Where All Souls Meet Read Free

Everybody in her group had one, to be safe. The others paused too as she searched around. I don't like it when I hear things. Asag was able to reach me through mirrors. Maybe Satan sent First Beast after me. The thought of the first beast, who he had used in order to raise his two million horsemen from their prison in the center of the earth, made her stomach twist.
    "Eden, what's wrong?" Yuri placed a hand on her shoulder.
    "Something is talking," Eden said. "I can hear it. Can't you?"
    Everyone exchanged glances.
    "It's probably just the Raiders, Eden," Aaron said. "You know how they talk through the mist. They're just trying to get you to drop your lamp."
    The white mist swirling on the ground was actually an evil Satan Spawn called a Raider. When Eden and her party didn't have a lamp, the Raiders formed tall female figures who stole soul energy. Though Raiders didn't kill, they transmitted a disease called Morsus. It was Satan's illness, an illness which caused souls to see evil images. There were evil souls who lived in a constant state of Morsus, but for good people, it was truly a curse worse than death.
    "I don't think it's Raiders," she said, stepping forward. "I think it's something else."
    She stared through the thick mist. The whispering came again, familiar. Raiders had the ability to imitate voices of loved ones, but not like this. This voice caused her heart to fill with worry. She knew it was not a good soul or creature speaking, though she could not place the name of whom it belonged to.
    "Do you think we should go see what it is?" Yuri asked.
    "I think we should get out of here as fast as possible," she said, taking a step back. "Gabriel is near, isn't it?"
    "A mile or two," Aaron said, grabbing her arm to get her attention. "We've come a long way. Maybe walking so far has gotten to you."
    "I'm a soul," Eden said. "We don't get tired physically."
    They began to walk again, and she heard the whispers once more. They were low and deep. She swore she heard the words, "I see you, Eden. I see you." She stared determinedly at the ground and Yuri twined his fingers through hers. She held his hand as they walked, and as she grew more anxious, she wondered why the others didn't too. A big part of her wanted to run, but she knew in situations with an unknown follower, doing so could only make things worse. Maybe she was being herded, like she had been in the Blood Stone caverns where she had discovered Satan's plan to close the gates of heaven. Shadow demons had herded her into the worst part of the caves. The incident had brought her into this mess to begin with.
    As the voice continued to speak — "I see you. I see you." — she wondered whether she should acknowledge it. The necklace, her cross which guarded against evil, blazed up in cool, holy flame which could only mean a demon was near. She gazed down, grasped her necklace, and exhaled. As she took a step forward, she sunk ankle-deep into something which felt warm and wet. She peered down and saw she had stepped in red fog.
    Something isn't right. She cried out, jumped back, and almost dropped her lamp.
    "Eden, what's wrong?" Yuri asked.
    Adanna took a step toward her and touched her arm gently. This was the closest Adanna got to speaking. Her stomach still churned with the pity at the thought of the fire which had caused Adanna to become mute.
    "I see… I see …" She stared down at the ground and saw the blood had disappeared. "It's… gone. But how?"
    Yuri's mouth was tense. "I was afraid of this."
    "Afraid of what?" she asked.
    "We did one over on Asag, didn't we?" Yuri asked. "What if his friends are angry?"
    She gulped. Yuri could be right. The two of them had used mirrors, a picture of God, and holy water to force Asag to gouge his own eyes out. He had been following them in an attempt to take her prisoner and get rid of Yuri, and it had been the only way to stop him. He had been so angry afterward he had screamed her name repeatedly,