Page 3 of A Soul to Keep

Her mother, her father, her baby brother... even their dog, which hadn’t stopped barking, had eventually been eaten.

She knew she hadn’t screamed, hadn’t tried to run, hadn’t done anything but wait as her family was eaten. It had been dark which made it hard to see. The only thing she could truly remember were the sounds of crunching bones, tearing skin, the slurping of mouths, and her family’s dying screams.

She’d covered her ears to hide from the disturbing noises and sat in the corner of the living room, occasionally feeling splashed with a spray of blood. That was only the beginning of the massacre she would find in the morning when the sun finally illuminated the inside of the house.

She only remembered feeling sadness and loss, knowing her family was gone. She’d walked from her home as she cried, making her way to the village to tell them what had happened.

A group of three men had taken her back to her home and told her to explain what had happened. Really, they were trying to figure out how she was still alive.

They were already wary of her, and on the way back, they were attacked by small and medium Demons while walking through the forest in the late afternoon. Only one of the men survived. She knew now that he had run from her just as he’d run from the Demons.

But despite their fear of Reia, the villagers didn’t want the monsters to grow stronger by devouring even one more human. They refused to abandon her inside the forest to survive by herself in case a Demon fed upon her and grew more powerful.

As much as they thought she was a bad omen, they feared she would somehow grant them even more power if she was eaten – like she may be some kind of chosen human.

There is no such thing as a chosen human.Not even the Priests or Priestesses believed this. Other than being labelled as some harbinger of death, or darkness, or bad omens, Reia was an ordinary human.

Other than that one fateful night and day, there had been no more cluttered destruction from Demons around her.

Unfortunately, it had never been safe to walk the village at night. Those stupid enough to do so were sometimes caught, leaving nothing behind but a trail of blood. Even though it was uncommon because it was generally a flying Demon, and it had been happening since before she was born, she would somehow be blamed for it.

They would claim the person had spoken to her that day – although no one in the village spoke to her at all. Or that she’d made eye contact with the person and it solidified their coming death – even if she hadn’t left her home.

“You survived regardless,” the Priestess coldly rebuffed. “The Demons left you alone, that in itself is a bad omen. You are cursed, and you are probably the reason your family is dead.”

The flames of anger burned in Reia’s chest as a white cloak was tied so tightly around her throat that it rendered a gentle choke from her.

“Then why hasn’t the village just killed me?” Reia asked, already knowing the answer.

She just wanted someone to say it out loud, hoping it would convince the Priestess to help her stop this.

“Because it is considered bad luck to kill a human who has been given the title of harbinger of bad omens.”

“Then is sacrificing me to the Duskwalker any safer?”

Behind her mask, the Priestess clicked her tongue as she applied golden eyeshadow to Reia’s eyelids. Then she dusted her cheeks with pink and rubbed a reddish paste against her lips that would dry smooth to tint them.

“We do not know,” she answered truthfully, after a short while of thought. “But they believe they are returning your tainted soul back to the Veil where all human sin belongs.”

Reia stamped her foot lightly in frustration while blowing a curl of her hair out of face, realising her plan wasn’t working.I’ll have to be more direct.

“Can’t you convince them otherwise? I lived for a reason. Perhaps I am actually a bringer of life and protection.”

The Priestess snorted a laugh, shaking her head underneath the hood of her white cloak.

“No. It is the choice of the village on who they will sacrifice to him. We have no say in this, especially since we do not know what will happen. This could bring prosperity to your people.”

“They are just trying to get rid of me!”

“True.” She sighed, stepping away as her mask tilted downward and then back up, as if she was looking over her outfit. “But he offers a protection ward that is more powerful than anything we humans can produce with our weak magic.”

“Your magic is considered just as unholy, and yet you aren’t allowed to be sacrificed.” Apparently, the magic inside of humans was disgusting, and Demons and Duskwalkers didn’t like the taste. For this reason, they were often left alone when travelling between villages and towns. “What if it is the same? We could anger him. He could kill me and desecrate the entire town at the same time!”

“You do not need to be afraid.” The Priestess stepped away from her while pulling back her sleeves. She knelt over a bucket of water to clean her arms and hands after touching Reia as though she was a vile disease. “You will become his bride. You will be safe.”

The thing was, Reia didn’t feel afraid. She was livid!

She had experienced her own family dying, and then had been treated as a disgusting outcast. She wasn’t allowed to speak to anyone, wasn’t allowed to look upon anyone.

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