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“We need to find a way to lure it out into a
trap,” Akira replied. “I just don’t know exactly how to do that.
You tried to lure it with Maria only to have that backfire, and
while I know it’s still in the general vicinity, I don’t know for
sure if it’s hunting. It should be soon since it’s unable to
utilize the half of Maria’s soul it has with it. I haven’t heard of
any other disappearances, and it should be getting hungrier.”

“Should we be talking about trapping it now?
I mean, what if it can hear and see what’s going on through Maria?
Wouldn’t that tip it off?” I asked.

“I don’t think it’s listening in right now,”
Maria said after a pregnant pause when all of our eyes turned to
her. “I’m not picking up on any hunger pains or anything.”

I was uncomfortable with the idea that that
thing might be listening in on our conversation, but I was
determined to at least try and get some idea of a plan going. I had
a few thoughts, but I kept coming back to one that made the most
sense, but that I really, really hated.

“You said that it was looking for a new body,
right?” I asked slowly, chewing on my thoughts in an effort to make
sure that I had fully explored them.

“Right,” Akira replied. “It can’t survive in
a body for longer than three years, and that’s really pushing it.
It relies on its ability to look unassuming and harmless in order
to be able to snag its prey, and a body that’s falling apart and
rotting in weird places is just screaming ‘Hey! Look at me!’.”

“Do you think that it would be tempted to
come out of hiding if the other half of the soul it wanted was
present with a potential new host?” I asked. Maria’s head snapped
in my direction, her eyes wide at first, and then narrowed down to
slits as she started to shake her head.

“I suppose so,” Akira said thoughtfully. “It
would almost be too tempting for it. Finish what it started and
snag a new soul and a new body all at once. Also, and I hate saying
this, but it helps that Maria hasn’t been at full strength, because
the
Gaki
will be more likely to attack her if it thinks she
is weaker now. I could try and pose as the other person, pretend to
be recovering from an illness or something while Dellar waits to
ambush it.”

“That won’t work,” I said. “The
Gaki
knows you, and while it has been years since it saw your face, I’m
sure it will know you’re a
Tengu
right off the bat. It knew
Dellar was a vampire immediately, so it probably has some kind of
extra sense that allows it to identify the souls of anything it
comes into contact with even if it’s someone it’s never met before.
You’re going to need a human soul for this.”

“Where would I get one? It’s not like I can
walk up to my basketball teammates and go, ‘so, we’re trying to
trap a soul eater, would you mind being the bait?’ I really don’t
like the thought of having to have my boss break me out of the
looney bin. He’s a bit pissy about things like that.”

“No, what I’m suggesting is that you let me
be the bait alongside Maria,” I said. “I think it’d be more likely
to attack two girls over a girl and a guy. I could act like I’ve
been sick or something, Akira, and pretend to be weaker than I
actually am and . . . stop shaking your head at me! It would
work!”

“I can’t let you put yourself in that type of
danger,” Akira said, his eyes icy chips that matched the flint in
his voice. “It goes against the rules of the G.O.O.P.S. to let
humans get involved in an operation involving Paranormals, and like
it or not, Maria is now officially a Paranormal. And, it’s just
stupid! What if something goes wrong and the
Gaki
gets you,
huh? Do you know what that would do to me?”

“No, I don’t,” I argued. “But I do know what
will happen if we don’t stop this thing. I don’t like the idea of
another one of my friends getting munched on, and I really HATE the
thought of that thing taking the rest of Maria’s soul. It can’t
have my best friend, I refuse to let it take her and I will do
everything in my power to see that it’s stopped, even if it means
going out on my own with a T-shirt that reads, ‘Here I am! Come eat
my soul!!’”

Akira pulled his hand from mine and rubbed
his face, then ran his fingers through his hair and dislodged the
loose rubber band he had used to pull it back into a ponytail.

“I don’t like it,” Maria said sharply. “There
are too many things that can go wrong. And while you’re brave,
Jane, this thing is just a whole different level of scary.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that it could
work, though,” Dellar said thoughtfully, and Maria gave him a
disgusted look. “No, it could. She knows you best, she knows the
area, she’s willing, and she’s proven she can hold her own in a
fight.”

I couldn’t help but puff up a little at
Dellar’s words since I hadn’t expected to have his support, then
deflated and glared when he went on with, “She’s also reckless and
enough of an idiot to suggest this course of action.”

“I won’t risk my best friend!” Maria
yelled.

“And I won’t risk mine!” I yelled back.

I had what I wanted after thirty minutes of
arguing and minor name-calling. Akira caved because he knew my idea
was the only one that made any sense and had a chance of actually
succeeding, which left Maria as the minority on the vote regarding
my role in things. She told me that she was going to refuse to
speak to me for at least a year once the whole ordeal was over
with, but I asked her if she wanted to place a bet since she’d
never be able to hold off on giving me a piece of her mind once all
was said and done. She declined my offer.

It was official; I was going to be the bait
alongside Maria. My stomach filled with ice water when I thought
about what we were dealing with and how high the stakes were, but I
did my best to push it away. I had a job to do, and I wasn’t about
to let that thing get away with eating souls anymore. Not only
would it help to heal Maria and make her moods more stable (this
was Akira’s thought process, anyway) but it would bring some peace
to Akira after two and a half long years. And both of those reasons
were well worth the risk I knew I was going to take.

Chapter Fourteen

Ok, I was crazy and I knew it, but Dellar and
Akira both had had a point when they had said it would be highly
difficult to find someone willing to act as live bait. Not only was
there the ‘you might lose your soul’ thing, but there was the whole
‘paranormal creatures exist and no we’re not insane and why are you
pulling out those ‘hug yourself’ jackets’ issue to contend with, as
well. Logic dictated that I was the only other individual who could
pull off the role and most likely come through the other side
relatively unscathed.

That observation had come from Dellar, and I
wasn’t sure if I should have taken it as a compliment for my
ability to stand up for myself and my friends, or an insult
considering my rather violent tendencies whenever I lost my temper.
Whatever the case may be, it was kind of nice knowing that I had
his vote of confidence, even if it was rather tentatively given.
Maria looked like she had sucked on a lemon, but even she had to
bow down to all mighty Logic when it came to the bare bones of the
matter.

It wasn’t long before the guys decided to
leave the house in order to do “Paranormal manly things to get
ready for the ambush”, my words, not theirs, and Maria and I were
left alone for the first time in almost two months.

I tugged at a few hangnails.

“Soooo,” Maria began, and I winced as her
voice broke the silence.

“Soooo, what?” I asked.

“You’re handling all of this fairly well,”
she said and glanced at her hands as she fiddled with her blanket.
“Much better than I did, really. It’s not every day that a person
finds out things like vampires exist.”

“Oh, believe me when I say that inside I’m
still running around and screaming at the top of my lungs,” I
retorted. “I just figure it won’t do our current situation any good
if I actually started doing that for real.”

“No, it wouldn’t help at all,” Maria said
with a slight smirk.

“I thought not,” I replied. “Though this has
also kept me from asking rather embarrassing questions while in
mixed company.”

“You want to know why I’m in love with
Dellar, don’t you?” she asked, though in all fairness it was more
of a statement than a question.

“Yep,” I replied. “He’s interesting. I admit
that I find him entertaining when he doesn’t have a stick up his
ass about the whole human thing, and I imagine he has some amazing
stories to tell about growing up and actually living through
history. But he’s still . . .”

“A vampire who drinks the blood of the dead
and feeds off of me on a regular basis,” Maria finished for me.

“Yeah,” I said. “And he’s down right creepy
sometimes, the way he keeps glaring at me, almost like he’s daring
me to say or do something wrong so that he can make another smart
ass comment about the failings of humanity or something.”

“He’s not that bad,” Maria admonished gently.
“The only reason he’s so cynical about humanity is because he’s
seen it at its worst. He’s right about how humans are downright
monstrous to each other. If you research through history it’s
basically one big story about how humanity is determined to destroy
itself in the most horrible ways possible.”

“Now who’s a cynic?” I asked.

“Yeah, yeah. I know that I’ve been listening
to his stories and such for a while, but that doesn’t change the
fact that history can back up what he’s seen first hand. Anyway, I
honestly think that he’s more surprised and curious about you than
irritated. He keeps glaring at you, as you put it, because you’re
one of the few people who’s ever stared him down and called him out
about being closed minded. I’ve tried to talk to him about it, but
he’s very stubborn. You’re also the second person he’s met that’s
been able to hold his gaze for longer than thirty seconds. He’s not
all that handsome.”

“Ah, no,” I agreed.
That’s putting it
mildly
.

“He’s been nothing but sweet and supportive
to me through all of this. He’s the one who helped me figure out
how to make it seem like my body is still alive. That’s going to
help when I have to do all the standard medical tests before
college. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to pull it off until after I
graduate, and then I’ll be free to stop going to the doctor without
really raising suspicions except when I have no choice in the
matter.”

“You’re still planning on going to college?”
I asked, surprised.

“Of course, why wouldn’t I?” Maria asked, her
eyebrows scrunched over her nose. “I don’t know how long I have. I
don’t think that I’m immortal because while my body is dead, it’s
still running off of energy, and eventually energy does disperse,
even if it is hundreds of years from now. I could be around for a
five years, or five thousand, I just don’t know.”

“Energy is energy,” I said, quoting Akira.
“But, oh man, Maria, have you really thought about that? Living so
long while the rest of your family and friends go before you?”

“I’ve thought about it, but it just seems so
surreal. I know Dellar will be there, which is a great comfort, but
if I try and think of a world without you or the rest of our
friends, I can’t,” tears filled her eyes. “I’m sorry, I just can’t
think or talk about it right now. Can we talk about something
else?”

“Sure. It’s been a while,” I said.

“Why . . .why weren’t you at the meeting
place?”

Oh shit
. The one question I didn’t
want to answer, and the one huge fear that I had refused to face
were both now staring me in the eyes and I had no way of avoiding
it.

“Do you,” I swallowed and ripped more skin
off my cuticles. Blood started to drip down my fingers. “Do you
blame me for what happened?”

Maria frowned. “I wanted to,” she said.
“There’s still a part of me that whispers if you had only been
there that night, then none of this would have happened. But . . .
I never would have met Dellar, and as strange as it may sound, I
can’t be sorry for that. So no, I don’t blame you, Jane, and
knowing you as well as I do, you’re blaming yourself enough for the
both of us.”

I sighed and closed my eyes, only then
realizing that tears had been lurking on the tips of my lashes when
one slid down my cheek. For the first time in a while I could
breath, and though I wasn’t completely absolved, my shoulders
lightened enough that I sat up straight with a sigh and wiped my
cheeks. Maria tossed a Kleenex into my lap with a crooked grin, and
my lips twitched as I used it to remove the tears my fingers had
missed.

“Did you know that the
Oni
was
masquerading as a clerk at a gas station?” I asked once I managed
to wrestle my emotions under control again.

“Sorta,” Maria replied. “I think I saw him
once when I was hanging out with Jeff at the end of summer.”

“Well, Jeff made some kind of sarcastic dare
about how no one would ever have the guts to try and shop lift from
him because he was so big and intimidating.”

“Oh man, and you can almost never turn down a
dare,” Maria groaned.

“Yeah. I really should have, though. I
totally learned my lesson,” I said, and even though I choked on
some of the words, I told her almost everything. The only thing I
held back were the gruesome details that she didn’t need to know,
but I was honest about him catching me, the threat, what I did so
that he wouldn’t call the cops and how Mom found out about the
almost arrest and my subsequent grounding.

“Oh, Jane,” Maria sniffled as she scrambled
out of the bed and staggered over to give me a hug. After a moment
I helped her return to bed, a little alarmed by how much she leaned
on me just to walk a few feet.