Page 83 of Between Soul and Vessel
I added, “They were talking about a human soul. Said the vessel is missing fingers. Sound familiar?”
“Soren,” Ryker grated between clenched teeth. His posture became visibly rigid.
“Yeah.” Kaleb nodded, putting his issues with Ryker to the side so we could focus on what mattered right now. I had to admit, it made me respect him even more.
“Did you follow them?” Folkoln asked, small bits of smoke breaking off from his skin, much like my shadows did with mine.
“We did,” I confirmed. “But they opened a passage in the wall of the mountain. Through it, I could see the tunnel and the river of souls. It closed immediately after they walked through it so we couldn’t follow them any further.”
Folkoln looked in the direction we had just come from, then to the hole all of us had walked out of earlier today. “They must be further down the river then.”
I nodded in agreement, my hand propping up my throbbing arm. “The one female said she would be finished working on the soul tonight, just in time to ship it off with the others. Which means we need to move swiftly.”
“Alright, let’s go,” Folkoln said, taking a step forward.
I shook my head. “No, I need you to stay here with the others.”
“We’ll all go,” Harper suggested.
I gave her a soft half-smile. “Although I appreciate the offer, Harper, you are just recovering. Fallon can barely walk. Time is of the essence right now. It will be better for you all to stay here.”
Ryker stood up. “You and I can go. I know I’m not as skilled of a fighter as Folkoln, but I can hold my own, and you know it.” His eyes darted to my nub. “Plus, if you get into any trouble, you might need some help.”
I debated for a brief moment, then said, “Alright. Let’s go.”
“Wait,” Folkoln said as he turned his palm skyward. Smoke drifted from his fingers, thinning into tiny threads. They began to weave together until a thin cloth was formed. He wrapped it around my arm and tied it into place behindmy neck, taking some of the weight off my nub.
It was all so very . . .brotherlyof him. I quirked a brow, wondering where this act of selflessness had come from.
Then, because Folkoln was Folkoln, he smacked the side of my half-eaten arm, like the bastard he was. Pain exploded, and I winced.
He smirked in that asshole way of his, like he had a secret he didn’t plan to share, then jabbed, “Don’t take long . . . you know I can’t stand babysitting.”
“Fuck you,” Harper hissed. Lyra squinted at him.
I could hear Zahra chuckling all the way back in the Three Realms.
Ryker and I moved at a swift pace, keeping up with the rushing waters. The tunnel seemed to stretch on and on, but we kept going, knowing what would happen if we didn’t reach Soren in time. The constant roar of the river washed out the sounds of our feet, well, more so Ryker’s than mine, since mine were nearly silent—one of many skills I’d honed over my lifetime.
The iridescent light from the stalactites began to change, becoming much brighter—almost blinding, as if they had harnessed the power of the sun and were using it to shine.
Up ahead, the tunnel forked. To the left, the river kept, but to the right, it swerved, growing in size. At the end of it, there was a cavernous room.
“We need to get closer,” I whispered to Ryker.
“Agreed.” He gave a firm nod.
We kept to the shadows as we approached, looking for any signs of life. If the gray-skinned creatures had been here before, they weren’t now.
Cautiously, we continued to advance.
Neatly hung around the walls were a variety of strange instruments—ones I had never seen the likes of before. Some were cylindrical glass devices attached to clear hoses or sharp, strangely hollowed needles. Others had multiple legs, like a metal spider, with clasps on the ends—used for plucking something, perhaps? There were so many of them. In the middle of the room, where the light was even brighter, there were rows of altars that looked to have been chiseled from the mountain itself. On some of them, there were bodies, lifeless and still.
I walked by one, peering down at it.
A female, her long, brown hair strewn about, her eyes closed. She looked peaceful, much like the dead back in the Spirit Realm when they floated along the Da’Nu. Hovering above her chest were hundreds of glass pieces, some so small they would not be visible to the mortal eye. My mind began to draw lines from one piece to another, mapping them out. This way and that. The image continued to play out, of what would happen if I combined all of the pieces. The shards would be made into an orb—
“A soul,” I whispered to myself, somewhat mesmerized.
