Soulhome (The Weirkey Chronicles Book 1)

by Sarah Lin

  "Are we going to regret this?"

  "I don't know." Theo looked up too, wondering what was contained within. Doing all this, he'd probably made an enemy. Magnafor might not be able to fight them now, but he had access to a huge store of sublime materials that could comfortably take him to the Authority tier. If he came for revenge, that might be an impossible threat.

  As they watched, reality folded on itself and the tree was consumed by nothingness.

  Theo's mind refused to believe what he was seeing at first, as the world itself warped into a tight knot. A rush of liminal power swept past him, but this was nothing like walking through a door into another world. This was the power of the worlds themselves, twisted into a weapon.

  The vortex snapped out of existence a moment later, leaving only jagged remnants of the massive tree trunk. No sound, no fires, no remaining destruction. Yet he felt an overwhelming sense of horror and the certainty that nothing could possibly have survived that. Power was simply irrelevant if space itself no longer existed.

  He only realized he was holding his breath when Nauda let out hers. "Was... was that how Magnafor planned to escape?"

  "Impossible." Theo had seen many things, but not that. "No armament can do that, and his power just wouldn't have been capable of it. Could it have been something the Landguards stored in the vault?"

  "I... don't think so."

  They were silent for a while longer before Fiyu spoke the obvious truth. "It was a trap."

  And though he couldn't know the truth for sure, Theo had a feeling that it wasn't a trap set for the Landguards. No one in a backwater like Myufuru could overpower the barrier, so only someone with deep knowledge of barriers could have entered. Someone who had traveled the Nine Worlds before.

  Someone like him. If he had made slightly different decisions, or even just been faster than Magnafor, he would have been in the vault when it ceased to exist. Theo took a deep, shuddering breath as he realized that for forty years on Earth, he had been much less paranoid than he should have been.

  Whoever stood against him, Vistgil or the demons or someone else, they weren't merely fumbling blindly. If this was really a trap, it had been laid before he even returned. Just how far did their schemes spread? What could be worth this much effort?

  A green comet struck the stairs not far from them, but they were too exhausted to care. Nanjuma rose from a crouch, his eyes locked on the remnants of the tree. Though he cradled one arm that was severely burned, that didn't seem to compare to the pain in his eyes as he stared at the space where the tree should have been.

  "No..." Nanjuma dropped to his knees and wiped his eyes before suddenly turning, his gaze touching the fallen mercenaries only briefly before it fixed on them. "Who are all these people? Was anyone in there?"

  Too tired to answer, Theo glanced toward Nauda. "Magnafor wanted to steal everything from the vault," she said. "He convinced many of the students to cooperate with him. Kuber, Trathis, these mercenaries... they should be alive, but they need to be bound so we can decide what is to be done."

  "Students turning against one another... our family cannot heal from this..."

  Nanjuma looked more troubled about the loss of community than the demons, though as Theo looked back, he realized that he was wrong. Green flames were dying out over the rest of the village and he didn't see a single living demon, so Nanjuma must have annihilated all of them on his way in.

  There were dozens of further questions, but as Theo looked around, he realized that there was darkness growing at the edges of his vision. The core in his soulhome seemed to be rotating unsteadily... when he tried to examine it, he collapsed into darkness.

  Chapter 30

  Theo opened his eyes to shadows and struggled for a moment before he realized that he was only surrounded by sheets, and the shadows were only because of the heavy curtains. It wasn't Fiyu's room, yet those were her curtains. His mind fixed on that fact uselessly until he finally reengaged and managed to sit up.

  "You overtaxed your soulhome, drawing so hard on your new core that you did some damage." Nauda sat beside him, wearing a few bandages and cradling the pieces of her staff, but otherwise healthy. She smiled wryly at him. "Repairing it might be difficult, but it will only help you use your strange techniques. We couldn't have survived without you."

  "Without any of us." Theo winced as his back twinged, but he was surprised that he mostly felt just exhausted, not beaten to hell. "What happened? Is there going to be an investigation?"

  "There's no need for one. The students saw Magnafor use some artifact to trigger the demon attack when he made his bid. Most of them survived, by the way, since it looks like his main goal was to distract everyone else and buy enough time to get inside."

  "And I suppose Nanjuma can confirm the rest of the story. Do you know what will happen to everyone who worked with Magnafor?"

  Before Nauda could answer, Fiyu slipped through the door. Though she was looking behind her, she seemed to have heard their conversation. "The Farmguards have taken over everything now. They say it is a crime against the community... and they seem very serious about it."

  "Tatian can get unfriendly when it comes to some things." Nauda rubbed her eyes wearily. "I suppose we should be glad there's no suspicion on us, and Navim's school can confirm if anyone tries to cast blame our way. Kuber's family will probably do everything possible to avoid a punishment. I don't think they'll succeed, but they'll make this a mess."

  "I... do not think I want to be there for that." Fiyu looked back and forth between them, biting her lower lip. "The new Farmguards arriving... I don't like them. This might be your community, Nauda, but it will never be mine."

  "No, it's not really mine either. Let's get some air and talk it over."

  They headed out together, making their way through the damaged corridor. It seemed that he had been resting inside one of the less damaged houses, but even it had been severely shaken by the battle. No one stopped them, so they carefully made their way to one of the ledges that they'd once sat on, shaded by one of the surviving trees.

  He'd slept until noon. It seemed as though it should have been night, yet instead it was obscenely sunny, as if the school hadn't been torn apart.

  For a while he just sat there, thinking about what he'd done. The small part of him that regretted not following Magnafor had died during the night. If he'd made the logical choice, he'd have been torn from existence and it would be over. Even ignoring that, he didn't regret going back to help the others.

  Just when he was about to say something, a living god descended to the village.

  Though she wore the same robes as the familiar guards, there was no mistaking the Landguard for anyone local. She was surrounded by an aura like the sun, flooding out more cantae every moment than Kuber's armament could put into a blast. When the woman finally landed, not so far away, her aura dissipated.

  Nanjuma came and bowed to her, and though she bowed even lower, it didn't fool anyone. If anything, her robes seemed even more plain and humble than those of the Farmguards, but it was just for show. The robes themselves were defensive armaments and her staff could have cracked the city in half. Beyond all that, there was an unmistakable vibrancy about her that was only obtained by those who had become Authorities.

  "The Landguards are deeply sorry that we could not prevent this loss in your community." Her quiet composure didn't seem to hold much sorrow. Theo found himself moving a little closer, both to put more trees in between them and to hear better. "We had never imagined that the disruption between worlds could end so catastrophically."

  "I saw the world... collapse on itself." Nanjuma took a shuddering breath. "Students died, and the spirits of the rest are broken. This... we will not recover from this."

  "It is a tragedy, yes, but we must still act to prevent future tragedies. I have a question for you of the utmost importance: did you have any students who came from worlds beyond the Nine? They might have appeared ordinary enough, but there
would have been something strange about them, something uncanny."

  Theo's eyes widened as his mind scrambled to understand the implications. Fiyu covered her mouth and Nauda grimaced; even Nanjuma sounded surprised. "Why are you asking about students? There is no way that one of them could have been responsible for the final disaster, is there?"

  "Not directly. They may even have been good-hearted and unaware that they were doing any harm." The Landguard sighed and lowered her voice, so Theo strained to hear. "The community of Landguards has come into some disturbing information from very high authorities. Certain outsiders from strange worlds bring trouble with them, drawing demons into our communities. Have you seen more than usual?"

  "It's true there were more demon attacks, but... I had assumed the cracks that brought so many strangers to us..."

  "Most of your students are innocent, and you did important work, but others come from terrible worlds. Some may be working with the demons, others may be unaware, but all must be dealt with. We have met a guide who can assist us, but the Landguards also require your cooperation."

  Nanjuma didn't answer for a long time and Theo remained bound in place, wanting to listen and retreat at the same time. "There was a young man named Magnafor," Nanjuma finally said. "I don't know what world he was from, but he made many strange journeys away from the city. They tell me that he attacked the other students, but he died when the vault was destroyed."

  "Wonderful." Immediately the Landguard's words exuded warmth and Theo could practically hear her embracing Nanjuma. "You have done well, Farmguard. More Landguards follow after me with weirkeys to restore your students to their homes. We cannot bring back those you have lost, but we will do our utmost to help your community forget about these terrible events."

  The Landguard and Nanjuma remained there, speaking in low voices, but Theo slowly stumbled away. Convincing himself that it wasn't all connected would be delusion now. It wasn't just that someone had laid the trap inside the vault, they were working directly with the Landguards to hunt down people just like him.

  "Theo?" Fiyu stepped up beside him, watching him anxiously. "Are you alright?"

  "I... I am. I'm alive." He realized that it was just like that day so many years ago when he'd been thrown back to Earth. Whoever was behind this should now be utterly certain that he was dead, twice over if they had any doubt. Unless the Landguards found him, he could escape and become invisible.

  And he desperately needed to do that, because he couldn't face the forces aligned against him yet. At the moment a single Landguard would be a hopeless battle, much less the forces of other nations and demons beyond them. His only hope was to gain the strength he needed without ever attracting their gaze.

  "We need to leave." He was shocked to hear Nauda say it first, but she slipped away from the wall with a grim expression. "Most Landguards may be good people, but I don't want to be a part of this investigation. Even if they resolve everything here, outsiders will never be welcome in Myufuru again. You both want to leave too, right?"

  "I do not think I can wait for my relative here," Fiyu said slowly, but then she offered them a slight smile. "But you two are not strangers. May I travel with you? Will you help me find my way home?"

  "We can try," Theo said. "Do you think that Uvvah Ulim has a weirkey for Ichil?"

  "No." Nauda interrupted whatever Fiyu had been about to say with a sharp shake of her head. "Make no mistake, the Landguards will be investigating Arbai as well. Not to mention... anyone else who might be looking. We need to get away, somewhere they won't expect us to go."

  "Where, then? All the nearby gates will be on high alert, if only because of Magnafor's attack."

  "We go north. Back toward home." Nauda's expression was somewhere between a smile and a grimace. "If the two of you think you've seen all Tatian has to offer, you're going to be surprised."

  Then that was that. Theo took a deep breath as he accepted what they needed to do, meeting the eyes of his new friends. "Then we lay low until the Landguard leaves, quietly gather our tools and supplies, then slip out of the city at night. Agreed?" Both of them nodded in unison, then the three of them split up.

  This time, the beginning of his journey in the Nine had been nothing like his first grand arrival. He would have to hope the ending would be different as well.

  X X X

  The second and third books in this series (titled Rainhorn and Archcrafter) are coming out soon! To help launch the series, I've prepared to release the first three books faster than I can normally sustain. Each book should be about this length, aiming to make the whole series fast-paced fun.

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  Acknowledgments

  Thank you to all my alpha and beta readers for their feedback.

  Thanks to Cultivation Novels, Western Cultivation, and GameLit Society for the community.