Thief of Souls

by Emma L. Adams

  “If you want this back, then go ahead and take it.” I held out the amulet. “Mr Cobb won. He moved the Death King’s soul to a new vessel.”

  “I heard the disturbance,” they said. “The amulet…”

  “His soul isn’t in there anymore,” I said. “We’ve lost.”

  Their eyes were angry slits. “Not as long as I’m breathing, we haven’t. Pull yourself together.”

  Guess I shouldn’t have expected sympathy. “What’s it to you? I’m no concern of yours. There’s no point in locking me up again when you’ll soon be without an army or a territory to rule over. Your new master might decide he doesn’t need Elemental Soldiers to protect him and cast you all out.”

  “I have only one master, and not that pretender,” they said.

  “He’s going to claim the Death King’s army,” I said. “Seems to me like you’ll soon be out of work. Unless you’re less loyal than you pretend to be.”

  “The traitor is wrong, but when he realises that, there’ll be hell to pay.” They paused. “I need you to come with me. Not as a prisoner, but as an ally.”

  “You want me to come back?” I forced a laugh. “You locked me up and turned Brant into a permanent lich. Go fuck yourself.”

  “Have it your way, then.”

  They walked away, leaving me alone with Devon. “C’mon. I’m getting you out of here.”

  19

  We walked back to the node and crossed into the living room once again. The rest of the D&D group hadn’t shown up yet, thank god, but Devon’s phone was ringing on the table. I ignored it, helping Devon to a seat on the sofa. Then I ran into the shop in search of a cantrip to heal her bleeding neck.

  The shop was a mess, to no surprise. Cobb’s underlings hadn’t cared how much damage they left behind. I ran through the shop and scanned the shelves until I found a cantrip that would staunch the bleeding. I’d left Dex behind in the Parallel, but he was better off staying out of this one.

  I returned to the living room with the cantrip in my hand. The wound wasn’t as bad as I feared, but Devon was chalk white under the bloodstains. “Chill, Liv, I’m fine. It’s not a deep cut.”

  The phone rang again. If it was a customer, they could wait. “Damn, it’s probably the Order. I wonder if Mr Cobb asked their permission before storming our shop.”

  The ringing continued. Devon groaned. “Make that godawful racket shut up.”

  I scooped up the phone. Fine. If it was the Order, I’d tear them a new one.

  “What?” I growled into the phone.

  “Hello, Liv,” Mum said brightly.

  Oh, hell. So much for avoiding the inevitable. “Hey. Sorry I didn’t call—"

  “Oh, good, there you are,” she said. “That nice young man is here, and says he wants to speak to you. He’s quite insistent on it. I tried your phone, but I couldn’t get through to you.”

  “What young man?” I frowned. “Brant?”

  That couldn’t be right. Brant was a lich, conscripted into the Death King’s army.

  “The… he calls himself a death king?” She laughed. “He must be in your Dungeons group.”

  The Death King. He’d gone after my family. “No,” I said. “Don’t move. I mean—can you hold on for a second?”

  “I’ll give him the phone.”

  I did not want to talk to the bloody Death King on the phone with my mother potentially in danger right next to him. Did he know his soul had switched vessels? Even if he did, he plainly didn’t need it to astral project into my family’s home. Mum lived a bus ride away from my house, and while I might have been able to use the nodes to get there, I didn’t dare risk it. Mr Cobb might have got what he wanted from me, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t come back to tidy up the loose ends if I barged into the middle of his plan again.

  But there was another way I could reach her.

  I tapped into the node, astral projecting out of my body and soaring headlong into the current. Fixing the image of the right street in my mind, I soared out of the other end of the node, turned left, and floated through the door into Mum’s house.

  Inside the hall, Mum startled at the sight of me. “Liv… what are you doing? How are you here?”

  She reached out a hand, which passed right through me. Oh, hell. Why hadn’t I thought of a cover story? Right, because my immortal enemy was here in my mother’s house.

  “Sorry,” I said. “I wanted to be sure you were safe. Where’s the Death King?”

  “In the living room.” She looked through me. “What is this? Are you a hologram?”

  Thank the Elements. Or rather, thank the Star Wars movies. Mum wasn’t as big a nerd as I was, but at least I had an understandable way to explain this which wouldn’t make her think I was dead.

  “Close enough.” I turned to the door leading into the living room. “I have to talk to him. I’m sorry he showed up without asking.”

  “Don’t be sorry. He was perfectly polite.”

  I bet he was. I floated through the door into the living room, where the Death King stood with the phone in his hand. He wore his human face, of course, otherwise Mum would never have let him into the house.

  “There you are,” said the Death King.

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I exploded. “My mum knows nothing about this. If you hurt her like you did to Brant—”

  “She cooperated with me, so there was no need to,” he said. “I had to get hold of you somehow, and I don’t have your address.”

  “Why not ask the Order?” I said.

  “I’m aware that my position on the Order, particularly with regard to a certain member, was misinformed.”

  “Mr Cobb,” I said. “I don’t care how behind you are on realising the bleeding obvious. Get the hell away from my family, you fucking cadaver.”

  His brow arched. He sure as hell looked human, for someone wearing a mask. No wonder my mum had become enamoured with him in an instant. “Where is Barrett Cobb?”

  “He forced me to move your soul to another vessel in order for him to take control of your army. I’d pretend I’m sorry you’re going to lose your title, but I’m really not. You can both rot in hell for all I care.”

  “Thank you for clarifying the matter,” he said. “We will meet face to face to discuss this further.”

  “What?” I said. “You aren’t coming to my home. My friend is injured, and the Order trashed the place. Are you astral projecting from your castle?”

  “Where else?” he said. “Find me there.”

  “Only if you promise you won’t arrest me again,” I said. “Or hurt anyone else I care about. And you’d better leave my family out of this.”

  “Is that all?” he said. “I’d say you’re in no position to make demands, but I will acquiesce to your wishes and leave your family alone. If you tell me your address, there’ll be no further need for me to pay any unexpected visits.”

  If he and I had been solid, I might well have thrown something at him. Death King or not. He had some nerve trying to get into my good graces after how he’d treated me so far.

  The Death King gave me a long look before vanishing from sight. Hands shaking, I rotated on the spot when Mum entered the living room again.

  “Honey, what’s going on?” Mum said. “Are you in trouble?”

  “I’m okay,” I lied. “I’ve got this, but the guy who just showed up here isn’t… isn’t what he seems to be.”

  Ridiculous as it seemed, however, I found myself fervently glad that it hadn’t been the Order who’d paid her a visit. How in hell was this my life now?

  Mum picked up the phone. “Should I call someone?”

  “No—don’t bother.” I drew in a breath. “I’d better go.”

  Mum tried to hug me, but her arms passed through my transparent form. “I hope you aren’t in trouble.”

  My throat tightened. “Not for long, I hope.”

  Assuming the Death King won this. If not, things would get a lot more dir
e for everyone involved.

  I floated out the door in search of the node. I tracked down the glowing spot in the road, passed through it and back to my body.

  “What happened?” Devon leaned over me as I opened my eyes. “You spaced out.”

  “The apocalypse is nigh,” I told her. “The Death King believes me. He knows Mr Cobb is a traitor and that he stole his soul.”

  “Shit,” she said. “He didn’t threaten you?”

  “No, he seemed to think he could handle the situation,” I said. “He didn’t need to show his face in front of my family, though. That was a low blow.”

  “Which family?”

  “Mum and Elise,” I said. “Just Mum, actually. I think Elise was out, which is probably for the best, considering the astral projection trick I used to get in there.”

  She blinked. “Wait, did he use astral projection, too?”

  “Must have, but he had his human face on so she wouldn’t run screaming.”

  “I didn’t know he even had a human face,” she said.

  “Probably stole it from one of his victims.” I gave a humourless laugh. “I can’t believe I’m relying on that dickhead after all the trouble he caused me.”

  “So he’s actually going to help you?” she said. “He thinks of you as an ally?”

  “Well, I called him a fucking cadaver, so that’s up for debate,” I said. “But I think so.”

  Devon snorted. “At this point, I’d take him over the guy who put a knife to my throat.”

  “He did lock me up in a dungeon.”

  “I’m not denying he’s a shithead. Just the lesser of two shitheads, that’s all.”

  Which was probably the best we’d get at this point. “Yeah. I know.”

  Elements help us. I was going to have to place my trust in the Death King and save his life, or else leave everyone I loved to suffer a worse fate.

  20

  I’d start with saving Brant. Which meant getting on the Air Element’s good side again. A tall order, but they’d been willing to compromise earlier. If the Death King believed me, if he thought the situation could be salvaged, then perhaps he could reverse what he did to Brant.

  That was my bargaining chip. Elements knew I had nothing else to lose.

  Once I was sure Devon was okay, I stocked up on cantrips and hopped through the node. I landed on a stretch of swampland close to the bushes I’d hidden in last week. Then I walked up to the two liches on guard outside the gates. “I have a meeting with the Death King. He invited me.”

  To my surprise, they stepped aside without arguing. Guess he must have told them not to challenge me. Too little, too late, but one fewer obstacle was fine by me.

  I entered the castle without being challenged, either. The place seemed oddly quiet, which struck me as ominous. Had Cobb already recruited all the liches onto his own team? Or had they deserted their boss of their own accord now he’d lost his soul?

  Despite the relative quiet, I found the Death King standing at the back of the main hall, as tall and menacing as ever, and not at all as though someone else carried the source of his power.

  “My mother wouldn’t have let you into the house if you’d come dressed like that,” I told him.

  “I’d never have guessed,” he said. “As I promised, I will speak to you face to face about how we are to handle this vexing situation.”

  “You mean how Mr Cobb used me to transfer your magic over to him,” I said. “Personally, I’d have gone and reported him to the Order if I didn’t think he might be there himself, waiting to have his people arrest me.”

  “I doubt the Order cares, regardless,” he said, “unless you have proof, of course.”

  At least he and I were on the same page as far as the Order was concerned. “I have a proposition for you, then.”

  “Oh?” he said. “Let me guess… you wish to trade your assistance for your little friend’s soul.”

  “You had no right to take his soul in the first place,” I told him. “He did nothing to you.”

  “I beg to differ,” he said. “The two of you caused my people considerable trouble.”

  “That’s no reason to permanently turn him into one of your personal soldiers!” I said. “If it can’t be reversed, the deal’s off.”

  “I wasn’t aware we’d made a deal yet.” He tilted his head. “Yes, it can be reversed. As you should know, having handled a soul yourself.”

  “Yours.” I looked him over. “How are you still functioning? Are you so far gone that you can’t even sense it when someone steals your soul and claims it as their own?”

  “I always forget how limited your human perspective is,” he said. “I suppose I can’t fault your ignorance, at least, but I would dearly love to know what you think qualifies as ‘far gone’.”

  I was starting to regret needling him. “I meant that when you first took out your soul, hundreds of years ago or whatever, you might have been almost human. Now, you’re a long way from that. But that’s beside the point. You said you’d help me.”

  His whole bearing had changed as I spoke, and while I couldn’t see his face, anger tightened the air around him. Maybe I’d pushed too far this time.

  “Yes, though I’m having second thoughts on the matter,” he said. “It’s possible for anyone’s soul to temporarily be transferred to another vessel without long-term consequences. As for turning someone into a lich, however, nobody except me can do that.”

  Reading between the lines, he was implying that if I ticked him off, he’d never let me have Brant back. “Good to know. What about your own soul? Because I held it in my hands, which was bizarre, I might add.”

  “That’s not the same,” he said. “You transferred it from one vessel to another. Removing it from a person’s body for the first time is another matter entirely, and not one I have time to educate you on. Suffice to say, if I get my hands on the amulet in which my soul now resides, it will be simple for me to transfer it back into its original vessel.”

  “You’re assuming I’ll give it back.” Shut it, Liv. I couldn’t seem to stop poking at him, perhaps due to the fact that I’d bypassed fear a long time ago. Besides, I held his amulet in my pocket, for all the good it did.

  The Death King studied me for a moment. “I will pretend you agreed to cooperate with me. You will start by informing me of the identities of everyone working with this rogue from the Order.”

  “One of your liches, for a start,” I said. “I know the address of the earth mage who he’s working with, too, but the enemy took my friend away before he could take me there.”

  Trix. I hoped he’d managed to get away from the revenants, because there wasn’t anything I could do for him here.

  He gave me another assessing look. “You still claim there’s a traitor in my ranks. I have seen no evidence of any wrongdoing myself, though perhaps they aren’t as united as they seem.”

  “Yeah, well, the liches all look the exact same,” I said. “But I’m telling the truth. Your traitor has been paying visits to the earth mage, Vaughn. He lives in South Street, opposite the warehouse, if it helps.”

  “I see,” he said. “If that’s the case, you’ll find him. I’ll deal with the spirit mage myself.”

  “Excuse me?” I said. “You can’t give me orders. You’re not my master.”

  “This is a partnership,” he said.

  “Even if it was, that doesn’t give you the right to boss me around,” I told him. “If your liches have turned traitor, they’ll be out in the streets along with the revenants. Which means if I go out there, I’ll be surrounded. There’s way too many for me to fight alone.”

  “Then take one of my people with you.” He looked over my shoulder. “Ryan seems well-acquainted with you.”

  “Who the bloody hell is Ryan?”

  The Air Element walked in. That answered that question, then. Their gaze flickered from the Death King to me. “We will go into the city together.”

  I didn’t move. “B
rant knows the city better than I do. He also has a score to settle with the earth mage, and he can help us bring him to justice.”

  “Fine.” The Death King raised a hand. “Come here.”

  He indicated the liches swarming around the edges of the room. Shadowy figures filled the spaces between the tall pillars of skulls, and one of them floated over, resolving into the shape of a man with blue eyes and broad shoulders.

  Tears burned my eyes. “Oh, Brant, I’m so sorry.”

  “Don’t be,” he said. “I’m the one who came after the liches when they took you.”

  “You can catch up later,” said the Death King, an irritable undercurrent to his voice. “Once my soul is back where it belongs.”

  “You said it can be reversed.” I indicated Brant. “I want him back to normal. I won’t make a deal with you otherwise.”

  “Fine,” said the Death King. “Ryan, take her to the hall of souls.”

  The Air Element marched away without speaking, leaving me to follow with Brant floating alongside me.

  “Are you okay?” I asked him. “I’m so glad it can be reversed. I was scared I lost you.”

  “Me too, believe me,” he said. “It really wasn’t that bad, though, compared to what they did to you.”

  “He didn’t take away your free will?” I asked. “Or make you fight in his army?”

  “I mean, I couldn’t exactly leave,” he said. “I thought you were still captive here, and besides, he wouldn’t have let me go outside.”

  “This way,” said the Air Element. “All the souls are in here.”

  They walked through a pair of doors into another hall. Row upon row of shelves filled the space inside like a giant museum, containing amulets and other trinkets. None were marked or had a name on them.

  I scanned the rows of endless shelves. “How’d the thief get to the Death King’s soul? Where was it?”

  “If you’re planning the same, it’ll end badly for you,” said the Air Element—or Ryan, the Death King had called them.

  “If I planned to steal any souls, I’d already have done it.” I scowled. “When will you people get it into your heads that I’m not interested in thwarting your little kingdom? I’m not even that interested in spirit magic, for crying out loud. Been there, done that, got the mental scars.”