Soul Control

by C. Elizabeth

  Then he whispered, “It’ll be all right, Adina. We’ll all be with her.”

  Mom stared at the ground while Dad finished. “Today we were informed from within the Pyre realm that they know who the vessel is, and they’ve known for almost two weeks.”

  Zack not so gently pulled me into his side and held me.

  I whispered, “It’s real, isn’t it?”

  It wasn’t a question that needed an answer, but Zack felt compelled to answer anyway. “Yes, Miss Saydi, it is. But don’t worry, we’re all here to help you, train you, and make you strong. You’ll fight with skills and bravery, of this there is no doubt, and your Spirit Light will be powerful enough to destroy the Rondure.”

  Zack’s confidence didn’t rub off. “Is there really going to be a battle with...demons?”

  Dad nodded sadly. “The prophecy will come to pass. The battle will happen if you don’t give up your Spirit Light willingly.”

  I heard Mom gulp.

  I wonder if there will be witches, goblins, werewolves... Oh, oh! Maybe even vampires will show up.

  “John!” Mom cried, snapping me back to reality.

  “She’s fine, Adina.” As he touched her cheek lovingly, it was still obvious that worry clouded his features. He was staying strong for Mom. “This battle will not be anywhere near as big as the Two Thousandth Year War, as we’d always believed.” Watching me closely, he explained, “It will only be fought by a few, but they will be the strongest of both the Tov and Pyre—the outcome of which will deliver the fate of all mortals.”

  The stress showed on everyone’s faces. I was so involved in how it affected me that I hadn’t paid attention to how it affected them. “How did they find out?”

  My ageless dad seemed to, well, age just a bit. The anxiety was there, just under the surface. “Recently they discovered the vicinity of where you were, yet still didn’t know who you were. The range could be hundreds of miles.” He chuckled tightly. “Of course, we had you well guarded when we discovered what they were up to, but we kept it from most, just to keep everyone calm and acting normally. We couldn’t risk someone giving it away.”

  It was like living in a dream state. I’d been tossing them questions as if I needed answers for some ordinary, everyday occurrence...yet both the questions and answers involved souls, demons, and such. Surreal. “How does the Rondure work?”

  Dad held my hand. “When the vessel’s Spirit Light completes the Rondure, the evil that lies within it right now will feed off that Spirit Light, gaining strength and self-support...nothing will be able to stop it then.”

  “Will it actually eat away at me physically, like an alien feeding off me from the inside out?” It was a legitimate question.

  André looked caringly at me. “Saydi, your Spirit Light is the light that guides you, just as a flashlight illuminates the night. It will leave you and enter the Rondure. The Rondure is a real sphere of fire that’s hollow in the middle.” He couldn’t seem to look me in the eye. “In essence,” he continued, “they steal your light, plunging you into a dark existence.”

  Oh! Sure, why not! “Well then, how does my...light...destroy it? It doesn’t make sense, because if my light completes it and Dad says nothing can stop it at that point, how can it destroy it before it completes it?”

  Mom stayed hidden in Dad’s chest as he patted my hand and tried to console her. “We’re not sure, Saydi, but we suspect it means your Spirit Light must be stronger than the evil so it will feed off of it, instead of the other way around, and when it does, it will ultimately destroy it.”

  Aha. So my light works in reverse, converting evil into ‘fuel’ so that I can destroy it, I thought, but being sarcastic added, “Since you don’t know for sure, I’m assuming it’s another one of those things that got lost over the years?” The question was more for my own self.

  “How will we know if it’s strong enough?” I continued.

  Complete silence.

  “Well?” I pushed.

  André licked his lips. “The only way is by giving up your Spirit Light to the Rondure.”

  Even if the whole story were a cockamamie lot of stuffed words, the fact that there was no clear instructions on how to play the game scared the crap out of me.

  On to the next question. “For them to get it...I have to give it up, right?” It was another rhetorical question, no answer required. “Who in their right mind would give it up willingly?” I pressed.

  Mom sniffled. “Saydi, honey, you know how they work, tempting you with things you normally couldn’t achieve or have. Then when you take the bait, you’re hooked on the drug, wanting more and more, until...it’s too late and they’ve tangled you in the web.”

  André’s words stuck in my mind, pulsating continuously until they registered. I laid my head against the wall and spoke the worst out loud, “Mom...” I hauled my very heavy head up and exposed what everyone seemed to miss. “I will have to give it up willingly. If I don’t, we’ll never know if I can destroy it.”

  André whistled through his teeth. “She’s right.”

  “It’s a good thing only our leaders know of the scroll’s contents,” commented the white-haired lady, who looked softly at me with a smile.

  “Yes, that’s true, Pearle. As it is now, the Pyre only know that they have to tempt her through normal means—slow going temptation,” Dad informed.

  And with answers came more curiosity. “Um...question.”

  “Yes, sweetheart?” Dad answered.

  “To destroy it, I have to give up my soul. Doesn’t that mean I’m soulless anyway after the fact?”

  Such love, fear and torment laid just below the surface of his strident, tough exterior. “No, no. If you give it up yourself to destroy it, and you’re successful, it will come back to you.”

  “What if they take it while I’m trying to destroy it?”

  Everyone kind of sighed heavily.

  Dad explained, “Saydi, if they intercept it, it won’t matter, because either your Spirit Light has the strength to destroy it or, if not, they gain control anyway.”

  Mom broke down, Dad bundled her in his arms in a flash, kissing her whole face.

  Twenty-one

  Buying time to digest all of the pieces of the puzzle, I stated, “I need some water.”

  Before I could make a move to get it, Mom sprang to her feet. “Of course, honey,” she offered and quickly made her way through the crowded kitchen toward the sink. “Do you want ice?” I knew what she was doing; she needed to keep busy.

  “Sure, Mom... Thanks,” I said, then laid my forehead on my arms. “And a straw, too, please.”

  “Okay,” she answered. I heard the tap water running and the sound of ice plinking in a glass.

  “Are you okay?” Dad asked, concerned.

  Mom placed the drink in front of me. I sipped it, feeling the cold liquid working its magic as it hydrated my brain.

  “If you don’t mind...” I began, hesitating for fear of being rude, “Can you give me a sec to figure all this out? I just need a few minutes to absorb this crazy new reality.”

  After all, I’d just learned I have a father who’s a god, that I’m half-god, that he’s been watching me my whole life, that he separated from me only to save me, and that I’ll live to be one hundred and fifty or so. Oh—and that I hold power over evil and could possibly prevent a demonic meltdown!”

  Mom stroked the back of my hair gently. “Would you like to lie down, honey?”

  I nodded, looking at the clock. It was only ten-thirty, but it felt like we had been discussing the issue for days. Odd how it had only been a couple of hours since leaving Norma’s.

  She smiled. “How about lying on the couch? We’ll give you some space, and I’ll make some sandwiches.” There she went again, doing stuff to keep busy. “Are you hungry?”

  “She likes grilled cheese,” offered Dad. “With Doritos.”

  “Wow, Dad, you really have been watching all these years!” I laughed for real
for the first time that night, even though I felt exhausted. The thought of lying down almost had me excited, especially when the couch came into view—a shuffling of feet followed me.

  “Hey!” Mom demanded. “I said we would give her some space! She needs a breather, so time out.”

  The shuffling went back toward the kitchen, making me feel guilty—how rude it seemed to banish an entire group of gods to one tiny kitchen.

  Mom was in protective mode. “She doesn’t need us breathing on her right now...”

  I interrupted. “Mom, it’s okay. Some real alone time would be good. I’m just going to go to my room and that way you can have the living room.”

  “That’s sweet of you, Saydi,” Dad said. “Mom or I will bring your sandwich and chips in.”

  “Thanks.” The thought of my room and some total privacy sounded heavenly and I could use a little heaven...considering I was destined to take on the demon world.

  My bedroom was my only true sanctuary, and once the door latched, I dove onto my bed. Pulling the comforter up, I sat crossed legged, collecting myself. Then I fluffed two pillows behind me and lounged against them, grabbing a notebook off my nightstand. It seemed the only way for me to wrap my head around the whole thing, was to write it down.

  The vessel—that’s me. I, Saydi, am the vessel who holds what the Pyre needs...the key. The key is precious, it is my soul, my spirit light.

  Words like catacomb took on a whole new meaning—the catacomb referenced in the book is the place the Tovs hid the Rondure and can only be opened with my strength and truth.

  And the Rondure... Okay, the Rondure is an actual creation of the demons, created to steal the Spirit Light of humans...in other words, their souls and all Spirit Lights are kept in the Spirit Chamber until each human is born.

  Ugh! It was like learning a foreign language, one that just so happened to stem from my own ancestry.

  Pure strength. Mom, Dad and Tovs believe I need pure strength and pure truth to open the Catacomb and it, in turn, will release the Rondure—for the Rondure to be destroyed, my Spirit Light must be strong enough within me for it to feed off the evil inside it. Eww...that’s a pretty detestable diet!

  Free will. In essence, if the Pyre don’t have to tempt humans and can simply take their souls to do their bidding, then mortals have lost their free will to make good decisions. In fact, they will have lost the right to make any decisions at all about their lives—their lives would be forfeit. I can’t let that happen.

  Temptations. How weak we are, that we can be controlled by temptations, never quite being able to overcome our urges, our greed, our relentless quest for more. The Pyre manipulate through those temptations...which is actually fairly typical for their type of species.

  Mom came and went with my grilled cheese and chips, and since I generally wasn’t allowed to eat in my room, Mom obviously felt the occasion trumped our usual house rules. She knew the revelations were important—yet more important than that, I had to grasp it all and embrace it. The bottom line: My soul could either destroy or save all of humanity.

  ~ * ~

  With a full tummy, I must have dozed off, because when my eyes fluttered open, my life was finalized—there was a clear set, unknown path I was to follow. Instead of my decision being: Should I buy that red sweater or the blue one? It was: Do I give up my soul to save souls and in the process quite possibly destroy them? Or do I simply remain greedy and keep it all to myself?

  At that moment, the demons encompassed my mind and an earlier day’s event took on a whole new meaning—Nathanael’s blood-red eyes pierced my soul, again. With my own self-indulgent worries engulfed in fear, I threw off my comforter—the pillows went flying and I bolted straight up.

  “Nathanael! Mom, they were doing some kind of ritual on Nathanael! You have to help him! We have to get him away from there!”

  There was no shuffling when they heard my shrill scream, for it sent a stampede of footsteps down the hall and straight into my room. The door burst open and the sight they saw must have been spectacular—plate upside down on the floor, Doritos strewn all about, hair in an upheaval. I must have looked like a crazy person. My tears were instant. He was being hurt.

  My parents simply stared at me. André nervously touched a perfume bottle on my dresser.

  My eyes darted along the line of faces, surely pleading for a much more frantic response to such horrible news. “What is wrong with you? We have to do something! Nathanael is being tortured!” I insisted.

  As they stood at attention, mute. I looked to Dad again, beginning to feel completely helpless. It made me mad and again I attempted to get some kind of caring for Nathanael out of them. “What can we do? He needs help!” I yelled, persisting despite their lack of reaction.

  They didn’t seem to comprehend the gravity of the situation. They weren’t getting how horrible it looked.

  No one even glimpsed at me.

  Finally, Dad licked his lips, and it was the first time that whole night that he actually didn’t look at me while he spoke.

  “Saydi, Nathanael is a Half Night. All the Braxton boys are.”

  With all the information of who I was and that my reality wasn’t reality at all, the only thing that finally snapped me was the fact that Nathanael was a Half Night.

  Slumping into a pile on my purple rug, I recalled Nathanael’s eyes blazing, the deadness of them...he was part of it. My chest heaved as hysterics took hold. The boy that I loved—yes, loved—was a monster.

  The emptiness returned with a vengeance, literally taking my breath away. The voices around me were distant and my mind floated away to a place that would keep me safe from the horror of it all.

  It will be okay, Saydi, I promise. The voice soothed from the farthest reaches of my mind.

  Everything faded to black.

  Twenty-two

  The wind against my window extracted me farther and farther away from my peaceful place, bringing with it the light from the morning sun. It was something that used to make me happy, but that day it only brought the hollowness back, proving that none of the night before was a dream. The only thing to stop me from screaming was to curl up in a ball under my blankets and cry.

  The things that were happening couldn’t be real, and yet they were. My whole life was a farce and I was the puppet. My reality was never my reality. It felt like my life was snatched away from me in one night, shattering everything I ever believed in.

  “Saydi,” Mom called from behind my bedroom door.

  There wouldn’t be an answer. The disclosure of who Nathanael truly was hurt too much.

  She knocked and I heard my door open. “Saydi, honey, its eleven o’clock. Did you want some breakfast?”

  I shook my head.

  She came over and rubbed my back. “How are you feeling?”

  Again, no answer.

  She sighed. “I know it’s all been very difficult. I know how you feel. You should have seen me when your dad told me he was a god.” She giggled at the memory. “I flipped. Well, at first I thought this wonderful man whom I loved was crazy, and that I would have to give him up or put him in a loony bin.”

  That made me giggle. I turned around and put my head on her knees, cuddling around her.

  “Hmm, it’s been a long time since you’ve done this,” she said, stroking my hair.

  “Mm-hm.”

  “How is she?” I heard Dad ask.

  “She’s good,” Mom said.

  I peeked up just as he sat behind her and put his chin on her shoulder. Looking down at me, he smiled. “You gave us a little scare last night.”

  “I’m sorry, it was just too much,” I confessed.

  He tweaked my nose. “I can understand that. How are you feeling about everything this morning?”

  I shrugged. “It hurts.”

  “What about the rest of it?” Dad asked.

  “It is what it is, I’ll try and take it day by day. I just don’t...” I buried my face in Mom’s lap.
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  “Oh Saydi, we know how you feel about Nathanael. It was written all over your face the first day,” she consoled.

  Wiping my eyes, I responded, “You knew who he was, and that’s why you freaked out about the book.”

  She shook head. “Honey, I didn’t know until that moment who they were. Numerous families had moved into the neighboring towns and until you brought the book home, it was impossible for me to decipher who, if any, were the ones looking for you.”

  “You didn’t know they were demons?” The question was directed to Dad.

  “We did, but your mother didn’t. It was best she not know, it would be too difficult for her to act normally and keep her daily routine. It was bad enough she knew they were near. Unfortunately, she figured it out when you brought the book home. That we did not anticipate.”

  “Why did it have to be him?” Again, thinking out loud.

  Dad wiped away my tears. “Well, as you said, it is what it is.”

  They were both smiling at me like they knew something I didn’t.

  I stared at the wall. “If we’re gods...” I sniffled. “Then how could I fall in love with the wrong person?...Er, man...I mean, Pyre.” Throwing my arm up, I concluded, “Eww! Whatever he is!”

  “Because you didn’t,” Mom said coyly.

  Twisting my head to look at her, I asked, “What do you mean?”

  They had a grin clear across their faces and their eyes were sparkling.

  Pushing myself up, I knelt on the bed. I felt the emptiness lifting in anticipation of what they were going to tell me. “What?”

  “Well, you fainted last night before we could tell you the rest,” Dad said. “We’ve been watching the Braxton clan since the triplets’ birth. Since before you were born, numerous informants told us that they’d be the ones sent to fetch the Spirit Light, when it was time.”

  Wow! It was all so espionage-ish.

  “The boys have been well-trained physically and mentally. They are masters of their abilities and experts at breaking even the healthiest of Spirit Lights. Their whole upbringing has been geared to one thing: Find the vessel and deliver its Spirit Light.”