Character Revolt (Interview): Quinn

Book: The Soul Conductor
Creator: C.S.Evans

Quinn looks rather humble in his simple tunic and black, leather trousers, although as he sits down, I can’t help but notice him remove a vicious looking sword from inside his cloak. He lays it down on the sofa and without making it too obvious, I shift to the corner of the couch – as far away from him as I can physically get.

‘So, Quinn, perhaps you’d like to tell us a little something about yourself? Where you live? What you do for a living? That sort of thing?‘

‘Relax, Miss. I’m no danger to anyone who is no danger to me.’

He gives me a little smile and those intense, silver eyes sparkle  with a hint of mischief. Then he’s all seriousness again.  

‘There was a time when I could not have answered the question on where I live. I would simply have said: “here and there – wherever my duty (or my horse) takes me.” These days, most people are aware that Delmoril exists inside the kingdom of Rivallen. They just don’t know how to get there. And I’m not about to tell them…

I used the word duty, because that’s what it is, rather than a profession. I did not choose this way of life – I was born into it. I am tasked with the guidance of souls. When you die, your soul doesn’t just appear in the afterlife as if by ‘magic’ (oh, how I hate that word!). It needs help to find its way there, and to accept that it no longer belongs in your mortal body. That’s where we – the Soul Conductors – come into it.’

‘Sounds…intriguing. Now, the synopsis of your book seems to suggest something goes amiss. Could you tell me a little bit about that? Without giving too much away of course.

‘Imagine you’re evil…’

He pauses to look deep into my eyes, and I lean back just a little way.

‘You’re not, are you?’

And there’s that smile again.

‘If you were…let’s imagine you died, and knew you faced punishment for the things you had done in this life. Would you go willingly to that punishment, or would you try something – anything – to get out of it? I suppose it had to happen sooner or later, but none of us thought that any of your people would be strong enough to put up that much of a fight. I learned what real fear was that day. But if you want to know what happened next…’

‘Read the book?’

He nods, and there’s an air of authority about him. It’s hard to put into words really. ‘Has your story been told now? Or will your creator… sorry, will you be appearing in more books in the future?‘

‘I don’t think anyone’s story is really over until the last beat of their heart. I’m still young, and this world I live in is unstable and full of struggles for balance, in all their forms. There will always be those who wish to protect others, and those who seek to…destroy.‘

He raises an eyebrow at me, asking if I’ve taken the hint.

‘I’m not done with my creator just yet…’

 

The Soul Conductor

by C.S.EvansFeaturing Quinn