Soulless (Book #2 of Hunted)

Sir Screams-a-lot

There was a crashing sound in my ear and suddenly all the sound came rushing back. I could hear Phoebe stirring slightly in her room but beyond that, beyond the people in the neighborhood I could hear a terrible agonized howl but it wasn't a sound in my ears, it was in my head. It was a roaring in my brain and worse than anything I had ever felt. It was like someone had pried open my mind and thrown this snarling beast inside to shred my thoughts.

I stood there in the hallway and tried to shut out the sound but I could still feel it in the air. Was this Zane? Was this mind cry something Zane was doing? I ran down to Phoebe's door and pounded on it with both fists. She didn't come to open the door. I growled in the back of my throat and shoved her door open.

The lump of blankets on the bed that Phoebe was buried in moved and an angry scream emitted from it. I stared at the lump of sheets curiously waiting for Phoebe's head to pop out like normal.

"Shut the damn door!" she yelled. I closed the door and the vicious mind cry disappeared. Phoebe scuttled out of the pile of blankets like the ghost chick climbing out of the TV in the movie "The Ring." She sat on her bed and glared at me with half closed eyes. "It's not time for school," she grumbled at me. It sufficed to say that Phoebe was so not a morning person.

"What was that noise?" I asked bewildered. She shrugged and yawned stretching her arms over her head.

"It was Zane I think," she replied flopping down onto her mountain of blankets.

"Why can't we hear it in here?" I inquired. She sighed and rolled around in an attempt to flatten the blanket mountain.

"It was around three this morning that I heard that sound in my head. I got up and checked on you and it looked like you were having another nightmare. Maybe you thought that cry was a nightmare," she said before pausing to look at me. I think I remembered.

"Anyway, I tried a couple random spells and finally got one to do the trick. I blocked out all noise from our rooms, mental and physical." I stared at her in awe.

"Okay. So Zane was making that noise somehow, you didn't think to wake me up or check on him?" I asked as little ticked that she just ignored him.

"I was scared, Lori. You heard that sound it was freaking terrifying!" she exclaimed. I groaned loudly in exasperation.

"You could've just woke me up. I told him last night that if he needed me to scream," I said walking back to her door.

"Don't open it! It wasn't out loud screaming so I figured it was just him thinking really loudly and we could hear it," she babbled jumping out of bed and grabbing both of my arms before I could touch the door handle.

"I have to go check on him," I said pulling my arms away from her and reaching again for the door.

"No, you don't. You should stay here and watch TV," she said hurriedly and mightily convincingly. I shook my head sadly.

"Fine, I guess I can stay up here and we can just wait until he chews his hands off and kills us," I said scathingly. Her eyes widened in fear.

"On second though, it's almost ten and we're both up. I'll make some oatmeal and you can check on Sir Screams-a-lot," she said with an airy wave of her hand and a nervous grin. I glanced at her suspiciously.

"How many nicknames are you gonna give Zane before this is over? And cinnamon sugar in my oatmeal not cinnamon and sugar, thank you!" I smiled sweetly at her and flung open the door before she had another opportunity to stop me.