How I edit my own work - Plus a story to read too - 10

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As they travelled, Morgana instructed her daughter, giving her the tools to protect herself.

“Follow him,” she said and pointed down to the earth where Dominic rode in a convoy of merchants and mercenaries.

“Watch him and know him.” Morgana shook her head as Katherine started to protest.

“But, do I not know him? I have lived with him for…”

“No, you knew the man he wanted you to see. You never saw the real evil that resides in his soul. He tricked you into believing he was a beneficent being and he most certainly is not.”

Katherine looked down at the man she married and she concentrated, studying him.

“To defeat him once will be difficult enough, but he has made pacts with powerful and evil spirits who have made promises in exchange for his soul. To barter for such a high value, they must have offered more than we can imagine. The second time you defeat him, he will be forewarned. The final time, he will respond with the desperation that comes from knowing his last chance is at hand, he will fight hard to keep his soul from those demons.”

“He looks different, what has changed?”

“The time we spent in the other realm is not relative to the time that has passed in the world of man. Time has passed quickly here; your treacherous husband has already lived more than two lifetimes. His power is coming to him faster now; he is learning how to use it and how to amplify it. You must find your image soon and ask her to help you defeat him.”

“How must we kill him?”

“By any means at her disposal. You cannot interfere with your chosen one’s task, just as I cannot interfere with your task. I do suggest you choose your image as a Hag for the first attack. She will be less strong and will need any advantage you can supply her with. Better to save your younger images for when he will be expecting attack and will also be stronger.”

Morgana let go of Katherine’s hand and turned to face her daughter. Katherine didn’t realise that she didn’t need her mother to help her travel and that lesson had been learned without her realising she was being taught.

“Know also this. You must find where he has placed your mortal remains and remember it. Visit the place often, for over centuries, the landscape will alter. You will not realise the passage of time and I cannot help you often, my daughter. I can only protect you from a distance, over on the other side – my side - of the veil.”

“I understand.”

“In the void between the worlds, the spirits may try to harm you. You must stay here in the world of man - on this side, the spirits cannot harm you, but they can warn him and your image occurs infrequently. On the other side, that empty world, they may try to harm you, and especially when you have succeeded, his spirit may be given leave for vengeance before it is reincarnated.”

“But is it not in the interest of the spirits to allow him to be defeated and die so they can gain full possession of him and his soul?”

“Oh my darling, you are right in one way, but he will also have assurances that their bargain will be kept. Although the soul of a man is valuable, the soul of a man that can live forever is most valuable. If those demons possess the soul of your husband, they shall have something which is increasing in value as he continues to live.” Morgana pointed to the convoy again.

Katherine looked and concentrated. She found that she could see something different about Dominic – different to the others surrounding him. He had a presence about him, swirling and weaving around him and his aura. She took in a sharp breath and Morgana smiled as she watched her daughter learning things she was not permitted to teach.

“You see them.” It was not a question. “They want that soul and that is why you are in danger, for you threaten it. And whilst an eternity in limbo is not an ideal situation, it is preferable to eternity as slave to demons. He will use his talisman – your hand – to aid him in his quest for immortality and until he achieves that goal, he will be safe from their grasp. They, on the other hand, will try to aid him to realize it as quickly as possible, for the sooner he succeeds, the sooner they may take possession of the immortal soul and use it to open the barrier which prevents them spilling out into the world of man.”

“How will I send him to the demons then, if they protect him until their bargain is kept, my task will be impossible.”

“There is a fine line in agreements between my world and this. Knowing when the spirits have fulfilled a pact and destroying him before he achieves his goal is the reason you must know him better than he knows himself. He will not be satisfied when he should be, like mortal men, he wants just a little bit more. Before he attains that little bit more, but after the spirits have given him everything he needs, that is when he is vulnerable.”

Katherine nodded and watched her husband ride.

“Before I leave you, you must also know that you have an aim to reach too. You must have your image carry out the burial ceremony upon your earthly remains – in their entirety. If you defeat your treacherous husband, but in the process, destroy your hand, you will remain in limbo, in that other world. You will be destined to drift neither in this world nor mine, unable to contact spirit or mortal. A wraith for eternity, and if you still do not realise why you cannot settle for eternal peace, know this, spirits can go insane also - eventually.”

Katherine thought for a few moments and realised what that implied - complete isolation forever.