blogwithvalor

The dry leaves crumpled under Vernon’s feet as he made his way through the woods. He was feeling like himself today. That wasn’t always the case. Vernon had become a soul leecher and the souls he took would often push themselves upon him. He couldn’t always tell when, but if he saw or heard something familiar to a newly acquired soul he would feel something strange. At least it would be a strange feeling to him. A song in a cafe would make him cry or laugh uncontrollably. The scent of someone’s perfume would give him a longing he could not place. However, he knew where these feelings came from. The souls he’d taken.

Taking souls was his job. It was his punishment. Long ago he’d wronged a couple in the woods, Emma and Henry. He’d wronged a lot of people but this incident would change the course of his life. He’d broken into their home to rob their home in the woods and killed Henry. Henry was simply defending his life and his wife. When Vernon turned to Emma, she surprised him. She was a young witch and incapacitated Vernon. When he awoke, he found that she had used the blood of her love to bind him to her. She promised Vernon that for as long as he lived, she would make sure he suffered for his wrong doings.

She forced him to relive the dozens of his worst memories. She had him work until his hands and feet bled doing tedious and useless tasks, like moving rocks up and down mountains. Over the years, her abilities grew and she lengthened both their lives. It was something many might consider a gift, but Vernon knew it was a curse. And to Emma, it was an obligation she had made to her lost love to make his killer suffer.

It had been over 100 years since the day he first came upon their home in the woods and Emma had turned to making Vernon explore the surrounding towns to steal souls. Exploring further and further for souls as time passed. The victims were always criminals and she’d forced Vernon to stalk people in the towns for days before finding a soul worth taking; abusive spouses and parents, violent thieves, rapists, and murders. They were all souls Emma wanted Vernon to eat and bring back to her.

Entire lifetimes of violence would play through Vernon’s mind in mere moments when he fed. The lifeless bodies would turn cold and grey in his arms. Emma would use the souls for a myriad of spells, but she never took all of them. She always left a few souls trapped in Vernon. She wanted him to feel the evil spirits in his mind.

Sometimes a soul would be so strong that it overtook Vernon. He would feel like a passenger in his own body, watching the evil spirit take control and try to escape its dark prison to find the afterlife. He would usually come to the forefront of his own mind after the spirit realized there was no escape, and he would be crying in the corner of an alley or holding a knife covered in blood from his wrist. He couldn’t die. Emma made sure she was in control of his end.

As Vernon walked into the woods this day, he could feel himself in control of his senses. He could smell the dirt and trees around him. He lived for these simple moments of clarity. He prolonged this walk through the woods as much as he could. Meandering along the small river, taking many drinks from the cool water. He could see the house between the trees in the distance and knew there lied his next punishment. She never rested. She removed the need from herself long ago. His head began to hang low as he came to the front door. It opened to reveal Emma sitting at her reading chair. Her nose deep in the pages of a old spell book he’d recently found her. He’d found a during his time exploring, but this one intrigued her more than any other.

“Good. You’re back. I think I’ve finally found the spell to end both of our woes.” Emma looked up at him with the same stern expression she’d always given him.

Vernon perked up at the statement. An end to our woes? “What do you mean?”

Emma stood up and started pacing the room. “I’m going to need more souls though. More than you’ve ever held. I’ll have to bolster you mind to handle the extra load. But when it’s done, I will release you from this mortal coil.”

Vernon felt a mix of emotions. He’d hated holding too many souls and more than he’d ever held would surely drive him mad. But if it meant an end to this life of punishment then he would do it.

He stepped forward and held his head as high as he could. Trying to show obedience. “I will do it. What are we going to do?”

Emma stopped pacing, noting Vernon’s eagerness to this endeavor. She smiled wide and said, “We are going to bring Henry back to life.”