Page 54 of To Trap a Soul

I don’t think Lindiwe has forgiven me yet,he thought, as he made a bout of rain drizzle around him. Most of it went through his predominantly absent form.Then again, I didn’t answer when she needed me.

Apparently the female had called out with desperate need of assistance, but he’d been too deep in slumber to respond. The voice had been too quiet to stir him. He also wasn’t used to being called. He couldn’t even remember if anyone had the ability – likely not while he was so deep in sleep.

Enfeeblement from the quick and excessive use of his mana had collapsed his very being. Unable to maintain even a body, his mist had spread outwards within his own realm and nothingness swept him under.

He didn’t like stealing the essence of a soul to fuel a burst of power, but his quick wit had allowed him to be by Lindiwe’s side when she was giving birth. Even though he’d perceived that what he was doing was wrong, he tore that soul apart and consumed it so wholly it no longer existed in any plane.

The consequence of that was an overuse of his natural mana that went with it, as it was also consumed in the process. It momentarily dissolved his strength, rendering him useless except for what kept him alive, his realm quiet, and allowed his mist to remain on Earth. There was also one final task he had to maintain, which was keeping the Demons that passed from Nyl’theria, the Elven realm, trapped on Earth.

If only he could have battled the enfeeblement by swallowing untainted souls. He could have filled in the gap and then given himself more mana to survive on. Instead, what continued to fill the precursor of his realm, his consciousness, were tainted and ruined souls.

Whenever Demons passed through his ring of mist bordering the Veil, he snatched souls from within their essences. But theywere sickly, missing pieces, and required attentiveness before he could consume them.

Doing so caused chaotic leaks of mana within his stomach, which rumbled his insides and caused him to throw them up.

Weldir knew better now, but in his moments of physical, spiritual, and mental weakness, he’d been desperate. He’d been hoping having a mate would aid him, but she used far more power than she gave.

She didn’t even seem to realise she was hurting him, but he chose to believe that she was doing so to protect their offspring.

Time.He just needed more time, more strength, and for her and their offspring to finally do their duties and aid him. Then, perhaps soon, he wouldn’t be brought to such a pathetic state again.

I need more power.

So when she called for him in the future, he could aid her like she needed him to. Perhaps she could even stir him from a slumber, rather than being on the brink of death, in pain and afraid, and managing to somehow survive the ailment of the serpent’s venom on her own.

When he had woken up, she’d looked frightfully unwell when he’d checked up on her, as if the venom had lasting effects. Muscle weakness, mental fatigue, and a limp that had not mended itself in the months since she’d acquired the bite.

I healed her, but she still doesn’t wish to speak with me.

He’d brought her, and their offspring, to his realm to aid her. She was given back all her strength and health, and he even removed the dark smudges of tiredness under her eyes. Despite this, she’d still been rather pouty.

The edges of his form pulled and shifted as humour flittered through his mind.She clung to our offspring.She’d been rather adamant about holding them, even when he’d requested that they be handed over to him for inspection.

She shouldn’t have been surprised that would be his reaction, considering how much they’d changed in such a short period of time.

Thinking of her, and them, an oval disc formed with black sand sprinkling along its edges. Lindiwe appeared, as did their offspring. With their serpent tail coiled around her upper arm, they rested their humanoid torso over her shoulder. They slept with the bottom of their white snake skull pressed just below the corner of her stern jaw, and they didn’t seem to mind when she turned her head around to look through the forest.

He’d been unable to return them to her family home, as usual, forcing her to reform at the edges of his mist that trickled around the Veil. Lindiwe had not returned to the farm, muttering something about how she thought it was time she left it anyway.

He figured that was due to their offspring, who had tripled in size when they obtained their skull, bones, and tail.I doubt any humans will find the creature pleasant to look upon.From the memories he’d flicked through, he’d learned humans were easily frightened by unknown things.

Lindiwe had stated it was safer for both of them to ostracise herself from society until they discovered more about them.

Their soul changed shape along with them.He thought back to when he first held them as they currently were and had been amazed at the change. Their soul also now swirled with more orange, although the multicolours of their spirit still remained.

They were taking shape, were growing, and after watching her interact with them over the passing months of his waking, he knew he’d chosen his female well. She was caring, considerate, and had adapted to cherishing them in her own way. Her heart had realigned in a way he doubted most humans could.

Surprisingly, the grass and flowers around him wilted, and he paused in reaction to seeing it. He pondered on the reason why, and could only come up with one excuse for their decay.

Perhaps I’m a little jealous.

She spoke to a speechless being, who obviously lacked any understanding, but she refused to give him even a moment of her time. Did humans always stay vexed for this long, or was it just her?

There was something about his voice, or tone, or perhaps the mannerisms in which he spoke, that she found off-putting.

I do have a tendency to be philosophical. Does she find this argumentative?Weldir couldn’t quite help his esoteric nature.

The world in which he was born was entirely different to hers. The lifestyle of the Elves was shared with him from the moment he was born, his mother sharing her memories with him while he’d been confined and trapped.

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