Free Unborn by Amber Lynn Natusch Page A

explained nothing of what h Singtion that ad happened that night. “What Kierson and I saw was a Breather. What is this Stealer that you speak of?”
    “Soul Stealer, to be exact, Khara. They were one of the many evils that thrived in the New World. To prevent the potential debacle I just described to you, they were eradicated . . . in a fashion.”
    “What Drew is trying to tell you is that we came to terms with them—an agreement—that changed the breed, if they can be called that. Creating the Soul Breathers was the palatable solution to the problem. Because the Stealers sustained themselves on the souls of others, more precisely the light or goodness within them, humans were a readily accessible food source for them. The Stealers quickly became efficient at draining a person of their soul, and had no qualms about doing so,” Pierson clarified.
    “And that is what an Empty is? One whose soul has been taken?”
    “Precisely. They are the soulless remnants of their former selves.” A vision of the young female who Kierson had saved, only to have to slay, flashed in my mind before fading. “If an Empty could survive in that catatonic, questionably human state, perhaps they could be allowed to live, but that is not so. Nature abhors a vacuum, and so it must be filled.”
    “With another soul.”
    “Correct,” Pierson affirmed. “The Empties will not rest until they have taken one. They know no restraint. They will take it violently, publicly, however they have to in order to sate the hollow cavern of darkness that remains deep within them. It is a liability far too great to be tolerated. I’m sure you can now see why.”
    “I do understand the need to kill them, but what I do not understand is how the Breathers factor into all of this,” I stated, not seeing how that piece of the puzzle fit.
    “Before the agreement was made, it was apparent that the Stealers posed an enormous threat to the balance. The New World was vast, and regulated by only a few of us. It took decades to see what was happening with them, and once we did it was obvious that they had run amok, infecting enough of the population to be of great concern to the balance and therefore the PC. When it became a war between the PC and the Stealers, whose appetite had grown larger than their restraint, it was clear that the war would not be easily won by either side. We could kill them easily once located, but they spread so quickly that for every one we took out, another Empty had already been created. In effect, it was an everlasting stalemate. Seeing the futility of an eternal battle, we had to look for other solutions that reached beyond our normal methods. In the end, we found a compromise. The Stealers were preservationists and saw reason when presented with an option that would prevent an eternal war.”
    “Or you could call a spade a spade and admit that we pussed out, Pierson,” Casey countered, still methodically wiping his blade across his pants.
    “Hardly, Casey,” Pierson spat, his tightened features clearly displaying his disdain for Casey’s analysis. “We took the most logical route and did what needed to be done to protect the balance. We allowed them to sustain their lives by taking tiny pieces of light from the humans, and their kind no longer spread like wildfire. This plan has been in effect ever since, and it has worked brilliantly—”
    “Until now,” Kierson said flatly, finishing his twin’s sentence for him.
    “And that is why you think there is a problem. You think this tenuous agreement that you struck with the Stealers has been dishonored? That what you’ve allowed them is no longer enough?” I asked.
    “It’s possible,” Kierson replied. “That’s exactly what happened tonight—he broke the treaty. What we have to figure out is why, if there is a ‘why’ at all. And fast.”
    “What were the exact conditions of the agreement you set forth with these Stealers?” I asked, curious as to how creatures