The Promise of the Trees - Sword, Ring, and Crown Book 3 (Complete - Editing)

Chapter Six - Luis

Joseph left me to my thoughts once the banshee had dispersed. He was never known to trade comfort, whether it be for himself or others.

As a boy, I yearned for his comfort.

Now that I was a man, I would be disgusted, I suppose, if Joseph tried to comfort me.

My memories were disjointed from my childhood, as nightmare childhoods often are. I knew he'd raised me. But my first solid memory was at seven when I was sent to kill Madeline.

I'd only had one job, as the cliche went, but the moment I looked at her, my soul was gone. I bit her then. I told her while I was imprisoned in Luke's mansion that it was to save her, but in truth, I couldn't help it. In my childish mind, I equated my desire to have her as my own hunger and thought I wanted to eat her.

She'd been put on my back, and the desire to eat her had turned into the desire to run away with her. She'd screamed as I took off at high speed. Although I was just a colt, I was blindingly fast. The forest had turned into a blur of green and brown, and for a moment I thought I could get away with it. I had her fast to me, and nothing could stop me from keeping her.

It was a terrible mistake that I made.

I was collapsing from the debt.

What happened before was a wash of fractured nightmares that spanned a thousand years, but Madeline brought it screaming into focus. I remembered.

I mourned.

When I sensed movement in front of me, I looked up. The banshee, Agony, sat down in front of me, a few feet away, and held out a mug of something steaming. 

I nodded at her to explain herself for approaching me. She looked down at the ground, shy again, and my curiosity grew.

"My Lord, you haven't eaten or drank anything warm, and it is quite cold in this field." She lifted the mug higher but wouldn't look at me. I felt the corners of my mouth lift in amusement. I'd never seen someone this shy.

Still smiling, I nodded at her and held out my hand to receive it. She inched forward and gave me the mug, caught my expression, then skittered back, looking astonished. Both my brows raised at her retreat. Was she afraid? The idea of her fearing me raised a sense of disappointment, and I wanted to put her at ease, not understanding why I cared.

Agony twisted her fingers, seeming to be struggling with something that she wanted to tell me. Finally, I grew impatient and spoke up. "What is it, Agony?"

"The Banshee can see visions of when a person dies, Lord Luis, and I can see yours both in the past and the future." She looked spooked at this realization. "Lord Luis, you are like the Banshee, and that brings us much confusion. But you will die soon at the hands of someone you love."

I gave her a wry smile. "But, Agony, it's as you said. I am not alive. I have neither soul nor heart."

She stared at me with both horror and sympathy. "Just so, My Lord. Just so. But once upon a time, you were a Tree before you became a dark fae. I saw your death, My Lord. How did you become a mere mortal being when you were once a god?"

I chuckled at the knowledge that if she knew my secret,  then all the banshee did. If it got out, Joseph would kill them all. I knew full well what I was and when I died. But, Madeline stole my second death from me and anchored me to herself. The Banshee couldn't help what they were, no more than I could help my fate.

Instead of explaining the how, I warned her. "Don't speak of it, Agony. He'll kill you. All of you."

She clapped her hand over her mouth and nodded. The realization that she likely signed the extinction of her species the moment she'd told me washed over her and brought tears to her eyes.