Soul Catcher (12 page)

“Why so close?” Ghost asked. “They could be anywhere by now.”

“Because they want you to find them.” Grace retrieved the picture Lillian had shown them from a bag on the side chair and tossed it on top of the map. Dane jerked at the macabre sight. The bloody message that dripped down the mirror seemed more real so close to the location of the murders.

“What’s the plan?” Ethan asked.

“We break into teams and spread out. Obviously, Bonnie and Samantha have to stay together. They’ll go south.”

Dane eyed the twins. He’d seen what they could do, melding together and changing form to imitate others or gain strength. While truly an astounding gift, the girl’s power was useless if they were separated.

“Ethan, I want you to take Dane north. Since your telekinesis works best at a distance, it should provide him with some protection.” Grace handed out copies of the map. “Jesse, that leaves you and me. We’ll start to the west. Everyone circle back to center in a clockwise direction and meet back here at five. If we don’t find Cheveyo today, we’ll get him tomorrow. Text me for backup if you see Watchers before they see you.”

Grace slid a large duffle bag from under the bed and started handing out weapons. “From Eden. They’ve been blessed and will burn any Watcher they touch. Please use discretion.” Knives, chains, a pipe, and throwing stars were passed around the room and disappeared inside the Soulkeepers layered clothing. How were they so good at this? Was this what they learned in school?

Swoop
. Without asking permission, Grace had lifted his shirt and affixed a wide band of Velcro to his middle. Two shiny silver blades glinted from elastic bands near his ribs. She bent his arm at the elbow, presumably to check that he could easily withdraw the knives, then smoothed his t-shirt back over them. Dane blinked at her in disbelief. She couldn’t possibly expect him to use these against those monsters.

Everything was happening so fast. The armed group headed for the door, Samantha and Bonnie leading the way. Dane stayed put, staring fearfully at the map. For some reason, he couldn’t make his feet move.

“Dane?” Grace prompted.

“What do we do if we find them?” he asked in a ghost of a voice.

The others paused, gawking at him.

She raised her chin. “Our goal is to retrieve Cheveyo. If you find the Watchers, follow them if you can. Fight them if you must. And most importantly, come back alive.”

Dane nodded, swallowing hard, and trailed outside, making note of the brass number nine on the door. He tried to commit their home base to memory. A garbage can at the end of the walkway read Desert Days Motel. Sweat gathered in the pits of his t-shirt and the back of his neck, but it wasn’t from the heat. Flagstaff was cooler than he expected for a city in Arizona. Must be nerves.

“Don’t worry. I got your back,” Ethan said. He pointed toward the stairwell. “We’ve got north. Although, chances are we’re headed in the wrong direction.”

“When you say wrong direction, do you mean the one with or without the Watchers?”

Ethan grinned. “Depends on your perspective.” He took the lead, jogging down the stairs and veering around the back of the building.

* * * * *

On her side in the dimly lit pueblo, Raine heaved into the gourd that her grandmother held next to her face. The sick was getting better. This time, only a small amount of black dropped from her lips. She inhaled the incense her grandmother burned. The fragrant smoke soothed her, a little.

“You are healing.” Grandmother placed her hand on Raine’s head. “Your skin is no longer burning beneath my touch. Drink this.” She lifted a gourd of tea from a nearby mat.

Raine obeyed, swallowing the herbal concoction the old woman raised to her lips. It tasted bitter, but was the only thing keeping her alive.

“I need to see the medicine woman,” Raine said. It was the most she’d said since she’d been back, but then again this was the longest she’d been awake. “It’s about Cheveyo.”

“Cheveyo? You know what happened to him?”

Nodding, she tried to push herself up to a sitting position but failed. Thankfully, her grandmother’s arm was there to break her fall. “Shhh. You rest. I’ll find the medicine woman.”

Raine closed her eyes for what seemed like a moment, but must have been much longer. When she opened them again the light through the small window was higher on the opposite wall, and Willow Nitewytewa was standing in the doorway. Her familiar, aloof manner filled the dwelling as if she had seen the end of time and thought it was nothing to get too excited about.

“Your grandmother says you have something to tell me about our lost Cheveyo.” She walked into the house and lowered herself to the woven mat next to Raine’s head. The old woman stroked her temple. “Tell me what you know about my grandson.”

Summoning her strength, Raine told of the snake woman and how Cheveyo’s body had gone with her through the tree, but his soul had taken refuge within her. As unbelievable as the truth sounded, she explained how she was trapped inside of her own body, helpless against his will, and then finally freed when he jumped into the boy at the diner. With trembling lips, she confessed everything about the bad
Kachina
who’d threatened to keep Cheveyo’s body if he did not do as she commanded.

When all was told, the medicine woman sat back on her heels and stroked the beads around her neck. “I have dreamt of this.”

Raine’s eyes widened. She’d expected Willow to think she was crazy like the men in white uniforms who’d taken her to the hospital.

“I dreamt that Kótyangwúti, Spider Woman, the creator of all things, crawled down her web into my home. She has the body of a spider but the head of a woman. Kótyangwúti wove me a story from her web. First, she fashioned a child, then tore him in two. Half she put under a basket woven from bad spirits and the other half she put on top of the basket. The one on top she made whole again, a new child. I saw others, strange
Kachinas
I’d never seen before, join hand in hand with the child. Together they faced the bad spirits, battling under the basket. I saw a great uprising and many lost souls. Spider Woman told me to pray, for the fate of many people lies in the hands of a few, including the torn child.”

“What does it mean?” Raine asked.

“I think Cheveyo is our torn child, body from soul. If your story is true, I think his body is in the underworld and his soul is wandering. Spider Woman is our intercessor between the heavens and the underworld. I believe the rest of the dream means we cannot intercede. Cheveyo has an important role to play. If he saves himself, he’ll save others as well.”

“But Willow, we can’t just leave him out there. He needs to know how sick he made me. He has no idea the damage he’s doing to the boy he’s in.”

The old woman shook her head. “Rest now, Raine. Trust me. What Cheveyo needs is space to make mistakes and to learn from them.”

“But—”

She rose to her full height, which wasn’t impressive. “If you want to help, pray for the good
Kachinas
to come to him, for guidance.”

Raine watched Willow leave, heart heavy for Cheveyo and the boy he possessed. She hoped the medicine woman was right. But she also prayed for her own health because as soon as she was strong enough, she planned to find Cheveyo and try to help him.

For now though, the sickness was overwhelming. All she could do was sleep.

Dead and Gone

C
heveyo needed a doctor, or else the boy he’d possessed did. In the bathroom mirror of room twenty, Jaden’s puffy face reflected his internal turmoil. His stomach churned ominously. Throat red and swollen, each breath was painful. After the first few days possessing his body, Cheveyo rarely heard from the boy. Jaden seemed to sleep more and more at the back of his skull, but Cheveyo needed him to wake up now because, as sick as he was, he worried the boy had caught the flu, or worse, might be going into anaphylactic shock from the peanut butter sandwich he’d had for lunch.

“Jaden! Jaden, wake up!”

Grmph

“Are you still in there?”

Why… are you… doing this?
The small, raspy voice bubbled groggily at the back of his brain.

“Thank God. Listen, dude. Are you allergic to something?”

No.

“You don’t look so good.”

Tired...

“Jaden?”

Gone again. Cheveyo frowned and pulled Jaden’s lower eyelid down to inspect the red rim. Definitely something wrong with this body.

“He’s dying.” The snake woman’s voice came from outside the bathroom.

Cheveyo poked his head through the door, swallowing his apprehension. On the dingy brown bedspread, the beautiful blond woman perched in a golden gown, her pearly white wings curled angelically behind her. As frightening as her snake form was, this one was equally disturbing. Too attractive. A terrible beauty.

“What’s happening to him?”

Crossing her arms over her chest, the corner of her mouth lifted. “You’re killing him, idiot. A human body isn’t built to house two souls. All of his metaphysical connections are frying like eggs on a Phoenix sidewalk.”

“Should I jump?” he rasped. His throat protested, blazing with every word.

She uncrossed her legs, rose, and paced the small room. “There’s been a shift in the air. The Soulkeepers are close.”

“The evil ones?”

“Yes. The boy we seek is among them. Dane. Once you possess him, let the others take you home with them. Then you strike.”

“Strike. What do you want me to do?”

“No questions!” she snapped. She waved a hand and the table and tea appeared again, the scent of cinnamon rising from the steaming cup. “All will be revealed in time.”

Cheveyo lowered Jaden’s aching body into the chair.

Too tired to lift the cup, Snake Woman brought the brew to his lips for him. “You will do as I say or you will never have your body back. You will spend eternity cocooned in rotting flesh. You must trust me.”

Cocooned in rotting flesh
. So, he
was
killing Jaden. Guilt plowed into him. What had he done to Raine? Would Jaden even live through this? Great Spirit help him, he was confused.

“Drink.” Snake Woman raised the cup to his lips again.

The familiar warmth spread through him, warming him to his toes. “Thank you,” he said.

She set the cup down and rubbed her hands together. “I’m afraid your host is not long for this world,” she said. “But we can’t waste time finding a new one. I’ll have to lure Dane to you.”

“Should I go to work at the restaurant?”

Snake Woman snorted and shook her head, gesturing toward his arm. “You won’t make it.”

From fingertips to wrist, the boy’s arm had taken on a grayish hue. Cheveyo tried to wiggle the fingers, but nothing happened. Jaden was dying, and Cheveyo would be locked inside. He widened his eyes in panic.

“Imagine if he died, and they buried you inside his rotting body.” She chuckled.

Cheveyo gasped. “No. Please no.”

As if his fear gave her pleasure, she cackled even louder. “Don’t worry. You’re no use to me buried. Dane and I go way back. You lie down on the bed, and I’ll bring him to you.” Grinning wickedly, she turned toward the door, and as she did, her dress transformed into a tight Devil’s Canyon t-shirt and short shorts. She tucked her wings away inside her back and pulled her hair into a high ponytail.

He collapsed on the ugly comforter as the door clanged shut behind her. Jaden’s body weighed a thousand pounds. What if she left him here to die? What if he couldn’t get out? He closed his eyes, and held perfectly still aside from the warm tears that flowed easily down Jaden’s cheeks.

* * * * *

“Flagstaff is a quaint little town for a place teeming with demons.” Dane peered into the window of a fudge shop, thinking the smiling face on the sign was pitifully misinformed about the day.

“Yeah, I highly recommend a return trip when we’re not hunting flesh eaters. Do you want some? I’m sure evil can wait for peanut butter fudge.” Ethan’s lopsided grin reflected in the glass.

“Who could eat at a time like this?”

“I don’t know, the turtle bars look delicious.” He shrugged and continued down the boulevard, discreetly scanning a woman waiting for a bus for signs of the unholy.

Dane pulled his sunglasses from his back pocket and put them on, catching up to Ethan on the sidewalk. What should he look for? The rumor was Soulkeeper’s could smell Watchers. Could he?

“You never really answered my question in the car. Why did you tell your parents about me? That I was gay?” Ethan didn’t pause or make eye contact. The question was casual, matter-of-fact.

Dane cleared his throat. “Why wouldn’t I? It’s the truth, right?”

“Yes. It is the truth. I would never lie to anyone about being gay, but that doesn’t mean I offer that information to everyone. If you knew your parents wouldn’t be receptive, why tell them?”

Rubbing the back of his neck, Dane tried to answer honestly, but the truth, when it came to Ethan, wasn’t entirely clear to him. “I guess I just wanted them to know. It’s important to me that they accept you as you are.”

“Why?”

“You’re my best friend, Ethan.” Dane rubbed his neck harder. “You shouldn’t have to hide who you are...from anyone.”

Ethan stopped short. “You did grow up in Paris, right? You do understand that your parents will never accept my sexual orientation. If you think they will, you’re dreaming.”

“It’s not okay. They shouldn’t feel that way.”

“Yeah, but now that they know, they won’t want me around anymore, Dane. They probably think I’m corrupting you, trying to lure you into my dark and wicked ways.” He shook has head and groaned. “You should have just let them go on believing what they wanted to. If you hadn’t confirmed it, your parents might never have known for sure.”

Dane rolled his eyes and continued down the sidewalk. “Who cares, anyway? My dad effectively kicked my ass out of the house. I’m eighteen; I can be friends with whomever I choose.”

“Hmm.”

“Hey, stop analyzing it. We’ve got work to do.”