Page 30
Story: A Soul to Revive
Human hands of late had not been kind to him; he didn’t want another set on him. She also still smelt of that masculine, possessive scent, and although it had lessened in its intensity over the past day, it was still present. The idea of her touching him when she wore it made his skin itch.
She flinched, the loudness of his voice, and the depth of it giving her pause. “I promise I won’t hurt you.”
Like she thought that was all that bothered him, she tentatively wiped down his bare chest with a soft stroke. She kept the rest of her body away, and it allowed him to view her past his beak, although not very well.
Ingram tensed with a threat bubbling in his throat.
Her next words, spoken so quietly and sincerely, silenced him. “I’m sorry.”
His red orbs finally gave in and turned dark yellow in curiosity.She is apologising?He didn’t know why a human, a Demonslayer, would want to.
Her strokes were gentle against him as she continued. “I know it probably means very little, but I am sorry this is happening to you. Had I known they would do this to you, I wouldn’t have...”
Her long orange eyelashes moistened, as the spike of salt teased his nose holes. She cleared her throat and leant forward – past his beak, where he could no longer see her.
“I’m sorry they’re dissecting you while you’re alive. I can’t even begin to imagine how it feels, but my torso burns for you, like I’m experiencing a small thread of it with you.”
I do not understand her.
She was cleaning him with care – even he could tell this. Her words sounded sincere, her voice soft. He couldn’t see her face, but the cold, wet cloth dabbing at him was oddly pleasant. Water trickled down his torso, cleansing him further.
He wished she wasn’t showing him this kindness; he found it confusing. It ached his heart, while soothing his muscles so they’d loosen. He’d rather she be like everyone else, hateful and humour-filled at his pain.
It would be easier to bear.
“Why are you doing this?”he asked quietly, his orbs morphing to blue – before the bottoms of them broke. Floating blue liquid hovered around his skull, glittering as it disappeared.
“Someone has to clean you eventually. I doubt you’d be susceptible to infection since you heal, but I always feel better when I’m clean.” Her singular snorting laugh lacked any humour. “Isn’t this nicer than someone else tossing water on you?”
A saddened breath shuddered out of him.
“No. I mean, why are you saying this?”When she leaned back to face him, he could only just see her past the edge of his beak.“You humans call me a monster, and yet your kind have been vile to me. Why would you show any kindness towards me?”
Her hair shone in the dim firelight as she wrung her cloth out over the ground – it seemed she was trying not to dirty the water she was going to wash him with – before wetting it once more.
“What’s happening here... I didn’t sign up for this. I didn’t join the Demonslayer guild to torture Duskwalkers. I came here because I wanted to kill Demons, to get back at them for taking everything I cared about away from me. But even then...” Once more, she was gone from view as she wiped the scales covering his pelvis and thighs. “I wouldn’t even wish this upon a Demon.”
Funny that. Ingram, despite everything he’d suffered, would gladly do this to a Demon if it would bring back Aleron. He just didn’t want it done to him, especially when, in his mind, he hadn’t done anything to deserve it.
What were a few human meals when he knew they killed each other? He and Aleron had been drawn to such battles between humans when their blood called them closer. How could they justify doing something like this to him for whatever vengeance they believed, when they were no better to each other?
“How...”he softly muttered, feeling his anger and hatred towards her lessening.“How do I make them stop? How do I make them free me?”
As much as he had gained a substantial amount of humanity, it was nowhere near enough. Half his mind and thoughts were still grainy and empty. Although he could understand some things, he didn’t have the intelligence to think his way out of this.
His body and instincts had always been his tool; he’d never truly needed his mind before.
“They won’t,” she answered definitively. “They won’t let you go, and they won’t stop doing this until they know everything about your kind and how to kill you. No guild sector has ever captured a Duskwalker before, so you’re currently the most valued asset we’ve ever had.”
“I willneverreveal how to kill my kind, and they will not find that answer inside me.”His tone held the deep underline of a threat.
“So, your kindcandie...” she mumbled, slowly standing so she could wipe his shoulders and neck.
His head twitched, causing a rattle to come from him. Then, his orbs flared dark crimson.“If you think your kindness will be enough for me to give you the answer of how to kill me, you are wrong.”
He’d never considered such a tactic before, but was this a new way to get information out of him? Wren had asked him many questions, of which he’d given her silence in return. Were they using this female as a way to lure his secrets out of him?
“I wasn’t asking you,” she stated firmly. “But... wouldn’t you prefer death over this?”
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30 (Reading here)
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 93
- Page 94
- Page 95
- Page 96
- Page 97
- Page 98
- Page 99
- Page 100
- Page 101
- Page 102
- Page 103
- Page 104
- Page 105
- Page 106
- Page 107
- Page 108
- Page 109
- Page 110
- Page 111
- Page 112
- Page 113
- Page 114
- Page 115
- Page 116
- Page 117
- Page 118
- Page 119
- Page 120
- Page 121
- Page 122
- Page 123
- Page 124
- Page 125
- Page 126
- Page 127
- Page 128
- Page 129
- Page 130
- Page 131
- Page 132
- Page 133
- Page 134
- Page 135
- Page 136
- Page 137
- Page 138
- Page 139
- Page 140
- Page 141
- Page 142
- Page 143
- Page 144
- Page 145
- Page 146
- Page 147
- Page 148
- Page 149
- Page 150
- Page 151
- Page 152
- Page 153
- Page 154
- Page 155
- Page 156
- Page 157
- Page 158
- Page 159
- Page 160
- Page 161
- Page 162
- Page 163
- Page 164
- Page 165
- Page 166
- Page 167
- Page 168
- Page 169
- Page 170
- Page 171
- Page 172
- Page 173
- Page 174
- Page 175
- Page 176
- Page 177
- Page 178
- Page 179
- Page 180
- Page 181
- Page 182
- Page 183
- Page 184
- Page 185
- Page 186
- Page 187
- Page 188
- Page 189
- Page 190
- Page 191
- Page 192
- Page 193
- Page 194
- Page 195
- Page 196
- Page 197
- Page 198
- Page 199
- Page 200
- Page 201
- Page 202
- Page 203
- Page 204
- Page 205
- Page 206
- Page 207
- Page 208
- Page 209
- Page 210
- Page 211
- Page 212
- Page 213
- Page 214
- Page 215
- Page 216
- Page 217
- Page 218
- Page 219
- Page 220
- Page 221
- Page 222
- Page 223
- Page 224
- Page 225
- Page 226
- Page 227
- Page 228
- Page 229
- Page 230
- Page 231
- Page 232
- Page 233
- Page 234
- Page 235