Soul Protector by Amanda Leigh Cowley Read Free Book Online

flush.
    “Basically, when we leave their
body, they usually feel like they’ve been daydreaming, but
hopefully they’ll be feeling more upbeat and positive than
before.”
    “Yeah, we’re like band-aid for
broken spirits,” said Steve.
    “So Soul Protectors are good
people?” I was starting to get a good feeling about it all.
    His smile faded. “No. Not all
good. Like any organisation, there are tainted characters. We have
plenty of corrupt Soul Protectors. That’s what we thought you were.
Steve and I are monitors and it’s our job to make sure people are
switching for the right reasons and not abusing their gift.”
    Steve cut in, “You’ll recognise
monitors because we have yellow auras instead of the usual orange.
And we can switch for longer than regular Soul Protectors.
    “Oh. Why do you switch though,
I mean, if you’re not helping vulnerable people?”
    “ Because it’s only when
you’re switched you can see another Soul Protector’s aura. I only
switch with other monitors, and it’s with their express consent. I
would never joyride,” he said, grinning.
    I wasn’t sure if he was mocking
me, so I chose to rise above the comment.
    “Are you arresting me?”
    He shook his head, “No, we
don’t arrest people. We just make sure they do the right thing. In
your case, we need to get you switched back as soon as
possible.”
    “Of course,” I said, relieved.
“Is there anything else I need to know?”
    He nodded and his smile dropped
again.
    “The colour of another Soul
Protector’s aura is important. If it’s orange, then you know that
person is a Soul Protector who’s switched for less than eight
hours, which is fine. If the aura starts to go dark orange like
yours, it means they’ve been switched for too long. It’s not
ethical or safe to inhabit another body for a long period.”
    My cheeks started to burn. I
didn’t think it was possible to feel any more ashamed of
myself.
    “The longer you stay in another
body, the more dangerous it is to switch back into your primary
body,” he carried on.
    “Why, what happens?” I felt my
pulse start to speed up again.
    “When you switch into someone
else, your mind stretches, because essentially it has to split in
two. Then, when you switch back to your primary body, you’ll feel
the effects. You’ll be exhausted, and feel like you’ve got a
hangover. If you do it for too long, the hangover becomes more
acute. Your whole body can go into shock, and depending how long
you’ve been switched, it can be really...” he paused, searching for
the right word, “serious.”
    I felt the blood drain out of
my face. What had I done?
    “What about Lydia?”
    “She’ll be fine. It’s you we
need to worry about.”
    “Oh thank God.” She didn’t
deserve to suffer. I was the one who’d been reckless.
    “When you switch back, the
effects will come on almost instantly,” Dan continued, “try not to
worry too much, I’ll stay with you and do everything I can to
help.”
    He put his hand on my shoulder
and fixed me with a look. It was a mixture of pity and
determination. “We have to do this by ourselves though, Gracie. You
can’t see a doctor. They’ll have no idea what they’re dealing with,
and anyway, conventional medicine can’t help you.”
    “But Lydia will be there, if
it’s that bad, she might call a doctor.”
    “Once you’ve switched back, you
have to get rid of her immediately. We can’t risk her calling an
ambulance.”
    An ambulance. The
butterflies in my belly whipped up to a frenzy as my mind scrambled
for reassurance.
    “Erm, if someone decided to
stay permanently switched. What would happen then?”
    “Well, apart from it being
completely immoral, you’d eventually get a dark red aura, which
would alert other Soul Protectors that you’d taken over someone
else’s body. They would inform the monitors, because we know once
you’ve gone to the red stage you’ve got no intention of returning
to your primary