First Soul
Page 23
He knew the cost of what he was about to do but he would withstand it for the youngsters. They’d fought such a great fight to get where they were, they deserved this much from him. It was the least he could do.
He’d had no hope at the beginning of this quest. There stood a young boy, angry green eyes with unruly blonde hair that challenged him over the destruction of his headstone. Lester smiled thinking of it. Stephen’s smart mind and temper reminded him of himself. They were very much alike and that was probably the reason behind their connection.
It was one of the reasons anyway.
He’d noticed from the get go that the two boys had some sort of uneasy tension between the two of them. The fight that had broken his headstone had not been brought back up between them. Yet, they worked well together, despite their troubles. They loved like brothers and fought like brothers. He could appreciate that but he knew at some point they would have to speak about their troubles.
He smiled thinking of the sweet, lovely Deyna, she’d had such confidence in him from the very beginning, this warmed his soul. He remembered the shock of those large green eyes when he’d appeared, her terrified scream and he’d been surprised at her knowledge of him and the crime he’d apparently committed. Yet, she’d never questioned his innocence, not once, and for that he would forever be grateful. She was a smashing young girl who would grow up to be a beautiful, funny, sensitive woman.
Whatever the result may be from their quest he would be so grateful to the three brave souls who had undertaken this for a ghost of a man they didn’t know but one they trusted with their fragile lives. He was going to lead them directly to the very epitome of hell, and for that he would be so very sorry.
He’d shared some of his story with the youngsters and he felt better for it, despite the breaking of the rules, he wasn’t sure of the repercussions but he would deal with them when they came.
Stephen, the tougher shell to crack, finally trusted him. He could see the hairline fractures there. He prayed they were big enough.
“You wish it to be this way after everything they have done for you?” He asked, Lester could hear the glee in his voice.
Lester tried to hold back the uncontrollable shudder. He always found himself appearing weak in front of Him, he was so close, did he want to jeopardise everything? The answer came to him straight away.
“Yes,” Lester whispered.
Their quest wouldn’t be worth it if they starved to death. He wouldn’t allow them to feel the pain from hunger as well as their injuries.
“Why should I grant you this when you’ve broken the rules?”
Lester knew this had been coming and he didn’t have an excuse. The circumstances had called for it but would that reasoning satisfy Him?
“It had to be done,” Lester responded.
“I don’t think I will give you what you require.”
“Fine.” Lester shrugged. “I will watch them die and your game will end.”
Lester turned his back and felt the cold, death black snakes lift from the floor and wrap around him.
“They should learn to do this without eating! They are worthless, little weaklings!”
Lester turned and glared at Him. “They are good people and they are doing this for me!”
His hand shot through the centre of Lester’s chest making him gasp, he was unable to reel back from the grip and it left him panting. He felt like He was clenching his heart, a heart that hadn’t been there for years.
“You are not worth their lives. You are a guilty, old man, who would want to save you?”
“They would!”
And Lester knew that. They did want to save him. The hand squeezed his invisible heart sending him to his knees.
“You will remember who you are speaking to,” He hissed menacingly.
Lester bit back his anger, for the first time in a long time anger pushed aside the fear. Anger wouldn’t help him at the moment. Putting a tremor to his voice he took a deep breath for effect and said, “Sssssorry.”
“Good,” He said happily, “Now, here are the goods you requested. I hope they are worth it.”
A large sack was thrown at Lester. They were worth it and more than anything, he wanted to repay them for the journey they had already undertaken. For the sacrifice they were going to make in the near future. He quietly slipped away before He could do anything more damaging.
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CHAPTER TWENTY ONE