Heir of Broken Fate: Chapter 16

The next night I’m in the kitchen helping Hazel cook, chopping vegetables as we assess the mermaid’s riddles. This has become our nightly routine since we encountered them last week. I can just imagine the white-haired mermaid’s smug face watching us as we struggle to find the answer to what she perceives as a simple sentence.

I groan. “Why must they be so cunning?”

We’ve deduced that the first riddle is about an animal; the weave leads nowhere when it’s about an item.

“In the mermaid’s defense, we’re eternal beings…We get bored over the years.”

I shrug. “I still think it’s about spiders.”

“It would be too generalized if it was a spider. Spiders live in almost every habitat; they wouldn’t make it that hard.” She adds, “I think it’s a type of bird. There’s seven bird species that ‘weave’ nests.”

I shake my head. “My gut’s telling me spiders.”

Hazel’s boisterous laugh fills the kitchen. “You and your gut.”

“My gut has gotten me very far in life, thank you very much.” I chirp.

Hazel returns to the open fire as I mull over the riddle, the first line repeating in my mind like a song.

When I starve, your soul will scream.

“What if were focusing on the wrong part of the riddle?” I mumble. I stop cutting vegetables, placing the knife down. I turn to Hazel. “Do any creatures eat souls?”

“No creature in this world. The Fae lands use pure, divine magic.” Hazel takes the vegetables I cut and places them into the pan on top of the fire. “We may have morally gray creatures but none that would inflict harm like that.”

I lower my voice as my face twists. “What if it’s not from the Fae lands?”

Hazel stops stirring the food, pausing mid-movement. I start to worry that I’ve overstepped or upset Hazel at the mention of the otherworldly beasts when she spins around.

“I have a book!” she exclaims, rushing to her room.

“Why do you have a demon book?” I call out.

Hazel returns moments later with a worn, brown book. “I wanted to learn everything about the creature that took Luna from me. It…didn’t bring me peace,” she says distractedly, placing the book in front of me. “Look for any creatures that eat souls, gain power from screams, weave, and or starve their prey,” she says, returning to cooking dinner.

I grimace. “I’ll pass on dinner now.”

Opening the book, I read through each graphic detail about demonic creatures, thanking my lucky stars I haven’t eaten since lunch.

“I’ve found it,” I breathe.

Hazel sits up on the couch next to me, dropping the cotton material she had been sewing. “It’s a demon?”

I nod, reading the title over and over as my heart thumps wildly. “It’s called a soul eater,” I whisper.

Hazel begins swearing expletives. “What exactly is it?”

I pick up the book, reading out loud. “‘Soul eater, half-woman, half-spider, lures men into her web. She spends her days weaving, traveling far and wide for her next meal.’” I gulp. “‘Using the top half of her female body, the soul eater lures attractive men into her path of spider webs. The soul eater delights in manipulating her prey, marveling at their torment, then slowly sucking the life out of them. The screams of the dying, bringing her pleasure,’” I finish, closing the book as I’m no longer able to look at the words.

All the color drains from Hazel’s face. “Should we be relieved that the mermaids are sending us on a mission where the demon only enjoys eating men’s souls or should we still be terrified?”

“I think the better question is, are they sending us on a fool’s mission?”

Hazel leaves, returning with two cups of tea, her hands trembling as she passes me mine.

“We can’t go into this with a false sense of security that she only eats the souls of men,” I add, grimacing at the thought of a human-sized spider eating me.

“I agree, it would be stupid to think we’re safe around it.” Hazel shakes her head. “How could anyone possibly trap a gigantic spider?”

“I don’t think we can trap it traditionally.” Opening the demonology book I flip back to the soul eater’s page. “It’s half-spider. We should use its own weaknesses against it.”

Hazel looks dumbfounded. “You know what spiders’ weaknesses are?”

“One summer, the palace was infested with spiders.” I shiver thinking about it. “I absolutely despise the hairy creatures, so I made my room spider-free using everything they hate.”

Hazel giggles. “Of course you did.”

I flail my hands in front of me. “I didn’t want to wake up with one on my face!”

“Okay, spider expert, what do they hate?” she teases.

I lift my chin. “Mock me all you want but I never had a single spider in my room that summer,” I quip. “They hate the smell of citrus fruits, won’t go anywhere near them, and white vinegar kills them.” I add smugly, “This spider might be the size of your cabin, but its legs will still be its weakest point.”

Hazel’s lips tug into a grin. “Impressive.”

“Thank you very much,” I say, taking a mock bow.

Hazel chuckles, her humor dying as she winces. “In all seriousness, I don’t think a few fruits and vinegar will deter this thing.”

“No, it won’t.” A smile plays on my lips. “But they will make it avoid certain areas, and it’ll unknowingly walk right where we want her.”