⊹ Book 2 of the Aldergrove Duology ⊹
{ONC 2023 Shortlister}
Desperate to see his dead mate again, Sebastien makes a deal with the Devil. But the price he has to pay is much more complicated than simply handing over his soul.
...
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⤠ ≻ ◈ ≺ ⤟
As he prowled through the woods, Sebastien searched the compound for the perfect spot to pounce. But he wasn't using his eyes to find it; he used his ability to detect life force and the emotions of its owner. He located the prisoner with the gloomiest, saddest aura, and covered behind a berry bush. The person he found was desperate to be done with their life, so he'd give them what they wanted, and in return, he'd get what he wanted.
Three minutes until Caleb's distraction. He wished that he could contact the human and tell him to go now, but maybe having a little time to prepare was a good thing.
Sebastien evaluated the fog. It was thick enough for him to shroud himself inside, so he spread his wings and propelled himself up. When he reached the treetops, he hovered there and switched from his normal sight to that which allowed him to see auras.
There were twenty-two dark, depressing silhouettes in the compound's courtyard. Sebastien knew that they were Caeleste suffering from ethos drain, which was caused by surripio, a sedative created for the sole purpose of weakening Caeleste so much that they could barely stay conscious.
He scowled angrily, and when he noticed that the guards were all human, his anger turned to fury. Why were humans managing Caeleste? That compound looked exactly like the sort of prison Caeleste were gathered up into during the war to try and increase the humans' chances of winning.
Sebastien descended and landed on the ground. He was starting to feel guilty. Those Caeleste were prisoners and probably deserved to be in there, but no one deserved to feel the effects of surripio. No one.
If Clementine were here...he'd be convincing him that breaking all those Caeleste out was the right thing to do. But Sebastien couldn't do that. He couldn't risk starting something that might fuck up his mission; he didn't want the attention, nor did he want to piss Caedis off.
He sighed as much of his guilt away as he could and focused. Any second now, and—
The distant blaring of a car horn cut through the silence.
There it was.
Sebastien felt the human auras moving towards the car horn. Now was his chance.
He took off, flying up and above the trees. Then, he raced towards the compound, set his eyes on the man he was going to take, and then....
And then....
There he was again. The hitchhiker. But this time, he was in prison rags, and he wasn't looking up at Sebastien; he didn't even notice him flying overhead.
