Released Souls (6 page)

“
We’ll see how your tinctures and teas save you now. I’m not going to let you or anyone stop us from finding what we’re searching for,” she snarled.

“
And what is that?” I asked.

She ignored my last
question and ran to the window, pounding the glass with her fist when the guy standing by Logan turned toward us and nodded. I looked down at the floor by Logan and saw a gel substance around him leading in several directions. There were barrels of chemicals all over the warehouse so I knew this wasn’t going to end well. The guy flipped open his lighter igniting a flame and tossed the fire onto the glossy gel.

I screamed and pounded on th
e glass, trying to wake Logan as the guy ran out of the building. The flames were quickly igniting down the trail surrounding Logan. I was slapping on the glass so hard the rope around my wrist was cutting into my flesh, but I didn’t care. My heart was hammering with fear as I forced the lump from my throat. I didn’t know which emotion was going to take over, but I had to be strong. I could get us out of here.

The flames ignited quickly,
and I cursed my newfound ability. There’s no way to fight fire with fire. Was there?

“Enough!”
Lara pulled my hair and dragged me back over to the crate, anchoring me down and tying my wrists to the handle on the crate before she ran out of the building.

As the flames grew taller,
I could see the orange and red flames reflecting in the glass dividing me from Logan. I had to get to him. But what if the flames already had?

I slid my wrists up and down, back and forth, anything to get a little
slack between my skin and the rope. I kicked the corner of the crate repeatedly, hoping I could pull myself free somehow. The wood began to splinter with each kick but not enough. I could see the reflection brighten against the glass, which made me kick harder and harder, while struggling with the rope around my wrists. I didn’t even realize that I had been screaming Logan’s name until my throat began aching.

“Please listen to me. Wake up. Wake up,”
I channeled to him in an attempt to wake him. All I could hope was that the warmth from the
nectunt
meant he was alive.

Sweat
dripped down my face, plastering my hair to my cheeks, which made it almost impossible to see when my foot finally kicked the corner wood free. Pulling myself up I yanked on the handle with all my weight hoping to break it off where the crate was weakened.

With one last tug I fell to the floor,
freeing myself from the crate. I began frantically untwisting the ropes as I ran to the metal door. I glanced out the window to the warehouse, but all I could see was smoke.

As I opened the door, an
explosion rocked the warehouse and threw me to the ground where my head broke my fall against the concrete. The flames must have reached some of the chemicals. God! What were they? I heard pieces of metal and wood hit the concrete floor, and my hands began trembling as I fell to the floor, crawling my way through the main warehouse. The stench of chemicals in the air burned my nose as I worked my shirt up over my face. The only sounds I could hear were of the wooden crates crackling and the whooshing of flames. I couldn’t allow myself to think of what had happened to Logan or the tears would come, and I didn’t have time for tears.

I looked over to where I last saw Logan, but all that was visible was a cloud of smoke swirling in every direction blocking my view. The
haze was so thick I could taste the bitterness of the chemicals and wood that was burning. My head was throbbing from the blast, but I had to find Logan. He was so much closer to the source of the explosion than I was, especially if he hadn’t awoken yet.

“
Acapnos ignis. Acapnos ignis
,” I chanted, hoping to clear out some of the smoke.

The images of Logan propped in the chair flooded my mind
, and I shook my head to release them. My eyes stung with the constant smoke, and my tears wouldn’t stop falling. I needed that spell to kick in. A tickle in my lungs was beginning to become unbearable. I had to shake this. I had to find Logan.

Even with the spell, e
very breath was a struggle. Every movement was painful. My bones ached, but my heart ached more as I thought about what might have happened to Logan. My
nectunt
had fallen silent as soon as the explosion occurred. I only hoped that didn’t meant what I thought it might. Swallowing the lump in my throat back down, I reached for the closest crate and grabbed hold of the splintery wood. I lifted myself up, which only produced a painful cough. I attempted to gain my bearings but my world was spinning faster the higher I stood. The only reason I knew I was upright was because my feet were firmly planted on the concrete floor.

“Logan?” I
yelled, but my lungs went into a spasm, coughing immediately replacing my calls for him.

Timbers
fell and the flames crackled around me. It would only be a matter of time before the flames reached me. If we didn’t get out of here soon, I knew we wouldn’t get out at all.

I stripped
my shirt off and twisted it quickly into a mask, tying it around my face and neck. It did little to stop the tickle deep in my chest, but it was something.

I crouched down, which only caused more pain to strike down my spine, but I didn’t care. I needed to stay as low to the ground as possible.
My eyesight was useless. I used my hands to guide me through the maze of wooden crates, cardboard boxes, and plastic bottles full of substances that when all combined would probably create another ticking time bomb.

I listened carefully for any
sound of life as I stooped as close to the concrete floor as I could get. My eyes wouldn’t open. They hurt so badly. I reached out in front of me and felt nothing. There were no more crates in front of me. I must have made it to the front of the warehouse, close to where Logan might be.

I got
back on my hands and knees, crawling to my left to see if I could somehow stumble over him, anything to find him. My knees were rubbed raw and bruised from each clumsy step, but I found nothing in this area so I moved to the other side. But I hit a wall.

A faint sound of a motor
piqued my interest. I let my hands run up the wall and found metal tubing. A water fountain! I reached up and grabbed hold as I pulled myself up. Pressing my body against the lever, I let the water drain over my eyes. If I could just get a good couple of minutes I might be able to find him. Blinking quickly to let the water glide around, I went under for another quick splash of liquid. I quickly turned around inside the warehouse where smoke was still the biggest obstacle. I dropped to my knees again and circled around the space.

“Logan.”

Still nothing. As I crawled around, my heart fell with the realization that I might not find him. A loud crack sounded above me and as I attempted to move out of the way, timber came crashing down. It happened in a flash, but it felt like slow motion as the burning timber came tumbling down onto my ankle.

The sizzle of the burning wood
against my flesh made its mark as I attempted to shake it off my ankle. I wanted to cry out in agony but couldn’t even muster the strength. The smell of burning flesh reached me as I writhed in pain, finally freeing my leg. Crawling over to the closest corner, I leaned up against the wall, trying to catch my breath. But then I saw it. His shoe was about two feet from me. Shaking the pain away, I crawled quickly toward this find and noticed a short stack of packing material wrapped in cellophane.

I looked
up at the stacked material and saw some sort of lump with a faint glow through the smoke. Staring harder I realized it was the shape of our
nectunt
. It was Logan’s
nectunt
, and it was lighting the way. I saw a bare leg dangling over the pile. He had been wearing jeans, but this was only flesh.

The impact from the explosion must have thrown him on top of this pile
or maybe he climbed up to it first. My heart was beating so fast and the adrenaline was pumping through me so much that the smoke in the air no longer seemed to do anything to me. I ran my fingers up the plastic and began to stand as my eyes followed up the limb to find Logan.

He was face
up on the pile of shipping materials and I was afraid to even touch him since most of his clothes were obliterated, revealing only flesh underneath.

I removed my handmade mask and hoisted myself up to where he was perched.

“Baby…baby. I’m here,” I whispered, climbing closer to him. “You’re gonna be okay.”

I was so afraid to touch him. His wounds looked so painful.

“Sanare Caro et Ossa,”
I whispered, hovering over his head.
“Sanare Caro et Ossa.”

I had only used the healing spell of
flesh and bones
a few times on simple rug burns and sprains growing up. I had no idea if it would do a bit of good in this type of situation, but I had to try. I needed to get him out of here.

I watched some of the redness begin to diminish and reached over to gently touch his hair.
The fury and sadness were mixing deep inside of me. Rather than tears beginning to form, I felt drips of sweat pour from my flesh.

With every second that went by I felt more and more waterlogged.
Tiny droplets were surfacing all over my skin. A change was happening inside and out, but I didn’t have time to dwell on it. Instead my emotions felt like they would burst at the seams.

I watched as more fiery
boards fell from the ceiling, and I took a deep breath in without thinking. Instead of a coughing fit erupting, my mouth began to release steam. I closed my mouth abruptly, but steam began rolling out of my nose instead. My skin was becoming completely dewy. Unsure of what was happening, I looked above and saw the metal pipes begin to pop and leak, spraying water in every direction.

The water fountain bur
st and water was gushing everywhere. I had no idea if the water pipes bursting had anything to do with me, but I was relieved for the momentary help.

“I gotta get you outta here. It’s gonna hurt,” I
said, holding in my emotions. What I was doing and saying were far different from what I was feeling. I wanted to scream and cry as I saw him motionless. I wanted to curse my father and the entire world for letting this evil exist, but I couldn’t. I had to be strong for him. And myself.

I looked down at my fingertips and they had turned completely blue. I glanced quickly around me and watched as the drywall began cracking
with the force of the water coming through. I had no idea who or what was controlling anything, but something inside of me told me that the blue on the tips of my fingers was no coincidence.

The space still smelled of smoke, but the water was doing an incredible job of slowing down the flames coming in our direction. It might —whatever it might be—
prove to be our saving grace.

His one knee was tucked underneath his other leg
, and I straightened it out next to the one that was dangling over the edge. I slithered off the pile and grabbed each ankle, slowly sliding his body from the cellophane. His body began falling quickly over the side, and I did my best at catching him, but he weighed a ton and the floor was pretty slippery. I fell to the concrete with his body slumping onto mine, but at least he was off the shipping material.

Wriggling my way from underneath him, I grabbed his wrists and began pulling him to the front entrance. I was only feet from the door when the
adrenaline started to decrease because the eye burning and tickling in my lungs came back with a vengeance. I glanced at my fingertips, which were no longer blue, and I noticed the water wasn’t gushing with the original force I had seen.

I let my body crash through the door and gave Logan a final pull as we both fell onto the pavement
outside.

“Sanare Caro et Ossa,”
I whispered one last time for good measure as his body rested on top of mine. I felt his breathing become less and less shallow the longer we were in the fresh air, and I felt my lungs begin to maintain control as well.

Logan started coughing uncontrollably
, and I suddenly wanted to hug him all over. I never knew how beautiful a cough could sound. He rolled off of me and continued coughing until finally he couldn’t muster any more strength.

“I’m so sorry,” I whispered.

“Welcome to the new age of Witchcraft,” he groaned, turning over on his back. His shirt was tattered and raw flesh shined everywhere my eyes scanned. My spell might have helped a little, but he was in far worse shape than I thought. We had to get to the house before infection set in.

“Triss, don’t be sorry. This isn’t your fault.”

“You’re in pretty rough shape. You think you can get to the car?”

“Yeah. No sweat.” He attempted a smile, but I could tell that
every movement hurt.

My expression must have been as horrified looking as my thoughts b
ecause he immediately caught on to my worst fears.