Shining Light of the Volstir (The Light of the Volstir Book 1)

by Brian Carmen

  “Put what out?” Victor asked while he tried to look for the cause of Nia’s pain.

  The fear in his voice became quite evident. It was nothing compared to the fear inside Nia. She began to feel the tingling of the fire again while looking at Victor. He had been fighting the Soulem however he had to have seen it. Nia had been completely engulfed in agonizing pain.

  “I was completely on fire! How were you able to put me out when the water didn’t work?” Nia asked as her body began shivering violently.

  She could barely hear him as Victor began trying to explain. Nia was never on fire after she touched the girl she started freaking out. Nia was screaming in pain and threw herself into the water. What Victor was saying sounded completely insane. She had seen the fire and was still able to feel it inside her.

  Nia could feel herself panicking as she felt the return of the burning sensation. It was going to cover her entire body. She yelled at Victor as more tears came from her eyes. He was lying; Nia had seen the flames and could feel them inside of her. She started struggling to keep herself from catching on fire once more. Nia would die if she wasn’t able to keep the fire back.

  A noise came from the tunnel as En appeared. He started looking into her eyes. A soothing feeling began to appear over Nia’s body. En had reached into her and was using her ability to help. He was able to take the fear and fire away. She felt herself calm down as her nerves settled.

  “It’s okay Helaina, I’m here and I won’t let anything happen to you” En said as Nia’s eyes widened.

  She was able to hear him despite Victor being around. Somehow her Polong was able to use her fragile state to connect with her more. Nia was grateful to have him around her. She cared deeply for Victor but only En could save her. The Polong knew her better than anyone and had the deepest connection with her. They were now connected more than they could ever be.

  “You have to calm down and focus on my mind. If you don’t than your sanity will break. You will become a Soulem just like that girl. Trust me Helaina I‘ll protect you” En pleaded.

  He needed her to try and connect with him. Victor was not able to understand what was happening. He knew enough to let Nia’s Polong do whatever needed to be done. She tried to look into En’s eyes but it was hard. The pain was soothed but was still inside of her. Nia felt terrified that the fire inside would never be put out.

  Nia felt En’s presence within her as she tried to reach out with her mind to connect with him. “En, I’m scared” she thought as she felt everything inside her shake with uncertainty. Nia tried to look at En and stay focused on him. The more she tried the more difficult it became.

  “I’m sorry this happened Helaina. I should’ve been down here with you” En said sadly as he tried to push deeper inside her mind.

  She felt a strange sensation as though her ability were being fully used. The strange part was that she wasn’t using it. She had never felt an empath use their ability on her. Another empath wouldn’t be able to affect her. Their ability would cancel each other out. It wasn’t possible except with an empath that had a variation two. Somehow En was able to activate that part of her ability. Nia felt it like a lifeline reaching for her mind.

  Images began appearing inside her head. She felt a reassuring calmness begin to take hold. Nia was back in the field of flowers with Andrew. She saw the picnic and as she turned she saw En staring up at her.

  “You have to focus on your light. It has always been your greatest hope” En said as Nia felt the tears swell up in her eyes.

  Andrew stood up and placed a hand on her cheek as a new stronger calmness began to take hold. They were helping to hold Nia together. She looked at both of them and found a smile appearing on her face. The burning pain was completely gone. Nia could feel that she was going to be saved by the both of them.

  “We have the rest of eternity to worry my love. So let’s just be happy now” Andrew said as Nia looked at him and nodded.

  The images faded as Nia looked and saw both En and Victor. The field of flowers were gone; they were still inside the sewer. Her body was no longer shaking as she struggled slowly to get to her feet. Victor reached out for her and helped her up. Nia was a bit hesitant but she felt Victor’s hands without pain. She looked away from Victor and focused on En.

  “Thank you so much En. I don’t know what would’ve happened if you hadn’t come for me.” Nia said as she felt the strong connection between them fade.

  The cat began leading them towards where the girl had fled. They watched as En sniffed around for a while. He turned back towards Nia and Victor and began shaking his head. He wasn’t able to smell anything beside the stench of the sewer. There was no point in staying in the underground cesspit.

  “Are you okay?” Victor asked as he helped Nia back to the surface.

  They went back to the motel; Victor helped Nia into the shower. She was left in piece as she struggled to regain herself. The hot water soothed her aching muscles. On the way Victor had explained what happened after Nia had been disabled.

  Victor had started to fight the Soulem. Unlike Nia he had been able to make contact without being effected by her strange ability. After hitting the girl in the face she was knocked back apparently defeated. Victor had tried to stop her but she was simply too fast and was able to get away. Nia knew that had never even thought to leave her behind and go after her.

  She got out of the shower and began drying off. She allowed Victor to take a shower as she found a change of clothes. Nia changed into a pair of black slacks with a plain coral colored shirt. She noticed that Victor had thrown both of their other clothes away.

  Nia began trying to help relieve En of the smell from the sewers. They discussed what had happened as she pulled out a can of frebreze. By the time Victor came out of the shower and changed into new clothes En smelled strongly of lavender. Nia had been forced to use a can and a half on him. Despite his dislike for the spray En had insisted that she continue spraying. He had decided to smell of lavender rather than death and feces.

  “I’m sorry to have worried you Victor. I underestimated her and the effect she would have” Nia explained as she apologized.

  Victor was quick to inform her that there was no need. He questioned if the girl was really a Soulem. Nia had told Victor what she knew about them. It wasn’t difficult to question if she was one. She had touched the woman and now new the truth without a doubt.

  “She’s a Soulem without a doubt but something’s different. It’s strange but it’s like she’s broken” Nia tried to explain.

  The thought of a broken Soulem baffled everything she knew. The Soulem were supposed to be Volstir that didn’t turn properly. This girl was like a Volstir that was broken and then broken again. In the last three thousand years nothing of the sort had ever been seen. It went against everything Nia knew but it also made her worried. This was more than a turning gone wrong.

  “A part of the human still lives. It’s like a distorted memory and not the real self. She wasn’t turned willingly. Something horrible was done when she was being turned” Nia explained her guess to the two of them.

  Nia and En had sorted through the emotions she had felt when she’d touched the girl’s skin. They were emotions that Nia had felt only a few times in the past. It was a long time ago but involved POW’s. The feelings from the girl had been even worse. She tried to explain it to Victor so he would understand.

  “When I touched her I felt all hope vanish from the world. It was as though I were being tortured for thousands of centuries. It was only a fraction of what the girl was feeling but it caused my empath ability to activate and almost destroyed my sanity. She wants to die but something inside of her is keeping her from killing herself. We really have to find and kill her. We can‘t let her suffer like this” Nia explained as she felt herself tremble.

  There was no other choice than to take the poor girl’s life. Nia had been able to feel her begging and pleading. Someone had done something to make her into
a monster. If the letter she received was true then Thereon Solbid had something to do with this. Nia would have to talk with Olivia and find the truth.

  “En my friend, I need you to track her and tell us where she’s going. She’ll need to hide before dawn arrives. If we can find her that we will be able to end her pain” Nia explained as En started to walk over to the door. His nose was better at tracking people than any dog Nia had ever met. Nia suspected that the girl probably hadn’t taken a shower. The scent from the sewer would be strong enough for En to be able to find her.

  Victor did not need to be told what to do as he opened the door and allowed En to leave. Their connection had grown must stronger, Nia had no doubt she would be able to follow the cat. They began to pack their things as she tried to reach out to her Polong. Nia only had to think about him in order to know where he was. She didn’t even have to close her eyes and was able to get brief glimpses. En had saved her life while giving them a new tool that would be very useful.

  They both hopped into the truck and began driving. Nia felt the pain surge inside her once again. The trembling inside her began to fill her as En reached out to her. She felt calm almost instantly as she looked out the window. Surprisingly En was able to fortify her mind even from a great distance. Nia wondered how far they could push their new connection before it would start to fade. That was something that En didn’t want to test out. His voice reached out to her.

  “You’re still vulnerable from before. You should distract yourself to remove any traces of the girl‘s memories. Perhaps you should flash Victor and have him lust after you” En suggested as her eyes widened.

  He wanted Victor’s sexual desire to override any of the fear that remained. Nia allowed the comment to pass since En had saved her life earlier. She chuckled and warned that if he continued, she was going to pop him on the head. Looking over at the driver’s side; Victor was able to see that something was going on. He asked about it curiously however Nia avoided the question. Instead she reminded him that they needed to focus on finding the girl.

  She directed Victor to turn onto a road as she thought about the situation. Nia was supposed to be Victor’s maker however he was going to have to take the lead. When they found the girl he would be the only one that could fight. Nia wished that there was some way for her to heal the young girl. She was forced to suffer and the only thing they could do was take her life.

  “Even if we could save her without killing her; what would happen then?” En asked while Victor and Nia moved onto another street.

  Nia thought about what En asked while keeping quiet. The options weren’t good no matter what they did. The letter was delivered by a messenger of the ruling council. She would have to find him and find out if it really was from Solbid. The situation would be more complicated if he were responsible.

  How would she be able to confront Solbid about the girl? Nia would have to talk with Olivia about the situation. She would be the only one that she could trust for honest answers. En broke her train of thought by mentioning that the Soulem had moved. She had started to travel at a faster pace than before. Nia realized that she was going to have to focus on one problem at a time.

  She directed Victor towards the highway. Nia would deal with the monsters responsible after the Soulem was taken care of. She might have been innocent however she wasn’t human. They couldn’t allow her to run around wild. Eventually she would lose control and then start killing.

  They needed to take her life in order to prevent the deaths of others. It was what she wanted them to do. Nia could only hope that her soul would be able to rest in peace. She looked at Victor and the grim expression he had. The girl was going to die and he was going to be the one to do it. Nia would have to prepare him both mentally and physically.

  “Victor, I won’t be able to touch her when we find her” Nia began as she looked into his face.

  He looked hardened causing Nia to realize that he already knew. He didn’t have control over his ability yet. With a little training it could give him an advantage. Nia would help him but in more ways than just training. She knew of a way to destroy her without Victor becoming a murderer. Nia placed a hand on Victor’s leg while smiling at him.

  “I don’t want you to kill her. She has a fragment of humanity in her and we know she was tortured. The problem is she’s still a Soulem and has to die. When we find her we will make her see the light” Nia explained to Victor.

  The girl was a Soulem which meant that she was vulnerable to the sun. It would be the only option for them. She needed to help the girl without hurting Victor. The situation was horrible for everyone involved. They continued driving while En checked in with them. The Soulem was able to go underground but she was still on the move.

  After several hours they needed to refuel. Victor pulled over while Nia tried calling Olivia on a payphone. Nia tried calling several times hoping for guidance. Despite the calls; there was no answer. Since she couldn’t speak with her maker, Nia decided to work with Victor. She decided to take Victor to the side of the gas station.

  Picking up a rock, Nia informed him that she would start driving. Victor was ordered to start practicing his ability. They would need him to have better control over his ability. Nia hated having to put so much pressure on him.

  It had only been a little over a week since he first discovered it. Victor’s telepathy might become their only hope. Nia watched as Victor started focusing on the walnut size stone. She instructed Victor to focus on levitating the stone. It would help his control along with activating his ability on demand.

  Looking through a map Nia began trying to find the roads that would help. They located En and discovered that he was moving westward. Somehow the girl was moving directly towards Loc Moines. At the current speed she was traveling she would reach it within a few days. Something was somehow leading her towards Loc Moines.

  She hadn’t chosen to become a Volstir but somehow she had an unusual amount of knowledge. Nia had spent hours thinking about what had happened when they touched. From what she had gathered; the girl had been kidnapped from China. Someone had been conducting an experiment on her. Nia couldn’t figure out why someone would do such a horrible thing.

  Nia started driving while she tried to help Victor focus. A few times he managed to make the rock float but it only for a few seconds. Victor was getting frustrated with his lack of ability. Nia tried explaining that he was still young and it would take time. He snapped at her while explaining that they didn’t have time to waste.

  There was nothing Nia could do to help him. Only Victor could learn how to use his ability. All she could do was watch while offering a few suggestions. Dawn arrived as they continued to drive without rest. By noon they had entered Nevada where they met up with En. He had stopped moving and was waiting in a city for them.

  “Do you know where she is?” Nia asked as En explained that the girl was somewhere close by.

  He was no longer able to smell the strong sewer scent anymore. Somehow after coming to this city, her scent vanished. En had tried several times to find her but was unable to. Nia could only think of one way that her scent could vanish like that.

  “Someone else found her first. Someone knew she would end up here. It‘s probably the people who experimented on her” Nia suggested with regret.

  They spent the rest of the day searching around the city for any clues. Nia believed that their search would be more difficult now. They needed to find out if she was still on her own or not. Nia started scanning the newspaper while Victor continued practicing. They were close to Loc Moines but would be unable to go until the Soulem was destroyed.

  They found little information as four days past with a few people disappearing. Nia’s heart fell into the pit of her stomach. Loc Moines would eventually have to send someone to investigate. If that happened then the situation could become much worse. Nia and Victor would be executed if they failed to destroy the Soulem.

  She thought about the letter and wor
ried about who had sent it. Throughout the four days Nia had tried contacting Olivia. She didn’t understand why her maker wasn’t calling her back. The fifth day arrived and Nia was feeling frustrated by their lack of progress. Nothing had given them an idea about where the girl was.

  The city wasn’t very large, it only had a population of ten thousand. That meant the girl would only have a few places to hide during the day. Nia could still feel the same pain she had when she touched the girl. En believed the pain was a sign that the girl was near. Nia didn’t know if that were true, she had a feeling the pain would never leave her.

  “She knows we are in the area. She must be hiding somewhere safe for her” En suggested to Nia as the two of them sat in the truck.

  Despite Nia’s protest Victor’s suggested that they split up seemed to be working. By noon of the fifth day they had discovered a clue. Wherever a person disappeared there was also a substantial absence of wildlife. En believed that she was taking her food somewhere safe. Nia agreed as she continued reading the newspaper.

  After another two hours, En had another suggested. They left the truck behind and headed towards a large building. It was around ten stories and had many offices inside. The two ignored the workers and headed towards the roof of the building. They were able to see far across the city as En began to explain his thoughts.

  “You think this will really work?” Nia asked as she looked down at En in disbelief.

  Nia figured that his thoughts on her ability were sound. It was strange that En had learned a lot about her ability. He explained that when they had connected in the sewers that Nia’s ability had unlocked. New things could now be performed including an increase in the connection between the two of them.

  He himself was unsure what the ability could now be capable of but had suggested trying something out. He’d spent the last five days trying to using their connection. Nia didn’t know any of this but the Polong had discovered some things. En thought that she had the potential to find the girl on her own.