soulofawitch_463-9e1.htm

by Soul Of A Witch (lit)

  Turning back, she looked at Sinya, saw the love that shone from his eyes, that shone from his heart, that made the glow around his spirit shine with a beauty all it’s own. It made her own spirit yearn, and reach, and she knew her soul mate and made her choice.

  "I choose," she said simply.

  Wind whipped wildly through the trees, scattering leaves everywhere. Lightning came from nowhere, cracked once then disappeared. The wooded area seemed to shift, rock, the ground seemed to tremble.

  The blue glow around Beulah flared into a midnight blue flame, hot enough that Sinya had to stumble back. It engulfed her, and she felt a part of herself draw back inside her, deep inside her subconscious. She saw it in the spirit plane, a midnight blue glow that patiently took its place once more in the pale blueness of her serene, deep sanctuary.

  The blue flame disappeared with a snap, and she found herself staring at Sinya.

  "Sinya?" She whispered.

  "Beulah!" Face aglow with happiness, he stepped forward eagerly.

  "I feel... so..." She reached out to touch him, then crumpled to the grass.

  "Beulah!" Dropping to his knees beside her, he slid his arm around her shoulders and lifted her to lean against him. "Beulah, what’s wrong?"

  She couldn’t answer. All she could do was catch a fleeting glimpse of his shocked eyes, then everything faded to blackness, and the spirit world became her home.

  ~ * ~

  "What’s wrong with her?" Sinya cradled her close to him, his gaze flying from Learta to the silent Accelis. "Damn it, what’s going on?"

  Learta shook her head. "I’m not sure."

  "You know!" Sinya looked up at the three Acceli’s. "You must know! You’ve taken her before, and healed her! What has happened?"

  The first Acceli stepped forward, and his words trickled from the little stream that sprang up from the rocks nearby. "She has chosen you, Sinya."

  "But why has she collapsed? Will she be all right?"

  "The change was well upon her. By choosing you, she has shifted a balance that was not meant to be shifted."

  "I don’t understand! Will you stop talking in riddles?"

  Learta laid a soothing hand on his shoulder. "The Acceli is saying that by choosing to return to this form, Beulah has risked dying."

  Dying? Shock and mind-numbing fear swept through Sinya, and he looked down at Beulah. Her skin was white, her lips pale. Her breasts rose and fell slowly. Too slowly.

  "Do something." He looked up at the Acceli. "You healed her before! You can do it again, can’t you?"

  "It is not that simple this time." The Acceli sighed in the wind.

  "It is that bloody simple!" He looked up at Learta. "It is that simple! It must be! It has to be!"

  "Sinya, please." Learta looked at the Accelis. "Are you not taking her?"

  "We will do what we can." Stepping forward, the Acceli knelt down before Beulah and Sinya. Looking directly at Sinya, he added, "But since you are her soul mate, it needs your presence in the healing process."

  "I’ll do it. I’ll do anything, only get her better!" Heart pounding, Sinya reluctantly relinquished Beulah when the giant Acceli slid his arms beneath her knees and behind her back. As the Acceli lifted her into his arms and cradled her against his chest, Sinya pushed upright. "What do I do?"

  "You come with us. Now." The second Acceli stepped forward, and Sinya looked up at him.

  Towering above him, burgundy eyes glowing, the Acceli was an awesome sight.

  "There is no time to lose. The spirit world tugs at her soul even as we speak." With a deliberate movement, the Acceli held out his cloak and wrapped it around Sinya, pulling the smaller man into a loose embrace. "We go."

  Sinya looked across the grass at his crew. Shocked, stunned--their expressions held a myriad of emotions. Suddenly he realized he was leaving them in the lurch, with no captain and no orders, alone to face the horrors of what had happened, to try and deal with the facts. And not knowing where he was going, or when he would return. He was also missing Wes... Oh God! Where is Wes?

  He saw him then, a golden glow that was protected by Learta’s white light. Wes hovered at Ephim’s shoulder.

  "Wes--" he began.

  "Is not ready to come yet," the Acceli stated.

  The golden glow emanated from the Accelis, and Sinya saw his crew flinch and cover their eyes. Before they faded from sight altogether, he saw Learta nod to him, and knew immediately that she’d oversee things.

  Then everything disappeared. The golden glow around them was warm, as though they were cocooned in a golden basket. He could see nothing beyond the gold, and his gaze lifted to Beulah held securely in the giant Acceli’s arms. One of her arms hung down, and he reached out and took her hand in his clasp.

  "Hold on, Beulah," he said. "Hold on. I’m coming." And he wasn’t ashamed of the tears that slipped free.

  ~ * ~

  The spirits danced around her, urging her to stay.

  ::I cannot. I must go back to Sinya.::

  ::Stay with us. There is such heartache when you are alive,:: one spirit said.

  ::There is also much fun, and love, and laughter. Don’t you miss that?::

  ::There is no such thing as missing anyone or anything here,:: the spirit replied. ::There is only peace in the gardens beyond.::

  ::I am not dead yet,:: Beulah said. ::I still feel the love for Sinya.::

  ::Give up the ghost, and you will feel nothing but contentment.::

  ::I am not ready to give up living.::

  ::Your mind is strong.:: The spirit pointed down to her body, and Beulah saw her heart labouring to beat. ::But your body is weak, and growing weaker.::

  ::Then what will be will be, but until then, I will strive to live. Sinya needs me, as does Wes. There are many who need Beulah the witch-woman.::

  The spirit laughed. ::We will see when the time comes, which of us is right. I say you will stay.::

  Beulah laughed back. ::And I say I will go.::

  ::What draws you to go back?::

  Beulah looked down upon the dark head of the lean pirate holding her physical hand. ::The love of a good man.::

  ::Ah well, we will see.:: The spirit gestured to the clouds floating past them. ::Walk with me, and tell me of this life I have forgotten.::

  In the nether region between life and death, the spirit world and the land of the living, Beulah walked with the spirits. And with each step she took, her physical body grew weaker.

  ~ * ~

  The golden glow faded, and Sinya found himself in a dark cavern. The Accelis started walking down the huge, arched corridor towards a light up ahead. Stepping out of the corridor, Sinya gasped at the sight before him.

  A lake lay amongst the tall trees, flowering vines curling up the trunks and trailing along the ground. The powerful scent of hundreds of different flowers filled the air. Around them rose rocky walls of surrounding hills, which were reflected in the crystal clear lake. It was as though he’d stepped into an oasis.

  "My witch, my poor Beulah." Petras slipped past Sinya’s cheek to dance in anguish around Beulah’s head, stirring the long, white hair in agitation. "She is not dead, Sires, yet I don’t feel her spirit in her. What is going on?"

  "Be calm, my little pet," the First Acceli intoned. "Your mistress is half in the land of the living, and half in the land of the spirits. We must try and bring her back."

  "Nooo!" Petras wailed, and going to Sinya, wrapped it’s tentacles of nothingness around his neck. Pressing close, it started to whimper, and Sinya could feel the sadness deep down inside him.

  A deep voice whispered across the lake. "Petras, will you join your kind in the lake? It is your witch we call. Her spirit needs you."

  "Yes. Yes, I must hurry." Petras vanished, leaving Sinya.

  Now Sinya could see that other giant Accelis were approaching the lake. They came from the inside of the mountain, appearing sometimes almost mystically. Giants, so beautiful and golden it almost hurt to look upon the
m. As they approached the lake, they discarded their robes onto the bank, placing their sceptres atop them. Naked and silent, they waited on the shore, faces emotionless, watching the three Accelis with Sinya and Beulah.

  "Brothers." The first Acceli spoke, his voice brushing through the flowering vines. "This day we witnessed an age-old miracle, and the choice of human love. Our sister has chosen, but in doing so goes further into the spirit lands. We must bring her back. Join me in the lake of life, and call our sister’s spirit."

  The Acceli took his arm away from Sinya and stepped back. "You must disrobe, and join us in the lake." His words rose off the still waters. "There must be no barrier to the healing and calling."

  Once Sinya would have looked at them askance, but now he shed his clothes quickly. Bugger what anyone thought, his sole concern was Beulah, and if that meant joining in some sort of mystical ritual, he was right there.

  The Acceli holding Beulah passed her to the Acceli beside him, dropped his robe to the ground, then took her back into his arms. The remaining Accelis had shed their robes and now they approached the water, Sinya in their midst.

  "Sinya, you will stand at her right shoulder," the first Acceli said. "When I place her in the water further out, we will stand at her head, feet and left shoulder."

  Taking up his position, they slowly made their way further out into the lake, watched in silence by the golden men standing on the shore.

  The water was warm and fluid, seeming to cling to Sinya’s skin.

  The lead Acceli stopped suddenly as the water lapped at his hips, and he lowered Beulah gently into the water. Her gown floated around her, and her long, silky hair swirled in the water.

  The Accelis took their places, and Sinya suddenly realized that through some mystical means, the water only came to his hips, too. By all accounts, it should have been lapping around his neck, yet somehow it wasn’t. The Accelis around him still towered over him, the water at their hips. It was just another unanswered puzzle in this mystical place, and he really didn’t care about it. His sole attention was in calling Beulah back to the land of the living. Fear filled him as he heard a faint rattle in her chest, and watched her breathing slow to almost nothing.

  "Her heart labours to draw breath." The Acceli at her left shoulder looked down at Sinya. "No matter what you see or feel, you must not touch or move her. If you do, she will not return."

  He nodded and stealed himself for whatever might happen.

  A stillness filled the valley, then the golden leader raised his hands to the sky and lifted his head, a guttural keening coming from his lips. The golden men at her feet and head did the same, and a crooning came from the banks of the lake as the Accelis there lifted their voices in a harmony of mystical calling.

  The water started to bubble and move, and a chill went through Sinya as he felt something brush against his leg.

  All around the outside of Beulah’s body the water bubbled frantically, and it took all his will power not to snatch her out of the water and into the safety of his arms. An unnatural warmth flowed through the water, followed by a coolness, and as he watched, Beulah sank slowly under the surface, the bubbles hiding her from sight.

  The whole lake was foaming and churning, and Sinya knew they were not alone in the lake. Furious activity was going on under the surface of the water.

  Suddenly Beulah’s gown floated to the surface, shredded and torn. Dry-mouthed, Sinya stared at it, fear for Beulah thudding through his veins.

  "Don’t touch," the voice whispered from behind him. "Don’t move or she will be lost to you forever."

  The sky grew dark with storm clouds and lightning flashed and crackled.

  The burgundy eyes of the Acceli healers burned into Sinya, drawing out images he had of Beulah. His memories.

  Numbly, Sinya heard her laughter, her serious tone of voice, and the scent of night blossoms drifted around him. Tears sounded, pattering around him like tiny rain drops, and he felt the evil of the Overlord’s fortress, the perversion in the great hall, and now he felt the soul-destroying horror Beulah must have felt upon seeing it. He heard her dry retching, then the sound faded, and he heard the whisper of her voice on the breeze that played around his shoulders.

  Soul mate.

  He saw an image then, of himself frantically looking in her cabin, then hurrying down to the dining area. Seeing her sitting at the table, relief flooded into his eyes. Almost running to the table, he swept Beulah up into his arms, and breathed in the scent of night blossoms that surrounded her. He closed his eyes, reveling openly in the feel of her, alive and warm, in his arms. The emotions that rioted through him were there on his face, in plain view--happiness, relief, joy, other things he couldn’t begin to even imagine.

  "Thank God," his ghostly image whispered shakily. "You’re okay."

  Her arms crept around him, and she hugged him back. "Of course. Did you really think I’d leave you?"

  The vision faded but the night blossom scent remained.

  A voice started to sing, so faint he had to strain to hear it. It grew stronger, swelling out with a mystical beauty, and in shock he recognized it as Beulah’s voice. Yet it wasn’t her voice, a blending, rather, of two entities. The husky voice caressed him, wove around him like thick honey as it sang in rich tones. He couldn’t understand the words, but he knew the meaning. Life and love.

  The golden Accelis on the banks stopped crooning, bowing their heads as the song drifted through the air, touching th souls of all who heard. Entities of some kind drifted around Sinya’s legs, rubbing up against him before disappearing again. Gradually the voice faded and silence filled the air.

  Sinya looked down, and noticed that the water still bubbled. Lightning split the sky, a streak of midnight blue, and an eerie wind whistled through the tree tops. It whipped the surface of the lake into a frenzy, and the water swirled around the silent men and splashed up onto the banks of the lake.

  In a heart beat the water suddenly stopped churning and the surface of the lake became still. It seemed as if the entities that had filled it had drawn back, and an expectant hush filled the valley. The golden Accelis resumed crooning, their voices lifting up in harmony.

  Lightning flashed across the sky again, bolts criscrossing, crashing deafeningly as it hit the ground behind the hills. Then as suddenly as it had come, the darkness lifted, clouds disappearing, and the sun shone brightly down upon the still lake and the men who waited motionlessly.

  The water moved gently between them and Beulah floated to the surface. Eyes shut, she looked peaceful. Sinya stared, his heart stuttering in fear and fearful joy. Her lips were pink, her skin healthy.

  Without a word, the Acceli picked her up in his arms and carried her back to the shore. Sinya followed in silence, still slightly numbed by what he’d seen and felt.

  Another Acceli met them on the shore, and draped a white robe over Beulah, before turning to Sinya and gesturing to his clothes. Sinya dressed quickly, his gaze on Beulah who lay so quietly in the Acceli’s arms.

  Once he was dressed, the Acceli held Beulah out to Sinya. "Beulah is back. Be easy. She will sleep for a while, but she is whole."

  Taking her into his arms, Sinya swallowed the lump in his throat. Bending his head, he kissed her gently upon her forehead, then looked back up at the towering giants. "How can I ever thank you?"

  "Beulah is our little witch," the Acceli’s voice whispered from across the lake. "We are always there for her."

  The second Acceli, the one who had brought him here, stepped forward and placed his arm around Sinya’s shoulder, effectively wrapping him in his cloak. "It is time."

  The glow started, obliterating everything in sight, and Sinya cradled Beulah close to him, wondering where they were going this time. He fully expected to be returned to his ship, so was surprised when the glow faded and he found that they were in Beulah’s hut.

  On the bed in the living area, Wes still lay quietly.

  "The boy’s spirit is with your men.
" The Acceli laid his hand atop Sinya’s head. "Do not fear. They are coming."

  Nodding, Sinya looked down into Beulah’s face. She stirred once, turning her head slightly, then resumed her sleep.

  "I leave you now." The Acceli stepped back.

  He started to glow, and Sinya turned his head away and closed his eyes. He felt when the giant healer had left, and opened his eyes slowly. The hut was as it had always been, warm and safe, a haven in a universe of unimaginable happenings.

  Cradling Beulah closer to him, he went into her bedroom and laid her carefully upon the bed. Brushing his hand over her brow, he couldn’t stop himself from leaning down and brushing a kiss across her forehead.

  "I love you," he whispered.

  He left her to check on Wes, finding that his condition hadn’t changed. But Wes’s spirit was coming, that he knew. Soon, his brother would be here, and all would be well.

  Weariness seeped through into his conscious, and his eyes felt heavy. Every emotion he’d experienced in the last hours pressed in on him, and all he wanted to do now was sleep. Laying on the bed beside Beulah, he pulled her into his arms, closed his eyes and drifted off into weary slumber.

  ~ * ~

  ::You were right.:: The spirit smiled at Beulah. ::You are going to return.::

  ::I knew I would.::

  ::Your faith in your human is wondrous.::

  ::My faith in love is strong.::

  ::Will you not regret what you have given up?:: The spirit asked curiously.

  ::No. And I haven’t given it up. That part of me still resides deep inside.:: Beulah touched her head, then gestured around them. ::I am there, too.::

  ::Will you tell your human what you are? What you were becoming?::

  ::No. No, there are some things that are not meant to be shared.:: Beulah started to drift away, moving through the layers of the netherworld. ::Maybe I will see you again.::

  ::For a surety, Beulah. We are all togther one day.::

  She slid down through the layers, leaving the nether regions and entering the land of the living. In the distant corridors of her sanctuary, she saw the midnight blue figure sitting patiently at a bubbling fountain. It raised a hand at her, and she raised her hand back in acknowledgement.