Tree Of Souls (Transfusion Saga #6) - Stephanie Hudson Page 0,113

at me as he stroked back my hair with his palm.

“And some say sex isn’t the key to a prolonged healthy life,” I said after I was feeling slightly less breathless. I felt him chuckle before scoffing an agreed,

“Fools.” I smiled before turning my head and shifting now so I could look at him. Thankfully, the colossal cave had a strange glow to it, as if something was reflecting off the rock walls I could see. We were both on the floor with me sitting in the spread of his legs as his back looked to be against a huge collection of boulders that reached up to the top of the underground cavern. It was like some naturally formed ladder or huge stepping stones up in a spiral.

“Ah, I see that was the safer route down then…as opposed to just falling.” He followed my gaze back up to the top and said dryly,

“Yes, so it would seem.”

“Lucius, all jokes aside here…what is this place?” Lucius looked around and took in the same space I did. It was a huge cavernous place and even though not exactly as big as The Son Doong, which was a cave in Vietnam and known as the biggest cave in the world…this would have been a contender for sure. Although, it was yet to be discovered how long it was, as Son Doong was over 5.5 miles long, had a jungle and river, and could fit a 40-story skyscraper within its walls!

This however was merely the first cave and up above was nothing but the roots of a tree that seemed too big and too plenty for what it had been above. They snaked and coiled over and over until it was a twisted mess of ancient roots all branching out in every direction. They then flowed down the walls of the far side, until you could only just barely see them beneath the tree.

“It was true, all this time,” Lucius muttered in awe.

“Lucius?”

“This is the Temple of the Tree of Souls,” he told me in a tone of astonishment, something rarely heard coming from Lucius.

“The place you said for centuries you have had people looking for?” He gave me a look that said it all,

“I might have lied slightly.”

“Only slightly?” I laughed,

“I have known about this place since my rebirth,” he admitted.

“Then why?” I asked with a shake of my head, relishing in the absence of pain in my shoulder.

“Because there was no way to access it, trust me, now that has been the centuries of trying part. I only knew of its existence.”

“So that’s why you never believed that this could be the place the map was leading us to?”

“Not until the blood proved it to be otherwise, for I knew it would be pointless. It was little more than a myth, and barely a memory for me. I am still unsure as to what it is exactly that is down here,” he admitted, and I would have pointed out that assumption was most likely leading to the possibility of a big tree of some kind. Which was why I asked,

“Then what is the Tree of Souls?” He released a deep sigh, rubbed a hand down his face and told me,

“The Tree of Souls refers to the tree you saw, the one that took my human life and changed history for all of Heaven and Hell and the beings born from such. Just as with Jesus’ death it changed humanity.”

“So, it’s symbolic, like the cross.”

“Of sorts, but there are those, like the witch, who believe the Tree of Souls to be a fable, a tale that speaks of unspeakable power for anyone who rules over it.”

“And that’s why she wanted access to this place, she believes it is down here?” I asked making him nod but then something said earlier came back to me, and I asked,

“Wait, you said barely a memory…you’ve been here before?” At this he looked awkward, as if he didn’t want to admit what he was being forced to. But considering our current circumstance, well he couldn’t really shy away from facts right now. He released a sigh and told me,

“It was where my body was brought after it happened.”

“What?!” I couldn’t help but screech, as he helped me off the ground.

“I don’t exactly remember much, Amelia, and that isn’t solely down to age, for try to remember that I was dying at the time.” I wanted to ask so many questions, but I didn’t know where to start,