Free My Soul To Take by Madeline Sheehan Page A

touched. That he had ruined her, that she should have given Gerik her virginity, that she should have married Gerik…that she should have always been with Gerik.
    “Hey,” Tobar called out.
    “Dark magic,” he said, getting straight to the point.
    Sighing, Tobar ran a hand through his greasy, brown hair. It had grown out substantially and now reached his chin. Tobar used to give a shit about his appearance…he had been one of the few in their clan to keep his hair cut short. Like everything else, that too had changed.
    “Yeah…about –”
    “It was like this when we got here,” Marko said, walking up behind Tobar. “Don’t have a clue what happened.”
    He looked quizzically at the two black eyes Marko was sporting. “What happened to you?”
    Marko glared at Tobar. “He did.”
    “Why?”
    “Don’t worry about it,” Tobar answered. “We had a disagreement.”
    He looked between the two of them and shrugged. “Whatever.”
    He pointed at the hospital. “The magic, it’s gotta be Gerik, right?”
    “Not necessarily, frate,” Nico interjected, having joined them. “The Skin Eater that Gerik fought in the Catskills had dark magic.”
    He frowned. “But he was Rom, right? Everyone said that he looked like he’d come straight from of the old country. How many Romani Skins could there possibly be on the East Coast?” He gestured to the hospital. “It’s gotta be Gerik.”
    When no one said anything, his thoughts took a nosedive.
    “Or her,” he finished, cringing.
    Marko laughed. “Who? Trinity?”
    He lunged, fists swinging, and Marko scrambled backwards. Before he could beat Marko’s face into a bloody pulp, Nico grabbed him and wrestled him down to his knees.
    “Don’t say her name, asshole!” Nico bellowed. “I won't hold him back next time!”
    Marko bravely scoffed. “How could one little Gaje whore be capable of this kind of destruction?”
    An elbow to Nico’s stomach dislodged his grip on him. Jumping to his feet, he whipped his gun out from the back of his jeans and aimed at Marko’s head.
    “What the fuck did you just call my wife?” His trigger finger twitched irritably.
    Tobar shoved Marko. “Do you want to die today, shithead?”
    And die he would if he said another word about her .
    Marko swallowed hard. “Nothing,” he muttered. “I didn’t call her a damn thing.”
    “If Gerik bonded her, then she shares his power,” Nico said quietly. “And if he hasn’t educated her, it’s a very real possibility that she could have accidentally caused this.”
    Nobody said anything. But he could guess what they were thinking. The sense of magic was strong, meaning whoever had caused this, Gerik or her, could still be close by.
    Nico glanced at him. “Xan…she could be anywhere.”
    “And we’re losing daylight,” Tobar added.
    Fuck it. They were right. Still staring at Marko, he faked a lunge forward and frate stumbled backwards, looking like he was about to piss himself.
    “Get the fuck outta my face,” he hissed, then spit, just missing the asshole’s boot.
    Marko took off and Tobar gave him a long, hard look that he returned ten-fold. He might be Baró in title, but never would he be his Baró. That honor had gone to ground with Jericho.
    “What?” he asked, his tone hard.
    Tobar looked away.
    “Let’s go,” Nico said gently, as if he were talking to an over sensitive toddler.
    He gave the area one last look. Her wasn't here. Her was gone. He was going to have to accept it sooner or later.
    Later, he decided. He’d accept it later.
    Maybe.
    Probably not.

CHAPTER ELEVEN
    WINTER
    Winter had come roaring in less like a lion and more like a kraken. Strong, frigid winds and bitter cold temperatures, accompanied by never-ending snow, made it impossible to enjoy the outdoors. Although the days were shorter, day after day spent indoors with only my thoughts to occupy me, had begun to take forever to get through.
    At first, I had tried to keep myself busy. I boiled