The Soul Eaters (The Thin Hex Line Book 1)

by Gwyndolyn Russell

  "G-get away from me!" The pirate captain squealed.

  Fenris snatched him up from under the console.

  Reaper pulled back briefly. He saw the man's shoulder trapped between the wicked jaws of the wolf. He swore he watched Fenris grab him with a hand.

  "Get your dog off me! Call it off!" The pirate screamed.

  "Why the hell were you boarding my ship without permission?" Reaper asked.

  "We thought it was abandoned!"

  "Didn't think to scan for life forms?"

  "Our scanner only picks up minerals. Ow, let me go!"

  "Why should I?"

  "I swear I'll stop! If everyone has a pet like this, fuck that! Ow, come on, you’re gonna break my arm!"

  "I don't believe you."

  The rail gun, almost the size of a pistol, whirred to life. The blue light of electricity reflected from their figures.

  "Wait! No! No! Do--"

  The whine of the round screaming down the rails cut him off just as quick as the round crashed through his skull.

  That was a sight that differed greatly under gravity. Normally the blood would splatter out like a geyser. Fall to the ground followed by the limp, lifeless body. Out here? Out here without gravity, liquids reacted differently.

  Liquids like sticking together. They combined into spheres that wriggled like jello. Contact with other balls of liquid combined them into a larger one.

  The blood did not splatter out. It pooled into writhing balls at the openings. The difference in viscosity of the blood to skin, hair, and clothes made the crimson liquid wriggle like worms circling around the wounds. Sometimes they floated off to hang around the room until they attached to a new surface.

  It was a tamed sight compared to being under the foot of gravity Reaper was more accustomed to fighting in.

  "Thank you." Reaper smiled at the wolf. "Not sure we could've done it so well without you."

  "Valkyrie not harm humans." It growled.

  "Not all humans are worth saving." He put the short rifle over his back for the magnet there to hold it.

  "Wow, that was epic!" A soldier cheered. "I've never seen anyone do that before! Did you get hurt?" He was staring at Fenris.

  "No." It answered.

  "No way!"

  Other soldiers gathered.

  "I saw you take a few bullets! Really aren't hurt?"

  "Yes."

  "That is so badass!"

  Reaper grinned. He was afraid they would only fear him more if they saw him in action. This was the best outcome he could hope for. The youngest of the soldiers were excited, thrilled to have seen that wolf defending them and fighting with them.

  "All right. Let him rest. Meanwhile let's clean up the ship. We can salvage all the parts we need from this shithole."

  Fenris looked down to its hands. Then to the floating corpse of the pirate captain.

  Reaper got the feeling it was uncomfortable. He put a hand to its furry shoulder.

  "You did good, Fen. Everyone is happy and safe thanks to you." He smiled at it.

  TWENTY-ONE

  The pirates had been eradicated, their bodies piled up in the deepest part of the ship's belly. Their ship was gutted; stripped of all useful parts, including the weapons. Their storerooms were raided. Not so much as a crumb or a bolt was left behind. It took the Syndicate crew a few days to take everything they needed and wanted. At that same time, the engineers were hard at work on little sleep getting the ship fully functional. The door that had been cut through was the last bit to be repaired. The ship was detached and the Syndicate was on its way.

  Reaper had the course set for Solstice at top speed. He did not want to risk another warp jump, not so soon after the last ended in complete disaster. That day he woke up in the pod still haunted him. The scream of those suffocating and drowning inside their glass coffins. Too many died that day, and they had yet to honor their sacrifice.

  Perhaps a party was in order! He would love to have one scheduled. It would boost the morale of the ship. Give everyone a chance to mourn. If only their synthesizer was working. At least those pirates had plenty of food.

  Elsewhere on the ship, Mjolnir had been approached by Dr. Brannum.

  “Mjolnir! It’s good to see you!” Brannum entered the office.

  “Doctor? Is there something wrong?” Mjolnir slipped some papers into a folder tucked into a drawer.

  “Yes, I believe there is. One of my patients has been opening up about a past trauma.”

  “I suppose you can’t tell me about it?”

  “Under normal circumstances, patient confidential information should never be shared. This, however, is not normal.”

  “Go on.”

  “Timo Nikula has told me down in one of the engineering tunnels, he saw some sort of a horrible monster in the dark. Red glowing eyes, nasty teeth, and long claws. It attacked him. He defended himself with his utility knife. He thought he may have killed the beast, but he was not sure.”

  Mjolnir purred in thought, claws running through the fur on his chin. “You think this creature may still be on the ship?”

  “Quite the opposite!” Brannum raised a finger. “All of my patients have been experiencing bizarre hallucinations centered about a similarly described beast. I believe he may have hallucinated it while working in the tunnel.”

  “You think Timo could have killed Lautaro?”

  “It pains me to say so…. But he was not in a good mental state at the time!”

  “Did you place him on medications?”

  “Yes, but none of them have been able to stop the hallucinations. Not for anyone.”

  “Do you know where he is?”

  “I’ve had him isolated in my ward the last few days, for his safety.”

  “Keep him there. If I hear he leaves your ward, then I will have to put him in a cell until further notice. If this is truly due to a lapse in mental health, then he needs to be taken care of.”

  “Thank you! I will keep a close eye on him.”

  Mjolnir saw Brannum out, then headed to the bridge to talk with Reaper about the news.

  “Just like that,” Reynolds said. “Oh. Oh, no!” She snatched up a hand towel to catch the spilled cream.

  Fenris grumbled, trying to close the valve on the cream quickly. Instead of it closing, it snapped off. It growled now, ready to throw its head against a wall.

  “It’s all right! Hold on!” She shook the towel off into a quick seal bag, then used it again to finish cleaning the mess. With those set aside, she grabbed out a new jar of cream and left the towel over the broken one.

  “Be more gentle this time. I had a lot of trouble too when I first tried.”

  “Grow here?” It asked, now doing its best to connect the two valves without breaking them.

  “Did I grow up here? On the Syndicate?” She laughed. “No! Venus is where I was born.”

  The click sounded out from the valves. They had connected! With a gentle squeeze of the jar, the cream flowed down into the cup of coffee.

  “Perfect! That’s enough! Now pinch the valve-like so.” She showed it how. A quick pinch in the middle stopped the flow and disconnected the valves.

  "Where were you born?" She asked.

  "Avant-Garde." Its voice started like a pleasant song that quickly faded into a guttural growl.

  Reynolds wondered how it could sound like that. Every sentence it spoke shifted through the spectrum drastically. At times one word would be easy to hear and understand, almost alluring. The next would sound like a demon.

  She hung onto that name. Every other name he said was Norse related, yet this one was Latin.

  “Done?”

  Before she could answer, the door slid open.

  “Fen? You here?” Jackal called.

  The creature looked down at Reynolds curiously. She gave a nod to it. Scooping up the cup of coffee, which looked far too small in its claws, the valkyrie kicked itself from the kitchen to meet Jackal in the living room.

 
; “There you are... What’s that smell?” He had been in the middle of slipping a backpack off his shoulders. It was oddly square. Shaped like a tall box. Red and gray cut into one another like triangles. He held it down at his side, searching for something else to grip and steady himself in the room.

  Fenris was too busy sniffing the air to answer him.

  Reynolds cleared her throat. “He made you something.”

  “What?”

  “Go on!” She waved it on.

  Perking up, Fenris held the cup out to Jackal, gently touching it to his hand. Jackal took it.

  “A drink? You made a drink?” He brought it up to his face.

  Fenris nodded.

  “Try it!”

  He put it to his lips, flipped the switch to open it, and took a sip. Closed. Cup lowered. His lips twisted up.

  “Wow…” He smiled. “It’s a little too sweet, but it’s good.”

  “Yeah... There was a bit of an accident.” Reynolds chuckled. “I think his claws are sharper than Mjolnir’s.”

  Jackal laughed. “Did you learn how to make coffee for me?”

  It nodded.

  “I may come by tonight. A lot to study!” Reynolds gave a smile and headed out.

  Jackal sipped on the coffee, then quietly asked. “Is she gone?”

  “Yes.”

  “Great! Here, I got you something, too.”

  Fenris tilted its head.

  Letting go of the cup, Jackal pulled up the backpack. The top unzipped. Lid pulled back. Fenris peeked inside. The pack was filled to the brim with crimson chunks, barely marbled white. That was what it smelled earlier. Meat. Poorly butchered.

  “Our synthesizer is still down. So, I got you something to eat.”

  “This is…”

  “It should be a secret though, all right? You don’t wanna know how I got this.”

  “Fenris know…” It stated.

  Jackal’s lips pursed. He sensed the creature’s unease.

  “Think of it as a thank you for helping me all this time.” He looked away from the creature. “You ain’t got a reason to do what you have. I haven’t done shit for you.” He cleared his throat. “Just take it. Eat it.” He let the pack go.

  Fenris grabbed it and pushed the lid shut to keep all the meat inside. It could not take its eyes off him. Completely shocked by the gesture, it was stuck in place.

  Jackal reached around to get a hold of the cup. He ended up inverted near the ceiling. Even though the drink was not entirely to his taste, it would not go to waste. It was a kindness he rarely saw from anyone beyond Reaper. The way Fenris reacted to his own gesture made him think about the valkyrie’s past. Still, he knew very little, but he could not forget about those chains. How they grew into its body. How long would it take for that to happen? It must have been bound in those chains since it was a child.

  TWENTY-TWO

  The day finally came that I could get these damned bandages off permanently! The doctor still had no clue if my eyes had recovered enough to grant me vision again, but that did not matter as much as it used to. At least I told myself that. I sat down on the end of the gurney, a strap over my lap to hold me in place. Reynolds had been just across the room, doing something. She was talking to herself all the while. Fenris was here, too, I figured. He hardly left my side. He was quiet. Could barely sense him there.

  “All right! Hold still!” She touched my shoulder, then the bandages. I could feel them loosening as she pulled. One loop... Two loops….

  My fingers dug into my knees.

  My heart pounded.

  Soon, all the tension left my head. The cold air on the exposed skin gave me goosebumps all over.

  Darkness.

  I squeezed my knees.

  "Open your eyes." She instructed softly.

  Please see. Please see. I took slow, deep breaths.

  My eyes opened. White washed over me, making me close them again.

  I reached up to rub an eye as if it would ease the burn.

  I tried again. The white light again was too prominent to see anything. I fought through that sting. Blinked multiple times. Colors faded in as large blurs. Focus came.

  Through all the white poked something black. A scarlet glow. A gust of cold air flowed across my face.

  As the black blob came into shape, I made out a wet, twitching nose. Black fur broken up with a pattern of scars.

  She was breathtaking. Hair as black as the emptiness of space. Big ears twisted this way and that, listening to her surroundings before focusing on the noise I must have been making. Her eyes were like fire, swirling in crystal orbs locked on my very being.

  Breath stuck in my throat, I couldn't think. Only stare.

  She was a stranger, yet I knew everything about her; strengths, and weaknesses. Each little imperfection of her body and soul were perfect in my eyes.

  I could have stared forever.

  "Liam?" Came a soft voice.

  I thought it was the wolf.

  "Liam, are you okay?"

  The wolf sniffed at my face.

  "Y-yeah…" I breathed out. I put my hand atop the creature’s head, petting it.

  “Okay, well, look over here for a second. Fenris can’t examine you.”

  I blinked. Looked over to the sound of the voice. Then snapped back to the wolf. Fenris?! That valkyrie had been sitting there in place of the wolf, my hand still petting its head! I pulled back, confused more than anything. What was I thinking?! That beautiful she-wolf...it couldn’t have been Fenris.

  Reynolds grabbed my chin to turn my head to her again. A bright white light shone in my eyes. I fought the urge to close them. The brighter lights burned.

  “It took a while, but everything looks great! If you notice anything unusual, come back and I’ll give a thorough examination.” She smiled.

  I said my goodbyes and left the medical bay. Fenris was still with me. I figured he would have wandered off now that I had my sight back. When I asked him about it, he said nothing at all.

  I headed down to the barracks to see what the others were up to. They were headed for lunch and invited us along.

  We were still stuck with MREs. We were missing a crucial part to the synthesizer. There was no way we could get our hands on one either until making it to a station.

  I made sure Fenris got a tray of food in hope he would try to eat it.

  We sat down at a table that could fit all of us, Fenris opting for the floor where he could use a foot to stay in place.

  "It's great having your eyes back, huh?" Sparrow cheered.

  "Can't wait to get back to training." I said, wasting no time getting a forkful of spaghetti. "I'm gonna head to a sim for target practice."

  "I wanna come!"

  "We should all go." Mjolnir chimed in.

  "Hm… Where's Ianisse? He came here with us I thought." I looked around the table.

  Mjolnir and Sparrow lowered their heads, stuffing their mouths so they couldn't speak.

  Ruby, who was next to me, sat back with his arms crossed over his chest. He hadn't said a word, nor opened a packet.

  "Something he wanted to do." Ruby answered.

  "Too bad he won't be joining us." I looked at Mjolnir. "Have you trained with him? How is he?"

  "He has attitude." Mjolnir answered. "He can fight well enough."

  There was an odd sounding crunch.

  We looked to Fenris.

  One of the unopened packets from his tray was hanging halfway out of his mouth. He took another bite as we all watched in amazement. Then swallowed the packet whole.

  He looked at us with a curious tilt.

  "Y-you don't eat the whole thing like that!" I said.

  Sparrow coughed, trying not to laugh up her food.

  Fenris grumbled.

  "What? Didn't like it?" The sarcasm leaked into my tone.

  "Can you actually eat that?" Sparrow asked.

  "Eat anything." Fenris answered with a rasp.

  I saw the light flicker
in her eyes. I imagined the thoughts in her head. They were in mine, too.

  "Anything?" Mjolnir needed extra confirmation.

  Fenris nodded.

  The ardrizi cleared his tray of the trash and held it to Fenris.

  "Eat this!"

  My jaw dropped a bit. I wasn't sure if I should stop it now, or just let it go. The responsible thing would have been to end it, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious to see.

  Fenris took the tray and tossed it into his mouth.

  Now things got a little confusing here. It started with Fenris in that metal armor. A big crunch that bent the tray and cracked it. The next bite not only repositioned the tray in his mouth, but shifted his form into the familiar wolf form. Then he shifted back and forth, taking only a few bites to destroy the tray and swallow the chunks without so much as using his hands or paws.

  The game started.

  Sparrow and Mjolnir could not help themselves any longer. What else could that valkyrie eat? They ran around the mess hall, grabbing whatever they could. Glasses, plants, utensils.

  Fenris seemed happy. He ate whatever they brought him without a care. As a wolf, I saw his tail wag calmly against the floor.

  He practically glowed! Like the shadows that hung around him faded, even if it was only brief.

  It sure was brief.

  Ruby slammed his fist against the table and jumped up. "You guys are treating that thing like it's a fucking dog!" He shouted, baring his teeth. "It's disgusting as fuck! How can you look at that and see anything, but a monster?!"

  Fenris' tail stopped moving. Everyone fell silent, watching Ruby.

  "What's your problem?" I took on that familiar lieutenant's voice.

  "That thing is my problem! Ianisse is right, it's tricking you. The moment you turn your back on it, it will eat you, too!"

  "Hey, he's not a thing." Sparrow said. "He's a person, too!"

  "So, you're siding with it?" Ruby seemed almost shocked.

  "He ain't done anything wrong!"

  "I'm not gonna sit here and put up with this." Ruby snapped. "That's bullshit! You guys wanna fall for its lies, then fine! I'm not helping you when it turns on you." He stormed out of the mess hall.

  "What in Zaala's name was that?" Mjolnir watched him leave.

  "Don't listen to him, Fenris." Sparrow said sweetly. "He's an idiot."