Soul Bound

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

The embarrassment I'm feeling is just barely outdone by the pain in my feet. I arm-paddle my way to the shore and River lands on the bank and shifts to help pull me out of the water. Collapsing in the sand, I cringe as the deep wounds in my shoulders and the bones in my feet start to heal.

"Give me a minute," I pant, "and we'll try again. I can go again."

River stares at me for a moment, wide-eyed, then sits next to me and laughs. "I think we'll call it a day." He runs a hand through his hair then looks at me with a frown. "Sorry about your shoulders."

"Well, I bit you, so we'll call it even." I flex and rotate my ankles. Almost healed. "I almost had it. Wolf freaked out about the height and then I freaked and then it all went to shit." I pound a fist on the ground.

High, Wolf says, sheepishly.

I know. It's not your fault.

"I shouldn't have baited you with a bird. That's a tough one to pull off if you've never done it before." He lies back in the sand. "I didn't think you could do it, to be honest."

My temper flares a bit, but I swallow it down. "I'm glad I proved you wrong. Even if I did break my feet to do it." My feet heal the rest of the way, but still throb with lingering pain and the effort of healing. "Did you fall your first time?"

"No. I didn't," he says, and at first I think he's gloating. Then he rolls over on his side to face me. "I barfed. Miles up in the air. And it came back at me on the wind."

I snort with laughter and don't feel so bad anymore.

"But I couldn't stop flying after that. All the way up there, with nothing between you and the ground but air. It's terrifying. But it's also freedom," he says, angling his head to look up at the sky.

It did feel like freedom.

Too high, Wolf whines.

I catch myself admiring River's jaw line and neck; the smooth, tan skin over his square chin and the slight bump of his Adam's apple. "H-how'd you get all those forms?" I need to distract myself.

He sits up and is silent for a moment. Maybe that was too personal a question to ask.

"My family moved a lot. All over the world," he says finally, still looking up at the sky.

"That explains the cheetah."

"Yeah," he smiles, "now that's speed."

"Wolf panicked when we saw that big cat coming after us."

Did not, she insists.

River looks at me, at us, and smiles. "She shouldn't panic about anything. That's a fearsome soul you got there. Imagine how I felt when you two were on my heels that night." He laughs, but then his voice grows quieter, "Finn was right, you know. Keep her close to you. Don't let anyone see her."

"What about you?"

River stands and gestures to himself. "Well, obviously I'm a stand up guy." He shrugs. "And you need me."

"I don't need you!" I squeal, voice getting higher with each word.

The smile again. That's all I get. My cheeks feel hot as I stand and follow behind him as he walks.

"I've got vampires on my side, can't get much more strength than that," I say, trying to joke.

River's smile vanishes, lips pulling into a taut line. "Vampires will never be on your side. And if they are, it'll only be until they get what they want."

My smile fades as well. "Finn isn't like that."

"Finn is exactly like that," he snaps. "We're a dying species, Falon. Vampires will be the end of us."

"Because of the Order...you said they kill our kind. "

"Yes. They have been for thousands of years."

"Why? If the rest of our kind feels anything like I do, they just want to live in peace and protect the natural world. Why kill us for that?"

River takes a deep breath. "It's much more than that. Our history goes way back. To the dawn of human civilization. We've always been here, nurturing and protecting the natural world from the destructive nature of man. But when man began to overpopulate, forgetting their place in the natural order to rise above it, the world needed something to keep their numbers in check.

That's when vampires were born. I don't know how, Finn probably knows more than I do, but I know that they should've helped our kind to keep the natural balance. But to take lives from others, to have your sole purpose be to kill, an important piece of their humanity had to be missing. And that space was filled with ruthlessness and the need for power. That's when the Order formed and they were always behind the scenes, pulling strings, playing god with mankind."

River kicks the sand at his feet and I realize I'm biting my nails. I curl my hand into a fist and put it in my pocket. "And our kind stepped in."

"Yes. To return the balance. But soul binders are peaceful by nature. It was a fight we quickly lost. And the Order won't stop until every last one of us is dead."

I can feel my anger rising to meet his. "But now there's a new enemy for them to fight. Why not leave us alone?"

"Even if they did, the Transmutes don't seem to mind using us to get what they want. There is no one on our side, Falon. Not werewolves. Not humans. And certainly not vampires. We only have each other."

I know it's not something I can argue with him about. Even though I feel differently. Finn is on our side. So are Dunn and Hicks. I let us walk in silence for a bit, watching as the red recedes from his cheeks, down his neck, waiting for his fury to subside. When he whistles at a seagull that flies overhead, I figure it's safe to talk again.

"What happened between you and Wolf that first night? It felt like you two were talking."

"She was looking for my soul," River says, walking down to the water's edge. He lightly steps into it and sighs. "She found it. That's how she knew what I was. You do it too, right? With animals?"

"Well yeah, it's how we can take their form."

"You can do it with humans too. Can see the soul inside. Or souls if they're like us." He looks back at me to make sure I'm listening.

"How?" I ask, sitting forward.

"The same way. But human souls are harder to find. You just have to look a bit deeper."

"Can I try on you?"

"No," he says quickly. He rubs at his scar, a deep frown on his face, then turns away. "Sorry, I just... just not me."

"Yeah, alright, alright. Won't go peeping on your insides then," I say, holding my hands up.

"Practice on Baldy and Big Mouth," he says.

I laugh. "Dunn and Hicks?"

"Whatever their names are." He turns back and grins then starts to walk away.

"Are you leaving?" I'm not sure if I want him to or not.

"I'll be back at your place in a few hours. Need to go check in with Finn."

"So he's getting my progress reports?"

"Yep."

"What's my grade for today?"

He pretends to consider my question, rubbing his chin in thought. "'A' for effort, 'F' for 'falling' way too much," he winks.

I flip him off and he laughs, then shifts into the stag, coat as shiny and brilliant as ever, and takes off towards the Bank.

Much energy.

Yeah, he's got a lot. I'm exhausted. My legs feel wobbly and I'm sore all over. And hungry. What should we have to eat?

We watch as River disappears into a copse of sago palms.

Deer.