Page 33 of To Free a Soul (Duskwalker Beginnings #2)

Landing on the ground in her owl form, Lindiwe quickly forced the shift so she could remove her hood. Her movements were unhurried as she walked forward, steady and unwavering in the sunlight. At the same time, she removed a ceramic vial from her satchel and pulled out the cork.

The pop gained the attention of the ghostly woman before her, who lowered her hands from her weeping face. The semi-transparent woman, who was taller than her, shook her head. Her long cornrows and beaded earrings swayed as she backed up from Lindiwe.

She opened her mouth to cry and sob, but Lindiwe pointed the open end of the vial towards the Ghost, and the woman’s weeping ceased. Although she’d once sympathised with the deceased and would have attempted to console them in the past, there was utterly no point.

Lindiwe was also desensitised to it all after so many years.

The Ghost’s expression went blank before it turned peaceful, as if all her pain, suffering, and worries were sucked into the vial. Her image began to recede, then she turned into a white soul flame.

It was also sucked inside the vial.

Lindiwe popped the cork back in and stowed the vial away in her satchel. Then she knelt on the ground and picked up a red beaded earring that was half buried in the dirt.

This is quite old, she thought, thumbing its texture. The red was faded where the sun had touched it, and brighter where it had been buried, although caked in dirt.

Next to where it’d been lying was the back of a human skull, which she’d originally mistaken for a rock.

She tsked. The Demons must have eaten her body, and the scavengers picked over the rest. She placed the earring in her satchel as a keepsake of the woman she didn’t know; it was her way of honouring her. Either her skull or the earring anchored her here.

She’d been tethered to this spot, unable to escape or leave it beyond a few metres before being pulled back.

Lindiwe had seen her from a distance. It was how she found all the deceased souls of humans eaten by Demons: by accident.

A cramp twinging across her pelvic floor made her wince and rub her waistline. Gosh, my period is painful this time. Most of the time the cramps were easy to bear, but on the odd occasion, they came to sucker punch her in the vagina.

She’d left Sayrn’s side when it made her crankier than she already was. She wanted to be alone, but didn’t want to be alone, and she was so twisted up inside that she just felt like a hormonal mess.

Since then, she’d been flying over Zafrikaan, looking for Ghosts within the forests or across the grasslands.

I wonder if there’s any more here. She scanned the area to see if there were any other items left behind, or the telltale white outline of something other being there. Women don’t often travel alone.

“Lindiwe.”

She closed her eyelids and sucked in a long, deep, enraged breath at her name being called.

Just leave me alone, she thought, opening her eyes when she thought she’d quelled the worst of her anger. How many times are you going to call me before you realise I’m not going to answer?

She’d speak to him when she was ready.

Then she propped her feathered hood over her head to show her disinterest. I wish he’d just... go to sleep. Forever. Then they’d never have to have conversations about sex, or children, or anything ever again.

I don’t want to hear his stupid, sexy voice, her mind complained as she sulked. I hate it.

She didn’t, not really, but right now, she was just so full of hurt, betrayal, and spite that she wanted to hate it.

“Lindiwe!” Weldir roared when feathers began to form across her nose, and she flinched in surprise because he never did that. “This is not the time for your pesky human silent treatment. Orpheus has abandoned his home to run towards the centre of the Veil, and he is distraught.”

She yanked her hood back, freeing her curls. “What? Why?”

“I’m unsure. I wasn’t watching, as I was tending to my souls.”

“Where is Katerina?”

“If I was able to see into their ward, I could answer that. Alas, I cannot.” Did she hear a snark in his tone?

Lindiwe hesitated. I said I wouldn’t interfere anymore. Orpheus had to make his own choices and be the leader of his own life. He could be heading to the centre of the Veil for any reason... Yet something nagged at the back of her mind. What if something is truly wrong?

“Fine. Please take me to his ward.”

“I’m surprised you want my aid now, considering you flew across half the world by yourself.”

Oh, he was angry with her over that, and likely many other things.

Good!

At least he could feel that!

Her lashes partly obscured her vision from her fierce glare. “This is an emergency. I’m not going to waste weeks flying when you can do it in minutes.”

“So you’ll only deign to acknowledge my presence when it’s convenient?”

I’d rather not be in your presence at all! she wanted to scream.

“Why are we having this argument?!” Lindiwe yelled, stamping her right foot and wishing his toes were underneath. “Take me to our son’s home! Right now!”

The ground came out from under her, and weightless darkness caught her. The moment she saw Weldir out of the corner of her eye, she folded her arms and waited to be transported to the Veil.

When he didn’t, and she floated there for too long, she threw her hands out. “Well? Hurry up.”

“Infuriating,” he growled back.

Dusk greeted her, but the far-reaching shade made everything dark and foreboding, despite the sky being painted in beautiful hues of orange, purple, and pink.

She quickly entered Orpheus’ ward and approached the house.

Silence was all that answered back when she called out Katerina’s name multiple times. There was no point calling out to Orpheus, since he was making his way to the centre of the Veil.

The lack of any response twisted her gut with worry, and she placed her foot on the bottom step of their porch.

She paused. I told myself I would never enter his home unless invited. She steeled herself against breaking that promise and climbed the stairs. As she ascended, a crushing weight settled upon her shoulders and chest.

Lindiwe didn’t knock, just opened the creaky door.

Inside was bright with candlelight, and she was taken aback by what she saw.

A large table, gigantic in comparison to a human, sat off to the right.

It was bare, with nothing on top of it except discarded gems, twine, and metal, as if someone had been in the middle of creating an ornament.

Pushed under it were dining chairs, one designed for a human and one that Orpheus obviously sat upon.

Oh wow. He’s done so much more to it than I thought.

Underneath a long windowsill was a metal washbasin with a small wooden bucket inside it. Glass bottles of purple, yellow, and even a pale red filled with unknown liquids, likely some kind of steeping herbs, rested against the wall above the counter.

To the left were two chairs with armrests situated in front of a stone fireplace. The smaller one had an array of animal hides over it to make it soft and comfortable, whereas the larger one was bare wood.

The timber floor was cold against her feet, and she thought it was a shame that it wasn’t covered in more animal hides to make it warmer and more inviting.

However, that wasn’t what left her in awe.

She’d been right that those five-tined antlers would be used to decorate, and they had been fastened to many others and attached to the ceiling to create a chandelier. Lit candles were fitted to it, which illuminated much of the house.

Attached to it, and the ceiling, were dozens of glittering trinkets.

Some dangled lower than others, and they were all so different that some gleamed with pretty crystals, while others had charms made from interesting rocks and bones.

More lined the walls, the windowsills, and even the backs of their chairs.

That must be Katerina’s handiwork. Lindiwe doubted Orpheus would have picked up this kind of craft. It looks like she wanted to make their home prettier.

Which, oddly enough, made it look like a witch’s home decorated with amulets, talismans, and spells. If there had been a single plant inside, she would have thought Katerina had changed her mind about witchcraft and embraced it.

Being in this room, with everything designed to allow for Orpheus’ height and mass, Lindiwe had never felt smaller.

A hallway to her right snagged her interest.

She opened the first door she found on the right and entered a bedroom. Inside was a massive bed and a box of black clothes.

I’m surprised that’s all there is.

She didn’t go deep in, as she was encroaching on his space too heavily already. Backing up, she opened the door straight across the hallway.

Inside was a much smaller bed, a cupboard, and a side table. Do... they sleep in separate rooms? Why? From what she’d seen over two years ago, sharing intimacy should have allowed them to share a bed. Something caught her eye just as she was about to back out.

The corner of a book poked out from underneath the bed. When Lindiwe knelt and drew up the cover, a pile of journals sat hidden away. She reached out to grab one, but halted right before her fingertips made contact.

She was tempted, bad as it was, to open one and read it.

Lindiwe pulled away.

Although she often detailed parts of her life in her journals, she always knew she’d be leaving them with Weldir, who would read them. Even though she wrote nothing truly private, Katerina likely had. And she wouldn’t violate those intimate thoughts by reading them.

She backed out of the room to go to the final door at the end of the hallway. It was lacklustre. It merely held a bathtub and a small bucket to rinse one’s body.

Now that she was done with her unguided tour, she left.

Katerina wasn’t here, and she didn’t know why.

There were no traces of blood or torn clothing, even when she went outside to inspect the state of the garden. There were no claw marks or evidence of carnage anywhere.