Soul Render (Soul Stones Book 1)

by T. L. Branson

  Will’s eyes shifted to the blues of the soul realm. He didn’t need to close his eyes and had no difficulty maintaining the power.

  “Only the Soul Sight carries over from power to power. I cannot teach you exactly how to use your specific power, only share my experiences. You must apply the instruction to your own power,” he said. “When I shift into an animal, it is as though I am shedding my skin. I focus on what I want to do and will my power to come forth. It is not as easy as it sounds. You must operate within the confines of the magic. I cannot steal a body, where you cannot turn into an animal.”

  Will listened with rapt attention.

  “What functions operate within the limitations are for you to discover. The more difficult the skill, the more power will be required. Push your power too far, too fast, and you will leave yourself open for attack. Your anchor will change all of that. There will still be a limit, but the well will be much deeper. Now, begin by trying to duplicate the event from the other day.”

  Will stared at his hands. He thought about his soul leaving his body, but his soul held fast to his skin.

  Noting the lack of activity, Evindal said, “This is not like summoning the Soul Sight. That power has little drain on your energy. Think of it as a candle that can burn for days. What you are trying to tap into now will feel like a blazing fire. It will consume more fuel and may only last for a few hours. The harder you push, the faster it burns.

  “Just as a candle is easy to light, so comes the Soul Sight. A larger fire takes more time and preparation. Even when you get a spark, you must nurture it until it grows. You will need to feed your power to pull. Delve into the depths of your being, into the recesses of your heart, mind, and soul.”

  Will didn’t know what that felt like, but he calmed himself and pulled from within his core. He held out his hand and watched as his soul pulled free from his body. It started with his fingers, then his hands, and then his arms. He stepped away and out of his body as it collapsed to the ground.

  Evindal watched him through his own Soul Sight. He knelt down beside Will’s body and indicated for Will to come closer.

  “Observe your body. Notice the rise and fall of the chest. There is no soul, no being, no one controlling it. It operates on basic functions. It will continue to breathe and pump blood. You should be able to abandon your body for hours without harm. Most likely your power will drain before your body needs nutrition.”

  Will couldn’t respond in his soul form, so he continued to listen.

  “Should you take another body, yet intend to keep this one as well, remember that it will need sustenance after a few days,” Evindal told him.

  Will placed his hand on the body and opened his eyes, once again in physical form.

  “Ow,” Will said, massaging his shoulder. “The back of my head hurts and my shoulder is sore,” Will said.

  “Well your body did take a tumble,” Evindal explained. “You must be aware that it cannot defend itself when your soul leaves it. Should your body die, you will be forced to permanently find another host.”

  Will practiced leaving his body a few more times. Each time, it became easier and easier. The energy it expended, though, began taking its toll. After just an hour, they retired from training for the evening.

  Over the next few days, Evindal led Will to continue practicing separating his soul from his body. Once Will had become proficient at the act, they focused on endurance.

  At first, Will could only stay out of his body for an hour, but as the weeks passed, he had built up his strength to be able to last nearly four hours without a host.

  On one of these days, as Will sat down and prepared to leave his body once more, Evindal said, “Not today. It is time to test your abilities.”

  “What did you have in mind? We’re all alone out here,” Will said, holding his arms out wide. “There aren’t exactly people lining up to have their bodies stolen or souls destroyed.”

  “We must travel to the closest human settlement, Tikani,” Evindal said. “You have been there, no?”

  “If you count stealing food from a farmer on the outskirts, then, yeah, I’ve been there,” Will said. “But Tikani is easily a day’s journey or more.”

  “I have an idea, and it will be the first test of your power,” he said.

  Evindal put his fingers to his mouth and whistled. Wings flapped behind Will and a gust of wind rushed by his head as a hawk landed on Evindal’s outstretched arm.

  “This is Akos,” he said, indicating the bird. “Use your Soul Sight and tell me what you see.”

  Will’s vision shifted to the soul spectrum in an instant. He beheld the large green glow of Evindal with a smaller blue glow on his wrist.

  “The hawk has a soul,” Will stated.

  “Of course,” Evindal said, as if that should have been obvious. “What else do you see?”

  He peered intently at the hawk and noticed a small sliver of green swirling within the hawk’s blue soul.

  “There’s some green there,” Will said. “You’ve given him part of your power?”

  “Yes and no,” Evindal said. “I cannot gift my power as Drygo can with the Soul Siphon, but I can use the creatures of the forest as my sentinels. I can look through their eyes, not unlike Allynna, but I can also hear and smell what they hear and smell. However, I have little control over them. They obey me out of kinship, not out of mastery.”

  “You want me to try to take the hawk’s body?” Will said, understanding Evindal’s intent. “Won’t that kill it?”

  “That is what I’d like to find out,” he said. “The strength of my power should prevent you from evicting or destroying his soul. In theory, you should share a body with him, and when you leave him, Akos should resume control.

  “In theory?” Will asked, raising his eyebrows. “But you don’t know for sure? And you’re fine with me potentially killing him?”

  Akos tilted his head and looked up at Evindal.

  “It will be fine, my friend,” Evindal said to the bird. “I have faith in my power even if I do not yet fully understand his.” He turned to Will and said, “Go on. Give it a try.”

  Will stepped out of his body and approached the bird with caution. He didn’t know what to expect. He stretched out his hand and touched the bird.

  His soul was drawn in and compressed. He felt another entity in the tiny body with him. It balked at his presence and tried to push against him.

  Evindal shushed Akos and calmed him, commanding him to give Will control.

  The force within the bird settled and Will opened his eyes. The world around him looked startlingly different. Colors seemed more muted, but details were sharper, he could see much farther before the mountains in the distance blurred. But most dramatic was the way the trees bent as if he looked through a piece of curved glass.

  Evindal said, “Take off and allow your wings to carry you into the air. If you feel yourself fall, relinquish some control to Akos, and he will help you.”

  Will made a motion to extend his arms and his wings responded in kind. The key difference being he had no fingers and lacked the dexterity of their precision. He flapped his wings and his body rose off of Evindal’s arm.

  For a brief moment, panic coursed through him as he floated in the air. He lost control, and the bird fell several feet, hitting the forest floor with a soft thud. The impact was not as hard as he anticipated, the weight of the bird being different from his own.

  His stood on his bird feet and shook his head back and forth. Extending his wings again he once again left the ground. Timid at first, he quickly grasped the concept and left the forest, soaring through the branches of the trees and into the air.

  He ascended higher and higher until at last he leveled out and looked over the horizon. The height caught him off guard and his small eyes widened in surprise, fear filling his heart. His wings faltered and he teetered side to side before losing control again completely and falling through the air.

  Will tried t
o set himself aright, but could not. His body tumbled and flipped down through the air. He remembered Evindal’s words and submitted to the bird that fretted with anger inside his body.

  Akos evened them out moments before their body would have crashed through the trees. With several strong flaps of the wings, Akos had them at a safe cruising level above the canopy.

  Another hawk flew up beside them and Will knew that it was Evindal. He briefly shifted his vision, the bright green glow confirming his thoughts.

  Evindal looked at him and turned sharply to the so’east. Will, with assistance from Akos, followed. They moved at speeds he could not hope to duplicate on foot. Within an hour they had traveled all the way to Tikani.

  Evindal set down just inside the treeline at the edge of the Wandering Wood and turned back into his elf form. Will exited the body of the hawk. Akos’s soul was still firmly within the hawk’s body on Evindal’s outstretched arm. Will didn’t have a body to move into, and was forced to remain in his soul form.

  “I cannot leave the forest,” Evindal said to Will. “You must enter the city on your own. Be careful. You do not want to draw undue attention.”

  Evindal paused then said, “I want you to acquire the signet ring of the lord regent. Do whatever you must to obtain it. Akos will go with you as my eyes and ears. Meet me back at the temple when your task is complete, however long it may take.”

  25

  Two hours later, Will approached the city’s western gate. Two guards stood as sentinels on either side of the massive portcullis.

  They couldn’t see Will, and so they didn’t react to his presence. Will figured now was as good a time as any to take what he assumed would be the first of many bodies necessary to complete his task.

  The guards, however, possessed a resolve stronger than Will had ever successfully conquered. Their souls flared red—an impenetrable shield.

  Will remembered what Evindal said about using emotions as a weapon. If he could anger them or sadden them, he could break through their mental wall.

  But how to accomplish this without a body? He didn’t know what would appeal to these particular guards. He knew nothing about them.

  However, he did know one thing that was universal among almost every person. Fear. And what was more fearsome than being attacked by a hawk without provocation? The sharp talons, the loud squawking, the sudden surprise of it all…

  Will looked to Akos, who soared the sky above, and motioned for the bird to fly closer to the guards. Akos must have understood, because the hawk swooped down in one swift dive. Right before he collided with the guard, he extended his wings, slowing his forward momentum. He swung his talons forward and raked them across the man’s face.

  Will watched as the shield of red shattered, giving way to a wave of purple mixed with blues and reds.

  With the guard’s concentration broken, Will attacked, breaking through the man’s meager defenses. In a heartbeat, the guard was gone and Will lay on the ground in his body. The second guard swung his halberd at Akos, but the hawk flew away before it could find purchase.

  “Are you all right?” asked the guard.

  “Yeah. Dumb bird. Thanks,” Will said.

  “He got you pretty good,” the guard said, motioning to Will’s face.

  Will put a hand to his right cheek. He pulled it away, wet with blood.

  “You should get that looked at after our shift,” the guard said. “Replacements should be here soon.”

  “Just a scratch. I’ll be okay,” Will said.

  Will stood with his best guard impersonation.

  A few minutes passed and an old man wheeling a cart full of pears approached the gate.

  “Halt!” Will shouted and stepped in front of the cart. The other guard didn’t leave his post. “Where are you going with this fruit?”

  “I’m bringing fruit from the orchard to sell in my stand tomorrow,” the old man said.

  “Do you have the proper permits to bring fruit into the city?” Will asked.

  “Permits? Why would I need a permit?” he asked, flustered.

  “No permit, no entry,” Will said.

  The man scoffed, “But I’ve never needed a permit bef—”

  “Of course, I could let you through for a sampling of your goods,” Will added.

  “What?” the man asked, taken aback. Realization dawned on his face. “Oh…”

  Will didn’t wait for a response, plucked a pear from the cart, and took a bite out of it.

  “Hey! Give that—”

  The other guard approached at the aggressive tone of the merchant.

  “Fine. Keep it,” the man huffed. “Can I go now?”

  Will stepped away and extended his arm, allowing the man entry.

  After another few minutes, the replacement guards arrived. Will’s partner approached their replacements and Will heard him say, “Watch out for Rowland tonight. A bird attacked him and now he’s in a bad mood. He harassed poor Giles.”

  What? But I thought…

  Will’s replacement gave him a wide berth and avoided direct eye contact. Will left his post and walked into the city. A long and narrow road took Will past several houses and establishments.

  It seemed to go on forever. Just as he neared the road’s end, he spied the merchant, Giles, pulling his cart down the road. The guard whose body he stole, Rowland, had a small pouch of coin dangling from his belt.

  Will had no use for it, and he felt bad for his earlier behavior. He pulled it from his belt with a snap and dropped the bag into the cart as he passed. He had to believe that would make up for his error.

  The road terminated in the town center. Different roads branched off from it like the spokes of a wheel. A road to the nor’east led to a large mausoleum, which poked out over the tops of houses.

  Will took the road that traveled nor’west, toward the town’s largest building, the lord regent’s palace, which doubled as the king’s summer home.

  The buildings dwindled and disappeared altogether as the road rose up a hill leading to the palace gates. The palace overlooked the lake, the red light of the setting sun glimmering along its surface like fire.

  I could get used to that view, Will thought.

  He approached the gate and walked through the open portcullis, his uniform granting him access. Will didn’t know where to start. The lord regent could be anywhere. Despite his uniform, he would still have difficulty finding his prize. He might be able to gain an audience under some conjured emergency, but that wouldn’t get him close enough to actually steal the ring.

  And what if the lord regent never even removed the ring?

  As he thought on these things, Akos flew in and landed on a parapet. An idea came to mind. Will whistled and the hawk fluttered down to a barrel beside him. Will sat down on the ground behind the barrel, out of sight, and left his physical body behind.

  Will reached out a hand to the hawk. Akos bristled briefly at his advance, but then permitted Will to touch him. Their souls did not fight for dominance this time as Will lifted off into the air.

  Will circled the castle, peering through the windows as he flew. On the ground floor, three-story windows facing south revealed an empty grand ballroom. A few floors up and facing to the east over the city he spied a room full of women in finery. They sat on plush furniture, speaking to one another. A small girl sat at the window, staring out at him as he flew by.

  On the northern face of the palace, about six floors from the ground, the door of a balcony stood open. He settled atop the rail of the balcony. Long, silky white curtains whipped in the wind, obscuring his view of the room.

  What looked like two servants busied about the room. He watched as one pulled back the sheets from a giant four-poster bed. The other set out a pair of nightclothes on a nearby chair, ready for their owner’s arrival when he retired for the night.

  One of the women came through the door and started to close it when she spotted the hawk. She darted back inside, grabbed a broom, and
came back outside.

  “Shoo!” she said, thrusting the broom at Will. He flew off the balcony and wound back around the building. He tried to get a feel for the layout of the palace grounds, but the waning light made it difficult.

  Lamps came on around the exterior of the castle as he drew near to the spot where he left his body. He rounded the final bend and—

  Several soldiers stood in a circle around where his body lay. One man continually slapped Rowland’s face, trying to wake him. Will landed on the barrel beside the man, and the guard jumped back, surprised.

  Will left the hawk and entered Rowland’s body as the other soldier waved his hand at the bird and Akos flew off. A second man, one of the hired servants, dumped a bucket of water on Will’s head the moment his eyes opened.

  Will shook his head and said, “Hey, what’s the big idea?”

  “You’s sleepin’ like a rock, you was,” the guard said. “You could get hanged for that, mate.”

  “I’m off duty,” Will said.

  “Then what’re you doin’ here? And why are you still in your uni?”

  Will stood and looked at his clothes. He couldn’t go anywhere now. He’d draw all sorts of attention.

  “Long day. And the missus said not to come home tonight. We had a good row last evenin’,” Will said, imitating the guard’s accent.

  The guard scrunched up his face and looked to Will’s left hand, which bore no ring. Will quickly moved it out of sight.

  “Looks like somethin’ knocked you upside the ’ead,” the guard said, indicating the wound from Akos. “Your wife left you two years ago, mate. Go on and get yerself home so you can clean up.”

  Will didn’t have much choice and left the palace grounds through the open gate and walked back down the road into the city. He had no idea where home was, and soon the palace would be locked up tight. He didn’t want to wait until morning

  Once again, he walked out of sight and left his body midstride. It crumpled to the ground, banging its head, but he didn’t care. He wouldn’t need it again.