Soul Render (Soul Stones Book 1)

by T. L. Branson

  The room before them was the largest yet. The ceiling was not visible in the low torchlight, nor was any of the other walls. However, one feature did dominate their view: a raised platform with steps leading to its top.

  They appeared to be in a lower level, which itself was quite small. Ascending the first set of stairs, they reached a flat area that opened up to the wider space of the room.

  “Do you want to check out this level first or go straight for the obvious?” Will asked.

  She didn’t answer, her eyes narrowed and her arms still crossed.

  “Priscilla?” he asked.

  She turned away and wouldn’t look at him. She just huffed and then stepped forward.

  The tension between them that had dissipated over the last few hours had returned. Will might have finally crossed a line with her. Thinking about it from her perspective, it was a tactless joke. A guy had died from choosing the wrong hole.

  Combine that with their argument just hours ago and… well…

  The next two sets of stairs led up the pyramid-like structure. The first set of stairs ended halfway up and flattened out to a small level before another set led to the pinnacle.

  At the top sat a door. A rather unremarkable door. Like so many of the doors in that place, it had no visible handle. Expecting it to be locked, Will threw all his weight into it. It opened with ease and he fell crashing to the ground, landing on his shoulder.

  Will hissed. Priscilla made no move to help.

  Will scoffed and said, “Are you just going to stand there or…?”

  He looked up at her and she was staring behind him. He turned, lifted his head, and followed her gaze. On a raised pedestal in the center of a platform across a narrow stone bridge was a glowing red gem.

  Will turned back to Priscilla and said, “Can you help me up now?”

  Continuing to ignore him, she stepped over him, advancing on the stone. With some effort, Will climbed to his feet. Priscilla stood before the pedestal. She reached out for it.

  “Hey, hey, what are you doing?” Will called out. “Remember my joke?”

  She turned and glared at him.

  “A bad joke,” he said. “Okay, a really bad joke. But you don’t know if that thing is booby-trapped.”

  But she, again, ignored him and grasped the stone. Will closed his eyes and flinched. Nothing happened. She stood there, staring at it in her hands. Will walked up behind her.

  She glanced over her shoulder and said, “It’s beautiful.”

  Similar to Will’s gem, this stone’s power writhed beneath its surface. The outside of the gem was etched with a key, Merva’s symbol.

  She slipped it into her pocket and said, “Time to leave.”

  A staircase leading to a passage sat against the wall at the edge of the platform. The only problem was that half of the staircase had crumbled and fallen into the main chamber below. Will jumped to grab hold of the ledge above, but it was just out of reach. He tried a few more times without success.

  “Give me a boost and I’ll pull you up,” Priscilla said.

  Will put his back against the wall and held out his hands, interlocking his fingers. She stepped into Will’s hands and he pushed her up until she could reach the ledge. Her weight left his hands as she swung her body onto the ledge.

  “Pass up the torch,” she said.

  Will gave it to her and held up his hand, waiting for her to grab it. She stared down at him and paused as if in thought.

  “All right, come on, my turn,” Will said, waving his hand.

  “No,” she said. “I don’t think so.”

  “What?” Will asked, blinking.

  “Good luck getting out of here. You’re on your own,” she said, and then she ran into the passage.

  “Hey! Where are you—Priscilla?” Will shouted.

  The flicker of the torch and patter of footsteps faded as she moved away.

  She’d left him.

  She’d just—left him. In the dark. With no way out.

  Will sat down, his back against the broken staircase.

  Had he missed something? Should he have seen this coming? Was she using him from the very beginning? She admitted as much the day they met, but things really seemed to change. Was it all an act? Or had the events of the last day hurt her more than Will imagined?

  Her abandonment reopened old wounds. In a matter of two weeks, two people he had grown close to had abandoned him. And the ones who fought by his side, he left behind.

  Soul Render indeed. It could tear apart a person’s soul, but it also tore apart his own. It ripped John away from him, ruined his relationship with Robert, killed a man—two men—and destroyed friendships.

  Nothing good had come of it. Nothing, except…

  Except it freed Sebastian’s family. It brought him together with Riley, Blake, and Ocken, however short his time with Blake. Through it, he met Priscilla—Red. Its flare-ups had saved him on more than one occasion.

  No. He could not place the blame of the past few weeks on the soul stone. The actions were his. The decisions were his. The mistakes were his, but so were the blessings.

  The Soul Render was just a tool. How he used it? That belonged to him.

  Will determined he would master it. He would turn this tool of destruction, this destroyer of lives, into a weapon. He would fight against the oppression of his people, his friends, and his family.

  Will closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them, he could see. Darkness had fled before him. He viewed the room through the lens of the soul realm.

  He still possessed his body, yet his vision did not waver. He could not explain it, but neither would he squander its blessing. Once again, the power of the stone came to his rescue.

  Will stood and retraced his steps. He descended the stairs leading back into the main chamber. He couldn’t go back through the hidden passage, but he knew there must be another way out of there.

  Unlike the light of the torch, which only revealed a small area in the darkness, the power of the stone revealed all. Light and dark played no part in the realm of souls. The entire room stretched before him overlaid in blue.

  What they could not see before became apparent now. To the right of the pyramid was a set of double doors. He had a suspicion as to where they led.

  Will approached the doors and found a small lever, similar to the one that opened the hidden passage. He grasped its handle and pulled. A soft click greeted him followed by the grating of stone against stone.

  When the sounds ceased, Will pressed the door and it slid open with ease. On the other side was the chamber he and Red had been in prior to entering the burial passages. Will could backtrack and make his way out from here.

  He ascended the stairs and found himself once again in the tall shaft with the sharp rocks at the bottom. The ladder leading up and out might be broken, but the stubs nailed into the wall still remained. Will grabbed hold and climbed.

  Placing his feet on the stubs proved difficult. They were not tight and spun around the nail. He had to balance just right to advance from rung to rung. Will’s hands reached the intact rungs and he grabbed on, shifting most of his weight to his arms.

  This proved disastrous as Will reached the top rung and it split in half at his touch. Grabbing the nearest rung, he caught himself, but his feet gave out beneath him, unable to find purchase on the stubs.

  The rung he clung to cracked and splintered as he scrambled to find a foothold. Will shifted his hands to the outside of the rung, hoping to prevent the board from breaking, but instead, the nails holding the board to the wall loosened and the rung began to pull away from the wall.

  Will’s feet found stability and he reached his right hand up and grabbed the stub of the top rung. A moment later, the second rung came free and the left side of his body flew out from the wall. His right hand, and the small stub it held, was the only thing keeping him from falling onto the rocks below.

  He used the momentum to swing himself back
and grab the ledge above with his left hand. With the greatest of caution, Will ascended the ladder and climbed into the passage.

  As soon as he was safe, he lay down on the floor, his chest heaving with each breath. After his nerves had calmed, Will stood up and followed the path back up the shaft and out from behind the waterfall.

  Continuing to retrace his steps, he emerged from the cave back on the side of the mountain. Out in the open air, Will’s eyes no longer needed the assistance of the Soul Render. The power within him, somehow sensing this, disappeared and the colors of the world returned. The low light in the sky told him that it was evening, but the sun had not yet set.

  Will followed the path across the rocks that they had taken hours earlier. His heart continued to race, his muscles clenched tight. Will made it back to the flat ground of the forest and took off on a light jog.

  Depending on where Red came out, she had at least an hour’s lead on him. Considering the time it took them to reach the waterfall, Will didn’t think he would make it back to the temple before nightfall, but he would try.

  Will prayed to Lotess that the elf and his mistress would wait for him before spilling their secrets. What would he say to Red when he caught up with her? Would she even want to talk to—

  “—you think you’re doing?” said an unknown male voice.

  Will crouched and ducked behind a tree.

  “I don’t answer to you,” said a female voice in retort.

  He could hear them, but not see them.

  “The king will not be happy to hear you went off on your own again, Maya,” the man said.

  Maya? Drygo’s daughter?

  “It’s ‘Your Royal Highness,’ ” she said. “And you wouldn’t dare tell him. You’re too fond of your head.”

  Will crept closer to the voices, keeping to the cover of the trees and bushes.

  “Get your hands off me,” shouted the female voice.

  They were just up ahead. He could make out the forms of several people through the trees.

  “You’re coming back with us,” the man said.

  Will pushed aside the branches of a bush and got a clear view of the area. Shaw stood in the clearing accompanied by at least ten others. Three of them were Alexei’s men, Tomas included. The other seven were the king’s guard. Shaw must have picked up more men in Tikani.

  Across from Shaw stood a woman.

  It was Red.

  Robert sat patiently in the trees. Dust rose up beyond the horizon, the setting sun creating an ominous glow through the clouds.

  “Here they come,” Strike called out.

  The Revenant had no less than fifteen men and women hidden in the trees surrounding the road leading out of Havan province. Reports were that three separate wagons full of pyridis had left Havan the previous morning. They had set out almost immediately to get in place, even if they had to wait a day.

  They hadn’t waited that long. By the time they were in position, the sun had already begun its decent in the western sky.

  “Remember,” Strike told everyone. “Do not hit the pyridis. If the fragile stones fracture, they’ll explode. This is a theft, not a sabotage mission.”

  “What exactly is pyridis anyway?” Robert asked Strike, who stood right next to him. The red stones had the appearance of a gigantic ruby, but the durability of glass.

  “Volcanic bombs,” Strike said. “The whole northern half of the isle of Kent is one big active volcano. It spews its lava at least once a month. When lightning strikes the lava flow, it creates these rocks, encasing the lava inside. Over time, the lava ferments into a gaseous liquid that’s extremely flammable.”

  “So they’re pretty rare then?” Robert asked.

  “Not exceptionally,” Strike said. “There’s almost always a storm off the coast in the north, but to acquire the numbers the crown is transporting would take years.”

  The first wagon came into view at the front of the dust cloud.

  “Cut the chatter, boys,” Jade said. “Target in sight.”

  “Field operations are my responsibility,” Strike said. “You don’t give me orders.”

  “No,” Jade said. “Talon is in charge of field operations, and since Talon isn’t here, I’m his representative.”

  “This isn’t like your normal snatch and grab jobs, Jade,” Strike whined. “This is a fight. People are going to die. On both sides—I’m not delusional. You don’t have experience running this kind of op.”

  “Will you both quit your bickering or we’ll all end up dead before we can draw our weapons,” Trout shouted from across the road. “I can hear you from clear over here.”

  Silence settled uneasily between them.

  Within moments the gentle groaning and creaking of the wagon’s wheels drifted in on the wind, followed by the low din of voices. Robert pulled in a little closer to the tree, hiding himself in its low foliage.

  Three wagons came into view as they drew closer, each packed tightly together. Robert counted twenty guards escorting it. Adrenaline began pumping through his veins, nerves washing away as they were replaced with excitement. His breath grew heavy and his fingers tightened around the bow in his hands.

  The first wagon passed by. Then the second.

  “Now!” Strike called out.

  A barrage of arrows flew out from the trees on both sides of the road followed by shouts from the guards. Eight men fell under the initial barrage. Robert loaded another arrow and let fly.

  It deflected off a shield. Another four guards fell.

  Strike put his bow down and drew his sword. Robert followed suit. They all rushed out of the trees, shouting as they descended the small hill.

  The remaining guards pulled in tight, forming a thick defensive ring around the wagons. The horses pulling the wagons bucked and whinnied, but stood firm, comforted by the voices of their masters.

  Robert swung his sword high, but it bounced harmlessly off his opponent’s shield. The man pushed him back and swung in low. Robert danced to the side and drove his weapon home through the guard’s armpit and up into his spine. The man fell to the ground.

  Withdrawing his blade, Robert turned to assist Strike beside him. With fifteen to eight, the Revenant would make easy work of the remaining of the guards. Robert thought Drygo would have protected this shipment better than that.

  Before Robert could reach him, Strike called out, “Behind you!”

  Robert spun just in time, raising his weapon to defend against an attack. Robert shoved and the man danced backward, giving him time to survey the situation. One of the Revenant’s men, Percy if Robert remembered right, lay dead on the ground. Robert sucked in air, but didn’t have time to grieve their loss. His opponent rushed in again, bashing Robert with his shield.

  Robert fell down and his sword flew from his hand as he landed. The man came at him, sensing victory. As he drew near, Robert kicked his knee, causing him to stumble and fall to the side.

  Strike rushed in and plunged his weapon into the guard while he was down.

  Strike helped Robert to his feet.

  Glancing around, Robert saw that only four guards remained, but the Revenant had lost at least three of their own.

  They had paid the price in blood, but victory was assured.

  Robert felt a surge of relief wash over him and he let his guard down.

  That’s when the thunder started.

  “What’s that?” Robert asked. “It doesn’t look like rain.”

  Panic flashed across Strike’s face. “That’s not thunder,” he said. “Those are horses!”

  Robert spun around as another dust cloud filled the darkening sky.

  “Form up!” Strike yelled out.

  Jade, Trout, and eight others filed in around them, dropping into defensive positions, creating a line at the rear of the caravan.

  Robert couldn’t tell how many horses there were. The man in front raised his sword and let out a yell.

  “An ambush?” Robert asked.

  “
No, can’t be,” Strike said. “They would have attacked sooner, before all their comrades were dead. And they would have surrounded us.”

  Robert wanted to ask how he could be sure, but the horses were on them then.

  Robert deflected the first rider’s swing, but he was shoved back against the wagon. The second rider came in and Robert ducked low, rising as his opponent’s sword passed, slicing his own weapon into the horse as it rumbled by.

  The animal cried out in pain and fell to the side, its momentum taking Robert with it. He fell to the ground and rolled away as it crashed into the second wagon. The horses pulling the wagon jumped in fright and frantically pulled away.

  The weight of the fallen horse pushed the wagon on its side as the workhorses ran, toppling it.

  Robert sucked in his breath as the pyridis came tumbling onto the ground. All it would take was one broken stone and they’d all die in a fiery explosion.

  The stones rolled onto the ground, inches from Robert’s face, but none broke.

  The rest of the workhorses reacted, all trying to break free from the madness.

  “Set them free!” Jade shouted.

  Robert scrambled to his feet, dodging rushing horses as the Revenant cut the workhorses loose.

  The advancing party passed by them. Five of the Revenant had fallen. Strike was down, blood flowing from a gash in his arm.

  The horses began to circle around.

  If they didn’t do something, they’d all be dead.

  They’d all be dead.

  Robert blinked.

  He looked down at the pyridis at his feet and back up at the approaching horses.

  He reached down and picked one up.

  As hard as he could, Robert chucked the stone at the lead guard.

  It seemed to Robert that time slowed as he tracked the gem’s course through the air.

  The pyridis found its target and hit him square on the chest. The stone shattered and the man was engulfed in flames. He screamed, and his horse fell down under the fiery ball.

  The remaining horses halted, then resumed their charge.

  Robert picked up another piece of pyridis.