Soul(s) (12 page)

Sariah
, his mind moaned as his hips rocked in and out.

I snapped back abruptly
into my own mind and my eyes shot open. Had he intended for me
to
feel
all that?
Or was he so preoccupied his guard was down? If he had done it on
purpose, why would he do that? Keegan was my venku. That wouldn’t
change and I didn’t want it to change. I felt frustrated. I felt
like Ajani was trying to force me off the path I’d been put on.
Maybe that was why Keegan had stepped back. Did he think I wanted
Ajani? He had said I always had a choice; that I didn’t have to be
with him just because we were venku. Was that why he had been so
withdrawn prior to healing me?

I reddened at the memory.
He had done more than heal me and I’d
wanted it.
I wanted it again and
again and
again,
but I was hesitant in being so brazen. Even though I knew
Keegan wanted me, there was still a lingering dark fear of
rejection. But I saw now that I had to let him know where I stood
with
us
as venku.
If I didn’t initiate it and
take
him,
Keegan would never be sure I really
wanted to be with him and Ajani would always assume he had a
chance.

I stood up and turned towards our tent. I
did want Keegan, I always had. Maybe I wasn’t ready to say it in
words, but I could show him in action. My body prickled to life
with arousal and I moved forward. I tucked down into the tent.

Keegan was sleeping on his back, one arm
tucked behind his head. He hadn’t felt me come in and I carefully
sat down on top of his crotch, straddling him like a horse. At the
pressure of my body on his he jolted up, and I slid back on his
thighs. His arms instantly entrenched my waist holding me to
him.

“
Wats,” he said softly as
he woke up, “is everything alright?”

16: KEEGAN

She answered me by leaning forward. She
shyly kissed me, her lips meeting mine with barely more than a soft
touch

Quicker than I expected, her kiss became
fevered. I felt her hands cup the base of my neck, her breasts
pushing against my chest as she leaned into me. It was hard to keep
from taking over but it was so alluring to see her discovering her
own desire that I held back. Planting my hands on her hips, I let
her explore my body.

I parted my lips, inviting her velvet tongue
in and the sweet taste of her mouth filled mine. I moved my hands
up the curve of her back cupping her shoulder blades, steading her
as we embraced.

My heart was racing; I’d
wanted her to come to me like this for so long. I felt dizzy with
the feel of her, the smell of her, my desire for her.
Finally, finally, finally.
I’d been waiting for her to come to me;
to choose me.
To know my love, our
love, was what she wanted and not Ajani. Now was our
time.

I pulled back and it was the first time I
remember being short of breath. I reached up unclipping the jewelry
hair piece we’d bought on our way to the Abstract that was binding
her hair and her dark long curls tumbled free. I laid back down, my
hands stroking the sides of her thighs; letting her have complete
charge of me as I enjoyed the view of her body top of mine.

She dipped her head forward again and I
caught her lips as they fell. My hands found her bottom and I
griped them pulling her hard against me. She pulled her head to my
cheek moaning in my ear as she felt me beneath her. Her hips moved
across me carnally.

I could have taken her now and it wouldn’t
have been soon enough. Even through the suit, I could feel her
tantalizing heat rubbing over me. I sighed heavily into her hair my
strength waning as my need for her built.

“
Sariah—“I started to say
but her lips were on mine again and my words were lost.

Her fingers were pulling at my suit;
searching for that hidden zipper. I couldn’t remember wishing there
was a fly on these body suits we wore, until now. Sariah was had
just successfully found the zipper when we heard a howl from
outside.

I sat up, knowing immediately what it was
and Sariah turned towards the entrance of our tent, just in time to
see the wall shatter beneath the weight of a claw as big as an
elephant’s foot.

Sariah screamed as debris flew. I flipped
her beneath me in and took the brunt of the rubble from the octave
on my back. I had expected it to hurt but it just crumbled like
black sand when it hit me.

I turned around reaching for the weapon on
my pad that was to the left of where we’d been laying, but I was
too slow. The Banguri was just inches away its jaw flapping wildly
as it snarled, but before it could bite me its body flew back
crashing into the ground.

Sariah got up, pushing me aside.

“
We have to help them!”
she shouted.

Ajani had the beast pinned to the ground
with his powers, but it was too large for him to hold for long, the
beast was too large. I grabbed my deku turning it into a long agile
sword and ran towards him.

I held my deku low, rapidly picking up speed
with each stride. When I got to the beast I slid creating a
trenched trail behind me in the grass. With a boost of energy flew
past the beast, slicing his legs nearest to me from under him. He
toppled over and I turned quickly attacking him again. With a
strong downward sweep of my arm, I ripped my deku threw his scull
decapitating the monster.

But there wasn’t time to stop. There were
two more charging towards me. I let it get close, and then I dodged
it as it roared past me. I threw my deku into the back of its head
and the blade sunk in deep, only the hilt remaining visible. I ran
up to the best quickly slipping my deku back out.

The beast’s comrade hadn’t been so easily
fooled and had turned around once it passed me. Now it was crouched
low link an angry frothing rhino ready to charge me.

AXE.
I thought and the deku morphed into a huge weapon made for
pulverizing. I felt like
Hulk
. I stood ready to smash,
taunting the beast to strike first.

I heard a scream and looked over my shoulder
in time to see Bem be tackled by two more beasts of a similar size
to the one I was facing off with. My distraction didn’t go
unnoticed by the monster. As soon as it realized I wasn’t paying
attention it launched at me.

I’d underestimated it. I hadn’t anticipated
it would be able to cover that much ground with a leap. I’d only
seen it running before and it hadn’t been that fast. The monster
knocked me backwards and I hit the ground, raising dust in my wake
as I racked over the dirt. Jolts of pain shot up my back straight
to my head immobilizing me.

“
KEEGAN!” I heard Sariah
scream, but I knew better than to try and look away from the beast
again. I had to focus.

I took her shout as a warning and swung my
deku upwards to shield my face. The beasts jaws clanged as they
clamped down hard on the metal of my deku. It roared in pain. My
vision cleared and I saw that my axe was wedged deep in its mouth.
There was a fast glint of a deku-sword to my left and then the
monsters head rolled off and across the dirt; taking my lodged
weapon with it.

Ajani ejected his deku from the beast’s
carcass and moved quickly back in the direction of where I’d last
seen Bem.

Sariah came to me, reaching down to help me
up off the ground.

“
I froze—,” she sputtered.
“I could have helped. I should have. I don’t know what’s wrong with
me. Keegan, I could hear its thoughts. I knew when it was going to
strike. I could have countered before it even moved.”

I pulled her quickly to me. “Not now, Wats.
We have to help the others. Come on!” Her eyes were wide with fear,
but she came with me.

We ran in the directions I’d last seen Ajani
heading, but halted abruptly not far off from where we’d started.
We saw them on the ground, spread a few feet apart. Both of them
were unconscious.

17: SARIAH

“What if he’s really hurt?” I asked Keegan.
I was kneeled over Ajani. I’d selfishly gone to him first and
Keegan had gone to Bem. The hue of his skin was becoming paler by
the second, as if his very essence was fading away.

“
Bem’s already gone, I
can’t see her chi.”

“
Why were those Banguri
that attacked us so strong? There were so many. We should have all
been more focused, more prepared.”

“
We should have watched in
pairs, like you suggested.”

I couldn’t look at him as he spoke, but I
could hear the pain in his voice. Bem and Ajani were our first
friends and their deaths would be our first loss and to think, it
could have been prevented if I haven’t just stood there.

I’m sorry,
I thought to Ajani.

You’re not getting rid of me that easy.

Ajani! I could hear him. I was so relieved I
bent down and kissed him on the forehead. His eyes shot open as if
that brief brush of my lips had jolted him back to life. For a
second I wondered if I had some sort of ability to transfer energy,
but before I could think any further about it I felt his hand
beneath my hair caressing the nape of my neck.

“
You’re alright,” Ajani
said. I felt his body relax and his hand trailed from my neck down
my back to the curve of my thigh.

“
I can’t believe you’re
worrying about me,” I muttered in disbelief.

Sariah
I—

Don’t.
I thought to him. I wouldn’t let him say it. He was always
pushing me in directions I didn’t want to go in. Always goading me,
always toying with me, trying to do anything he could to get what
he wanted. I didn’t want him dead but I didn’t want him in my head
either. I didn’t want him evoking in me emotions I shouldn’t feel,
didn’t feel.

I liked it better when you
didn’t let me into your mind.
I’d meant
that as a scold but his lips curled mischievously. Despite myself I
smiled back.

“
Bad news, Ajani.” said
Keegan’s voice. I looked over to him. The sun was rising now behind
him casting a shadow on his face and masking his expression as he
look at us.

Ajani’s hand was still on
my thigh and I pushed myself back away from him.
Had Keegan seen it?

I saw it,
Keegan’s voice said to me. Oh no, I hadn’t meant
to think that to him. I was still getting use to controlling
myself. I wanted to be honest with Keegan always, but honesty had a
way of being a sharp knife.

“
Bem is dead,” Keegan told
Ajani. “We tried to get to you faster, to help you, but we just
couldn’t. I’m sorry.”

Ajani closed his eyes. His jaw line hardened
and his fist clenched against the ground. Other than that, any
emotion he kept hidden. I wondered if he’d mourn Bem as a lover or
a friend. He opened his eyes again and when he spoke, his voice was
even and controlled.

“
They attacked us all
simultaneously. Bem was fine when I left to come help you all, but
more must have attacked her once she was a lone. I tried to get
back to her—but there were so many on me at once. I—it was an
assassination! From now on, we all stay together. We’re too
vulnerable apart.”

“
Sariah wanted to keep
watch, remember? Either you’re too serious or too flippant,” Keegan
criticized.

Keegan,
I thought to him chidingly.
Don’t bring up the past.

There were now only three of us. The Banguri
were trying to pick us off one by one. We had to stick together,
united we had a chance. Divided we were as good as dead--ascending
to wherever it was souls went after this plane. He didn’t think
anything back to me but I felt the anger in his gaze and new he was
heated. He felt like I was siding with Ajani, rather than agreeing
with him.

“
I think they’re after
you,” Ajani said to me.

“
Why?” I asked, surprised
at the thought I was being hunted.

“
Because,” Ajani said as
he sat up, “there’s something different about you. You’re stronger
than any of us. Whatever they’re up to, they know you could stop
them.”

I blushed at his confidence in me and for a
moment my mind flashed back to how I’d swooped in to his head when
he’d been with Bem. I hoped I hadn’t in turn let him in to my mind
during my intimacy with Keegan. I hadn’t thought of him at all once
I’d ducked into that tent. I quickly decided my best move would be
to never mention it, and if he did—well I’d just deal with that
when it happened.

“
What should our next move
be?” Keegan asked.

Ajani stood up. He was limping a little but
he was definitely better than before recovered. I stood up too and
felt a little woozy. I must have teetered because arms encircled my
waist instantly, steading me on my feet.

I think I can heal people
but it takes a bit out of me. I must have gave Keegan some of my
energy when I kissed him on the cheek. Don’t be angry.
I thought timidly.

I’m not as callous at
that.
Keegan pulled me close and I knew
he’d been worried when we’d been attacked.

We’re fine,
I thought to him reassuringly.
As long as we’re together, we’ll always be
fine.