Soul Forge (Book One of the Soul Forge series)

“Step back!” Elda demanded, brandishing the dagger. Julian raised his hands to show he meant no harm and moved away to stand beside the tulpar demon, laying his palm on its right flank. Elda moved closer to Sypher’s fallen body and sat beside him.

“He needs to be warm. I can help you move him closer to the fire.”

“Don’t you move! I can do it myself,” she snapped. She stuck the tip of the dagger in the dirt, eyeing Julian warily before tucking her hands under Sypher’s arms. Moving him was hard work. He was at least a foot and a half taller than her, and layered with toned muscle, which meant he was heavier than she expected. At barely five feet, it was like lifting a corpse in a lead suit, but she dragged him, inch by inch, until he was close enough to the fire.

“I’m surprised you managed that,” Julian stated.

“I’m under orders to stab you if you get too close,” she warned. The Vampire chuckled, folding his arms across his chest and leaning one shoulder against his mount.

“Feisty. I like you already.”

“I hope you can forgive me for not returning the sentiment.” She unclipped her cloak and laid it over Sypher, snatching the dagger back up and sitting on the ground right beside him. “Why did the rune on his neck light up when you were near?”

“It’s a tracking rune. I have the same one on my arm.” He rolled his sleeve back to show her an identical black mark imprinted on the inside of his elbow. “I’m sorry your first impression of me is a bloodthirsty monster. I’m really not that bad, I promise.”

“You just killed my husband.”

His face went slack. “I killed your what?”

“My husband.”

“He married you? Voluntarily?” Elda nodded. Julian let out a low whistle. “I’ll be damned. How did that happen?”

“It’s a long story and you’re a stranger.”

“We have all night. He won’t wake up until the sun comes up.”

“You must make a habit of draining him then,” she accused.

“Not if I can help it.” Julian patted the tulpar demon. It folded itself into a comfortable position on the ground, nickering happily when he settled against its side again. “Come on, tell me the story. I have to know how this asshole bagged himself a wife.” Elda looked down at Sypher, brows pulling together at the sight of his pale face. He wasn’t breathing, but she’d seen his body die before and wake up again. She remembered his warning and glanced up at the Vampire.

“Tell me something first.” Julian inclined his head in agreement. “Will he wake up as the demon again?”

“You’ve seen the demon soul?” She nodded. “When did he marry you?”

“About two days after he named me Keeper.”

“And you’ve seen it already?” She nodded again. “Huh. Normally he manages at least a few months at before his Keeper finds out about that.”

“We ran into some trouble on the first day of our journey and fell a long way,” she shrugged. “He broke my fall. I need to know if he’s going to attack me when he comes round.”

“It depends on the severity of the injury, and the situation. The demon has accepted that I’m not technically dangerous to him, so it’s unlikely he’ll wake up like that this time.”

“You killed him.”

“Not permanently.” He smiled impishly. “Your turn.” Elda sighed and recounted the story of their engagement. Julian watched her intently the whole time, nodding when she was done. “I see. Horthan really rubbed him up the wrong way,” he chuckled. “It doesn’t surprise me that Sypher proposed just to annoy him.” Elda’s stomach growled loudly, interrupting their conversation. “You hungry?”

“I’m fine.”

“Sure you are,” he scoffed, getting to his feet. “I’ll find you something to eat.”

“We didn’t pack any food.”

“And? I’m going hunting. Why don’t you say hi to Syd while you wait?” He patted the tulpar demon fondly and disappeared off into the trees before Elda could object. She gripped the dagger tighter, returning her attention to Sypher’s face and praying the demon stayed where it was.

It only took a few minutes for it to get curious, rising to its hooves and clopping quietly across the clearing. She leaned away from it when it bent to sniff at Sypher’s prone body, nosing his cheek gently. It snorted when he didn’t move, lingering a second longer and then turning its attention to her. She froze, squeezing her eyes shut when the nose touched the side of her face, huffing breaths gusting across her cheeks. A heavy thud sounded. Elda opened her eyes to find the tulpar demon settled on the ground right beside her.

“You’re not going to attack me?” The demon’s ears flicked forwards, listening curiously. “Just don’t bite me.” Elda tucked her knees up to her chest and waited, eyes fixed on Sypher’s face.

By the time Julian returned, her eyelids were drooping and Syd snoozed peacefully beside her. He had the corpse of a large hare slung over his shoulder. Elda didn’t watch him prepare it, but the sound of it being skinned made her feel sick. Thankfully, the nausea faded when the smell of food cooking reached her. Syd lifted her nose and sniffed.

“I hope you’re hungry, Princess,” Julian said eventually, holding out her dinner.

“Elda.” She accepted the rabbit leg, biting gratefully into the tender meat. “Thank you.”

“It’s the least I could do after frightening you like that.”

“And killing my husband.”

“He had it coming.”

“Say that again when I can stand, asshole,” Sypher groaned. Elda dropped her food in her haste to stop him sitting up too quickly, and Syd wasted no time in snatching it off the ground.

“That wasn’t for you!” Julian chastised, scowling at the tulpar demon. It nickered back at him like it understood him.

“You should stay lying down for a while,” Elda insisted, putting a hand on Sypher’s chest to push him back down. “Julian thought you’d be asleep until morning.”

“I might have if he’d used the thrall.”

“Even feral, I know not to try that,” the Vampire answered with a shrug. “The last thing I remember was flying down here on Syd’s back.”

“What’s the thrall?” Elda asked.

“Nope, you can take that one,” Sypher said immediately, closing his eyes again and pulling up his hood to hide his face.

“Oh gee, thanks,” Julian muttered, turning reluctantly to Elda. “Do you know anything about Vampires?”

“Only that Malakai was supposed to have killed you all a long time ago.”

“Something like that,” he nodded, casting an odd look at Sypher. “Before any of that happened, we had a city. Nova was a desert oasis, sustained by our technology. We welcomed anyone to live tax free in our city, as long as they agreed to be a donor to the Vampire population. All they had to do was give a small amount of blood every so often. If they changed their mind, they could leave whenever they wanted, or pay taxes.”

“People willingly let you tear into their necks?” Elda asked, wrinkling her nose.

“They used to. And we didn’t tear into their necks,” he explained defensively. “We had a few options for donating. They could have their blood drawn at a clinic, or they could choose to donate the old fashioned way.”

“Why would anyone choose to be bitten?”

“Spirits, you’re taking way too long to explain this,” Sypher muttered. “The thrall makes the bite feel pleasurable for the donor. That’s why people chose to get bitten.”

“Way to ease her into it,” Julian sighed. “Now look what you did.” Sypher’s head swivelled slowly to find Elda’s face beetroot red, right to the tips of her ears.

“It’s fine,” she mumbled. “Is that why you were okay with feeding him?” Sypher propped himself up on his elbows with a groan, shifting slowly to a sitting position. He took the hood down so she could see his face, revealing the ragged bite mark at his throat.

“I feed him when he’s desperate because I owe him a life debt.”

“Do you like it when he bites you?”

Sypher blinked. “...Are you asking me if I’m attracted to him?”

“That’s how it sounds,” Julian chortled. “I don’t blame you. I’m irresistible.”

“Shut it, ass,” Sypher scowled at his friend. “I’m not involved with anyone, if that’s what you’re getting at.”

“You’re married,” the Vampire snorted.

“I thought I told you to shut it!” Sypher’s eyes flashed, the fire in them burning brighter with his temper.

“Ooh, scary.”

“You still didn’t answer my question,” Elda cut in before they could continue bickering. “I asked if you liked getting bitten.”

“You asked if I liked him biting me,” he answered, “but no. I’d rather he didn’t use the thrall, as long as he warns me first.”

“Why?”

“You ask a lot of questions,” Sypher noted.

“And you’re being your usual evasive self,” Julian remarked. “He doesn’t like me using the thrall because he thinks he deserves it to hurt. It’s his way of atoning.”

“For what?” Elda frowned.

“Don’t you say another word,” Sypher hissed, the red in his eyes almost disappearing. “I mean it, Julian.”

“Alright! Jeez.”

“Is this another secret you won’t tell me until you know you can trust me?” Elda asked. Sypher nodded. “Well then, I’m sure I’ll find out soon.”

“Don’t count on it,” he muttered, laying back down and turning away from both of them.

“I get it,” Julian nodded. “He thinks you’ll do what the others did.”

“You know what he’s talking about?”

“I do. Unfortunately, I like living too much to let you in on the secret.” He passed her another rabbit leg, eyeing the tulpar demon in warning when it started sniffing. “Sypher, you should eat something.”

“I’m fine.” Julian rolled his eyes, but didn’t push it. Elda frowned and looked down at the meat, then dangled it in front of Sypher’s face.

“You need to eat,” she insisted.

“I said I’m fine.”

“If you want me to irritate you for the rest of the night, I can. Or you can eat the rabbit leg.” He turned onto his back to look at her.

“I feel like marrying you was a mistake, somehow.”

“Can’t go back on it now,” she grinned. He took the rabbit leg and sat up again, swaying enough that she reached out to steady him. He looked down at her hand on his shoulder until she took it away. “No touching, I know. Sorry,” she said sheepishly.

“It’s fine,” he sighed. “I’m getting used to it.” Elda smiled when he bit into the rabbit, glad he was eating.

“There’s more left if you want the rest,” Julian said from the other side of the fire. She accepted the meat he’d stripped from the carcass, watching as he tossed the remains to Syd. “Here you go, greedy beast.” He smiled fondly when the demon scarfed down the food, bones and all.

“How did you find a demon horse?” Elda asked curiously.

“By accident. She took a liking to me when I bumped into her outside of Bratus about ten years ago. We’ve been together since.”

“You weren’t afraid of her?”

“Not all demons are evil,” Sypher interjected. “Some are balanced, like Syd. Dragons were considered the same before they vanished.”

“I didn’t know there could be good demons.”

“She’s not good, she just isn’t a violent demon. She doesn’t have a concept of good and evil,” Julian explained. “The ones that understand the difference and choose not to be good are the ones you want to watch out for.”

“You mean like me?” Sypher asked, arching an eyebrow.

“Perhaps, although you’re a weird case.” Elda looked between the two men, expecting the Soul Forge to be offended by the answer. Instead, he nodded. “You’re only scary when the demon soul goes nuts.”

“Does that happen a lot?” Elda squeaked, alarmed.

“No.” Sypher finished eating and tossed the bones to Syd, who eagerly crunched them to pieces. “We should sleep. I’m half dead and we still have more travelling to do tomorrow.” He inclined his head towards the Vampire. “I assume you’re coming too?”

Julian grinned. “I guess I can tag along.”