My body floated before me in the large container, frozen at seventeen.
“How is this possible? My father killed me,” I said, unable to take my eyes off of her. Me, actually. I’d died over a hundred years ago, yet there I was, preserved in a strange freezer. Since meeting my great granddaughter, Ally, and spending a week in her body, I’d learned nothing was impossible. But this? Tiny wisps of hair floated around her—my—head as if my body was underwater, but I knew it had something to do with the vapor that rose up from the ground in the room. Temperature didn’t affect souls much, but I could feel the chill in the air, it was much cooler in here then it had been in the other room. A tightening in my middle broke my trance. Felix had said that this was the only way to unlock my memories and level the playing field when I was to infiltrate the Shadowed, but could I really do this?
Cooper dipped his head slightly causing his dirty blond hair to sweep across his eyebrows. “He used a special chemical to stop your heart without damaging your body. A Collector removed your soul, bringing it to the After.” He appraised my body in the container, his eyes wide and bright. “The Caeleste have been around for a long time, they are capable of a lot more than we realize.”
I swiped a hand over my face, fully expecting my body to do the same. How could the Caeleste do this? They couldn’t come to this Realm. “But this technology wasn’t available in the Living Realm when I was alive.” I had died in the early 1900s. Even now, humans didn’t have the technology to keep someone’s body that long.
Cooper chuckled softly. “Even when something is staring you in the face you still question it.”
I turned to him. “You can’t tell me that you weren’t a little surprised when Felix told you about this?”
He nodded. “The Caeleste have been able to advance technology for their use on this Realm using the Prognatum.”
I had been a Prognatum. Technically, I still was, minus the whole being dead thing. Prognatum were the generations of half-human half-Caeleste that had started from those who’d escaped the After Realm. I’d ruined my destiny over a century ago after murdering my sister and husband less than a year away from my eighteenth birthday. That birthday would have solidified the rest of my life as Prognatum, instead my father had taken my life, right after I gave birth to my daughter, Leha.
A wave of sadness rolled through my soul. I’d only met Leha a few days ago, but the Shadowed had taken her away from me, hoping that I would unleash the soul-sucking power within me. Felix had informed me that I was a rare breed of Prognatum, a Rodas. The Rodas were a special race of Caeleste able to extract the life force from human souls in an effort to feed themselves. I cringed and thought of Leha. Even though much had happened that day, she was my reason for doing this. I’d experienced my true nature only once before that night after Leha was taken from me. I had “fed” from my grandson, David, unwillingly but whatever I had inside of me had been awakened and I had no idea how to control it. Jackson had been the one to encourage me to learn how to control my nature and now I knew why. He wanted me to join the Shadowed. In a matter of seconds I had lost my daughter and my heart had shattered.
Blinking I broke the vision of Jackson’s beautiful face and dragged my gaze back to my frozen human form. Her face rested peacefully as if she were sleeping. Even though I knew it wouldn’t be possible to reanimate her without a soul, I still expected it to jump out of the container at any moment.
“What purpose would my body have served otherwise?” I asked, my mind reeling.
As far as I knew, my boss, Felix, wasn’t able to see the future. He couldn’t have foreseen this use for my body. He couldn’t have known that someday I’d want to unlock the memories that he’d secreted from me when I arrived at Gate Seven, the bridge between the Living and After Realms. Or could he have seen other uses for it?
“Welcome, Maggie.” A woman’s voice interrupted my thoughts.
I whirled around. One of the Prognatum who’d been guarding the room we occupied stepped through the doorway. Her regulation black uniform fit snugly against the curves of her petite frame. I blinked quickly. She shared similar blue eyes as Leha and I. Her short brown hair was parted severely to one side, making the other appear shaved. The hilt of her broadsword peeked out from behind her shoulder.
“Who are you?” I asked.
The vapor swirled up and around her legs as she neared. Her bright blue eyes glowed in the light from the container behind me.
She nodded her head in greeting. “My name is Sophia.” The five other Prognatum who’d guarded the room with her huddled in the doorway. They were all male and tall. Sophia stuck out like a sore thumb with this group, but I knew if Felix had chosen her for this important assignment then she had to be stronger than she looked.
Sophia continued speaking, recapturing my attention. “We’ve been entrusted by the Caeleste to watch over you.” She waved a hand toward my body.
Since the Prognatum were practically royalty in the After, I knew they were given the most important and top secret assignments, but watching a body for a century?
“Believe it or not,” Sophia started, almost as if reading my thoughts. “There are many who wanted this role, but I suggested keeping it in the family.”
My eyebrows shot up. “Excuse me?”
Sophia smiled, a friendly, warm one. “Myself and Thomas here,” she pointed to one of the Prognatum who smiled broadly and waved, “are from your line.” Thomas’s military-style buzz cut showcased the sharp lines of his face as his turquoise eyes darted between Sophia and me.
Just two months ago I’d been given information about my past. Felix had been less than forthcoming with me about actually meeting my family, more specifically, my father. When I was human, I had been influenced by the Shadowed, souls who followed the banished Caeleste, feeding from the life force of innocent humans for energy to stay alive. Apparently my father wasn’t keen on a reunion with his homicidal daughter, but here I was with two members of my family, who had been waiting for the moment when I would return.
Sophia clasped her hands in front of her. “We will have plenty of time for a reunion later. First, we need to get you into your body.”
I stepped away from the container. “How?” Months ago, Ally’s body had sucked me inside of it when her soul had been stolen by her own father. It hadn’t been a pleasant experience and I really hoped there was a better way.
“Me!” a familiar voice called out enthusiastically.
Moving aside Sophie revealed my last Soul Collecting trainee, Dylan. His wide eyes that had been apprehensive with each soul he procured during training now held a rigid confidence that sparked a swell of pride within me. He stepped forward holding a silky essence and a peaceful warmth raced through my soul.
My True Soul.
My soul leaned toward him. The True Soul called to me just like every other had when I was a Collector, but this one was different. More powerful. The True Soul was an important piece of a soul that aided its return to the After following the human death in the Living Realm. Dylan was able to feel my yearning through his hand and I saw that the True Soul’s light intensified with my presence. I couldn’t take my eyes off of it. All True Souls were captivatingly beautiful but with this connection, I was under its spell as it floated over his tiny hand.
Sophia led me away from Dylan. “All in due time.”
Cooper followed close behind me and I couldn’t help but wonder if it was because of my dangerously uncontrollable impulses. Where were those impulses when Hannah was taking Leha from me? I shrank from the thought and buried the uncomfortable regret flowing through me.
Sophia stopped inches from the container and gestured to my frozen body. “When you return to your body, you will continue to age from the moment you stopped but,” she paused, her nose scrunching