Chapter Eight
As soon as she awoke, she pulled on jeans and a T-shirt and returned to the den. It was no longer a matter of proving she was just imagining all of the crazy to escape the grief. She had to prove to herself that Connor was the man she knew he was. That he was good and kind and sweet and loved her with all his heart.
Goose bumps raced across her arms at the thought of how tenderly he’d kissed the sensitive spot at the base of her neck that morning before leaving for work. He’d told her to get some rest. That he’d let the dog out and check on Jazz before he left.
A smile on her lips and in her heart, she entered the den. One thing was for sure. The room still seemed out of place and just as uninviting in the light of day.
She’d worry about that another time. Right now she had to look more closely in the closet to ensure there was no safe. Cautiously, she opened the door. Looked the same as it had the previous night. Nothing out of the ordinary. She stepped inside and almost fell down. The floor in the closet seemed spongy, unstable. She braced herself in the doorway so she wouldn’t fall and bounced up and down on the closet floor with her right foot. Definitely not a real floor. She retrieved the letter opener from Connor’s desk then sat down in front of the closet and used the letter opener as a pry bar to try and lift the board. It popped out with little effort. As did the next four.
Revealing a small square black safe.
Sera wanted to puke. She squeezed her eyes shut several times and opened them, willing the thing to disappear. It didn’t work.
Fingers trembling, Sera tried the combination Hank had given her. Twelve. Twenty-two. Thirteen. Seven. The safe unlocked with a click, and she opened the door.
She crumbled to the floor sobbing. Her mind reeled, realization descended on her like an avalanche, hard and fast, taking her breath away before her emotions could catch up. She knew that box. The Soul Keeper’s Box. She’d heard the story over and over again so many times as a child that she knew it by heart. Mother never let them forget the fairy tale about the Soul Keeper. And she never let the box out of her sight. So if Connor had it…
She grabbed the box and moved toward the door before she’d even fully accepted what was happening. She had to protect Jazz and Hank.
Frantic and willing herself to get to the bedroom as fast as she could, Sera ran down the hall, barely stopping as she flung open the door. Once inside, her heart hit the floor. The bed was empty.
“Jazz?”
Eerie silence was the only reply.
For a second, her heart stopped, seeming to halt time with it. She was a child again, settling down for bed. Her mother tucking them in. After kissing Sera and Hank, Muriel sat on the chair between their beds.
“Once upon a time in Never Earth, there was a little boy named—”
“Dehbuck!” Sera and Hank yelled in unison.
Muriel smiled. “That’s right. Dehbuck lived on a farm with his parents in the Nether Plain. His mother was a healer.”
“And his father was a shoemaker!” Hank supplied.
“Yes. Also a farmer. They were very poor. Dehbuck spent his days fishing and playing in the woods close by his home.”
Sera pulled the cover up to her chin, held it tight. “But never after dark.”
“Never ever after dark. Because that’s when the soul seekers lurked about. One day, Dehbuck fell asleep while fishing. He awoke as the sun was falling behind the trees. Frightened and afraid that he wouldn’t make it out of the woods before dark, he dropped his fishing pole and ran as hard as he could.
“As he reached the edge of the woods, a kindly looking old man stepped in front of him. He was frail and walked with a cane. Dehbuck feared the old man was lost, so he stopped to see if he needed help. The old man said that was very nice of Dehbuck and offered him a gift for his kindness.”
“The Soul Keeper’s Box,” Hank said.
“It was made from the oldest of woods and said, ‘Where evil dwells,’ only Dehbuck didn’t know that’s what it said,” Sera added, eyes wide, voice barely above a whisper.
“Sadly, Dehbuck did not know that’s what the box said. He thought it would make a nice gift for his mother. She needed a place to keep her medicines. So he hurried home to give it to her. As he ran into the clearing by their house, he met his father, who was coming to look for him. He ruffled Dehbuck’s hair and told him supper was ready. As they walked, Dehbuck told his father of the kind man and the box.
Dehbuck’s mother yelled and waved at them from the porch to hurry. Father asked what was in the box, but Dehbuck didn’t know. He hadn’t looked as he’d planned to give the box to his mother. Curious, Father took the box and lifted the lid at the same time that Dehbuck’s mother screamed—”
“No!” Sera and Hank yelled.
“But it was too late. The spirit within the box had been released and was consuming Dehbuck’s father. His mother came running with a pitchfork and stabbed the spirit over and over until it fled back into the box.”
Tears welled in Sera’s eyes. “But Dehbuck’s father was already dead.”
Muriel got up from the chair and sat on Sera’s bed, took her in a warm embrace. “Yes, my darling, it was too late for Dehbuck’s father. The spirit had taken his soul. Filled with grief, his mother never recovered. And she never let Dehbuck forget how powerful the box was.”
“She made him promise to never open it, and then she taught him how to use the rod in case it did open again,” Hank said.
“And that, my children, is why we never open the Soul Keeper’s Box.” Muriel squeezed Sera tight and kissed her cheek several times. Then she did the same with Hank. “Sleep, well, my babies. I love you.”
Dread and understanding dawned on Sera as she stared hard at the box. Not a fairy tale at all. Bits and pieces of her childhood fit together. Hank mumbling as Mother made him practice wielding the forked rod. Sera had… her mind went blank. She knew she spent time practicing along with Hank. But for the life of her, she couldn’t remember what she’d learned. It wasn’t the pitchfork — devil’s fork — whatever it was called that Hank had learned. Why couldn’t she remember?
She grabbed her chest as a sinking feeling settled in the pit of her stomach. It was too late. Sera crumbled to the floor. “Oh, Jazz, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”
Her head jerked up, her senses on high alert as she heard the clanking and scratching of toenails on hard wood. Hank! She scrambled to her feet as the dog burst into the room.
“Where is she?” he snapped.
“Where is she? Where were you? You were supposed to protect her.”
“Your asshole husband came to take me outside to do my business. When I went out the door, he locked it behind me. I had to find a window that was open to get back in. Where were you?”
The tears that had been threatening to spill let loose. She bent down and hugged the furry animal. “I failed her. She’s gone. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know where she is.”
“Yes you do. You know. Don’t freak out now. Think, Ser.”
“I-I-I can’t. I don’t—”
“Yes you can. You have to. For Jazzie.”
Exasperated and scared beyond her wildest dreams, she stood and paced the room. Hysteria threatened to take hold of her. “No I can’t. I don’t know how to do any of this shit.”
“But you can. You just have to believe. You just have it let it come back. Stop fighting it. If you don’t, you won’t be able to help her.”
Her only answer was to shake her head and sob harder.
“You’re not a quitter, Ser. You never were. Don’t quit now. Not when Jazz needs us — needs you the most. You just—”
“How did you know the box was in the safe?”
Hank backed away, seeming to notice the box in her hand for the first time. “Jazz asked me why Connor had Mama’s box. I asked her where and she told me. I convinced her to keep it a secret from you like hide and seek so you’d finally believe and accept what I was saying.”
His words hit her like having hot coals and lava splashed on her. “Why oh why couldn’t you just have told me right from the start. If you had just told me, we could have kept all this from happening.”
“I am so sorry, Ser. I thought we had a lot more time for you to figure it out. I hate myself right now. If anything happens—”
“Wait a minute. You’re a dog.”
He let out a growl-sigh. “Yeah. So?”
“So, you find her. Use your doggie senses to find her.”
“What?”
“You’re. A. Dog. Use your nose to follow her trail.”
“Oh shit. Damn. Yeah. I am a dog! Why didn’t I think of that?” He started tracking, hurrying down the hall, his nose to the floor.
Sera followed.
Hank stopped at the door leading from the kitchen to the garage, hackles raise, tail straight out. “Open the door slowly.”
Sera back pedaled to the bar, set the box on the counter, and grabbed the two largest knives from the butcher block. Then she joined Hank at the door again and took a hold of the doorknob as Hank prepared to pounce. “One. Two. Three!” The door flew open. Hank leaped into the garage, snarling. It was empty except for the cars. Cars. Plural. Connor had not gone to work. Damn. She was such a fool. How could she not have known?
“Where are they?” Sera whispered.
“I don’t know. Her scent stops here.”
“Now what?”
“You know what. Open your mind and let it come.”
Sera took a deep breath, willed her panic away, begged for guidance. Almost immediately, she saw a flash of Jazz. Peaceful. Asleep. And with Connor.
Chest tightening, throat constricting, she glanced up at the door. “They’re in the attic.”
“Then what are you waiting for? Let’s go!” Hank snapped.
She shook her head. “He’ll hear us coming. He’ll hear the door open and he’ll know we’re coming.”
“Damn. Are there any windows we can get in through?”
“Yeah, but—”
“Honestly, Ser, I don’t give a fuck if he knows we’re coming. Pull the damn door down. If nothing else, maybe it’ll make him come at us, and she’ll have a chance to get away.”
He was right. She knew it. Sera glanced at the attic door. The stairs leading up resembled a ladder more than a set of steps.
“Can you even go up those stairs?”
“Hell yeah, I can go up them. Now pull the door down and get out of my way.”
“What? No—”
“I’m faster. I can get to that bastard before he has a chance to realize what’s going on. I’m going up first. Now lower the damn door.”
With a final steadying breath, she grabbed the string and pulled the door down as slowly and quietly as she could. Before she unfolded the last part of the steps, Hank bounded up them four at a time, barely making a sound as he went.
Sera scrambled to catch up, mindful of the knives she carried. She tripped as she reached the top, dropping the knives. She cringed as they pinged off the stairs and then clattered to the cement floor. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
A vicious growl drew her attention to Hank. She gasped as he launched himself at Connor, causing him to plummet to the floor. The dog had a death grip on Connor’s arm, ferociously shaking his head back and forth as if trying his best to rip the appendage off.
Shocked by the brutal way Hank went after Connor, she yelled, “Stop!”
Hank froze but didn’t let go.
Connor turned his head to the side. His gaze locked with hers. His eyes were sad, scared. In her mind, she could hear him begging her, pleading, “Sera. Help me. Please.” Connor’s lips hadn’t moved, but Sera had no doubt his voice was the one she heard. And he wasn’t talking about the dog attacking him, either.
Suddenly, the sadness was gone, and Connor’s face contorted into what Sera could only imagine evil would look like. He punched Hank in the side of the head hard enough that it should have sent the dog hurtling against the wall. But Hank was relentless, his grip viselike. He held on, whining with every blow Connor landed, refusing to let go.
Find Jazz!
Sera searched around, unseeing. The room seemed to be spinning, making it impossible for her to focus on anything. She wasn’t sure she wanted to see. The horrific sound of flesh tearing and bone hitting bone as Hank and Connor continued to fight made her sick to her stomach.
Terror grabbed her when Hank let out a soul-searing yelp and limped sideways.
She was on her feet. “You bastard!”
Everything was happening so fast, Sera didn’t have time to think. She still hadn’t located Jazz, and now Hank was down. Connor stood, blood pooling from the gashes on his arm. He stalked toward her.
Trapped, she backed away, her hand held out defensively in front of her. “Connor, this isn’t you. I love you. You don’t want to hurt me. Just tell me where Jazz is.”
He zeroed in on her, trapping her. “I thought it was you, you know. I thought you were the one I needed.” She moved left to try and get around him, but he was faster. He pinned her to the wall. “Too late I realized my mistake. Of course by that point I’d fallen in love with you.” Connor stroked her hair. “Then it dawned on me if we had a child, perhaps…”
Bile rose in her throat as she finally saw Jazz and realized what he left unspoken. The little girl was laid out on an altar. A black cloth draped over her. Candles all around her. Were it not for the dagger laying on her chest, she’d seem peacefully asleep. “You would have sacrificed our child?”
He gave her an I’m guilty shrug. “I know. I know. Nasty business. A necessary evil in order for me to become the Soul Keeper. Immortality comes with its own loopholes, my dear. Better this way, really. I was finding it harder and harder to accept the fact that I’d have to kill you.”
Slowly, she shook her head, her mind rejecting what she was hearing. He wasn’t serious? “Immortality. Soul Keeper. Do you hear yourself? Are you crazy? You actually believe if you kill Jazz you’ll live forev—” Mother. The pieces fell together seamlessly. How had she not seen what was right in front of her?
He tsked and shook his head. “You left me no choice but to use your baby sister as a substitute when you didn’t give me a child. Don’t worry, love. I’ll make it as quick and painless as possible.”
The way he talked about Jazz, as if she were nothing more than an inanimate object, a replaceable trinket, had Sera on the brink of vomiting. The cold and callous way he spoke turned her stomach. The monster standing in front of her was nothing at all like the Connor she knew and loved. “You won’t kill Jazz. You love me. I know you do.”
“I do. More than I ever thought possible. If I’m being honest, I was a bit relieved to learn you weren’t the Soul Keeper. I could keep you and my immortality.” He kissed her forehead, and she was repulsed and thrilled all at the same time. Connor lifted her hair off her neck and kissed her below her ear. Shivers of an unwanted kind raced up and down her spine. She hated that he could tease such a response from her. “Join me, Ser. We can be together forever.”
“You’re insane. There’s no way in hell I’m going to let you sacrifice my sister.”
Hank lifted his head, tried to sit up. Sera wanted to run to help him, and she needed to see if Jazz was okay. But she was frozen in place. Out of fear or shock she wasn’t sure. Maybe neither. Maybe Connor had cast a spell over her to keep her from moving. She wasn’t sure of anything anymore.
“The only way to stop me from taking her soul is to kill me. And you love me too much to do that. We both know you don’t have the guts for murder.”
She glared at him, inner calm settling over her as she realized she had a choice to make. “You’d be surprised by what I can do.” Sera grabbed the area on his chest surrounding his heart. She squeezed, releasing as much venom and hate as she could muster into it. Her fingertips turned warm then burning hot. “Don’t test me, Connor. Don’t make me choose. We can put an end to this
right now. I’ll take Hank and Jazz, and we can forget all this ever happened.” She meant it. Anything to keep her brother and sister safe. And to keep from having to kill the man she loved.
Connor’s face turned scarlet, pain etched across his face. He seized her hand and tried to pry it loose. “You stupid bitch.” He slapped her with his free hand, causing her to break contact. “I have a choice to make too. And I choose me.” He turned on his heels.
“You killed my mother.” It wasn’t a question. She knew the answer.
He froze then faced her. For a second, there was true remorse in his eyes. He covered the distance between them slowly. “All she had to do was give me Jazz and the box.” He cocked his head to the side in a sympathetic gesture.
Sera wanted to slap the sad smile off his face. Claw his eyes out. “I meant so little to you that you’d kill my mother to get what you wanted.”
He punched the wall behind her. “Dammit, don’t you get it? I had to have that box to keep living.” Connor took her face in his hands, caressed her cheeks with his thumbs. “I made it quick. I didn’t let her suffer. I used the box to take her soul. She didn’t feel a thing.”
The contents of her stomach threatened to spill. Dehbuck’s father had suffered greatly when the box took his soul. The pain her mother must have gone through. “You make me sick. She was my mother.”
“I will spend the rest of your life making it up to you, Ser. I swear I will.”
“If you want to make it up to me let my sister go.” Hank’s legs were jerking and he was trying to get up. She had to distract Connor to give Hank time to recover enough to help her, so she threw her arms around Connor’s neck. “I’ll do anything you want, just don’t hurt Hank or Jazz.”
Connor peeled her arms away. “That’s the one thing I can’t give you.” He forced her arms behind her back and started for the altar, pushing her forward. She tried to break free, but he was too strong. Seemed stronger than ten men.
Hank grabbed Connor’s leg as he walked by. Without breaking stride, he kicked the dog in the side, making him let go.
“Hank!”
Undeterred, the dog whimpered and crawled after them. “Sera, now! Use your light!”
She stared at him, confused. Light?
“Seraphina, you can do it. The fire is still within you.”
That whisper across her neck again.
“Concentrate, darling. You can do it. Let the flames consume you.”
Sera’s heart started beating erratically. Her pulse made her skin jump. Fear and rage consumed her, and she let out a piercing scream. Desperate to protect her brother and sister, she let the fire within her take hold. She could feel her blood boiling.
The candles on the altar jumped and sputtered, growing three times higher in size. The flames turned a deep red and shot in all directions.
Connor jumped back, releasing her. “What the hell did you do?”
Sera’s breathing was getting harder and faster. Her chest rising and falling so fast it hurt. The flames of the candles shot higher still, sparks flying wildly, causing fires to sprout up around the room.
Connor hurriedly tried to stamp out the flames, cursing and coughing as the room began to fill with smoke. “Look what you’ve done. Stop it before you kill all of us.”
She ignored him. Using all the fear and emotion she could muster, Sera concentrated as hard as she could on one of the candles. The flame shot to the ceiling and spread across it like a wildfire. She then focused her attention on a second candle, sending its sparks toward Connor. Screams ripped from his throat as the flames licked at his clothes and skin. He stumbled backward, slapping at the fire consuming him. He started going too fast and ran into the window, shattering the glass. The terrifying shriek he let out as he fell sent a shiver up her spine.
She released a sigh and calmed herself. The candles went out, and the fires surrounding them started to fade, leaving charred remains in their wake.
“Sera, we have to get out of here,” Hank yelled as he crawled to the stairs.
She grabbed Jazz from the altar and ran to the stairs. Hank loped down the steps, stumbling and tripping as he missed a few. Sera followed, choosing to sit and slide down so she didn’t tumbled forward with the little girl in her arms. Jazz was cold and sleeping the sleep of the dead.
Once at the bottom of the stairs, Sera ran to her car and opened the back door. She laid Jazz in the seat, kissed her tenderly on the cheek. “No one is ever going to hurt you again.” Squeezing her eyes shut, she placed her head against Jazz’s chest to listen for a heartbeat. She let out a sigh of relief when she heard it. Faint but there. Thank God.
Hank was sitting beside her, licking his wounds as best he could.
“She has a heartbeat,” Sera told him.
“I know. I can hear it. Doggie hearing, remember? We have to get going, Ser. Now!”
She nodded and motioned for him to get in.
“Get the box. We can’t leave it here,” Hank said as he jumped in the car beside Jazz.
After shutting the door, she raced to the kitchen and grabbed the box. As she reached the door going back into the garage, she hit the garage door opener. She tossed the box on the dash, slammed the door, and turned the key. Before the door had risen all the way, she threw the car in reverse and peeled out.