Forgotten Souls (The Saving Angels 2)

"Of course not," Mark said. "Misty just remembered she left her purse in the car," he added, nodding toward me, acting like he was aggravated for my negligence. Taking Mark's words as a sign, I closed my eyes and reached out to embrace the hatred that was flowing freely around the man in front of us.

The images that greeted me swept all air from my lungs as I realized my mistake instantly. He was not a forgotten soul. He was something else entirely. My own emotions burned inside me, leaving me disoriented. Allowing him inside and getting a glimpse of the darkness that resided in him had robbed me of all the energy I had gained just moments before. His soul wasn't dark like I would have expected in someone that evil, it was just simply gone.

He was soulless.

Chapter 11

"Come on Misty, let's go get your purse," Mark said, tugging me close so that my depleted body could lean heavily on his.

"I believe Alan might want a few words with you first," the soulless creature said in front of us.

Focusing all my attention on keeping my emotions at bay, I felt Mark shifting our bodies slightly so that we faced the man at the front of the tent.

"Ah, I see we have a traitor in our midst," Alan said in a dry tone, addressing the small group of people that remained. Because the mass exodus of the tent was now so evident, I could clearly tell who the last of the forgotten souls were and who were soulless Demons.

"Do you know the best way to flush out a traitor?" Alan asked, breaking into my thoughts. "Live bait," he said, dragging the girl I had been looking for by the hair to his side. I watched in horror as he tightened his hand in her hair and pulled a small handgun out of the waistband of his jeans.

I went to take a step toward her, but Mark had me anchored firmly against him.

"No!" he whispered, pushing me behind him through the narrow opening in the tent wall that was still exposed. "Run and get the guys and don't come back," he said, propelling me out the opening.

I turned and fled in one movement, feeling the monster behind me grasping at the thin air I left behind as I raced toward the others.

"Get her!" Alan screamed as panic erupted inside the tent. My legs propelled me across the dirt lot faster than I had ever moved. In the blink of an eye, I was at my friends' sides shouting at Shawn and Robert to help Mark.

I watched as Shawn and Robert headed back toward the tent at what seemed like a turtles pace after my own sprint. I turned and glanced into the worried eyes of my friends as a gunshot rang out through the night.

Without pausing to think, I raced back toward the nightmare, into the mayhem I had just fled. The scene inside the tent was chaotic with people scattered everywhere and our Protectors in the middle of the mess fighting off the soulless creatures Alan had at his disposal.

"Thank God," I exhaled, seeing Mark alive and fighting at the far end of the tent. Continuing to scan the ruckus in front of me, I finally settled on the victim of the gunshot. The girl I had intended to save, the whole reason we were even here in the first place lying in a pool of blood on the hard-packed dirt at the front of the tent.

Time stood still as my soul took in the sight before me, and all rational thought left as I raced to her side. I reached down and grasped her slender wrist in my hand and could feel her faint pulse. She looked at me her eyes clouded over, full of tears.

"I-I-I'm so s-sorry," I choked out as best I could, taking her images into my soul and filtering them like I should have in the beginning. I poured all my love into them and gave her all the peace I could.

"Thank you," she said faintly before her eyes closed for good as I held her hand in my own with hot tears falling down my cheeks.

I was so lost in grief over the girl that lay before me that it took a moment to realize someone was standing over me.

"Well if this isn’t the most touching thing I've ever seen," Alan said, dragging me to my feet by my hair. "You think you can come in here and take everything I've worked for away from me," he demanded, spitting the words at me.

I felt like I was looking at The Dark One himself as I stared into the eyes of my captor. "It looks like that’s exactly what we did," I said, not fearing him as I knew I should have.

"Do you want to know a secret?" he asked coldly. "I know he can't live without you," indicating someone outside my line of vision. I did not need to turn my head to see who he meant.

He knew our secret.

I felt his hands closing tightly around my throat. While I still had time, I sent a silent message to Mark asking him to forgive me for getting us in this situation. I was going to die. I knew it as clearly as I knew my own name. My actions, though, would not only affect me, they would also affect the person who held my heart. I had jumped into the situation without considering who would ultimately pay the highest price.

Blackness began to threaten my vision. Through my cloudy sight I saw a person charging, knocking us to the ground in a heap. My head hit the dirt with a solid thump and blackness welcomed me into its waiting arms.

***

I awoke to gentle swaying as Shawn maneuvered the vehicle along the dirt road.

I tried to sit up, but was forced to grab my head to ease the piercing pain that was splitting my skull.

"Are you okay?" Mark asked, gently directing my head back down to rest on his lap.