After making several trips to the surface and back to catch his breath, Will determined that there was definitely no ship in the middle of the river. But he wasn’t ready to give up just yet.
Will took a breath and dove down once more, swimming along the riverbank nearest to Sowena. He was just about to surface when a dark spot in the brown muck caught his eye.
At first Will thought it might have been the top of a chest, as Sowena had suggested, but as he swam closer he realized it was actually a large hole in the ground. Kicking off the river’s floor, Will surfaced once more.
He gasped for breath and wiped the dirt off of his face. “I think I found something,” Will said.
“What is it?” Sowena asked.
“I don’t know yet,” he told her. “It’s a hole of some kind; maybe the stone is at the bottom.”
“Be careful,” Sowena said. “You do remember the legend says that this thing kills people, right?”
“I’ll be fine,” Will said. “Don’t worry about me.”
Sucking in a lungful of air, Will swam straight down for the hole. It was large enough to fit his entire body, but definitely not wide enough for more than two people.
He grabbed the walls of the hole and pushed himself down farther. With each passing second the pressure of the water above him squeezed his head, making his ears hurt. He wasn’t even close to the bottom when he ran out of oxygen and his chest began to convulse.
Will gritted his teeth and held his mouth shut as long as possible as he spun around and shot for the water’s surface.
He couldn’t hold it anymore.
Still underwater, he took a deep breath and murky water came rushing in. A stinging pain coursed through Will’s chest—a combination of both the cold and the water that was now filling his lungs.
Will knew he wouldn’t die, at least not completely. Somewhere in his head he knew that he reasonably couldn’t. But his brain was telling him that he was dying, and it was a frightening prospect.
A moment later he broke the surface, gasping and coughing, water spilling from his mouth. Throwing himself onto the riverbank, he rolled over onto his back.
“Are you okay?” Sowena asked. “What happened?”
Will placed one hand on his chest and raised one finger with the other. He retched again and a small fish came out with the water.
Sitting up, he said, “The hole is too deep. I can’t make it in one breath.”
“So that’s it, then? That’s what’s killing the adventurers?” Sowena asked.
“Let me tell you, I’ve died a lot of ways, but that,” he said, pointing at the water, “has got to be the worst possible way to go.”
“I guess we’re going to have to find a soul stone somewhere else, then,” she said with a sigh.
“Hold on, before we give up, I’ve got one more thing to try,” Will said.
He climbed to his feet, walked over to the fire Sowena had prepared for him, and sat down. Using his cloak as a towel, he dried himself off, and then spread it out next to the fire. Finally, he slipped his tunic and trousers back on and lay down.
“I’m going to look like I’m sleeping and I won’t be able to respond. I’m going to look like your friends,” Will said to Sowena. “But I’m here and I will be back. Don’t panic, okay?”
Sowena nodded.
Closing his eyes, Will tapped into his power and separated his soul from his body. He walked back over to the water’s edge and dove in once more.
This time he felt no cold, no pressure, no pain. Since his soul didn’t need to breathe, he didn’t have to worry about running out of oxygen this time.
He entered the hole again and swam down, down, down. Will hadn’t noticed before, but the hole was made entirely out of rock, presumably to prevent mud and dirt from filling it in. The hole slowly started to bank, and then leveled out completely, going in another four to five feet.
There at the bottom, with nothing else protecting it, sat a white diamond about as big as his thumb. He reached out to grab, but his hand passed right through.
Will cursed.
Swimming back to the surface, Will rejoined his body and sat up.
“That was fast,” Sowena said. “Wh—what did you do?”
“I went down there with just my soul,” he told her.
“You can do that?” she asked.
Will nodded.
“Why didn’t you do that to start?” she asked.
“Well, as you can tell, I don’t have the stone yet,” Will told her. “I can’t pick things up without a body.”
“But if it’s too deep to swim down there, then how are you going to get it?”
“That’s the dilemma, isn’t it?” Will said.
The snapping of a branch made Will startle. Glancing around him, all he saw was a beaver busy dragging a stick across the ground toward its dam.
An idea sprung into Will’s mind. Admittedly, it wasn’t a very nice idea—at least not for the poor beaver.
“I think I’ve got it,” Will told Sowena. “Be right back.”
He lay down again and pulled his soul away from his body. Running straight for the beaver, he jumped and slammed into its soul, easily ejecting it.
This was only the second time he’d taken on the body of an animal. The last time was with Akos, a feisty hawk that belonged to Erintos. With Erintos’s power sustaining him, Akos hadn’t lost his soul, but instead shared a body with Will.
If having another consciousness fighting for control wasn’t strange enough, the very act of being in a bird’s body had been a very unique experience. This proved to be no different.
His vision was flat and monotone, much like using his Soul Sight, but instead of the blues and varied colors of souls, everything remained black and white. The world around him bent and curved at angles he wasn’t used to, and the sound of the fire crackling in the distance had an echoey, tinny ring to it.
Will bounded along with the beaver’s short arms and legs and jumped into the water. Because of his webbed feet and flat tail, Will glided much faster through the river than he could manage to swim as a human.
He arced above the hole and headed straight down, flapping his tail and wiggling his body. Reaching the bottom, he opened his mouth, scooped the diamond up between his teeth, then spun around and swam for the surface.
As he climbed up onto dry ground he immediately knew something was wrong. Even without color, Will could tell the throat of his human body had been slashed and blood had pooled around its head.
He turned and saw Sowena being held by an elf with a knife to her throat. The elf was shouting at Will in a foreign language.
The beaver’s brain doesn’t know how to translate the tongue of humans, Lotess told him.
Will emerged from the beaver’s body and stood to his full height, the diamond falling from the animal’s mouth at his feet.
“Give us the gem and the girl doesn’t get hurt,” the elf said.
Beside him, three more elves stood by, their weapons drawn. Will wasn’t sure what Ophi told them, but apparently it hadn’t been enough. Will didn’t need weapons, and weapons would do nothing against him.
Sowena was the priority, so Will dashed forward and tackled the red soul of the elf holding her hostage—or tried to. Red was the strongest color of souls, and evidence that the elf’s guard was up. As Will collided with the elf, he felt like he’d slammed into a solid wall. The elf staggered in response, drawing a line of blood along Sowena’s neck.
She gasped.
The jarring hit was enough to break the elf’s resolve and the red shattered, giving way to bluish purple. Will attacked again, and this time, the elf’s soul shattered, giving him possession of the body.
Will immediately spun and stabbed the blade of the knife into the throat of the elf standing next to him. Turning back toward the stone, Will saw a fifth elf dart in and scoop it up off the ground. He made to run after the elf, but Sowena screamed.
The two remaining elves
bore down on her.
Will flipped the knife over and threw it into the eye of the third elf, penetrating straight to the brain and killing him. Then he formed a small ball of blue energy in his hand and tossed it at the fourth elf as if it were a snowball. The sphere smashed into the elf’s chest and went right through, tearing a giant hole in his soul before it disintegrated.
Twisting around, Will ran after the fifth elf—but he was gone, and so was the soul stone.
31
Maya tapped her foot impatiently as she stood outside Penrythe’s outer gates. A dome of red energy pulsed around them. The energy drain on Maya was minimal, but the constant effort addled her nerves.
“I’m sorry, lass, but I can’t continue on with you,” Bryn told Khate.
“You’ve survived a dragon, breaking into Kent and stealing a ship, and the fight for our lives as we raced away from cannon fire, yet the prospect of a little walk scares you away?” she asked. “Didn’t you just get done complaining to your ex-wife about a lack of adventure?”
“That was fifteen years ago,” Bryn said. “I think I’ve had my fill of adventure for this decade. Besides, PD and the crew are waiting in Westbarrow. I’ve got more lives to consider than my own now.”
“So I guess this is the end?” Khate said.
“For now, lass,” Bryn said. “But know this, if you ever need a ship, ole Bryn will have you aboard. If I can get another ship, that is.”
“What’s wrong with your ship?” Maya asked.
“Dragon toasted it,” he told her.
“What about that ship I saw you leaving Kent with?”
“Stole it. Can’t go sailing around on a stolen vessel,” Bryn explained.
“Well that ship belonged to Kent and Kent belongs to me, so I hereby give it to you,” Maya said. “There. Now it’s not stolen.”
“I thank you, Your Majesty,” Bryn said. “But I’d still feel more comfortable in a boat of my own choosing.”
“Well do with it as you please,” Maya said.
“Your kindness knows no bounds, my queen,” Bryn said, bowing.
“I’ve not known you for more than a few hours, but you seem like a good man, Bryn Sanders, and I wish you well,” Maya said, crossing her arms. “Now can we get moving?”
“Wait!” someone shouted.
Ari came running down the hill with the young man and woman from the warehouse in tow.
“What’s going on?” Maya asked. “Is everything all right? Did you find the elves?”
Shaking his head, Ari said, “No, they were gone before we arrived.”
“Told you,” Thallan said.
Ari glared at him, but continued on, “We searched high and low, but they’ve simply vanished. None of the guards at the gates report seeing anyone leave, but either way we can’t find them.”
“Well, we’ll keep an eye out,” Maya said. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Ari. Thank you again for saving me. Let’s go.”
“We’re coming with you,” Ari said.
“What?” Maya and Bryn said at the same time.
Ari looked to Bryn and said, “Milly thinks its best.” Then to Maya he said, “If the elves are still out there, they might try to take you again. If you would allow us, we’d like to travel to Berxley with you and help you rescue your friends.”
“I can’t pay you,” Maya said. “At least not now, possibly not ever.”
“The only pay we need is the blood of our enemies,” Ari said. “And to defend our queen with honor.”
“Honor? I’ve never heard of a chivalrous mercenary,” Maya said.
“Hah!” Bryn said. “You’ve never met Ari. He’ll fawn you to death.”
“Shut up, you old coot,” Ari said.
“Look who’s calling the kettle black,” Bryn retorted.
“Are you sure you don’t want to come along?” Khate asked Bryn.
“Sure as the sky is blue, lass,” Bryn replied.
“We really do need to get going,” Maya said. “Ships from Kent will be outside of Berxley in two days to give us a distraction. If we aren’t there by then, we’ll have lost our window.”
“Farewell,” Bryn said.
The others gave their goodbyes and the group headed south while Bryn took to the road west.
Maya looked to the two young soldiers traveling with Ari and said, “It’s good to see you again. We’ve not had the pleasure of a proper introduction. I’m Maya.”
“This is Alban,” Ari said, pointing to the man. Then he motioned toward the woman and said, “And Ciara.”
Both smiled and nodded.
“Pardon, but why are we walking to Berxley?” Alban said.
Ari coughed in surprise.
“Excellent question,” Thallan said, casting a sidelong glare at Maya.
“It’s not your place to question orders,” Ari rebuked the boy.
“It’s all right,” Maya said. “It’s simple, really. If Berxley has spies in Penrythe, I want them reporting back that the Wave Wraith still docks at Westbarrow. On my orders, she’ll leave port in a day and a half and meet us after we’ve taken the city.”
“Who said anything about conquering Berxley?” Thallan said. “I thought this was a rescue mission.”
“You get very little say in this,” Maya said.
“I do if my life’s on the line,” Thallan said, holding up his bound wrists. “At least take these off and give me the ability to defend myself.”
“Not a chance,” Maya said. “Or would you prefer I toss you back to Ophi and let her deal with your failure?”
Thallan pursed his lips, but didn’t argue.
“Besides, you gave me the idea,” Maya said.
“Me?” Thallan asked.
“You said there’d be too much bloodshed with an all-out civil war,” Maya explained. “So we’ll sneak in and topple it from the inside.”
“But—”
“End of discussion!” Maya shouted. “I only hope we’re not too late.”
Will and Sowena tracked the elf with the soul stone back to Luton. Will would stop at nothing to chase him down and get that stone back. They needed that stone.
Stepping into Luton, Will knew that something was wrong. Even though it was late in the day, there were no people in the streets. There were no children playing, no workers grunting with the effort of transporting heavy burdens, and no music drifting on the wind.
As they made their way into town, they noticed the place had been ransacked. Shop windows had been shattered and carts had been upturned, spilling their contents all over the street. A single pair of feet lay in the street sticking a few doors ahead.
Sowena ran forward and Will followed after her.
As the shop came into view, Sowena gasped, shrieked, and turned away, fighting back tears in her eyes.
Lukas lay there, a bloodied shard of glass sticking out of his chest. It looked to Will as if he’d been shoved through the window. As they continued forward through the city, they discovered Lukas wasn’t the only body. Others had their throats slashed; some had been stabbed in the gut.
Despite all this, there wasn’t near enough carnage to have sacked a whole town like in Celesti. All the structures still stood, and the bodies amounted to maybe ten people. Will turned around as he looked along the buildings. He saw a curtain move in one of the upper windows and also thought he heard the sound of a door creaking in the distance.
“Come on, we have to keep moving,” Will called back to Sowena.
She was wiping her face when she rejoined him, and her cheeks were red—her chest shuddering as she sniffled.
Will knew how she felt. It wasn’t easy to see your loved ones murdered and your home ransacked.
“The elf went this way,” Will said, pointing down a street.
“Will you forget the stupid elf?” Sowena said.
“Look, I know this is hard,” Will said. “But this is going to get a hundred times worse if we can’t defend ourselves against them. Now do you want to
help or not?”
She nodded her head, but wouldn’t look Will in the eye.
Will turned and continued down the street. As they walked past Governor Abell’s mansion, a shutter slammed on the top floor, causing Will to jump. Then it opened back up again.
“Sowena?” a voice called. “It’s Sowena!”
The door of the mansion flung open a second later and Governor Abell came out.
“Thank goodness!” he shouted between sobs. “You have to help me. They took her. Please, you have to help! They took her. Oh, gods!”
“Slow down, what now?” Will asked.
“The elves took my daughter,” Abell said, turning to look at Will. “They—By the gods! You’re one of them. Run, Sowena!”
The governor grabbed ahold of Will and tried to wrestle him, but Will shoved the governor off and the man fell to the ground. Will was confused until he remembered that his old body was gone and he now looked like an elf.
“No, no, you’ve got it all wrong,” Will said. “I’m not an elf. At least, I didn’t used to be.”
“This is Will,” Sowena said. “The boy who killed the soulfiend a few days ago. Remember?”
“This is Will? But you’re—”
“Different,” Will said. “I know. Long story.”
“Y-you killed that soulfiend thing,” Abell said as he stood. “Can you save my daughter, too?”
“We’re in the middle of something import—”
“We will do everything we can, Governor,” Sowena said.
“Hey, don’t go volunteering me for something without asking me first,” Will said, raising his hand.
“Are you seriously going to ignore someone who needs help?” Sowena said.
Will paused for the briefest of seconds and said, “Yes.”
The governor recoiled in shock.
“Can you let me explain first?” Will said. “If I don’t track down that stone right now then—”
“Then what?” Sowena asked.
“Then a lot of people could die,” Will finished.
“Could. That’s the key word. You don’t know for certain they’ll ever get it to work,” Sowena said. “But this girl will die if we do nothing.”
Will growled in frustration and clenched his fists. Looking at Abell, he said, “Don’t you have guards or something to do this sort of thing?”
Soul Shade (Soul Stones Book 2) Page 24