Page 99 of To Trap a Soul

He had no use for them.

He could not count how many sickened souls he consumed until he eventually came across one that wasn’t lava-veined.

It appears one of my offspring has healed a soul for me and returned to my mist.Oddly enough, it had curly hair, and he was once more reminded of his mate. He thumbed its chest, finding the female’s body to be less curving than Lindiwe’s, inspecting it closely with a hum of thought.

My mana is small right now; this is a welcome change.

If he continued to do this task without finding those not destroyed by Demons, he would have consumed many souls but would also risk slipping himself back to sleep. Each one ate at his power little by little, and their aid to him was often delayed and only effective upon rest.

Which would be no issue normally, but he had no concept of how long it had been since he’d last been awake. He looked down at the white flame in his grasp, and how it bore a striking resemblance to someone dear.

I wonder how my mate fares.

Rather than do his duty, he allowed for a moment’s distraction.

Weldir looked to his right when he made a viewing disc form, his consciousness focused on the tether connected to him and a pretty little female. Suddenly she appeared, staring off absentmindedly before her.

With her gaze far away, she popped a slice of plump orange and white pith into her mouth. While she chewed, Lindiwe spat the seeds into a handkerchief. She sat on a patch of grass near some trees bearing round fruit – an abandoned orchard, from what he could tell. More orbs of fruit lay in her lap, her legs out straight in front of her.

Her black cloak of feathers was in a disarray, many of the plumes bent and unkempt, with patches even missing. He shifted the disc to view her from the front, noting the old dirt stains that she couldn’t remove from her blue high-quality tunic and black breeches. Her boots, brown and new, had been removed so she could air out her feet and likely give them rest.

Next to her was a small satchel, and he had no idea of its contents.

A subtle, light breeze moved her tangled hair around her shoulders. He rather liked the windswept appearance of the coiling and kinking strands, finding it had more volume and moved more fluttery.

Her face was as it always was. It had not changed, but his appreciation for it had grown during however long they’d been bonded. There was a prominent edge to her jaw and cheeks, and a gentleness in her brow. She dabbed her pink tongue along her full brown lips, tonguing along the darker line that circled them to collect fallen juice. Her nostrils flared when she took another bite, as if smelling while tasting what she ate, and her expression proved that she found it delicious.

Her body was hidden beneath her clothing, but Weldir knew it quite well from watching her bathe in streams and waterfalls in the past. An hourglass figure blessed this female, her breasts full and her hips wide.

From the memories of humans he’d seen, most would deem her body sinful and her face lovely.

Like them, he noted how the sun shining on her medium-brown skin gave it a wonderful golden glow, which then gave her darker hair a reddish hue. And how that light sparkled in her doe-brown eyes and gave a glimmer of spiking amber around the pupil.

Most would have been mesmerised by her beauty, even if her state was a little wilder from traversing the world freely.

Her dark, curling lashes fluttered when a sudden gust cast pollen and dust into her eyes, and she shut one to protect it. It wasn’t enough to stir her from her thoughts.

“Your cloak is looking quite worn, Lindiwe,” Weldir stated, wondering if he could be the one to pull her from staring down the hill. He tried to hide his humour, but even he heard it mingling in his tone. “You haven’t taken care of my gift.”

Lindiwe didn’t flinch at his voice, but she did pause momentarily to take it in. Then she continued to pop a slice of orange into her mouth.

“A gift well used is a gift obviously well treasured,” she answered freely once she finished chewing. “Consider it proof of my appreciation.”

Weldir placed his hands behind his back, ignoring the floating white souls around him to give her his full attention – not that she would know.

“How do you fare, little human?”

She snorted a curt and false laugh. “I’m coming to realise I’m barely human anymore. I haven’t been treated so in quite some time.” She shrugged a single shoulder. “Then again, talking to you always reminds me of my origins.”

Weldir cocked his head curiously. “Is that a good or bad thing?”

“Just a fact. I don’t mind feeling human, especially when my grasp on it appears to be fading.”

“You didn’t answer my first question.”

Lindiwe looked down at the peelings in her lap. “I’m well. Tired, if anything.”

“You do look as though you have been living largely. How go the humans you attempted to save?” The reason for his likely lengthy sleep.

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