warn you. I cannot peer into a bowl of water and see all that is, or any of what may be. I am not certain if our mutual connection explained to you or was aware of the particular limits of my gift.”
“Father Uncquist was quite forthcoming with details.” Bella chuckled. “We know quite a bit.”
Maxine laughed and shook her head. “Never trust a monk. Let alone one who drinks as much as he does. Nice man, but a bold-faced liar. And he cheats at cards.” The way the three hunters laughed revealed they did indeed know Father Uncquist and were aware of his predilections.
“Let me explain to you, then, precisely what I can do. Then you can tell me exactly how someone like me can help you defeat a vampire king.” She couldn’t believe those words had left her mouth. She had no clue vampires had existed until this moment, although she knew the myths and legends as well as anyone. Her world was often bent toward morbid endeavors by nature of her gift, and often she had been told of creatures that stalked the night that were no longer human. Or who had never been. While she had never seen proof of one for herself, she had no issues taking things on a little faith. The hunters were not lying. “I deal in souls, as I said. In the simplest fashion, it can be reduced to that. I hear them, I sense them, and I can touch them.”
“What do you mean…you can touch souls?” Bella furrowed her brow.
“I mean precisely that.” She put her hand on the table, palm up. “I wear these gloves to protect us both. I am an empath, yes. But that is the same as claiming a sparrow is a bird only because it has two wings. I experience the emotions of those around me as if they were my own, but it is because I can hear their souls whispering to me. If I were to touch you, skin to skin, I would be reaching far deeper than that. It allows me to see into a person’s very being. It is unsettling at best for both parties, as you can imagine. And dangerous.”
“I…see. Father Uncquist told us you aided him in finding the other half of a broken artifact.”
“I did. Humans are not the only things that carry souls, or something akin to it. Objects carry a history to them, as do buildings and locations. People know this instinctually. You can tell if you hold a blade in your hand that has taken lives or one that is used to slice butter. Everyone has the gift that I have. You feel connections to people around you, to the places you visit, and to the things you touch as I do. I simply can hear it much louder.”
The three of them sat there quietly for a moment, watching her with various degrees of interest and curiosity. Bella seemed to be nearly overflowing with the need to ask her questions but kept glancing at Alfonzo to see if their leader would speak first.
“If you were to hold that brooch, what would happen?” Alfonzo asked after a long and thoughtful pause.
“I suspect I would see a memory. Objects carry the past with them. They contain threads of everything that has happened around them, imprinted by the emotions of what they have witnessed. Some memories are far more impactful than others. Think of them like rocks thrown into a river. If I were to hold a steak knife in my hand, for example, I could not see every meal it has shared in. They are small pebbles. Barely enough to disturb the surface. If I were to throw a boulder, I could change the course of the stream. If the steak knife took a life, that is more unique. More notable.” She looked down at the brooch and felt only dread at the idea of holding it. “From that, I think I will find a continent dropped into an ocean.”
“You are correct in being wary to touch it.” Bella folded her hands in her lap. “That belonged to him.”
“I guessed.” With a reluctant sigh, Maxine picked up the item in question. She could feel it pulse even through the layer of black silk protecting her. It did not contain just one memory—it contained many. It was a tangled web of all it had witnessed. “I am not sure how it will help you find him. I can only