Page 18 of To Free a Soul
One thing Weldir knew about his mate was that she was short-tempered when it suited her, she held grudges, and she hated being tested. She loathed her ego being prodded at and couldn’t stand losing.
Jabez didn’t even have the chance to react when she bounced forward while turning physical. Perhaps he hadn’t expected her to become tangible and put herself in danger by doing so. Regardless, she grabbed his wrist and set it alight. Within a second, the black flames engulfed his hand, and he belted out a scream Weldir found rather satisfying.
She grabbed the edges of her raven cloak and flapped it, turning them into temporary wings to leap over an enraged Merikh, who lunged at her. Instead of attempting to put the fire out, Jabez wisely – although unfortunately for Weldir – gouged into his elbow and removed his own arm before the flames could claim him totally.
The sounds of severing a limb were drowned out by Merikh’s roar as crimson blood squirted from the wound. Jabez’s brown complexion grew ashen from the pain, the blood loss, and his companion turning on him.
With a furious snarl in her direction, Jabez bolted through the forest as Merikh gave chase, needing to evade the biggest threat. It gave Lindiwe the opportunity to encase the still-burning limb in a shadowy dome to protect the surrounding grass, shrubs, and forest.
“I hope my son eats you,” she whispered spitefully as she knelt in front of the dome.
She placed her hands on either side of it and filled it with sand. It took a while for her to snuff out the flames that quickly spread and licked at the inside of the dome.
“I thought you said you would never do that.” Weldir tried his hardest not to let humour trickle into his tone.
“It was only his hand,” she murmured defensively, rolling her eyes. “You told me he’s been able to heal worse wounds, especially those given to him by Ors...” She closed her eyes and took in a calming breath. “Merikh.”
“What if it had spread?”
“I don’t care what would have happened to him. He’s creating an army, killing humans, has me hunted, and is corrupting our child. Merikh isn’t evil, and I don’t want Jabez making him so.” Then she lowered her voice as she muttered to herself, rather than him, “But he’ll never listen to me. I see that now.”
“What of the forest, then? What if Merikh had tried to touch him?”
“I would have stopped him. And we’ve all brought you enough untainted souls to have enough magic right now that I could have encased any burning areas in a massive ward.”
He gave a hum of thought. “I don’t, actually. I’ve used most of it.”
That made her head rear back, her eyes widening. “What? Already? It’s only been a few days!”
“And I have spread my mist further since then.”
She winced just as the black flames sputtered out, and she released the protective dome she’d cast over them. “Oops. I shouldn’t have done that then.”
The memory faded when the current Jabez said something, and a word caught Weldir’s attention.
He paused, and his mist collected tighter to him. He threw his arm out to bring the disc of Lindiwe closer, finding she wasawake as she ate at a table with many other humans. She sat in some kind of tavern and gulped down a lumpy, broth-based meal.
“Did you know the Demons have begun calling our offspring Mavka all over the world, and not just in Austrális like we thought?” he asked her.
She had no contact with Demons, so she continued to use the term Duskwalker rather than Mavka.
He’d almost forgotten he’d wanted to have the conversation surrounding it with her, but she’d either been asleep, preoccupied, or he hadn’t thought about it during the times she was receptive to speaking with him.
Jabez saying it to Merikh only reminded him just now.
Her eyes squinted as she looked left and right before bringing her wooden bowl closer to herself. In the loud tavern, she whispered down into her food so as not to be overheard. “Really? How could they all come to the same word?”
Like she couldn’t help herself, she placed her hand over her very round stomach in thought and for comfort. It wasn’t long until she would give birth.
“It is a word for forest creature in Nyl’kira. I have heard other terms being used, like Daesrin, but Mavka is the most common.”
“There’s a mythological creature called that in one of our languages, although I still can’t pick which one,” she whispered, scooping up some of the broth with her spoon, and a pea floated in the steaming liquid. “But I do know they have no correlation.”
“Languages incidentally cross all the time,” he answered. “You of all people should know this.”
Lindiwe pouted at her spoon before she finally opened her mouth and sucked the contents inside. She quickly swallowed and said, “I still don’t like the term. I like Duskwalker. They’re more than just a beast roaming a forest.”
He tilted his head at that. “I actually think it’s better.”
