And like every other time, I fell into the vision not remembering how I got there. The sharp rock walls closed in around me as the insatiable need to feed awoke, twisting its silky fingers around every fiber of my soul.
Then, I saw the man that brought me there.
David.
His name brought forth a barrage of images and new memories, ones I’d experienced through his daughter after he trapped me in her body. He had taken Ally’s soul knowing that because of our familial link her body would accept mine in her absence. He wanted my power to be awakened on her eighteenth birthday through her transformation, and as much as I had tried to stop it, my power had been awoken after he insisted on hurting the only friends I had.
I looked down at my hand. The orange essence rolled off my fingers in waves, reaching toward him. His soul touched the essence and his body stiffened. His terror surged through me, his grin unmoving as if he wanted me to take him. And it didn’t argue. I didn’t argue. The essence lurched forward, finding the connection to his soul. The insurmountable power within him tasted divine as if my very existence was for this purpose.
I leaned forward, closing my hands, pulling more of his soul into me. His bright green eyes dimmed and his ashen face went slack as I withdrew the last of his soul from his body. Even when there was nothing left to take, I kept my hands close to his body. David’s form fell limp across the cave floor and didn’t stir. My essence burned bright, breaking the bond between his body and mine. Heat flowed through me, and with it more strength than I had ever felt in a hundred years. Even though I couldn’t imagine feeling stronger, the essence sought out its next meal.
Something moved behind me. I sensed the soul and, with the promise of more, the essence pulsed with excitement.
The soul neared, its hand dropping on my shoulder. Its life force called to me. I leaned in to the touch. That was the more I’d been looking for. Suddenly, an unexpected weight in my hand grabbed my attention. My hands tightened around the hilt of a broadsword. I lifted it slightly; the lightness of the weapon surprised me. That could be useful in subduing my new target. Something tugged at my memory but the essence was overwhelming, begging my soul to turn around and feed. I whirled around, brandishing the sword between us.
My assailant held a similar weapon, but he kept it pointed at the ground. The essence hesitated and so did I. Why wasn’t he fighting back? I raised my sword. He may have been significantly taller, but I had the advantage of David’s strength inside of me.
“Mags.” His gravely voice struck me as a hint of a memory bubbled to the surface at the nickname.
I narrowed my eyes, trying to place him. My essence didn’t budge but it waited there on the surface, hesitating. I lifted my gaze to his light blue eyes, almost hidden behind the dark tresses unevenly masking his eyebrows and the tips of his ears.
He moved his arms to the side. “Put down the sword.”
The rock face shimmered around us, but I blinked until it stopped moving. I lifted my sword to him and my essence surged forward, weaving around my sword toward the dark-haired boy. His eyes widened, but he didn’t fight back. I tested him by flicking my hand to the side, almost nicking his black shirt with the blade.
He jumped back, “Snap out of it.”
David’s soul-strength rolled around inside me, urging me forward. I brought down my sword, but he blocked it. I tried again, but he blocked me. Over and over we did this, my essence getting closer to him with each strike.
Grinning, I accessed the power within me and leapt forward, bringing my sword down closer to him this time. He moved back, but I anticipated his reaction and continued to invade his space, not giving him an advantage for one second. As much as I wanted his soul he wasn’t interested in hurting me, only blocking me. Frustration turned to annoyance until I shifted my position, backing him against the stone wall with enough strength to startle him. His sword dropped to the ground leaving his chest wide open. If I could touch him, I’d be able to take him.
I paused too long and before I knew it he side-stepped me and went for his sword.
“You aren’t in the caves, Mags!”
Don’t lose focus.
I flicked my wrist and brought the tip of my sword close to him. He leapt back and this time he purposefully dropped the sword, putting his hands out in front of him.
“Look at me!”
I did. His blazing blue eyes were pleading. The air around him shifted. I blinked again, but this time the walls continued to move and shift. The rock crumbled around us and started to shimmer like the afternoon sun over the ocean. I lost focus and succumbed to the cave crashing down around us. I looked down at my hands, dropping my weapon. The essence pulsed and disappeared just as the rock did.
My new surroundings were of a water’s edge. Small waves lazily lapped against the shore. In the distance, the sun had almost set behind a plush mountain ridge. Every shade of purple cascading across a cloudless sky.
I was in the After. Jackson was right. I’d been inside of another vision.
I stepped back from Jackson, realizing that I could have hurt him. I shoved my hands into my pockets and closed my eyes, trying to calm my jittering soul.
“Hey.” Jackson’s voice was closer than I wanted.
I stumbled backwards raising my fists to stop him. “Wait.”
Bolting to the shore, I knelt down, my black pants soaking up the water, but I didn’t care. I looked down at my reflection expecting to see a power-hungry monster, the one that I felt like each time the visions of that night manifested in my mind. But all I saw was the same soul I’d seen for the past hundred years. The only difference was the black Guard uniform instead of the white Collector one.
I blinked a few times before I was convinced that my surroundings were real. The After had been my home for the past hundred years, but only recently I’d been able to experience my breathtaking environment. Even though I had no use for breathing, I inhaled, taking in the fresh and slightly sweet scent. I dug my hands into the soft sand, rooting me. Calming me.
Jackson appeared next to me. I looked up at him through my reflection.
“I think we’re making progress.”
I turned around. He had one hand open at his side, but the other held my sword. He wiggled his fingers and I took it. Then he wrapped his long fingers around mine and lifted me to his side, holding me there until the tightness in my chest unfurled to a numbness that slowly pooled in my middle.
I loosened my grip and reached for my sword, pretending to ignore his hurt expression. It was the one I’d seen a few times a day since we started training together over two months ago. In the time I’d known him, I’d seen a few of Jackson’s memories through his eyes, and a strange molding of my and his recollection of the night I’d murdered Gemma and Tristan, my sister and husband. The night I died.
Guilt rushed through me every time, but it was my choice not to have my memories back. Not his. I’d attempted to reintroduce myself to him but he was at an unfair advantage, knowing me better than I knew myself.
Without the vision in the forefront of my mind I focused on my weapon. It fit my hand perfectly, because it had been made for me. It wasn’t a human’s traditional broadsword, heavy and bulky; it was made in the After, with a piece of my True Soul embedded in it. I slid it into the baldric strapped to my back.
Looking up, I remembered Jackson had spoken to me and I attempted to cover my thoughts. “How so? That time I nearly had you.”
He grinned. “But you haven’t had an episode for two weeks now. That’s progress.”
I looked across the water, not meeting his gaze. He was right, but I’d prefer not to have any at all.
“Do you want to take a break?”
I