Scattered Souls

Chapter 38 - Delicate Little Flower

"I'm sorry, love." he glanced at me after a few minutes. "You're right." he added, the icy cold tone from a few minutes ago was replaced with a loving and warm one.

Well it's a bit too late for that mister. You can't be all soft and gentle after literally snapping for no good reason a few minutes ago.  That shit didn't fly with me.

"I admit that I should be telling you more. But I can't. I have to protect you. You... "

"Look, we're almost there. " I pointed out as I noticed a road sign reading : McCleod's estate. Boy was I glad to be cutting off whatever bullshit excuse was going to fly out of his mouth this time. I mean I'm not some delicate little flower that needed to be protected all the time. It was obvious that there was no point keeping me in the dark - I was bound to find out eventually. I preferred sooner rather than later and my patience was beginning to run thin.

"We're finally here." he declared, as he released a satisfied sigh.

I sneaked a glance at him, his usual playful grin had returned and he was looking ahead with excitement in his eyes.  At least one of us was happy I guess.

"What do we do now? " I asked, as I realized we were getting closer to the huge entrance gate, with another sign reading: McCleod's Estate; this one big enough to be noticed from outer space, I was sure.

"At what point do we call upon the dark souls?" I rephrased my question, hoping it would actually get me a response. However, much to my dismay, it didn't. One of my pet peeves was being ignored.

"Why are you driving past the place?" I screeched out a bit louder to get his attention. "Aren't we supposed to be going in?"

"Yes, but we're sneaking in, love." he said with a sly smile on his face. It was evident that he was excited by the idea of sneaking into the place.

"You look as eager as a kid going to a candy store." I pointed out.

"It's the thrill of the chase." he said, briefly flashing me his pearly whites.

I didn't get him. At some times he was this carefree, playful being. At other times he was like a figment of a person, clutching onto the steering wheel and shutting me out completely. It was obvious there was still important pieces of information that I still needed to know. I was beginning to wonder when I'd truly know everything. It's like whenever I find out something major, it's just followed by something even bigger not so long after that. The part that sucked, was that I couldn't help Xypher or solve the riddle to the best of my ability until I had all the gory details. And trying to get information from Xypher was like talking to a brick wall. Where else would I be able to get information from?

The dark souls perhaps? Yeah right, as if Xypher would let me get anywhere near them. And if they really were as dangerous as he made them seem then I rather not take any chances. Something troubled him when I mentioned the favors aspect of it, judging from his reaction maybe I really was better off not getting involved.

The diary that I was supposed to find? I remembered, as a thought of it flashed through my mind. I made a mental note to continue my search for it at Gran's place. Perhaps without Xypher this time. He wasn't as enthused by the idea of finding the diary yesterday.

"How do you plan on sneaking in from halfway across the universe?" I called out, just coming back to reality and realizing exactly how far away from the entrance he had driven already.

"Well, the car can't be anywhere near the premises for us to sneak in, without getting noticed." he explained simply.

"Someone knows what they're doing." I said with a teasing tone.

He finally stopped the car after a few more minutes of driving.  I was pretty sure we were nowhere near the premises ages ago.

"So is this the part where we call upon the dark souls?" I asked eagerly, unable to contain my excitement any longer. The thought of meeting otherworldly creatures actually excited me now, compared to how terrified I would have been not so long ago.

The baffled expression on Xypher's face confirmed how ludicrous I sounded.

Otherworldly creatures? That sounded insane even to my own ears. Since when did I become eager to engage with these 'dangerous' otherworldly creatures. Perhaps I could chalk it up to being highly sleep deprived.

"Call upon?" he asked, with a surprised tone. "What is that supposed to mean? Do you think we're here to perform some sort of seance, love?" he asked, with an amused tone.

I gave a nervous laugh in response. In all honesty, I don't think it would've been that farfetched for me to imagine that's what we'd be doing, right? Considering recent events, it was expected.

"I have a vivid imagination." I said, as nonchalantly as I could manage, with a shrug for added effect.

He simply shook his head with a little laugh.

"Let's get to it then." I urged. "We don't have all day." I said with a teasing tone, causing him to look at me.

"You look very hyped up, for someone that's here to collect remains." he pointed out.

"I'm just making the most of things." I admitted, with a slight smile.

"Are you not scared?" he asked, looking rather confused.

"Scared of a few old bones?" I teased.

"Of getting caught." he said simply.

"Well, I have faith in your plan." I realized,  with a grin.

"Now what is it?" I asked excitedly, as I got out of the car. Stretching out my legs and indulging in the fresh air.

"Are you sure you're ready for it, love?" he asked, with an evil grin on his face.

The way he said those words and his current daredevil expression indicated that he wasn't just merely teasing this time.

I gulped in response. Boy oh boy, what on earth had I gotten myself into this time?