Soul Thief (11 page)

GRAN'S SHOP WAS BURSTING
with people as usual for this time of the year. It seemed like everyone was afraid to go into an herbs and spell shop unless Halloween was right around the corner, as if that gave them an excuse to dabble in magic. The shop may have all kinds of strange stuff but I doubted you'd find many Halloween decorations there.

Cassie and I had walked to the shop from her school. It was a long walk for her little legs but for me it was a great way to think about something else besides being an Angel of Death and having to lie to my parents, my friends, and possibly even myself.

The good thing about going to Gran's was that she was in the loop. The bad thing was that I was still pissed off at her.

I used one hand to push open the door of the shop, which was followed by a cling-clang sound, and the other hand to usher Cassie inside.

“Gran!” Cassie yelled, rushing up to the counter. Grandma stood behind the counter talking to a customer, but apparently my little sister didn't think it would be rude to interrupt her.

“If it isn't my favorite grandchild,” Gran said. She picked Cassie up and twirled her around. She winked at me as she put Cassie down, but I didn't even flinch. I may have been acting a little bitchy but I wasn't ready to forgive her yet.

“You'll need root of a snake,” Gran said to the customer, who I recognized.

“Hey Mrs. Mayfield,” I said with a nod.

Mrs. Mayfield was a tall, slim woman who equaled my Gran in height but was probably only half her weight. She had long black hair falling around her head like a veil. She was one of the regulars in Gran's shop.

“Hey, Riley,” she said, smiling at me. She blinked a few times and her expression turned darker. “You're positively glowing.”

“Um.” I looked to Gran for support, but Gran was too focused on Mrs. Mayfield to notice my distraught expression.

“She knows,” Gran said.

My mouth dropped to the floor. So this woman, practically a stranger, was in on it as well? Had the entire town known about my heritage except me?

I clenched my teeth and waited until Mrs. Mayfield had left to confront Gran. I sent Cassie on a mission to find a proper place to put the Halloween decorations and waited until Gran returned from letting Mrs. Mayfield out before I ambushed her.

“What the heck, Gran? Did everyone know except me?” I hissed at her.

“Of course not… don't be so dramatic,” Gran snapped. “Clara Mayfield is a very gifted witch. She helped me to bind your powers when you were a baby.”

I frowned. “I thought you were a ‘very gifted witch' as well. At least, that's what you've always said.”

“I am. But to bind powers like that you need more than one witch. My entire coven helped out.”

“Your… you have a coven? Oh great. Exactly how many supernaturals are running around the streets of Fairhaven?”

“Our city was built straight on a crossing of ley lines,” Gran said. “Every supernatural in this state is attracted to it. Not all of them come here, of course, but whenever they need more power than they naturally have, this is their place to go.”

“Great.” I snorted to emphasize my sarcasm. “What else don't I know?”

“Not now,” Gran said. “We'll talk when the shop closes.”

I shrugged. “Fine.” The shop was going to close in ten minutes anyway. I helped Gran with the register and locking up once the last customer, a man looking for a love potion, had stomped out after Gran informed him love potions don't exist. Truth is, they do, but they're way too dangerous and what you end up getting is infatuation, not love. Huge difference.

We went upstairs and I sat down at the kitchen table while Gran got scissors, orange and black construction paper, and even a few pumpkins to carve.

“Awesome!” Cassie yelled at the sight of the scissors. She immediately attacked the paper.

“Now, what else did you want to tell me?” I asked Gran. When Cassie was in the zone she wouldn't pay attention to us anyway.

“I wanted to ask how you're doing. Your aura is all over the place.”

“You can see auras now? Great.” I crossed my arms and leaned back in my seat. “I hate having to lie to everyone. I still haven't gotten over how my Dad isn't… you know.” Even though I was confident Cassie wasn't listening to a word we said, I didn't want to take the risk. “We had gym today and I screwed up. I moved too fast, I hit the ball too hard. When I don't pay attention, I don't know the end of my strength.”

“It's a lot to get used to,” Gran agreed. “Go on.”

“Leander — my Guardian — took me to collect a soul. It was amazing but scary too, because afterward my energy had completely drained away. I slept for hours and no one could wake me up. Leander was scared I wouldn't wake up at all.”

“That's normal,” Gran said. “When I found out I was a witch, my powers drained as quickly as a leaking basin whenever I practiced. It takes time. The more your powers grow the less energy you'll use.”

“That's what Leander said. I hope you two are right.”

“How is he? Your Guardian? Is he very strict, or is he nice?” Gran asked it innocently enough, but she stared intently at my face and I knew her well enough by now to know that she was actually asking an entirely different question.

“Does my aura give that away as well?”

“It calms down when you talk about him. Right now it's a whirlwind, a tornado of emotions and thoughts. But when you mention him there's a slight pause.”

“And that means?”

She shrugged, but a faint smile played on her lips. “You tell me.”

“My parents think I went on a date with him. Long story.”

“And did they approve?” Gran raised an eyebrow. “How old does he look?”

“He looks about twenty.”

“Lucky girl,” Gran joked. I realized she was trying to cheer me up but she wasn't really helping.

“I wanted to kiss him,” I blurted out. I had no idea why I told her, maybe because she was the only person who'd fully understand the depth of what was going on. “Yesterday. We just finished building a mental barrier in my mind, I was dead tired and all I could think about was kissing him.”

“Well, why didn't you?” Gran asked. “This is the first time I've ever heard you talk about wanting to kiss someone. It's always been, ‘Ugh, Gran, boys are yuck.'“

“I didn't say that,” I defended myself. “Did I?”

“Yes… all the time. When was the last time you went on a date, other than the one you had with this guy?”

“Um. It's been a while.”

“Like forever?”

“Well, I did go for ice cream once…” I looked down at my lap. “Fine, I'll admit it, I'm pathetic. Michelle goes on more dates than I do and she's a self-proclaimed hermit.”

“It's not pathetic, Riles,” Gran said. She reached out and wrapped her arm around my shoulder. “You've just never been interested in a guy, and that's okay. You're sixteen. It's about time you were interested, sure, but if you haven't met any guys worth liking yet, that's fine.”

“But he's my Guardian. It would be wrong in about a thousand different ways.”

“You want to kiss him, Riles, not marry him. It's not like Angels are allergic to kisses. What's the worst that could happen?”

“What if he's not interested in me?”

Gran snorted. “Does he have eyes? If he has, then he's interested.”

I rolled my eyes. “Gran, I know you're supposed to think I'm beautiful because I'm your granddaughter, but I guarantee not everyone will think the same way.”

“If he doesn't, then screw him.”

“That would be tough because I'm stuck with him for the rest of my semi-immortal life. It'll make things awkward.”

“How long has he been alive?” Gran asked. “A rough estimate.”

“I don't know. I never asked. Where are you going with this?”

“I take it he's been around at least a few centuries. Do you think it'll be the first time someone hits on him that he isn't interested in? I doubt that. You may still be in high school, sweet Riles, but he isn't.”

I bit my lower lip. “What do I have to offer a guy who's lived in Venice in the 1700s, who's talked to Queen Elizabeth I, who's lived a hundred lives before?”

“That's the wrong question.” Gran shook her head. “You teenagers nowadays make everything over complicated. It's not about what you have to offer. It's about what you want. You want to kiss him? You go ahead and kiss him. Don't think about the consequences, just do it. So he may reject you. Booyah, who cares, you still got that kiss. God knows, he may even kiss you back.”

“And then what?”

“Then nothing. Why insist on making this so complicated?” She shook her head. “In my day, we kissed anyone we liked, when we liked it and how we liked it.”

“You were a new age hippie, Gran, I'm not.”

“But you only live once, Riley, one lifetime to act a little crazy.”

“Apparently my life span has been prolonged by a few centuries at least,” I said. “I'm not sure how to feel about that either.”

“You count your blessings. Most of us only get a century at most. You'll have many more centuries.”

“But Gran… .the afterlife looks amazing. Not that I want to go right now of course, but it seemed like the kind of place I want to end up in within eighty years or so, when I'm old and withered. I want to be there with you, with my parents, with everyone I love, not stuck here on my own.”

“There are ways to kill Angels,” she said to me. Her voice sounded harsher, and the grip on my arm grew tighter. “But it may well be possible that when the time comes you'll have lost your desire to have an afterlife with the rest of us.” She paused and let go of me. “You shouldn't think that far ahead in the future, sweetheart. You're worrying yourself about things decades away.”

“I know. It's just that everything is ambushing me at once. And I'm totally failing school. Now don't give me a speech about how school is important,” I told her.

“I wasn't planning to.”

“Because I know it is, but I just haven't had time for homework or studying.”

“Life will relax again soon.” She patted me on the back.

“Gran?” I asked. “I'm glad we talked.” I took her hand and squeezed it. Neither of us said anything, but it was obvious she knew I'd forgiven her and it was obvious to me that she loved me.

“We should get going now,” I said. “How are your Halloween decorations going, Cassie?”

As I suspected, she didn't even respond. My sister was entirely “in the zone”.

“If you need help with anything, you know where to find me. And when you finally do get around to kissing that boy, I expect a phone call,” Gran said. She pushed her chair back to get up and pulled me into a hug. “Take care,” she said, before kissing me on the cheek.

“I will. See you Sunday at family dinner?”

“Nope. I'm going dancing with this guy I met. His name is Randalph and I'll tell you all about him next week at family dinner.”

“Ugh.” I pulled a disgusted face. “How can you date someone at your age?” I teased her.

Gran's mouth dropped open, and I started laughing. “I got you there, right? Anyway, I'm curious about this Randalph guy. You better make sure you have a decent story to tell.”

“Same goes for you,” she shot back at me.

“Come on, Cassie, we're going,” I said, shaking her shoulders slightly. Cassie looked up at me.

“What do you think of my decorations?” she asked.

“They look amazing. But we have to get home. Mom's making chicken nuggets, remember?”

“Yep. All right,” Cassie said, jumping off the chair. “You'll use them, won't you, Gran?”

“Of course, honey,” Gran said. She lifted up one of the papers which Cassie had cut into the shape of an anorexic zebra. “Very Halloween-y.”

I helped Cassie put her coat on. “You know, Riles,” she said while she pushed her arm through one of the sleeves. “I kissed a boy last week.”

“Did you now?” I asked her. “Why?”

“Why?” Cassie sniffed. “Because I wanted to, that's why.”

“And why are you telling me this?”

“I heard what you said to Gran. If you want to kiss that boy, go kiss him. Don't whine about it.”

“I'm not… great, now I'm getting love advice from my six year old sister and my seventy year old grandma.” I sighed and put my hand on her back while I led her outside. Then I grabbed her hand.

“You're such a scaredy-pants,” Cassie complained.

The worst part was that my kid sister was right.

SATURDAY ROLLED IN
before
I even noticed the week had passed by. The schedule for the day was empty, which was the best thing that happened to me since the accident. I longed to spend a day doing nothing, besides maybe some homework and playing the new video game my Dad had bought halfway through the week, and which he'd kept nagging me to play with him.

Leander was at a Guardian meeting, which sounded very much like an AA meeting or a secret cult meeting. He assured me it only happened once a year so I shouldn't enjoy my new-found freedom too much. After spending several hours a day with him for the past few weeks, I sort of missed having him around.

After breakfast and a long, hot bath, I got a call from Katie. “What's up?” I asked as I picked up.

“Do you want to hang out tonight?” Katie asked. “We'd go to Gravey's place.”

Gravey's place was a fancy, uptown establishment for high schoolers who liked to spend their weekends partying and drinking non-alcoholic cocktails. It was expensive as hell and I'd wasted much of my weekly allowance there in the past.

“I don't know, I was thinking about taking a night off to relax, maybe even watch a movie. I rented the Phantom Menace already.”

“Again with the Star Wars crap? Apparently Michelle isn't my only nerd friend anymore.” Katie sighed loudly through the telephone. “Come on, Riles, it'll be fun. Craig and Mich are coming too. And you know that guy I'm seeing?”

“Yeah. What's his name again?”

“Myron. Jeez, is it too much to remember even for a day? He's coming too, and he's excited to meet all of you.”

I sighed and looked around. I was sprawled on the couch and I'd already made quite the comfortable hole for myself. I had a large bottle of soda on the table and three bags of chips; I didn't need to get up except for bathroom breaks.

But Katie was really into this guy, and if I didn't go she'd think I didn't care, which wasn't true.

“Fine. What time?” I asked, immediately regretting it.

“Awesome! You're the best, Riles. I'll come pick you up at eight. Wear something nice but not too nice. I don't want him to look at any girl but me.”

“How do you want to do that, blind him?” I laughed. “Trust me, Katie, he'll only have eyes for you no matter what I wear.”

“You better hope so,” she said. “I can't wait for you guys to meet him. Should I wear the red dress we bought last month, or the black one I wore to Charlene's party?”

“Go for red,” I suggested. “You always look great in that.”

“Thanks, Riles. See you tonight!”

She hung up and I slumped back down in the couch. I grabbed the remote control and put the TV on.

“Just another minute and then the popcorn will be done,” Dad said from inside the kitchen. He'd practically jumped up and down when I told him I finally had time to play the video game with him and then he'd decided to reward me with popcorn even though it was still Saturday morning. Mom and Cassie had gone out shopping and I didn't miss them for a second.

I glanced at my cell phone. Should I text Leander? I could act cool and tell him that if he was bored tonight he could come join us at Gravey's place. On the other hand, I'd see him on Monday, and if I texted now I might come across as desperate.

Then again, it was just a friendly invitation. I wanted him to be my friend as well as my mentor, and that meant inviting him for stuff like this.

I bit my lower lip.
Go for it, Riley. Don't be a scaredy-pants.

I grabbed my cell phone and typed the first message that came to mind.
Hey! My friends and I are going to this bar tonight, Gravey's Place. If you aren't dead from boredom by then, feel free to join us.

Before I could stop myself, I hit the ‘send' button and immediately wanted to slap my head into a pillow. If that text message didn't have desperation written all over it, I didn't know what had.

Dad appeared in the doorway holding two huge bowls of popcorn. “Are you ready to lose?” he asked. “Because I'm going to kick your ass.”

“We'll see about that.” He gave me one of the popcorn bowls and tossed me the remote. “Game on,” I said.

* * *

At eight o'clock I waited in the living room, completely dressed up but in a sour mood. Leander still hadn't texted back. Maybe I should've sent him a telepathic message instead. Maybe there was no cell phone reception at the Guardian meeting. Or maybe he was in the middle of some wild party with the rest of the Guardians. Either way, I didn't want to send a message telepathically because it would look totally desperate if I sent a text message and then a mental one too.

Regardless, I'd dressed up a little in the faint hope he'd show up to surprise me. I wore a dark blue skirt that came halfway down my thighs and a tank top that emphasized the small amount of cleavage I had. Even though Katie had specifically told me not to get too dressed up, I'd spent more time in the bathroom today than in our previous four trips to Gravey's Place combined.

Katie's car horn blasted from outside. I gave Dad a quick kiss on the cheek, promised Mom I'd be home by one o'clock — the official closing time of the club — and ran outside. My heels, a good few inches taller than I usually wore, clicked on the sidewalk.

Katie's eyes went wide when she saw me. She looked gorgeous as usual, with meticulous make up and a beautiful, tight-fitting dress. I rushed to the passenger seat and got in.

“I thought I told you not to get too dressed up. What's this? I've never… are you wearing make up?”

“I am,” I replied. “And relax, it's not because I want to impress your date.”

“Then why the heck is it? I've told you time and time again to dress up a little when we go out and you've always ignored my advice. Why go for it now?”

“Because Leander might show up. I texted him about it but I'm not sure if he'll come.”

“Oh.” Katie grinned. “You've got it bad too, girl. By the way, did you read the newspaper today?”

“No. Why?”

“There was an article about that Emily Green girl who died last week from a heart attack. Her parents keep insisting she was fine,” Katie said as she started the car. “She had some heart issues, but years ago. She looked fine but she wore a heart monitor and the thing didn't even act up.”

“So what was it then if not a heart attack?”

“Her parents think she was murdered.”

I frowned and checked my make up in the mirror. “How can you murder someone and make it look like a heart attack? Even if so, were there signs of a break in? That theory doesn't make sense at all.”

“You tell me. I guess they feel guilty. Maybe they feel like they should've known something would happen. By blaming a third person they can push the blame away from themselves.”

“Since when did you become so knowledgeable about criminal behavior? Watching too much CSI?”

“Well, I was thinking about studying psychology after high school. The human psyche intrigues me.”

“Good for you.” I was impressed — usually Katie didn't manage to think even one day ahead. “If this is all thanks to that new guy you're dating, then I like him already.”

“Hah,” Katie replied. “You'll like him. He's the nicest guy you'll ever meet.”