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I look around in a state between disbelief and amazement. I’ve been to the soul territories of others and often left wondering what my own would look like. I feel something akin to nostalgia and fascination as I take in the dazzling memory bubbles. Being in this space feels like self-reflection. I glance up to see Edward smiling smugly at me.
“Surprised?” he asks, brows shooting up mockingly. “A soul searcher in her own soul’s territory.”
Looking at his smugly expectant expression, I wonder what reaction he is waiting for, acknowledgment, fear, maybe? I’m surprised that he can pull this off without any of the three important elements – salt, water, and darkness – but I can’t give him the satisfaction of letting him see how amazed I am. As far as I can tell, he’s pulled off the impossible.
“Wh… how did you do this?” I ask, managing the keep my emotions out of my voice.
Edward shrugs casually. “Oh, I learned a few tricks from Rosalinda in that cold dark cell in my father’s dungeon. This is nothing.” Edward throws a longing glance at the memory bubbles suspended in the echoing abyss of the soul’s territory. “But the memories… I can’t read them. According to the books, the secret lies not in the bearer of the gift but inbred memory passed down from generations of women from the powerful bloodline. I’ve found a hack, though. Lucky me, don’t you think? I just need to find your first memory, the one from the moment you were formed within your mother. If I can find that one memory that connects all the others and make it mine, then I can own the gift that you didn’t deserve in the first place.”
“You greedy bastard,” I say in an emotionless voice. “Just how far do you plan to go?
“All the way, dear Victoria,” Edward replies casually. “I plan to take everything from everyone. I’ll take and take until there’s nothing left to take. And even then, I’ll take your souls and your essence. Because, regardless of what you foolish mortals and your gods think, I deserve the world.”
I shake my head at him in shock. “You’re delusional. I truly pity you, Edward.”
An indescribable expression crosses his eyes, but it’s gone so fast that I might have as well imagined it.
“I don’t have time for banter. I’ll start now.”
I shake my head from side to side. “No.”
Edward snorts. “I’m in control here, Victoria.” He looks around at the memory bubbles. “Now, let’s begin.”
I feel a stab of fear as I realize what he intends to do. He’s going to make me relive every memory I have until he finds the one he wants.
Did he do the same to Ma as well? It wasn’t that she shut the world out. Instead, she was trapped in her memories.
Edward got the best of my mother, but I can’t let him do the same to me. I shut my eyes, gathering whatever is left of my strength, and let myself float away from my soul territory into another safer space. Seer’s soul territory feels familiar and comforting. I can hear Edward’s voice like a distant echo, ordering me to stop. I don’t dare to listen to him. Without thinking twice about it, I take refuge in one of Seer’s memories – a place that Edward Abner can never access.
When the spell wears off, and we’re both back in my small cell, Edward glares angrily at me from his place on the chair opposite mine. Blood trickles down his left nostril, a mark of just how much energy he’d used to perform the failed spell.
“We’ll do this again tomorrow,” Edward says in an icy tone that contradicts the fire in his vivid blue eyes. “Try to play any tricks on me one more time, and I’ll put a bullet in your skull.”
Part of me thinks he needs me too much to do that, but the insane look on Edward’s face leaves me with little doubt he means what he says.
CHAPTERTWENTY-FIVE
Ifeel my heart race faster with each room that turns up empty. It’s been three whole days since Edward abducted Victoria, and each day that passes without a trail leaves me in a cold gripping fear. I feel like I’m at my wit's end, and I’ll snap any moment now. This isolated little bungalow outside Shreveport, LA, is the last of the three possible locations Alejandro gave us – my last hope. We had to ride three hours nonstop to Shreveport from Baton Rouge, and it seems like we’ve hit a dead end once again.
“It doesn’t appear that anyone has been here,” Pocus calls from the living room.
I sigh softly and close my eyes, taking a minute to regain my composure before joining Pocus in the living room.
“Do you think Alejandro lied to us about Edward’s hideout?”
Pocus shrugs. “Maybe. But there’s no way of knowing that now, seeing as he’s on his merry way to hell.”
Even I had felt satisfaction when Pocus shot Alejandro in the head. It felt good, ridding the world of one more scumbag, and Pocus seemed to have finally gotten a sense of closure after three years. But now I wish I could bring Alejandro back to life just to grant him a more painful death.
“I can’t help but think that Edward planned all of this,” I say quietly. “Just another strategic move in this sick game he’s playing. He’s up to something, and he used Alejandero to buy some time.”
Pocus tilts his head thoughtfully to the side, a slight frown marring his brows as he puts thought to my words. “Do you think he knew that we would go to Alejandro?”
“If he’s watching me as I suspect, then yes,” I reply with a shrug. “It’s just… even if abducting Victoria was a ploy to draw me out, he should have fucking contacted me.”
“He’s trying to mess with you, maybe,” Pocus says, slowly looking around the living, running his palms over the walls and furniture. “As you said, all of this is just a game to him.” Finally, Pocus stops to look at me. “I know it’s not easy, but you need to keep a level head to be a worthy opponent.”
“I know that, Prez,” I reply with a frustrated sigh. “It’s just… earlier this morning, I felt something strange.”
