Not Quite Dead

Chapter Nine - Not Quite Hating

Dawn

Artemis was an odd mortal.  I'd never seen anyone so flustered yet logical at the same time.  He was the weirdest boy I'd ever met in my life, and I've lived a long time. 

Still, oddly, stupidly, and in a what-in-the-world way, I grew to almost care for him. 

Unless that was the lie I was using to justify the fact that I hated Rachael. 

Still, he did say that he cared about me, right?  Why did I get this feeling whenever I thought about it?   I didn't want to like Artemis Alexander.  He was a mortal, and I was pretty sure liking a mortal was forbidden or something. 

I was also pretty sure that In-betweens did not have much concept of love.  Like, what Artemis and I have isn't even love, it's anger at one another because we---

Yeah, I couldn't finish that sentence. 

I sighed.  I was experiencing weird feelings, and so was Artemis by the looks of it.  He said some very confusing things to me yesterday.  All I got out of our conversation was that he cared about me.  I felt weird again as I pondered the strange warm feeling I got when I thought of that. 

"Hey, Dawnie!" Avery phased out of the wall next to me.  We were in Serena's room, because it was usually the least occupied.  "How's cutie -- I mean, Artemis?"

I shrugged.  Oh, the words I could say, if only I could actually say things.  But I'm an In-between, so that was just my luck. 

Even if I could talk, I wouldn't have much to saw about Artemis.  I mean, he was Artemis, for goodness' sake.  He was alright, and he said he cared for me.  Simple as that.  That was it.  Nothing more to it. 

If only that was the case. 

There were these myths I'd been hearing from some old spirits that used to stop by.  Angels and darks alike, they all believed in what is called the "Kindred Spirit" principle.  The Kindred Spirit principle spoke about how even in death, whether you were married in life or not, you could find your soul mate. 

This mainly applied to spirits, but I've heard stories of spirits finding their soul mate in a mortal.  It hadn't been heard of for hundreds of years, even before I became an In-between.  When someone's soul mate is a mortal, this was called the Kindred Soul principle.  They couldn't be Kindred Spirits because one would be a mortal, but they also couldn't be Kindred Mortals -- or whatever the word would be -- because they wouldn't be both spirits.

Like the afterlife, no one really knew what happened to the mortal or spirit after they found their Kindred Soul.  The old spirits had told me that the spirits involved went missing, never heard from again.  There were numerous theories, too many for me to name or even count.  I just hoped--

---that Artemis wasn't my Kindred Soul.  Oh, dear, if he was my Kindred Soul, it would make sense about why I always felt weird just thinking about him now, but it was Artemis.  That made it ninety-nine billion times weirder.  Plus, we didn't even love each other.  Weren't soul mates supposed to love each other?

"Um, Dawnie?  Dawnie?"   Avery's voice was clearer in my ear than my thoughts were in my head.  She flipped her dark hair back.  "Are you okay?  Because, you just stared off into space for, like, a long time.  So long, I didn't even feel like counting."

I nodded, a little shaky, but it was still a nod enough for Avery to believe me.  Then apparently, she had to go so she could protect her favorite Canadian bands from Dark Avery. 

Artemis couldn't be my Kindred Soul.  He just couldn't, I wouldn't allow it.  If there was a way to stop Kindred Spirits or Souls from being Kindred, I would find a way.