Soul Snatching

Soul Snatching: Chapter 15

Hey everyone! Sorry it took so long, a lot of you guys have been begging me to write in Paul's POV so I did :D.

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Paul’s POV

Night was fast approaching and yet there was still no sign of Tara. My stomach felt queasy as I thought of all the things that could happen to her. What if someone killed her? What if she decided she didn’t want to be partners with me anymore?

I tried to calm myself down with rational thoughts. If someone killed her I would have felt it…right? I would feel as if my soul was more complete, I reassured myself for the thousandth time.

With each and every passing second I felt more and more guilty. If I had just let her come along with me to get food none of this would have happened. I can’t let her come along though, her not coming along is the only thing that is still letting me believe that…There is no use in thinking about that right now.

I can’t handle all of this worrying. I am going to have to do something about it. I am sure that she won’t be that difficult to find, how far could she have gone to get a couple of berries?

Two Hours Later

Apparently she was very far away, because after hours of searching the forest I still don’t have a clue where she is. At least wandering around gave me the opportunity to set up some more traps. My mind wandered off to the first time I encountered Tara during our Soul Snatching. I couldn’t help but chuckle at the image of Tara hanging upside down trying to hit me with her dagger. I miss her, more then I would have imagined I would.

I shook the thought out of my head. Why was I worrying so much about her? Why is it that every time I picture her dead there is a pang in my chest? Why is she having so much of an effect on me?

Images of Tara nearly dead on the forest floor haunted my mind. I pictured her over and over again, each time more gruesome then the last. Sometimes, I could even see her calling out my name, begging me to help save her.

It was pitch black outside. The moon barely shined through the abundance of leaves above me. I began contemplating whether or not I should go back home. Maybe she had gone back hours ago and my searching for her was all done in vain. Or maybe she is out there, cold and alone begging me to come save her.

Suddenly I heard a low murmuring of voices. I reacted instantly; I grabbed my sword out of my belt and cocked my ear. All I could hear was the occasional hoot of an owl. When I glanced at my surroundings I realized that I was close to the lake. The lake was Thorg and the night guard’s territory.

I remember the story Tara told me about the night guard. How strong he was and how difficult it would be to kill him. The slight pain in my side reminded me of how powerful and merciless Thorg’s mace is. The two of them together would be an impossible match for me to overcome.

A small part of me wanted to head back. If I had to face either Thorg or the night guard I could easily die. Should I really risk my life just to have a chance at saving Tara?

My feet answered for me as I continued along in the same direction. As I attempted to walk on tree roots as gracefully as I could, I heard soft snoring. Fear gripped at my heart. I know that Tara doesn’t snore, so that rules out the possibility that it is her. What if it was the night guard or even worse, Thorg?

I practically crawled around searching for the snoring person. Half of me wanted to find out who it was and kill them, the other half just wanted to curl up and go to sleep. Finally, it seemed as if the snoring got louder. I listened patiently, hoping to hear which direction it was coming from.