Page 82 of The Fifth Soul

“We have much to talk about, son.” He gestures behind him. “Can we start with that?”

I look over his shoulder and sigh. Isabel is lying across the couch, still in last night’s dress. Pieces of hair have fallen off her bun, laying messily across her face. Her face is scrunched like she’s not having the best night’s sleep. The couch is small, so I’m not surprised.

I move out of the room and pick her up. She must be exhausted, as she doesn’t even stir. I’m crossing the space to her room when the suite doors open, and in comes Roman.

His hair is a rumpled mess, with his white shirt wrinkled and untucked, while his suit jacket is nowhere to be seen. His blood-shot eyes narrow on me as his mouth gapes, trying to figure out what to say.

“Save it.” I’m tired.

He didn’t know Isabel would wait for him. Should he have known? Whatever this might be, they have to put it on the back burner; we have more pressing matters at hand. I take Isabel to her bed. Lexi Blue is already awake. She’s lying in bed with the cursed book in her hands. I notice the page she’s on and assume this must be her third time reading it.

“Anything interesting?” I ask her. I hope she can see more than I could.

“Many things,” she says as a matter of fact.

“In that specific book.”

“A few.”

“Make a note of them. Grandpa will wish to ask you questions.”

She doesn’t react to my announcement. Unlike most people, conversing with King Oscuro doesn’t phase Lexi Blue. To her, it’s all the same. From her side table, she pulls out a notebook and starts jotting down notes. I make sure to close the door quietly behind me.

The front door of my wing is thrown open with such force that it bounces off the wall. The bang echoes around the room, grabbing everyone’s attention. All conversation stops instantly. Two bodies covered in green goo run inside, only stopping when Roman raises his hand and blows them backward. Their weight pushes them into the air and drops them onto the rug.

It takes me a second to recognize Alejandra and Bianca. They’re covered head to toe in a disgusting-smelling substance.

“What on earth is that?” Jesse takes a step back. His hand is dramatically pinching his nose, and his eyes look concerned that the goo will jump at him.

I recognize it, and the smirk on my grandfather’s face tells me he does as well. The Kai family hires Lou Carcolhes to secure their vault. Since this part of the world is the only one to allow their habitats, I’m not surprised.

As a child, I considered those sneaky things to be creatures from nightmares. I hated the idea of them. If Bianca thought the water imps were bad, I can only imagine what she thinks of these things. They make my skin crawl.

“I see you have encountered a Lou Carcolhe.” My grandfather’s tone is full of humor.

Both women snap their heads in his direction. “King Oscuro,” Alejandra greets, jumping to her feet. In their hurry to get inside, they missed him.

He waves Alejandra down. “Take a deep breath. I’ve never known Lou Carcolhe to be fast. Is that why you two raced here?”

Both girls look at each other and then at me, conflicting expressions are evident in their eyes. I incline my head. “I’ve updated my grandfather on this group’s ongoing activities.”

The relaxed expression on Alejandra’s face clues me to the stress I’ve put on them. Skimming and lying to the King is no simple task. They might not outright lie to him, but by keeping secrets and moving on to shadows, it must have felt like it. The act probably didn’t weigh the same for Alejandra, who grew up under my grandfather, and Bianca, who never met him.

“I’ve never seen a Lou Carcolhe, or whatever these things were, but they were fast and tall,” Bianca explains from her place on the floor. Her eyes find mine. “They knew who I was.”

“Who we were,” Alejandra corrects.

“Lou Carcolhe often does.” I sit next to my grandfather and lean my elbows on my knees. “Their knowings are temporary, though. It’s their gift, per se. They know everything about the person they encounter to better attack them, then forget all about your existence when you’re out of sight.”

“That explains a lot, actually.” Alejandra looks down at her arms and clothing with disgust.

Jesse's expression mirrors hers, and his hand still clips his nose.

“What happened?” Grandfather gestures for the girls to get off the floor.

Both girls jump into the story. They take turns detailing how they took a detour that ended up taking them straight to the vault. When Alejandra thought this was too easy, the creatures began surrounding them. Bianca’s gift didn’t work inside the vault, at least not with the creatures. They could see them and track them easily enough through the vault and to the exit.

“The goo was everywhere.” Alejandra shudders. “Needless to say, I believe the items inside that vault are the safest.”

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