Page 14 of True Sacrifice
“I was just laying down the ground rules. I figured none of you would want her running wild with any demon out there. Might make for a drastic reduction in the demon population,” Jax supplied.
“I agree. No one outside the pack,” Justice growled.
“That’s fine with me. Honestly, I’m not even ready for a relationship with any of you all yet, either.” At least there was an easy way for me to get that out there, in case anyone had plans of simply taking me to bed with them tonight. “I was just wondering how Jax…”
“Don’t worry about me,” Jax interrupted.
“Got it,” I snipped back. If he was going to go around interrupting me when I was just showing concern and asking questions like they told me to, then I would pay him back in kind. Actually, I think I got lucky that Jax wasn’t interested in being my mate. Apart from looking like someone went into my head and crafted the most delicious looking man I have ever laid my eyes on, there wasn’t much else going for him.
“So, training,” Jasper supplied. “You’ll need time with us individually to get a grasp on the powers you have gained from each of us. Eventually, we will work up to group exercises so you can see how we work together during hunts.”
“What do we hunt?” They’ve used that term several times now. I’m not sure I could go out there and hunt humans if that was what they were talking about. I mean, I was one, so screw me if I’m biased.
“Souls.” Justice grinned, putting the knife back in its holster. Guess this topic gained his full attention.
“Souls?” sounded a lot like human hunting. Fuck.
“Wandering souls that haven’t moved on to the other realms. Mostly lost human souls as they are the most powerful, but sometimes we hunt vampire, shifter, fae. It all really depends.” Jasper was wonderful with explaining when it was a topic that avoided emotions.
“But ghosts, right?” I could probably hunt down the dead. It was corrupting souls in the living that was a bit too much for me.
“Yes, they have all died. Sometimes mortal souls die unexpectedly or in very traumatic ways, and that leaves them confused. Instead of moving on to the angel realm for rebirth,” Jasper said. Finally, I was getting some proper answers.
“Is that what would have happened to me if you had let me die?” When I woke up, I was confused. Maybe I would have become an angry ghost.
“I’m honestly not sure what would have become of you. This is the first time your soul has lived. We would have felt you if you died before. I can look into it in the ancient texts if it is something you would like me to explore,” Justice added, which surprised me a little. Jasper has been more of the practical knowledge giving type. Justice didn’t look like the type who would enjoy research.
“Maybe we could look together sometime?” I would need some time getting to know my boys, other than training, of course.
Justice smiled like he really did like the sound of that. Guess he was a closet bookworm, after all.
“Right, so back to the important things, not hypothetical,” Jax grumbled, reminding me he was still there, like the dark, broody rain cloud that threatened to ruin the picnic. “She should work with each of us every day, until she gets a basic grasp on how to protect herself. There will be a big target on her back now.”
“Fine by me, I’d rather be able to protect myself than need to rely on you all.”
“Good. Tomorrow we train. She can start with me in the morning, work up a good sweat. Then Justice and Jax, since you both have more mental powers to flex than physical.” Jasper got out what looked like a smartphone and started clicking the screen.
“Is that a phone?” I couldn’t hold my excitement; this was the longest I had ever gone without checking up on things.But you’re dead. It’s not like you can just post an update. Look everyone, it’s all totally fine. I’m just a demon princess now #betterthanbeingdead.
I looked down at the table in front of me as a phone appeared.Thank you, magical Hell.
“You should have our numbers programmed in automatically. As you make friends…” Jasper was interrupted.
“She won’t,” Jax said boldly.
“Fuck you. You don’t even know me.” I was getting really sick of Jax already. I liked it better when he was just standing there silently. At least then I could pretend he had a personality that matched his looks.
“I’ve already told you that’s off the table, but I love seeing you try.”There was a hint of playfulness to Jax’s voice in my head. Now why couldn’t he at least be mildly more fun when he opened his actual mouth?
“Anyway,” Jasper started again, looking between me and Jax as we simply stared at each other. “There should be some helpful apps preloaded for you like Demonpedia, Damnedagram, and the Hunt Scoreboard.”
“Can I call my parents?” I bit my lip; it would be nice to hear from them and explain what happened. I was sure they would worry sick if they got a call from the college saying I was missing. I didn’t even know if they knew I was dead.
“It only works in this realm,” Jasper replied softly. “I’m sorry Princess, but you have to let go of your mortal life now.”
Really, I expected as much, but a tiny sliver of hope had blossomed in me when I saw the phones. I nodded solemnly.
“Right, so I would say that is a good start for this evening. It’s been a long day. Let’s get some rest and start training in the morning,” Jasper said, standing up from his chair. The others followed suit, while I grabbed my phone from the table and stood to join them.
