Page 28 of Eternal Sacrifice
She was doing the mind thing with them. It would be nice if everyone in the pack had that power.
“Change of plans. Mor can see the Black Annis’ soul. But there is obviously a protection barrier preventing us from simply grabbing her,” Jax said out loud so the rest of us could be included.
“We do NOT want to go in there and try to make her come out,” I said, ensuring my princess wasn’t thinking about using all her powers to solo this mission.
“Actually, I think we should make the outside come to her,” Mor said with a smug smirk. “Springfield, you control plants, right?”
“It’s more complicated than--” Springfield shut his mouth as his eyes widened. His eyes shifted back to my mate, and he nodded before stalking toward the massive oak tree. His arms extended in front of him, and he gestured to the side violently.
The ground beneath our feet trembled and groaned. Leaves rustled as the branches shook, while the entire trunk of the tree shifted ten feet. Springfield pushed his arms out as if shooing an annoying pest. The tree lunged out of his way, and bright light spilled in front of the cave.
“Knock, knock,” Mor yelled before fire shot from her hands. She focused her attack on the cave’s stone, and we all realized she planned to level it.
Zeb and Ryan added their power to the assault, working with Mor to weaken the structure. Mass destruction wasn’t how hunts were supposed to go, but this was the only way to ensure the ghost moved on to where it belonged.
Jax joined in, using his power to remove the crumbling structure and allow the sun’s bright light to poke through the mouth of the cave.
“Just a little more, and her protection spell should break,” Justice growled, standing with his knees bent in a low crouch. His eyes were glued to the dark corners of the cave as if he were a cat patiently waiting for a little mouse to make a run for it.
A shockwave of power rippled through the air, blasting into the clearing to signal the spell had broken. The dark shadows of the cave paled, and I saw the outline of the Black Annis as she tried to use long metal fingers to dig her way deeper into the Earth.
“Don’t worry, baby,” Ryan taunted the spirit, “I’ve got you now.” He flicked his wrist, and a crystalline arrow shot forward.
It struck the soul, and her body went stiff, frozen instantly. Springfield jumped in next, coaxing vines to wrap around her. A moment later, Jax pulled his hand through the air, pulling her into the light.
A high-pitched squeal erupted from the frozen and still soul, muffling as her blue skin turned ash gray. In the time it took me to blink, her body turned entirely to stone.
“It’s not over yet,” Mor called out. “The soul is still in there.”
“I’ve got it!” Justice yelled before charging the statue. He barreled into the stone, wrapping his arms around the middle as his momentum carried him and the ghost into the air. They crashed to the ground, Justice riding the statue until it crumbled into a million pieces. “Good now, Fox?”
“Yup,” she squeaked before breaking into uncontrollable laughter.
One by one, we all started laughing, too. Even Ryan, Springfield, and Zeb joined in once the euphoric feeling of victory washed over the group. It may have been messy and against every protocol we were taught regarding soul cleanup, but the soul was taken care of, and my pack is safe.
Working together, we could make a real difference.
Morrigan
Wereturned,victorious,tothe Hell realm. It was still the middle of the day, but jittering, excited energy surrounded our group. We were too hyped up from the recent win to settle into mundane demon life.
We needed to celebrate.
Rather than attempting to shove eight demons into the small cabin, Jasper created a roaring fire outside. The flames rose high into the sky, towering above me as Jasper released some energy. His eyes looked like embers as he focused on the inferno and coaxed it into a small crackling display.
Ryan held out his hand, and I watched crystals pour onto the ground as if he had opened a bag of snow. A rough shape of a chair formed, and Ryan continued to build his seat while twisting, growing vines caught my attention. Springfield was using his fingers to guide the plants into the shape of a bench.
While I was distracted by those creating their own chairs, I didn’t notice Zeb and Jasper had gone into the woods to grab large stumps to bring back for the rest of us. Jasper tossed two stumps to the ground before looking over my head with a confused expression. “Justice, what in the actual Hell?”
I looked over my shoulder to see Justice dragging a recliner through the trees, carving a path through the dirt in his wake. He hauled it up to the fire, dragging and adjusting it until it sat perfectly before he hopped up and pulled the bar to raise his feet.
“It’s not my fault you would rather sit on crummy logs when you could be basking in your intelligence.”
Jasper nearly laughed, but looked to the ground with a smile instead. After a moment, he shook his head before returning his attention to the massive stumps. With a wave of his hand, flames jumped from the fire and engulfed the wood. It lit up like a dead Christmas tree. The fire crept over to the next stump a moment later, leaving the first as a smoldering, charred chair.
“But it does come with a built-in ass warmer.” Jasper had a smug grin as he looked at Justice while offering me the first seat.
Justice laughed; a maniacal twisted laugh went on until the smug look on Jasper’s face faded into uncertainty.
