Chapter 9
Veylor
With a steady hand, I carefully aligned the needle with the last piece of skin and pulled the thread through, securing it in place.
The once smooth neck would soon be a tapestry of pink and white scars, a testament to the ordeal it had endured.
But knowing Benedict, he was never one to fuss over outward appearances.
He had always prioritized substance over style, and I was confident that even now, he wouldn't spare a thought for the marks left behind.
He forced me to do this quickly, I wasn’t ready for his spirit. All I wanted was to confirm if his spirit still lingered in the Under Shadows, but he surged forth with alarming speed before I could slam the spirit portal shut.
He was waiting for me to pull him out.
Now he is a restless spirit that drifts through my laboratory, knocking over beakers and rustling papers with each spectral pass. His presence is a constant, unsettling breeze that chills my neck with the coldness of his spirit. It made it nearly impossible to focus on my work.
“What do you think is wrong with Oryx, my Lord? He has been rather jumpy.” Benedict hovered over my shoulder.
No one else could see spirits, it was only me and it was damn near frustrating. I would look like a fool talking to them when the living was in the room so I have to ignore them completely.
I couldn’t even speak to the spirits within my own home when Oryx was here. Oryx’s brain isn’t fully functional and trying to explain a spirit to him was more work than it was worth.
“That human blood must have been tainted with drugs. Humans inject and ingest the most harmful things into their bodies. Who knows how long he will act that way. I’m getting bloody frustrated. I can’t see into his mind.”
I pulled on the thread once more. The body I curated from a recent grave robbing, along with other parts of either animals or preserved tissues, would suit Benedict well.
His soul was old, but he was vibrant and trustworthy.
I’ve wanted to bring his body back for years and after much studying and understanding anatomy, I’ve found myself on the brink of success.
Was it wrong to steal from graves? Perhaps.
But it wasn’t like anyone was using that vessel. I’m putting it to use.
“I thank you so much for this, my Lord. I will be so happy to return the estate to its former glory.”
I waved my hand in dismissal. “I don’t care for such things. I do care about food being provided so I can concentrate on my work, clean clothes and somewhat livable conditions. You do what you will in your spare time.”
Benedict’s spirit floated above me to observe the body. It was mostly of a young man that had been torn to pieces by a savage animal. I needed a fresh heart, part of their intestines and a good scalp of hair. It was gruesome but well worth the effort.
Once the body was buried nearby the town I was able to take the pieces that were left and put them with his own body that was in a grave that I had buried myself.
It took me years to learn how to revive what had been dried and near decayed but with pieces of the departed I was able to put together for Benedict’s new vessel.
Fortunately he didn’t care about his looks, however it would be hard to accept him as what he will now be. Still, it would not be as difficult as seeing…
“Is it done? My Lord, you are just staring?”
I chuckled deeply. “Always inquisitive, aren’t you? Of course, your vessel is finished. I’m just admiring my work.”
“You can admire me from afar when I can prepare a decent meal. I’m sure you are sick of steak, potatoes and whatever vegetable that Oryx can find.”
I hummed. While I did tire of the same food, Oryx did it out of the kindness of his soul. He was haunted by the longing to create something deeper, something tender and intimate, beyond the simple roles of creator and master. Hell, I did too.
If he only knew what a monster I was.
What was I to tell him? If I succumbed to a relationship closer than he wanted it might nearly break me? I only needed to know he was safe, and until I finished my hardest project to date, I will not dwell on the insignificance of the relationship now.
“Right, hover just over your new body. Make sure there isn’t anything you would like to change, because once I reanimate with you in it, there will be no going back.”
Benedict hummed softly, and I could almost imagine that if he had fingers, he would thoughtfully stroke the chin he didn't possess.
As a spirit, Benedict was formless, an ethereal presence without a corporeal body.
He was like a gentle breeze that occasionally swept past me, carrying with it a faint, enigmatic whisper that tickled my ear.
Of course that sounded absurd to those who don’t know.
“Yes, it will do. I’ll have to go to the spa in town. Will anyone notice?” He chuckled and I felt the cold air rush by me.
“I wouldn't advise it. Not until I figure out how to hide the stitches better.”.
Bringing the dead back to life was simple once a spirit had vacated its body.
Constructing new bodies, however, was a more labor-intensive and time-consuming task.
My skills in stitching and reassembling were not yet polished, but Benedict had become a persistent nuisance.
His spirit constantly chilled the lab, and now that he had a body, he could also monitor Oryx.
I rolled the table to the center of the room and gazed up at the skylight. The daylight was sufficient to illuminate the body below.
I cracked my neck from side to side and gathered my notes from the table. I muttered under my breath, the crackles within my fingers flicked on and off. Again, I muttered the spell I had practiced in my sleep, my eyes focused on the pages as I twisted and twirled my fingers.
Clouds formed within the room, cracks of blue lightning skipped from one cloud to another. Wind intensified, spare papers in the room fluttered in the cyclone.
Again, my spell was louder, my hair fell from the tie that usually stayed on top of my head.
The body on the table convulsed, the stitches held together and strained against the sudden movement.
The lightning in the room intensified, striking the table and coursing through the corpse.
Benedict's spirit, now invisible even to me, was being drawn into the vessel, the heat of the room a stark contrast to his usual icy presence.
The convulsions grew more violent, and I had to use my magic to hold the body down, preventing it from thrashing off the table.
The muscles beneath the stitched skin contorted and twisted, taking on a more natural form.
The limbs jerked, and the chest heaved as lungs filled with air for the first time in years.
Slowly, the lightning dissipated, the clouds in the room vanishing as quickly as they had appeared.
The body settled onto the table, the rise and fall of the chest was the only movement noticeable.
I stepped back, exhaustion washing over me.
The spell had worked, but the true test would be when Benedict opened his eyes.
I waited, my breath held, as the eyelids fluttered open. Benedict's eyes, now a mix of his original vibrant blue and the dull brown of the corpse, stared up at the skylight. A shudder ran through the body, and then a hand lifted, turning to examine the stitches crisscrossing the skin.
"Well," Benedict rasped, his voice a mix of his old spirit whisper and the deep baritone of the corpse. "This will take some getting used to."
I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. "But it works?" I asked, stepping closer to observe his movements.
Benedict turned his head to look at me, a small smile playing on his lips. "Yes, my Lord. It works." He sat up slowly, swinging his legs over the side of the table. His movements were stiff, but already improving as he grew accustomed to his new body.
"Good," I said, allowing myself a small smile of satisfaction.
"Now, let's see about getting you something to cover up those stitches.
Until I am able to learn how to hide them properly, or fuse them together, one of the two.
" I turned to rummage through a nearby cabinet for some clothes that would fit him.
As I returned to Benedict I saw him admiring himself.
Benedict looked down at his body, running a hand over the stitches on his chest. "Yes," he agreed. "That would be wise. I don’t think the meat market would appreciate it if they saw my hands held on by a thread.”
I huffed, but my lips curved into a smile, until it faded. I had no idea how to hide them. I wasn’t even sure his skin would fuse together properly. I would have to do more research.
“I think long sleeved clothing will be in your favor for now. High necked collars. Luckily for you, it is male fashion.” I took a rag and wiped my fingers.
Benedict didn’t mind, instead felt down his naked torso. A blanket covered his manhood for privacy. He picked up the sheet and gasped. “My Lord is gracious. Does this work as well?” He pointed between his legs.
I rolled my eyes. “Hold off on any sexual excursions for a while. I don’t know if it will fall off or not.”
Benedict gasped. “What of Oryx? Has his?”
I slammed the drawer shut.
“We don’t speak of that, Benedict. While I give you free speech while you were a spirit, you best mind your tongue while you are in a vessel.”
Benedict leaned back on the table and kicked his legs. “Aye, a sore spot for now eh? Why don’t you even try to have him remember? I don’t under—”
I raised my fist and slammed it on the table. “Enough! You are not privy to my life. I suggest you go finish changing. I gave you a vessel now, leave me to my own devices.”
Benedict rolled his eyes and wrapped the sheet around his body. “And what do I do if Oryx sees a stranger walking around in a sheet?”
I pulled back my hair to put it back into a bun. “Tell him, you are the project I was working on and you will be taking care of all the original duties before Oryx came to be. He’ll understand.”
Benedict didn’t look so sure, but he left the room anyway, slapping his newly attached feet to the floor.
I wiped my hand down my face and pushed the table away. While I might have created a vessel for Benedict, it was an experiment for the real project I was working on. One that no one dared know about until it could be completed.
Luckily as a spirit, Benedict would come and go and I would have time to work in peace but having him around with his own vessel, I will have more time to dedicate to my latest project.
I picked up the papers and shoved them back on the desk.
It had been two days since Oryx had been home and not once had he come to see me on his own.
He was there during meal times but he was always distracted.
It was unlike him and I was about to pump his stomach from the blood he ingested from the humans.
It would stay in his stomach for days and whatever hallucinogens were making him… not right.
I hated how I couldn’t see into his mind. I needed to know he was still stable.
I groaned after I got up off the floor. I wish he could understand what I was doing for him, it was to help him but it would confuse him further.
Or was it my own pain that was keeping me away from him?
I grasped my chest with a desperate grip. Though no heart beat within, the void seemed to throb with an overwhelming, suffocating sorrow that threatened to consume me whole.
Soon, I will have everything I need and then everything will be as it was once before. His spirit has a vessel and he isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.