The Soul Eaters (The Thin Hex Line Book 1) by Gwyndolyn Russell (e reader txt) 📕

Alas, he knew there was nothing he could do to save her body. He feared he could do nothing to prevent it from happening again. He could not see what Fenris saw. The crystallization of her soul as it flicked from her body. Each little flake of solid soul was sucked back down to the whole in the center of her chest. She would be forever trapped in a crystal ball in the body of a monster.

The smell of the ocean hit them hard as they came over the top of a hill. Down below as the grass rolled, they spied the edge of a cliff that dropped straight down into the water smashing into the face and roaring up over the edge in pink mist.

Fenris stood at the edge on all fours, its front limbs digging into the stone to help keep its balance. Its larger hands rested on the ground at either of its sides, letting it peek further over the edge.

The others left the trucks to join it on the cliff where pillars of purple tinted basalt crowded against the cliff. These pillars stretched in both directions, hugging the cliff for stability. One side stretched on endlessly, following the coast until they could see no more. The other, while it did not end, broke open abruptly into a crevice digging far into the cliff face. The ocean water rushed into the opening, splashing up along the basalt walls before draining back down.

The water was eerily clear. Even through the foam and mist of the waves, their eyes could see only as far as the stars' light let them. There was no bottom. No shallow end of the pool. The basalt pillars were like steps down into the abyss of the sea. They could not even see plant fauna, or fish. Perhaps the waters were too rough against the coast.

Fenris looked towards the cave down below. The water almost glowed upon its entry, beckoning them to come inside. The issue was climbing down. The basalt was unevenly grown, and wet from the waves. Its smooth surface would give them no traction and no safe way down.

They stuck to the grass to move closer to the cave below. There Fenris lifted its body off the ground a couple of inches by way of its wingarms. It could sense the artifact inside. Hear its call. Yet the valkyrie was hesitating. Its lower jaw softly clicked against the upper, cracked eyes staring at the endless ocean.

“We don’t all need to go in,” Reaper stated. He looked the team over and pointed at each one he saw with injuries greater than scrapes and bumps. “Stay with the trucks,” He ordered. “Keep them running, keep gunner’s up. If you see anything, use the radio.”

While Fenris watched the cave entrance, Jackal, Vactubstein, and Reaper got their things ready. Flashlights. The last of the ammunition, salvaged from spare rifles and ammo cans. Reaper brought a flamethrower. Donning the helmets of their suits for personal oxygen supplies, they returned to the waiting Fenris who still looked unsure of heading down.

“Watch your steps,” Reaper said. Jackal started down first, taking a small path he could hug against larger pillars. Half way down, Fenris finally snapped back to reality. Using its wingarms, it climbed down towards the entrance, keeping its body up off the ground and away from the brunt of the water.

The others were washed in the waves, causing them to slide around.

Jackal had slipped down to his rear, barely catching a tiny hold on one of the pillars. He took a deep breath and picked himself back up as the waves pulled away. He moved down further, pulling his way into the cave. He turned his flashlight on and waited to help Vactubstein and Reaper around the pillars.

The mouth was still uncomfortable with the waves crashing in. Boots soaked in the salt water, they moved further in. The water rose with each step, but it drastically calmed down. Now it rippled and splashed to their feet. Fenris held itself up over the ground, its wingarms supporting its weight by bracing on the walls.

“Your wolf friend seems to dislike water.” Vactubstein pointed out.

“I don’t blame him.” Jackal huffed. “It’s cold as balls!”

Reaper laughed. “You never liked the cold.”

“It’s even worse when it’s wet.”

“Your suits are not insulated are they?” Vactubstein asked.

“Not these old things. Not for this kind of range.” Reaper said, shining his light into the darkness.

After a few minutes of walking, the water seeped under a floor of stone. They made their way onto dry land where Fenris lowered itself to stand properly, those wingarms hung down behind it like broken wings. No light from outside seeped in this far. That did not stop life from showing face. Here in the darkness, the minute creatures lacked much sight and their bodies glowed in the dark a great variety of colors. Most leaned towards shades of purple, with a rare few a brilliant white.

Yet deeper into the silence of the dark they could hear the sounds of bigger creatures scurrying about. Quietly, they sounded off to one another with high pitched shrieks, like out of tune trumpets and flutes.

The cave twisted and turned every which way like a winding serpent. It dipped further into the ground and rose back up. All of it curling into itself. Small pathways broke off here and there, lined in bone like spikes, similar to that which gave the cave a natural support of ribs. Even metal sprouted from the stone, at times replacing the bones, and others holding openings to other paths.

“Topside,” Reaper said into his radio. “Topside, this is Reaper, do you copy?”

No response.

“Topside, this is Reaper, do you copy?” He said again, more stern.

Still no response.

“We might not be able to get a signal through.” Jackal said, peering down one of the pathways.

“Fen, do you still have that cartographer?” Reaper asked.

“No.” The valkyrie picked itself up over a small stream cutting from one wall to the