James rubbed his eyes and took a moment to remind himself that the spark of anger wasn't who he really was. He didn't know why it was bothering him so much, but the dream hit him harder than all of the others. The memory of knowing that his soul wasn't active and he couldn't touch on it made him swallow hard.

What else am I missing? Why did the memories disappear once I awakened my soul? Was I trying to protect myself from hating people?

He didn't know, but it was only a second later that Amber stepped out of the dining room and touched his arm. "Need to talk more?"

Shaking his head, he gave his answer.

Squeezing his bicep, she put on a small smile, even though she had her own spark of hatred because he did. "If you do, just find me. I'll drop everything to help you, James."

Returning her smile, he said, "help Luna today. I know all of you are leveling up, but the cultivators still outnumber us. Keep everyone safe."

Letting him go, her smile grew. "You can count on me, James."

Shaking out his body, he started into the dining room. He needed to fill everyone in on what they would be doing for the day and what he would be doing. He also needed to collect Linda and make sure she was prepared.

Luna was waiting for him with the others, her brow raised as Amber followed him. Rolling her eyes, she sat down and patted the spot beside her. Not taking it, he stood at the table.

"I need you all to pack what you need and move together to gather anything you are missing. The cultivators are likely going to attack if they sense weakness. Amber and Jamie have reported that many of them have received orders to capture us."

All of them laughed, although Tian looked exhausted and somewhat hopeful for the day. But it was Zenaria that grabbed hold of his soul for comfort. Wrapping it around her like a blanket, he continued, "Luna and Amber will be in charge while Linda and I'll be gone. We will save the children and then head to the mountain. Once I am done with the elders, we will leave."

"Yes, Master," Amber said with a bow of her head, eliciting the others to follow her example.

Waving for Linda to join him, he left, knowing that the rest of them were taken care of. Luna was the strongest one apart from him, with Amber right behind. They couldn't be safer.

Reaching the street, he slowed his pace. "Are you ready for your revenge?"

Linda hooked her arm with his. "Thank you for this, James. I can't explain how much I want to kill the bastards that did this to my betrothed."

Patting her hand, he felt his spark of rage grow a little brighter. She must have sensed it as she pulled him to a stop.

"You're different today." Leading him around a group of demi-humans, she leaned in. "If I can feel it, then I know the others will as well."

Rubbing his head, he took a deep breath. "Just a bad dream. That's all."

Thankfully she didn't push. Instead, she nodded and continued to lead him through the streets and around groups of people. With each breath he took, he noticed the scent of sawdust and mortar. The houses were still being rebuilt, and he could already hear the hammers starting for the day.

An hour later, they were reaching the manors. The four large buildings that the city lord and his advisors lived in. The guards at each gate eyed them with wariness before James let Linda go and rolled out his shoulders.

"Ready for this?" he asked.

"Oh yes!"

Scanning the area with his soul, he found the children below the lake, still scared and weakening. They would be safe soon, but first, he locked onto the souls in the city lord's manor. There were dozens, and some of them were cultivators as well.

"Keep my back cleared," he ordered. "I'm going in."

Summoning his sword, he felt Linda summon her rifle rather than her crossbow. Their flickering, flaming weapons drew the attention of the guards that quickly drew their swords.

"Kill them," he said coldly. Following his own order, he raced forward and cut through the two guards at the lord's gate. Their blood sizzled and smoked as flames raced over their bodies, consuming them.

Kicking in the gate, he shattered the stone holding the hinges as the metal crashed against the building. Behind him, he could hear the rapid fire of Linda's rifle and the screams of the guards. She wasn't killing them quickly, but wounding them little by little.

"Harvest their souls," he called out. "Might as well grow stronger."

A moment later, he felt the souls all around the street wink out and flow into the woman. Chuckling to himself, he strolled onto the manor's grounds. A dozen more guards raced out of the build to meet him.

Linda latched onto their souls before firing her rifle over his shoulder. The head of one of the guards exploded, sending gore over the one behind him. Screams filled the air as their souls were ripped apart.

Walking through the mass of bodies, James reached the front door and kicked. Wood splintered and pierced the walls and floor of the interior. A servant was caught in the explosion and he quickly snuffed out her life to spare her the pain.

"Kill him!" A man screamed.

Locking onto the well dressed man, James smiled. His spark of hatred grew just the tinniest amount as the man pushed several servants towards him. All of them were human, and all of them were targets for his anger.

Raising his hand, he latched onto the two dozen souls left in the building. Leaving the city lord as the only one remaining, he pulled, ripping the souls from their bodies.

A staccato rhythm of corpses hitting the floor followed and Linda tutted behind him.

"Really?" she asked.

Glancing at her, he pointed toward the city lord. "Go find out how to reach the children. Then do what you want with him."

Giddy excitement raced through her soul before she burst forward. The city lord was frozen in fear before Linda reached him. Leaving her to it, he spread his soul to the other manors and found the terrified souls of the other leaders. Latching onto all of the souls in each building, he double checked that none of them were children before ripping them apart.

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Souls absorbed: Soul Strength: 10.012201 (+0.000050)

It wasn't much of an increase, but a drop was still a drop. He would reach the next level if he kept at it.

"Really, James?" Linda yelled at him. "You left none of them for me!"

Laughing, he walked up the stairs to join her. "I left you the best part."

Growling, she grabbed the neck of the city lord and slammed him into the wall. "I want my answers!"

James finally looked over the man. He was rather slender with black hair and mustache. Otherwise, he was nothing remarkable. His clothes looked expensive, despite wetness blossoming between his legs.

"The sect will kill you!"

Laughing, Linda started to squeeze. "How do I get to the children. If you tell me, I won't tear slivers off your soul." To emphasize her point, she ripped off the smallest sliver and the man screamed. The pain was unlike anything he had ever experienced before.

"The basement!" he yelled.

"Why did you help create those Forsaken monsters?" Linda questioned.

"The elders made me! I swear!"

"Rip another sliver off," James ordered.

"Gladly!" Snarling, Linda did just that.

Screams of pain filled the air like the best music James had ever heard. That's when he noticed his hatred was being fed and he needed to finish before it grew worse.

"I need to go save the children. Can you handle him?" he asked.

Linda nodded. "I'll be fine. The lord and I are going to have a little fun together. After all, it's his fault that my betrothed was killed."

Leaving her to it, he found the basement. The stairs down were well lit and it didn't take long to find the tunnel leading down. He only had to tear apart a dozen shelves and break a few walls. Only a few.

With the stability of the manor in question, he hurried down the tunnel that wound its way under the lake. The children grew terrified as he approached, his steps echoing over the stone.

"Children!" He called out. "Your parents miss you."

Pushing the door open to the room they were bound in, he wrinkled his nose. The children were wallowing in their own filth and many of them were weakening due to illness.

Reaching across the city, he touched Mender and Amber, prompting them to join him. His anger spurred them to move faster than normal.

"Let's get you out of here," James said gently.

All of them were bound, wrists and legs, while wearing blindfolds. He didn't know how they had been eating, but it was clear that they hadn't had enough food in a while.

Moving through them quickly, he removed the bindings and blindfolds. They were very weak as they moved to the tunnel. It was seconds later that he felt Mender enter the building with a dozen souls to help him. Amber found Linda and pulled her to the entrance of the manor.

"By the heavens…" Mender said softly as he found James moving the last child.

"They need a lot of help," James said. "They are in shock, so be gentle."

Waving for the other healers to help carry the children, Mender took charge. "Get them out of the manor and to the hospital. We'll clean them up there and tend to them. Be quick now."

A flurry of activity followed his orders while James followed in the rear. He tuned out the crying and shaking children as his heart couldn't take it. He didn't like detaching himself from them, but it was the only way he could keep himself from ripping apart the sect and killing everyone.

Reaching Amber and Linda, he gestured to the children. "Follow Mender and keep them safe. I have a sect to visit."

Linda wiped the blood from her cheek. "Are you sure I can't kill them as well?"

Forcing himself to chuckle, he shook his head. "You aren't quite strong enough to fight elders. Maybe next time." Turning to Amber, he added, "Keep them safe."

"I will." Stepping up to him, she rested her hand on his chest. "Leave at least a few cultivators alive."

Nodding, he turned and left. He felt a small sense of success for saving the children. He would need to visit them later.

***

Mender carried a young girl to the hospital, his heart heavy as he struggled to heal her on the go. Her body was very weak and her heart didn't want to keep up with the healing. If he didn't heal her, she would die, but she might die from his efforts.

"We'll save them," Janice whispered by his side.

"We can only try," he whispered back.

Entering the hospital, he set the girl down on a bed as the nurses started ushering the rest of the kids in. Medical ointments and tinctures were brought out as several of the doctors and nurses filled buckets of water to help clean the children.

Demi-humans and humans were mixed together as they were all victims of the experiments they were almost part of. How much longer would they have lasted before the city lord and Lucian took them down to the bunkers?

Using a wet cloth, Mender wiped away the grime from the little girl. Linda and Amber stood at the doorway, ready to intercept anyone that came to cause problems.

The hospital was loud and hectic as Qi swirled in the air to heal who they could. Minutes passed as Mender healed his patient, little by little. He could push the smallest amount of soul magic into her at a time, but slowly her heart started beating stronger and he let out a relieved breath.

James should be reaching the elevator soon. I pray that he kills the bastards that ordered this. Children are supposed to be innocent and free from these kinds of tortures.

A hand rested on his shoulder a second later. Looking up, he found Amber watching him. "Yes?"

"He's just as angry, if not more so. Keep that in mind when he comes back."

Frowning, he held her gaze for several seconds. "What do you know?"

Shaking her head, she stepped back. "Try not to judge him for what's about to happen."

Turning his attention to the window and the mountain, he continued to frown. What are you going to do, James?

***

James reached the elevator just as it was about to ascend. Nearly a dozen cultivators were loading the platform with supplies that they didn't deserve. That was enough for him to stroll forward with anger.

Pushing out with his soul, he knocked all of them to their knees. "I'm going up. Operate the lift."

The man at the controls nodded.

Leaving all but the one man on the ground, James stepped onto the platform and started to ascend. His anger was bright and filling his soul with power. The spark of hatred was feasting on his emotions, and the dream replayed in his head over and over.

How many times was I beaten? How many times did I have to put up with that abuse? Did it get better after I joined the sect? Did the demi-humans ever cause those kinds of problems?

He had too many questions that couldn't be answered. He needed to get his memories back, and he needed them now. The hatred he was feeling couldn't be so strong after just one instance. Something more had to have happened to him before his elder cast him out of the sect.

Reaching the top, he quickly stepped off the platform and into the waiting group of inner sect disciples. All of them were either in the liquid or core stages as they raised their weapons.

"If you don't want to die, get out of my way," James growled.

"We were ordered to stop you," a man stated.

James didn't bother glancing at him as he grabbed the man's soul and ripped it from his body. He vaguely heard the corpse hitting the ground before everyone scattered back several paces.

"Out of my way!" James repeated.

Filling the space with his soul, he pressed down on everyone in the outer sect, forcing the cultivators to the ground.

"I'll kill all of you if you don't stay down." Stepping forward, he found that none of them were trying to fight against his hold. Satisfied that they wouldn't be a problem, he gazed up the path to the inner sect and started walking.

***

Luna's ears twitched to the sounds of the cultivators approaching the inn. Sighing, she scanned them with her soul and found them to be overly weak, with a few core cultivators to aid them.

"Ready?" she asked.

Tian frowned. "Ready for what?"

Zenaria nodded. "I'll take a few of them at least."

Grace stood up and stretched. "I have a few gifts for them. Do you think James will be mad if we kill them?"

Growling, Luna shook her head. "They dare attack his family, so they must pay."

Eyes twinkling, Grace walked toward the entrance. "Bunny, find shelter."

The rabbit immediately ran for the kitchen, pulling staff with her.

Luna watched the skunk summon an orb of Soul Fire to her hand as she eyed the door. Walking forward, Grace opened the door and scanned the street for a moment. Once she was satisfied about something, she set the orb down, where it blended into the street.

"What did you do?" Luna asked.

"You'll see," Grace said with a smirk.

Walking over to the skunk, Luna crossed her arms. "They are nearly here."

Rubbing her hands together, Grace smiled wickedly. "It's their fault that my home was destroyed. They'll pay for their crimes."

Zenaria joined them alongside Jamie and Tian. "Are you going to save some for us?"

"No," Grace said coldly.

Luna didn't have to wait long to see what Grace had done. She could feel the souls of the cultivators reach the inn and just before they touched the door, and an explosion of Soul Energy washed over the street.

"What the hell?" Luna questioned. As she watched the Soul Energy spread, the weaker cultivators collapsed, and their souls flowed into Grace before disappearing. Choking noises could be heard on the other side of the door and Luna slowly turned to Grace. "Did you poison them?"

Smirking, Grace nodded. "I'm a skunk after all."

Chuckling nervously, Luna watched a few more souls wink out. Grace was terrifying.

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