The Court of Souls? Read online

  I follow her example and feel myself getting a little lighter. I suppose this wingspan wouldn't be enough to allow a dense human being to fly without magic. The wings would have to be much bigger. Okay. I look up to her. “And now?”

  “Now you fly.”

  Chloe lifts me with one hand and throws me over the balustrade. For a moment my mind simply shorts out. Did she just literally throw me off the cliff like some birds do? For real?

  I start falling and the air pressure causes one of my wings to bend away, sending me into a wild tumble.

  Drawing a deep breath is all that comes to mind.

  “KKYYYAAAAAAAAAA!”

  11. ~Ice.~

  “In Classical Greek mythology, the Titans were members of the second order of divine beings, descending from the primordial deities and preceding the Olympian deities. Based on Mount Othrys, the Titans most famously included the first twelve children of the primordial Gaia (Mother Earth) and Uranus (Father Sky). They were giant deities of incredible strength, who ruled during the legendary Golden Age, and also composed the first pantheon of Greek deities.”

  The Journey to the Afterlife

  Dedessia, the Sea of Souls, Ice Tundra

  Shade, 10 years old

  “Shut up! Both of you!” I stagger forward, holding myself upright on my improvised walking stick. I carved it out of the wood of a dead tree and it shared my path ever since.

  After three weeks in this muddy bog I am at my limits. My feet got stuck in the dirt and pulling them out with each step was like walking with weights. Sometimes I stepped into a puddle and disappeared up to my neck in mud. Every step had to be considered carefully. If I hadn't had the ability to walk trough the shadows I would have been caught more than once in quicksand or mud.

  Legna is still mad at me. I tried to make her and the old man's soulspaces as comfortable as possible. Soulspace, that's what I decided to call their separated rooms inside my mind. Unfortunately I have even less time to train and to explore my abilities than back in the facility.

  Legna is always pestering me about letting her go. She gave up, but I am not prepared to do so. There has to be a chance to revive her once I become more powerful. My other personalities felt as if nothing was impossible for them. They were so sure of themselves and their actions. If I could be more like them I surely wouldn't feel like I do now.

  I can't let Legna go after causing her death. I simply can't. It's greedy and self-centered, but losing any more of those whom I care about is something I can't take. Even if it means imprisoning her.

  'Just a little further. Can you see the steadily rising ground behind the next pond? We've almost made it. Once you reach that lift, we are inside the ice titan's territory. From then on you have to rely on yourself.' The old man's voice echoes through my head.

  My eyes wander to the stony area which is marking the end of the swamp and rising over a hundred feet to a higher level. I choose a dry path around the pond and keep walking, scratching the itchy bite marks of various insects which decided that I taste good. There are a lot less of them since it became colder. A week ago I thought that the swarms of mosquitoes would eat me alive. Even after covering myself in a layer of mud the damn things tried to get into my eyes and nose.

  To think that I had my birthday while fighting my way through mud and insects.

  Once, a big creature with tentacles almost got me. I walked too close to a pond with particularly dark water. A tentacle shot out of the pond and got my leg, drawing blood with big suckers and unbelievable strength. I managed to cut off the thing's tentacle just in time. Probably it wanted to drown me by pulling me into the pond.

  Because of the wound it caused, I wasn't able to walk for over a day and had to wait for the wound to heal.

  Ever since then, I've taken care to circle widely around deep, dark water.

  When I reach the stony area which is rising behind the swamp I silently cheer. No more eating toads and drinking mouldy water. From here on it's freezing to death.

  I start climbing the rocky rise. The rocks are loose and sometimes I slide back down several metres, but it doesn't matter. The end of the journey seems awfully close. No matter what the ice titan decides to do to me. Either he will be my end or my salvation. That's what I've decided.

  'Maybe you should first ask him of what he thinks of your delusions. And maybe the tundra wolves get you. There are many in this region. If the titan is lazy, he might leave the task of killing you to them.'

  “Thanks old man. That was the advice I needed,” I mumble.

  'At least it would free me.' Legna mumbles with lost hope.

  I don't reply to Legna's comment. It isn't within my rights to be mad at her. If anything, then I am the one who is in the wrong. Locking her soul inside my mind is nothing more than imprisoning her. It's arguable if being locked up in a room forever is better than moving on to the next life.

  Climbing the rise is hard and dangerous. From time to time I cause small landslides. But since I am the one who kicks them loose, I never get caught in them. When I finally reach the edge of the steep rise I get to see a landscape of hills and rocks, covered with snow and ice.

  I turn around and take a look at the swamps I crossed. The forested area around the city had long since disappeared in the distance. That's how far I walked.

  I reach into my pocket and take out one of the roasted frog legs which kept me fed up until now. Then I take a hearty bite, bone and all.

  According to the old man the frogs are the only things which aren't poisonous. If he hadn't given me advice on what to eat, I would have had no chance.

  Especially those yummy snake eggs I found. I haggled with myself for over half a day how I should put them to good use while the old man screamed in my head to throw them away.

  I thought about boiled eggs, fried egg, egg sunny-side up, egg risotto with grass and frog legs, frog legs coated in egg.

  In the end the old man managed to persuade me to throw one of three eggs into a deep pond. As expected one of the tentacle creatures immediately snatched it. The resulting squirming and trashing beneath the water convinced me that those eggs are bad stuff. I still carry them around though. Having a good poison at hand is never wrong.

  After having rested for a while, and with my last frog leg gone, I turn around and run face first into a giant, falling back down on my ass.

  The man is huge and wears a blue tunic with the front left open, ignoring the icy weather. His body looks like he was carved out of marble. Only on a closer look do I realise that his skin is simply so pale that it looks almost white. His hair is ice blue and the features of his face are strong and edgy.

  His attention isn't on me. Instead his eyes search the horizon. “I thought I felt three, but you are alone. Where are the other two hiding?”

  He felt three? Over all that distance? The others are just souls inside of me!

  The old man was right when he said that the ice titan senses you immediately when you enter his territory. But to also sense my two lodgers?

  I get to my knees, carefully avoiding to get up. “I am alone. My name is Shade. And the others are my friends. They are inside of me.” If I give him my name it should make me more than a simple intruder and less likely to be killed on the spot.

  The monster of a man kneels down in front of me as if he takes notice of me for the first time. “You are a shade... and a soul-mage.” His eyes bore into me as if he could look directly into my soul. Is this what it feels like to be looked at by a god?

  “I want your help!” I start babbling. “I fled from my clan to find safety! I was one of their slaves until I managed to escape.”

  “Hahahahaha. A slave, coming here to find safety and help!” The huge man starts laughing and gestures at the tundra behind him. “Be my guest. I'll make sure to bury your body once you succumb to nature, little soul mage. I am not some kind of shelter for the weak.” He turns to walk away, but I grab his foot.

  “Please! Help me!” He keeps
walking as if I am not here, pulling me with him. I keep clinging to him until the rocky underground causes me to lose my grip. Without hesitation I jump up and follow the god. He takes clefts between rocks with a single big step while I have to jump with all my might. When he suddenly stops I barely avoid running into him a second time.

  He turns around and glares at me. “Why are you following me? Wasn't it enough that I let you live?” From one moment to the next his huge paw closes around my neck and I find myself on eye level with him. “Do you know that I hate soul-mages?” He growls.

  My feet kick empty air while I feel the pressure around my neck getting tighter. “I have nothing to lose,” I press out.

  He releases a bit of the pressure. “And what exactly do you think I can do? Should I train a low like you until you find your spark and turn into a god? Will you go back and play hero afterwards?”

  “No,” I whisper.

  “Should I go to Inanimatum and punish them for you because I feel pity for you?”

  “No.”

  “Do I have to turn Dedessia into a garden of Eden because you ask me to?”

  “No.”

  He raises both eyebrows. “Then what do you want from me?”

  “Help me to remember who I am! I just need to remember! And then I'll do all that by myself! I'll kick your ass and slaughter Inanimatum! I'll become their end!” And then I'll find a way to escape this hell!

  He chuckles. “You? You are going to kick my ass once I help you to remember who you are? At least that one would be something new to me. Let me guess. And when you are done with Inanimatum you will take over their lands and create a good and nice clan instead. One where nobody has to suffer.”

  “Nothing of the sort. I already learned that nothing is forever. I won't be a fucking hero who thinks he can save everyone. But once I remember who I am I will have at least the power to spit in their faces! I already had flashbacks! My previous selves weren't weak!” I call out.

  Finally the ice titan drops me. “I am Ishaan. And if you want me to help you to remember your past, then you have to pay a price.”

  I get up, rubbing my throat. “What is your price?”

  Ishaan starts grinning. “Let go of the souls inside of you. I won't train someone who imprisons others.”

  “No! They are my friends! If I set them free they will be gone!” I call out.

  His expression turns from amused to cruel. “That, you already told me. But it doesn't matter to me. I don't care if they are your friends. See it as the first part of your training and a test. I have to be sure that you aren't too far gone as a soul mage. I. Want. Them. Out. Of. Your. Head.”

  He wants to know if I merged their souls with mine.

  'I said that I would take you only a part of the way.' The old man speaks in my head and I claw at myself.

  Oh, how much I wish he was in front me right now! Then I could hit him! “You knew!”

  'Set us free and survive. Punish Inanimatum once you've learned enough. In the long run they are the ones to blame.' Legna adds with resignation in her voice.

  I look up to the ice titan, but it doesn't seem like he knows the word mercy. I howl and drop to my knees. I didn't get this far to die in the end. And if that's Ishaan's price then I have to pay it. It's not like we didn't anticipate that the ice titan wouldn't ask us for a sacrifice to prove our determination.

  Placing both my hands on my shadow I create two summonings with the old man's and Legna's souls. It's the same process I used when we fled from the facility. Moments later two shadows stand in front of me. One with the features of the old man and one who could be Legna.

  The old man says nothing. He just pats my head and gives a salute to Ishaan who looks a little surprised. “I'll take a walk until my time is up.” Then he turns towards the icy tundra and starts walking.

  Legna says nothing. She just looks at me. Suddenly she hugs me without a word and after a few minutes her features blur and her body disperses. Then she is gone.

  I turn back to Ishaan, who at least had the decency to say nothing. His gaze is off, looking at something in the distance. After a while he decides to speak. “That was surprising. I knew the old man... and the girl...”

  My voice is as cold as ice when I speak. “I did what you wanted. So what's there to be surprised about? And what comes next?”

  His eyes focus on me. “Now we start your training.”

  My vision turns black. Just like that. One moment I look at Ishaan, then it's dark. I reach up to my eyes and realize that they aren't there. And then the pain comes. “My eyes! What did you do!?”

  “I took them. There was too much hatred in them. You don't need them anyway.”

  12. ~Ties.~

  “In Greek mythology, a phoenix or phenix is a long-lived bird that is cyclically regenerated or reborn. Associated with the sun, a phoenix obtains new life by arising from the ashes of its predecessor. According to some sources, the phoenix dies in a show of flames and combustion, although there are other sources that claim that the legendary bird dies and simply decomposes before being born again.”

  The Journey to the Afterlife

  Dedessia, the Sea of Souls, Clan: Carissimi

  Elona, 10 years old

  It's so hot! “Quianna! More!”

  “Ah... I can't. I am at my limit. Take over,” my little sister moans.

  I reach for the magical fan and infuse more mana into it. The device immediately continues to blow cool air at us. “You are useless. Less than forty minutes and I have to take over.” Bless this small piece of luxury.

  “I am three! How am I supposed to feed a magical object with my limited mana pool?” she complains and rolls over.

  “I don't know. You are the one who has all her memories. Think of something,” I wave my hand. “Summon a pool or make it rain. I thought my prodigy little sister can do that with her little finger.”

  “I was a Siren! Not a djinn with three wishes!” she answers.

  “One wish is enough!” I mumble.

  During the recent week the desert's weather changed from hot to baking and then someone decided that a brown crust on his food wouldn't be so bad. According to Doreen our relocation is going well, but Dedessia's weather system is a little unstable at the moment. All the clans are having trouble surviving. That causes unrest among Carissimi's high members. They believe that we have to expect raids for water and food by the less scrupulous clans. Something we cannot allow under any circumstances.

  Quianna and I are somehow enduring it by hiding in our domicile’s deepest part, the wine cellar. Although I think that I will never get to taste all the good stuff in here. After this week the wine is surely spoiled and ruined.

  Suddenly the door flies open and a young stranger steps inside. He is dressed in red silk and his hair colour is a mix of various shades of red, orange and yellow. It looks hilarious, almost as if he wears a flame on his head. His face is cleanly shaven and his features may be just a little on the feminine side. When he sees us he spreads both hands. “Finally! Found you! Come here, Cuties!”

  I instinctively jump up and step in front of my sister. “Who are you? How did you get in here?”

  He ignores my aggressive stance and bulldozes into me, practically hugging me and grabbing Quianna behind me. “Oh, Doreen is so cruel. She didn't even tell you about me!” He squeezes while I try with both my hands to push his face away. No chance. It's like pushing against a mountain.

  “No hugging! So hot!” Quianna complains from behind me.

  Finally the stranger lets go of us. “I am Moonray, leader of the clan Draconis and your grandfather! Isn't it great that we finally meet each other?”

  “You are very late if even my sister doesn't know you!” Quianna shoots a destructive glare at Moonray.

  He reaches for his heart and sits down next to us. “Oh, you got me there. You see, your grandmother and I had a big fallout a few years ago. She didn't even tell me that you were born. All the information I get
about you is through rumours and spies. In fact we can prepare ourselves for my immediate departure from this world as soon as Doreen or Chloe find out that I am here. You could say that I sneaked in.”

  “Then I probably don't want to talk to you either!” I step backwards, away from him.

  “So cruel! They were right when they said that you two promise great potential. But you have nothing to fear. I just came to make you an offer.” He winks at us conspiratorially. “I want you two to know that you can always join my clan if you want to. Probably you already figured out that Doreen is trying to hide herself and her clan from the world. If you seek a less isolationistic policy it would be best to come over to Draconis. I also happen to have two young higher immortals who happen to match your age-”

  His sentence is interrupted by Grandma appearing behind him. Her hair is flowing in all directions, flaring in white light, her face an expression of pure fury, and her eyes, her eyes emit a blue fire!

  “She is behind me, isn't she?” He asks.

  Both of us nod.

  “You should probably look away. This isn't rated for children.” He turns around. “Hi, Doreen.”

  I cover Quianna's eyes with my hands and close my own. What follows is the sound of a fist hitting a face, then the breaking of bones followed by snapping tendrils and tearing flesh. Something wet and warm sprays all over me and I smell blood!

  When I open my eyes again the room is a horror scene. Grandma has calmed down, but she tore Moonray to pieces! His body parts are all over the place!

  Quianna pulls my hand from her eyes and surveys the scenery. “Oh, my gosh! Elona! Look at you! And Moonray!”

  Both Quianna and I are covered in blood. But then the unbelievable happens. The blood and Moonray's remains ignite in orange fire. At first both of us try to quench the flames, but then I realize that the fire isn't hurting us, nor burning anything else in the room. The flames flow together into a central point in front of Doreen and form the body of a man. Seconds later Monray stands in front of us, perfectly fine. The mess in the room is also gone, making it seem as if all this never happened.