Released Souls (13 page)

“Let’s take a walk outside.” Logan reached around me, placing his arms around my shoulders. I leaned my head against him, feeling the strength that I hoped I’d somehow be able to borrow. My hand slowly traveled up his arm, feeling the softness of his skin. I had planned on feeling this for decades, feeling us for decades. Now my head was in a fog, and I didn’t want to move from his embrace. I didn’t want to lose one moment away from him.

“It’s dark. You think it’s okay?”
I whispered, turning to look at him but not allowing my body to veer from his.

“I think it’s a necessity. This yurt seems to be g
etting smaller by the second, and I don’t think I can handle it any longer. I need to be out in the fresh air, with you.”

I nodded and let him pull me through the door.

The darkness of the night had already covered the mountainside, and the stars were brilliantly shining down on us as we walked quietly through the field.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“Just walking…existing.”

That sounded so simple.

His hand squeezed mine a little tighter as I let my other hand fall along the dried grass, feeling the pricks and slices against my fingertips as we walked through the meadow.

“Do you hear that?” I asked, listening to the cooing
that fell into a gentle rhythm of the night. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

“Mmm,” he murmured, coming to a stop.
“It is.”

“This is what I needed,” I said, looking into his eyes
.

I began kicking the grass down, smashing it any way I could to make a clearing for us to sit.
Logan began helping, which made it a much quicker process. He took off his sweatshirt and laid it on the ground — always the gentleman. I couldn’t help but let the smile come as the tears slowly joined in.

I couldn’t fathom not getting to be here on earth with him. We were supposed to grow old together.

“Vocatio ad Feras Vitam Habeant Gratiam et ob Pennae Juxta me,” I whispered, feeling the chill of the night as I settled in.

“You’ve been practicing Latin, I see.” His smile widened, bringing me close to him.

“It always sounded so lovely rolling off your tongue,” I replied.

“P
lease don’t start saying your goodbyes,” he whispered, softly kissing my forehead.

“I’m not saying my goodbyes. I’m saying my thank you
’s.” I looked up at the night sky, impressed by its beauty. It felt like the first time I saw it, truly saw it. There were no clouds in sight, making a perfect clearing for the glitter in the sky to speak to me. I may have inherited many things from my father, but I certainly wasn’t going to leave everything I’d inherited from my mom behind. The power of nature was stirring in my core, but I knew I was only a fluke of genetics. What I truly cared about was the natural world and coexisting. I had to learn how to control nature instead of letting nature run its course on me.

“
A call to the wild, feathers and furs of life, thank you for being by my side…
sounds like a little of both,” he replied, interrupting my thoughts.

I turned to face him, letting my eyes connect with his.
“I know I’m going to need them in the coming months, and I wanted to send a thank you. Simple as that… I’m not planning on going anywhere, regardless of what kind of witch I am.”

He let out a heavy sigh, and I placed my head on hi
s chest, listening to the soft beating of his heart.

“We can’t let this break us down,” I whispered, feeling his finger tracing my arm steadily.

“It’ll only make us stronger,” he spoke softly.

“
Agreed. I’m not going to be satisfied with only having a solid year or two left of awesomeness. That’s not how this is going to flush out.”

I looked over at Logan, but my joke didn’t really sit well. It was all too fresh.

He hugged me tightly, and I felt his breath catch as I forced back tears. Maybe it was too soon for me to joke as well.

“Do you think anyone knows besides the fairies?” I asked.

“I don’t.”

“So you don’t think Lara or Eben had any idea
?”

“There’s no wa
y they could’ve put it together.”

“
At least that’s in our favor.”

“There are
a lot of things in our favor. We simply have to sort them all out and,” he broke off.

“The stars in the sky are just as
beautiful with tears in my eyes,” I replied softly.

As we stared at the night’s sky in silence I noticed that friends were coming for a visit, and I couldn’t help but giggle as the bats began circling in numbers far too great for most people’s comfort level.
Logan even shifted nervously.

“Guess they heard your thank you,” he laughed.

The tiny shadows swooping and circling, diving and gliding were actually of great comfort, and I enjoyed the show they were putting on for us as my spirit slowly started to lift.

“Do you think the fairies knew even at my father’s compound
about me being a
Divinus
witch?” I asked.

He shook his head, his hand following down my arm. “I don’t know, babe.
Probably.”

“I guess Bakula’s statement about how it won’t go on forever
, one way or the other it will end, certainly makes more sense now. No wonder she didn’t want to answer my question.” I let out a deep sigh. “It seems if the fairies don’t answer a question, we’d better pay attention. So far it hasn’t proven to be a comforting pattern. What do you think, babe?”

It was like
my mind was going a million-miles an hour, and there was no stopping it. It was racing so quickly from one topic to the next I wasn’t sure if it was my nerves or I was on the verge of a breakdown.

“Do yo
u think Lara will ever stop hunting us down?” I asked next, watching the bats still performing their acrobatics.

“You’re full of questions,” he
surmised.

“
A nervous reaction.” I tried to smile. “But do you?”

There was silence for a few moments before he turned to face me. His eyes
held something back.

“I’ve had to fight Lara’s kind before. They aren’t as difficult
to take out as it might seem.”

I sobered immediately with his chilling admission. I was unable to move.

“What do you mean?” This could not be happening.

“When I left the dark arts I had an encounter with the
Venators
. They paid me a visit.” He grabbed my hand, but I looked away.

He had lied to me.
Were there other things he had lied to me about?

“And?” my voice
was hoarse and trembling.

“They wouldn’t leave me alone. They were threatening my mom.” He placed his
other hand on my shoulder, but I continued staring straight ahead.

“I had no choice.”

I felt his eyes searching me for a reaction, but I didn’t think he’d enjoy the one I was experiencing. Betrayal and hurt were running through me at a violent pace.

“So you knew they’d be coming for you sooner or later.” I took a deep breath in. “And you never told me. You lied to me.”

“I never lied to you,” he said concerned. “It didn’t come up.”

“Ever heard of lying by omission?” I challenged, sliding away from him. “There were plenty of times you could have slipped it in; plenty of opportunities to fill me in.”

“I’m sorry, babe. I didn’t do it to hurt you, only to protect you.”

“See
, so you’ve just admitted that you held it back on purpose.”

“
I thought it was taken care of. My life had been in danger, but I thought I sent a strong message. I was worried about my mom’s life too. I honestly believed that my actions stopped them from coming after me though. I thought I had taken care of the problem. I can see now that I was wrong, but it wasn’t intentional.”

Something in his voice told me there was more.

“And?” I finally turned to him and sat up.

“I left that life behind for you.
I will never go back to it.”

“
Logan,” I paused. “You needed to have left that life behind for you.”

He scowled at me and shot up.

“You don’t think I know that? I obviously left it for myself as well because I loved you… because I knew what we could become.”

“And what is that?” I challenged, feeling anger running through me.

“A couple who will stop at nothing to ensure our love will remain above everything. That we will outlast everything and everyone that is thrown at us because we know what’s most important in this life.”

The anger that was tearing at me from every direction had nothing to do with Logan. He didn’t do
anything wrong. He just happened to be the lucky person, in arm and ears reach, when I found out I don’t get to grow old with him — that my life was going to be cut short for a reason and a purpose I don’t even understand.

Seizing the true cause of my anger began to feel liberating. It was okay to be angry at the cards
I was dealt. I didn’t have to act happy about it because I wasn’t. Instead, I needed to channel this anger into something productive, like hunting down Lara. The least I could do was ensure that once I left this world, Logan would be safe and if that meant ending every single one of the
Venators.
So be it.

“My, god. The
nectunt
is on fire. What are you thinking about?” he breathed, holding his side.

“Payback.” I said, staring out at darkened skies that had been vacated by my little mammal friends.

“Don’t forget what you stand for. What we stand for,” he spoke softly.

“And let you do all the dirty work? I don’t think so. I’ll just have to make sure the circumst
ances are always
just
right.” I tossed him an evil grin, and he pulled me down to him.

“I’m never going to let you get too dirty,” his voice was grav
elly, sending chills through me, but I ignored his comment. Things had changed. My amount of time here had changed. Things had to be done the way they had to be done.

We
were now living in a world where people were playing monsters and Gods, and I had to become one to fight one.

“Now tell me how you ended the ones who were sent after you.”
I wasn’t even attempting to resist the surge of adrenaline that was running through me like a drug.

“I set a trap and waited for them to appear. I picked them off
one a time,” he replied coldly. “I used a different method for each one. The first met with a shadow hunter that I conjured. The second met with mercury, and the third met with my fists.”

“Fists, huh?”

“I’m not proud of it, but—”

“It had to be done,” I finished for him. “So we might have a chance of it being less messy with my powers.”

“Triss, I really don’t want you involved in this. I can take care of it.”

“When have I ever sat and watched the fun pass me by?” I countered.

“Point taken.” His lip quirked up slightly. “You know, I’ve been drawn to your stubbornness and strength since we were kids, but somehow it manifested into this complete turn on.”

His eyes were dancing with mischief and I realized that everything from this moment forward would have a
greater significance that was never born between us before. Every breath, every touch, every kiss would be treated as our last, driven by a desire to fight for the next.

“You’re not so bad yourself,” I murmured, t
ouching his chin playfully. “Now I’m not hot on the idea of making the first move. It seems whoever starts the war, isn’t around to finish it. I like your idea of setting the traps. I’m just not sure where or when Lara should fall into our timeline. Should we get her first or should she be our finale?”

“Let’s find out what the movements are doing from Dace and Bakula before we figure out logistics. Something tells me things will fall into place pretty easily soon
enough. Now we’ve just got to get your skills to a point where they’re second nature. You know how you feel with archery and—”

“My pet snake?” I rolled my eyes.

“Yeah. That’s where we need to get you.”

I leaned up against him, smelling the deliciousness I’
d become so accustomed to and let my head rest next to his chest.

“And babe, you have to understand that I will do anything to protect you. You are more important than a
nything this world has to offer me. Your role in this world is bigger than me —or you— for that matter. I will make sure you’re protected until the end. Regardless of…”

“Stop it. Now it sounds like you’re saying your goodbyes.” I placed my finger along his lips to quiet him
.