Bastard

ANNE: THE SORCERER’S POV

“This one’s fresh. Just how you like em’.” Harold said with his gold tooth shining like a medallion.

He was a greedy bastard and the smile he gave me lasted on his face because he had been stupid enough to assure himself I was going to fall for his lame-ass tricks.

“Let’s see it then,” I said keeping my face expressionless.

He waved a hand that was big enough to smash a newborn into smidderins. I followed behind him as he walked into the storeroom which smelled worse than his breath.

He stood aside and pointed to the table in the corner. I walked to the table and saw the dead woman. She was the exact body size and weight I had been searching for. Her dark hair was long and silky and there was an ugly wound at her chest just where her heart ought to be. I didn’t need to check to know if her heart had been damaged by whatever it was that had killed her.

“The heart is damaged,” I muttered to myself.

“What was that?” Harold yelled.

I repeated what I had said much louder so he could hear. The heart was important in these things.

“It couldn’t be helped.” He shrugged.

I sighed. The body was perfect even without the heart. I’d have to make do with it but the price would have to drop.

I turned to face Harold and smirked at him. He knew what I was thinking of and his grin faded into a grimace.

“Don’t do me like this, Annabelle. Please.” He pleaded like the rat he was. I did not pity greedy bastards.

"The price is halved. You know the rules." I snapped at him. He knew the rules.

I moved closer to the body and placed my hand on the ugly wound in her chest. I withdrew my hand immediately with a gasp. There was enough dark energy and hatred still lingering there to corrupt a weakling. It had affected me even with my strength.

"What's the story behind this one?" I asked swallowing hard.

His face glowed. He enjoyed talking about the bodies he procures and what had led them to the position they were in.

"Didn't you hear about Alpha Rowland's new girl?" He said with a grin. "The story is that she had been insubordinate and the Alpha needed to make an example out of her."

I swallowed again. Of course, I knew about the whole ordeal. I had lost my lover to it. When the girl picked him as her champion, I knew how it was going to end. I think he knew too but he had too much pride and respect for his honor to decline.

"What about the family?" I asked.

He winked. "They okayed this. They get a fair percentage of the money you're paying. There's no trouble from that end. Be rest assured."

I sighed. Humans never ceased to amaze me. At the end of the day, everyone lacked the morals needed to effect any real change.

Suzanne walked up to me and tugged at the helm of my cloak. It was the first thing she had done since we got there.

"Take it." She whispered.

I nodded.

Harold wasn't as difficult as he normally was. We settled on an acceptable price and then he ordered some of his boys to help wheel the body to the location I wrote down for him.

"I'll meet you there. I need to get something." Suzanne said tapping my shoulder.

She had become cold since losing her daughter. Her heir. It had happened in the most gruesome manner and there was nothing she could do about it because our magic was restricted from affecting members of the Alpha's circle. Her condition had worsened when her younger daughter had taken her life the previous day. Now she was left without a child.

I'd told her to sit this one out but she had insisted on being present.

I got to the house and locked the door. I took off the cloak I wore and straightened out my long hair. I'd been walking the earth for more than a century now yet I looked gorgeous in my early twenties. Suzanne and I had been friends for so long. She looked pretty than I did even though she had somehow allowed age to catch up with her the last few days.

"You took your time." She said from the lair.

I was shocked to hear her voice. I hadn't even noticed her there.

There was something wrong. I could sense it.

I ran to the lair to find Suzanne there laying next to the body we had just bought. She had drawn some dark sigils on her flesh and she held the dead girl's hand.

"Wh- what." My voice shook. "What are you doing?!"

She gave me a weak smile. "That part is obvious."

She was right. It was obvious. She was transferring her spiritual energy to fuse with the damaged heart of the dead girl. What I didn't understand was why she was doing something stupid enough to kill her.

"Why?" I asked. My voice carried my emotion.

I stood watching it happen. I felt helpless because I knew it had gone too far to do anything to stop it.

"I knew you'd try to stop me so I started early." She said in a low voice.

She was fading away already.

"This girl is going to avenge my baby for me. I felt it when I touched her."

The dark vengeful energy I had felt. Oh no!

"I'll transfer enough of my energy into her heart and you will transfer whatever spark that's left of her soul into Freya."

I gasped. Freya was her youngest daughter who had taken her life the previous day.

"That's stupid! It won't work." I yelled at her. "Freya has been dead for more than a day now."

"Her heart isn't completely dead. Just her brain. I used a spell-" She was too weak to say too much. She pointed a bony finger to the far corner.

I walked over there. Freya's body lay against the wall. I didn't need to touch the girl to know her heart was still beating. It was very faint.

I moved back to where Suzanne lay. She had dried up to a bony heap. She was a stronger sorcerer than I was yet she had let the love she had for her daughters destroy her. 

"Pr- prom," she struggled to form words.

"Promise me. You'd make sure she. Does," Her body was stiff. "Does it." She breathed her last.

My tears fell on the stone table. 

"I promise dear friend." I sniffed. "I promise you she will."