Dark Queen: The Cybelline Prophecies

Chapter 99

The Realm of Lost Souls

Cybelline stood by Morrigan, her face dark with anger. The goddess of death looked at the Dominion god with fear and a little bit of idol worship. This was a goddess whose power were beyond any limits.

Cybelline looked around, "So this is the in-between?"

Ithos and Myrai stood behind, eyes searching the empty and vast land. They saw hundreds of thousands of translucent spirits walk past them, their eyes empty and unknowing.

"Yes" Morrigan answered, "This is where souls that are lost go. Souls that had been damaged in some way. Or if they have unfinished business, they are not ready to move on."

Killian came over and took Cybelline's hand, "We will find her. Morrigan said that if she was not in the realm of the dead then she must be here." 

"Do you have anything of your daughter's?" Morrigan asked Ithos and Myrai. After a moment, Myrai took out a small pouch that contained a lock of Miri's baby hair. She held it out carefully, "It is all I have left of her."

Morrigan nodded, took the proffered item and went towards the small river that was not a river of water but full of spirits.

Morrigan knelt down and took a bow of the stuff and dropped the hair into the bowl. The contents swirled together and started to glow blue.

Cybelline saw a shadow appear and her eyes brightened. Miri. She sighed in relief, Miri's soul was found.

Bit by bit, Miri materialized and stood in front of them. She looked as if she was in a trance, her eyes seemed to be clouded. She looked at Cybelline and smiled, but made no sound. 

"What's wrong?"Morrigan muttered, "It's as if the soul is not whole." 

Cybelline studied Miri's soul closely and pointed, "There's a tear on her wing." 

Morrigan saw the tiny missing piece of Miri's wing and gasped, "Someone is holding onto a piece of her, it can't escape. Her soul can't be completed, this is bad."

Cybelline's face darkened and she turned, "I'm going to kill that bastard." 

Morrigan looked towards the distance and stared at the approaching figure, "Do you mean him? I think he's already dead." 

Jasreth opened his eyes and saw that he was in an endlessly barren land, here, there were many people walking around their eyes empty, they spoke but soundlessly. He looked at his hands, they too were translucent. 

Suddenly, a figure came at him, he barely had time to register her face and red hair before she kicked him into the dirt.

Before he could take a breath, she said with a coldness that pierced his bodiless soul, "Where is it? Where is her wing that you stole?"

Jasreth stared at the beautiful woman as she dragged him towards a place where a few people stood.

She threw him on the ground and he rolled to a stop before he looked up.

The woman who had haunted his dreams, who had smiled and loved him stared blankly into the air.

He crawled up, his eyes blazing in joy, he reached out a hand.

Cybelline's gripped her arm, she did not even look at him in the face before she threw him to the ground again.

"You will never touch her again." She said, "I haven't torn you to shreds and scattered you to the winds because you haven't helped save Miri. If you have a spark of humanity left, you will give her back what you stole."