Soul to Shepherd (18 page)

“Evie … please,” Quinn begged in between kisses.

“Please what?” I whispered.

“I want you,” he growled. “Let’s go.”

“Right now?” I teased, knowing full well I’d teleport him to the Falls regardless of his answer.

“Right now.” He kissed me so fiercely, I felt dizzy. I teleported us to the cave before it was too late.

“You were amazing tonight,” Quinn said as we lay in bed.

“Is that your way of saying I should tease you more often?” I giggled.

Quinn chuckled. “Yes,
that
was truly
amazing.” He kissed my shoulder. “But I was referring to earlier—at the party. It felt so good to finally be able to introduce you to people. And everyone was talking about you.”

“Yeah, I’m sure they were thinking ‘How in the world did
that
girl snag Quinn Harrison?’”

“Nope, you’ve got it all wrong. All night long everyone was asking how
I
was lucky enough to snag
you
.”

“You’re just saying that.”

“Scouts’ honor.” Quinn held up his fingers.

“Do the Boys Scouts know just how much you abuse their pledge?” I chuckled.

“I’m serious. Did you see the way Jack was looking at you all night?” He laughed. “I thought I was going to have to fight him off.”

“And what about Zoe?” I couldn’t resist asking. “What do you suppose she was thinking when you introduced us?”

He sighed. “Probably that you were the last person she was hoping to meet tonight.”

“Oh, really?” I was intrigued.

“Let’s just say that our history together is a little rocky, but then again, lots of mistakes are made in high school, right? I mean, how long were you with what’s-his-face?”

“
Ryan
and I were together for two and a half years.”

“And how many times did you two break up?”

“Never.”

“
Never
? Not even once?” he asked in complete surprise. “C’mon, you’re lying.”

I looked at Quinn with raised eyebrows.

“Okay, fine, you’re not.” He rolled his eyes. “But seriously—
never
?”

“No, not until the end. Why is that so surprising to you?”

“I don’t know … I guess because high school’s mainly about firsts and all the drama that comes with them—the screw-ups, the break-ups, the make-ups.”

“So you’re saying that if you and I had dated in high school, you would’ve made the same mistakes with me that you made with Zoe?”

“No—I mean,” Quinn ran his hand through his hair and looked at me in frustration as he realized he was digging himself into a hole. “Look, all I’m saying is that I was capable of being a dick in high school, but I hope I still would’ve had the sense to realize a good thing when I saw it, even back then.” He frowned slightly. “Then again, I’ve certainly had my share of dumbass moments since I’ve met you, haven’t I?”

“Don’t worry, you’re off the hook,” I reassured him. “My ex wasn’t exactly what I’d call even close to perfect.” My mind flashed to the night I died, when I’d caught Ryan with the blond bimbo in Champaign.

“Well, neither was Zoe or I. She and I have attempted to ‘mend ways’ on occasion over the past few years whenever we’re both in town.”

“Judging from the look on her face when she first saw me at your side, I think she had a different idea as to how she would’ve liked this evening to end,” I said, finishing his thought. Quinn simply nodded. Even though I knew Quinn only wanted me, the thought of another girl—a girl he had a long history with—wanting him that way bothered me. I turned away so Quinn wouldn’t see the uninvited frown appear on my face.

“Hey.” Quinn gently turned my face towards him. “You have nothing to worry about with her. I told her I was in love with you.”

“Oh,” I remarked casually, trying not to sound as elated as I felt.

“I wanted her to know it was serious between us so she wouldn’t cause any trouble.”

“And how did she react to the news?”

“She began hitting on Jack,” Quinn said matter-of-factly.

“Oh,” I said again, not exactly sure how to respond to what he just said.

“Yeah.” He chuckled. “She’s got a complicated past with him, too—part of that high school drama crap.”

“Ahh, got it.”

“Speaking of Jack …” A guilty, apologetic expression crossed Quinn’s face as he looked down at his fingers. “I sort of told him we were engaged.”

“You didn’t.” My face fell and my body froze in a state of panic. “Quinn, I thought we agreed telling people would just invite attention that we don’t need.”

“I know, I know, but I couldn’t stand the way he kept looking at you. What can I say? I got jealous. I either had to tell him you were off the market
permanently
or kill the guy.”

I fought a smile. Quinn was kind of cute when he was jealous. And this wasn’t the first time I’d seen this side of him. He and Dylan almost came to blows once or twice over me.

“Well, don’t be surprised if Jack, or anyone else at the party, doesn’t remember seeing you tonight.”

“They wouldn’t!” Quinn said in alarm.

“They would if they felt you at all compromised my anonymity.”

“Crap.”

“That’s why it’s important to keep our secrets, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Pushing it a little close last night, don’t you think?” Dylan asked me early the next morning while Quinn was upstairs in the shower.

“What do you mean?” I played dumb, hoping Dylan would stop prying.

“What do I mean?” he scoffed. “I thought you were going to give College Boy a coronary! I’ve never heard a heart pound so hard! Geez, is it always like that between you two?”

“I don’t kiss and tell,” I said coyly as I smiled to myself. I forgot Dylan could feel Quinn’s heartbeat when we were all on the same plane.

“After last night, you don’t have to. Hell, I
had to take a cold shower after you left.”

“What’s up?” Quinn asked as he came down the stairs, his hair still wet.

“Apparently, Dylan was concerned about our extracurricular activities when we got back from the party last night. He thought I might’ve given you a heart attack.”

Quinn just laughed.

“Seriously, dude,” Dylan added. “You should be glad you don’t have a heart condition. You’d never be able to survive this one if you did.” Dylan winked at me.

“I’ll take that risk any day.” Quinn smiled at me just before planting a soft, sweet kiss on my lips. “Speaking of my health, I need to eat. I’m starving,” he said, walking off into the kitchen.

Since I’d made my big debut the night before, I was able to convince everyone we should spend Sunday hanging around the house. I wanted Quinn to rest and conserve his strength, and going out every night wasn’t helping.

In fact, we all agreed to skip our routine strategy and training session in the Falls for the day. Quinn, Dylan, and Minerva seemed to be enjoying the day off, but I was feeling a little antsy. We’d been having a lot of fun lately, but we hadn’t made a lot of progress on getting the answers we needed to help Quinn. And we had yet to find Ronald. Not to mention, the two-week deadline was quickly approaching; Jaegar and Chase had four more days, but I hadn’t heard from either of them. Maybe they never intended to retrieve Quinn’s blood. Maybe they took what they could get from me and bolted. A dreadful shiver ran down my spine at the thought.

“You look like a caged cat in a zoo,” Dylan finally said after the umpteenth lap I’d paced in the family room.

“What’s wrong, Evie?” Quinn asked in concern.

“I can’t sit here any longer. There are too many things up in the air, and I’m feeling really antsy. I need to
do
something.”

“What do you want to do?” Dylan asked.

“Honestly? I want to go to the Archives and take a look at the Journal Tartuf showed me. There has to be something in there that can help us.”

“So go,” Quinn suggested.

“It means I’ll be gone for the rest of the day.”

“I went without you for two months, I think I can go another day. Just be back by morning, okay?” Quinn smiled.

“Okay,” I returned his smile and then mouthed the words “thank you.” He winked at me.

I turned to Minerva. “Please try to keep these two out of trouble.”

“Don’t worry,” she replied, grinning. “I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve if either of them get out of hand.”

With that, I teleported myself directly to Tartuf’s private office. Of course, he wasn’t there. I grabbed the Journal locked under his desk and began flipping through the pages. There was so much information, and most of it wasn’t organized in any intelligible way. It no doubt had been pieced together over the centuries, with each bit of new knowledge recorded on the next blank page. Given the
Aura
time change, I quickly realized I wasn’t going to get through the Journal, much less make sense of it, this visit. One hour in the Archives was an entire day on Earth, and I’d promised Quinn I’d be home by morning. I was going to have to carve out way more time to come up here and read.

After tagging some sections of the Journal I thought would be the most helpful, I locked it back up in Tartuf’s desk and decided to take a quick detour through the Archives’ main library to find Teddy. I wanted to pick his brain about a few things that had been on my mind.

“Teddy? You here?” I called out when I arrived in the grand room.

“I’m afraid you will have to settle for me,” I heard Peter’s voice say. I turned to my right and saw him sitting at a table, sifting through a stack of scrolls. Not exactly the face I was hoping to see. He was still on my crap list.

“Have you even left that spot since the last time I saw you?” I half-teased, trying to keep the conversation casual.

“Someone has to work around here,” he replied lightheartedly and smiled. “Though, I am glad to see you again, Eve,” he said in a more serious tone.

“Hmm, you don’t sound too thrilled to see me.”

“Believe me, I am—more than you know. I’ve been worried about you.”

“Worried—why?”

“The last time we spoke, I was sending you back to Earth, back into the fire, knowing your safety and well-being was in jeopardy
yet again.
Not exactly a reassuring image to put a spring in one’s step.”

“Well, I’m fine.”

“And how is Mr. Harrison doing? Have you two satisfied everyone’s expectations of your full potential as true soul mates?” Maybe it was my imagination, but I swore I heard a touch of sarcasm in Peter’s voice.

“Why do you ask?”
So much for a casual conversation,
I thought.

“When one of the two individuals supposedly destined to save us from doom stands before you, the question begs asking.”

“‘Supposedly’?”

“No one can say with any certainty what the future will bring.”

“Peter, if it’s all true, if Quinn and I
are
destined to save the world, do you think we could?”

The grave expression on his face told me all I needed to know.

“So you don’t,” I snapped.

Peter got up from the table and walked around it to join me. “It’s not about what I think.” He sighed. “Eve, I can only imagine how all of this chatter about how your true soul mate and you can change the course of the future has affected you. But despite what you have heard, you must also understand that many, if not all, future events are out of your control. There are wheels that have been set in motion long before the Three Sisters ever spun your destiny. And for an Augur to convince the Order that you and a single mortal have the power to change the course of the future is not just ludicrous, it’s dangerous for all involved—especially, for those who actually must bear the burden.”

“So you’re saying Quinn and I can’t stop the war everyone keeps talking about—that we never could.” Nausea, despair, and anger stirred within me. I didn’t know whether I should cry on Peter’s shoulder or slap him across the face.

“No, I’m saying you shouldn’t be wasting your time pondering this issue.”

“Yeah, like
that’s
gonna happen,” I scoffed.

“Eve, there are only two things that need concern you—saving yourself and saving your charge.”

“Well, seeing that Quinn isn’t my charge anymore, I guess I can check one of those items off my ‘to do’ list.” I didn’t even try to hide my snarky tone.

“What? When did that happen?” Peter seemed truly surprised.

“Almost two
Mora
weeks ago,” I replied, confused as to why Peter wouldn’t have known about this change. “Quinn is Dylan’s responsibility now, but I’m still helping out—unofficially speaking.” I paused momentarily. “Being my mentor, I thought you would’ve been aware of all this.”

“Ah, yes, well there’s been a change in my assignment as well. I am no longer your mentor—Tara is.”

“Council Member Tara?” My eyes widened in shock.

“Yes.”

“Since when?”

“Since around the same time Dylan became Quinn’s Shepherd, I suppose.”

“What’s with all the musical chairs?”

“Excuse me?”

“Why all the changes? I mean, I understand why Dylan replaced me—I requested he be assigned to Quinn. But then Teddy replaced Abe as Dylan’s mentor and now Tara replaced you. What’s the deal?”

“Well, I can only assume Teddy is more active and willing to lend a helping hand.”

“And what’s your excuse for bailing on me?”

“Eve, I did not ‘bail’ on you—quite the opposite, in fact. I’ve been watching over you as often as I can.”

An uncomfortable feeling welled up in the pit of my stomach as I wondered just how often Peter had been “watching” us. Did he see Quinn and me when we got back from the party last night? Could Peter know about our portal?

“So, Tara, huh? She must really want to keep a close eye on me,” I said, changing the subject.

“Perhaps. But I believe her stepping in as your mentor is more likely due to the nature of your assignment and my unusually busy schedule.”

I looked down at the papers and books strewn on the table and back up at him, raising my eyebrows. “An unusually busy schedule doing what? Cataloging ancient scrolls?”