Page 77 of Hunter

“What happened with the demon?” Hunter asked, his eyes transfixed on hers. Although his tone carried a lilt of understanding, his face remained deadpan.

“Magick is drawn from the Goddess yet the dark forces call to us when we need assistance. It’s our job as witches to only give the demon enough, a favor, a wish, that causes no direct harm to the soul. In the end, the demons use those favors to lure souls, torture them in some cases. The favor may lie in wait for years, but it is always owed.”

“Did you stop to think why it’s not okay to torture or lure another soul?” Hunter asked.

“It’s not my place to ask when I’m seeking dark magick. All things have balance. Light to dark. Sweet to sour. Good to evil. Demons punish the innocent as well, not just the guilty. I’m not saying they are benevolent because clearly that is not the case nor is it their purpose.”

“Purpose? Evil has no purpose,” Willa challenged.

“It’s not as clear cut as everyone would like to make it seem. Even within the wolves, beast and humanity war with each other. Ironically neither is all good or bad. Wolves. They hunt. They kill. They establish dominance. Humans do far worse. Through free will they choose good or evil. For witches, it’s in our nature to use the magick we are given. It’s as natural as breathing. While I could argue what I did was for good, that perhaps he’d been meant for me, I admit I was lost in a fantasy.”

“What happened?” Viktor asked, running his fingers through his now tousled hair.

“I needed strong magick. It was a simple favor. I chose a lesser level demon. He said he had the power, could give me the kind of magick I needed. You see, not all can leave the underworld. Many can’t. But this demon…he misrepresented himself. It draws its power from its master. It does what it wants.”

“The time Jake found you in the woods in New York…” Hunter began but she interrupted.

“I’d fulfilled my debt. I’d escaped with a mere loss of my magick, but my sense of self, my soul had been damaged. Zella was merely a shell, an alternative reality in itself. But its master found me in the coven and took me back. The screams of an ancient witch was the debt to be paid. And as you know…” her focus drifted to Viktor, “scream I did.”

“It’s one thing we have in common,” the vampire told her. “I tried not to hurt you, but I wasn’t the only one.”

“You didn’t hurt me. And because of that,” Ilsbeth turned to Willa, “I was able to save the wolf.”

“You don’t even know me,” Willa said in disbelief.

“I certainly know of the royal family.”

“But…”

“Princess Aline Ermenjarta Lobo. Brother Julian. Or should I say Prince Joao Pedro Lobo.”

“How do you…” Willa sucked a deep breath as though she’d been punched in the stomach. “Who told you? The demons?”

“I’m nearly as old as time itself. I know many things. I won’t allow Hell to destroy a legacy. I may be many things, but I will not stand by while they deliberately try to erase the history of a species.”

“You foretold your escape from Hell?” Hunter raised a suspicious eyebrow at her.

“If I did, it’s neither here nor there.”

“You knew I was coming for her?” The Alpha inquired.

“I suspected someone would come for the vampire. Quintus would never stand by and let him rot forever.” Ilsbeth shrugged in indifference. “It doesn’t matter where the truth lies. Either way, I chose to save her.”

Hunter leaned back onto the sofa. Willa sensed his frustration but grew increasingly intrigued by the witch.

“Wolves took me,” Willa stated, her voice steady. “I think there were six of them.”

“Six born on the sixth day in the sixth month in a year of the sixth. They are the other.”

“What?” Willa asked, an impending sense of doom settling in her stomach.

“Six. Six. Six. The number of the beast. For not all wolves were created to roam in the sun, to do good, to run and celebrate the full moon. They sought to bring you, a legacy of the royal family, as a prize. And they were paid for their deeds. Perhaps money. Possibly drugs. And so, you see,” Ilsbeth paused, looking to Hunter then back to Willa, “a due is owed. Something must be given, or the wolves will die and be dragged back to Hell. And even if it kills the wolves who took you, the debt is not fully paid.”

“So what? I just wait for them to come get me? Or this demon…whatever it is, comes for me?”

“My intuition tells me that if it truly wanted you dead, you would have suffered an eternal death. These wolves. They will come for you. Together. They seek to give you back before they are each killed.”

“Can’t I just hide out until they are all dead?”