Page 41 of To Free a Soul
But he was utterly unapproachable.
He never leaves Jabez’s side.And even if she could get a moment alone with him, it was doubtful that it would end in any other way but a fight. One she would not partake in.
He would swing, and she would turn into a Phantom to avoid it. He wouldn’t listen, no matter how hard she tried. So she would rather leave him be, knowing he was safe, protected, and sheltered, even if it was at her enemy’s side.
“This may be your best opportunity to talk with him again,” Weldir suggested.
“No. It’s fine. I would rather tend to Orpheus and his needs.” She offered Weldir an appreciative smile, grateful that he could see the pain in her gaze and had tried to find a solution. “I should enter that village at some point and see what it’s like.”
But she wouldn’t go around stalking her son while he was there.
“I’d better give Orpheus everything I collected today before it gets too late,” she said, leaning back until she was standing upright beside Weldir.
“You could stay and give it to them in the morning.”
Lindiwe drew her gaze away from her children to Weldir. At first, his face was barely visible, but she watched as all the chalky streaks of his body coalesced together to reveal his horns and face in full.
She didn’t know why her cheeks warmed upon looking at his striking countenance, but her stomach fluttered in reaction as well. There was more of him than usual, perhaps a fifth of him, and she’d never seen this much.
He’d be easier to hold, to touch, and something about that twisted in her mind in a naughty way.
His face is a sin. She averted her gaze from his pooling black eyes before immediately being drawn straight back to them.
“No. I think it’s best if they speak about this tonight, so I can lead him to somewhere deeper in the Veil at first light.”
“Do you plan to offer your blood as a sacrifice for the protection dome?”
“Yes. Katerina seems a little... closed-minded. I don’t think she’ll be amenable to offering her lifeblood, even if it’s the cost for her ultimate protection. She’ll likely complain about witchcraft and whatever nonsense.”
She looked at Orpheus, simply so she could avoid Weldir’s intense, unmoving stare.Sometimes I wish he’d freaking blink.
“That spell only lasted for a few years, and we don’t know if all our offspring have magical capabilities. Only Odie and Merikh have proven so thus far, and it may be because they’ve eaten Anzúli. We don’t know whether this is a natural trait they’ve inherited or not.”
“We have to try.” She backed away from him to head towards the journal and the array of tools she’d brought. “If the ward only lasts a few years, then Orpheus can just do it again.”
“If you say so,” Weldir answered, unfolding his cross-legged position to join her side. “I’ll place these within the salt circle so you don’t have to carry them.”
She nodded and offered a small smile. “I’d appreciate that.”
July 17th, 1832
Rustling trees seemed to deepen the foreboding shadows of night, swaying and moving to make it appear as though something might be lurking if one looked too closely. Rocks could easily be mistaken for the warped head of a Demon, or perhaps that was just the Veil allowing paranoia to slip down her spine.
White mist coasted across the ground, cold, wet, and haunted, which made seeing beyond the brush more difficult.
At night, the clacking of branches or the groaning of trees could be mistaken for nightmarish creatures creeping closer. The wind whistled, and sometimes it sounded like whispers or frightfully quiet screams.
The outer ring of the Veil was a terrible place, and as each year passed and more Demons exited the portal from Nyl’theria to Earth, it only grew more dangerous.
Lindiwe had nothing to fear, not when she flew above it in search of the home she sought. It was easy to find from a distance, as the blue glittering dome surrounding it was justbright enough to be seen.
She tipped her wings to bank to the right in that direction and then proceeded to circle it. The gap between the trees was just wide enough to highlight a log cabin home still in its early stages of construction.
Building something of that size would take time and craftsmanship that Orpheus didn’t have. He’d restarted multiple times. Mostly because he made mistakes and had to amend them, or his human companion demanded it be expanded multiple times because its initial smaller size was inadequate.
A home was a home.
So long as she ends up being happy with it, that’s all that truly matters.Whatever Katerina wanted, both Orpheus and Lindiwe would do their best to give it to her.
