A Soul to Revive (Duskwalker Brides, #5)

“You should have let me die with him,” Ingram whimpered.

“You cannot say that to me,” the Witch Owl whispered, her bottom lip trembling. “I know you’re upset, but why must I bear this every time? A mother is not meant to lose her children! No one cares how I feel, having watched two of them die.” She covered her face with both hands, her loose corkscrew curls bouncing as she shook her head. “It’s not fair... and you all blame me for it when it’s not my fault. I’m not the one hurting you, and I’m not the one who has sent an army out for you. I’m trying everything I can to protect you, to save you.”

Ingram huffed, having no idea what she was talking about. He didn’t know what this ‘mother’ title was that she had apparently given herself.

She was the Witch Owl.

A strange woman that played with and protected them. He figured it was because she wanted to, since Aleron was wonderful. And if Aleron was wonderful, then so was he.

Why should she care for them beyond her own entertainment? Just as they hadn’t cared much for her.

“You, your brothers... There is only so much I can do as one person. I could not bear to watch you perish alongside Aleron, to lose another one of you.”

He stopped clawing at his back, pausing the need to dig into his broken, bleeding heart, so he could answer her. “Whatever this brothers thing are, I would have gladly traded them for Aleron.”

She pulled her hands away from her face to glare at him, her dark eyes narrowed. In just one expression, she looked both angered and exasperated.

“Aleron was your brother! All the Mavka are your brothers! You all came from me, and yet, when you grow your skulls, you forget who I am to you.”

Once more, he snorted a huff.

Aleron was his only bond and kindred. The rest of the Mavka were of his species, but there was nothing special there. Sure, he had no desire to harm them, but he would have gladly destroyed all their skulls if it meant Aleron did not... leave him alone like this.

“Merikh is your older brother, as are Orpheus, Magnar, and Faunus. Even Aleron was brought into this world before you.” She pushed her cloak to the side as though she wanted to reveal something. “And there are more of you, that is why I could not–”

Ingram turned before she could finish.

Faunus, he thought, heading in the direction of the feline-skulled Mavka. Faunus’ skull was cracked, and now it is solid with a gold scar. He escaped death, so maybe I can do the same for Aleron.

Because Ingram refused to believe there was no way to bring Aleron back. He wouldn’t be without him for long – he knew this for certain.

However, first, he would change this world. He would make it safer for Aleron’s return. He would make it better. He would not see him perish twice.

Ignoring the Witch Owl, as she was of no significance to his constant and often erratic bouncing thoughts and attention span, he headed towards the forest. His sight drifted in the direction of the Demon King’s castle, and his orbs flared an even darker crimson.

Whether it was with Ingram’s last breath or the returning of Aleron’s, Jabez, the Demon King, would pay for this. He would learn what it felt like to have his skull crushed.

He had ordered for the death of all Mavka, and his actions had taken away the most precious creature to Ingram, who was not beneath vengeance. He would make sure it was painful, even if it had to be swift.

“Where are you going?!” The Witch Owl shouted as she ran to be in his way once more.

He gave her a warning snarl before stepping to the side.

“To the other Mavka, to bring back Aleron.”

He needed a direction, a task, something to give him hope, or he’d sit here digging for his heart for the rest of his life.

“He is gone, Ingram,” she answered with a sob. “The other Mavka cannot bring him back.”

He roared barely an inch from her nose.

“Then if he cannot come back, I will destroy everything that took him away from me!” He swiped his front paw at her, stabbing his claws into her side and dragging her to the ground. He was above her within a second. “I will start with you if I must!”

Just as he snapped his skull forward to shove her head into his maw, she turned intangible. She floated through him and backed up as he slowly gave chase, saliva flooding his mouth cavity.

He didn’t like that she could so easily escape him, but it also meant he was disinterested in fighting her. He had desires, and currently they wanted bloodshed – to hunt, maim, and eradicate the one creature he could truly blame.

“I want to help,” she stated, her voice echoey. “But if I could bring Aleron back, I would. I would have brought back the serpent-skulled Mavka years ago.” Then she turned physical and assumed a brave stance, facing him. “I am not your enemy, Ingram.”

“Then help me destroy the Demon King.”

“I will. I promise I will, but I still don’t know how to defeat him. At least, not in a way that won’t cost more of your lives. You need to be patient. Please, I promise.”

Her answer and following plea were insufficient.

“If you will not help me now, then I will go by myself.”

Her colour turned ashen. “You cannot go after him by yourself, Ingram. He will kill you.”

“Then I will make the other Mavka help me.”

He was sure they had just as much of a desire to kill the Demon King.

Just as he redirected his path to go to the northeast of the Veil, where the three Mavka he knew resided, she stepped in front of him again, arms open.

“You cannot go through the forest! You must leave the Veil, Ingram. You are without a ward or a home, and the Demons are waiting for you to leave this protection. It’s no longer safe for you here.”

“Then I will go around the forest!” he yelled, turning to the Veil’s canyon walls.

There was a path there that often got sunlight. He would walk along it.

She ran to intercept him once more, ducking when he tried to head-butt her with his small, sharp horns. He snapped his beak forward, but she only turned incorporeal to evade him and then back to physical to speak with him clearly.

“The other Mavka cannot help you either. They have brides, Ingram. Some of them have younglings. They either cannot or will not go with you.”

“I WILL destroy the Demon King. With or without your help, their help. I will bring Aleron back.”

“Unless we have an army to fight against Jabez’s, nothing you do will make a difference. You will not win. You will only die, and I cannot bear to see another one of my children perish!”

His head tilted at just one word of her entire rambling spiel. His skull made a rattling sound, as though it was empty of a brain and instead filled with bones.

He was aware there were many blank spaces within his thoughts, and that he was not wise nor knowledgeable. He could only retain so much information, and he could then only decipher so much of it as well.

A lot of what was said to him fell on uncomprehending ears.

“An army?” He paused so he could tap an index claw against his bone-white raven beak. “An army to fight an army?”