Sought(149)

A long, lonesome time, he thought, feeling an ache when he thought of Kat. An eternity without my Kat. Unless I am given the opportunity to speak at once and then I die in her place. Anything was possible, he supposed. He only hoped he wouldn’t have to live without the woman he loved and the brother that was still so dear to him—even if the emotional bonds between the three of them were cut.

It is time for you to return, the voice murmured in his ear. Remember all that I have told you. Remember that I give to you what few others receive.

But what…What

“Is it?” he finished aloud.

“Wh-what’s what?” Kat was sobbing uncontrollably and Lock was holding her in his arms with a look of pure misery on his face.

“Forgive me, my lady,” he murmured. “But I said nothing.”

“Yes you did.” She looked up at him, sniffing. “You…you said ‘what is it?”

Deep cleared his throat. “Actually, I said that.”

The expressions on their faces when they looked at him made Deep wish he had a recording device. Shock and dismay were followed by fear, disbelief, and finally, burgeoning hope.

“D-deep?” Kat whispered, her voice scratchy from crying. “Deep, is that you?”

“It certainly looks like it.” Glancing down at himself, Deep saw that he was still nude, though he and Lock were no longer fused or joined to Kat.

“Are you all right, Brother?” Lock’s voice sounded strained and hoarse. He put out a hand as though he could scarcely believe it. “Are you…really all right?”

Deep seized his hand and squeezed it tightly. “I feel fine, Brother. Never better.”

“Yes…” Lock looked at him in wonder. “You do feel fine. I feel it in my bones—your wellbeing. Your happiness to see us again.”

“What are you talking about?” Kat asked uncertainly.

“The bond. The emotional bond between us,” Deep said slowly. “I don’t know how it’s possible but it’s back. It’s been restored.”

“I…I think I can feel him too,” Kat said hesitantly. “Only I can hardly tell if it’s just me or both of you. I feel…I’m so filled with joy. And gratitude. Oh, Deep!” She threw herself into his arms and he caught her and held her tight. “You’re back. You’re really back and all right!” Her voice trembled with emotion.

“Yes, I am.” Deep stroked her shining hair gently, so filled with joy he could barely speak. But then he had a new thought. If he was back in his physical form with not a cut or a scratch on him, did it mean that the Goddess had decided not to let him trade places with Kat?

Surely she wouldn’t be that cruel, he thought, carefully shielding his thoughts. To bring me back and let me hold the woman I love and then take her away again. Oh, please Goddess…

Kat, who had had her face buried in his chest, pulled back to look up at him. “You’re upset now. What’s wrong?”

“Yes, what is troubling you, Brother?” Lock leaned forward, frowning.

“This.” Lifting Kat’s chin, Deep brushed his fingers over her right cheek…and then realized that it was smooth and unmarked. Had he mistaken which cheek had been wounded with the kusax? Quickly, he turned her chin to look at the other cheek—nothing. So the Goddess had honored his request. Knowing what he would see, Deep turned to look at the viewer which was still humming beside the bed. He examined the angular planes of his own cheeks and found…nothing.

So he wasn’t to trade places with Kat after all. Instead, they were both to live. The soul poisoning was gone. Healed. And the Goddess had restored their bonds. Oh thank you, Mother of All Life. Thank you so much!

Lock, who had been watching him and Kat in the viewer, seemed to realize what was going on at the same time. “My lady…” His voice trembled with joy and disbelief. “Kat, your cheek.”

“What?” She put a hand to her right cheek, frowning. “Has it spread some more?”

“No,” Deep brushed her hand aside and pointed at her reflection in the viewer. “It’s gone, little Kat. It’s completely gone.”

“Oh my God. What does that mean?” She examined her unblemished cheek in the mirror. “Has it moved somewhere else?” She looked down at the rest of her body and then examined herself in the viewer, looking for the green spiral of the soul poison.

Deep already knew she wouldn’t find a thing. A puff of air so soft that no one but him could hear it blew gently against his ear. I give to you what few others receive, Deep, it whispered. A second chance. Use it wisely and well. Love your lady and your brother and treat them with respect and kindness as a true Kindred should. And do not forget your promise.