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Cedric was essentially letting him know that none of that mattered.
Good thing, too, since he had absolutely no control over what had
happened nearly three millennia ago.
72 Gabrielle Evans
 What about the guardians? What happened to them? Cedric
prodded.
 The rules of the war had changed, and the guardians had to
evolve as well. The first Psychi vampires were from a circle of
witches the same witches who d pledged their lives to protect
humans against the demons.
Cash was slowly putting it all together, but it was a lot of
information to digest at once. And none of it explained what was
happening to Cedric. Thinking over the timeline and what he d
learned in the last twenty minutes, he had come to one suspicion,
however.  Are you one of the original Starateli?
The other vampire acknowledged him with a simple dip of the
head.  Yes. We used magic, drawing on the power of the sun and the
moon to immortalize ourselves. With all magic there must be a
sacrifice, though.
 What did you sacrifice? Cedric asked in a whisper, sounding a
little shaky as though maybe he didn t really want to know the
answer.
 Our souls. Our bodies are stronger and faster, our senses keener,
but we are still essentially human. This is why we don t need to feed
on blood. Our bodies function quite normally. Without souls of our
own, Psychi vampires must feed on the energy waves created by
others emotions. While most believe strong emotions are a weakness,
I assure you, a person cannot survive without them.
 My soul? There was a little catch in Cedric s voice as he
burrowed into Cash s side and held on to his shirt in a white-knuckled
grip.  I don t have my soul anymore?
 Actually& I think there is something more happening with you,
Mr. Barrows. Salem told me about what happened last night, and the
fact that you claim to still be able to feel the shifter inside of you.
 I m not claiming anything, Cedric snapped.  My cat is there. I
can feel him.
Eight Second Fall 73
 Shh, baby. Easy. Lifting his mate into his lap, Cash wrapped
him up in his arms and held him close, offering comfort in the only
way he knew how.  I don t think he s calling you a liar.
 No, no, of course not! Edan hurried to assure them, showing the
first sign of emotion since he d entered the house.  I believe you,
Cedric. I apologize if it didn t seem that way.
 I m sorry, too. A soft sigh rolled up from Cedric s chest, the
warm breath fanning over Cash s collarbone as his lover rubbed his
cheek against Cash s neck.  I m a little edgy these days.
 Considering what you ve been through, I d say you re doing
remarkably well. When this vampire attacked you, was there an
interruption? Did something happen that caused him to leave
quickly?
 I don t know. I can t remember anything.
 He was given blood, Cash added in explanation.  We re hopin
it will be out of his system by tomorrow or the next day. He thought
back to the night he d dropped Cedric off on his doorstep.  I was
leavin when I heard the screaming. I came back and pounded on the
door, but it took a while for Cedric to answer. I guess I could have
interrupted.
 That s what I m assuming. The process is not complete. Your
human soul is still very much intact, Cedric. It s the shifter soul inside
you that is a little more complicated.
Now Cash was lost again. The races tended not to intermingle
much, so just as Cedric knew little about vampires, Cash knew almost
nothing about shifters.  What does that mean?
 I technically have two souls, Cedric answered.  My human soul
and my cat soul. My mom used to say that a cat shifter s mate would
be the guardian of my cat soul. I don t really know what that means,
but I always thought it was kind of mystical and cool.
 Very true, Edan agreed.  Psychi vampires use the same original
spell to turn another. If that person is another paranormal, we can pull
74 Gabrielle Evans
that part of their soul into ourselves. For instance, if we turn a shifter,
we can absorb their shifter soul, enabling us to shift into that beast.
 But, I still have my cat! Cedric was getting a little frantic, and
Cash couldn t blame him. It was a lot to take in, and even he was
running on information overload.
 Yes and no. There was a long pause while Edan seemed to
gather his thoughts.  Since the spell was interrupted, there wasn t
time for this vampire to take your human soul. I believe he was trying
to absorb your shifter soul first, which is actually beneficial in this
case. He leaned forward and stared at them very seriously.  Cedric, I
believe your cat is trapped in the In Between.
* * * *
What the hell did that even mean? Cedric was pretty damn proud
of himself for holding it together as long as he had, but he was
seriously starting to freak out. Some ancient vampire asshole had
broken into his house, attacked him, attempted to steal his soul, and
now his cat was lost somewhere that sounded like the equivalent of
purgatory.
Just fan-fucking-tastic.  Please explain. There, that was perfectly
polite and not at all bat-shit crazy like he felt.
 It s just what it sounds like. Your cat is trapped somewhere
between living and dead, its soul lost in the In Between the realm
between this plane and that of the deceased. Have you tried shifting?
 Yes, but it felt weird, so I stopped.
 That s because you are more or less shifting into nothing. There
is no longer a physical embodiment of your cat. He has become
something like a ghost, more commonly known as a Shadow Cat. If
you push through the uncomfortable feeling of your transformation, [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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