Page 91 of To Free a Soul
“He would never hurt me.”
“It’s not you I’m worried about.”
His orbs shifted to orange as realisation dawned. “Orpheus.”
“And the others.” She braved taking a step forward. “Can you, with absolute certainty, tell me Jabez wouldn’t then use that information to potentially give Katerina what she wants? It goes beyond your friendship and could have a disastrous impact. Do you really want to be responsible for the deaths ofmoreof your siblings?”
“Siblings?” Merikh reared his head back. “Do not tell me that Orpheus is...”
“Yes, he’s your brother.”
He tilted his head at her, and his orbs flickered with dark yellow. “How do you know that? How do you know... anything? I doubt even Jabez knows this, and he knows all that happens within the Veil.”
That was doubtful, but Lindiwe wouldn’t correct him.
“I just do.”
“How?! No more of your secrets!”
She winced and stepped back. “I can’t tell you.”
“Tell me or leave!” he yelled, pointing towards his exit. “You infuriate me. You will not tell me what I desire, and only share things I do not understand. I hate this about you.”
“You don’t know me to hate me!” Lindiwe shouted. “From the moment you were born, you have been this spiteful little thing, always biting me or those around you. You snapped and snarled, even when you didn’t have a skull to be frightening.”
“Born?” His head reared back once more. “You’ve known me from the beginning, from when I do not remember. You know where I come from?”
“Yes.”
“Tell me.”
“I can’t.”
Merikh roared and then lunged forward. Lindiwe gasped and turned incorporeal, and he chased her around the outside of his cave with swiping claws. “Tell me!”
He wouldn’t stop, even when Lindiwe stopped moving and just stared up at him.
More than ever, she needed Weldir’s voice. She wanted his advice, his ideas.Should I tell Merikh or not? He may leave Jabez’s side, but it could have consequences.
Could those consequences work in her favour? Would Merikh round up the other Duskwalkers and unite them, or would he doom them? Would he... care?
Lindiwe wanted to tell him. He deserved to know everything.
What could Lindiwe achieve if she brought him to her side?Could it repair our relationship?She wanted that more than anything.
“Fine,” Lindiwe conceded with a sigh. “I’ll explain everything, and what you do with that information is your own choice.”
With frantic, rabid huffs, he backed up enough that she could view him properly. His muscular body wasn’t as lean as it’d been five years ago, but he still had a few protruding bones, mainly some ribs and his hand knuckle bones.
“I am your... mother,” Lindiwe admitted, giving him the least amount of information to start with to gauge his reaction.
His bear skull tilted. “Like a female creator?” He patted his thin stomach. “The one that grows life? How can a human make Mavka?” He pointed at her belly. “Too small.”
Wow. That was remarkably easy.For once, she had a reason to thank Jabez, as he’d given Merikh knowledge about such things.
“Weldir is your father.”
“Who is this? This Weldir?”
