A Soul For Chaos (The Soulbearer Trilogy)

by Crista McHugh

  “What makes you think one of us was behind the attack?” Sulia asked.

  “Only a powerful mage could summon an earth spell and carry it that distance.”

  “Then perhaps you should be interrogating the Mage Primus or one of the other mages in the Conclave,” Kylow sneered.

  “No,” the winged goddess, Lireal, replied. “The Mage Primus is not behind this, nor is any common mortal.”

  “Lireal speaks the truth.” Ivis stood and came to the center of the circle. “A spell of this magnitude requires the assistance of a deity, which is why we’ve all gathered together. One of our gods tried to kill the Soulbearer, and we need to petition him or her to stop.”

  Fury boiled up inside him, both from him and the god he served. “And why should we dare interfere with the workings of a god?”

  Ivis spun around to him in a swirl of her golden robes. “Because even gods are fallible.” Her heretical declaration boomed off the walls, echoing long after the words left her mouth. In a softer voice, she added, “Or did we not learn that when Loku opened the portal to the realm of chaos?”

  He stood to join her in the center of the circle. As he drew closer, he could hear her heavy breaths from behind her mask. He was wearing her down, turning the tide against her. He only wished he could see the fear on her face. “One god has proven fallible. That does not mean the rest of them are.”

  He turned to address the other high priests and priestesses. “Brothers and Sisters, we’ve struggled for years on what to do with the problem of Loku’s soul. It’s time we band together and destroy it as we did his body centuries ago.”

  Ivis came up from behind him. “You can’t kill a god, Nelos.”

  He looked past her at the winged priestess of Lireal. She was the guardian of the sacred flowers that could destroy souls. “On the contrary, you can, and we all know how.”

  “And what of the girl?”

  “Just an unfortunate victim who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

  “Precisely.” Ivis circled him, her attention focused on the others. “What Nelos fails to see is the flaw in his plan. Whoever conjured the spell acted irresponsibly without considering the consequences. Arden Soulbearer is an innocent, a girl who, as he said, happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time when Loku was freed from the body of his previous Soulbearer. If whoever tried to her kill had succeeded, he would have gone to the body closest to him. In this case, it would have been the Third Prince of Ranello.”

  A shocked chorus of murmurs rippled through the temple. Even he couldn’t believe the implications of their act. If a member of the Ranellian royal family had the magic of Loku at his command, it could tip the balance of power among the three nations and destroy the fragile peace they maintained. “My lord, did you not know that?”

  “I know and see all, my servant. Do not question me again.”

  His cheeks burned from his god’s reprimand. “I apologize, my lord.”

  Ivis continued to speak to the others. “We need to return to our initial strategy—to contain Loku in the bodies of the right kind of individuals. Ones that will not succumb to his influence. Ones that will control him and keep him from threatening our world again.”

  “Then perhaps we need to appoint a new protector to the Soulbearer and re-establish the old traditions,” Sulia suggested, standing and moving to take her turn at the center of the circle. “Devarius Tel’Brien has let Loku slip away from him too many times. Furthermore, he is not fit to become a Soulbearer because of his crimes.”

  Lireal rose from her chair. “Sir Devarius was never convicted of the crimes he was accused of.”

  “He stood before the Mage’s Council and claimed responsibility for Minius’s death,” Sulia countered.

  Lireal stretched out her wings, making her appear three times the size she was, and closed the space between her and Sulia. “I have seen into his soul, and Minius’s bloodstain is not on it.”

  “Then why would he confess?”

  Ivis wedged herself between them. “Silence, both of you. Arguing will get us nowhere. Let us all return to our seats and discuss this problem with the decorum befitting our gods.”

  “Yes, let’s have blessed order.” The priest of Nelos watched the others return to their chairs, but he remained in the center. “Instead of trying to decide who is fit to contain Loku, might I suggest another possibility?”

  Ivis leaned her chin on her fisted palm. “Which is?”

  Now was his moment to convert the rest of the Tribunal to Nelos’s plan. “Without a body to conduct his powers, Loku is nothing more than a weak soul. If we can kill the Soulbearer in a place where no one is around to house his soul, then Loku ceases to be a problem.”

  “What you speak of is impossible.”

  “On the contrary, Ivis, it is quite possible. The Soulbearer has already left Boznac, and the waters of the sea are deep.” His robes flapped behind him as he exited the circle. “Discuss that with your gods.”

  Silence followed him along the corridors of the underground temple until he came to a magic curtain that would whisk him away to his temple on the surface. No one would stop them. Nelos would use him to destroy Loku once and for all, and then an age of peace would reign over the world for centuries to come.

  Chapter 7

  If Arden feared drowning would be the death of her, she discounted the rough waters of the sea. After one week, her clothes hung loosely on her already thin frame, and every meal time triggered the violent lurching of her stomach.

  Kell offered her a sip of water. “My poor Arden,” he murmured. “I never imagined you’d be ill this long. If you wish to return home, I can always order the captain to turn the ship around.”

  Dev leaned against the doorway of her tiny room. “The journey is only three weeks. If we turn back now, it’s another week to Boznac, and then we have to start our voyage anew.”

  Kell paused from wiping her forehead and clenched the damp cloth in his hand. “Or you can just let her stay in Ranello.”

  “That’s not possible, so quit trying to persuade her otherwise.”

  Arden rolled her eyes. This debate had happened daily since they set sail. Kell wanted her to come home. Dev insisted she needed to continue on to Gravaria. And both of them declared they had her best interest in mind. “Stop it, both of you. I’m already miserable enough without having to listen to you two bicker like an old married couple.”

  Loku laughed. “You have them spot on. Of course, my offer still stands. I truly hate to see you like this.”

  “And my answer is still no, thank you.” For days, Loku had offered to use his powers to relieve her of the sea sicknesses, but she feared he was no better than Dev and Kell. She refused to give any of them leverage, especially the chaos god that would eventually drive her toward insanity.

  But only if I let him. If Dev was telling her the truth, then her only defense from that dismal fate was containing Loku and not letting him have any control over her, even if it meant she’d suffer the rest of the voyage.

  “You have me all wrong, my little Soulbearer. I only want to help you. I’m even being kind enough to wait for your permission instead of taking matters into my own hands.”

  “As if you could.”

  “Do not test me.” Magic rippled down her body, locking her muscles to where she couldn’t even take a breath. “I have more control over you than you think.”

  The spell lifted, and she sucked in a deep breath. “You bastard! You’re asking to be contained again.”

  “Yes, and we both know how well that ended up for you and Dev.” The last time Loku seized control of her without her permission, she managed to contain him with Dev’s help. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to warn her when Larenis and his men attacked them in their rooms, nearly costing Dev his life and leaving her at the mercy of a necromancer. “Admit it, you need me as much as I need you.”

  “Keep dreaming.”

  “Trouble, is someo
ne bothering you?” Dev stared at her, standing straighter and looking ready to intervene if needed. He knew her well enough to notice when she drifted into these internal arguments with Loku.

  Kell bolted up from his chair. “You can hardly say I’m bothering her, considering I’ve been the only one taking care of her since she fell ill.”

  Dev’s gaze never wavered from her. She could almost hear him silently asking her if she needed help controlling the chaos god. “Let her answer the question.”

  She needed to diffuse this potential explosion before they both drew their weapons or launched their fists at each other. She reached for Kell’s hand. “Please don’t be insulted, Kell. Dev’s question came off the wrong way.”

  Kell’s eyes flickered back and forth between her and Dev as though he was trying to learn whatever secret they were keeping from him. She offered a silent prayer to the Lady Moon that she’d never have to go into much detail about the voice she constantly heard in the back of her mind. He’d probably declare her insane and help gather the kindling for her pyre.

  “Whatever.” He flung her hand away and shoved Dev out of the doorway as he left the room.

  Dev, however, lingered, still watching her. “He tried to take control of you again, didn’t he?” he asked quietly so Kell wouldn’t overhear him in the main cabin.

  “More like reminding me what he was capable of doing.”

  “And don’t you forget it,” Loku hissed.

  Dev’s jaw tightened, and he came to her bedside. “Do you need my help with him?”

  “By all means, lock me away again, especially when we both know someone’s trying to kill you.” Malice sharpened Loku’s taunt. “Let’s see who dies this time.”

  She inhaled sharply, her stomach clenching even tighter than before.

  Dev took Kell’s chair. “What is he telling you?”

  “That if I try to contain him again, we might not be as lucky as before.”

  “Ah, well, then perhaps he needs to behave.” Dev turned her hand over and ran his finger along her palm, his attention shifting there instead of her face. “If he continues to threaten you, I will show him no mercy.”

  Loku laughed. “And I’d like to see him try to attack me without harming you in the process. He knows that whatever he does to me will affect you, too.”

  She closed her eyes, focusing on the soothing strokes that traced the lines of her palm instead of the chaos god’s warning. “I hope the mages will be able to teach me how to control him like you say. It gets tiring, being constantly torn in different directions.”

  “Yes, it not easy being the popular girl, is it?”

  Dev cupped his hand around hers, pressing his thumb into the center of it. “Never give up hope, Arden. I promise things will get better when we get to Gravaria.”

  Then a slip of magic coiled up her arm, moving to the pit of her ailing stomach. For the first time since they’d left Boznac, her nausea vanished. She opened her eyes and glimpsed a hint of a smile on Dev’s lips.

  “He’s not the only one who can help you, you know.”

  She wasn’t sure if he was referring to Loku or Kell, but she sat up, her hand still caught up in his. “Then why didn’t you do that earlier?”

  “You didn’t ask.” A spark of playfulness, so rarely seen in the normally sullen knight, tinged his words.

  She yanked her hand back. How dare he let her suffer like that? But she was too relieved to not feel the contents of her stomach sloshing around to stay angry at him for long. “Next time, let me know what you’re capable of doing, and maybe I’ll ask sooner.”

  His grin widened, and his dark green eyes brightened. “And if I need to peel your princeling away from your side in the process?”

  She groaned and plopped back on her pillow. “He was trying to help in the only way he knew how.”

  “Perhaps.” He stood, his brief merriment vanishing so quickly, she wondered if she’d dreamed it up. “Now that you’re feeling better, we need to catch up on your lessons. I’ll let you freshen up before you join us.”

  She sighed as the door closed. Every time she glimpsed the softer side of Dev, it slipped from her as quickly as water through her fingers. But, she took advantage of the reprieve and washed up before changing her clothes and carefully weaving her thick blond hair into a single braid.

  If she had hoped to find Dev and Kell sitting around a table and chatting like old friends, she discovered she’d have to wait a bit longer. They sat at opposite ends of the cabin, their bodies as tense as their expressions. When she stepped into the room, they both jumped to their feet and raced toward her.

  “I’m so glad you’re feeling better—” Kell started.

  Dev spoke at the same time, trying to drown him out. “Now that you’re feeling better we can begin our lessons—”

  “Stop it, both of you.” She backed away from them toward the door leading to the deck. “I’ve been cooped up in my room since we got here, and I’d like to have a bit of fresh air—alone—before you both start bickering again.”

  She stepped outside, inhaling the clean air and letting the irritation flow out of her as she exhaled. As nice as it initially was to discover Kell had come along, she now wished he’d taken his own ship. The way they were all at each other’s throats made the already nauseating voyage that much more trying. Hopefully, they would be able to work out their differences before they landed in Gravaria. Or at least, once they were able to stay in a space bigger than the cramped cabin they all shared.

  A cold nose nudged her wrist. She knelt down and tousled Cinder’s thick red fur. “At least you haven’t pissed me off.”

  Cinder gave her his wolfish grin, complete with tongue hanging out the side of his mouth.

  Although the sails were stretched full, the ship glided over the sea as though it were the slicked surface of a frozen pond. She stood and moved toward the railing, anxious to stare down at the sea now that she didn’t fear puking over the edge. The sun illuminated the turquoise water and flashed off the scales of the fish near the surface. She leaned forward, letting it warm her back. It was such a perfect day that she loathed having to return to the cabin.

  As she watched the waves dance around the ship, she noticed a change in their movement. At first, they cut away from the hull in straight lines, forming a vee as they moved through the water. Then they started to curl around and lapped the sides like a tongue. The curls grew tighter until they circled completely around from where they started.

  The air grew heavier, and the hairs on her arm rose. Beside her, Cinder growled.

  “Go back inside, Arden,” Loku urged, prying her hands off the railing.

  The wind died, leaving the limp sails behind. Below, the water continued to swirl. A whirlpool formed and pulled the ship toward it.

  Arden’s heart pounded, her limbs paralyzed as she watched. Magic thickened around her, making it harder to breath.

  “Get inside now!” Loku shouted, fighting for control of her body.

  Cinder whimpered and rammed his head against her legs. They buckled under her, sending her sprawling across the deck.

  “Sweet Lady Moon, what is that?” one of the sailors shouted.

  Arden followed to where he pointed and gasped. Rivers of ice formed in her veins, making it impossible to shake off the shivers of dread pulsating through her.

  A watery hand the width of the ship emerged from the whirlpool. It stretched toward the sky, glistening in the sunlight like a diamond.

  Then it reached out to grab her.

  Chapter 8

  After Arden left the cabin, Dev glared at Kell and reached for his sword. The princeling flinched and ran his hand along his belt to where his scabbard normally hung, only to find it missing. Kell’s face paled, and Dev silently laughed. He retreated to his bed and began sharpening the blade. Not that it needed it—he always kept his weapons in pristine condition—but it was too much fun intimidating the prince.

  Unfortunately, Kell rec
overed quickly and found his voice. “What kind of game are you playing, Dev?”

  Dev lost himself in the slow rhythmic swoosh of the metal against the whetstone before answering. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Your Highness.”

  “Come on, now.” He paced along the opposite side of the room, his boots pounding the wooden floor with enough force to make the beams creak in protest. “Stop acting like you have some sort of claim on her.”

  Dev refused to be sucked into Kell’s mood, continuing to run the stone along his blade. “I do have a claim on her. I’m her protector, and it’s my duty to keep her from harm.” He paused and lifted his eyes to the prince. “Including the threats she’s too blind to see.”

  Kell stopped and curled his fingers into fists. “Admit it, Dev. You’ve never liked me.”

  He chuckled and gazed down his blade, admiring how razor thin the edge was. “I wouldn’t go as far as to say that, Your Highness. You have a few redeeming qualities.”

  “Just none when it comes to Arden, right?”

  “You make a good nursemaid.” The calmer he remained, the more agitated the prince became. Thank Jussip age and experience had tempered him enough not to let his emotions get the better of him. In a couple of weeks, he’d be able to take Arden to a place where Kell couldn’t follow them. Until then, he needed to resist the temptation to lock her in her room for the rest of the voyage.

  “Damn it, Dev, I will not have you mock me.” Kell’s cheeks flushed with anger, and his knuckles blanched. “I care about her, which is more than I can say about you.”

  Dev froze, waiting to suppress the storm of emotions raging inside him. This was precisely the reason why he couldn’t allow himself to get close to her. He feared turning into some jealous lover that would run any man through for looking at her the wrong way. Or worse, become so ensnared in her wiles that he let his guard down.

  He stood, sliding his sword back into its scabbard, but his hand never left the hilt. “Don’t presume you know anything about me, Kell.”

  “I base my judgment on what I see before me.”