by Kate Keir
The door stood open, and I could make out the figure of a woman standing in the gateway watching our approach, as her long robes blew in the soft breeze. I felt a jolt of shock as I recognised her as Pen, Finlay’s mother.
“Finlay, your mother is here. What is she wearing? Why is she here? And what happened to Castle Dion?” My mind was in turmoil as the questions tumbled out one after the other.
The boat bumped against the shore, and Finlay hopped over onto the ground. His mother greeted us both with a warm smile. “Finlay, Flora. Welcome to you both. This has been a long time coming.”
Finlay ducked his head respectfully. “Penthesilea.”
My mouth gaped open. He had just called his mother by her name, not even the shortened version of Pen. Her actual full name. “Finlay, don’t call your ma that,” I couldn’t help but chide.
Pen opened her mouth to laugh, and the sound that came out was magical. “He means me no disrespect, Flora. You see, I am not truly Finlay’s mother. I suppose you could say that we work together.”
I could feel the heat in my cheeks as I looked from the boy to the woman, rendered temporarily mute by their revelations. “Of course, you’re his mother. He lives with you, and you took me in and adopted me until I was old enough to stay by myself. How can you not be…”
Pen stepped forward, just beating Finlay to putting her arms around me and giving me a squeeze. “Oh, Flora, we haven’t been fair to you. But there really was no other way. You had to come to know your birth-right in your own time. Come inside and we will tell you everything.”
I honestly thought that if anyone else in the world had asked me to go inside a castle that used to be ruined but now wasn’t—after everything else that had happened today—I would have run a thousand miles. Yet, if there was anyone in the world in whom I could place my trust, it was Pen and Finlay. So, I followed them to the heavy, studded door and stepped inside Castle Dion for what felt like the first time.
The inside of the castle reflected the changes of the outside. The entrance hall was made warmer by tapestries hanging along the walls. The floor had a sumptuous strip of carpet which ran along the central walkway, and there was furniture in the form of chairs and tables resting against the walls.
Cut flowers, neatly arranged in vases lent beautiful scents to the passageway. I inhaled deeply as I passed a huge bunch of Freesias.
Pen swept ahead of Finlay and me, her long blue robes making a shushing sound as she walked. When she threw open the gilded doors of the great hall, I couldn’t manage to hold back a small “meep” sound.
This was not the hall I had stood inside just hours before. It had a roof and more of the tapestries from the hall. There was a massive wooden table at the centre of the room that was set up as though for an important meeting. The light came from flaming sconces that graced the walls at either side of the room. It was medieval and ornate and beautiful at the same time.
Finlay and Pen both sat down, with Pen gesturing to me to do the same. As I sat, I couldn’t hold back any longer. “How is this place even possible? Will you both tell me everything now? Please?”
Nodding and smiling at me, Pen went on to tell me something that would change my life forever. “I am not who you thought I was, and neither is Finlay. We are not mother and son. We are both protectors, charged with ensuring your survival.
“You are a Soul Keeper, Flora. It is your responsibility to ensure evil souls—rogues—are not given passage back to the mortal world, but instead sent to the Endwood, where they will stay until they eventually fade out of existence forever.”
My mouth formed a small “O” as Pen spoke. I felt as though I was in a story. None of this made any sense or felt real. There’s no such thing as Soul Keepers. Whatever they even are. “Pen, I don’t get it. What’s a Soul Keeper? I’m sure I’d know if I was one. I think you’ve got the wrong girl.”
Finlay’s voice cut through my disbelief. “Flor, it’s so hard to explain it to you. That was why I needed to bring you here to show you. When I left you alone earlier, it was to check with Penthesilea that now was the right time to let you know what we are. We haven’t told you before because it makes you so much easier to find when you have awareness of who you are.”
I flinched. “You mean that thing from today will know where I am now?”
Penthesilea spoke again. “The Draugur? Yes, doubtless it will have gone back to tell its master and its brethren what it saw today.”
“Its master. Its brethren. You mean there’s more of them? I have to leave before they find me.” I started to stand.
“Sit, Flora!” Pen’s voice was quiet but thrummed with a power that made me thud back against my chair.
“Sweetheart, I know this is so much for you take in. I am truly sorry we never told you before, but as Finlay says, it makes you easier to find when you consciously sort souls. It’s easier to just allow your subconscious mind to do it for you. But the time for that is over. You are found out now.”
“Sort souls?” I was still confused.
“There are two places, the Everwood and the Endwood. Think of them in terms of heaven and hell if you like, although they aren’t quite the same thing.” Pen smiled at me. “You are responsible for sending the good and the pure souls of the dead to the Everwood. Those souls are rewarded with reincarnation back onto the Earth. They won’t remember it. They will be given new bodies and new memories will be made. However, they will remember meeting you and your decision to allow them the opportunity to live once more.”
“That’s why people always think they’ve met me before?” I breathed.
“Exactly,” Pen agreed. “They have met you before. But it isn’t really your face they recognise, it’s your soul. You call out to them, Flora. You have a bond with every single person on the planet.”
“Okay. So, what about the bad souls, and weird guy from today?” I wasn’t sure I really wanted to hear this part, but my curiosity was getting the better of me.
“That part’s a little less pleasant. The souls you reject are sent to the Endwood. They will never be reincarnated and never given bodily form again. Instead, they will spend nine years in the dark kingdom of Sluag, before they cease to exist any longer.”
“What’s a Sluag?” I shivered as I asked the question, remembering the monster from earlier.
It was Finlay who answered me. “If we’re keeping with Penthesilea’s analogy, he is kind of like the devil. Sluag’s full title is The Host of the Unforgiven Dead. He rules the Endwood and all of the rogue souls within it. But don’t worry, they can’t leave the Endwood, not unless you change your decisions and invite them to.”
“Not likely,” I murmured. “What about the Draugur? That wasn’t in the Endwood. It was here.”
Pen stood up and paced slowly along the length of the table as she answered me. “Draugur are anomalies. Their name literally translates to again-walker. Imagine a game of draughts. When you get a piece all the way over to your opponent’s side of the board, it gets crowned, yes?”
I nodded.
“Finlay and myself are not your only protectors, Flora. We are just two of the Dion—the group who are chosen to protect the current Soul Keeper, so that you can continue to protect humanity from being overrun by evil. If a Dion is killed, then their blood can be used to create new Draugurs from the souls within the Endwood. So, they are effectively crowned and can move between the Endwood and the mortal world, in the same way the counters in draughts can go back and forward on the board once they have been made. That was what you encountered today.”
“Was it there to kill me?” I couldn’t stop the question from leaving my lips.
Pen stopped pacing for a moment and levelled her eyes at me. “Not right there and then. It wanted to take you to the Endwood so that Sluag could do it himself. If Sluag takes the life of a Soul Keeper within the bounds of his realm, then it will rip apart the veil that separates the Everwood and Endwood and evil would be free to re-enter the world
of its own accord.”
Chapter Three
While I tried to find a way to accept that the king of the dead wanted to kill me, Finlay stood and walked to the back of my chair. He gently placed his hands on my shoulders and gripped lightly as I breathed in and out deeply. Since I lost my parents, only Finlay had ever been able to bring me calm in my worst storms, and it worked even now.
His voice behind me broke my thoughts. “We’ve told you the worst of it, Flor. I think we probably should have started out with some of the good bits first, kinda help to break you in, you know?” He lifted his hands from my shoulders and walked around my chair to lean against the table, facing me.
I’d never really noticed before how well-muscled and lean Finlay was. His arms crossed over his chest were thick, and I could see the shape of his muscles underneath the tightness of his clean, white T-shirt. I could see why he was a protector, a Dion.
As though he could sense my thoughts, he grinned at me and waggled his eyebrows, making me blush and look away.
“Tell me some of the good stuff then? Because all I’m hearing is how I need to make huge decisions about bad souls and avoid getting myself killed.”
“Well, you have to think the castle is quite impressive.” Pen smiled and lifted her arms toward the ceiling, gesturing at the change in the building.
“The castle is seriously cool, but how did it happen?”
“This castle has been home to the Dion for hundreds of years. Since the Soul Keeper first came into existence, in order to rid the world of evil.”
“Has it always looked like this for you?”
“Yes, always. None of the people in the mortal world can remember a time when the castle was whole; this helps to keep our secret safe. To me and the other Dion it has always been home, a stronghold from which to protect our charge. Loch Ness is a place like none other in the world. It is brimming with mystical energy, and it gives us a distinct advantage to have our home here.”
I gave Pen a pointed look and wondered whether or not I should ask the question that was on the tip of my tongue.
She spoke up again before I could decide if I would ask it. “No, Flora, the Loch Ness monster isn’t real.”
“I honestly don’t know if that makes me glad or sad.” I laughed.
Pen laughed with me. “Would you like to meet the other Dion, Flora? I know they will be very excited to finally meet you properly.”
I felt a nervous flutter in my stomach. What if they don’t like me? But then I looked at Finlay and knew that if they were half as awesome as my best friend, then I’d be just fine. “I would,” I answered her.
A squeal of, “Yayyy,” was followed closely by a girl of around my age throwing herself through the doors of the great hall and embracing me in a hug that was surprisingly strong for someone who must have only weighed about fifty kilos.
She had long golden hair, which hung in loose waves down her back, and huge eyes the soft brown colour of a doe’s. Her skin was a deep tan colour, which I noticed straight away because not many people have tanned skin in Scotland.
“Hi, Flora. It’s so nice to finally meet you. I’m Mara.” She let me go as she spoke and turned toward the door to gesture with her head for someone else to come in.
She was joined by a guy who had sandy brown hair which was cut in such a way it made his face look almost elfin. His hazel eyes were kind, and he had a slender build to him which matched Mara’s willowy figure. Even before he entwined his fingers with hers, I knew they were a couple; they were perfect for each other.
“I’m Artair. A pleasure to meet you, Soul Keeper.” He reached out and shook my hand.
“Nice to meet you both,” I replied. “Artair is an unusual name.”
“It means eagle.” He smiled.
Pen spoke up then. “Mara has a similar responsibility to you, Flora. She escorts animal souls to the Everwood.”
“So, you sort animal souls?” I asked.
“Oh, I don’t have to sort them.” She smiled at me as she spoke. “There are no evil animals, Flora. Every single soul goes to the Everwood to be reincarnated.”
“I guess that makes your job a little easier than mine,” I half joked.
She looked sad. “Perhaps. Unless you have to escort a group of souls that came from an abattoir. You can still feel their fear, exactly as it was right at the end. Although I guess you’ll get that with murder victims too.”
“You can sense what they felt when they died?” I shuddered.
“Only for a very short time,” she assured me.
I wanted to ask Mara so many more questions. Her role was so similar to mine that I knew she would be able to teach me a lot. Before I could question her any further, however, my attention was caught by a cough behind me, and I turned to meet the next member of the Dion.
I wasn’t a short girl at five eight, but the girl who stood before me was at least five eleven, and she used every extra inch to look a little further down her nose at me. She had short dark hair and ice blue eyes, set within a beautiful but cold face.
“This is Freya, Flora.” Pen introduced us with a note of warning in her voice. Clearly Freya was a diva.
“Nice to meet you.” I offered my hand.
Pen frowned as Freya ignored my outstretched offering. “All of the female Dion have extra gifts or roles. While all of the male Dion are solely warriors, gifted only with the strength to protect you, Flora. Freya’s role is to escort the souls you have rejected to the Endwood.”
Freya spoke for the first time, and her voice was as cold as her glare. “Yeah, I just take out the rubbish for you.”
I wasn’t really sure what to say to that, but the taller girl saved me trying to think too hard when she turned and stalked out of the great hall without a backward glance.
“Pay no attention to her.” Finlay came over to me and nudged my arm playfully. “She’s just—”
“Jealous,” a soft, deep voice echoed from the darkness beyond the doorway, cutting Finlay off before he could finish.
I could have sworn I heard Finlay full-on growl as the most striking-looking man I had ever seen walked into the hall. I immediately thought man, because although I was certain he wasn’t more than a couple of years older than me, he had a confidence about him that belied his age.
He was tall but lean and lithe. He had black hair and the most incredible amber-coloured eyes that reminded me of a wolf. He was dressed all in black, which felt like a massive cliché but at the same time suited him perfectly.
Finlay grudgingly stepped to one side, as the newcomer took my hand in his and kissed the back of it in a gallant, old-school way before he lifted his eyes to mine and said, “I’m Lyall. It’s an honour to meet you, Flora Bast.”
The kiss on my hand and his use of my full name, coupled with his good looks and lilting voice, knocked me speechless. A long moment stretched out into the realms of embarrassing, until with a roll of her eyes, Pen saved me.
“So, you have met each of us now, Flora. We are a family, and you are a part of that family too. It was only for your protection that we did not allow you to fully be a part of it sooner, and for what it’s worth, I am sorry that we could not. Do you perhaps feel a little less confused about things than you did earlier?”
Managing to tear my green eyes away from Lyall’s amber gaze, I replied to Pen. “I think so. It’s a lot to take in and I guess I don’t really know what I’m supposed to do next.”
“We will help you with everything that comes next, Flora. You will start to learn the ropes, visit the Everwood and begin to really understand the souls under your care. Yes, you have subconsciously already been filtering the bad from the good, but the better grip you have on your gift, the better you will be at protecting yourself and the Everwood from Sluag.”
I nodded at Pen and realised I did feel a lot better than I had earlier when Finlay had saved me from the Draugur. It had been a long time since I had had real family around me; after my ma and da had die
d, I hadn’t had any blood relatives left. Both my parents were only-children and orphans, which had left me with nobody at all except Finlay and Pen.
Now it turned out I had been surrounded by family all along. Okay, Freya would take a little getting used to—but I liked all of the others already. My eyes flickered back to where Lyall had sat down, reclining in his chair in an easy way.
Pen spoke again then, breaking me out of my reverie. “Finlay is the logical choice to be your mentor while you are learning, since he knows you so well. He will accompany you to the Everwood.” This time I thought I heard a small sigh of disappointment from Lyall, while Finlay grinned at me.
“Mara will also be very useful to you if you have any questions about souls that may fall outside of Finlay’s knowledge,” Pen finished.
“I would be happy to help you in any way I can, Flora.” Mara beamed at me.
I really liked this girl already, and I had a feeling that we were going to be very good friends. “Thank you, Mara.”
“For now, however, I think it’s time for an old lady like me to get some rest. Flora, you will of course stay here from now on.” Pen smiled.
I panicked, thinking about my cat at home alone. “Pen, I really need to get back to Achilles.”
“Already taken care of sweetheart. I thought it best for Achilles to stay here while you are going to be so busy. He is currently lurking somewhere in the gardens with Phobos and Deimos.”
“Phobos and Deimos?”
“My two feline terrors. I forgot you didn’t know I had cats of my own, Flora.” Pen laughed as she made for the door.
I shook my head, smiling to myself. “There’s a lot I didn’t know about you, Pen, but I’m learning fast.”
After we left the great hall, Finlay and I walked up the sweeping staircase that led to the second floor of Castle Dion. My eyes took in the tapestries and paintings on the walls. Being here felt so strange, but I also had a strong sense of being home, and I liked that.