Page 53 of Soulmates

Jake just bucked harder. Maddox did his best to ignore him. It was funny how much easier being near Jake like this was now that the fear was gone. Jake couldn’t hurt him. And while the swamp could, he thought Cricket probably had an eye on things. Cricket was giving this over to Maddox to solve, to do what Jake had done it in the accidental initial exchange. Cricket believed it was possible. Maddox would try to as well. Maddox paused his reflection when Jake exploded in a torrent of curses and bucked so hard Maddox almost got thrown off.

“Maddox! Stop this. I don’t want this. I hate you. I hate you. I want you gone. Just go away. I don’t even have to kill you, but the sight of you makes me murderous. I swear to the Gods, Maddox—get the fuck away from me. I hate the sight of you. I want to wrap my hands around your throat and destroy you.”

Maddox heard it all and heard what was underneath it as well. Doubt. And fear.

And so, Maddox said, “As you wish,” and released the vines with a suddenness that had both of them tumbling around to get their bearings. Maddox found himself flat on his back, gasping in air where the wind got knocked out of him. He only had a moment to recover when Jake leaped at him, throwing his entire weight at Maddox and wrapping his hands around Maddox’s throat.

It was reminiscent of that first awful night but also not. Because this time, Maddox wasn’t afraid.

Chapter 32

Jake tightened his hands around Maddox’s throat but couldn’t squeeze. Not only that, but he couldn’t even really feel Maddox. There was warmth but mild as if there was a film over it. Probably that air shield Cricket seemed to love to play with.

But Jake had to get rid of this irritating menace of a human before he completely lost his mind.

He knew he had gone from apathy to amusement to irritation that first night back at the school. And he knew he felt different now. His emotions were swirling from rage to panic to fear to a confused longing. What was the longing for? It had to be for solitude and escape, but that thought didn’t really bring him any peace, either. He missed the cool nothingness from those first hours. This awful rapid shift of feelings was dreadful, and he would absolutely get up and run away if he thought it would do any good. He still thought destroying Maddox was his best bet at true escape.

Maddox lay there under him, seemingly without fear, which was really the height of stupidity, given their size difference and Jake’s intent. Though if Jake was questioning his intent, maybe Maddox could sense it.

“How’s that murdering going, Jake?”

“Shut the fuck up, Maddox.”

“I don’t think I will. I think I’ll talk to you. You want to kill me?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t think you do. I think you don’t know what you want anymore because a part of me has crept in through the cracks.”

“I assure you, I do not want any part of you anywhere near me.”

“So you want to kill me?”

“I said I do!” Jake shouted at him. His face grew hot with frustration and exertion as he tried to find any way to grip Maddox harder. He started to get up to his knees, but Maddox was there, his arms around Jake’s neck, holding on. Jake shook him off violently, and Maddox fell to the ground with a grunt.

“Dick.”

Jake ignored him and turned around to look for something, anything to help him. A large stick, a rock, anything. But there was nothing. He turned back to Maddox. “I can’t stand you being here. Just go. Get away from me and leave me the fuck alone.”

“You want to get rid of me? By any means necessary. You want to kill me, take my life, spill my blood. And if that doesn’t work, you want me gone? As far away from you as I can get? Do I have that right?”

“Yes.”

“You’re lying.”

Damn Maddox with those stupid golden eyes and orange scent. Jake rushed at him and shoved at his chest hard enough to knock him to the ground on his back.

Maddox groaned dramatically. “You make everything so difficult.”

Jake leaped at him, deciding to try one more time, despite the futility, to at least crush him under his weight. He crashed into Maddox, leaning his forearm against Maddox’s throat, like that first night. But unlike that first night, there was the air barrier. Maddox didn’t struggle beneath him. Just looked up at him with his sad, golden eyes, so bright in the slowly fading light under the shade of the trees.

“Is it my life you want, Jake? You can have it. It’s already yours. You said that to me once. So take it. Take my life, take all that I am. It’s been yours since before we were born, and it’ll be yours in whatever the afterlife might hold for us. Take it, please.”

And then Jake caught on fire. But the flames didn’t hurt. They weren’t even really there but they filled him anyway, beginning in his stomach and suffusing him until he could feel flickers of flame in his fingertips and toes. He closed his eyes against the onslaught of sensation and tipped his head forward to the ground beside Maddox, who was panting into Jake’s ear.

“Feel me, Jake? Can you feel me?”

Jake could, but he couldn’t speak for a long moment. He could only rest his head next to Maddox’s and lean his cheek into Maddox’s cheek, now blazing hot, the air barrier gone. “You removed the barrier.”

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