Chapter 2 (part 1)

What is the Legion of the Lost?

Grim walked me into the hall where people were talking, and even laughing, though I don't know what about. When I walked in, however, the talking stopped, all the faces in the room turned and watched as Grim sat me down at a nearby table. 

To my surprise there were less than ten people but I was too tired to count exactly how many. 

The moment I sat down I instantly slumped forward, resting my head on my arm to prop myself up, just when I thought my energy was coming back. 

"You'll feel like that for a while," Grim said as he stood beside me. I managed to turn my head in my hand to look at him and saw he had his arms crossed, he looked down at me and smiled. "And until you learn to control your magic completely you'll feel like that every time you unleash it." 

I groaned and put my head forward onto the table, nestling in my crossed arms and removing my glasses, holding them in a gentle grip between my fingers, I heard Grim chuckle and I raised my head again. "Will it hurt the same way every time?" 

"No, but you'll feel pain similar to it if you lose control again." 

If anything was going to stop me from trying to tame my magic it would be that, I never want to go through that again. I put my head back down in my arms again and groaned at the thought.

Footsteps approached us but I didn't look up to see who they belonged too. 

"Is the girl alright?" I heard a man's voice ask. 

"Exhaustion, that's all." Grim replied bluntly. 

"The castle shaking, was that her?" I didn't hear a response, I guess Grim just nodded at the question. "Mind if I sit with you?" 

I took me longer than I care to admit to realise that he was talking to me, when Grim didn't reply I just assumed he had done so wordlessly again. As soon as I realised I shot my head up and put my glasses back on, practically giving myself a head-rush in the process. 

The man was wearing a red and black leather jacket, black jeans and black boots. He looked young, younger than Grim at any rate, with short black hair and stubble covering his face. 

His eyes were cloudy and grey, there was no colour to them at all, they looked like swirling storm clouds, I half expected to see flashes of lightning within them. 

He smiled at me, waiting for my answer, but it seemed fake somehow, it was like he was wearing a mask. 

I finally nodded and he sat down opposite me. He continued to smile at me as he extended his arm forward. "I'm Tinu," He said in a friendly voice. "I'm a member of the Legion." 

"I'm Delia," I reached out for his hand and we shook. "I'm sorry it took me so to answer." 

"Don't worry, I understand," He turned to look at Grim. "Have you told her much about the Legion?"

Grim nodded. "I told her you exist, nothing else." 

Tinu seemed to groan out of annoyance. "Fine," He sighed. "I'll fill her in." 

Grim smiled at him. "Please remember who you're talking to, Tinu," He said in a rather threatening tone which seemed to make Tinu freeze slightly upon hearing it, it even sent a shiver down my spine, smiling threats are just creepy. "You may have killed a ton of demons but I will still reap you without a second thought." 

I watched Tinu for a moment as he was frozen, after a while he nodded. 

Grim's smile faded. "Good," He turned towards me and, although he wasn't smiling, I could tell he was being friendly. "I've got something I need to do," He said, taking out a cigarette and lighting it. "I'll leave you in Tinu's capable hands for a while, is that okay with you?" 

"What about my magic?" I asked, it was nerve wracking that he wasn't going to be around with me but it was terrifying that he wouldn't be here if I lost control again. 

It's strange how I feel so safe with the one who killed me, I guess it's because he's never lied to me, part of it at least. 

Grim nodded and held out his hand. A swirling black mass formed within his open palm, the swirling and twisting intensified until it shone dark purple and shrunk a little. Grim picked it up with his other hand and revealed a necklace made of an obsidian stone which had a slight purple shine to it. He smiled as he handed the pendent to me. "A little extra protection," He said, dropping it into my open hands. "I was going to give it to you later but now seems like as good a time as any." He smiled as he blew a puff of smoke upwards. 

I put on the necklace as he turned around silently and walked out of the the hall.

"He's not really one for goodbyes," Tinu said drawing my attention back to him. "He's funny that way." 

I gave a soft laugh and for a moment there was silence. 

"What did he mean when he said he'll reap you? Aren't you already dead?" I wanted to break the silence anyway I could, even if my question was a little blunt, but I couldn't look him directly in the eyes, the cloudiness of them was a little disturbing, even though Grim's were red, at least they had colour to them. 

Tinu sighed. "He was going to send me on before I redeemed myself." He looked down as he spoke, almost like he was ashamed. 

"Redemption?" 

Tinu nodded and pointed to his eyes. "I'm sure you've noticed my eyes are different, probably the reason you've been avoiding eye contact with me," I simply nodded, he just gave me a small smile in return and lowered his finger. "They're cloudy because of the way I died, and until I redeem my soul the cloudiness won't fade and if I pass on without that happening then I'll be sent straight to Hell." 

My eyes widened a little. "Even though you've killed so many demons?" I asked, slightly horrified. 

He chuckled, surprising me a little. "If only killing demons was enough," He looked up at me with a blank face. "Because of how I died, I need to prove the purity of soul by committing a selfless act." 

Nerves built up inside of me as my next question rose to the surface. "Do you mind if I ask you how you died?" I asked cautiously, afraid of offending the demon slayer. 

I licked my lips nervously as I waited for his response. I watched as he rose both arms to the table, resting his elbows upon it with both hands draped in front of his mouth. 

"Suicide." He replied softly, so softly in fact that I almost didn't hear him, the way he spoke it also seemed like he couldn't bare to speak the word. 

As he looked down at the table in, what I assumed was, shame, I just stared at him, wondering why he did it, how could he have committed such a selfish act? Now I understood why he needed redemption. 

"Why did you do it?" I asked though my words came out angrier than I intended. 

He shrugged his shoulders. "I honestly don't remember, I don't even remember my real name," He sighed heavily and looked at me with a sad face, though I could tell he was trying to hide it. "It's the same for anyone who commits suicide, once you take your own life you lose all memory of life before as a punishment and you're sent here until you either commit a selfless act, or you..." He was unable to finish his sentence, I could see it was too hard for him so I didn't try to force it out of him. 

"So where did Tinu come from?" I asked curiously. 

"It's the only word I could remember from my life," He lowered his hand from his face. "I don't even know how I remembered it but it obviously held some significance so I made it my new name." 

There was another silence, but only for a moment while I thought of my next question. That's when a thought entered my mind, is the whole Legion filled with people who've committed suicide? 

"Can you tell me more about the Legion?" 

He nodded. "We call ourselves the Legion of the Lost because everyone within its ranks are lost souls." 

"How does a soul become lost?" 

"There are several ways, suicide and murder are the main reasons, if someone dies due to acts such as neglect or some sort of crime, killed by a demon or if you have unfinished business your soul becomes lost and you wind up here," His sadness seemed to lessen as he spoke about the Legion, maybe because the topic had moved on from him. "We choose to join the legion to protect the people who are still alive and the souls that have already passed on and to try to figure out how we can pass through to the other side." 

"Do demons attack people?" This was a surprise. "I haven't heard of anything like that happening." 

"You wouldn't have, the living can't see demons, but, yes, they do attack humans, they also attack souls, it's their food source," My eyes widened and shook with horror. "The more souls they devour the more powerful they become, the Legion helps the Reaper wipe out these demons." 

I stared at nothing at particular as I tried to take it in. "Where did the demons come from? Did they escape from Hell?"

Tinu shook his head and the expression on his face became dark. "If a lost soul fails to find a way to cross over, spends too long in the living world, are killed in a horrific way or simply gives up and does nothing then your soul will end up going insane, you'll become twisted and chaotic," I felt a tear trickle down my cheek, I feared what he was about to say but knew it was coming. "You become filled with hate, anger and envy for the living and the souls that have passed on, and you become a demon," He paused for a moment as my face showed a look of horror. "But the souls of people who've committed murder, even if it's just one or killed by accident, are guaranteed to become demons, almost immediately after they die." 

A third silence came between us, though it wasn't awkward like the others, he was giving me time to wrap my head around the information, but I could barely stand the thought of it. 

"Can I ask you something?" He asked cautiously, drawing my attention back to him. I nodded. "How did you die?" 

His question was blunt, it almost felt like I was punched. But at least he was changing the subject. 

"Sorry, I only ask because of the scar on your neck, not many souls here have visible scars, and if they do, the scars usually heal fairly quickly."

Instinctively I covered up my scar with my hair and just held it there. I looked away to the side as I remembered the moment that I died. His question was fair, he had told me about his death, it's only right that I return the favour. I breathed a heavy sigh and proceeded to tell him, I told him everything that happened that day, he didn't say anything while I talked, listening intently to the events that lead up to my death. After I finished he sat back in his chair and just looked at me. The silence was terrible but I couldn't think of anyway to break it, all I could do was make sure my scar was hidden from view.

"Damn," Tinu said, I almost sighed in relief when the silence was finally broken. "I can't even think of anything to say to that." 

I laughed nervously. "Kind of tops your death, doesn't it?" I said jokingly, though as soon as I realised what I said I instantly regretted it. 

To my relief, Tinu also laughed. "Just a tad," He smiled, stood up from the table and looked down at me. "I take it you haven't had much of a tour yet?" 

I shook my head. "I haven't been awake for very long."

Tinu nodded. "Okay, why don't you come with me, I'll take you to the armoury."

"Why the armoury?" I asked, standing up and pushing my chair back under the table. 

"Well if you're going to join the Legion, you're going to need a weapon, at least until you learn to control your magic." 

I nodded and followed Tinu out of the hall.