Soulstrings

8: One Father, Two Sisters, Four Comrades

I've always believed that no one, not even my parents, wanted a demon like me.

The whip lashed forward like a snake, biting into the flesh of her back. Jerilyn screamed. Her cries were snuffed out by the barking of her owner.

"Stop crying, you filth!" Ithel spat. He stood looming her, as if he were a master kicking down his dog. "You're going to be a strong warrior to serve me! So shut your mouth, or I'll whip you harder!"

The young girl drew in her lips, stifling a sob as another slash of the whip cracked against her back.

"Think of this as training. When I'm through with you, you're going to be much stronger. You're going to learn to take orders without hesitation. Or I will keep whipping you." As the whip fell, the skies cackled. Lightning shifted the scene to the fields, and the desolate Plains of Passyn.

The Spirits surrounded them at all sides. Ithel stood behind a battalion of men, many of them corpses. Among them, was the bloodied body of his son.

"You demon!" he snarled, pointing his sword at Jerilyn. "You killed him! You disobeyed my orders! You broke formation, and you killed him!" The noble's eyes lacked pupils, possessing nothing but the white of sheer madness.

Ithel stabbed his sword towards Jerilyn's chest. She thought he was going to run her through. But in her place, stood an old man.

"Kyros!" she cried.

Blood poured from his wounds. It didn't seem to bother him. Kyros's eyes turned menacing. "Don't you dare touch my apprentice!"

The world turned crimson, fading away to the face of an obsessive man: the Cambire Hunter. Acteon laughed maniacally, chains spreading out from his palms. Jerilyn turned. She tried to run away. Something caught her ankle, and she fell to the floor, yelping. She spun her head around. He caught her. Acteon caught her. His trembling hands were pulling on the chains, pulling her closer to him.

"You're coming with me, Jerilyn."

No! I'm not becoming anyone's slave ever again!

"Jerilyn..." Acteon's voice turned hollow, possessive and cruel. Jerilyn struggled against his pull, but it only succeeded in making him wrench the chains harder.

"Jerilyn!"

She paused. That wasn't Acteon's voice. It was much lighter, kinder, familiar. Everything was turning pale.

"Jerilyn!"

Then it hit her. Cameron...

"Jerilyn!"

With a start, Jerilyn's eyes snapped open. She was greeted with the wide gray irises of Cameron Verille, whose expression was filled with relief. She realized that she was on the ground, spread out on one of the team's sleeping bags. She remembered that she was with her friends, that she was still free of Acteon. Solace flooded her.

"Cameron!"

She sprang up, wrapping her arms around the boy in front of her. Cameron was caught off guard, and he stiffened. A part of Jerilyn panicked. Was she allowed to hold him? Another part of her didn't want to let go. It was comforting to hold a friend so close. Eventually, she felt Cameron's arms around her, and she softened.

"Am I–"

"You're allowed. Don't ask."

Jerilyn murmured in consent.