Random stories

# Soulmage

**The Child squelched towards the front door, smelling strange new souls on the other side.** Thoughts oozed together in the Child's mind. The last time they'd met a new soul had been when they'd found Papa, and he'd been friendly enough. And the time before that had been—

*carpets of red moss in a space beyond spaces burning holes between worlds where the hearts of men had been a harfam beyond hatred as their spells and spears snuffed out*

—it wouldn't be like that. The bad things hadn't happened as often, not since Papa had taken the Child in.

The Child opened the door with a hand like melting wax, ready to greet their new friends.

Instantly, the group of six soldiers lurched back, hands instinctively going for shortswords or spells. The Child reared back in shock, the air around them shimmering like desert air under midday, the tension so thick you could cut it with a blade—

Or a single word.

"Stop!" The Child froze as Papa came sprinting down the hill from the outhouse, his trousers still unzipped. "Fuck! Fuck, I told you all not to visit me here!"

"That's why we waited until you were in the loo, old man," the leader of the six cautiously said. Her soul was crusted over with drying blood; the Child instinctively named her Bloody Soul. "You took one of those *things* back home with you? Are you insane?"

"It's the mind-manipulation," another one of the six snarled. "Arik's gone under."

"No, no I haven't—and would you *put away those spears?*" Papa stormed up to his friends and forced himself between Child and the newcomers, to their ozone-scented shock. "Look, you don't understand. The monsters the Peaks have been spewing out at us? They're *children*."

The soldiers shifted uneasily, glancing at each other. Bloody Soul looked at the Child, then back at Papa. "What do you mean?" she finally asked.

"We don't know what the process is," Papa said, "but something in the Peaks is transforming ordinary, human children into... well, these." Papa gestured at the trail the Child had left when they had slumped down the stairs. "But the children are still in there, somewhere. And Odin thinks we can bring them back."

The soldiers looked at Bloody Soul for leadership as she considered.

"So that's why," Papa pleaded, his voice cracking. "Just... have some empathy, okay?"

Then Bloody Soul shook her head.

"That *thing* killed five of the bravest soldiers I ever knew," Bloody Soul hissed. "You say it's just a child? Then I never want to see what it evolves into when it *grows up*."

Papa's gaze was fearful as the soldiers lifted their weapons—but he wasn't afraid for himself. "Wait. No, please. You don't understand. This isn't like the last time you fought. They're already—"

*reaching out reaching in the red moss grows widening the cracks between here and there and the souls that were here are the souls that are there and they're gone, gone, gone, nothing but red moss red moss red moss left, papa's screaming at me to stop, screaming at me to stop*

The Child snapped back to themself, frowning. Had there... had there been something on the lawn? It was so dirty. Papa wouldn't like that.

The Child sniffed the space between planes. Papa was upstairs, muttering something to himself. Crawling upstairs, the Child listened.

"...already grown up..."

It seemed like Papa didn't want to play right now. That was okay. The Child was patient. They would still be here when Papa was ready to talk.

A.N.

This story is part of Soulmage, a serial written in response to writing prompts! Catch up on the rest of the story [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/bubblewriters/comments/uxmwe4/soulmage_masterpost/?sort=new), or check out r/bubblewriters for more!

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Submitted by meowcats734 on Fri, Oct 21, 2022 to /r/WritingPrompts/

The prompt

You were raised by an old soldier. One day other soldiers arrived to take them away. You, not knowing any better stepped out to confront them. Fearfully the soldiers drew their weapons as they screamed at the old soldier. "You took the monster with you, are you insane?!"