Minx

Minx

Minx watched Trent take the last packet of food but did not say anything. Alec nudged her, his eyes glued to Trent, who poured water into the packet.

“It’s fine,” Minx said lowly. Though it really wasn’t.

In two weeks, Trent had managed to eat more than half of what she’d found in the basement. But she couldn’t fault him. The man had been starving when she found him rummaging in their cabin. He’d been so emaciated he barely noticed the two people sleeping on the floor.

He’d lived on pine needle soup and bark for nearly a month. The Blackwoods hadn’t killed him that night - but they did something far worse. They disowned him and made him persona non grata in the town. No one would take him in, no one would take pity on him. Not even the homeless shelter.

The Blackwoods ran the town, and no one would dare to invoke their wrath. So his only option was living in the forest, but he had no survival skills to speak of. He’d resorted to pillaging the old cabins for food, knowing in the past his family had stocked them with survival kits.

But now they were out, and Minx and Alec were no better at hunting or fishing in this world. Which meant they needed to find ways to get food. Alec could easily join the homeless shelter - no one knew him here. But that would only take care of him. Minx couldn’t go - according to Trent, her family was still looking for her, convinced Sage had taken her to some hideout in the mountains.

They were only half right, but Minx didn’t see any reason to let them know that. The group had been moving from cabin to cabin, not wanting to stay in one place for too long. But with the weather cooling rapidly and the food dwindling, they were going to have to come up with a plan.

Minx was still hopeful Sage would come back. But with each passing day, her hope was slowly dying in the forest around them. She couldn’t survive the winter in a crumbling mountain cabin without food or water.

As if reading her mind, Alec got up and grabbed the makeshift fishing pole he and Trent put together.

“I’m going to see if I can catch anything,” he said before wrapping one of the moth-eaten blankets around his shoulders. They’d been trying for a week to catch something from the lake, but so far came up empty.

At this point I’ll resort to stealing, Minx thought as she tried not to think about her empty stomach.

Trent ate his food in silence, his usually bright eyes dim as he stared into the dying fire. He barely spoke to them, and in turn, Minx had thought it best not to tell him the truth. She only mentioned Sage was alive, but they’d been separated somewhere on the mountain. He never asked where Alec was from or how he came to be a part of their group, and Minx saw no reason to bring it up.

Alec appeared human, his half-demon parts dormant in this world.

Trent didn’t seem keen on trying to find Sage, and appeared to accept Minx’s explanation. Sage would find them. She always did. In fact, he didn’t seem keen on doing much besides eating and staring into the fires.

Minx could see the haunted way he looked sometimes and did not blame him. The Blackwoods did a number on him.

She sighed, deciding to gather and boil water for the night. Pretty soon, the lake would ice over and getting water would be difficult. She was considering options for storing water when Alec burst through the door.

“People!” He gasped, slamming the door behind him.

Minx froze. There was a chance it just be tourists taking a walk by the lake, but she knew better. This land was owned by the Blackwoods, and they were still looking for her and Sage.

Trent jumped up with surprising speed, grabbing his things and packing his backpack up.

“We go through the cellar,” Minx said, rolling up what she could in her blanket.

The sound of wood breaking below them told her that option was out, and that it could only be the Blackwoods Alec had seen. Tourists had no reason to break through a damn cellar.

Alec opened the door again and was met with a heavy punch to the face. Minx screamed, grabbing for him when he fell. A burly man stepped in, and she froze.

“Eros,” she breathed, and the man glared back. Her mother’s bodyguard and right-hand man. The last time she’d seen him, Sage had hog-tied him before holding a taser to her mother’s throat.

He stepped over Alec’s body and gripped her by the throat, pulling her to her feet. It appeared he still remembered and held a grudge. Minx tried to fight back, clawing and kicking at him, but he dragged her out of the cabin. Two other men entered behind him as he threw her to the ground.

Minx hit the earth with a hard thud, pain shooting up her hip as she rolled over. Trent was fighting like a wildcat inside the cabin behind Eros, but it was the group of people in front of the cabin that made her breath hitch.

Her mother was watching her from the side, wearing her typical fur coat that she pulled out for the cooler weather. Her face was a mask of rage as she peered down at her daughter. Seraphina stood to the side, looking posh, as always, in a long coat.

Trisha was by her side, the wound on her head a mere pale pink scar now. Minx sat up slowly, recalling how Sage now believed Trisha to be her half-sister. It would make sense. Seraphina always doted on her and her family treated her differently. If they had been planning on sacrificing Sage to the Demons since birth, it would only make sense for them to have another Blackwood heir to take her place. Seeing Trisha stand so close to Seraphina, Minx could see it now.

Which meant her own mother had one somewhere.

The idea didn’t bother her as much as she thought it would. She’d had time to process the betrayal and lies of her family and had finally come to one conclusion. She no longer cared about them. But the feeling was clearly one-sided.

“Minx.” Her mother said. Her eyes were devoid of their usual warmth - probably because she’d let Sage stun her with a taser, but more likely because she failed to sacrifice her on her birthday.

Minx stood up, eyeing the group that circled the cabin. Half her family, half of the Blackwoods.

“Where is she?” Seraphina hissed.

Minx shrugged. “Somewhere in the mountains.”

Her mother scoffed. “You couldn’t cut it out there, could you?”

Minx quirked a brow. “Tell me how you really think, mother. It’s refreshing to hear the truth from your lips.”

Someone yelped, turning her attention to the cabin. Trent was thrown from the door, his body rolling toward her. Minx held herself back from rushing to his side. First, she doubted Eros would let her take two steps, and second, she couldn’t show them she cared. They would use him against her in a second.

But all that logic, all that resolve, ran out the window the second she saw them dragging Alec out. He fought back, even though his nose was clearly broken, streaming blood down his face like a leaky pipe. One of the men held a knife to his throat and he was still, his dark eyes narrowing.

Minx knew her face had revealed just how much she cared when she saw how Seraphina smiled. Wicked, devoid of any warmth. She slowly made her way to Alec, and Minx had to hold back the urge to go for her throat.

“Where is my daughter?” Seraphina asked again, taking the knife from the man. Minx’s heart raced, her body going hot and cold.

“Don’t,” Alec said, earning a swift punch from the man. Minx gasped, instantly regretting it when Seraphina placed the knife to Alec’s left eye.

“Where?” Minx knew it was no bluff. She would cut him to pieces before them all if it meant getting an answer. The woman cut her own daughter up - she had no soul, no boundary she wouldn’t cross.

“Neaviah,” Minx breathed. The quiet that raced over them was eerie. She could hear the cooing of a dove across the lake.

“You lie,” her mother said.

Minx shook her head. “The ritual worked, halfway. She is able to travel back and forth.”

A mirad of emotions raced over Seraphina’s face. Shock, awe, then satisfaction. “Halfway you say?” She breathed.

“You can only finish it by doing the ritual again,” Minx said, smirking. “But Sage won’t be returning here. She’s happy there.”

A rueful chuckle came from Trent, earning himself a swift kick from one of the men. Trent bowed over, coughing, but still laughed.

“After all of this, and she’s the one gifted with the power.” He wheezed.

Seraphina frowned, glancing at her mother. Minx couldn’t help but face her mother to see the smug look she was giving her.

“She’s lying.” She said, and Minx’s heart fell.

“No matter, if you are here, it means she will return.” Seraphina withdrew her knife, thinking. “Best to keep you all alive until then, just in case.”

“Oh no,” her mother scoffed, “You do what you will with yours, but I’m finishing this.” She snapped her fingers and Eros grabbed Minx by her throat. Alec raged against the man holding him, but he could not escape their grips.

“We’re finishing this.” Her mother jutted her chin and Eros began dragging her into the forest. Seraphina looked angry, but she quickly schooled her expression.

“As you wish. Our cave is closer.”

“I know,” her mother quipped.

The group dragged them into the forest, towards the Blackwood cave. Minx tried to escape Eros but failed - he was too big, too strong, and she was without her magic. She knew what they intended to do. They knew the ritual would work, they just needed a sacrifice now.

“Don’t do this!” she screamed as they took her up the path to the cave.

“Silence her,” her mother said. Someone put a gag in her mouth, then Eros carried her the rest of the way. Alec and Trent were being pulled along behind her, their mouths gagged as well.

Eros tossed her onto the table as her family members began preparing the room. Candles were lit, and someone pulled out a rusty hunting knife. Her mother was watching it all with stark glee that she didn’t notice the Blackwoods had all left. Only Trent remained tied up in a corner with Alec.

She was tied down to the table, unable to move or speak. Was this how Sage felt that night? When her family turned on her? Minx shut her eyes, silently thanking her for saving her from the same fate on her birthday. Even if that meant this was her fate, to die anyway as a sacrifice, at least Sage had tried.

She opened her eyes to see Seraphina enter the cave, a knife in one hand and a book in the other. Minx recognized the book as the family spell tome, the one Sage had to read over on her birthday.

“Ah, you saved me the trouble. Thank you,” her mother held out her hand, expecting Seraphina to place the book there. Instead, she got a knife to the gut.