White Orchids {BOOK 1 COMPLETED}

Chapter 38

"Wait a moment," Vrana mumbles as I step into his room; he doesn't look up from the leather book on his desk.

Animal skulls are hung up on the walls and between each one hangs thick fur-skins. The rest of the room looks normal – like the insides of a cozy cabin of dark wood. I didn't expect a guardian who names his soul wanderers after animals to put skulls on the walls. Cerberus had shown a curiosity for humans. Vrana might have similar interests, though his seems to focus more on death in the human world. I don't know if souls leave anything behind once they fade away. But in the living world a sign that someone once existed is left behind, maybe that was what had caught Vrana's attention enough that he'd hang them up like trophies.

I look back at Vrana, he looks up at me at the same time and smiles.

"Orchid was it, no?" he says and puts away the leather book. "To be honest I hadn't expected that you'd visit me. If at all. So, tell me... What are you doing here?"

He doesn't create a chair for me, nor does he let me go with his gaze. I take a few steps forward and grimaces when my mind aches.

"Are you okay?" he asks.

"Yes, everything is fine. I just have a few questions."

"About what?"

He smiles again; there's still no chair in front of the desk.

"About one of your soul wanderers."

His gaze finally leaves mine and travels down. Within a few seconds a broad wooden armchair grows out of the floor. A white-grey pelt that reminds me of wolves lays over the backrest.

"Which one of my soul wanderers to do you want to talk about?"

I sit down. Vrana leans back and wrinkles his nose and mouth like he just smelled the odor of something truly disgusting.

"The Fox."

Vrana puts his clasped hands under his chin. "And where did you hear that name?"

I don't know what to answer. The truth is too complicated – it would say too much. If they knew what I did, I'd be lucky if they decided to lock me up. I don't know what that would mean for me, what a prison in the realm of the dead would entail. How long I'd be there, where they would even place me. Maybe it'd be more merciful just to put me out of my misery.

I take a deep breath, but not deep enough for him to notice how nervous I am. "Does it matter?"

"You could say that." He leans forward. "If it has anything to do with those vile wounds in your mind."

He can see them? I glare at him, holding my skirt tightly with one hand.

Vrana laughs. "Don't look at me like that. I have no plans on telling anyone."

"Why...? Isn't it dangerous?"

He slightly leans over the desk. "It's deadly."

A half-open smile rests on his lips, he looks more amused than worried.

"As you humans says." He leans back. "A normal, physical weapon doesn't do much against a soul with no vessel. There's nothing physical to harm. There are weapons that can hurt us even though we don't have a vessel. That dagger that cut into your mind is a vile one."

He pushes a finger against my forehead, once he pulls back I can still feel the electric feeling over my skin.

"The presence is seeping out, but I can tell it's no longer there. However, it has left a mark on your mind and will tear you apart for weeks. Depending on how long you had it there, you could lose your mind entirely. Luckily, it doesn't seem to have spread too far. But you'll be like a walking beacon, every guardian you come across will notice, and we can't have that."