Page 26 of Hidden Sacrifice
“Hey,” I said to Jasper as I approached. “Jace hurt his leg or something. Mor is with him. We should probably wrap this up quick and get everyone back to Hell.” My hand rubbed the back of my neck soothingly.
“It should be weak enough now for a combined attack,” Jasper said, looking at the wraith. He never liked taking on simple ghosts, far too much effort without actual points.
“Justice,” I shouted, “time to go home.”
His head whipped to the side, and he gave a manic smile and a thumbs up, his fingers still wrapped tightly around his daggers. Quick on his toes, he stopped his attack on the wraith but continued to move side to side in its view.
I sat down on the forest floor as swollen raindrops started to fall. Harnessing my power, I snagged ahold of the wraith and held it immobile. Justice ran towards it with a scream, sinking the tip of his blade into the very center of the mass while bringing his other hand down from the top. He released his hold on the blades, leaving them stuck inside the ghost—the dagger on top protruding from the space where one red eye used to be.
Thunder clapped overhead, and the rain started to fall. Dark clouds moved towards the full moon, slowly eating up the light.
Jasper ran into the clearing, sending fire into the daggers Justice left behind, causing them to turn red. Energy leaked out from the wounds as the soul degraded.
“Keep pushing, just a little more,” I yelled out to them, watching as the light shifted from yellow to blue.
I felt a rush of wind as something ran past me quickly and into the clearing. Mor was standing next to Jasper, her palms faced out as fire blasted from her hands. It joined with Jasper’s fire. The blades started to turn yellow under the immense heat.
Steam hissed as rain fell on the fire and immediately evaporated. No matter how hard it rained, it wouldn’t be enough to put it out. Lightning flashed across the sky, and another round of thunder boomed overhead.
Beams of energy were streaming from the wraith as the soul inside began to crack apart. Jasper’s fire stopped, and Mor followed suit before Jasper hauled her over his shoulder and started to run for the tree line. I couldn’t see Justice in the clearing anymore, so he must have seen the fracture begin and ran for cover. Explode or implode; we wouldn’t know which way this ghost would go until it happened.
Light pulsed from the wraith, yellow, white, and blue. The light brightened the entire area before collapsing itself, and we were plunged into darkness. Drops of the rain bouncing off the surfaces as they fell from the sky were the only noise I could hear as the world around me quieted.
“Everyone ok?”I asked, a bolt of lightning illuminating the now empty graveyard.
“We’re good. I sent Jasper to pick up Jace so we can get him back to the portal. How’s your leg?”Mor replied in my head.
It hadn’t healed enough to walk on yet, but it was healing as expected. The areas where the skin burned from the electricity was the worst part to heal.
“I can manage. Let’s get back to Hell, and everything will be fine.”
The next streak of light gifted me with the vision of Jace slung over Jasper’s shoulder as they headed back toward the portal. Justice walked behind them, his head bending so he could talk to Jace in the humiliating position.
I felt a rush of wind as Mor appeared by my side, smiling as if she had just had the time of her life. I mentally reviewed every mistake we made as we walked silently towards the portal that would take us home. We were nowhere near performing as a pack, and the issue with Jace would need to be addressed.
We arrived back at the hunting cabin, soaking wet, finally able to bear weight on my leg without using my powers. Without a word, we took our seats at the table, and Hell conjured drinks all around.
Jace didn’t seem mad at Jasper for the way he was carried. Jace, Justice, and Jasper started discussing the hunt.
“If I hadn’t been taken out because of this stupid bond, I would have loved to show Justice what real knife play looks like.”
“Oh, Jace, I didn’t know you were into knives. I’ll show you mine if you show me yours,” Justice said with an almost flirtatious smile.
“What the fuck is going on?”I asked Mor as she quietly sipped on her drink with a smile on her face.
“They are bonding. It would help if you tried it some time,”she quipped back, winking at me from across the table.
“Jace is just looking to get out of the bond.”The spell I put on him should not transfer injuries or pain. Aggie made it herself, and no one makes spells better than Aggie.
“Well, I don’t even think he needs the damn thing on him. We already know he’s going to be a member of the pack, as well as being my vampire mate. I would even go as far as to say he might get that pack bond status quicker if you treated him like he belongs. So, what’s the real reason you don’t want him to touch me yet?”
“How about we all go see Aggie, and she can try to figure out why your vampire got injured. If she says it is because of the spell, I promise to release him,”I countered.
“Deal,” she said aloud, extending her hand to the middle of the table like she expected me to shake it.
Everyone stopped talking as they looked between us, clearly wondering what deal she was trying to make with me.
My hand reached forward as I felt the sides of my throat squeezing in on themselves. She was my mate, and I wanted to touch her, I told myself repeatedly in my mind. Breathing deeply, my fingertips grazed across the palm of her hand, sending electric-like jolts through my arm—deep breaths. My thumb slid into place as we shook out our agreement. One shake, and then I pulled my hand back, thankful to have gotten through the experience. I hated that my past got in the way of my future, but fuck if I wouldn’t keep trying to push myself so I could fully enjoy being with her.
