Page 35 of Soulmates

“Um…” Jake started, and Maddox knew he was about to question the house, but then Cricket waved a massive green stream of magic, and it transformed.

Like watching a photo negative bleed into sharp contrast, the shack disappeared. In its place stood a large blue house on sturdy stilts, with the oak tree growing through it, as if Cricket had built the house around it. A staircase led to the front porch, and visible through the stilts under the house stood a perfectly constructed dock with an airboat moored along one side.

Cricket, too, had changed. The gauntness had turned to thinness, and while his clothes still looked well-worn, the illusion of tatters faded. His beard shortened along with his hair.

“Well, alright,” Santiago said and followed Cricket up the right staircase.

Maddox and Jake followed, Jake seeming more stunned than Maddox, probably because he hadn’t been able to sense how much magic surrounded the property. Only someone deeply in tune with the earth could have felt what Cricket had done to hide this place.

The house was remarkably normal-looking inside. A large, open floor plan spread out from the foyer to the living room, kitchen, and office.

Cricket was all business and headed right to the kitchen, where he pulled out a large bottle filled with a thick yellow liquid.

He handed it to Maddox. “Drink this.”

“What is it?” Jake said.

“It’ll slow his decline until we can complete the bond,” Cricket said.

Jake’s eyebrows scrunched together, eyes focused on the potion with a dubious look on his face. But they had exactly one option, and that was the man standing in front of them. Maddox took the bottle and lifted it to his lips.

“Drink half now,” Cricket said.

The earthy, sour flavor didn’t taste good, but Maddox hadn’t expected it to. He couldn’t help the pucker when it touched his tongue, and the texture made him want to swallow every mouthful twice. But as soon as it hit his stomach, a light warmth filled him, and he was instantly more awake.

The others waited while he finished.

“Better,” Maddox said with a relieved sigh, placing the bottle on the counter.

Jake and Santiago both exhaled sharply as if they’d been holding their breaths.

“Good. Get your stuff—you’re going to be here a while,” Cricket said, and Santiago went to get their bags.

“I can see it. The light in you,” Cricket said to Maddox. “What do you feel?”

“Warm, full, tired.”

“Sounds about right,” Cricket said. To Jake, he said, “And you. How do you feel?”

“Pretty normal. My chest feels a little weird, but I feel fine otherwise.”

“And when you let go of his hand?”

Jake looked down, and Maddox reached his free hand over to rub Jake’s forearm.

“I can’t help you unless you tell me. Almost nothing is known about incomplete bonds,” Cricket said.

“I…nothing, kind of. When he lets go of me, I feel nothing, but the nothing feels so good. I want to chase the feeling like I can’t hold still. I tried to kill him. That was the only thing I could think about doing. Killing him so I didn’t have to feel him,” Jake said.

“Hmm.” Cricket looked at the two of them. “What do you know about the three souls?”

Chapter 24

Cricket sat in a tufted brown chair with his laptop perched on the side table next to him. Santiago took one of the other chairs while Maddox and Jake shared the couch out of obvious necessity.

Books were strewn across the coffee table in front of them, and more sat in precarious stacks on the desk.

“First, understand that your magic and my magic are the same. Scratch magic is no better or worse than the magic they’ve taught you your entire lives,” Cricket said.

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