Page 148 of To Free a Soul
She said Reia is with Jabez. Does that mean she’s actually alive, or is it just a ploy to keep him here until he returns? I need to search the castle. Maybe the dungeons?
Relief violently hurtled through her like the heavy wet winds of a cyclone when the blonde-haired woman appeared out of nowhere. Jabez materialised behind her, clutching his groin with a hiss through clenched fangs.
Reia tackled Katerina to the ground and punched the black-haired woman in the face so hard even Lindiwe winced when her head smacked against the ground. A skirmish immediately broke out, and Orpheus dived for Jabez.
Lindiwe didn’t know how to intervene, or if she should.I could just end up being a distraction. I could confuse the situation.Orpheus might turn on her, or the two humans fighting.
Although Orpheus and Jabez weren’t on even footing – one smarter than the other, one faster and stronger than the other, who could now teleport away – Reia had the upper hand.
They don’t know how to kill Orpheus, and so long as Reia survives...Lindiwe would jump out if it seemed like she was truly in danger.Jabez won’t be able to get near her before Orpheus comes to her side, and he wouldn’t do something that could put Katerina in danger.
Screeching, Katerina managed to kick Reia off her. Reia slid across the ground and stopped near her discarded sword. She rolled to it, albeit not gracefully, and picked it up with a determined, narrow glare.
Yes! Atta girl,Lindiwe exclaimed in her head.
Then the most frightening thing she’d ever heard echoed within the throne room.
With a low chuckle, Jabez said, “That skull of yours will be nice when it’s broken into pieces.”
Lindiwe shunted back in shock, and into the empty room behind her.
What? How did he learn... Merikh?With her eyes wide, she looked down at the rough carpet.No. He wouldn’t have. He gave me those charms for Orpheus, and he knows the dangers that knowledge presents to himself and the other Duskwalkers.
The answer was obvious.
Jabez said he’s been waiting nine years. That’s when Leonidas was taken.Although she couldn’t feel it, she curled her hands into tight fists at her sides.Were they waiting for Orpheus to get a new offering, hoping she’d stay alive long enough to become bait?Why else wouldn’t they have taken Reia sooner?
‘It’s not my revenge but hers.’That’s what Jabez had said.Because Katerina would be angry if she wasn’t the one to kill him?Had all the pieces aligned for them perfectly? Leonidas, Orpheus, Reia. Did they think that fate was in their favour to make the perfect lure, right after discovering the truth?
They held onto this secret until the opportune moment.He spoke to her and threw it in her face, knowing the whole time, while she thought they were still safe.He had such a horrible plan, and sat down next to me, watching his lure solidify herself as bait, and even offered to aid her.
Cold, ruthless cunning. Heartless evil in the form of a man.
Lindiwe shot forward to save them.Orpheus shouldn’t have come here!
She immediately paused as she registered the two women in front of her.
Scarlet splattered to the ground in a growing puddle, as Katerina coughed up blood from between her lips. A sword had been shoved through her midsection, with Reia low on the ground keeping it in place.
Jabez called out to Katerina, alerting Orpheus, who charged and brought Reia into a protective embrace.
Lindiwe was too shocked to move or truly hear what they said.She killed her.Reia had done the one thing Lindiwe hadn’t managed to do, no matter how she’d tried.Does this mean this is... over?
No. They would keep being hunted, but now their weakness was known. There was no reason to hold back anymore.
Orpheus held Reia tightly as he stepped back towards the exit, where guards were likely outside waiting to be let in. He didn’t need to fight so long as he could run with her.
Yes. Leave. Get out of here.
If only Lindiwe could turn them incorporeal with her.
What followed happened so fast. Something glinted through the air and made contact with Reia. She arched into Orpheus and gripped his fur tightly in pain.A dagger?It was the one Katerina had dropped.
Lindiwe didn’t know what to do when the scene played out before her. She couldn’t be overjoyed that Orpheus finally learned how to make a small protection dome – the bargain for the magic was the blood of the one they wanted to protect. Not when Reia was lying in his arms utterly protected, but dying anyway.
I can’t watch this.It was too much, too painful.Come on, Reia. Just do it!They still had time.
It was why she hadn’t interfered. Because when she did, everything always went terribly wrong.Please...
