Soulcleaver, page 33
part #2 of Dreamwalker Chronicles Series
She looked around, expecting to see Marshall, but she was still alone by the lake, and the tower was still busy being a ridiculous eyesore with Marshall trapped inside.
The need to protect Nova was deeply personal for Marshall. Maybe she needed something personal to get him free. But she hadn’t known him very long. She had no idea what she could do to draw him out of Nova and Niko.
Arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her against a hard chest. At first she thought Marshall had come back on his own, but no, his soul was still blazing away outside of his body like a dumbass.
She turned and saw Dream Marshall gazing down at her with a cocky smile.
“Why do you keep showing up?” she muttered. “You have the worst sense of timing . . .”
Or did he?
What was probably the stupidest idea she ever had popped into her mind and refused to be ignored. Unfortunately, she was out of good ideas, so even a bad one sounded good right now.
She went up on tiptoe and pressed her lips against Dream Marshall’s.
At the very least, real Marshall ought to be impelled to come and tell her to stop violating him.
Before she had a chance to decide how far she was planning on taking the kiss, a hand was on her shoulder pulling her away and into the arms of a very real and very confused Marshall.
“Hi . . .” she began weakly. Her mind worked furiously trying to prepare some kind of defense for her actions.
His lips crashed down over hers hungrily, silencing her, and her mind stopped working altogether. There was no finesse to the kiss, it was raw and powerful, just like Marshall’s essence. Behind her back, his fingers twisted in the fabric of her hoodie and he pulled her against him. There was no Dream Marshall anymore, no lake, no tower. There was only the slow slide of his tongue against hers and his breath on her lips. His heat was poetry against her skin, and she wanted every word of it etched in her bones.
After far too little time, Marshall pulled away a fraction, his forehead still pressed against hers. “Thank you for finding me.”
Aeyli nodded, cheeks now blazing like the sun. She opened her mouth, but her brain refused to supply any words to her, so she closed it.
Marshall planted a small kiss on her lips. “We should go back.”
“Yes.” Her voice was little more than a whisper.
“Don’t think I’m letting this go.” Marshall’s voice was heavy with promise.
“Okay.”
And then they were back in the Real.
Marshall, Aeyli, and the twins all blinked owlishly at one another. How much had they seen? Niko and Nova were still so entwined with Marshall, she couldn’t help but think they’d seen her kiss him.
Jack sat down heavily between them and draped an arm over Aeyli and Marshall. “This is getting to be a habit of yours that I just can’t support.”
Aeyli flushed. Did he know too?
Marshall laughed hoarsely. “For you, Jack, I’ll try to cut back on how often I almost die.”
Jack buried his face in Marshall’s shoulder. “You fucking better,” he mumbled.
Nova and Niko huddled together looking unsure. Aeyli was certain they were about to bolt, but she didn’t know why.
“We don’t care,” Adelle announced from the floor. “Whatever that monster did to you two, you’re still dreamwalkers.”
Jack lifted his head enough to say, “You’re one of us.”
“And we protect what is ours,” Marshall stated with finality.
“Even from the Guard?” Niko asked bitterly.
“If it comes to that.” Marshall nodded grimly.
“We can always stay at my place if we need to. I’ve got plenty of room.” Aeyli chimed in. This was her family now. She would protect them. “Though I’d like to see anyone tell Samantha who she can allow in her place.”
She couldn’t stop herself from looking over her shoulder back the way Fourteen had left. Even if it had just grown, her family was still missing a person.
Chapter 38
Aeyli
Samantha clucked and fussed over the twins even more than Aeyli had expected she would. Currently, the two were bundled together on the comfiest sofa in the dreaming lounge and being plied with every food imaginable.
They would have been bundled separately, but it turned out there had been an unfortunate side effect of Noah’s device. The twins were stuck together.
Something that had become apparent when they’d finally rose to leave the campus. When they stood and tried to walk, they’d fallen to the floor in an ungraceful heap, kicking, swearing, and blaming one another the whole way down. Once they’d gotten sorted out, they’d realized they were unable part.
Aeyli would have been near hysterics of she were in the same position, but the twins treated it more like a temporary annoyance.
“So, you can decide which part of you is touching?” Adelle was on the other side of the couch, completely immersed in this new conundrum.
“It seems so.” Nova scooted away from her brother to create space between them, leaving only a hand on his shoulder. “As long as some part of us is touching, everything is okay, but if I do this—” She attempted to pull her hand away, and both twins grimaced in pain.
Niko took her hand in his, removing it from his shoulder and tucking it under his arm. “That’s enough experimenting, for now, thanks. At least give the first round of injuries a chance to heal before you go giving us a massive migraine.”
Aeyli chanced a glance at Marshall, expecting him to be as engrossed in the twins as Adelle, but instead found his hazel eyes on her. A blush raced across her cheeks, and her lips tingled in remembrance of their kiss.
What on earth was she supposed to do now?
She jerked her eyes away from Marshall’s, and they landed on Jack, who was giving her an unreadable look.
Desperate for a distraction, she said, “What I don’t understand is how Fumiko managed to switch everyone at the last minute.”
Jack’s kaleidoscope eyes swirled, and his mouth curved into a cocky smile. “It was her gift.”
Confused, Aeyli frowned. “Gift?”
“Some members of the Other have a little something extra from the gods, like Adelle with her ability to sense magic in more than one way, or Marshall’s ability to store magic, or—my personal favorite—my ability to be the most beautiful person in the room.”
She wanted to argue and take the wind out of his sails, but it wasn’t in her to lie. Jack truly was breathtaking. Out of the corner of her eye, she could tell Adelle was contemplating whether or not she had the energy to do it, but she must have chosen not to because she turned back to the twins. “You have a memory of her using it once, right?”
Nova frowned and nodded. “Yeah, she used her gift to swap leaves for money at a bank once. You’re saying she swapped the two of us for her and Noah?”
“That’s what it looked like to me. From what I remember, her power required there to be a similarity between the items switched. Leaves for money, two adults for two other adults, that sort of thing.” Marshall had switched into his teacher-mode voice, but his gaze never left Aeyli.
Deep down, something at Aeyli’s center pulsed.
“The thing is, I don’t remember her gift being strong enough to shift that much mass.” Jack mused as he sorted though a cheese and fruit plate, looking for the right kind of cheese to top his makeshift sandwich.
“A mother’s love can move mountains,” Samantha said softly, from her place by the fire. Something about the sadness tingeing her face made Aeyli wonder if she wasn’t speaking from experience.
“And now she’s gone,” Nova whispered.
“But I’m not.” Niko tugged until his sister was wrapped in his arms. His frown dared anyone to try and take her away.
“Me either.” At Nova’s look of confusion, Aeyli stuttered her way though a clarification. “Um, I mean . . . I . . . I’m here for you. As well . . . Y . . . you know, in case the Guard tries to take you away.” When Niko tightened his hold on Nova, Aeyli thought maybe she should stop talking.
“That won’t happen.” Marshall had finally stopped trying to bore a hole in Aeyli’s skin with his eyes and moved to face the twins. “No one needs to know about this. Right, Samantha?”
Samantha was quiet for a long moment, then she gave a slow nod. “Some people would understand after meeting the twins and hearing their story, but most . . .” She broke off.
“There are a lot of old-timers who wouldn’t care if they were innocent. To them, the law is the law.” Jack finished for her. He walked a precariously tall plate of food over to Aeyli’s side and presented it to her with a flourish. When Aeyli accepted it, Jack began to help himself to its contents. Apparently, they were sharing.
“And compiled with Marshall’s soul still being attached to Nova’s, they’d have a pretty good case against all three of you.” Adelle pointed out, twisting anxious fingers together.
It irked Aeyli that she hadn’t managed to free Marshall completely from Nova’s soul, but apparently, it was something even beyond her abilities. For now, anyway. Who knew what she’d be able to do once she’d mastered her Stillbringer powers?
Jack hooked an arm around her waist and flopped into the nearest chair, pulling her with him. She barely managed to keep the plate from decorating them both.
Marshall raised an eyebrow at them. “So we keep our heads down for now until we can get that sorted out. Samantha . . . I know this is a lot to ask of you, but can we stay here for a while?”
Samantha stood. “You made it back out of the ’Scape when you left this morning. As far as I’m concerned, you’ve broken no laws. You are welcome to stay as long as you like. I will keep you safe.”
At first Aeyli was confused, but the look of surprised relief on Marshall’s face made her remember something he’d said earlier. Something about how Vis checked in with their dreamwalkers when they entered the ’Scape.
“You mean you might not have been able to leave the ’Scape if Vis had thought you were guilty? And you went in anyway?” Her voice was a lot louder than she’d meant for it to be for some reason.
Jack wrapped his arms around her waist, soothing her. She could feel his essence even through her shirt, and it felt better than it had any right to. “It’s okay, kitten.”
“Actually, I hadn’t even considered it at the time.” Marshall rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “But I won’t lie and say it doesn’t feel good knowing Vis isn’t mad at me about all of this.”
“But . . .” Aeyli still felt like everyone was missing the bigger picture here, but she didn’t know how to put it into words.
Niko butted in. “Your drama is lovely, Marshall, really, but did anyone else notice that Dad was acting more cray than usual? I mean, it wasn’t just me right? He was talking to someone else?”
“I noticed it too.” Adelle’s brow creased. “I thought it might have been possession like with Hester, but I checked. There was no one there.”
“Hester and Sekt fooled a lot of dreamwalkers for a long time.” Aeyli reminded her.
“Yes, but they were being lowkey. If someone with power, like me”—she flashed the room a grin—“had actually looked, they would have been discovered. And you better believe I looked hard.”
“So what do you think it was?” Niko gave Adelle a calculating look, as though only now seeing her for the first time.
“I don’t know.” Adelle bit her lip, troubled.
“Well, now we might never know.” Nova grouched from her brother’s other side.
The tingle of Jack’s essence was becoming incredibly distracting, so she climbed off his lap and handed him what was left of their plate. Marshall gave her a questioning look. She smiled and shook her head, hoping he would understand she only needed to move and that nothing was wrong.
She walked over to a window and looked down at the street painted a soft purple by the sunset. She had the urge to fling it open and breath in the air, but while it was late spring, the night air still had quite a bite to it. She didn’t want to freeze everyone in the room.
A smile touched her lips. She had people she cared about here, and they cared about her too. Well, Niko was a work in progress, but she had a feeling he’d turn out okay. Eventually. Probably.
She pressed a hand to the window. She was still missing someone. And her heart ached like a sore tooth whether she was thinking about him or not. No, she couldn’t hide away here at the Chapter House like some wilting flower waiting for him to come and find her. She was going to have to go out there and get Fourteen herself.
Epilogue
Fourteen
He thought he’d manage to wait longer than six hours, but here he was, perched on top of the building across from the Boston Chapter House. Fourteen’s fingers drifted to the bandage on his sternum. He’d cut out the tracker, so the Company wouldn’t be following him here, or anywhere.
Kidnapping Aeyli was not a good idea. Even if he really wanted to. He was sure she would forgive him, after all. She was that kind of person.
After his initial disappointment, Fourteen found he was relieved Aeyli had chosen not to come with him. As much as he needed her, as much as he craved her, he couldn’t countenance bringing her with him. The monsters he had to face were darker than anything she should have to deal with.
No, she would be better off with her guardians. He recognized the collective look Fire had in their eyes. They were killers like him. The perfect protectors for Aeyli until he came back for her.
He sat on the rooftop, patient and still, until he caught a glimpse of Aeyli standing near a window. She looked tired, but well. That was good enough for him. If he stayed any longer he might do something stupid, like knock on the door.
He swung down the fire escape.
Fourteen had a job to do.
One he was going to enjoy.
Acknowledgements
First of all, I have to acknowledge my Christie. She is literally the best—everyone should have one. She has given me valuable, gentle critique every step of the way. And of course, my husband, I’d put him first, but he got the dedication in Stillbringer and I don’t want him getting a swelled head or anything. But seriously, I couldn’t write these books without him. He’s my sounding board and my plothole spotter. I also want to give a shout out to Loveizpain for giving me a couple of hard truths I needed to hear in order to make my book the best it could be.
Note from the author
You guys, I don’t even know what to say to you all except that I freaking love you! Thank you for reading The Dreamwalker Chronicles, it means the world to me to be able to do this for a living. Sometimes I wake up and I feel like it must be a dream, but when I see no Jack, or Marshall around, I realize I must be in the Real.
Marshall’s story was an emotional one for me, I can’t tell you how many times I cried for him while I was writing. In my next book, Sleepwalker, it’ll be Fourteen making me cry and I hope you’ll come along with me for the journey.
Please feel free to contact me at zileelliven@gmail.com. I’d love to hear from you, but if you’re shy, you can follow me on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook. Heck, you can follow me if you’re not shy, I post new stuff about my books in all of these places, but if you want deleted scenes and extras come find me at my website.
If you enjoyed this book, please consider leaving a review. I’m self-published, so every review I get is important—it makes sure other people know my stories are worth reading!
Cheers!
Zile Elliven
P.S. If you've liked my Dreamwalker series so far, check out an excerpt from my novella, Maiden, on the next page. It's about a kick-ass chick, a monster under the bed, and old myths come to life!
Maiden
Chapter One
My blanket tickled my nose, keeping me from dropping into true sleep, but I didn’t care. Instead, I burrowed even deeper into the soft, microfiber blanket my mother bought me as an apartment-warming gift—Okaa-san wasn’t a clingy parent, but she still felt the need to make sure her baby stayed warm while she was across the ocean. The A/C was on—which was decadent, I admit, considering it was late September—but I wallowed in it. This was the first time I’d had to myself in days.
My new job had been eating all of my spare time, plus a little extra. I was lucky I managed to catch a shower before work every morning, but it was kind of a must. Being the highest-ranking woman in my department meant I had to be perfect at everything I did in order to get respect. That meant dressing smartly, showing up early, leaving late, and bringing in the biggest clients.
Today had been my big break, my first million-dollar contract, and while I wasn’t about to sit on my laurels, I was going to enjoy going to bed at a reasonable hour for the first time in months.
Just as I was starting to drop off into blissful slumber I heard a noise—a faint rustling sound coming from under the bed.
Seriously? A new apartment building and it already had mice? My first call of the morning was going to be to my landlord, but I wasn’t going to let an unexpected roommate keep me from my rest.
I rolled over onto my side and let my hand dangle over the edge of the bed—it was getting toasty inside my cocoon, and I needed to bleed off some excess heat if I was going to fall asleep.
