Chapter 27

  "You failed, you know?"

  "I didn't…"

  "They're all dead…"

  "They're not!"

  "The corpses of you're family and friends already fertilize the dirt!"

  "Stop—talking!"

  "It was all your fault, too!"

  "Shut up!"

  "If only you'd been smarter! Had taken the time to think things through…"

  "You're-not-real!"

  "Then how am I speaking, hm? Besides, I'm only telling you the truth! So many dead and dying left in the wake of you're leadership… Poor Faira, torn apart limb from limb… Young Turron beheaded. Korvil trapped beneath the surface, entombed while still alive, dozens of you're men and women with him…

  "Quiet!"

  "They won't last long, you know. I've seen it plenty of times before! So amusing, really… First, the arguing will commence… Bickering, blaming and infighting, all the usual suspects… They'll be at each other's throats before the hunger truly sets it… But, once it does—hmhmhm… well, needless to say, even if you do find them, there might not be much left but bones!"

  "You can't fool me! They escaped the tunnels!"

  "Did they?"

  "You're nothing but a whisper in my mind! The corruption trying to break me! You know nothing more than what's in my own head, and if I could move, I'd prove you wrong myself rather than needing to listen to you're worthless drivel!"

  “Eh… maybe… But then again, I rather suspect there's a deal less certainty in you're heart than you let on!"

  "Then let me move my body! Let me prove the impotent value of your lies!"

  "You think I'm the one keeping you in bed?"

  "Who else…"

  "Your mother, maybe? Or what about that wizard? He seems like a rather suspicious fellow…"

  "Why would my mother be keeping me catatonic…"

  "Why, the corruption, of course! I've already overheard them talking about it! They wish to study you! Dissect and experiment! You did cause this whole disaster, after all. It's no surprise they should want to reap at least some form of reparation from you're tactless actions."

  "If you overheard them talking about that, then why haven't I heard the same?"

  "You just weren't focused at the time! Honestly, you shouldn't feel bad about it; a little absentmindedness is perfectly common following personal trauma!"

  "And my mother? I thought you said she was dead?"

  "Semantics! Obviously I'm not counting the dead themselves! It was more a generalizing statement of fact!"

  "I've no idea what you are, but you're terrible at this…"

  "Am I? Hmph… I don't know; I feel like we've made quite a lot of progress together! We've gone from you ignoring me to screaming at me to pleading for me to stop… And now, we're having delightful little conversations with one another! Almost as if we are already friends…"

  The voice allowed for a pause. Bianca's thoughts waiting, as though with bated breath as she nervously anticipated the silken whispers that emanated from the depths of her mind… Terrified, desperate, willing nothing more than for the terrible and ceaselessly amused thing in her head to finally disappear! Wishing it was all just a nightmare that she'd soon wake from! That it had all been but a figment of her imagination…

  Still, the voice came again, this time arriving with tinkling laughter, the madness within its deranged delight bleeding through with every syllable…

  "Hmhmhmhm! You know, it hasn't even been a full day yet! Hardly more than twelve hours… I wonder what you're psyche might look like in another ten… or twenty, for that matter! My bet is that your consciousness will resemble pulpy soup!"

  "What do you want with me?"

  “Oh, I don't know… pffft… hmm, what might be fun… Oh! How about you summon your spear and plant it in that other woman's chest over there? Really grind it in! Avoid anything vital, obviously! There's no sport in it all unless she's writhing in misery and asking herself why you'd ever do such a thing…"

  "You're cracked!"

  "Probably! But why not give it a go all the same? I'll even give you a reward if you let me watch the light in her eyes twinkle out of existence!"

  Internally sighing, Bianca simply allowed her mind to drift again… Falling out of focus from the—conversation she was having, if for no greater reason than the earnest hope it might end…

  "Oh, don't pout! What are you, a four-year-old girl?"

  "I'm done listening to you… go bother someone else now…"

  "Sorry, but that's not how this works… I can't just walk off; I'm in you! Part of you now! Inseparable!"

  "You're not…"

  "I thought you weren't talking to me anymore?"

  "Now, who is the child?"

  "Don't be so testy! I'm only trying to help!"

  "Bullshit!" Bianca screeched, her temper flaring! The twitching muscles around her right eye the only physical indication she was screaming in her own head!

  "Bia…"

  "Don't you dare!"

  "Ooooo! So feisty! I dare say I detected a hint of a threat in there! But do pray to tell, what—exactly it is you plan to do to me? Hm! I mean, you can't even lift your own arms!"

  "And whose fault is that?"

  "Not mine, if that's what your tone is insinuating! Like I said, I only wish to help!"

  "Then why keep lying to me? Why keep bothering me? Just let me die!"

  "Don't be so melodramatic, darling! Even if I wasn't with you, you'd be far from death's door. You might not be able to move, but I assure you, you'll be kept alive in this state to the very end of your natural life! I'll make sure of it!"

  "Why…"

  "...Boredom really…" The voice answered, its tone taking on an almost exasperated air… "I've been locked in the nothingness for so long that even this small deviation from inexistence is positively thrilling! And I would absolutely keep you as my little incontinent pet if it means I get to spend a few decades out here where it's warm!"

  "So you are keeping me from moving…" Bianca whispered, feeling both horrified and so terribly small…

  "I'm not—keeping you from moving, so much as simply not helping the process along… Your cute little soul was all shredded to pieces by the plucky creature trying to nestle in and claim your body… But when I saw my opportunity, I took it! Evicting the previous tenant to make room for myself. I've actually got a fairly cozy thing going in here… A little swinger pad, really… nothing much, but as far as accommodations go, I've had far worse!"

  "Then why can't I move? Why am I still stuck like this!"

  "Oh! Well, they do say once you get a taste, it's always so easy to convince yourself to go back for more… That first little bit of information was free, my dear. Now, you'll need to pay for that sort of privileged wisdom."

  "Fuck off and just tell me…"

  "No! No, no, no… That's not how bargaining works! Where's your sense of mercantile spirit?"

  Bianca was silent for several long minutes… considering the overly enthusiastic and sibilant voice… Unsure how to proceed. Should she—stop engaging with it? Frustratingly, she already knew how that would end up… With her screaming at it to be quiet again…

  The voice hadn't been content to leave her in peace, and there was no reason she could see that it wouldn't return to its prior antics. No, the only reason it seemed even moderately subdued was because Bianca had begun actually talking with it.

  She had no idea what it was, but neither was it a stretch of the imagination to discern exactly where its supposed prison had been. Something from the abyss was making its home inside of her… And worse, Bianca felt it might just be possibly insane…

  She wasn't sure how if there was a way out of this for her… But she knew that there certainly wasn't a hope of ridding herself of this haunting without the use of her body! The thing was, Bianca had already been given a snippet towards the reason behind her paralysis.

  Soul damage…

  She'd been corrupted by the void, or that was to say, something from the void. Then that entity had itself been destroyed to make room for something potentially far worse… And yet, the corruption that had been priorly claiming her flesh had vanished… Which could only mean one thing…

  "Hmhm! Oh… you are a smart cookie, aren't you?"

  "You can read my thoughts too?"

  "Little whispers here and there… But you are correct, regardless. Your body is perfectly fine! Yet, you're soul is no longer so pristine and clean!"

  The tormenting cackles that resounded through Bianca's mind were enough for her to wish for mercy, preferably by the end of an edged blade… She'd rather die than allow whatever it was riding on her soul the chance to truly sink its claws into her thoughts! Would rather—

  "No, you wouldn't! Stop being so dishonest to yourself! We both know if you were that stringently dedicated, you'd of ordered your century to capture your aunt's mate. You can't fool me with posturing bravado, darling; I know how badly you want to live! As it happens, it's a trait we share with one another…"

  "Then a bargain, shall we?" Bianca hissed, the sneer on her metaphysical face outright snarling at the formless dark cloud that she was associating with the entity in her mind…

  "Oooo! That's more like it! Bargain away! I might not accept any deals, but since we're already at this stage in our relationship, it won't be long before I get what I want!"

  "Hmph! You can't fool me either creature… If you had the means to take me, you'd of already done it. That means either you simply desire to torture me, or you need me. Claim what you want, but sitting inside a hospital for the next hundred years will get boring once you break my mind."

  "Mmmm… I won't deny that being bedridden is certainly on the low end of the spectrum of interest… But if you think I'm just going to share how you can get rid of me for some meaningless concession, then—"

  "I'll promise not to take my own life if you fix it so I can move again."

  "Denied! What do you think this is, the schoolyard? Try again unless you simply want me to outline my demands!"

  "Just tell me what you want, will you?"

  "Ugh, you're simply no fun… Maybe I should go ask to see if that wizard would invite me to stay with him; at least he would keep things interesting… know how to treat a malignant and hate-filled abomination of a woman right…"

  "By all means, let me move, and I'll go ask him."

  "No, you'd do something aggravating like tell everyone that I'm inside of you… Sorry darling, but until something actually better comes up, you're my vacation home, like it or not."

  "If you're not going to be helpful, I'll just go back to ignoring you."

  "We both know you'd have better luck wiping your ass! But okay, you really want to know what it's going to cost you? Fine. Firstly—"

  "Firstly?"

  "Obviously! You didn't think this was going to be fair, did you?"

  "I don't have to accept anything either!"

  "No… but you're going to anyways. Maybe not today, maybe not a week from now! But just knowing freedom is but a word away, a mere acceptance of my terms… It's going to eat at your mind until it's all you can think about!"

  "And these—terms?"

  "Well, you won't be allowed to share my secrets with anyone or anything. That includes my existence, by the way! After all, nobody else knows I'm up here! Second to that, no trying to get rid of me, with the help of others, or on your own; it doesn't matter which. After that, like you said, no killing yourself!"

  "I won't agree to that!"

  "Fourthly! I want an hour of playtime using your body each and every day!"

  "I already said no, you freak!"

  "Oh, don't be coy, take the deal! It's good, I promise!

  "You want my body!"

  "Only an hour! Come now, it's not so bad! All I want to do is taste a little bit of freedom from time to time! Maybe eat an apple or go for a short swim!"

  "Bugger off, I'll take my chances on my own…"

  "No! Don't be like that! I'm a person like you are! Sure, I was stuck in the abyss for a little while, but it doesn't change who I am!"

  "Bollocks that! A person wouldn't be burrowing in my mind like a parasite!"

  The entity was quiet after that, seemingly frustrated, in its own way, at her fervent rejection of its offer. Heh… all the better for her, as Bianca was finally allowed a semblance of peace for once! She internally sighed with relief… the blessed silence, something which she'd so desired for what had felt like entire months while trapped in her own mind!

  Sadly, without the whispers crawling through her thoughts as they spoke to her, there earnestly wasn't much to focus on… Her eyes were open, but she couldn't control them… Just as her body kept itself breathing, everything seemed more or less working on instinct, with any input from herself going ignored or otherwise simply not making it through.

  She had seen herself respond dully to external stimuli. She'd been fed and watered and—cleaned… All of which she had very much felt... Likewise, her eyes might occasionally twitch to look at someone who was trying to get her attention, but… eventually, her body would simply return to a neutral state.

  The hardest part of it all had thus far been seeing her mother… Listening without being able to respond as the woman had spent the day at her side, speaking at length about everything and anything… Unable to understand that her daughter could hear her… Unable to help beyond the scope she already had…

  When the wizard had arrived but a short hour prior, assuming her sense of time wasn't skewed, Bianca had been almost appreciative. Not for herself, but for her mother… Who, until that point, had been distraught beyond reconciliation… She had no doubt that the woman would be back soon as she was able to get away from whatever obligations were required of her, but for the time being, at least she didn't have to stare at her little girl and wonder if her mind was truly gone… A distraction, if for a while, that she not just deserved but that was undoubtedly needed…

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  The sudden flapping of the tent caused her body to react, eyes drifting to the side to spy a slightly bedraggled soldier who stepped inside, offering the woman who was on watch, seated or otherwise, a small nod.

  "My turn, Zebra, go on out and—hm! Have yourself something to eat!"

  "Are you drunk?"

  "Tipsy is all. Villagers broke out the kegs 'bout twenty minutes or so ago, 'n I figured I'd get me a few good mugs in before I settle for the graveyard! How's the Centurion?"

  "Same as she was three hours ago…" Zebra sighed, rising from her chair and flexing her back, which popped with several quite audible cracks. "Liasa, you want anything to eat or drink?"

  "I'd rather you find me a soldier who hasn't gone and gotten himself sloshed."

  The man, a soldier in Bianca's own company, Bartworth, merely glanced at the older and retired legionnaire with a small scowl. "Ain't drunk!"

  "You outright stumbled through that flap, lad; you'll get a lashing for this dereliction of duty."

  "Oh, come off it! The company's dead anyways… Our centurion had her mind broke, most of us troopers are in the dirt, and apparently, this village is deciding to cede from the imperium! Sounds like discipline's already taken a back seat, no offence."

  "Your superior officer is the supposed new Queen's niece."

  "Eh, Costis ain't going anywhere, are you ma'am?" Bartworth grinned, the man offering Bianca as lazy and sloppy a salute as one could presumably try and make. One that would have had her separating bone from flesh for all its desecration of her command.

  Then, the trooper fell heavily onto the wooden stool, letting out a weary grunt as he did so.

  "I'll see if I can find another." Zebra intoned, earning herself a small nod from the bedridden Liasa, who all but glared at Bartworth, who, in turn, snorted, pulling in a thick loogie before swallowing the thing with a laugh!

  "Yeah! I wouldn't be averse to giving up my post! I think I'm quite done with being a soldier. Might could be a good time to retire."

  "Your twenty-three…"

  "An I fought a fucking nightmare horde while stuck underground!" The trooper shot back, growling with a snarl, "So forgive me if I say I'm done with this bull-shite! Should have never gone into those crypts… should have never gone underground! This was supposed to be our leave time!"

  "After doing what? Training?" Liasa laughed, a healthy grimace of disgust etched on her curling lip, "This was your first real deployment, boy; the whole village knows it."

  "You can say it as an insult all ya like. Doesent change the fact that my officers have defected! Way I see's it, I'm still a loyal legionnaire to me country! It's all of you who have leapt at the chance of treason!"

  "I'll get lady Costis…"

  "I'd appreciate that."

  "What? Can't anyone take a bloody joke anymore?"

  "Well, given you find it so funny, I'm sure you won't mind repeating it in front of someone actually in charge."

  "C'mon Zeby, it was only two drinks! Just let me percolate in my own depression and go have a good time…"

  The woman hesitated for a moment, sharing a glance with Liasa as the older woman sighed… leaning back in her bed and waving a dismayed hand as if to say that Zebra could choose how the rest would play out…

  For her part, the yet sober trooper seemed to just worry at her lip for a few moments, taking in the now pleading look of her fellow legionnaire before she sighed… "I'll see if someone else is willing to take the post… Don't you dare be asleep when I get back, or I won't be able to cover for it."

  "Cross me heart an hope to die!"

  "I'll be back…" Zebra grumbled, pushing through the flaps to leave the triage center behind. The sound of the tent shifting from the displaced air of her wings was little more than a soft rustle in the new silence.

  Bartworth didn't so much as say another word. Simply getting back up, hauling his stool over to a wooden support, then he sat back down, leaning against it and immediately closing his eyes.

  Liasa scoffed but didn't remark further. Clearly no longer caring about the soldier and deciding to leave him to whatever fate might arrive at his doorstep.

  Within what felt like moments, snoring was filling the air. And, doing so in the most infuriating of manners… Bianca earnestly wished she could throw something at the man as her ire continued to simmer like a kettle set to boil…

  "Well…" The whispers in her mind muttered, hissing at the back of her thoughts as Bianca whimpered with despondent dejection… Because, of course, it wasn't going to let her get any sleep…

  "At least make a counter offer… Seriously, I'm open to negotiations, you know."

  Bianca barked, laughing! The corners of her lips curled in her own head as she spat at the entity with open disdain! How many hours had this thing inside of her endeavoured to torture her? To be as great a possible pest as it feasibly could? Braying ceaselessly at her like a hound! And now, now it wanted to play nice? To sit down at the bargaining table like it was civilized? Hoping to just ignore how much it had already put her through? No! She was not willing to play nice!

  "I'll tell you what, I'll take the deal with an addendum! You see, I'm only willing to give you but a single minute of my day. And even then, I do so only then to spite you!"

  "Accepted!"

  "Wha—"

  Bianca didn't have time to finish! A sudden wave of energy washed over her psyche as every single thought process abruptly stuttered to a halt! Her mind skipping a singular beat before she groaned her displeasure… The whiplash of the receding energy left her with a terribly pounding headache!

  One of her hands lifted to rub frustratedly at her face, skin pulling along her dragging and calloused appendage with open dismay… The fact she was moving again didn't openly register until she caught the telltale sound of her own groans ringing out in her ears…

  Bianca blinked, again slightly caught off guard by the unexpected deviation, the sniggers howls in the background of her conscience, evidently finding her stupefaction entirely amusing!

  "See? Didn't I tell you I wasn't so terrible?"

  Bianca wanted to bite back at the voice, wanted to say she hadn't meant her offer to be anything but satirical, but… now that she was moving again…

  "Hahahahaha! Like I said, just a taste is all that's needed!"

  The centurion frowned, pulling in a deep but pleasurable breath before grunting, feeling just how—sore she was… Her movements and noises, of course, weren't to go unnoticed as, stirring herself, Liasa stared at her with wide and surprised eyes.

  But, when Bianca made to say something, mouth opening to reassure the woman—a beat later, it was shut again, forcing itself closed and her to mumble like a fool…

  She frowned at that, trying again, but, the same as before, her lips closed and held themselves shut as though unwilling to follow her commands… The voice in her head laughing with delight!

  "Remember, you agreed not to share my secrets! Naughty, naughty, already trying so hard to spill the beans, as it were!"

  "But, I'm not…" Bianca tried, this time her words actually flowing from her lips without issue…

  Again, she found herself confused, having wanted to do nothing more than reassure Liasa that she was okay, but…

  "Bianca, are you—feeling alright?"

  "Ye-mmmhmm…"

  Again, her blighted lips! And, as before, the whispers chuckled with dark satisfaction, Bianca deciding to simply keep her mouth shut after that with a low growl of annoyance. How was answering the other woman's concerns considered a breach of contract? And more, she'd never agreed to be bound by oath!"

  "It was all implied! And obviously, like I said, none of this needs to be in any way fair… not that I'm about to share the precise restrictions I need to play by! However, what's done is done! There's no going back; this is magic we're talking about, darling!"

  Bianca ground her teeth but nevertheless attempted to rise… She wasn't wearing anything but her skivvies, but it wasn't any great inconvenience…

  "Centurion… I really think you should keep in bed and wait until—"

  "I'm fine!" Bianca snipped, half surprised she actually got that one out and half annoyed that she did so… "It's been an unpleasant day…"

  Liasa simply nodded at the younger woman, not looking terribly sure of herself, but she didn't look to be in any state to argue. Magical healing could really take it out of someone. And though the old legionnaire wasn't expressly wounded anymore, she still had the look of someone utterly fatigued…

  "Who do you like better?"

  Bianca hesitated, her thoughts derailing as the whispers pushed themselves to the forefront of her mind… Hanging there as the posed question lingered like it was all she could think about…

  "What?"

  "I asked who you like better? The man or the woman?"

  She frowned at that, glancing at her father's legionnaire, then at her own, of whom was currently still snoring… not exactly understanding what was being asked of her…

  "Oh, you're right, who really cares? I'll just do eeny meeny…"

  Standing there as the voice in her head began listing off an utterly ridiculous-sounding nursery rhyme, Bianca tried to parse through exactly what was happening… She was almost tempted to ask, but a moment before, the whispers abruptly shouted, "Moe!"

  It all happened in a flash! Bianca's mind dragging along, but a moment later, her entire form started moving of its own accord! All the freedoms only just returned to her violently removed in a burst of action, not her own!

  Bianca's magical spear was in her hand and flying through the air before the woman could even shout her dismay! The weapon launching across the short distance, even as her one voice cackled with maddened delight!

  Her gleaming spear skewered Bartworth through the chest, the pain of it all snapping the man from his slumber, but it was far too late! Bianca's body was already leaping through the air! Following her spear at nearly the same speed, even as the thing exploded through the soldier's chest cavity, blowing a hole through him in a meaty rain of red chucks! Her hand, claws extended, skewering the gasping soldier's face, each one sinking deeply into his skull before, with a sickening wet crack, her hands ripped the man's skull cleanly in two halves! Gore erupting across the tent and her body by equal measure!

  "Ahahahaahaha! God's, this is so much fun!" She cried! Words that were not her own, flowing from her lips as with delighted insanity! "Ugh! You've no idea how much I missed being alive!"

  Bianca was screaming in her own head as she watched, nothing more than an observer, while the thing that had taken control of her body reached out and claimed the souls of her dead soldier! Ripping them from his carcass whilst they still emerged! Darkness immediately seeming to stretch across the deck of souls, shadows consuming them inch by inch…

  They swirled and danced as they dissolved in her fingers, not absorbed, not how Bianca knew they should be, but rather devoured by the cloying tendrils of shade that lapped at them like an eager puppy!

  "Mmhhm! Yeah… A little bit of divinity always hits right in the feel-goods! Oooph, It's been so long! Okay, you can have you're body back, I'm done for now!" The whispers returned, the entity's speech transitioning from her own voice to that of its grotesque purring with all the contentedness of a lazy house cat… "And all in under thirty-seven seconds! Amazing, isn't it? Just how fast a life can be snuffed out?"

  "You're a monster!" Bianca whispered, now finding herself back in control of her limbs, breathing heavily while staring down at her own drenched hands and arms! Limbs shaking with despair!

  "Mmmmmhmm… I've been called worse, of course! But I won't deny it! Hmhm! I wonder if I shouldn't just finish off the other one while we're here, though…"

  Bianca didn't need to hear more! Everyone would be in danger so long as this thing could take her body as it just had! Her family, friends, soldier's! Everyone!

  She moved almost on instinct, not needing to suffer through paralysis of thought. Simply pulling on the power within her own soul and opening a portal to the labyrinth without another thought! Hurling herself through its mesmerizing vortex while the whispers in her mind laughed and laughed without ever pausing!

  She had to get away, had to flee! Not just for her own life but for the sake of all others! Bianca had no idea what kind of creature devoured souls as she'd just witnessed, but it was certainly far, far worse than even she had theorized!

  The creature had played her, and even now, It probably wanted this! It could read her thoughts, knew what she was going to do! Was directing her, not just like a ships captain but, a puppeteer! And the only way she could make sure her loved ones were safe was to bring them as far away as she possibly could from their existence!

  Everything twisted! The world tilted and smudged, almost dragging itself between one scene and the next before, within a single heartbeat, Bianca was back on the first labyrinthian floor! Surrounded by bright colours and nonsense and hapless make-belief critters! The insanity of it all causing her to collapse onto the grass!

  "Don't be so theatrical! You're not running for your life!"

  "You just killed my trooper!"

  "You're still fixated on that?"

  "Fixated?"

  "It is what I said, darling… now stop pouting! You did it! You got me away from your friends and family! They're safe now! You should be celebrating!"

  Bianca's lower jaw simply quivered with outrage as the entity sounded as though it were wickedly delighted with the outcome… Yet, she didn't respond to its goading as her fingers furrowed divots into the earth, and she rose, pancaking the dirt in her palms until it squeezed out from the side… Just a minute… That was all she had given it… And yet, it had just proved how much a single moment within a day could truly accomplish if evil was the objective…

  Bianca's mind was now on full alert, eyes darting around to spy all the different people in the near distance who could find themselves killed by her own hand…

  "I wouldn't do that! Promise! It was a one-time thing! I was starving!"

  Then, Bianca screeched as her spear appeared again! Her body lurching towards a handful of youths only a twenty-second flight away! Her heart thundering in her chest as she tried everything in her power to stop herself! And—faceplanted! Her forward momentum was abruptly stifled by her own feet as she hauled back on her weight, tripping with the abrupt return of control…

  “Hahahahahaahahahahah! Oh! I'm sorry, I just couldn't help myself! Haaa… still another thirty-five seconds, by the way! But okay, I'm done now, I swear!"

  Bianca didn't move… her desire to keep living suddenly fell from the forefront of desire… The warm blanket of despair settling over her heart as she realized what she'd truly given the nightmare in her soul…

  "No killing yourself, remember? That was part of our deal!"

  "I don't care…"

  "Oh well, by all means, break our pact. You'll only be forfeiting your body to me anyways…"

  "I don't believe you. Nothing you say is true. I may as well go hurl myself into the deepest floors and get eaten…"

  "Hm… My dear girl, you wouldn't be able to! You're bound by oath… But okay, I get that I've been a little cruel… So how about this? Another deal—"

  "No!" Bianca whimpered, curling up and into herself as she began sobbing with horror!"

  "Shhhhh! My darling, don't cry like that! There's no need!" The whispers cooed, their voice reaching out to wrap Bianca's cracking psyche in a loving embrace… "What If I were to promise not to take control of your body again to murder those around you, at least for a time? Would that make you feel better?"

  "I don't trust you!"

  "But you need to! I'm all you have now! You can't go back home! Not now, not after what you've done!"

  "You did it!"

  "They don't know that! They're going to think you're a monster! Insane! You can't tell anyone about me! You can't get rid of me! It's too dangerous! No, I'm the only one you can trust! The only one who can help you through this! Bia, please, you don't think I want to be stuck in you, do you? I'm a prisoner, as much as you are to all this! But…” The voice paused, words shifting towards a soft and reassuring cadence. "We can get your body back! Can fix you, together! Let you go back home, let you explain what happened and lay all this horrible blame on me…"

  Bianca swallowed, not wanting to listen, not wanting to hear the nightmare's promises and lies! Yet, it was all she could focus on, each word echoing in her thoughts, stripping them away of anything else save its offer…

  "I need souls… These are certainly strange ones from what I'm used to, but that's okay! No need to be picky… All I need is souls, Bianca… And once I'm strong enough, I can create my own body… I'll make sure to fix you, of course; you are the one who will be helping me… But once we're done, I'll disappear! You'll never have to hear from me again, never need to worry, I'll do as I just did… It's a simple deal, love. Mutual co-operation! You're all I have to rely on, and I—you…"

  "You'll leave me alone? Let me live, leave my family out of it all?"

  "This universe is so large, my dear! Far larger than most even realize… I have my own personal bones to pick with the bitch that trapped me where I was… My feud is with her, not you and your kin… And she—well, she is very, very far away…"

  "I—can't trust you…"

  "And I know I haven't done much to help that! But Bia, you must understand that this is as hard for me as it is for you! Just try to imagine what it was like to be as you were, only instead, without even sight or the wonder of sound to break the boredom… I really am trying to restrain myself! And, we are, in a word, already bonded, are we not?"

  Bianca shivered as the sound of voices grew nearer… the tone's filled with concern and apprehension as she realized they were likely heading her way…

  She groaned, picking herself off the ground, not waiting to see who it was that approached before she simply took to the sky, flying as far away as she could, unwilling to risk proximity to anyone as things currently stood…

  "No more killing people. No more taking my body without permission."

  "I won't agree to either, not permanently. My ability to butcher someone that gets too close is as much for my protection as it was amusing in the moment."

  "Then I'll just sit in the woods, far as I can from civilization. Rid myself of the portal card so you can't escape in your allotted minute. Living out the rest of my days as a hermit to protect those I care after!

  "The most You'll have is my word on this matter. And remember, I could simply lie to you and say it will all be okay. I'm trying very hard to be forthcoming with here! I'm really not a terrible person, just—broken is all… Par for the course, really. I was torn from my own mind and locked in a box…"

  Bianca slowed once she'd gotten far enough that there were no others around… Descending back to the floor so she might rest and seat herself on a hill… The whispers had gone quiet again… though, as to its reason for doing so, she couldn't rightly know…

  The way that the voice just—abruptly shifted from one moment to the next… Maniacle, and a beat later, melancholic… Screaming, then suddenly speaking as though they'd known each other all their lives! It was practically exhausting just trying to keep up! It had been murderous and charming and motherly and downtrodden, all within a span of minutes! And now, rather than commenting on her thoughts as she knew it was privy to them, the entity merely contented itself to silence… almost as though it were moping…

  Bianca couldn't make sense of it… And maybe it wasn't evil, but it was certainly cracked, just as it had said it was!

  Frustratingly, the best thing she could do was exactly as she'd threatened. Go—live in some secluded place where she couldn't harm anything! And yet… Bianca didn't want to be stuck like this her entire life… Maybe if she could kill herself, it wouldn't matter, but she couldn't now! Well, not that she'd tried, but…

  Idly, Bianca summoned her spear and made to direct its edge to her throat, jerking hard as she could unto its point, but the weapon merely flickered out of existence, banished before it could reach her neck…

  Again, the entity was silent, but she didn't need it to speak to know it had been watching…

  Bianca sighed… She had a choice to make. She didn't trust the thing in her head… but could she live as she'd claimed? What if she simply—mmhmm... left as well? Departed to somewhere far enough away, where she'd be no danger? And if the creature was willing to bind itself to her demands, then…

  No! What was she thinking? W-why had she been so close to…

  The woman frowned, shaking her head at the strange haze that had slowly been descending over her… brows furrowing deeply…

  The voice hadn't been speaking… still hadn't been commenting on her thoughts, nor trying to convince her—with words…

  "Oh, that's a bit of a mindfuck, isn't it?"

  "You know…" Bianca murmured, her resolve firming as she determined that her own thoughts might very well be subject to the malicious influence residing within her… "If I head to town, and you kill someone… It won't be my fault if they run us through…"

  Again, the whispers were silent, Bianca beginning to smile to herself. No, it couldn't do as it pleased, not always… Not unless it was doubtless certain it could get away with it! Heck, it had probably wanted Bianca to run away through the portal! Wanted her to escape so nobody ever got the chance to guess at its presence as it waited behind her own eyes…

  This thing was a predator. And it was smart.

  "No more deals." Bianca sneered, already knowing what she had to do. "And if you want to survive, you're going to need to behave yourself."

  "Oh? You think so?"

  "I'm going to discard each and every one of my souls into storage!" Bianca laughed, her plans gaining traction even as she spoke! "You might be able to control me, but I wonder how far that extends? Storage tarots are locked to any save the owner, after all. And you, not me, are you? Even if you are in my soul."

  "I used your spear!"

  "You did." Bianca allowed. "But, taking all those cards from the storage space, then placing them in my deck, then doing what you want to do won't be so easy, will it? And without those cards, I won't be very strong… If you murder someone, even if I might be forced to defend myself, I doubt I'd win…"

  "Mmmhmm… I guess we'll just have to see how your plan plays out, won't we?" The whispers chuckled, even as Bianca began removing each soul, one after another. The pain flowing through her nerves did little more than resolve her decision!

  "We're going on a trip, you and I." Bianca murmured, storing the last of her cards as they flashed from existence... "Far, far away from this place. You best behave creature; we've only got one life to share between us. And I swear, the first chance I get, I pray they manage to gut me. And, send you back to your fucking box."

  There was no reply as the young woman sneered. Knowing she was onto something here. The entity might have gotten the best of her, but Bianca's mind was working again. Tricks could only get one so far... And now, she was onto its games...

  like the first chapter, I've begun uploading one of my stories to Inkitt.