Chapter 601: Shared Purpose
GAHRYE
Gahrye sat on a rock alongside the river as Suhle crouched on the bank scrubbing what appeared to be most of her wardrobe and so items for a large male as well. Most likely Lerrin's.
When Gahrye finally found her there, he'd wanted to ask what had happened that she needed to clean everything—and on a gray day like today. But she already seed tense before he arrived, so he'd decided not to pry.
They spoke of the things they'd scented the day before and how they might discern it more easily, and she seed to relax until, as she spread another shirt over the nearby bushes, he decided to broach the real reason he'd co looking for her.
"I have a question to ask you, Suhle."
She paused in stretching the fabric out over the leaves of the bush to glance at him. "I cannot take further responsibility now," she said quietly.
Gahrye shook his head. "It isn't a task that I want to ask you to do. Not exactly. I think… I think I should tell you more of what I know about what's happening among those Anima who carry that scent, Suhle. I have so responsibilities of my own to fulfill soon and… should sothing happen to , I think it's important for others to know. You're the only other one I've found yet. So, can I please tell you?"
Her face went tight and shuttered. "I am not—"
"It is information only, Suhle. Please. In the event that sothing happens to , you would only need to pass it on to anyone else that might have a similar purpose."
She took a deep breath. "Very well, you may share it with . But please… find others as well, Gahrye."
"I plan to," he said simply. "That is my purpose. Okay, so, I told you that I had caught that scent on one other person before?"
"Yes."
"Well, yesterday when we spoke I was being cautious. I explained to you the evil that inhabits the traverse."
"Yes." She turned back to the basket of dirty clothing and began to sort through, deciding what should be the next item to wash.
"The thing I need you to understand is that those voices… the evil within that place… it is not only an affect. An Anima who listens to them doesn't rely step out of the traverse with their mind twisted. They are… accompanied."
She had just crouched next to the water and plunged another shirt into it, but she froze, listening.
Gahrye swallowed, praying she had both the courage to hear this, and the strength to keep it to herself. "The Anima that listen to the voices and give in to their temptations—or their threats—they leave the traverse with sothing else within them. Infected by it—not just as if they are sick, though they are. But… the man I spoke to described it as hearing them and, at tis, being controlled by them. They had beco a part of him, or at least they had access to whatever it is that makes us human. His behavior changed when he was under the influence of these things—and yet, they could also speak with him, give him information. And at tis… at tis it seed they did not affect him at all. Whether they were rely quiet, or not within him at those tis, I do not know."
She turned to et his eyes, her laundry forgotten. "You speak of a… a supernatural connection, between us and these things?"
Gahrye nodded. "I thought, because they are so deceitful, and so rciless, there was no way to identify those who were under their influence until they were caught in the act of evil. But yesterday has shown —we do have ways to find them. But we also have to have caution. If they learn that we've co to know of their presence—"
"Wait, please. You said they… infect the person that gives in to them?"
"Yes."
"Does that an they can then infect others through that person?"
"I… I believe so. But I can't be certain."
"It must be so," she said, her eyes dropping as she looked within. "It has to be."
"How are you so certain?"
Suhle straightened, the wet shirt in her hand, and turned to stare at him. "The wolves that I saw acting in those ways… that scent upon them… they had not all bee into this traverse. I'm almost certain of it. I'm sure most weren't even aware of its existence."
Gahrye swallowed. Even though he'd suspected that the reason the voices fought so hard to be attached to soone was because they could then be free to hurt others, to have confirmation would be… unsettling. "Is there a way to be certain? Can you discreetly ask anyone who might know?"
She turned, instinctively looking back towards Lerrin, he was sure.
"Would he know?" Gahrye asked.
"I can't be sure… but I can ask."
She turned back and they stared at each other for a long breath. Then Gahrye sighed. "If you could, I would appreciate it. But I suspect we already know the answer."
Suhle nodded, her face tight and concerned. "This is the darkness that infected the wolves," she murmured.
"I don't know… I just know that the person I t who had been attached was frightening and ugly, and I wouldn't want anyone I loved close to him."
"How do we guard against them?" she asked faintly.
Gahrye took a deep breath. "Your blood is a weapon."
Her eyes snapped back to his face. "My… blood?"
Gahrye looked around, scenting the wind to ensure there was no one who had co close enough to overhear them, then he held her gaze again. "If you ever have need to cross the traverse, or know another disford who does, know this: Wash yourself clean of any fresh blood. Then, as you prepare to enter, cut your skin. Your blood will not only open the portal, but close it to anyone who might try to follow you. And it will keep the voices at bay. You will still need to be resolved in yourself—certain of your path, and unwilling to turn from it. But as long as you are, they cannot touch you, or anyone you touch. If you take another through, keep contact with them at all tis. You are a Protector, Suhle. And no one else can know of this unless you are certain they also have the gift."
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