Soul Bringer

Chapter 3

Kai took me outside where a black car was parked. He opened a door for me and I climbed in. I noticed with a start that I didn't see his blade anywhere behind him. There must be some way he was accessing the weapon through the Echo. Perhaps it was one of his abilities, being a Mal'ak. Though if he could pierce that barrier, why couldn't they have found me? Curious, I asked those dangerous questions out loud, pushing down the fear of what the answers could mean to me.

"Where did your blade go?" I asked him. He glanced over at me with a half-smile.

"It's a secret." He whispered softly. "As a Mal'ak, we all have our own abilities. One of mine is that I can make things disappear." Suddenly Kai disappeared from next to me. He let out a chuckle from my wide-eyed gaze. "Pretty crazy huh?" He asked as he reappeared before my very eyes.

"It's a bit amazing." I said, giving him a smile of my own.

For a moment, I longed for my old powers. But it had been worth giving them up to be here. For a hundred years, my father's world had been destroying my humanity piece by delicate piece. If I had stayed in Remna, how long would it have been before I turned out just as cruel as he was?

In the past, my father had always chosen the worst of people to make his deals with. I didn't mind bringing him their souls so much. But three days ago, all of that changed. I could still see the child's face.

I had hunted tirelessly for his blade after that. When I finally had found it, I didn't hesitate to leave. I had let him use me for his purposes for years, the only thing keeping me with him was my own ignorance and the tasteless dread of being alone.

I would never be used like that again.

I glanced at the quiet town as we drove by. It was tranquil and beautiful, this small town of Hayden. It was a place I would have liked to grow up in. My father's home had been dark and twisted, filled with his monstrous creatures. I had always gone to bed with the sounds of screams ringing in my ears in the dead of night. Even in the day time, I had nightmares. There had been no light in Remna, only darkness.

"There is one question I have for you." Kai asked.

"What's that?"

"Where is the blade of realms?" I looked out the window to study the trees as we passed. I had learned quickly that this was what I did when I found it difficult to answer a question I knew the other person wouldn't like. I turned away from them, unable to meet their gaze. I did this with my father all the time, which always angered him more.

"It disappeared when I stabbed Sylvie." I told him.

"Your father's famous pet?" He asked me. I nodded my head. Silence settled over us. I turned to look at him and studied the obvious fear in his dark green eyes.

"What do you think happened to it?" I asked him.

"I don't know." He said. "Nothing good if it vanished like that."

"Do you think it was returned to Remna?" I asked him, fear threatening to shove me under those dark waters that towered over me.

"Let's hope one of your father's dark creatures hadn't retrieved it for him."

I thought of my father's pets, only one could turn invisible like that, Ratton. He was like Sylvie, but smaller in size and quiet on his feet. If he returned the blade beyond the Echo, to my father's realm, then it would be only a matter of time before my father found his way to me. If there was one thing my father knew well, it was the shimmering veil. He could call upon the veil, forcing it to bring forth whatever location he desired. The power came from the blade of realms. And the bearer of the blade commanded the Echo.

If he had the blade it wouldn't be long now.

I turned back to the window, trying to ignore Kai's words, but they still managed to reach out to me as if they were attempting to suffocate me.

I laid my head back, closing my eyes against the fears. Exhaustion overcame me, pulling me down into an eternal darkness.

Then his voice reached out to me.

Even in my dreams my father had a way of finding me.