Page 37 of Soulmates

“They did,” Maddox said. “They were nearly covering him out in…the woods.”

“They would. Phosphorescence would be particularly interested in you, as would all natural light sources. I wondered if electric light would as well, as there are very few, sparse accounts of the exchange in the industrial age, but artificial light shows an interest, at least,” Cricket said gesturing at the lamp.

Cricket turned the page to show the white-robed figures hand in hand, facing forward this time. All around them were little balls of light. “Some languages in these books are lost or are so sparsely used we can’t translate them. But where we can translate, the text says ‘insects of fire’ or lighting bug or firefly—roughly translated, in some cases.”

Cricket flipped back to the illustration that depicted the Soul Exchange. “In the Soul Exchange, one light soul is exchanged for another simultaneously. I believe the words used in most ceremonies were more to guide the mages through it rather than create it, though you know how religious leaders love to feel important,” Cricket said with a huff.

“Are there accounts of what happened to us? Of it going wrong?” Jake asked.

“A few. There are references to a massacre that occurred in AD 200 in the Dutch East Indies, now modern-day Singapore, that I believe may have resulted from an incomplete exchange. Arranged marriages were common at the time, and that may have led to an attempted and failed bond.” Cricket stalked to the desk, where he sorted through books both opened and closed until he found what he was looking for.

“This text contains an account that was orally passed through generations until someone finally wrote it down,” Cricket said, sitting. “It describes a massacre of a village after a couple turned on each other. One fled their house in the middle of the night, ran to his family home, and said his spouse had attempted to burn their home to the ground with him in it. The village found the house up in flames and his wife standing in front of it. She attacked him, unsuccessfully, but killed anyone who got in her way. She wouldn’t have normally had the strength, but it’s said that she was possessed.”

Cricket turned the page to the illustration, which showed a man in bloodied white robes on his knees with his face in his hands. All around him were bodies while a building burned in the background.

“What happened to his wife?” Santiago said.

“Several of the village elders killed her,” Cricket answered, pointing to the body closest to the man crouched on the ground. She, too, was in bloodied white robes.

“When Jake gave me his…soul…we exploded. Why?” Maddox asked.

“I don’t know. The description in this book must be treated like any other ancient religious text. It’s been passed down and translated enough times that the individual details are close to the truth but can’t be taken as exact fact,” Cricket said. “I believe the force of Jake’s soul moving into your body could have easily knocked you out, and it’s what’s exhausting you now. Your body is holding more metaphysical matter than it can handle. You have to give Jake your light soul to complete the exchange, or you will probably not live regardless of Jake’s inability to kill you.”

“Nice,” Santiago muttered. “This has been enlightening, but what are we going to do to fix it? How do they complete the bond?”

“What if Maddox doesn’t want to complete the bond?” Jake said.

Cricket’s eyebrows shot up. “Maddox wants to complete the bond,” he said.

“How do you know that?” Jake said.

“It wouldn’t have worked otherwise. Both parties must want it in order to complete any part of it. The forced marriages I mentioned—that doesn’t mean they didn’t want the bond. There are many benefits to completing the bond. Love is not the only reason to do it, or at least it wasn’t back then. Bonded were revered. They were believed to be more powerful as they could draw upon each other’s magic and life forces. Though how true that is, I don’t know.”

“If it’s so beneficial, why don’t more people do it?” Maddox said.

“The risks are greater than the benefits,” Cricket said.

“The risk of it not working and causing a massacre?” Santiago said.

“No. The risks and difficulties of a completed bond are many,” Cricket said. “It’s not a marriage. It’s so much more than that. Even couples with an extensive pre-existing bond like Jake and Maddox will have unpleasant side effects.”

“But we aren’t a pre-existing couple,” Maddox said, and Santiago snorted. “Something to add, Santiago?”

“No, no, you go ahead.”

Cricket looked at them. “There is more than one way to have a pre-existing bond strong enough to complete the exchange.”

“But don’t they have to be romantic? Jake and I have never dated,” Maddox said.

“The Soul Exchange creates a bond that cannot be undone and cannot be shared. Imagine if you completed the bond with a sibling or friend. You couldn’t share yourself fully with any other person. It would be nearly impossible to form romantic attachments. Proximity is key to the exchange. And it will be so forever, not just for the bonding. There has to be intimacy. And nearness.”

“Didn’t you just say sibling?” Maddox asked, clearly scandalized.

“There’s more than one way to be intimate. I’m not talking about sex. I would suspect that you and Jake have shared more intimacy than most friends. Deep conversation, sharing hopes, sharing fears, touching, sleeping near each other, spending time together—it’s all intimacy,” Cricket said.

“Well, they have that down,” Santiago said.

Jake rolled his eyes. “So, how do we fix this? How do we complete the bond?”

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