Soul to Shepherd by Linda Lamberson Read Free Book Online Page A

something extending your welcome home?” He grinned just before kissing me.
* * *
    After having taken a dip in the cold water, Quinn and I were soaking up the sun’s warmth near the water’s edge. He sat up, placed his forearms on the tops of his knees, and rested his chin on his bicep to look at me.
    “So, are you going to tell me what’s up?” he asked pointedly.
    “Where do you want me to start?” I asked hesitantly. After Quinn remembered me last winter, I’d promised him I’d never intentionally hide anything from him again. But when I made that pledge, I had no idea what the Servants had in store for him. I couldn’t just come out and tell him the Servants wanted to convert him into one of them. I knew Quinn, and he wouldn’t handle it well. This information would cloud his judgment, and I needed him to remain clear-headed. I needed more time to figure out the best way to break the bad news to him.
    “How about with what happened after the attack a couple of months ago when you abandoned me in the soccer field?”
    Inside, I cringed at his characterization of my leaving him.
    “Well,” I began, sighing, “naturally, there was another Inquiry. Only this time, I think most everyone on the Council Tribunal was out for my blood.” I rolled my eyes.
    “So what happened?”
    “Ronald. He stepped in and saved the day—he and Tara, she’s the head of the Council Tribunal. Despite all the trouble I’ve caused, I’m beginning to believe she actually might be sympathetic to what I—to what we —have been going through. She seemed to understand why I broke the Rules, again .
    “So,” I continued, “I ended up with a slap on the wrist and a forced hiatus in my realm. I hated being up there, being unable to see or talk to you, but at least it gave me time to heal.”
    “How did your wounds heal? Did—was it Peter?” I heard the tinge of jealously in Quinn’s voice. I knew Quinn still had a difficult time accepting he could never save me the way Peter had the night I healed Quinn’s baby niece, Mary.
    “Yes, he and two other Shepherds, Teddy and Eli, made some sort of salve.” I wrinkled up my nose. “Rank, nasty stuff, but it did the trick—well, mostly.” I instinctively reached around with my right hand and felt one of the scars on my left shoulder blade.
    “Anyway,” I continued, shaking my head slightly to clear it of images of my marred back. “When you got flagged again, I got reassigned to your case. Only this time, I was told to work with you.” I smiled, leaned over, and gave him a quick kiss.
    “Why let us work together all the sudden?” he asked suspiciously.
    “The way I understand it, there’s a certain energy that comes from our connection as true soul mates, and that energy allows each of us to physically grow more powerful—like, amazingly powerful. The Council wants us to work together so the bond between our souls continues to develop and, as a result, so does our super strength.”
    Quinn looked doubtful. “As much as I’d like to say I feel as strong as Superman when I’m around you, right now, I feel pretty much the same as I did yesterday without you—well, strength-wise, that is,” he added with a wink.
    “I don’t feel any stronger physically either.”
    “Well, maybe they misunderstood what being true soul mates means … Or, maybe we’re not true soul mates after all,” Quinn said with a furrowed brow.
    “No, we’re true soul mates,” I stated unequivocally. “I’d bet my immortality on it. Our souls reach out towards each other in a way that’s different from other people. I’ve seen it. I’ve felt the connection between us when we kiss. What we have is stronger than anything I’ve ever heard of before.”
    “Then why haven’t we become the Wonder Twins yet?” he mused.
    “I don’t know,” I replied. “Tara just said as our bond grows, so does our strength.”
    “Well, our connection has never been stronger. You said so