Free Old Souls by P.A. Lupton Page A

three have the ability to combine their power making them stronger than any witch ever born.”
    “What if another three witches worked together?” I asked, curiously.
    “Some have tried but it’s never been successful. Something about when the three of them come together is a power in itself.”
    My body trembled at the thought of that much power lying solely in the hands of three men. “It’s a frightening thought. They could literally do whatever they wanted and no one could stop them.”
    “Alyssa, they’ve been alive longer than anyone can imagine and have only ever acted to protect us. But ultimately, they’re not truly immortal either. I’m sure if they lost control we’d find a way to stop them. The one thing I’ve learned, nature never allows for imbalance. Everything has to have a weakness.”
    Running his hand slowly up and down my back, his touch soothed me as much as his words. He was right, no sense in worrying about problems before they arose. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt. So, tell me what the three brothers have to do with how my powers were activated.”
    “Once people began to abuse their gifts, they stepped in to do something about the misuse of power before it was too late. Unwilling to destroy something so precious, they decided instead to neutralize our abilities, rendering humans powerless.”
    “Neutralize how?”
    His brow pulled as he considered the question carefully before answering. “You know how we can sense a life force?”
    “Yes.”
    “Some people call it a soul, but no matter what you call it, it’s where our power is derived. The three brothers created a spell to split that life force and divided the one soul among two bodies. Once the soul was separated, the other half was reborn and both halves became powerless.”
    “I don’t understand.”
    “Our souls are incomplete without both halves, which makes our abilities nonfunctional and useless.  It was the only way to remove the power without destroying it.”
    “Okay, I must be missing something, how does any of what you’re explaining make either of us a witch?”
    “A witch is simply a term we use to for those of us who have their power returned.”
    “Okay, but—”
    “Our powers,” he interrupted my question, “are activated only when we find our other half.” Intently, he stared at me, trying to convey…something.
    “Wait,” I hesitated, my voice wavering a bit at the end. “Are you saying we only get our powers when we find our…soul mate?”
    “Yes.”
    “But that means… I have a soul mate?”
    “ Yes .”
    He didn’t elaborate. He simply waited for me to come around to my own conclusions. Silence hung between us as I thought about everything he’d said. Then, I just knew…it was the draw that pulled me to him. “You?”
    He nodded.
    Holy.
    Crap.
    Soul mate ?
    “Oh my God.” I sat up and pulled the sheet across my chest to cover myself.
    “Are you okay?” he asked, sitting up next to me.
    Not trusting my voice, I nodded.
    “How…why…I don’t—” I didn’t know what to say, but finally asked the one question that had bothered me from the moment we met. “So then, why were you angry with me when we met?”
    “I wasn’t angry with you, Alyssa.” His words were so tender. He tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear and continued to explain. “I was ecstatic, excited, overwhelmed, scared, and a million other things. I wanted to lift you up and kiss you senseless, but I knew that would scare you so I held back. I was angry, but not at you. I was angry that I couldn’t do everything I wanted to.”
    I ran my hand through my hair. “I— I don’t really know what to say.”
    “So don’t say anything, just lay here with me.”
    And we did. We lay there, arms and legs entwined, constantly touching each other like we’d never been touched before. It was the most content I’d felt in my life. We fell asleep like that… and that’s when the tranquility