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

enter stasis since its armor protected it. It was hard to believe. Fenris would be left to watch over the pods while they made the jump to Solstice.

Fenris stood with Jackal while he was loaded into a pod. It watched him intently, having never seen this process before. Then it watched Reaper. It stood back to watch the whole cell as the final people were loaded in. It would wait there until they made it to their destination.

The ship was filled with a new sound. Intense radio waves crackled through the hull like rolling thunder.

The relay had two large rails that stretched out from a spherical point. It dwarfed the Syndicate. They were smaller than ants next to it. As the brilliant blue lights of the relay popped to life, bolts of lightning struck between the rails. Just like a rail gun, the relay wound up with the energy sparking back and forth down the rails, waiting to take hold of a projectile.

From the center of the sphere shot a beam of white energy that thundered through the ship. It abruptly ended, though the beam remained in place. It set the path for the Syndicate to follow, or rather be slingshotted through.

Tendrils of light reached for the ship and wrapped around it. It pulled the toy closer to the sphere, then back. The streaks of lightning quickened. Then, in a fading boom, the Syndicate was shot forward down the beam of white and into the invisible hole in space.

While they traveled at the speed of light, it would still take time to reach their destination. Fenris would have to be patient. It knew this part. Unfortunately, from within one of the stasis cells, it could not enjoy the white light outside.

Fenris sat upon the floor, debating on taking a nap. A growling stomach erased that idea. It hoped they would reach its destination soon. The ever-growing hunger was getting too much to bear. It could feel its own sanity slipping away the more its stomach twisted tight.

Fenris. Called a voice from the ether. Fenris, where are you?

The wolf perked up, grumbling quietly. With the twitch of an ear, the creature pushed up from the floor to follow the voice to the other side of the room.

Fenris!

As it neared the source, the wolf’s head lifted into a beautiful howl. Its song reverberated through the ship. Reached through the void of space to touch the near souls of stars passing.

"Have you found the artifact?" The voice was clearer now, as if he were standing in the same room.

Fenris growled, looking away from the light bleeding into the cell.

"Well? Answer me, pup!”

"Odin’s throat would be torn out with teeth if Fenris had it." Fenris snarled. Its voice fluctuated as it spoke; shifted from the pleasant rasp of song to a guttural growl that shook the room.

"Are you threatening me?" The voice boomed.

Fenris had no reaction. It did not waver from its stance.

"Fenris not go artifact if no help humans."

"Is that all you care about? Humans? You've been with them for a while… you've grown soft! Here I thought I picked the right child."

Its jaws snapped shut, silencing the voice before it could go on.

"Odin talks a lot of shit to be safe where Fenris cannot reach!" It shook its head. The furry cloak upon its back rose at either side.

"I am not the one you should be angry with. I am not the one who has abused you. Used you."

"Think Fenris dumb? Odin like Tyr. Use Fenris for artifact! Cannot do self!"

"Tyr is afraid of you. They all are, Fenris. They fear what you can do. What you could do in the future. This is why you must get that artifact! You must return to them. They need you now more than ever."

Fenris spat.

"Need Fenris? No cage if need."

"Your siblings are in conflict. I sense Surtr's anger rising."

"Fenris not return."

"You must."

"No."

"You must learn to forgive. What happened as children is merely a pro--"

"No forgive traitors!" Its voice reverberated with a snarl that could kill. "Can rot! Feed eos!"

A scream caught Fenris' attention. The ship suddenly jarred. A series of explosions domino'd across the stasis pods. Electricity popped and crackled, starting fires underneath the panels. The light that flooded the interior of the ship snapped away in the blink of an eye.

SIXTEEN

Fenris jumped from its spot to rush to the main console of the cell. It sparked, the screen glitching. When Fenris touched it, it barely responded.

"System malfunction" flashed on the screen. The pods on the ground level shattered. The glass doors caved in, shards floating across the room. The liquid that filled them bubbled and hung about in the air. The only thing keeping the now lifeless bodies in place was what was left of the doors, and straps. Screams flooded through the ship. People woke up abruptly, locked in glass coffins.

Fenris hit the screen. When it didn't work it snarled.

"Open them!"

Command not recognized. The console beeped.

"Open pods!"

Command not recognized.

"Open damned pods!"

Command not recognized.

With a roar that further shattered the glass of the already broken pods, Fenris stomped on the floor. It prodded the console's screen, nearly cracking it. When that failed, it crouched to rip the service panel off. It fiddled with the circuits and boards until a yellow light flashed around the walls.

It grumbled all the while, sparks flying up between the layers of its armor. Its jaws snapped. Body curled into itself.

Yellow turned white.

Critical failure. The console repeated.

The crimson lights upon the creature's armor turned on and off in rapid succession. When they were on, they rolled upwards with sharp breaths. The sparks under the armor began etching bolts of lightning like spider webs up its arm. Smoke plumed from the tiny gaps.

Activating emergency release of all stasis pods. The console said. Operational pods prioritized. Stimulating Watchers and officers.

The tower slid down to the priority row. Fenris watched with a grumble, holding onto the electricity until the tower stopped. The creature yanked its hand out of the