Page 49 of Sophie's Ruin
“Whatever it takes…” Damien murmured, his gaze dropping to the Tear on my chest. “You know a thing or two about sacrifices, don’t you.” A statement, not a question.
“I do,” I said, as a cold feeling of foreboding flared in my chest. I ignored it. “So, what sacrifice will I have to make this time?”
“We’ll get to that,” Damian said, with another chilling smile.
I couldn’t help but feel like I was exactly where he wanted me to be. He was looking at me like a spider who’d trapped a fly in its web. What his agenda was, I had no idea, but as long as I was getting what I wanted, I didn’t care.
“First, you need to use your magic to track the other clan leaders. Whom do you want to hunt down first?” Damien asked.
It really didn’t matter; they would all die in the end.
“Emeric.” I blurted out the first name that came to mind.
“Very well,” Damien drawled darkly. “Close your eyes and concentrate. Now that you know how to glimmer…very impressive, by the way. This is very similar. Picture the vampire you want to find and cast your magic out, but instead of focusing on one place, cast it wide like a net. Imagine its tendrils reaching far and wide, looking for the one you want to find.”
With a nod, I closed my eyes and called upon my magic. It flared to life, slithering through my veins. The rush I felt was both powerful and overwhelming in the most beautiful way. Concentrating, I pulled on the dark, pulsing strings of my power,gathering them in my center. I imagined holding the shadowy threads in my hands like a net a moment before I cast them out.
Like trails of dark blood, they began spreading outward…on the hunt for my next victim. As the black rivers of my magic poured out into my surroundings, I felt the darkness inside me sink in deeper. It burrowed into my flesh and settled in my heart, but I wasn’t concerned. I knew it was a give-and-take. The darkness gave me power, and I had to give something in return. Perhaps that was the sacrifice Damien had mentioned. Even if it was, I was prepared to pay the price if it meant keeping Henry safe.
My eyes moved under my eyelids as the tendrils of my magic searched, pushing and prodding, sniffing and tasting, looking for Emeric. Suddenly, I gasped, and my eyes flew open—they’d found him. I knew where he was.
“He’s hiding out in the Maivayan Mountains,” I declared.
“Excellent.” Damien’s glossy black eyes shone brighter. “Are you ready?”
“Yes,” I said, as my pulse quickened in anticipation.
My mouth watered as if I could taste the blood I was going to spill. I closed my eyes and felt my skin tingle and hum as the shadows of my magic began churning around me, about to take me to my destination. Before they could, though, Celeste’s voice reached me from my right.
“Sophie?” she said urgently, and my eyes snapped open. The space in front of me was empty; Damien was no longer standing there.
“To whom were you speaking?” Celeste asked.
I turned to the witch and found her watching me, her luminous blue eyes narrowed in suspicion.
“Damien,” I told her. I didn’t see a reason to lie anymore. “Agatha’s son. He’s been helping me with my magic. Doing what you’ve failed to do—helping me grow stronger.”
Celeste’s warm complexion became leached of all color in the light of the moon.
“Agatha doesn’t have a son,” she said. “And there is no one by that name in the village.”
A strange feeling washed over me at her words. I knew what she’d said was the truth. Deep down, I’d known it all along. Terror didn’t seize me like it should. Instead, I felt numb. What Celeste had revealed would not change what I was going to do next. I wouldn’t let it. I would have my revenge, consequences be damned.
“How long have you been communicating with this…being?” Celeste asked in a hollow voice.
“A few days. He was willing to help me when you weren’t.”
“Help you? Sophie, whatever he said…whatever he promised you?—”
“He didn’t promise me anything. He simply told me how to tap into my magic, using my emotions.”
“Emotions? We don’t use our emotions because doing so makes magic unpredictable.”
“Even if it does, it’s better than no magic at all.”
“You’re wrong…what emotions did he tell you to channel to bring your magic forth?”
Her bright blue eyes narrowed to thin slits, but the question was not truly a question—she already knew the answer.
