Page 11 of A Soul to Embrace

“Alright, female. I’ve decided,” he stated, while cocking a brow. A rather malicious smile pulled at the right corner of his lips.

He would aid this Mavka’s growth and see what happened.

Maybe I can train her to be a loyal guard.

After a few days of rest and scouting the area around her burrow, leading the Mavka towards Jabez’s intended destination had taken a lot of patience on his part. He’d needed to convince his captor, who couldn’t understand, that he wasn’t fleeing but trying to lead her somewhere. He’d waved his hands beckoningly, offering her smiles while trying to minimise how much of his fangs he revealed.

She kept trying to drag him back towards her burrow at first, but he’d managed to get it into her thick, silly skull that they were to travel together.

Once she realised he wanted her to come with, her little bunny tail wiggled as she followed.

Jabez avoided the sunlight as best he could. He made sure they travelled around it, walking through shade or minimal dappled streaks. He could bear the direct sunlight for a few minutes – unlike Demons that began to disintegrate instantly, no matter how far into their evolution they were.

His bare feet crushed damp, decaying autumn leaves, and the inability to feel the earth on a spiritual level was hollowing. AnElf’s intrinsic need to touch the ground with the soles of their feet was vital to their life.

Whatever.There was little he could do to change it right now.

Despite knowing where he was in the world, as the Veil’s canyon wasn’t too far and he’d discovered they were southwest of it, that feeling of loss came from his extinguished magic. It was like another limb had been severed. The emptiness in his stomach had nothing to do with hunger, and everything to do with the lack of natural magic buzzing beneath his flesh.

He missed it and hoped its disappearance wasn’t permanent.

For now, he’d abandoned all plans for revenge or returning to the life he once knew. He had a different scheme; one that would take months before he could even begin to enact it.

Jabez was about to cut out a chunk of his life for this Mavka.

Even if it was all worthless in the end, he wasn’t the kind of being to give up an opportunity when it presented itself. Either this Mavka would allow him to willingly use her to empower and free himself, or he would aid her by increasing her humanity, then dust his hands of her, forget about their time together, and move on to try something else.

Jabez never placed hope in others, he only saw them as potentials that could be replaced. Such was the life of a lone king on an insecure throne, and the vow of a pubescent teenager.

He let her hold his forearm as though he was a pet on a leash, knowing it made her more at ease.

They journeyed west, seeking a town he knew of well. A town that, every couple of decades, would obtain a protective blue dome belonging to Orpheus – this female Mavka’s uncle.

A half day’s travel brought them to it just as dusk was settling in. The town was well fortified due to its capabilities to expand itself with Orpheus’ ward in place. It was large, and able to hold the capacity of humans living within it with ease. It wasn’t as dirty and over-populated as most other towns.

His features brightened in malice at its wooden stake walls, and the lack of a blue dome in place. The one just north of here, perhaps a few hours’ walk away, was the one currently being protected – and would be for another seven or so years.

This one was penetrable.

He was about to doom it.

He didn’t give a shit.

To Jabez, humans were nothing but cattle for his whims. He’d led teams of Demons to human fortifications, only to destroy them and let his army feed. He protected his army, ensuring minimal casualties, and watched with abject boredom while protecting the truly innocent behind a ward.

He glanced at the female beside him.This town will survive.

She was one creature, and he didn’t see her needing to consume every being within this pitiful town.

He could feed her any creature to grow her strength and plump up her lean form, but the only way to increase her humanity was to consume higher intelligence beings. Which is why he brought her here.

However, when the light of dusk was gone, and it was safe for Jabez to cross the clearing, she refused to go with him. No amount of tugging on his part could make her heavy body budge from her spot.

The Mavka chittered, pointed at the town, and shook her head with her orbs turning white before backing up. She covered her muddy snout, which he’d attempted to have her clean out before they even made it here. She’d refused.

“Come on,” Jabez stated, grasping her forearm and tugging until his bare heels gouged into the grass. She held his forearm in return, but did nothing. “If you want to grow strong and smart, you need to eat.”

He offered another false smile, growing annoyed at having to present them so readily when he could be a rather sourindividual. Jabez had very little reason to smile, and only did so condescendingly, maliciously, or threateningly.

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