Page 149 of To Free a Soul
“How do I give you my soul?” Reia rasped.
Yes!The words Lindiwe and Orpheus had been holding their breath for had finally been uttered.Is it too late?She looked over Reia and her wounds.I was this close to dying when I gave Weldir my soul.Maybe she just wanted to have faith that it would work out.
When Reia’s flaming soul emerged from her chest, bright orange and full of life, she knew everything would work out.
Eat it, Orpheus. All you have to do is eat it before it turns white.Before it, and she, died.
And he did.
Lindiwe grinned so damn wide.
Not even when Reia crumbled in his arms like ash, did her grin fall. His whines and ethereal tears were heartbreaking, but they would be short-lived. The fight that broke out afterwards was frightening and the most ruthless battle she’d ever seen, but her euphoria didn’t wane.
Her son, in that moment, was wilder and fiercer than ever, putting Jabez on the back foot. Evading and defending, histeleportation was slower than Orpheus’ rage. Jabez’s arm was severed, the same one Lindiwe had dismembered years ago. Injured and angry, and seeing this was now a losing battle, Jabez created a portal and kicked Orpheus out of his home.
The moment it shut, he placed his hand over the stump of his biceps and cauterised the wound. Heading towards Katerina, he made a circle with his thumb and middle finger and put it to his mouth to whistle.
Lindiwe chose then to emerge.
He halted and then lowered his head to sneer. “What kind of coward watches from the shadows?”
“Hmm. Wasn’t quite a shadow, more like a wall,” she answered nonchalantly with a shrug. “And sometimes it’s better for others to battle it out. I knew he would win.”
A lie, of course. Lindiwe had been terrified the entire time.
“I wouldn’t call it a win. I killed his fucking human, or did you miss that?” His red eyes flicked to Katerina when Lindiwe neared her corpse. “Get the fuck away from her.”
“Did she die, or did shefade?” she remarked, before kneeling next to the foul woman’s body. “Stop me if you think you can. But I’ll be taking her soul, just as I promised. Too bad she can’t watch me eat her heart out first.”
Jabez snarled and disappeared, but before he could get to her, Lindiwe turned incorporeal once more.
“Here’s the thing, Jabez. I’ve known for a long time that a soul can be given, and a soul can be taken.” While she was intangible, and with his sorry self standing over her, she punched her ghostly arm through Katerina’s still chest. She felt resistance, but that’s all she perceived as she yanked out the bitch’s soul.
She looked up at Jabez’s enraged expression, his long hair curtaining around the sides of his face, and gave him a bright smile.
“You both brought this on yourselves. Have fun with her corpse.”
Then she leapt back and through the wall, and continued to bounce from room to room, until she made it outside. He didn’t follow – what would be the point?
Once in the sunlight, she looked down at Katerina’s soul, free of any scarring, spots, or anything that pertained to an injured person – whether that be physically or mentally. A pure soul that reflected nothing of the rottenness within.
I considered giving you to Weldir to take you to the afterworld and empower him.Not to torture her, as that had always been a lie, and something she doubted either of them could stomach.But I’ve changed my mind.
She wanted this woman’s existence to cease entirely. Never to be returned, even by accident.
It was asleep now, limp and at peace.
She held onto it with both hands, dug her thumbnails into its centre, and yanked in two different directions. Katerina’s soul tore apart, and nothing special happened.
Lindiwe didn’t suddenly gain newfound power. There was no gust of energy, no pulsing of magic. All that followed was the sense of triumph as it withered away into nothingness, gone forever.
She looked up at the sky. Things were going to get harder from now on, but she appreciated this moment of joy.You’re probably running after her memory right now, so let me help you go home.
You finally have your bride, my sweet Fenrir.
October 25th, 2022
After placing a white feather on the windowsill of OrpheusandReia’s bedroom, Lindiwe peeked inside. Both were naked and partially covered by their blanket, his arms around her with his hands squeezing her in sleep like he feared she’d disappear. Reia’s head and delicate fingers were buried in the fur of his chest.
