Soul(s) (21 page)

“
You did what you had to
and Wats I appreciate it.”

“
I feel them. I can still
feel them,” she said, her voice cracked with emotion.

“
What do you mean?” I
wanted to soothe her but her words were chilling.

“
Whenever I kill someone,
I connect with them. I could hear their thoughts and I killed them
anyway.”

“
If we’d had more time to
train, you’d be able to block them out. I’m so sorry.”

“
I don’t want to block
them out. Should I pretend they’re not real? That their souls don’t
matter?”

“
No. No, they
matter.”

We were still for a while the only movement
being our breathing and my hand repetitiously stroking her back. I
soothed her until I felt her energy still and her body relaxed.

“
Hey,” I said to her.
“Let’s get out of here for a bit. We need normal clothes anyway if
we’re going to be stuck here for seven days. Come on!”

I stood up, bringing her with me.

“
Alright,” she
agreed.

I took her hand in mine and squeezed it
reassuringly. She gave me a half-smile, which I accepted for now. I
had a plan.

27: SARIAH

Keegan led me out of the
studio apartment excitedly. His energy was infatuating and I
couldn’t help but feel better just at the fact that
he felt better.
Now that
things had slowed down—for what I hoped was more than just a
moment—I was processing everything that had happened. What troubled
me the most was how powerful I was. I had been, and still was,
willing to do anything to save Keegan.

I could have just wounded
those Banguri but I hadn’t. Anyone who has posed a threat to me
making it through that portal I demolished, and because of my
powers, I couldn’t even delude myself into thinking that maybe I’d
just hurt them. I
knew
I’d killed them. Was that the cost of love? The cost of
happiness? It seemed like the answer was always death. Maybe it
wouldn’t always be this way. I understood now why Keegan wanted to
take our changes out in Second-Plane, instead of waiting for the
Aura as the audio recording had instructed. I remembered the
drifters Iris has spoken of. Not belonging to any society, able to
just disappear and exists—I envied them.

“
A hundred bucks,” Keegan
said and I jolted out of my thoughts and back to the present. We
were a diner that must have been attached to the complex. Early
bird customers were just starting to come in. An old fashioned
clocked hooked to the all diner right up to the register. There was
a young boy with the same colored eyes and counting the draw,
filling it for the days business. Keegan thrust his open hand the
cashier over the counter.

“
I know I’ve worked here
at least long enough to have earned at least that.”

The young cashier eyes
flashed aggressively as he leaned forward saying in a low voice so
only we could hear, “We usually only pay
our
kind in earth
currency.”

Keegan’s jaw clenched his vein pulsed
angrily in his neck.

Don’t.
I warned.
We need them to get out
here, and we made a promise.

“
It’s alright, Peter,”
said a male voice approaching from behind us. He came around the
counter and the brother shifted letting him have the register.
“Your sister’s vouched for him. That’s good enough for me, so it’s
damn well good enough for you.” Twenties okay?”

“
That’s fine,” Keegan
said.

Who is that?
I thought to Keegan.

Luke and that little shit
is Peter
.
They’re
Eliza’s brothers.

“
Why are we
paying
them?” Peter
asked, insisting for an answer.

“
You work, you get paid.
Ain’t that how it’s always worked? Besides, they need real
clothes
that
fit
,
not just
mismatched second-hand clothes. They can’t walk around in those
get-ups, anyway, we don’t want to draw unnecessary
attention.”

“
I just don’t think we
should—

“
Look, you’re really
starting to irritate me. You want to get demoted back to trash
duty? No? Then, shut-up!”

The younger brother scurried off pissed at
having been checked.

“
Kids,” Luke muttered. “If
he had any sense he’d realize we’re all souls. Anyway, all the
shops around here are run by Banguri. Go to the same one we went to
last week, tell them I sent you and they won’t ask questions. Since
you’re both in those suites make it hasty, and don’t go anywhere
else until you’re both changed. We only got you a couple of plain
shirts before, so get something new if you want. Hundred bucks
should be enough. Also get the lady a purse to hide your suites in
until you get back. Leave your weapons here with me, I’ll get them
back to your room.”

“
We’re not allowed
weapons?”

“
Nope, this isn’t
Second-Plane. Besides, with
her
around,” Luke added looking over me, “you don’t
need a weapon.”

I blushed, embarrassed.

“
Hey,” Luke said
addressing me directly, “I know you haven’t been awakened that long
so I won’t hold it against you. Besides, it’s not like the Aura
really knows what we’re like anyway. That’s the most frustrating
part, if the two sides ever actually talked, they’d see how much in
common we really have.”

He strolled away going back to work, humming
to himself as he picked up stray dishes left on tables, and headed
back to the kitchen.

“
Even with just knowing a
little bit more about the Banguri from Eliza, I can understand why
Peter he doesn’t like us,” I told Keegan.

“
Yeah, things got way more
complicated in just a few hours.”

“
You
do
want to help them don’t
you?”

“
I need to know more
before I make up my mind,” Keegan said. “Let’s get out of
here.”

We slipped through the dinner and the cool
air prickled my face. I inhaled and the crisp air smelled of
autumn. The thought warmed me and I pulled Keegan close linking his
arm with mine.

“
I loved this time of
year,” I said. “I remember the leaves—so many colors.”

“
Do you feel up for a
little adventure then?”

I stopped walking and turned to him. “An
adventure? Haven’t you had enough excitement?”

“
This will be fun, I
promise. Look—this might be the place.”

We followed Luke’s instructions. Keegan led
the way to the shop. The door chimed as it opened and a middle-aged
woman made her way through the racks to where we were.

“
How can I help
you?”

“
Luke sent us…” Keegan
told her.

“
Of course, browse around.
If you need any help, let me know.”

I didn’t know what size I was and it took a
few tries to get it right. I settled on a couple pairs of form
fitting jeans, and some loose basic cotton shirts that hit me right
at the hips. I had a cropped classic leather jacket, a scarf, and a
pair of aviators. He’d wanted me to model for him, which I found
odd and shyly denied his request. I was slipping on a pair of pants
and had just zipped them up when Keegan sneaked in to the dressing
room closing the curtain quickly behind him. The shirt I was about
to put on dropped out of my hands in surprise baring me in all my
frontal chest glory to him.

He grinned as he came towards, his hands on
my waist and curving up the slope of my back in seconds.

“
Why didn’t you invite me
in to help you try on clothes?” he purred against my neck before
nipping at my ear.

“
Privacy?” I asked as my
answer back to him.

“
No such thing,” he said
before dipping me into a romantic kiss. He had one arm cradling my
head and the other supported my back. I tangled my hand in his
hair—a habit I was quickly growing found of—egging him to deepen
our kiss. He leaned more into me and then suddenly lost his grip.
His foot slipped on some of the clothes I’d tried on in an attempt
to find my right size and I shrieked, afraid that we were going to
crash down on to the floor but his reflexes were perfect. His hand
supporting my head switched down to catch us both in a sort of odd
pushup position. He lowered me to the ground softly before pressing
me down into my dropped clothes.

“
This works too,” he said
huskily.

“
You’re so daring,” I
teased as he trailed his lips vertically across my body.

“
You inspire me to be
bold,” Keegan said. I could feel his face turn into a smile as he
spoke and trailed kisses down my skin.

“
Ma’am? Everything alright
in there?”

I gasped. It was the shop owner.

“
Yes, I just fell. I’m
very clumsy.”

“
Alright, I was just
checking. I’ve brought some bras I think will fit. I’ll hang them
on the hook just outside the curtain.”

“
Thank you that’ll be
fine.”

Keegan stood up quietly and when we heard
her footsteps drifting away he cracked the curtain and brought the
bras in.

“
Allow me,” he said with a
richly seductive look.

I blushed from head to toe. I’d never get
used to how attractive he was.

“
Still blushing for me I
see,” Keegan said.

“
It’s
involuntary.”

Keegan scoffed. He turned me towards the
mirror and handed me the bra. I fit myself in it quickly. His
fingers trailed across my lower neck sweeping my hair along to the
opposite shoulder. I watched him through the mirrored glass hooking
me up.

“
I like the clothes you
picked out,” I told him.

His eyes flittered to mine in the mirror he
smiled but said nothing.

When he was done he motioned towards the
clothes I had clustered together.

“
Are those what you want
to buy?”

I nodded.

“
I’ll go take care of this
then. Don’t forget to snag a bag.”

I dressed quickly and refolded all of the
clothes I didn’t want. It seemed rude to leave them on the ground,
but I couldn’t remember if re-folding them was a real custom I’d
done before or not. But it felt right, so I went with it.

When I excited the dressing room there was a
cute black bag that matched my leather jacket right by the door. I
nabbed it without a second thought and headed to the front of the
store.

“
Put your money away, it’s
just a few items. I’m head to the diner for dinner anyway. I’ll
take it all with me and drop it off with Luke.”

“
Are you sure?” Keegan was
asking the owner.

“
Yes, the clothes are on
the house. I won’t be taking your money today.”

“
You realize,” I said
stepping forward, “that we’re not High-Banguri.”

“
Yes,” she replied back
with an even tone, “no Banguri has suites like what you too walked
in with. But, I firmly believe that if change is ever going to
happen someone has to start it, it might as well be me.”

We thanked him and left. Outside the air was
fresh and I sucked it in. The city had woken up and was bustling
with life. I heard music and saw a flea market set up at the end of
the block. People were busily riffling through the items strewn out
on rugs and tables on the side walk.

“
I know Eliza isn’t an
evil soul, but we’re not Banguri, we’re Aura and when we go back
we’ll have to answer to our own kind. I have to protect
us.”

“
I know, but we can’t just
abandon them either. What if the Aura want to wipe them out? They
might not even want peace anymore.”

“
I hope helping them just
doesn’t cost
us
too much. I’m not sacrificing my happiness for anyone else’s!
We deserve to be together without all this constant
craziness.”

His tone had softened by the end of his
final sentences and I knew he was worried. We started walking again
and both fell into thoughtful silence. Keegan falling into the
portal had changed everything. It’d let to me coming here, and now
us being intertwined in a conflict in a way we’d never expected. To
know was to love, and neither Keegan nor I could turn our backs on
the Banguri and just let them annihilated.

“
We’re here.”

I looked up. We were at a movie theatre.

28: KEEGAN

“We’re going to see a movie?”

“
Why not?” I asked. “It’s
a proper first date.”

“
I don’t remember the last
movie I saw,” Sariah said wistfully. “But I do
remember—popcorn?”

“
Why doesn’t that surprise
me?” I said with a laugh.

It was one of those old timey movie theatres
with the ticket box boot outside. There was an old pimply greasy
kid playing with his cellphone.

“
Hi, how can I help you?”
he asked without looking up from his phone as we
approached.

“
Two tickets for—Wait,
it’s early. Are there any matinées?”