Soul Master

37. Asha

I hadn't been able to sense her connection for well over an hour, the clock had struck midnight and I was pacing back and forth. I knew she would be having fun, but I also knew Blitzen wasn't too thrilled about sharing her.

I stopped pacing as I was suddenly winded, the air left me as I felt her back in my mind. I reached out to her.

Her voice sang back, almost too quietly. I froze as I listened to her choice of song.

Where are you?

I asked her, she didn't sound entirely coherent.

I was already moving, shifting into my wolf form as I left the house. Tracking her with the little piece of connection I had felt, and just as suddenly as it had been, the connection broke and the wolf that I was came to a stop, let out a mournful howl and lowered my head. Instinct told me she had died.

I forced myself to move, blinded by raw emotion, I had no way to track her.

Amii!

I called out in my mind to her, nothing.

This wasn't like she had just passed out, it wasn't as though she had fainted. Her very being had ceased to be.

'Wolfie, wolfie!' A small goblin hopped in front of me stopping my run. He held a mushroom over his head like an umbrella. 'Awooo.' It copied me and smiled, then seeing my distress it stopped.

'Amèlie.' I sent the thought to the creature from the realm of Make Belief. 'Amèlie.' I urged.

It nodded, threw down a few purple flowers and pointed.

'Sniff and follow.' He said quickly. 'She must not die or Enchanten will rot.'

Her name echoed in my mind as I followed the strange purple haze before me leading me to a posh looking house, silence surrounding it as the people stood like statues unmoving.

I shifted back to human and rushed forward.

'She's in there, she's in there.' Three fairies fluttered by me. 'Enchanten is broken, the seal of the realm to here is weakened. Hurry save her.' They buzzed around me in worry. 'Magic doesn't belong in this world,' they continued to squeak, 'save the girl, save Enchanten.' One of them dropped dead. And an echo of a child whispering 'Fairies don't exist,' passed by. The two remaining fairies gasped and dropped to their fallen friend, now plagued with their own grief.

I entered the frozen house party, passing by the people stuck mid movement, mid smile, mid kiss. My footsteps sounded loud among them.

'Amii.' I shouted. I couldn't sense her.

Mally jumped out at me, a weird blue sword in hand ready to kill. His anger changed to realisation as he recognised me.

'How are you moving?' I asked.

'No time.' He said, dragging me into the room where people were trapped mid dance. I looked around I couldn't see her.

'Where is Amii?' I asked, imaptiently.

With his blade he glided it gently over the air, revealing her crumpled body. If I wasn't looking for her, if she wasn't so familiar to me, she would have been unrecognisable. I stood unable to move, my eyes took in the blood, too much blood. I couldn't look again at her form. Just blood, only blood.

'Go to her.' Mally said quietly.

Just blood.

Amii....