Page 77 of To Trap a Soul

“It seems he favours a particular lake.”

A lake in the middle lands of Austrális... After wandering the desert for years, she wouldn’t have thought such a thing was possible, until now.

She couldn’t help lifting her gaze to the twinkles of sunlight shining through the gaps of lush green pine needles. At any point, the sky could turn grey, and they could be in the middle of torrential rain. The development of such chaotic weather was new, and she already surmised it had something to do with the forest that had been unnaturally grown both within and around the Veil.

Something had to keep it all healthy. She didn’t know yet if that was by the intervention of Demons, or if the growth of flora forced the sky to change. Either way, Lindi had been rained on countless times during her pregnancy as she’d clung to the forest.

Her family home... it’d been destroyed quite some time ago. The resources were given to Rivenspire, and already the earth had begun to take back the land, cleansing it all in rot. In another decade, she doubted it would even look as though there had been a home there at all.

Rather than finding a safe house to dwell in, Lindi had made the forest her home.

She’d learned much about camping and making a temporary shelter out of branches and animal furs quite some time ago. A farming girl had turned into an adventurer in her wanderlust; hunting occultists had been an arduous journey of travel.

Since Weldir had intended to call her back to his realm right after birth, she’d made herself a soft and safe nest beforehand. All she’d been thankful for was that it had been mid-spring, not too hot and not too cold, while she’d felt like her body was splitting in two.

Since then, Lindi had been nurturing her little forest buddy.

They’d travelled away from the worst of the Veil to avoid the rare sighting of Demons – although they were becoming more frequent as the months passed. She was often at the fringes, in places like the last bit of desert in the west, taking in its red-dusted beauty before it disappeared forever.

It also so happened to be where she found an echidna. And, curious to see if her child would obtain its features if she let them eat it, she gave it to them – while first removing its head. If she was going to be able to choose what skulls her children obtained, she wanted them to have predator ones so they could defend best against Demons.

She’d learned that she was correct.

Although no bones had formed, this child obtained echidna spines from eating it. It was only afterwards that she was thankful they were pliable and non-dangerous like their bendy claws – otherwise she would have been constantly pricked by them.

She thought they looked kind of...cutewith spines. She often played with the ones going down their back, forearms, and calves by brushing her fingertips in a soothing manner. They always curled their back in delight, as if they adored the sensation.

After a little more trudging, Lindi’s ears rang from the familiar sound of crashing water. She followed it, hoping she’d find what she sought at the end of it.

That sounds like a...The forest opened up to a waterfall rushing from the surface into the Veil. Ironically, a rainbow glimmered in front of it, as if the world was lying about the beauty it was pouring into.

The churning froth collected in a large body of water so deep she couldn’t see the bottom of it, which connected to a thin river that ran deeper into the Veil. The midday sun allowed the entire area to be bathed in sunshine, and she placed her hand aboveher eyes to shield them from the worst of the blazing light. Lindi searched to find it empty.

She noted the towering, rough wall and how it grew convex just to her right.He could have told me it was next to the cliff wall.She’d been wandering the Veil for no reason!

With those spooky... Demons.

Not all were as human-looking as Jabeziryth, Lettie, and Yusel. Actually... most were so inhumanly pitch-black they looked like a glossy void, as if they didn’t have flesh. And Weldir had confirmed they didn’t – their outer bodies were made up of energy that kept all their internal organs in.

It disappeared as they grew actual flesh. It thickened, hardened, and they could morph into any shade that humans were born with.

I don’t see him.Other than the waterfall, the space was vacant.

“Weldir, are you sure this is the right–” Before she could finish, a giant wave of spraying water flung in her direction, right as something leapt from the middle of it.

Instinctually, Lindi backed up and turned intangible, and the child attached to her turned ghostly as well. The creature, perhaps eight metres long, landed right where she’d been standing. With a snarl, his long, coiling serpent tail slithered and splashed, remaining in the water as he warded back thin air with a menacing hiss and his long serpent fangs bared.

Then, leaning on his hands, he looked up at her Phantom form.

Unable to form tears due to her intangible nature, Lindi just offered a heartfelt, shaky smile. “Hello, Nathair,” she whispered.

His snarl softened to a growl, and his angry red orbs shifted to dark yellow. He tilted his snaked skull and sniffed at the air. Nathair snorted a deep huff when he no doubt smelt nothing, as her baby was scentless.

It hadn’t taken Lindi long to learn that his orbs could change from their natural orange hue to a variety of colours, depending on his emotions. Red signalled anger or bloodlust, and dark yellow likely conveyed curiosity. She had yet to see any other colours, especially as he’d always warded her away in the past.

It was difficult to remain at the side of someone who tried everything in their power to claw, bite, or envenom her. She’d also been causing him distress by doing so, and she’d drawn away for his comfort more than her safety.

When it had been long enough, Lindi materialised her physical body, allowing her worn boots to touch the wet grass. Nathair lowered on his arms and gave a deep growl, but she held firm.

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