“You have no intention of keeping me here, Shade. What do you really want?” Night asked through gritted teeth.
“I am not unreasonable, young Night. What can you offer me?” Erised asked greedily.
“I have very little and nothing I can throw away. Don’t think that I have nothing precious to me. You are wrong to think that. It’s just that all I have is too precious to give away,” Night confessed, his hands balling into fists.
“Oh?” Erised said now, drawing out the length of that sound. “Nothing, you say? Things too precious? Should I have given you your flower too or was she made precious because I left her untouched? Are you with those ones who fight the madman then? An interesting one, that madman, to refuse the comforts of the darkness. So enraged but he evaded me and I had to find another… You… you are so full of the delicious darkness, Night. A name so suited to my gifts…” Erised’s voice was filled with interest and he swirled around Night curiously.
“You were going to give power to Melchior?” Night droned out, unamused.
Erised cackled as predicted. He wouldn’t take the bait, wouldn’t get angry at the shade’s implication that Freesia was little more than a withheld offering.
“Yes, yes, and did that ever backfire. I broke him from his curse and that is how I was repaid. But darkness is blind, you see, and my children are not always open to my gifts,” Erised explained quietly now.
Erised suddenly spun two wicked-looking black blades in front of Night, sharp and resembling black flames, a strange purple light glowing around them like fire, further emphasizing the effect.
“Take them… you have my aid, since that madman has refused it so arrogantly. You may struggle to keep your precious things. Darkness is not friend or foe, little Night, and I enjoy the struggle of humans. These weapons can cut through the light and summon what you need of me. You will not refuse, will you?” Erised asked, a threatening tone in his voice.
“No… But help me stop the antimatter. If you’re not behind this, then I must kill the one who is,” Night commanded now.
Erised hooted with laughter now.
“Careful, little Night. The boy is not evil but controlled. Killing him would be your undoing as well. I plan to have your delicious soul for myself one day so please don’t waste it on foolishness. You must wake this one. His name is Pierait. Names … are very powerful things…”
With that last enigmatic statement, Night saw a ray of light shatter the blackness and he was now surrounded by a pulsing crimson color, a river of blood. In the river stood a pale-skinned young man with odd pale-blue hair and yellow eyes, the polar opposite of Ashe, it seemed. Eerily the man began to turn towards Night and his eyes were out of focus and unblinking. The strange young man was making a high-pitched noise in his throat and struggling to speak, his neck muscles working furiously but impotently.
Without thinking, Night spoke a single word. “Pierait…” and the boy gasped with relief and crumpled into the stream.
Night reappeared in the middle of Morgaze, the man crumpled at his feet but still breathing. He looked up and saw his five companions waiting above. He gave a thumbs-up and smiled, winking at Freesia. She looked far too relieved to rebuff his flirtatious gesture.
Night stepped over the unconscious man and walked towards the others hurrying down the building now. Freesia closed the distance between them now and threw her arms around him, to everyone’s astonishment. Night’s face had softened with unguarded affection as her embrace lingered. She then stood back and punched him.
“You son of a bitch, don’t ever do something that stupid again!” Freesia screamed at him, but tears ran down her cheeks.
Night felt a sudden lightness in his heart. Like hell he didn’t have anything to return to. Even if were just for this moment, it was reason enough. He would never let the darkness taint her, no matter what it claimed.
All of them tensed up when the young man began to groan and move. Night shoved Freesia behind him and drew out the wicked daggers defensively.
The dizzy-eyed young man looked up at them, his face suddenly crestfallen.
“I know what happened. That man made false promises. My life must be forfeit,” the young man named Pierait decided with resignation, looking so pathetic and frail.
Night dropped his guard and smiled instead.
“Here’s a better idea. How about a little bit of redemption in the form of revenge?” Ashe offered, laying a hand on Night’s shoulder and sharing a smile with him. They all could agree with that.
Freesia had broken off with Rienna again; they had all decided they would stay at an inn as the sun hung low in the sky and Freesia wanted to make good on her desire to wear more suitable clothing. Freesia knew very little about armor and hoped Rienna might help her find something suitably feminine.
They had found a tailor specializing in leather, since Rienna explained that Freesia did best using her speed. Rienna suggested that maybe Freesia pick a different weapon that the long-handled mallet she had lifted from the Falls, but Freesia sheepishly admitted she was rather fond of it now. Rienna helped Freesia pick out a quick outfit needing few alterations, a beautiful ensemble of dark purple leather, and they waited in a quiet sitting area while it was done.
Freesia seemed suddenly nervous and Rienna knew she was trying to put her thoughts into words so she waited.
“I don’t think I could handle it if I lost him. Night,” Freesia finally admitted. “When he came back out of that thing… I hadn’t even realized I’d been holding my breath.” Freesia shook her head sadly. “I give him a lot of crap, but… he has always been there for me. I thought maybe after… well, I thought he might tire of his promise, but he never has. I don’t always know what he is after, but no matter how aggravating he gets, I can’t stay mad. He would die for me and I never want him to have that chance.”
Rienna listened and nodded, feeling a twinge of envy. They loved each other, it had always been clear to her, and it reminded her more deeply of what she had lost. She wanted to be held, to feel like a woman again, the very thing she had fought against for so long until Belias had changed that. She felt cold with the loss but warmed at the familiarity of the confusion within Freesia, at the budding love she fought, just as Rienna had years ago.
“You should tell him, Freesia. You never know when the chance will pass,” Rienna softly prodded, her words mixed with hope and loss alike. Freesia’s face fell at the realization of Rienna’s pain but when she saw the hope there too, she smiled back at her friend and they squeezed each other’s hand in shared understanding.
Chapter 6: An Unknown Target
The seven of them had little choice but to leave at first light. Pierait was the killer, unintentional or not, and they wanted to know what part Melchior had played in this urgently. They had narrowly missed him this time and wouldn’t again. Why use a sort of magician in place of the favored monster machines? And HOW did Melchior acquire the power to possess this man? Only those questions weren’t exactly the right ones; there was much they didn’t know. Once they reached a spot well outside the city, Pierait seemed as if he was prepared to explain his role. They sat in a widespread circle now. Freesia pulled the maps from her bag and spread them out now. Freesia was more confident in her new armor and the others had admired the choice. Ashe sat beside her, frowning as he studied them intently.
“Just tell us what you know,” Rienna said gently, not wanting to frighten the fragile young man.
Pierait was indeed a petite sort of man, pretty-faced like Ashe but also having a thin figure, obvious even through the voluminous yet well-tailored velvet robes. The robes were the same odd blue color as his hair and he wore a large gold medallion that emphasized the brilliant yellow of his eyes. The eyes were large and slanted giving him a kind of suspicious, catlike appearance, a predatory sort of look were his eyes not so … empty. It was a strange sensation looking into those eyes, now conveying deep sadness that fled as quickly as it settled in. Even full of emo
tion, there was still a surreal stark emptiness there that stood in great contrast to whatever he felt. It was a confusing and disconcerting sight to see emotion cross a face and fall unfulfilled into the void of deep, abyssal eyes. His trembling little mouth drew the eye of women as well as men; soft pink lips that spoke gently and hypnotically. His hair was short and fashionably uneven, a single beaded braid of hair hanging from the right side of his head. Rienna wouldn’t have believed there was a man prettier than Ashe if she didn’t see him for herself. Even Freesia was mesmerized by him, although she was slightly better at hiding it. Pierait now cleared his throat politely, his hand moving away from his mouth with a modest, graceful sweeping movement.
“You have lots of questions. Humans always do. I have no soul. It is why that hypnotic device was able to get to me. Magic does not work but machines have an empty sort of power that does. A Shade was watching and waiting to take the man who controlled me,” Pierait quietly began his story.
“It is why I have the ability to use antimatter. Again, I have no soul; I have never had one, of course, but I will explain that. Only soulless humans can use antimatter. Those without souls are estranged from the elemental powers and in times long ago, the children born without souls were killed or exiled. Kill them before they have a Purpose and they just disappear rather than become Furies. The exiled ones grew full of restlessness; the Soulless become ravenous without purpose. It was discovered that antimatter existed in the large empty place where souls are in those that don’t have them. Somehow, the Soulless without Purpose were defeated and the man who founded the city, Mortien, decreed that the Soulless must have a place among them, if for no better reason than to be watched and taught and learned from.”
“It is because of antimatter that the Soulless were allowed to be accepted as magicians, though it was useless to attend magic school. The schools only taught magic after all, not the absence of such. All that the Soulless could learn was from defense, potions, charms, and any kind of thing that did not use elemental magic. They also learned that their voids were forbidden in anything but the direst of circumstances and then only with official approval. Mortien made it possible for the Soulless to have a place inside the schools though; segregation would cause too many obvious problems.”
“I am a very special case, even among the Soulless. I cannot use the antimatter willingly, even if I desperately wanted to. It is not something I am able to do and that is a good thing — as you have seen, the amount of antimatter within me is vast. No one should have such power. The Soulless exist to one end. I am this way because this is to be my last incarnation. Those born without souls have lived in other forms to the fullest and have no more forms to take. We die and we disappear, become nothing— if we are lucky. It is a secret among us that this truth has given us access to the memories of past lives. Though I suppose it is not secret from you. It is not known if Soulless exist outside of those born into magic… It is also why magic users tend to congregate here—just in case, they have a Soulless child.”
Pierait smiled nervously, yanking at his braid.
“Sorry, you are confused. It is a very hard thing to understand, let alone explain. What it comes down to is this: that man Melchior had use of a device that could control me and bring forth the Void in me— it could wrap around me but not devour me. He deceived me and told me that he could give me a soul, so he knew who I was though I don’t know how. He used my weakness to gain control of me and my power,” Pierait shook his head with shame and hung his head.
“I don’t know where he disappeared to and I don’t know how a device could call the Void where I cannot. The Shade had been approaching him as I lost consciousness. I know that elementals offer their aid to only one person and refuse to give their gifts to just anyone, but what I know is not correct anymore. I learned from Night that Melchior refused the Shade’s offer some time ago—” Night nodded at this. “—And had been accepted by Nuriel, the salamander and elemental of fire. I didn’t know it could be done! Every soul-bearing human is innately born under the influence of one element alone and is incompatible with any other!”
There’s the thing that had been worrying at a piece of Rienna’s mind since Peneschal. She had seen what looked like elemental symbols in pairs here and there and thought it was some sort of affinity chart since she didn’t see the opposing elements together anywhere. What if it were some sort of record concerning people with dual affinities? Historians would have a field day with that place, if so.
“How can one tell the difference between someone with a soul and one of the Soulless?” Night asked expressionlessly.
Pierait finally smiled now, nodding his head.
“It’s not very obvious unless you are observant. Although it is suspected when we speak since we have expressions that are odd to other humans. Those without souls still have emotions, you see, and are very much human. But we have nothing that comes from having a soul, things such as intuition or creativity. We are realists and incapable of randomness or imagination. There are many with souls who behave the same way, but they are saturated with things like regret or prolonged emotions. The difference is a keen physical trait we all bear. What others like to call ‘empty eyes’: always some distinct shade of color too, like yellow or orange, even solid white. We are capable of a form of love that is more like devotion or duty too. If we can mimic the habits of those with souls, the eyes are really the only way to tell what we are. Some Purposes demand it. In the end, it is really only a mimic, so no matter how soulful we pretend to be, we cannot hide what we are.”
Freesia and Rienna seemed saddened by this, but the others were merely attentive and interested. Personalities, emotions, were a messy thing and wouldn’t it be ideal to not let them cloud logic? It only seemed a shame that emotion was still possible, if you were a person with particularly messy ones.
“Okay, so you can feel but without randomness or imagination. So what exactly does that mean? You have no set personality? But doesn’t it take randomness to change personas?” Night finally asked, not liking the explanation.
Pierait smiled a little at this.
“We don’t change personas, per se. When we are instructed we can play a part. Without purpose we just exist, like a simple computer program geared to continue in a loop. We have existed in the roles we are taught to. And that is just the thing. We have no desires. I guess we’re more like robots, existing for a secret purpose. That is why I expressed that we are thought to be final incarnations— a clean slate with no regret. We only do all that is branded on us and little else,” Pierait tried to explain.
“So what is your purpose? And who gives them out?” Ashe asked simply.
“Normally, our purpose is given when we are of age— 14 years of age. We are isolated, in a sense, until we reach that time. For safety, of course, for there are always extremists that still believe the Soulless should not reach maturity. We can be given a purpose by anyone who meets the requirements. We are not allowed to say what the requirements are and indeed most of us do not know. Shallay, the Soulless Shaman, has been the main one to do so,” Pierait supplied, hanging his head now, solemn with thought.
“I guess I am a kind of rebel to the way things were to be. Most are happy to give up their soulless children to the city, but my mother thought I was beautiful and hid me from them. She held hope that she could make my father proud of me even though he would not love her. When the time came, it was she that gave me my purpose. She thought it was time that Soulless be given a choice. She wanted me to find if it was possible to acquire a soul. She told me I must live for that purpose, that I would be the only one to ever be given such a purpose. It is why I trusted Melchior; no one was supposed to know that purpose. My search thus far had been fruitless. Even if I do acquire that knowledge, there is no knowing what would happen— it has not been done. There is talk of a place in the South were souls may still gather, but human books often create tales for entertainment rather than truths…”
“All right, slow down,” Krose asked a little crossly. “How are you supposed to just ‘acquire a soul’?”
“There are books that claim that the old gods did not seal the Wells or Founts used to create souls entirely, but there is no proof they exist either. My mother had not thought of the good and bad of what she gave purpose to. I cannot even ask the elementals, the oldest ones created that still live, because I am enemy to them. Soul is not matter but it does not exist with the Void. I have had many, many years to learn the lore yet it makes it all the more confusing to explain. As I said, I have no imagination so I have needed the insights of others to discern my purpose.”
Confusing as the whole thing was, everyone sat in silence, knowing that it would only get more puzzling. They felt they knew all that they could take in.
Ashe was looking at the maps, frowning now.
“There is always some spot to hide the machines, right? Well, maybe it’s just me, but where would they be able to hide them near all of these locations? The next closest spots are the Bryfolk Hole and Xanias Port City. Are there any hiding places near either of those? I’m not very well traveled but the terrain appears a bit on the barren side…” Ashe asked.
Rienna shook her head, a thoughtful frown on her lips.
“Xanias wouldn’t need any hiding spots though; they must know they are discovered and could also be returning to Myceum now that they’ve hit Vieres. Forces here are at a distinct disadvantage in Stoneweld,” Rienna posited.
Krose was the one among them that knew this continent like the back of his hand. His face began to pale and his mouth had dropped open. He seemed terror-stricken as he looked over at Dinsch. Dinsch studied his friend’s face, shaking his head as if begging Krose not to say it…
“It’s possible that he intends to use the old warrens of the Bryfolk Hole to store them, if they aren’t done here though,” Krose said, trembling as he spoke.
The Truth about Heroes: Complete Trilogy (Heroes Trilogy) Page 9
