Soul Taker's Redemption

by A. S. Hamilton

  'I can understand, a little better, the reason you changed sides. Such freedom...' I couldn't put it into words.

  Therion smiled down at me, he understood what I was trying to say. Despite the smile, I could see a sadness in his eyes. I reflected that although he probably looked forward to times when he was free to fly, more often the case was that he only had as much freedom as Aurealis allowed him.

  'I know it's easier working for Aurealis, from what you've told me, the sting of humiliation is better than what awaited you at no provocation in the Dark Realm. You're still caged though.'

  He thought about it as he got me back down to the balcony and we moved inside.

  'I have learned through Aurealis's teachings,' Therion said finally, 'that we all have masters. In the human realm these masters may be an employer, a lover, or family. These are not masters in the same way as Ceri-talen and Aurealis, but I have come to see that humans still have an idea of duty and obligation.'

  We stopped near the kitchen island and, on automatic pilot, I gravitated towards the coffee maker. Therion leaned on the kitchen island to watch me— he says I move gracefully.

  'Yet, my greatest vexation,' Therion continued, 'in this path Aurealis sets before me, is understanding when and why it is alright for me to take one life, but not another.'

  'Like the assassin?'

  He nodded.

  He'd explained that the reason he'd disappeared wasn't another assignment, but punishment for killing the man who shot me. He understood, now, that Aurealis wanted him to shift from being a warrior to something more like a guardian. What he didn't understand was the lack of punishment on other occasions when he could also have brought authorities in. I suggested that perhaps earlier it would've been too difficult for him to over-ride his instincts and Aurealis was trying to introduce such discipline in stages. Therion agreed that she'd been introducing many things to him in stages and that at the start of his redemption he hadn't been required to interact with people at all. I’d seen him kill. He didn't do it with awareness, you could see that instinct drove every movement. That would be hard to overcome without some degree of training.

  I wondered how I'd feel if I'd known those he'd killed. Would I be less forgiving? I reflected it was like a shark attack. Many surfers did not support hunting down the shark, even the victim. They acknowledged that they were in the shark's territory and it was just behaving naturally, it didn't have morals it connected to its prey. Perhaps the mistake many made with Therion was that he had a lot of human qualities, but he came from a world where they didn't have the same values as humans. In fact, many human cultures didn't share the same value systems or even religion and that had been the cause of many deaths amongst our own kind.

  'Like we do,' I said of humans as I tamped down the coffee grounds, 'you will learn.'

  'If Aurealis allows me to remain, I think I will have a more practical guide in you, Jayden, and thus an easier time.'

  I turned to look at him. 'Just keep in mind that not all we do makes sense, for some of it you'll just have to take my word that it's the 'thing to do'.'

  'Like eating ice cream, which has no nutritional value, but provides,' he paused to remember what I'd said and then quoted me, ''substantial emotional sustenance'.'

  I laughed. 'As does chocolate.'

  Several days had passed with no signs of Ceri-talen. It was just before dawn. Therion had fallen into a trance. I knew because I was familiar with the sensation that woke me. The first time, after we had shared my bed, I hadn't known what’d woken me, just that some instinct had triggered. Then I'd realised that Therion's wings had returned.

  Generally, when he's in the house, he changes to a form without wings. It makes it easier to move through the rooms and he doesn't knock over as many things. Although, now he'd been here a little while, he was familiar enough with the layout that it didn't happen as often, but, early on, I'd rearranged some of the furniture so he could move around with his wings a little easier. When I went to sleep, Therion would go out and scout the grounds and patrol, he also watched TV as 'research'. He loved the way my TV would rise up from a hidden compartment at the back of the cabinet in the lounge room. I discovered he occasionally nibbled some food— usually chocolate, but once I discovered he'd devoured almost a whole loaf of bread I'd made that afternoon. Most nights he'd end up slipping into the bed and read or enter a trance state, which equated to rest for him. He said he transitioned to his spirit form and could look down at himself as he rested. This form could travel about too, but in times like this, he preferred to remain close. This was when his physical form would revert to his natural one and I'd become familiar with the little spike of energy that occurred when the change happened.

  Sure enough, he was lying on his stomach, one black wing was spread out over me. He still held my hand. I had, in a moment of rare sentiment, slipped it into his just before I’d fallen back asleep when he came to bed. I think he liked it though, because his hand firmly returned the grip.

  The tiny light on my phone was flashing, indicating there was a message or an email. I stretched out so I could grab the phone with my free hand, using my thumb to awkwardly type in the pin.

  It was a text from Mum: 'Hey hun, still working. Will stay at Tien's. Want breakfast?'

  My Aunt Tien's place was closer to work than Mum's, so it made sense she'd arranged to go there when she finished up. I looked at the time the text was sent. It was sent just before ten, what was she doing at work at ten o'clock at night? The case against Archmore, I guess. I think the attempted assassination had scared her— heck, it terrified me— and progressing the case was one way she thought she might be able to eventually protect me. Another part of it was that she couldn't protect me against Ceri-talen and rather than feel helpless hanging around, she let Therion and the vampires worry about the supernatural side of things while she dealt with the humans. It also meant there'd been no further conflict over my relationship with Therion. Whenever she'd been home when I was staying at her place, she would often give both of us disapproving looks. She managed not to lecture me about it, but things still felt tense and I was relieved when Therion and the vampires said I could come back to my apartment.

  Since I'd returned to the apartment, she had started texting me a lot more than usual, which I took to mean that she missed me, but did not want to intrude. That she'd arranged to stay at Tien's was another sign of that, normally she just uses my guest room. I missed her too, I wasn't used to her not approving of decisions I made. My mum wasn't the sort to over-coddle or 'hover'. She believed that the only way a child could learn independence was to step back and let them figure things out on their own. That didn't mean she wasn't supportive— Mum was my biggest cheerleader when I decided to open the café— and she wasn't into 'I-told-you-sos', but if I made a decision she disagreed with, she wasn't shy about telling me. I was fortunate, really, because I always knew that whatever opinion or advice she gave me was honest and direct, but if I went against it, she never held it against me. Sometimes she got so frustrated she’d have to take a few days to let that fade, but it was never long-term.

  I wriggled my other hand free of Therion's so I could reply to Mum's text: 'Sure. Come to the café and I'll have Max make you an omelette =D.'

  Mum loved omelettes, especially the way my cook, Max— short for Maxine— made them.

  Mum returned my text: '6.30 too early?'

  What in the world was she doing up at this hour? It was just past three.

  I replied: 'Yes!!!! especially since it's only 3 hrs away— what are you doing up— but sure, I'll go back to sleep after you finish.'

  'Can't sleep. Case. & everything.'

  Everything would be the situation with Ceri-talen and Therion. Case meant the Archmore case.

  'Same here. I gather you want breakfast at sparrow's fart because you plan to go into work?'

  'Y.'

  Y would be yes.

  'Then try to get some sleep <3.'

 
Mum responded with a heart in return.

  'Your mother?'

  I looked over at Therion. 'She wants to have breakfast.'

  'What do you mean when you say 'sparrow's fart'?'

  I frowned, then realised he could see my screen. 'Oh, um. It means so early that the proverbial early bird is only just waking up.'

  'That is a very odd saying. What is the proverbial early bird?'

  I tried not to roll my eyes. This was going to take a while.

  He must have read my expression because he said, 'Never mind, I will Google it later.'

  I still couldn't get over how tech-savvy he was.

  'Why are you up? Is something amiss?' he asked.

  I smiled at his use of amiss, it was so… gentle and, considering what I'd seen him do to the dragon-like being he called Uea, it seemed contradictory.

  'I'm worried by, well, everything. Ceri-talen sending more demons. The fact that your Aurealis has not been in contact. The Archmore case. The long hours Mum's working. My café, although Yu seems to be managing things well enough, I've put a lot on her shoulders in a very short time.'

  Therion placed a finger on my lips and I realised my tone had started going higher and I was talking very fast. 'We are doing everything possible to guard against Ceri-talen,' he assured me. 'Aurealis is a god, she will come when she decides it is time. Your mother, if I understand your descriptions of her, has always been over-dedicated to her work. That she wants breakfast with you should assure you that she is, at least, eating. It also tells you that despite her disapproval of our relationship, she is not so angry she does not want to speak to you. And Yu, you've told me, wants to manage a café, this turn of events has presented her with the opportunity to step up into that role. I know you cannot stop worrying, Jayden, but do not let it overwhelm you.'

  I shuffled over and leaned up to kiss him. He obliged by bending his head so I could without having to stretch.

  'Why do you always taste so good?' he murmured against my lips.

  It was a rhetorical question, but I answered it by kissing him again.

  It took all of about a minute for kisses to escalate to sex.

  The expectation that sex with a supernatural being is different is fairly reasonable. In terms of mechanics, everything’s the same as with another human, well, aside from the wings and fangs. His fangs don't extend unless he pushes them forward when threatened, but otherwise they only extend past his other teeth a little. Outside of the mechanics, sex is very different. There is a… a sort of vibe, I guess. I feel like I'm immersed in energy. Oddly enough, afterwards, rather than being energised, I feel tired. It's the kind of tired you get after a run or a gym session. It's unusual for me because normally I feel energised after sex. I get up, make coffee, and find something to do while my partner sleeps. But with Therion, he’s the one full of energy and he gets up and does things while I doze for an hour. Once I get up, I'm fine. I feel more energised than having a coffee makes me, but I always need that little sleep first.

  This time was the same, after we climaxed, I snuggled against his chest, then, once I started to drift off, Therion kissed my head and murmured he was going to do a patrol, promising not to be too long. He tucked the bedding around me and slipped out of the room.

  It seemed like only a minute before I heard him come back into the room.

  'You forget something or have you been patrolling and I've lost track of the time?'

  'You fell asleep. Adrian and Tadgh report that all is quiet, but Adrian saw that SUV again.'

  I shifted to lean on my elbows. 'The one that seems to be watching the place?'

  'The same. This time, they didn’t stay long, but Adrian was able to get the registration. I've texted it to your mother.'

  I leaned back against the pillows, I was still really tired because I hadn't been able to get much more than an hour or two of sleep at a time. 'That's good, but I think it'll only confirm my theory that it's one of Archmore's lot.'

  'With Archmore dead, who would be directing these actions to follow you and remove you?'

  I shrugged as much as I could from my partly reclined position. 'No idea. Mum probably knows. You could ask her at breakfast.'

  Therion sat on the edge of the bed. 'I will.' He reached out and stroked my hair back. 'You look tired, did the sleep not refresh you?'

  'It did, but unlike you, I need around eight hours of it to feel fully restored.'

  Therion made an 'ahhing' motion. 'Perhaps I should let you try to get a little more sleep then.'

  I nodded and shimmied back down into the bed, but instead of getting up, Therion seemed to hesitate.

  I looked up at him and tilted my head as I asked, 'Is something bothering you?'

  He frowned briefly, looking down and then back to me. 'I just wonder, after we, ah, have sex, are you... do you feel exhausted?'

  'Not exhausted, no. I feel tired, but in a good way.' My answer brought on another frown and I hurried to explain. 'You know when you exercise, or train, and your muscles ache, but it's a good ache because they've been worked hard and they'll build on that to become stronger?'

  Therion nodded slowly. 'I think I know what you mean— you feel tired, but not drained?'

  That was an interesting way to put it and it made me realise what his concern was. 'Are you worried that somehow you're feeding off my spirit energy and draining me?' He was a soul taker, after all, he was designed to live off energy, with spirit energy being the most nutritious for him. 'If that's happening, I don't think it's a lot or that it's doing me any harm. I mean, I am tired immediately after, but normally, once I've had a nap, I feel hyped up, like I have too much energy. It's just that tonight I haven't had my usual seven-to-eight hours.'

  That seemed to reassure him, but he still looked uncertain. 'It might be something to ask Aurealis about, if she allows me to continue to be with you,' he said rising and taking a step back.

  Before he could turn for the door, I asked, 'What happens if she doesn't?'

  His face seemed to harden, like he was supressing his emotions and he looked away from me. 'She is my master, until I earn my freedom, I cannot disobey her.' He was quiet a long moment and then he looked at me. 'I think her absence is not that she is unaware of what has happened. I think she is observing us, deciding if I can be entrusted with this role. But there are other factors. Aurealis might assign another to you because she needs me to help defend others against attack or because she feels I have more chance of earning my redemption in a different role.' He stepped back over to the bed and sat, bending one knee so he could lean in and take my hand. 'Remember, also, that Ceri-talen might defeat me, perhaps not in the next confrontation or the one after, but it is possible. Aurealis subjects me to a lot of rules that Ceri-talen's people do not have to abide by and that may be my fall. I hope I will prevail, but it would not be fair to you for me not to prepare you for that outcome—'

  'I know,' I interrupted. We'd already talked about it, I did not want to hide from that reality, but I also did not want to dwell on it until I had to. In the mean-time, I hoped it would never have become my reality.

  'No matter how it turns out,' Therion said, 'my love for you will never diminish. It just might be that we have to accept that we have a short time together.'

  'I know. Can we not talk about it, right now? I'm having enough trouble sleeping.'

  He gave me playful smile. 'Perhaps I should seduce you again.'

  I laughed, sitting up and leaning forward. 'There is no perhaps about it. If you're going to go on about my having to accept that we might not have a long time together, then I think the wisest thing I can do is enjoy your company as thoroughly as I can while I do have you.'

  I pushed myself forward so I could kiss him. 'You've done your patrol, after all,' I added, my lips still brushing against his. I felt him smile and then he shifted so he could kiss me along my jawline until he got to my neck.

  'You are, indeed, wise.'

  Later, I lay in bed alone, T
herion had gone to check the grounds, looking to see if the black SUV Adrian had spotted had returned, and then he wanted to do some research. It wasn't long until I was due to get up so I could meet Mum for breakfast, so I wasn't quite asleep, just dozing. I'd pay for it later, I wasn't sure I'd make it to mid-morning before sleep deprivation hit me, but, fortunately, I own a café, so have easy access to good, strong, coffee. It would not be long now before Yu arrived to open up and Max wouldn't be far behind so she could be on hand to make early-morning customers their breakfast. I should get up, get dressed, and go downstairs to be ready to help Yu. I stayed put, not quite ready to turn thought into action.

  I could hear rain pattering on the roof. It was so surreal... It would be, what... getting close to two weeks since the last attempt by Ceri-talen. Although I wasn't spending as much time as I normally would in the café, I was now back to organising the books, supplies, and rosters as well as helping Yu prep for opening— although, if I procrastinated much longer, I might not get out of bed in time— and clean up at closing. I was beginning to think Thomas should send the sentries home, although I hoped Amelia wouldn't feel she needed any further guises of business in order to visit. I'd miss Adrian and Tadgh, too. Maybe I would let a few more days go by before suggesting it… Just to be sure.

  Em

  It was almost seven. I'd actually fallen asleep. Technically, I needed it, but I was still annoyed with myself. Jay would grumble about getting up early just to have to wait around, but then, she was usually grumpy in the mornings, so I never took it to heart. I wondered how irritated she would be if I asked for my breakfast to go— I wanted to get into work so I could run a search on the licence plate Therion had texted. I re-thought that plan. Therion might be at breakfast, and if he was, I could ask him more about the car. Most times when I came over he made himself scarce. I wasn't sure if it was because he wanted to avoid a discussion about the inadvisability of his relationship with Jay or if he didn't want to intrude on my time with Jay. To be honest, I'd been avoiding visiting. More because I needed time to let my anger fade, and I was angry. If Therion was human, it would be bad enough that, as her security detail, he had crossed that line of professionalism to a personal relationship. But at least, in that case, she could get someone else to fill his place in a professional capacity while she continued the relationship. But Therion wasn't human. He was a demon. And not just any demon, he hunted souls, fed on them. It was a risk just having him around her. On top of that, he was the only one qualified, or, more precisely, powerful enough, to guard Jay effectively, meaning, he couldn't just be replaced with an objective party. For fate’s sake, it was such an awful mess. I kept trying to let it go, but every time I gave it a moment's thought I'd find myself ranting, going over the same arguments and worries.