The morning light streamed through the blinds, and Lief, unusually, woke up naturally, feeling completely refreshed.
Last night's tense silence had been, for him, just a fun appetizer.
When he went downstairs, his parents already had breakfast on the table. The atmosphere was the same as the night before: a harmony so perfect it was suffocating.
"Good morning, brother Lief," Esther said. She was already impeccable in her school uniform, her braids perfect. She gave him a sweet smile as soon as she saw him.
"Good morning, Brother!" Emma, wearing a pretty dress, was swinging her legs from her chair. She had already drunk half a glass of milk and had a white mustache over her lip.
Lillith, who was in the seat closest to him, jumped out of her chair as soon as she saw him, ran, and hugged his leg.
"Good morning, Brother."
"Good morning," Lief replied, tousling her hair, and sat down in his spot.
"Lief, honey, your father and I have to go out this morning," Sarah said, as she wiped Emma's mouth, "Dad has to go to the police station to sign Emma's papers, and I have an appointment with social services about Esther. You said you were going out, right? We can drop you off."
"Okay," Lief nodded, picking up a piece of toast. His gaze passed, as if unintentionally, over Esther and Emma.
Both girls were staring at their plates, eating silently, as if they hadn't heard anything.
But he knew they hadn't missed a word.
The parents, busy.
The brother, out.
That meant that, for a few hours, the house was going to be their private battlefield.
The corner of Lief's mouth curled into a smile.
He could already imagine it: the second the front door closed, the masks would fall. And then the real show would begin.
They finished breakfast, and everyone got ready to leave.
While they were putting on their shoes at the entrance, Sarah gave the final instruction:
"Lillith, since you're the oldest, you're in charge of looking after Esther and Emma."
"Don't worry, Mom. I will," Lillith nodded, in the pose of a responsible adult.
Lief put on his coat and cast one last look at the three of them.
Lillith, right behind him, gave him a look that said: 'Don't worry, Master, I'll take care of everything.'
Esther and Emma were side by side, waving them goodbye with angelic smiles and hand movements. But the instant their parents turned away, their eyes met, full of provocation and undisguised coldness.
Lief barely moved his lips to whisper an imperceptible "Do what you want" to Lillith, and then he closed the door.
The car drove away.
Lief had his parents drop him off at a busy downtown intersection.
He had to go see Carrie first.
Arriving at Carrie's house, he knocked.
She opened, and her face lit up when she saw him.
"Lief! You're back!"
The Carrie standing in front of him looked nothing like the shy, complex-ridden girl he had known.
She was wearing clean clothes, her hair was tied back, and although she was still somewhat nervous, she radiated a completely new confidence.
"Looks like things went well for you," Lief said, walking inside.
The house was also much cleaner and more organized than the last time.
"Yes!" Carrie nodded, visibly excited, "I did what you told me. I tried to control... that."
She pointed to a couple of books that were misplaced on the table.
"Now I can do a lot of things!"
She extended a finger and, with a slight gesture, the books lifted tremulously into the air, and then fell back onto the shelf, perfectly aligned. Although the movement was a little clumsy, it was a huge progress compared to before, when she only exploded with rage.
"Very good progress," Lief sincerely complimented her.
Carrie's cheeks flushed from the recognition.
"Thank you, Lief. If it weren't for you, I might still be living in fear."
"Power is neither good nor bad, it's just a tool," Lief told her, in a motivational tone, "Keep practicing. You're going to get much stronger."
After chatting for a while and making sure Carrie was on the right track, Lief stood up. He had another place to go.
…
Leaving Carrie's house, Lief felt great.
From the system space, he retrieved his last draw prize: a box with black fishnet stockings.
A smile spread across his face.
His next objective: Jennifer.
Following the path from memory, he arrived in front of a pretty detached house. It was Jennifer's house. He rang the doorbell, with a rehearsed speech ready to enjoy the reaction he imagined.
But when the door opened, the person who appeared left him completely petrified.
It was Jennifer... but at the same time, it was nothing like the Jennifer he remembered.
The girl in front of him, whose face had once radiated life, was now pale and her skin was dry, almost stuck to her cheekbones…. Her eyes looked sunken, her lips cracked, as if all her energy had been sucked out.
She was wearing wide pajamas that were enormous on her, highlighting her extreme thinness; she looked like a walking skeleton, and an aura of age emanated from her... a smell of confinement and illness.
All the jokes and smiles Lief had prepared froze on his face.
"... Jennifer?" he asked cautiously.
Jennifer looked at him, and although her blue eyes were still the same, they were dull.
"Lief?" Her voice was a raspy whisper, almost a moan that barely broke the silence. Upon seeing him, a faint trace of surprise appeared in her cloudy eyes, which quickly transformed into something deeper, something akin to despair.
"What are you doing here...?"
"What happened to you?" Lief's voice came out deeper than he intended, tinged with a concern he couldn't hide. A shiver ran down his spine as he felt strange vibes swirling around Jennifer.
!
At that instant, Jennifer's body was shaken by a violent, uncontrollable tremor that made her stagger. Noticing her knees giving way and that she seemed about to collapse, Lief took a step forward and held her in his arms.
"Mmm..."
Her skin felt cold and feverish to the touch, a contact that drew a barely perceptible moan from her.
Gently, he guided her toward the sofa, where Jennifer slumped, defeated, hugging herself to try and contain the trembling.
"..."
Silence fell again, heavy, as Lief waited, watching her, his heart tight with helplessness. A long time passed before she could speak again.
"A-A few days ago... I was kidnapped."
The words came out with difficulty, each one charged with a terror so profound that it made Lief serious. "It was a group... of people in black robes. They took me to a basement... a dark, cold basement." Her eyes moved frantically, as if reliving the horror. "They tied me up... they tied me to a stone platform... and they said... they said they would use my beauty... to offer it in sacrifice to their god."
She broke, and a dry sob escaped her throat. She brought her trembling hands to her mouth, trying to stifle a scream.
"With a wooden stake... they drove it into my body..."
Reaching that point, her body began to shake violently again, this time with an uncontrolled fury.
Her teeth chattered audibly. "I thought I was going to die, Lief. I thought I was going to die right there! Then... then I don't remember anything."
She curled in on herself, silent tears rolling down her emaciated cheeks.
"When I woke up, I found myself lying in the woods on the outskirts of the city. I had no wounds, none. But... I felt very, very hungry." Her gaze became distant, lost in the memory.
"I came home... and I ate non-stop. I emptied the whole refrigerator, Lief. Absolutely everything. But I was still hungry. No matter how much I ate, it was as if I hadn't eaten anything! My body, instead, broke down day after day, until I turned into this... into what I am now." Her voice choked on a final desperate sob, and she brought her hands to her face, hiding it from Lief's sight.
"..."
Upon hearing it all, Lief's face completely darkened.
This was not an illness.
It was a sacrifice curse.
And those people had not killed Jennifer in the traditional way. Through that ritual, they had transformed her own life force into some kind of offering, turning her into a living energy source, destined to be absorbed, drained, completely emptied until nothing was left.
She was being slowly consumed from within...
"I see." Lief stood up with cold determination. He looked into Jennifer's eyes, conveying absolute certainty. "Don't be afraid. I'm going to help you right now."
Without hesitation, he extended his arm and placed the palm of his hand firmly on her sweaty forehead.
Fzzzzzt
A sudden bluish-white glow erupted from his palm, enveloping Jennifer's body in a cocoon of pure light in a fraction of a second.
"GAAAAH!"
Jennifer arched her back and let out a bloodcurdling scream. But it wasn't her voice. It was a sharp, metallic, inhuman shriek, the sound of something being burned.
The light acted like a spiritual acid.
At the same time, a mass of black energy, dense as tar and with a will of its own, was brutally expelled from the girl's pores, unable to withstand the purification.
The shadow writhed in the air, spinning frantically until it condensed for an instant into a deformed human face, its mouth open in a silent shriek of hatred.
Seeing itself exposed, the entity shot toward the darkest corner of the ceiling, desperate to find an exit.
"Where do you think you're going?" Lief growled.
Feeling that gaze, Lief felt a shiver, but not of fear….
Those blue eyes, which once belonged to the typical cheerleader captain, had changed. The blue was still there, but now it had an abyssal depth, a demonic and alluring nuance that seemed like a whirlpool capable of absorbing him if he looked too long.
Jennifer slowly sat up. The loose pajamas, which had hung sadly over her skeleton before, now deliberately slid off her shoulder, exposing the smooth, perfect skin of her collarbone.
"..."
She said nothing. She simply sat there, staring intently at Lief.
There was no confusion or trauma in her expression anymore. There was only a scorching intensity.
She looked at him with a mixture of absolute obsession, toxic possessiveness, and... hunger. A voracious hunger that had nothing to do with food.
Slowly, she extended a hand toward him, inviting him closer. Her red lips curved into a smile that promised paradise and hell at the same time.
"Lief..." she purred. Her soft voice now seemed specifically designed to melt his will, "My dear Lief~~"
________
Time: If you're craving more (and I know you are!), I have just what you need. On my Patreon, you'll find exclusive chapters. Join our community and be the first to discover what happens next!
👉 [patreon.com/Athome790]
Your support fuels me. Thank you for the support! 💖