The Soul Keeper

I stepped outside the Palace of the Divines and let out a breath of relief. It was dusk – I was in there for almost the whole afternoon.

"Hey," A woman's voice sounded as I slowly walked along the street. "How did it go?" Victoria asked with worry in her voice.

"I have it." I said with a tired smile. "But it cost me."

"You're wounded." She said, glancing at the wounds on my neck and the bruises around my arms and wrists. "Come, let's go back to my shop – I have some healing elixirs there."

I chuckled. "I can heal myself, don't worry about it." Then I glanced at the busy streets. "But I'll gladly accept your invitation."

She forced a smile and led me through the busy streets. I could see how nervous she was. She relaxed only a little when we arrived at her shop.

"Where are the others?" I asked as we entered. Her butler, Thomas, quickly closed the shop as we headed upstairs.

"They went back to the inn." Victoria said. "I talked to the twins briefly – they said you were invited to dinner by the Divine Matriarch."

I laughed. "Invited, yes. That's one way to put it."

"Erik seemed furious." She added as we arrived at the top floor.

"Tell me something new." I mumbled. "Is Lucius here?" I asked as she opened the door to the third floor.

"Of course I am." His voice sounded. He was sitting on the couch. "You look worse than I thought you would." He said with a bitter smile. "But I'm glad you came back."

"I had insurance even if she didn't want to let me." I said as I used Soul's Respite. Both Lucius and Victoria flinched as the souls burst out of my chest. As they brushed past me, I directed my gaze at Lucius. "I won't have as much freedom as before."

He looked away. I could see how much this bothered him. "It's fine," I said with a bitter smile. I glanced at the door before shaking my head. "I got what we needed." I continued. "I know that both of you dislike this – I don't like it either – but this is the best chance we'll get."

"I know that." Victoria said with a frown. She took a deep breath to clear her head. "Dwelling on it won't get us anywhere. What did you learn?"

A knock on the door made her flinch. She jumped up with a pale face. "Come in."

"Asher," I added as the smug, annoying sorcerer stepped inside. He wore his blonde hair in a messy ponytail. His dark grey robes were somewhat torn and clearly carried the dirt of the wilderness with them.

"Well then," He said as Thomas closed the door, giving us the privacy we wanted. "Long time no see, Kai." He said with his usual smug smile.

"Right," I mumbled. "You sure took your time."

"Your friends took their time – I could have been here two days ago." He replied as he lowered himself onto the couch. "I'd like to say nice to meet all of you but…" He shrugged. "Oh well." He said with a sigh, then turned his gaze on me. "But putting that aside, that's quite the look, Kai."

My lips formed a smile as I rose to my feet and theatrically bowed. "The Divine Matriarch's gifts," I said sharply.

My cloak fluttered as I bowed, revealing the dark grey, enchanted clothes underneath. The fancy clothes were surprisingly easy to move in despite the long sleeves and lots of loose pieces of hanging cloth. They looked more like ceremonial clothes rather than practical ones

"Expensive gifts." Asher commented. He gestured towards my new accessory. "Is that also her gift?"

I instinctively touched my ear. An earring hung from my right ear. Hanging at the end of a short silver chain, it was shaped like a crescent moon.

My smile disappeared. "Yeah. It's her leash on me, so to speak." I said with a bitter, hateful voice. "We'll get rid of it soon enough." I added, seeing Asher flinch.

He hesitated, the nodded. "In that case, shall we begin?" He asked.

"Let's." Lucius said as they all took their places on the couches. "What did you learn?"

I smiled. "Her name is Aelith." I said, remembering the spell she cast on the earring. She had muttered her name along with mine as she did so. "She knew the previous Keeper." I added.

Asher almost spit his drink. "Excuse me?" He said after coughing a bit. "He died centuries ago, didn't he?"

I nodded. "She's that old. And so are all the other Divines. In fact, I'm sure she's much older than that." Lucius whistled as I finished my words.

"She said she tried to save him, but he 'up and died anyways', according to her." I added.

"That doesn't add up." Asher chimed in. "I was planning on waiting until you finished, but I found some of the old records the previous Keeper kept." He took a notebook out of his inventory flipped through its pages. "Look here; 'The light approaches – they already contacted me. Threats and empty promises were all I received from the Matriarch. She longs for my power and threatens to destroy all I care about if I don't submit.'"

I flinched. "That's... exactly what happened." I said with a low voice. "Asher, how long had you known this?"

He shook his head. "I finished deciphering it this morning. You were already inside the palace – I couldn't risk trying to warn you."

I clenched my fists. "Good thinking." I said and forced myself to calm down. He didn't mean anything bad – we all knew it. "She gave me a choice – if you can call it that." I explained my 'deal' with Divine Matriarch Aelith. As I spoke, their expressions darkened. Especially Victoria's.

"So, we're gambling with Erik, Samantha, Alina and the twins' lives here?" She asked with a shaky voice. I nodded. She remained silent for a while, then shook her head. "I'm sorry. It's a lot to take in."

"I won't defy her." I said after a moment's hesitation. Asher, who was lost in thought, quickly raised his head. "What does that mean?" He asked with clenched fists.

"She wants me to kill the Demon Lord." I said, lowering myself onto the couch. "That's exactly what I'm going to do. I'll go when she calls for me. I won't throw their lives away."

"So, we're abandoning the plan?" He hissed through his gritted teeth. "You'll just roll over and submit? Just… do as she says and throw away our best chance at getting out of here?" He rose to his feet, his fists clenched and his face red with anger. "That's not the promise we made, Kai!"

"Of course not, you idiot!" I replied with a shout. "Stop shouting at me and listen for ten god damned seconds!" Anger and annoyance welled up inside me, they fuelled my ice-cold aura of death. "That's why I said we'll have to be more careful!"

The smug sorcerer hesitated; his face went pale. "Kai?" He asked with a much weaker voice.

"I will kill the Demon Lord and we will get out of here. But I'm not strong enough to defy any of them – not the Demon Lord and certainly not Aelith. So, until I gain enough power, I have to go along with her whims."

"Young master." Lucius said with a warning tone. "I'd suggest you calm down."

It was only then that I realised their expressions – they were surprised, confused, and even somewhat afraid.

"Kai, you've changed." Asher said after a short, heavy silence.