A Soul For Trouble

Chapter 2

Cinder crept ahead, peaking around corners before he ventured forward. Dev followed him with silent footsteps. The sharp points of the girl's hips dug into his collarbone, but at least she was light enough not to hinder his movements. He slipped through an alley at the edge of the town and found the grove of trees where he had tethered his horse. Once again, Lady Luck smiled on him. The horse was still there.

He tossed Trouble over the saddle and mounted the horse behind her. For a moment, he closed his eyes and tried to sense the presence of dark magic. Years of his knightly training didn't fade when he was sentenced to become the Soulbearer's guardian. Part of him wanted to hunt down the necromancer responsible for tonight's attack. Creators of such atrocities didn't deserve to live.

Cinder's whimper interrupted his concentration. When he opened his eyes, the wolf licked the girl's dangling arm.

"All right, I'll take care of her first." He'd pledged centuries ago to protect the Soulbearer, and Trouble needed all the help she could get.

***

Sulaino hid in the shadows, searching the night for the yellow-haired girl. She either burned to death in the flames or found another way to escape.

A crowd gathered around the inn and tried to douse the fire. A futile effort. It would take a deluge from the heavens to put that inferno out. He could call on one, but why bother? He liked the townsfolk standing in one place, where he could easily pick them off to replace the members of his army who burned inside.

He turned to his minions. "Kill all the men, but bring all the women to me. I must find the girl who trapped the god's soul."

A dozen figures emerged from the nearby shadows, weapons raised. Completely occupied by the fire, the humans didn't notice his undead soldiers until their blades impaled the first victims.

Sulaino grinned while he listened to their screams. Nothing like the sound of terror on an early autumn night. He stroked the scar on his left cheek. If his estimations were correct, he'd easily replace the soldiers he lost in the inn. Soon, he'd have enough to challenge King Heodis and have his revenge. And if he could capture the soul of the chaos god, nothing could stop him.

His soldiers brought him the first two women they captured. Tears streaked through the soot on their cheeks, and sobs racked their fragile human bodies. He examined the first one. The wrinkles that lined her face spoke of the many years of life she had lived. She was far too old to be the girl he sought. "Finish her," he said with a wave of his hand.

His soldier remained expressionless as he slit her throat in a quick strike. Blood gurgled out from the wound, and the old woman collapsed into a heap at his feet.

The other woman screamed and strained against her captor. "Please don't hurt me. I'll do whatever you want. Just please don't hurt me."

The necromancer stepped closer to her and tilted her head back so the firelight enhanced the curve of her face. Such a pretty young thing. He brushed back the stray curls that fell around her cheeks and glanced down at her generous cleavage. The smell of her fear aroused him. He studied her closer and recognized her from the inn. "What is your name?"

"Jenna," she replied in a trembling voice.

He pressed his lips against the flesh of her neck. She shuddered beneath him, and his cock stiffened. She tasted like smoke and salt. How long had it been since he'd had a woman come willingly into his bed, especially one terrified as she was? "And you'll do whatever I want, Jenna?" he whispered in her ear.

She bit her full bottom lip, nodding. Another tear streaked down her cheek, and he caught it with his lips. So delicious.

"And do you know what I want from you?"

She nodded again and turned away from him.

He reached into her mind, feeding off her fear. She thought he only wanted her body, and she was willing to give it to him. What interested him far more was her dread. To have one person so terrified of what he might do to her thrilled him. Soon, the whole kingdom would share her fear.

"First, tell me the name of the yellow-haired girl."

She wailed. "This is all Arden's fault, isn't it?"

He chuckled. "That's for me to know." He trailed his fingers along her neck, over the tops of her full breasts. "Shall we find a more private place, or do you prefer the streets?"

She glanced over her shoulder where his undead soldiers finished off the last of the townsfolk behind her. Her breath quickened, and her body shook. "Please, let's find someplace more private."

Jenna led him into one of the open houses and up the stairs to the bedroom. The sheets still retained the heat of their former occupant, who was now probably lying dead in the street. Without waiting for his command, she began to remove her clothes and lay still as he climbed on top of her.

A few minutes later, a shudder tore through him as he came inside her. He tightened his grip around her throat and pressed harder, strangling her cries. Her eyes dulled in the moonlight, and her body grew limp underneath him. A wave of euphoria washed over him as he watched the life drain from her pretty face, heightening the pleasure of his orgasm while he consumed the last traces of her soul.

He buttoned his trousers in silence. She had served her purpose well, but now he was finished with her. His mentor, Oztom, always raved about the taste of innocent souls. Sulaino disagreed with him. Innocent souls tasted sweet, but they carried no substance. Thieves and whores were much more filling. Their transgressions supplied more than enough power to fuel his magic.

Now, back to work. First order of business: animating the fresh dead waiting for him in the street below. Then to track down Arden and claim the divine soul residing in her.

***

The last of the three moons sank below the tree line before Dev finally climbed down from his horse and spread out his bedroll. His body ached and demanded sleep, but duty kept him from giving into it. She would have his bedroll tonight. He would stand guard.

Trouble slid from the saddle and landed in a small heap at the horse's feet. If what he'd seen before held true, she would be out until midday. He scooped her up off the ground, arranging her gangly limbs on the soft blankets. His jaw tightened as he examined her and the way her bodice hung loosely on her lack of cleavage. Why had Loku chosen her?

And yet, as he studied her closer, his curiosity increased. He told her earlier that she didn't look like a Ranellian. In the four months he'd travelled this kingdom, the monotony of its citizens blurred together. The same dark hair, dark eyes, dark complexions over and over again. Then this little barmaid collided with him. Her golden hair reminded him of a summer wheat field glowing under the sun. A breath of fresh air in the dreariness.

But more than her appearance caught his attention. In every town Robb visited, the people pointed and stared. A few even threatened to kill him. Yet she'd shown the old man compassion, treating him like a person rather than a raving lunatic.

"Is that why you chose her, Loku? Because she was kind to you?"

Trouble's brows furrowed together, but her eyes didn't open. She rolled over onto her side and curled up into a ball.

More than just her coloring bothered him. His fingers brushed her hair back to reveal her ears. Scars covered the skin on top of them, but they didn't form the distinct points he would've imagined finding. If she had elvan blood, then someone had deliberately tried to hide it.

He traced the length of her ear from the rough scars to the delicate lobes. She moaned in her sleep. He jerked his hand away. What secrets did she keep?

His blood chilled, and he backed away from her. Like the other human Soulbearers before her, Loku's presence would slowly drive her insane. Humans were never meant to contain him. They were too weak, too easily swayed into doing his bidding. No wonder Loku preferred them.

It was just a matter of time before she aged prematurely and started muttering responses to the voice in her head. For the first time in a century, a Soulbearer's fate frightened him.