The Court of Souls?

by Andur

  Second, it is likely that he has some kind of connection to the slavers. How else did he get Tisha's message? I have to ask my mother about that one.

  “Then your clan gets attacked and if I understood Elona correctly, your clan and Draconis are friendly enough to let each other come and leave as they please. A perfect opportunity to plant homing signatures to aim portals. Then your clan is attacked and weakened, and Moonray is ready to take you in. Of course all of that could have happened by chance, but I still want to hear your version of history.”

  Doreen shakes her head. “I never heard of the events from Tisha's point of view. The reason why I had a fight with Moonray, is because he told me nothing about his meddling with other women. Especially with Tisha. The only reason I learned about it, is that I searched out Ishaan after Semper Fidelis had fallen. Ishaan explained to me that he had caught Tisha and Moonray betraying us.

  “I threw Moonray out of my clan and he left, taking half the clan with him. He never admitted anything, but I believed Ishaan. He had just lost everything and there was no reason for him to lie. I still can't believe it. Mooray may be a calculating son of a bitch, but I can't imagine that he would really do such a thing.”

  Chloe also shakes her head. “Dad has a lot of flaws, but I can't believe that he would risk his relatives like that. When Carissimi was assaulted, we could have easily died. Quianna even got abducted!”

  Elona rejoins the discussion. “Maybe you are blinded by your past ties to him. I never got to know him very well. All he is to me, is a slimy character who shows up from time to time in order to recruit me for his clan. And we shouldn't forget the incident when we came across Shade and his people. Lirian almost provoked a fight between us and them for no reason at all. I have the feeling that he was instructed to do so. And he belongs to Moonray's staff.”

  Elona's father raises a hand. “Regarding the more recent events. So you are saying that Moonray caused the attack on us. Was it to change Doreen's mind about fighting the slavers? We gathered the alliance and he tried to provoke a fight between us and the slavers. For what purpose? Moonray was always the one who preached to put an end to the slavers. But if your suspicions are true, then he worked against his goals by provoking a fight between us and Shade's people.”

  Quianna takes over. “He surely didn't know that the slaves already revolted. As I have heard, Shade wasn't exactly forthcoming in your first meeting. But it still doesn't make sense. In this case Moonray's goal must have been to crush or weaken the slavers. If your summary of history is correct, then he destroyed the alliance back then. It doesn't add up. Why did he switch his goal?”

  Elona shrugs her shoulders. “Without further information we can't get to the heart of the matter. I never said that the destruction of the alliance or the slavers is his final goal. At this moment in time we lack the information to grasp his goals. I am not even saying that it must really be Moonray. All I am saying is that the chain of events is suspicious. We don't know his motivation. All we know is that Moonray and his clan are somehow linked to the events.”

  Doreen tilts her head. “Why are we so sure of that?”

  “Because one strange coincidence may be bad luck. Two are suspicious and three mean something,” I answer, but it only earns me a glare from Doreen.

  Elona stands up and leans forward. “Please, Grandma, even you must admit that something is going on.”

  Doreen grinds her jaw, but at last she leans backwards. “What's done, is done. And I can't say that I feel bad about not having to deal with Moonray.”

  Elona grins at me. “See?”

  “That doesn't mean that I am happy about having to deal with Tisha,” Doreen hurries to correct herself.

  Shawn stands up and walks over to my side of the table. “So you are my daughter's soul partner.”

  I force myself to smile and offer him my hand. “Shade, leader of Semper Fidelis.”

  He takes my hand and squeezes with enough force to crush my hand.

  “You've really found your partner, Sis! So did you remember a little more about yourself being a god? What about your affinities as a deity?” Quianna shoots out a string of questions.

  Elona smiles and stands up, placing a hand on her chest. Knowing ones nature is important as a god. It allows us to access much more power and is the difference between being a minor deity or a real god.

  “Listen well. I am a goddess of order and stability!” Then she slaps Shawn's hand away from mine, which is a relief since he was trying to crush it and I wasn't sure on how to respond to his attempts.

  She jumps into my lap and hugs me. “And this is my husband! God of chaos and change.”

  “Husband?” I whisper. Well, we were married in... all lifetimes I remember so far.

  Her tail pokes into my side. “Don't you remember your oath? We swore 'Until Death'. Those were the exact words.”

  I do remember the oath... and the ritual/accident which bound us. “Aren't you taking the words out of context? We died in between the oath and now.”

  “We are alive now, aren't we?” she answers cheerfully. I can't help but cough.

  “I knew that you would say that,” I answer. So in other words, she intends to hold me responsible for eternity.

  That's when the door is flung open and Tisha hurries inside with Aswang and Manti on her heels. “You are really here! Out there a whole collection of rumours is going on about you and her being a couple!” Tisha points an accusing finger at Elona. “And some say Carissimi ditched the fusion with Draconis to strike a deal with us instead!”

  I purse my lips and embrace Elona, pulling her closer. “This might be one of those rare cases in which the rumours are close to the truth.”

  Tisha ruffles her hair. “Didn't I warn you about getting involved with succubi and other sex-demons? You were enthralled! I begged you to search for beneficial alliances, but nothing which binds us in such a permanent manner.”

  “No. I just found my soul partner,” I answer.

  “You have a soul partner?” Manti asks surprised.

  Elona waves a hand at them. “Yes, that's me. Nice to meet you again.”

  “You missed out on a really interesting discussion about a possible connection between Moonray and the slavers...” And so I continue to fill them in on everything we've talked about. When I am done the three of them stare at me for several seconds.

  “I can't believe it. Moonray is an ass, but he wouldn't go that far,” Tisha answers in denial.

  Manticore circles her finger at Tisha. “Though you sucker punched him hard enough to knock him out. Are you sure?”

  “I don't know. Though right after our first meeting he did ask me if I and my people want to return to his clan. I denied since I didn't want him anywhere near me,” Tisha answers.

  So that was the reason why she shook her head so vehemently when she talked to Doreen and Moonray.

  Aswang gestures at us in a manner which includes the whole room. “As I see it, there is only one way to find a satisfying conclusion. Since it seems like Draconis wanted to fuse with either of us, we have to leave them out of the loop and fuse with each other.

  “That will provoke yet another reaction from their side and give us a chance to catch the traitor.”

  “But who is the traitor? If it is that easy we would already have him or her,” Quianna asks befuddled.

  I snort and focus on Doreen. “Primary candidates are people who have access to the inner workings of your clan and strong ties to Draconis. Are there any ex-members of Draconis who changed their allegiance to you? Or members of Draconis who paid regular visits to your clan? I would also look into members of your clan who often visit Draconis.”

  Doreen starts grinding her teeth in discomfort. “There are a handful who would fit the criteria.”

  26. ~Trinity.~

  “A triple deity (sometimes referred to as threefold, tripled, triplicate, tripartite, triune or triadic, or as a trinity) is a deity associated with the number
three. Such deities are common throughout world mythology; the number three has a long history of mythical associations. Carl Jung considered the arrangement of deities into triplets an archetype in the history of religion.”

  The Journey to the Afterlife

  Dedessia, the Sea of Souls, Nurien

  Elona

  I take a sip from the beverage which we get served here. It isn't exactly wine, but some kind of fermented, red fruit... it tastes horrible. Then I survey the ballroom and notice that there is some attention on Shade and me.

  Doreen gave us four names of suspected traitors who would suit Shade's criteria

  Surprisingly one of them is Titho. She was a member of Draconis before she switched to Carissimi.

  We also have Zeren, a dark skinned, lanky man with white hair. He joined us on our diplomatic mission to Draconis. If I remember correctly, he wasn't very interested in our current situation. Could it have been because he already knew the outcome?

  Another candidate is Grixen, but he isn't a member of the ruling group. Just a mid who transferred to us because he fell in love with a woman from Carissimi. Heck, he runs a small smithy between Yggdrasil's roots and, according to Doreen, he almost never steps outside of his workshop.

  Another possibility is Miraven. She is a higher immortal who has been with us since the clan split. And according to Doreen's knowledge, she was always a good friend of Moonray. There are also the regular visits to Draconis to 'see old friends'.

  What's a big point against her, is that she also was on a scouting mission when the clan got attacked. Just like me, she was out of the way of the fight and only returned long after everything was over.

  Circumstance? Or a deliberate action to be out of harm's way when the slavers attack?

  I lean backwards to rest my back against Shade's chest. Sitting on his lap is really comfortable. “They are staring at us.”

  “Let them stare,” he mumbles.

  “Do you think that it is strange? Doreen I mean? She had all those details readily at hand. She didn't even need her documents,” I mutter, a little terrified of the answer.

  Shade grumbles deep in his chest, thinking, but then he answers. “You must be a far better judge of her than me. But as I see it, it simply means that she already was considering possibilities. You already suspected that you have a traitor in your midst. So she had to search for people with possible motives. Outsiders are the first suspects.”

  “I am afraid that we won't find him or her fast enough. What if Yggdrasil reaches your safe zone and we still don't have that spy? Your city is so big, it will be easy to hide homing charms for the portals. We can never find all of them,” I muse.

  Shade shifts under me, seeking a more comfortable position. “Don't worry. When I heard about the way your clan was attacked, I devised inhibitors to stop enemy portals from being opened. And who says that you have just one traitor? Draconis's and Carissimi's relationship with each other was so tight that the two populations still treat each other as one. You could have any number of traitors in your midst. Knowing ones and unknowing ones.”

  Oh, that's right. I almost forgot that he is a genius when it comes to all sorts of magic. This world may lack resources, but rigging up something as important as that should be easy to him. And if the tool in question ensures survival, it may be worth to sacrifice the scarce comfort the city can provide.

  “I am not entirely sure if I should be happy, or frightened about what you just told me. We need a way to deal with the security risks, and fast.”

  As I let my eyes wander through the room I notice something else. “Hm, you know... while I was still single... while I didn't have you around me, yes, that's better. While I didn't have you around, I permanently had to deal with those lecherous glances and more than one hourly attempt at gaining my affection. I know that we returned to the party to make our relationship official, openly displaying affection for each other. But I didn't imagine that the effect would be this huge.

  “The glares are still there, but fewer, and none of them are in that ogling way any longer. And the one person who actually started coming our way, made a ninety degree turn after just a few steps and ran off in another direction. So convenient.” I marvel at the effects of sitting on a guy's lap. My entire life so far, I was either seen as some kind of sex toy, or as something which has to be kept at a distance.

  “That's because I am telling them that they should better keep their distance,” Shade grumbles.

  I frown. “Telling them to keep their distance? How? You didn't say a single word.”

  “I am looking at them. Those guys have no right to undress you with their eyes,” he growls.

  I cross my arms in front of my chest and turn around. For a moment I get a glimpse of a fearsome expression, but Shade quickly hides it behind a smile upon making eye contact with me. What a fellow, scaring off the chances to get connections with other clans.

  It seems like our extended family has to do all the work regarding diplomacy.

  That's when I catch Takea and Lirian approaching us. Their arms are linked and Lirian wears a smug expression on his face. When the two of them reach us, he speaks, “It seems like you already decided to sink your fangs into him before ever giving me a chance. And here I thought that there was something between us.”

  My eyes wander to their linked arms. “I don't feel bad for you. You can't have felt that much for me if you get over it within a few hours. I wish you luck with your... flick.”

  “Flick?” Takea blinks. “I am not some kind of easy woman like you! Since when do you know Shade? A few hours?”

  “Actually we just remembered that we are soul mates. We share more than an eternity of memories. Sorry if you had your eyes on me, Takea. But I hope that you'll be happy with that guy.” Shade plays with my hair and winks at the girl.

  “Soul bonded? That explains a lot. I already thought that my seduction skills are lacking in some department.” Takea sighs in relief.

  “Seduction skills?” Shade asks dumbfounded.

  “Yeah, you didn't notice any of it while I offered myself on your lap, did you? I felt so dirty, because of it. And you didn't even twitch,” the girl complains.

  Then she straightens up. “So does that also mean that you will join the bout?”

  “Bout?” I don't know anything about a bout. “What do you mean?”

  She circles her finger at us. “The competition at the end of the party. Every couple which found each other can join. It is to test their skills against the others. What the competition is about is up to the participants. The participants can choose the field of expertise. But most choose a battle to frighten the other clans by displaying their skills.”

  “Come, Takea. I am sure that those two are above such activities.” Lirian takes his partner's hand and guides her away. Though Takea gives me a suggestive wink while disappearing into the crowd. Or was it meant for Shade?

  I want to punch her. “Shade, should we join this competition?”

  “I don't care. And I am pretty sure that Aswang and Manticore will join it too. I don't want to compete with them. I want to do something else.” His deep voice at my ear sends a shiver down my spine. Then he picks me up and carries me off in a princess carry.

  “What are you doing?” I whisper.

  “Searching for a quiet place and ensuring that everyone can see where we are going. Ten times better and more effective than playing lovely dovely for some creepy spectators.”

  Oh, my. We indeed wanted everyone to know that we are involved with each other, but doing it like this!

  He heads for the hallway with the private bedrooms and enters the first free room. The door falls shut and he locks it behind us.

  I am not entirely against doing it, but being treated as some kind of tool to release his urges doesn't sit right with me. But I was sort of torturing him since the morning and now it is early evening. Sitting on a guy's lap and openly displaying affection for him must tear at his nerves.


  There is a big bed in the room, but Shade chooses the huge dining table instead. He carries me over and kisses me under my chin. All thoughts of protest are gone in an instant and replaced by a feeling of butterflies in my stomach.

  He places me on the table and undoes my clothes. The feeling of his hands and lips on my body makes my world spin and suddenly I find myself in a very unladylike position. He tosses my panties up into the air, landing them on the glowball which is hanging from the ceiling.

  I want to protest. Finding all our clothes was a problem when we did it the last time. But suddenly his head is between my legs and my eyes widen in surprise. I grab the edge of the desk as the unbelievable feeling of what he is doing blows any coherent thought away.

  This is bad! If he continues... I... “Stop!”

  But he doesn't stop. Instead he grabs my chest and I feel a rush of energy pouring into me. The incredible sensation of pure life energy sends me over the edge even as he strokes my inner thighs. He tastes so sweet, it is pure bliss! And then he pulls me towards him to get me in position.

  I want to protest, have to warn him. But he raises my leg and spears into me. I forget to breathe as he thrusts. It is clear that he is in great need. My ability ignites his fire and he growls in satisfaction. Something inside me breaks and I moan, locking my legs around him. Then I demand even more of his power by circling my hips.

  My body moves on its own and the will to fight back is gone. Suddenly he thrusts harder and something hot and liquid enters me together with even more energy than I ever got. Not even when I sucked that god dry. My entire lower region shudders and rocks uncontrollably and I finally remember to suck in fresh air.

  Shade collapses on top of me, all power and strength gone.

  For a moment I fear that I have really killed him this time, but then I feel his hot breath between my breasts. I try to push him off, but even though I got all that power I am weak and unable to do it. All the energy is concentrated in my belly.

  Luckily he moans and raises his head by himself. “What happened!? Where is Legna!?”