Page 140 of To Free a Soul
Because none of the others would have let any Demon near them, and Merikh was too smart to get caught.
Orpheus hated them more than anything. Fennec was wary and territorial, but he never wandered far into the Veil. And the twins, Aleron and Ingram, were more dangerous as a synchronous unit than any living thing in the world. Because Leonidas made himself vulnerable – he was curious, befriended Demons, and wanted to learn.
Weightlessness suddenly took her.
Lifting her head with a sob, she peered into the dark void. Weldir looked so distant that she could barely make out the imprint of his minimal solidness.
“Change forms, Lindiwe.”
Adhering to his command, Lindiwe shifted, and her tears renewed. Then he shot forward, and her swollen face was tucked against strange firmness. A limb held the back of her head, while the other rested low and held her hip. The body she was pressed against felt wrong, as there was no defined muscle or malleable softness. It barely made a discernible shape.
“I know you said you don’t wish to pretend, but this is all I can do for you.”
The limbs around her were tendrils, with their ends split into false hands. His body was nothing but a barrier, smooth enough to be hugged, but not real. The only part of him that seemed to exist was the crook of his neck her face was pressed up against, up to the edge of his jaw and pointed ear.
Lindiwe let go of Leonidas’ skull, knowing Weldir would keep it utterly safe, so she could wrap her arms around his barrier as if it was his midsection. The anguish in her next cry was pronounced enough to ring in her own ears.
She embraced him like her life depended on it as she sought the comfort he was generously offering. Lindiwe clung to him desperately. She clung with every inch of her body, every ounce of strength, as she scratched with the need to crawl deeper inside of him until he swallowed her whole and numbed away the anguish, the loneliness, the regret.
“I know this was hard,” Weldir stated softly. “I know this was something you never wanted to face, but your strength and bravery in that moment is a reflection of your selfless devotion to him. To all of them. You should be proud of your savage mercy, as I am proud of you for doing it.”
His tendril hand patted the back of her curls, being so gentle with her as she trembled in the wake of this kindness. His words somehow deepened her wounds and healed them at the same time.
Right then, she didn’t care if this was real. She didn’t care that she wasn’t really hugging him, when she knew he was at leasttherefor her in the only way he could be. That his consciousness was welcoming her and trying to help her through one of her most painful moments.
She wasn’t alone.
“I am sorry that you must always face hardships in my stead.”
September 28th, 2022
“This human has lasted much longer than the others,” Lindiwe muttered to herself, as there was no one listening.
No one watching.
Weldir had been asleep for quite a few months, after exerting all his energy into growing his mist.
“It’s already been two weeks since Orpheus brought her to the Veil. The most someone has lasted was eight days, and he eventually ran off into the Veil to be eaten.”
Lindiwe’s faith in Orpheus’ newest offering was justifiably... non-existent.
She’d likely die like all the others. Lindiwe was aware this made her callous, but her heart couldn’t take hoping, only for it to be squashed. For Orpheus’ attempts to be squandered and unappreciated.
Sitting on her bed in her little hut in the middle of the Veil, she hugged her upright knees with her back against the wall. With her cheek upon her knees, she kept her other hand out below the scrying spell so she could watch the pale woman run at Orpheuswith a short sword.
She swung so confidently, yet her stance was pathetically unskilled. With his arms crossed, the wolf-skulled, impala-horned Duskwalker easily evaded the human’s swings as she grunted and screamed through clenched teeth.
Is she learning so she can try to kill him?Did that make Orpheus a fool for trying to teach her something he didn’t know how to do himself?She’ll probably try to escape again, just like before.
How she didn’t die after being taken by the arachnid of sorrows, a rather nasty Demon with much Elven magic, was beyond her.She did protect his unconscious body and drag him inside the protection charms for his safety afterwards, though.
Reia was a mystery to Lindiwe.
Then again, she’d seen what people would do in the name of survival and self-preservation. This woman had survived two weeks, but someone else had survived five years.
The sun was dim behind collecting grey clouds, and the muted light reflected off the woman’s sword. They stopped and discussed teaching her how to wield it.
Then Orpheus made a sound, and her chest felt a little lighter.
