Death's Captive: Will she escape eternal confinement?

CHAPTER 20

All of the lights are out except one in the corner of the room. Niklaus places his hand on my lower back and pushes me gently towards the light. A woman sits beside the bed, holding the hand of a small, frail child. Her head rests on the side of the bed, her eyes are closed and her breathing is slow and rhythmic. From the corner of the room I hear a snort and see a man, presumably the father, is dozing in the corner of the room, his body awkwardly slumped in the hospital visitor chair. I'm surprised to see it's pitch black outside the window – it seems time moves a little differently when I'm in Niklaus's company. I feel Niklaus's hand on my shoulder, and turn to look up at him. He indicates with his eyes towards the sleeping child then moves closer to the bed and he rests a hand on the cool, clammy forehead.

I can't hear any TING, but I can smell a faint muskiness emanating from the child. It's a smell that makes me feel uncomfortable; it makes me want to move away. I scrunch up my nose as it wafts over to me.

"Unpleasant isn't it?" Niklaus says.

"That's coming from the child?"

Niklaus nods.

"Can they smell it too?" I indicate to the man and woman.

Niklaus shakes his head. "People can't smell it, though they can sense it at times." His voice is hushed, even though I'm the only one who can hear him.

Niklaus's hand, as he places it across the child's chest, almost spans the width of the fragile torso. He pulls gently and withdraws the spirit from its vessel, thin blue strands of glowing silk still clinging to the body. The spirit appears cracked, like ancient pottery, looking as though it might crumble at any moment.

"This soul was left to decay in a previous life. Sometimes it's better to detach it, by force if necessary, than to let it linger too long. The damage to this spirit was so severe that it destroyed its new body."

"How can it be mended?" I asked.

"This one can't be. It's too far gone. The best I can do is rip this spirit up so its energy can be absorbed, renewed and redistributed. When this happens, it's a true death, Ava. That man in the coma ward would thank you if he could for releasing his essence so he might try again before he ends up like this." Niklaus gestures to the child in the bed.

I look around the room at the other sleeping children "Are all these children damaged spirits?"

"No, certainly not. Sometimes it's just unlucky genetics. There are more signs to look for than just a physical illness."

"Like that smell?"

Niklaus nods. "Little cracks in a spirit can usually heal in a lifetime, and can even cause a person to flourish creatively or logically. Galileo had little cracks in his soul; he discovered the earth was not flat like once thought and when he presented his findings he was imprisoned. His social prowess was one of his short-comings due to the cracks in his spirit, but his open minded thinking and intelligence was a benefit of it."

"So, it's a double edged blade. Did his soul recover?" I ask.

"Yes, but it took two lifetimes. Do you really want that for your friend?"

I think for a moment before responding.

"It's just not fair... it doesn't feel right killing him like that, but I don't want him to suffer in the next life either."

He listens but doesn't respond to me. He just stands there looking at me while holding the diaphanous life-force loosely in his hands.

"You're sure Albert will never wake up?"