Scattered Souls

  Book 2: Flames of Time™

  A Red Adept Publishing Book

  Copyright © 2016 by Erica Lucke Dean All rights reserved.

  First Edition: December 2016

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  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to locales, events, business establishments, or actual persons—living or dead—is entirely coincidental.

  To Matthew Daddario,

  whose unparalleled hotness inspired me to create time-traveling twins Laith and Maddox.

  If you only knew...

  “What’s past is prologue”

  —William Shakespeare

  “You have been the last dream of my soul.”

  —Charles Dickens

  The Curse

  1675

  Steam rose from the damp ground like fingers climbing out of a shallow grave. Through the thick fog, a pair of inky-black horses pounded the earth as their riders raced across the countryside toward the ancient ruins.

  The witch had been insistent—the brothers desperate. If it meant bringing Elizabeth back, either one of them would’ve gladly bowed down to someone else’s god. They had nothing to lose and everything to gain.

  Maddox pushed his beast faster in an attempt to keep his brother from overtaking him. Everything between the Fairchild twins had become a competition, a contest—no, a battle—Maddox was determined to win. Elizabeth was gone, and guilt drove Maddox half mad. He’d done the unthinkable. He’d driven her to take her own life. But he could—he would—make up for it. He would do as the younger witch, Jane, suggested. He would go to the stone monument and beg the gods to bring her back. And if that wasn’t possible, he would beg them to take him to her, wherever her soul had gone. No sacrifice was too great when the thought of his Elizabeth scattered through time like dandelion seeds in the wind ate at him.

  They rode, barely keeping ahead of the storm. The driving rain chased them as if they had the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse licking at their heels. Maddox only hoped he would recognize the monument when he saw it. Surely, he would. He’d seen the drawings, heard the stories.

  The stone monolith loomed in the hazy morning light. Stonehenge. A giant circle of blue stones set end on end and piled high on top of each other like an altar—to what, he didn’t know. He brought his horse to a shuddering halt and waited for Laith to catch up.

  “You stopped? But we’re almost there.” Laith circled his brother, the horse snorting and pawing the earth as the storm rolled closer.

  “What are we doing?” Maddox shouted over the rushing wind, his earlier convictions fading as they approached their destination. The reality of the situation flooded in like an angry river. The very real risk to their souls bore down on him.

  Laith jerked his horse back, coming to a stop in front of where Maddox sat rigid in his saddle, and spoke as if addressing a child. “We’re doing what we were told to do. We’re here to beg the quintessence to reunite—”

  “I didn’t ask for a recital of Jane’s directive,” Maddox snapped, grief-laced fury coiling around his gut until he practically choked on it. “I’m asking what we’re actually doing here. If we bring her back, it all starts again. We’re no closer to solving our problem. We’ll still carry the curse. We’ll be dooming her to a life of misery all over again.” As badly as Maddox wanted Elizabeth in his arms, the guilt of what he’d done buried him alive. Could he curse his soul mate to this life again? Did he even have a choice when every fiber of his being yearned for her?

  “Not so, brother.” Laith’s words came out like a soothing balm. “Not if you and I agree that the winner takes all. Whichever of us she loves—truly loves and gives herself to—wins. And to the winner goes the prize.”

  “And the loser?” Maddox’s cracked heart ached to see his Elizabeth again, even if that meant losing her to his brother.

  “The loser sacrifices his soul to the other, like Jane said.” Laith’s detached expression gave no indication of his feelings on the matter, but Maddox recognized the tempest raging below the surface. He felt the same conflict bubbling up in himself—conflict and a healthy dose of fear.

  “So this truly is a contest then? We’re going to make a game of our lives now?”

  Laith shrugged, as if only mildly interested in a matter that would decide their fates, but the rigid set of his shoulders belied his words. “Assuming the gods of Stonehenge answer our pleas. Until then, this is nothing but a fruitless journey.”

  “And how will we know who’s won and who’s lost?” Maddox shifted his weight in the saddle. His muscles bunched, ready to spring at the first sign of danger.

  “We’ll know.” A dark smile twisted Laith’s lips, and he stabbed his heels into his horse, surging forward. As he widened the distance between them, he shouted a challenge. “Coming, brother?”

  Maddox spurred his beast on, barely keeping up with his twin as they raced the rest of the way.

  Laith reached the circle first and slid from his horse just as the storm caught up with them. He tilted his head back, letting the rain flow over his face like tears, and raised his arms toward the heavens as he shouted into the downpour. “Well? We’re here. Do your worst!”

  Already drenched through his clothes before he’d even dismounted his horse, Maddox met his brother in the center. His heart pounded out a jagged rhythm behind his ribs. The faint prickling at the base of his neck proved a constant reminder of his loss. Elizabeth was out there, somewhere. But he and Laith were mere mortals who would never find her. “This is ridiculous and foolish. There’s nothing here!”

  “Gods of Stonehenge, hear our plea!” Laith shouted again, his impassioned voice cracking at the end. He wheeled on his brother, pointing a finger at Maddox’s chest. “This is your fault.”

  “My fault?” Maddox’s mouth dropped open. “I’m not the one who cursed us. That was our beloved mother.”

  Laith chuckled darkly. “Your beloved mother, perhaps. My mother abandoned me.”

  “You know why she did it. It broke her heart!” Maddox stepped toward his brother, anger seeping from his pores faster than the rain could wash it away.

  “All I know is what she wrote in her journal. And let’s not forget she knew the consequences of the blessing before she agreed to it. What I don’t know is why she chose to keep you and send me away.”

  A crack of thunder split the sky, making the two anxious horses rear back and snort out matching clouds.

  Maddox shook the rain from his hair. “This isn’t about our mother.”

  “You’re right.” Laith strode up to Maddox and shoved a finger into his chest. Even at close proximity, he had to shout to be heard. “It’s about you and your convenient habit of taking what’s mine.”

  Maddox took a step back, anger threatening below the surface. “I didn’t take our mother from you.”

  “But you took Elizabeth.” Laith paced the compacted earth. Tiny rivers ran like veins through the cracks in the ground.

  “She wasn’t yours.”

  “Like hell she wasn’t!” Laith stalked back to his brother, anger making his nostrils flare. “We were betrothed.”

  Maddox ran a hand through his wet hair and exhaled in defeat. “You didn’t have her father’s permission.”

  “And you did? I may not have had his blessing, but I had her heart. And you tricked her into thinking she was marrying me!” Laith slapped his hands against Maddox’s shoulders and shoved.

  Maddox’s fingers twitched with the urge to reach for his weapon. “Yes, I did. I saw her, felt the pull, and I acted on it. You would have done the same.”

  Laith shook his head, fire flashing in his eyes as a bolt of lightning cut through the sky. “You seem so sure of yourself.”

  “I’m sure enough to know you would have gladly kept her from me, even knowing she was as much mine as yours. That’s what I know.” Maddox’s rage rivaled his brother’s.

  “She’s dead because of you,” Laith whispered as if breathing life to the words caused him anguish.

  Spiny tentacles of pain twisted Maddox’s heart into a mangled knot. “She would’ve been happy had you simply left us alone. Isn’t that what you said mere moments ago? Winner take everything? Well, I won.”

  Another flash lit up the clouds as Laith leaned in. “And how does your victory taste now, br
other? With her cold lips still fresh on your mind?”

  “Enough!” Maddox dragged his rapier from its sheath and pointed it at Laith. He wanted no more talk of death or loss. He’d suffered for his mistakes, paid for them in heartbreak. Even the unconscious act of drawing breath felt like too much effort.

  “No. Let’s end it here, shall we?” Laith pulled his blade and mirrored Maddox’s stance, holding steady under a sheet of rain as if he were simply waiting for a sign.

  Without further provocation, he lunged.

  Steel against steel rang out like church bells as they clashed in the center of the ring of stones. Despite growing up under vastly different circumstances, the brothers seemed evenly matched on the battlefield.

  “What’s wrong, brother? Out of practice, are we?” Laith grinned, blocking another of Maddox’s attacks.

  Maddox slipped on the wet rocks and caught the tip of Laith’s blade in his side. He pressed his hand to the spot as a red stain seeped through his already-drenched linen shirt.

  “Oh, look, you’re bleeding.” Laith smirked. “Perhaps a blood sacrifice will work in my favor when I ask the gods for aid.”

  “Perhaps a bit of yours is what we need to seal it.” Maddox feinted to one side then thrust forward, grunting as he brought the end of his blade to Laith’s throat. Maddox held perfectly still, his hand trembling with effort as rain bounced off the tempered steel, and a bead of blood formed where the sharp tip pierced Laith’s flesh. Maddox contemplated sinking the full length into his brother’s skin like a knife through butter.

  “Finish me off,” Laith spat, anger rippling off him in waves. He leaned into the blade, his eyes wild and the vein in his forehead pulsing in time with the rain. “Do it!”

  Maddox tensed his jaw, clenching and unclenching his fist around the hilt of his sword as he visualized the blade running clean through his brother’s neck. He wanted his brother dead—wanted it with everything in his bones—but his own body betrayed him, and his arm dropped to his side, bringing the rapier with it.

  Laith exploded in a burst of untamed laughter. “Are you a coward?”

  “No!” Maddox yelled as frustration bubbled up. He struggled to raise his blade against his brother again, but again, his body betrayed him. “It would seem we’re as bound to each other as we are to her.”

  “The hell we are!” Laith seethed. “I refuse to be bound to you for all eternity.” He threw his sword to the side and charged forward, grabbing Maddox around the midsection.

  Maddox hit the ground hard, forcing the air from his lungs, but he didn’t move as Laith raised his fist. “Go ahead. Try if that makes you feel better, but it won’t bring her back.”

  Laith struck Maddox once in his jaw and once in the same spot where he’d wounded him. “Maybe not, but it does ease my grief to see you bleed.” He rose to his knees, clutching a fragment of stone that had broken off the henge. “Why? Why did she send us here?”

  Maddox pulled himself to sitting and scooped up a jagged blue stone of his own, squeezing it in his fist until he felt the sharp edge break the skin. “To be rid of us, perhaps.”

  “That’s not good enough!” Laith stared into the pouring rain with his arms outstretched. “Aether, hear my prayer! Bring my Elizabeth back to me.”

  Maddox clenched his jaw then did as his brother had, rising to his knees and dropping his head behind him to send his plea straight to the heavens. He clutched the blue stone in his hand and shouted into the sky. “Take me to her, aether. Send me to wherever she is. I am your servant. I’ll do whatever it takes!”

  “This is ridiculous.” Laith shook with quiet laughter before raising his voice to an angry roar. “There are no gods here! And if they are here, they have no power to help us.”

  As the sound of Laith’s voice faded into the storm, white zigzags flashed overhead, one after another, lighting the entire sky. A loud crack of thunder shook the earth.

  The hair on the back of Maddox’s neck stood on end as static charged the air.

  Laith turned to his brother, eyes wide. “Do you feel that?”

  Maddox nodded. The intense pressure increased as air currents swirled around him.

  Then he fell through a dark tunnel as the abyss took him.

  Chapter One

  2014

  Gone.

  Maddox’s heart lurched in his chest as he stared over the edge of the cliff. Just like that, Ava was gone, the love of his life—his soul mate—ripped from his hands and sucked into the dark abyss.

  Not again.

  Beneath him, angry waves battered the jagged rocks. The combination of icy rain beating down on him from above and the frozen mist spraying him from below left him numb from head to toe. Maddox balled his fists and pounded the muddy earth until his knuckles bled. His fingers still tingled where they’d gripped hers not moments ago. If only he hadn’t hesitated when he first saw her. If only he’d gotten to her sooner, held on a little longer. If only…

  Unshed tears mixed with the salty ocean brine stung his eyes. How could he have let this happen? She was his responsibility. He’d sworn to keep her safe this time, promised himself he’d never let her down. And he’d had her—their fingers twined together like vines—then she’d slipped away. She’d let go. Why? What would make her trust his brother? She hated Laith as much as he did, didn’t she?

  The lighthouse beacon swept past, bathing him in a wash of light as the foghorn bellowed. The hollow cry echoed the bone-deep ache in his soul, and her name ripped from his throat on a sob. “Ava!”

  His attempts to save her hadn’t been enough. As desperate as he was to hold on, the effort was futile. He’d lost her.

  Just like Elizabeth.

  No. He couldn’t allow himself to compare the two. Elizabeth had taken her own life. She’d been … weak. He cringed at the thought. Not weak—unprepared. How could he have expected her to handle the tumultuous emotions surrounding her when even her own instincts must’ve betrayed her? Given the time they’d come from, not many could’ve lived up to that expectation. Most would’ve crumbled under the pressure, not to mention the weight of the hostility between Maddox and his brother—a bitter rivalry fueled by a curse. No, Elizabeth wasn’t weak. And Ava wasn’t dead. She was still out there… somewhere.

  With Laith.

  His pulse picked up again until he felt the blood racing through his veins. The thought of Ava with Laith left Maddox even more desperate to find her. His brother couldn’t be trusted, not when Laith’s feelings for Ava were as strong as his. Maddox should’ve taken her far away from Port Michael before Laith ever showed up. The bitter refrain of if only replayed in his brain until he thought his head would explode. How could things have gone so completely wrong? He’d gotten to her first this time. He’d secured her heart, fair and square. She should’ve been wrapped in his arms, basking in the warmth of his love, not out there, afraid and alone.

  No… not alone. With Laith.

  He rested his forehead against the cool ground, and a violent tremor coursed through him. Unfortunately, he recognized the sensation. Hypothermia had begun to set in. He knew he had to move, but he had no absolutely no interest in self-preservation.

  A wave rose up to meet him as Maddox took one last glance over the side to the last place he’d seen her before she’d dropped from sight. Even though he knew she wouldn’t be there, he searched the white caps breaking against the rocks below. His heart shuddered to a stop as a glint of gold caught his eye. For an instant, he imagined Ava’s hair floating up from the briny depths, but it was nothing but a mirage, the sun reflecting off the water. Laith’d had her hand gripped in his when they both disappeared into the folds of time. Even knowing she was alive felt like a bitter consolation.

  Thunder rumbled in the distance like cannon blasts, and Maddox rolled over to face the sky. Loose gravel bit into his back, and his ribs protested as he pulled in one sharp breath after another, fighting the urge to cry. The worst of the storm had moved out to sea, leaving pink and red streaks across the horizon where the rising sun peeked through lingering clouds. But inside him, the tempest raged on.