Page 5 of A Soul's Curse
“I’m so sorry, Gran. I’m so sorry. But … something happened to me and I won’t be able to come visit anymore. I just wanted to let you know I love you and I’ll be fine. You’ll be fine, too, okay?”
Tears rolled from her glassy eyes. “I know, Lucas. You poor thing, I know. Thank you for letting me get to know you. I’m going to miss our gossip during our checkers games with Martha down the hall.”
Lucas sniffled, wiping the tears from my eyes with the back of my hand.
“I love you, Gran.” Lucas backed away, and I could feel the overwhelming love and compassion that swelled inside him, along with the agonizing need to hold on to her for just a bit longer, knowing he’d never be able to ever again.
“I love you too, sweet boy.” His grandma was shaking, trying her best to hold back the awful feeling of saying goodbye.
It’s time, Lucas.I internally nudged him.
Will you check in on her for me? Please?He forced himself to let go of her hands.
Of course. I’ll make sure she’s okay.
With that, I felt his magical energy gradually leave my body, like he wasn’t ready to let go but knew he had to. The weight of him lightened, and the warmth slowly faded. The magical life force that was once Lucas dispersed into the atmosphere. Justbefore he was completely gone, he left me with his last words of gratitude.
“Thank you.”
No, controlling death certainly wasn't glamorous magic. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t find beauty in its stillness, purpose in its inevitability, or power in the way it brought clarity to life.
3
“Howcouldyoujustleave her outside like that? Alone!” Paige’s hands were frantically signing her frustration, her expression and sharp body movements growing more murderous by the second.
Even after explaining that a ghost had taken over my body and that I was doing him a favor by allowing him to say goodbye to someone he cared about, she didn’t ease up. An empty plastic cup smacked me on the side of the head.
“I’m sorry!” I made a fist and circled it around my chest several times to signal my apology.
She stopped throwing things at me. “You need to stop being so nice all the time. Your kindness is going to get you killed one day.” A smug grin stretched across her face. “By the way, you just earned yourself Aunt Lydia duty this Christmas.”
“Aw, come on—”
She held up her hand and shook her head. “Nope. You get to sit next to her at the dinner table and listen to her question allyour life choices, while I get to hide in the kitchen and indulge in a fine bottle of wine with our cousins.”
Conceding, I rolled my eyes and gave her an unconvincing “fine” with my hand. Satisfied with her victory, she left the room.
“She wouldn’t do that to me … would she?” I glanced over at my mom. “Iamsorry about leaving you, by the way. You know I would have never done that on purpose, but I’m glad you’re okay. I’ll stop by again soon since we got interrupted today, but I gotta head into work. Love you.” I made sure she was comfortable, then kissed her on the forehead, grabbed my backpack, and headed out.
I had hoped Paige might have offered to drop me off at work, but I didn’t dare ask for a favor after the stunt I pulled with our mom, so it was back to public transportation. The pizza shop I worked at wasn’t anywhere near a bus stop, so by the time I neared the restaurant almost an hour later, I was rushing toward the entrance.
I was about to push the front door open when a high-pitched yelp from somewhere nearby caught my attention. Carson’s Pizza was on a quiet corner, and across the street from a body shop where I glimpsed two suspicious dark shadows disappearing toward the back of the parking lot.
It wasn’t dark out, but the evening sun had dipped low enough behind the nearby buildings that the shadows created the perfect cover for someone to easily disappear into.
I held up my flat hand above my face, sweeping it downward until I reached my chest. Instant invisibility. It wasn’t the best cover since it only hid my physical body. People could still bump into me, and any noise I made would give me away.
The parking lot of the auto shop was in between two brick buildings, with three cars pulled into parking spots up against the wall. Cautiously, I crept across the street and positioned myself on the passenger's side of a sedan. From there, I could seea woman on the ground dressed in jeans and a red vest that was torn and scuffed with dirt. A small bead of blood trickled down her lip, and my heart clenched when I saw her cracked horn.
The demon was being attacked by two others, both with black hoods that concealed their faces. A deep, menacing laugh came from a male who threw out a kick. The other assailant looked on, a dark braid dangling over her shoulder and her tight hoodie hugging her curves. Her hands were making gestures with some kind of invisible magic that trapped the victim in place.
“Please … please stop!” the demon cried out. Her head snapped back when the man kicked her chin. It took a lot to physically harm a demon—their physiology having adapted to endure the harsh treatment of others—but that didn’t mean they didn’t experience pain.
“Emma, shrink the box even more. Crush her bones.” The man’s voice was raspy and irritating. “Summoning magic,” he scoffed at the demon. “You force people into contracts to serve you and turn them into your slaves. You’re absolutely disgusting. I hope you rot in hell.”
Emma’s magic flared, an oily slick glimmer disappearing into the evening darkness as the invisible box seemed to solidify the air around the demon and shrink the space she was trapped in. Unable to move, the demon's knees dug into her chest, her head bent at an unnatural angle that dug into her stomach. She gasped for air, barely able to breathe.
“Ugh. This is no fun, Jack,” Emma said. “She’s not even putting up a fight. Let’s just finish her off and get out of here.”
