“Your soul–” she coughs again.
Returning one of my own, I sputter, “You…Can’t…Have it.” I remove my blade from its chest, piercing it again. Streams of smoke whisk over her face, visually bringing back the demon’s.
When losing a high quantity of blood, I know my body is supposed to grow cold, but all I feel is heat. An immense amount of it. Like mine is rejecting the notion of dying, and who am I to object? The heat grows blinding, and waves of energy begin flowing around us, yet something about this feels okay.Death can’t exist in the light. This means she can’t have me either.
Smiling, colors stir through me, and another pair of glowing eyes appear, opposite from the pink tint that’s been lurking within the shadows. Their black contrast mixes with the flowing hues before an explosion goes off.
Chapter 3
A new chapter - Different book
ANGIE
“Wake up, we need to go,”I voice, jerking her body back and forth. This park is burned to a crisp, and there is a hole the size of a small wolf’s den where her body lies. Distant voices travel down to us, signaling our need for departure. I place a hand on her bare chest, and cold skin kisses my palms. Her heart…beatless.What the hell happened here?The remains of dirt, trees, and shrubbery are sprawled around.
The situation is dire, and with my attention back on her, the environment seems pleasant in comparison. She is riddled with stab wounds, and her skin is half melted. I retrieve my phone and press call.
“What is it, Angie?” a velvet tone answers after one ring.
“It doesn’t appear good. She’s not moving, and this place resembles a war zone. Are you sure you want me bringing her in?” I ask with hesitation. Not entirely sure what’s going on.
“Your mission is to reclaim her by any means necessary. The state she’s in matters not, so long as she’s breathing when you return,” he demands, and I almost lose my shit.
“That’s just it. She’s not breathing, and people are congregating,” I bite back with a hint of softness. Though my eye roll begs to differ.
“You know what to do, Angie.”
“Yea. Well, you know what happens when I do that. Are you sure it’s a good idea?”
“Get it done. I’ll be expecting you within the hour.” He hangs up, and I damn near throw my phone out of irritation. A half assed plan is something I didn’t sign up for.
A loud noise draws my attention up top, and I quietly scale the crumbling sides of the hole, peaking my head over. Vehicles park with red and blue lights blinking, an entire fleet pointing my direction while those standing by gasp at their surroundings. “Fuck!”
Running back and placing both hands over her chest, my aura begins flowing into her, past the charred organs beneath her ash filled skin. Seconds race without change, which spells disaster if I come back empty handed. “This isn’t enough.” Conviction pushes me to do better. My concentration is stretched between her and the chaos above, which won’t work.
This isn’t like regular healing where multitasking is optional. I’m performing something called Life Bargain, and that depletes most of my energy alone. So being here in the mortal realm may be fatal. I can’t replenish the magic I use.
Regardless, more of my power ingresses her body as untethered static blends and warps reality. Searching for a moment in time before she passed, I finally feel an energy call out. I venture days into her past until I find that little ball of light. Along with an interesting beverage.
I seize her energy and bring it into this point in time. Merging it within her body, the pull of my magic births a sharp cramp throughout my stomach.Shit, it’s depleting me faster than expected. The pain, resembling a blade, slices across my midsection.
The sheer power of her energy is blazingly stubborn. Like a miniature sun within my hands, slowly burning away the skin. But with time progressing, its intensity dims. After a moment, the LifeBargain is complete, and a winded exhale passes before I’m sitting back with my legs stretched out, healing my wounds.
Observing the area, I can’t help but wonder what, or who, caused this? One individual isn’t capable of such destruction. The entire trail has scorch marks etched in it, and buildings beyond the trees all have gaping holes. I bite my lip at the unsettling ease of the wreckage, knowing there’s something I’m missing, but what?
A cough snatches me out of reflecting, and I peek over in disbelief.Did it work?
She sits up, wheezing and choking out a breath, and I watch, keeping my movements silent. Depending on her reaction, it’ll tell me if the Life Bargain was successful. If she ages rapidly and dies…well, let’s hope Alex won’t be too pissed.
She places a hand over her chest, pounding against her lungs that are hellbent on disobeying. Still unaware of my presence, seconds expire before her eyes finally find mine, but there’s no reaction.Okay, this is good.
Startled, she stands and withdraws towards the wall of rubble, wheezing harder and losing whatever breath she had found. Fear contorts her expression.Could’ve gone better, but still, no signs of aging.
“W–Who, the fuck are you, and where’s the other one?” she blurts. “Were you sent to kill me next?” Panic settles in her tone.
Relief flows through me, and I smile. The spell was successful. Life Bargain is not easy to accomplish, so I’ll take this victory, even though my magic couldn’t heal her entirely. The fact is this was my second time–Go me.But I can only achieve this once more at the cost of my own life.
“Try remaining calm. I’m not here to kill you. However, we don’t have long before someone else shows up and finishes what ‘they’ started. We need to move,” I suggest, standing and shaking pockets of dirt from my leggings.
