Page 52 of Hidden Sacrifice
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Jasper’s perfect case was better than I expected. The research took two days, mainly because the previous demon packs kept beautiful, detailed reports. This was one of the flagged files.
Soul Type: Vengeful Fae.
History: Frequently uses mirrors as portals to the human realm, where she appears before murdering the mortal. These violent deaths usually result in soul fracture. To ensure there is no confusion in comprehension, stress is placed on the fact that the offender is still living: not a ghost.
It wasn’t very often when Jasper would suggest a hunt for a breathing mortal soul. There was plenty more information between the stacks of reports. Visual sightings, locations, known abilities. She was a problematic fae to catch because she could create portals to the human realm.
That meant creating a trap, not trying to wrangle her into submission. Plus, since she was a breathing soul, all we needed to do was kill her, sending her soul back up into rotation. Maybe she wouldn’t be so angry in her next life.
“What am I supposed to say again?” Mor asked as she stood in front of a large bathroom mirror with the lights off. Her reflection was somewhat strange as she now had deep red hair that fell around her shoulders in voluptuous waves. It did the job well enough to hide her while in the human realm. Thankfully, she had kept her perfect green eyes.
“Bloody Mary. Three times. The door closed and the lights off.”
Mor nodded, heading into the bathroom and then closing the door. We all stood on the other side, our souls shielded from detection by a spell. Since Mor was not entirely a demon yet, the hope was that this Mary would see the call from the human realm and decide to investigate. Once the fae appeared, Mor could blow the spell dust on her.
“Okay. I’m starting now,”Mor breathed into our minds.
I felt the anxious worry coming off the other members of the pack. It was no light decision to send her in alone, but the fae’s base attacks were not strong enough to kill Mor instantly. And, of course, this fae preferred solo or small groups of females. When hunting, always know the prey of your prey.
“Oh! Something is happening. The mirror just started to shimmer like a portal.”
I felt the others tense, readying for a fight—eyes staring at the door, waiting for the order.
“Ow! Sheila! Fuck, this bitch is tough,” Mor yelled into our minds.
My body immediately sprang into action as I pounced on the door, opening it wide. Mor was on the floor, pinned underneath the fae. The fae had long pointed fingernails that she was using to slash into my fox. Her blood flowed from the wounds before they healed. The fae kept cutting, repeatedly digging and ripping into my fox’s skin.
Jax grabbed ahold of the fae’s hands with his power, forcing them over her head. Blood ran down her long nails. She turned her head our way, dark eyes peeking through dirty stringy hair. The dark hollowed wells where her eyes sat spoke of little food or rest. This creature was half-mad and half-starved.
“Rehabilitation is not time conductive,” I announced after making the assessment.
Jace rushed in, grabbing Mor and pulling her out underneath the fae.
“Give her back. She’s mine. She called to me, and I came to collect,” the fae screeched, twisting her lower body wildly as her hands stayed seemingly glued to that particular spot of space.
“Yeah. We answered first,” Jasper said as he held his hands out, blasting her with fire.
Screams rose as the smell of burning hair and flesh took over the small room, but it did nothing to slow the torrent of power Jasper rained down on her. Choking out her screams with more flames until only the smell remained as the flames licked the ceiling.
No one said a word.
Jasper’s magic finally waned, extinguishing the flames, revealing nothing more than ash on the ground, and black scorch marks covering every wall.
“Where’s her soul?” Mor asked, her voice full of concern as she stared at the pile of ashes, as if she expected the fae to rise again.
“They just kind of go to the angel realm and then they do their thing up there,” I explained.
“But I didn’t see a soul leave. I didn’t see anything leave.” She looked toward the pile again, glaring.
“We don’t ever see the souls leave,” I said with confusion.
“You don't. But I see ghosts and fractures and all that. I should have seen something.”
“She might be right, or it may not work like that. I do know that some very powerful fae have spells for surviving death,” Jace said, causing all of us to turn back toward the pile of ashes.
Jax stepped forward, putting his hand into the pile. Light pulsed through it, and then Mor gasped. I hadn’t seen shit other than the light.
