She stared at the ground, where her mother lay. She sank to her knees, screaming and crying uncontrollably. Calien came running down the stairs short of Enora’s body. “Holy shit,” he muttered. Fiona disappeared, and the door to the back was closed. “What… what happened?” He kneeled beside her.


    Alessia tried opening her mouth to explain but all she could manage were sobs. She touched her mother, hoping she could resurrect her. She closed her eyes, aiming her power into her mother’s body but it didn’t work. Calien pulled her away from the scene, but Alessia refused to budge. “She has to wake up!” Alessia cried.


    Calien trembled, bringing her into his arms. “I’m so sorry, Alessia, but she’s gone. There is nothing more you can do.”


    She shook her head and refused to give in to the attempts at bringing her mother back to life. “I did it once, remember? With Animals and with Saiph.”


    “She’s gone, Alessia,” Calien said, gripping her shoulders. “Even if you could bring her back, she wouldn’t be the same.” She kept staring at her mother’s corpse. Her eyes were still wide and her mother’s mouth a gape. Calien held Alessia tight as she tried fighting against him.


    This can’t be real, it just can’t be, Alessia thought. She cradled her mother’s face. “Don’t leave me, please!” she cried. She didn’t know what else to do. This wasn’t supposed to happen! She had blood on her hands and clothes from her mother’s open wound on her throat, but she didn’t care.


    “Alessia,” she heard Calien say gently. “We must get help as soon as the sun rises. For now, we should cover her body out of respect.”


    Alessia was unable to move. She kept staring at her mother’s horror-struck face. She couldn’t save her from Fiona. “How am I going to break the news to my father?”


    “It’s best if it comes from you and not somebody else.”


    “He’ll blame me.”


    “Why would he blame you?”


    “Because I watched it all happen! I watched Fiona rip the flesh from my mother’s throat right in front of me!” she exclaimed. She stood up walking around the living room, muttering to herself. Biting the nails from her fingers, she paced back and forth—First Kalix and now her mother.


    Doireann was not playing anymore. She wanted revenge and got it. “Fuck,” she said, as the sun started coming up.


    Alessia wiped away tears trying to come out realizing she was all her father had now. He would be awake soon but she was unsure of how to tell him. She checked on her father. He was fast asleep, unaware of what occurred during the night. How did he not wake up from the noise?


    I can’t do it, she thought. How am I supposed to tell him my mother – his wife – is dead?


    Calien left the house as the early morning light came up. He returned not long after with Stag guards. They were all in shock when they saw the corpse on the floor but remained calm. Alessia felt their eyes on her, as they studied the rest of the house to figure out what happened.


    “Can you tell me your version of events?” Captain of the Guard, Uriel, asked her.


    “One of the creatures found their way in and…” Alessia said, taking a deep breath. “And she – Fiona was right in front of us.”


    “Fiona?”


    “That’s what she calls herself. I suspect she is the leader of the Sluagh.”


    Uriel nodded. “How did she get inside?” he asked her, his eyebrows furrowing and his arms crossed.


    “I don’t know. My mother and I… we heard a noise in the middle of the night and woke up to see what it was but…”


    “You had salt, didn’t you? From what I understand, the Sluagh cannot enter a house where there is salt unless invited inside.”


    “Calien was asleep, and only my mother and I were awake.”


    “And your father – Alaric?”


    “Injured. He can’t walk that well.”


    “Right,” Uriel replied, shaking his head. The way he stared right through her made her nervous. Why did it sound like he didn’t believe her? “We need a more detailed version of what happened here, Miss Raith, but for now we need to take your mother’s body away and into the morgue.”


    “Why?”


    “Why do you think?” Uriel snapped. “To find out more about the attack.”


    The rest of the guards placed a white sheet over her mother’s corpse, lifting her carefully outside into a small wagon.


    Her father woke up, but he stayed in bed. “Hey, you’re awake early. How did you sleep?” Alessia asked him.


    “I had the strangest dream…”


    “The craziest stories start with that sentence,” she chuckled, although it made her feel rather uneasy. “What was it about?”


    “Your grandfather.” She nodded, not having much to say to him. “Where is your mother? Is she awake?”


    She sat there beside him, closing her eyes as she thought of what to say. When reopening them, she said, “Something happened during the night, father.”


    “What do you mean?” he said in confusion. “Where is she?”


    <hr>


    Her father demanded to see his wife after he was told everything, but Alessia forced him to sit back down on the bed. She tried her hardest not to cry in front of him. She never saw him like that, a crying mess and in full denial. What else could she say or do for him? “I’m sorry, you have to find out this way but it’s all true.”


    “But everything was sealed – right?” Alessia didn’t reply. “Alessia, was everything sealed?”


    “Honestly, I have no idea.”


    “But how could that happen?" he exclaimed. “We were supposed to be safe!”


    “I wish I knew!” Alessia said. He was silent. The world around them stopped for once. Alaric fell back into the bed, wiping the tears from his face. Where do we go from here? Alessia thought.


    She watched her father’s shoulders slump down. Everybody in Stag probably knew what had happened by now. Aunt Vilica and Uncle Delroy, along with Rinna and Elspeth visited them quickly. Word traveled around fast.


    Her cousins were crying and hugging Alessia. She recoiled a bit; worried Rinna would start something. “Ale, I’m sorry,” Rinna said.


    “Now you’re sorry?” Alessia asked. “If my mother hadn’t died you would still be mad at me!”


    “No, Alessia –”


    “Save it! You ignored me for days and suddenly everything is better between us?! Do you remember the things you said to me?”


    “No one is mad,” Elspeth said. “Rinna needed some time to cool down.” She was always the voice of reason, which was appreciated in such times.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    “I appreciate your condolences and taking the time out of your day to visit us, but now I am the one who needs time.”


    “Yeah, I understand,” Rinna said. Alessia expected her to argue but she didn’t.


    Alessia returned to her room without her father, hearing the sobs and the voices from downstairs. Calien knocked on the door, and she almost didn’t answer it until he kept knocking. Her stomach was starting to cramp up, probably from not eating anything. “Can I come in?” he asked.


    She tried not to let the stomach ache distract her from the conversation. “Sure.” She let him into her room.


    “Wanted to make sure you were okay.”


    “I’m not. She’s gone, and I could do nothing to save her.”


    Calien held her hand tightly. She felt a wave of relief hit her when he touched her hand. “When my mother died, I felt like nothing could go right.”


    “How did you cope with the loss?”


    “I’m still coping,” he said, tightening the grip on her hand slightly. “It’ll get better, but there is no time limit on grief.”


    “How did your mother pass away?” Calien became silent. She wondered if she should have said anything to him about it. “I’m sorry, that was rude to ask.”


    “No, it’s okay. I want to answer,” he said. “She died protecting me from bandits.” Alessia’s heart ached for him. That sounded dreadful. “I don’t remember the details, I just know if I hadn’t been playing far from home, she might be alive today.”


    “Shit, sorry,” she whispered, feeling even worse about it.


    Calien shook his head. Alessia stayed quiet in case she said something stupid in front of him again. She hated thinking it brought more pain by bringing up his mother’s death. “We have one thing in common – although I detest it,” he said. “We lost our mothers in a horrible way.”


    “It feels like it will never get better.”


    “Only in time.”


    The pain in her stomach grew, the images of her mother on the ground making her nauseous. She quivered. “What do we do now?” Before he answered, she doubled over in pain.


    “What’s wrong?” he asked, rushing to her side.


    “My stomach just started hurting,” she said, holding her abdomen. “Fuck – it really – hurts!” A sharp pain shot down her leg as if someone brought a knife to her flesh covered in salt.


    “I will fetch the doctor and tell the maids to bring you tea.”


    She nodded, wincing in agony. Now more than ever she wished her mother was there by her side. Her gentle voice would have soothed her even if it didn’t take the pain away. The maids – Mara and Siobhan – hurried to her bedroom with a tray of tea. They helped her into the bed to make her more comfortable.


    Alessia sipped the tea, but the pain did not subside.


    Calien returned with the doctor. He inspected her, listening to her heartbeat with a stethoscope. “Breathing is jagged,” the doctor stated. He checked her abdomen next. “No chance of pregnancy?”


    She was horrified and shook her head. “Absolutely not!”


    “Then it is likely you caught an illness.”


    What illness causes this much pain? She thought. “What sort of illness?”


    “Could be anything from the stomach influenza to you eating food that did not digest well,” the doctor explained. Very neurotypical doctor response. “I do need to draw blood from you.” He took out the needle, injecting it into Alessia’s arm. She froze when she saw the color of her blood.


    It was black.


    The doctor remained puzzled. “That can’t be right,” he said.


    “Why is it that color?” Alessia panicked. What was wrong with her? She fidgeted with her hair, as confused as ever.


    He shook his head. “I ought to test it. This is far - far from normal.” The doctor’s hand trembled as he put the vial of Alessia’s blood into the doctor''s bag. “The blood should be red but it’s black as night!” Calien was watching, leaning against the door’s threshold as the doctor put away his supplies and hurried out of the house without so much as a word.


    “How are you feeling now?” Calien asked her, concern etched on his face.


    “Better, I suppose,” she replied. “I highly doubt it’s the end of it.” She wasn’t sure why she was so calm after the doctor''s visit. “There is only one person who might be able to help us with this. Jaera.”


    “The shaman? She wasn’t exactly friendly the last time we saw her.”


    “She’s always like that,” Alessia said, standing up from her bed. “She might know what the hell is going on with me.”


    “Lead the way, then.”


    <hr>


    Jaera heard a knock on the door, sighing because she knew who it was. Alessia Raith, the girl who would not leave her alone and her bodyguard. Who else would knock on her door? Nobody from Stag would dare go near her house out of fear of becoming cursed. She swung open the door, glaring at Alessia. “What in Tirren’s name do you want now?” She spoke.


    “I need your help.”


    “Why? What is it this time?”


    Alessia crossed her arms, her lips trembling when she spoke. “Last night something awful happened,” she said. “One of the Sluagh entered my house and killed my mother.”


    Jaera’s jaw tightened. Her initial rebuttal against Alessia started fading away. “I’m sorry for your loss, but how can I help with that?”


    “I got sick, and when the doctor took my blood, it was black.”


    “Black,” she whispered, shaking her head. “All right, come in.” She hesitated to let them both in, but she felt bad Alessia lost her mother to one of those things. “You wouldn’t happen to have a vial of the blood, would you?”


    “No. The doctor left in a hurry.”


    Niamh popped her head around the corner. “Is that her?”


    “Get back to your chores,” Jaera said. She curled her finger at Alessia and Calien, beckoning them to follow her into the other room. She closed the door and locked it. “There is something I need to tell you before you tell me more. A few weeks ago, I was attacked by a hooded figure. So was my daughter. It was the reason I pushed you away, Alessia but now this is bigger than all of us.”


    “The hooded figure? Oh, you mean Doireann.”


    Jaera tilted her head. “Who is that?”


    “She… she ended up being Sarah from her former life. I am one of the cult members who contributed to killing her family.”


    That was a lot of information to take in, she thought. “You might need to start from the beginning. And don’t leave out any details.”


    Alessia began explaining everything from the last few weeks, mentioning something about a corpse she raised back to life named Saiph. Jaera’s mind was trying to wrap around everything she was told at that moment. “That is… a lot.”


    “It’s all the truth.”


    “I believe you. I just never expected you to be someone else reincarnated. I truly thought you were Sarah at first and for that, I apologize.”


    Alessia shook her head. “It’s okay. Mistakes happen and I would never have known if she didn’t show me my memories.”


    “Right, well we have a big problem with that. She is trying to turn everything against you.”


    “What would she want with me – I mean other than revenge?” Alessia leaned up against the wall beside Calien, who remained quiet the whole time.


    “Revenge is for certain. It seems like she was the one who conjured the Sluagh in the first place.”


    “Why is it directed at the town and not at me? Everyone is in danger.”


    “Because she wants you to suffer,” Jaera replied. “It’s a part of her vengeance. Her fury.”


    “Bitch,” Alessia muttered under her breath, shaking her head. “She should have just killed me then!” Jaera was not sure how to console the younger woman. “And what the hell does she want with you and your daughter?”


    Jaera pinched her nose, walking around the small room back and forth. “I don’t know but that was why I had the dagger made.” Lundys made it according to her blueprint. The man knew what he was doing when he said he could enchant weapons if he had the proper gems, but nobody around asked him to do that because magic was forbidden. “The dagger is used to control and protect.”


    “Explains why I heard it calling to me.”


    “You did? I never thought it was that strong. How did Lundys make such a thing?”


    “He can use enchantments on weapons,” Jaera said, not wanting to tell them any more about her relationship with him and Niamh overhearing it. “He will never tell me how he does it.” She was surprised he even made the dagger for her in the first place considering they barely talked before that. She did not feel like speaking with him again. She only spoke to him to protect her daughter. “Niamh was able to speak with Doireann, but the issue was that I couldn’t see her. Niamh could.”


    “What happened between your daughter and Doireann?” Calien asked her.


    Jaera hated repeating it, but what other choice did she have? “She received an injury on her leg from the woman, who I could not see evidently. I don’t know exactly what went wrong, but not long after I had the dagger made, she attacked us again.” She showed them the wound on her shoulder. “I received this, but I was able to banish her out.”


    Alessia’s eyes widened in horror. “What the hell does she want?” She rubbed the side of her temple. “I am at a loss to do. And I think she is the reason my blood turned black. It was not like that before.”


    Calien nodded. “The fight with Ceinwen proved that your blood was red.”


    “What fight?”


    Alessia shook her head. “Nothing important. What do we do now?”


    “The only thing we can do,” Jaera said, stepping closer. “We fight back.”


    “And then more people die. It doesn’t matter what plan we have,” Alessia said. “Doireann will continue to hurt the people closest to me. The next person could be my father or a relative.” Jaera understood where she was coming from but Niamh was also in danger.


    “You came to me with this information willingly and then asked me what our plan of action was. We can’t stop here.”


    “I know, but it feels like she is always watching me.”


    Jaera placed both hands on Alessia’s shoulders. “Listen carefully,” she said slowly. “Don’t give people like Doireann power over you. It’s what they want. To have some control in your life.”


    “But what if she has the right to? After all, I did kill her family in my former life.” The hold the woman had on Alessia was far stronger than expected, but she just experienced the death of her mother. “You need to take some time for yourself. The loss you had from last night is still messing with your brain. Plus, the illness you have must be making you fatigued. Go home and rest.”


    “And what will you do in the meantime?”


    “Stay here with my daughter, but first, I need some of your blood. There is a good chance the doctor who visited you won’t be coming back.”


    Alessia nodded. She rolled up a sleeve, as Jaera found a small pin needle to prick her skin with and a vial to hold the blood. As told, Alessia’s blood was black instead of crimson red. “I will study this in my basement where I put my mother’s old chemistry set away after her death. I do not do this often, but I will visit you in town sometime this week.”


    “Okay,” Alessia replied, her skin a ghastly pale. “I will and thank you for the help.”


    After the girl left, the only thing Jaera could do was pray to Tirren for her. She would eventually need it.