Nir Vana looked young at a glance but there was something deeper on closer inspection. There was an agelessness in her eyes that gave me a feeling she’d been around for quite some time.

Not getting an immediate response, she continued. “What are your plans for us? If you release me, I promise to make it worth your while. Step into my cell and I will show you exactly how far I’m willing to go.”

Maya grabbed my shoulder and dragged me away from the door. “That’ll be quite enough of that, vile temptress.”

I smiled at Maya. Here she was, a soul without a body, and she still protected me. “I’ll get you out of here. I promise…somehow…”

I trailed off again, overwhelmed at the gravity of everything. Maya gave a weak chuckle and wrapped her arm around my shoulder. “Welcome to the wonderful world of being an M. Someone is always out to get you. Don’t worry, you’re strong. You’ll find a way.”

Taking courage from her words, I took a step toward the cell door again. “Tell me something, Mrs. Vana, why are you in prison? What did you do to get thrown into this place?”

Nir let out a laugh before composing herself by clearing her throat. “Ah hah, ahem. Well, I somehow doubt you’ll believe a word I say but why not? Let me tell you my story. I know not how long has passed in the outside world but I was once mortal. I was born on Origin before time as you know it, I spent many lives molding the imperfection that was my soul.”

“I know about Origin,” Kalli announced, startling me and causing Nir to pause. “They taught us about it at The Academy.”

“What do you know of Origin?” Nir asked with an air of haughtiness.

“Well.” Kalli stammered, trying to recall what it was Mr. McDuckenStein taught us. “It’s a forbidden planet, right? They stopped sending adventurers there because nobody ever returns alive.”

Nir chuckled. “That would make sense. Those people wouldn’t want their secrets getting out. I’m afraid that’s all going to change now. You let Malric out.”

“Who exactly is Malric?” I asked, deciding I probably should have asked that question from the start. “He’s just one man, right? What could he possibly do?”

Nir shared my sentiment. ‘That’s a question you should have asked before opening Pandora’s Box. Now he’s out. Malric’s been around long before I was born. There are legends about him. The most important thing you need to remember is that he is his own special brand of evil.”

“Are you evil?” I asked, having a bad feeling about the prisoners in the ring. “What about Longinus and the others in here?”

A shrill voice came from Nir that I interpreted as some sort of a scoff. “I am an absolute saint compared to that man. However, I get the feeling that’s not what want to know. In this place, knowledge is power. It’s the only bargaining chip we have. If you want to know more, you need to tell me what your intentions are.”

“What do you want?” Kalli asked. “We aren’t going to kill you if that’s what you mean. I mean, we won’t make you more dead than you already are.”

There was a brief pause before Nir replied in a low voice. “Freedom is what I want. I’d like to see the sky again. It’s been several lifetimes since my soul’s been trapped in this place. I suppose I’ll settle for some modern comforts as well as your promise to at least consider freeing me.”

Kalli and I exchanged a glance. You can’t free her, Melvin. We don’t even know what she’s done.

I know. We need information though. What’s the harm of promising to think about it?

“How do we do this?” I asked. “I somehow doubt you intend to take my word.”

Maya leaned close and whispered so only Kalli and I could hear. “She will likely require an oath. If you choose to make an accord with her, be careful what you say. It can be binding.”

The sounds of footsteps echoed from beyond the door and then a pair of beady yellow eyes appeared in the barred window slit. “As the woman says, words hold power. I know you have me at a disadvantage so I will do whatever possible to ingratiate myself to you. I have nothing to lose.”

I nodded, keeping my distance from the door. “If you mean that, tell me something for free. I don’t think I can trust you if you don’t tell me what you did to deserve being put in here. Don’t try to tell me you’re innocent because I won’t believe you.”

She smiled and thin fingers gripped the bars. “I told you that I’ve lived many lives through reincarnation. What I failed to tell you is that at some point I began seeking the perfect host. Normally, if you choose the path of reincarnation, your soul goes into a pool when you die to inhabit a newly created body. Your deeds in your past lives determine where you are placed. It is far less than ideal. There is nothing you can do to prevent being reincarnated into the body of an animal or an insect. Trust me, being reborn as a cricket can be very trying. I discovered voodoo, a new method of reincarnation where I choose the host and perform the rite while I am still alive. At first, I did it because I just wanted to stay human. Eventually, I grew addicted to finding better hosts. Awakened bodies enhance my soul when I take them over. Needless to say, one day I encountered a man of immeasurable power. I seduced him with the intent of taking his body for myself. Alas, I failed and he imprisoned me in here.”

Both Kalli and Maya looked mortified. The woman in the cell was a body snatcher. I raised an eyebrow and asked, “What happens to the other soul when you take someone’s body? Do you evict it or do you have to share with the other core?”

Nir’s eyes narrowed. “I would have thought that’s obvious. When I reincarnate with another person, we swap bodies. In normal reincarnation, the unborn child or animal that I inhabit has no soul, so there is nothing to worry about. However, that method comes with some caveats. For one thing, most of my memories of my previous life are sealed. The only recollections that are possible come in the form of dreams or deja vu. When I swap into a live body, I retain everything. I was so close to pure bliss when I made the mistake of going after that man.”

“Who was it?” Kalli asked, curious despite herself.

Nir sighed. “He called himself Merlin.”

I gasped, thinking about the books I’d read about the fabled wizard as a child. “You knew Merlin? The one from the stories? He was real?”

She laughed, shaking her head. “I’m sorry, boy. I can’t answer that question. When I knew him there was no mention of his name in any books but that was thousands of years ago. Perhaps he is more renowned now. Besides, this all happened on Origin.”

“It must be a different Merlin then,” I concluded. “My Merlin was from Earth from a place called…”

“Camelot?” She finished the sentence for me. “How did I know that, you ask? That was the name of the city where I met him.”

“Camelot is on Origin?” I asked, completely stumped. “No wonder they can’t find it.”

I had to push questions about swords in stones and a thousand other fairy tales out of my head to get back on track. “Never mind about Merlin. Let’s say I agree to consider your request. Are you willing to do everything in your power to help us?”

“Woah there, tiger.” Nir chuckled. “I’m happy that you know how to haggle but I am not going to just give up everything all at once. How about we begin with your original request? I’ll tell you about Malric and Longinus and you agree to make my life better in here and put me on your to-do list for a possible pardon. Let’s face it, you let the other two go for much less and Malric at the very least makes me look like a saint.”

“Tell me about them,” I replied.

“Deal first.” She spat back taking her head. “Give me some furniture in here as you did for the other prisoner. I’d also like some food. Do they still have curry in your world?”

“Sure they do,” I replied, realizing I’d have to give her a show of good faith. “Move away from the door and I’ll take care of your room. As for letting you out, I’ll be honest with you. You sound dangerous. Still, I’ll consider it if you’re willing to make an oath with my sister.”

“I’ll make the oath right now.” She replied with a sweet smile. “She is the one you just made my new neighbor, correct?”

“My other sister,” I corrected, moving up to the window. “My other sister is a contract specialist. She will make sure you don’t cause any damage if we let you out. I’m afraid that’s the only way I’ll feel comfortable setting you free. Move back, you’re still too close to the door.”

“At least I’ll be able to properly die on the outside.” She sighed, walking to the far end of the room. There was no furniture at all in her cell. Whoever designed the ring didn’t give much thought to comfort. Then again, I had a strange feeling that the ring was designed as a torture device.

“Are you saying we can’t die in here?” Maya asked with a look of horror on her face.

Nir began to chuckle. “There is no release from his prison without the warden’s say so. You have no body in here and while your soul is eternal, it has no way of passing on while trapped in the Ring of Souls. Are either of you familiar with the fable of Pandora?”

“Yes,” Maya and I replied at the same time.

“Good,” Nir said. “That will save me some time. The box in that legend is no myth. It was brought to the mortal plane by Apophis, the God of Chaos, and gifted to Zeus who legend says used it to unleash calamity upon Origin. However, none of that is the truth. The box was a soul trap, designed to imprison even the gods. A small bit of it was used to craft the Ring of Souls and is capable of confining up to seven cores at once.”

While Nir told the story, I worked on making her cell like a hotel room. I made her a comfy bed, a bath, a couch, and a table one of which I laid out a small feast including curry. I felt she was going to need it, so I made a porta-potty and placed it in the corner. Nir gave it a confused look and opened the door. Figuring out what it was, she nodded and closed it.

“Okay, so about Malric,” she began between bites of curry. “He calls himself the Magnificent, but he was really a tyrant. I never knew him outside of the ring but there are legends of his ruthlessness on Origin. He subjugated the planet and had great monuments made in his name. He enslaved all of humanity and used the awakened as a private army to conquer world after world in every known dimension. Some say his conquest was complete and he disappeared to rest, but I know by the fact that he was in here, that someone managed to defeat him.”

“What about Longinus?” I asked, looking back at Maya’s cell where the old monk used to reside.

Nir shrugged, not looking up from her plate. “I’m not entirely sure. He was just some monk. There are quite a few of those. They seek enlightenment similar to me but their methods are different. The only thing I know for certain is that he picked a fight with the wrong person and lost. That is how he wound up in here.”

“What of the others?” I asked, counting four other occupied cells.

She laughed, looking over at me for the first time since she started eating. “You have two legs. Go over and ask them yourself. I don’t know much about them other than they arrived recently.”