Book of Love (33 page)

I heard the sound again, a shrill twang of
dread hanging like a weight inside my heart. My sneakers gripped
the linoleum as I took off at a run down the hall, my brown hair
fanning out behind me. The school had a series of halls shaped into
an ‘H’, each lined with identical beige lockers. I slid around the
corner as my sneakers fought for traction. Images began to flash
across my mind, dark ghosts, and the decaying faces of people I
didn’t know.

I ran faster, seeing Emily amongst the
faces—her eyes void of life, the glow of her soul leaving her body.
I turned another corner, and that’s when I saw them. I halted
abruptly, nearly falling back as Max’s pained eyes met mine. I
looked to Emily as she stared at Max, and finally, my eyes rested
on Greg. I threw myself at him before I gave them a moment to
explain, my fists flailing at his face before a scream erupted in
my head. I was crippled to the ground, grasping my ears as the
fingers of the sound burrowed into my brain.

Greg laughed. “Look who’s finally made it to
the party!”

I looked up at him with teary eyes, my gaze
flickering to Emily. I furrowed my brow as she stared at me, her
expression fixed. Nothing about her face seemed at all familiar.
Her eyes were blank and dark, her skin drained of life. I
recognized the scream in my head, knowing it was hers. I tried to
force it away, but found no relief. Not knowing what else to do to
break her concentration, I swung my leg out to trip her. She fell
to the ground with a thud, falling like dead weight. The screaming
ceased.

Max rushed over to me, grabbing my face in
his hands and looking me in the eyes, “Jane, are you alright?”

I nodded, the pressure in my head slowly
beginning to subside. “Yes, I’m fine,” I motioned for him to tend
to Emily. He left my side, his cool grip lingering on my hot skin.
Sitting up, I saw that Emily was rolling on the ground, moaning to
herself.

Max hovered over her,
touching her face and looking her in the eyes. He had a concerned
expression on his face. “Emily.” He shook her gently, but she did
not respond.
“Emily.”
He shook harder, but all she could do was moan.

Greg leaned against the
locker, looking annoyed. “She’s
fine.”

Max searched her pockets, retrieving a pill
bottle from her coat. He popped the lid open and looked inside. His
expression twisted into a grimace, a look of both recognition and
dread on his face.

I glared at Greg.
“What did you do to her?”
I hissed.

Greg snapped his fingers and Emily pulled
herself away from Max, now pushing her body off the floor as though
controlled by a force that wasn’t her own. She stumbled over to
Greg, slowly straightening out and standing tall. Her eyes rolled
back into her head for a moment before refocusing. Greg put his arm
around her frail frame, grasping her tightly. She tilted her head,
her eyes reflecting the same dark stare Greg’s had—soulless.

Max stood, offering me a hand as he lifted
me off the ground. I walked up to Emily.

“
Emily?” I tried to take
her hand, but she shied away from me. Her fingers slipped through
mine, cold and clammy. I tilted my head, glaring at
Greg.

He raised his brows. “See,
she’s fine. And she’s with
me
now.” His eyes looked straight through me. “Maybe
if you had treated her like a beloved sister, and not an
inconvenience, then perhaps she wouldn’t have turned on
you.”

Emily smiled, leaning her head against
Greg’s shoulder.

I swallowed hard. Max reached for my hand,
intertwining our fingers and grasping tightly. His touch gave me a
sense of comfort, as though telling me he would solve this, but for
now, we needed to go. He began to pull me away from them, but my
feet refused to move.

“
Come on, Jane. We’ll get
her back, I promise,” he whispered.

Greg smirked at Max’s words, treating it
like a challenge.

My stand was firm, but
Max’s grip on my hand was firmer. My feet began to move as though
unattached to my body. I couldn’t stop staring at Emily, hoping
that she would snap out of it, wishing she’d run into my arms where
I could comfort her. I reached toward her one last time.
“Emily,
please,”
I whispered.

There was a flicker in her eye, and for a
moment I thought I’d found her, but Greg’s influence was too
strong. Her eyes quickly flooded with a black that was deeper than
ever. We rounded a corner and they disappeared from my view. A tear
fell from my eye.

How could I have let her down?

This was entirely my fault.

Max:

I helped Jane into the car and buckled her
in. Her face was blank, the rose of her skin replaced with a morbid
white. She looked at me with fawn eyes, the weakness of her spirit
filling me with guilt.

“
It’s going to be okay,
Beautiful.” I tried to reassure her, rubbing her arm.

Jane’s eyes squeezed shut, tears pouring
down her cheeks. I leaned in, kissing her tears away, the saltiness
a reminder of what it was like to be alive.

“
I promise,” I whispered
against her skin.

She tried to nod, but her body shook too
hard. Brushing the hair from her face, I shut the door and walked
to the driver side. I got in, glancing at her, my thoughts filled
with concern.

“
How is
it going to be okay, Max?” Her voice was breaking my
heart.
“How?”

I started the car. “There is something we
can do,” I reassured her. “But we need to find your friend, Wes.
We’re going to need his help. He is the only one with the ability
to go in unnoticed.”

I felt her relax a little, forced to gather
her emotions. “I haven’t seen Wes in days,” She whimpered. “I don’t
know where he is.”

I pulled out of the lot, taking her home,
knowing that my house was no longer safe. “He’s gone rogue, but I
can easily hunt him down. He’s new at this. He’ll be simple to
find.”

She nodded, wiping the last tears from her
face. “What can I do to help?”

I touched her hand as it sat on her leg.
“Keep your thoughts open. Your dreams can help give us clues. Greg
will not show up in them again, you have the ring, but Emily still
might—she shares your blood. She will be drawn to you, because she
trusts you to help her as you always have.” I squeezed her hand,
feeling her fear. “That girl in there wasn’t your sister, Jane.
Greg has her brainwashed and drugged. We will get her back.”

I hoped my words were reassuring enough. I’d
dealt with this before, but I didn’t want her to know that. It
hadn’t ended well for the girl, but I knew what it was I’d done
wrong, and that was to try and do it by myself. Wes loved both
sisters, and I needed to use that love against Greg. Wes’s
abilities would provide us with the perfect cover, and the perfect
poison.

^{* * *}

There was a splash in the ocean, and the man
looked up over the brim of his newspaper. The man saw nothing,
shrugging it off and going back to his reading. Another minute
passed when he heard the splash again.

The man quickly laid his paper down, jumping
to his feet to swiftly set the shield around him, but he was too
late. The dark figure stood before him, one arm preventing the
shield from sealing shut.

The man’s heart surged to life, knowing that
no amount of sorcery could save him now.

“
So this is it. You’re
finally going to kill me?” the man asked.

The Black Angel laughed. “No, I won’t…” a
girl walked out from behind him, her eyes as dark as night and her
hair as red as hell itself. She was in transition. “But she will.”
There was a dagger in her hand.

The girl approached the man. He shut his
eyes. Before he knew it, the sharp object entered his side. It was
all over. Now, he was in a better place, a safer place. Here, there
would be no more hiding. He hoped the girl knew that; he hoped the
girl understood that his murder had done him a great favor.

He was in the arms of the woman he loved
once more…

* * *

Wes:

I cleaned my paws after another hunting trip
in the woods, the bones of a deer lying beside me. My tongue combed
over my smooth grey fur, the taste of the meat lingering between
the pads. I heard a snap of a branch overhead and looked up, my
satisfied purr coming to a halt. My ears were perked and my cougar
eyes sharpened. I waited for a moment, but there were no further
sounds. I flicked my tail, licking my jowls as I moaned and rolled
onto my side.

I lazed in the leaves before extending up to
my feet. Leaning all my weight onto my back paws, I stretched my
front paws before me and then leaned forward to stretch the back. I
yawned, eyeing the deer carcass with fond memories of the vigorous
hunt.

It was then that something came crashing
through the trees overhead, landing beside me as the forest floor
shook. Leaves fell delicately in its wake. I hissed and hunched to
the ground, my ears flat against my head.

As the debris settled, I saw a figure of a
man, a man that tickled my memories. A low growl escaped my lips. I
scanned his familiar build, surprised to see a large set of wings
sprouting from his back.

I squinted, feeling a pang of hate, mixed
with a long lost memory. I circled him, every muscle in my body
tight and ready to pounce. He stood tall, crossing his arms against
his chest as the wings on his back relaxed.

“
Wes,” he addressed me with
a name, one that seemed to belong to some part of me I no longer
knew. “I know that’s you, Wes.” He looked down at me from over his
nose, saying the name for a second time.

I hissed and lunged at him, wanting this
devilish creation dead, though I wasn’t sure why. I landed a few
feet before him, withholding for a reason I also was unsure of.

“
Wes,”
His arms remained crossed, as though unafraid. “You need to
remember who you are. This is not you. You are
human.
Remember that,
Wes.”

His words angered me. Why did he keep
calling me Wes? I growled again, holding it deep in my throat.

“
Wes!” he
yelled. “Wes, it’s
me.
Snap out of it.”

I watched him, feeling the name grow on
me.

The man began to look annoyed. “Listen, Wes.
Something has happened to Emily.”

I stopped growling, a pang of sadness now
replacing all else. Memories rushed back to me—a rosy face, a sweet
smile, and best of all, a soft kiss.

“
Jane and I need your help,
Wes. Emily is in grave danger.”

I couldn’t help but hiss when he said the
name Jane, as though it held some sort of bitterness inside me.
Pieces began to fall together now, the face before me growing
increasingly familiar until I knew his name.

Max.

Max smiled then. “That’s it. You do
remember.”

I felt suddenly uncomfortable. I wanted to
change into something, but I couldn’t decide what.

“
Greg has
Emily.” Max continued to coax my memories. “Greg,
Wes.
He has her.
He will take her from us forever if we don’t act
fast.”

I let out a loud growl this time.

“
Please, Wes. I mean you no
harm.” Max pulled a bundle from his belt hook and tossed it at my
feet.

I jumped back as a lump of fabric scattered
across the forest floor. It was clothing. I looked up at Max.

“
I can’t do this alone,
Wes. Come on. Come back to us.”

His words were tempting, but how did I know
he was telling me the truth? How did I know that what I felt was
truly real?

He smiled. “I don’t lie, Wes.”

I hissed, angry that he
could also read my thoughts.
What was
he?

“
Wes, I’m a guardian angel,
and a member of a Priory that wants to protect what you are. But my
brother is not, he means to do us all harm, and right now, it is
Emily he has focused on. He hopes to recruit and brainwash her to
his side. We cannot let this happen.” His voice was
firm.

I let my ears relax. What choice did I have
but to believe him?

I thought of this girl named Emily—her
smile, her soft kiss. I thought the same of the girl named Jane. I
heard Max move, and I looked back at him, seeing jealousy flash in
his blue eyes. I felt a sense of smugness from that look, but it
was quickly replaced by urgency.

Shutting my eyes, I concentrated on the itch
in my soul. Something inside me was beginning to surface, wanting
out in a way that made me finally give in. I felt the hair of the
cougar begin to shed, the chill of the forest now reaching my skin
as I shivered. My back arched—my legs and arms stretching as the
skin grafted to newly formed bones. When the transformation was
complete, I lay on the ground for a moment, catching my breath.

I looked up at Max. He had his back turned
to me out of respect. A part of me thought to attack him.

“
Don’t even think about
it,” Max said over his shoulder before I’d even gotten the chance
to really consider the idea.

I snorted, reaching for the clothes. “Can
you really blame me for thinking it?” I heard the words leave my
lips as though they weren’t my own. I was surprised by the ease of
speech, like a forgotten best friend.

He laughed.

I pulled the jeans on, then the shirt, still
finding it wasn’t enough clothing to keep me warm—not like the fur
had. I rubbed my hands together, feeling tall as I stood on two
feet. The muscles on my arms were tight and my back rigid. Max
turned to face me.