The Sacrifice

I had just finished my second brain surgery for the day when yet another patient who needed one was brought to the ER.

What’s going on today? I’ve never had three in one day.

Things became stranger once I saw the details of the patient; all three of my patients were women in their sixties who had fallen from high places. The latest had fallen down a flight of stairs. Was this just a coincidence? Then, just minutes into the surgery, I started hearing a whisper in my ear.

“Cassandra, help me…”

What’s happening? Am I hallucinating because of the stress?

“Did you hear that?” I asked my team.

“Hear what?” A nurse asked.

“Nevermind.” I shook my head.

“Maybe you’re a little too exhausted,” the nurse said.

“You’re not hearing things, Cassandra. It’s really me,” the voice said yet again—and this time, the patient herself grabbed my hand. I tried to break free, but her grip was too strong.

Everyone in the room jumped back and scattered everything they were holding.

“You all…leave,” the lady said. “I need to talk to the doctor alone.”

Everyone scrambled to get out of the room. Once the OR was empty, the lady continued: “Don’t worry, hon, I won’t hurt you. I need to show you something before it’s too late.”

Before I could ask what she was talking about, I was seeing things I had never seen before.

“These are…?”

“My memories, yes.”

I saw when she was much younger; she left a child at the doorstep of an orphanage. It was the same one that I grew up in.

“Are you my mother?”

“Yes,” she replied. “And this is how I ended up like this.”

The scene soon changed. I was seeing a being cloaked in what I could only describe as black mist, and his eyes were gleaming red.

“Where’s my sacrifice?” he asked.

“The deal was supposed to end with three generations! You’ve had all your sacrifices.”

“Initially, yes, but witch’s souls are a rare delicacy, and I crave more!”

My mother resisted the monster, but it swung its arm and drove her down a staircase. I felt my stomach tighten as I watched what unfolded.

“That demon is after you, hon. I bound your powers when you were a child knowing he would double-cross us one day. The other two patients you worked on today were friends of mine who knew my secret. He hurt them just to get my attention.”

“Wait, what are you saying? What should I do?”

Mom then showed me a vision of a house. I recognised the street; it was not far from where I lived.

“Go there. It’s your aunt’s house. She’s the only one—”

Mom was gone before she could finish her sentence. I rushed out of the OR and found my aunt. She created a cloaking spell for us and helped me hone my skills right away. It took me a few days to master my powers, but we solely focused on defeating the demon at the time. Once I was ready, we summoned the demon.

“Good, you have saved me a lot of energy,” he said when he appeared.

“Don’t worry, you won’t have to worry about such things anymore!”

My aunt and I began our spell. The demon pushed back, but we had placed hidden seals throughout the house beforehand: it had nowhere to run. Everything ended in a minute. The demon was reduced to dust and I was finally free of being a sacrifice for hell.