I or my brothers said, she absolutely would not listen to reason. She knew what would happen to her if she continued making the same choices, and yet she continued to knowingly break our laws. Despite that, I knew Evangeline was a good soul, just lost. So filled with anger over her past suffering, she just couldn’t find her way through it.”

He took a shuddering breath, his voice filled with compassion. “I battled my brothers, desperately tried to convince them she would’ve been different with a different upbringing, that none of it was her fault. They agreed with me, but said it didn’t make a difference. Our only choice was to imprison her forever or death. If they had imprisoned her you would have never seen her again. Instead, I convinced them to agree to… an unconventional solution. It was the
only
chance I had to save her.”