Soul Sisters

Memories were being devoured by the entity within me.

I try to grab my dagger but my coordination wavers.

Have to stop this.

I stumble out of the tree-house and fall face first against the ground.

I think I broke my arm.

A voice screams in my head. “You’re not a girl at all! You tricked me! You’re the boy from earlier!”

Get out of my body or I’ll destroy it!

“Stop! There’s no stopping the process now.”

Then we die together.

I reach into my pouch.

Something bites my hand.

A Weech! His case must have shattered when I fell.

The Weech, sucks out the blood from my hand while looking at me with googily eyes.

Clandestine’s voice grates in my mind like claws. “Stop! Please! We can both be stronger if the merging is successful!”

My skin loses its color and my body starts to lose feeling.

Am I dying?

My golden hair turns white before my eyes.

Though my vision is blurry, I see father above me. His words come out in a muddled mess.

He smashes the Weech with his foot and lifts me over his shoulder.

I awake in the medical ward, bursting with energy.

I leap up from the bed and touch the ceiling. My fingers stick to the roof.

I survived and I’ve claimed the power of the Vops!

My throat felt dry.

I look to one of the others resting in the ward. My eyes shift focus, peering beyond the skin to the flowing liquid inside.

Bags full of delicious nutrients.

I tried to will the blood to come to me through my fingertips but it was no use. Instead I opted for a more practical approach.

With my newfound strength I tore open the sack of meat.

The blood glistened and let out an incredible aroma.

I slurped it up in a passionate frenzy.

Intoxicating!

I wiggle with delight and nearly reach orgasm from the pleasurable taste.

One of the other meat bags gets up and runs for the door.

With speed not my own, I zoom by.

A limb falls off, spraying more cherry juice for me to enjoy.

The screams become a melody in my head.

The doors open and a bright flame floats in the darkness.

“Prince, what’s happened to you? What have you done to Yumeria!”

Yumeria…that name sounds familiar.

The meat bag holds the flame out at me. “Stay back!”

This human…must be my father. Yes. That’s it. Then the one who’s limb I severed is Mother?

I lap the blood off my hands. Each drop puts my mind at ease.

He used to look so strong, but I could smash him in an instant now. I’m beyond him. I don’t need him anymore.

I step toward my father.

“Prince, I’m warning you!”

If you’re going to stand in my way, then you’ll die. I’ve evolved beyond your understanding.

“Daddy, what happened to big brother?” asks a little girl.

My sister. I used to protect her, but why? She’s just another sack of blood.

Father throws the torch at me.

My body steps back reflexively.

He runs off with my sister.

Are they still my family?

I leave the medical ward in a daze.

My eyes peer through the wooden layers of the homes and reveal the bags of blood within.

I slice through the walls and claim my meal with my sharpened fingernails.

Each gulp brings me peace of mind.

All beings are connected. Family is an illusion. Responsibility is just a crux.

I feast on the villagers I once protected.

When I leave the home, I’m confronted with a whole gang of blood bags.

“Prince, you’re not yourself. Surrender now or we Heroes will strike you down.”

I zoom by and examine the severed head of a Hero.

The soul is eternal. Life is fleeting. Everything is so clear to me now.

The Heroes rush at me with all manner of weapons, but they seem so sluggish.

I grab a slab of metal that is aimed at my chest.

This feels familiar too.

I swing the metal around effortlessly. Limbs fly every which way.

My talents are more focused now. I’m truly beyond them in every way. If they can’t protect the village, then they have no dharma. Their lives are meaningless.

As I slaughter the nothings, one of them flees.

I pull him towards me with my will, thirsting for the soma that brings deeper awareness.

I imbibe until I lose my sense of self entirely.

I awake from my meditation in an empty village.

This isn’t my village. Where am I?

“Finally enselved, are you?” asks a voice in my head.

Clandestine, is that you?

“Turn around,” says the voice.

Behind me is a Vop woman with short red hair and sharp teeth. She is using wings of blood to stay above me. “Must have recently finished a House Warming. What’s your name, girl?”

That’s right. I’m still wearing my sister’s dress. That’s peculiar. I remember it being white.

The Vop lands and approaches. “Your name.”

“Yandaria.”

“Well, Yandaria. You best be careful. The fourth princess went missing around here a week ago.”

“What cycle are you on?”

“I uhh…lost count.”

Should I try to kill her. Her guard is down now.

“It’s normal to be a little hazy after a House Warming. You shouldn’t worry. I’m Dina, eighth cycle.” The Vop opens her vest to show her scars. “My core was a Shocku. That’s how I got these lovely teeth.” She grins.

“My mind is still hazy. The scars are cycles?” I ask.

“When a Vop has a House Warming, their body gets a single scar. Each subsequent Warming garners another scar. You’ll remember the intricacies of it once your head clears up. What family do you belong to?”

The chance of me guessing a family name are near impossible.

“I don’t have a family. I think.”

Her eyes widen. “My word. Your host wasn’t a virgin, was she? This is why the Highest Echelon breed their hosts in captivity. You poor dear, you have amnesia. Come along with me. It will be morning soon and we don’t want that dreadful bulb blinding us.”

I don’t get it. What does she want from me?

“Why are you helping me?” I ask.

Dina smiles. “We Vop are all one big family, connected by the Eternal River. You’ll understand better when you get your memories back. There are ways to recover from an improper House Warming, but we’ll need the help of the Highest Echelon.”

“How many Vops are with you?”

“Just my wife and daughter. It’s no castle, but we live by the lake, so we’re content.” Dina beckons me into the woods. “Now come along.”

So there are social classes among the Vops as well. I’ll learn everything I can and ascend to the top!

Dina brought me to an abandoned village. She led me up a clocktower. Each floor was a different room and each room had colorful walls patterned with depictions of different critters. “Do you like the carpets? I had them custom made for my Bonding with Lidia. The little pink creatures in the pattern are called pigs. In the world of the heroes, humans breed these cuties for their flesh! Barbaric, isn’t it?”

I bet they scream real good when you cut them open!

I raise my nose proudly. “If one is strong enough to claim something, then they have the right to it.”

“Ding ding! I think we just got our first clue about your past. That philosophy is very similar to the one held by the Vandermillion family of the Highest Echelon. They’re very extreme in their views. Hmmm.” Dina skips into the kitchen and blends some red fruits together. “Maybe it’s best you don’t remember. You could start a new life with us!” She offers me the drink. “If you suck on the tube there, the drink is pulled into your mouth! Fun, right?”

I take it and bow.

“Oh my, so polite. No need for any of that here. My home is your home.”

I slurp and moan a little.

Sooo tasty.

“So we Vops don’t need to feast on blood?”

“Oh wow, bringing up the big questions already. There are some Vops who believe that. The Marquis family doesn’t eat or drink anything. They don’t live more than a few decades though, but that’s why they have more Marks than any family.”

“So how does the scarring work? Is it psychological or biological?”

“There’s a whole science about them. Markology! There are plenty of books in my soul sister’s study at the top of the clock tower.”

I take another slurp of my smoothie. “Are there no male Vops?”

Dina takes a monocle from her pocket and puts it over her eye. “’Is one even a Vop if they’re a male?’ That’s from Larandaria of the Vox family. I suppose the ‘x’ is because they’re all dead.”

“Male Vops die?”

How long do I have to live?

“Well the Vox family was among the first race of Vops. They grew tired of their immortality and decided the best way to die was to incarnate in a body incapable of a House Warming. In other words, a male body. Male Vops can’t wield blood like us girls, so there’s no way they can actually transfer their souls from one body to the next. The Vop Philosopher Larandaria was the one exception. She transferred even after incarnating as a male. At least that’s what the books say.”

Then I’ll be the second.

“What do you think of male Vops?”

“I respect the decision of ritualistic suicide, but it’s nothing I’d ever do. My soul sister and I have been together for multiple incarnations. I hope to stay by her side until the sun dies out.”

What kind of life is that? A stagnant life is that of a plant. Where is her ambition?

She leads me up the stairs to final floor.

“This place was actually built by my soul sister, well her ancestral form. She worked with the village. She’s very frugal. Only drinks once a week. I need some blood at least once a day.”

“How do you get the blood?”

“With my fingers of course!” Dina wiggles her fingers and giggles.

A Vop with hair over her eyes and an arched back looks over at us from her sofa in the study room. “Dina, can you stop inviting people without asking me?”

Dina rushes up and gives her soul sister a big hug. “Go on, introduce yourself to our guest.”

The Vop with bags under her eyes looks up from the book she’s reading. “Hey, little girl, I’m Lidia. Did Dina take you from your parents?”

Dina puffs out her cheek. “Don’t say that Lidia. Why are you being so grouchy?”

“I only get grouchy when you bring strangers here. Clandestine could have killed us, ya know.”

“It’s proper etiquette to offer our home to our kin if they’re in the area.”

“So we have to help them when the High Echelon gives us nothing. Real fair.”

Dina looks my way. “Sorry, Yandy. She’s usually very pleasant.” She tickles Lidia.

Lidia blushes and flails around helplessly. “St-Stop. Grrr! I said stop! Not in front of people!”

I look around the room, scanning the bookshelves.

These Vops act like peasants. I’ll learn what I can from them and then move up from there.

Lidia glares at me. “This isn’t an orphanage. You can stay the night, but then you have to go.”

Dina throws her arms down in disapproval. “If you’re going to be difficult, then I guess we won’t be sharing the bed tonight!”

“That’s a low blow. You know I’m always horny, Yang.”

“Come on, Yin. I always wanted a daughter.”

“Ughh. We have a Shadow Pup. Or is Dim not good enough for you?” Lidia sighs. “We can discuss this while the kid washes up.”

Dina’s eyes light up. “Yeah, come on Yandy, I’ll scrub you good!”

Lidia shuts her book and stands up. “Yang, stay here. I’ll take the kid to the lake.”

“Yay! You’re really warming up to her!”

Lidia grabs my hand and takes me down the stairs.

When we reach leave the clocktower, she leads me down to the lake.

“Strip, girl.”

In a situation where your uncertain whether the person before you is friend or foe, reveal as little about yourself as possible. If she finds out I’m a boy, it could cause problems. I need to befriend her so I can use her study. Or kill her. But until I see what she’s capable of, that would be a risky move.

I put my hands to my skirt. “I’m shy…so can you turn around?”

“I’ve only lived as long as I have because I don’t trust anyone. Show me your Marks. I need to know what Echelon you belong to.”

“All Vops are brothers and sisters,” I say with manufactured gentleness.

Lidia rolls her eyes. “You really want to make this difficult?”

Something grabs my legs.

Is that, my shadow?

“Sought out a Shadow Pup for my core House Warming. They can control shadows, but that’s not all. They can read emotions. I know you’re hiding something. Show me those marks or I’ll slice your head off.”

Lidia’s shadow rises off the ground and becomes like a scythe.

Can’t move my legs. I could throw a dagger, but if it misses, I’m dead. My only chance is to surprise her.

I pull down my skirt and panties together.

Lidia stares blankly. Her shadow releases my legs. She grins. “I know your little secret.”

I stand firm. “So what if I am a boy? It doesn’t make me any less dangerous.”

She fires blood from her fingertips out like a bullet. It grazes my cheek.

“Male Vops are a blight on our noble race. You have a decision to make, boy. Leave now or become my obedient pet. If you disobey, I can just turn you over to the Highest Echelon. They have a particular gruesome way of dealing with failed Vops.”

I bite my lip, licking up the blood for just the slightest ounce of clarity.

I’ll bow my head for now. Learn what I can. Then I’ll slaughter her for daring to threaten the Prince!

“I’ll be a good boy,” I say softly.