[Sacrifice Me 08.0] Season Two: Part 2

by Sarra Cannon

  “Do you know how she contacted this spy?” Silas asked. “Did they meet up every so often? Or was there some type of signal between them?”

  She shook her head. “I’m sorry. I don’t know anything else about it. Just that Mary Kathryn would leave us for a few hours every week or two, and when she would come back, she would know whether they were still in same spot or if they had moved on,” she said. “But it wasn’t like every Thursday night or something regular. I don’t know how they arranged it, and Mary Kathryn didn’t discuss it with us.”

  “Dammit,” I said. “We have to get her back. That’s the whole reason the Council took her prisoner. They were probably afraid she would come to us with the information as soon as she found out what happened to Franki.”

  “If that’s true, then they knew what was going to happen before the Council meeting ever took place,” Silas said.

  He scratched his cheek and stared at the ground.

  “I told you they had to have suspected what you were going to do,” I said. “So, all that talk about not being sure what happens in the event of a tie was just a show for them. They knew exactly what was going to happen at that meeting, and they prepared for it.”

  Silas nodded silently, but he didn’t raise his eyes. He was in thinking mode, but I was ready for action.

  “Regardless of all this other shit that’s going on, we owe it to Mary Kathryn to get her out of there,” I said. “She’s Franki’s mom. She’s the woman your father loved, if what you say is true. If she’s still alive, we have to save her. And if she can tell us where Franki is right now, then it’s our only course of action. Silas, we’ve searched everywhere else for that damn crow village, and we’ve gotten nowhere. We’re running out of time. You can either help me figure out how to do this and get away with it, or you can stand here alone.”

  Silas finally looked up, his eyes darker than normal.

  “I’ve spent some time at the castle lately,” he said. “While I was being held there waiting for the meeting, I was able to watch the behavior of the Hollows, which might prove a bit useful. I also know that the Council members rarely visit the castle at all unless there’s a meeting or something important to discuss. If I had to guess, I would say Raum probably threw Mary Kathryn into one of the cells they have for witches so that she couldn’t cast any of her magic and left her there to be guarded by the Hollows. Rend, it’s possible they’ve already killed her, anyway.”

  “They’ll keep her alive until they’re sure she’s no longer useful. I’m sure of it. So, we take our chances and go to the castle,” I said. “If we can sneak through and get to the dungeons without being seen, we can avoid fighting most of the ones in the main section of the castle. It’s the ones guarding her that will be a problem. I’ve only seen the Hollows in combat a handful of times, but it wasn’t pretty.”

  Silas shook his head. “No, they aren’t easy creatures to beat. Their skin is nearly impenetrable to normal weapons, and I haven’t had a chance to observe them in battle enough to—”

  His words cut off sharply, and he clutched the dark stone in his hand. He closed his eyes and nodded, as if having a private conversation in his head.

  Solomon.

  I waited not-so-patiently as my possibly-insane friend had a conversation with his father. When he finally opened his eyes and looked up, he had a smile on his face.

  “What?” I asked. “Please tell me dear old dad had some useful information to share?”

  He tilted his head toward me. “I know you don’t believe everything I’ve told you about my father,” he said. “But yes, he did give me some quite useful information about the Hollows that just might help us pull this off. Come on. We’re going to need to stop by your lab.”

  The Lucky One

  Franki

  When I was able to peel myself off the bathroom floor, I stood in front of the sink and let the cold water run. I cupped my hands underneath and drank as much water as I could stomach.

  After pacing the floor for a while and getting nowhere, I’d tried another exploration session that had wiped me out for over an hour, and I felt more dehydrated than I’d ever felt in my life.

  I splashed water on my face and stood there, clutching the side of the sink as I took several deep breaths and prayed for my legs to stop trembling.

  There was no doubt in my mind now that the magic I was now experimenting with was way outside my comfort zone. Intuition took me farther than I’d expected it to, but if I wanted to go any deeper into the Mother Crow’s mind and connection, I was going to have to build up my tolerance to pain.

  Not exactly something to look forward to, but then again, neither was death-by-soul-transfer.

  If there was any kind of light at the end of this tunnel, it was hidden inside that miserable woman’s brain, and if I had to deal with a few days of terrible pain to get to it, I was willing to do whatever it took.

  I started back toward the bed to try again when the first of the deadbolts clicked open in the next room. I swallowed down my fear and walked over toward the couch just as Mary Evelyn entered the room.

  “Hi,” I said, my stomach rumbling at the sight of the food she carried on a wooden tray.

  “Hello,” she said, smiling. “How are you feeling?”

  She may as well have been wearing a nurse’s uniform from the way she was acting. Just come to check on her patient.

  “I’m doing okay,” I said. “It’s a bit boring in here, though.”

  “Did you get some rest after I left?” she asked, glancing down at the food.

  My shoulders drooped at her obvious giveaway. So, she had put something in the food earlier to help me sleep.

  Chills ran across my flesh.

  Did that mean I’d been right about them needing me to experience these memories for myself? Why else would they care whether or not I slept? I knew they wanted to make sure my body was strong for the final transfer of the Mother Crow’s spirit, but a few days of crappy sleep wasn’t going to kill me.

  On the other hand, eating their food and being put into some kind of deep sleep where I’d be subjected to yet another memory just might.

  “I did, thank you,” I said, trying to keep my voice cheery.

  She set the tray of food down on the coffee table like she had earlier this morning and nodded to it. “Go ahead,” she said. “Eat up. I’m sure you’re hungry.”

  My stomach growled, but I didn’t trust this food.

  “You know, I’m actually not hungry at all,” I lied. “I guess I ate so much at breakfast, I can’t imagine eating anything else for a while. But thanks for bringing it.”

  She frowned and glanced back toward the door.

  She hadn’t been expecting my response, and now she was looking for help on how to deal with me.

  Had people always been this easy to read before? Or had my ability to understand subtle glances suddenly gotten exponentially better?

  Maybe that was another ability of the Mother Crow’s finding its way into my mind and body.

  “If you want, you can just leave it here,” I said. “I can eat it later.”

  “I don’t know,” she said. “You’re supposed to keep your strength up. It’s important, Mary Francis.”

  “Please, call me Franki,” I said.

  She gave me a small smile. “I can’t,” she said. “Nicknames are forbidden.”

  “Of course, they are,” I said under my breath.

  I had to keep from rolling my eyes. How did the Mother Crow manage to keep all these strong women on such a tight leash? Didn’t any of them have a mind of their own?

  And to think I once wondered if I belonged here.

  “I promise I’ll eat when I get hungry,” I said. “I’m just not feeling like it at the moment.”

  She glanced toward the door again and finally started walking toward it. I thought she was just going to leave, but instead, she closed the door and came back to sit on the couch.

  She smiled and gestured tow
ard the food. “I’ll just stay until you feel like eating,” she said. “I want to get those plates back down to the kitchen before too long.”

  Awesome.

  Reluctantly, I sat down on the floor in front of the food. I really was starving. It almost hurt to look at that food and not be able to touch it, but I didn’t want to end up sleeping half the afternoon away, lost in dreams. I needed time to practice this new magic.

  But I had a feeling Mary Evelyn was going to sit here watching me until I ate this food, so either way, I was losing time.

  “Maybe I’ll just eat a few bites,” I said.

  She smiled again and nodded.

  This time, she had brought a sandwich with fluffy, homemade bread, ham, lettuce, tomato, and avocado. It was cut perfectly down the middle.

  I picked up the first half and slowly took a bite. Maybe if I only ate some of the food and not two huge plates of it, I would only sleep for a little while. Besides, if the knowledge I was looking for was inside one of the Mother Crow’s memories, maybe I would get lucky with my next little dream-trip down memory lane.

  In the meantime, I had Mary Evelyn’s undivided attention, and I decided to use it while I could. The question was how to start up a casual conversation without freaking her out like I did last time.

  “So, what are your normal duties here in the village?” I asked.

  “What?” she asked, shaking her head slightly, as if she’d been lost in thought. “Oh, nothing that exciting, I guess. Just the normal things. Tending the gardens, cooking, things like that. A few times a week, I get to help train the little ones in the basics of magic.”

  Her eyes lit up when she mentioned the children, which only made me think about our last conversation. Did she think of her son every time she taught the children, wondering what his life would have been like if he’d been allowed to actually live it?

  “That sounds fun,” I said. “Are there are lot of children here?”

  “We have sixteen little birds under the age of ten,” she said.

  I nearly choked on my sandwich. Little Bird is what my fake mother used to call me growing up.

  “Are you okay?” she asked as I coughed and quickly took a sip of water.

  “I’m fine,” I said. “Must have just swallowed wrong. You were talking about the girls?”

  “Yes, they’re so sweet,” she said. “Those are my favorite afternoons of the week, getting to teach them the simple things.”

  “Like what?” I asked.

  She shrugged. “Oh, you know. Just the basic things like how to shift into their crow form. How to connect to their power. How to grow black roses and trap your enemies inside a circle.”

  I swallowed a bite of food before I choked again.

  Growing poisonous roses to trap your enemies was one of the basics here? Jeez. No wonder all these girls grew up terrified of the outside world. They were taught from birth that there were enemies all around them.

  I didn’t even know how to respond to that.

  “I wish I’d had someone to teach me when I was little,” I said, just trying to keep the conversation going.

  “I can’t imagine how difficult that must have been for you,” she said. “Did your mother not teach you at all?”

  “First of all, she wasn’t my mother,” I said. “Second of all, no. She forbid me to cast magic of any kind. She said that it was dangerous, and she punished me any time I even used it accidentally. Instead, she taught me how to resist my magic.”

  Mary Evelyn frowned. “That’s terrible,” she said. “But I’m sure she was only acting in your best interest, of course.”

  I laughed. “Sure,” I said. “You do know she tried to sacrifice me in a ritual, right?”

  Her eyes widened. “When you were a child?”

  “No, like a few months ago,” I said.

  She shook her head. “I had no idea,” she said. “All I knew was that she was supposed to return you here to your family a few years ago, but she never showed up. She was labeled a betrayer, but no one knew where she had gone.”

  “I didn’t either,” I said. “She disappeared for a long time, but when she came back, she came to kill me.”

  But I didn’t want to spend the time I had with her talking about my past. I needed to find a way to turn the conversation back to her and the village.

  “It doesn’t matter, anyway,” I said. “She’s gone now, and I’m here where I belong.”

  “Yes, you are,” she said, smiling again. “Everyone is so excited that you’re finally here.”

  “I just wish I had more of a chance to get to know everyone else,” I said. “It’s been great talking to you. Do you think there’s any way I’ll be able to get out of this room for a little while? I promise I won’t try to go anywhere.”

  “Oh, I don’t think so,” she said. “Besides, it’s not up to me. The Mother Crow is the one who makes all those decisions, and she wants you here in your own private room. That’s a real luxury here, you know. Most of us have to share with several other girls.”

  I forced a smile. “Aren’t I just the lucky one?”

  “You really are, Mary Francis,” she said. “I know you can’t see that now, but it’s a true honor to be chosen for such an important duty.”

  I cleared my throat. The first half of this sandwich was almost gone, and I didn’t plan on eating the second piece.

  “Can I ask you a question?”

  “Sure,” she said.

  “This spell that was cast on me,” I started, choosing each word carefully. “Do you know anything about it?”

  She straightened. “Not much,” she said. “I know the Mother Crow will soon take over your body, but that’s about all I know.”

  “Do you know who first discovered the spell? Or if it’s in a book or anything?” I asked.

  She bit her lip and glanced at the door again, signaling that she was probably about to excuse herself from this conversation.

  “I was just hoping that maybe I could read the spell myself,” I said. “I’d like to know if it explains the process of what’s happening to me.”

  “But why?” she asked quietly. “There’s nothing you can do to stop it, even if you wanted to.”

  “Oh, I know that,” I said. “I was actually wondering if there was information in the book that might tell me how to make the transition smoother for both of us. Everyone keeps telling me that the final moments of the transfer might be difficult and that I need to keep my strength up, but I was hoping there might be some more detailed information in there about how to make it easier when the time comes.”

  That explanation seemed to put Mary Evelyn at ease a bit.

  “I honestly don’t know what the spell says about the transfer,” she said. “There might be some information in there about the process, but I’ve never seen it myself. Mary Lou is the one who found the spell book in one of the hidden libraries at some priestess’s house. You should have seen her when she came back with it, telling everyone that she was going to be a Favored One after the Mother Crow realized what she’d found. She was bragging about it for months, but to be honest, everyone in the village thought she was lying.”

  My mouth went dry. Mary Lou had found the soul transfer spell in a hidden library that belonged to one of the priestesses? Harper and the entire Demon Liberation Movement had been searching for the houses of the priestesses of the Order of Shadows for a very long time, and here the crows had known where at least one of them was this whole time.

  “That’s incredible,” I said. “So, there’s a whole book about it?”

  “I’m not sure about that, but the spell is written in the Mother Crow’s journal,” she said. “It’s a very complicated spell, from what I’ve been told. It took several human sacrifices just to create that stone.”

  She nodded toward the stone now embedded in my chest, and I swallowed back the horror of knowing several lives had been taken just to seal my doom.

  “Do you know which priestess Mar
y Lou got it from?” I asked.

  “Oh, I have no idea,” she said. “I think it’s one of the ones who is still alive, though. I can’t remember.”

  My head swam with the possibilities. If this Mary Lou was here in the village, I had to get word out to Harper and the others about her. This would be huge information in the war against the Order.

  But right now, I had to focus on that book.

  “Were there other spells in the book, too? Or just that one?”

  “In the Mother Crow’s journal?” she asked, eyes wide. “Of course. That’s where she keeps all of her more powerful spells.”

  “I know this is asking a lot, but do you think you could get it for me?” I asked. “If there’s anything inside that could help me through this transition—”

  “I can’t help you with that, Mary Francis,” she said, leaning back against the cushion. “That journal is kept in the Mother Crow’s personal library in her bedroom. No one has access to those spells.”

  “I understand,” I said. “Thanks for at least talking to me about it. It helps a lot.”

  I finished the first half of the sandwich and pushed the tray away from me.

  “I think I’m full,” I said. “And I’m actually feeling really sleepy. Do you think I could get some privacy, so I could take a nap?”

  Her eyes widened, and her face broke out in a full smile. “Of course,” she said. “If you’re sure you’re done, I’ll just take this back to the kitchen.”

  She tidied up the tray and carried it back toward the door.

  “I hope you get some good rest, Mary Francis,” she said. “Your rest is extremely important to the Mother Crow, which means it’s important to all of us. I’ll be back with some dinner this evening, but if you need anything in the meantime, just knock on the door. I’m never too far away.”

  I smiled and watched as she left the room and locked it behind her.

  So, this journal was here in the house with me. If I could get out of this room, even for just a few minutes, I knew I could find the Mother Crow’s bedroom. And if I could get my hands on that book, maybe I could figure out a way to save myself, after all.