Soul Keeper

by Kate Keir

  “Thanks,” I whispered through the pain.

  He reached the door and had already turned the handle when curiosity overrode the pain in my head. “Lyall?”

  He turned his amber eyes back to meet my own but didn’t say anything.

  I took that as a cue to continue. “Did you get a chance to see anything that would tell you what animal I’m going to be? I was so close, there must have been something?”

  “I couldn’t tell what animal you were going to be, Flora. You didn’t quite get that far before the Draugur attacked.”

  I was disappointed. “Oh. Well next time then, huh?”

  “Next time,” he agreed.

  I snuggled back against the bed and closed my eyes, needing to rest my aching head.

  “I did see what colour you will be, though.”

  My eyes flew open. “What colour?”

  “White, love. Your fur was white.”

  I blinked at the back of my door as he clicked it closed behind him.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  It took a week before Pen allowed me out of bed for longer than the time it took to grab a quick shower. My stitches had come out by themselves after five days, and although Pen wasn’t pleased they’d come out so quickly, she agreed that the gash in my head had healed sufficiently that she didn’t feel the need to stitch me back up. Apparently having the blood of a Soul Keeper was good news for healing.

  During my time confined to my bed, I was visited by each of the Dion daily. Once they were sure I was okay, Mara and Freya had been quite amused by the fact I had been injured on Lyall’s watch and not theirs. Especially after he had been so pushy about them taking care of me.

  I had begged them not to tease him about it, knowing he was struggling to deal with his discovery of my shifter colour. I didn’t tell anyone about my white fur, not even Finlay. I wanted to give Lyall and myself time to adjust to the bombshell before we made the knowledge public.

  Whenever Lyall visited me, I attempted to talk to him about what had happened, but he refused to discuss it, changing the topic to more neutral territory each time I tried. It was frustrating, but I was pretty sure he thought that it would make it more real if we talked about it.

  I had just gotten out of the shower and dressed on day seven when Pen knocked at my door before letting herself in.

  “I think you’re about ready to get out of here, Flora. But I would say that you should take things easy with training for a little while. Just until your head is healed completely.”

  “I will. I think I’ll go to the Everwood today. I’d like to spend some time there and see some pure souls.”

  “I’m sure they will be glad to see you. Will you take anyone with you?” She asked the question so casually, but the meaning behind it was obvious. Everyone had noticed the tension between Lyall and me, even if we hadn’t filled them in on the reasons why.

  “Not today, Pen. I think I’d like to get back on my feet before I start working with the others again. Is that okay?” I looked at her doubtfully.

  “Of course, it’s okay, Flora. While I would prefer you to always have at least one of your Dion guarding you, I also appreciate you need time to yourself. Apart from anything else, you’re an adult. You are capable of making your own decisions. Take your phone with you, though.”

  “Thank you for understanding.” I gave her a quick hug before heading down the hallway to taste fresh air for the first time in a week.

  I didn’t wait until I got to a particular spot. As soon as I stepped out into the sunlight, I imagined my Everwood and crossed over into the other world. I knew I’d missed being there, but I hadn’t been ready for the sheer elation I felt as I trod the springy grass carpet beneath my shoes.

  I walked through the trees, smiling as the tiny lights approached me. I could sort the pure souls with barely a thought now. My training with Finlay had paid off. I used my new skills to net groups of souls and send them off in an explosion of happiness and delight when I approved their reincarnation.

  Even when a rogue soul hovered dangerously close to my face, I wasn’t worried. The little angry ball of green lightning danced before me threateningly, its aggressive movements matching its words inside my head. I raised a hand and threw my response at the soul using my mind.

  The soul faltered in the air as I marked it with my rejection. It wasn’t sad, just angry. I could feel its desire to hurt me thrumming through my mind.

  “Begone,” I spoke aloud.

  The light paused as though it was taking a moment to glare at me, even though it had no eyes. Then it dipped through the air and started to weave its way through the trees.

  As I watched the soul departing, I was hit with a sudden thought. Would the rogue head in the direction of the Endwood?

  Curiosity overwhelmed me. I knew the Everwood and the Endwood connected at a certain point. I was aware the soul couldn’t cross into the Endwood without Freya as an escort, but I figured there was a possibility it would head in the direction of its new home.

  My feet moved before I gave myself a chance to consider how stupid my idea was to follow the soul. I had zero intentions of actually going into the Endwood, but I wanted to catch a glimpse of the kingdom of Sluag for real and not in a dream.

  I walked behind the rogue, following its path through the trees. A few pure souls followed after me, dancing in front of my face as though they were trying to stop me. Don’t worry, little ones, I’m not going in there.

  The pure souls continued to follow me for a little longer, but gradually they began to disappear, until it was just me and the rogue soul again. I had a sense the pure souls were too afraid to go any closer to the border with the Endwood.

  Then the scenery started to suddenly change, the ancient thick trunked trees grew thinner and thinner, and there were less of them surrounding the path I was walking. The grass was becoming sparser below my feet, and what was there had started to look sickly and brown. The light became dimmer and more shadowy.

  No more than six metres in front of me, the landscape looked as though two separate worlds had been pushed together. On my side of the divide was the Everwood. Even though its trees looked less healthy here, they did still have some life to them. On the other side were the charred and twisted remains of trees I recognised from my dream trips to the Endwood. The black grass ended in a stark straight line that clearly indicated the border that should not be crossed.

  I stopped walking and watched the rogue soul bounce repeatedly against an invisible barrier which was preventing it from continuing any farther on its journey. It would wait here now until Freya next came to take it on its way.

  The sound of a snapping twig behind me made me spin around to confront whoever was trying to sneak up on me through the Everwood. As Lyall appeared out of the gloom, I relaxed, breathing out in relief.

  “You scared me,” I scolded.

  “The Endwood has been over-spilling into the Everwood for decades. That line on the ground that looks like it should be a border between the two, is not. You’re precisely two steps away from being within the bounds of Sluag’s kingdom, love.”

  I flinched and automatically took two steps back toward Lyall. “I—I didn’t realise. I’m an idiot.”

  “You’re not an idiot. You were curious. But if you’ve finished up with your sightseeing, then might I suggest heading back to where we belong?” He nodded in the direction of the lush woodland of the Everwood.

  I jogged toward him and fell into step beside him. As we headed away from the cheerless border with the Endwood, a final glance back over my shoulder confirmed the rogue soul was still banging itself against the invisible barrier over and over again. With a shudder, I turned back to concentrate on my own kingdom.

  “How did you find me?” I asked as we strolled through the safety of the dawn sunlight.

  “I went to your room to visit you, but Pen said you’d just left with her blessing. She said you were going to the Everwood, and she asked me to check
on you.”

  “Oh.” I was disappointed. I had hoped he’d come here because he wanted to see me, not because he’d been told to.

  “I would have come anyway.” He laughed as he nudged my shoulder with his.

  “I’m sorry for what you saw. My fur, I mean.” I had no clue what else to say. I couldn’t change it. I would be what I was supposed to be.

  “I’m not, Flora. It’s great that you got that far. One, maybe two more attempts and I honestly think you’ll change completely.” He couldn’t disguise the sadness in his voice, no matter how hard he tried.

  I sat on a large mossy rock. “I haven’t made any decisions, Lyall. I don’t believe I should have to choose the person I want to spend the rest of my life with, based on what colour fur I have when I shift.”

  “What if making that choice could be the difference between life and death?” he asked.

  “Then if I get it wrong, I’ll die.” I shrugged.

  “Not for you, but for the people you care about?”

  My smart-ass comeback died on my lips. “I don’t want anyone to die because of me,” I murmured.

  He walked toward me and stood in front of where I sat on my rock. He placed his hands on each of my shoulders and looked down at me. “I know you don’t, love. That’s why you’ll agree that you and I should put a bit of distance between us.”

  “No.”

  I tried to stand, but he gently used his weight on my shoulders to keep me in my seat.

  “You can shift, Flora. You have it in you now. Any of the other Dion will be able to work with you to help you get through phase three.”

  I started to speak, but he cut me off as he continued. “Spend some time with Finlay. Get to know him again. He’s the same person he always has been to you, even though it might not feel that way.”

  “Why are you doing this?” I whispered.

  “Because I care about you and because I have a duty, love.”

  “Your duty is to protect me, not abandon me.” I hated that I had tears pooling in my eyes.

  “Don’t do this, Flora.” He used a thumb to wipe away a stray tear.

  “I’m not doing anything. You’re the one who’s breaking everything apart,” I yelled.

  “I think that already happened, love. I’m trying to allow you the time to put the pieces back together. Pen will be calling a meeting in the morning. She thinks she’s found a way to fulfil one of the prophecies, but it means her going west for a little while.”

  “And you’re going with her,” I finished for him.

  “I am.”

  “And if I ask you not to leave me?”

  “I’ll still go, love. I have to.”

  I was quiet for a moment as I contemplated my limited options.

  “It’s only going to be for a few days, maybe a week, Flora. Promise me you’ll try and spend time with him?”

  I knew he was doing the right thing. That was why it was so hard to argue with him.

  “Okay,” I whispered.

  He placed his fingers underneath my chin and gently tipped my head back, and then leaning forward he placed a soft kiss on my forehead.

  “Thank you, love,” he whispered before he shimmered and faded from the Everwood and my sight.

  I drew my legs up onto my rock, wrapping my arms around them, and rested my chin on top of my knees. Both my head and my heart hurt.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  I wasn’t at all surprised the next morning when Mara knocked at my door to let me know Pen had called a meeting in the great hall. I hurriedly swept my still damp hair back into a pony-tail and pulled on my trusty tan boots. Sleep had, understandably, been in short supply last night, although I was grateful Sluag hadn’t put in an appearance.

  I made my way down the stairs with mixed feelings, not really ready to hear confirmation that Pen and Lyall were leaving. But I was also a little curious to see if Pen would share which prophecy she thought she had deciphered with us.

  Everyone else already sat at the long table when I walked in, and I paused as I looked around the room, deciding where to sit. Lyall was seated next to Pen, and for once he wasn’t slouched casually in his chair. Instead, he sat up straight and kept his eyes facing forward when I walked into the room.

  Okay, Lyall I get the hint.

  I quickly crossed the floor and sat next to Finlay, who gave me a broad smile as I poured myself a cup of coffee.

  Pen stood up to speak. “Thank you all for being here this morning. I wanted to give you an update on my studies of the prophecies, as I believe I may have unravelled one which could prove useful in the future.”

  Artair spoke up. “Are you going to tell us which it is?”

  “I am.” She sat back down and rested her arms on the table before continuing. “It seems that a lot of the old rituals rely heavily on blood magic.”

  “Are we talking, like sacrifices?” Freya wrinkled her nose.

  “Not always. Yes, for Sluag to break apart the veil between the Endwood and the Everwood he would need to sacrifice Flora, resulting in her death.” She grimaced and looked at me. “Sorry, Flora.”

  “No worries.” I shook my head and gestured for Pen to continue. It occurred to me that it was completely crazy I didn’t even blink at the thought of being slaughtered by a demonic lord of the underworld.

  “Quite often a token blood sacrifice will do. I believe that to be the case here. I recently came upon a document that showed me the spell casting ritual to enable adults to become Dion. They could then be called upon to replace a member of our group if one of us were to die.”

  “Which we’re never going to let happen, right?” Mara spoke firmly.

  “I’m certainly not planning on losing anyone, Mara. But none of us is invincible. If we are given an opportunity to prepare against that eventuality, then we should take it.”

  We all nodded solemnly in agreement.

  “It seems that if I successfully complete the ritual in a location where a Dion was previously killed by Sluag or his Draugur, then it should enable us to bestow the abilities of a Dion upon a completely ordinary person.”

  Me being me, I spoke my mind. “Does that mean their family will die?”

  “I don’t believe so, Flora. It’s much easier for an adult to disappear voluntarily, than it is for a child to be taken. I think this ritual could make the process of becoming a Dion or a Soul Keeper much less traumatic than it has previously been.”

  “So, what or who is going to be the blood sacrifice?” Finlay asked.

  Pen looked to her left toward Lyall and my stomach felt queasy.

  “I need the blood of a Dion. Lyall will be coming with me. He has agreed to be the sacrifice.”

  Lyall took in the dismayed looks on our faces and laughed. “Don’t panic. She’s not going to kill me. I’ll slice my palm with a ceremonial blade and give maybe half a pint of blood to bind the spell.”

  Pen continued. “I have chosen a location on the west coast of Scotland, where one of the Aiden’s Dion was killed by a Draugur. It just so happens, the murder was committed in a standing stone circle. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you all how much power is harnessed within those places. I believe that even a small offering of Lyall’s blood will have its potency increased ten-fold by the magic contained within the circle.”

  “So, can we create more new Dion even if one of us doesn’t die?” Freya asked.

  “No, I’m afraid not, Freya. There are very definite rules, and we need to abide by them. As much as I would like to be able to raise an army in the same way Sluag is trying to do with his Draugur.”

  “Are you leaving today, Pen?” Mara asked.

  “Yes, Lyall and I have already packed what we will need for a few days, maybe a week. Hopefully when we return, we will have good news for you all.”

  Lyall shifted restlessly in his seat. “In the meantime, we need to discuss keeping Flora safe while Pen and I are away.”

  I shot him a look that said, How about you
just don’t go?

  He ignored me and looked instead at the other Dion expectantly.

  Finlay had been stretched back comfortably in his seat, not unlike the way Lyall usually did. He sat forward now and placed his elbows on the table as he spoke.

  “I’ll take care of Flora.”

  “We are all capable of helping you, you know?” Freya chipped in.

  “Seriously, guys, we can all work together to protect Flora.” Mara spoke diplomatically.

  “I think Finlay is probably best placed to protect Flora. He should be her primary protector while we’re away.” Lyall’s words even drew raised eyebrows from Pen.

  Finlay gave a triumphant smile. His delight was obvious when he realised Lyall was backing off intentionally.

  “Flora is so close to being able to shift, Finlay. With a little gentle encouragement and one or two more tries, she’s going to do it. I have no doubt.”

  Lyall’s expression belied the enthusiasm of his words. He looked as though he were concluding a business negotiation, instead of handing over weeks of his own hard work for someone else to reap the end result.

  “Shifting training it is then, Flor.” Finlay grinned at me.

  I realised I was still scowling at Lyall. I couldn’t believe how easily he had given up everything we had worked so hard at together. Quickly recovering myself, I smiled and nodded my head at my best friend.

  Pen stood up. “Well if that’s settled, then I think Lyall and I should be thinking about leaving for the west. Unless anyone else has anything they would like to discuss before we go?”

  No one did.

  The others stood up and wished Pen and Lyall well on their journey. Mara gave each of them a huge hug and made them promise to be careful and come home safely.

  I wanted to be childish and say nothing, mainly because I was still hurting. I knew he was trying to do the right thing, but that didn’t take away the sadness I felt. I made myself stand up and embrace Pen, knowing that I would never forgive myself if anything happened to the woman who had been like a mother to me and I hadn’t said a proper goodbye.