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“The… what?”
On cue, the creature residing in the ice mound begun to claw its way out of one of the holes. Bits of ice broke off and fell to the floor as the monster inside scraped and thrashed, until finally, it emerged.
The Souldirge wasn’t a muscular creature, but it rapidly pulled itself out of the hole and took up a commanding position at the top of the ice rock. It was lithe, and sinewy, with a hard, bony exoskeleton that looked smooth, and shiny—like it was covered in some strange, viscous gel.
Its limbs were long, and gangly, its hands and feet were tipped with razor sharp looking claws, and its elongated head looked more like a skull than a face. It had a hole where its nose should’ve been, short, sharp teeth that protruded out of its upper jaw, and a huge, bony crown with many layers of carapace-like horns that stretched up and over its shoulders.
The creature’s eyes burned with blue fire. It opened its mouth, its lower jaw unhinging and distending to reveal yet more teeth. It snarled at the Fae, whose blood instantly drained from his face.
“Is that… safe?” I asked.
“Are you asking me?” Tallin perked up.
“I don’t know.”
The Souldirge clung to the rock it had crawled out with all four of its clawed limbs. It looked down at the Fae on the ground, and without warning leapt at him but a chain wrapped around its neck suddenly tensed, stopping the creature from pouncing on the Fae outright. The chain was large, and thick, and seemed to keep the monster from moving too far past or around the rock.
The sudden lunge caused the court to gasp with excitement and shock. Lord Bailen raised his hands. “Thrilling, isn’t it?” he asked. “One of Winter’s most dangerous creatures. A product of foul, dark magic, it is said to be as intelligent as it is aggressive. It is untamable, unpredictable, andhungryfor a fresh soul to feast upon.If our contestant is not careful, it will be his soul that satiates the monster’s hunger!”
“That thing eats souls?” my mother asked. “Seems a little dangerous, don’t you think?”
“It’s safe,” my father said.
That poor Fae, however, didn’t share my father’s optimism. He looked panicked, like he had no idea what to give his attention to. He had shown a little confidence upon entering the arena, but that had all drained out of him along with the blood in his face. The spear in his hand may as well have been a toothpick compared to the monster staring at him from atop the rock, panting rapidly, daring the Fae to get close with its hungry eyes.
“There is a gemstone buried in the crown of the Souldirge,” Lord Bailen said, “All our contestant has to do, is retrieve it.”
“I don’t miss this,” my mother said. “I really don’t miss this.”
“I’m telling you now,” I said, “He is going to die. Shouldn’t we stop this?”
“I’ve been told we have healers on hand and tamers standing by... nothing to worry about.”
“I thought Bailen said thisSouldirgecouldn’t be tamed.”
“It can’t,” my father said, “I would know.” He looked over at me with his cold, blue eyes. “I was the one who caught it.”
“You?”
My father turned his attention to the arena again. “If the Fae is smart, he will best the creature and retrieve the gemstone.”
“And if he’s an idiot, like most of them are?”
“He will be horribly mangled.”
My stomach churned. I settled into my seat to watch the Fae, Taegen of Lysa, attempt to negotiate how to get the gemstone from the creature’s boned crown. Every time he got close, the creature would swipe it’s elongated, clawed limbs, drawing gasps and relieved sighs from the crowd with every attack he dodged. It was hard to watch.
The Fae looked like he had trained for every possible trial except this one, which already didn’t bode well for his chances. I watched him scan the Souldirge, poke and prod around the edges of its reach, trying to figure out how to approach it.
As the Fae moved around the rock, so did the monster, hugging it from its peak, its hands and claws digging into the ice as it moved. This creature had no blind spot, no right angle of approach. It was a hunter, deadly, and powerful. Whenever Taegen got too close, the Souldirge would make a high-pitched screech that was so painful to listen to, even the gathered courtiers covered their ears.
Figuring his best bet was to strike out at the creature head on, Taegen readied himself and his spear. He thrust it out at the Souldirge, causing the creature to recoil and snarl. It was biding its time, waiting for its moment. It had the luxury of patience, though; Taegen did not.
“Come on!” someone in the stalls yelled, “Do it, do it, do it!”
This got a chorus of “do it, do it, do it,” going. Instead of worrying the Fae, or putting him off his current trial, the chant seemed to embolden him.
I watched him grip the spear tightly, with both hands, and prepare himself. He seemed to take three deep breaths, and on the last one, he exhaled and made a run at the creature. He leapt onto the Souldirge’s rock. The creature reared, its lower jaw falling again to reveal all of its teeth.
