Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 89379 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 447(@200wpm)___ 358(@250wpm)___ 298(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89379 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 447(@200wpm)___ 358(@250wpm)___ 298(@300wpm)
“Yes,” I answered, relief blooming in my chest. “She’s a great friend.” I couldn’t express right then how grateful I was to Angela for being there for Peter when I couldn’t be. He was far too stubborn to ask for help and would’ve suffered in silence if Angela hadn’t insisted on lending a hand.
“So, let’s move on to your news, shall we?” Belinda prodded. “What have you learned?”
I rubbed my jaw and met her gaze, my stomach tensing for another reason. “Okay, so don’t freak out, but I think I know who killed you.”
I tried to relay everything as succinctly as possible. How Vasilios and Sven spent most of their lives doing forced labour under the authority of a demon called Red Armand. How when they managed to escape and come to our dimension, it infuriated him, causing him to spend years figuring out a way to create a portal and come after them. When I finished explaining about Vasilios’s mark on me and how Red Armand might’ve framed me to punish him, Belinda had gone so still that I would’ve been concerned if she wasn’t already a ghost.
I sat on the bed, waiting for her to lash out, but it never came. Instead, she simply disappeared, and I sat there, not knowing if she’d finally passed on or if she was so furious she couldn’t stand to be in the same room as me a moment longer. Probably the latter. Guilt ate away at my soul. It captured me so completely that I barely noticed the time passing until Vasilios appeared outside my cell.
“It’s time,” he said, and I frowned.
“Time for what?”
“For Sarasin’s Midnight. Are you still planning to accompany me?”
Right. I’d been so lost in guilt and self-recrimination that I’d completely forgotten about the mysterious event. Not to mention I still didn’t know a thing about what it might entail.
I sniffled and drew a deep breath.
“Have you been crying?”
“No. Of course not,” I lied, running my hand across the bare mattress. I still hadn’t managed to get a blanket or a pillow.
He scrutinised me but didn’t push the matter. Instead, he drew a deep breath, “So, about tonight—”
“Just so you know, I’m not going unless you explain what I’m in for first,” I told him, standing firm.
“Yes, that’s why I came a little early. To explain.”
“Okay.” I made an impatient hand gesture, my tone curt. I was in a horrible mood, what with hearing about Peter and then having to tell Belinda why she’d been murdered. I wouldn’t be very good company for a while.
Vasilios cocked an eyebrow at my tone, but he didn’t comment on it. Instead, he stepped inside my cell and leaned against the wall. “So, Sarasin is a prisoner, but he’s no ordinary one,” he began. “Nobody knows exactly how long he’s been here, though it’s probably been a very long time because nobody can remember a time when he wasn’t. He’s an elf thought to be thousands of years old with untold psychic powers.”
“If he’s so powerful, then why doesn’t he just leave?”
“Many believe he doesn’t want to, that maybe he’s punishing himself for something. Others think he’s trapped here by something more powerful than the wards that surround the prison. Some sort of hex, perhaps.”
“What do you think?”
Vasilios rubbed his chin. “I think I’ll reserve judgement until I’ve met the man in person.”
“So the whole Midnight thing …” I went on.
“Yes,” Vasilios continued. “Sarasin doesn’t live amongst the other prisoners. He’s housed on the roof, or well, he lives there by choice. The only time he interacts with the other prisoners is once a month, when he holds a grand gathering and invites fifty people to attend. Each attendee is permitted to bring one other person as their guest if they choose. At the gathering, the guests are served food and wine by several elves who do Sarasin’s bidding. They enjoy a night of socialising and fun, and then at midnight, Sarasin chooses who will get the Gift and who will receive the Curse.”
I stilled. “What does that mean?”
“The person chosen for the Gift is offered the use of Sarasin’s psychic talents. They can choose to see a vision of the past or a glimpse into the future. The person chosen for the Curse must remain with Sarasin for the next thirty days. They essentially become his to do with as he wishes.”
I shivered, my voice little more than a whisper, “What does he do with them?”
“Nobody knows. Sarasin wipes their memories at the end of the thirty days, so anyone who’s been chosen for the Curse can’t remember what happened during their time with him.”
“That’s so creepy,” I said, feeling a chill. “So, why are we even going tonight? Isn’t it a little risky, considering one of us might be chosen for the Curse?”