Soul's Embrace

Soul's Embrace
Tuesday Morrigan
All rights reserved.
Copyright ©2014 Tuesday Morrigan

Quinn propelled himself over the guardrails and landed lightly on the balcony. Livius was beside him in moments. A signal later and the Elf was pulling his tools out of his pocket and descending upon the sliding door. They could easily use magic to unlock the entrance, but they didn't want to give Casale an inkling of their presence. According to their information, the traitorous Elf was incredibly sensitive to magic.

His team had been chosen for that very reason. All four members of the tactical unit were incredibly accomplished in not only wide scale battle magic, but they were skilled physical warriors.

The slightest click reached his sensitive ears right before Livius dropped his hands and slid his tools back into one of his many pockets. The purple haired Elf tilted his head toward him and Quinn nodded. The male stepped back and Quinn slowly pulled back the door. A dark room greeted him and at first glance there was no one there. He took a moment to allow his senses to search around. Without employing magic, he could only increase his auditory and olfactory abilities for the nearest five feet.

It had to be enough.

The last thing he wanted to do was stumble into someone during a mission.

There was no one near the sliding door.

Quinn stepped gingerly into the room, prepared for anything. Gaze keen, he gave the room another more exploratory look. It was empty. He stepped deeper inside and Livius entered. Together, they made their way through the living room. They were poised on the cusp of the kitchen when he realized they weren't alone in the room.

Quinn spun around. A young woman stood in the back corner of the living room. She was pale faced and disheveled. But it was her lack of a heartbeat that made him cautious.

She was one of the soulless.

It was as the Empire feared. Casale was experimenting on humans and stripping them of their souls. The beings died during the process but it didn't end their existence. Instead they became shells of themselves moving and talking according to their killer's command.

The living undead.

Fierce look on his face, Livius stiffened beside Quinn. "I can handle this, Lieutenant."

"I expect you in three," he replied before continuing on to their main target.

Ignoring the sounds of battle behind him, Quinn continued moving through the kitchen to the sleeping quarters. He paused at the first door as the presence of another reached the apartment.

Glutinous dark magic viscous with pain, death, and misery hung in the air. It slowly spread forward, choking the atmosphere.

Casale had entered the apartment.

The lights came on just as his voice rang out. "So, which one of you fools did the Empire send to drag me home?"

His cultured voice was painfully seductive in nature. He stepped into the kitchen. His hair was a shade of green so dark, it appeared black in certain lights. He had bright blue eyes and as most of their kind, his features were ethereally fine.

He was a beautiful Elf.

If one ignored the poisonous soul magic clinging to him.

Quinn slipped his blade from its sheath and held it before him in both hands. He could clearly see Gratidia and her partner entering the condo. The man was surrounded.

"Casale Nos, you are under arrest for treason against the Crowned Queen of Aegidius, Black Soul Magic, and the attempted murder of the Heir of the House of Nos."

"Is that so?" he purred with a sardonically arched eyebrow.

"Come peacefully, Casale. It's over."

"Is it? Lieutenant, I think you should wait until you actually capture me before you say the game is over." Then he winked and disappeared.

Quinn had a moment to wonder what the fuck had happened before the doors to the bedrooms burst open. Soulless poured out of them. There had to be at least a dozen hidden among the rooms.

"Fuck," Livius cursed, while Gratidia and Brutus moved to battle the undead. Quinn swept his blade out, halving the nearest soulless. Then the distinct oily feel of Casale's magic skittered across his senses.

"I am leaving this in your hands. I am going after Casale."

* * *

It was Friday, she wasn't scheduled to work, and yet, she'd been awake since the ass-crack of dawn. Something was very wrong with the world. Or just Kyra Houston's life.

"Hey! You actually showed up." Bright-eyed, smile on her face, Arianna Mendes stood several feet away.

Of course. Her best friend just happened to be a morning person. How could this day get any better? Ignoring Arianna's laughing tone, Kyra replied, "I agreed, didn't I?" before mumbling, "It's not like you don't know where I live."

Of course Arianna heard her. The woman outright giggled. "And I'm not above gratuitous acts of violence."

Kyra nodded. "You're a bloodthirsty bitch. It's why we're friends," she quipped as she rubbed a fist against her bleary eyes. Did the sun really have to shine that fiercely in the morning? Honestly, what was up with the level of brightness going on? It was fucking blinding and really unneeded. Glaring, she took another sip of her deliciously sweet, extra-caffeinated mocha. Totally worth every dollar.

"You okay, huh? Did you work last night? Shit, how much sleep did you get?"

She lowered her coffee cup. "I'm fine." When Arianna persisted in making that face, she shrugged. "Enough. I got a good four, maybe five hours." It did nothing to dent the feeling of absolute exhaustion she felt after working another double shift at the hospital, but it was better than nothing.

Arianna grimaced and an uncertain look entered her eyes. "Damn. I'm sorry, hun. I didn't even think about your schedule when I asked you to do this."

"Asked?" Kyra smirked. "I don't remember a lot of asking going on. I'm pretty sure Queen Arianna shoved a piece of paper at me and told me to sign the dotted line. When I said no, you threatened my womanhood and soul."

Arianna's eyes lit up at the bestowed title and her cheeks heated up at the reminder of just how she went about getting Kyra to agree. Flushing, Arianna, muttered. "Shut up. It wasn't that bad. It's just --"

Kyra lifted a hand, stalling her excuses. "It's fine, Arianna. You know no one can actually make me do anything I don't want to do. I'm here for a reason. It's a damned good cause."