Shattered Souls (8 page)

Chapter 8

“That whole s
hattering souls thing Maddie spoke about really rubbed me the wrong way,” I said.

“I’d say the whole thing rubbed me the wrong way.” Logan l
aughed, gently touching the wound on his neck.

“Point taken.”

We had walked down to the waterfront to pick up some ingredients at one of the local apothecary shops. The items on Maddie’s list weren’t available at my aunt’s shop, so my aunt called ahead to
Keeping Herbs
where they had all the missing ingredients ready for us.

The wind was
really picking up, and the sky was turning a shade of white that signaled to Seattle that snow was on the way. The holiday season was right around the corner, but I felt anything but festive. Some of the storefronts were beginning to trade out their usual goods for pine arrangements, red velvet bows, and holiday bulbs, but it still didn’t cut it.

The tiny wooden plaque
, scrawled with
Keeping Herbs
, swung from the eaves with each gust of wind that blew off of Puget Sound. Logan opened up the door, and we stepped into the space that smelled strongly of lavender and sage.

“You must be Triss,” a woman said. She stepped out from behind the glass counter where tiny vials and apothecary jars were lined up.
She was a slight woman, with blonde hair that was piled on top of her head in a French twist. She was bundled in an oversized ivory sweater and jeans.

“That’
s me,” I said, smiling. “Thank you so much for helping us out.”

“Anything for Vieta. She’s always so kind and sends
so much business our way. I’m Salinah.” She reached out to shake our hands. “However our little shop can support our community in this troubled time….” She smiled and looked away. “I’m from the Quartz Beach Coven. I’ve been thinking about possibly switching to Witch Avenue, but I’ve heard there’s talk of them combining. So I thought I’d wait and see. Let me grab the stuff for you from the back room, and you can be on your way.”

“Very cool,” I
replied, watching her wander away through the door. There was something she was hiding, something about her demeanor. I glanced at Logan who nodded, noticing the same thing I did. And covens combining? This was the first I’d heard about it.

I walked over to the far wall to look at the many dried herbs and ointments on display
. But it also gave me the perfect opportunity to crane my neck and see into the backroom. If everything was ready, what was taking her so long?

There was a brown sack on the end of a table that she was adding
something into before she picked it up. She turned quickly, our eyes locking, as she came out to deliver the bag.

“Thank you,” I said. Her eyes
didn’t leave mine. “How much do I owe you?”

“Nothing at all. Please. Just make sure everything is in there before you get too far,” she said quietly. Her eyes widened as her gaze went to the bag and back to me.

Logan stiffened as we both picked up on Salinah’s uneasiness, and I grabbed the bag. Smiling at her, Logan and I walked toward the door. Opening and closing it without stepping a foot outside, we let the jangle of the door chime echo through the room. That ought to have signaled our false departure. I reached into the bag and found a note. Reading it quickly, I passed the note to Logan and put the bag on the ground.

“Salinah, my dear. You
did wonderfully,” a man’s voice erupted from the backroom. “I knew I could count on you.”

Logan readied
his stance and pointed to Salinah to hide behind the counter.

“
Salinah, did they mention where they were heading next?” the man questioned as he entered into the storefront. Shock registered on his face, followed by anger.

“Big mistake. No one messes with my payday,
” he roared. His eyes turned crimson red as he lifted his arms, readying for a fight.

“What is it you want?” I
yelled, feeling the anger race through me.

“
There’s quite a bounty on your head,” he said, “and I’m not the only one searching for you. But I’m the only one willing to deliver you alive.”

“What are you talking about?” I
demanded, narrowing my eyes on him.

“I’ve got directives from
two different organizations to bring you in. And that’s what I intend to do,” he said, taking a step toward me.

“Don’t count on it,” Logan shouted.

The sorcerer wore a sardonic smile as Logan shot across the room, barreling toward him. The man threw a cast around his own body, blocking Logan’s efforts before I even had a chance to breathe. Logan slammed to the floor with a thud. He was out cold. All he did was run into the man’s wall of energy. Who was this guy?

Salinah, still
in a crouched position, tossed a sheathed knife to me, which I caught and brought into my side. Sliding the sheath off the blade, I watched the sorcerer’s eyes dart toward Salinah. I cast a protection spell over her, but my efforts were too late. She was frozen. The man had unnatural speed. This man was more than a simple bounty hunter.

I gla
nced at Logan’s crumpled body. His finger twitched slightly. He was only stunned. I brought my eyes back to the man who was determined to capture me.

“Why am I
so wanted?” I asked.

“You probably
know more about that than I do,” he quipped, stepping over Logan’s body.

“Undo the damage here, and I’ll come wi
th you,” I said, taking a step toward the man. “Who’s offering the highest reward? Where will you take me?”

“That depends. Maybe I’ll be lucky enough to have a bidding
war. Now drop the knife.”

Noddi
ng, I tossed the knife down. The clanking aroused Logan. His eyes blinked open, startled, but he didn’t move.

“I’ve got a pretty good idea why,” I s
aid, raising a brow. “It should have you concerned.”

The air in our small space shifted. My senses were all-
consuming as I watched the man move closer. A splash of excitement mixed with the blood pulsing through my veins. A euphoric sense washed through me. He had no idea.

“I’ve seen everything, baby. Nothing can surprise me.” He laughed.

Not everything.

I felt a jolt of electricity sca
tter across the nape of my neck as the sorcerer’s hand reached around my throat. I fell to my knees in agony as the pulsing current ran through my body.

I didn’t want to disarm
him. I wanted to use him. I straightened my back and looked him in the eyes.

Drop your hands.
Back away from me.

The sorcerer’s
hands dropped from my neck, and I stood quickly to greet him. Something had changed between us. He eyed me suspiciously, slowly backing away from me.

“Where are you going?” I asked. “We have business to finish.”

The shop began to fall away as the energy in the air shifted. It was happening again. Darkness replaced the shop. The silhouette of the sorcerer still hovered in front of me, as did Logan and Salinah’s, but their features were vague.

“What
Order are you handing me over to?” I asked.

“It’s not that simple
,” he replied. His voice was flat.

Why wa
s he answering my questions?

“Would you have killed me?” I asked.

“Yes.”

It was silent between us.
Was I really in his mind?

“Do you have
any remorse?” I asked.

“Always,” he whispered.

There was only one way to find out how deep I was inside his world. Was I only manipulating his answers with ones I wanted to hear?

I took a deep breath in and
imagined countless fairies surrounding us. In every direction there were thickets of the tiny, winged creatures. Their sharp fangs exposed, glistening, as their mouths formed into song. The infinite space was filled with the breezes from the wings of the fairies as they flapped to the rhythm of their song. It all felt real, not imagined. The sorcerer began jabbing at the fairies, slapping them away. But my mind filled the space once more with these tiny beings. The sorcerer turned in circles as the power of my imagination dreamed the fate of this man. The fairies returned, this time dipping and swooping around him. Some landed on his shoulders, while others pulled on his hair. He whipped his hands through the air frantically, trying to stop the imagined fairies from taunting him.

“Get these
creatures off me,” he yelled, flinging his arms in all directions.

My mind
moved from the land of fairies surrounding us to Golem. Each step of the giants vibrated the non-existent earth beneath us. The pounding of their footsteps, as the army grew larger, echoed between us. His mind was breaking right in front of me.

“
Let me out of these hallucinations,” the sorcerer yelled, dropping to his knees as the Golem surrounded him.

His world was cracking. His s
oul was shattering. I understood what Maddie meant.

I let my spirit detach from his
, and the herb shop quickly replaced the darkness. I watched the man cower in front of me as I disengaged the images from his psyche.

I stood over him. Sweat was rolling down his face
, and he held his trembling hands near his eyes as if to shield himself from me.

“So let’s try this again,” I said. “Salinah, it’s okay. You can get up. This man won’t hurt you. Will you
?” I arched my brow at the man.

“You were in my mind,” he
whimpered, holding his head.

“I was,” I confirmed. “An
d there’s plenty more where that came from.”

Salinah stood up slowly and took a step
forward. She glanced at Logan and back at me.

“Can you help rouse him?” I asked
, looking at Logan. She nodded and went to his side while I continued to focus my attention on the sorcerer-turned-bounty hunter.

“Now
, when you did get your hands on me, where were you going to take me?” I questioned.

“They gave me an address,” he said, rubbing his temples.

“And?”

“I don’t have it memorized,” he grumbled. He
began to slide his hand into his pocket.

“Nope. Keep your hands where I can see them. We’ll get the information from you in a
sec,” I paused. “Are there others like you out there?”

He nodded. “I would say so.
Not everyone is looking for you. The list is massive.”

“List?” I asked.

Logan started to move. Sitting upright with Salinah’s help, he leaned against the counter watching us.

“
You weren’t the only one on that list.” The sorcerer replied, grimacing as he attempted to get up. “And no, I don’t remember who else was on there. I only focused on you.”

“What was the payout?” I asked.

“Three hundred thousand,” he replied, getting to his feet.

I didn’t know whether to be flattered or insulted.
I thought I would have been worth more.

“And immortality,” he finished.

A shot ran through my system.

“Immo
rtality? Who’s offering that?” I asked.

Salinah whispered something to Logan and he stood up and came to my side.

“They are offering the promise of it. Word on the street is that they’re pretty close to finalizing the formula.”

“Interesting,” I replied. “Now
, I just wonder what we’re gonna do with you.”

“Certainly can’t release him,” Logan agreed. “Maybe he’ll have to go with the collection of others.”

“Others?” the man asked.

I started laughing and shook my head
, catching his glance. “You think you’re the first person we’ve thwarted? We’ve got quite a little colony building. As it keeps growing, I’m not sure what we’re going to do with you all.”

Salinah looked rattled and went to the sid
e counter where an electric teakettle was plugged in. “Sorry,” she mumbled. “I need something to calm my nerves. I’m not used to this type of thing.”

“Completely understand,” I replied. “I’m still trying to wrap my head around these things every day.”

“Just texted Trevor. He’s on his way,” Logan said.

“Thanks. Can
you grab the stuff out of his pockets?” I asked Logan.

Logan quickly grabbed the guy’s wallet and
a small post-it note and handed them to me. I took the pile over to the counter and spread everything out. I grabbed the identification out of his wallet.
Len Blanes
. Lives in Idaho. I glanced at the paper where the address was written.