The Chosen Soul (6 page)

By now, their run was more a fast-paced walk, and Raven’s entire body ached, from

her big toe to her scalp.

“We need to rest, Loki. I don’t think they are following us any longer.”

Loki turned to look at his sister. His eyes skated across the bruises on her cheeks and

forehead, taking in the deep cuts in her lips and the raking scratches Selby’s fingernails

had made across one collarbone. He nodded and tore his eyes away, searching the area

around them.

“I hear water. We’ll rest by the river.”

She nodded, in turn, and concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other.

Loki guided them through the forest, following the sound of water, until they found

themselves pushing through a thicket to enter a small clearing, a crystal clear spring at its center.

“Wow,” Raven whispered as she took in the perfect little waterfall and the plush

green grass that ran to the rim of the water. “It’s beautiful.” Ferns of all sizes abutted the stones surrounding the pond, and large lily pads floated peacefully around its perimeter.

The water looked clear, cool, and deep.

Loki had not answered her. He cocked his head to one side, listening.

“What’s wrong?”

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He shook his head and placed his fingers to his lips. She nodded. Motioning for her

to remain where she was, he stepped forward into the clearing. His footsteps were

cautious and slow. As he reached the water’s edge, he paused, listening once again.

And Raven heard it.

Singing. Far away and beautiful. A woman’s voice, and then a man’s, singing in

harmony.

The hair on the back of Raven’s neck stood on end. She watched, eyes wide, as Loki

knelt beside the water and peered down.

The spring’s surface rippled.

Raven sprung into action, suddenly rushing forward and grabbing her brother by the

back of his shirt. She pulled, yanking him away from the water just as its surface parted

and two long arms shot out, water shimmering translucently along their lengths. As

fingers grasped at the empty air where Loki had once been, their nails grew into sharp

claws, and then shrunk back down again. In the blink of an eye, both arms sank back into

the pool.

Raven forced her scream back down her throat before it could be given voice as she

and Loki scrambled backwards, away from the shimmering water.

Very slowly, two lithe forms emerged completely from the spring. Loki jumped up,

yanked his bow off of his shoulder and reached for an arrow from the quiver on his back.

There were only two left. One was useless, having been wrapped in kerosene-drenched

cloth. The other, he nocked, as his eyes remained locked on the strange creatures a few

feet away. Then he raised the bow, aiming it in their direction.

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The Chosen Soul

Raven stood and inched slightly closer to her brother, watching as the beings rose to

their full humanesque heights and then stepped onto the bank. They were as beautiful as

the spring they inhabited. One was a woman, the other a man. Their pale skin shone

iridescent in the moonlight afforded by the break in the canopy of trees above. Their hair

was long and deep bluish green, like the color of the ocean after a storm. Their eyes were

like emeralds, and their bodies were perfectly sculpted, as if carved from an artisan’s

alabaster. Droplets of water pooled upon their flesh. They wore shifts of some peculiar,

shining material around their waists, and nothing else. The woman’s breasts were perfect,

small and taut, but Raven's eyes were drawn to the man, where his hair cascaded over his

broad chest like a blue-green waterfall.

Deep male laughter drew her attention to his face. He was watching her, amusement

clear upon his strange and handsome features. When he smiled, she could see that his

incisors were long and sharp and she moved in closer to her brother.

“You are trespassing upon our home,” the female said, her voice like the taste of

honey, sweet and smooth. She gestured to indicate the spring and the clearing around it.

“You have not been invited.”

Loki took a step back, drawing Raven with him. “We apologize. We didn’t know

there was anyone here. We’ll leave.” His bow remained raised, his aim never wavering.

The man stepped forward, his smile was gone, replaced by a look of concern. “They

have been injured, Minea. She bears the marks of an attack.”

Raven blinked and then blushed. She could almost feel the sudden weight of the

creatures’ scrutiny. She knew her face must be a map of bruises and cuts, but had

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forgotten about her injuries in the flight from the guards. She looked at the ground and

tried to shrink in size.

The female cocked her head to one side and studied them carefully. “Indeed, you are

right, Manus. And
he
has been recently touched by Haledon. I can feel his warmth from here.” She smiled a slow smile and Raven saw a muscle tick in Loki’s jaw.

“You need rest,” the man said, speaking directly to Raven. “If you should wish to

remain, I give you my permission. You may now consider yourselves invited.”

Raven glanced at her brother.

He glanced back at her.

“What are you?” Loki asked, after a moment’s hesitation.

“We are the Naiads. We are guardians of the forest, as are the Dryads and the

Sylph.” The man answered, his tone one of patient credo.

“I am sorry we startled you. You were not expected, and strangers at such close

proximity to our home are not normally to be trusted.” The female offered. She glanced at

her handsome companion and then back at Raven and Loki. “I can now see that you mean

no harm to our spring, or to our forest. Manus was right to offer you salutation. You may

remain, if you wish.” She paused, studying them with a slight smile on her beautiful

features. “After all, you appear thirsty.”

Loki began to lower his bow, and then thought better of it. “We just need a little

water. Are you going to pull us in if we try to drink?” he asked, aiming the bow once

again, this time at the male.

The female laughed, and the male smiled. “No,” they said, in chorus.

Loki lowered his weapon. He looked at his sister. Neither of them spoke.

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The Chosen Soul

Then the female naiad waved a hand in the air. A moment later, there was a flash of

light, and a small gold goblet appeared in her palm. She turned, knelt by the water’s side, and dipped the goblet in. Then she rose and faced Raven.

“Ladies first.”

Raven looked at the goblet. Her mouth was so dry. They had been walking for so

long. She glanced at her brother. His expression was uncertain, but after a few moments

of hesitation, he nodded. They had to drink some time.

She moved forward and very slowly accepted the goblet from the female. Then she

placed it to her lips and closed her eyes.

She drank.

It was cool and clean. Raven swallowed tentatively at first, but before long, she was

gulping the water down, quenching the thirst she’d built up over the long, terrible night.

The water soothed her sore throat, relieved the raw, red ache in her torn mouth, and

seemed to infuse her entire body, from her chest outward, with a pacifying chill against

the sweltering night. In a few short moments, the goblet was empty. Raven lowered the

cup and handed it back to the Naiad. The female smiled at her and Raven smiled back.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” The Naiad then refilled the goblet and held it out to Loki. Loki

accepted it without delay and drank its contents in a few big swallows. When he handed it

back, he too was smiling.

“Now come and sit. Rest. Tell us what has transpired this night,” the male Naiad

instructed. Raven turned to him and once again found her eyes wandering over his body.

This time, when she blushed, she instinctively touched a hand to her face.

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Heather Killough-Walden

And it did not hurt.

“Raven, your bruises!” Loki reached out and turned his sister to face him. Before his

eyes, the purple-yellow marks began to fade. The cuts on her lips sealed up and the

fingernail scratches across her neck and collarbone lightened and then were gone. In mere

seconds, Raven’s wounds had been completely healed. Loki stared down at her,

dumbfounded.

“How?” He tore his eyes away from Raven’s now perfect face and glanced up at the

Naiads, who were watching with twinkling eyes. “It was the water. It has healing powers,

doesn’t it?”

The female nodded. “Yes. That is one of the reasons we protect it so carefully. Some

people have ventured to our spring and gone again, only to spread word of its healing

properties.”

“And then others come to take the water,” the man continued. “They come with

bottles and flacons and flasks. They attempt to take without asking, to drain away that

which we guard so that they may sell it for a profit.”

Loki nodded and looked back at his sister. “I understand. I would vigilantly guard

such a thing as well.”

Raven’s long thick lashes shuttered her eyes demurely. “Thank you for allowing us

to drink.”

The male Naiad waved the thanks away and smiled. “It was only a few drops, and

you needed it. Now please, come and sit. You can repay us by sharing your adventures.

Surely something vital must have occurred for the two of you to arrive at our spring in

such a state.”

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The Chosen Soul

Raven and Loki sat in the cool, thick grass where the man indicated, and made

themselves comfortable. The Naiads immersed themselves in the water up to their waists

and then turned to face them, their chins in their hands, their elbows resting on the same

cool grass.

In a few moments, the four of them were talking. Loki told them of the attack, and

the beasts from Abaddon. This interested the Naiads greatly. They looked at Raven with a

mixture of curiosity and awe. Then Raven told them of the acolytes from Haledon’s

temple, her arrest and her escape, and when she'd finished, Minea smiled and applauded.

“Thank you for that wonderful story. Now you two must sleep. If you have trouble

falling asleep, you may drink again from the spring. A second drink so soon after the first will bring slumber almost instantly.”

Raven yawned and Loki ran a hand through his strawberry blonde hair. “Thank you.

We do need to sleep.” He took off his cloak and laid it out on the ground, gesturing for

Raven to take it.

She shook her head. “Thank you, but I have my own, Loki. You take that one.” She

did not wait for him to argue with her, but instead took off her own cloak and laid it out

on the ground next to his and then instantly curled up on top of it, pulling its edges over her. She did not need its cover for warmth, as the night was sultry at mid-summer, but she

had always needed the feeling of protection that covering up afforded her.

Loki laid down beside her just as the Naiads wished them goodnight and sank back

beneath the surface of the water.

The night became absolute then, complete and quiet. As they drifted off to sleep, it

seemed the entire world slept with them.

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*****

“Well what have we here?”

Raven came awake immediately, her stomach churning, her head pounding. Danger

filled the air like an acrid stench, stinging her nostrils. She had been dreaming about

winter, cool and crisp and white. Someone had called her name. Raven
Winter
… and then the dream had faded, like a melting into summer and then a drying into drought. She was

disoriented, frightened, sick.

She rolled over to find herself staring into an ugly face, dirty and toothless. A man

with lank, oily hair gazed down at her. And he was not alone.

“Loki!” she exclaimed, grasping her cloak tighter around her.

Her brother jolted awake, sat up, and, upon seeing the uninvited strangers, was

scrambling for his bow. He did not make it to the weapon before one of the four men

came forward, kicking him in the side of the head.

Raven screamed and rushed for him, but several hands grasped her upper arms,

hauling her off of the ground and tossing her a few yards away. She landed and was

instantly flanked by two of the men, their expressions lewd. They licked their lips and

Raven’s gut clenched, bile rising in her throat. She choked it down and tried desperately

to gather her wits.

Loki rolled from where he had landed and found himself staring down into the

crystalline pool. He blinked, trying to clear his vision. His head throbbed and he could

feel with his tongue that one of his back teeth had been knocked loose. When his vision

cleared a few seconds later, he realized that another set of eyes was gazing up at him

through the water’s depths.

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The Chosen Soul

Manus, the male Naiad.

He nodded at Loki and gestured with his hands, in the water, to move aside. Loki

nodded back imperceptibly and rolled to the side, assessing the situation above him.

The four men had separated. Two now had his sister by either arm and were holding

her immobile between them. The other two had rounded on him and were waiting for him

to stand up, obviously itching for a fight.