Chapter 64: Interlude Six: Maria - Soul’s Price

Terrell and Daran gave each other unsure glances as the unstable, smiling woman motioned to the teleporter to join her with a finger. She got to her feet and glided to one of the children in the chair, holding up a hand as her eyes flashed violet.

"Well, what are you waiting for, boy? Come. Come."

Just as Maria had no choice but to join the brothers, the roles were reversed as the man puffed out a heavy breath and went to the grinning terrorist.

"What are you—" His words cut off as she placed a hand on a little boy’s head and Daran’s chest; her dress fluttered as a gentle breeze cycled around her, lilac hues connecting the three.

Relica spoke as if this was just another casual exchange. "Did you know souls have tremendous power, especially the young?"

Maria’s fingers trembled in her lap as she watched the little boy’s body shrivel before her eyes, turning to dust; the remaining light transferred to Daran. He stumbled back when the last rays were absorbed into his chest, gasping and choking as he clutched his breast. Tears and snot ran down his face as he looked into the distance at some unseeable horror.

"I...I felt—why..."

"Mhm!" she chimed, bending down to pat him on the head like the child she’d just murdered. "The pain and agony the soul went through as I forced it into you. Yes, yes. Terrible, terrible. But look on the bright side! Now, you can teleport dozens of times before the energy provided by the soul is used up. The pain will leave. The Trauma? Mmh. Debatable."

Maria stood, fists shaking at her side and drawing the others’ attention.

"Ooh. Feeling sad for him—angry? You are a healer, I suppose," Relica nodded. "What would you do if I forced the same onto you?"

She wanted to charge the woman and beat her senseless, but Maria knew it wouldn’t help; being a leader on her block meant she had to make tough calls and keep a level head. Maria could no longer see this woman as a human. She was a devil from hell. No human could be this twisted. If she made a move, the children would suffer.

Adele answered, though, her vision narrowing dangerously. "I’m not here to see unnecessary suffering, Relica. Everything I do is for a better world—a world that survives—for my daughter’s sake."

"Haha! I’m only partially joking," the terrorist mused, holding out two fingers and flicking her wrist to magically force Daran to his feet. "Now that we have our carrier pigeon... Go fetch!"

"It won’t work," Adele repeated, scratching her head and looking inward. "You have to create an event so impossible to overcome that even her misfortune-warping won’t be able to save her from it. It’s why I wanted you to kill her before she fully unlocked her abilities."

"Obviously, if I failed, she had the misfortune, or whatever, working in her favor before The Oscillation even occurred, dear," Relica stated, retaking a seat and waving for Daran to get moving. "Which...has drawn my attention."

He stumbled to the counter before his father nodded, the still-muted man clearly wanting to shoot the devilish woman; they vanished in a haze of hues, the color far stronger now.

"She said it won’t work, Relica," Terrell muttered, sweat gathering on his forehead. "Rachel is talking like she already knows my boys are coming!"

The seductive woman snickered. "Humor me."

A numbing silence took them as they waited, Terrell’s face going white while spying on his son’s mission. She didn’t like this side of gangster life and typically worked only with gangs that held a specific standard. People had to do messed up shit to survive, and she understood that, but this, this wasn’t that—this was just the spawn of hell incarnate, tormenting people for amusement.

Maria edged over to the children. Her radiant horn flared to life, and her heart ached as she examined their condition. Relica had not only placed them in some hypnotic state; from what her purifying instincts and abilities told her, they were trapped in a nightmare, running from their worst fears.

Unable to restrain herself at this point, her pale light bathed the children, dispelling the visions they saw; at the very least, she could rescue them from the terrifying nightmares so their minds could slip into more positive dreams.

Relica lifted an eyebrow. "Quite the potent purifying feats you have. What was her name, Terrell?"

"Maria, bitch," she responded, introducing herself while staring the fiend down and turning to stand between her and the children. "Next time you want to hurt them with your bullshit, use me instead. Comprende? I ain’t watchin’ that shit again."

"Bold! I like her, Adele," Relica laughed, eyeing her up and down. "You wanted her to get rid of that uveal melanoma you’ve got, Terrell, right? No, someone else wanted her. That’s right. Oh! Something happening to your boys? My, my, what did Rachel do?"

Terrell’s face went white, rising to his feet. "Hey—Maria!"

A flash of color brought the brothers to their father’s feet; Marcus was gasping for air, seemingly unable to breathe as blood leaked from his mouth, eyes, nose, and ears, his chest caved in. Daran’s left arm was half torn out of its socket.

"H-He just—the h-hare girl—"

"Heal him, dammit!"

Maria’s light intensified, her face blanching at discovering the damage done to the younger brother. "The hell? He’s bleeding internally everywhere! I-It’s like his whole body was beaten by a hammer!"

She hissed as she tried to restore the tissue. Her Solar Pool went from full to twenty percent just to stabilize him; ten more was used to fix most of Daran’s shredded meniscus and powdered bone. If it were daylight, it wouldn’t have been an issue, but her healing factor took a massive hit outside the sun and at night.

Sweat soaked the front of her shirt as she finished. Relica sat nearby, talking to Adele and ignoring the father as Terrell freaked out, questioning Maria on the state of his boys.

"Huh. You were right, Adele. Not even empowering him to zip in and snatch her parents worked."

Adele rubbed her temple. "You’ve only made things worse and made a worthless sacrifice. Now Rachel sees you as a threat and target. But you wanted that, didn’t you?"

Maria’s chest hurt as her life force was drained yet again; Rachel had taken enough of it the previous day, trying to purify the ridiculously potent toxin and then restore her very condensed and unique organs. She did not expect to be thrust into this kind of insanity, and now Rachel had caused her trouble yet again, not that she would have done any different.

A sly tilt came to Relica’s eyes. "I always finish my jobs. And don’t call it worthless; I needed to test what I’m up against. I’m impressed. Rachel didn’t even hesitate. The moment they popped up, she went for the kill. I think I want to see more about this hare girl you’re so afraid of, Adele."

"If she learns you were involved in the car accident that tried to kill her ten years ago..."

Relica’s teeth flashed. "Oh, things are starting to get fun! And don’t give me that look, Adele; I will be very careful regarding your daughter. I know she’s some messianic figure, born to usher in the Scarlet Veil—yada, yada—or whatever you call it. I’m just a little interested."

Adele turned to leave. "I still need you, Relica. I’m not worried about my daughter... I’m worried about losing you. Prepare my way to the UK. You will fail, so don’t die here and go all in. When you do, join me. I must devise a way to get that conniving hare away from my daughter! How could this have happened?"

"Whatever you say, High Priestess," Relica laughed, following the woman out. "Maybe you should ask the ’all-seeing’ Scarlet Hand for advice; she’s always helpful."

"I will."

"I was joking! Haha. You cultists are always so serious. Oh, and Terrell, keep the unicorn girl close. A war is coming! I’m so excited." She snatched one of the radios from a table and flipped it on. "Conner, you there? I found a little wrestling buddy for you to play with. I hear she’s quite the handful!"

"About time!" a man growled. "I’m growing bored with all these military men. All they do is destroy my clothes with their rockets and shit."

"Is that right? I’d enjoy that view. Maybe I’ll join you for a little tussle under that steaming skin. I’ve been longing for something hot to press against recently. Do you mind, Adele?"

The woman didn’t respond.

"I’ll take that as a no. Haha!"

Daran and Marcus stabilized; Maria sat back on a chair and wiped the sweat from her brow.

"You work with those assholes? The hell you up to? You’re a lot of things, Terrell, but I didn’t take you to be truly evil—a devil—I just watched a kid die, man! If you’re gonna kill all these—"

Terrell punched the ground, splitting his knuckle. "Look, we all got our bosses, kid. You think I wanted to see my son choking on his own blood? Shit! You know as well as I that fiend can twist us like a jigsaw puzzle with a flick of her wrist! That bitch was always insane, but now—shit! Daran..."

"Yeah, Dad," he muttered, keeping his brother’s head up as he slept, the saved man too exhausted to remain conscious after the trauma to his body.

"Take Maria to the room with the fairy. Don’t go anywhere, Maria. Okay? Shit is escalating way too fast, and I don’t know what’s gonna happen. Catch me?"

Maria worked around her jaw as Daran carefully put his brother’s head down. "You got no intention of letting me go, huh, amigo? I’m some product now, like that terrorist chica said. Is that it?"

Terrell flexed his bleeding fist, clouded irises glaring to the side. "Dammit! Somehow the hare can see my eyes now... That damn hacker has so much intel on our operation."

"Aye!" Maria prompted, snapping her fingers as flames rose in her belly.

"I don’t know, Maria! I got orders to take you to meet someone in Venezuela. If you comply, your block will be fine. I promise. All they asked for was you. Got it?"