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Talia
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“Talia!?” That deep and powerful voice was also very recognizable to me. And, unfortunately, it wasn't being hidden by the magic that I was using to hide me and Lex. And ever more unfortunate, was the fact that someone drawing attention to the two of us made the spell cancel itself out. It relied on someone outside of the circle of magic not drawing any attention to us. That was why it was always so perfect. None of them would know we were there and therefore could not draw attention to us.
A magical being from hell was not limited like that though. They were exempt from the spell and were able to find me whenever they were looking for me. And so, now that this netherworld being was looking for me, it meant that everyone in the area would be able to see me. And they did.
I saw mom turn to look at me with shock then anger. She was not happy that I had disobeyed her and followed them into the woods.
“Shit!” I whispered the word under my breath, hoping she didn't hear me. She was still using that power of hers and there was an eerie blue glow to her eyes.
.....
“TALIA SERENE GRAY!” She snapped at me the moment that she heard the word escape my lips. “You are too young to be using language like that, young lady.”
“Mom! I am fifteen years old now. Stop treating me like a child.” I rolled my eyes at her just as someone else called out to me again.
“Talia!”
“Either come here or go away, Lucifer. Stop calling out to me though.” I felt annoyed at him now because he had been the reason that I was caught.
“You had to answer me, Talia. So, naturally, I was going to call out to you more. I cannot just assume that you are readily available for me to come to. I need to know that it's a good time.”
“Yeah, and a mystical voice calling out to me from nowhere is really a good way of doing that. What if there were humans around?” I was angry right now and I was taking it out on him.
“I checked for humans before I called out to you, do you not have faith in me, child? You are being exceedingly rude as well. What has gotten into you?” I was usually on my best behavior when the gods of the underworld were around. In truth, I was usually on my best behavior at all times. I wanted to be the best that I could be and never showed my displeasure or an attitude. In truth, I didn't know why I was acting the way that I was now. Maybe it was because I was away from home. Maybe it was because I was experiencing so many new things. I didn't know what was going on with me.
“Talia, take that call from Lucifer and then we need to talk.” Mom was stomping over to where I was standing, her magic still in effect.
“Fine.” I sighed and stepped away. “Come on, Lucifer, tell me what you need. Are you coming through or just talking?” I needed to know what it was that was so important that he would call me out of the blue like this. Most likely, it had something to do with the case.
“I found more of those souls that you were looking for. They had been sent here ahead of the other ones that you called me for.”
“How were their souls released?” I didn't know what was happening to those people and how they were sent to the underworld and the ones that I came across had not been.
“They had been cremated.” Lucifer's words were easy enough to understand, but for some reason they made my skin go cold and my brain stop working.
“Th..they were cre..cre..cremated?” I stuttered out the words, and I never stuttered.
“Yes.” A simple reply from him, although it was also very powerful.
“Lucifer, wh..what did they experience during that?” I just knew that they would have suffered. They suffered during the autopsies, and their murder at that. They had been through so much, but this was too much.
“They felt it all, apparently. The souls were trapped inside of their dead bodies. Until the runes that were holding them there had been removed, they could not leave their bodies. And, on top of that, they felt everything that happened to the body. That, in my opinion, is unique in and of itself.”
“S..so these people, the ones that have been cremated, they felt the entire process? Th..th..they felt like they were burning alive?” I was appalled by what I was hearing. This was too much. I couldn't believe what was happening. Why was this happening to these people? Why did they have to suffer so much?
“It's alright, Talia, they are at peace now. They can't feel it anymore.” Lex's soothing words accompanied his hand that was resting on my shoulder. “There is nothing that you could have done. But we will make sure that you are there for the others.”
“Alexio is correct.” Lucifer continued. “And so are you. They felt it all, Talia. They apparently screamed in agony as they felt their bodies being destroyed by the flames. I am not very fond of burning someone alive, but I have experienced what it is like to burn a soul. Dead or not, they still feel pain. If they did not, then torture in the afterlife would be pointless.” I was appalled once again, I remembered what the underworld was like and that I needed to fix it. I needed to make sure that I didn't let people suffer for pointless reasons. And I needed to make sure that there was an end in sight for people that got their punishments. Well, that is for everyone except people like these killers. They didn't deserve mercy. They were evil and cruel.
“Don't let this darken your heart, Talia.” Lex's words seemed to pull me back. I was in my head and thinking things that were not very nice. “Do not let what these people are doing change who you are. You are not them, and they are not you. You may feel sympathy and compassion for the victims, and you may even hate the killers, but don't let yourself darken your soul and seek vengeance. Seek justice instead. Do this the right way, Talia. I know that you are capable of doing that.”
“Lex?” I could hear the emotion in my own voice. I knew that I was letting too much of it show. On my face and in my voice. And if it wasn't for Lex, I would start spiraling.
“Thank you.” I gave him a small smile. It was all that I could manage at the time. “Thank you, Lex.”
“That is why I am here, Talia.”
“I have only found a few souls, but I will keep looking. And when I find them, I will interview them about what happened to them and then send you a report. Expect to find the ones that I already compiled very soon. That is all that I need for now, I will be in touch.” With that, the connection between me and Lucifer was cut off. It was just me and Lex standing there together with the others nearby.
“Talia?” Mom said my name and I could tell that most of her anger had receded. “I am sorry that you needed to hear that. That was what I was trying to spare you of. I didn't want you to deal with the heartache that this case will inevitably cause you.” She came over and hugged me gently but firmly. “I am sorry that you have to go through this.”
“I am sorry too, Mom.” I hugged her back, holding onto her like I used to as a child. The emotions inside of me were going wild. I knew that I was always so very emotional when these things happened. I was a very empathetic person and that caused me more pain that I care to talk about. And in times like this, I was going to be feeling a lot of pain. “I am sorry that I didn't listen to you. I am sorry that I came over here and spied on you.”
“It's OK now. I know that you just want to be part of this. You have to understand though, that being a part of something means that you experience it all, not just what you want to. This will happen again and again.”
“I know. I know that, and I still want to help you. I need to help you. I need to help these victims. And I promise that I won't try to get revenge for anyone. I only want to give them justice.” I was firm in that resolve. I wouldn't let my people down. Until I became the goddess of the underworld, these people were my people. And even then, they would still be my people. They needed me just as much as they needed my mom.
“Alright Talia, I will let you be involved. As long as you promise me that you will not disobey me again. When I tell you to do something, or to stay put, then you need to listen to me. I can't be worrying about you while trying to solve this case. We're all working hard.” Mom pulled away from me, putting her hands on my shoulders as she looked me in the eyes. “Do you understand?”
“Yes, I understand.”
