Soul to Keep Read online

  “I don’t know. I think speed dating on campus would be fun. Get to know more people.”

  “Or know who you want to avoid,” I replied.

  She giggled. “Exactly.”

  Ginger and Camila collected the surveys as the girls finished up. I watched Jill as she ducked out of the room, to stash the papers I assumed. I didn’t watch the archway long, because before Faeth could even fire up the action movie of choice, Chelsea was sliding into my lap and taking her shirt off, while D’Monique guided my hand back between her legs. With both their pulse points and suddenly bare tits inches from my face, it was hard to focus on anything else in the room, but when I came up for air three delicious veins later, Jill was gone.

  And I noticed a couple of hours after that she had never come back.

  ❖

  The house was quiet when I did my final head count. A bunch of girls were still downstairs with their sister-queens. I’d left Navaeh and Chelsea in my bed. When everyone was accounted for, I knew I should head back down and catch the few hours of shut-eye I needed, but something kept me on the second floor. I pulled my robe closed as I drifted back to Jill’s room.

  Her door was cracked. I poked my head in and saw her where I’d glanced her on my first pass, sitting on the floor surrounded by papers. Her roommate Portia was downstairs with Kina.

  “Hey, how’s it going?” I asked quietly

  “Good.” She actually stopped reading and looked up at me. And smiled. It was a little bit of a corner of the mouth sort of thing, but it was still a smile. I’d never gotten one of those out of her.

  “Is it okay if I come in?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Actually.” I looked down at myself just before I sat down. I didn’t have anything on under my short robe. I vanished down to my bedroom and came back in a pair of sweats and a T-shirt. This time when I joined her she wouldn’t have to worry about catching a sneak peek of my labia. “There we go. Better?”

  “Better.”

  I parked it on the carpet and picked up one of the surveys. Someone had written in Divorce and on another How does the morning after pill work?

  “Did you already survey some other students? This looks like a lot more than forty-two.” There had to be at least a hundred little slips of paper splayed out between us.

  “James and Van got the OBA boys to fill some out before they started their game night.”

  “Oh. Who brought them over?”

  “I ran over and got them from James.”

  “During the movie?”

  “Yeah.”

  “You left the house?”

  “I know it was after the nine o’clock curfew, but it was just across the street and I came right back.”

  “No, I know. I just—”

  “I’m twenty years old. I’m allowed to cross the street alone.”

  “I know. I just—You dip out on movie night a lot, huh?”

  She lifted one shoulder a little. “It’s the same thing every week. I enjoy it, but—”

  “But you know Ginger’s waiting to get back to Camila? Takes a little bit of the fun out of it?”

  “Yeah. And the other girls don’t really like me.” My flinch of shock must not have been subtle ’cause Jill caught it. “What?”

  “I don’t know. I guess I didn’t really think about you knowing that, that you’re not exactly popular with the other girls. You sound used to it. Or okay with it.”

  “I’m not okay with it, but I can’t change my personality. Can’t change my enthusiasm, honestly. That’s what they don’t like.”

  Jill was right. Annoying described her in most situations, but it was more like she was overly enthusiastic and didn’t know when to dial it back. I had the same problem sometimes, but I didn’t know how to turn it off.

  “Some of my sister-queens don’t like me either,” I told her. “Ginger doesn’t. Camila used to, but she doesn’t anymore. And Omi just tolerates me because of our bond, but I know she can’t stand me. She thinks I’m too loud.”

  “You are loud.”

  “I know.”

  “I can be too though.”

  “Not lately.” Like I said, she’d changed. “Not around the house at least.” We were both quiet for a while, organizing the papers into neat piles. I figured if I was going to hang out in her room any longer I should probably change the subject.

  “I’m surprised you took my advice with the surveys. Any interesting results so far?”

  “I thought about what you said, and I felt like you were on to something, and it looks like you’re right. A lot of people wanted to know about safe sex, but a lot of the write-in issues were more about interpersonal relationships. Some questions about being asexual or aromantic. One person asked about getting married young, and there was a write-in about divorce.”

  “I saw. What are you taking from that?”

  “A lot of us are lonely. I don’t know if we need proper sex ed or a group hug.”

  I didn’t know what to say to that. I didn’t really want to think about it. I didn’t like the idea of any of our girls or our boys across the street being unhappy.

  “Or like this one.” She handed me one of the surveys. The handwriting was so bad I knew it had to be from one of the OBA boys. How do I know if I’m bi? was written at the bottom. “The group hug might be a good place to start. Did you fill out one?”

  “That’s what I was sitting here contemplating. What I would put on the survey.”

  “Well, start with what you want.”

  “It’s more complex than that. I’ve been thinking about the other thing you said. About being available for sex.”

  “Oh. Yeah. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. I know that’s not your style. Sometimes, my mouth—”

  “No, but I was wondering if you still would.”

  “Have sex with you?”

  “Not quite. I was hoping you’d be my girlfriend, or at least pretend to be. I want to know what it’s like not to be alone. Maybe if I know what it’s like to care about someone and have someone care about me, I’ll have a better grasp on some of the issues the other students are facing. Empathy is key to science, contrary to common belief.”

  She wasn’t mine, but at that exact second I felt every ounce of Jill’s pain. Did Ginger have any idea how miserable Jill was? How badly she was hurting? My answer was almost automatic and not entirely for selfless reasons.

  “I think I could swing that. Like pretend. Do you want me or just anybody? I can shape shift you know?” I added the last part, just to keep things light. The effort earned me another smile.

  “That’s why I thought of you. We don’t really know each other and you can pick the body you inhabit. That’s useful if I want to create a situation where I’m starting a new relationship with someone who is seemingly unfamiliar to me.” Jill tilted her head, giving me a full once-over. “Shorter. Everyone is taller than me. For once I’d like to be face-to-face with a girl.”

  “Done.” I snapped my fingers and shrank my form down to her four feet eleven inch proportions. I changed my face too, a face I’d used when I was younger. I was still Japanese though. I didn’t like to change that. None of the girls had seen this person before. And I always liked my boobs a little on the bigger side. “How’s this?”

  “I like it.”

  “Does this person have a name?” I asked.

  “Hmm, I have always liked the name Bridgette?”

  “The way the French pronounce it?”

  “The French do pronounce everything better. But I don’t think I could call you that. Too weird.”

  “How about we use it as a code name?”

  “Let’s do that.”

  “Okay, now that we’ve got that figured out, what would your pretend girlfriend do first?”

  “Help me put these papers away and then cuddle with me in bed until we both fall asleep?”

  “’Kay. Let’s do that.” We made quick work of the papers, then climbed into her bed.
It was strange being so short. The form I usually held came in at around five ten, but we both were so little we fit easily in her bed side by side. She cut off the lights, all but a little decorative nightlight near her bed. Another thing I forgot, Jill was afraid of the complete dark.

  “What do we do now?”

  “Since you asked me to be your boo and not your fuck buddy, maybe we should just talk. Get the new girlfriend conversation flowing.”

  “Do you know how to play twenty questions?” Jill suggested. “I used to play it with James all the time.”

  “Refresh me.”

  As Jill gave me the breakdown, I reached over and grabbed her hand. She froze for a moment, maybe not sure what I was trying to do, but then our fingers laced together, and came apart. I stroked a finger along her palm and then the tips of our fingers danced against each other, tapping in rhythm. She seemed hesitant at first, but soon she took the lead, doing some tracing and tapping of her own. It was part of the game, the make-believe. That’s what I told myself anyway, when my skin started to tingle. The heat in my stomach was a part of the game too. At least, that’s what I told myself.

  Chapter Six

  Jill

  I fell asleep sometime during our fifth round of twenty questions. Tokyo was better at it than I was. She had a firmer grasp of pop culture and a brain that was magically wired to retain more information. She also watched more TV than I did. She mentioned shows and people, recent stuff, that I’d never heard of. But we had fun. Being with her was fun.

  A series of beeps from my cell phone woke me up a few minutes before my alarm was supposed to go off. I reached for it and almost knocked over a small, clear spray bottle on my nightstand. It looked liked there were orange and lemon slices crammed inside and a sprig of something green. Botany was not on my list of course requirements.

  Another text pinged my phone. The contact name made me smile. Bridgette.

  Wake up. You have community service!

  I sat up and sent a text back.

  Good morning to you too.

  What’s in the bottle?

  She was texting me back before I could put my phone down and get out of bed.

  It’s perfume.

  Kinda.

  It’ll cover my scent. Typically, a shower would do it

  But we were touching a lot. And if I keep being your girlfriend…

  I replied.

  I’ll have your scent all over me. Good thinking.

  I didn’t have to ask her if she thought Ginger would care that much. I knew she would. By nature, our vampires were unreasonably possessive.

  I thought about what I could say to Ginger if I did decide to tell her about our arrangement. The next text from Tokyo made me think I should wait a while to tell Ginger anything. I wanted to enjoy this.

  Does your girlfriend text you during the day?

  I thought about it. Did I want to hear from Tokyo throughout the day? We were going to be busy. Today, we were holding a field day for some kids through Types of Hope. The parents could mingle and relax while we tuckered the kids out with games and crafts. I’d be busy and focused. But…

  Yes, she does.

  Does your girlfriend sext you during the day? That message came with a smirking smiley face. I cringed.

  I’m bad at dirty talk. I’m not very creative.

  What about tasteful nudes? Like this. A picture popped up, Tokyo in the form she’d taken last night, her robe just open, her nipple just visible. The look on her face was anything but seductive though. She was smiling a big toothy grin. I had to laugh.

  I think those will be okay.

  Great. You should get going. Chelsea will be around to wake you guys up any minute.

  There was a bang on my door. “Up, up, up, Jill. Shower line or breakfast line. Pick one and go!” That’s why I set my alarm. Her voice was not the way to wake up. I grabbed my towel and sent a final text.

  I’ll see you later?

  For sure. Have fun!

  I wasn’t really big on emoticons as a means of communication, but I sent her a smiley face back anyway. And for once, I was actually looking forward to getting back to the house.

  ❖

  Tokyo

  Another freaking meeting, but Dalhem called this one so I wasn’t too pissed about waiting in Ginger and Camila’s place for my sister-queens to show up. The girls were safe out during the day. They knew to look out for each other and, if Ginger insisted, I was sure a few of us would take to wing and head over to the park to keep an eye on things.

  I was the first to show up at Ginger and Camila’s. Ginger let me in, and I could hear Camila on the phone in their office. Following up with the various fronts that kept the nest running no doubt. Ginger invited me to join her for the final moments of some cooking show, but the peace lasted for a whole six seconds.

  “So. What’s going on with you and Jill?” she asked.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Helping her with her homework. And you came out of her room at like what looked like six a.m. We have security cameras like everywhere. You know that right?”

  “Hey, I’m just doing what you told me to do. You said be more present and pro-active. Jill is up when I do bed checks. If you want me to ignore her, just say so, but I think you should be the one to tell her why I’ve suddenly stopped talking to her.”

  Ginger glared at me for a long moment. I looked back, giving her the Welllll? face. She knew she was caught between a rock and the stupid place she’d created. I was jonesing to call her out on that, but just as I opened my mouth, our Master arrived.

  I couldn’t hide the joy I felt when I saw Dalhem. It had been weeks since we’d spoken in person, but my reaction would have been the same if I’d seen him hours ago.

  “Master,” I nearly sighed as I stepped into his arms. He hugged me tight, kissing my hair as we took in the familiarity of each other’s scent. Our blood bond was stronger than the ties he held with the others, save Faeth and Kina. He was the original holder of our bloodline. The others were birthed in the lineage of the six other demon-borne from around the world. They followed his rule, and had pledged their loyalty to him, but I was his. He was my reason for being.

  He stepped back just enough to see my face. His smile warmed me as he bent to kiss my cheeks. He was in his human form—a tall, gorgeous, dark-skinned Indian man in his late thirties was how most humans saw him. Today his hair was black instead of its normal bright white. He was way underdressed. He usually wore a crisp three-piece suit, but today it was simply slacks and a dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up. And he was barefoot. He glanced down when he caught on to my brief inspection.

  “My granddaughter has already destroyed several jackets. Replacing them at this point seems wasteful.” He projected the living image of Cleo and Benny’s adorable baby daughter J.J. dribbling pureed peaches all over his sleeve into my mind.

  “Got it. I’m glad you’re here.”

  “More pleasant circumstances will call for a visit in the near future, I am sure. But I have interrupted something.” He turned to the cranky redhead beside me. “My Ginger, you will tell me why you are upset.”

  “She’s mad ’cause one of her feeders likes me more than her.”

  “That would upset me as well. Greatly.”

  “That’s not it,” she said. “It’s just…She’s just—”

  “Ginger,” I gasped. “Are you admitting to our Master that you don’t trust me? Your own sister-queen?”

  The others appeared while Ginger’s jaw was flapping in the wind.

  “No! That’s not what I’m saying at all. It’s just, Jill—”

  “Ah, my Jill. She is special. You will both be good to her.” And that was Dalhem’s final word on Jill and whatever was up Ginger’s never satisfied ass. He greeted my other sister-queens, including Camila, who had finally gotten off the phone.

  “I have met with my children in Texas. Please sit and I will share what is known.” We all gathered around D
alhem, posting up on the floor and available pieces of furniture. Then he joined us all across his telepathic link.

  Right away, we were in Jessi’s memory. It was still daytime and it appeared she was crossing the street on the Texas U campus. Things went black momentarily and then we were in the memory of her vampire, Mary-Anne. I could feel the panic racing in her heart and the pain. Her connection with Jessi was still there, still powerful, but everything about it, the flavor, the feel of it, was off. She flew from campus for miles and miles, at least fifty or sixty miles, from the look of the ground she covered and the changes in the neighborhoods and terrain.

  The scene went black again before we saw Mary-Anne in the form of a large dog circling a small rundown house. Another break. They were in an empty room that looked like a shed or a garage. The sun was still up. Jessi seemed calm and normal by all rights, but her eyes were all fucked up, grayish from lash to lash and there was an odd grayish-white spot on her neck. Mary-Anne approached her and then took a step back. Jessi’s smell was off. Not the sulfur and brimstone, but something rotten, like death. Jessi cooed in the dog’s direction, but then reached for a large stick and tried to strike Mary-Anne.

  Suddenly, Jessi was literally climbing the walls. Mary-Anne was barking at her, charging at her, like she was trying to keep her from going out the door. Then Jessi fell to the floor, her eyes clear. A look of confusion clouded her face, but then the demon presence was back, trying for the door. This went on until sundown, until Mary-Anne’s sister-queens and a few brother vampires from their brother fraternity arrived. With a rabbit?

  A priest was common practice, but demons were not unique to Catholicism. Evil was universal and everywhere. Mary-Anne turned back to her human form and was able to finally restrain Jessi. The rest played out so quickly. Tarel, a vampire I’d met once, was with them. He performed the ritual to expel the demon, a banishment spell of sorts. The words were in a dead language. I didn’t understand them exactly, but with Dalhem’s help we had an idea of what he was saying. Tarel was telling the demon to take on another vessel, enticing it to give up control of Jessi. That’s what the rabbit was for. As soon as Jessi seemed to come back to herself, she was in Mary-Anne’s arms, weeping. Just before the memory cut off, we heard a sickening snap. We all assumed that the rabbit was dead.