A Villain's POV

Blood Magic isn't Easy

"This isn't easy you know," the woman said. "I don't like killing young women like you."

I pushed through the fog and asked, "Then why do you do it?"

This was Susanna's memory. She was the one who asked the question, but it felt like my idea. This sharing someone's past wasn't easy on the spirit. I'd never imagined I would know what it would feel like to be a teenage girl in this situation. I was proud that she had kept fighting.

"You want to get me talking, smart girl, but it won't help you," she said. "There's no one around for miles. Even if you could overpower me, I have friends who will go after you."

"Then why not tell me? It might make you feel better," I said.

She smiled. "All right. My daughter was killed in a car accident. Normally Blood Magic can't do anything with the dead, but I found an ancient spell which calls for the sacrifice of thirteen young women to bring a loved one back."

Susanna and I both thought about how crazy that was. There were all kinds of "ancient texts" about bringing people back from the other side, but it was all bunk. Even a powerful Necromancer could only either force a spirit into a corpse or animate a corpse as the unintelligent undead. This exercise wouldn't do anything but kill girls who hadn't done anything wrong.

"You have to know that this kind of thing doesn't work," I said. "If it did wouldn't we have heard about it? Wouldn't the Blood Mage who created it be singing his or her own praises to the world?"

"Even in ancient times, killing thirteen women for your own gain was frowned on, so I'd say no. Besides there was a cost to the caster that most Mages wouldn't want to pay. After you kill the last girl, you have to die to bring the other back. I don't care, I have to try it. My Lucy was taken before her time. I have to get her back."

"Which sacrifice am I?"

"You're number twelve. Just one more to go. Silence. I must concentrate."

I knew she wasn't going to pay any more attention to her victim, so I took the opportunity to study my surroundings. I was in a basement or cellar with stone walls. She was right in thinking no one could hear any screams. This place looked like it was dug into the earth. The floor was dirt. The table I was tied to was in a cleared area, but the rest of the large room was filled with junk which looked like it had been there for decades. The woman chanted in Latin. I noticed her robe had Eldritch symbols embroidered in gold. From what I'd learned about Blood Magic, the only thing that really mattered was the power and intent of the caster, so why did these people always have robes with symbols on them? Maybe it helped them concentrate if they were dressed in a specific way.