Dual Proposal.

Mylee clutched the orb close to her chest. It shed light in a five-foot radius around her. The shadows marched on the perimeter, apparently indifferent to their natural opposition. Her comfort zone slowly shrank. It wasn’t by much, and it promptly slowed to a standstill, but it still rattled her. Mylee confirmed her suspicions with little doubt. The darkness was alive. She pulled her legs close, dragging the chains along with them. She sat with her back to the sturdy wooden banister of the manor staircase. 

The shouts of her pursuers finally seemed to die down. It was foolish to think they might have given up, but Mylee still hoped for it. Inwardly, she knew reality probably wouldn’t be so kind. She still had the bloody dagger, a loop of string tying the hilt to her wrist. It was evidence to her frenzied mind that the past events were solid.

Mylee heard another call, but it quickly died out, as if muffled by the thick inky darkness. Again, there was nothing. Just her in the void with a little light. The welcome silence didn’t last long. It was filled by a myriad of whispers. Words and phrases, concise to be recognized as such, but so soft as to be indiscernible.

“Lye. . . What do I do now?” she asked the orb. She knew full well that the orb hadn't been the source of the first mysterious voice. The light sphere had been a rock up until a quarter-hour ago. Still, as her only tangible aid, she clung to it like a lifeline.

After a moment, the only response to her plea came from the shadows beyond the rim of light, “Frightened. . . Lonely. . . Girl.” The squabble of whispers condensed. The voice was wispy but clear as if it were made by a trick of the wind. It wasn’t cold, but it still sent a shiver down her spine.

“What do you desire, little one?”

Mylee refused to answer, futilely hoping silence could hide her.

“You are different from the rest. . .” The voice trailed off as if pondering.

The other disembodied voice, Lye, had said almost the same thing. . . Rationality kicked in, dispelling the thought of being hidden. Hiding from a shadow here would be like hiding from a bear in its stomach. Setting aside fear, her curiosity bubbled to the surface.

“What do you mean different?”

“Strange little one. Different and strange.”

The voice coalesced, becoming more firm.

“What do you desire?” it repeated.

The wisps of darkness still swirled around her bubble of light, but they didn’t advance. 

“I- I want my family. They were taken.”

“Taken by whom?”

“Mercian men. Slavers. A man with a scar on his face.”

“Only mortals?”

“. . . yes.”

A discord of whispers fluttered through the darkness, before again coalescing into one.

“We can help you.”

This was the second time today she’d heard the same promise. Lye - she had called herself - had helped her escape from the cart. Her freedom had lasted all of an hour before landing her here, trapped again in the belly of a beast. There was no way to tell if the slavers still waited outside. Looking at the bloody knife though, Mylee doubted they’d up and leave after watching her run inside. 

“Would you help me?” Mylee asked.

“For a price. . .”

Mylee gulped. She was seriously getting deja vu, but the same lines coming from the heart of darkness had an entirely different effect on her psyche.

“The price. what is it?” 

She asked the question less to learn about the cost, and more to keep the shadows talking. If they were talking, they weren’t doing anything else. Hopefully.

“Merely share your vessel little one.”

“I don’t have a boat. . . There’s no river nearby. . .”

“We cannot leave this manner, but within you, some may. . .”

“In me? You mean, Inside me?”

The thought of the inky darkness inhabiting her body churned her stomach to no end.

“You would be granted power. The strength to rid your obstacles, to take back your family, even from Momer.”

“Momer?”

“Mortals call him death.” The voice trailed off to silence.

Part of Mylee urged her to keep talking, to keep it- them talking, but a modicum of her being considered the offer. Even death. . .

Just then, the sound of crinkling parchment crackled into her mind. 

“Testing testing 123. You there MeBee?”

“Lye!?”

“Yeah, I’m back. The paladin took a little longer than expected, But I managed it.”

Mylee wasn’t sure what to say. Lye’s tone hadn't changed in the slightest. It was like two farmers jovially betting on whether it would rain.

“An OmniWraith speaks to you.” The shadows whispered.

“What’s an OmniWraith?” She asked the shadows, genuinely curious.

Before she could get an answer, Lye responded. “Where did you hear that?” For the first time, the cheery voice sounded daunted.

“The shadow- ma- men. . . people told me.”

“You can talk to the shadow house?”

“It started talking to m-”

“Brilliant! That's got to be a hidden ability. I totally hit the jackpot!”

“Is that unusual?”

“Ye-” the shadow started to respond but was promptly interrupted by Lye.

“I’m pretty dang sure. It's labeled the certain death house for a reason. If it’s talking, that’s gotta mean something.”

“Was-. . . Death house!? Why did you send me here?”

Mylee would have liked to glare at the irresponsible Omni-thing instead of the orb. 

Lye went on in a matter-of-fact style explanation.

“There’s a lot of loot. There ought to be some good starting gear on at least one of these corpses.” She spoke as if Mylee could see the room and not just the infinite black void.

Mylee thought about the lumps she'd stumbled over in the entryway. She’d passed them while running for her life and had had little time to think of much else beyond hiding. Corpses. . .

As if to fill the silence, Lye asked “Have you not gotten anything yet?”

“No, I Haven’t.”

“We could give you what she speaks of” The shadows whispered. 

Lye continued without skipping a beat. “Well, then you’d better get a move on. I’m on a bit of a timetable here.”

Mylee shook her head. The disembodied voices were giving her a headache. Too many questions, and not enough answers.

“Hold on. You said there was a price. What is it? Why did you help me? Why do I need loot? What even ar- What’s an Omni-Wraith?”

“Heck if I know entirely what I am, I’ve only been here a couple of days.”

“What do you want from me?”

“Your vessel” the shadows answered. Mylee ignored them.

“Oh wait. . . Did I forget to mention the deal?”

“Yeah! You just said there was a price.”

“Oh, well, I can give you power and wealth and what-not. Your deepest desire and all that Jazz. . .”

Mylee waited for him to continue.

“It’s just a minor thing. . . All I need is your soul.”

“My soul?”

“I’ll really just be borrowing it, you’ll barely even notice it’s gone."

Mylee bit her lip, Unsure of exactly what she was hearing.

The shadows whispered, a faint breeze, almost tugging at her ear “This deal is unwise”

“The shadows only asked for my body.”

“It- they made you an offer?”

“Sort of.”

Lye snorted. “Do you really think a bunch of death shadows have your best interests in mind?”

To Mylee, it sounded like the moon calling the stars dim. Despite the massive dissonance in first impressions, she found them almost equally trustworthy.

“They didn’t ask for my soul. . .”

“Do you even know what a soul is?”

“I have a vague idea.”

“Hrmm. . .” Lye trailed off. “I can settle for half your soul, but that’s as low as I’m willing to go.”

Mylee stared at the orb dumbfounded. She’s actually bargaining for my soul. . .

Before she could respond, Lye butt in again “Hold on, I gotta take care of something. Think it over, and grab some loot. I’ll be back in just a minute. . . Don't go outside yet. They’re still waiting out there”

The voice in her head faded to nothingness, leaving Mylee alone in the darkness. Alone with the shadows.

“It is still unwise.” The darkness said, no longer whispering.

“I get that.”

“Our proposal is fair. . .”

“Says the shadow in the house of certain death.”

“False. You are not dead.”

Mylee sighed. “Can you tell me what exactly a soul is?”

The shadows were undoubtedly. . . probably evil? They seemed knowledgeable though. At the very least, they hadn’t tried to keep her in the dark. . . sort of.

“It is the embodiment of your entire will. Your very being. The only certainty after the expiration of your mortal husk. . . To entrust it to another is to become a slave. Every fiber of your existence will obey the holder should she impart a command.”

“. . . What about half my soul?”

“The outcome would be uncertain. . .”

Mylee buried her face in her palms and groaned. Her choices were limited and almost equally terrible. The slavers were outside. Without help, what could she do? Lye had gotten her away from the caravan but sent her immediately to the shadow death house. Lye, The OmniWraith, Whatever she was, wanted her soul. The certain death shadows only wanted to. . . Inhabit her body? More bizarre than anything else, she found herself trusting them more than Lye. How did my life come to this?

“We. . .” The shadows trailed, as if unsure. “What will you decide?”

“I don’t know.”

“You must choose one to prolong a fruitful existence.”

“Yeah. . .”

“. . . If you do follow the OmniWraith. . . Take us as well.”

“Why should I?”

“We wish to leave this manor.”

“And?”

“We. . . can hide your soul.”

As odd as it was, the wispy, indistinct voice sounded sincere.

Mylee puzzled for a moment. They weren't mutually exclusive. At a glance, she'd prefer the mysterious voice to tangible darkness, but her Soul sounded like a high price to pay. She sighed, part of her already regretting the decision she was about to make.

Why not? . . . I’ll need all the help I can get. . .

She took a deep breath and stood to face the void upright.

“Deal.”