Page 47 of A Soul’s Curse (Fallen Souls #1)

Without my scooter, I only made a few nearby stops to drop off some home delivery orders.

As I strolled around the city of Salem, I called Stella, who confirmed both Sasha and her baby boy, Timothy, were happy and healthy.

I would have gone to see her, but Stella said that Sasha was exhausted and would probably be asleep by the time I got there.

She and Ivy were planning to grab something to eat then head on out, anyway.

So I went back home. I walked in through the door, tossing my backpack onto the floor and removing my shoes.

I headed toward the kitchen to grab something to drink.

It was late into the evening, night slipping in through the windows, but the lights had been dimmed and left on.

I stopped when I saw a plastic bag on the counter.

Inside was a bucket of fried chicken and a few containers of sides.

Smiling to myself, I grabbed a drumstick, lukewarm as I bit into it.

I’d have to seriously think about teaching Ren how to cook, because if I continued to live off take out I’d have to start running marathons to stay in shape.

Dragging my heavy feet, I carried my dinner and a soda down to the basement.

It had been a long day and while physically I was exhausted, mentally my mind was running circles around me.

I grabbed the book of poisons Ren had gifted me, opening up my notebook to jot down some ideas as I continued to munch on my dinner.

“How the hell do I even test this?” I asked myself, tapping my pencil on the paper as I stared at the spell.

I was curious to see if I could use my magic to create any of these spells on the fly.

“I can’t exactly paralyze myself. Or could I?

” Most of my abilities just … appeared when I needed them, and I haven’t exactly needed to paralyze anyone before.

Thinking about what I wanted, I let out a stream of my magic.

It absorbed into a nearby plant, but did nothing, the plant unable to move to begin with.

I flipped the page to another spell. This one was a cocktail of herbs and magical ingredients that created a numbing agent.

I wrote down the three missing ingredients I needed to make the spell.

I could likely replicate the effects using my own magic, but I wanted to test the actual spell as well.

I wouldn’t always be around to help Ren and the others, and I’d feel a lot more at ease if I could give them something that might help them escape a tricky situation.

Which brought me to the last spell I was working on.

The original spell listed in the book was like every poison all rolled into one, but I wanted to make something that had the exact opposite effect, a magic spell that would seek out any toxin in the system and eradicate it.

There was no such spell to fight against everything —at least none I knew of—but I was hoping if I could imbue my own magic into the spell then maybe it would have a better chance at succeeding, or at least buying enough time to figure out a plan.

I thought of Archie’s viper, the inky-black creature burying its fangs into me, and wondered what would have happened if that had been Ren or Ellie.

“I wish I could create a spell to change Ren’s attitude.

” I chuckled to myself, remembering when I first met him and how stubbornly annoying I thought he was.

I eventually found it endearing, how he always fought with me on the stupidest things, but never really meant it.

We might not have known each other very long, but I ached for his banter more than I wanted to admit.

For another few hours, I went on tinkering with some spells, trying to replicate my own versions that were dangerous, but not deadly.

Eventually, I yawned and struggling to keep my eyelids open.

Stella and Ivy never came home, having ended up at Ivy’s old apartment, packing up the last of their things to bring over.

Before I accidentally fell asleep face first in a vat of poison, I called it a night. I left the workspace behind and trudged up the steps to the top floor of the house, to Ren’s former bedroom, where I had started to take over and slowly make my own.

Except when I opened the door, Ren was sitting at the small wooden desk tucked away in the corner. His back was facing me, a subtle shadow cast over him from the floor lamp beside him. When he heard me enter, he turned around.

“Oh. Hey. I didn’t know you were here.” I walked over toward the dresser. “Let me just grab a change of clothes. I can crash on the couch tonight.”

“I said I’d be waiting for you.” His hands gripped the back of the wooden chair, his head tilted to the side as if it should have been obvious where he had been hiding out this entire time.

A soft warmth settled in my chest, like a comforting embrace.

I thought about everything Caspian told me before, about following my heart and going after what I wanted.

“Hey, got a minute?” I asked, my voice a tender whisper.

“Sure.”

I abandoned my search for pajamas and sat down on the bed.

Ren stayed sitting where he was at the desk.

“I wanted to apologize for what I said at Emberheart Place. I didn’t mean it when I said you always got in my way.

And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Caspian.

I assumed you didn’t want to see him again, but I still should have told you I was meeting with him. ”

There was a long, awkward silence between us before Ren spoke.

“Theo, I …” he searched for the right words to say, but they seemed just out of his reach.

He eventually turned away from me, scrubbing his hands down his face to let the words spill out.

“I don’t know how this works, Theo. I want to help.

I feel his overwhelming need to protect you and keep you safe.

But I have no idea how. My magic … When my feelings spiral out of control, I overreact and my magic does terrible things to people.

I’ve screwed up so many times and hurt you enough. I don’t want to do it again.”

I could feel the sorrow behind his confession, each word carrying the weight of his emotions.

“Ren, as much as I love having a knight in shining armor fighting my battles, I don’t want you bearing that weight.

” I got up from the bed and stepped over toward him.

“I just want you to be yourself and—Wait, what are you reading?” He immediately turned around and slammed the book shut, shoving it off to the side.

“You don’t have to sleep on the couch,” he said, changing the subject. “I can literally walk through that closet door and head back to Boston. You must be tired. I can go now.”

“Oh, no you don’t!” I pushed down on his shoulders to keep him in his seat. “Isn’t that Caspian’s spell book? What are you doing with it?” I searched Ren’s eyes for any hint of betrayal, but all I saw was his face burning with shame.

“I was just looking to see if there was anything that we could use to stop the Syndicate. You know what? Forget about it. It doesn’t matter. I’m tired. I’m going to bed.”

“Ren,” I pouted, rubbing my hand across his shoulder to get him to look at me. “It does matter. Especially to me. Just tell me. Is it something I can help with?”

“I … I’d rather not talk about it.” He sighed, refusing to look me in the eye. “It’s kinda personal.”

“If you don't want to talk about it, I’ll respect that, but if there’s something I can help you with, I’d really like to.

” I knew the topic of his magic was sensitive, but I also desperately wanted him to feel comfortable with the fact that he didn’t have to hide things from me.

I wanted him to trust me … to help him become the person he wanted to be, not the monster he saw himself as.

He took a few minutes to contemplate his options.

I waited patiently until he let out a long breath before answering.

“When I take on a new power, I have to … force the magic out of their body and claim it as my own. I can’t imagine it’s a pleasant feeling, or that anyone in their right mind would willingly allow such a thing to happen.

Since magic is like a second soul, a part of someone’s living self, the consequences they face are, well, you can figure that part out.

I was browsing through the book to see if there was an alternate way I can take someone’s magic—a way that wouldn’t make anyone suffer. ”

“Hmm.” I scratched my chin. Why Ren thought I would judge him for something like that was baffling. “So how did you take my magic, then?”

Ren blinked. “Excuse me?”

“Well, you can hear ghosts but you can’t see them. You said you didn’t take my magic, but I’m assuming that ability came from me. And as you can see, I’m perfectly fine. So, how did you take my magic?”

“I … I don’t know. Honestly, I didn’t even realize I could talk to ghosts until I met Ellie.”

“Get up. I want to try something.” I took Ren’s hand, pulling him up to his feet.

He was dressed in a pair of old gray sweatpants and a thin t-shirt that was so tight I could see the outline of his nipple piercings through it.

A five o’clock shadow was taking form on his face, dark circles hung under his eyes, and his auburn hair stuck up like he had run his hand through it one too many times.

“I know you don’t like the guy, but you have to admit Caspian …

knows things. Before you stormed into Nick’s office, he was telling me about my magic and how I took something most people would find absolutely terrifying but made it into something that gave people comfort. I don’t see why you can’t do the same.”

“But that’s not how my magic works.” He crossed his arms across his chest. “I can’t just … change it.”