The Souls of the Ocean (Book Two in The Tamarack Series)

by Ross Turner

  It was a strange sight to say the least.

  Mountains must, without a doubt, become used to their bare faces being carved and altered by chill winds and raging storms. But this was surely the only place where the vast, looming ranges had surging flames to compete with, cutting deep into their sides and through their valleys, searing them deeply on every exposed face.

  Isabel and Zanriath, still leading their terrified horses, eventually reached what was surely the place that Cole and Rose were hiding from the storm. Isabel recognised it as the selfsame cave that she, Zanriath and Ayva had sheltered in from the storm, many years ago, before they had met Ormath for the first time.

  It seemed that chance was still with them, or with Cole, or then again, maybe neither. Perhaps there was something else entirely watching over them.

  Zanriath looked worn and exhausted and every now and then he faltered under the pressure of the storm and a few flames broke through, licking around their feet and scalding them menacingly. Nonetheless, he held his concentration as best he could and, almost without thinking, Isabel plunged for the concealed entrance to the cave. It was only at the last second that she thought to scream her son’s name in warning of their approach.

  “COLE!”

  “Mother?” She heard a confused but familiar voice reply, hardly audible above the roaring of the flames. Zanriath and Isabel disappeared into the large, unnaturally rounded cave with their grateful horses who, though at first were glad to be out of the unworldly storm, screamed in terror once again as they came face to face with Rose, fangs bared and towering above them menacingly.

  In frenzy, the frightened animals reared and attempted to escape, almost all at once forgetting the danger awaiting them outside. But before they could bolt to certain death, Cole placed a reassuring hand on Rose’s neck and looked purposefully as the terrified animals.

  To say that Isabel sensed something pass between her son and the horses in that moment would be inaccurate. Instead, quite simply, she was aware that something that was not of a demonic nature occurred, and that the horses’ fear instantly abated.

  Cole too, though he knew not exactly what had happened, realised that he had accessed something not solely of the demonic power he knew he possessed, but rather something else entirely, and not for the first time.

  Then, to all of their surprise, the horses wandered calmly over to Rose, their fear vanishing, and sniffed at her inquisitively. They allowed her to take in their scent without alarm, and they too hers, before proceeding to lie calmly at her side upon the beds of straw that somehow were still there from all those years ago when Zanriath had constructed them.

  Isabel was lost for words. Everything that had just happened, all so fast, had stunned her, and Cole looked incredulously between her and Zanriath and the horses, both astounded and confused by the sudden arrival of his parents in the middle of a freak firestorm.

  Zanriath, still breathing heavily and looking drained, was first to speak.

  “Cole.” He began, his voice heavy and laboured, though not entirely just from his exertion protecting them from the firestorm. His eyes were hardened slightly and his tone specific. “What in the name of the Gods is going on!?”

  Sometime later the atmosphere had settled somewhat and the firestorm blazing outside was beginning to calm. The four of them sat around the fire in the centre of the cavern and slowly took in everything that had happened of late.

  Isabel and Zanriath sat together on one side, and Cole and Rose sat on the other, as if there were some kind of separation between them. The horses, simply glad to be safe and inside out of the storm, lay quietly upon the straw beds, still warming and resting their aching muscles.

  Rose, laying next to Cole with his hand gently petting her massive head, was wary of Zanriath, and still a little of Isabel too, but Cole had seemingly explained to her that they were friends.

  The enormous demon, something of a cross between a lion and a horse, unnerved Zanriath considerably, and Isabel, fighting against all of her natural instincts, was desperately trying to accept the creature as a friend, and only ever so slowly succeeding.

  “I’m sorry.” Cole said quietly, though Isabel gladly sensed that his words were without reluctance. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.” She smiled in response.

  “It’s ok.” She told him gently.

  “We were just so worried about you son.” Zanriath said to his son, speaking for them both. “Before, and after you ran away.”

  “I needed to leave.” Cole admitted, and it was as if somehow in the past week he had grown more than he had done in his whole fifteen years up until that point.

  “I know.” Zanriath said gently. Cole looked at him questioningly. “Trust me Cole. I know.” Cole smiled, and it seemed everything would be alright again.

  “Cole.” Isabel began a little warily, but he interjected before she could continue.

  “I know mother.” Her son said calmly. “A voice spoke to me.”

  “I know.” Isabel replied, and now it was Cole’s turn to look up, a little shocked. “Don’t worry Cole.” She said comfortingly. “We’re here now.”

  Then, without another word, Cole rose to his feet and, followed by a somewhat wary and reluctant Rose, embraced his parents warmly, for the moment content. They returned the gesture gladly and, once they had finished, Rose even allowed Isabel to pet her behind the ears, as she did so enjoy that after all. The huge beast even purred slightly.

  Cole smiled and threw his arms around Rose’s neck. The demon rested her heavy head on his shoulder and all was silent for a moment, the storm outside totally abated and the gentle flickering of the flames in their cave dying down for some reason.

  Then Cole’s eyes widened, as did Rose’s and Isabel’s in equal recognition. Isabel cursed audibly and Rose gave a low, throaty growl, baring her massive teeth, glinting in the firelight.

  “What is it?” Zanriath asked, the only one confused about what was happening.

  “It’s the other demon.” Cole said warningly, taking Isabel’s words from the tip of her tongue. I’ve sensed him a few times now.”

  “Did you create it?” Isabel asked.

  “Him.” Cole corrected almost absently. “And yes.” He admitted, though this demon seemed to be a threat, whilst Rose remained a friend.

  Despite that fact, Cole still felt an almost inhumanly strong connection to him, this other demon, just as he did to Rose.

  “Is he like Rose?” Isabel asked.

  “Not exactly.” Cole conceded. “I don’t know how it happened.” He continued. “I think I must just have lost control.”

  Somehow then Isabel realised exactly what had happened as another epiphany surged over her. This missing demon, whatever it or whoever he was, was as much a part of Cole as Rose was, but he was simply Rose’s opposite.

  Whilst Rose’s powerful connection to Cole was all too evident in her over-protective demeanour, this other creature felt the same connection, but it steered the creature in exactly the opposite direction, towards completely the other end of the spectrum - not protective, but instead destructive.

  All at once, Isabel sensed the danger they were in, and an ear-splitting roar erupted from outside of the cave. The horses shrieked once again in terror and looked desperately for an escape, but there was none to be had.

  Seemingly without thinking, Cole and Rose dove out through the entrance to the cave, and Isabel and Zanriath screamed after them in panic, following with no second thought, but simply on a parent’s protective instinct.

  They emerged into the fire-damaged and still steaming ravine to face Rose’s brother - the other half of the result of Cole’s loss of control. Clearly Cole’s power had not waned even the slightest during their creation, and the looming monstrosity standing before them filled the ravine with its blackness, just as it filled Isabel’s heart with terror, and her son’s with regret.

  13

  Towering above them, the dark figure, the source of the deafening r
oar that had shook the steaming mountains, looked down with disdain at the tiny creatures before him. He was the image of many of Isabel’s past nightmares, though a thousand times worsened, and he gazed down upon them with the brown eyes of her son, hardened beyond belief with hate and scorn - indeed the mirrored opposite of Rose.

  The demon had thick legs and a gigantic trunk, entirely black, but covered with a similar brown hair to Rose’s. Its arms were not overly long like those of demons Isabel had seen in the past, but were more in proportion to his body, though somehow even more muscular, and ending in gigantic clawed hands.

  The beast stood a hundred metres high and its piercing eyes surveyed all it saw with an unusual intelligence that struck fear at Isabel’s heart. Its face was not mismatched with jagged teeth and strange features, but was oddly more human, somehow making it even more terrifying, and though its bulk was so colossal, its first attack was not a physical one.

  The demonic energy in its strike was but a morsel of that which Isabel had sensed almost a week ago during Cole’s awakening, but nonetheless, it smashed into her barriers like a raging tsunami, and very nearly broke through. She stumbled back, stunned, but was caught mercifully by Zanriath, preventing her from reeling onto her back on the hard stone.

  Cole looked across with concern, sensing that the demon was targeting the weakest among them first, attempting to strike at him through his mother.

  He would not let that stand.

  “NO!” He shrieked up at the beast that was as much a part of him as Rose was, though this was a fragment of himself that he would all too gladly be rid of. Cole’s intentions were just, even pure, but as of yet his control over his power lacked such precision. Thus, his demonic attack was not so well targeted.

  The result was a wave a sheer energy, not so much directed as it was thrown at the beast, and with devastating effect. The monster hurtled backwards, its colossal, hundred metre and several hundred-tonne mass knocked not just off balance, but thrown like a rag doll, cascading into the stone peak jutting up several thousand metres behind it.

  The monster collided with the mountain with force great enough to level a city, and it screamed horribly as pain seared through its crushed spine and undoubtedly numerous other injuries. It crumpled, accompanied by the shaking of an earthquake, to the ground in a massive twitching heap, huge boulders of rubble crashing down atop it from the broken peak above.

  But that was not the end - it simply could not be. The tremendous power Cole had, even unknowingly, instilled within this monster, and equally within Rose, during their combined creation, could not be unmade by such an artless act of brute force.

  The colossal demon, after lying for a moment in its twisted and disfigured state, began to shift and wriggle. Its arms lifted and its huge, clawed hands pressed against the ground. The sickening twists and crunches and snaps of bone sounded as it writhed and squirmed and its joints clunked back into position.

  The huge chunks of rock fall that had seemed to crush and pin the beast on the floor were knocked aside effortlessly, its huge mass flinging them easily away. Eventually, it rose back to its full height and stared down at its four adversaries once more, though this time more warily, knowing that, at least for now, this was a fight it could not win.

  The beast directed its attention solely to Cole and mustered an attack. But before it could strike at him, Rose was there, instinctively blocking the demonic blow and retaliating with one of her own.

  Her strike carried nowhere near the enormity of strength, nor energy of Cole’s, but it was enough to stagger the great hulking monster, and Isabel seized the opportunity, preparing to destroy the foul creature once and for all.

  It was not to be however.

  As she mustered her will and her strength, drawing in the totality of her soul’s power, her efforts began to dissipate more quickly than she could harness them, drowned out and even being taken up by something far more powerful. She could think of only one thing with such a capability.

  She turned to her son to see him doubled over, down on his hand and knees, his eyes closed and his mind open, unleashing his seemingly endless power.

  She recognised his energy. This was what she had sensed before, during his awakening, back when she had not known that it was originating from her son. This time, however, what she sensed was a complete loss of control.

  She had witnessed such a thing before, only a handful of times, many years ago when she was just a girl. As a Demon-Slayer to be reckoned with, her father had often been called to aid new potential Slayers when they first discovered their powers, as these losses of control often occurred, and it could take one with considerable skill to quell such outburst.

  But the extent of Cole’s power was such that Isabel had never before encountered, or even imagined, for it seemed to be almost without limits. And as it engulfed him and flowed through his thoughts, Isabel had no idea how to even begin to contain it.

  Sensing the imminent danger, the colossal beast that had only moments ago been the main threat, fled to the south. At first its enormous hulk clattered through the tall peaks, fleeing desperately from Cole’s imminent outburst. But before long it shrunk and altered its shape into something much more agile, escaping with its life while it still had the opportunity.

  Isabel did not have time to witness the demon’s escape however, for she was battling with her son’s overpowering energy as it poured out of him, threatening to destroy her, and him, and potentially much more if it could not be stopped.

  Rose too sensed the danger and, with her strange levels of intelligence that Isabel was only beginning to comprehend, she joined her power with that of Isabel’s.

  And so together they worked, not attempting to fight Cole’s energy, but instead to simply dissipate it through their own thoughts, in a much less uncontrolled and destructive manner than Cole was managing. Though that proved to be no mean feat, for not once did it subside, raging on endlessly and seemingly without limits.

  They battled and fought and their bodies and minds groaned and screamed under the pressure and stress being placed upon them.

  It seemed to be almost a lifetime later that eventually they began to sense the end, and Cole’s flowing energy finally yielded to their efforts. Isabel and Rose were drained beyond belief, and totally spent by the time they were eventually able to relax their focus and, through dizzy and blackened vision, her body almost giving way beneath her own weight, Isabel saw Cole slump lifelessly into Zanriath’s arms.

  It was some time several hours later that, by a warming fire and in caring company, Cole eventually roused from his deep coma. His unrestrained outburst had exhausted him almost entirely, leaving him with not even enough energy to remain conscious, and so it had taken a considerable amount of time for him to re-awaken.

  Isabel remembered such a thing happening to her some time ago. It was on her first crossing through Compii Tower, when they had been attacked by the demon that had ambushed them from high in the crevices of the tower. At a price, she had fought off the beast and, almost ironically, had also felt the Souls of the Ocean infect her mind for the first time.

  The incident had drained her, not to the extent of Cole’s exhaustion, for her power was much inferior in comparison, but to a similar effect.

  “How do you feel sweetheart?” She asked, gently running her hand through Cole’s hair as Rose nestled her cool snout tenderly against his burning skin.

  “Hot.” He replied in a croaky voice squinting against the light from the fire. “And tired.”

  “You’re running a temperature.” Isabel noted critically. “But you’re very lucky that’s all you’ve got.”

  “Did I lose control?” He asked.

  “Yes. But everything’s ok now.” She reassured him.

  “I didn’t hurt anyone did I?” He said concerned, trying to sit up but struggling to do so, looking fleetingly between his mother, his father, and his Rose.

  “Shhh. Rest. No you didn’t hurt anyone…”
Isabel said quietly, before adding, “except the other demon.” Cole smiled slyly at his mother’s words.

  “Good.” He responded, though she sensed he was not entirely committed to his statement. “But I didn’t kill him.”

  “How do you know?” Isabel asked.

  “I can still feel him.” He replied. She nodded in acknowledgement, though she was concerned at her heart. She was certain that the depth of Cole’s connection with this other demon was would be vital for what was to come next.

  They stayed there in the cave by the fire for quite some time while Cole recovered. Isabel prepared a meal for them all, humming softly to herself as she did so, in an attempt to lighten the heavy mood blanketing them all.

  Rose lay caringly and protectively at Cole’s side, and Zanriath brooded silently over what was to be their next move. As always, he hated being so in the dark as to their situation, but it was apparent that they had few options at present.

  Isabel continued to hum softly as she worked, her gentle melody bouncing off the flickering walls of the cave, and Cole rested fitfully, unsure whether he would be able to handle whatever was still to come.

  Through what had happened, Isabel felt much more of a connection with Rose, and sensed that, despite her initial instinctive warnings, the young demon housed no malevolence, save that towards any who wished to harm her Cole. Isabel saw no danger in that, in fact, it comforted her greatly, and so now she looked upon the sleeping beast much more fondly.

  She remembered with disgust looking into the minds and thoughts of demons in the past, and finding only that putrid malevolence that she so despised - their undisguised lust for pain and suffering. She cast the thoughts from her mind with something between anger and repulsion driving her, and continued cooking unhindered, content that such a thought would likely never pass through Rose’s mind.