Soul Savior: excerpt from chapter one

The light of the moon shone on Emrys Stone, and Emrys Stone shone back.

All the human souls he’d ingested in his five hundred years of life radiated out of his body and reflected off the helmets of the armed soldiers whose guns were pointed at his chest or head. They blocked his access to the warehouse containing the secret second entrance to the underground ark of Providence. If only he and Galen had made it inside before the moon gave these soldiers another reason to kill him.

Other soldiers knelt in the dirt and dust, their helmets off, their mouths open, their expressions ecstatic. If only he and Galen had made it inside before the moon gave these soldiers something to believe in.

And pinned on the ground was his lover, Galen, with that same look of wonder shining from his eyes. If only he had made it inside before the moon gave Galen a reason to think of him as anything but human.

If only he wasn’t a soul-eater.

On numbers alone, six soldiers believed him to be more than a man and, while they would be right, they likely came to the wrong conclusion. They probably thought him something to be revered. Ever since the night his daughter Sian died, Emrys had tried to keep his light hidden. Hell, he’d even hunted down those soul-eaters who encouraged fantasies about being angels—or worse, gods.

And yet, there he was, five hundred years old, glowing for all in a post-apocalyptic world that fumbled in the dark for salvation.

A salvation he couldn’t deliver.

Emrys tucked his hands into his armpits to hide some of his glowing skin. “I am not what you think I am.”

One of the armed soldiers lifted the visor on his helmet. “You’re a freak. And you’ll be a dead man if you don’t stop that glowing.”

Emrys had seen that look before. The curled lip, the twitching eye, the sheen of sweat on skin. The only difference was that his daughter wasn’t screaming for him to save her. He shut down the memory. He couldn’t save her, but he could save Galen.

“I can’t do anything about the light, but I’m not here to cause trouble. I’m just returning Galen to you, then I’ll go.”

Emrys had already been exiled for admitting to the murder of Brink, one of Providence’s soldiers. Factions inside the ark knew it wasn’t true and demanded a fair trial, hence Galen coming to bring him back from the ruined and desolate wilderness. Emrys had agreed, but that was before the moon got involved. The best he could do now was ensure Galen returned to safety, and as much as he hated the thought, leave him behind forever.

“Emrys, no!” Galen struggled to get up, but a soldier forced him down again.

Emrys jolted as if the palm of the soldier’s hand had shoved him in the back, but he refrained from retaliating. A gun might go off. Galen might get hurt. If that happened, he wouldn’t leave a soul alive.

“Galen, I can’t go back with you.” He wrenched his gaze away from Galen and back to the assumed leader.

Isaiah—head of Security, one of the Five, and Galen’s father—had been clear. Emrys had taken the blame for Brink’s murder in exchange for being exiled from Providence. Galen would be cleared of any involvement, and his life would go on. But Isaiah hadn’t banked on riots inside Providence rising up against his extrajudicial dealings.

“Please, take Galen back to Providence with you.” He squeezed the words out like they’d been wrung from his heart.

“What crap is this? We don’t take orders from you.”

One of the believers on the ground shifted to glare at the soldier. “Don’t you understand what you’re seeing, Thomas? Emrys is an angel.”

“Don’t be a fucking idiot, Trellain. He’s nothing but a murderer. He killed Brink. Whatever he’s doing to make that…that light or whatever it is, it’s not real.”

“I know what I believe.” Trellain got to his feet and faced off against Thomas. “Emrys has shown himself to us for a reason.”

Emrys pitched himself forward but stopped as the guns refocused. “Yes, and that reason is to return Galen to you. Then I’m leaving. As agreed.”

“You can’t leave us, Emrys.” Trellain and the other soldiers got to their feet, letting Galen up, and protected them both.

Galen stumbled forward, hand out to touch Emrys. He backed away from Galen’s adoration, a look so pure that any person alive should feel blessed to receive, but in that moment was a torture that rent Emrys’s heart from his chest. He had to stop this. He had to turn Galen back towards Providence and force him through to the safety of that underground ark. Humans couldn’t yet survive out in the world.

And neither could a soul-eater if they didn’t harvest a human soul every thirty days.

At least Emrys knew what day he would die. That knowledge was more than most humans were granted.

Galen kept coming closer. “Emrys, please, you can’t go. Not now, not after I know the truth.”

“And what truth is that? I am not what you think I am.” The words trickled out of his mouth like water from a strangled river.

“But I’ve seen it, and I can’t believe I was so blind. The way you and Nimue came out of the wilderness…the way you and Nimue survived the journey from Endurance…the way Nimue helped me escape the cells and then vanished. The way you destroyed those two men and left nothing but ash. Only something—someone—divine could do that.”

Emrys’s heart caved. He leaned close, his light shining upon Galen. “Divine? If that’s what you think me to be, then I can’t live in Providence. But you have to go back.” His voice was nothing but vapors.

“But the people need you.”

“They should forget me.” He touched Galen’s cheek and stared into those soulful eyes. “And you should too.”

Galen’s eyes and face hardened like clay that had been fired, his beliefs molded and set. “Never.” He grabbed Emrys’s hand and raised it above his head so more of him glowed in moonlight. “Soldiers! You have witnessed this miracle. We must return to the city, and the citizens must be shown the truth.”

“Oh, we’re returning all right,” Thomas said. “But only so that thing can go on trial for Brink’s murder. And Isaiah says if you give us any trouble, you’re going up there with him.”

Now Isaiah wanted a trial? He’d expected it of the other councilors, particularly Laurence and Kira, but for Isaiah to press for a public hearing…something must be up.

Galen stepped in front of Emrys. “Emrys didn’t murder Brink, and I will proudly stand before the citizens and tell them so. Then we’ll see who the people believe.”

Thomas raised his weapon, and so did Emrys’s defenders. A firefight was imminent.

“Everyone calm down.” Emrys pulled Galen behind him. Only one of them could survive getting shot. As difficult and unpleasant as it was to abandon Galen, he forced himself to agree to the original bargain. If he didn’t, he’d allow what was only a whisper of an idea, an ember of a possibility, to grow. “I don’t care about your orders, Thomas. I signed the confession Isaiah gave me. I kept my part of the bargain. I left so Galen could stay.”

“Isaiah ordered us to bring both of you. That’s final.”

“Emrys, you must lead us,” Trellain said.

“Have you lost your senses?” Thomas’s voice was strained, a high-pitched caustic sound. “He’s no leader. He’s a murderer, and Providence is in chaos because of him.”

“Chaos reigns because Isaiah expelled Emrys and angered Heaven,” Trellain said.

Their bickering nicked Emrys’s skin and rubbed the wounds with sand and salt. He was trying to do the right thing. But what was the right thing to do?

He had two choices.

He could run and leave the humans to sort out their own mess. He could run and leave behind a story of a glowing thing—man, monster, or messiah. He could run and leave Galen and his heart behind.

Or he could stay. He could stay like he really wanted to, and not just to ensure he had souls to feed on. He could attempt to do some good. Staying meant guiding Providence to a brighter future. Staying meant keeping Galen safe.

That was all.

That was everything.

Half of the soldiers believed him to be an angel without him even trying. Could he convince half of Providence of the same with a little prompting? Or would it be better to hide his light under hundreds of feet of dirt and do everything he could to make them believe he was an ordinary man?

But ordinary men had a way of falling victim to those who exercised greater power. And who had greater power than him?

He held up his hands, caught more light, and called for silence, pleased to see that even his adversaries obeyed. They might not believe him to be an angel, but they knew he was not like them. He’d take their fear if it helped him get back inside, but he wasn’t yet ready to declare he was their savior or that he could do anything special. He needed more time to make that decision.

“I will return to Providence with you, but I have no desire to lead. All I want is for the chance to make things right.” They could take that however they wanted.

He turned to Galen, belief bursting within his eyes. A belief built on lies. But what was one more among many when the truth of what Emrys really was would push Galen away? Galen could love an angel, but he’d never love a soul-eater.

“I’ll go with you willingly.”

“You’ll go in handcuffs. Both of you.” Thomas ordered two of the soldiers to cuff them, but neither soldier made a move. The last time Emrys had been cuffed, he’d taken a soldier’s soul and killed him. That was only two days ago. That memory must have flitted through their brains and caused them to hesitate.

“Handcuffs won’t hold me, and if you try to put them on Galen, it’ll be the last thing you do.”

The soldiers stepped back and formed a guard to march him into the warehouse. Once inside and out of the presence of the moon, the glow from his skin shut off, plunging them into darkness. More than one sharp intake of breath followed.

“Emrys.” Galen gripped his bicep, his voice like icy mist. “What happened to the light?”

The soldiers turned on torches to show their way. How he wished he could turn his light on and off at will.

He scrambled for an explanation, sensing the anger of those who’d been staunch in their disbelief at seeing the trick fail. His throat was closing, and each step towards Providence restricted the flow of oxygen to his lungs. Believing him an angel had benefits but believing him to be something less than human would come with problems.

“Told you it was nothing but a hoax,” Thomas said.

Trellain rounded on the soldier. “His light is a reward for those who serve as witnesses. Those who see it are blessed, but only those who see it and believe are truly saved.”

“How convenient,” Thomas said.

“You’re lucky you don’t get struck down where you stand, Thomas.”

“And you’re lucky I don’t knock the sense back into your head. Keep moving.”

In the dim light, Emrys couldn’t see how well Trellain’s explanation pacified them, but the party advanced. They reached the small squat building in the center of the warehouse. Trellain entered his access code, the doors opened, and they were bathed in generated light. They entered, Thomas dealt with the controls, the doors closed, and the elevator descended.

Four of the non-believers stepped forward, lowered their weapons, and sank to their knees in front of Emrys.

“Please, forgive me, Emrys. I didn’t believe at first, but now I do.”

“As do I.”

“And me.”

“Accept me, too.”

Emrys blinked at this display before the two men and two women were joined by the believers in asking for his benediction. Galen joined them. A short, sharp, breathy laugh exploded out of Emrys’s mouth. It was grotesque.

Thomas’s dark lips rippled into a sneer. “You’re all fools.”

Their heads turned as one in Thomas’s direction, hate glinting in their eyes, so directed, so pure, so ready to commit violence that a shiver raced up Emrys’s spine. A shiver that brought some satisfaction. He only had to give the word and they’d tear Thomas limb from limb.

Thomas backed against the elevator door and tightened his grip on his gun.

That power…

He understood those Darisami who’d revealed their abilities, who’d played up their differences, who’d conned humans and presided over thousands. He understood what they’d been drunk on. And he understood how it could all go wrong. He would do better than them.

“Thomas, you have nothing to fear from me or these people. You do not have to believe in me.”

“There is nothing to believe in.” Thomas’s voice turned to gravel. “You are a murderer, and your trial will prove that.”

“He is an angel, and we are his Defenders!” Trellain screeched, which gave rise to the other’s crying out for him.

It took far too long to settle them, and even when they did, Emrys’s heartbeat stayed elevated. “It doesn’t matter what I am. I am only here to make things right.”

But unless he inspired unity, he would only bring about greater division. And overcoming that would be no easy feat.

Not for a human.

Not for a Darisami.

Not even for an angel.