Page 57 of To Trap a Soul

It’s not like she could call them and they’d come running. Even though she’d finally given Nathair a name, they didn’t respond to it at all.

“Calm, Lindiwe. I will help you find them if you are unable to.”

She wished that would ease her, but it didn’t whatsoever.What if they get eaten?!They were impervious to pain or injury, but they’d never been eaten before, and she doubtedanythingcould survive that.Or what if a bird flies off with them before I can reach them?

With her heart pounding and her lungs wheezing from exertion, Lindi continued to search. Occasionally she’d pause, waiting to listen for any sign of them before pushing forward. She groaned at the setting sun. If she didn’t find them soon, she’d lose the light, which would make it just that much harder to find them in the dark.

Their monochromatic head and body weren’t easy to spot, so she’d have to hope they came slithering to her.

Weldir’s deep voice reached her.“Their path is slightly to the right of you.”

“Nathair!” she shouted, shifting slightly to alter her course.

“Yes. Keep going that way.”

A bird crowed in the distance and a cloud of bats squeaked as they passed overhead. A balmy breeze shimmied the leaves above, as crickets chirped, only to quieten when she got closer. Sweat dotted her brow from the overbearing heat that choked the air of moisture, the summer of early January making it harder to take in hot, dry breaths from panting.

A wet snarl followed by a squeaky roar rang in her ears. Absentmindedly tripping over forest debris and sticks, shefollowed that familiar little rumble. Chasing the sound of Nathair guarding their prey from something, she was surprised by how far away it was and how quickly they could achieve such distance in such a short amount of time.

She hated that they were small enough to be swept up easily by some kind of bird, which always worried her when they strayed too far. But at least they were ferocious enough to battle most small predators like foxes, and could probably get their fangs into the bird if they were to twist a certain way in the air.

All went quiet before she reached them, and a whimper broke past her lips.

“No. Come on. Where are you?” she muttered, frantically turning one way and then the other.

“To your–”

Lindi sprinted when she heard something not too far away.

Lindi’s heart nearly burst out of her chest when a loud roar exploded to her left, and she stumbled that way – heading towards danger rather than away from it. She tripped and nearly fell on her arse, but managed to save herself.

There Nathair sat, their tail coiled around the neck of an animal carcass, with all their fish fins raised in aggression. Their venomous serpent fangs were bared in her direction with a menacing hiss, causing their body to vibrate.

She gave them a wide berth, knowing it was unsafe to approach while they fed. Nathair stamped their hand against the carcass’ torso, which looked as though it’d already been picked at by many other animals, and they gave her a second warning hiss. She eyed the milky liquid dripping from their extended serpent fangs. She’d never been bitten by them since they gained their skull, but she had an inclination about the milky substance.

Some kind of brown bird landed on the ground next to the carcass, and Nathair quickly spun to it. They chased it awaysince it landed too close, but never removed their tail from the dead animal’s throat.

Then Nathair dug into their meal once more.

Part of her wanted to stop them, since the creature they were eating was some kind of ram. There wasn’t much left; it was obvious other predators had gotten to it first, since there was only a torso and head. But each bite seemed to make Nathair grow even bigger.

Lindi bit her bottom lip with her brow furrowing, but all she did was clench her hands into tight fists.

Although the scene was gruesome, she watched to make sure they were safe and so she didn’t lose them again.

It’s okay.She didn’t mind them getting bigger, but they were already made up of two different animals, and she worried throwing too many more into the mix would make Nathair look even...freakier.

They were already an odd-looking being, with a serpent skull and tail instead of legs, a humanoid torso, and fish fins running down their limbs and back. The scales that lined their entire black body shimmered with rainbows and were the only fantastical part about them.

Otherwise, they looked like an omen of death with their skull and protruding bones.

Wincing when they grew so large they could extend their snake jaw and begin swallowing the head of the ram, horns and all, she couldn’t help the shiver of disgust that ran down her spine. She finally looked away from her child, who had grown to what must be her chest height in the span of minutes.

I won’t be able to carry them anymore.Her heart wept at losing the cute little child she’d been holding onto for nearly ten months.A-at least they’ll be better to cuddle at night though!she thought to uplift herself, despite it not really working.

Immobile as they swallowed the last bit, each passing second allowed for Nathair to grow bigger and bigger before her very eyes. When the carcass was all gone, they lay huffing on the ground on their side for a few moments, seemingly dazed and fatigued.

They shuddered so hard their tail flicked in every direction, and the coil of it grew with each loop they made. Then sandy-brown growths began to protrude through the top of their skull, while the bone of their head thickened, widened, and grew sturdier.

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