Chapter Twenty-Five
The graveyard looked the exact same as it did the last time I was there. Except this time there were multiple fresh graves, which Finn and Annie had dug to rebury the dead animals I’d raised on my last visit. I tried not to look at them, or at the several bodyguards that accompanied me, Finn, and Annie to the center of the graveyard. Not one of the many guards looked happy to be near me, and I couldn’t say I blamed them, since it was pretty much all my fault that they were in danger and at risk of being killed sometime in the near future.
Finn walked a few steps behind me at all times, and Annie remained by my side. Both of them looked vigilant and ready for anything that might show its face during our lesson in the graveyard. I wasn’t worried about an attack. It would be foolish for Andrew to try again so soon. The Council had bumped up security, and only a madman would attempt to break in now.
Andrew is a madman. But even he’s not stupid or desperate enough to try something now. Finn just savagely threw him down a flight of stairs two days ago and several of his hired guns were injured during our escape. He doesn’t stand a chance of getting near me anytime soon. I glanced back at Finn, and was unsurprised when he refused to look at me.
It had been almost a full day since the Council meeting, and Finn hadn’t made eye contact or spoken to me since then. Apparently trying to talk him out of doing something stupid and anger related did not win me points with him, and he was even angrier than he’d been when he thought I might have feelings for him.
Thinking about my feelings for Finn had me blushing furiously, and I ducked my head so nobody would see. The last thing I needed right now was for everyone to think I was some love struck child not worth protecting. Without the guards the Council assigned, I wouldn’t last twenty-four hours. Andrew would find me, and he would use me for his sick plans, and the world would end.
So I had to keep my head in the game and stop focusing on Finn so much, even though it was becoming increasingly hard to do. It seemed like every time I turned around he was there, watching me, protecting me. I just couldn’t escape his gaze. I dreamed of him when I slept, and I got the distinct impression that he checked in on me at night, making sure that I was still in one piece.
Even though I knew that it had nothing to do with personal feelings and everything to do with orders from the Council, I still appreciated everything that he did for me. Not every young woman had a boy willing to do so much for her…
Annie stopped at the exact center of the graveyard, and the additional bodyguards fanned out, taking places behind headstones. They looked like a clichéd version of presidential bodyguards, and I almost smiled at the sight of their black sunglasses, ear pieces, and handguns. They were all rather large and powerful looking, so I figured they were probably werewolves.
“Most of them are vampires,” Finn said quietly as Annie took her place across from me. “They were just tall as humans, and look more powerful because they’re immortal. The rest are half-demons.” I looked at him and frowned. “You’ve been staring at them for almost an entire minute; I figured you were wondering what they were.”
“Thanks for telling me.”
“Alright, Ronnie, listen up. Tonight, I want you to focus, and tell me which of these five graves are the freshest. Their souls are still lingering in this graveyard, and after you’ve identified them, you’ll release their souls and banish them. Don’t worry, it doesn’t hurt them, and it’ll be what they want. Help them cross over.”
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, readying myself to use the power waiting inside. I found it instantly, and it began to pulse and glow in response to my call. It filled me with intense power from head to toe, and I inhaled sharply, breathing in the scent of death and decay. It would have disgusted me before Andrew abducted me, but now that I’d begun to embrace my powers, it actually calmed me.
I took another few deep, quiet breaths, and began searching for the freshest graves. The first one was three away from where Annie was standing. It was a recently deceased gerbil, and I briefly wondered why it even needed a grave. Some parent paid hard-earned money to bury their child’s pet when a simple shoebox in the backyard could have sufficed.
The soul of the gerbil eagerly greeted me, sensing that I could help it. It was still a little strange to feel the presence of a spirit I couldn’t talk to. The animals just floated nearby, resting until I decided what to do with them. The human spirits tended to shout and called out for assistance, and it freaked me out a little. Talking to a person you knew was dead took some getting used to.
I set my feet in the dirt, and began the slow process of banishing the gerbil’s soul. I can see it clearly in my mind’s eye. It flickered and pulsed with a silvery color, and after a few minutes of intense focus, the spirit began to fade from view. It got more transparent and it gave one final burst of silvery light before vanishing from view. Without opening my eyes, I searched the entire graveyard for signs of the gerbil’s spirit, and came up empty-handed.
“It’s gone,” Annie assured me. “Move on to the next one. See if you can do it faster now that you know how it works. Just close your eyes and focus. You’ve got four more to go. The sooner you get them done, the sooner we can return to the compound.”
I looked around at the impatient bodyguards, and then back at Finn, who looked bored out of his mind. I was still looking at Finn when I saw his entire body go rigid with anger, and he quickly began searching the graveyard for something, or someone. His reaction set off the other guards, who all began shouting orders and closing ranks. They immediately rushed for me, but not before the sound of a single shot popped off.
Suddenly Annie was screaming for me, and the other guards were racing for the trees nearby. All I could do was stand in the center of the graveyard with my hands over my stomach, trying to block out the odd pressure in my gut. When something warm began to seep through my fingers, I looked down, and was surprised to see scarlet blood dripping to the ground beneath me.
In just seconds, the entire lower half of my shirt was soaked, and the pressure turned into a searing pain that left me crying and gasping for air. The pain burned through my stomach, causing cramping and an odd throbbing that felt like a dagger of heat every time my heart beat. Putting pressure on my stomach just made the pain flare up, and I gasped again.
Finn sniffed the air and he turned. When his eyes found my bloodstained shirt he rushed to my side. “What happened?”
Annie was sobbing. “What the hell do you think happened? She was shot you moron! Get her back to the compound, now!”
Finn hoisted me up in his arms for the second time in less than forty-eight hours, and he ran.