Page 62 of Hidden Sacrifice
“What kind of test?”Mor asked since this was upgraded to a three-way line again.
“It’s a soul test. You must find the lost soul, and they will help you get to the main area.”Jax answered.
“How do you know all that?”I asked, not discarding his advice but still curious.
“Because I passed the test, and now, I am waiting for the rest of you to catch up. Wren was already here when I got here. She’s chatty now, and I would appreciate it if someone could hurry up and give her someone else to talk to.”
Purposefully, I sent echoes of my laughter as a response. At least I knew the objective now, as I walked slower this time down the path. The first tree I approached was just off the trail, with a thick dark trunk easily twice a person’s size. The bare branches twisted and turned before pointing sharply upwards, accusing the sky of some wrongdoing.
I took a slow walk around the trunk, noticing a large hole in the far side dug deep within the tree’s roots.
“I wouldn’t go down there if I were you,” a strange voice said above me.
I looked up to see a mouse perched on one of the roots. Looking around again, I found nothing else alive, so my gaze zeroed back in on the mouse.
“Is this the way to the mainland?” I asked, trying not to think too hard about attempting to ask a mouse for directions.
“It is the way inside,” the mouse responded, though its mouth never moved. It merely sat there, with black beady eyes staring back. Its little nose twitched before it scratched itself with a tiny paw.
I shrugged; inside sounded like progress, at least. I turned to shadow and headed into the hole. At least my power seemed to work just fine in the veil, but I would have to be careful after my little display in the bathroom.
The space got narrower and narrower as I descended, before the tunnel ended abruptly into a smooth dirt wall, too soft to be natural. Focusing, I pressed my ear against the wall and heard the muffled sound of voices on the other side.
Using all the strength I could muster, I punched the dirt. The bones in my hand screamed out in pain as dirt and rocks scattered away from the substantial hole I had just made.
“Fuck,” I groaned, cradling my hand to my chest. It would take a few minutes to heal, but I shouldn’t have been so stupid. Now I had to use my left hand to dig through the dirt, slowly widening the hole left behind by my fist.
Streams of light began to pierce through the darkness as I broke through. By the time I made a hole large enough to crawl through, my other hand was healed well.
I stood in the middle of the throne room, my familiar princely black suit immaculate as always. Mother sat atop her throne, mine empty and waiting by her side. But, Mother is dead.
“She is alive,”a voice whispered inside my mind as my memories seemed clear. Of course, Mother was alive.
Thankfully, Father had still not arrived. I would have time to get seated and save my ass from the whipping. Using a burst of speed, I zipped to my mother’s side, taking a seat on my throne before turning to her.
Her long golden-blonde hair fell down her shoulders in soft waves. She looked at me with a smirk that told me how close I was to being late. Father hated it when I was late, but in my defense, these meetings were so dull that I think I would rather die. And he was never on time. I didn’t even understand why he insisted I be part of vampire affairs; it would be a long time before I even had the chance to sit on the throne.
“Cut it close again, Jace,” she whispered teasingly. Her voice washed over me as an ache started in my chest. The strange sensation of missing the melodic sound of her voice. But no, that wouldn’t make sense. I would have seen her yesterday.
“You know I have better things to do than sit here and listen to how father likes to punish people.” I rolled my eyes before thinking twice and double-checking that Father wasn’t here yet. I may be fast, but he was faster.
“Oh, yes. Even I, your mother, have not been spared the tales of your antics. Please, darling, slow down at the court clubs for my sake. You are starting to get quite the reputation.”
The word darling floated around in my mind, as a nagging feeling washed over me that I had forgotten something. My mother reached her hand out, placing it on my arm and the disturbing feeling vanished. She smiled softly at me, and I couldn’t help but feel the stab in my heart as something like painful longing washed over me.
“Why don’t you have dinner with me tonight rather than going out to look for your mate. We all know you aren’t going to find the one in the middle of a sex club.” She smiled again, and I felt my lips mirror hers, but that nagging feeling returned as the word mate bounced around in my mind. Mother squeezed my arm lightly, but my mind was busy hunting down the memory that seemed so urgent yet couldn’t come when called for.
“Yeah, dinner sounds nice,” I said flatly as I tried to push the nagging to the side. I looked up at my mother’s soft blue eyes, my mind foggy again. My mother’s eyes were hazel.
“Your mother’s eyes are blue,”a voice inside my mind whispered to me, helping me to remember. How had I forgotten the soft blue of Mother’s eyes, and why would I have thought they were hazel?
“You seem tired. How about we both skip out and have dinner together right now. I’ll tell your father you were here on time, but I whisked you away.” Her hand squeezed tighter yet around my arm, almost painfully.
I looked down to see her knuckles whiten as she gripped me as if I would leave, but not with her. Quickly, she released her grip, folding her hands in her lap as if waiting patiently. Something was wrong; I was sure of it now. I just couldn’t put my finger on what.
“Come on, Jace, let’s get dinner. I feel we haven’t had a moment to talk in ages,” Mother said, getting to her feet and extending her elbow for me to lead.
Standing, I hooked my arm in hers as I led her out of the throne room. It did feel like it had been ages since I last had a moment with my mother. My power was feeling much lower than I typically liked for it to be.
