The Beast and The Swallow

Lorelei squeezed her eyes shut, trying to remain focused, but it was easier said than done. There was an uneven bump in the pillow she was sitting on that drove her crazy. Her crossed legs felt as if an army of ants was crawling on them. The fact that there were people staring at her also did not warrant calmness as she could sense the burn from their expectant gaze.

A pair of dry, bony hands squeezed her palms lightly.

"Now, child," Kash-baba's voice was just as energetic as when they had started more than two hours ago, "let's try again. Remember, synchronize the chant with your breathing. Don't fight against my touch. We can do it. I have a good feeling this time!"

Lorelei silently nodded, but inwardly cursed.

Unlike the Binshi, she had no natural affinity to soul-dust. In theory, she understood everything. There were tiny fragments of the souls of all living things, plants and animals, constantly surrounding them, nurturing the land and its inhabitants. But while the Binshi could just extend their own soul force and attract the soul-dust they needed, Lorelei couldn't. She had discussed with Mother Roslinde and Kash-baba how similar the Binshi's soul-force release seemed to the way the priests from the Church of the Two Gods thinned out their soul chains to gather divine powers. Her suggestion to use a similar method to harvest the soul-dust had met with both women's vehement denial. Mother Roslinde, who had been sent by Bishop Petronius to assist her with the endeavour, and the old Kush-turgan had been brief about Lorelei's peculiar situation, and thus had pointed out the major flaw in her plan. Lorelei lacked a true life-core. Trying to reach the near-death state required by the Church's techniques spelled her certain perish since there was nothing to tether the soul to her body and prevent it from dissipating.

Lorelei licked her lips and took a couple of deep breaths. Her fingers clenched around Kash-baba's.

The solution they had come up with was a simple yet tricky one. As the old Binshi had explained, her people's magic was based on the harmony between mind, body, and soul. The soul provided the raw power. The body contained it. The mind guided it. Lorelei's body was the perfect container for power. With the chant that the old woman had taught her, Lorelei could tune her mind and greatly reduce the pain for the soul-merge Kash-baba. The Binshi was to then collect the soul-dust and transfer it into Lorelei's body… in theory. Practically, nothing went as planned.

The Binshi were naturally gifted in collecting the soul-dust, not in sharing it. If Kash-baba were to transfer too much power, she could obliterate Lorelei's soul and body. If she tried to share too little, the soul-dust didn't want to exchange host bodies and stuck to the old woman. On Lorelei's side, the problems also didn't lack. Merging her mind and soul with someone else was painful and made her sick. Compared to when she had merged souls with Kash-baba before the Grand Council, this time their connection needed to go deeper. It was like she was running on the edge of a blade. One wrong step and she could lose herself, overwhelmed by the old woman's soul and memories. But what scared Lorelei even more was the minuscule itch of hunger and elation every time a morsel of soul dust successfully entered her. She was a drowning man taking a sip of rejuvenating water. But if she lost restraint and drank too much, she could sap away Kash-baba's vitality and soul and hurt her.

'Just like a vapir,' thought Lorelei and shuddered.

"You are not a vapir, child." The calming voice of the old Binshi carried a chuckle. "You lack the darkness."

"The world…" Lorelei exhaled. "I don't think it's so black and white."

"Of course not. But even in that case, a vapir is a creature of darkness." The old woman's hand pulled free from Lorelei's grip and landed on her cheek. "On the other hand, you, my dear, are at most a child of twilight, just like any other living being."

Lorelei couldn't stop herself, and her eyelids fluttered open. The wrinkled face of the old shaman beamed at her. Kash-baba's eyes had become completely dark-blue, from the irises to the sclerae, and a myriad of tiny stars sparkled in them. A storm of silver snowflakes swirled around her body.

"And just so you know," the old shaman smiled, "even if you nibble a bit at my old soul, this would hardly make a difference in my lifespan. Now, let's try again."

Licking her lips, Lorelei tried to lock away all disturbing thoughts. Under her breath, she began chanting, concentrating her whole being on the words.

"Dushesh moesh. Dushesh tvoesh. Dushat dvoesh edinesh. Edin dushesh ke ukusesh dush-shimeka za zdravek. A zad kusak ke odelish edin dushesh na dvoesh. Ke se bilo edinilo posle stalo na samesh."

Like the whispering of the wind in the winter branches, the verses of the chant brought a chilling calm to Lorelei's mind. And with the calm, a presence snuck in - pure, gentle, and vast, akin to the endless snowy planes. Lorelei's body tensed for a moment, but the chant reverberated in every bone and every drop of her blood. Her strained back relaxed, and she could feel the stream of coolness entering the tip of her fingers and crawling up her arms. A trickle of silver energy slowly coagulated and branched out, following her veins. Lorelei's soul cried out like a hungry chick, but instead of feeding the silver energy to it, Lorelei tried to guide it as she had done with the holy powers.

Compared to the warm but unruly holy energy that reminded Lorelei of a tidal wave of fire, the power of the souls felt cool and chaotic, almost like falling snow. But this also made controlling the soul-dust more difficult. True, some of it seeped into her flesh and bones on its own, leaving them rejuvenated, but it 'knew' that its main task was to nurture her soul. Keeping the soul-dust from merging together with her being was akin to trying to fight off a storm of chaos.

When Lorelei's mind touched the power in an attempt to guide it alongside the path she had used for the holy powers, it melted away into nothingness. It was constantly in motion, constantly avoiding any attempt to be grabbed and controlled. At times, it snuck past her mental defenses and brushed against her soul, leaving behind a cold, painful prick that almost immediately turned into a rush of pleasure. The sensation was both confusing and so enticing that, for a moment, Lorelei played with the thought of letting the dust invade her soul and see what happens.

"Don't get tempted!" Kash-baba chastised her in her mind. "This isn't the holy power of your Fathers. Theirs is a piece of clothing that you can wear around your soul. Mir-mama's dush-shimek, her soul-dust, is the fuel for the furnace of a Binshi's soul. We take it and burn it to stop the deterioration of our souls, but if you take it in, it will likely make your soul shatter!"

Lorelei needed no further explanation. She had no intention of losing her life out of laziness and stupidity. Not now, when she had finally found her happiness with Noah. The flicker of a thought crossed her mind. That sweet man was constantly calling her 'his heart'. Well, to her, he was her soul, her core, the one tethering her to life. His vivid image appeared in her mind - his sweet smile, his warm eyes, his creased brow. She wanted to stay with him, to protect him, to support him. Failing now was not an option!

The silver light of the soul-dust flickered even stronger, as if resonating with her emotions. Lorelei steeled her resolve. No matter how different it was from the holy powers, she was going to succeed. Whirlpool or whirlwind, what difference did it make!?

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

The breath stuck in her throat.

That was it! The chaotic movement of the soul-dust was like the one of snowflakes dancing in the wind. But even the unruly winds were forced to conform when gathered into a twister. The only question was how to create such a whirlwind inside her body?

Continuing to chant, Lorelei began observing the dance of the shards of power. As master Levi had taught her, she looked for patterns, for clues, for even the smallest of hints that could help her guide the flow of power. She tried to subdue her impatience. What she had done at the temple under the pressure of urgency had been a lucky fluke, a feat made possible by her peculiar body and Yanosh's guidance. But now, although not having the ghost's assistance, she had time. And she had the knowledge of controlling foreign powers once already. She could do it.

Soon, an irregularity caught her attention. Sometimes, when the dust evaded her mental barriers and tried to touch her spirit, the tiniest of golden sparks could be seen erupting on the surface of her soul, repelling the foreign power. And that golden shine was very familiar.

"Lady Akasha!" Lorelei reached out with her mind. "The golden light… Is it holy powers!?"

"Seems so. It's just weak remnants from your last trial with Roslinde. Hmm, maybe this is disrupting your intake of the soul-dust. But don't worry, with enough of my powers I can cleanse you-"

"No! Don't! I have an idea. Can you absorb the soul-dust from me and then return it when I tell you?"

"It can be done. But what are you planning?"

"I… I can't put it into words yet. But you'll see."

Saying that, Lorelei switched her attention to the remnants of the holy powers still lingering inside her. With some effort, she managed to gather all the scattered sparks. Then she concentrated on her soul. Before her inner eye, the essence of her being looked like a miniature flame. She willed it to change form, and, to her surprise, it followed her orders. It compressed and rounded, turning into a miniature sun. Then, she let the golden remnants of light encircle her soul and guided the vortex so that it split into a myriad of glowing rings rotating around her core.

"Now, Lady Akasha!"

At her sign, a new wave of soul-dust entered her body. But Lorelei was prepared. If the dust shards wanted her soul, then they had to catch it. With immense effort, she made her newly created essence sun and its intertwined rings of holy power rotate slowly around its axis. Every time a snowflake of soul-dust tried to reach it, it moved and evaded the attack while the rings of holy powers further deflected any stray shards, ensuring further protection. Soon, like flower petals twisting in the air in the grip of a whirlwind, the soul-dust gyrated around her sun core - so close, yet unable to touch it and getting constantly repelled.

Lorelei's eyes abruptly opened, and she exhaled, her fingers clenched tightly around Kash-baba's palms.

"I…" Her voice came hoarse between her lips. "I think… it worked!"

Very carefully, the old shaman pulled free and waved at the two people standing behind her.

"Castor, what do you see?"

"Y-yes!" As if poked, the youth jumped in his seat. He rubbed his eyes, and a golden light flickered in them. "The… The Duchess seems to have successfully retained some soul-dust in her body this time."

"Then I should test it!" Mother Roslinde stood from her chair and straightened her black and white habit. With a graceful step, she approached Lorelei, placing a hand on her forehead. "Oh, Father Norn, Father Lustris, heed my call! Grant me Your blessing, Your light, Your divinity! For I am Your servant, Your tool, Your vessel in the Mortal Realms. Your will is my will, Your benevolence is my guiding star, my body is the hand through which You create miracles. Lux-Nostris!"

The old nun finished her chant. A golden halo surrounded her, its light penetrating Lorelei's skin. There was a flash of brilliant white. A thunder that shook the world. Then Lorelei was plunged into nothingness.

It felt like ages before the all-encompassing darkness was broken by a splash of color. Lorelei's ears were still ringing, but she could hear the voice most dear to her heart.

"You are finally awake, my love."

A couple of blinks later, she could distinguish Noah's worried face leaning over her. With a groan, she moved a bit, sensing his arms tightly wrapping around her body. She was still in the room they used for her power training, but some things had changed. First, there were noticeably more people inside now. Second, she was half-lying on a nest of cushions, her upper body snuggled in Noah's embrace. Third, Mother Roslinde lay on a similar improvised bed not far from her, surrounded by Kash-baba Castor and a few maids.

"Dear Gods! I killed her!" Lorelei moaned as her heart was gripped by terror at the sight of the nun's lifeless body.

"Don't worry. She's alive." Noah kissed her forehead and rocked her gently. "But at her age, she needs a bit longer to regain her senses."

The heart in Lorelei's chest almost flew out of relief. She huddled into Noah's shoulder and allowed herself a small sniffle.

"Thank the Fathers!"

"You scared us all!" Noah's tone was gentle yet reprimanding. "You were out for over ten minutes. When I saw you on the floor…"

He swallowed hard and stared straight into her eyes.

"I don't want you to continue. It's too dangerous. We will find another way-"

"I did it." Lorelei interrupted him and smiled guiltily. "Well, I still need to practice a bit to be completely sure, but… I think I can finally pass a quaestor's examination."

"You… you are incredible!" Noah showered her with kisses. "You are so stubborn, so daring, and so incredible."

"I take after my husband," she cooed in reply, playfully poking his chest.

It didn't take long, and the two had already forgotten the recent ordeal and were drifting away in a world of their own.

***

Biting his lips until they bled, Castor stared at his master and mistress, his heart twisting in agony. He knew that the darkness he carried in his soul was growing stronger with every passing day. It haunted his dreams and waking hours, it tore his mind and broke his body. How long could he keep fighting the darkness? Every time he saw her it was getting harder and harder to think straight. To act the part of the loyal acolyte.

He needed release. He needed salvation. He…

A low moan alerted him of Mother Roslinde regaining consciousness. Together with the old Binshi he helped her sit up and gave her some water.

"Holy Father of Light, thank you for not claiming me just yet!" whispered the Prioress, and rubbed a wet piece of cloth over her forehead with a contented sigh. "What happened?"

"Our little Duchess succeeded as it seems," replied Kush-turgan Akasha, turning her gaze to the two oblivious lovers. "It was faster than expected."

"Faster?" The old nun groaned and rubbed his temples. "If you had asked me two weeks ago, I would have said that your plan is insane and impossible."

"You did say that," reminded her the Binshi with a chuckle. She then turned her attention to Castor. "You don't look too well, little one."

"I… It's the strain of using Saint Oronte's gift," mumbled the youth. "I will… I will call the Duke…"

"Let them be." The shaman waved her hand. "They will snap out of it in a minute or two anyway. Isn't young love just adorable? They remind me of my grandchildren…"

"Indeed." Mother Roslinde looked at her lieges, but the smile on her lips soon dimmed. A crease formed between her brows. Her troubled expression didn't escape Akasha's gaze.

"Something wrong?"

"No." The old nun shook her head and moaned in pain. "Nothing wrong… I hope. But… I need to make sure."

She stretched her hand out to Castor, who flinched at her sudden gesture.

"Help me up, child. I've slept enough. There is still work to do before these old bones can truly rest."

"Heh, look who's complaining of old age!" Kush-turgan Akasha laughed and helped the Prioress to her feet.

Their lively conversation finally attracted the attention of the Duke and the Duchess, who hurried to join them. After exchanging some pleasantries, the Prioress excused herself and hurriedly returned to recuperate at Widow Island. Castor, too, found respite in the confines of his chamber, preparing to face the demons that were going to plague him during the night.

As the sun began its descent over Ildema's towers, and the shadows stretched their hungry tendrils from the darkest corners, a flicker of hope had kindled, at least in the hearts of some of its inhabitants.