Telor 34
This woman was going to be the end of me. Turning her down was hard to do. I wanted nothing more than to make her mine in every way possible. But I also wanted that emotional connection with her that I’d never had with any other woman. I wanted her to be able to feel my love without saying a word.
Her front door shut and heavy footfalls sounded on the stairs. I was glad I had locked her bedroom door.
Someone stopped outside the door and gave a gentle knock. “Lina? Are you home tonight?” Gavin tried the door and sighed at finding it locked, and then made his way down the hall to his room.
I wished that Gavin didn’t exist. I hated the jealously that he stirred up. I hated that she lived with another man. I hated that he wanted her. Nevertheless, he was important to her, and I would have to find a way to deal with it.
Unfortunately, for me, I had to go give Cheyenne a break. I gently slipped out of bed, redressed, and then pulled the ring out of my pocket and removed it from the broken chain. Catalina was a sound sleeper, but I was still hesitant as I slid it on her ring finger. It was a little loose, but it fit enough. One day, I would replace it with a wedding ring, but for now, this would do.
After kissing her forehead, I headed to the window and down the trellis. I smiled a little at the hell I would pay when she found out that I not only left in the middle of the night, but that I had also left the ring with her.
Shedding my corporeal form was becoming more and more difficult, as was getting it back. There was no precedent for this, which meant no basis for comparison.
I had planned to have to search for Cheyenne. To my surprise, she was waiting for me as soon as I stepped onto the sidewalk.
Cheyenne fell in step beside me, and we walked toward our next soul. “I can take this one. You can go do whatever you need to do,” I told her.
Shaking her head, she said, “It’s a little girl. I think you might scare her.”
This was an ongoing issue with Cheyenne. When her Guide came for her after her step-dad beat her to death, she almost didn’t go, which would have caused her to turn into an unclaimed—a ghost. According to her, the Guide was ‘scary and rude.’ Ever since she came to me, she has insisted on collecting all the souls of children. She never questioned my aversions when collecting souls, and I allowed her hers.
“But I’m so handsome,” I said, trying to lighten her mood, which didn’t seem to budge. “What’s wrong, love?”
“It’s stupid,” she mumbled, and tried to step a little farther away from me.
Grabbing her arm and stopping her, I said, “If it bothers you, it’s not stupid. Tell me.”
“I’m used to being the only one you like,” she said in her defiant little tone. “Then she came along and you left and now I don’t have anyone.”
Small tears streamed down her face. Oh God, I couldn’t believe I’d been so heartless when it came to her. She was absolutely right. Lina came along, and I didn’t give Cheyenne’s feelings as much as a second thought. Wrapping her tightly in my arms, I hugged her closely.
“I’m sorry. I can’t believe I’ve been so careless with your feelings,” I said. “It won’t be for long. You’ll be cycled back through soon. Only a few more months.” Cheyenne’s time as a Guide was coming to an end. Only about ten or eleven months. “Who knows, maybe everything will blow up in my face before then, and you’ll have me back.”
“I don’t want that. I don’t want you to be sad just to make me happy.” She sniffled. “You’re right, though, it’s not much longer. We better hurry.”
Cheyenne taking a soul was really something to watch. While I made it a habit to interact with the souls as little as possible after they passed, Cheyenne basically gave them a welcome speech, patted them on the back, and told them it would be okay—even let them cry on her shoulder if needed. Being a Guide was really not the best job for her vivacious energy.
Once the soul was delivered, we walked in silence until a familiar figure found us in the dark.
“I’ve asked around,” Denny said, falling in step alongside us. “There are stirrings about a missing Guide and his human companion.”
This was bad. Very, very bad. “What kind of stirrings?”
“Where shall I begin; Death’s favorite Guide is consorting with a human; Guide defects from Death for redeemed soul—I could go on and on. By the grace of whatever gods there are, I don’t think any of it has actually gotten back to Tori. We all know that won’t last, so consider this your standby warning. Tori will be coming and soon.”
“She knows. I can guarantee it.” He didn’t know her like I did. Things like this didn’t happen without someone hoping to gain her favor by whispering gossip and twisted truths into her ear. “She’ll come at us slow and steady so she doesn’t burn herself out. She may be crazy, but she’s not stupid.”
“I’ll trust your judgment on that end.”
“What will we do?” I asked. Time; we needed more time to figure this out. “Catalina isn’t safe, Denny. If you think Tori will take me back and leave it at that, you are mistaken. She’ll more than likely leave me behind and take Catalina just to watch me tear myself apart to save her.”
Many didn’t fear Death, they saw it as another of life’s adventures, and often welcomed their time with open arms. Those people were mistaken. Tori was not something to be conquered, she was the conqueror. Any shred of strength that someone possessed, she fed off it until it became submission.
“I will do what I can. I’ve attempted to contact Robin to see if she can offer any aid.” Denny sighed, speaking of Tori’s counterpart, Life. “I will also see what I can do about your other problem.” His eyes moved to Cheyenne and back to mine. I nodded my thanks. “Go home to your soul mate, Guide. I’m sure she’s noticed you are missing.”
“Thank you,” I said, and gave Cheyenne another hug. I headed back to Catalina’s house, planning to pick up muffins and coffee on my way to make it up to her.
“Come with me, baby Guide, we have some talking to do,” Denny said, making me smile. He didn’t know what he was in for with Cheyenne.
On my way back, I pondered something that had been weighing on my mind. Call it paranoia, if you wanted. I knew why Tori would want our souls back. Souls meant power. Death excreted an energy that Tori fed off of. While I was sure Robin would deny it, they liked to compare numbers once in a while and see who had more, a pissing contest of sorts. Death didn’t like losing. Tori’s extra interest in me would only add fuel to her desire to get me back.
Just as Cheyenne pointed out, we had no idea what Denny gained from this. Were we simply trophies for him to set atop his mantel and admire? Or was there something else?
When I was alive, reading people was sort of my specialty. Pure intuition, gut instinct. I always knew when to fold and when to go all in. Being a gambler like I was, you had to rely on those instincts. You didn’t have time to think it over, to weigh your options. My gut was telling me to trust Denny, but my mind was telling me to consider it carefully. It wasn’t just a handful of borrowed money that I was playing around with. It was Catalina’s life. I couldn’t afford to be wrong.
Despite my own uncertainty of where he stood, or rather, where we stood with him, Denny was really the only thing close to an ally we had.