Finding The Soul Bridge (The Soul Fire Saga Book 1) (34 page)

Let’s find a suitable place to rest and talk a little.” said Leanne-Drake.

“Yes.” said Thist.

The whole castle-proper had collapsed. The battlement walls and the small village on the inside of the keep were in a serviceable condition. The two foes turned friends walked away from the collapsed castle and toward a small clearing near the gate.

Leanne-Drake and Thist walked up to the abandoned keep tavern. It had been maintained for the castle guards but nobody had thought of modernising it. Remnants of centuries gone by were hanging on the timber clad walls. “Wow!” said Leanne-drake “It’s like I was here yesterday.”

There were items of interest on the old stone mantle piece, on the bar counter, hanging from the ceiling and walls. Some of them Thist recognised. Others were beyond his understanding. “Shall we just help ourselves to some drinks?” asked Thist.

“Yes.” said Leanne-Drake “See if they have some num-num berry wine and some jars of preserve, I’m ravenous from sleeping for a thousand years.”

Thist and Leanne-drake rummaged through the old tavern supplies. He had seen a hungry person eat before but watching Leanne-Drake eat was a new experience for him. For a moment he feared for his own life as the dragon lady devoured whole jars of fruit preserve taking the lid and some of the jar with every gulp. Then she sucked in the contents of a full bottle of berry wine. Thist remembered the effect that the berry wine had had on him and his two friends and lost his appetite.

“I’m not hungry now.” said Thist.

After a few minutes Leanne-Drake emitted a loud burp and wiped herself clean.  “Oh!” she exclaimed.  “That is good eating.”

“No it’s not.” said Thist. “It’s probably putrid and poisonous.”

“That’s okay.” said Leanne-drake “I am immortal.”

“You said that I am a ‘Drake’, what does that mean? And am I also immortal?” said Thist.

“You are
‘The Last Soul’
.” said Leanne-Drake. “In the event that something should happen to the soul bridge of this world and all of the souls have been born, then you will be the last soul to be born. Your sole purpose is either; finding or repairing the soul bridge, or if that fails, to forge a new one. You have the power to make things more than they are, and to imbue them with great power. You have the power to imbue a world with life.”

“I know that I am powerful.” said Thist. “But I have only been doing it for three weeks, maybe a month.”

“How? Your skill is so advanced! Who did you have as a teacher?” asked Leanne-Drake.

“The voices,” said Thist, “from the soul stones.”

“Do you have the soul stones here?” she asked.

“Yes.” said Thist “I have them in a pouch on me, look I will show you.”

Leanne-Drake ran her long hair out of her face with her left hand as she sat forward. Thist tipped the contents of the pouch out onto the table. “See.” said Thist. “They have their own glow and each one has a soul in it.”

Tears welled up in Leanne-Drake’s eyes as she picked one up. “These are our people, Thist.”

“I thought that you, we, are immortal?” said Thist.

“We are, our bodies can be lost at great cost but our souls cannot be lost. Where did you find all of these soul stones?”

“Jem and I found them at the bottom of a waterfall. We thought that they were diamonds and set out to Fineburg to try to sell them. Plans changed and we ended up here.”

Leanne-Drake picked up the dull soul stone. “This one has no soul in it, was it always like that?”

“No.” said Thist “That one lost its lustre at the beginning of our journey.”

“There is only one way that could have happened,” said Leanne-Drake “You had the soul stones close to you when you were with a woman.”

Thist was dumbfounded for a moment. “What are you saying? Where is that soul now?”

“The woman that you were with is with child.” said Leanne-Drake.

Thist jumped to his feet, his chair crashing to the floor. “Tayah? Tayah is with child? My Tayah?” said Thist in excited denial.

“If that is the woman, yes.” said Leanne-drake. “Your Tayah is with child.”

Thist was elated, the world’s problems could go to the wolves for all he cared and for the first time he felt immortal. “I’m going to be a father.”

“I have to go home right away,” he said, “I cannot wait.”

“No, wait.” said Leanne-Drake. “Do you know any of the souls in the soul stones?”

“Yes.” said Thist. “I am familiar with all of them now, I know them by name. But their faces are unknown to me but for one.”

“Thist, you must tell me, do you have the soul stone of the druid?” she said. “He is the evil one that gave our people the affliction, and their banishment to the soul stones.”

“No.” said Thist. “I don’t have the soul stone of the druid.”

“Before you reunite the two halves of the soul bridge, you must find the soul stone of the druid, lest he cross over from the hence to the now and terrorise us again.”

“I know who has the soul stone of the druid…”

A croaking voice interrupted Thist. It was incoherent, like a person drowning in his own fluids.  “…the shaman…from the h-hut has it.” stammered Thist as he tried to finish speaking.

Thist turned to the door where the sound had come from. In the doorway of the tavern he saw a hideous sight. A ghastly looking apparition stood at the door, slowly hobbling in.

The figure in the doorway looked like the remains of a man that should have been buried a millennium ago. He was being held up by Jem, who looked exhausted from carrying the hideous creature. Thist was repulsed, “Jem! What in the world is that?”

“I…am… Kelvin…” It said in its vapid voice, “…the hagget.”

Thist was shocked at first and then rushed to assist Jem, he cradled Kelvin’s limp body in his arms. He shook him gently as he called, “Kelvin, Kelvin it’s me Thist, your idiot travel buddy.” Kelvin’s frail bones started to crumble; he raised one eyelid to glimpse Thist’s face and then shot a glance up at Leanne-Drake. The light flashed from his eye as he exhaled his dying breath.
“Jem, Jem, get my bag, quickly! I can make something.” Tears streamed down Thist’s cheeks and dripped from his chin. Jem put his hand on Thist’s shoulder and shook his head. “No Thist. Let him go.” said Jem.

“No!” wept Thist.

Leanne-Drake was on her knees, weeping. Kelvin had been afflicted by the druid; his body had been racked with pain for nearly a thousand years. He was always just minutes from death but he had medicated himself to stay alive while his body decayed. The only thing that ever mattered to him was to set free his loved one, Leanne-Drake. He had made the journey to the castle at great cost several times. He had started the prophecy of the canyon crossers, he had made sure that the oiled bridge rope was delivered, given the bow to the shaman at the hut and placed the arrows, torches and flint in the caddels. Kelvin had fought to free the world of its damnation and he had persevered despite insurmountable odds. He had given his life to a cause and had bitten back any word that could have given him away or compromise his purpose. Now his spent husk lay in Thist’s arms as Thist began to process his own emotions.  “It was him!” said Thist, “It was him all along, wasn’t it?”

Yes,” said Jem.

“That’s why he knew.” Thist looked down at Kelvin, “but if he knew the way so well then why did we take that long detour?”

“What detour?” sobbed Leanne-Drake. “He took us around a mountain for a day and a half longer than we should have. He got attacked by a jaguar and nearly died.”

Leanne-Drake giggled through her tears. “Many centuries ago he promised me that he would hunt a jaguar for me. I said he couldn’t do it! He told me then what a promise meant, I didn’t understand or appreciate his meaning until now.” Leanne-Drake stood up and stretched out her hands to the door and growled as if drawing power from the beams of sunlight. “Let us make haste and find the soul stone of the druid before we can open the bridge.” 

“First we have to care of our person,” said Jem. “We must have a funeral and release his soul from its fiduciary so that his soul may rest.”

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