Violet

Chapter 63: A Sacrifice for my Friends

I pushed away tall grass that brought back memories of the old days. A brief memory of the time I witnessed him murder a wife and husband. Each step towards the mansion sent chills down my spine. I feared that at any minute I would find something I didn't want to. I shook away the thought of finding Jasper faced down dead by my father's house.

Using my hand, I blocked out the sun. The mansion finally came into view. My heart beat faster than it normally should have. I was so afraid, but happy that I'd see my mother again for the first time in years. I hoped she wasn't like my dad in any way. I only wished for her to wrap her arms around me and tell me that everything would be okay. That wouldn't happen, but that gave me the strength to walk faster to get this over with.

The door seemed to be larger than I remembered it to be. I walked up to it, hesitating to turn the doorknob. My hand twisted the doorknob, and it opened itself slowly, hitting the wall on closing. I looked inside and saw my father standing in front of the stairwell. 

"Violet, Violet, Violet," he smiled then stood out up. I closed the door just to be on the safe side. My father walked up to me with his arm stretched out for a hug.

I took a step back, indicating I did not want a hug from him. I hid the fear in my heart and replaced it with fake courage. "Where are my friends?"

He let his hands drop to the side. "I'm glad to see you too. It's been years."

I nodded. "Tomorrow's my 14th birthday," I said. "I was hoping I'd see mom. I hear she's with you."

"I knew it!" Abby walked out of the kitchen and into the room with us. "Ryan was telling you that."

"We don't know that," my father raised a hand. 

"Who else would be?" She walked towards me then stop. "I'm sure it wasn't Jasper." Abby grinned.

Anger built up inside of me. They had Jasper and possibly Ryan. "Where's Jasper!" I demanded.

Abby walked up to me until we were only an inch away from each other. "Maybe he's dead," she whispered.

I reached for her shirt and pushed her back. Both of us landed on the floor which resulted in a small cat fight. However, she got the final punch, and after that, I stayed down. She had hit the temple of my head as hard as she could which nearly knocked me out.

"Abby get out! That was unnecessary. My daughter returns home, and you act like this?" My father walked swiftly towards her with his finger pointed at her. Abby glared at him hard.

Abby then turned away from him. "Good luck, Violet," she said before disappearing.

My father picked me up in two hands. I looked at his face as he carried me upstairs and laid me on his bed. "Where's mother?" I whispered.

"She's out right now, visiting her parents," he said. 

"Will I ever see her again?" I asked, trying my best to hold tears. 

He lifted his hands from around me and looked away. "You came home, but you haven't sacrificed your soul to the book yet."

I didn't know what to say, but I had to make the right move. I thought about Jasper, Caroline, and Tate. I needed to find them no matter what it took. They didn't deserve this. No one did. If Ryan was right about finding the ashes, then  I needed to be looking for them.

"Dad," I said looking away from him. "I want to make a deal with you."

He looked at me, quietly thinking about what I had in mind. "What is that?

I swallowed. "Remember that game we played when Aunt Denise was alive?"

"Yes."

I choked on my words, and a tear fell from my eye. There was no turning back. "I will sacrifice my life to the book without arguing, but this is the deal. If we play that hide and seek game and I win, you have to let Jasper and my friends go and me as well. If I loose, I will sacrifice my soul to you without a fight. And we can live together forever."

My father looked away from me then smiled. "How about this," he said. "If you win, I let your friends go, and you sacrifice your soul to me."

"But," I sat up. "What do I get out of this?"

"A chance to live with your mother and me again."

Great. I didn't have a way out. Even if I won, I'd still have to sacrifice my soul. However, what if I found the ashes before that? That gave me a very good idea. While we play the game, I would look for the box of ashes and destroy it. I only hoped Ryan was right and that my plan could work. It was risky, and without that box, I'd be giving up my life.

"So?" My father put out his hand. "What do you say?"

I looked at him and placed my hand in his and shook it. "You got a deal. If I win, you let my friends go."

He let out a soft chuckle. "You're something, Violet."

"So, when can we start?" I asked.

He took a second to think about it. "Soon. I need to plan the game for you all. We'll start tonight, and hopefully, the game will be done before mother gets home. She hates messes. And I will tell you now, this will be a real dirty game."

I wanted to punch his sick, disgusting face in. He surely was a monster. I got up and walked out of the room. Not knowing what to do next, I went to my room and laid in my bed. It was still there. What was I thinking? I sat up. I needed to find those ashes. I got up to get a headstart on my search.