Chapter 7
Eric jumped up from the bed and advanced on Mitchell, towering over him as he sat, relaxed, in the armchair. “Do you realize how infuriating you are?” he yelled down at Mitchell. “Can’t you just give me a straight answer? Why does everything have to be a bloody secret with you?”
“Calm down, Son,” Mitchell said, and rolled his eyes.
But Eric couldn’t. Suddenly, terror spiked through him, rushing through his veins in a burst of heat. Lightheadedness overtook him, and he stumbled. Eric reached out, gripping onto the window ledge as he fought against the dizzying blast. His head spun, his heart raced, and darkness began seeping in around the edge of his vision. He blinked furiously, fighting against the gray fog that was settling over his eyes.
Someone screamed. It was loud and quiet all at once. An echo vibrating through his brain. And it was familiar. The voice, even with the panicked screams, sent shivers and sparks through his body. Megan.
“Eric,” Mitchell said, his voice filled with concern. He shot out of his chair and began inching towards Eric slowly, cautiously, as if he was scared to move too fast.
Eric opened his mouth to say something, but his voice lodged in his throat. Megan screamed again and again and again, and in the back of his mind, Eric swore he could see her running. Her face was tear stained, and her hair was flying wildly around her shoulders. Her eyes were wide and terrified, and she kept glancing over her shoulder as if someone was chasing her.
She stumbled, falling to her knees, and then clenched her hands to her chest. Looming shadows were closing in on her. Big, dark figures, wearing cloaks. “They’re going to hurt her,” Eric blurted. What was happening to him? How could he be seeing her as if he was standing right in front of her? The image in his mind was so crisp that it was as if he could reach out and touch her.
“Who?” Mitchell demanded, and for half a second, Eric looked at him, and when he did, he was sure he saw trepidation in Mitchell’s eyes.
“The … the … I don’t know,” Eric wailed in frustration. “She fell, and there are shadows …” Eric caught a glimpse of a hand, and he growled. “They have bows and arrows.”
Mitchell grabbed his shoulders, and shook him roughly. “Eric, you have to stop thinking about her. You’re going to pull her to you.”
“I have to help her!” Eric shouted, thrashing about as he tried, unsuccessfully, to get Mitchell’s hands off of him. All at once, he drew the lines that he hadn’t been able to connect before. She was real. She was his. And someone was trying to hurt her. He didn’t know why or how he knew this, but he did. He could feel it in his bones, in his heart, in his essence. She was his soulmate.
As if Megan knew he was watching, in that moment of realization, she shifted her head, giving him a clear view of her neck, and it was there—the mark—a black figure eight with a solid line passing behind the bottom loop. His soul’s mark.
“Then you have to let her go,” Mitchell said sternly. “She needs to keep running. Trust me.” There was desperation in his voice, as if he was begging Eric to listen. “You need to stop watching and let her run.” He paused for a second, and his eyes misted. “Please stop,” Mitchell pleaded.
But Eric couldn’t. He had no control over whatever was happening. He didn’t understand it. Why couldn’t Mitchell see that? Eric watched helplessly as Megan’s body began to separate, as if her spirit was leaving her, and suddenly a wavy image of her floated above as her body collapsed to the ground.
Eric cried out, terrified, and his body began to shake.
“Mr. Carter?” Megan screamed, panicked. Her voice filled the room, and her erratic heartbeat hit Eric’s ears like a punch in the gut. He swiveled his head, following the sound, and he sucked in a startled breath. Her green eyes were piercing and full of alarm, and her blood red curls, untamed.
Mitchell cursed. And then, in a swift motion, he grabbed Eric’s chin and twisted, and everything went black.
****
Eric woke up with a start. His neck snapped and popped, and he could feel his spine piecing together under his skin. His neck muscles tightened, and with another uncomfortable snap, they loosened again. He gasped, and the air burned through his lungs as if he had been holding his breath for hours. His eyes began to water, and he scrubbed at his face. What the hell happened?
“Eric, I want you to check on Megan,” Mitchell said.
Eric dropped his hands from his face, and shifted his gaze to Mitchell. He was sitting at the edge of his bed, with a grim expression, and he wouldn’t meet Eric’s eyes.
In a split second, everything came racing back. The soul’s mark. The curse. Megan. She had been scared. She had been here. His eyes blazed, and his fangs snapped down. “What did you do?” Eric demanded.
Mitchell cringed, and shuffled around on the bed uncomfortably. After a moment, he took a deep breath and said in a rush, “You pulled her spirit here, so I broke your neck.”
“You what!” Eric seethed.
“I needed to break the connection. If someone was chasing her, she had to keep running, and she couldn’t do that if she wasn’t in her body,” Mitchell said, as if it was simple logic.
“Where is she?” The words came out in a growl, and Eric glared at Mitchell. I can’t believe he broke my neck!
“I don’t know,” Mitchell said, his calm and controlled demeanor back in place. He tossed up his hands and waved them around. “Hence, why I want you to check on her.”
“How in the hell am I supposed to do that if you don’t even know where she is? She was just here!” Eric had seen her. She had been here which meant, obviously, that no one was chasing her.
Mitchell nodded. “In a way, yes. I’ll explain it all, but first you need to see if she is okay. Take a deep breath, close your eyes, and look for her.”
Eric did what he was told for two reasons. One: he really wanted to make sure Megan wasn’t just an illusion. And two: Mitchell was getting annoyed, and that never ended well.
When Eric closed his eyes, Mitchell said, “Now, when you find her, try to pick out anything around her that will help you track her location. If she falls again, drop the thought. I don’t want you bringing her back here in case she is still in trouble. She needs to stay with her body.”
It made no sense to Eric, but he did as he was told. He couldn’t say how long he sat there trying to visualize Megan. It felt like hours, but no matter how hard he thought about her, he saw nothing. Only blackness. He was just about to give up when he heard a soft whimper. There was some crunching, as if someone was walking on gravel, and then a thud. A gasp and skin slapping skin.
“Eric, stop!” Mitchell said. “Stop!”