A Soul For Chaos (The Soulbearer Trilogy) by Crista McHugh Read Free Book Online Page B

declaration boomed off the walls, echoing long after the words left her mouth. In a softer voice, she added, “Or did we not learn that when Loku opened the portal to the realm of chaos?”
    He stood to join her in the center of the circle. As he drew closer, he could hear her heavy breaths from behind her mask. He was wearing her down, turning the tide against her. He only wished he could see the fear on her face. “One god has proven fallible. That does not mean the rest of them are.”
    He turned to address the other high priests and priestesses. “Brothers and Sisters, we’ve struggled for years on what to do with the problem of Loku’s soul. It’s time we band together and destroy it as we did his body centuries ago.”
    Ivis came up from behind him. “You can’t kill a god, Nelos.”
    He looked past her at the winged priestess of Lireal. She was the guardian of the sacred flowers that could destroy souls. “On the contrary, you can, and we all know how.”
    “And what of the girl?”
    “Just an unfortunate victim who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
    “Precisely.” Ivis circled him, her attention focused on the others. “What Nelos fails to see is the flaw in his plan. Whoever conjured the spell acted irresponsibly without considering the consequences. Arden Soulbearer is an innocent, a girl who, as he said, happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time when Loku was freed from the body of his previous Soulbearer. If whoever tried to her kill had succeeded, he would have gone to the body closest to him. In this case, it would have been the Third Prince of Ranello.”
    A shocked chorus of murmurs rippled through the temple. Even he couldn’t believe the implications of their act. If a member of the Ranellian royal family had the magic of Loku at his command, it could tip the balance of power among the three nations and destroy the fragile peace they maintained. “My lord, did you not know that?”
    “I know and see all, my servant. Do not question me again.”
    His cheeks burned from his god’s reprimand. “I apologize, my lord.”
    Ivis continued to speak to the others. “We need to return to our initial strategy—to contain Loku in the bodies of the right kind of individuals. Ones that will not succumb to his influence. Ones that will control him and keep him from threatening our world again.”
    “Then perhaps we need to appoint a new protector to the Soulbearer and re-establish the old traditions,” Sulia suggested, standing and moving to take her turn at the center of the circle. “Devarius Tel’Brien has let Loku slip away from him too many times. Furthermore, he is not fit to become a Soulbearer because of his crimes.”
    Lireal rose from her chair. “Sir Devarius was never convicted of the crimes he was accused of.”
    “He stood before the Mage’s Council and claimed responsibility for Minius’s death,” Sulia countered.
    Lireal stretched out her wings, making her appear three times the size she was, and closed the space between her and Sulia. “I have seen into his soul, and Minius’s bloodstain is not on it.”
    “Then why would he confess?”
    Ivis wedged herself between them. “Silence, both of you. Arguing will get us nowhere. Let us all return to our seats and discuss this problem with the decorum befitting our gods.”
    “Yes, let’s have blessed order.” The priest of Nelos watched the others return to their chairs, but he remained in the center. “Instead of trying to decide who is fit to contain Loku, might I suggest another possibility?”
    Ivis leaned her chin on her fisted palm. “Which is?”
    Now was his moment to convert the rest of the Tribunal to Nelos’s plan. “Without a body to conduct his powers, Loku is nothing more than a weak soul. If we can kill the Soulbearer in a place where no one is around to house his soul, then Loku ceases to be a problem.”
    “What you speak of is impossible.”
    “On the contrary, Ivis, it