[Sacrifice Me 08.0] Season Two: Part 2

by Sarra Cannon

  We’d been so blind, but now that the missing pieces of this puzzle were coming to light, it all made sense.

  The Devil hadn’t known about the Council’s betrayal, and the three members of the Council were desperate to keep their secret from him. Surely the Council had known about the Devil’s plan to release Solomon from his stone by sacrificing Franki.

  But they wouldn’t have been able to directly attack the Devil themselves. That would have been impossible to hide, and they would have all been condemned to death when the truth had come out. The entire Brotherhood of Darkness would have fallen apart.

  No, they would have devised a plan with the help of the Mother Crow. A way to be sure Franki was safe, along with their secret.

  The Council had sent those roses to Franki. They had sent her to Venom, knowing that I would discover those lesser vampires attacking her in the alley. They knew I would keep her safe, and they knew that once I had grown attached to her, I would do everything I could to rescue her if the Devil did take her from me.

  Shit. They had arranged it all, and I had let them use me this whole time.

  The ironic thing was that I was now fighting for my life for actually following through on their plan to keep Solomon in that stone.

  I couldn’t regret it, because they had given me a gift when they’d sent Franki to my club that night. But I could still hate them for snatching her away from me like this. Because I had no doubt now that they had worked with the Mother Crow to set up Franki’s kidnapping.

  “What do you know about a soul-transference spell that the Mother Crow has?” I asked.

  Mary Tate shook her head. “I thought that was a myth,” she said. “I knew she’d been looking for it, and there were rumors she’d found something years ago, but I never believed it. The woman is literally rotting away. If she had a spell like that, she would have used it, especially after her body was weakened by that battle.”

  “Let’s just say, for argument’s sake, that she has this spell,” I said. “What would it do, in theory, if she cast it on someone?”

  She closed her eyes, fresh tears streaming down her pale cheeks.

  “Please, don’t tell me that’s what has happened to Franki,” she said. “If it is, we should just leave Mary Kathryn where she is. Let her die. If the Mother Crow has cast that spell on Franki, it would be better for her mother to never know.”

  My stomach turned to acid. I gripped the wood of the chair.

  “Tell me what it does,” I said.

  “Exactly what it sounds like,” she said. “From what I heard of it, there’s a stone involved. A soul stone. When activated, it will be embedded in the body of the witch who is meant for the transfer. But it can’t be Franki. From what I heard of this spell, the sacrifice must be done willingly. She would never agree to that.”

  I felt ill and exhausted. Pushed to the limit.

  “She was tricked,” I said. “What I need to know is how the spell works, how long she has before it takes hold, and how I can save her.”

  “Oh my God,” she said, wrapping her bound arms around her knees and falling forward as sobs escaped her lips.

  “There isn’t time for tears,” I said, standing. “If you know how I can save her, you need to tell me now.”

  She looked up, her eyes red from crying.

  “Rend, I’m sorry,” she said as she gasped for air between words. “There’s no way to save her now.”

  A Memory

  Franki

  I fought against sleep, but after Mary Evelyn left, my eyes betrayed me. I stood and walked around the room. I did jumping jacks. I splashed cold water on my face. But nothing worked for long.

  Maybe it was the food, or hell, maybe they’d put something into the food or the water to make me sleep, but I simply couldn’t resist it any longer.

  Scared I was going to pass out and hurt myself, I finally gave in and crawled into the bed, exhaustion consuming me within seconds.

  And dreams along with it.

  I sat in the middle of a clearing in the woods, a book open on my lap.

  Even as I slept, I knew this wasn’t a dream. Not exactly.

  It was a memory. But not mine.

  It was hers, and I was experiencing it through her eyes.

  I picked up the book and read a few words, the thrill of the spell prickling at my skin.

  I’d found it among my mother’s things, even though she’d forbidden me to look at it.

  The new ladies in town wouldn’t be happy that I had this, either. It was forbidden to learn dark magic, but I wanted to be the strongest. The most powerful.

  Soon, I would be the ruler of them all.

  The women who’d come to our town hadn’t told us the particulars of the ritual, but I had an idea of what might happen. When they chose me to be the new Prima of this town, they’d told me they had a very special power to share with me. Something secret.

  I’d asked them a hundred times to tell me their secrets, but they refused, always answering me with a smile and telling me I’d find out the day of the ritual.

  But I had never been a patient girl.

  I wanted to know what they were planning to do to me. To give to me.

  My parents never had much money, so I’d never gotten much in the way of gifts on my birthday or special holidays. This, though, would be the ultimate gift. I could feel it deep in my bones.

  This gift would change my life forever. Make me powerful beyond compare.

  It would make me like them.

  When the women had first come to town, I’d noticed them right away. It was hard not to. This was a very small town, and it was a rare treat to see someone new. And these ladies were beautiful. Their skin was perfect. Their clothes were so clean, and they never seemed to wear the same dress twice.

  The moment I saw them, I wanted to be just like them. So when they approached me after classes one afternoon and told me they were recruiting members for their new, secret group, I said yes so fast it was shameful.

  I helped them pick some of the other girls. The ones I knew were special, like me. I had always been able to sense power in women and girls who were like me.

  Witches.

  It wasn’t a word that anyone ever said out loud, but I knew magic was real. I’d played around with it a lot as a little girl, and even though my mother had told me it was naughty and dangerous, I loved the way it made me feel.

  Special. Different.

  Powerful.

  These women—particularly the one they called Priestess Winter—were exactly the type of women I wanted to become. I bet no one ever teased them or called them names when they were younger. I bet no one dared to cross them.

  I had done everything I could to be the best of their pupils as they taught us a few of their most basic spells. Child’s play, really, and it hadn’t been difficult to catch their attention.

  Lighting candles. Casting orbs of light. It was easy for me.

  For some of the other girls, magic was new and difficult, but I’d been experimenting with it since I could first feel it flowing through my veins.

  None of their spells thrilled me the way the spells in this book did, and I was anxious to try them out.

  But I was also scared. If Priestess Winter found out I even had this book, she’d be so angry she might take away the present they had picked out for me.

  A demon of my own.

  I smiled and brought the book to my chest, hugging it as if it were a doll.

  I’d used one of the easier spells in this book to cloak myself in shadows and listen to the visitors talk about the ritual they were planning. This clearing I now sat in was part of it, and underneath me, they were building some kind of ritual room that would open a portal to another world.

  The Shadow World.

  It sounded so deliciously mysterious.

  As they talked, I understood why they didn’t tell me about the ritual. To most girls, it would sound terrifying to have a demon summoned from another world and
forced into your body as a slave.

  But I wasn’t like most girls.

  I loved the idea. A demon would make me powerful and strong.

  And I would use that strength to destroy anyone who had ever dared make fun of me or my family. It wasn’t my fault we were poor or that my father was always drunk and beating us girls. The people of this town should have helped us, instead of laughing at us.

  But I would make them pay.

  I was the chosen one. Their Prima. In a week, it would be time for the ritual. I would show them all just how powerful I was.

  I opened the book again and read another one of the spells. This one was very interesting. It explained how to grow a special kind of rose with black petals.

  A twig snapped somewhere to my left, and I turned with a gasp, my heart racing.

  “Hello?” I asked.

  It was probably that wretched Clara Brighton. I hated her, and she knew it. Besides, she lived close to here. I couldn’t let her find me with this book, or she’d tell Priestess Winter.

  I closed my book and stood.

  “Who’s there?”

  No one answered, but I could feel them there, hiding in the trees.

  I clutched the book to my chest and ran the opposite way, darting through the forest as fast as I could. When I was sure I wasn’t being followed, I shoved the book into the hollow of a rotting tree and cast a quick glamour to hide it.

  Then, I took a deep breath and shifted into a beautiful black bird. A crow.

  Within seconds, I was flying high above the trees, praying my secret was still safe.

  I sat straight up in bed, gasping for air as the memory slowly faded away.

  My body was covered in sweat, and I pulled my long hair from the back of my neck and took several deep breaths.

  I had no idea how long I’d been asleep, locked in some distant memory of the Mother Crow’s life, but I didn’t feel at all rested.

  If anything, I felt even more restless than ever. It was as if I could feel that a piece of her soul had slipped into mine, locking itself in place. She was slowly taking over, and I shuddered at the thought of what I was becoming.

  For months since I’d first felt Solomon’s dark power awaken inside of me, I’d been terrified of it. Scared to even cast for fear of what it might turn me into, and yet here I was, with an even darker power snaking its way through my insides.

  I curled into a tight ball on the bed and rocked back and forth, trying to soothe myself, but there was no comfort to be found.

  I hated weakness. I didn’t want any part of it. I wanted to be strong. To believe that there was still hope.

  But the only hope I had left was in a name I began repeating to myself over and over like a prayer.

  Rend.

  More Powerful Than Darkness

  Rend

  I refused to believe what this witch was saying could be true. There had to be a way to save Franki.

  “If I kill the Mother Crow before the spell completely takes over—”

  “It won’t help,” she said, shaking her head. “If the stone is already inside her body, then the spell has already taken hold. She’s linked to the Mother Crow forever, Rend.”

  “That can’t be right,” I said, reaching for the dagger.

  This witch might be telling the truth as far as she understood it, but there was no way that was the whole truth. It couldn’t be.

  “Did the Mother Crow breathe some of her life into the stone before she placed it inside Franki’s chest?” she asked. “Were you there when it happened?”

  I nodded, closing my eyes. “Yes, she did. She placed it near her lips, and when she exhaled, the stone began to glow slightly. That’s when she pressed it against Franki’s skin.”

  “Then it’s already over,” she said. “I know this isn’t what you want to hear, and believe me, I wish it wasn’t true.”

  “If you weren’t entirely sure this spell even existed, then how do you know so much about it?” Silas asked. “I thought you said it was just a rumor. If that’s true, then maybe you’re wrong about how it works.”

  “I’m not,” she said. “One of my sisters claimed to have found the spell. She was bragging about it to a small group of us a few years back, saying she was sure to be rewarded greatly for finding such a treasure. She told us all about it, including how it worked. But when the Mother Crow didn’t choose one of us as a sacrifice to save herself, even after she was burned so badly in the battle, we all dismissed it as a lie.”

  “What will happen to Franki if I put this dagger through the Mother Crow’s heart?” I asked, raising it up.

  The witch pressed back against the wooden headboard, her eyes filled with fear.

  “She’ll die, too,” she said. “She’s connected to the Mother Crow now, and there’s no way to break that bond. If one dies, the other dies with her.”

  I shook my head, rage and sorrow flooding through me.

  “What if I cut the stone from Franki’s chest?” I asked.

  She shook her head. “It won’t help,” she said. “It’s part of Franki’s life-source now.”

  “What else do you know about the spell?” Silas asked. “Even the smallest details of what will happen might help us now. How long will it take for the transfer to be complete? What will happen to Franki when it is?”

  “It will be complete within days,” she said. “Three days from the moment it’s placed. Or at least that’s what my sister told me at the time. When that’s done, the Mother Crow’s soul will be fully transferred into Franki’s body. She will consume all Franki’s power and be able to use it as her own. I’m not sure what will happen to Franki’s soul. She may be trapped inside there, unable to control herself, or she may simply cease to exist completely.”

  “No,” I shouted, turning and slamming the tip of the dagger into the wall.

  I wanted it to be the Mother Crow’s heart. She’d been right there in front of me, and I’d been completely powerless to stop her.

  I would never forgive myself.

  I’d sworn never to let myself love someone with my whole heart ever again. Not after losing my sister the way I had.

  And yet, opening my heart to Franki was the best thing I’d ever done. I had loved her from the moment she stepped into my club, and I had sworn to protect her. Given everything I could to make sure she was safe.

  And still, I had let her slip away.

  I pulled the dagger from the wall and sliced it through again, my rage on the brink of consuming me. I shouted and gripped the dagger harder, for a moment, imagining plunging the tip into my own chest to end it all.

  It had broken my heart to know my sister was trapped inside the body of a witch for all those years, and I couldn’t go through that again. Not with Franki.

  I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the wall, taking deep breaths to calm my trembling body. I fought against the thirst and the anger. I fought against the need to destroy.

  I could not lose myself the way I had before. I would not forget who I was and what I was capable of. If I had only waited or tried harder, I could have saved my sister. I could have saved them all, but I had lost hope back then. I had chosen violence and despair over unshakeable belief.

  I was not going to make that mistake again.

  If there was one thing I had learned through all my years of life, it was this: Love was always more powerful than darkness and hate.

  And a love like ours was too powerful to give up on.

  I didn’t care about what was logical, or even what was possible.

  Because a love like ours could change everything. Even magic.

  I pulled Solomon’s dagger from the wall and turned to the witch on the bed.

  “Untie her,” I said, motioning to Silas.

  “What are you going to do to me?” she asked.

  I put the dagger back in its leather sheath and took my place in the chair facing the witch.

  “I’m going to listen to what you have to sa
y about the Mother Crow,” I said. “I want to know everything about her powers and, most of all, her weaknesses. I want to know what motivates her. What she’s afraid of. I want to know everything you know, starting with her deepest fears and her longest regrets.”

  I refused to accept defeat.

  I still had three days to find a way to save her, and I would not fail.

  Not this time.

  Episode Five

  The Magic Knew

  Franki

  Memories invaded my mind, and no matter how hard I tried to think of other things, I kept seeing scenes of the Mother Crow’s life play out as if I had lived them myself.

  Mary Evelyn had never returned with any cards or anything that might help keep me occupied. I had no doubt the Mother Crow had forbidden her to help me, despite her talk about making sure I had everything I needed while I was locked away.

  She wanted me to experience this. She needed me to see her memories. For them to become a part of me.

  Maybe it was all a part of the transfer process. Maybe I needed to actually experience them in order for her life to become tangled with my own past.

  I paced the small bedroom of my new prison and let that thought work its way through my system. The transfer spell was supposed to be cast by someone who had willingly given their life. Even though I hadn’t understood the words as I was saying them, I had come to realize what they meant over time.

  I wasn’t even sure how I knew, but when I thought of the strange words I’d recited the night she kidnapped me, I understood them as if I’d always known.

  Maybe that was part of the transfer, too. As I took on more of the Mother Crow’s memories and spirit, maybe I also took on her knowledge.

  Chills broke out across my skin.

  This could prove useful. I wasn’t sure how, but so far, the Mother Crow had always been several steps ahead of me, planting things she knew I’d find. Having me watched.

  If I could find a way to tap into her knowledge at will, maybe I could find a way to beat her.