The Soul Quest ( #YourStoryIndia #Wattys2016)

Chapter 12 (Kelly's POV)

"Please don't hurt him. Give us a chance to explain this to you." I pleaded with Peter. But that was a mistake. As soon as he heard my voice Peter lost all control and rushed towards us summoning a sword using his tattoo.

"Nooooo!" Jared screamed throwing himself in front of me.

In desperation I touched the rune of Curationum on my forearm like I had seen Jared do and thrust my palm forward. "Please help us. Please." I whispered fervently. A tingling sensation shot down from my forearm to my palm followed by a blinding white light shooting out from my palm. It lasted for a second and then disappeared. Everyone in the room was frozen with shock. Jared was staring at me with his mouth hanging open. I would have laughed at his expression if I didn't have the exact same expression on my face.

"What the hell was that?" I whispered staring at my palm in wonder.

"This." Jared replied. I looked up to see him pointing at a white magical barrier enclosing Jared, Paula, Emily and me in a protective bubble from the rest of the Hunters.

"Don't feel so smug. I can break through any barriers your kind can put up." Peter said angrily. He strode forward touching his tattoo and thrust his arm into the barrier. Instead of disappearing the barrier pushed him back with a slight shove.

"What the hell?!" he screamed. "How is this possible?"

"I have no idea Peter but you have to calm down and listen to what we have to say. Maybe you can help us figure this out." Jared replied trying to calm Peter down. Peter looked torn between anger and curiosity. "Trust me Peter. This is good news." Peter stared at Jared scrutinizing him earnestly. Finally seeming to reach a decision he gave a curt nod and signalled to the other Hunters to put down their weapons. Heaving a sigh of relief, Jared relaxed his stance and turned to me.

"Remove the barrier Kells. Trust me we will be fine now."

"Ummm...I actually don't know how I am supposed to do that." I said embarrassedly.

"Just close your eyes, concentrate and imagine this room but without the barrier." he said patiently.

Taking a deep breath I did as he said and heard a faint pop as the barrier disappeared.

"Wow! This is awesome." I said my eyes shining with excitement.

" I know." he replied taking my hand. "Now let's try to figure out how this is possible."

Jared and I then explained all the weird things that had happened starting from my transformation into a Soulless. When we explained about the runes in his Dad's book Peter gave a start and demanded to see the book immediately. He continued looking through the runes as we talked growing more thoughtful. When I started explaining about the mental battle I had with Emily, he closed the book and gave me his full attention. Everyone was looking at me with an expression of awe and wonder.

"So it is possible to bring them back." Peter whispered with so much fervour but also a faint touch of regret. "I wish someone had found this sooner. We could have saved so many lives. But that doesn't explain how she got powers. Only the families of those who had The Dream are blessed with the power to use that pen."

"Yeah I am confused about that too." Jared said. "By the way Kelly and I will have to leave town and lay low for a while. Emily warned us that more Soulless will be after Kelly. Did you know that the legends about the Devil and Alison Lancaster are true? Apparently her soul escaped from Hell eighteen years ago and she has occupied Kelly's body and become a part of her. All the Soulless are looking for Kelly and trying to sell her soul in return for power from the Devil." he added this almost as an afterthought.

"WHAT?" Peter shouted. "And you are telling me this now? You idiot." he cursed Jared. " That explains everything then. No wonder she has powers. Alison's soul inside her is giving her all these special abilities. You see Alison Lancaster was not an ordinary human being. She was one of the angels up there."

"Does that mean that Kelly is part angel?" Jared whispered staring at me in wonder.

"Yes." Peter smiled. His whole demeanour towards me had changed now. " And she is going to be our key in wiping out the Soulless forever."

"What are you talking about?" I whispered hoarsely. I could barely believe the fact that I was part angel and had crazy super powers and now I am supposed to be some kind of hero too? It was a lot to take in.

"I am talking about this." Peter said pointing in Emily's direction. Caught up with the Hunters I had completely forgotten about her. She was conscious now and looking around dazedly. When she saw Jared and me her eyes widened with understanding.

"Kelly! Jared! I am so sorry. Did I hurt any of you? Oh my goodness! Is Paula okay? Did I kill her? I am so sorry. Please forgive me. I don't know what came over me. I feel like it was all part of a bad dream. I have done so many horrible things." she started sobbing hysterically.

"What is the meaning of this?" Jared asked Peter in a hard voice. "Is she faking all this remorse?"

That was when Peter dropped the bombshell.

"No Jared she is not faking anything. This is real. Your girlfriend here has the power to turn even the Soulless into Humans."

That was it. I really couldn't take it anymore so I did the only thing I could do.

I fainted.