My Soul To Take - Rachel Vincent

My Soul To Take

Soul Screamers, Book 1

Rachel Vincent

CHAPTER 1

Come on! Emma whispered from my right, her words floating from her mouth in a thin white cloud. She glared at the battered steel panel in front of us, as if her own impatience would make the door open. She forgot, Kaylee. I should have known she would. More white puffs drifted from Emmas perfectly painted mouth as she bounced to stay warm, her curves barely contained in the low-cut shimmery red blouse shed borrowed from one of her sisters.

Yes, I was a little envious; I had few curves and no sister from whom to borrow hot clothes. But I did have the time, and one glance at my cell phone told me it was still four minutes to nine. Shell be here. I smoothed the front of my own shirt and slid my phone into my pocket as Emma knocked for the third time. Were early. Just give her a minute.

My own puff of breath had yet to fade when metal creaked and the door swung slowly toward us, leaking rhythmic flashes of smoky light and a low thumping beat into the cold, dark alley. Traci MarshallEmmas youngest older sisterstood with one palm flat against the door, holding it open. She wore a snug, low-cut black tee, readily displaying the family resemblance, as if the long blond hair wasnt enough.

Bout time! Emma snapped, stepping forward to brush past her sister. But Traci slapped her free hand against the door frame, blocking our entrance.

She returned my smile briefly, then frowned at her sister. Nice to see you too. Tell me the rules.

Emma rolled wide-set brown eyes and rubbed her bare, goose-pimpled armswed left our jackets in my car. No alcohol, no chemicals. No fun of any sort. She mumbled that last part, and I stifled a smile.

What else? Traci demanded, obviously struggling to maintain a rare scowl.

Come together, stay together, leave together, I supplied, reciting the same lines wed repeated each time she snuck us inonly twice before. The rules were lame, but I knew from experience that we wouldnt get in without them.

And

Emma stamped her feet for warmth, chunky heels clacking on the concrete. If we get caught, we dont know you.

As if anyone would believe that. The Marshall girls were all cast from the same mold: a tall, voluptuous mold that put my own modest curves to shame.

Traci nodded, apparently satisfied, and let her hand fall from the door frame. Emma stepped forward and her sister frowned, pulling her into the light from the hall fixture overhead. Is that Caras new shirt?

Emma scowled and tugged her arm free. Shell never know its gone.

Traci laughed and motioned with one arm toward the front of the club, from which light and sound flooded the back rooms and offices. Now that we were all inside, she had to shout to be heard over the music. Enjoy the rest of your life while it lasts, cause shes gonna bury you in that shirt.

Unperturbed, Emma danced her way down the hall and into the main room, hands in the air, hips swaying with the pulse of the song. I followed her, keyed up by the energy of the Saturday-night crowd from the moment I saw the first cluster of bodies in motion.

We worked our way into the throng and were swallowed by it, assimilated by the beat, the heat and the casual partners pulling us close. We danced through several songs, together, alone and in random pairs, until I was breathing hard and damp with sweat. I signaled Emma that I was going for a drink, and she nodded, already moving again as I worked my way toward the edge of the crowd.

Behind the bar, Traci worked alongside another bartender, a large, dark man in a snug black tee, both oddly lit by a strip of blue neon overhead. I claimed the first abandoned bar stool, and the man in black propped both broad palms on the bar in front of me.

I got this one, Traci said, one hand on his arm. He nodded and moved on to the next customer. Whatll it be? Traci smoothed back a stray strand of pale, blue-tinted hair.

I grinned, leaning with both elbows on the bar. Jack and Coke?

She laughed. Ill give you the Coke. She shot soda into a glass of ice and slid it toward me. I pushed a five across the bar and swiveled on my stool to watch the dance floor, scanning the multitude for Emma. She was sandwiched between two guys in matching UT Dallas fraternity tees and neon, legal-to-drink bracelets, all three grinding in unison.

Emma drew attention like wool draws static.

Still smiling, I drained my soda and set my glass on the bar.

Kaylee Cavanaugh.

I jumped at the sound of my own name and whirled toward the stool to my left. My gaze settled on the most hypnotic set of hazel eyes Id ever seen, and for several seconds I could only stare, lost in the most amazing swirls of deep brown and vivid green, which seemed to churn in time with my own heartbeatthough surely they were just reflecting the lights flashing overhead. My focus only returned when I had to blink, and the momentary loss of contact brought me back to myself.

Thats when I realized who I was staring at.

Nash Hudson. Holy crap. I almost looked down to see if ice had anchored my feet to the floor, since hell had surely frozen over. Somehow Id stepped off the dance floor and into some weird warp zone where irises swam with color and Nash Hudson smiled at me, and me alone.

I picked up my glass, hoping for one last drop to rewet my suddenly dry throatand wondered fleetingly if Traci had spiked my Cokebut discovered it every bit as empty as Id expected.

Need a refill? Nash asked, and that time I made my mouth open. After all, if I was dreamingor in the Twilight ZoneI had nothing to lose by speaking. Right?

Im good. Thanks. I ventured a hesitant smile, and my heart nearly exploded when I saw my grin reflected on his upturned, perfectly formed lips.

Howd you get in here? He arched one brow, more in amusement than in real curiosity. Crawl through the window?

Back door, I whispered, feeling my face flush. Of course he knew I was a juniortoo young even for an eighteen-and-over club, like Taboo.

What? He grinned and leaned closer to hear me above the music. His breath brushed my neck, and my pulse pounded so hard I felt light-headed. He smelled sooo good.

Back door, I repeated into his ear. Emmas sister works here.

Emmas here?

I pointed her out on the dance floornow swaying with three guys at onceand assumed that would be the last I saw of Nash Hudson. But to my near-fatal shock, he dismissed Em at a glance and turned back to me with a mischievous gleam in those amazing eyes.

Arent you gonna dance?

My hand was suddenly sweaty around my empty glass. Did that mean he wanted to dance with me? Or that he wanted the bar stool for his girlfriend?

No, wait. Hed dumped his latest girlfriend the week before, and the sharks were already circling the fresh meat. Though theyre not circling him now I saw no one from Nashs usual crowd, either clustered around him or on the dance floor.

Yeah, Im gonna dance, I said, and again, his eyes were swirling green melting into brown and back, flashing blue occasionally in the neon glow. I could have stared at his eyes for hours. But he probably would have thought that was weird.

Lets go! He took my hand and stood as I slid off the bar stool, and I followed him onto the dance floor. A fresh smile bloomed on my face, and my chest seemed to tighten around my heart in anticipation. Id known him for a whileEmma had gone out with a few of his friendsbut had never been the sole object of his attention. Had never even considered the possibility.

If Eastlake High School were the universe, I would be one of the moons circling Planet Emma, constantly hidden by her shadow, and glad to be there. Nash Hudson would be one of the stars: too bright to look at, too hot to touch and at the center of his own solar system.

But on the dance floor, I forgot all that. His light was shining directly on me, and it was sooo warm.

We wound up only feet from Emma, but with Nashs hands on me, his body pressed into mine, I barely noticed. That first song ended, and we were moving to the next one before I even fully realized the beat had changed.

Several minutes later, I glimpsed Emma over Nashs shoulder. She stood at the bar with one of the guys shed been grinding with, and as I watched, Traci set a drink in front of each of them. When her sister turned around, Emma grabbed her partners drinksomething dark with a wedge of lime on the rimand drained it in three gulps. Frat boy smiled, then pulled her back into the crowd.

I made a mental note not to let Emma drive my careverthen let my eyes wander back to Nash, where they wanted to be in the first place. But on the way, my gaze was snagged by an unfamiliar sheet of strawberry-blond hair, crowning the head of the only girl in the building to rival Emma in beauty. This girl, too, had her choice of dance partners, and though she couldnt have been more than eighteen, shed obviously had much more to drink than Emma.

But despite how pretty and obviously charismatic she was, watching her dance twisted something deep inside my gut and made my chest tighten, as if I couldnt quite get enough air. Something was wrong with her. I wasnt sure how I knew, but I was absolutely certain that something was not right with that girl.

You okay? Nash shouted, laying one hand on my shoulder, and suddenly I realized Id gone still, while everyone around me was still writhing to the beat.

Yeah! I shook off my discomfort and was relieved to find that looking into Nashs eyes chased away that feeling of wrongness, leaving in its place a new calm, eerie in its depth and reach. We danced for several more songs, growing more comfortable with each other with every moment that passed. By the time we stopped for a drink, sweat was gathering on the back of my neck and my arms were damp.

I lifted the bulk of my hair to cool myself and waved to Emma with my free hand as I turned to follow Nash off the dance floorand nearly collided with that same strawberry blonde. Not that she noticed. But the minute my eyes found her, that feeling was back in spadesthat strong discomfort, like a bad taste in my mouth, only all over my body. And this time it was accompanied by an odd sadness. A general melancholy that felt specifically connected to this one person. Whom Id never met.

Kaylee? Nash yelled over the music. He stood at the bar, holding two tall glasses of soda, slick with condensation. I closed the space between us and took the glass he offered, a little frightened to notice that this time, even staring straight into his eyes couldnt completely relax me. Couldnt quite loosen my throat, which threatened to close against the cold drink I so desperately craved.