by Sue Tingey
I held out my hand to him. “Diargo, Kayla has been abducted,” I paused, wondering how I was going to break it to him, “and I’m sorry, but apart from Vaybian the rest of her guards are all dead.”
“Dead? How can they be dead?”
“The wine you bought from the village was drugged.”
His forehead bunched into a frown. “I remember feeling woozy and coming in here to rest. I must’ve passed out.”
“You did, and I suspect the others did too, except for Radnar who raised the alarm.”
“Is he dead?” My expression must have given him the answer as he grimaced and was silent for a few moments. “But Vaybian survived?” he eventually asked.
“Yes.”
“I must go to him,” he said, striding toward the door.
I followed after him. I knew what was coming and it was going to be heart-rending, but he would never believe me if I told him. Hopefully he would believe the reaction of his former captain.
Jinx glanced my way as I hurried into the room and did a double take. “James,” Jinx said, touching Jamie’s arm.
Jamie looked up and frowned, no doubt at Jinx’s expression. “What’s wrong?” he said. Jinx leaned in close and whispered in his ear.
“Vaybian,” Diargo called. Vaybian didn’t look up from the sword he was strapping to his waist—but why would he? “Captain?” he asked again.
“He can’t hear you,” I said.
Mr. Kerfuffle glanced my way. “Who can’t?”
I ignored the question. “Vaybian,” I called. “A moment, if you will.”
Vaybian turned to me, though not with good grace. He didn’t like me one little bit and it showed. “Lady?”
“Captain,” Diargo said, stepping forward. Vaybian waited for me to speak.
Diargo turned on me. “What have you done to him? Why won’t he answer me?”
“He can’t see or hear you,” I said, addressing him.
“What in the name of Hades is she talking about?” Vaybian said. “Is she deranged?”
Jinx sighed. “She is talking to your brother, Diargo.”
Vaybian began to shake his head. “No, how can she? You told me they were all dead. You told me …” He stopped. “Oh dear Lord of the Underlands. She’s a Soulseer.”
“Say those words again and you’ll say no others,” Jinx snarled at him.
“She can’t be,” Diargo said. “She can’t be.” It was then that what I had told him began to sink in. “He can’t see or hear me?” he said.
“I’m sorry.”
“So I’m … I’m no more?”
“You need to move on,” I told him.
“But how?”
“I think he needs your help,” Jinx said.
“My help? How can I help him? I don’t know how.”
“I thought you helped the dead move on in your world?” Jamie said.
“I’ve told them to move on and they either did or didn’t; I’m not an exorcist.” I looked at Jinx. “Can’t you help him?”
“I bring death to the living, not peace to the dead.”
Diargo was standing in the middle of the room, fists clenched by his sides, head down, shoulders slumped. His fear was palpable, bringing a lump to my throat.
“I wish I could help him,” I said, and I did, with all my heart. Then I began to feel a little odd: a pinprick of warmth began to grow inside me and what I can only describe as a “glow” formed in my chest. I began to feel a little lightheaded. I staggered slightly and Jinx went to grab my arm, but his fingers had barely touched my skin when he jerked away with a gasp.
“What … ?” I started to ask him, but the room lurched and for a moment the air around me rippled.
My feet began to move, although I was sure I didn’t want to move them, and my eyes were dragged toward the bedroom. It was like my body was no longer my own. The atmosphere around me was charged with some kind of energy; like static. Then, just in front of the bedroom door a small dot appeared and began to get larger, as though a tear had begun to form in the fabric of the world. The dot stretched into a line and then a gap, and through it a golden light began to seep and then pour as the tear grew longer and wider. Still my feet moved and I couldn’t stop them. I began to walk toward it.
“Oh my,” Jinx said.
Diargo took a step toward the light then turned to me. “I’m afraid,” he said.
“So am I,” was what I wanted to say, but instead I said, “No need to be,” and gave him an encouraging smile. He looked back toward the light with a nervous expression and began to walk toward it.
“What’s happening?” Vaybian said. “I can feel something—”
“Your friend is finding peace,” Jinx said, and there was something in his voice that made me force my head to turn his way. He was watching Diargo with an expression of awe and wonder on his face.
As Diargo reached the tear he turned back to me. “Thank you, Lady,” he said.
“You’re very welcome,” I said. He gave me one last smile and stepped through the slit and into the light.
He stood there bathed in gold looking every bit like an angel. I saw him look down at himself then glance back at me and smile. His lips moved, though I couldn’t hear him. Through the shimmering light I saw hands reach for him and heard tinkling laughter as they drew him into their world.
I took one more step and another. I was beginning to panic. I was still walking toward the light—and I really didn’t want to join him. By helping Diargo, had I sentenced myself to death, or even a fate far worse? I tried to speak, I tried to call for Jamie to save me, but it was like one of those terrible dreams when you’re scared shitless and as much as you want to cry out for help you can’t. The others were paying me no attention and Jinx was still riveted on the tear; I could have been all alone.
I was almost there. Surely Jinx would see me; surely he would realize something was wrong. Unbidden, my hand reached out toward the light. One step later the golden rays wrapped themselves around my fingers and the sound of laughter grew louder. Another step and my hand reached into the shimmering glow and hovered just on the edge of the tear. For one brief moment the light blazed so bright it dazzled, then the slit sprung together with an audible crack forming a long, dark line, which shrank from either end until all that remained was a mere pinprick; and it was gone—along with all my strength. My legs crumpled beneath me.
Jinx rushed to my side and helped me onto a sofa while the others remained standing, looking at me with shocked expressions. I was confused; for a few moments it had felt like I was no longer in control of my own actions, and it had scared me like nothing else. If I couldn’t depend on my own body, what else was there to depend on?
Five
The atmosphere around the villa as we prepared to leave a little while later was very strange. There was a tension I didn’t understand, although I realized it had something to do with me.
Vaybian had disliked me before, but now his default reaction was fear. Sadly, it wasn’t only his attitude toward me that had changed; both Mr. Kerfuffle and Mr. Shenanigans regarded me with a certain amount of trepidation and even Jamie was on edge.
“Okay, I know that what just happened was … unusual, but why is everyone behaving so strangely?” I asked, looking around the room at each of the demons in turn. “What’s going on?”
Mr. Kerfuffle and Mr. Shenanigans exchanged a sideways glance and kept their eyes firmly on their boots. Vaybian gave me a tight-lipped glare and Jamie stopped what he was doing and came to take my hand with an expression that gave me goose bumps.
“Now you’re scaring me,” I said, trying to pull away from him. He wasn’t having any of it.
“You carry on packing up,” Jamie said to the others and led me outside into the garden. Jinx followed us, and when we were out of earshot of the villa, Jamie pulled me down to sit beside him on one of the marble bench seats surrounding the pool. Jinx dropped down to sit in front of us.
“What’s going
on?” I asked. “Have I done something wrong?”
“No, of course not,” Jamie said.
“Is it something to do with what Vaybian called me: a Soulseer?”
Jinx and Jamie gave each other sheepish glances. I rolled my eyes, I wasn’t stupid enough to have missed all the hints and the expressions, and I’d been called a Soulseer twice now by Amaliel and Vaybian. I just didn’t know what it meant.
“All right,” Jinx said, giving Jamie a sideways, narrow-eyed look. Jamie didn’t quite smile, but it was plain he didn’t care that Jinx would be the one to deliver the news.
I waited, but nothing was forthcoming. “Enough,” I said, now so seriously grumpy I felt like smacking their heads together. “What is a Soulseer? And what does it mean for me? Other than the fact my friends are suddenly scared of me.”
“The Soulseer is a kind of demon legend,” Jinx said, looking to Jamie for confirmation. Jamie waved at him to continue, but his expression was very strange. “And that’s what most of us thought it was—just a legend.”
“So, what’s this legend all about?” I asked, not sure whether I liked the idea of being the subject of a legend. It seemed to me, judging by most stories I’d heard, that legends ended up quite badly for someone; usually the one to whom the legend appertained.
They exchanged another one of their looks and I got the impression that it wasn’t only Kerfuffle and Shenanigans who could communicate without saying a word. Something was certainly going on between the two of them.
I waited somewhat impatiently, but I kept my mouth shut. This time they would tell me even if I had to wait all day and all night. I think they must have seen from my expression that I wasn’t about to let it go. Jinx hopped to his feet to sit down on my other side.
“It’s years since I’ve heard the tale, and when I say years I mean like before the Aztec temples were under construction,” he told me, “but then it’s one of those legends that no one really wants to think too much about.”
Jamie sucked in air through his teeth and shot Jinx a look. Now I was really alarmed.
“This legend …”
Jamie took hold of my hand and started caressing my thumb with his. If it was meant to be comforting I had news for him; my anxiety levels were rocketing.
“Tell her,” he said.
Jinx swiveled around so he was looking at me. “Now don’t go reading anything into this because it is just a legend.”
“Jinx, you’re scaring her half to death.”
“It’s not my intention.”
“Just tell me why don’t you?”
He looked away for a moment; staring into the distance as though collecting his thoughts. I shivered; despite the heat of the day I was feeling cold.
“It is said that a day will come when true evil will walk both the demon and human worlds and then even the dead won’t be safe from its devastation.” He turned his face to look me in the eyes. “Legend says that it is then that a creature will be born who stands astride the worlds of the living and the dead; the Soulseer.”
“Creature?”
“Don’t shoot the messenger!”
“Jinx …” Jamie warned.
“This person will bring comfort to the dead, seeing them on their way, and unite the guardian of life and the bringer of death.”
“You and Jamie?”
He and Jamie exchanged another of their looks. “It would appear that way,” Jamie said.
“Is that it?” I asked, thinking it was probably more than enough.
Jinx took hold of my other hand, lacing his fingers between mine. “The legend is by no means conclusive—but then that’s the way of myths.”
“Jinx, I’m not stupid—what is it you’re not telling me?”
He looked down at our laced fingers; his demon maroon, mine very human pink. He raised our joint hands and rested them against his cheek and smiled at me. “If we three are the creatures spoken of in the legend it will be down to us to save our worlds from forces that, if successful, will plunge both the Overlands and the Underlands into a darkness that will last for more than a thousand years.”
When we went back inside the villa my mind was reeling so it was of some small relief when it became clear that Mr. Kerfuffle and Mr. Shenanigans had been doing some talking. As soon as we stepped through the door they both came to greet us. Mr. Kerfuffle gave me a tentative smile and Mr. Shenanigans had his head bowed, giving the impression he’d rather be anywhere else than standing in front of us.
“Mistress,” Mr. Kerfuffle said, “we, that is, Mr. Shenanigans and I, would like to take this opportunity to reaffirm our loyalty to you and, unless you would rather have us do otherwise, wish to remain in your service as two of your five guard.” He nudged Mr. Shenanigans. “Don’t we?”
Mr. Shenanigans gave me a sheepish smile. “Yes,” he said, “we do.”
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“Of course, mistress,” Mr. Kerfuffle said, and after a nudge, Mr. Shenanigans began nodding enthusiastically. “If we appeared a little …” Mr. Kerfuffle started before looking at Mr. Shenanigans.
“Disconcerted?”
“Yes, disconcerted, it was just because we were somewhat taken aback by the recent developments. First the Sicarii and then,” he gave a little gulp, clearly still nervous, “then finding you to be a hum, a hum, a—”
“A Soulseer,” Jinx said, putting the little demon out of misery.
“Yes, quite,” he said with another tentative smile.
“Well thank you Mr. Kerfuffle—Mr. Shenanigans,” I said, giving them a big smile. I would have hugged them, but it looked like that might tip them both over the edge, given how nervous they were.
“I think mistress, that the time for formalities has passed—Shenanigans and Kerfuffle will suffice quite nicely,” Mr. Shenanigans said with a shy smile.
“Why thank you gentlemen,” I said.
Pyrites chose that moment to come trotting over to rub himself around my ankles and it was true, if no one else, my drakon would always love me, Soulseer or not.
“Are we ready to leave?” Jinx asked, looking around at us. Everyone nodded or said “yes.” “Then let’s be off.”
We all congregated outside and I looked over at Vaybian. He looked even paler when out in the sunshine.
“Do you think Vaybian is really well enough to travel?” I asked Jamie in a quiet voice.
Jamie glanced his way and his lips twitched slightly. “I think his pallor has more to do with the prospect of being in very close proximity to the Deathbringer for the next few hours than his state of health.”
“Maybe I should ask him to ride with me and Kerfuffle go with Jinx?”
“And spoil all Jinx’s fun?”
“That’s cruel.”
Jamie grinned at me. “No, it’s Vaybian getting his comeuppance.”
“For what?”
“For being a rude and arrogant arse.”
I allowed a little smile to creep onto my own lips; Vaybian was rude and rather arrogant, but I still thought it was mean making him ride with Jinx when he was so visibly scared of him.
Pyrites trotted over onto the lawn where he had a bit of room to grow, while Kerfuffle and Shenanigans followed after him with our bags and started loading them into a saddlebag-type arrangement, which they threw over the drakon’s back. If he minded he didn’t show it and instead lay there on his belly waiting patiently.
Shenanigans gave me a leg up onto Pyrites and then helped Kerfuffle up behind me before climbing on himself. Once we were all aboard, Pyrites grew to his full size, which did nothing for my fear of heights. Funnily enough, the height didn’t bother me at all when we were flying, which was totally irrational, like my stupid fear of driving.
Seeing we were all ready, Jinx put his fingers between his lips and gave a shrill whistle. Within moments a dark shadow passed in front of the two suns and before long the air reverberated with the thudding beat of powerful wings. Bob circled us, gradually gett
ing lower and lower until he glided down to land a few yards away with a loud whinny and a thud of hooves.
Jinx sauntered over to his side, patted the creature’s neck and turned to Vaybian. “Coming?” he asked.
Kayla’s lover looked from Jinx to Bob’s massive head and had it not been for the rest of us watching I think he may well have bolted back inside the villa.
Jinx threw himself up onto Bob and trotted him over to stand next to one of the marble benches, his message to Vaybian clear. Vaybian licked his lips and then drew himself up to his full height—spine straight, shoulders back, head held high—marched over to Bob and hauled himself up onto the creature’s back. He may not have been as graceful as Jinx, but he did it without the bench, and therefore without losing any dignity. Once up there, with no saddle or stirrups, he had little choice other than to put his arms around Jinx’s waist. I had to suppress a giggle again. Vaybian’s expression was one of tight-lipped fear, and it didn’t help that Kerfuffle was sniggering away behind me.
Jinx glanced my way and winked. I tried to arrange my features into a disapproving frown, but my lips began to tremble where I was trying so hard not to laugh and I had to look away. Jinx knew though.
“Everyone ready?” Jamie asked, looking at us again. “Then off we go,” he cried as he and Jinx took off together, leaving Pyrites to follow on behind.
We flew along the coast for about an hour before turning inland. The sea was the color of lavender and so clear that in some places I could see the seabed below. On a few occasions I caught glimpses of huge, dark shadows moving beneath the surface and I wondered what manner of creatures lived in the oceans of this world. Although several of the silhouettes could have belonged to large sharks or whales, I did see one long, dark shape that reminded me of a recent satellite photograph taken from above Loch Ness. There was pause for thought: could the creature believed by some to be living in the depths of the ancient Scottish loch be an escapee from this world, rather than a relative of a species long extinct in ours? Demons could travel via water, after all …
If nothing else, there was one thing I was certain of: there was no way on earth anyone was ever going to persuade me into or onto the water in the Underlands, and as for swimming—I was sticking to the pool.
