Altered Souls (2 page)

“Just because,” I whispered, quickly releasing my finger from his pocket.

Standing up next to him, I quickly pecked him on the cheek before I headed to the kitchen, hoping I had left him wanting so much more.

I needed to get out of the cottage.

Opening up the oven, I peeked under the tinfoil at the rubbery mess, which seemed all too fitting considering my life at the moment. I took the foil off so the cheese would brown and shut the oven door with a thud. Here I was, once more, trying to internally debate the rights and wrongs of our actions and the consequences that they held.

“Hmm. Not quite there yet. Probably another fifteen minutes or so,” I sighed, looking out the kitchen window.

“It’ll have to be quick with what the weather seems to have in store for us.” Logan said, placing the jar on the end table.

“How’d you know what I was thinking?” I asked.

“I can just tell,” Logan said, letting his fingers glide into his front pocket. “Seriously though, it looks like it will be pretty nasty soon, but we can go outside for a few minutes. At least until the lasagna is done.”

Stepping outside onto our stone porch, I took a deep breath in and felt the freshness of the mountain air run through my system. Rain was definitely on the way, but I didn’t mind. There was nothing better than being in the cottage during a rainstorm. Well, that wasn’t quite true. Having Trevor tied up in the attic kind of complicated things, which was why I just wanted to get answers from him and get rid of him. Grabbing a basket and flower clippers, I looked back at Logan as he secured the door.

“Ready?” I asked.

“I’ll follow your lead,” he said grinning coyly. “Looks like you’ve got some collecting you’d like to do… And here I thought this might lead to something else.”

He shoved his hand deeper into his pocket and wore an absolutely adorable smile that stole my heart.

“Maybe I’ll follow
your
plan,” I said, shrugging and tossing my basket back down on the porch.

“Works for me.” He grinned, quickly moving toward me.

I backed my legs up against the porch banister to brace myself, the cold of the stone alerting my senses even more. My heart screamed with delight as he reached around me and wrapped his arms around my waist, creating a perfect circle. His stare was intense with the same feelings of desire I felt.

“I think I like your plan better,” I whispered.

He reached up and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear sending such a shudder through my body that I was certain he felt it.

I gripped his arm as he lowered it back to my waist.  Closing the gap between us, I craved his touch.

“You are so beautiful,” he murmured, as he gently cupped my face, allowing his finger to trace its way back down my neck to my collarbone. “Do you have any idea how hard it is to be so close to you every night?”

“I think I can imagine.” I tried to stifle a nervous giggle.

Leaning down, his lips met mine as all of my muscles tingled from head to heel. I could feel the softness of his lips mold to mine as I slid my arm around his waist.  Feeling the firmness of his entire body pressed against mine created an unstoppable force between us. Wrapping his shirt around my knuckles I brought him closer to me, but I felt him pull away slightly. Opening my eyes, I saw where I had pulled on his shirt. My tug of his clothing had revealed something dark on his skin that caught my eye, but he pulled his shirt collar back up quickly.

“You have a tattoo?” I asked, not wanting our session to be over.

“Kind of. Listen we should get back inside,” Logan’s words hit me like the thunder out in the distance. I wasn’t sure what I had done or why a tattoo would be a big deal, but it seemed to be.

“I didn’t think we were done?” I smiled, hopeful that whatever might have made him back away would quickly be forgotten, but it wasn’t.

“To your point earlier, let’s get this over with and boot him out,” Logan said, trying to change the subject. “So we can start where we left off.”

“I don’t understand what just happened, but you can bet I’m going to figure it out and who’s to say I don’t think a little ink is sexy?” I joked, only to have Logan looking a little more horrified than before.

Chapter 2

“It’s more than just brainwashing,” Trevor said, looking uncomfortable. He had barely picked at the lasagna.

“How so?” I asked, thinking that brainwashing was bad enough.

“Your father is fond of altering souls. It goes beyond the basic spells. He tweaks memories and all sorts of things. He calls it his little army of Altered Souls,” Trevor replied flatly. “He’s very proud of his accomplishments. Your father can even tweak someone’s desires, hopes, and dreams. It’s very dangerous.”

Looking over at Logan, I saw his eyes carrying a burden as he listened to Trevor intently. He didn’t touch his dinner either. Instead, he stood the entire time watching Trevor’s every move. I wanted to know what Logan was thinking, but I couldn’t find out right now. We couldn’t afford to discuss anything that Trevor might be able to relay to my father.

“So he’s used that on my mom?” I asked Trevor. A lump formed in the back of my throat. I wanted to find out as much as I could, but I wasn’t sure I really wanted to know the answers.

Trevor nodded. “And on me.”

Logan’s eyes locked on mine. Now was the time to ask Trevor.

“I’m so sorry, Triss,” Trevor continued. The pain in his voice was evident, but I couldn’t let myself fall for it. I wasn’t sure how much of what Trevor was saying or feeling was authentic. We had to do this spell to get the real answers. I only hoped Trevor would agree.

“Trev, would you be willing to do something for us?” I asked, touching his hand, while Logan stepped forward making Trevor recoil. “It involves telling us everything you know, of sorts.”

“Of course. I’d do anything to make it up to you. What do you want to know?” he asked.

“Well, unfortunately it sounds like there might be some problems with differentiating between what memories are real or tampered with. There’s a spell that can cut through all of that. I’ve already prepared it, if you’re willing,” I said.

Trevor’s eyes were full of worry as Logan’s presence continually towered over him.

“What needs to be done?” he asked, his voice beginning to tremble. I vowed I would not let myself feel sorry for him. This could still all be a ploy.

“This spider would need to bite you, and then we’d be able to find out everything that has really gone on between you and my father,” I said, pointing at the jar. “We would be able to witness what you saw, heard, experienced. It’s the only way, considering everything you’ve been through.” I paused, waiting for a response.

Logan stood behind me, placing his hand on my shoulder. I had a feeling he was just glaring at Trevor.

“I think it’s the best thing to do for all involved, Trevor.” Logan’s words seemed to have quite an effect on Trevor since he began nodding quickly.

“Whatever I can do, I’ll do it. I want to make things up to you. I’m just so sorry.”

“Well, I’d like to get things started right away and if everything goes as planned, Logan can give you a ride into town, and you can hop a bus back to Seattle tonight.”

“You’re going to let me go?” Trevor asked puzzled.

“This time,” Logan replied flatly. “You won’t be so lucky if there’s a next time.”

I nodded in agreement catching Logan’s glance.

“I was hoping I could help you guys,” Trevor replied. “Try to repay you in some way.”

“Not a chance,” I scoffed.

“Not happening, man.” The anger in Logan’s voice started to rise.

“If you don’t want any more dinner, I think we should get started before the spell wears off,” I said, looking at Trevor.

“Will you not tell Jenny or Angela about any of this?” Trevor asked.

“I can’t promise anything, Trevor,” I said, shaking my head. “You really took away your right to ask for much of anything after you tried to attack us. You should’ve thought about these things before you so eagerly joined the ranks of my father.”

“I thought it would bring me closer to you,” Trevor said, glancing sideways at Logan as if he was worried he’d get decked again

“Let’s just get this over with,” I mumbled, glaring at Trevor.

Logan grabbed the jar with the spider, and a shiver ran through my spine. It wasn’t going to hurt Trevor at all, except for the bite. I was the one who was going to feel all of the pain. According to the explanation in the spell book, the one experiencing the implant of the memories would feel the majority of the discomfort.

“Things happen for a reason, Trev. I’d like to think that your weakness can be used to our benefit. If you hadn’t attempted what you did, we wouldn’t be getting handed such amazing information so easily,” I said, pointing at the chair by the fire. “How about you just sit over there?”

Trevor nodded and Logan followed behind him with the jar. As Trevor sat down, the fear in his eyes probably would have made most people try to save him from this situation. Instead, I wanted to be the one who initiated the process and quite possibly scare him a little myself.

Taking the jar from Logan, I unscrewed the lid and began tapping the spider out of the jar onto Trevor’s shoulder. This one small act started to give me a little satisfaction.

“Thanks for allowing us to do this, Trevor,” I said curtly, feeling the anger beginning to surface again at the thought of
me
thanking
him
.

“Alienam Imagines ex Anima,”
I recited, as I stepped back careful not to run into the table behind me.

Trevor only nodded as the spider began crawling along his shoulder up his neck. Little beads of sweat began forming on Trevor’s forehead. He wasn’t as calm as he’d like us to believe. I reached for Logan’s hand as we both watched the process unfold in front of us.

The spider was moving slowly as if it was looking for the perfect place to bite into flesh, Trevor’s flesh. Imagining the spider’s fangs pierce Trevor’s skin pumped a sense of euphoria through me. I knew I shouldn’t be feeling this delighted over Trevor’s pain, but I was. Promising myself that the emotions were only because of the information this process was going to provide, I squeezed Logan’s hand for support.

Quickly glancing at me, Logan’s expression changed to alarm as he recognized what I was feeling inside. He saw the look in my eyes. I couldn’t hide it from him.

Shaking my head, I let go of Logan’s hand, feeling ashamed and confused. If I couldn’t fool myself over what I was feeling how could I expect to fool Logan? He’s been through this.

The spider slowed its journey, and I watched as it began to feed on Trevor, right behind his ear just like the diagram showed.

As every second ticked by, I felt more consumed by the power that this experience was bringing me. This was exactly what I needed to avoid, this feeling right here. Slowly letting the breath escape from the deepest pockets in my lungs, Logan wrapped his arms around me.

“It’s okay. I know what you’re going through,” Logan whispered in my ear. “We’ll get through this. I won’t let you fall.”

Trevor continued staring at the floor, refusing to look at either of us as we watched the spider finish what it was handpicked to do. Trevor’s hands were squeezing the chair, the skin on his knuckles stretching white. His part of the process wasn’t supposed to cause pain, so I was perplexed at what was going on.

I squeezed Logan and pointed to Trevor’s hands that were now shaking. Something was wrong. The spider wasn’t stopping.

“Triss, grab the spell book. Trevor, look at me,” Logan was trying to get Trevor’s attention by smacking his leg, but Trevor wasn’t moving. He was like a statue – completely catatonic.

Logan grabbed the spell book from me and flipped to where I bookmarked it. I darted to Trevor unsure of what to do next.  Kneeling in front of him, I wiped away the liquid that was beginning to dribble from his mouth. This was getting worse by the second. I tried to get his attention, but he wouldn’t budge. His stare was cold and unresponsive. My heart was pounding with the fear that he was on the way out of this world. I didn’t know what went wrong, but something did. What could I have done incorrectly? I had followed the steps perfectly.

“Logan, what does it say?” I screamed. “Is he dying? What’s wrong with him? What did I do to him?”

I glanced at the wall of herbs, wondering if something could help him — if anything could help him. No matter how much hatred I had built up for him, I didn’t actually want him to die.

“A catatonic state occurs when the participant isn’t pure of heart or is cursed,” Logan said coming over to us. “There’s nothing we can do until it wears off. This isn’t your fault. You wouldn’t have known. Plus, it was in Latin.”

The spider slowly began to crawl away from the insertion point. Maybe things were looking up.

“So it will wear off? Do you think he was cursed by my father?” I asked, looking at Logan for reassurance. I didn’t want to believe that Trevor might just be this way
– this evil
.

“Probably.” Logan’s eyes dropped to the floor. He was hiding something.

“The spider still holds the answers you’re hoping for. The process sounds like it completed. I think we need to proceed before the spell wears off, and you
can’t
get the answers, Triss.” Logan’s words were somber, as he watched me walk to the kitchen. “What are you doing?”

I was searching the cupboards for some of the vials that my aunt had given me before we had left for the cottage. I thought her selection was odd until now. My hands were shaking as I moved the tiny brown bottles out of the way, knocking a few over as I tried to get to the blue bottles in the back. Uneasiness began spreading through me, and it wasn’t only about Trevor.

“What’s going on? We’ve got to get the process started on you or everything will be in vain,” Logan tried again, his voice pleading with me.

“Don’t you find it odd that everything my aunt managed to pick up at the apothecary store for us is coming in handy?” I turned to face Logan, trying to hold in my anger.

Having found the vial I was looking for, I tossed it to Logan. He read the label and looked up at me. His eyes flashed with the same realization that I had.

“You don’t think —” Logan stopped.

“I don’t even know, but figure out how to get Trevor to ingest two drops of that solution. It will calm the tremors and give him some peace while he’s out of it,” I said, walking over to Trevor to grab the spider.

“I hope I’m wrong about my aunt,” I sighed.

“Me too.”

I plunked the spider back into the jar and watched it crawl much slower along the base of the glass. Logan was right. Time was running out.

“Off I go,” I said, walking toward the bedroom.

I looked at Logan one last time and his eyes were filled with the same sense of dread that I was feeling. Glancing at Trevor I reminded myself how quickly a spell can go wrong.

“Triss, wait.”

Logan placed the vial meant to help Trevor on the coffee table and glided over to me. His eyes said it all as he picked me up. I wrapped my arms around his neck, while still holding onto the jar. The strength from his embrace gave me the last amount of courage I needed to get this process over with. I needed this support. I wasn’t used to it completely, but I did enjoy it.

“I love you, Triss,” he whispered, nuzzling my neck.

“I love you too,” I said, as he released me back to the floor.

“You’re not going to turn out like what’s-his-face over there,” Logan’s lip curled slightly. “You have a pure heart.”

“I don’t know about that, but thanks,” I said.

Shoving him playfully, I tried to distract myself from the fear that was beginning to take over.

I reached up to the dried flowers I had hung on the wall and traced the crispness of the leaves feeling how fragile they had become. Lifting a tied bunch of lavender off the wall, I crushed it in my hand as I started back down the hall. I would take any sort of calming attributes that I could get.

“I’ll be in as soon as I take care of our patient.”

“Thanks,” I replied, hoping the smile I plastered on my lips would make me feel less nervous, but it didn’t. 

I walked into the bedroom. The sun was setting and only a few rays of daylight were making their way into the room, but I didn’t want the light on. I wasn’t sure I wanted Logan to see the process unfold that clearly because I certainly didn’t. The idea of a spider crawling on me in this set of circumstances was really creepy. It’s one thing if a spider lands on me. It’s quite another to think that I’ve stirred up a recipe to have this spider sink its teeth into me.

Besides, I wanted to think that the process would finish before the evening made its full appearance. Shaking the jar lightly to ensure that the spider was still with me, I took a deep breath and spread myself out on the bed. My hand landed on the pillow with a gentle thud as I stared at the ceiling. I began letting my eyes trace the tiny cracks in the exposed cedar. Unfortunately the ceiling wasn’t that riveting, and I switched my focus to the task at hand.  The images of Trevor drooling in temporary paralysis made their way into my mind, attempting to hijack any calmness I’d started to experience.