Soul Keeper

by Kate Keir

  I looked up at her from my place on the floor. The nausea had passed, but I had run out of things to say. I was afraid.

  “What’s up, Soul Keeper? Do you still feel unsteady? Don’t worry, the poison I gave you won’t kill you. You’ll recover very soon. You’re not going to die until we get you back to the Endwood and hand you over to Sluag.” The thing that was Kim reached down to help me stand.

  “He’s going to kill me if you do that,” I whispered.

  “I know. Just as soon as he does, we’ll be rulers of this pathetic world. No one will be able to keep us confined any longer.” She hauled me to my feet and pushed me forward, forcing me to walk unsteadily in front of her.

  I was about to make a second attempt at running when a snarl sounded behind us. I whirled around just in time to see a huge black wolf fly through the air and tear the Kim thing’s head off her shoulders.

  The wolf paused to turn eyes of fire on me for a split second, and I shot him a grateful smile. Then he turned his shaggy head and began to prowl toward the other Draugur who was cowering against a bin, awaiting his own fate.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Lyall didn’t hesitate. He gathered himself back on his dark haunches and then launched toward the Draugur, snarling furiously. I dropped my eyes to the floor, not wanting to watch what happened next. I couldn’t unsee the damage that Lyall’s wolf jaws had done to Kim, and even though I knew both the Draugur were already technically dead, I really didn’t want to witness the second Draugur being dismantled.

  The sound of shoes pounding against the ground brought my head back up, just in time to see the Draugur run around the corner of the street with wolf-form Lyall in close pursuit. I managed to stand up, although I was a bit wobbly in my heels. I pressed my hand over my mouth and turned away from the headless body of Kim which lay still on the ground.

  I came to rest with my back pressed against the wall and my head tilted back against the brick. My breathing had begun to return to normal, although the urge to cry still burned at the back of my eyes. I stayed there for a moment, examining the stars in the dark sky above me until a movement caught my eye as human Lyall walked back into the alleyway.

  He didn’t break his stride until he was standing in front of me. Without giving me a second to speak, he reached forward and wrapped me in his arms, pulling me tightly against his chest.

  “Lyall, I’m so sorry,” I gasped, burying my head into him. “I shouldn’t have had a drink. But it wasn’t just the alcohol. Kim gave me water that was laced with something, which messed with my head. They would have killed me,” I finished on a whisper.

  “Shh, you’re safe now, love,” he soothed. “Although it would be best to get out of here before she manages to put herself back together.” He gestured at Kim as he spoke.

  “She’ll do that?” I pulled back from him in horror.

  “Flora, in the nicest possible way, she’s a zombie. She was dead and now she’s not. Yes, she’s going to put herself back together.” He took a hesitant step back from me. I was sure he was worried I was going to throw-up on his shoes. I tried to put on my bravest face, despite the fact I did want to be sick and nodded at him.

  He caught hold of my hand with his own and started walking. “Come on, let’s get you home.”

  He felt my resistance as I pulled back against his hand, making him look back at me questioningly. “Can we not go back just yet? I’m really enjoying being in the real world.”

  “Even though being in the real world almost got you picked up by Draugur and sent to Sluag for sacrifice?” He raised his eyebrow at me.

  “Please, Lyall. Just a little while longer?”

  Glancing at his watch, he nodded at me. “All right, love. I know somewhere we can go for you to enjoy your freedom for a bit.”

  Lyall led me to the car and drove us out to a place I recognised as The Hill of the Witch. A large, grassy mound that was reputed to have once been home to the most powerful sorceress in Scotland. As he pulled up in the tiny carpark at the foot of the mound, I wondered to myself if the story was in fact true.

  “There’s some boots on the back seat. You might want to swap your footwear before you attempt the hill.”

  “Why are we here, Lyall?” I asked as I pulled off my heels and traded them for the muddy wellies I found behind my seat.

  “Don’t worry, there’s no magical or mystical agenda. Other than I heard the Aurora Borealis was going to give quite the show tonight. Unusual in summer.” He closed his car door and began walking up the hill.

  I had seen the Northern Lights once or twice before, but their beauty never failed to take my breath away. I slammed my door shut and hurried after Lyall in my oversized, borrowed boots.

  He beat me to the top and sat down on a wooden bench. Even in the darkness, I could see his amber eyes burn as he watched me approach. “You know that’s an interesting look you’re sporting. It’s like countryside chic.” He winked at my scowl as I sat down next to him.

  “I’m not sure this was the destination I had in mind when I got dressed tonight.” I wasn’t angry. I smiled at him as I looked up at the sky. Hoping to see the lights begin to dance.

  “You look beautiful by the way, Flora.” He followed my gaze, studying the Milky Way cascading its way through the midnight sky.

  I was saved from giving him an answer as the first pulse of blue-green light rippled through the darkness. It was quickly followed by some less common Aurora colours. A spear of red burst across the galaxies and a purple haze teased its way between the stars. It was a truly beautiful show.

  We sat in a companionable silence, which made me think about how Finlay and I used to do the same thing. It broke my heart to think he and I might never spend time together like this again.

  “What’s making you frown? I’d hoped the Aurora would make you smile.” Lyall gently nudged my thigh with his own.

  “I was just thinking about…” I stopped, realising it was unlikely Lyall wanted to hear about my Finlay woes.

  “It’s okay to think about him and talk about him, you know. I know how important he is to you, Flora. You two will make up. You just need to give him a bit of time. He’s not been used to sharing you with all of us.”

  “What I need to do is give him a good, hard slap.” I laughed. “Mara says it’ll all work out, and I’ll end up where I’m supposed to be. But right now, I have no idea where that is. I’m attracted to you, Lyall, but I don’t know you very well. I’m scared if I get it wrong, I’ll get us all killed.”

  “Whoa, calm down, Flora. For starters, I think you know I’m attracted to you. Massively attracted to you. However, I’m not going to push you for anything at all. That wouldn’t be fair. You have enough to deal with right now.” He turned toward me and took my hand in his reassuringly.

  “Thank you, for not pressuring me,” I whispered.

  I couldn’t help but think it was strange that Lyall, whom I had known for a few days, was more reluctant to push me than Finlay, whom I had known for years.

  “I will never do that to you, love. Secondly, you are not going to get us all killed. We’re going to keep you safe and keep ourselves safe too. I’m guessing Pen told you about her other Soul Keeper, huh?”

  “Yeah,” I sighed and leaned back against the bench, looking upward once more. “She told me she was married to her soul mate, and Sluag still managed to destroy them all. What hope do I have?”

  “Sluag didn’t destroy them all, though, did he? Pen’s still here, and she is a valuable asset to us because she knows what we’re up against. She’s lived it. He took everything from her, including her ability to shape-shift. But she’s still fighting against him with us.”

  “Pen can’t shift?” I was surprised. I’d just assumed she didn’t do it so often because she was older now, and I knew from experience that it hurt.

  “No, she lost her ability to shift when her Soul Keeper died. Pen used to become a white tiger. Aiden was an orange tiger. They kind of ma
tched each other. But once he was gone, so was her gift.” Lyall pulled off his jacket and draped it around my shoulders as he finished speaking.

  I thought about protesting, but I was cold, so I let it go. “So, does a Soul Keeper’s inner animal always mimic the one belonging to the Dion she’s bonded with?” My voice was tinged with excitement.

  “That would make things a lot easier I guess, but no, Flora, it doesn’t always work out that way.”

  “Oh.” I was disappointed.

  “But it is possible. We’ll just have to get you to change a-s-a-p, and we’ll see.”

  “Why do I feel like you have an ulterior motive for getting me to shape-shift?” I accused, with a smile.

  “Maybe I do.” He gave me his best Lyall wolf grin.

  I thought about everything he’d told me as I watched the light display above our heads. It was slowing down and dimming now. It felt as though the sky was telling me it was almost time to return to my other world.

  Then something occurred to me. “Lyall, were you following me tonight? Because I’m pretty sure you were only supposed to come and pick me up after I called you.” I narrowed my eyes at him.

  “Err, not following as such. I’m overprotective of you, and I’m not going to apologise for it. In my defence, if I hadn’t been you’d probably be in the Endwood by now, love.”

  I shuddered. “Thank you. I’m glad you were there. Although I’m slightly concerned that even after what you did, Kim isn’t dead. Can’t Draugur die? Die again, I mean?”

  “They can be sent back to the Endwood, if that’s what you mean by die. You need to call the rogue soul forth. It will try and hide within the body, but the body is just an illusion. Once you have it in sight you can force it to go back to the Endwood.”

  “Why didn’t we send it back?”

  “Because you’re not ready for that level of confrontation with a rogue soul, and because I lost the other Draugur that ran, so I was expecting it to come back for us at any minute. I just wanted you out of there.”

  “I think that was a good call,” I agreed.

  “So, am I allowed to take you home yet, Miss Bast?” Lyall put even more stress on his London accent as he stood and offered me an arm.

  “I don’t understand how you can still have that accent after you’ve been in Scotland for forever.” I laughed as I stood and linked my arm with his.

  “Not forever, love. Just a very long time,” he said softly as we started down the hill.

  I had no idea of Lyall’s history before he knew he was a Dion. Apart from his accent giving away that he had lived in the Capital at one point in his young life, I knew nothing else about his backstory.

  As I climbed back into the car, letting Lyall close the door for me, I resolved that I would find out more about him. He had already done so much for me in such a short time that I felt I owed it to him—and to my Soul Keeper self to get to know the real person behind those intense, amber eyes.

  When we arrived back at Castle Dion, I crept guiltily up the stairs behind Lyall. I didn’t want to run into Pen because of the drinking, and I didn’t want to see Finlay, because I was certain he’d think that more had happened between Lyall and me tonight.

  When we got to my door, Lyall shot me an apologetic look. “You know I’m going to have to tell Pen about the Draugur attack, don’t you?”

  I cringed but nodded. “I know. I wouldn’t want you to keep it from her.”

  “I won’t tell her about the cocktails, though.” He winked.

  I felt a surge of relief as he said it, and without thinking I pushed myself up on to my tiptoes and planted a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you,” I whispered.

  “Goodnight, love. Sleep well.” He smiled back at me as he made his way along the hall to his room.

  Just as I was closing my own bedroom door, I caught sight of a movement farther along the hall. My eyes flickered toward Finlay’s door just as it clicked quietly shut.

  “Perfect,” I groaned as I shut my door on the world.

  Chapter Fifteen

  It only took me moments this time to realise I was back in the dream version of the Endwood. As soon as the charcoal black trees appeared around me, stretching their branches up to the endless, pitch-black sky, I stopped walking and frowned. A brief look around told me there weren’t any Draugur lurking nearby, so I decided to take a stand against Sluag.

  Sliding to the floor, I crossed my legs in the lotus position. Ignoring the cold wet feel of the grass against my pants, I closed my eyes and thought about being in the Everwood. I wondered if I actually had enough willpower to take myself there instead of here.

  “No, Little Dreamer. You cannot will yourself away from here.” Sluag’s cracked voice made me jump, and my eyes flew open.

  Suddenly, my decision to sit down in protest felt less like taking a stand against Sluag and more like I was a toddler throwing a tantrum. He towered over me, making me feel small and insignificant on my spot in the cold grass. I stood up and took a couple of quick steps away from the scaly monster who had once again hijacked my dreams.

  “Why do you keep doing this, Sluag?” I sounded more confident than I felt. I hated the way he could hear the thoughts that should have been safely hidden inside my head.

  “Such a brave little Soul Keeper, aren’t we?” He walked to a black rock and sat down casually, as though we were in the park on a Sunday afternoon.

  “You weren’t so brave earlier were you, Flora? Thank goodness for the loyal Lyall coming to the rescue.” He smirked, making the grey scales on his face grind together unpleasantly.

  I knew there was an underlying threat in his use of Lyall’s name, but if I reacted, that would only let Sluag know how much of a nerve he’d hit. It could put Lyall in greater danger. Instead, I stayed silent, grinding my teeth in rage.

  “Why don’t you sit down, Soul Keeper.” He gestured to a rock near to his own as he spoke. “I’m not letting you leave for a while yet, so you may as well rest your legs.”

  I looked at the offered rock and then turned to survey the surrounding area. I chose an alternative rock that was about three times the distance away from Sluag, sitting down with a feeling of childish triumph.

  He chuckled at my obstinacy, which annoyed me even more. I had wanted to offend him, but his laughter made me feel as though I’d lost this particular battle of wills.

  “So angry all of the time, Flora. How do you find the time to help those sensitive little pure souls when you are so perpetually filled with rage?”

  “Funnily enough, I’m only usually angry when I’m here with you, Sluag. I can’t work out if it’s your charm or your good looks that bother me so much.” I hated the thought of him getting anywhere near the pure souls of the Everwood.

  He studied me for a moment, the pale orange flames of his eyes flickered with interest. When he spoke again, his tone was dripping with false concern. “That’s not the truth, Little Dreamer. You reserve your most vehement anger for your lamented best friend Finlay, I believe. Such a sorrowful tale of a years old friendship, broken apart in just a few short days. See what your responsibility as Soul Keeper has stolen from you, Flora?”

  I knew he was trying to hurt me, trying to mess with my head just like he had with Aiden. I thought back to Pen’s warning of how Sluag would keep trying to make me doubt my Dion and myself.

  “Finlay and I will be fine. It will take a hell of a lot more than what’s happened to break us apart, Sluag.” As I said it, I realised it was the truth. Finlay and I had so much history together, and I would not throw that away. I resolved to find Finlay as soon as I woke up tomorrow and sort things out for good.

  “I’m pretty sure you didn’t mean to help me see how important Finlay is to me, Sluag. But you just did. I guess you made the wrong call this time, huh?” I crowed jubilantly.

  Sluag stood up. I watched his sickly orange eyes, trying to work out if he was angry at my victory over him.

  “You know, Soul Keeper. Now you
come to mention it, I think that Finlay said almost the exact same thing when he came to see me recently. It’s a beautiful thing that you both feel so strongly about each other.” He paced back and forth in front of me as he spoke. He wasn’t smiling. He looked almost like a concerned father.

  I was taken back by the revelation. No way had Finlay voluntarily gone to see Sluag in the Endwood. Had he?

  “You mean you forced him here in his dreams, like this?” I gestured around me with both arms as I spoke.

  “No, no, no, Flora. Only the Soul Keeper can be summoned like this.” He copied my gesture mockingly. “Finlay came to see me in the real Endwood. I think the poor boy is quite confused, and made miserable by your growing relationship with your other Dion, in particular with the wolf.”

  “You’re lying,” I whispered. No matter how unstable things had become between Finlay and I, there was no way he would go to Sluag voluntarily.

  “What would I wish to achieve by telling you lies, Flora? Especially when the truth is so much more disquieting for you.” He gave me a sorrowful look.

  “You want to split me and my Dion up. Pen told me everything about how you try to get inside a Soul Keeper’s head and make them feel as though there is no one in the world they can turn to. That’s what you’re trying to do right now. Well I have news for you, Mr Host of the Unforgiven Dead, it won’t work.”

  He threw back his hideous head and laughed, exposing the rows of teeth behind his grey lips. “Ahh, Little Dreamer. I am not trying to get inside your head. I’m already there. Just as I was inside Aiden’s head before he chose to depart this life. You won’t ever get rid of me. I’m a part of you. We both exist because of each other.”

  “Aiden and I are not the same person. I might share a soul with him, but that’s as far as it goes. I don’t doubt my Dion—any of them—and I don’t doubt myself. You won’t win this war, Sluag. Every time you force me to be here in your pathetic kingdom makes me more determined to rise above you. You are nothing to me, and you can’t hurt me.”