Chapter 1
Stop reading if you have not read Book 1 of this duology. This takes place two months after the events at the end of book 1, so if you need a refresher then I’d suggest going back and reading it. I know this has been long-awaited and I’m thankful for everyone being patient with me. I hope you enjoy it!
2 Months Later
“Please! I swear I don’t have it!” An older man said as he kneeled down in front of me, pleading. I raised an eyebrow as I twisted my hand a little more, crushing the bone in his leg as he hollered in pain.
“I told you that things would be easier if you’d just be honest with me, Franklin,” I said in a bored tone as I watched unflinching, as his bone popped out of his skin.
Tears were rolling down his face as I watched his pathetic attempts at reasoning and bargaining. I yawned, covering my mouth that was currently covered in blood. “Time’s up, old man.”
“Wait!...” I cut him off as I sliced his neck with a knife, holding him up by his hair. I held a bowl underneath his neck, allowing all of the blood to pour out and into the small granite bowl. I dropped his lifeless body onto the forest floor as I made my way back to the center of the altar with the bowl in hand.
I could faintly hear the whimpering from the sacrifices lined up on each point of the pentagram as I opened up my spellbook, flipping the pages. I poured the blood into a small cauldron as I added crushed up cloves, lavender, small animal skulls, and an owl’s heart. I mixed up the ingredients as I recited the spell, “Enchantem faluminsum ogantado betedum!” I yelled as I closed my eyes and hovered my hands over the concoction as I concentrated on my magic.
I felt my hair whip around my face as the sacrifices screamed in pain at the spell and magic in the air. I smiled evilly as I felt the darkness spread through my body, feeding off of my devotion to the dark arts. The energy finally cleared from the air, as my magic receded back into my body, leaving behind the desired object.
I grinned as I picked up a dagger. But not just any ordinary dagger. Athena’s dagger, the goddess of wisdom and war. The dagger was designed to kill any species dead or alive. The best part about having a God’s weapon is only the person who creates and wields it, is immune to the effects.
I ran my finger along the sharp edge, cutting myself slightly before licking the blood greedily with my tongue. Ever since devoting my soul to the dark arts, I have black magic coursing through my veins, making my blood taste and feel like a drug.
I held onto the dagger tighter as I heard a rustling noise come from my right. “Good work, Katarina.” My father, Abraham stepped out from behind a tree in the woods. He smiled proudly at me as I stared blankly at him. Ever since I switched my humanity off, I don’t feel many emotions. Love and compassion are definitely not one of them.
“Franklin either didn’t know where to find the chalice or he refused to tell,” I told my father as I glanced over at the old man’s body on the ground. I deposited the dagger into a holster on my side as I gathered up all of my materials again.
“I see. We may have a problem I’m afraid, Katarina.” My father said, clenching his teeth.
I raised an eyebrow. “Well? Spit it out.”
“Your old friends have been on the hunt for you. They’re getting close.” I know that he was referring to Ashe- my old mate’s friends when he said that.
I shrugged. “Then let them. I won’t be slowed down, not when we’re this close.” And I meant it. No matter how the old Kaia felt, I wasn’t her anymore. I was a fearless and stronger version of her. I wasn’t weak and blinded by emotions anymore. I was ruthless.
“Lestudo!” I yelled as I teleported me and my father to our hideout. After turning to dark magic, he thought it would be safer if we went off the grid. With the artifacts that we were searching for, we had to make sure we had a secluded location to hide them in.
It’s taken us over a month and a half to finally find and summon the dagger. However, now I was more confident in my abilities with dark magic and I knew that it wouldn’t take much longer to find the rest. We were still looking for Hebe (the goddess of youth)’s chalice, Aphrodite (the goddess of love and beauty)’s mirror, Selene (the goddess of the moon)’s torch, and lastly, Pandora’s amulet which was the most dangerous of them all.
I was currently already wearing one of the artifacts that have been in Abrahams’s possession since I was a little girl. The entire reason for him leaving me behind was sitting right on my ring finger. The Ring of Solomon. He gave me the ring not long after we left my old life behind. With this ring, I’m able to amplify my magic and communicate with demons. Although, there aren’t many around anymore since they’re rare to come by.
I walked down the narrow hallway of the small house that we lived in as I came up to the front of a blank wall. Although it looks like a blank wall to the normal eye, I know better. I waved my hand in front of the wall, “Seltu.” I stood back as the wall suddenly vanished and in its place stood a dark stairwell leading underground. I used my hand to hold up a fireball as I walked down the dark corridors, leading to the altar room.
I deposited the dark arts book onto the table, along with Athena’s dagger and the Ring of Solomon laid next to it. I made sure to encapsulate the artifacts with a magical barrier that only I and Abraham could remove.
I still don’t know what our endgame is once we’ve collected all of the artifacts, but I’m not stupid. Dark magic was created for evil, although it can be used for good. However, things aren’t always black and white. When magic is involved, there is no good or evil, only a balance. Because even though magic is an extraordinary thing, there are always consequences involved when using it.
I glanced down at my arm as I pulled up the sleeve to see the exposed dark veins. I wasn’t kidding when I said I had dark magic pulsing through my veins. I knew that the more rituals and spells that I performed, the more darkness that would soon take ahold of my body.
I walked back upstairs after closing off the entrance to the basement. I could hear that Abraham was already asleep as his snoring rang through the house. I made my way to the bathroom that was connected to my bedroom as I began to strip down my clothes.
I stood naked in front of the full-length mirror in the bathroom as I looked at the extent of my injuries from earlier. I stared blankly at the blood caked all over my body and in my hair. I lifted my hair up, examining a large cut on my shoulder from one of the sacrifices who tried to fight back. My eyes unwillingly glanced over at my faded mate mark on my neck as I looked at it with a far off look.
I felt some type of emotion rise up slightly as I looked more closely at it, but like usual, my brain snapped me out of it. I let my hair fall quickly as I turned away and turned on the shower. Ever since turning off my humanity and emotions, it’s like I can’t even think about my past. It’s like I don’t care anymore. About my family, friends, or Ashe-. I closed my eyes, shaking my head hard as pain raced through my skull. I can’t even say his name without emotions trying to fight their way out of my head.
I stood with my head hanging down as warm water crashed onto the back of my neck. I watched with blank eyes as the water stained with red, swirled down the drain. Living was so meaningless. All of the people that I killed were meaningless. Their lives were in the palm of my hands as I crushed them slowly, prolonging their deaths. It was heartless, but then again, so am I. All that I had to live for now was for the artifacts, for our purpose.
I step out of the shower and dry off before changing into my pajamas and going to bed. I laid down, looking up at the blank ceiling as I was engulfed in silence. I was starting to get anxious thinking about our next task of finding Hebe’s chalice.
Hebe, the Greek goddess of youth was also known for the fountain of youth. After years of war in Greece, the fountain was destroyed, but not before a chalice was made out of the essence of the fountain. When the chalice is filled with water, the essence is then transferred to the water itself. Legend has it that when a person drinks from the chalice, they are transformed back into their youthful days.
Most say that you can become immortal from the water, while others say that you can rewind time and become your most youthful self. I don’t really care what the truth is though. This was just another artifact that will be used for the final spell. If anyone was excited about it though, then it would be my father.
I trusted Abraham to help me get the job done. He’s been teaching me so much in the past two months and I’ve found that he’s the only person I can count on. However, that doesn’t mean that I fully trust him with my life.
I know that he gave me the Ring of Solomon because of how powerful my magic is. I’m not stupid. He’s using me to help gather all of the artifacts just like how I’m using him to gain information. I won’t be the one to lose, however. I’m determined to come out on top. And I’ll cut down anybody who tries to get in my way.
Chapters will be posted every Wednesday unless I get behind. I hope everyone is excited for this story as much as I am. It’s going to be a lot more violent and planned out than my last book so it will take longer to write chapters. I hope you guys like Mia and Hayden because they’ll be back next chapter!
