Blood Oath (A Gabby Girls Adventure Novel, Book Two) (18 page)

She was losing her patience. She flicked her fingers at him discreetly, casting an enthrall spell on him. She needed him, and the spell would keep him under her control at least until he stepped inside the pentagram. Then all bets were off.

His eyes glazed over deliriously. "No, I’m willing. I’ve waited too long for this, Hannah. Please." He shoved the book at her.

She snatched it greedily, but almost dropped it when it sizzled in her hands. She gritted her teeth with frustration. The book did not want her, and the burning energy piercing her skin was more than a warning; it was an outright threat. She knew that she had very little time to read the spell before its defensive mechanism locked the book and the information would be hidden from her forever.

She grabbed his hand, softly tracing her finger across his palm playfully. "First thing first, the blood of a
Normal
to summon him." She closed her eyes briefly, murmuring softly. When she opened them, they were unusually bright blood red. She smiled coldly, displaying the small, translucent teeth with sharp points that jabbed into her lips, leaving droplets of blood along the rim.

He pulled back sharply. "You’re a
Banished
?"

She chuckled coldly. "Hardly, it’s a transformation spell and only temporary. We must complete the exchange quickly, as the rite dictates this is the only way to get your blood." She raised his inner wrist to her lips. "This will hurt, a lot." With unbelievable quickness, she bit into his flesh deeply, drinking thirstily.

He winced, turning pale at the sight of his dark red blood splashing against the floor in big, fat droplets.

She raised her head reluctantly, wiping her bloodstained lips, letting the blood course through her body deliciously. So this is what the
Banished
experience after feeding, she thought quickly. The
Eternals
didn’t know what they were missing. She stepped back, shoving him across the pentagram’s threshold. "Go on, Jacob. Hurry."

He slowly walked to the center of the pentagram, dripping blood in his wake. Sweat dripped from his forehead as he impatiently pushed his hair back with trembling fingers.

She looked at her palm, which was now coursing with his and her blood, and quickly swiped it against the cover, smiling with satisfaction as the book flipped open, allowing her to flick through the book. She abruptly stopped at the page with bold black and gold cursive script written by the ancients, which she memorized quickly before the book vibrated violently, then slammed shut.

"You must not read from this book. What you summon cannot be controlled,"
a faceless female voice bellowed with outrage.

Hannah tossed it on the ground. "Who says that I want to control it?" She began to speak the forbidden words of the ancients in a language that hadn’t been uttered from the
Book of Eternals
for centuries. First she chanted it slowly, enunciating each word carefully, then faster, over and over, until she was drenched with sweat from the sheer effort.

Her heart pounded loudly in her ears. Her voice croaked painfully as the air whooshed through the cavern like an air blast. The pentagram was now engulfed in fiery flames that flicked toward Jacob’s ankles, first gently, then violently.

"Ralem, I summon you from the darkness. Ralem, please accept my sacrifice."

Jacob yelped with pain. "I can’t do this!" He stepped across the perimeter of the pentagram, trying to escape its fiery torture, but was bounced back against an invisible boundary that sent him flying against the middle of the pentagram with a loud crunch. "Hannah, let me out," he wailed in agony.

The fiery symbols of the ancients appeared one by one within the pentagram, literally scorching the shirt of his body and roasting his skin. The scent of putrid burning flesh permeated the air.

She stared at him coldly. "There is no turning back, my love."

His body contorted in pain as he begged for release. Wafts of thick black smoke emanated from his body, hovering in the air. The smoke expanded, then contracted, forming at first an unfathomable form, then a face with smoky white eyes and lips.

"Who dares to summon me from the Underworld?"
a cold, disembodied voice bellowed.

She stepped forward boldly. "It is
Circle
Hannah, Warrior of the
Eternals
, seeker of your wisdom."

He looked at her cunningly.
"I know who you are, Circle. The scent of darkness lingers around you like a beacon. I have been watching you, Circle, and I know what you desire, but it all comes with a price."

She jabbed her finger at Jacob, who was writhing in pain on the ground. "I have brought your payment. It’s over there," she stated matter-of-factly.

Jacob’s eyes were wide with terrifying fear as he let out a bloodcurdling scream.

"I need more. No mere Normal is enough."
Ralem responded.

"Name your price, and it is yours."

"First, let’s start with your blackened soul."
He cackled wickedly.

"It is yours." She smiled brazenly.

"Then it’s your soul that I shall take, Circle."
He blew out a plume of black smoke that encircled her neck, then exploded against her chest, leaving her breathless and drained. He looked dismissively at Jacob.
"Now your pathetic excuse of a sacrifice."

Jacob gave him a terrified look before letting out a bloodcurdling scream. As Ralem picked up his body like a feather and tossed it back and forth like a rag doll, he sucked the life out his body until all that was left was his withered, bone-dry body. The flames sputtered and dissipated.

"Now…my request?"

Ralem laughed.
"Did you really think that I would just give you such a precious gift so easily? You must forgo all and become my weapon. Swear your allegiance to the Underworld, and it shall be sealed for eternity."

"I am your weapon." She bowed her head with respect.

"We will do much destruction in this world, Hannah, and you shall be rewarded handsomely."
The smoke that composed his face started to disappear, causing her to lurch forward with panic as she tried desperately to snatch some of the smoke.

"Wait, you cannot leave me defenseless. They will know that I have betrayed them for the Underworld and will kill me."

"No one can kill you now, Hannah. I have given you the ultimate gift, immortality. You shall keep it…for as long you continue to serve me."
He laughed coldly, then disappeared into the dark, thin air.

Her body tingled. She felt different, renewed, and yes, more powerful. She experimented by flicking out her hand. Her eyes widened at the black sparks of energy that exploded with a raw power she never knew existed.

Ralem had given her the best gift ever, a drop of his dark power. She closed her eyes deliciously as it raced through her body, first warm, then fiery hot. It was so hot that she coughed in pain, spewing hot ash onto the floor, feeling almost drunk with the overwhelming power. Nothing in her years as an
Eternal
Warrior could compare to this power now coursing through her body.

"Thank you, Ralem. I will not fail you," she said aloud.

She knew that failure was not an option when it came to the most powerful, dark demon of the Underworld. No, failure was not something that he would accept at all.

She snapped out of her trance when she felt their presence vibrating loudly through the cavern before she heard their footsteps.
So, they finally found me,
she thought. She turned toward the dark opening expectantly as the cavern filled with
Eternal
Warriors,
Circles
who were what she once called her best friends and sisters-in-arms—now all she felt toward them was utter disdain and hatred.

She looked at Rosa, Jessica, Victoria, and Olivia with pure venom.

Victoria ran her fingers through her long, curly brown hair with agitation as she looked over at the pentagram, then looked back at Hannah angrily. "I didn’t think that you would actually do it. But I see once again I underestimated the lengths that you will go for power, my
Circle
sister." She swiped her hands through the air as if searching for something. "There is something dark, very dark, in here." Her eyes searching the cavern, she sharply exhaled. "You summoned a dark demon," she stated flatly. Hannah looked at her boldly. "And I do not regret the sacrifice."

Victoria shook her head with disappointment. "And what about the sacrifice of the
Normal
and
Elementi
?"

"You’re the one with telepathic powers. Why don’t you read my mind, favored
Eternal
Warrior?" Hannah responded.

Victoria raised her glowing sword. "Don’t tempt me, Hannah; I will slaughter you where you stand, gladly."

Hannah’s eyes taunted her. "Really?" She laughed as she circled her. "You’re all talk, Victoria. You and I know that you don’t have the heart to break the blood oath. Always by the book, that’s you." She held out her wrists with innocent eyes. "Arrest me. Be a good little Tracker and bring me to the Royal
Elementi
Conclaves for trial. I beg you," she finished.

Victoria’s eyes narrowed. "I know you, Hannah, maybe too well, and I will not be baited by the likes of you." She smiled, a little too sweetly. "After all, we all know that I’m smarter and more powerful than you. But that has always been the problem, has it not? The fact that nothing you do, or no matter how many
Daemons
you raise, can change that fact?"

Hannah screeched like a wild animal, lunging toward her throat. Victoria smiled icily as she quickly whispered a combat spell, then flicked out her fingers, sending a burst of energy that knocked Hannah hard onto her back.

Victoria stood over her with a gleeful look. "Please, don’t let this get ugly. Just stay down."

Jessica stormed over, her golden blonde hair flying haphazardly like a plume of feathers. "I can’t believe that you’ve actually pledged alliance to a
Daemon
of the Underworld. Why would you betray us?"

Hannah looked up at them angrily as she scrambled to her feet. "Betray you? I have always been true to the
Eternals
, the
Elementi
, and the worthless blood oath. And what has it gotten me? Nothing. I’m on the winning side now, the Underworld, and everyone that opposes it will perish in flames!" she screamed angrily.

"The Underworld will only win if we let it. I don’t understand how you can throw away everything, and for what?" Jessica spat nastily.

"What do you really understand, Jessica? You live in your world of privilege with everything handed to you on a silver platter." Hannah looked over at Victoria icily. "And you, Victoria, swallowing everything that the council and the Royal
Elementi
Conclave spout as gospel, never questioning what’s really going on behind closed doors. Wake up. The
Elementi
are liars and are using us as their private army, and we get nothing out of it but second-class citizen status. It stops, and it stops with me."

Olivia looked at her with agitation as she touched Hannah’s shoulder gently. "
Circle
sister, you summoned what should never be brought to this earth. This is a crime, and in accordance with the blood oath, this means death."

She jerked her shoulder away quickly. "How you dare talk about death in the same breath that you call me your sister? Hypocrites, all of you are self-righteous hypocrites. You take great pleasure in using your magic in the slaying of
Daemons
and the
Banished
in the name of the
Elementi
like it’s a full-time sport. You treat the
Normals
as friends instead of what they really are—the lowest form of life and selfish pests. The blood oath says nothing of betraying your fellow
Eternals
in the name of saving
Normals
."

Jessica tossed reared her golden blonde hair angrily. "Enough, Hannah, your games will not work today. You have broken the blood oath, and there is no forgiveness for this abomination. The punishment is very clear, and no theatrics will ever change that."

Hannah sneered. "How rich, you’re actually giving me a lecture on the blood oath?" She flung her long chestnut hair over her shoulders. "Well let me educate you on the blood oath. The oath does not state that we should waste our gifts on protecting
Normals
or that we should live side by side with them like commoners. The oath does not say that we should waste our powers as babysitters for the
Elementi
like some weak creatures. We are supreme Warriors with immense gifts and powers, and if the
Eternals
are too weak to demand more for the price that we pay for servitude as protectors of this cursed universe, then I can tell you that I have no reservations at all in taking what is mine."