Page 97 of Haunted Hearts

“For millennia the Fae have swept through realms, reaping the benefits of each one they stumble upon, stealing what doesn’t belong to them. Your long, healthy lives, the air you breathe, the ground you sow, the food you eat, are all the byproducts of genocide. You live off the power of realms that no longer exist because of your lecherous behavior.” I point my scythe at the four Elders before me. “Your Ghosts are just soldiers to do your Brotherhood’s dirty work. Your family members are beingusedandmanipulatedto believe what they’re doing is good. Theybelievein the mission that they are ‘saving’ this realm of the monsters that come from the others. But as it turns out, it is your Brotherhood that has brought the monsters here. Worse yet,youall are the monsters in the realms you have entered. If you continue down this road, and reach intomyrealm, I will, personally, wipe you off the face of this world. I will take your souls and plant them in the furthest depths of hell. I will quench my thirst on your tears, feast from your spiritual flesh, and feed what remains of you to true demons.”

The crowd goes utterly silent now. I’m not sure if it’s shock or fear that ties their tongues, but it doesn’t make a difference. I have their complete attention now. Good. I look down at the Elders beside me.

“Tell them,” I order the spirits as they stare back at me.

Rather than do as they’re told, the older woman with a gray streak in her hair, crow’s feet by her eyes, and creases around her mouth, glares at me.

“The entity lies!” The heat in her gaze lacks the evil that I expected. Theo had mentioned that some of the Elders were innocent and believed in the false mission. Is this one innocent?

If she is, too bad.

I step closer to her spirit. She cringes before correcting the motion by lifting her chin in defiance.

“I do notlie,” I hiss. “It is because of Theodon that I didn’t come and immediately wipe the Fae’s existence from history when I learned what you were up to. Do not try my patience, you don’t deserve what little I’ve given you already.”

I turn to the others. The oldest Elder out of the bunch doesn’t meet my gaze. His hair is completely gray and thinning, and his robe drowns his thin frame. Smiling, I step up to him.

“Your name. Now.”

The man hesitates before he lifts his head and sneers, “Elder Sandors of Mirthberry. I do not fearyou. Look what you've done,” he waves his hand towards Kwil. “You turn our people intomonsters.”

Before I can answer, Kwil steps forward. “My appearance is only a reflection of the lies you fed me while I was alive, and what you still feed to innocent Ghosts you have working for you.”

I lift my hand. Kwil falls silent even as his shoulders heave up and down. A growl is building in the back of his throat as he glares down at Sandors.

“I will give you one chance.” I warn. “Give your people the truth. No more lies, Sandors. Tell them what the Brotherhood has truly been up to.”

“I don’t know—”

How pathetic, he’s a liar even in the face of death. Without letting him finish his sentence, his soul goes up in greenish-white flames. The screams of the Elder’s pain carry over Everlast. Below me, the pleading and cries return tenfold as the spirits panic. I stand there, quietly watching the Elder’s spirit disappear from existence. When it’s completely gone, I turn to the handless spirit who watches on in horror. His head snaps up as he realizes he could be next.

“No, no, please, whatever you want, I’ll do it!” he shouts as he cowers away from me.

“Tell your people what the Brotherhood has done, and is still doing, to this day.” I don’t have to raise my voice or issue a threat. He’s seen what I can do now.

All my showmanship pays off.

The Elder lets the truth tumble from his lips. He confesses to all of it, starting at the very beginning. The why’s, the how’s, and everything in between are presented to the Fae people who fall silent once more to listen to the Elder speak. The redheaded Elder, who has yet to say anything yet, glares down at the ground. I watch this one carefully. His spirit trembles as his anger radiates from him.

When the other Elder’s confession ends, I stand before the redhead. “Is there anything else you wish to add?”

He starts to shake his head but stops. The Elder lifts his head and pins me with a glare. “You’ll never stop us. What we do, we do for our people! We do it to survive! It is not our fault the other realms are fragile!”

The world blurs around me, the only thing staying in focus is the pale, red haired Elder sitting in front of me. The wind blows harder. The mist that has followed me up the steps now begins to wrap around the spirit. In it, sparks of green embers flare to life. The Elder flinches as they touch his spirit.

Before I can speak, the female Elder speaks.

“W-wait a minute… Siguard, what are you saying? Was everything that Dileep said… true?”

My attention swings to her. She’s staring at the other two Elders with her lips parted in surprise and eyes wide. When I don’t say anything, she turns to look back at me with wide, frightened eyes. I glare down at her.

“Theo, tell her, is this true?”

Theo steps forward to stand beside me, and crouches down in front of the woman. “I do not recognize you. What is your name?”

She hesitates before answering him, “Aleera of Moortomb.”

“Elder Aleera of Moortomb, every word that Dileep uttered is true,” Theo nods slowly. “Death has removed the blinds from my eyes. We Fae have destroyed more than we have ever claimed to have ‘saved’. We are seen as pariahs in the Realm of the Dead by those from worlds which we destroyed. Before my demise, I saw the truth written in my father’s own hand and heard the confirmation from Elders Luthasi and Marigold before they met their end by the very people they betrayed. Kwil heard the odious plans from Elders Corathien’s and Matthews’ own mouths before, they too, met their fate.”

---