Finding The Soul Bridge (The Soul Fire Saga Book 1) (27 page)

“We have to what?” shouted Thist, his voice climbing in volume as the urgency of his anger and frustration started to mount up. “We don’t have to do anything. Fight dragons? Who fights dragons? And why?”

Jem wanted to protest the scene that he saw unfolding before him but knew better than to make Thist angrier; it could lead to sorrow. “Thist look at me.” Jem implored. “Look at me. It’s me, Jem. Kelvin, step back please, you don’t know what you are doing. Thist! Look at me, take a deep breath, just count with me.”

“No!” shouted Thist, “I don’t want to do your stupid counting exercise.” He bent over and picked up a hand sized pebble and squeezed it between his forehead and the palm of his hand. He gritted his teeth as he started to growl in anger. The stone started to glow with white light as Thist enchanted ad lib an imbuing spell.

“I imbue this infernal stone

With my anger,

As I hold it to my head

I hold it to my soul

And pour into it,

All that is weak

And all that is foul.”

Thist found himself on his knees, his trousers starting to drink the sea water as the waves lapped around him. The stone in his hand was glowing and pulsing.

“Thist!” called Jem.

Kelvin stood a few paces farther away. “Is he…?”

“I want to go home.” said Thist, “This journey to Fineburg is a wash.”

Kelvin raised his arms into the air in a sign of exasperation. Jem made a hushing sign to Kelvin to try to calm him, to no avail. “Come on Thist,” said Kelvin, “we came all this way, we’ve had great adventures, let’s just do this one thing and then we can go.”

“You can go on your own,” said Thist. “Or with Jem if that’s what he wants to do. I’m going home.”

Kelvin reached out to Thist again but Jem blocked his hand. “Stop!” said Jem. “Just stop if you know what is good for you.”

Bitter disappointment flashed in Kelvin’s eyes as he bit his bottom lip. Jem saw the flash of emotion and just had to ask the question. “Why do you want to attack this castle so badly anyway?” asked Jem.

Kelvin looked away as he tried to hide his emotion. “I just don’t want to go home, I guess.”

“You would rather storm a castle and fight a dragon than go home?” asked Thist.

“I would rather risk my life doing something than save my life doing nothing.” said Kelvin. “Is that enough for you?”

Jem looked at the castle in the distance. It had massive walls, tall spires and towers. He could also see a moat and a narrow draw bridge. From this distance they could barely make out tiny figures patrolling the wall. There were no flags aloft on the flag poles or any coat of arms as would be expected. Jem shook his head. “We rebuilt a bridge” said Jem, “isn’t that enough already? Besides, this is a fool’s errand; how will we take that castle from an army?”

Thist had a fire stoked under the tin travel pot, “Tea’s nearly ready, and the hum is nearly finished so we have to use it sparingly.”

“We shouldn’t have made a fire.” said Kelvin “They will see us.”

“I don’t care.” said Thist. “As far as I am concerned I’m out. The three of us, storm a castle? On account of some old fool on the hill telling us that there is some stupid item in the castle worth risking your life for? No, I feel like having some tea, then I will go home, alone if I must.”

Jem watched as Thist vented his anger. He knew it was stupid to interrupt him when he was in such a bad mood. Kelvin gritted his teeth in frustration. He wanted to scream and curse. He wanted to beat his fists on the floor as he wailed in anger and frustration. But he didn’t. He walked down to the edge of the water, picked up a large fist sized pebble and flung it into the water. The single physical act did not help much to vent his frustration. He picked up another and threw it and then another and then another. After several throws Kelvin flexed his hands, they were in pain. His arms hurt, his back hurt. He gritted his teeth and seethed, “Not now, whatever you do, not now.” He took a deep breath and composed himself as he struggled to hide his own bodily discomfort. “Is that tea ready yet?” shouted Kelvin as he rubbed his hands.

“Yes. Come and get it.” said Thist.

As Kelvin approached, Jem shook his head at Kelvin trying to signal some kind of message.

“What?” asked Kelvin.

“Whatever you wanted to say, don’t. Let it go. Just let him be.” said Jem.

Thist was already sitting comfortably on the pebbles sipping his hot tea. In one hand he held a dented travel mug and in the other he had the glowing stone. “I’m calling this
the anger stone
for now.”

“What about the glowing anger stone?” asked Jem.

“What does it do?” asked Kelvin as he sat down and tried to lighten the mood with small talk. Thist turned his head away and looked to the castle in the distance and muttered. “It glows in the dark.”

Jem was quiet, it was clear to the three that the journey to Fineburg had failed and that the idea of laying siege to the castle was ludicrous. They were sombre and each young man had resorted to their own method of sulking or mourning of their failure.

“The tea is good.” said Jem.

Thist looked at his near empty mug and nodded his head with raised eyebrows. “There is something about it isn’t there?”

Kelvin said nothing. The trio wrapped up their tea break and started back up to the forest. The pebbles crunched under their feet. Everything felt heavy, as if the burden of failure and regret had soaked them and filled their packs with boulders. They had not moved far from the pebble beach when they were stopped by a patrol of seven guards. “Halt. Identify yourselves.” The lead guard had a stern voice.

The travelling companions froze in their tracks as the guards surrounded them. Kelvin presented them with a broad smile. “Good afternoon gentlemen, we are three weary travellers just passing through. Pray, guide us on our way as it seems that we are a little lost.”

“A little?” boomed the captain of the guards with laughter. “I’d say that you are completely lost, do you know where you are?”

“No! You fool.” snapped Thist, “We are lost, remember?”

Jem cringed as he watched the captain swat Thist with a vicious back hand. Thist staggered back and tripped over a stump and landed on his back. His clothes and bag flailed in the commotion, causing a comical display of idiocy.

Jem rushed to aid Thist and to stay his hand as the guards roared with laughter. The captain of the guard pointed a finger at Thist’s face as he spat the words. “Your kind is not welcome in these parts!”

Thist wiped his bleeding lip and shoved Jem’s hand away as he helped himself back up to his feet. Jem stepped between Thist and the captain. “Don’t Thist. Please sir, we are just weary travellers passing through, we wish to find the bridge tavern, pray tell, do you know the way?”

The captain looked at Thist, scrutinizing him from head to toe as he answered Jem. “It’s up that way where the moon sets.”

Thist shouldered his bag and started up the hill. He hadn’t taken five steps when the captain said. “Not him, he will come with us.”

Thist turned his head and saw the captain pointing at him. “No, I will not go with you. I have no business with you.”

“Thist no!” pleaded Jem. “Remember what happened last time.”

All seven guards drew their swords and advanced on Thist. At that moment Jem and Kelvin realized what was happening they both averted their faces and covered their ears as they ran from Thist.

Thist waited only seconds for his friends clear some distance before he let the guards wish that they had never disturbed him.

Thist screamed the leaves from the shrub next to the captain. He screamed the eyebrows off his second in command and the guard next to him turned into ash and blew away in the breeze. The captain fell to his knees like a wet rag, his eyes and ears bleeding. His hair had turned from dark brown to white and he was unconscious before he hit the ground.

Jem and Kelvin were on their knees on the pebble beach. Thist surveyed the carnage before him. Some gannets fell from the sky, there were six guards lying in front of him and in the distance he could see the forest line begin to darken. The wisps were gathering on the edge to see what spectacle was unfolding. Jem stood up and staggered. He reached for Kelvin as he too struggled to find his balance. “Good man.” said Kelvin as he turned to see what Thist had done. “Where is the other guy? The seventh guard?”

Thist shook his head as he made a hand motion of disappearing smoke, “Poof!” said Thist.

Jem stared at the carnage with wide eyes. “Are they dead?”

Kelvin put his ear on the captain’s chest. “This one is alive, barely.”

Jem did the same with the next guy as Thist just stood there in his own shock gaping at the horror.

“This one is fine too.” said Jem “Thist what have you done? Where is the seventh guard?”

“He turned to ash, and blew away in the wind.” mumbled Thist. “Let’s leave them and go. I don’t think that they will bother us again.”

“Thist!” called Kelvin, “You have become a formidable weapon, and I implore you to please learn to stay your anger. The consequences of your anger are diabolical.”

Thist was in shock. “Sure.” said Thist “I will try.” He opened his right hand to see the stone that was in it. He watched it turn from a dull stone back to a glowing orb and realized that the rage that he had imbued in the stone had flowed back to him as he clenched it in anger, amplifying his rage a hundred fold. “Should I hold on to it or let it go?” he asked himself.

A voice came to him as clear as a mother’s scold.
“Let it go.”

“Why?” asked Thist

“An angry man is of no use to himself or those he loves.” said the voice. “Let it go.”

“What if I need it again?”

“There is no use for anger.” said the voice, “Any decision you make in anger is a bad decision.”

Thist dropped to his knees. He put the stone that he had imbued with anger amongst all the other beach pebbles. It stood out from all the others pebbles as it glowed. He rolled a large bolder over it to cover it. Thist wept. Tears of sorrow and regret flowed down his cheeks as his body was wracked with the sobs of a broken man.

“Why do you weep?” asked the voice.

“I am losing a part of my soul.” said Thist.

“But it’s a good part to lose,” said the voice “you will be better without it.”

“It’s still me,” said Thist, “and it still hurts to lose it. I want to be a good person and do what is right and good.”

“Everybody wants to do the right thing.” said the voice. “Some do the right thing only for themselves, these are often bad things. Others do the right things only for other people, and these are often good things.”

Thist wiped his face. “How will I know if I am doing good or bad?”

“Everyone is good when everything is going right.” said the voice, “A person’s true nature will show when everything is going wrong.”

Thist stood up and scanned the horizons. Jem and Kelvin were watching the spectacle.

“Are you finished talking to yourself?” asked Jem.

Thist shot Jem a stern look. “I was consulting with my advisors.”

“Whatever.” said Kelvin. “Let’s just go home.”

“No, No.” said Thist. “We have a castle to take.”

“Wow.” said Jem. “Your advisors are persuasive. Did they say how to do it?”

“We’ll figure it out Jem.” said Thist with a smile. “How bad can it be?”

The three had decided to leave the six unconscious guards where they lay. They walked back toward the ancient forest. The wisps had gathered in great numbers but did not venture out from under the tree canopy. They hid under the shade and in the dark shadows.

Neither of the three cared for the appearances and disappearances of the wisps anymore. They had become playful and friendly after the seeds of their forest had grown. They only made soft whooshing noises and crooned like meerkats. Some could be seen darting here or there between trees, but they didn’t bother the trio as they entered the forest. Jem was still cautious as he was more nervous around dark apparitions, but he had accepted their friendly, albeit distant, demeanour.

“How are you planning on taking the castle then, Jem?” asked Thist.

“I have some ideas based on what I can do and what you can do,” said Jem. “I think Kelvin has a few tricks up his sleeve. What can you come up with?”

“I’ve got tea.” said Thist. “I think I need to find the depth of my power.”

Kelvin nodded, “Not a bad idea. But what can you contribute to the siege of the castle?”

“The tea.” said Thist “and the wine that you spoke of that is still hanging on the bridge rope. We can use that to great advantage.”

“How?” asked Kelvin.

“That’s easy!” said Thist. “We send the castle folk a nice present of berry wine. And the cure for the hangover.”

“No.” said Kelvin “that combination gave us massive nightmares.”

“Yes.” said Jem with a broad grin. “It did.”

Thist chuckled. “Tomorrow we deploy weapon number one, dream tea.”

Kelvin stroked his young beard. “Aren’t we just going to ask nicely first?”