Soul Bound (3 page)

“But I would know,” I replied.  “Brennan, you have no idea what it has been like for me.  For a thousand years- and think hard about how long that actually is- I have had to do this.  I have had to drink from mortals.  I literally steal their blood.  That’s the very essence of who a person is.  I have to look into their eyes and watch as their body reacts to my curse.  It makes me…dislike myself.  It’s something I struggle with every day of my life.”

His face clouded, the light that normally shone in his eyes dimmed.  Turning, his voice cracked.

“Empusa,” he said softly, opening his arms.  I shook my head.

“I’m fine,” I replied, stiffening my shoulders.  I didn’t want pity.  I didn’t want reassurance or comfort. I didn’t deserve it.  Every word I said was true.  I was, in essence, a thief of the worst kind.

“Empusa,” he repeated, this time more firmly.  “Do not think like that.  You are forced to do these things because your father is a pathetic creature.  You are beautiful and kind and you do your very best to avoid hurting people.  We will figure out a way to return your life to normal and you’ll never have to do these things again.”

“I do my very best to avoid hurting people,” I repeated, completely disregarding his last sentence.  “Really?  How did we meet, Brennan?”

His face clouded over again.  I had struck a nerve.  He and I had met in the hospital, right after I had taken his uncle Daniel’s soul which had killed him.  Granted, Daniel had terminal cancer and he was going to die very soon anyway, but regardless, I had shortened his life.  It was something I knew Brennan struggled with.

He clenched his jaw.  “I’ve dealt with that,” he said firmly.  “You couldn’t help it.  Daniel was going to die anyway.”

“Yes, he was.  But he wasn’t going to die
that day
,” I answered wearily.  “I kill people Brennan.  It is what it is.  Whether they are sick and dying or not, it makes no difference.  I’m a killer.”

At his impassive expression, I continued.  “And what do you think is going to happen here?  I don’t see a cancer ward here.  I haven’t seen one sick person in this village.  What will happen when it comes time for me to take a soul?  Let me tell you what will happen.  I will either have to kill a healthy, happy priestess or I will die myself.  That is what it will come to.  Do you still think I’m not accountable… that it’s not my fault?”

His face remained expressionless when he replied with slow concise words.

“Yes, I still think it isn’t your fault.  We’ll figure something out.  Perhaps, just maybe, we can get this issue fixed by then.”

I had to laugh.  “Brennan, one of the things I love the most about you is your optimism.  I probably have a couple weeks
at most
before I will be forced to make a decision.  My life… or one of theirs.”

Turning my back and gulping down the lump that had formed in my throat, I pushed my way out of the hut into the dim evening light.

Women were standing around chatting outside of various huts and in the middle of common areas.  Worn dirt paths criss-crossed throughout the little civilization, giving unspoken directions to the most traveled destinations in the village.  I turned and headed down one path as I blinked back tears. 

“Not that way,” one woman told me kindly.  “Are you searching for the eating area?”

I nodded, unable to trust my voice. 

“I’ll show you,” she said quietly, taking my elbow.  I shrugged away from her touch.  The last thing I needed was for her to become enamored with me, too.   She looked at me in puzzlement, but didn’t say anything.  I realized that I seemed rude.

“I’m sorry,” I offered. 

She shook her head.  “Think nothing of it.  My name is Elin.  I’m happy to assist you with anything that you require, princess.”

“Does everyone know who I am?” I asked. 

She nodded.  “Yes.”

“Great,” I sighed.  Elin’s lips curved into a smile. 

“Embrace it, princess,” she answered.  “Each woman here would give you her home or her life if you asked it.”

“But why?”I asked in bewilderment.  “I’ve never met a one of you. I never even knew that Branwyn was my sister until today.  Why is there such deference to me?  Trust me, you don’t know what I am or it wouldn’t be so.”

“We know who you are,” Elin said firmly.  “And that is enough.  You are important.  Your role in this life is important both to you and to many people around you.  The sooner you realize it and embrace it, the better off you’ll be.”

I practically snorted. “My role in this life?  Elin, now I know you don’t understand.  I’ve lived for a very, very long time.  My role has been played out time and time again in the form of a horrible curse.  Trust me, it hasn’t been helpful for people around me.”

“Empusa,” Elin leveled a gaze at me.  “Your role in this life is only just now beginning.  You and your soul mate have found each other and now your true purpose will begin.”

I sucked in my breath.  “How did you know that?” I asked in amazement.  “Do you prophesize?  You couldn’t possibly have known that.”

“Yet it is true, is it not?” Elin raised an eyebrow.

“It is true that Brennan and I only recently found each other.  But we have been warned.  If we cannot control our powers around each other, we could literally end the world as we know it.  We could cause an apocalypse.   That is a great burden to bear.  Is that what you speak of when you say that we have a purpose?”

Elin looked at me, her eyes solemn.  “Princess, when you have a purpose, no matter what it is, there is no escaping it.  Your purpose, whatever it is, will come to pass.  You need to embrace that, as well.”

“Do you know my purpose?” I whispered.  “Have you seen it?”

She stared at me for a moment longer, before shaking her head.  “I have not personally seen it, no.  But Branwyn has.”

“Can I just tell you how tiring it is when people see me in visions and I have not one inkling of what is going to happen in my own life?”

I sighed, allowing the air to expel slowly and loudly from my lips.  “I’m sorry.  It’s not your fault and I didn’t mean to snap at you.”

“No offense taken, princess,” Elin nodded.   “And here we are.”

I looked up to find that we had made our way to the area that the priestesses used for eating.  There were women congregated into small groups, eating some sort of thick porridge from wooden bowls.  It didn’t smell good and I tried not to wrinkle my nose.

“Elin!” one of the women called and Elin turned to me.  “Will you be alright now?”

I nodded.  “Of course.  Thank you so much for showing me the way.”

She left to find her friend and I made my way to an empty wooden table.  It was made from thick-hewn logs sawed in half and I had to make sure I didn’t get a splinter.  Before I could sit or even blink, Brennan sidled up to me.

“Thought you could lose me, did you?” he asked with a grin.

“Of course not,” I assured him. “Nor would I want to.  I just needed some air.  My burden is sometimes difficult to bear.”

“So allow me to carry it for you,” he suggested. 

My breath froze in my throat and I stood still.  “What?”

“I thought of a way,” he explained quietly.  “I can take your curse for you, Empusa.  In the same way that your father passed it to you, you can pass it to me.”

Everything around me blurred together as my emotions exploded in a way that was too much to bear, too much to remain conscious for.  I fainted, but before I hit the ground, I was pretty sure that I heard myself scream.

Chapter Three

I woke with ice cold water being poured on my face.  I sputtered and sat up, fighting against the strong arms that held me down.  Coughing, I twisted to find that Brennan was the one restraining me as we sat next to a rushing river.

“Don’t ever do that to me again!” Brennan said as he released his hold.  I slid from his grasp and crouched next to the water.  My throat burned from water running down the wrong pipe.

“Why were you trying to drown me?” I rasped as I continued to cough.  “And do what to you?”

“Don’t ever scare me like that again,” he clarified firmly.  “I mean it.  Don’t.”

“I wasn’t trying to scare you,” I answered, looking around.  I was surrounded by priestesses.  Branwyn hovered nearby, along with Shayla, who was still staring adoringly at me.  “Your offer caught me off guard.  And it’s pure craziness,” I added.  “You are not taking my curse from me.  Absolutely not.”

Brennan started to protest, but I cut him off. 

“No arguments,” I snapped.  “I can’t believe you would even suggest it.  We’d be in the same exact boat- one of us being cursed.  It doesn’t really matter which one of us carries it.  We just need to find a way to get it removed… not transfer it back and forth.  You have no idea what it entails, trust me.  I don’t want to talk of this anymore.”

He gazed at me, his eyes golden in the light before he stood and extended his hand to me. “Alright,” he agreed.  “For now.  We can speak more of it later.”

“No,” I said firmly.  “There will be no more talk of it ever.”

I grasped his hand and allowed him to pull me to my feet.  His touch still sent jolts of electricity shooting through my arm, reminding me of what we were.  Soul mates.  Once upon a time, Zeus had split our soul in half, creating two separate souls.  He had a theory that if people spent their lives searching for their other half, their true mate, then they would not be focused on over-throwing his crown. 

I had not searched for my soul mate, however. I had happened upon him entirely by chance after I had just killed his uncle.  In most cases, that might put a damper on the relationship.  But soul mates had a connection; an unmistakable, undeniable connection.  It both reassured and terrified me at once.

The women surrounding us moved back so that I could walk through them.  The funny thing was that I didn’t know where to go.  What was my purpose here?  I stopped moving.

“Follow me,” Branwyn told me quietly as she moved forward.  “I have answers that you seek.”

My eyes shot to meet hers and found her gaze to be sincere and knowing. 

She nodded. 

“Yes, you can trust me.  I am here to help you.”

Brennan put his large hand on the small of my back, a weighty presence that comforted me.  His intense warmth, which stemmed from being the son of the god of the sun, radiated through my back.  

“I trust her,” he murmured into my hair from behind.  “I don’t know why but I do.”

I twisted just slightly to answer him.

“She can hear you, you know.”

He smiled slightly and I turned back to Branwyn.

“How do you know so much about me? I need to know.”

She nodded.  “Come, then.  I will explain.”

We wound our way out of the small village, past the stares of the other women, until we stood on the edge of a nearby forest.  The grasses were tall, almost up to our knees, and we stood quietly for a moment before entering.

“This is a sacred place,” Branwyn told us.  “We come here to worship, to sacrifice, to pray.  You must be respectful of it while you are here.”

“Of course,” Brennan agreed.  “We would never be anything else.”

Branwyn nodded, satisfied.  “We channel the spirit of the earth here. The water, the trees, the sky and the earth meet in our meadow here.  They pull from the four corners and meet as one. We draw strength from that.  You are fortunate.  You will be here for Samhain.  The barrier between our world and the Otherworld will be at its thinnest.  This will assist you in your purpose.”

Without explaining, she stopped speaking and began walking into the darkened trees, her feet peeking out of her long shift with every step she took.  Brennan and I glanced at each other and then quickly followed. 

Enormous oak trees closed around us, creating an atmosphere of mystery and solitude.  The massive trunks of the trees were cloaked in green velvet moss which also grew across the worn paths beneath our feet.  It smelled earthy here, damp and rich, and I inhaled deeply as we walked.  The air here did actually feel sacred.  It had a certain reverent feel that made me want to fall silent so that I didn’t disturb anything around me with noise. 

We made our way to a circular clearing and the feeling of reverence intensified.   It was clear that the circular meadow in front of us had been developed by the priestesses. It was encircled with trees, then a ring of stones.  In the center of the circle, a glossy black stone shimmered in the light.

I sucked in my breath as I stared at it.  Round, heavy and flat, it sat in the exact center of the meadow.  Shadows from the rustling tree branches overhead swayed against the stone.  Dried flowers were scattered upon it, their petals fluttering in the wind.  This was an altar.  That much as apparent. 

As we approached, it almost seemed as though the grasses beneath our feet stopped moving and the breeze itself died.

“What is this place?” I whispered, running my fingers along the cool length of the stone. 

“I told you,” Branwyn said, turning to me with a puzzled expression.  “It is sacred ground. ”

“But why?” I asked.  “What makes it sacred?”

Branwyn shrugged.  “You do.  Or we do.  Or combined, we both do.  I know not.  You and your kind have powers that I do not, but I know enough to channel them.  That majestic presence is felt here, in this place where everything comes together, the earth, the water, the sky and the sun.  It is sacred here.  That is all I know.”

“My kind?” I raised an eyebrow. 

She smiled pleasantly back at me.

“I know you are different from me. I know you are even different from our father.  Yours is a power truly to behold and revere, a power born from the goddess herself.”

The goddess herself. 

My mind started spinning backward, sifting through memories of mortal history.  The ancient Celtic Druids were known to have believed in an earth goddess, although mortals didn’t document which gods and goddesses Druid priestesses truly worshipped.  They were known to worship natural elements, such as the earth, the sun, the moon… but other than that, their religion was not a written one.  So, modern mortals truly didn’t know what had gone on here.