Soul Taker's Redemption

by A. S. Hamilton

  Ceri-talen had yet to return, he would wreak his revenge in his own good time. He was often of a mind to lull his victims into a false sense of safety before he executed whatever plan he had concocted in order to satiate his need for punishment. In my case, he would leave me out here until I healed and made my way to the temple. He might even allow me to take up a somewhat normal routine before he decided to continue my punishment. It would be drawn out. He would savour my apprehension as I waited for the moment when he would strike. Right now, I did not care about future pain, I was too tired to be angry at his outrage, and my immediate pain occupied my attention.

  I opened my eyes. It was dark. I was cold, I think. I could see I was shivering, but, thankfully, I could not feel it. I realised the ground was becoming wet. It had started raining. And then the pain slammed into my awareness, each and every droplet that hit my body was a needle of fire. I tried to move. There must be a ledge somewhere I could shelter under. I managed to roll over onto my stomach so I could crawl forward, but the effort put my entire body into spasm. I screamed. It sounded distant, like it was coming from far off. When the seizure finally released me, I felt my body go blissfully limp. The rain still delivered excruciating lances of pain, but, in comparison to moving, it was the lesser torment. Unconsciousness crept over me like a fog. I welcomed it.

  [Blind and Frozen – Beast in Black]

  'Malediction and a ghost's grief, what in no god's grace is this?'

  A wave of hunger assaulted my mind almost obliterating conscious thought. I was starving and my body was desperate for sustenance. Regardless of what my senses were telling me, a part of me was convinced the voice was a part of a dream, but then a dull pain pushed against my shoulder repetitively. I opened my eyes to see what I thought was the end of a staff.

  'Ye are not dead, then?'

  I blinked several times and when my vision finally cleared, I could distinguish boots next to the staff. They shifted and then a face came into view. My hunger increased as the proximity of prey decreased. It was surprising enough that I would encounter anyone in such a location as this, though, so it was worth the effort of reigning in my instincts. At least until I found out who was speaking.

  I frowned. 'What is a dwarven doing here?'

  The dwarven female snorted. 'I could counter with: what's a great big lug of a therilgalen doing here? But the answer to both questions is a wee bit obvious. Ceri-talen put us here. The more pertinent question is— why has he discarded one of his precious soul stealers?'

  There was sympathy in the ocean-blue eyes negating the gruff tone and words. I found myself feeling guilty, her spirit was strong and would provide sufficient energy to at least partially heal me and, despite her kindness, there was a part of me that desperately wanted to rip her spirit from her vessel. Before I could answer, her gaze flicked over my head and wings and her mouth opened in a surprised 'oh'.

  'Ye are the traitorous one, or so they named ye. Last rumour that touched ma ears was that ye made it to the portal.'

  She meant back when I'd first come here and asked for Qu-te-se's help only to find myself captured by Ulyn. An undertaking I pursued to help Jayden. Jayden who would be gravely disappointed if I destroyed this kind soul.

  I tried to laugh, but just half coughed. 'I did. I just did not have the sense to keep fleeing.'

  'Flee? Ye say. They said ye fought like a cornered wyvern and left painted in the blood of ye enemies. I'd hardly call that fleeing, child.'

  'I have a few centuries on you, dwarven.'

  'Bah, it's a phrase, is all, a habit I've no inclination to change. What do ye call ye self?'

  'It is of no matter,' I replied listlessly as I remembered that there would be no Jayden in my life again. 'I shall surely be the dead thing you mistook me for soon enough if fate favours me.'

  Her brow furrowed again and she made a tisking sound. 'Stubborn brat, ye are,' she commented disapprovingly. Then, after a moment to think, she added, 'But ye'll need that, I canna see one part of ye that don't look like it's been through ma old marm's wringer.'

  'You are dwarven, you more than have the skill to climb these cliffs. I highly suggest you do so,' I advised her tonelessly. 'Keep heading east.'

  'I knows where I'm wanting to go, child,' she retorted. She said something else, but I had closed my eyes and drifted back into oblivion. Back where there was no conflict in my heart about taking a spirit my Jayden would never know about, but where I feared her disappointment never-the-less.

  [Ohne Dich – Rammstein]

  I woke up screaming.

  At first I could not register anything but the agony wracking my body. Then I realised something was tugging on my ankle. Abruptly, something long and thin was shoved into my mouth.

  'Bite down, child. I'mma going as fast as I can, but even with ma snatch block, ye are not a featherweight. Just hold on, with Fate's blessing, ye'll pass out in a moment.'

  I did. When I came to, I was still on my stomach, but I now rested on some kind of bed. I was dry. I was hungry. Starving. I could scent a spirit nearby…

  'I cannot move my wings.' I realised. I had not had a lot of movement, but now I was aware they were stretched out and restrained somehow.

  I heard a familiar snort. 'They're no good to ye, child, I wouldna worry 'bout it 'specially.'

  The dwarven moved into view. I realised I was on some kind of platform or higher rock, because as she sat on a rock opposite me, I was able to see her without moving my head. She was, like all her kind, diminutive, but she wasn't as old as I'd assumed from her way of speaking. Her blue-streaked, black hair was so long it probably reached her hips when she was standing. Several, intricate, braids were adorned with gems in the elvan style. She wore a black coat trimmed in blue fur, but I could see blue-black armour beneath it. An elaborate belt was edged by diamonds and light-blue gems. The clasp was formed by her family crest; a double-headed weapon combining a hammer-shaped maul and a battle axe engraved with dragons. A dragon formed the handle, its flame represented by the axe blade.

  'Feldengard, House of the Foe Hammer,' I said.

  She grinned. 'Even the demons in these forsaken shadows know of our greatness.'

  'Your ancestor, Va-ri-el, killed a dragon, yes, even in the shadow realms you hear about such a feat.' I took a moment to let a spasm of pain pass. 'I once saw Foe Hammer.'

  My revelation brought a spark of interest in her eyes. 'Really, child. Where was that, then?'

  I gave her a half-hearted laugh that had no real breath in it. 'All dragons have a horde, yes? And though I have served two dragons, now, only one would dare keep a weapon like that. I think the irony of being a dragon in possession of a weapon renown for killing his kind, amuses Ceri-talen.'

  She was nodding slowly. 'Well, t-weren't all for nothing then.'

  'Let me guess,' I wheezed. 'You came here searching for Foe Hammer and ended up staying longer than you intended.'

  This time she laughed, there was a bitter quality to it that I understood well. 'Quite a wee bit longer than I intended. It's been a decade at ma best guess. T'was ma own fault, really, wanting not just to retrieve Foe Hammer, but wanting to use it for its intended purpose once I had it. That goliath of a lizard was bound to ensure I didna forget such foolish ambition.'

  That caught my attention, for it was quite an impressive ambition; killing a telari as powerful as Ceri-talen.

  'Ye know I suspect he intended me to find ye.'

  It took me a moment to realise she meant Ceri-talen. 'Oh?'

  'Well, ye see, there I am, in a cell barely wider than I am tall; a hall so dark I've only shadow for ma view. I know the foulness of Ulyn is nearby because I c'n hear the torment of the poor wee beasties unfortunate enough to be within her grasp. Gruel delivered once a day, water dripping through a hole in the wall. Nary a scrap to lie on but the stone floor itself. Been there, as I say, least a decade. Then, several days ago, I wake in a tunnel. I have all ma tools and some I canna recall ever owning. In ma tr
avels, not a soul to be encountered. Several impossibly high caverns, one full of the kind of junk an industrious sort like me might consider treasure. Certainly recyclable, given a productive bent of mind. Another full of water and something beneath its depths no creature who values their life wants to encounter. A number with rivers of fire, others so dark I had to crawl along to be sure I didna fall to an early grave. Finally, I come to an opening and look up to see I'mma at the bottom of a crevasse so tall I canna see the sun. But I see a sliver of sky. Like ye say, child, I could climb it, I have the skill, but it would be a venture of many days, weeks no less, and nary a ledge suited to resting. It seems the only option is forward on the ground. Perhaps I will come across a section with more ledges or a shallower cliff, I think. But no, it is ye, child, I come across. Sodden and bleeding and in woeful need of compassion. Not that ye show signs of wanting it.'

  I did my best at giving her a look of apology, but, in truth, I was undecided about whether I regretted my petulance or not.

  'It struck me as being propitious and convenient that within half an hour walk from ye, there's a fallen tree, a behemoth of a thing, least a hundred years in its making. Perfect for constructing a stretcher and making a frame to sort those wings out as well as a fire.'

  That was when I realised I was warm, a glow on the edge of my peripheral told me she had made a fire.

  'There's more wood, further along, smaller specimens, unquestionably, good strong branches with dried leaves and even a thermal spring nearby,' the dwarven continued. 'I think that ye god has far from abandoned ye. Ceri-talen could have left ye anywhere and without any help. What I canna decipher is why ye do not heal. Ma knowledge of demons is limited, but ye heal yerselves was ma understanding of things.'

  I turned my face down to the dried leaves covering the stretcher to relieve my neck muscles and then turned back to her. 'I am the traitor, if you recall. Aurealis changed me so the sun was my primary source of nutrition. Unless I can get somewhere where the sun's light falls, I will be unlikely to heal much faster than it takes grass to grow. My only other option is to take a soul.'

  The dwarven nodded. She did not seem the least perturbed that I had mentioned that killing her was one of my few options for recovery. She'd said she'd heard of me, well, at least she had called me traitorous one, perhaps she had faith that my change in circumstances did not necessarily mean I had reverted to my old ways. Jayden had been proud of me for that, for my decision to change sides. Would taking one spirit, just this one, undo all that?

  'Ye really aggravated that dragon. He may not have abandoned ye, but he is, of a certainty, punishing ye for daring to seek your own fate. I take t'other dragon, Aurealis, canna help ye.'

  'No,' I breathed. Her question reminded me that although I was not with Aurealis now, I aspired to be, eventually. Jayden should have ascended by then. If I gave up now, if I took this soul, this particular soul, the soul of a being who offered me aid and kindness, it might place me outside the reach of redemption. I would never know if Jayden ascended. I would never know freedom. My fate would, indeed, be in Ceri-talen's hands again.

  The dwarven leaned forward. 'Well, soul stealer, I am Rua-li-el, daughter of Vey-rua-el, daughter of Hu-vey-el, daughter of Ruun-hu-el, daughter of Tar-ruun-el, daughter of Ana-tar-el daughter of Ri-ana-el, daughter of Va-ri-el. Rua, will suit.'

  Most dwarven only went back two generations in their introduction, unless you had a heritage like Rua, where one of your ancestors was known as Dragon Foe, for it was Va-ri-el who had used Foe Hammer to kill a telari. Thus, it was understandable that, on significant occasions, Rua would recite further back.

  'I am honoured, Rua-li-el— Rua.' I had trouble with the tight roll of the 'r' in her name, mostly because it hurt to speak. And breathe. 'I am Therion.'

  Rua nodded once. 'Ye decided ye matter still, then. Good. That will make things easier.' She rose and moved out of my view and then came back with a water skin. 'I filled it from the thermal pool. It's cool enough now, but a might salty. Drinkable.'

  I let her help me drink, but as I tried to take a sip, I started to choke. Each jolt caused a splintering pain behind my eyes and I came close to blacking out. When I finally got my breath back, I said, 'Do not trouble yourself, I can survive without water for some time and do not need food.'

  'Beyond souls and sunlight,' she grunted and looked up, even though the ledge or whatever was sheltering us blocked her view from what I could tell. 'We are going to be here an indeterminably long time if ye are to heal without.'

  'The thermal pool.'

  Rua gave me a questioning look.

  'Natural energies, like rain and thermal pools. They will not speed my healing as much as sunlight or,' I paused, 'souls, but they do help.'

  The dwarven laughed. 'By blood and thunder, child, I spent the better part of two days getting ye on that stretcher, getting that stretcher under this ledge and getting ye wings lined up, and I have yet to set all the other breaks. How do ye propose we get ye to the thermal pool, let alone in it?'

  I heaved a sigh, cried a soft objection at the pain it caused, and then looked at her. 'It will have to be the rain.'

  Rua grunted softly. 'The very rain that makes ye scream.' She looked to one side, shaking her head. 'Ye master is beyond cruel. Foe Hammer cannot cleave his soul from the ether soon enough, for he causes far more torment and suffering than any other of his kind and well beyond the challenges meant to help lesser beings progress towards ascension.' Looking back at me, the blue eyes seemed to harden with determination. 'But with some thought we'll figure something out and, by ma ancestors, we shall thwart him.'

  'You should go, Rua, while you have the chance.'

  The dwarven raised her brows and tilted her head.

  'That cruel master of mine likely wants me to make friends with you, develop a bond, just so he can either torture you as a means of punishing me, or kill you, for the same reason, or force me to kill you.'

  Rua drew her head back, frowning. 'Like as not, ye are right, but I don't let bullies dictate ma fate, 'specially not ones that crush thousands of ma people beneath the rock of their very homes. My ancestor, Va-ri-el, showed them telari what happens when they decide their whims and ambitions over-ride all others. I will not back down from this one, 'tis ma duty, I am a Feldengard. I will reclaim Foe Hammer and I will do what the other telari are too frightened to do. Something tells me that a creature such as yerself, a being who has sought to govern his own fate, may be just the kind of ally I need. And even were that not the case, what sets me apart from a tyrant like Ceri-talen is that I will not abandon a being in need just because it inconveniences me.'

  Rising she walked out of my view and then returned with several lengths of wood. These ones were rough and still had bark on them. Not far from her was a small pile of wood that had been cleaned up resulting in several fairly straight lengths. She'd likely used them for making the stretcher and the frame she used to support my wings. Rua started cleaning up the piece of wood. 'Tell me, ye bore witness to the magnificence of Foe Hammer, did ye?'

  I half nodded.

  'Please, I plead of thy kindness, tell me what ye perceived.'

  Talking hurt, but in the face of her compassion, I did not object or hesitate, and told her of the time I had seen the weapon. At least it kept my mind off my injuries and off the fact that I spoke not to Jayden. And would never speak to Jayden again.

  Bastien

  It had been just over two weeks since Jay had returned without Therion. We'd fallen into a pattern of business-as-usual in the sense that my assistant, Meredith, already took care of most of the day-to-day needs involved in running my businesses and if he needed my signature he just sent it along with Amelia if she was planning to visit. Adrian and Tadhg kept watch through the night and we had the shifters in during the day. Amelia stopped in at least long enough for me to go hunting each night, but occasionally stayed longer, depending on her schedule.

  Under the circumstances, I g
enerally went to the nearby park where I could find a walker or jogger or someone going to or from their car. I never took enough blood to leave them too disoriented or weak to get home and left them with the suggestion to get something to eat.

  I spoke to Thomas most nights, and he'd just finished relating his frustration with the Court holding up one of our business applications. We'd bought a café-bar in the city centre, the deal included the building and we wanted to renovate the second floor and turn it into a place where vampires could access what we referred to as 'live refreshment'— humans or supernatural beings like shape-shifters we employed to provide blood. You needed Court approval where 'public' feeding like this occurred. There was enough red tape to rival the human government bureaucracy.

  I heard the sound of Thomas sitting down and presumed he was at his desk as he let out a sigh. 'That pretty much sums up how things went last evening, aside from a few non-relevant squabbles in court. How is Jay? I was planning to send Amelia tonight.'

  It was my turn to sigh. 'She's getting over the illness caused by planes-shifting. Made it as far as the courtyard and is even managing to keep down food, though she has no appetite.'

  Thomas made a sound as if to say the lack of appetite was to be expected, then said, 'That is auspicious news, Amelia will be gladdened to hear it. Have you succeeded in getting word to or from the Dark Realm? Can you confirm if Therion is there?'

  My mood darkened. 'Yes and no. Nothing direct from the Dark Realm, but I've been able to get reliable confirmation that Ceri-talen has Therion.'

  Thomas cursed, more vehemently than I expected for one of his reserved nature. 'Do you think there’s a way we can help him?'