Soul Exchange
Chapter Two
That’s all it was really. A stupid damn rock. I mean, you’d think an all powerful wishing stone would at least look pretty. But no. It was just a stupid freaking rock that looked like any other stupid freaking rock. I sighed quietly as I plopped down into a sitting position at the base of a young tree, splashing my face with the small amount of water I had left in my canteen. My jeans were ripped to shreds, but I couldn’t stop to get new ones, nor did I have the money to even if I could.
I had to keep moving. No matter what, I had to keep moving. I had a pounding in my head that had been relentless for two days straight, and I was in desperate need of a shower. But the small town I’d stopped in before had literally tossed me out when I started asking around about the stone. My mother was its caretaker, and I was trying to figure out where she’d put the thing, because I’d looked under the tree and it hadn’t been there. Apparently, she hadn’t seen the box in years. Although, the sendoff in that town had been a ton better than the one I’d gotten at home. Apparently the townspeople had a difficulty with grasping the concept of a human falling in love with a werewolf. It didn’t matter now though. Shayne had left, and I was left with a deal that I could never back out of.
I sighed quietly, and then put my face in my hands. “I’m such an idiot.” I groaned quietly.
“I can honestly say that I whole-heartedly agree, Baby.”
I froze on the spot, then slowly turned, swallowing hard. The man in black again. Crap. Of course, I knew that he didn’t call me baby to be lewd, he just called me that as a demonstration of how innocent and naive I was. The perfect reminder of my greatest mistake.
“Go away.” I said, desperately trying to make my voice more forceful than I felt it could be right at that moment. I needed to think, and Nicolai never let that happen. He was too annoying for that.
“What are you doing so far from home?” he asked me, gliding closer, as if his feet weren’t touching the ground and he was merely floating. Although, considering the fact that his feet never made a sound on the gravel of the road, that thought wasn’t entirely impractical. “What could you be up to? Hm?” he asked, squatting down in front of me and brushing a strand of hair from my eyes. “Little Kristin…all alone in the middle of the woods…no friends…no family…no love…”
My teeth gritted. I could hear the smirk in his voice, though I couldn’t see it behind the mask he always wore over his features. Part of me liked to believe he covered up because he was ugly, but he probably just liked being anonymous. It was really only by lucky accident that I discovered his name.
Finally, my calm broke, and I jumped up. “Go away!!” I screamed at him. I grabbed a fallen branch next to me and swung it at him. What I really wished would happen at that moment, was that Nicolai would be felled by the blow and that he’d just curl up on the ground and die. But instead, the branch went right through him like he was just air. I staggered slightly, the weight of the branch with the force of my swing making my shoulder hurt. I dropped the branch and rubbed my shoulder slightly, glaring at him.
I could hear Nicolai chuckle as he clicked his tongue in disapproval. “You should know better than to try and hurt me by now Baby.”
“Leave me alone…” I whispered, sinking back down to a sitting position and covering my eyes with my hands, as if by not being able to see him he’d magically vanish. Of course, that never happened, but a girl could dream right?
“But you’re too much fun to play with.” He laughed at me as he walked a few paces away from the tree I sat by, looking down at the dirt road I’d been walking down for so many miles. “This is very interesting you know. I take it that someone is trying to follow in her mother’s footsteps?” he asked me, turning his head to look in my general direction.
I said nothing, though I could feel the fear rising like bile in my body, making my stomach clench. At the same time, I was angry. Angry that I’d been betrayed. Angry that I was stuck trying to save myself because I’d been stupid. Angry that I had taken everything in my life for granted. I said nothing, but I knew he’d be able to feel my emotions exactly as I was putting them out.
“What could be the reason for that I wonder?” he asked me as he stood straight once more and turned fully to face me. “Do you wish to find the stone? To use it to kill me? Or perhaps even to attempt to hide from me?”
I couldn’t help it. My eyes snapped open wide and I stared up at him in shock. Could he really read my mind after all? I’d always put it off to lucky guesses with him, because he never had the whole truth of my actions in his questions. But maybe he’d just been toying with me. He seemed to enjoy that above all else.
“I can tell you right now that such a thing would be useless. I can find you. No matter where you run, or where you hide. I always know where you are.” He told me. “You do know that right?”
I stared at him for a moment longer, then smiled weakly. “Thank you.” I said, my voice just a touch on the scathing side. “At least now I know that I can use the stone. Because everything you spin out is a lie.” I spat.
“You are a fool Kristin.” He growled to me.
At once, I jumped to my feet again. “You tricked me!!” I screamed at him. “I believed you would help me but you’ve caused me nothing but grief since the day we met! I hate you!”
“Strong words for such a small girl.” He taunted.
“Shut up!!” I threw a rock at him, and as before, it simply passed straight through him and hit the tree behind him with a thump. “You promised me that Shayne and I would be together forever! You lied to me! You broke our deal and I want my soul back!” I shouted.
He sighed a bit and floated closer, pinning my body back against a tree as he stroked my hair against the side of my face once more. I nearly gagged at the stench of his putrid breath as it invaded my nose and made me want to vomit. “Deals do not take into account the pettiness of human emotions.” He told me. “I said that you could be together forever. I gave you everything you wanted. I brought him back for you. Gave you both immortal life. It isn’t my fault that you squandered your chance.” He said simply. “Oh! And don’t forget, I also healed your ankle.” He added as an afterthought.
“But he left me!” I cried hoarsely, my voice cracking as I tried to control the sobs just dying to come up my throat. “He promised that he’d be with me forever! And…and then…then he left…” I said, my voice dying down to a whisper.
Nicolai tipped his head and put a sympathetic hand on my shoulder. “Poor child…not yet equipped to dealing with the cruelties of the real world are we?” he asked.
“I’m dealing with you aren’t I?” I snapped, jerking my shoulder out from under his hand and grunting as my shoulder blade hit the tree and gave a lovely throb. That could very well be a bruise later.
“Apparently Shayne is a being who values his own existence above all others. Including that of the love of his life.” He said with a dark chuckle.
I sniffed quietly, unsure of what I could say to combat that statement without making myself sound like an idiot.
“What was it again?” he mused, sounding intensely thoughtful as he paced in front of me. “Another werewolf that caught his eye? Someone a bit older than you maybe?” he smirked.
I snorted at that. “I wish it had been that. I might even feel better if it had been that.” I told him, laying my cheek against my knees that were bent up against my chest. “But I guess…” I hesitated, then sighed and continued. “I guess he finds the prospect of going out and fighting a war with the leopards more interesting than staying with me.” I finished, staring up at him.
“Ah. A man of action then.” He chuckled. “I suppose it was the disease that was keeping him with you then?” he asked as he came closer. “Then again, who wouldn’t want to stick around with a sweet innocent little girl like you catering to his every need?” he asked. At my look of utter disgust, he chuckled and continued. “He left to fight a war with the leopards on the island? How…interesting.” He mused, smirking a bit more.
“He said ‘thanks for the second chance at life Kris, but I gotta go fight the kittens on the island. See you around in the next life!’” I sniffed a bit. “Complete and total jerk!”
“Is that what he said?” Nicolai laughed.
“Majorly edited…but in a nutshell? Yeah.” I sighed as I wiped sweat off my forehead with a cloth from my pocket. I looked up to see him walking away from me.
“I’d love to stay and chat all day and give my condolences, but I am a busy spirit. I have business to attend to.” He called back to me. “You can carry on your journey Kristin, but be warned, you can’t escape me. You belong to me.”
I waved at him.
“And next time you wave use more than one finger please.” He shouted back.
I took that advice to heart and used two fingers. One on each hand.
“Oh, and do wait up for me would you? I have a few things that I need to get done.”
“I am not your advocate!” I snapped at him.
“You are.” He said, his voice like a whisper through my mind. And with that lovely cryptic message, he was gone, as if he’d never even been there to torment me in the first place. I sighed and sat down again, letting myself drift off with my thoughts. I needed to find that damn stone. If I found it, I could hide forever. My soul would still technically belong to Nicolai, but as long as I didn’t die, I’d be like a dog without the collar and leash. I could be free. Nicolai had been such an idiot for giving me eternal life. But then again, I’d been such an idiot for taking it, hadn’t I?
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