Page 21 of A Soul’s Curse (Fallen Souls #1)

I left Nick, cautiously slipping through the crowd as I kept my head down to avoid attention.

With my backpack heavy on my shoulders, I entered the main church area on a mission to give aid to anyone who would let me.

Stone walls that once echoed with hymns now reverberated with the chatter of frightened visitors.

The nave of the church, once a grand and solemn space filled with rows of wooden pews, had been replaced with cots, each one with a warm blanket and pillow.

Almost every one of them was occupied by a sick patient.

I noticed a crowd of people gathering around a pretty fae woman wearing a white lab coat.

Although most of the time fae and demons didn’t get along, Dr. Katrina Brooks took her job as a doctor seriously.

Her oath was to help anyone who needed it, and that included all magical species and races.

I was on my way over toward her when an uncomfortable groan drew my attention away.

“Sasha?” I ran over to the young demon, who was sitting on a folding chair rubbing her very pregnant belly and wincing. “Are you okay?”

“Oh, hey, Theo.” Sasha’s hand rested on her belly and she smiled weakly. A tightness in my chest loosened when she didn’t immediately push me away. “This baby seems to be having a boxing match inside my stomach. He won’t stop punching and kicking. You think he’ll be good at sports one day?”

Her dark brown eyes twinkled with excitement. Despite the obvious discomfort she was in, with constant heartburn, nausea, and inability to tie her own shoes, she showed nothing but excitement to bring her son into this world.

“I’m sure that whatever he does, he’ll do it with a smile just as bright and warm as his mother’s.

” I swung my backpack off my shoulder and started digging around inside.

I didn’t have a lot of products with me, but I always carried around a few essentials.

“Did you eat any of the food here recently?”

“No.” She gritted her teeth and hissed. “I heard Dr. Brooks was here, so I thought I’d try to squeeze in a checkup. Looks like it might be a long wait to see her, though. How are you doing, Theo? I heard about Mr. Carson. You worked with him, right?”

I froze, my hand squeezing tightly into a fist. “Um, I’m fine. Mr. Carson is a little banged up, although his restaurant was completely destroyed.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” She readjusted herself in the chair. “I heard a black-haired middle-aged woman started the whole thing. I hope they find her.”

Confused, I looked up at her and she winked at me.

I helped Sasha out almost every time I came here, and she also knew my sister very well.

Very few people here knew about my true magic ability, but Sasha was one of them.

Although now with the rumors floating around, it meant a lot to me that, even knowing what I was really capable of, that Sasha didn’t believe I was behind it.

“Thanks,” I told her. She had no idea how much I desperately needed to hear that right now.

“For what?” She smiled. “I’m just telling everyone what I heard. Not my fault if it’s different from what’s on the news.”

I handed her a red lollipop. “For you.”

“Ohhh. You know, it’s been almost twenty years since I was given a lollipop for being a good patient.” She wagged the candy stick at me.

“Funny. It’s for your nausea and cramps. Maybe not the healthiest of options, but tastes a hell of a lot better than those over-the-counter capsules and lasts much longer.”

She ripped off the wrapper and immediately stuck the candy into her mouth. “Mmm. Delicious, Theo. Keep up the good work. We need you around here.”

Someone tapped my shoulder, and I turned around to see my sister in purple scrubs shining a smiling face in my direction. “ How is she doing? ” Paige asked. Ren walked up beside her, carrying two giant bags filled with medical supplies, one on each shoulder.

“The baby is really active, and I’m willing to bet she’s going to give birth any day now,” I signed back to her, but Paige caught my gaze flicking over to Ren.

“ Chill out. ” She flattened her palms and patted the air.

“ He caught me up on everything that’s happened.

Unlike you.” She slapped me across the chest. I’d been so caught up in everything that I never told her about Ellie or the Syndicate, or that she might be in danger.

I wondered how much he had actually told her.

“ What have you gotten yourself into, Theo? ”

I closed my fist and rubbed it in a circular motion across my chest. “ Sorry. I was going to tell you. It just happened so fast. ”

She rolled her eyes at me. “Whatever. This guy’s grouchy, but keep him around for a little while, will you? He’s been really helpful. He can’t sign, but he has an ability to communicate through pictures in my head. He’s been interpreting conversations for me.”

“Calm down, everyone!” Dr. Brooks called out, trying to settle the crowd gathering around her. It kept growing, and from what I could see, she was struggling to keep up with the sick patients. “We’ll get to everyone, I promise!”

“ Go. ” Paige shoved me out of the way. “ We got this. ”

I hesitated, wondering if I could trust Ren with her.

“ I’ll be fine, ” she reassured me with a casual hand gesture and a confident smile on her face. I took her word for it and dashed off to assist Dr. Brooks.

As I made my way through the maze of sick patients occupying every seat, cot, and space on the floor, I was met with a number of uncertain, hesitant faces glaring my way.

Each glance felt like a silent accusation, and no matter how hard I tried to focus on helping, the weight of their fear pressed heavily on my chest.

A flash of confusion crossed my face when I saw Ivy standing alongside a strange woman in flowing, pale-blue robes next to Dr. Brooks.

I looked around for Stella as well, remembering that I told her to find Ivy at the grocery store and wondering if they had met up and came here. I didn’t see her, though.

“Ivy?” I peered over her shoulder at the older woman, a serene and dignified figure with an aura of calm wisdom.

Her silver hair fell in long, soft waves around her shoulders, streaked with hints of its original dark brown.

Her eyes, a soothing shade of green, were warm and reassuring, and spoke of a life filled with compassion and experience.

“Theo!” Ivy exclaimed. “I’m so glad you’re here. Stella and I got here maybe fifteen minutes ago, but we could really use your help.” She noticed I was still staring at the strange woman.

“Alyeesa,” she introduced herself, holding out a delicate hand for me to shake.

“Oh! Right.” Ivy started playing with the hem of her sweater.

“You probably already figured this out about me, but I prefer avoiding conflict, so my magic manifested as the ability to summon people from other realms. This is Alyeesa. She’s a fairy from Elaran, a renowned healer from her realm.

Her ability to treat others is unmatched—”

Alyeesa held up a hand for her to stop. “That’s enough, child. While your praise flatters me, it’s entirely unnecessary.” Alyeesa redirected her gaze toward me. “Theo. You must be the boy with death powers everyone here in speaking of?”

I winced at that.

As a healer, I expected Alyeesa to berate me about the rumors being spread like wildfire, both in the shelter and on the news.

Instead, she placed a gentle hand on my shoulder.

“This sickness isn’t deadly, thank the ethereal gods, but someone really wanted to make us panic.

It wasn’t some liquid or powder, but an ability to sever the magic being used to keep the food fresh.

It may have looked fine, but it was clearly spoiled.

For most of these people, it’s just a nasty bout of food poisoning.

But depending on what they ate, some reactions may have developed into something more serious. ”

She all but confirmed it couldn’t have been me who did this, since that wasn’t how my magic worked.

But it was how Leon’s did. Someone must have glamoured him to look like me, just like someone was made to look like me during the attack on Carson’s Pizza.

The bastard was going to pay for this. There was nothing in my deal that said I couldn’t hurt him .

“I’ll start over there.” I pointed to a small group of people to my left and got to work.

“Hi. How are you feeling? Can I—”

“Get the fuck away from me, you savage!” The elf violently slapped my hands away before they could come anywhere near her torso. Remembering what Nick told me, I took a deep breath, encouraging myself to let it go.

“That’s not a very nice way to treat someone who is trying to help you.” Ren’s voice, low and simmering with anger, startled me. “Apologize to him.”

“It’s okay, Ren. Let’s go.”

He held out his arm to stop me, but kept his sight locked on the woman. His maroon eyes flashed with a fiery red glow. “If you’re content with remaining sick, so be it. But don’t take it out on the man who is here volunteering his time and offering to ease you of your discomfort. Apologize.”

The terrified woman cowered under Ren’s shadow. She grumbled an apology that was barely audible, but thankfully Ren didn’t push it any further. I accepted it and moved on.

“Your sister is taking a break,” Ren said. “Is there anything I can do to help you?”

My mouth immediately opened to snap at him that he’d done enough, but after remembering Nick’s words, and my sister’s, I decided now wasn’t the time.

“Not unless you have some kind of healing ability. But you can follow me around, make sure no one kills me, I guess. You appear to be a good bodyguard.”

The corners of Ren’s mouth curved into a confident, almost playful expression.