Page 79 of To Trap a Soul

Lindi would set down foundations everywhere, hoping in the many decades to come that one of them would stand up like a tall building – even if others failed and came crumbling down.

She’d been floundering for so long, her heart rejecting all this. But she’d finally decided to take action, even if it was merely pointing to the ground to explain to Nathair what grass was.

All the while, she tried to stem her triumphant grins whenever he looked at whatever she was pointing at, then opened and closed his mouth as if to silently mimic her.

December 30th, 1705

In her incorporeal form, Lindi grimaced deeply and closed her eyes at the gruesome scene before her. Holding her baby in her crossed arms, who was still dark and featureless besides their quills, they remained asleep despite all the blood and fighting.

Lindi had never been more thankful that turning into her Phantom form always put them to sleep when they were an infant. She didn’t need them joining the fray and getting hurt.

Although he was much thinner than the roaring adult brown bear, Nathair fought it off all by himself with utter tenacity. He was barely strong enough to lean back much lower than normal on his tail to match its nearly six-foot height, but he held back its swiping paws by swiftly catching them. Every movement he made was jarring and quick, like a striking snake.

When Nathair gave a strong push, it landed on its side with a loud thud against the dirt and gnarly roots. He charged while it was down with a resonating hiss that would have set Lindi’s teeth on edge, if she wasn’t incorporeal.

Just as Nathair went to lance it with his venomous fangs, itmanaged to smack him across the face with its meaty paw. His head snapped to the side under its formidable power. With his orbs long ago red from being swept into the fury of bloodlust, they brightened in their hue, and Nathair roared, causing whatever wildlife remained to scatter. He tackled it around the shoulders to smash its back into a nearby tree, causing leaves to detach and flutter around them.

The bear bit into his shoulder with ferocious stubbornness, but it was no match for Nathair’s razor-sharp claws gouging down its back. Its fangs parted with a bellowing roar, giving him time to strike it around the neck with his fangs.

The injected venom was utterly pointless when he proceeded to rip its throat out, causing blood to splatter against the patches of tall grass stalks nearby.

There was no point in Lindi intervening, even though she’d wanted to. Not only did she want to protect her child, who had flaring claw wounds going over his shoulder and opposing side, but the bear hadn’t deserved the violence, nor death. It was merely protecting its territory, as Nathair did for his lake each night.

Hewas the trespasser.

She peeked at its genitals from a distance, making sure it wasn’t a female and could have a cub nearby.It’s a male,her mind registered with relief.

She may have tried to raise an orphaned cub until it was old enough to be on its own, otherwise. Which would have been a struggle with the baby in her arms.

Remaining in the form that Nathair wouldn’t be able to sense as he ate, Lindi thought back on the last few days.

When Nathair had left his lake, she had ended up following since she was curious about his intentions. Being summer, the land was hot, the air balmy, and he seemed restless to move. He looked over his shoulder often to check on her, and she hadno idea if it was because he didn’t like being followed or if he wanted her to come.

He never tried to stop her, though.

He’d initially begun to travel with his sibling attached to him, but she doubted he’d known that. They’d been asleep at the time, and they were scentless and light, often clinging to his scales like they’d passed out while playing. Sometimes she didn’t feel them on her, although she was hyperaware when they moved for those very same reasons.

After she stopped him and removed his sibling from his scales, Nathair had set off with Lindi quickly following.

When he revealed a semi-safe path to climb the cliff wall, Lindi floated up it in her Phantom form. Since then, he hunted while she took the opportunity to teach him what everything was called. Walking ahead of him in his predicted path, she’d grab a leaf and relay its name before going to a flower or touching a tree branch.

If he diverted in a new direction, perhaps annoyed with her company, she just inserted herself into his line of sight and continued. This was how she’d been teaching him for the past few weeks.

He still said little more than greetings, and never attempted a proper conversation. Yet his orbs were always dark yellow, and sometimes she’d find him staring at her when she spoke. She tried to teach him how to count, and on more than one occasion, he’d slyly – as if trying to hide it – use his fingers to mimic her.

At his lake, she’d managed to obtain silent permission to sit a little closer, and she’d drawn in the dirt more complex things. The sun and moon and how he could use them to count the months passing. How seasons worked. She’d also drawn animals and had relayed their names.

Even if it didn’t seem like it, he was always listening, watching, learning.

She had no idea how much he actually retained. He mostly mimicked, so even if he learned what something was, she doubted he understood any significance regarding it. He didn’t appear to be intelligent. More like a creature that could learn tricks; like a bird that could learn to talk by copying sounds but not truly communicate.

But she intended for all her efforts to be foundations for later. So when he gained more humanity – to her disgruntled complaint – all the pieces would eventually come together.

Lindi had no idea how many humans he’d eaten, but there were many for him to gorge on in the vast land of Austrális. She just hoped he never came across a town full of them. If he could take down a bear relatively easily, she didn’t want to know how many people he could slaughter before needing to flee.

That’s if he fled at all. He could easily take on an entire town and decimate its population throughout the course of the nightandday. Unlike Demons who would need to escape the sun’s touch.

When Nathair nearly decapitated the bear, Lindi grimaced in disgust, only to stare at its furry head for a long while. Then she eventually dropped her gaze to the child lying limp over her folded arms.

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