Soul Render (Soul Stones Book 1)

by T. L. Branson

  He entered the square and veered to the northern spoke of the wheel, leading him to Tikani’s docks. Once there, it would be a trivial matter for a member of the king’s guard to acquire a ship heading back to Shadowhold.

  23

  Will sat at the edge of the lake staring out at the backside of the Frostpeaks. Riley and Ocken had left that morning. They were headed back to Shadowhold. Will would rejoin them after he completed his training and they would set the plan in motion.

  Evindal was escorting them back through the Wandering Wood. Allynna said Evindal possessed the power of Erintos, god of nature. His power gave him control over the wood, granting Riley and Ocken safe passage.

  Will couldn’t begin his training until Evindal returned. He asked Allynna if she would train him but she refused. When he pressed her, she gave him some non-answer about having too much to do. Will didn’t know what she could possibly have to do stuck inside the temple.

  Instead, he found himself with some time on his hands. He could think of nothing better to do than to enjoy the kiss of the sun on his skin and the caress of the wind in his face. He thought it would help, but it did little to warm his heart. He was truly alone for the first time since… well, since before he left Celesti. He dwelt on the events of the past few weeks.

  He could hardly believe that only three weeks prior, he and his brothers were planning to strike back at the king for all he had taken from them and so many others.

  Now he was alone. John was gone and Robert… he didn’t know where Robert went.

  Will had stolen a soul stone, unlocked its powers, and then lost the stone again. Drygo knew about his power. Knew what he could do. He probably even knew where Will would go. Knew that, eventually, Will would return to him because the king had what Will needed.

  According to Evindal, if Will ever wanted to fully control his power he needed his soul stone. There would be no defeating Drygo until he had that stone.

  And with his brothers gone, now he had to do it alone. No, not alone. He had friends. He made several friends, but a few were gone already. Blake. Will left Blake behind, in a hole in the ground. But Maya—Maya had left him.

  Her betrayal stung the most. Robert wore his feelings on the surface, and despite his bluster, Will felt that Robert would come around eventually. It might take him a month, a year, maybe longer, but he would forgive Will.

  Maya lied to him. She pretended to be his friend. She feigned interest in him as a person. “He’s nothing but a tool. A means to an end,” she had said. Now she had a soul stone, and she was taking it right back to his enemy.

  At least he still had Riley and Ocken. The ones he had hurt the most through his own lies and deceptions, and yet they still came to his aid. They stood by him regardless of what he had done. Now, there would be no more lies between them.

  Evindal returned two days later, just before noon. He flew into the temple as a hawk and shifted into an elf in front of Will.

  “They’re safe?” Will asked.

  “They are beyond the Wandering Wood. That is as far as I could take them,” Evindal said. “The rest is up to them. Allynna will keep an eye on them.”

  “How?” Will asked.

  He hesitated. “Remember she told you she can see the present? She is able to look through their eyes. See what they see. Hear what they hear.”

  “That’s… kind of creepy,” Will said, blurting out his thoughts. “Can they feel it? Can she talk to them?”

  “No. She is merely a spectator. They are neither aware of her presence, nor can they communicate with her,” Evindal said. “Come. We have much to do.”

  “You just got back,” Will stated. “Don’t you want to take a break or something?”

  “I have rested for many years. The time to act is now,” he said with determination.

  Will followed Evindal out of the temple and down to the very spot by the lake he had visited many times over the past few days.

  “Sit,” the elf instructed.

  Will obeyed and Evindal sat beside him.

  A minute passed in silence. Evindal’s eyes were closed.

  Will drummed his fingers on his leg, wondering when they would begin. “What are we doing?” Will asked. “Let’s go. Teach me how to use my powers. I’m ready.”

  “No. You are not,” Evindal replied. He opened his eyes. They glowed green as he looked at Will.

  “Sure I am,” Will retorted. “That’s why we’re here.”

  “No,” he said, shaking his head. “We are here to prepare you to defeat Drygo.”

  “Isn’t that the same thing?” Will asked, scratching his head.

  “You must settle your emotions,” Evindal said, sounding high and lofty. “You are restless. You are distraught about many things. These emotions make you weak. They break your concentration. Drygo has had many years to hone his skill yet I must train you in a fraction of the time.”

  “So… what do I do?” Will said impatiently.

  “You do not do anything,” Evindal said, irritated. “You must settle your emotions. Focus.”

  Will sat up straight, closed his eyes, and exhaled. He thought of Drygo. He had to focus. Focus on what he wanted. Forget the rest. He remembered Drygo killing John. He saw it in his mind as if it were happening before him. His pulse quickened. Heat rose within him. His breathing grew heavier.

  “Stop.”

  “But you said—”

  “I said to settle your emotions. Anger is an emotion. It is the hungriest of all emotions. If you feed it it will consume you. It may grant you focus, but it will be narrow. Anger will blind you. Though it can be an effective tool to be used against your opponent, that is a lesson for another day. Try again. Do not think. Clear your mind.”

  Will took another deep breath. He thought of his friends this time. Of Riley and Ocken. Of their loyalty and smiling faces. But then he thought of Blake, and concentration left him.

  He growled in frustration.

  Evindal said nothing then sighed. “I will teach you the most basic of abilities. One that all who possess the power of the gods can do. It is called Soul Sight. I am using it right now. I am sure you have noticed the color of my eyes.”

  “Yes. I think I’ve done this before,” Will said. “But the only time it ever lasted longer than a second was when I was alone in the cave after Maya left me.”

  “Your power is controlled by your will and your emotions. It likely manifested itself under duress and its sustenance lasted as long as you had need,” he explained. “This will not do. You must learn to control your power, but you cannot do so if you cannot control your emotions.”

  “I’ll try,” Will said quietly.

  “That’s not good enough if you even hope to defeat Drygo,” he said. “Now, enabling the Soul Sight is not unlike a krakedil using its translucent eyelid under water. It is a part of you. A part of who you are. It will become second nature to you, like breathing or swallowing. For now, close your eyes. Though not necessary, it will help with the transition.”

  Will closed his eyes.

  “Focus on what the soul realm looks like,” Evindal instructed. “Focus on the Soul Sight. Command it. Will it to come forth. Now open your eyes.”

  Will opened his eyes and the soul realm appeared and then flickered away.

  “Try again. Focus,” the elf said patiently.

  Will closed his eyes and opened them again. The world was blue around him, save for the bright green of Evindal’s soul. He half expected it to fade again, but it did not.

  “Good. The Soul Sight is a great tool. There is no light or darkness in the realm of souls. You could stare into the sun and not be blinded or gaze into the darkest hole with perfect clarity,” the elf explained. “But even greater than that, it allows you to gauge a man’s disposition. Look at me.”

  Will stared at Evindal. His green soul glowed brightly, yet was solid and smooth.

  “Now look down at your own hands and feet,” he said.

  Will held
out his hand and beheld the familiar wave and flicker as if his body were lined with a blue fire.

  “When your emotions are settled, your soul will appear as mine,” Evindal said. “My mind is shielded and my soul protected from attack. No doubt you have noticed the varying colors. Each soul touched by the gods bears the color of its respective stone. Yours, the sapphire, causes your soul, as well as your eyes during Soul Sight, to glow blue.”

  He continued, “The stone of Erintos is an emerald, hence why I appear green. Iket’s stone, the onyx, is the reason that Drygo’s soul is black. It has little to do with good or evil.”

  “What color is Allynna’s?” Will asked.

  “Yellow. The stone of Ophi is a heliodor,” Evindal answered. “And Merva’s stone is ruby red.”

  Appropriate, Will thought.

  “Now, look at your soul,” Evindal said. “Watch it change as you cycle through your emotions. Let the anger rise up within you. Think of those thoughts from a few moments ago.”

  Will thought of Drygo again. He let the anger take hold. His soul danced and flared, moving rapidly.

  “Try fear.”

  Will thought of what awaited him. He tried to remember his emotions that day in the throne room before John died. His soul shrank, but the movements did not slow. Instead of flaring, it appeared to flicker and sputter.

  “Empty your thoughts. Still your mind and watch,” Evindal said. “It may help you to focus on the lake, the mountains, the serenity of the moment.”

  Will pushed aside his memories. He tried to forget his worries, his fears, his anger, his hurt. He listened to the silence, let it enter his mind and heart. The flickering slowed and stopped as his soul clung to his body like a second skin. The surface smoothed out and looked like a set of armor around him.

  “Good. This is the first step to channeling your power. You’ll never dig below the surface when your soul is not at ease. Only when you are settled can you draw upon it,” Evindal said. “We are done for the day.”

  “Done? But it’s—”

  Will’s eyes reverted to the normal spectrum and he realized the sun had dipped below the mountain peaks.

  Robert sat at the edge of his bed in the barracks of the Revenant’s base. He squeezed his eyes shut as he wiped his face and let out a breath.

  A thousand emotions swirled around inside of him. He hadn’t had the time to feel or even think over the last few days. From the moment the battle began to the point when the pyridis was safely back in their cave had been one long strand of tension.

  While they didn’t have much occasion to talk, Robert felt that Jade’s attitude toward him had shifted positively. She no longer talked down to him, though that didn’t stop her from bossing him around.

  “Newblood, carry this.”

  “Newblood, go there.”

  “Newblood, stop touching that.”

  But at least she didn’t treat him like an abject failure. If Robert dared to say it, he would have guessed she had even begun to give him a measure of respect.

  Perfect, Robert thought. Maybe now I can finally do something important.

  But at what cost? Only six of them walked away from that battle. Six. Out of fifteen. For what? A couple wagonloads of pyridis?

  Robert picked up a clay cup sitting on a stool next to his bed and flung it across the room. It shattered as it hit the wall.

  Robert let out a roar of frustration. He hated the king. He hated that people around him were dying because of a man too drunk with power to see past the end of his nose.

  His stomach roared back at him. He hadn’t had much to eat since that day. Death had a way of making one lose his appetite. But it was coming back to bite him now. Robert stood and went to go scrounge around the kitchen.

  Walking out of the barracks, he entered the main cavern and headed up the ramp. As he passed by the door that lead to the Revenant strategy room, Robert heard shouting. He cocked his head. He didn’t know there was a meeting going on. Why hadn’t he been invited?

  “What the Raven says, goes. You don’t get an opinion,” someone said. It sounded like Talon. Robert didn’t know he was back.

  Forgetting all about his hunger, he walked over to the door and pushed it open.

  “Ah, speaking of,” Talon said, smiling.

  Jade’s arms were crossed and she looked off into a blank corner of the room. To say she wore a frown on her face would be putting it lightly.

  Strike looked pleased as a peacock, sitting back on a box with his hands behind his head. Trout and Scout were missing. At least Robert didn’t feel like he was missing anything important.

  “What’s going on?” Robert asked.

  “If no one has done it yet, son, let me be the first to say you did a mighty fine job,” Talon said, walking up to Robert and clasping him on the shoulder. “And you’ve impressed the Raven. So, before we talk any more, we need to induct you as a full-fledged member. First things first. You need a name.”

  “Oh, I know,” Strike said cheerfully. “Killer. Like ‘killer of all those bad guys who side with the evil king.’ ”

  “Uh, no,” Jade said, glaring at him.

  “Too dark,” Talon said.

  Jade said, “How about ‘Ryder’ because he rode off into the sunset to catch the escaping guard.”

  “Too soft,” Talon said, shaking his head.

  “Blaze,” Robert said.

  They all looked at him.

  “Because they all went down in a blaze of fire,” Robert explained, vindication for his fallen comrades rising within him.

  “I like it,” Strike said.

  “Agreed,” Talon said.

  “Really?” Jade said, shaking her head. “Boys. Fine. Blaze it is.”

  “All rise for the reciting of the pledge,” Talon said.

  They were all already standing. When Talon realized this he said, “Oh, right. Blaze, repeat after me. I promise…”

  “I promise,” Robert said.

  “To kick the living daylights out of the good for nothing—”

  “Talon!” Jade said.

  “Does he want me to repeat that?” Robert asked, looking at Strike.

  “No!” Jade answered for him.

  “Fine, fine,” Talon said. “I promise to uphold the wishes and desires of the Raven…”

  Robert repeated the words.

  “…so long as they remain for the good of the kingdom.”

  Again, he recited them.

  “And I will never,” Talon said, “abandon a fallen comrade.”

  “…never abandon a fallen comrade,” Robert said.

  “Congratulations, Blaze,” Talon said. “You’ve now earned your name in the Revenant.”

  “That was it?” Robert asked.

  “What?” Talon asked. “Never was one for long speeches.”

  “Here, here,” Strike said. “I’ll drink to that.”

  “Now clear out,” Talon said. “The both of you. I need to talk to our newest member in private.”

  “I still don’t think this is the best move,” Jade said. “The Raven is going to get him killed.”

  “Noted, now be gone,” Talon said, shooing them from the room.

  “What was that about?” Robert asked.

  “Nothing, nothing,” Talon said. “She doesn’t understand, and how could she?”

  Talon wasn’t making any sense. Robert rolled with it.

  “So…” Robert said.

  “Son, the Raven has a very important mission for you,” Talon said.

  24

  Several days passed. Each day followed the same pattern. Will and Evindal ran laps around the temple first thing in the morning followed by a session of sparring. In the afternoon, they’d sit in the temple courtyard and discuss topics such as theory, knowledge, and self-awareness.

  Allynna rarely showed herself, choosing to allow Evindal to take charge.

  “Why does Allynna never join us?” Will asked one day.

  “Knowledge is a heavy b
urden,” Evindal said.

  Will waited for him to continue.

  “Have you ever read a book, Will?” he said at last.

  “Yes?” Will said, curious.

  “Have you ever tried to read three or four books at a time?” the elf continued. “The stories can be difficult to track. There is much information to store and follow to make sense of it all.”

  “I think I know what you mean,” Will said, nodding in understanding.

  “No, I do not think you do,” Evindal said, shaking his head. “Allynna does not struggle with three or four stories, but many hundreds.”

  Will’s mind all but imploded at the thought. “Whoa. She can see all of that at once?”

  “No, not at the same time,” he explained, “but she is often keeping track of many paths throughout any given day.”

  Will had so many questions. “Who does she watch? What purpose does it have if she is stuck here?”

  Evindal countered with his own question, “What else would she do? She is our link to the outside world. She is aware of the machinations of man. The wars, the politics, and the economics of each land.”

  “Does she know what is happening with Riley and Ocken?” Will asked.

  “They arrived safely in the city you call Shadowhold some time ago. Beyond that, she has not said.”

  “My brother Robert? Maya?” Will pushed.

  “You will need to ask her yourself the next time you see her,” was all he said.

  But Will did not see her that day, or the next day.

  After lunch on the day following, instead of their usual time in the courtyard, Evindal took Will down by the lake again.

  “I think you are ready for the next step in your training,” Evindal said. “It is time we covered something more useful to you in battle.”

  Excitement bubbled up in Will’s chest as a smile lit his face.

  “Do you remember what you did during our skirmish a few weeks ago?” Evindal asked.

  “Yeah, but my friends were in danger,” Will said. “It just kind of happened. I don’t know what I did.”

  “You have a greater control over your emotions now than you did at that time. In fact, you have not struggled to enable the Soul Sight at all these last two days,” Evindal said. “I believe you will have an easier time of it once you are in the realm of souls.”