Page 112 of Haunted Hearts

“I think I’m willing to take that risk; my God will come and he will accept this gift.”

I see her grip the blade tighter, and I raise my hand.

“Enough!” I hear Kai, his voice reverberating through the room.

He walks up from behind me. His skin begins to look red-hot and it begins smoking.

Horns start growing from his forehead, and his flesh begins to melt away. I look back over to Rosa to see she is stunned into silence. Fear twists her features, her mouth drops open.

The room appears to darken, the shadows growing deeper. Kai’s presence is overwhelming.

So this is his true form. He looks like something out of a horror movie, pulled straight out of the gates of hell. His short black hair fades to white; the golden brown of his eyes begins to glow bright yellow.

Kai begins to laugh maniacally.

I look over to Rosa, who is equally transfixed by the sight.

While everyone is distracted, Calli snaps her arms up, knocks the blade aside, and throws her head back, her skull smacking against Rosa’s nose. It’s clumsy, but it lands. I can distinctly hear the words fuck you through her gag.

I run to her as Rosa grabs the back of Calli’s neck and yanks her into a tight hold.

“Behave yourself, child,” she says through gritted teeth.

“There’s no need for such violence. We wouldn’t want to taint my sacrifice.” Kai’s words are calm and methodical.

“So, you really are—” Rosa struggles to keep hold of Calli as she stares up at Kai in awe.

“Yes, I am.” He moves toward her with a deliberate pace.

“But I need the grimoire. We need to d-do this p-properly,” she stammers.

“Of course.” He slides the duffel off, unzipping it to reveal the old book.

The whispering in the back of my mind grows louder at the sight of it. My eye twitches as I attempt to block it out.

“You have it!” Rosa says in surprise, reaching her hand out for it.

“Not so fast, my dear. We need to set the mood with candles, salt. Did you come prepared at all?” He tsks at her.

“I— I wasn’t awa— Is that required? We’ve only ever needed the grimoire with the dagger before.”

“Shh. It’s okay; you have done well to find me a worthy sacrifice. But consider that maybe that’s why they didn’t work in the past,” he says, a note of pleasure in his tone.

I stare at him angrily. He was supposed to wait for the signal, but I know this is a bit, so I better sell it.

“You have to give something, to get something,” he says smoothly.

“What are you doing?” I ask, my brows pulling together as I reach for my knife.

“What does it look like? I’m receiving my sacrifice,” he says, inching closer to Calli. “Move her to the center of the room, we’ll just have to work with what we have.”

I look to Calli and I can see the pain in her eyes; I subtly nod to her before her head rolls back. Watching him play the part can’t be easy on her.

“Of course,” Rosa complies, dropping the knife down to Calli’s chest, guiding her to lie down in the center of the circle carved into the marble floor. The moment Rosa’s eyes turn away from Kai, I whisper, knowing he can hear me.

“Now.”

He moves so quickly, I don’t even process it. Before I know it, the knife is on the ground and Rosa is in his grip.