The Court of Souls?

“The multiverse (or meta-universe) is the hypothetical set of finite and infinite possible universes, including the universe in which we live. Together, these universes comprise everything that exists: the entirety of space, time, matter, energy, and the physical laws and constants that describe them.

The various universes within the multiverse are called "parallel universes", "other universes" or "alternate universes."”

- The Journey to the Afterlife

***Dedessia, the Sea of Souls, Nurien***

***Shade***

“The reason for undermining your authority is simple. I don't think that you had all the necessary information to make such a decision. I don't think that we can trust Moonray and if we had fused Carissimi with Draconis, it would have surely been our end. At least I don't think that you would have kept your authority for long, Grandma. Your supporters would have slowly dwindled away,” Elona answers straightforwardly.

Chloe furrows her forehead. “What makes you say that? Moonray is a member of the family.”

Elona shakes her head. “The more I hear about Moonray, the more suspicious I get about him. Especially after hearing Tisha's side of the story. It doesn't make her an innocent victim, but the chain of events always lets Moonray come out on top and I don't like that one bit. I found him shady when I first met him and I still think of him as a politician. He may show us his friendly side while he has to confront us, but he is actually holding a knife behind his back. Shade, would you please give us Tisha's point of view?”

I nod and start with the important part, cutting short the stuff which must be known to everyone. “...and so I would be careful around Moonray. First he visits Semper Fidelis and causes a fight between Tisha and Ishaan. Shortly afterwards the clan is attacked and destroyed.

Second, it is likely that he has some kind of connection to the slavers. How else did he get Tisha's message? I have to ask my mother about that one.

“Then your clan gets attacked and if I understood Elona correctly, your clan and Draconis are friendly enough to let each other come and leave as they please. A perfect opportunity to plant homing signatures to aim portals. Then your clan is attacked and weakened, and Moonray is ready to take you in. Of course all of that could have happened by chance, but I still want to hear your version of history.”

Doreen shakes her head. “I never heard of the events from Tisha's point of view. The reason why I had a fight with Moonray, is because he told me nothing about his meddling with other women. Especially with Tisha. The only reason I learned about it, is that I searched out Ishaan after Semper Fidelis had fallen. Ishaan explained to me that he had caught Tisha and Moonray betraying us.

“I threw Moonray out of my clan and he left, taking half the clan with him. He never admitted anything, but I believed Ishaan. He had just lost everything and there was no reason for him to lie. I still can't believe it. Moonray may be a calculating son of a bitch, but I can't imagine that he would really do such a thing.”

Chloe also shakes her head. “Dad has a lot of flaws, but I can't believe that he would risk his relatives like that. When Carissimi was assaulted, we could have easily died. Quianna even got abducted!”

Elona rejoins the discussion. “Maybe you are blinded by your past ties to him. I never got to know him very well. All he is to me, is a slimy character who shows up from time to time in order to recruit me for his clan. And we shouldn't forget the incident when we came across Shade and his people. Lirian almost provoked a fight between us and them for no reason at all. I have the feeling that he was instructed to do so. And he belongs to Moonray's staff.”

Elona's father raises a hand. “Regarding the more recent events. So you are saying that Moonray caused the attack on us. Was it to change Doreen's mind about fighting the slavers? We gathered the alliance and he tried to provoke a fight between us and the slavers. For what purpose? Moonray was always the one who preached to put an end to the slavers. But if your suspicions are true, then he worked against his goals by provoking a fight between us and Shade's people.”

Quianna takes over. “He surely didn't know that the slaves already revolted. As I have heard, Shade wasn't exactly forthcoming in your first meeting. But it still doesn't make sense. In this case Moonray's goal must have been to crush or weaken the slavers. If your summary of history is correct, then he destroyed the alliance back then. It doesn't add up. Why did he switch his goal?”

Elona shrugs her shoulders. “Without further information we can't get to the heart of the matter. I never said that the destruction of the alliance or the slavers is his final goal. At this moment in time we lack the information to grasp his goals. I am not even saying that it must really be Moonray. All I am saying is that the chain of events is suspicious. We don't know his motivation. All we know is that Moonray and his clan are somehow linked to the events.”

Doreen tilts her head. “Why are we so sure of that?”

“Because one strange coincidence may be bad luck. Two are suspicious and three mean something,” I answer, but it only earns me a glare from Doreen.

Elona stands up and leans forward. “Please, Grandma, even you must admit that something is going on.”

Doreen grinds her jaw, but at last she leans backwards. “What's done, is done. And I can't say that I feel bad about not having to deal with Moonray.”

Elona grins at me. “See?”

“That doesn't mean that I am happy about having to deal with Tisha,” Doreen hurries to correct herself.

Shawn stands up and walks over to my side of the table. “So you are my daughter's soul partner.”

I force myself to smile and offer him my hand. “Shade, leader of Semper Fidelis.”

He takes my hand and squeezes with enough force to crush my hand.

“You've really found your partner, Sis! So did you remember a little more about yourself being a god? What about your affinities as a deity?” Quianna shoots out a string of questions.

Elona smiles and stands up, placing a hand on her chest. Knowing ones nature is important as a god. It allows us to access much more power and is the difference between being a minor deity or a real god.

“Listen well. I am a goddess of order and stability!” Then she slaps Shawn's hand away from mine, which is a relief since he was trying to crush it and I wasn't sure on how to respond to his attempts.

She jumps into my lap and hugs me. “And this is my husband! God of chaos and change.”

“Husband?” I whisper. Well, we were married in... all lifetimes I remember so far.

Her tail pokes into my side. “Don't you remember your oath? We swore 'Until Death'. Those were the exact words.”

I do remember the oath... and the ritual/accident which bound us. “Aren't you taking the words out of context? We died in between the oath and now.”

“We are alive now, aren't we?” she answers cheerfully. I can't help but cough.

“I knew that you would say that,” I answer. So in other words, she intends to hold me responsible for eternity.

That's when the door is flung open and Tisha hurries inside with Aswang and Manti on her heels. “You are really here! Out there a whole collection of rumours is going on about you and her being a couple!” Tisha points an accusing finger at Elona. “And some say Carissimi ditched the fusion with Draconis to strike a deal with us instead!”

I purse my lips and embrace Elona, pulling her closer. “This might be one of those rare cases in which the rumours are close to the truth.”

Tisha ruffles her hair. “Didn't I warn you about getting involved with succubi and other sex-demons? You were enthralled! I begged you to search for beneficial alliances, but nothing which binds us in such a permanent manner.”

“No. I just found my soul partner,” I answer.

“You have a soul partner?” Manti asks surprised.

Elona waves a hand at them. “Yes, that's me. Nice to meet you again.”

“You missed out on a really interesting discussion about a possible connection between Moonray and the slavers...” And so I continue to fill them in on everything we've talked about. When I am done the three of them stare at me for several seconds.

“I can't believe it. Moonray is an ass, but he wouldn't go that far,” Tisha answers in denial.

Manticore circles her finger at Tisha. “Though you sucker punched him hard enough to knock him out. Are you sure?”

“I don't know. Though right after our first meeting he did ask me if I and my people want to return to his clan. I denied since I didn't want him anywhere near me,” Tisha answers.

So that was the reason why she shook her head so vehemently when she talked to Doreen and Moonray.

Aswang gestures at us in a manner that includes the whole room. “As I see it, there is only one way to find a satisfying conclusion. Since it seems like Draconis wanted to fuse with either of us, we have to leave them out of the loop and fuse with each other. That will provoke yet another reaction from their side and give us a chance to catch the traitor.”

“But who is the traitor? If it is that easy we would already have him or her,” Quianna asks befuddled.

I snort and focus on Doreen. “Primary candidates are people who have access to the inner workings of your clan and strong ties to Draconis. Are there any ex-members of Draconis who changed their allegiance to you? Or members of Draconis who paid regular visits to your clan? I would also look into members of your clan who often visit Draconis.”

Doreen starts grinding her teeth in discomfort. “There are a handful who would fit the criteria.”

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