“I don’t understand,” Cara said, her gray eyes searching mine. “What happened?”

“Well, you died and—” I started, but Shawn pulled me away and grabbed her hand comfortingly.

“I brought you back to life,” he said hurriedly. His audacity, even though I should have expected it, caught me off guard.

“I died?” she asked, looking up questioningly between the two of us.

“Yes, but don’t worry. Now you’re alive and completely healed. I can show you,” Shawn explained. He pulled her to her feet and her eyes widened. He led her around my apartment, and she marveled at her ability to walk without any trouble.

Unfortunately, during my and Jascia’s mind battle, Cara’s role in our adventure was played by her subconscious. She’d most likely never realize that I was the one who did the heavy lifting. I was still concerned about her soul since Jascia was still in there. I didn’t exorcise, banish, or kill the demon, I just knocked her out. I couldn’t be sure how long that’d last.

I turned to Al, nodding toward the kitchen. “Hey, could I talk to you for a moment?” Leah and Dale joined us a moment later.

“What’s going on?” Leah asked.

“Well, I’m not really sure,” I explained. “I didn’t actually get rid of Jascia, she’s still in there.”

“Who’s Jascia?” Dale asked. Al looked over her shoulder at Cara.

“The demon,” I replied. “But before I get into it, I have to explain my abilities a bit more.”

“What do you mean?” Al asked. “I already know about your magic and how it works.”

“Well, not exactly,” I said with a weak smile.

“Oh?” Al asked, crossing her arms.

“So…I can enter people’s souls,” I said. She furrowed her brow.

“What does that mean?”

I thought for a second, then brightened. “Okay, so everyone’s soul is kind of like ice cream that I can swim in. Their hopes, dreams, thoughts, and memories are mix-ins that I can taste to get a sugar rush from.”

Al’s expression hardened. “You’re still terrible at explaining things.”

“What are you talking about?”

“That barely made sense.”

“That’s because you can’t pay attention unless you’re punching someone.”

She growled.

“See?” I said.

“So what? You can just eat people’s souls?” Leah asked.

“I knew I should have listened to that crazy guy on the news,” Dale said.

“What? No. Pay attention. In my brilliant analogy, the sugar is energy, but I still need permission to take it, whether it’s the owner of the ice cream or the ice cream itself that gives it to me.”

“So you don’t eat their souls, you just taste them?” Leah asked. “That’s not much better.”

“Ugh, you’re taking it too literally,” I said.

“What he’s trying to say is he can enter souls, appeal to the owner’s subconscious thoughts, and take energy if he has permission to do so,” Al said and the space around her went up a few degrees.

“Exactly. See? Al gets it.”

“So… you can pry into someone’s life to take their energy?” Leah asked.

“No, no, no. It’s not like that,” I said. “Well—actually—I guess it is like that.”

“Interesting…” Leah pondered. “Does that mean you can read people’s minds or use mind control?” Leah asked with a mix of excitement and concern. The air around us heated more, causing everyone to look at Al.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“N-no. I can only see a part of their soul and take energy. I can’t control people, I can’t read minds, and I can’t steal their soul. I get in and out, and that’s it. People usually can’t even tell I’ve been there.”

“Have you looked inside my soul?” Dale asked.

“As if. I don’t want anything to do with what’s inside your head,” I said. Dale frowned.

“You’ve seen mine though,” Al said. She wore the expression she always had right before she flew into a berserker rage. I hesitated, then braced myself.

“Kind of?”

“And what did you see?” she asked struggling to contain her anger.

“Uhh…” I stalled. I suddenly felt like I was deep in a formaldehyde-filled cadaver.

I didn’t want her to know what I saw, particularly not the shadow man she ran toward. I assumed it was her dead husband. I asked her about the ring around her neck once, and that was the day I discovered I could regrow teeth.

“Actually, it was how I first learned about the ability. But! I have to fit into someone’s story somehow. You saw me as a baby, so I basically couldn’t do anything. I figured out how to use the power much later.” Al tensed and looked away, her anger dispelled.

A little background on Al: She has a soft spot for children. Whenever we came across a mother and child, she’d stare at them with her eyebrows pinched together and a heavy frown.

I never saw Al as the motherly type, but a couple times a year, she’d get drunk and open up about her husband. More than anything, he wanted to be a father, but he never got the chance. A demon killed him while he was trying to save a child and she tormented herself for failing to make his dream a reality. As far as I know, he’s the only man she ever loved, and she never dated anyone after he passed.

“…and that’s what I felt earlier when you grabbed me,” she said, finally broaching the topic we’d been avoiding.

“Yeah. Sorry,” I said shamefully. I shot a look over at Shawn and his attempt to woo Cara who was still amazed at her body’s functionality.

“So? What did you see?” Al asked, accusative. I turned back and looked directly into her eyes.

“Nothing. I didn’t get the chance before you hit me like a runaway train,” I lied. I clenched my jaw to sell it, but truthfully, I wasn’t angry. In fact, I deserved it. She had always been guarded about her history. Seeing the loneliness she endured throughout her life, and having experienced it myself, I could understand her not wanting to talk about it. I’d invaded her privacy.

She sighed. “You’re a terrible liar.”

I frowned. “I’m not—“

“The only time anyone looks into my eyes is when they’re lying.”

I frowned deeper.

“Whatever,” she said. “Are there any other secret abilities we should know about?”

“No, that’s it, but now that you know, lets get back to the issue at hand. Jascia still exists in Cara’s soul. I knocked her out and now Cara’s in control. But I have no idea how long that’ll last.” I gave Al a placating smile, I could hear her teeth grinding.

“You should have killed her instead of playing mind games. That would have solved all our problems.”

“You can’t just kill someone!” Leah complained.

“Sure I can,” Al replied with a sinister smile. “I’m really good at it. Watch.” Leah looked horrified.

“You’re not going to kill her,” I said.

“The hell I’m not.”

“Language.”

Al ignored the comment. “She’s a warlock without control over her demon,” Al growled. “She needs to die.”

“A warlock?” I asked. Al looked annoyed.

“A type of mage that captures a demon and uses its power,” she explained grudgingly.

“Wait, there’s another way to become a mage?” Leah asked excitedly. Al whirled on her.

“Only idiots would try something like that.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Warlocks always die, and it’s usually by suicide.” We all gave her the same quizzical expression, to which she sighed. “It’s impossible to fight a battle of wills against a monster trying to take control, especially while taking power from it. I’ve met a few and they’re all mad. They twist their minds to keep the demon at bay. Between the madness and the constant strain, it eventually becomes too much.”

Leah paled.

“Teach me how to control it,” Cara said from behind us. We all turned.

“No,” Al said.

“Why not?” Cara asked.

“There’s no way I’m letting that creature walk out of here alive.”

“Look. I don’t know who you are or what your deal is, but I’ve been fighting my whole life,” Cara shot back. “I fought knowing that there was nothing I could do and eventually I’d die. Now you’re telling me that I died, came back to life, I’m completely healed, and now you want to kill me again? Not happening. No demon or anyone else is going to take my second chance away from me.” I crooned at her use of my term. No one seemed to notice except Dale, who gave me a dude-now’s-not-the-time-to-be-a-weirdo look.

Al appraised the teenager, then she inspected everyone’s faces before turning back to her.

“I can’t,” Al said.

“Why not?” Cara demanded.

“I don’t know how,” Al replied flatly and unashamedly. I smacked my forehead and sighed.

There was a long pause, then I stepped forward. The spotlight was on me. This was my moment; my chance to show up Al in an awe-inspiring display of power. I was going to save the day by rescuing the princess and the damsel in distress would fall madly in love with me. But even though I was her dashing savior and would become her cherished mentor, I wouldn’t take advantage of her trust. She was young and naive. I’d stoically let her down gently, then set her free like a captive wolf so that she may run off into the sunset.

“Don’t worry,” Shawn assured Cara. “I won’t rest until I find a way to help you.”

I gritted my teeth until my frustration passed enough for me to cough, bringing the attention back on me. “I know how,” I said. “I’ll teach you.”

“No offense, Jess,” Shawn said. “But you’re not a very good teacher.” I looked up at the ceiling and took a deep breath.

“One, don’t call me that. Two, you’re just a bad student. Three—” Before I could list all of my amazing qualities, we heard a loud banging on my door.

“Open up. This is the police.”