apologize, Mistress.”
“Please don’t call me that. I may be Ravana’s replacement, but that doesn’t mean I’m anything like her.” I put my hands in my pockets and tried to look harmless. Well, not harmless. Unlikely to snap and beat the shit out of him...ish.
“ Ravana hid the souls away. Except those whose spawn she wished to torture. Sometimes she would hurt us, dangle us in front of them to tease them. For the last hundred years I have been held in relative peace along with my sister. When Ravana died, the bonds of agreement broke and the group split as well. My sister and I were separated. I tried to find her but she disappeared.”
“ Your sister? Cyres?”
His grey eyes were solemn as he looked at me. “I swore to her I would protect her and I failed.”
“I don’t think that’s your fault.” My hands clenched in my pockets but I kept my face relaxed. I didn’t want to scare him. “Things changed when I killed Ravana.”
“ I believe so. I also believe another Originator sent men to take Cyres. They smelled like Skriven. Powerful Skriven. You are in danger. One of your kind is attempting to help your spawn ascend.”
Amara? Some other Originator I pissed off just by being my sweet self? “Do you have any idea at all where Cyres is?”
“Midia. I believe she was taken deep into the Anwar.”
Goody. That sounded terrible. Par for the course. “What’s wrong with you?” This time when I asked he only jerked a little.
He shrugged though carefully. “Only Skriven can kill souls. Humans or Midians cannot. My captors took great pleasure in my durability.”
Just when I thought I couldn’t learn anything worse than what I’d already knew and here was a new low. “So they could do whatever they wanted to you and you were guaranteed to survive it?”
He nodded, winced, then his breath left him in a long sigh as his extraordinary eyes shifted to study my ceiling. “Thank you for taking me in.”
Well hell. I couldn’t keep him here but I certainly wasn’t going to kick him out to be torture-fodder. Or worse, for his Skriven to find him and kill him. Not after all he’d gone through. I would just have to figure out a good reason for him to be here. “You’re welcome.”
“Cyres said we would be saved by our mistress. I thought she’d gone mad but I did not let on I doubted very much our mistress would do anything but make sure we regretted every moment we drew breath.”
The doorbell sounded through the house. Inwardly I cursed. “Okay. You can stay with me until I can find a safe place for you to be. I promise I won’t let anything happen to you again. Well, I’ll do my damnedest. Right now, if you wouldn’t mind staying here I would appreciate it.”
“You must protect your family. I understand. I can go if you worry my presence here will imperil them.”
“ No. Stay put.” Your presence won’t imperil them any more than mine does. My mind leaped to Tom again, Tom dying in the snow. “Sleep. Ann or I will come check on you. The bathroom is right across the hall.”
“ Thank you.”
I shut the door behind me and went back downstairs, hearing the sound of Tom’s mother and the lower grumbles of his dad. Bethy was crying. My stomach flopped hard and I had to stop on the stairs to take a few breaths and decide whether I needed to race back up to the bathroom. When my stomach settled, I followed the sounds into the living room.
“Oh Devany. I’m so sorry.” Alice had Bethy pulled up tight against her bosom but she held her arm out to me. I let her pull me in for the hug, appreciating her big heart was willing to comfort me too.
“ I’m sorry too Alice.” After that I strangled on my words and had to swallow hard to keep from blubbering all over her shoulder.
“ Oh sweetheart, it’s not your fault. I knew you’d feel guilty. Didn’t I say she’d feel guilty, Bill?” She patted my face when I pulled away, her thumb sluicing the tears off my cheek. “Tom
“Please don’t call me that. I may be Ravana’s replacement, but that doesn’t mean I’m anything like her.” I put my hands in my pockets and tried to look harmless. Well, not harmless. Unlikely to snap and beat the shit out of him...ish.
“ Ravana hid the souls away. Except those whose spawn she wished to torture. Sometimes she would hurt us, dangle us in front of them to tease them. For the last hundred years I have been held in relative peace along with my sister. When Ravana died, the bonds of agreement broke and the group split as well. My sister and I were separated. I tried to find her but she disappeared.”
“ Your sister? Cyres?”
His grey eyes were solemn as he looked at me. “I swore to her I would protect her and I failed.”
“I don’t think that’s your fault.” My hands clenched in my pockets but I kept my face relaxed. I didn’t want to scare him. “Things changed when I killed Ravana.”
“ I believe so. I also believe another Originator sent men to take Cyres. They smelled like Skriven. Powerful Skriven. You are in danger. One of your kind is attempting to help your spawn ascend.”
Amara? Some other Originator I pissed off just by being my sweet self? “Do you have any idea at all where Cyres is?”
“Midia. I believe she was taken deep into the Anwar.”
Goody. That sounded terrible. Par for the course. “What’s wrong with you?” This time when I asked he only jerked a little.
He shrugged though carefully. “Only Skriven can kill souls. Humans or Midians cannot. My captors took great pleasure in my durability.”
Just when I thought I couldn’t learn anything worse than what I’d already knew and here was a new low. “So they could do whatever they wanted to you and you were guaranteed to survive it?”
He nodded, winced, then his breath left him in a long sigh as his extraordinary eyes shifted to study my ceiling. “Thank you for taking me in.”
Well hell. I couldn’t keep him here but I certainly wasn’t going to kick him out to be torture-fodder. Or worse, for his Skriven to find him and kill him. Not after all he’d gone through. I would just have to figure out a good reason for him to be here. “You’re welcome.”
“Cyres said we would be saved by our mistress. I thought she’d gone mad but I did not let on I doubted very much our mistress would do anything but make sure we regretted every moment we drew breath.”
The doorbell sounded through the house. Inwardly I cursed. “Okay. You can stay with me until I can find a safe place for you to be. I promise I won’t let anything happen to you again. Well, I’ll do my damnedest. Right now, if you wouldn’t mind staying here I would appreciate it.”
“You must protect your family. I understand. I can go if you worry my presence here will imperil them.”
“ No. Stay put.” Your presence won’t imperil them any more than mine does. My mind leaped to Tom again, Tom dying in the snow. “Sleep. Ann or I will come check on you. The bathroom is right across the hall.”
“ Thank you.”
I shut the door behind me and went back downstairs, hearing the sound of Tom’s mother and the lower grumbles of his dad. Bethy was crying. My stomach flopped hard and I had to stop on the stairs to take a few breaths and decide whether I needed to race back up to the bathroom. When my stomach settled, I followed the sounds into the living room.
“Oh Devany. I’m so sorry.” Alice had Bethy pulled up tight against her bosom but she held her arm out to me. I let her pull me in for the hug, appreciating her big heart was willing to comfort me too.
“ I’m sorry too Alice.” After that I strangled on my words and had to swallow hard to keep from blubbering all over her shoulder.
“ Oh sweetheart, it’s not your fault. I knew you’d feel guilty. Didn’t I say she’d feel guilty, Bill?” She patted my face when I pulled away, her thumb sluicing the tears off my cheek. “Tom
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