Page 174 of To Free a Soul
Reluctantly, Lindiwe nodded and brought them closer to her torso again.
He wants to do it now.And telling him to sate his curiosity later was pointless. He was a fickle demi-god at times.
“Okay,” Lindiwe answered.
There’s no point in arguing with him.
She had a funny feeling her wants would get nowhere with Sayrn as well.
Whatever Weldir had discovered in the stone, she refused to have any hope. She was tired of hoping, only to see things fail.
March 19th, 2024
Locating Sayrn in an unfamiliar environment swarming with nightmarish monsters, some bigger and more intelligent than any other Demon she’d faced, had been difficult.
In her search, she’d been attacked from the air by flying Demons, her white feathers unusual to them and easy to spot even from a distance. The sun had been hot, baking her skin and feathers so quickly she had to remain in the shade or suffer burns. It was nothing like summer on Earth – even the air was scorching and difficult to breathe through.
In the days it’d taken to find Sayrn and confront him, she’d learned it had all been... pointless.
She’d left Ingram’s side, essentially abandoning him when he needed her, for a child who utterly refused to listen. In the few days he’d been in Nyl’theria, Sayrn had battled many Demons and had been victorious. Vicious as always, and a hunter at heart, he wanted to stay – even at the cost of his own life.
“This is what I want,” Sayrn said, leaning against the side of a stark, bleached trunk.
The tree itself was gigantic and measured a hundred metres tall, if not more, with a mixture of pink-and-purple leaves. With his arms crossed and his lion tail flicking to the side, he looked self-important.
“It’s dangerous here.” She gestured to the strange forest that glowed in the constant shade provided by the ancient and startlingly daunting forest. “There are no other Daesrin” – his word for Duskwalker – “here. I can’t assist you easily like I do on Earth. You’ll be entirely alone, and that means you could...die.”
Her translation amulet allowed her to understand him, even though he spoke Nyl’kira, like many Demons did, when he said smoothly, “I want to prey on the Daekura until they are gone, or I am. This is my purpose.”
Lindiwe wanted to tell him it wasn’t, but he was right, despite not knowing it. Other than Merikh, she’d never told another Duskwalker why they’d been born, worried they would react just as badly. The less they knew, the better – a blessing, in its own way.
Merikh had told Faunus, likely to upset him, although it didn’t have the desired effect.
“I’ve lived a long time. It’s all been the same, so I want to try somewhere new.” He turned his lion skull to the side and stroked his fluffy mane absentmindedly with sharp claws. “I’ve been curious about where the Daekura come from. I’ve seen them enter my territory from the portal and have been wanting to see the other side for many years. If I want to return, I will.”
“It’s his choice, Lindiwe.”She wanted to tell Weldir to shut up and deal with the stone she’d found in Merikh’s cave, instead of eavesdropping.“I’m not pleased either, as he’ll no longer ferry souls to me, but if this is what he wants, then so be it.”
But this... scares me, she wanted to say, but knew expressing it was futile.If I try to take him by force, he’ll return toNyl’theria now that he knows what’s on the other side of the portal.
Only Lindiwe cared and feared for them so fervently, more than even their concern for themselves. It left her wonderingwhyshe should, when it was obvious her wants and concerns mattered little. They died? They went to Weldir to live another life. They were harmed? They’d heal in due time and live to battle another day.
She hated the idea of them living such horrible, painful lives, yet this was their nature. To be bloodthirsty and violent when they saw fit, or protectors only for their chosen bride – and a destroyer to all others.
“Fine,” Lindiwe bit out, averting her gaze, clenching her jaw, and curling her hands into tight fists. “I can’t change your mind either way, but you must know this is stupid and suicide.”
“Is it?” Sayrn mused with humour. “I’m a strong Daesrin. Nothing has bested me yet, not even when they try to break my skull.”
Your luck can only run so far,she thought spitefully. And it wouldn’t be him or Weldir who truly faced the consequences of that, but her.
Movement shifted underneath her cloak, and a baby Duskwalker licked across her rapidly fluttering jugular. They wanted to soothe her, to the point that they even nuzzled their strange skull against her.
“Hmm?” Sayrn leaned forward, his arms still half folded with the fingers of one hand pausing in his mane. “A youngling Daesrin? Its skull is strange.”
She reared her head back so she could look down at them before pulling out one of the babies. “They have a Daekura skull. I didn’t know that was possible until recently.”
“They should become very strong then.” He let go of his mane to hold his hand out, wiggling his clawed fingers at her. “Can I see?”
Lindiwe stared at his big paw hesitantly, then placed them inside it. They looked so tiny in comparison to him, even though she needed two hands to hold them comfortably. Despite having a Demon skull, they still weren’t very aggressive. They sniffed his palm, gave the side of his thumb a nibble, then stomped around in a circle.
