Page 17 of True Sacrifice
Somehow, in all the excitement of finding out I had a mate, I had forgotten one important thing; she was a woman. Fuck. She was right. I hadn’t exactly done a great job of putting in any work towards what would end up being the best relationship of my life. She deserved better. She would one day be my everything. She was my princess. No, fuck that; she was my Queen. I needed to find her a crown.
We made it to the doorway to the between. We would have to travel through here to access the training grounds. It was public transport lanes between the various sections of Hell, so any demon could be there. I would have to be on my guard to protect my mate.
CHAPTER8
MORRIGAN
“I’m going to need a map if you ever expect me to get around this place without an escort.”
Jasper simply chuckled at me as he took yet another turn onto yet another dirt road. We had not been walking for long, but we had passed by at least four intersections. Everything looked the same here. Dirt roads cutting through forest and meadows. Lavender grew wildly in bunches, but no other flowers seemed to grow here. Weird.
“It isn’t far now princess, and I’m sure you will think it is worth the wait.”
I could see the path ahead of us ended in another door. As in just a door, standing in the middle of an opening, attached to nothing.
“I’m not complaining about the walk, just the lack of directions and landmarks.” I looked around at the trees nearby. They were massive and appeared to go on for miles. They didn’t look exactly like any trees I had seen back home, yet they weren’t entirely unfamiliar either. Then again, I wasn’t a tree expert. Now that I really gave a moment to consider it, other than rustling leaves in the faint breeze, the entire area was silent save for our footsteps. There were no birds flying overhead or squirrels jumping from tree to tree. It was an eerie silence. I walked slightly closer to Jasper, feeling comfort in his company. We arrived at the door and Jasper opened it with ease, walking through and simply disappearing. Guess he was leaving the choice up to me.
Walking through the doorway felt like simply walking from one room to another. Jasper was waiting for me with a smug look, but our new surroundings pulled my gaze. We stood on stone floors, but instead of a room, the area was wide open. Monstrous stone buildings jutted into the sky, looking like an old castle that fell into ruins long ago. Vines creeped up the side, stretching toward the open air. Pillars stood lonely and broken off at the tops, while others littered the ground.
“What is this place?” I ventured forward slowly, taking more of it in. I tried to imagine what it could have looked like in its prime, but too much of it was missing to get a clear picture.
“This is our training ground for Pyro. It looks like someone really worked it over already this morning.”
“You mean it doesn’t always look like this?”
“The ruins? No. It is whatever it needs to be. This is apparently what someone needed. We come to our training areas to practice before going on hunts. If I were expecting a difficult hunt in a city, I could test my powers against the glass and concrete. For our purposes today, I simply needed the room, no adjustments needed.”
I nodded as I looked around. It was beautiful. I couldn’t believe the structure before us hadn’t been naturally eroded by time, but was instead the product of magic. It all looked and felt so real. I touched the nearest pillar; dust came off on my fingertips. “It feels so real.”
“It is a real place, princess. Just because our surroundings are carved from magic doesn’t make them any less real; or the actions we take in them. Why don’t you take a seat while I give you a slight demonstration?” He smiled wildly and wickedly, holding out his hand as a ball of fire appeared, licking over his palm.
The ball of fire grew as it floated away from Jasper until it was the size of a basketball. It hovered nearby. Jasper flung his arm out and the flame responded, moving in the direction Jasper gestured. It swung outwards several feet before stopping abruptly as Jasper pulled his hand back. The flame responded as if attached through a tether, zooming back toward Jasper then behind him. I had been expecting fiery explosions, not a well-coordinated dance. With one last smirk from Jasper, he closed his eyes, and the show really began.
Jasper moved with grace and skill as the flame followed his movements as a dutiful partner. It twirled and twisted around him, never touching but never missing a step as he weaved around the ruins. I sat transfixed, watching the intimate display. After a few minutes, Jasper stopped his dance, coming to stand before me as the flame shrunk and placed itself back on his waiting palm.
“That was beautiful.”
“My powers are your powers. Take the flame from me, she will obey you the same as she does me.” He stretched out his hand and I hesitated.
“She?”
Jasper laughed again. “Honestly, it’s only fire, not sentient. I’ve just always thought of it as a woman. It is both beautiful and devastating, depending on its surroundings.”
I reached my hand out timidly. “Is that how you view all women?”
The fire crawled from his palm onto my waiting one. The heat licked at my skin but did not burn me. It spread as I stretched my fingers wide, covering me like a glove.
“Only the good ones,” Jasper said, his voice low.
I twisted my hand, mesmerized by the feel of the power within my grasp.
“Close your fist and snuff out the fire,” Jasper commanded
I closed my fist, but instead of extinguishing the flame, I felt as the heat grew hotter in my palm. “Ow!” I opened my hand quickly, shaking my hand, but the fire didn’t go out.
“Control it,” growled Jasper, coming to move behind me. His hands went to my hips to stop my movements.
“I can’t, it’s hurting me.” Every time I tried to close my hand and make the fire go away; it burned me again.
