Carnival Souls

Soulbound (part 3)

Lira's chest heaved, the violin and bow, one in each hand, rising and falling in time with her shoulders. She looked around, in fear, in wonder, in astonishment. Everything had stopped.

Airborne spirits had frozen midflight, with wings, both feathered and not, splayed against the purple-hued sky; while those on the ground had paused mid-strike with claws or teeth extended, glistening in the flashes of light that still appeared in the air, or mid-scream with furious and terrified expressions carved into their motionless faces. It was eerily silent.

She took a tentative step forward, then another, and finally stepped off the carousel onto the ground. The barrier was gone. Warm, sticky dirt clung to her bare feet, but she continued moving forward, slowly.

To the side of the carousel, Owen and his mount were paralyzed in their charge back towards Lira's original location. The kelpie's mane fanned out behind it, brushing up against Owen's lowered face, all four hooves clearing the ground. Owen himself was half-standing in the saddle, crouched behind the horse's head. Determination furrowed his brow, his mouth set in a taut grimace. Lira picked her way towards them, coming to a stop by the kelpie's hindquarters. Sweat lathered the beast's hide and she could see similar perspiration shining on Owen's forehead as she rounded the kelpie and came up to its shoulder. Looking up at Owen, she almost screamed when his eyes suddenly moved and locked on her face. Nothing else moved, just his eyes.

Confusion and fear stared back at her and she took a deep breath and laid a gentle hand on his bent knee. "It's okay," she whispered. She took her hand away and gave him a soft smile.

Above and behind Owen and the kelpie, Atlas and the fury were paused in their pursuit. The fury was little more than a shadow against the dark sky, Atlas a speck on its back, though its face caught enough light from the carousel for Lira to see its wild expression. The bird woman's face was truly terrifying with its red eyes rolling as it tried to fight Lira's binding spell and its cruel, twisted beak open to reveal a slick, forked tongue. Auburn hair, tangled in the rush from its descent, flew back from its head except where stray pieces slashed across its face.

Lira wished it was closer to the ground so she could cut it down, but it was too far out of reach for her to even throw anything at it. She moved on with the small comfort that, at least for now, Owen was safe.

Walking through the carnival was like walking through some kind of macabre museum. All around her were scenes of carnage wrought in marble made flesh. Lira circled dueling pairs, their weapons poised and hands beckoning as though inviting the other to join in a dance. She walked by fleeing assailants, blood or some kind of other substance still dripping down their shoulders, faces, or legs. She made herself stop by fallen spirits, both friend and foe, and look down upon them, committing their final resting to memory. By Fauna, she knelt and bowed her head, taking her time to pick up the spirit's scattered and trampled vines and wrap them around her body. She closed the spirit's eyes and got back to her feet, dusting off her knees.

The realization that she hadn't spotted Zabaria or Bebinn amongst the combatants suddenly crashed over Lira and she whirled on her heel, eyes searching the crowd again. There was no way she could have missed them among the frozen spirits, and she did not believe that whatever magic she had mustered with the violin was powerful enough to stop the two sorceresses. They existed outside the mundane, if one could call the Spirit World mundane.

But as Lira made her way around the far edge of the battle, she did not see either of them.

Strange, Lira thought. Where could they have gone? She paused by a partially collapsed tent that was smoking half-heartedly, as though it lacked the energy to catch fire. Two legs poked out from beneath the canvas ending in scuffed work boots. A lump began to solidify in Lira's throat; she recognized those boots.