The Soul Keeper

Mother's voice startled me. Alarmed, I turned to face her as she stepped out of her transportation spell with two others in tow.

"But I doubt even Aelith is capable of that, seeing as this place has become quite the well defended fortress," Her cold, calculating voice echoed in the room.

I heard someone draw a sharp breath as all eyes turned on Mother. Worried, I glanced at my sister – she didn't know the truth about Mother yet. 

Her eyes wide open, and her face pale, she was holding on to Mona for support. "Mom?" She whispered. Mother glanced at her, and her expression seemed to soften for a split second before she averted her gaze.

"I have brought the last two missing members of your group." She said, pointing at the two people behind her.

I immediately recognised both of them. Lucius, I had already known for my whole life. He didn't look any different than what I remembered.

The other person was a surprise for sure though.

"Erik?" Asher's astonished voice sounded. The middle-aged man took a step forward as he glared at the young Gallagher.

Erik looked weak. His blonde hair had lost its shine, and so had his eyes. He was thin, too thin. He seemed bony. He was wearing grey trousers and a white shirt. His gaze lingered on us as his expression remained unchanged. He looked dead inside.

"What happened to him?" Asher asked.

Mother ignored him. Instead, she turned her gaze on Fetheion – her brother. I furrowed my brows as my expression soured. "Brother, see if you can heal his mind." She pushed Erik towards Fetheion. The young man stumbled forward; he would have fallen down had Lucius not helped him along.

"I'll try." Fetheion said with a sigh before taking Erik and vanishing.

"Brother?" Aoife spoke in a low voice. "No…" her voice trembled as she turned her gaze towards the door, then back at Mother again.

"You don't seem surprised in the slightest, Kai." Mother spoke. I raised my chin as my expression darkened. 

"Why would I be?" I folded my arms and glared at her. "It wasn't too difficult to figure out once it turned out the so called 'game' was real." 

She seemed taken aback for a moment, perhaps because of my tone of voice, or maybe because I was still glaring daggers at her. "Besides," I added, forcing myself to remain calm. "Fetheion is not a good liar. He slipped up himself."

Mother's brows furrowed. Her lips formed a thin line. "Is that so?" She hissed, clenching her fists.

"So, what was the goal, mom?" I asked with a shrug. "What exactly did you hope to accomplish by all of this?"

Mother tapped her foot with an unsteady rhythm as she glared at me. "Does it matter?" She asked, a faint grin on her lips. "Aelith is here, ready to destroy our world. Why ask that now?"

I laughed, the turned my gaze on Lucius, who had put some distance between himself and Mother. "What about you? How much did you know?" I was ready to be angry. To hate him even, if it turned out that he had hidden all of this from me.

"Uh," He scratched his cheek. "I kind of got dragged away from home and then noticed it was you Mother. I honestly didn't know anything else." He nervously chuckled. "I'm, well, more surprised than you." 

I swallowed the anger that was welling up inside me. I believed in his words; he wasn't lying. I knew it. 

"Alright." I finally said, taking a deep breath. "I'm sure Fetheion can fill you in on the details, Mother, but the plan is to attack London in three days. We will destroy the Divine Pillar and kill Aelith." I turned my back on her. "Until then, do as you wish." I walked towards Aoife. She immediately grabbed my arm as I reached towards her.

"Come on," I said with a soft voice as I led her out of the training hall. "Let's get you to your room."

"So… technically you're not human then." Aoife mumbled. We were sitting in her room. I was on the floor, sitting cross legged on a comfy, fluffy pillow. Aoife was laying on her bed face down, watching me as I fiddled with a strand of black flame. "I guess that explains why you're able to do that stuff."

I shrugged. "I don't know, maybe having some nonhuman in me made it easier to get used to using magic, but I don't think it's the only reason I can do this." I shuddered at the thought of how the Demon Lord restored my powers.

"How did you figure it out?" She asked after a while of silence. A bitter smile formed on my lips.

"Fetheion. He understood me when I spoke English. He wasn't supposed to be able to." I chuckled. "I had noticed the similarities between him and Uncle Eion back when we first met too – they sounded the same, acted the same… But I never put two and two together." I looked at the carpet and fiddled with my clothes. "I'm sorry for not telling you." 

Aoife's expression changed. She frowned and averted her gaze. "I kind of wish you told me." She mumbled. "I understand why you didn't – I really do! But I kind of wish you did."

I nodded. "I thought I had more time." I said with a sigh. "I… I wanted to protect you from the cold, hard truth." 

I was surprised to hear Aoife's chuckle. "Aww, you're almost adorable." She reached for my hair and ruffled them. "I won't say that it's ok. It's not ok." Her words pierced me like daggers. "Nothing that happened in these last few days is ok." She sighed.

I raised my head to meet her gaze. "I'll fix it." I said, actually believing every word I spoke. "I'll make sure things return to the way they used to be, as much as I can at least."

Aoife shook her head. "That's not what I'm asking of you." She pulled a loose strand of hair, causing me to flinch as she plucked it off my head. "I'm asking you to not push me away. I don't care what kind of cold hard truth it is, don't try to protect me from it." She forced a bitter smile. "I'm not some porcelain doll to be protected, Kai."