The Soulkeepers (24 page)

The trip to Oahu would be risky. He wouldn't
have Dr. Silva to help him back. If he went through with this, it
would be permanent. But after everything he'd learned this week
about Dr. Silva's half-truths and the Laudner family history, he
didn't care. He had to go.

He rolled the map and tucked it back into
the corner of the shelf. With the help of some notes he'd made, he
replaced the notebooks exactly how they'd been. Dr. Silva was
returning the day after tomorrow and it was imperative that she not
know what he was planning. He folded his page of notes and slid it
into his back pocket.

Making his way toward the stairs, the ruddy
cat seemed to pop up out of the floor at Jacob's feet, and he
stumbled trying not to kick him. Gideon was statuesque, staring out
the window. On a whim, Jacob decided to throw him off the trail,
just in case he changed his mind about being helpful.

"Thanks Gideon. I guess my plan won't work
after all. Not without Dr. Silva anyway. I wouldn't be able to get
back. But thanks for giving me a chance. Now I feel like I've done
what I can."

The cat's eyes wrinkled at the corners and
he wondered if Gideon knew he was lying. He walked down from the
tower side by side with the cat. Before he left, he saw Gideon
eating. That was all the assurance he needed.

The Dishonest
Mistake

"Malini, I want to show you something,"
Jacob said.

He placed his hand on the
small of her back. It was August 15
^th
. After a month of waiting,
he'd packed the phoenix box, a small bag of provisions and as much
money as he could get his hands on, into a backpack. There was only
one thing left to do and that was to convince Malini to come too.
The promise he'd made to her that night in his room was only part
of the reason. He knew, in his heart, she wanted to go. She hated
it here.

"What's going on?" she asked. She was
sitting on her front porch, enjoying the last hours of the morning
before the August heat became oppressive.

"Look, I can't tell you but it's important.
I have to show you."

"What is it?"

"Just trust me, okay? It's a surprise."

"Of course." Malini leaned forward and
kissed him lightly on the lips.

"Good, come on." He took her hand and led
her to his truck.

They drove in silence, as if Malini could
sense the tension in the air. Jacob was nervous about what he'd
have to do. When he was within a mile of Dr. Silva's, he parked Big
Blue on the side of the road. Instead of going up the front yard
toward the house, he walked Malini directly into the maple
orchard.

"What are we doing at Dr. Silva's?"

"This is where it is, what I have to show
you."

"Does she know I'm here?"

"No. But it's okay."

In fact, he knew what he was about to do was
far from okay with Dr. Silva. At this very moment, she was inside
the house. She would be furious when she found out, but by that
time he would be long gone.

Once Jacob was deep inside the orchard, he
relaxed a little. With Malini by his side, he hiked down the
sloping hill to the wrought iron gate. The key was in the lock as
always and he gave it a quick turn before opening the gate for
Malini. It wasn't long before she noticed the magic of the
garden.

"Oh, it's hot back here," she said. She was
wearing shorts and t-shirts but the weather was notably more humid
as they walked through the gate. "It's so weird. This is
unbelievable."

"Unbelievable, yes, but this is not what I
have to show you." Jacob felt the side of his face rise in an
unfamiliar sideways grin. The power was intoxicating. He was about
to take her someplace she'd never been. In all of his life, he'd
never been the taker. He was always the taken. It was a nice change
of pace. He intended to be an excellent guide.

Reaching for her hand, he led her down the
path. When they passed the corpse plants, he motioned for her to
cover her nose. He helped her gingerly over each of the rocks in
the blood dragon patch and through the meadow.

Although she said very little, Malini's eyes
were filled with wonder at her surroundings. She followed closely
behind him, squeezing his hand in hers. Jacob was filled with her
need for him. It surprised him how much he enjoyed it. Her utter
dependence made him feel strong, protective. It filled a hole he'd
never known he had.

Jacob was so distracted with impressing her,
that he ignored the feeling that someone was watching him from
behind the trees. The whisper of his name on the wind in the meadow
was likewise not acknowledged. And when a ripple danced across the
sand of the dune, he shrugged it off. This was the magic of the
garden. It was trying to scare him off, just like the first
time.

He led her through the maze and emerged near
the gnarled tree that he knew as Oswald.

"Jacob, this place is amazing but I'm
getting a funny feeling. Should we be back here?"

"Malini, its fine. Trust me. I want to tell
you about this tree."

"It's really unusual. I've never seen
anything like it, not even in India."

"No, it's one of a kind." Jacob laughed. "If
you touch this tree right now with me, it will take us to Oahu. It
will take me home and you can come with me."

She looked at him blankly for a moment, and
then laughed through her nose.

"What is this all about Jacob? Why are you
teasing me?"

"I'm serious. Hold my hand and I will touch
the tree. I promise you in two minutes we will be in Hawaii. I'll
show you where I grew up."

Malini searched his face.

"You're insane!" She backed toward the
entrance to the maze but the prickly twists and turns thwarted her.
She had not paid enough attention to find her way out on her
own.

"What if I'm not? Don't you want to try?
Don't you want to get out of this town Malini?" Jacob held out his
hand. His other hand hovered over the bark of the tree.

Malini's face held a mix of agony and fear.
She approached him slowly and held out her hand. At the last
second, she snatched it back before Jacob could take it. Something
in her features changed, the fear replaced with resolve.

"If this is true, I don't want to go. I
don't want to try this, Jacob."

"But why? Ever since I met you you've said
you hated Paris."

"Don't you see Jacob? This isn't normal. Is
it even safe? How does it work? What will it do to me? What will it
do to my soul? I know nothing about it. How can I trust myself with
it? How can you? And what if we do make it there, how will we
survive? What if something happened to me during the trip? How
would my parents know?"

Jacob listened to her words and knew what
she said was true. For a moment, he regretted not thinking about
these things when he'd gone through. But the truth was he didn't
want to be careful with himself or his soul. She had more to lose
than he did. All he had to lose was her.

It isn't worth it without
her,
came the voice.

"Did you hear that?" Jacob asked Malini.

"What? There's no one here but us."

Take her. You'll have to. She'll never go on
her own.

Jacob grabbed Malini's wrist.

"What are you doing?" she gasped.

"It's for the best Malini. You'll thank me
once we get there." He dragged her toward the tree. "I have to go
and I need you to come with me."

Malini dug her heels in the sand and pulled
against his hand. Jacob squeezed tighter and reached toward the
tree.

"No. NO! Stop it, Jake. Let me go. LET ME
GO!" Her free hand beat against his arm.

"Just calm down. It will all work out. Just
go along. It will be fine Malini, you'll see." He succeeded in
dragging her two more inches in the sand and touched the tree.

The bark climbed up his arm and he felt the
familiar slowing. From this perspective, Malini's struggle appeared
in fast-forward. She was crying now, her eyes wide with terror, her
hands and feet thrashing against him. He was hurting her. She
struggled like he was killing her.

Jacob lost his nerve and pulled his hand
away from the tree. He let go of her wrist and she fell to the sand
sobbing.

"Why did you do that?" he yelled. "Why can't
you trust me?"

"I told you I don't want to," her voice
cracked.

"Malini, you don't understand. I have to. I
need to go back. I need to find my mom."

"I'm not going. Jacob, please don't do this.
At least walk me out. I can't find my way out without you." Tears
cascaded down her cheeks. Jacob had no choice. She wouldn't make it
back on her own and if she refused to go, he couldn't leave her
here alone in the deadly garden.

He led her back to the gate in silence. The
tension was a noose around his neck, growing tighter with every
step. This wouldn't be right, not for a long time. Once they were
through the gate, Malini collapsed on the mound at the base of the
orchard and let all of the air out of her lungs.

"Why did you try to force me?" she
whimpered.

"I just wanted you with me when I go. I
wouldn't hurt you. It's perfectly safe."

"Safe! Jacob, that tree is not safe. Did you
see the bark climb up your arm like it was going to eat you? Why
would you believe it was safe?"

"I've done it before and I'm fine," he said,
touching his chest.

"You've done it before?" Malini held her
stomach like she was trying to hold herself together. "This has
something to do with your gift. You've been hiding it from me. All
of those times I've asked you if you knew anything more..."

Jacob did not deny it.

"You lied to me."

"It was more like I omitted the
details."

"Same thing, Jacob. I have always been there
for you. I knew about this thing with you, with the water. How
could you keep this from me and then try to force me to be part of
it against my will?"

"I didn't want to force you."

"You didn't? I told you no." Her face was
red with anger and wet with tears. "You didn't tell me ahead of
time because you didn't want to give me the option of saying
no."

"I'm sorry Malini. It never occurred to me
that you wouldn't want to go."

"No, I'm sorry. Because I don't trust you
anymore. I don't want to be near you anymore. You've broken my
heart, Jake. You are not the person I thought you were."

"Malini, please, don't cry."

"Why shouldn't I cry? I lost my best friend
today."

"You didn't, okay. I won't go. I won't leave
you."

"You don't get it, Jake. I'm leaving you. I
never want to see you again."

She buried her eyes in her hands and cried,
shaking with the effort. Jacob reached for her shoulder.

"Don't touch me!" she screamed. "Just go
away!"

He took a step back, stung by her words. He
waited, standing in front of her as she cried into her hands, but
she was serious. The crushing realization of what he'd done almost
brought him to his knees. Why had he gone so far? Why had he hurt
her?

Jacob thought about returning to the tree
and going through on his own. But he'd promised he wouldn't leave
Malini. If he broke that promise, he would lose her forever. Maybe
he already had. As long as he was near her, there was a possibility
she would forgive him someday. But if he left, it was hopeless.

And for what? His mom wasn't on Oahu. It was
as good of a place as any to start looking for her but was it any
more home than here without her? Without Malini, would it be worth
it?

"I'm sorry, Malini. I made a terrible
mistake," Jacob said.

Malini's sobs were heart-wrenching.

Defeated, he checked to make sure the gate
was locked and walked away without looking back at her. He would
wait in his truck to drive her home, but for now she needed to be
alone. The orchard seemed darker than before. A grey cloud gathered
in the summer sky and thunder rumbled in the distance. A storm was
coming and by the looks of it a bad one.

Fired

"You worthless human. What did you do?" Dr.
Silva spat into his face. She said the word human like it was
something vile.

Jacob dangled from her grip. The fingers
around his neck felt like talons, crushing his windpipe and pinning
him up against the house. He struggled with everything he had, but
Dr. Silva's arm was as unflinching as iron. Utter disgust twisted
her expression and as beautiful as he'd once thought she was, at
this moment she was equally terrifying.

"Do you know what you're dealing with? Do
you understand the kind of evil you might have unleashed? Do you
have any idea the cost of your stupidity?"

Jacob tried to speak but the crushing force
on his neck stopped any air from coming through. She narrowed her
eyes and threw him to the ground like he weighed nothing.

"Wha…what did I do?" he gasped, staying on
all fours and rubbing his neck.

"You broke the rules. You went through the
tree without me." She paced in front of his crumpled form. "Just
tell me one thing, how the hell did you make it back? It would have
served you right to get stuck somewhere—painful." She kicked him in
the ribs as if to prove her point. The kick hurt but he knew she
was holding back. His ribs weren't broken.

"I… didn't go through. I touched the tree
but I stopped. I pulled my hand away."

"Why?"

"I wanted to go home. I wanted to find my
mom."

"Not why did you want to go. Why did you
pull your hand away?"

"I changed my mind," Jacob started, but
decided to keep what happened with Malini to himself. Something
told him that he was in real trouble. Dr. Silva looked like she
might kill him at any moment. He wanted none of that fury to fall
on Malini.