It was light in her hands, and she examined the barrel and then opened the chamber. Five bullets. She closed it and then cocked the hammer back. She brought the end of the barrel to her temple without any hesitation, but she couldn’t bring her finger to the trigger.
Sarah shut her eyes, trying to discover the resolve that had helped her pick up the pistol in the first place. She wanted to be done with it. No more pain. No more quests, no more struggle, no more looking over her shoulder, and no more brokenness inside of her.
“C’mon.” Sarah muttered the word as a taunt and stomped her feet as she pressed the barrel harder against her skull. “Do it!” Her body shuddered in defiance, the only action that her primal instincts of survival could offer. But her mind and thoughts had traveled beyond survival.
A tenth of a second. That’s all the courage she had to muster. Enough grit to squeeze the trigger, and then nothing. It would finally be over.
And then with her eyes closed, light brightened against her eyelids. She frowned, feeling the warmth of the sun on her face, which finally forced her eyes open.
The shimmer from the orb immediately caught Sarah’s gaze, and she saw that it had emerged from its pillowcase and rolled onto the dirt. It must have broken free when she’d dropped it after seeing Brent. The rays of sunlight that pierced through the thick cloud cover shot down in thick streams, and the ray that cast on the orb was separate than the one that warmed Sarah.
Sarah remembered Dell and the fact that if it hadn’t been for him, she never even would have had an opportunity to make that decision. If she gave up now, then everything else was lost.
Sarah lowered the pistol from her head and slouched her shoulders. She wanted to cry, but she was too exhausted to bring the tears, and the pistol dropped from her hand. She had no idea how she was supposed to destroy the portal. And she had no idea how she was supposed to stop an entire army of evil from marching into this world.
She reached into her pocket and removed the picture of her parents. She unfolded the photograph, and a tear fell on her father’s face.
“Blood is the beginning. Blood is the end.”
Sarah repeated the phrase like a mantra. If the gate was to be opened during the witching hour of the next early morning, then she had less than ten hours to figure out the riddle behind the words to destroy the orb. If not, then there was always the revolver.
88
Centuries of life lived in these woods had left the witch restless and, for the first time in her tenure with the dark lord, tired. His power had sustained her for this long, and while she had unlimited access to the pools of rejuvenation, she felt the desire to sustain them slipping away.
But she quickly dismissed the thoughts with a flick of her hand, and she rose from Kegan’s bed, still naked and slick with sweat. She grabbed the crystal of whiskey and poured it in one of the matching shot glasses then turned back toward Kegan, who still lay motionless and naked in bed, the same blank expression on his face as he wore when they’d slept with each other.
“Anything for you, darling?”
Kegan remained silent, and the witch chuckled to herself as she picked up her glass and took a sip.
“I do have a tendency to wear men out.”
The fire in the hearth had heated the room nicely, and with her vegetative lover on top of the sheets, she walked to the window and pulled back the curtains.
Evening had begun, the sun close to setting on the horizon. It wouldn’t be much longer now. Nightfall would hasten the pace toward the devil’s hour, though it wouldn’t matter if she didn’t have the orb.
She had hoped the detective would have returned by now. She’d give him till nightfall. If not, then she’d send her new lover to fetch her prize. She turned back to him, and the fire of desire burned in her belly as she lustfully eyed his naked body. The touch of flesh helped ease her nerves.
The witch drained the whiskey and set the empty glass on the nightstand before she climbed back into bed and straddled Kegan’s waist.
She placed the fingernail of her right index finger into his chest and then slowly ran it down his stomach and to his groin, her eyes locked onto Kegan’s face, which remain motionless and unmoved, though he hardened in her hand.
“I’ve been with more men over the years than any other woman on earth,” the witch said, smiling. “And I’ve probably been with more woman than any other man.” She tilted her head to the side. “Each of them has given me what I needed, but none of them have been able to give me what I truly desire.” She let go of him and then crawled toward his face and kissed him, tugging at his lip before letting it go. “But you can give me what I want, can’t you?” She fell off of him, rolling to her side, and giggled. “Though I’m sure your grandmother wouldn’t approve.” She ran her tongue over her lips and shuddered with excitement. “No. But she won’t have a say in the matter, will she? I’ll force her to watch as I cut you open. Oh!” She perked up in excitement and straddled him again. “Or maybe I’ll force her to cut you herself. Oooh, that would be a treat, wouldn’t it?” She giggled again and then gently stroked Kegan’s cheek. “Such a shame to lose such a body like yours though. And I’m confident that your innards won’t be as attractive as your exterior. But I’m sure your blood will taste
