Soul Betrayed. Katlyn Duncan

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СКАЧАТЬ by the window, looking lost in thought. He lifted his head as the door knob lightly bumped the wall, but his gaze was still far away. Shaking his head, he ushered me to a closet. I opened the two doors revealing an extensive collection of dresses. I reached out to touch the soft fabric, one or two hazy memories surfacing as I picked through them. These were my clothes.

      Maybe Cooper had been right and it would just take a little time for me to remember, especially if I had items from my past to remind me.

      “Do we have anything less…formal?” I inquired, sifting through the seemingly never-ending supply of dresses.

      Cooper smirked. “I figured you wouldn’t be happy with Sophia’s choices.” He walked toward the bed and kneeled beside it, momentarily disappearing. I walked to the bed just as he stood up holding a suitcase that he placed on the bed and unzipped, revealing a set of more modern clothes.

      “Ally had a little too much fun shopping for you.”

      Reaching into the case, our fingers brushed and I pulled my hand away as he stepped back, allowing me to see the clothes. As I picked through them, the touch of his fingers still lingered on my skin.

      I lifted a pair of jeans from the case, sizing them up against my body. Underneath were several pairs of underwear. I threw the jeans back onto the case and spun around, my face flushing.

      “I’ll give you some privacy,” Cooper muttered and disappeared.

      I stared at the empty space next to me. With my new status and body I wouldn’t have access to a soul’s quick transportation method, at least not until my transformation. I was reduced to human status, which was a weakness, especially if I was to somehow infiltrate the Shadowed. Wiggling my fingers, I tested the power within me but it was silent. I assumed that was all part of the human package.

      Picking through the underwear and bras that Ally had chosen for me, I piled the robe and towel onto the bed and slipped on the least lacy underwear that I could find.

      “Thanks for that, Ally,” I mumbled. I’d definitely have to do my own shopping from now on. Pulling on a pair of jeans and a fitted tank top I went to the standing mirror near the bathroom and inspected my outfit.

      Not bad for a new human.

      For a century I’d only worn the white Soul Collecting outfit and more recently the black Guard uniform. I’d tried on Ally’s clothes only a few times on our last mission but it was different to wear something that actually fit.

      With thoughts of the mission, a bubble of regret and sadness resurfaced, threatening to drown me again. I swallowed it down, bringing forth another rumble in my stomach. It was time for food. As I made my way to the door, I remembered Ally’s housekeeper, Marie, and her cooking. I hoped she and Henry were safe, wherever they were.

      I opened the door and Cooper came to stand beside me. My gaze flitted to a painting on the wall behind him. It depicted a horse riding through a forest. Another sudden barrage of memories struck me and I fell against Cooper, too distracted to worry about how embarrassed I felt.

      Memories of Gemma and I playing in these halls when we were kids flooded my vision. My mind filled with memories of my sister and me along with shorter memories of the staff members catching us in their sacred space.

      “Are you okay?” Cooper asked.

      I nodded, grinning widely. “I remembered a few more things.” I pointed. “Gemma and I knocked over that painting once and it was an intense ten minutes getting it back on the wall before someone saw.” I clasped my hands over my mouth, laughing at my memory of our clumsy fingers grappling with the frame.

      Cooper chuckled. “Anything else?” I nodded, but nothing important to the mission.

      As we wandered the halls, my legs regained their proper strength, but Cooper held me tight against him, mumbling something about not wanting me to fall again.

      I glanced up and the corner of his mouth twitched. “Let’s just get you downstairs in one piece.”

      “Okay,” I said, my heart picking up an extra beat at our proximity. The only time Cooper had ever touched me while I was human was through Ally. It seemed that all my senses had been heightened after I returned to my own body. Or maybe I just needed to get a grip! Cooper was a loyal friend and protector, I had to focus on the mission and not the way his eyes mirrored what confusing sensations I felt inside.

      Each step was easier as the memories slowed down. “Gemma and I. We used to play here.” I smiled. “Away from our parents.”

      I could almost see a younger Gemma skipping down the hall as if she were a superimposed memory against the backdrop of the present. Suddenly I couldn’t help but smile, until I remembered my theory on bringing my memories back.

      “Jackson,” I choked on the name of my betrayer and I felt Cooper stiffen. “He gave me a small wooden owl when I was inside Ally. It had been a gift in my human life. It showed me a memory of when we first met.” Cooper didn’t know the real reason why I went to see Jackson one of the nights I was inside Ally. The night I realized I’d done something horrible in my past. “I need a trigger to recall my memories. When I saw you for the first time after waking up I remembered the After.”

      Cooper listened, even though I noticed the clenching and unclenching of his jaw. He’d despised Jackson for a long time and had just started to trust him, as I had. “That’s something to bring up with Sophia.”

      I nodded. We walked silently down the hall, our footsteps muffled by the carpet. Oil paintings adorned the walls, each sparking memories, filling in the gaps in my head. I ran my finger across a smooth table, the glass surface glistening against the light filtering through the high windows. A tall vase with a bouquet of flowers stopped me in my tracks.

      “My mother insisted on fresh flowers throughout the house.” I lightly pinched the silky petals between my fingers. The thought of my mother brought forward the last night I saw her. Even though she was my step-mother, she’d been there for me since I was a child, filling in the motherly role for my father and myself. She’d been so frantic that night, witnessing both daughters’ deaths in the same night.

      I swiped at my eyes and tugged Cooper along, away from the hall and my haunting memories.

       CHAPTER FOUR

      Cooper led me down the main stairwell and I gripped the bannister for support, flickers of memories of Gemma and me sliding down them during our childhood games.

      “Are you okay?” Cooper asked.

      I exhaled a breath I’d been holding. “Just taking it all in.”

      We rounded the corner at the bottom of the stairs and stopped at the door to the dining room.

      Cooper dropped his arm and leaned closer, our faces inches from each other. I clamped my lips together, very aware that I’d forgotten to brush my teeth.

      He crooked a finger, bringing it up to my chin. His touch sent an electric pulse through me. “Maggie, you won’t go through this alone.”

      “I know.”

      He cocked his head slightly, as if gauging my response.

      I СКАЧАТЬ