Soul Forge (Book One of the Soul Forge series)

Sypher landed heavily in the clearing, dropping to his knees and pressing his palms against the dirt the second Elda was off his back. Syd landed beside them, her legs folding beneath her. Their chests heaved, neither of them able to move for several minutes.

“You’re going to kill yourselves like this,” Julian muttered, detaching himself from the saddle and crouching down to stroke Syd’s quivering nose.

“I can’t imagine the others are faring much better on their horses,” Elda replied. “At this pace, half of us will be useless by the time we reach Rift.”

“What choice… do we have?” Sypher panted from the ground.

“Let the idiot Keeper die and save ourselves,” Julian replied immediately.

“They wouldn’t… kill her,” the Soul Forge answered between breaths. “They’d corrupt her.”

“If we don’t get to her before she reaches Rift another powerful Keeper and the Spirit who chose her will be turned against us,” Elda agreed. “We have to go get her.”

“How exactly do you propose we catch up to her without killing ourselves?” The Vampire ran his hands through his sandy hair, casting a worried glance down at his mount. “Both of you are exhausted.” He gestured to their prone bodies before turning on Elda. “You’re powerful but inexperienced, and I’m just an ordinary fucking Vampire. We don’t even have safety in numbers right now.”

“We need speed,” Elda said quietly, taking his hands to try and calm him. “The others will catch up to us. If we can’t get to Lillian before she enters Rift we retreat to Eden, regroup and come up with a new plan of attack.”

“And if she’s portalled from here straight to the desert?” Julian countered.

“She can’t,” Sypher muttered, sitting up to lean against Syd’s massive side. He’d started to look better in the villa after a few hours of rest but now he was pale again, a light sheen of sweat coating his forehead. Syd craned her neck round to lay her head in his lap.

“Why can’t she?” Elda asked.

“Her portals have limits. The trick is designed for battle, not long distance.” The Soul Forge leaned his head back against Syd, closing his eyes. His chest no longer heaved so much that it hindered his speaking, but his hands trembled when he stroked the tulpar demon’s cheek. “If she’d listened when we were bonded she could have been able to by now, but she didn’t. She’ll need to create a huge number of portals to get all the way to Rift. That will tire her the same way flight tires us and running tires a horse.”

“She’s several hours ahead of us,” Julian pointed out.

“We can close the gap,” Sypher insisted. “We can reach her before she crosses the mountains.”

“And the others?” Elda asked softly.

“Will only be needed if we fail to catch her,” he answered. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes.

Julian frowned. “I’m going to hunt,” he muttered. “You at least need to eat.” He stalked away from them, drawing his knife.

“Syd is slower than me,” the Soul Forge murmured when the Vampire was out of earshot. “She’s also a lot easier to kill.”

“You’re not seriously suggesting we leave them behind and you push yourself harder?” Elda asked incredulously. “You just fed three Vampires. You’ve barely slept or eaten.”

“I ate the food you brought me yesterday.”

“And before that, when was the last time you ate a proper meal?” She set her hands on her hips. “If we leave Julian will throttle you.”

“It’s my job to keep people alive, El.”

“Not at the expense of yourself!” She knelt down and took his face in her hands. “Eat, rest. We can pick up again as soon as you feel able.” Her eyes dropped to the bite wounds at his throat, almost healed but still there. “You’re going to burn yourself out before we get there at this rate.”

“If I don’t reach her before she gets to the mountains, she’slost, El.”

“Why? The Corrupted will be in the desert beyond. Even if she gets over the mountain there’s still hope of reaching her before she finds them.”

“Those mountains are surrounded by strange magic,” Sypher murmured. “They’re run through with tunnels and crevices; caves that once a person enters, they might never leave. It’s easy to get turned around or to hallucinate and fall to your death. I’m fairly convinced a form of demon I’ve never come across hides within them.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“When Nova fell a lot of Vampires fled to the border to try and survive. Hundreds, in fact. They never made it beyond that. I destroyed the city, the roadways and decimated the population, but the mountains finished the job.” He got slowly to his feet and rolled his shoulders, stretching his wings out with a groan.

“You can barely lift them.” Elda put a hand on his chest. “What use are you if you get to Rift and you can’t stand? Please, stay long enough to eat,” she implored.

“Fine, but I’m sending Julian back to the others.”

“He won’t like it.”

“He won’t have a choice.” Sypher set about making a fire, and Elda immediately made him stop, taking the sticks from his hands. He arched an eyebrow but didn’t protest. “He’s only with me now because Syd could still keep up.”

“You don’t think she’ll be able to continue?”

“Look at her,” he shrugged. “If she kept pace with me, it’d kill her. She knows that.”

“I disagree with this, you know. Wholeheartedly. Going alone is stupid,” Elda insisted.

“Going as a group guarantees the Corrupted bolster their ranks. Lillian’s portals in their hands would be a disaster.” Sypher ran a hand through his pale hair. “I don’t want to leave them, maite. We are stronger together, but we’re slower too. If we lose Lillian the balance will shift. We’ll be outnumbered.”

Elda chewed her lip, her instincts warring with her desire to stay with others. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, deliberating. Eventually she sighed.

“Fine. But you must eat first.”

“I will,” he promised. Elda nodded, encouraging him to sit back down and conserve his strength while worry gnawed at her gut. The dark circles still sat heavily under his eyes, another reminder that he was far from ready to make the journey.

As soon as they were dressed after Julian’s interruption, Sypher had grabbed her, led her out of the villa and took to the skies, angling straight for Rift without stopping to see if the others had followed his quick instructions. Julian had shot after them on Syd, insisting on coming with them. They’d flown until neither Sypher or the tulpar demon could fly any further, landing at the edge of a small forest.

Julian eventually returned with a wild boar slung over his shoulder, carrying it to the small fire Elda had constructed. The Vampire skinned the boar in silence for a while, glancing over at the Soul Forge where he dozed against Syd’s side.

“I know what you’re planning,” he muttered, turning the meat to make sure it cooked evenly, keeping his voice low to avoid waking Sypher. “Syd can’t travel yet. He’s going to eat and run, isn’t he?”

“Yes,” Elda nodded. Julian’s brow furrowed. “We can’t let her reach the mountains. Sypher says she’s as good as dead if she reaches them.”

“He’s not wrong.” The Vampire sighed, silver eyes reflecting the flames. “Hundreds of my people got lost in their bowels, never to be seen again. Clover thinks there are demons hiding in the caves, and that they fed on the Vampires who tried to escape through them.”

“Sypher thinks that too. Did you or him ever see them?”

“No. When Sypher was finally able to leave Nova we flew over the summit. We could sense the magic within them but we made sure not to get close enough to touch them.” His head dipped. “I’m lucky Clover and Yani were in Eden when Nova fell. Otherwise they might have ended up among the lost.”

“I don’t want to leave you all behind but Sypher’s argument makes sense,” Elda decided. “If the mountains are dangerous enough to swallow hundreds of armed Vampires, then Lillian likely doesn’t stand a chance even with her portals.”

“If she’d listened to Sypher instead of trying to shout him down she could have expanded her portal range tenfold,” Julian sighed. “But she’s bull-headed and it’s going get her and the rest of us killed.” He laid a hand on her shoulder. “I’ll regroup with the others and tell them what’s happening. We’ll get to Rift as quickly as we can. Both of you should eat and get what rest you can.”

“I’m sorry that we have to leave you.”

“Just make sure you both come back alive, okay?” He shot her a painful, crooked smile. She swallowed and wrapped her arms around him.

“You’ve quickly become a trusted friend to me, Julian,” she mumbled into his shoulder.

“Same to you, pipsqueak,” he chuckled, ruffling her hair. They spent some time in companionable silence while the boar cooked, then all three of them ate. Too soon, Sypher was standing and stretching his wings.

“Take care of yourself,” Elda pleaded, trying to inject some lightness into her tone.

“I’m not about to rush into a potentially life-threatening situation. Both of you worry about yourselves. Keep each other safe,” Julian instructed. Sypher nodded, waving at his friend before lifting Elda onto his back and taking off. A lump formed in her throat when she looked back to see Syd lift her head, letting out a single, forlorn cry.

Sypher flew at such speed that conversation was impossible, all of his strength directed to his wings as he carried them across Valerus at an eye-watering pace. Elda kept her face pressed into his shoulder, reaching out to Irileth while they flew.

It’s good to hear from you, little friend, the Spirit whispered in her mind. I was beginning to think you might never speak to me again.

I’m still processing everything the Spirits are responsible for. I haven’t forgiven any of you for what Sypher went through, Elda admitted silently. But we’re about to head into a situation that could be dangerous for both of us. I’m going to need your help.

I am always here to help you, Irileth promised. We were meant to be joined. I will offer you whatever magic I can, as long as you can trust me.

The elf fell silent, mulling over all the possibilities that could be waiting for them when they finally caught up to Lillian. Just how much faster did her portals make her? Would she really be as exhausted as Sypher and need frequent rests? Or had her power developed over time and Sypher just didn’t know?

So many variables were present that it made her head hurt, so she tried forcing herself to focus on the landscape zipping by below them. It failed to take her mind off of the fact that they were flying into danger and soon she was fearing for their safety again.

Sypher pushed himself to his limits, only stopping long enough to drink something and wait for his aches to subside enough to carry on. Each landing was a fraction harder than the last but his endurance was astounding. He managed the whole journey in two days with minimal sleep.

Elda ate when he did and snatched short bursts of sleep on his back, just enough to keep her going. By the time they saw Rift in the distance, Sypher was almost spent. She knew he could draw on Vel if he had to, but she got the distinct sense he was saving the power of his demon soul for when they needed it most.

The ground gradually changed from wide expanses of sparse grass to flat dirt, then to the sandy dunes that marked the edge of Rift. Elda heard a growl rumble through Sypher when he spotted his target, picking up the pace even further to try and reach it.

Elda squinted through the rising dust, thankful for the cloak shielding her from the sun beating down on them. Movement up ahead caught her eye, a black speck against hazy orange stone. It winked in and out of existence, appearing further away from the ground each time.

Lillian.