We stopped at a classroom near the end of the hall and transitioned inside.
A dozen waist-high benches faced a white board at the front of the classroom. An experiment was outlined on the board and the students quietly worked in pairs. The only sounds were the soft hissing of the open flames and the tinkling of glass rods against the beakers as the students swirled the liquid.
A pulsing throughout my body broke my trance. I wandered to the back of the room where Cooper stood next to a female Guard I hadn’t met before; they conversed inaudibly. So I studied her instead. Her short black hair formed around her face like a lion’s mane and she stood at Cooper’s height. I guessed her soul age to be around twenty-five years.
“Thanks Calliope,” he said to her as I neared.
Her eyes flicked to mine. “You’re the Soul Collector?”
“Yeah, I’m Maggie.”
“Cool,” she said. “Nice to meet you.” She turned back to Cooper. “I’ll be by the car until you need me.” She placed her hands on his shoulders, bringing their faces close together, forehead to forehead. “It’s going to be fine.”
I turned away, feeling like I was intruding on a personal moment between them and looked around the room at the students. A persistent pulsing flowed through me as I walked down the aisle growing stronger as I neared the front of the room.
I stopped next to a bench where two girls sat. One of them, a dark-haired girl, played with a phone in her lap. I had Collected a few souls who were playing with those while driving. But it wasn’t her that called to me. The golden-haired girl next to her radiated a glow I’d only seen from a Caeleste. She looked up at the board and I couldn’t hide the gasp whispering across my lips. She even favored the looks of the Caelestium, with smooth, unblemished skin and an unmistakable otherworldliness to her. Her green eyes sparkled with the very essence of life.
“That’s Allegra, but she prefers Ally,” Cooper said, suddenly standing next to me.
“What is she?”
“What do you think?” he answered reverently.
I leaned closer to the girl. “I thought the Caeleste couldn’t cross over?”
“The Prognatum are descended from the few Caeleste who mated with humans centuries ago. This practice has since been forbidden but there are a few genetic lines left. It’s another job that the Guard take very seriously. We are sworn to protect these humans from birth until their transformation at eighteen.”
I tore my gaze away from her as she added more chemicals to her beaker. “Transformation?”
“At eighteen they join the Guard as special operatives for the Caelestium.”
I flinched. “So they are born to be a part of the Guard?”
“Yes.”
Jealousy surged through me. Imbecile Collectors and unsuspecting humans can get the job but I can’t?
“Why do you need me?”
“As a Collector you can sense the True Soul. Even if we were able to find it, we couldn’t touch it. The Caeleste spread the power around so no one soul can have complete control.”
“I know all of that, but apparently someone did,” I pointed out.
A shrill bell rang and none of the teens moved.
“Aren’t they supposed to leave now?” I asked.
Cooper chuckled. “Her chemistry class is two periods long. She’ll be here for another forty-five minutes.”
“Why would someone do this? What do they want her soul for?” I asked, moving away from Ally. I could see why someone would want even a small piece of the girl, but to what end?
He stiffened. “That’s classified information,” he said. “Guards only.”
I frowned.
“Not my rules.” He held up his hands. “But just know that she is extremely important to the Caeleste.”
“How did someone take her True Soul?”
Cooper shook his head slowly, not meeting my gaze. “I have no idea. And the fact that Felix doesn’t either scares me a lot.”
Chapter Four
For the rest of the day Cooper and I followed Ally through her school routine. I attempted to gain more information from him but was denied each time due to “protocol” and “Guard only” excuses. Fed up of butting up against an impenetrable wall, I turned my attention to Ally.
With just the smallest look Ally commanded the respect of her peers. It was as if they sensed she was unlike them. In between classes, the other kids allowed her to pass with a wide berth.
When we arrived at the cafeteria a herd of students burst from a nearby hallway and I moved desperately away, plastering my soul against the window, not daring to touch any of the hungry teens.
Cooper waved to me from across the room. I held up a finger. When there was a break in the mob, I sprinted across the room, pressing my body against the far window, nearest to Cooper.
“Sorry,” he said. “I forgot you can’t transport in this Realm.”
I looked around the room full of students. “I’m safe back here, right?”
He smiled. “Yes, you will be fine.”
The same prickling sensation I’d experienced in the cemetery settled at the base of my spine. I looked outside and saw the same young man standing in the courtyard outside of the cafeteria. He was younger than I’d thought, his dark hair lifting and falling as the breeze swept through it. He wore dark jeans, hugging his long legs, and his long-sleeved black shirt was almost like a second skin. His gaze met mine and he pressed a finger to his lips. Something deep inside pulled me towards him… I shivered.
“Cooper,” I said.
But before Cooper turned around the man had disappeared.
“Do you sense it?” Cooper asked, his eyes darting across the courtyard.
I shook my head at the sense I was missing something important. “No, I just thought I saw something.”
“There are plenty of Guard around,” he said, turning back to Ally. “Just focus on finding the True Soul.”
I took one more look into the courtyard and then turned back too. We watched her pick at the salad bar for a few minutes, separating her food into groups on her plate. The dark-haired girl from Ally’s chemistry class stood next to her, her fingers flying over the screen of her cell phone.
Ally play-slapped at her friend’s phone and nudged the girl to move up in line. The girl giggled and shook her head as if she forgot where she was. They paid for their food and made their way to the empty table in front of us.
A girl at the next table leaned closer to her friend. “God, I wish I had her legs.”
“No,” her friend said. “Definitely her hair.”
Most of the kids looked up from their conversations and lunches to get a peek at Ally. Even though she ignored them, they only had eyes for her.
I moved closer to the table, avoiding the touch of the young humans.
At another table all the kids were dressed in black with numerous piercings; their comments weren’t as complimentary, but I sensed their jealousy and envy more than hatred. One of them supplied a particularly nasty comment and I wished for the ability to become corporeal so I could defend Ally.
Ally