‘She’ll ask for half your power first. You may not even get the soul by the time she consumes you.’
He shakes his head, confused, partially by his demon temptations and childish impulses and partially by the knowledge gained by his long-lived existence as a demon. Two conflicting states of mind, battling within him. Knowledge versus development.
‘You hear that, little boy? That sounds like someone who wants to keep it for himself.’
‘Would you consume Siara’s soul just as easily as this young girl’s?’ I say, my voice low. Xander falters, and for a moment there is clarity in his eyes.
‘This girl is already dead. It’s not like you’re hurting anyone.’
‘Say another word and I will be hurting someone,’ I snarl towards the silhouette. Xander’s mucus starts to develop on his skin. That’s it, that is the excuse he needs, a nail in the coffin of his conviction. There’s no point in reasoning with him now.
‘She’s right. You just don’t want me to have it. You want it for yourse–’
If I’m candid, I don’t mean to freeze him completely. It was only meant to be from the waist down, just enough to restrict his movements, but my power has been somewhat temperamental lately. The seller gasps, surprised by my brutality. I’m sure she thinks I’ve killed him. The other entities around have vanished, no doubt worried about getting involved in any crossfire. She spins on her heels quickly to make a swift getaway. I huff out a laugh as I throw the spear through her chest, the orb falling to the ground. The soul swirls around in circles, twisting and turning.
Picking the orb up, I hold it close. The soul glitters with an appetising display of youth and vitality. I pause. In a way, they’re right; it’s not like I would be killing anyone. No one would even know. Something shifts in the corner of my eye. Amongst the wandering spirits infesting the world, a small black cat slyly strides closer, its void eyes watching in curiosity while its two long tails trail behind it, weaving like ribbons through the fog. It tilts its head.
A daemon.
Divine messengers, Heret-Kau calls them. They’re unnerving little things connected to the Gods. This one’s appearance is unsettling at best, dark and sinister. A daemon connected to a God of Death, I would presume.
It lingers, its large eyes focus only on me, staring, then to the soul in my grasp.
‘You want me to release the soul?’
Looking down at the orb in my hand, I concede. Freezing, it cracks it open, releasing the human soul inside. The soul tangles and weaves its way upwards past me, eventually out of sight as it continues on its divine path to where it belongs. Surprisingly, the cat approaches closer, meowing loudly. Interesting. A thank you, perhaps?
It turns around and peers back, beckoning me to follow it. Perhaps it didn’t care about the soul at all. Touching Xander’s frozen body, he melts. His expression turns to remorse and mortification as he slowly comes to. Panicked, he reaches for my coat, tugging it tightly.
‘Master, please don’t tell her,’ he says. ‘Please don’t tell Siara.’
I nod slightly, looking back. The boy follows my stare, eventually focusing on the impaled figure just a few metres away. She’s still alive but barely. Walking over, I retrieve my spear with a grunt. Her body jolts forward from the force, black liquid spilling out from her wound. Her eyes glaze over, her body eventually collapsing into ash. My veins ring with intensity as her power lends itself to my own. ‘Do you understand?’ I say, my voice a low growl.
Xander nods sheepishly. I don’t need to say more. He knows this could easily have turned out a different way. It’s my job to keep him in line, no matter the consequences.
‘We’re following the cat,’ I state, moving in its direction. It has been sitting deathly still all this time, watching. Xander’s guilt slowly fades to a look of perplexion as he stares blankly at the black cat. He opens his mouth to say something quippy but decides against it.
I frown. ‘Is there something wrong?’
He steps back, his hands held up defensively. ‘N-no, of course not. Following the cat is… fine.’
‘Good.’ I walk towards him, my hand reaching, and his eyes squeeze shut. Ruffling his green hair, I stride past. ‘Shall we continue then?’
Xander peers after me, stunned, his hand resting on the top of his head. Snapping out of his daze, he runs up to walk beside me. ‘I sure hope we get Siara back soon,’ he chirps, a wide grin on his face and his eyes back to a murky green. ‘You’re starting to scare me.’
Bypassing me, he skips a little further to walk alongside the cat. It turns its head to look at him, meowing loudly at his presence.
28
Siara
Dust settles as the portal deactivates. Red dirt stretches out as far as the eye can see – which turns out isn’t that far; even squinting, the horizon is distorted in the distance. A barren land of nothing. My breath catches, a swirling nausea bubbling in the pit of my stomach. Where the hell are we? It’s clear I’ve made a split-second decision that has put me in a situation that is way over my head.
‘Have you been here before?’ Marxel says, readjusting his guitar strap over his shoulder with a casual shrug, walking with a certain blasé out of the pentagram.
I trail hurriedly after him like a duckling, not feeling particularly safe out in the open. ‘Uh, no. Can’t say I’ve had the pleasure.’
Marxel laughs loudly. A rough and raw sound. ‘What pleasure? This place is a shit hole.’ He must notice the look on my face as he returns the sly smirk. ‘Not all of us have as pristine manners as that little rich boy. Some of us actually manage to get out occasionally – actually enjoy life… well, death, I guess.’ It’s clear he knows William well. How, I’m not so sure.
‘So is this where you live?’ I say instead.
He turns back, slowing his speed to stroll alongside me. ‘God, no. I’m offended you think I would live here, especially since I just said it was a shit hole. I’m mostly in the human realm – have been for many years now. I only come here when I’m bored… or scheming with humans apparently.’
Giving a sceptical look, I gesture a shrug to the barren wasteland around us. ‘And this cures your boredom, does it?’
He smiles. ‘It actually has a great night market. I’d suggest checking it out but you’d probably end up becoming the merchandise.’
A small shudder ripples through me. Merchandise. Deep in my thoughts, I forget my footing and the toe of my heel stubs a jagged rock peeking out of the ground. I stagger on to the dusty ground with an ungraceful wobble. Marxel tries to hide his amusement by turning away from me.
‘So what now?’ I say, ignoring him and getting to my feet. ‘We find the person you’re looking for, right?’
He nods indifferently. ‘I guess so.’
I shake my head, brushing the dust from my knees. ‘You guess so?’ I thought he had a plan but it appears he might just be making it up as he goes along. How is it that William struggled to fight this guy? Marxel throws caution to the wind and doesn’t seem to care about anything really. William, on the other hand, seems to hoard it; there’s rarely anything he hasn’t planned for.
Marxel comes to a stop abruptly. ‘It’s not so much us finding them, as it is them finding us.’ He lifts his head. Following his gaze, I notice we’ve arrived at a small gorge, towering ledges of muted red channelling us on either side. ‘Though… I don’t think that’ll be an issue…’ His red eyes glare behind me and I’m almost too scared to turn around. Holding my nerve, I take a small peek over my shoulder; about five ambiguous shadows linger on the horizon, keeping their distance.
My voice comes out strained. ‘Why haven’t they attacked us yet?’
