Soulceress (The Mythean Arcana Series Book 2) (32 page)

He stepped onto the street and turned left. He hadn’t made it a dozen feet from the house before the shade that had followed them earlier appeared at his side. He glanced at it, realizing that it was more solid than he’d ever seen it, as if its strength surged and waned like Esha’s. Perhaps it was the soul of a soulceress.

“Can you get me to the temple?” he asked.

The vaguely human shaped shadow didn’t nod—he didn’t think it could—but it drifted ahead of him as if to lead. He followed.

Twenty minutes later, Esha returned from London with her favorite pizza and some beer. Thank gods the place served so late or she’d have been out of luck.

Aurora was pushing the buttons on a blender when Esha appeared in the kitchen. She turned it off and looked up. “That smells great.”

“Yeah, it is. That’s a blender, by the way. It chops stuff up.”

They spent the next twenty minutes eating pizza and drinking beer while Esha pointed out the various appliances in the kitchen. She had to guess about some, but for the most part, it was really nice to sit with her sister and just be... normal.
 

“So, I know all about these gadgets. Tell me about yourself,” Aurora said.

“All right. I’m a mercenary.”

“For souls?”

Esha winced. Did she mean, steal them? “No. I kill rogue Mytheans for money.”

“Rogues?”

“Yeah. Like demons who get out of one of the hells through portals that shouldn’t be open. They either aren’t clever enough to run under the radar of mortals or they don’t care. Either way, they’ve done something to earn a hit on their heads, and I’m the one who does it.”

“My sister is a badass. I’m no’ surprised.”

Esha suppressed a grin. “Anyway, I live at the university.”

“Why? With those assholes?”

“It’s not so bad. There are a ton of Mytheans to draw power from. And they pay me. Works out well.”
 

“Yeah, right.”

“It’s really not as bad as it was when you went to prison. I mean, the witches hate me. They don’t try to hurt me, but they sure do hate me.” She frowned.

“Eh, doona worry about it. Of course they’re jealous. We can manifest our wishes with the flick of a hand. We’re superior to them in every way. They need their stupid books and potions and crows’ feet or whatever. But they work at the university too?”

Esha laughed—she couldn’t help it. “Yes. In their own department. Lots of Mytheans work there. It’s not just for classes and teaching. The university plays a bigger role in Mythean society than it ever did in the past. We’re more civilized now. Mostly. The university sees to it that we keep law and order so that we stay under the radar of mortals.”

“Fucking mortals, always causing problems. Sheeple. Spook them, and they all start running in one direction, bleating their hearts out.”

Esha shrugged, not really agreeing since she liked mortals well enough. “How’d you learn all this slang? You speak almost like someone from this century.”

“TV. I love this century. And some magic to help. Doona want to sound out of date. Weakness.”

Esha nodded. Her sister took strength seriously. Aurora was one hard bitch, with a steel strength behind her eyes. They could twinkle and joke as quickly as they could turn ice cold and ruthless.
Ruthless
. It was the perfect word to describe her sister. She’d do whatever it took to have her way, and fuck everyone else.

But it was a survival instinct, not evil. At least, not pure evil. Esha could recognize it in herself as easily as she could in Aurora. Only, once again, Aurora was a more extreme version of herself.
 

“Anyway.” Aurora turned to her excitedly. A quick mood swing. “Give me all the gossip. What’s going on in the twenty-first century? Mortals still doona know we exist, I got that. But what’s going on with our kind? Any species fighting? The Fae were going after the Selkies big time when I was put away. How did that play out?”

“Probably okay, since they get along fine now. I haven’t been in the UK long, so I’m not too up to date on the older conflicts.”

“Ooh, a world traveler!” Her sister was back to being bright and bubbly.
 

“Have you always been this way? Fun and light sometimes, ruthless the next?”

“Doona forget bloodthirsty!” Then her face turned serious. “And aye. If I were a witch or some other species that wasn’t despised, maybe I’d always be a basket of laughs. But I’m not. I’m a soulceress. I’ll always get my power from other people’s souls, and they’ll always hate me for it.
Ruthless
is the only way for our kind to survive in this world.”

Would Esha be as ruthless had she been born before the university had established order? She might get nasty looks or comments and be a bitch right back, but at least no one was trying to burn her at the stake.

It was a thought that led to her mother. She hadn’t wanted to jump right in with the questions, but she and Aurora were getting on well now.
 

“About our mom,” Esha asked. “What was it all like then? Did she take souls like you do?”

Aurora’s face turned dark and her knuckles whitened where they clutched her beer bottle. “Nay. She believed it was wrong to do so, and so did I. Until the mortals killed her, at least.”

“Why did she let herself be captured and burned at the stake? I don’t get why she didn’t use her power to free herself.”

“She couldn’t. She was pregnant. Pregnancy is dangerous for soulceresses. All our energy goes to the baby, so we canna use our power.”

“Pregnant with me?”

“Aye.”

The bottom of Esha’s stomach dropped away. “So I killed her.”

Aurora’s head swung around and she met Esha’s gaze, her own shocked. “No, idiot. That’s not how it works. You didn’t do it on purpose.”

“But if I hadn’t been born, she wouldn’t have been targeted.”

“You need to work on your guilt complex. And probably your self-esteem. Respect our mother’s decision. She wanted you.
I
wanted you. Everything else that happened was bad luck and evil people. Not you.”

Esha felt like an idiot, but that seemed to be pretty common lately. “You’re right. What happened next?”

“She had to escape on foot when the witch hunts and the Burnings came to our doorstep. We lived amongst the mortals because Mytheans were out for our blood, every one of them. They finally had mass hysteria on their side, the only thing that could make a bunch of otherwise reasonable beings commit genocide. Stupid mortals and their paranoia. If they hadn’t gone crazy over their idea of mortal witches, the fever never would have spread to Mytheans. But Mytheans finally had a chance to get rid of us. So we went to live near the mortals, where there were none of our kind to threaten us. But we were low on power because the mortals doona have enough to speak of unless you take their souls.”

“And they turned on you?”

“Yes, they targeted our mother. Her pregnancy advanced freakishly fast for mortals, but normal for soulceresses. They thought it made her a witch, so they were going to put her on trial. But mother wouldn’t let me help her escape. The mortals hadn’t targeted me, you see. She thought I would be safest if I stayed. The journey to the New World was so dangerous at the time.”

“What about our dad?”

“I doona even know if we share one. I never met him, and she never spoke of him. Gods know he dinna help us when the mortals came for our mother. But I had my vengeance.” Her voice and her eyes darkened.

“You took their souls.”

“No. I killed them. They deserved it for burning her. Then I went to Spain and stole Mythean souls because they’re more powerful. And it is awesome. Power. Unlimited power and you doona have to be near other Mytheans. Except that I was caught for breaking some rules.”

It did sound awesome. Esha shook herself. Bad! Of course it was bad. She’d seen how Warren had suffered without his soul. She couldn’t do that to someone. And she’d seen what it had done to Aurora. Her soul shadows still circled her, but she stayed calm.
 

Wanting a lighter subject to put Aurora in a good mood, Esha turned the conversation from their dark history to their lives and interests. She really liked her sister. They had a lot in common, if one ignored the fact that her sister was an unrepentant soul-thief being driven crazy by the power she so loved.
 

With Aurora and Warren in her life now, she had not only a friend in Ana, but a sister and a boyfriend. Which reminded her of her primary goal. As much as she loved chatting with Aurora, and despite the fact she’d started this journey hoping to learn more about her own kind and herself, she had a more important task now. She had to retrieve Warren’s soul and get Aurora off this island, and she was afraid she only had this one chance.
 

“Why do you need the power so badly now? The Burnings are over,” Esha asked.

“I canna leave this realm or I’ll get thrown back in that prison. I need the power to maintain my world. And even if I could go out and stock up like you do, I would no’. You know as well as I do that for a soulceress, strength is everything. Giving up my souls would be weak.” Her eyes darkened and her familiar raced over to snuggle up to her, which seemed to work. Aurora said, “Whether or no’ you’ve actually got any power, survival depends on other Mytheans being afraid of you. I’ve got to have titanium ovaries or no one will fear me. If no one is afraid of me, they’ll come after me again. Then I’ll end up back in that damned prison.”

“Not if you don’t do anything wrong!”

Aurora laughed and gave her a pitying look.
 

Esha’s face heated, knowing she was right. When other Mytheans were afraid of you, they wouldn’t wait for law or right on their side before they tried to screw you.
 

“So you would never consider leaving this island?” Esha asked.
 

“No way.”

“Come to the university with me. There’s plenty of power there. Hundreds of Mytheans, and the city is full of people. It’s the opposite of the aether. You’d love it.”

Aurora shook her head, then looked out at the darkness through the big windows over the counters. “This place is great. I’ve got everything I need, I control who can come and go. I’m no’ leaving.”

Esha stared at her sister, comprehension dawning. “You’re scared.”

“What? No!”

“Oh my gods, you are. You’re scared to go back to Scotland.” Of course it made sense. When Aurora had been free in the seventeenth century, she’d been hunted. Then she’d been locked up. There were only bad memories there. Here, she had complete control.

“Come on!” Esha cried. “You’re better than that. You’re a freaking soulceress! We aren’t afraid of anything.” Which was a lie, because she was afraid for Warren. But it was a lie that had gotten her through a lot of hard times in her life, times like those Aurora was going through.

Aurora suddenly looked smaller sitting next to her, and her heart clutched at the sight. For Aurora to let her see her like this, without her hard shell, meant Aurora really cared for her.

Aurora straightened. “I’m no’ afraid, I’m smart and wary. There’s a difference. I broke out of prison. They’ll throw me back in if I return to Scotland.”

“What if I can get you a pardon?” She’d need Warren’s help, and Aurora would definitely have to give up her souls. But she’d wait to mention that part.

“I’m no’ interested.”

“Yes, you are. You’ve got to be bored here. But you’re scared to leave. I could never really understand what your life has been like. But I understand being afraid of what I am because other people fear me. But I know you, Aurora. You’re like me. You’ll hate yourself for cowering here. This isn’t you. Prove me wrong. Come back with me.”

Aurora’s soul shadows were now vibrating. Were they becoming agitated? Should she be nervous? No. She was no longer afraid of her sister. Aurora was volatile, dark and light, with a serious ruthless bent. She was older and stronger. But it didn’t matter. Because Aurora wouldn’t fight her. She was her sister. Anyone else would be right to be afraid of her, but not Esha.

“Come on,” Esha said. “Come back with me. I’ll get you a pardon, and you can rub your power in the witches’ faces. You can even work with me at the university—there’s an awesome salary, by the way—and it will be great.”

“Great? Great to be back among people who hate me and want to toss me in jail? I suppose the price for their grudging tolerance is for me to give up my souls as well.” The soul shadows vibrated more quickly.

“Warren really needs his soul back. It makes him ill when you use it. If it goes on long enough, he’ll be worse than dead. Just give it back. You can get power the way I do, by borrowing it.”

“You care for him!” Aurora’s eyes blackened. “How could you? After what he did?”

“He tried his best to save her! It wasn’t his fault.” Esha had no doubt of it. He was too good to have let her mother die.

“No’ hard enough!” Aurora leapt off the counter and backed away. Her familiar ran to her, no doubt trying to calm her, but it did no good. Aurora’s short hair was now whipping around her head as her shadows writhed and swirled around her. “Our mother is dead because of him. And you want me to give up his soul? To become powerless?”