The 13th: Frozen Destiny (6 page)

“It’s feeding on us, through them.”

“You could be right. What should we do?” She glanced around the room, saw Mandy observing her and she gave her a wave. “We could give that secret passage another look.”

“We could.” He shut the book and gave it to her. “An Eater could be hidden behind it.”

“Yes, it could be.” On the balcony Ryan had used
he
, but it was an
it
. She locked her arms together. “But we don't have to look for it, we can call it out.” If it had appeared before just because she had half-materialized her scythe, it would surely come again at the appearance of her reaping tool. “That is, if we dare?”

“I dare, do you?”

“Not really. I think we should be careful and take this slowly. We still don't know what we are dealing with and... there’re still Mandy and Tyler. I don't want them to get hurt.”

“But there's no guarantee,” he said. “If this really is some sort of feeding farm, how long will it be before our energy is drained? Right now, I'm tired, but otherwise I'm fine. I can fight. But for how long?”

“You like to rush into things too much.”

“It has never backfired, has it?”

“We have been lucky.”

“Perhaps.” He stood up. “Mandy, Tyler,” he yelled. A few students turned toward them; ignoring them, he waited until the two people sitting on the couch faced him, then gestured for them to join him. “Come on, you two!”

“What are you planning?”

“Lunch is going to be soon.” He glanced at the clock that hung over the arch of the stairway. “An hour or so.”

“Yeah, so?”

“Hey,” he greeted Mandy and Tyler.

“What's up?” Tyler had his arm around Mandy's shoulders, he held her close against his side.

“What are you doing?”

“Nothing really,” Mandy said. “Why?”

“I was thinking you looked quite lonesome.”

“Yeah, right.” Tyler rolled his eyes. He released Mandy, pushed Kate's legs aside and sat down in the armchair.

Kate crossed her arms and leaned more heavily against the wall behind her.
What was Ethan doing?

Tyler wrapped his fingers around Mandy's wrist and tugged her into his lap. “Did you hear there is going to be another party on Saturday?”

“Another distraction, huh?” Ethan commented. “They are quite boring, aren't they? So tame compared to the drunken perversity we witnessed at the end of school.”

“Yeah.” Tyler chuckled. “Some of my teammates really made fools of themselves.”

“With the way they were stumbling around and falling down, as funny as it was at the beginning, by the end, with all that vomiting it became slightly grotesque.” Ethan set his elbows on his knees and laced his fingers.

What was he trying to do?
Kate unlocked her arms.

Mandy wrinkled her nose. “Don't remind me, please.”

Ethan glanced at Kate and raised his eyebrows before he returned his attention to Tyler and Mandy. “Do you remember how you two covered us whenever we went Soul Eater hunting?”

“Yeah.” Tyler nodded.

Kate pinched her eyebrows together. “We agreed not to tell them --”

“Wait a minute.” Tyler straightened, his move almost pushed Mandy off his lap, but his arms wrapped around her waist just in time. “Kate and Ethan were the ones...”

“Yes, we were,” Ethan said.

“What are you trying to do?” Kate pushed her way over Tyler and Mandy to stand before Ethan, her arms akimbo. “You are rushing things again.”

“I have to, because you like to dilly-dally too much.”

“I do not.”

“Yes, you do.”

“Are you going to argue with me?”

A smile lit Ethan's face, the kind of smile that made her knees wobble. He took hold of her hands and pulled her between his knees. “Like I would dare.” Metal embraced his hands and she could feel the stones of his gloves against the sides of her hands.

“Are they Ethan and Kate?” Mandy asked Tyler.

“They must be, they sound just like them,” Tyler said.

“Yes, they do,” Mandy said. “But how is that possible? And who are the other two?”

Goosebumps rose on the back of Kate’s neck. She hauled her hands away from Ethan’s and wheeled around. “It's here.”

“Yes, I can feel it.” Ethan stood behind her.

She could feel his warmth radiating against her back. Fear bloomed in the pit of her stomach.

The students around them scattered, leaving the common room empty and quiet.

“There's no point in hesitating.” He stepped to her side.

“No, there's no point in hesitating,” she agreed, knowing it was the truth. She wanted to get out of this blank, dull world and go home.

“What about us?” Tyler asked, rising.

“Stay on the side and take care of Mandy, please.” Kate closed her eyes for a moment and concentrated. A handle with no grip appeared in her hand. Leaves that covered the snath flattened against the ebony rod. “So, just charge, huh?”

Whiteness shone down on them, first like a small dot. It spread and overlay the greyness.

The entrance door was shoved open. It banged against the wall and left a dent. “What are you doing?” Ryan rushed inside, Claire right behind him. “Stop it. Stop it. You are ruining everything.”

“Ruining what?” Ethan stepped forward, in front Kate, as if shielding her.

Ryan tackled him and they rolled on the ground, hitting the legs of the chair.

“It's too late.” Kate's eyes were on the whiteness sharpening above them into an oval head on top of a white mass that danced like a light fabric under it. She pushed Claire away.

“He'll destroy you.” Claire grabbed her arm, her fingernails digging into Kate's skin, and jerked her backwards.

“It can't destroy us.” Kate shook her off.

“No.” Claire grabbed her again.

“Get off!” Kate kicked her. “It can't destroy us, not unless your hanging onto my arm keeps me from fighting.” She strode past the boys rolling on the ground. “Ethan, you are the one who instigated this, so stop playing around and come help.”

“I can't --” He wheezed under the blond. “He's heavier than me -- I want my body back!”

Kate shook her head, her gaze still on the Soul Eater above her that hovered slightly lower. With his descent, the temperature in the room lowered too. It became chilly and each breath produced a puff of fog. Usually a lone Eater would run away at the first hint of the strength of her power, but not this one. It might look the same as the other Eaters -- with its undefined features and two holes for eyes and a vertical line underneath -- but it was three times as big as a normal Eater.

The focus of its black holes landed on her and it emitted a dry, raspy sound, like the screech of chalk against a blackboard that echoed off the walls, louder and louder, as it flew toward her.

Fear crawled under Kate's skin and she tightened the grip she had on her scythe.
It's only an Eater
, she told herself. She had extinguished enough of them that another one, even one so large, shouldn't have caused her any problems. She could take it on her own. Which she would probably have to do, since Ethan was still tumbling on the ground.
Boys!

The whiteness had almost reached her.

She brandished her scythe. It cut into the Eater, making a long rip in it as it passed her.

It hissed and then a scream filled the space, but it wasn’t the Eater screaming; it was Claire.

Kate wheeled around to see a white snake coiling around the girl; it was feeding off her.

Another scream pierced the air, this time Ryan’s. He sprang up and ran to the girl and the Eater. “Take me,” he cried. “Take me.”

“Don't.” Ethan rushed after him and jumped on him. He wrapped his arms around Ryan, preventing him from getting closer to the Eater. “Tyler, a little help would be appreciated.”

Kate circled the Eater, whose eyes followed her, moving across the upper part of its oval head, while its mouth continued to suck the energy out of Claire.

Tyler hurried to the boys and dragged the struggling Ryan away.

Kate swung her scythe; careful not to cut the girl she made shallow rips in the whiteness.

The thing hissed and whirled around, making it impossible to dig her blade into it and cause more substantial damage.

“He's going to kill her,” Ryan yelled as he tried to claw his way out from the hold of Tyler's arm.

“Not if we have anything to do with it.” Ethan joined Kate. “How do we do this? Cut and duck?” Claws emerged from the tips of his gloves.

“That's what I have been doing. But I can't do enough damage when it's using her as a shield.” She sidestepped when a part of the whiteness shot out at her. “He's quite slow though, due to its size, I think, and its grip on its hostage.”

He nodded and strode around it, evading its assaults. The claws on his gloves grew; he looked as if he had pitchforks instead of hands. He dug his claws into it.

The Eater roared and its eyes swished around to face Ethan.

Now was her chance. She slashed at it with her blade.

It cried out and a few shreds fell to the ground and dissolved.

Claire hung like a broken doll in the Eater's grasp, her head lolling every time the Eater moved.

They circled it, parrying and dogging the snaking white tendrils, and ripping into it, digging into it, deeper and deeper, until its body was only tattered remains that dangled from its head like chewed ribbons while its howls of anger and pain filled the room.

The girl fell to the floor.

Ethan grabbed her legs and hauled her away.

From the corner of her eye, Kate saw Ryan shove his way out of Tyler's grip and rush to Claire.

A white ribbon hit Kate in the stomach then dove inside her.

She gasped and sharp pain urged her body to double over. She held herself upright and cut the ribbon with her scythe.

Another one shot toward her.

Ethan's claws ripped it. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I think so.” She touched her stomach and ducked down when another white ribbon flew toward her.

“Then don't dilly-dally,” Ethan said, before he jumped on the Eater, his claws piercing its head.

A strident cry rose up and bounced against the walls.

She lifted her scythe and cut through its head vertically.

Another shriek, this time louder than the one before. As whiteness fell down like a grotesque banana peel and faded away, the echoes of the scream still filled the room.

“Well, that's that.” The gloves disappeared and with the back of his hand, Ethan wiped his damp forehead where strands of hair stuck to his temples.

“Yes, I guess it is.” Kate leaned on the snath. “And yet, we are still here, and I still look like Claire.”

“It's them.” Ethan glanced at Ryan, who hovered over Claire, worry written on his face as he gently shook her and begged her to wake up.

Kate willed the scythe away and together they strolled to them.

“He's gone?” The blond shifted on his knees, gathered the girl in his arms and pulled her into his lap.

“Yes, it is,” Ethan said.

Relief left Ryan's throat in a long sigh and he slumped to the floor. “Really, really gone?”

“Yes.” Ethan nodded as he towered over the boy.

“We can live in peace now. Do you hear that?” Ryan shook the girl in his lap. “Claire, do you hear that? We don't have to leave in fear anymore. No more harvesting and pretending.”

Kate exchanged glances with Ethan. “He doesn't know that they are dead,” she whispered to him.

“Would you be so kind as to give us our bodies back?” Ethan said.

“Yes.” Ryan nodded and closed his eyes.

Mist floated from the floor, up, up, until it reached above their heads, thick enough that it veiled their sight, and all Kate could see was an outline of Ethan’s body. Then the fog dropped down, fading completely, only a lonely wisp of it curling against the stone ground.

When her eyes found Ethan, ice blue irises now stared back at her. She tugged on a strand of blond hair that hung over his forehead. “Hey.”

He wrapped his fingers around the braid that hung over her shoulder and gently pulled on it. “Hey, yourself.”

They were finally themselves and it felt good to be back in her own skin. She hadn’t noticed how tight and straitjacketed Claire's body had been until she returned to hers.

“I'm sorry about that,” Ryan said. “But he threatened to feed on Claire if we didn’t do what he wanted.”

“And what was that?” Ethan asked.

“Supply him with spiritual energy. I don't know why, but it seems feeding on others directly hurt him. You two have such abundance of it, but he couldn't access it on its own.”

“Of course feeding hurt it.” Kate looped her arm with Ethan’s. “Soul Eaters need spiritual energy to survive, but whenever they feed on spirits, they relive their victim's painful memories, which then become part of them, haunting them, torturing them. It's their personal hell.” Or so she had heard.