Chapter Forty-Two #2
He motioned to the door, and a soulless entered with a vial full of some liquid.
Only, I knew that soulless; I knew that brown hair and those dark, black eyes: Aiden.
It was Aiden, Ash’s crush, Aiden, the boy from school.
Was Aiden a soulless, working for Cade this entire time?
How? I looked into his eyes, about to yell at him when he shook his head and looked at Cade.
What was that? I looked back at Cade.
“I really didn't want to have to do this, Emma, but I need that note that Shad left inside of you. Without it inside of me, well, my whole plan is ruined,” Cade said.
I whipped my head around to see Aiden, walking toward me.
“Don't you dare,” I said, moving back and against the wall. I noticed his grip on the vial was loose. Aiden’s eyes darted from the vial to me and then back again, and I wished that I could have read his mind. What does he want me to do? How is he even here? Is he also from Terra?
Cade became distracted from my kicks at him. His arms were trying to control my legs. It took just a few seconds for me to leap onto Aiden. He held my waist as I fell on top of him and then onto the floor. The liquid from the vial spilled onto the floor also.
“They are coming for you. Take off your crystal,” Aiden whispered, pulling me up roughly, which I then realized was just part of an act. Hope rose inside of me, again, but I kept an even expression on my face.
“You can spill it all you want. There is plenty more where that came from.” He folded his arms across his chest as he motioned for Aiden to leave the room.
I watched as Cade stooped down and picked up the glass shards of the vial, and I prayed that he would cut himself. He didn't.
“I will be back soon, and you better cooperate. There are worse rooms and worse situations you could be in right now. I don't have to be so nice and accommodating.” He slammed the door, and I shook. My entire body was weak from starvation and exertion. That one note inside of me was all that I had left of Shad; I was sure that he was dead. I wouldn’t ever let him have it.
I took my necklace off, placing it under my pillow.
Could Ryker and Keil find me? Had Aiden told them where I was?
I just hoped that whoever Aiden had coming for me would get there fast, because I wasn't sure how much longer I could last.
A while later, my meal came, and with it, there was a note from Cade.
It indicated that he would meet me in the morning for ‘round two.’ I wanted to toss the bread across the room, but I knew that if I had any chance, like I had today, of fighting back, I needed strength, and although it made me sleepy, when I awoke, I was stronger with the food in me, so I ate the bread, and as I lay my head on my pillow, I knew all too well that there was nothing keeping Cade from coming in and stealing Shad’s note from me as I slept, but I didn't really have many options, I was just doing the best I could, and that was all I could do.
I hoped that what Aiden had said was true, and that someone was coming for me.
When you think of a soulless person, usually, you think of a lifeless human.
Only the basic things matter: food, water, sleep, and sunlight.
All in all, it’s a very animalistic state to live without a melody.It is literally having your soul stripped.
Similarly, horrible things also happen when melodies are guarded for too long.
That can result in broken melodies, and corruption has a way of claiming those souls for his own as well.
Corruption, what exactly is that anyway? It can be understood in history.
The Ancients cast out one of their own before the worlds were even formed.
He was cursed to never be able to become an Ancient.
And this corruptor roamed the earths, creating horror and terror in the hearts of all he met.
He did this as a type of revenge on his Ancient family who had cast him out.
He wished to devour as many souls as he could.
He is normally called the corruption, the corruptor, the soul-claimer, or the soul-eater.
Some myths even claimed that he actually needed others’ souls in order to remain immortal and never die.
The most well known individual ever to become fully corrupted was King Falcon of Haleston.
He stripped Terra of its magic out of revenge.
Corruption covered the land and it took hundreds of years for the Ancients to restore back the balance.
Melodies came from the Mer in Marren. They were taught to the humans and fully embraced by them after the Great cursing by ancient Draken.
Humans developed such strong melodies that they began to be born with a soul's melody, when at one time they had to be found within each individual. When a Melody becomes corrupt it must be taken so corruption doesn’t grow.
When they are taken, they can be placed into a black crystal found only on Soul’s Island.
The Ancients used these crystals as a way to make sure that the soul-claimer could not get to their souls when the men and women became corrupted.
Few people are aware how this is done, but the heirs of each of the kingdoms have been informed by the Ancients, and this information has been handed down from generation to generation: how one would go about extracting souls.
It is usually done in only the direst of circumstances, but sometimes, when a person becomes too corrupt, the Ancients cannot risk the soul-claimer gaining more power.
Using a midnight crystal is one way to make sure the corruptor doesn't take more souls.
Soul’s Island: Many things are said about Soul’s Island.
It has five docks around its inlets, and a tall tower.
It is said that only those worthy can step onto the island.
Once a year, the leader of each kingdom visits the island and is then allowed entry.
At this time, each heir takes the souls that he had extracted from the corrupt of his kingdom to deposit them so that the soul-claimer can never have their souls.
I knew there was more to that memory of Shad’s.
It was one of him reading from a book, and I was listening to him reading it inside of his head.
It was written in a language that I could not understand, but like Keil had told me, I could understand the meaning within his soul without knowing the language, but I was startled awake by a loud noise.
I sat up and looked around the darkened room. I still had Shad’s note. Where is Cade?
“Emma, are you in there?” I heard a familiar voice, but knew that I must have been imagining things, because I was a captive of Cade.
Ryker couldn’t have found me; the tracker had been ripped of my arm.
I was going insane. Those drugs were causing me to lose my mind. Then I focused, remembering Aiden.
“Em—” I heard the desperate plea and moved to the small window in the metal door. I peered out, and I saw the golden curls and blue eyes of my best friend, my knight.
“Thank the Creator. Emma, I swear, if you weren't in here—” He paused, turned around, and spoke to someone. “Move away from the door.” I ran to the bed, hearing a loud explosion as I curled into a ball behind it. Warm arms engulfed me only moments later.
“Are you? Is it really you?” I asked, still weak. I reached out to touch a blond lock of hair, and he gave me a sad, warm smile.
“It's me, Emma, and we are taking you home.”
“What about?—is Shad—?” I started to cry as I heard Keil call from the hallway. I saw Glasson enter the room.
“Rykerian, we have to go. The police will be here soon. Cade has alarms.”
“What about all the bodies? Could he call in and say it was a false alarm? What else is he good for?”
Keil came into view and nodded at me with a smile.
“I'll force him to call off the earthlings,” Keil said to Glasson.
Ryker looked at me.
“Mary and Ash are worried sick. Let's get you home.”
I didn't overlook my unanswered question about Shad. The look in Ryker’s eyes, however, told me all I needed to know.
I was too late. As Ryker started running with me in his arms, and as I was lowered and buckled into a seat, I realized that I would have to live in a world without Shad, and I wondered how I could possibly do that.