Altered Souls (3 page)

Squeezing my eyes closed and quickly releasing my lids back open, I knew the time had come.  Letting out a deep breath, I shook the contents of the jar onto my chest and recited softly,
“Adducam Imagines Velle Captivum Animum
.
”
Then I waited.

Feeling nothing from the spider at first, I fought the need to fidget, and I attempted to maneuver my eyes to see the spider on my chest without moving my body. I hoped I wasn’t too late – that the spider could do what it was cast to do. Just as I thought I couldn’t stand it anymore, I felt the crawling sensation on my neck. With each leg movement, a tickle from the arachnid’s many legs caused a sense of panic. My heart was pounding and the flush of fear started spreading through me. Trying to steady my breathing, I thought about Logan, hoping that that the images of him would distract me. Instead, it made me more anxious worrying about him out there with Trevor, which was completely irrational because Trevor was completely out of it.

The hall light flashed on alerting me to Logan’s presence just as the spider sunk its fangs into my flesh. Rising up from the bed, I released a howl carrying the pain of the poisoned memories that were being transmitted through my system. Logan rushed to my side, but there was nothing he could do. My body fell limp against the mattress, and the room began spinning. The burning was centralized at first, but the sensation quickly changed to a web of pain in every extremity, darting back and forth. I was immediately freezing — shaking uncontrollably. I grabbed for the blue chenille blanket but had to let go as the pain paralyzed my fingers.

Logan grabbed my right hand as scream after scream echoed off the walls in the bedroom. There were no images flooding my mind; no comments from my father to Trevor; no information on why mom left me. Was I going through all of this for nothing?

My body squirmed and contorted into positions I didn’t think possible despite my best efforts at controlling it. Logan’s fingers combed through my hair. I tried keeping my eyes on him as my body writhed in agony. He was my center, but now even he was getting blurry. It was like I was in the state between dreaming and waking up. Nothing was clear, but everything was vivid. The feelings and emotions were all at surface level waiting to escape, but none of them came together to create anything tangible.

The sun had made its complete finale for the day making the light from the hallway hurt my eyes. I wanted to tell Logan, but I was afraid I might need my strength for something else. The temperature in the room turned quickly from ice-cold to overly hot. The already small room was closing in on me from all sides, and my mind was getting too tired to fight the pain much longer.

“You’re gonna be okay, baby,” Logan said, wiping away the sweat that began forming at my hairline.

My entire body was burning up and my mouth was so dry I thought my tongue was twice its normal size.

“Help me,” I whimpered, looking into Logan’s eyes.

“The worst is almost over,” Logan brought his lips down to mine and softly kissed me. “We’ll get through this. I’m not leaving your side.”

One last shot of pain ran down my spine as the world I called my own turned to darkness.

Chapter 3

“There isn’t anything we can do until she wakes up, Trevor. You need to leave her alone,” Logan said.

I’m up! I’m up. I can hear you. I just can’t move, but I’m here.

“I promised her you wouldn’t be here when she woke up, and you managed to make me break that promise,” Logan snarled. “And now I can’t get you out of here because I know she’s about to wake up. You did this on purpose.”

“You wanna blame me for that?” Trevor asked. “Do you think I enjoyed the state I was in?”

“Get out of her room,” Logan said, seething with anger. “I’m warning you.”

Footsteps were coming closer to the bed, but I didn’t know whose they were. Oh no! It’s starting again. I don’t want to sleep again. I’ve got to stay up.

“Or what?” Trevor asked.

A hand landed on my arm. I wanted to pull away, but I couldn’t. It wasn’t Logan. I wanted Logan.

“You know, don’t you?” Logan asked accusingly.

Know what? What was Logan talking about?

“Oh, you mean about that little caveat on the spell you two performed on me? Yeah, I know about it,” Trevor replied coyly. “Doesn’t Triss?”

“Get out of here!” Logan yelled before a tumble of two bodies hit the floor.

Someone slammed against the dresser and fell to the floor. Was it Trevor or Logan? Another crash sounded behind me and then there was silence.

I’ve got to open my eyes. I’ve got to open my eyes
.

I barely
heard the
shoes
struggling
along the floor when I realized someone was being dragged out of my room, and I didn’t know which of the somebodies it was.

My spirit was heavy. It was happening again. Sleep was calling, but I couldn’t afford it. Not now. I had already learned enough. I didn’t want to see any more, but it was too late.

My father was holding my mother in his arms, as she sat so content on his lap. They were all seated around a large dining table that could easily seat twenty. There were strangers in every direction I looked. The cherry wood paneling was covering all four walls from floor to ceiling. The chandelier in this one room wouldn’t fit in the entire first floor of our Seattle home. Everything I saw seemed far too grand compared to what I was used to. It was actually quite ridiculous. Looking out the window behind my father, the surface of the lake glistened with a brilliance that rivaled Puget Sound.

The joyful laughter coming from my mother did nothing but cause me confusion. That wasn’t her…or was it? How could she so easily forget me and so easily fall back in the arms of a betrayer?

“Well, Trevor,” my father’s voice boomed, “you could have this, too, with Triss.”

My father squeezed my mother tighter, and she nestled his neck.

“Yes, sir,” Trevor replied delighted.

“It’s in your blood, isn’t it? The draw you have to my daughter?” my father continued.

“It is, sir. I couldn’t imagine life without her,” Trevor said.

“No need to call me sir any longer.” My father wore a brilliant smile. “
Nicholas
is just fine. You’re almost family now, after all.”

“We’re getting close. I need my family back together and my daughter needs someone to love just as her mother loves me.” My father’s smile was wicked. Trevor didn’t have a chance.

I wanted to escape from this surreal world that I had borrowed from Trevor, but I couldn’t. Not yet anyway.

“My daughter’s got some pretty important talents that need to be developed. As she’s grown older, they’ve become more apparent. I think with the right training, she could help change the face of witchcraft for everyone. Make it more…” he paused, “…acceptable.”

A murmur grew from the crowd of strangers sitting around the table. An excitement filled the air that I couldn’t understand.

“Absolutely, master,” one of the men spoke up. I looked at the male who spoke and saw a vacancy in his spirit. I didn’t know what it was exactly, but as I scanned from one person to the next, they all seemed to carry that same expression.

My eyes darted back to my father. He certainly had a charisma surrounding him, but there was more to it than that. He seemed to be the only one who carried any sort of vitality. It was as if he was feeding off these people.

“Don’t be frightened, Trevor. This isn’t mind control in the normal sense,” my father said, as if he could sniff out Trevor’s possible apprehension. “You have complete control over what you actually do. There’s no such thing as brainwashing. That’s a myth. What I can do for you is give you the tools to tap into my arsenal of experience. The only thing I ask in return is for you to trust me.”

The room was silenced with my father’s statement. They were all waiting for Trevor’s reply.

“I’ll get your daughter for you,
Nicholas
. But I’ve got some terms of my own.”

“You do?” My father seemed pleased at Trevor’s feeble attempt at negotiating. I’m sure my father had no intention of actually granting Trevor anything, but I don’t think Trevor was smart enough to figure that out.

“I want your permission to destroy Logan,” Trevor replied.

My mother bolted upright. She recognized on some level what Trevor’s statement meant,
who
he was referring to — her best friend’s son. But I wasn’t sure she was strong enough to debate it.

“
Nicholas
, I won’t allow it,” my mother found her voice. “There’s no need for that.”

She began removing herself from my father’s lap in protest, but my father was too calculating to allow that to happen.

“Absolutely not, Trevor. Logan’s not to be touched.”

Relief started flooding through me. My father didn’t give a directive on Logan.

“I apologize, but I think that it would make it much easier for your grand scheme if I eliminated him,” Trevor said. I could detect a slight tremble in his voice, but that was only because I knew what he used to sound like in school when he got worked up.

The room filled with whispers and judging by my father’s expression, he wasn’t used to being spoken to in the manner that Trevor was attempting.

“You trained him,
Nicholas
. You know what he’s capable of,” Trevor continued.

My mother craned her neck and glared at Trevor for a few moments before speaking.

“You will not touch him,” my mother’s voice was as cold as ice. “His mother is supposed to come up to our camp at the lake.” She turned back to my father. “You promised. If something happens to her son, she won’t come.”

That’s it? That’s why my mother’s concerned? I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. This was not the woman who raised me. My mother was pouting because her potential playmate might not want to come to the lake retreat if her son was killed. She’s fighting not for Logan’s life, but rather so hers would be more fun.

“You heard my wife, Trevor. I’m sorry,” my father replied, winking at Trevor.

“That I did,” Trevor said nodding.

I wanted to run away, but I’m the one who put myself in this position to see and hear everything.

My head was pounding and my eyes felt bruised, but I had to open them. I had to force them open to begin my real life again. I physically couldn’t stomach any more visions from Trevor. Between what I had learned from earlier and this, I knew enough to know we were all in trouble. I wanted no more. I wanted to escape.

My body was rocking back and forth. It felt like I was on one of the roughest seas imaginable with no land in sight. I wanted out of this spell. I could no longer allow myself to be trapped in Trevor’s mind.

“Hun, you’re okay.”

My eyes flashed open to reveal Trevor staring back at me.

Chapter 4

The room was completely dark except for the light from the hall that trickled in. The covers were mashed at the bottom of the bed, presumably from my nightmares.

“Where’s Logan?” I asked, backing myself away from Trevor. “Where is he?”

“It’s okay, hun.”

“It’s not okay and don’t call me hun,” I snapped. “Where is Logan?”

I wasn’t sure I felt strong enough to get up and stay up, but the fear of being alone with Trevor would surely push me through whatever weakness my body might present.

“He’s a little out of sorts at the moment,” Trevor said sardonically.

“What did you do to him?” I demanded, starting to sit up.

“Nothing. I didn’t do a thing to him. I swear.”

“You’re lying. He’d be here if you hadn’t done something to him.”

Trevor put his hands up and shrugged his shoulders.

“Believe me or not.”

Scooting down to the end of the bed as far from Trevor as I could get, I let my feet fall down the side of the bed. I needed to find Logan. Standing up slowly, it felt as if a tidal wave was attempting to hijack my stability. The room started spinning and Trevor only smiled, knowing full well what I was feeling.

“Stay away from me,” I ordered. I didn’t care if I collapsed on my way to find Logan. I wanted nothing to do with Trevor, especially after seeing what he told my father.

“Not a problem, doll,” he replied. “I’ll give you all the time you need.”

Apparently my father’s tentacles were in far too deep to worry about whether Trevor had any good qualities worth saving, but why would he let us do the spell?

Focusing on the light outside of the bedroom, I lifted one leg and felt its weight plop in front of me as I managed to repeat the steps several times before I had to lean against the wall. I still couldn’t see into the family room, and with the heaviness of my extremities, I knew it would be a challenge to even make it there, but I had to find Logan. I had to press forward.

Looking behind me, light filtered onto Trevor’s features highlighting a swollen lip and red cheek. His smugness shined as he watched me struggle with every step. At least with whatever scuffle I heard earlier he didn’t remain unscathed. I hoped with every ounce of strength that Logan was okay, but if he was all right wouldn’t he be here for me?

“Logan?” I called but only silence was returned.

“I doubt he’ll be able to hear you.”

Turning back toward Trevor, I couldn’t hide my rage.

“Why is that?” My head started spinning as the words tumbled out.

Realizing Trevor had no intention of telling me much of anything, I turned my attention back to the hallway.  Gliding my hand across the wall for support, I scanned the space in front of me — empty.

The two vials that Logan had used on Trevor were still on the coffee table. And to think that I actually tried to make his discomfort go away seemed unbelievable.

Feeling like I had conquered a climb on Mount Kilimanjaro, I rested my body against the couch. There was no sign of Logan anywhere. No sign of a struggle. In fact, the kitchen had a couple of plates with sandwich crumbs. Nothing I awoke to was making sense. The thought of being stuck alone with Trevor at the cottage made the situation feel even more dire. If I could get out the front door and to some fresh air, maybe some of my strength would return and hopefully some of my senses.

Scuffling to the wooden door, I began to hear voices outside and stopped to listen.

“I don’t know what I’ll do if she goes to him,” Logan said. The sadness in every syllable radiated through the thick wooden door.

“Is that why you left her alone in there?” a woman’s voice asked. “To save yourself from your own emotional anguish?”

“I guess,” he paused. “Yeah, I guess it is. I’d rather it just happen right away so I’d know what to expect going forward. The thought of them being together makes me sick.”

What was Logan talking about? Why would I suddenly go to Trevor? And who else was at our cottage? I wished I wasn’t so foggy.

I continued squashing my ear to the wooden door hoping for some clarity and partially using the structure as a support.

“Did she know of the possible side effects?” the woman asked.

It’s Aunt Vieta! What was she doing here?

“No. It was in Latin, and I knew she’d do the spell no matter what. I kinda thought I’d better my chances if she didn’t know of the possibility. I didn’t want to place anything in her mind right before she went under.”

“And you’re worried that at some point she had feelings for Trevor?” Aunt Vieta asked.

My eyes landed on a bouquet of daisies that were by the sink. I wondered if Logan had intended those for me. Why wouldn’t he have brought them to me? Why wasn’t he sitting there with me?

There was silence for what seemed like an eternity before Logan started speaking again.

“If she even had a mild interest in him at some point, after this process, they’d be connected for life, and I don’t know if she ever did. She said she never liked him, but who knows. If it was for a fleeting second even, there’s no turning back. This spell would capture that, and there’s nothing I could do. I’d never be able to have her. I’d never be able to save her from him. You can’t trade memories without consequences it seems.”

My aunt sighed and footsteps came closer to the door, but it didn’t sound like the conversation was ending.

“You can’t leave her hanging in there. Is Trevor still unconscious?” My aunt asked.

“I clocked him pretty hard, so I’d imagine,” Logan murmured.

“Well, I say you get yourself back in there before she wakes up with the bunch of daisies you gathered for her and quit worrying about the spell’s downfalls. We can only face the repercussions once they present themselves. Until then, I’ll get Trevor out of here and drive him to the train. I think if we can get him out of here before she sees him that would be the best.”

“Won’t that only prolong the inevitable? I’d rather just know if they are connected.”

I couldn’t take it any longer. I sprung the door open to see Aunt Vieta and Logan on the porch staring at me in disbelief. The porch light sprayed down on Logan showing no visible marks from the scuffle so maybe he was the one who did the attacking. I hoped so.

“You’re up!” Logan said surprised, as he reached for me while I attempted to steady myself.

“Yeah and so is your buddy,” I said wryly.

Even though my surroundings still spun around me, I was astute enough to see Logan freeze in his tracks as he caught Aunt Vieta’s gaze. Why were things so complicated right now? The pile of velvet-cushioned pillows stacked in the corner in the great room called to me, and I had to fight not to plop myself down and start the night over. Maybe that’s all I needed. Start everything over.

“You saw him?” Logan asked tentatively. His deep blue eyes canvasing me for something I didn’t understand.

“Not much to look at, but I saw him,” I nodded. “You did a number on him.”

I grinned, reaching for Logan’s hand. His lips did a slight curl upward but fell almost immediately.

My aunt came toward me and my body recoiled at the thought of her touch. Too many unknowns were going on right now and apparently my subconscious was on high alert.

“Sweetie, what’s the matter?” my aunt asked, obviously hurt by my reaction.

“I’m sorry. I—” stopping myself, I looked over at Logan.

Why was she here? What had he told her? I thought we were on the same page about her right now.

“Maybe you could go get Trevor out of here like you guys were discussing?” I asked her.

“You heard that?” Logan’s voice was strained.

“Parts,” I nodded.

My aunt scooted by me, and I stiffened as she patted my shoulder, “I’ll let Logan fill you in before I return. I’ll get Trevor out of here. If he’ll go.”

“He’s got no choice,” I replied coldly. “I want nothing to do with him. The images the spider bestowed on me were enough to let me in on Trevor’s true character, regardless of what I was hoping for him as a person. I don’t want him anywhere near me. And
you
—” I said pointing at Logan. “Letting me wake up to see that monster staring back at me first thing? I need an explanation and an apology. Do you know how frightened I was?”

The stress began trickling out of Logan’s eyes the more I ranted.

“I didn’t expect him
to regain consciousness so soon,
” Logan replied grimly.

“He really thinks he’s got me in the bag. Is there a reason he’s so sure of himself?” I questioned Logan. “I heard something about a side effect of the spell?”

Logan shifted uncomfortably and closed the front door behind him. The dizziness began again, and I walked toward the kitchen table with Logan’s help.

“I’ve gotta sit down,” I said, rubbing my forehead. ”This is brutal.”

Logan glided the chair out for me, and I felt the weight of my body slump into the wooden seat. I seemed to be functioning on autopilot at this point. Every part of my body was bent on reminding me of what I just went through.

“I never meant for you to wake up without me there,” Logan apologized, grabbing the daisies from the counter, he placed them on the table in front of me. He pulled a chair out next to me and sat down, propping his elbows on his knees as he ran his fingers through his dark hair. I wasn’t going to let him off the hook. I needed answers because right now everything seemed like a jumbled mess.

“It really sucked. Not to mention I had Trevor too close for comfort when I finally opened my eyes. I don’t understand. You
promised
you wouldn’t leave my side. The daisies were a nice gesture, but —”

My aunt’s voice was getting louder as she unsuccessfully pleaded with Trevor who apparently had no intentions of leaving the cottage. My agitation level was soaring. I had so many things to tell Logan not to mention find out from him, and Trevor was being quite a nuisance.

“Why’s he making things so difficult. He certainly makes it easy to want to perform black magic on him,” I paused, throwing a smile at Logan hoping it would make him relax a little. “Where’s my snake?”

“It’s good to see you’re as spirited as before,” Logan teased.

“I could use some more target practice,” I said only half-joking. “Seriously though. He’s bad news. Whatever grain of goodness we thought we saw in him before the spell was all a mirage. Guaranteed.”

Logan furrowed his brows. “It can’t be that bad.”

“It’s worse. For starters, he wants you dead.” Certain my last point would hit home, I sat back in the chair, crossing my arms in front of me waiting for his reaction.

“That’s nothing new.”

“He asked my father for permission,” I countered.

“First, your father wouldn’t give it to him. Second, if someone has to ask permission to kill someone they don’t really have it in them to do the act.  They wouldn’t ask, they’d just do it. Plus, he’s pretty incapable.”

“Glad you can be so sure of that.”

“We’ve got other things to worry about that are far more important.” Logan rubbed my arms.

“Trevor, she’s not interested in you. She wants you to leave,” Aunt Vieta’s words tumbled down the hallway followed by a couple sets of footsteps.

Oh, no. Why does this have to be so difficult?

“What is going on?” I asked Logan. “Why is he so entitled feeling?”

Logan let out a sigh. “It’s part of the spell. If you ever had feelings for him— even subconsciously— you’ll desire him, be connected to him for life. He’s banking that you have had some sort of thought about that, even if fleeting.”

Horror didn’t even begin to describe the emotion running through my veins. I never thought of Trevor in that way. Not even for a second. Or did I? What about the first time I saw him? No. No way. He was attractive and the girls loved him at school, but I wasn’t one of them.

“You’re worried about it, aren’t you?” Logan searched my eyes for any sort of affirmation.

“She should be,” Trevor’s voice startled me.

My finger traced the wood’s grain in the table over and over again while I tried to contain my anger. I wanted to hurt him so badly. His arrogance was infuriating.

“So you knew the entire time?” My words finally found a voice.

“Why else would I have agreed to go through that spell?” He shrugged his shoulders.

“I don’t know, Trevor. Maybe to be a kind and decent human being, but that seems to be asking too much,” I snarled.

Trevor’s eyes narrowed at Logan. “So what’s the plan?”

“Plan?” I interjected. “The plan is for you to get out of here.”

I stood up quickly, knocking over my chair and feeling extremely woozy at the same time. Logan was immediately by my side, wrapping his arm around me as I tried to ground myself. I needed peace and quiet. Not this.