Soul Between Lives

Xinghai was leading the way through the forest the entire time. None of the other refugee groups had even tried to get ahead of him for fear of stumbling into trouble first. Now, however, he could hear groups of panicked people rushing between the trees around him. One of his people chosen as a liaison with the other groups ran up with the reason why.

"Xinghai," The woman paused to catch her breath, "There's been trouble. The raiders are after us all."

One of Xinghai's escorts grunted and asked, "They found us so soon?" he scuffed his boot on the mist dampened ground, "They must have been tracking us this whole time."

Another escort hmphed before saying, "Or we were sold out. You can't trust most of these people."

Xinghai heard the two but his attention was still on the woman, "Do you know what happened?"

The woman nodded, still breathing heavily, "We need to get everyone moving faster. It's a stampede." The woman said with certainty and Xinghai believed her.

He looked nodded at the two escorts that spoke before. They nodded back and began running back among their group, recruiting others to help them get everyone moving along the way. If they didn't get control of the situation quickly, a lot of people would become lost or killed as everyone ran for their lives.

Xinghai looked back to the woman, "Explain everything you know as we move."

Xinghai led the way at a quicker pace, he didn't run for fear of leaving people behind. In his mind, he realized that other groups running ahead would only benefit him. They were like the sticks pointing in other directions. He would be free to hurry along, safe in the knowledge that his path was the best. Unless some other nearby god had better luck than him.

The woman explained how the slavers had appeared when nearly half of the refugees had entered the forest. They surrounded as many people as they could and fighting broke out. Most of the refugees knew they were outmatched and pushed into the forest. The fighting started fires which spread.

"Many of the monsters that were in hiding started to rampage." she took several breaths as they moved, "It's become a chaotic mess back there."

They could hear distant screams echo and bounce around the twisted trees around them. Many of the refugees running for their lives were stumbling into monster nests or falling into shallow fissures and pits. Xinghai tried to block out the sound of their suffering. He didn't choose his power and he couldn't save everyone. There was no point in feeling guilty now. He'd have time for that later.

When they entered the clearing, they could see creatures and smaller monsters running ahead of them. The ground rumbled from all the hasty footfalls, scaring away the weak and strong beasts alike. Even the strongest monsters would think twice about defending their territory when so many people came crashing through.

Xinghai took stock of the different creatures before him. He saw both predators and their typical prey running for safety. He had a stroke of inspiration when he caught sight of a large deer-like animal and began to follow it. It was slower than most of the lesser beasts around it which meant that it was smart enough to survive long enough to grow as large as it did. He decided to trust the deer's survival instincts and trailed it. He didn't know the forest ahead at all, but the deer would.

...

As the night wore on, the elves trapped inside the city drew as much blood as they could. The wind runners had succeeded in warning the other elders camped outside the city, who then dispersed in different directions leading their respective civilian charges away. The scouts those Elders sent to discover the situation with the others never came back, so they didn't know about Urifir and Falar's plight. Before long, they each followed Leilatha's orders and left.

Qinam had organized the evacuation on his end as well as he could. He devoted only a small number of his men as a rear guard, meant to serve more as an early warning than as a fighting force. The rest of his forces gathered the wounded and shepherded the civilians who in turn carried supplies and other important articles.

He left most of the more sentimental treasures behind. Taking only the most valuable or dangerous and important relics along. He didn't want to leave anything the enemy could use to track them and he understood the importance of having valuables to bargain with. They were leaving their lands and joining the other refugees heading to unheard of places populated by unknown people.

If luck was on their side, they would find a new home. Qinam knew he didn't have the time to finish such a long journey and would have to entrust his body to others before he transitioned into his next stage of life. If caring for and carrying him proved to be too much of a burden, he only asked to be planted somewhere out of the way with ample sunlight.

Until that day came, he would give his all for his remaining people. He closed his eyes and saw his villa, estate and the rest of his lands becoming distant and out of reach. He then saw the civilians earlier that day fleeing the city for their lives. Those that survived had become the refugees around him. Finally, he recalled Leilatha's face, wet from tears spilling from her tired and anguished eyes.

Qinam let himself come back to reality surrounded by the sounds of people grunting and struggling to carry their possessions. Here and there were distraught families finally deciding to throw away the none necessities that were weighing them down. Broken picture frames and furniture littered the side of the road, but hardly anything of significant material value was abandoned. His people were smart.

...

Very late at night in the mortal world of the Goddess Accordia, in the town Alex's short life as a girl had ended in, two off-duty guards were drinking in the still active tavern.

"It's already been a couple of days," the first guard took a swig of his ale, "Are they still trying to figure out what to do with her?"

The second guard swirled his drink and watched the scattered light reflect off the mini vortex. "They've tortured her but she hasn't even said much. Just some crazy story about an old man she claimed was a god." He took a swig of his ale, "She claims he sent her here on a mission. Claims Goddess Accordia needed her help."

The first guard put his drink down on the counter, "A weak woman like that?"

The second guard shook his head and continued, "She also claimed that girl that died, Alex, was the imposter. Said she was supposed to kill her."

"Sounds just like a doppel monster to me." The first guard took another swig.

The second guard nodded, "Yeah, and why would Goddess Accordia need a weakling's help to begin with?"

"The priest said she's not a demon," The second guard said, rapping the counter with his knuckles for emphasis as he continued, "but she may still be an agent of theirs."

The first guard took another swig and stared at the lively fire in the hearth, "That must be why they can't figure out what to do with her."

They sat there in silence, distracted by their own thoughts and taking the occasional swig.

"It's a shame." the second guard mused, "If they were really twins, we could have had one each tonight."

The first guard chuckled, "Just because you smiled at her, doesn't mean Alex liked you." he sighed, "Besides, it's not right talking like that about the dead."

Nearby, another man was listening in on their conversation with a faint grin.