Page 57 of Eternal Sacrifice
I can feel the days shortening. Flowing from one into the next like a stream nearing a fall. The nights have grown shorter as well. My time is coming to an end. She can heal celestial wounds with the Book of Knowledge and the power of my blood.
I sat back momentarily, thinking about Lucifer’s unwritten last page. His final moments in the realm. I flipped back to the empty page, opened a drawer to grab a pen, and started the account of Lucifer’s death.
I am Morrigan, a former human turned demonling and one of the current Kings of Hell. Lucifer is dead, and because of a mark Lucifer gave me and my pack, we inherited his powers when he died. He was killed by Lilith, who had a Book of Knowledge. She bound him in the pit of Hell and stabbed him in the heart with a magical blade.
We tried to stop it. But in the end, I could only hold him as his soul left his body. Lilith stabbed my mate Jax next, barely missing his heart. Thankfully, my pet dragon rushed to the rescue, distracting Lilith long enough for my mate, Jasper, to pull her soul from her body. Her soul fractured upon her death.
I put the pen down and sat back, thinking about the dismal permanent lines that accounted for his death. There was more, but every time I thought back to the moment, all I saw was Jax’s still body.
I looked down and noticed the hidden drawer open; I thought I had closed that.
I looked back at the sparse lines written in my hand, then flipped the page back to Lucifer’s. The last line of text stood out as if raised above the rest, and it felt like someone had turned up the volume of the whispering voices in my mind.
“Heal celestial wounds,” I mumbled while I reached over to grab the Book of Knowledge.
As if directed by Lucifer, I flipped through the pages of the spell book. I landed on a page near the middle, and my mind went silent immediately. The pounding of my heart was the only thing I could hear while I read the blood-inked spell.
“Ultimate Healing Spell.”
Well, that seemed straightforward.
The ingredient list included angelic-powered blood, bones, flowers, and an array of other instructions on how to properly prepare them. Notes were written in the margins. It was enough to confirm this was the spell Lilith was attempting to cast the night she killed Lucifer. I remembered Justice’s story about Lilith being cursed and unable to have children. I figured that was likely the reason for this spell.
The shimmering swirls of gold pulsed, almost as if begging to get my attention. My gaze shifted, curious to see what information they held.
The whispers started again, calm and seductive. They took on a low purr, and I closed my eyes to hear them better. The moment I did, they started to show me images inside my head.
Jax’s face came into view behind my eyelids. His sea-foam green eyes shone as he laughed. His head tilted back, exposing his neck, and immediately I noticed the silver scar no longer cut through his runes.
“How?” I breathed, unsure if my lips moved or if I had simply spoken inside my mind. “How do I heal him?”
Neither the whispering voices nor the images provided a clear answer. I opened my eyes, looking between the inked spell and the shimmering gold. They were similar to one another, both promising to hold what I seek.
My gaze shifted from the book to the rest of the desk, and I saw the spell’s ingredients lined up on the table. I looked back down at the page, double-checking. It seemed even Hell was in support of me attempting the spell.
I moved the book to the side, referencing it as I drew the design printed in blood ink with chalk on the table. At least the lines on the page didn’t move like the shimmering gold ones. Once I was sure I had placed every line exactly where it needed to be, I started setting the offerings in place.
My hands started moving as if they understood the directions. I opened a drawer of Lucifer’s desk, finding a thin blade inside, as if I had known it was there all along. I pressed the tip into the palm of my right hand. Blood welled in my cupped hold, and I set the knife on the table while double-checking the instructions.
I tipped my hand, allowing the blood to flow on the goat’s skull. It sizzled like liquid fire, sending plumes of thick gray smoke into the air. I coughed, clearing my throat as I started to speak the spell’s words.
“Ex nihilo nihil fit. Flectere si nequeo superos, Acheronta movebo.”
It felt like a hook inside me, ripping and tearing through me. Each word I spoke seemed attached to a line, pulling on my soul like a stretching canvas. I could barely drag air into my lungs, but was determined to finish the spell. Powered by the mental image of Jax’s smiling face and healed skin, I squinted at the page.
It was hard to read, so I closed my eyes and listened to the whispers. They spoke simultaneously, as if a million voices were all screaming the same words.
“Igne natura renovatur integra.”
The last word felt almost drawn from my lips, pulled into the universe while I focused on the mental image of Jax.
The pain filled my mind, and I clenched my teeth together, and my eyes squeezed shut.
Just a little longer. I could withstand this for him.
I could take the pain.
A scream tore from me, and something ripped in my chest, stemming from my mate bond. That was when I realized the bond connecting Jax to me was the cause of the anguish. It no longer hummed. It cried out in sorrow, and a half-choked scream burst from my lips. My chest felt like it held the weight of a thousand boulders piling on top of each other, and I sunk beneath the heaviness of it.
