Page 150
Story: A Strange Hymn
The Green Man’s eyes light. “Ah, Karnon. That mad, clever king was my greatest conquest yet. To slip into a skin not yet dead… It was effortful, to say the least.”
My flesh crawls. How could I not have noticed before the lingeringwrongnessof this man?
“But, as you saw, living bodies have their drawbacks. I fought with his mind for dominance, and I didn’t always win.”
Karnon’s split personality! The mad king had still been in there when this body snatcher took it over.
But…how?
The Green Man continues talking, unaware of my thoughts. “That animal made you in his likeness to escape me. He sought an end to his life by provoking the King of the Night, and what better way to do so than to harm the Night King’s mate?”
I’ve hiked up almost my entire skirt. So close to my daggers.
“Whatareyou?” I ask.
For one second, his body morphs. Inky-black hair and eyes replace the Green Man’s more vibrant ones. His skin pales, his features turning sinister.
Those upturned eyes, that pouty mouth and plaited hair. I’ve seen that face before! It’s the dark-haired man from my most recent nightmare.
“What is a body really?” he says. “Something that constrains you, something that perishes.”
The image dissipates, and he’s the Green Man once more.
“I have a thousand eyes and even more souls. I am what happens when even darkness dies. Look at me and see the truth.”
I do look at him. I can’t bear to take my eyes off him. This is the man who has hidden thousands of soldiers and raped thousands more.
The Thief of Souls.
Chapter 51
I desperately grasp one of my daggers. The metal zings as I pull it out of my thigh holster.
He smiles at the sight. “Come now, Callypso. Have I not just warned you that killing me is pointless?”
“Stay away from me,” I hiss at him, lifting the weapon.
“Alas, I cannot. You, my sweet, have presented me with a unique problem.” He rubs his lower jaw as he talks. “A prophecy demands you must die in order for me to get what I want, but if you do, you are beyond my reach.”
Above us, the sky quakes as my mate battles with his father.
“What is it you want?”
He grins again, the sight unsettling. “Wouldn’t you like to know. Ask yourself this: Why would a thief such as me steal as many soldiers as I have?”
That’s one of the many things I could never figure out about this mystery.
“Think on it, enchantress.”
“Don’t call me that.”
“Would you preferslave?” he asks. “Personally, I think you seem ill-suited to the title, but if that’s what you desire…”
I begin to back up. “I don’t understand—what does Galleghar have to do with any of this?” I ask. Even now, the sky thunders with the sounds of father and son.
The Thief of Souls smiles. “There’s an old prophetess who can answer that question—for a price. One way or another, you’ll figure it out.”
I fight the next question on my lips. I know it’s no use asking; no answer will be good enough. But I ask anyway. “Why are you doing 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
- 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 (Reading here)
- Page 151
- Page 152
- Page 153
- Page 154
- Page 155
- Page 156
- Page 157
- Page 158
- Page 159
- Page 160