Soul Broker (6 page)

Drew wanted to reach out and pull this sweet little girl into his arms. His heart melted when she gazed at him with those big brown eyes and long lashes.
You have your mother’s eyes.
His arms were empty, with her only a few feet away, but this was the closest he could get to his daughter without risking her future. If he held her in his arms and Olesha felt her presence through him, she could pull them both back to Hell. He’d already decided that these next three days were going to be his last. He knew somebody was going to die, and it wasn’t going to be Mackenzie or Sophie.

Drew reached down and lifted the bear. “Should we put Mrs. Bear to bed until we come back?”

Sophie nodded, approached the bed, and pulled the covers back. Drew placed the bear on the pillow. Sophie covered the bear up and kissed it on the head. “Naw’ yoo’ be a gu’d girl and take a nap.”

“Sophie will be back for you soon,” Drew whispered.

She smiled at him, and pointed to his neck. “Whad’s ‘dat fe’r?”

“You can see this?” Drew grasped the collar.

“Yes.”

“This is a necklace.” Drew dropped his arm.

Sophie ran over to her dresser, and lifted the lid of a small pink box that played music when it opened. She pulled out a string of rainbow beads and placed it over her head, then shut the box.

“Me have a neckw’ace too.”

“It’s very pretty.”

Sophie smiled and her eyes lit up. Drew’s chest tightened at the thought of all the possibilities that would never be.

Mackenzie came back carrying the full bag over one shoulder. “Are you guys ready?”

“Shhh! Mrs. Bear is sw’eeping.”

“Sorry,” Mackenzie whispered. She kept her voice low. “Are you guys ready?”

Sophie giggled.

Mackenzie placed a small backpack on Sophie. She picked up one large bag and Drew grabbed the other.

“Let’s go.”

Drew stopped. If he held onto Mackenzie all three would be trapped there. He searched the room until he found a small scarf. He handed one end to Mackenzie.

“What’s this for?”

“I can’t hold either of you.” He grasped the collar. “Do you see this?”

“What?”

“You can’t see this?”

“See what, your hands on your neck?”

“His pw’etty neckw’ace, mumma.”

“I don’t see anything.” Mackenzie stopped. “Why does Sophie?”

“She’s half me…”

“You have a necklace on?”

Drew glanced down at Sophie and smiled. “Yes, but this necklace has the power to bring me home.” He lifted his head, and Mackenzie nodded.

“So you think by me holding this scarf we can’t be brought back to
He—I mean, your home?”

“I don’t think, the bi-,” he glanced down at Sophie
, who listened to every word he said. “The birds can feel the material.”

Mackenzie nodded and picked up Sophie. She had Sophie on her right hip, holding the scarf under Sophie’s leg, and a bag in her left hand.

“Let’s go before I change my mind.”

“You can open your eyes,” Drew said.

Mackenzie slid her feet back and forth with her eyes shut
. Feels like sand. Surely they don’t have sand in Hell.
Sophie struggled to get down.
I guess it’s now or never.
She cracked her lids, eyes blinded by sunshine. She raised her arm to provide shade, allowing her eyes to adjust.

“Where are we?” She kept a hold on Sophie’s collar, almost able to see, and looked around.

“My home.”

Waves rolled in to touch the sand, then darted back into the ocean. The water was inches from drenching her shoes. She took a few steps backward, pulling Sophie with her. She turned to see the island’s edge was dotted by palm trees
, that appeared to be holding the dense forest at bay from overtaking the sand. A few yards away, a house made of wood sat at the edge of the jungle. The front porch was covered with a thatch roof, windows covered with shutters, a wooden board across each one securing it close. A hammock made from nylon mesh cut into thin pieces of rope was strung across one end of the porch, and the other end had a small round table with two chairs.

“I didn’t picture
Hell like this…”

“What’s
Hell, mu’mma?”

Mackenzie cleared her throat and glanced at Drew. He stood with his arms crossed and brow raised.
If he smiles right now, I’m going to kill him.

“Sorry Sophie, ‘
Hell’ is a bad word. Mommy won’t say it anymore.”

Sophie pulled on Mackenzie’s arm and she squatted down to her level.

Sophie rubbed her head. “It’s okay this time.”

Mackenzie hugged her. “Thanks for letting me off easy, kiddo.”

Drew laughed.

Mackenzie glared at him. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing. Nothing at all.” He covered his face, but she could still see the grin threatening to expose itself.

“Is your Master going to be along soon?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I asked if this was
He-,” Mackenzie glanced down at Sophie, who crossed her arms and gave Mackenzie the same look she was sure she had given to Sophie. “The ‘H’ word.”

“I said it was home, not
He-“ Drew watched Sophie, who was giving him her full attention. “The place where I have a Master.”

“I see.”

“Come and I’ll show you two around.”

Drew pushed the wooden door of the house open. Mackenzie stepped inside, Sophie followed. The first thing she noticed
was the size. It was bigger than it appeared from the outside. The wooden walls, painted white, made the living room—kitchen combination feel bigger. Three large fans decorated the ceilings. On the far wall were two closed doors. Cobwebs trailed along the walls and filled the corners.

Mackenzie swiped at a cobweb and turned to Drew, who stood at the door watching them. “It’s been closed for a
while?”

“About fifty years or so.”

“Fifty years?”

Drew nodded.

“You say that so casually. You do realize, fifty years is a long time for most people?”

“Yeah, but I’m not most people, and I suspect you aren’t either.”

Mackenzie wondered what he suspected. Did Drew know she was a witch? She thought back to everything that happened over the past few hours, and her heart started pounding faster.
Shit!
She wanted to scream for being so stupid. He said his father was a God and she accepted it like he was talking about the weather. She should have had some kind of reaction. And hell, she didn’t even bat an eye when he said he lived there. This was definitely not good. Now she wondered what Drew knew about her.

Mackenzie turned and pointed to the door. “Are those the bedrooms?”

“Bedroom, yes. You and Sophie can take it; I’ll sleep on the couch. The other door is the bathroom.”

“This place needs a good scrub.”

“There’s cleaning supplies under the sink. Some of it may still be good. Write me a list of the things you need and I’ll go and get them.”

Mackenzie bent down, and opened the cabinet under the sink. She screamed and fell to the ground, then scrambled to get away.

Drew rushed to her side. “What’s wrong?”

She pointed to the open cabinets. “Spiders!” she cried out.

“Are you kidding me?” Drew reached into the cabinet and knocked down the web. A large, hairy, brown spider raced across the floor.

“Kill it!” Mackenzie jumped to her feet, grabbed Sophie and ran to the couch.

Drew laughed, shaking his head.

“He bent down and picked up the spider, walked it over to her, and held it up. “This is what you’re afraid of?”

Mackenzie moved as far back to the couch as she could, holding Sophie firmly in front of her. “Get that thing away from me!”

“Alright, alright.” Drew went to the door and set the spider down. It scurried away before Drew turned around.

Mackenzie searched the ceiling and floors. “Are there any more of those man-eating spiders in here?”

“Maybe.” Drew shrugged.

Mackenzie glanced down at the floor before lifting Sophie and heading to the door, looking left then right. When she was sure the monster was nowhere in sight, she ran off the porch. “I’m not coming back inside until they’re gone.”

Drew laughed.

Mackenzie watched from a safe distance as Drew raised his arms, and mumbled a few words

“Come on in, chicken.”

“Not until they’re gone!”

“They’re gone.”

Mackenzie approached the door one step at a time, glancing around. The house could pass any white glove test. “How did you do that? And more importantly, why didn’t you do it before we came in?”

“Demi-god. I’m going to start the generator and then I need to find my father.” He glanced down at his watch. “We’re running out of time.”

“Spiders all gone, momma,” Sophie said.

“It looks that way.” Mackenzie grabbed Sophie’s bag. “Let’s go see your room.”

Mackenzie opened the door. A platform bed, surrounded by netting, took up most of the floor. A dresser filled one wall, and the other had double wooden doors. She opened them and stepped out onto the deck. A large wooden tub took up most of it. She peered into it, but it was empty. She turned and headed back into the room. She opened the bags and pulled out Sophie’s things, placing them in the drawers. She put the toys and books on top of the dresser.

“Can you reach these?”

Sophie walked over and placed her hand on top of each item. “Yup.”

“Good. We’ll keep them here then.” Mackenzie opened the netting on the bed. “Do you want to come up here?”

Sophie ran to her mom and jumped on the bed. She giggled as she fell back, and then yawned.

“Are you sleepy?”

Sophie shook her head.

“Of course you’re not.” Mackenzie pulled the blankets down, removed Sophie’s shoes and covered her. “No matter what you do, don’t go to sleep then.”

Sophie giggled.

“I’m not sw’eepy,” she yawned.

“I know. That’s why I don’t want you to go to sleep.” Mackenzie lay down next to Sophie, brushing her hair with her fingers.

Sophie turned to the side, clutching her bunny. A few minutes later
, Sophie’s arm to fell the side and her lids closed. Mackenzie scooted off the bed, careful not to wake her.

Drew had opened all the windows, and the generator now hummed outside. He stood leaning against the counter. “Where’s Sophie?”

“She’s sleeping.”

“The refrigerator is full and so are the cupboards. You should be all set until I get back.”

“Where are you going?”

“Down the beach, I’m going to look for my father there first.”

“I need to go outside for a minute before you leave. Will you stay in here with Sophie?”

“Sure.”

Mackenzie grabbed her backpack and left the house.

If Drew was leaving and there were demons after them, then she needed to do something too. She would use her powers if need be, but having learned to use them alone, she didn’t always trust that they would work like they were supposed to. She would go with a back-up plan and cast a protection spell that would help keep her and Sophie safe.

She knelt at every corner of the house, placing a pyramid-shaped quartz crystal. With the last crystal placed, she whispered,

“By the Goddesses’ light,

in this plight,

I call to thee to lend me your might.

By the power of three,

I conjure thee,

to protect all that,

surrounds me.

This is my will,

so mote it be.”

Mackenzie went into the house. “I’ll see you when you return.”