"I'll catch...but you have to kill."

The words cut through me like a knife. I felt like a stalker as I am pulled down to a crouched position.

I am shocked when I turn my head and Berry is in the tree, blending in with the all the greenery. In fact, her pointed features made her look like she was a creature emerging from the trees. She had even taken the book with her and it was clutched in her slim arms. I shivered; I hadn't even seen her move.

Paxton was crouched behind me as he whispered in my ear. "Now, you gotta move nice and slow." I swatted at his head at the insinuation, it was definitely meant to come across as dirty with the wag he wagged his eyebrows to me.

I could hear Berry's soft giggle from above me. I rolled my eyes and started to walk, still hunched over, being careful to avoid all the twigs that lay beneath my feet.

I kept moving, unsure of what we were even hiding from until I heard it. Breathing... uneven, as if it was running. Heavy sounds of something inhaling and exhaling, more specifically, someone.

A person.

I could see their hair through the bushes, and hear their feet hit the ground in a rhythmed pattern.

It was my turn for my breathing to catch in my throat. No. I turned to Paxton who was showing no emotion; a blank and bored expression on his face.

"Absolutely not!" I took no caution trying to be quiet, I almost hoped I would scare this person away.

Paxton looked at me almost expectedly – he knew I was going to react this way. What an ass!

He chuckled and looked up at Berry. The audacity he had to laugh at this situation. I crossed my arms in frustration at his taunting.

"I told you she wouldn't have the guts to kill a person, it wasn't even worth the try."

Berry's only response was to jump to another tree. I felt like my eyes were about to pop out of my head. I had seen more things break the rules of physics in the last hour than I had in my whole lifetime. I watched in shock... in admiration.

"Ah, witches and their tricks..." Paxton muttered to himself before turning back to me. He was still crouched on the ground whereas I was upright. The human had passed on the trail and was now far away. I breathed out a sigh of relief as Paxton pulled me back down again and turned my head to make me look through the bushes.

I strained my eyes to see through the thick foliage.

"Don't worry, our prey is a little more... furry."

I am thankful to see a doe, her head nodded in front of her, eating. My relief shocked me; I was glad I didn't have to kill a person, but this animal was beautiful.

The more I watched her the more I noticed. Small things stuck out, like the soft browns and grays that contoured her body. Or her large eyes, with eyelashes so long that they draped over and brushed her cheekbones. Her sharp ears that stuck up; turning in all directions, listening for any sign of danger.

The irony struck me. I was the danger. Fear flooded throughout me; I didn't want to be a killer.

But with this fear, a feeling of confidence followed. I knew what I had to do, and it was that confidence that scared me. Paxton interrupted my thoughts.

"That's the goddess in you, the natural instinct to hunt allows you to see the details you do. In order to hunt, you must be able to predict the behaviour of the target."

And so, we stalked. Berry followed in the tress while we walked, crouched close to the ground.

Paxton explained the plan to me as we went. We were going to split up when we got close enough, he would go for the back, catch the deer off guard and hold his torso so I could make the kill.

I only met his explanation with a silent nod. I was scared that if I opened my mouth, I would manage to talk myself out of it, and I needed the piece in the book badly.

I knew when it was time.

I guess it was just another hunter instinct. Paxton split off towards the back and I continued on my path but took extra caution. We were within 5 yards now of the doe, we had to be careful to not alert her to our presence. I looked up to see Berry watching, the book still clutched in her arms.

I stopped. I was now directly in front of the doe, crouching in the leaves. I watched her carefully as she continued to eat. She had no idea.

I looked across the wooded area, making eye contact with Paxton. I nodded my head and gulped. It was now or never; the deer would not stay oblivious forever.

Even though I gave the command I was still shocked when Paxton leapt foreword and landed on the animal. He seemed to be in half-wolf, half-human form, only claws and fangs protruding. I heard the cry of the animal, causing me to wince.

I stood, emerging from the leaves. I took in the scene before me. Paxton looked like he was giving the deer a hug from behind. He had his arms around the legs of the doe, pulling them into the stomach to keep them from kicking. His chest against her back, rendering her immobile. The deer was trying to break free, but it was just causing her more pain. I could hear the cracks.

But what disturbed me the most was the fear on her face. It was like a crying baby, so innocent, unable to help itself. It took everything in my to not turn away.

"Hurry up," Paxon grunted out as he adjusted his grip. His eyes met my wide ones. I looked down at myself, I didn't know what to do next.

I had nothing to kill the deer with. I looked helplessly down on the ground of the forest. Bending, I ran my hands frantically across the dirt. I wasn't sure what I was expecting to find, but I came up empty-handed.

"You have to do it with your bare hands!" Berry hurriedly called out from somewhere in the canopy of leaves above us. She must have seen my panic-stricken attempt to find a weapon.

"Do it!" Paxton screamed at me while he held the doe steady in his grasp. I could see his muscles straining, sweat dripped down his forehead. He couldn't hold her still for much longer as the creature thrashed.

I walked up and closed my eyes, I had to let my newfound instincts to take over. Before I knew it I had her head in my hands and in a quick swift motion, with strength I didn't know I had, I snapped her neck backwards —pushing its head into its back. A sickening crack filled the air, only to be followed by silence.

I didn't look but I could feel the body go slack. I could hear Paxton let it fall to the ground. And I could taste a foul bile filling up in the back of my throat. How had I just done that?

The kill and then the recoil. I stepped backwards, pushing myself up against a tree trunk. I thought I was going to break as I finally brought myself to open my eyes... but I felt an overwhelming satisfaction run through my veins. I stood many feet away from the doe. The eyes still open. A ripple ran through my body and now I wasn't too sure if it was from disgust or satisfaction.

I heard Paxton shout and holler joyously as he hovered over the carcass with a wide grin.

Paxton grabbed at the deer and sunk his fangs into the hide. I expected him to rip out a large chunk but instead, he left everything intact. His eyes grew dark as he let the blood drip off teeth. He reached down the puncture wound and let the blood seep across his hand.

Before I could comprehend, he bounded over to me and his hand was smearing the blood across my face.

I gagged.

I turned and only managed to make it two steps before vomiting. The putrid smell of rust and salt filled my nose –blood. It only made me empty the contents of my stomach again.

I felt a soft crunch in the ground beside me. I looked over to see a pair of small feet, Berry.

"No time for that," she said as she grabbed my arm and pulled me towards my kill.

My emotions were on a high – it was like I was fighting myself; being torn in two.

The red book was shoved into my hands. It was opened to a page without a drawing, a rarity. But it was in a different language. Berry was frantically soaking up the blood and spread it on me as well as across the pages. Instead of covering over the ink the blood seemed to make the writing pop – as if the foreign letters were floating off the page.

"Well, what are you waiting for girl! Read!" I looked up to see Paxton and Berry watching me.

"What?! I don't even know what language this is, I-I can't," I said firmly and tried to hold out the book to them, in a mere attempts show them. However, when I looked down at the writing again, I gasped. It was now in English.

I glanced up to see Berry smirking. The forest was scary silent, nothing in nature should be this quiet. However, I knew that what we were doing was anything but natural. I began to read.

"Your blood turns black and the flesh turns blue

I will curse you if you force me to

With the blood gone black and the flesh blue

The evil you sent will come back to you

My soul is now clean and yours is on fire

You mess with a witch

You get burned a liar"

The words created a hum. One that seemed to fill the air. I knew these words were those of Embry. I was summoning him using the power of my kill.

I looked up, unsure of what to do next, but found that I was alone. Paxton and Berry disappeared as if they were never there. I whipped my head around and cried out.

"Paxton!" I scream.

When I turn back around, I come face to face with a man. His nose almost touching mine. A scream tears from my throat and I instinctively step back. I trip, my ass slamming into the ground. I looked up and was in awe of the man in front of me.

He is beautiful despite his odd appearance. His hair was a striking shade of blue and he stood tall, almost as tall as Klayton. He had strong features like a werewolf, but his upturned eyes and large pouted lips set him apart. He had a confident air around him that felt familiar.

He felt like Destiny.

It made me wonder if this man was just a warlock.

He stood over me and looked me up and down before speaking.

"Before we go back, I must warn you Adira, even though I will thank you for my freedom with the piece of Artemis's soul, you will also pay a price. Dark magic will never be taken lightly in this world. I will not warn you to stay away but I will warn you that with each spell there will be a sacrifice and a personal cost,"

His words struck me, but I had no time to react before I felt a similar spinning sensation, however, I couldn't place where I knew it from. And then I was being pulled back up by Paxton.

It was if he appeared out of nowhere. However, his touch on my arm burned and I pulled it out of his grasp.

Everywhere burned. Yet, my skin didn't feel hot. It felt like the fire was in me like my blood was being boiled. I let out a hiss as I stood up, trying to shake off the horrible feeling.

The red book was on the ground. I felt drawn to it, a similar pull that I had felt with the pocket watch. I bent down and picked it up —only for everything to go black. My head hitting the hard ground of the forest.

~

"Adira... Adira, wake up!" I hear Berry saying as she shakes me.

I groaned as I sat up, dirt embedded in my skin.

"I took the pain away," Berry stated as she walked away from me, back towards Paxton. She was right, I felt no indication that I had just passed out. I braced my hands against the ground and used them to push myself up.

I looked up to meet Berry's wide eyes. She backed into Paxton, who didn't even notice because he was staring at me. They were so entranced looking at me they didn't even notice him.

Embry was standing behind them.

My eyes met his face and he brought his index finger to his lips, telling me not to alert them to his presence. I tore my eyes away from his and I watched him turn and walk away.

"What?!" I said, anger in my voice, bringing my attention back to the two people in front of me. I was expecting a physical change after collecting the piece of soul, but this reaction indicated something far more.

"Um, y-your hair," Paxton said, he looked as if his eyes were about to pop out of his head.

I reached up and grabbed at a chunk, bringing it in front of my face. It was white, just like Artemis'. It was a striking white, one that would surely glow at night.

Yet, that isn't what caught my attention. As I had reached up I caught a glance at my skin, my arms not hidden by my tank top.

I brought my arms down in front of my face, turning them over and over to make sure I wasn't imagining things.

The blood running in my veins shone through my pale skin... and it was black.

My price.