Remnants of Souls

Chapter 7 - The Savior

They ran and ran for what felt like hours, and he was amazed at how effortlessly she kept her pace. William himself was already lagging behind, exhaustion taking over his battered body. Just as he was entertaining the idea of trying his chances with the creature, she finally stopped.

William crashed into her, and she snarled, snatching his sleeve and pulling him after her. Before he could say anything, she pressed a hand to his mouth, pushing them both into the hollow trunk of the tree. In the darkness, he could hardly see her face, but he did notice her placing her finger over her lips, her body growing unnaturally still.

The space was really narrow, so he could feel every breath she took, every muscle she moved. Her hand was warm and dirty, but despite the mud on it, it didn’t smell like anything. He felt the sudden urge to put some distance between them. The thought of Annabel seeing them so tightly pressed against each other made him feel like he was doing something wrong.

William turned away from her, his eyes darting outside of their hideout. At first, there was nothing—only the black trees around rising from the parched dirt. The light that wasn’t a light illuminated everything just enough to put his imagination to work and create monsters where there were none.

Or maybe there were.

The constant shimmering of the trees disappeared, replaced by complete darkness. William could feel the heart of his savior beating unnaturally slow in comparison to his. Her calmness confused him because there was no doubt in his mind that they were no longer alone.

He could clearly distinguish the giant paws, shiny curved nails the length of his palm protruding from them. The creature made no sound despite its size, walking around slowly, like a lion stalking its prey.

The shadowy beast strolled right past them.

They stayed like that—quiet and still—for a long time. His hand was getting numb from squeezing the sword when she finally stepped out of the hollow tree. William followed, half expecting the monster to jump out of nowhere.

He was just about to thank her for saving him when she pulled her hood down and turned to face him, a familiar pair of dark eyes glaring at him. Her brown hair looked darker and unkempt and her face held traces of black mud and dried blood, but he could still recognize her anywhere.

William almost laughed with joy.

“What’s your name?” she asked, her posture tensing even more when she saw his expression. “And how stupid are you to use your powers here?”

William opened his mouth to answer, but nothing came out. His mind was so overwhelmed with thoughts of what had happened, where he was, and who he was looking at, that he was speechless.

“Annabel.” The name escaped his lips before he could stop it, and when she didn’t disappear, William let out a sigh of relief. Her frown deepened.

“Your name is Annabel?” she asked, an unconvinced expression on her face. “That is one odd name for a man.”

William was so struck he didn’t even correct her.

“No matter,” she sighed when she received no reaction. “Take my advice if you want to survive around here—do not use your powers. They attract the wraiths and they can’t help you against them. You will have better luck with that shiny sword of yours.” Suddenly pulled back to reality, William looked at the weapon, remembering why he was there. “Oh, and stay away from the others.” She added, half turning to leave. “Not all of them are as friendly as I am. And judging by the looks of you—they’ll eat you for breakfast.”

“Others?” William frowned in confusion, but she was already walking away. “Wait!” he shouted, his voice echoing ominously through the forest. She froze, turning to glare at him, her expression overflowing with annoyance.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, Annabel,” she said threateningly, “but I prefer to be alone. You’re on your own here, handsome. Get used to it.”

“My name is William and you know me,” he said, taking a step toward her. She didn’t pull back, but William clearly saw the warning in her eyes. “You died six months ago, and I have been looking for a way to bring you back ever since. One that would not require another sacrifice.”

“Nobody can leave here,” she said coldly. “Not back to the land of the living, at least. It would break the balance and, to put it in simple words so you’d understand, that’s really, really bad. He won’t allow it.”

“I found a way.” William smiled, taking another careful step toward her. “I’m very much alive and I came here using this sword. It creates a door anyone can go through. A loophole. I’m here to take you home.”

He took another step toward her, just close enough to touch her. In a blink of an eye, she had unsheathed her blade, bringing it to his throat. William froze, staring at her unfriendly smile. There wasn’t even a flicker of recognition in her eyes.

“So nice of you to bring something so precious here,” she said, tilting her head so she could see the sword in his hand without looking away from him. “Now give me that sword of yours if you want to live.” He didn’t move and she rolled her eyes reaching for it while still holding the weapon at his neck.

Don’t lose the sword, Mary’s words echoed in his mind. Whatever was happening with her or her memory—he could deal with that later. But he couldn’t hand her the sword—or lose sight of her. So he had no choice, but to use the only advantage he had over her.

He sent his energy toward her, forcing the air around her to thicken and immobilizing her from the neck down. Her eyes widened in shock which quickly turned into anger.

“You fool! I told you not to use them!” she snarled, fighting against his spell.

William tried to ignore the deafening roar that rose not far away, telling himself he had enough time. He stared at her angry face with hesitation that lasted only a second before he raised the sword and hit her with the hilt. Her head bobbed down, eyes rolling backward, when he released the spell. A stream of dark blood was already making its way down her cheek, but he ignored the guilt, telling himself that was the only way to save her life.

The wraith roared again, much closer than before. William crouched, tossing her limp body over his shoulder and raising the Asi sword in the air. He closed his eyes, picturing the lake, every detail of their world he could think of. He swung, opening his eyes to see the shiny crevice flickering like a beacon in the darkness surrounding him. Few more slashes and the hole was big enough for them to pass.

He stepped in without hesitation, sure that if the wraith caught up with them, they’d be as good as dead. The lake swallowed them. He had almost forgotten he was supposed to hold his breath, so he swallowed a big gulp of water before closing his mouth and kicking up toward the surface.

The sword and Annabel’s unconscious body pulled him down, but he stubbornly forced his feet to kick until his head finally rose above the water. A burst of bright light blinded him and he sank again, struggling to get back up.

He heard people shouting and something that sounded like gunshots, but with the water constantly filling his ears and his heartbeat beating so loud, he wasn’t sure if any of it was real or if he had imagined it.

He swam toward the shore, constantly sinking as the exhaustion cramped his legs and made him lose the sense of his body. When he felt a pair of hands helping him out, he was so relieved that he didn’t even care if they were a friend or foe.

William collapsed on the bank along with Anna’s body and the third person who had helped him. He looked toward the guy, hoping to see Marcus’ grumpy face telling him he took too long. Instead, he watched as Jordan, panting heavily, turned Annabel’s body on her back and stared down at her.

“Holy s**t, you actually did it!” he exclaimed. He pushed her hair out of her face, his eyes widening as he pulled his hand away. “Or not. Is she supposed to look like this?”

Panic squeezed William’s throat as he looked down at her with growing dread. She was deathly pale, her skin almost transparent, dark blue vein-like lines crossing her face, neck, and hands.

“Is she a zombie or something?” Jordan continued, moving away from her as if she was going to open her eyes and bite his head off.

“I don’t know. I haven’t saved anyone from the Otherworld before, idiot.” William snapped, getting to his feet. “Take her safely back to Headquarters.” Jordan grimaced but then proceeded to pick her up cautiously as if she was a bomb. “If anything happens to her, you’re next, understood?”

Jordan grunted, nodding passively at the command.

“Oh, and Jordan?” The boy turned, frustration already making its way to his face. “Restrain her. Just in case.”

He nodded, throwing her limp body over his shoulder before quickly drawing the portal runes. William turned his back to them even before they disappeared. Marcus and the others had gathered on one side of the lake and were trying to keep back a group of soldiers. They kept advancing despite the spells thrown at them, hiding behind what looked like plastic shields that could withstand fire, energy, and everything in between.

He spotted Peter and two others taking cover behind a big boulder, drawing their spells, and preparing for a counterattack. Peter spotted him and shouted something, but the sound of gunfire and the explosion that erupted further down the shore made it impossible to hear. Peter pointed at something behind him and William turned, raising a ward around himself even before checking what it was.

The bullets sunk into his protective wall as the two soldiers who had sneaked behind him emptied their magazines. One of them started to reload while the other one aimed his sidearm. The wall wasn’t going to last him another round, that was for sure. He had to get rid of them. Now.

The familiar coldness spread through his body as William searched for their eyes, ready to unleash a world of pain on them when he noticed they were wearing blackened viewfinder glasses.

“Shit.” He cursed as the guy with the machine gun started shooting again. He threw himself aside, hoping by some sheer luck the bullets would miss him. He didn’t have time to raise another ward and his was already disintegrating.

When he didn’t feel any pain, he opened his eyes to find Peter shielding him. Two more Ascendants stood near with their backs to William and their hands spread as if holding with them the shields that protected them.

“Can you get up?” Peter asked without looking at him.

William jumped to his feet again, his eyes stopping on the soldiers. His anger returned, stronger than ever.

He had gone to the damn Otherworld and back, he had fought a wraith and walked to the bottom of an ice-cold lake. He was exhausted and he wanted to see her—he didn’t have time to deal with those humans now.

“On your knees! Keep your hands where we can see them!” one of the soldiers shouted and William realized they were surrounded by more than twenty people. He glanced toward Peter, who just nodded, his face as calm as ever.

William returned his attention to the two soldiers, raising his hands. They shouted in surprise as their feet left the ground, kicking in the air in panic. They tried to aim their guns at him while the rest of their comrades shouted and shot again and again, but a hint of fire and the two dropped the weapons, their gloves smoldering. A second later, their glasses cracked and dropped to the ground in pieces.

They didn’t even have the time to close their eyes before the screaming began, their cries echoing around the quiet lake like a banshee song. William heard his name being called and he sensed a portal opening just behind him, but he couldn’t take his eyes off the two men that were writhing at his feet.

A hand grabbed onto his shoulder and yanked him back. He lost his balance as they dragged him back, but didn’t resist until he finally felt the pull of the portal. Just before the sight disappeared from his eyes, his gaze stopped on the two bodies lying on the shore, none of them moving anymore.