Total pages in book: 207
Estimated words: 196971 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 985(@200wpm)___ 788(@250wpm)___ 657(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 196971 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 985(@200wpm)___ 788(@250wpm)___ 657(@300wpm)
Her eyes widened with fear, but Crystal murmured soothingly, “It’s alright, child. I only want you comfortable while I entertain you with a tale.” She waved a hand, and the scene of Soleil’s bedroom crumbled and faded, replaced by another scene. It materialized ever so slowly, like a puzzle coming into life.
The Woods of the Wraiths, Soleil realized.
“Once upon a time, there was a woman named Crystal, who only knew grief and anger.” As Crystal spoke, the scene played out like her words were a narration for a movie.
“In time, she might have taken her life because it had been so agonizingly empty. But fate intervened. She met a cursed child, and Crystal found something to live for.”
A fifteen-year-old Soleil appeared on the scene.
“She dedicated her life to teaching this child to be strong and finding a cure to her curse. Crystal wanted this girl to live, the way her son hadn’t a chance to. Years passed, and still death appeared to have the winning hand. And so she gambled on something unheard of. She went to the Woods of the Wraiths and tried to make a bargain.”
The scene changed, an older Crystal appearing as she knelt on the ground.
“She believed that the Wraiths would know something, having witnessed how the girl was abandoned by her demon sire. And it turns out she was right. The Wraiths had indeed seen how the curse was made and knew as well how to break it. The knowledge was hers...in exchange for her heart.”
Soleil’s lips parted in silent horror when she saw a wraith creep out of a trunk, crawling up Crystal’s body before sinking her sharp, grimy clawed fingers into her chest. The wraith drew out Crystal’s heart without leaving the smallest wound. As Crystal’s chest closed, the wraith took the heart into her mouth and began to chew.
“And so Crystal was able to save her beloved student, but in return she realized she also had to suffer losing her son all over her again.”
The scene crumbled into nothing, and now all Soleil could see was just an endless sheet of silvery white blankness.
Crystal had also disappeared.
“C-Crystal?”
“Boo.”
The coldly smiling voice was like an invisible slap to her ears, and Soleil jerked in her chair.
Crystal reappeared in front of her.
“Sorry. I just wanted to give you a shock.” She sighed. “How you are feeling now is how I felt when I realized that I no longer felt a thing when I think of my son.” Crystal touched her heart. “With this gone, I simply do not feel a thing. I try and try, thinking about our sweetest memories such as when my son brought me flowers to make me smile but the memories mean nothing—-”
Crystal disappeared and reappeared, and this time her face was mere inches away from Soleil’s.
It was like staring into the eyes of Death.
“Don’t close your eyes,” Crystal hissed, and her red eyes turned even redder.
Soleil gulped. “I w-won’t.”
“I want you to look at me as I tell you how much I lost with that sacrifice. It was like I had killed my son for the second time, and yet I could have lived with it because I knew I had done the right thing.”
The blue lips pursed.
“But you threw it back at my face by falling in love with the demon you were supposed to kill. You fell in love with my son’s killer—-”
She said shakily, “But Ilie wasn’t the one who—-”
“They’re all the same,” Crystal said calmly. “That’s what you’ve never understood. Demons are all the same. They lie. They kill. They thrive on pain, and soon you’ll see this for yourself.” Crystal drew back.
“But for now, we shall continue with our tale.”
She snapped her fingers, and once more the Woods of the Wraiths reappeared.
“I went back, and this time I asked them if they wanted another trade. I vowed eternal servitude to their cause...in exchange of revenge.”
In the scene playing out, Soleil saw the wraith-like trees start to bow.
“They said yes, of course. But first, they told me I must die.”
The trees reached out to Crystal with their claws and started shoving her back, further and further from the woods until she fell into the ocean.
Soleil screamed as she saw Crystal’s head hit the jagged rocks at the bottom of the cliff.
Next to this scene, another scene started to materialize. It was her bedroom again, and she saw her double – or whatever it should be called – arching off the bed, her mouth parting in a soundless scream.
The marquis began shaking her. “Listen to my voice, ma lisse, and snap out of it.”
“Foolish demon. Did he really think it would be that easy?” Crystal was suddenly standing behind Soleil’s chair. “Ignore him for now, my dear.” She pointed to the other scene. “And so I died by drowning. When I woke up, I was here in their world, and I knew what I could do.” Crystal started stroking Soleil’s hair, murmuring, “The tea I made you drink allowed me to play with your mind. I know your household is warded with spells, and so I used an illusion to lure your soul out of the house. I was terribly impressed you saw through my illusion, but by then it was too late for you. You already had placed one step out of the house, and it was all I needed. I just need to cut the thread afterwards—-”