Souls of the Never

by CJ Rutherford

  Katheryne looked across to Perri with a wide-eyed expression as she stage whispered, “How did they hear about you in Science with Mr Johnson?”

  Perri feigned a look of shock. “Kat, it was Biology with Mr Johnson, remember?” She swept her hair aside with a nonchalant shrug, and again they descended into a giggling fit.

  “Joke, Daddy,” Perri gasped to her father between breaths. Her father gave her one of his hard stares. Perri knew when not to step over the line, but she reckoned today of all days she could push the boundaries. Just not too much. She respected him and his blood pressure too much to go too far. Besides, it was time to go.

  As the four of them walked across Shaftesbury Square, towards the main university building, Katheryne had never felt happier.

  Switzerland__The Same Time

  Jason looked on as his teams carried out the final calibrations. All had been ready for hours now, but this was another way for Jason to keep them, and if he was honest, himself, focussed. This was the moment they had worked toward for the past three and a half years, ever since the first incontrovertible evidence had been gathered of the existence of extra dimensional space. This, in itself, had been a small step toward the final completion of a stable wormhole to another dimension, but the evidence that the space in between these dimensions existed, and was theoretically navigable, was a huge achievement.

  And so it was with pride that Jason looked up at his wife, sitting in the viewing gallery with a number of the senior members of the facility. She winked at him cheekily, and he smiled back mouthing ‘I love you’ to her. She looked around, embarrassed to see a few of the others had seen his open display of affection, and were smiling in her direction. She didn’t mind. After all, she knew most of them, had known them for years in fact, and both she and Jason considered them friends.

  The time had finally come, and Jason sat in his chair with his pulse racing, and entered the coded sequence to start the process.

  Jules reached across from her seat next to him and squeezed his hand. He turned and they simply smiled and nodded to each other. Neither of them believed in luck, just in science.

  “Particle beams at full strength, beams are in alignment,” reported Jules as she watched the monitors. In the chamber which housed the phenomenon, known as the collider aperture, but affectionately christened the rabbit hole by the team, dozens of beams collided at the same point creating a microscopic reaction similar to a sun.

  Jason punched another sequence and watched as the instrumentation confirmed the convergence of the beams. The monitors automatically dimmed the display so the guests could watch without the need for protective glasses.

  “We have a collision event,” he said, sounding calmer than he could possibly feel. The handling of collision of particles travelling close to the speed of light was a delicate balancing act. One tiny mistake in their calculations could start a chain reaction which would kill them and everyone else in the underground facility instantly.

  “Stand by for matter injection,” said Jason quietly.

  The exotic matter in question had been collected during multiple beam collisions at variable lower intensities over the last few months, and stored in magnetic containment vessels. Of course there had been several smaller-scale experiments carried out to prove the theory behind what they were about to do, but this was the first full-strength procedure. The magnetic siphon moved slowly into position.

  Jason gave a final look around to his team and to the people in the gallery, and to his wife and unborn child, and pushed the button which ended his world.

  What happened next should have been impossible, as a barely-visible, instantaneous reaction ripped across the space between the collider aperture and lab. Something not quite there appeared in the air before the viewing gallery. Like a circle of silver shot through with diamonds, it was present for just an instant, before seeming to lunge at the group and simply winking out of existence. Whatever it had been was gone. And so was Alice.

  Katheryne slammed the door of the apartment, almost hitting Perri in the process.

  “Why bother,” she slurred. “They don’t give a shit. They sent me here to school because they couldn’t be annoyed with looking after me.” Her hand slipped off the counter of the breakfast bar. She stood up, staggering, but trying her best to appear sober; and failing.

  “They don’t give a shit!” Her eyes glazed. Kat slumped down in a chair.

  Perri was bleary eyed, but sighed in frustration. She loved Kat’s parents, but jeeze, on the one great night of their daughter’s life they couldn’t be bothered to turn up.

  “Why don’t you try calling them again, Kat?” Perri sat down beside her friend. “There’s got to be some sort of explanation.”

  Katheryne sat with her arms crossed and her bottom lip stuck out in a sulky pout. “What’s the point? It’s not as if this is the first time they’ve let me down.” She turned to look at Perri. “You know, I keep on defending them; keep telling people they’re good parents. Well no more!”

  Perri knew it was the drink talking, so rather than contradict her she remained silent.

  Katheryne got up. “I’m going to bed. If they call...well, tell them I don’t want to speak to them. Ever again!” She staggered towards her bedroom door, but before she was halfway there the door bell sounded.

  Kat rounded on the door. “Ha! They’ve arrived at last. Well let’s see what excuse they have this time.” She opened the door, ready to tell her parents what she thought of them. The first word was halfway out of her mouth when she saw the uniforms.

  How long the soul floated in the emptiness could not be guessed. There was no time in the void between dimensions, so there was no way for it to reference the passage of minutes, hours, or even years.

  A whisper remained, of another soul, linked embryonically to its own being, but the memory was weak, clouded and dim as everything before here and now was. The other consciousness had passed on somewhere else, leaving the single soul wandering this void, lost and alone.

  Alone, that was, until it felt the presence of another–an entity which wasn’t a soul, or if it ever had been, it was blackened and corrupt beyond redemption.

  The wandering soul recoiled in fear from the malice and evil emanating from the other, trying to hide, but there was nowhere to hide in the void. The aberration which had found it, chased the soul relentlessly, inevitably finding its prey. Toying with and torturing it, releasing it and letting the helpless soul think it had escaped, just to be drawn back into its maw.

  After a time the being grew bored. Even though there was no way to measure the passage of time here, it knew it could not stay indefinitely. Its visits to the void were fleeting, and up until now had provided no escape from the utter loneliness of its corporeal prison.

  So it imprisoned the soul within itself, intending to return with it to the physical plane, and use the life force pulsing inside to bolster its own ebbing existence, but in doing so it perceived new memories blossoming within its consciousness. There were visions of a blue world, with an abundance of life. Life which existed for one purpose, to follow another’s will, it thought.

  His will, Tenybris finally realized, as he returned to his physical body, with the memories of the first soul he had consumed in eons still fresh and boiling through his mind.

  A greed, which had lain dormant for an age, awoke inside him, furiously sweeping aside his intransigence. He became fully aware of how close he’d come to fading into oblivion.

  Looking around at his prison, he saw it consciously for the first time in thousands of years, and felt something completely alien to him.

  Hope…hope that he would finally escape this dungeon of his own making. He saw the bloody marks on the stone walls that his fingers had etched, as he’d in his madness attempted to break free.

  He knew now, as he’d grown increasingly insane, his consciousness had been released to wander the Never. He still couldn’t understand how he could have brought the soul bac
k. It should not have lingered long enough to be found. It should have dispersed and been absorbed almost instantly after its passing, joining with the energies of the Never to be reborn again.

  He put these irrelevancies aside however, as his mind regained clarity and the hunger drew him back to his escape. He had this soul, one purer than he could ever have thought possible. The energy within it would provide him with sustenance for another thousand years if he consumed it now.

  But this would only prolong his imprisonment here, so he dismissed the notion immediately. No, he thought as he looked around at the carcases of the great dragons which littered the fortress, there is another way.

  If this innocence could be turned, if it could be corrupted, he could use it to find a way to this blue world it was from. Not for him directly, until he could devise a way to break these walls around him, but if the memories brought to him were to be believed, this world possessed a magic perfectly suited to doing just that.

  This... science, would provide at last a means to free himself, and once he was free, this same science, and the mighty weapons already possessed by these humans might...no, would, assist him in returning to his own birthright.

  He would pierce the “Veil” which the accursed Olumé had used to rip his magic away. Pierce it and consume all the life and magic hidden there, and when he was done, all magic, all power would be held within his form to be used solely at his whim.

  He laughed, but there was no merriment in the cruel sound. It was his first laugh in millennia that hadn’t been wholly insane. He had purpose again, and set about his plans with just one thought and desire in his black heart.

  Revenge!

  Belfast—Eyes in the Mirror—Present Day

  “There’s your friend again,” said Perri, smirking, while flicking her eyes toward someone behind Katheryne’s shoulder.

  “Stop it Perri!” snapped Katheryne. There was an edge to her voice. Perri was always trying to set her up with someone or other, but this evening she just wasn’t in the mood. She was tired, and knew she should have stayed at home tonight.

  The ‘friend’ in question, had so far avoided her gaze, as every time she glanced round, he vanished into thin air. This was the third bar they’d been to this evening. It was their friend Stacey’s birthday party, but this ‘invisible stranger’ turned up, according to Perri at least, right after they arrived in each one.

  Perri was good with faces, especially cute boy faces, which this one obviously was, judging by the eager expression on her face. Perri liked boys. Considering they’d attended an all-girls school, it was amazing she’d racked up the amount of boyfriends she had. Katheryne knew Perri wasn’t a slut or anything; it was just her confidence and manner made it easy for her to go after anything, or anyone, she set her sights on. Sometimes the boys in question even had a choice, Katheryne thought, with an inward chuckle.

  “C’mon, it’s your round,” Perri shouted over the music, as she dragged Katheryne to her feet, and pushed through the crowd toward the packed bar. Although the student population dwindled at the end of term, a Saturday night in Belfast was always buzzing.

  As they stood there waiting, Katheryne’s eyes were drawn to the mirror behind the bar, and she stood staring at the crowd reflected in it. Something wasn’t right. It felt like someone was watching her, and she tensed as she glimpsed a reflection of dark eyes staring at her. The hairs on the back of her neck rose up. Goose bumps appeared on her arms, as she felt a mild electric shock wash over her body. Her face flushed, and her heart raced as she tried to turn, but she couldn’t move a muscle. She was a rabbit trapped in the headlights of an onrushing car, waiting for the inevitable to happen, completely dazzled and mesmerised by the intensity of those impossible eyes. Both of them were trapped, unwilling and unable to look away from each other. The longing reflected from the gaze hit her full force. She felt love, denial and hopelessness, and part of her broke inside. This being, whoever he was, was in pain.

  “What’s yours, luv?” shouted the barman over the noise, shattering her out of the spell. For a second, Katheryne reeled in shock, but she shook herself and turned to look around. A horrible sensation of loss settled at her core, as she desperately searched the crowd; but whoever those impossibly bright, dark eyes belonged to had disappeared.

  At this point, all Katheryne wanted to do was turn to Perri and tell her she wanted to go. Her heart was beating harder than she could ever remember, and a cold pit formed in her stomach.

  Unfortunately, Perri was busy talking to a tall blonde man and his friend; for a second Katheryne wanted to run, knowing this would be another matchmaking fiasco.

  This may have been on Perri’s agenda, until she turned and saw Katheryne’s terrified expression. She turned to the guy, shouting they’d be right back, before grabbing Katheryne by the elbow and heading for the door. As they got out into the fresh air, Perri turned to her friend, a look of consternation on her face.

  “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Perri frowned, standing with her arms crossed, waiting for an explanation. She knew Katheryne hadn’t wanted to come out this evening, but earlier she’d detected the signs of the depression she thought passed months ago. She wasn’t about to take any crap excuse for bailing on her and her friends. Especially, she mused, when the guy she’d just been talking to seemed so responsive.

  “I think . . . Perri, I don’t understand what I saw, but whatever it was I can’t explain it,” said Katheryne, breathlessly. Her head reeled. What she’d just seen, if she hadn’t imagined the whole thing, was impossible, but she needed to tell her friend.

  Perri’s concern, the suspicion she’d had a few minutes ago in the club, perked itself up again. She’d also seen something which disturbed her.

  “OK, Kat, you’re scaring me now.” Perri’s voice trembled. She hadn’t seen her friend this jumpy in months. “Are you sure you even saw anything? I mean, it was pretty dark in there and the lights...”

  Katheryne cut her off sharply. “I’m not crazy, Perri. I might not know what I saw in there, but I’m sure it was real . . . well, sort of . . . I think.”

  The uncertainty in Katheryne’s voice mingled with something else, and Perri shuddered when she realized it was fear, terror even.

  Katheryne’s voice trembled as she spoke. “It was the dream, Perri.” She looked up, and Perri couldn’t mistake the fear in her eyes. “The guy I saw in there. I’ve been seeing him in my dreams.”

  For a second, Perri looked like she would ridicule the whole idea. Man of my dreams . . . yeah, right, until she saw the pained expression on Katheryne’s face.

  “You’re serious, aren’t you?” Perri realized the sight she’d seen earlier might be linked to what Katheryne was talking about. She felt a shiver go up her spine, and looked around quickly, but saw nothing beside the normal human traffic of a late Saturday evening.

  Katheryne slumped down on the low wall outside the bar, and closed her eyes. “I didn’t get a good look at his face, but his eyes, it was like they were looking into me, not just at me. God, I’m going mad.” Katheryne snorted. “Must be the lack of sleep.”

  Perri narrowed her eyes. “You told me the dreams had gone.” This just gets better and better, she thought.

  “Well, about that.” Katheryne looked down at the ground. She supposed she’d better get this over with. “Gone might have been too strong a word.” She could tell Perri was angry with her, and she didn’t blame her. She’d sworn to her she hadn’t had a dream in weeks. It was the only way she’d been able to persuade Perri to take the job in Dublin, while she stayed on in the apartment they’d rented shortly after graduating from Queens. Now the look of guilt on Perri’s face nearly broke Katheryne’s heart.

  Perri, however, gave herself a shake, and stood up. “Wait there and I’ll get our coats. You can tell me all about it when we get home.”

  Katheryne nodded her head in thanks, and sat waiting for her friend. This was a conversation she wasn’t looking forwa
rd to.

  Across the street, a young man and woman sat on a bench with their backs to the club. Both of them had piercing blue eyes. His were unusually dark, a shade of blue just lighter than black, while the girl’s were the color of pale morning dew. The woman’s long hair was the color of pale gold, almost white. He had wavy, jet black hair reaching down to the nape of his neck, but besides these cosmetic differences, their similarity was unmistakable. But then, this was common in twins.

  The blonde woman looked over her shoulder, at the solitary young woman sitting on the low wall, and chuckled.

  “What’s so funny?” grunted Derren sullenly, making a conscious effort not to look round himself.

  “I can see why you fell in love with her, she is beautiful. Different, somehow, from the others.” Krista turned to her brother. “How is that possible, do you think?” The question was rhetorical, but she raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

  Derren did his best to ignore his sister’s question, but it was no good. Krista always enjoyed exploiting her brother’s discomfort. It was a game they both played.

  “I wonder what the Leadership back on Sanctuary might say about your . . . attraction,” she said, teasing him.

  “I’m not in love with her,” grumbled Derren, even worse-tempered this time. He turned, so his sister could look up into his eyes. “I’m not in love with her.”

  “If you say so, little brother,” muttered Krista, as she glanced over again, smiling. The girl with the dark red hair had returned with their coats, and both got up ready to leave.

  “Explain how she could see you again?” asked Krista, taunting her little brother of all of seven minutes. “Her, and her little red-headed friend there too. That shouldn’t be possible. We should be invisible to everyone here.”

  “Her friend,” replied Derren in an exasperated tone, “whose name is Perri, in case you’re interested, seems to have some level of power. Undeveloped, but enough to break through a common diffraction cloak at least. Once I realized she could see me I fixed the error. It won’t be a problem again.” Derren’s face reddened. He didn’t like making mistakes, but he had made too many assumptions about the level of power they expected to encounter here.