Soulmates by Mindy Kincade Page B

staggered.
    Fiend—the Manes—they found us! They took her! I stayed here all night! I stayed close in case anything happened! Come on, we have to go now!”
    He hastily picked up the bag and grabbed Presley by the arm, “Come on, we need to go now ,” he repeated. His hands were shaking as sweat ran down his pale face.
    “Stop,” Presley insisted quietly. “You have to calm down and pull yourself together. We’ll be of no help to Paulette if we act on impulse. Now, do you believe that Fiend is still here?” she asked him calmly.
    “No, I don’t feel their presence. Do you? I mean, maybe it’s a trap. I think they want us to search for Paulette.”
    “So, you think she’s alive, right?” she asked trying to stay composed.
    “I don’t know. Remember when Fiend said that he was going to enjoy this? I think he’s playing a game. But whether he is or not, we have to find where they took her,” he said.
    “Okay, let’s go.”
     
    ≈≈≈≈≈
     
    They came to the forest’s edge and paused at an open field. The brilliant display of wildflowers covered the prairie like a blanket. The flower blossoms changed colors as they strolled by them.
    “Look over there!” Presley exclaimed. It was an old abandoned mansion, the first sign of civilization they had seen since they had left the small town. She ran up to it, astonished at the sight. The house was in ruins, but she could tell that it once had been exquisite.
    “This is the biggest house I have ever seen! In person anyway. It looks almost like a castle or something. Who lived here Jesse?” she asked.
    “I have no idea. Whoever they were, I’d say they were well to do!”
    “Yeah, I’d say so,” she agreed. Half of the house was in shambles, with the other half still remaining. Presley tried to imagine how the mansion would have looked if it was still standing. She peered into a window.
    “Jesse, there is still furniture in this room! Look at those eccentric dishes! This is amazing!” she said excitedly.
    For a moment she forgot the danger that they were in, and Jesse had to quickly remind her.
    “Presley, we need to go,” he said looking over his shoulder. “I feel like someone is watching us.”
    “Yeah, of course.” She walked towards Jesse with her head still facing the mansion. “I was just a little awestruck.”
    They continued on and found several other mansions in ruin. “Who lived here?” she asked.
    “Well, there are many pages in The Book of Codes that illustrates living beings. I’ve always assumed they were drawings of human beings. Maybe the drawings were of beings from this world,” he rationalized.
    “Obviously some sort of living being resided here. “And they would have been intelligent beings to build structures this amazing." They walked by the mansions, which were all destroyed.
    “According to the book, we’ll come upon a tunnel that will lead us to a castle.”
    “What? A castle? Through a tunnel?” she repeated.
    “You look at the book and tell me what you think,” he said as he handed it over.
    Looks right to me. We have to keep going,” she said exhausted. “I’m getting tired. Talk to me about something— anything. How about your life before you came here?”
    “My life, huh?” he said. “I don’t know. What do you want to know?”
    “Hey, I told you about my family, or lack of one. And now you are going to be secretive?” she asked. Presley really wasn’t sure if she wanted to know about Emily. Once again, curiosity got the best of her and before she knew it the words just came out.
    “Tell me about anything, your family— or Emily .”
    “Okay, Emily,” he said smiling. Presley’s heart sank.
    “Well, my pa was a farmer and my ma, kept house. I had one younger brother, John, an older brother, Jack, and two younger sisters, Jenny and Fanny. John was two years younger than me, Jack two years older, and we helped Pa around the farm. I was up every morning before the sun came up and