Soul Catcher (17 page)

The ride back to town was conspicuously void of conversation. Ethan drove mechanically, vacant eyes fixated on the country road as
Florence and the Machine
rocked out of the stereo. Every time the truck hit a bump, one of the speakers would short out. Neither of them mentioned the glitch. Dane had other things on his mind. Like if the silence was due to something he’d said? Or what happened in the cavern? Or perhaps something he didn’t say? The last seemed the most likely.

At the back of his mind, Dane checked the steel door that blocked Cheveyo’s presence. What he had to say was for Ethan’s ears only and hard enough without an audience. “I never fully answered you,” Dane began, “about why telling my dad the truth about you was so important to me.”

With a startled jerk, Ethan glanced his way and then back at the road, straightening in the torn leather bench seat. “Yeah?”

Mustering his courage, Dane dug down deep, trying to be as honest as possible about what he was going through. He needed to do this, for the sake of their friendship.

“I think, sometimes, people are born a certain way and just know who they are. And other people, well, they’re confused about things. Maybe they’ve been raised a certain way and can’t be sure about their feelings because there’s too much at stake to be wrong.”

“What’s at stake?”

“Relationships usually. Important relationships.”

“Are we talking about a nameless nomadic tribe here or someone, say, in the cab of this truck?”

Dane took a deep breath. His cheeks burned, and he couldn’t look at Ethan without feeling that undeniable pulling sensation. So, he chose to look out the window.

“Look,” Dane said toward the glass, “you and I are really good friends. You’re my best friend, really. I don’t want to do anything to mess that up.”

He glanced back to see Ethan nodding his head, so he continued. “It’s important to me that other people give you the respect you deserve, even if it means it makes things harder for me.”

“Thank you,” Ethan said.

The song on the radio changed, and Dane reached forward to turn the volume down. Up ahead, he recognized the outskirts of Paris. Since he wasn’t due home until the next day, he’d be staying in Eden with the rest of the Soulkeepers, which meant sorting this out with Ethan was critical.

“Everything you’ve said makes a lot of sense,” Ethan said. “It’s totally understandable.”

Dane let out a relieved breath. “Thanks.”

“But you need to demand the same respect for yourself that you expect people to give me. That means being true to yourself. I’m gay, and I like who I am. Whatever you tell your family and friends about me, I’m fine with it. I don’t need their acceptance.”

“Good.”

“But I’ve sensed for a while now you’re questioning.”

“Questioning?”

“Like, maybe, not sure how to label yourself,” Ethan said carefully.

“Yeah.” Dane’s heart was making a run for it, pounding against his breastbone.

“It’s okay. There’s no rush. Live your life and figure it out. Or don’t. In my opinion, there are too many labels in this world anyway. Like I said, I’m going to be your friend no matter what.” Ethan’s dark eyes were unguarded, an open window into his soul.

Dane nodded, unable to speak around the lump in his throat. Was he worthy of the kind of unconditional acceptance Ethan was offering?

Too soon, the truck pulled into the service entrance at Laudner’s Flowers and Gifts. Ethan parked, but stared straight out the windshield like he was still driving. Gathering his backpack, Dane popped open the door, an action that took more effort than he expected due to the rust on the big blue truck.

Ethan cleared his throat. “One more thing, Dane.”

“Yeah.”

The full weight of Ethan’s dark stare hit him like a blast of heat. “If you do figure it out, promise me I’ll be the first to know.”

Dane swallowed hard. “I promise.”

Stress Management

D
ane exited the cab of the truck and slammed the door against the flood of emotions bubbling to the surface. A resounding crack echoed through the alley, and the distraction of Jacob and Malini’s arrival brought him some relief. He approached them, backpack slung carelessly over his shoulder, and tried to bury the conversation with Ethan. Luckily, the bustle of activity behind Laudner’s shop didn’t allow for much introspection.

Ghost arrived with the twins driving Lillian’s new Volkswagen Beetle, something she’d bought with her salary as the new store manager at Laudner’s. Of course, it was a convenient position for a warrior responsible for guarding the gate to Eden, which just happened to be under the floor of the backroom. Lillian met them at the service entrance.

“Dane!” She pulled him into a one-armed hug, patting his back on the recoil. “I heard congratulations are in order. I look forward to taking our training sessions to the next level.” If the grin she gave him were any indication, she couldn’t wait to test Dane’s new Soulkeeper abilities, and she wouldn’t be gentle. A work out with Lillian hurt a little, Soulkeeper or not.

Ethan growled from behind him. “My God, give him a few days to settle into the idea. He’s been through a lot. Barely out of transition.”

Laughing, Lillian rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. I haven’t killed anyone yet, Ethan. Relax.”

“Are we cleared for takeoff?” Jacob asked.

“Yes. John and Carolyn are having dinner at Andrew’s Steakhouse and the store is empty.” She led them through the service entrance and down the winding staircase to the cavern below.

The old wooden boat reminded Dane of a story he read about Charon, the figure in Greek mythology who ushered the newly dead across the river Styx. Age aside, the architecture seemed held together by magic or faith alone. Warwick Laudner created this portal hundreds of years ago. Now that he was dead, how long would the boat last? Dane took a seat at the stern. The wood creaked under his weight.
Great
. Ethan slid in next to him on the bench, seemingly unconcerned with the way the wood protested. The twins and Ghost sat near the bow, and Jacob and Malini took their usual spots on either side of the mast.

“We can make room,” Dane said to Lillian, sliding away from Ethan.

“No need. I have to stay to close up the shop. I’ll meet you tomorrow morning, bright and early. We’ll get a lesson in before you have to go home.”

Hesitantly, Dane nodded.

“Should we wait for Grace?” Jacob asked.

“No,” Malini said. “She popped back to Flagstaff to double-check that we made a clean departure.”

Can’t leave any fingerprints
. Dane remembered how Ethan had looked standing in the wreckage of the motel room and was thankful for Grace’s help. With how fast everything had happened, a mistake was possible. The last thing they needed was the Flagstaff PD looking for Ethan.

Lillian retreated to the stairwell as Jacob raised the sail, and a spectacular ball of fire barreled through the cavern. Dane braced himself as they rocketed through the cave wall and then slowed to drift toward the burning swords of the cherubim. The ride didn’t scare him anymore, not after what he’d been through.

Beneath the eternal flames, the familiar sifting started, his body tested by the magic protecting Eden. Only Soulkeepers, those pure of heart and intention, could enter this place. Usually, the uncomfortable pressure only lasted a moment.

Snap!
Something was different. His head pounded as if someone were taking a sledgehammer to the inside of his skull. A scream broke his lips. He sandwiched his splitting head between his hands. It didn’t help. Heat blasted from his skin, and poured out his eyes and ears, a sudden and severe fever that racked his body with pain.

“Dane! What’s going on?” Malini cried.

Soon, everyone on board understood what was happening. Cheveyo’s soul unfolded from Dane’s body. Opaque, and with a tortured grimace, the Hopi boy hugged his middle with his ghostly arms. Apparently, the cherubim were weighing his soul on its own merits.

The other Soulkeepers gaped as the boat broke through the invisible membrane, and Cheveyo melded back into Dane, who shivered and heaved onto the floor of the boat.

Ethan caught him as he toppled off the bench. “Are you okay? Dane?”

Lying across Ethan’s lap, he blinked at the blue sky above him and the lush green jungle of Eden. By the time the boat docked, he’d caught his breath and righted himself, despite a desperate, primal urge to stay right where he was.

“Yeah. Okay, that’s a lot harder with someone else in your head,” Dane said, scooting down the bench.

Somewhere deep inside his brain, Cheveyo groaned. Dane slammed the steel door. It was too hard to share the mental space with the other Soulkeeper right now.

Malini breathed an audible sigh of relief.

“So that was him. That was Cheveyo,” Jacob stated.

“Yeah,” Dane said.

Bonnie piped up from the front of the boat. “The good news is I think we can trust him. If the cherubim let him in, then he’s got to be on our side.”

Malini nodded.

Ghost blinked out of the boat and onto the dock, then reached over to help Samantha out. “Do I need to remind any of you that there are no classes today? And, I believe, the dining room is still decorated for a party.”

To the sound of cheers, Dane exited the boat, positioning himself in the crowd as far away from Ethan as he could get.

* * * * *

Samantha plugged her phone into the speakers at the front of the dining hall, and soon the rafters boomed with Bruno Mars’s
Locked Out of Heaven
. Malini yanked Jacob by the arm to the center of the room and started jumping to the beat. It was all the encouragement any of them needed. Dane reached for the ceiling and joined the circle of his friends, gyrating in time. He’d almost forgotten how fun dancing could be, to let loose and not worry about anything.

As the music changed to
On The floor
, Bonnie danced closer, knees bent, hips swaying to the beat, red hair framing her face. Breathtakingly beautiful and totally free, Bonnie came with no complications, no pesky emotions to get in the way. She was a simple recipe: one part fun, one part warrior, one part teenage girl, and she did absolutely nothing for him physically, at the moment a definite plus.

He moved behind her, wrapped an arm around her waist and fitted his hips into her backside. She placed her hand over his, knitting their fingers, and stretched her other hand up to tangle in the back of his hair. Within the circle of his arms, she turned around, straddling one of his legs and laughing as her whole body kept the rhythm. A sheen of sweat broke out across her skin, glistening in the candlelight.

Dane let himself go, moving with her. He wrapped an arm around her, took her hand, and rolled her away from him. She spun out, and then stepped back in. He placed a hand in her lower back, leading her around the floor, passing Samantha with Ghost, Malini with Jacob. And just like that, he noticed Ethan was gone.

Well, he wouldn’t go after him. This was how it should be. Dane would probably die doing this thing he’d have to do, sacrificing himself. It was better this way. His feelings for Ethan were dangerous. What would his mother say if she found out that all of the songs on the radio and all of the stories he’d ever heard about love, wanting, or needing someone, all made sense when he thought about Ethan? He could guess the words his father would use: immoral, unnatural, wrong.

He didn’t believe those things about Ethan, of course. Everything about Ethan was right and good. He was who he was. Dane didn’t come from the same place, and from where he began there was no place to go. He danced with Bonnie like there was no tomorrow because the hollow inside his chest made him hope tomorrow wouldn’t come. Besides, pushing Ethan away made him brave; he had nothing to lose.

“Come on,” Bonnie said, threading her fingers into his. He followed her to the snack table, which had been replenished by one of the gnomes while they were dancing. She poured a glass of blue punch for him, then poured one for herself.

“Thanks,” he said.

“You’re welcome. Where’d you learn to dance like that?” Her cheeks were still flushed with exertion.

He chuckled. “My sister, Jenny. From the time she could walk, she wanted to dance, and I was always her partner of choice.”

“Awww. Cute.”

“Well, what kind of big brother would I be if I didn’t pirouette on command?”

She giggled, raising her eyebrows.

“Anyway, now that we’re both older, she has her own dance partners.”

Bonnie’s mouth curled into a flirtatious grin. “And so do you.”

He looked down into his glass and cleared his throat. “Yeah.”

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, wrapping the end of the wayward lock around her finger. An awkward silence cut between them. “I haven’t had a chance to say thank you for saving me in the cave today. Ghost told me what you did.”

“Ah, I’d say it was nothing, but it hurt like hell, so…you owe me,” he teased.

She punched his shoulder. “There. That’s what I owe you.” She laughed playfully. “No, I suppose I do.”

“I’m just kidding, Bonnie. I was happy to do it.”

The awkward silence crept back in, and he drank deeply of the blue punch.

“So, what’s it like to have another soul inside of you?” she finally asked.

“Weird,” he answered truthfully, glad for the distraction of the question. “It’s like I have him trapped inside my head, behind a heavy steel door.”

“What happens if you can’t get him out?”

Dane shrugged. Should he be a downer and remind her he’d probably die? Another wave of awkward washed over them.

After two long minutes had crawled by, Bonnie’s face lit up. “Hey, did you know he’s not the first Hopi Soulkeeper?”

“No.” Dane flashed her a half smile over his cup. “Wait, how would you know he’s not?”

“Come on. I’ll show you.”

Bonnie led him out of the dining hall and through the atrium to the east wing of the school. Glancing over her shoulder, she searched the hallway with a guilty look on her face.

“What are you looking for?” Dane asked.