Page 7 of A Soul to Steal

“You cry because you are upset... in pain. So that is what I saw when I first came here.”

The saliva in his mouth grew sticky as he rasped, “Pardon?”

The teardrop clung to the sharp point of his claw a moment before it dropped to the ground. At the same time, his yellow orbs turned a dark blue.

“Tears. When I first came here, I produced something similar. However, they were not wet like this, but rather came from my skull like floating drops. They were such a deep colour of blue that it hurt even more seeing them.”Aleron finally looked away from his own claw to face his skull towards Gideon. Those blue orbs seemed to absorb Gideon’s face like a swirling vortex of anguish.“Thank you for giving me the name for them.”

“You cried?” Gideon asked, his deep voice cracking an octave.

Within seconds, a cold wash of shame rolled over him like a wave. Although he hadn’t rudely said it aloud, his thoughts had not been kind. He couldn’t believe his assumption that Duskwalkers didn’t cry had been so wrong.

“Yes. I missed Ingram. I was sad because I knew I could no longer be with him, and I worried about how he must be feeling. I searched for him, hoping I would find him among the humans here, but Weldir explained that Ingram had not come with me. I did not want to be alone. I was... scared.”

As Gideon listened, his tears began to ease.

“Scared?” he asked in disbelief. “Why were you scared?”

“For Ingram. If I was alone, then so was he. It meant I could no longer protect him, and that distressed me. I am now safe from the Demons, and my life started anew here, but who would keep him warm or play with him if not me? Who woulddo that for me? I tried to befriend the humans here, but they only screamed when I touched them, and the other Mavka will not speak to me. I was scared that I would suffer alone in this world I do not know or understand... forever.”

“You wanted Ingram to die with you? Most would consider that pretty selfish,” Gideon said honestly.

“Why would this be selfish? Ingram and I are one, and we were better together.”

“Because he still has the potential to have a happy life, even if it is without you.”

“I guess this is true,”Aleron grumbled as he lifted his head to look at the world stretching before them.“He did find a bride without me.”

Now that Aleron’s wings were no longer blocking his vision, Gideon looked out as well. There wasn’t much to see, except for a grassy field with a mountain range just beyond it. There were trees to the right of them some distance away, whereas to their left was Fishket – or rather, an incorrect replica of it.

It lacked its protective wooden stake wall, and a few houses were duplicates – as if to house people from different eras and times.

“Weldir helped me. He made sure I was not completely alone and has often been by my side. Yet, that did not stop my fear for Ingram. Only now... has it settled.”

Gideon’s brows creased. “Because of Emerie?”

“I am happy he is not alone, even if it hurts that I cannot go to him.”Aleron’s inhuman, deep baritone darkened with sorrow.“So do not cry. They are safe together.”

“It’s not just Emerie, though,” Gideon stated with a sigh. He brought his knees up so he could wrap his arms around his legs and placed his chin on top of them. “I had so many people in my life. I had hopes, dreams, and plans, and I never got to seea single one of them come to fruition. I should have died an old man.”

“I do not know what being an old man is, but I do know we, Mavka, can live forever unless killed. A horde of Demons attacked us and they crushed my skull before I could escape. How did you die then?”

Gideon’s head bounced as he spoke with his chin firmly on his knees. “In the middle of the night, Emerie and I were outside when we shouldn’t have been. A winged Demon tried to fly off with her, but I grabbed her to keep her on the ground and it took me instead.”

“You saved her life by sacrificing your own? Is this not a good thing to do? I would have done this for my kindred.”

“I would much rather it not have been needed at all,” he answered honestly. “It would’ve been so easily avoided. Yeah, if I could go back in time knowing what I do now, I would absolutely do it again if I was given a choice between me and her, but I wish...”

What point was there in wishing or thinking about the ‘what ifs’? They only made tears well in his eyes again.

“I don’t want to be here,” Gideon stated. “It’s not fair that my life was ended short because of others, or that Demons exist in the first place. I hate that I missed out on everything.” Then Gideon reached down to grab a fistful of grass from the dirt. “I hate that I’m here. This world doesn’t even look right, like the person who created it never truly understood Earth. The grass even has a blue tinge to it, and the sky is the wrong fucking colour of blue, and why does everything smell like it has vinegar in it? The wind doesn’t have a temperature, and the sun doesn’t even feel warm. It’s like they wanted to trick us into believing its real when it’s so obviously not. I want to feel... human, like Iexist.”

Gideon winced in surprise when he was shoved into darkness.

The whoosh that accompanied it informed him the Duskwalker had covered them both totally in his wings. Gideon’s breaths didn’t even echo or reverberate against his feathers, reminding him they were needless. The only light came from Aleron’s blue orbs floating in nothingness.

“Is this better?”Somehow, Aleron’s voice sounded louder than before.

At first, no. Being hidden away in Aleron’s wings only brought on the choking fear of the dark that had been ingrained into all humans from a young age. That was quickly eaten away by the reminder that he no longer needed to be terrified of the dark and the Demons that could possibly be lingering in it.

---