by Kate Martin
Suddenly glad he had taken to wearing long sleeves and gloves no matter the weather, even when inside, Bri offered her his arm, immensely impressed with himself when it did not tremble. Ella took it with a smile as Bri led her outside on weak knees.
She said nothing until they were far enough away from their watchers not to be heard, and Bri couldn’t remember how to speak anyway, so it was just as well. The sun shone in a cloudless sky, warming his skin despite the autumn chill and making Ella’s hair shine. She closed her eyes a moment and breathed in the fresh air.
“I’m glad you’re all right.” Bri surprised himself by speaking first, but it was all he could think.
“So am I. Thank you, again. You quite literally saved my life.”
Reminded of the lives he didn’t save, Bri stayed quiet.
Ella reached up, lightly touching one of the red leaves on a nearby tree. “Are you ever going to tell me how you knew the temple was in danger?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It might,” she pressed.
“It was just luck. I overheard something in the street.”
Ella laughed. “My, are you a bad liar.”
Bri stopped. “It’s not a lie.” It was close enough to the truth.
“Not the whole truth though, is it?”
The next answer he had would have been a lie, so he said nothing.
Ella unhooked her arm from his and wandered to a nearby rock garden, crouching down to trace the patterns carved into the stones with a finger. “Don’t worry. I don’t mind. I know you must have a good reason.”
Bri’s heart pounded so loudly in his ears he struggled to hear each word that came from her lips. “I don’t mean to lie.”
“I know.”
Fidgeting, he glanced over his shoulder to see Alec, Picadilly, and Melody watching from the edge of the yard. Alec ate an apple as he perched on the stone wall, while Pica spoke to him, her posture bored. The maid stared directly at Bri and Ella, looking tense and unhappy. “Your maid seems displeased with this whole situation. Maybe we should go back.”
“No. I came here for a reason and I intend to see it through. She’s simply angry because I left without permission, and her choices were to either stay behind and let me go alone or come along.”
“Your family doesn’t know you’re here?”
“They’ll never notice I was gone,” Ella assured.
“I don’t want you to get in trouble.”
“And I don’t want you to get in trouble.” She stood and walked back to him. “That’s why I came.”
“What do you mean?”
Her smile faded away. “Something awful is happening. The priests are in a tizzy and vendors have begun selling strange things—items to ward away evil and demons.”
The caravan he had grown up with had traveled from town to town instigating just such things. “Surely that’s not so unusual?”
“This is worse than I’ve ever seen it.”
“You think it’s because of what happened to the temple?”
“It’s certainly part of it.” She reached into a pocket sewn into the skirt of her dress and pulled out a pamphlet, which she then offered to him. “They’re handing these out on every corner.”
The paper was freshly printed and thick. The cover stated in bold words, BEWARE THESE MARKS. Smaller print inside instructed citizens on what to do if a person with markings on their skin was found. They were to be reported to the authorities, either religious or otherwise. As Bri flipped through the pages, he didn’t recognize any of the markings, though he could guess what they were. They had all been rendered along images of various body parts; a thigh, a shoulder blade, a right hand and forearm, wrapping about in fine lines. Suddenly it was hard to see, to focus on any one thing, and Bri turned the pages without really looking. The mark beneath his right glove itched and turned cold.
“The final page has more detailed instructions,” Ella indicated. “It says that soulless were responsible for the destruction of the temple, and that demons are rising once again, gaining power. It’s been years since demons have roamed the streets freely. People are frightened and they are desperate for someone to blame.”
Bri tuned to the last page and forced himself to read. “They’re hunting soulless? Turning them in for questioning?”
“That’s what it says, but I think it’s more than that. Already a few people have been taken away, and they haven’t come back.”
The warmth of the sun seemed so far away. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because of this.” She tuned the pages back to one closer to the middle, one Bri had passed over. The mark on the page was all too familiar. A vine with delicate leaves and a curling nature—an almost identical match to the lines that covered his arm. His chest tightened and his hands began to shake.
“I saw this,” Ella continued, her voice soft, “the night we met. Your hands were bare then, and I noticed the lines. You told me they were nothing.”
“They are nothing,” he said in a weak whisper.
“I wish I believed that.”
Bri tore his gaze away from the page to look at her, desperately searching her face for an explanation. “Why are you showing me this? Are you planning on turning me in?”
“No.” She shook her head with a sad conviction. “No, not at all. Quite the opposite. I wanted to warn you.”
“Why?”
“Because you saved my life.”
His knees very desperately wanted to give and collapse underneath him, but Bri held steady. “You don’t believe that people who make deals with demons are evil?”
“No. I believe sometimes people become desperate and think they have only one way out.”
“Sometimes there is only one way out.”
“I didn’t come to have a philosophical argument.”
Thank the gods. How would I ever explain what it feels like to have Death tugging you in one direction while a demon offers you another way? He nodded his agreement not to argue. “You’re only half right, though. I’m not soulless. Not yet.”
“What do you mean?”
Handing the pamphlet back to her, Bri pulled his right glove from his hand and pushed up his sleeve to reveal the living, breathing vine. Its green glow was subtle in the sunlight. Ella was not surprised to see it. “See how it moves? How it glows with power? I’ve made a deal, but it isn’t fulfilled yet. I still have my soul.”
“Then you could break the deal. Remove the mark.”
Bri shook his head. “I can’t.”
“Of course you can. Why not? You’d be safe.”
“It’s not that simple. I need this deal. I need it.”
“No one needs to give up their soul,” she said.
“Sometimes there is no other option,” Bri repeated.
“Why?” Ella came closer, as if proximity could force him to answer. “Explain it to me. Tell me what could be so important that you would give up your soul.”
“Life.”
She retreated a few steps. A flurry of emotions washed over her face until she settled with tears in her eyes. “I don’t understand.”
“I’m sorry.” He could think of nothing more to say as he hurriedly put his glove back on. Covering the mark didn’t undo what had been said, however, and it didn’t give him any experience with handling crying girls.
Angrily wiping her eyes, Ella sniffed, drew a deep breath, and composed herself. With a shove hard enough to knock him off balance, she thrust the pamphlet back into his hands. “Don’t get caught.” She stormed off back towards the manor, never looking back.
Alec and the others scrambled as she approached, shocked at her sudden departure. Alec hopped off the wall, probably about to question her, but then stepped back and said nothing when Ella continued straight to the door. Her maid followed her inside, and they both disappeared.
Feeling like he had just been tossed inside a funnel cloud, Bri could do nothing for the longest time but stand in the sun
like an idiot. The pamphlet shook in his hands, making strange fluttering sounds that oddly matched the rushing in his ears. Under some power that did not feel like his own, his feet began bringing him back towards the house. Time passed both slowly and quickly, making the trip seem instant, while he had a million and one thoughts passing through his head.
Alec tossed his apple core into the nearest copse of trees—a feat that momentarily sent Bri’s mind reeling again, since the edge of the lawn was quite far off. “Bri? What happened?”
Bri stared at him, having a dozen answers and none at all.
Picadilly stepped up, her usual expression of disinterest exchanged for one of dark amusement. “It seems your charm has not rubbed off on him, Alec. First time alone with a girl and he makes her cry.”
“Why don’t you go find something useful to do? You could forget how to speak, for one,” Alec offered in a clipped tone. Pica didn’t leave, but she did refrain from speaking again. “Bri, are you all right? What happened?”
The crunch of the paper in his hands gave him an idea, and he extended his hand to Alec. Alec took the pamplet and spent a few minutes thumbing through it. With each turn, his expression turned graver.
He turned to Picadilly. “Get Carma. We’re in a lot of trouble.”
— CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE —
The steady drum of quiet murmurs and orders had filled the large, open courtyard for some time. Gabriel pushed around reports from the Mortal Realm, matching them with similar reports from the myst. Most centered around Chanae and its capitol, Callay. It had begun subtly at first, growing out of the madness that surrounded the destruction of a temple on a holy day, but in the weeks since, it had grown out of control. The temples roared with the voices of angry citizens, fueled by zealous preachers. The holy men and women of the sects of all the gods railed in the streets. Amulets and talismans had become standard wear among all classes. Anyone seen without one was immediately questioned and often never seen again.
Until they were led out into the streets for burning.
Soulless could not be killed, not the way a mortal human could. Destruction of the body was the only way to guarantee the loss of the minion to the demon. What better way to destroy a body than to turn it to ash?
The latest numbers made Gabriel’s skin crawl. The reapers had been working overtime. While a few true soulless were being found and burned, the vast majority of the victims were living, soulful, humans. Innocent lives lost. All because of some damned demon’s ambition.
Temel came to her side, saluting before speaking. “Oriel is here.”
“Good. It’s about time.”
The singer pressed her way through the dozens of seraph working on different parts of Gabriel’s plan. Oriel’s soft silver coloring was a stark contrast to the war-bred seraph’s earthen tones. “I do not like being away from the myst.”
“I know, but I need your help.”
“Come to the myst and see the destruction yourself. There is much to be tended. Lillianna’s work has created vast wounds in the Grand Plan.”
“I know and I shall not keep you long, I promise. But I must know, have you had any success in following Lillianna’s movements?”
Oriel folded her thin wings tightly against her back. “She employs no one who moves within the scope of the myst. She was never a fool. But she cannot avoid everything. The king of Chanae often takes meetings alone, talking—seemingly—to himself. I am sure Lillianna is pulling his strings.”
“Do you think he has made a deal with her?”
“It does not seem so. He has no mark. Unless they have an agreement to make a deal at a later date.”
Possible, but risky. Demons liked to have their contracts signed in blood before they lent their power. “And now that this hunt has begun? Does he take many lonely meetings?”
“Fewer. She seems to be away from the center of it all.”
“Protecting her own soulless,” Gabriel mused.
“Perhaps. But we have little way of knowing. The soulless are thrown from the myst the moment they relinquish their souls. However, considering what she has started, she most likely keeps all her soulless asleep somewhere.”
“Asleep and safe.” It was a tactic many demons used, especially when they accumulated a large number of souls. Too many bodies around could be cumbersome. They needed to be fed, clothed, housed. She had known few demons in her years who kept more than a handful of soulless awake at one time. Carma had always been an exception, maintaining her household with nothing but soulless. Yet, even she had apparently changed. “What of Carma? She has soulless in the city. Are they involved?”
“There is no way to know. You say she has a witch, but I see no one.”
“She is involved in all this, I know she is.”
“It does not matter to me. I want to get back to the myst. Is there anything else?”
Unable to understand the mindset of a singer, and the lack of interest in the process that went into correcting the messes they saw in the myst, Gabriel flexed her hand free of a fist and stood tall. “Yes, there is. What of the boy?”
“What of him?”
Evasive as ever. You can claim to be impartial, Oriel, but I see it. Blood runs thick, it would seem. “Have you seen much of your nephew lately? Where is he in all this mess?”
“Are you implying he is involved?”
“He lives and the Mortal Realm is falling apart. It is not unlikely.”
Oriel bristled visibly. “He has been far more absent from the myst than he once was. When he is present, it is with a level of control and ease that he did not have before. He is less of a disturbance and therefore harder to detect.”
That news stilled Gabriel’s breath in her chest. “He is growing stronger?”
“It would appear so.”
“How? There is no one to teach him.”
“He grows older. Experience can teach just as much. But I do not think him involved in any of this.”
“And why not?”
“My sister was a gentle soul and her child is much the same.”
“Your sister fell!”
A smile graced Oriel’s pale lips. “She fell for love. Will that be all? I have been away from the myst longer than I care for now.”
“Yes, fine. Go. But I expect constant reports.”
“You shall have them as always.” She turned and left, leaving Gabriel wishing she could throttle that slender throat.
Temel stepped up, having given her space while dealing with the singer. “The first team is ready to move in. They await your order. However, they have one concern.”
“And what is that?”
“When they arrive in the city, are they to intervene if an actual soulless is at the stake?”
The idea had not crossed her mind. Gabriel thought on the matter, but the answer came easily enough. “Of course not. Soulless are to be executed on sight, why stop one execution just to replace it with another?”
The streets were bursting with people. Apparently not even the winter cold could keep them away. Alec kept his hat pulled down to shade his eyes. They hadn’t come dressed as themselves, wanting to remain inconspicuous. There were enough rumors about the Dusombré household without adding any truth to them. Honestly, he was surprised they hadn’t yet been accused of being soulless. They hadn’t cut themselves off from society completely—that would have raised suspicions—but they had reduced their need for trips into the city. It wasn’t unheard of. Plenty of people didn’t want to see the carnage that had become their capitol over the last month.
Yet plenty of people did.
The crowd shifted, a swarm of youngsters pushing through, running down the street. Alec kept a firm hold on the back of Bri’s coat, pulling him close and keeping him near. The middle-class clothes better suited Bri’s frame, allowing him to blend in more than he normally did, but his pallor was pale and he looked nauseated.
“Alec, I’m going to be sick.”
“No, you’re not.�
�� Alec had taken to wearing gloves to cover the signs of his mark, but pulled the left one from his hand and found Bri’s bare wrist. Immediately Bri breathed easier, though his color would take longer to return. The myst had been a horror for him ever since the temple. Try as he might, he couldn’t completely stay out, but the burnings pervaded his mind. It had been weeks since either Alec or Bri had slept more than a few fitful hours. Even with the “quiet,” Bri had enough memories to conjure nightmares.
Carma adjusted her hat, her silver hair done up to hide it as much as possible. Alec had argued with her, insisting she not come. The plain clothes made her more exotic features stand out. In a crowd, she was anything but unnoticeable. She hadn’t listened. “It never ceases to amaze me what humans will get excited over,” she said. “They carry on and weep when someone dies of old age, but give them a burning and they flock like children to a game. It’s that trait that keeps us demons so well fed.”
“Thank the gods for that then.” Shouldering through to make a path, Alec led them towards the city square. The entire situation sickened him. If he’d had his way, they would have picked up and moved to another country. Easy enough, really. But with Lillianna seeking god status, and the seraph still hunting Bri, it was in their best interest to see this thing through. Besides that, Carma refused to leave. No reasons given. Not for the first time since she had returned from her exile in the Inbetween, Alec questioned her sanity.
With each step, he further regretted bringing Bri along. The boy stumbled and struggled to keep up, sleep deprivation and illness taking their toll, but Carma had insisted on seeing the day’s burnings, and after their most recent conversation, he wanted to see them himself. “It’s Lillianna,” Carma had said. “I have no doubt. She has orchestrated this, and she is going for our throats.” Unfortunately, neither of them was willing to let Bri out of their sight. Sometimes protectiveness bordered on foolishness, Alec could see that now. Too late.
Just a glimpse. Long enough to put their theories to rest, then they would leave. There were two burnings to be held at noon. One they knew to be the soulless of another demon, one who had not lived in the area for centuries, but who left servants at every corner, so to speak. The other, an innocent—a clean, healthy, soul-possessing mortal.