Page 48 of Soulmates

“She’d be correct,” Cricket dismissed, looking at his hands for a stretch before looking back up. “Honestly, I also simply love it here. I’ve never been to a place that likes to talk as much as this swamp. My magic is based deep in the earth, and this earth is abundant and fierce. It fights back.”

Cricket stood, crossing swiftly toward the door. “I have an idea.”

Chapter 29

They followed Cricket outside to the side of the house into a small area of cleared space. The same spot as the failed binding ceremony. Cricket paused, regarding the two of them carefully. Maddox wondered idly what new exercise, experiment, or lecture they were in for this morning. It seemed like each one was more hopeless than the last. Though it had only been a few days, Maddox’s endless fatigue was grating on him, wearing his patience as thin as the old parchment in Cricket’s scrolls.

None of the information they’d found had helped. Perhaps least helpful was the text found yesterday that appeared to describe a months-long meditation ritual leading up to the Soul Exchange. Maddox didn’t have months. Not that he wouldn’t have given Jake months—he wanted to give Jake forever—but he was weakening. There was no possibility of him lasting months. They needed a solution, and they needed it fast.

He held tight to Jake’s hand. Jake seemed to sense Maddox’s desperate thoughts and pulled him slightly into his body so he was leaning against Jake, Jake holding him up. The strong one. The sure one.

“I don’t think the block is with what kind of ceremony we try or how much meditation you do,” Cricket said. Maddox and Jake said nothing. “Jake, you’re afraid you’ve trapped Maddox into something he doesn’t want or shouldn’t be stuck with. Maddox, you’re afraid you don’t love him enough to complete the exchange. You think he must love you more or you’d have completed it by now.”

“I love him enough for anything,” Maddox defended. “There is nothing I wouldn’t do for him.”

“Is that so?”

“Of course it is. I’ve loved him in one way or another my whole life.”

“Good.” Cricket grabbed a crossbow from behind a crate. Maddox and Jake both flinched, and Jake shoved Maddox behind him. Jake looked to Santiago, waiting for her to help them figure out what the hell was going on, but she only watched Cricket, no alarm on her face.

“What are you doing?” Jake said.

“Complete the exchange, or Maddox will die—he can’t carry both of your souls indefinitely.”

“What do you think we’ve been trying to do?” Maddox said from behind Jake.

“You’ve been doubting yourselves from both sides. It’s not working. And we don’t have time to call in more experts or send you on a spirit journey. This needs to happen now before Maddox’s body gives out.”

“So what is it you want us to do, and why do you have a crossbow pointed at us?”

“Because, Jake, it’s time for you to go.”

Maddox pushed himself even closer to Jake. “What do you mean, go? And how can Jake go? Go where? Alone? He’s attached to me.”

“That is easily remedied.” Cricket waved, and Maddox didn’t need to look down to see Cricket’s grass-green light surround his and Jake’s clasped hands. Then they were wrenched apart. Maddox reached for Jake but found himself unable to make contact. He shut his eyes for a moment, just long enough to brace himself for what he would find when he looked at his best friend, his soulmate.

Jake’s eyes were blank. The beautiful range of emotions whittled away to a near-black void. And Jake wasn’t even looking at Maddox but at Cricket.

Jake was sizing him up—noting the crossbow, probably doing some warrior assessment of his opponent. Maddox desperately tried to touch Jake. His arms were heavy, but sheer force of will propelled him toward Jake. He had to make contact, or else they’d be lost to each other. Jake whipped his head to Maddox and sneered at him before shoving him to the ground. He’d managed not to touch any skin, just Maddox’s shirt. Maddox sprawled on the scrubby grass and coarse, sandy dirt, scraping his hand on a sharp piece of rock as he scooted away from Jake. But Jake ignored him and stepped toward Cricket.

Jake bounced back a step, encountering a wall of air.

“You can’t touch me, boy. You don’t have the skill to get past this shield.”

Jake turned toward Santiago, who smirked at him sadly. “You can’t get to me either, Jake.” But that didn’t stop Jake from charging her, only to hit another shield.

Jake turned back to Maddox, who was still lying on the ground, trying to make sense of what Cricket was doing. Was Cricket giving up? Did he know it was hopeless? That was as far as he got before Jake was on him. He knocked the wind right out of Maddox, making it impossible to draw in enough air. Maddox was gasping for breath but still tried to touch Jake anywhere he could. His only thought was that he could still fix this; he just had to make contact. But Jake got there first. Jake wrapped his hand around Maddox’s throat, like he did the night of the challenge. Maddox closed his eyes and went still to wait for Jake to regain his senses, but the skin-to-skin touch never came. Jake’s weight was on top of him, but the warm skin of hands never touched Maddox’s neck.

“What the fuck is this?” Jake said, and Maddox opened his eyes. Jake’s elbows jabbed into his chest, but a thin wall of solid air surrounded Maddox’s skin. He could sense it more than he could feel it.

“That is a shield, Jake. You won’t be able to touch Maddox. Not that you can kill him, anyway. And touching him will bring it all back. Is that what you really want? Do you want it back? Do you want to feel him and love him and hurt for him?” Cricket’s tone was taunting, almost cruel.

If Maddox had any air left or the ability to use his diaphragm without a 220-pound warrior on top of him, he would curse Cricket to hell and back. What was he playing at? Maddox dropped his head to the ground and tried to maneuver out from under the pressure of Jake against his chest.

“Fine. Then I guess I’ll kill you instead,” Jake said to Cricket.

“You can’t. I’ve spelled the entire area. You can’t get to me or Santiago. And this crossbow has been spelled for accuracy. I may not be a warrior, but I am a master mage, and I will shoot you. I won’t kill you, but I will make your life much more difficult with a well-placed arrow.”

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