Her Soul to Take

Rae and Inaya arrive at the Hadleigh mansion for the Halloween party. The party is busy, and Rae feels uncertain about being near the Hadleighs. She reassures herself that they cannot sacrifice her with so many others around. Victoria brings Inaya and Rae to the kitchen. Jeremiah is there and plies Rae with tequila. Rae feels a squeeze on her throat, which tells her that Leon is somewhere close.

Rae drinks and mingles, wanting to wait until the partygoers get more drunk before searching the house. Jeremiah gives her a drink, and Victoria shares that her parents are at their vacation home for a week. A beautiful woman, Sam, and her partner ask Rae to dance. Sam suggests that Rae stop drinking, but she does not. Sam suddenly pulls her to a bathroom and then forces her to vomit, telling her that it’s for her own good. Sam also tells her that she’ll have to be smarter if she wants to live and that Jeremiah drugged her drink. Sam says that she’ll call an Uber and that Rae needs to go home or leave town. As they try to exit the bathroom, their way is blocked by a man dressed in black.

Leon arrives at the Halloween party, and Rae throws herself at him. Leon recognizes Sam as Juniper Kynes, the sacrifice who got away when she was 15 years old. Sam pulls a knife on Leon and tells him that the only reason she won’t kill him is because Zane cares for him.

Leon leads Rae away and kisses her. Rae tells him that she’s here to find a way to protect herself. Leon agrees to help her find an item to protect her if she lets him pierce her nipples and “mark” her as his. Leon leads Rae further into the house until they arrive at Kent’s bedroom, where, Leon explains, Kent used to torture him when he made mistakes.

Out the window, Rae sees something “dark and skeletal creep back among the trees” (330). Leon reminds her that he’s the most dangerous thing in the area, and Rae tells him that he will leave her and she’ll have to fend for herself. Leon tells her that he would not have hurt her even if Kent still controlled him. Rae asks for a distraction, and they have sex, play-acting nonconsent. Afterward, Rae admits that she missed Leon.

Leon never saw Kent open the basement door, but he knows the entrance is behind Kent’s bookcases. Rae asks Leon if he found the grimoire, and he lies and says that he did not, implying that it was lucky he didn’t or else he would have left.

Leon opens the bookcase, and he and Rae descend into the basement. They enter a conference room where Kent meets with his closest Libiri associates. There are thick metal doors around the room, locked with keypads. Leon takes Rae into the room where he was kept locked away for a century; it is bare except for a chalk circle. Rae comforts Leon, and Leon is surprised that he finds her comfort pleasant.

The next locked room has artifacts that Morpheus—Leon’s first Hadleigh summoner—had him fish from the flooded mines. Rae chooses a knife with ancient magic that can injure the Eld. When they exit the basement, Kent is waiting in his bedroom.

Kent does not seem angry, but he tells Leon to remove the mask he is wearing. Kent pulls a gun, and Leon removes his mask. Recognizing Leon, Kent is furious. Leon reminds Kent that he can’t kill him with a gun, and Kent points the gun at Rae. Leon puts Rae behind him, and Kent tells them that today is not the day Rae dies. Kent shares that his children are impatient and in competition with each other. He says, “They are facing the inevitable too, you know. Three lives once spared is now three souls that must be given […] A Lawson, a Kynes, a Hadleigh” (362). Kent plans to sacrifice one of his children.

As Leon tries to get Rae to the door, Kent tells him that he’s not finished: He tells Rae that the sacrifices to the Deep One will gain mercy for all of humanity, though the “great awakening” will happen regardless of whether anyone helps. Then, Kent lowers the hammer of the gun, and Leon pulls Rae away.

Leon and Rae find a back way out of the house and run through the woods. Leon wants Rae to leave Abelaum. Rae pleads with Leon not to leave her, and he tells her he won’t: Even though she has not promised him her soul, he will protect her. A Gollum appears, and Leon tells Rae to pull out her knife. Leon meets the Gollum in battle, but the Gollum matches his strength. Leon hurts it, but the Gollum gets to Rae, and she is suddenly in a dark room with dirt walls. The Deep One is talking to Rae, and there is water seeping in.

Suddenly, the night sky is above Rae again. She is on her back, dazed. Leon picks Rae up and carries her out of the woods. He moves stiffly, injured from the fight. Leon tells her to sleep.

Rae wakes up in an unfamiliar but opulent room, wearing Leon’s sweater. Leon exits the bathroom, and Rae admires him. Leon ordered room service, and Rae eats before she checks her phone. She has a dozen missed calls from Inaya, who is frantic with worry when Rae calls back. Rae explains that she was drugged but is unhurt. Rae asks if Inaya will take care of Cheesecake, and Inaya asks if she knows who drugged her. Rae tells her that the only person who gave her a drink was Jeremiah. Inaya is immediately on Rae’s side.

After hanging up, Rae asks Leon what they’ll do. Leon tells her that she needs to start listening to him but assures her that they are safe for a little while at the hotel outside Abelaum. Rae tells Leon that she saw more Gollums while he was gone. He tells her to get dressed and provides clothing in her style and size, which flatters her.

While Leon scouts, Rae goes to the hotel’s spa and is pampered. As she goes back to the hotel room in the evening, she decides that after she graduates, she wants to get as far from Abelaum as possible. Rae wants Leon to join her but doesn’t dare hope for a permanent relationship with him.

Rae orders room service and eats dinner, waiting for Leon to return. He returns with sex toys; he intends to pierce Rae’s nipples and wants her distracted. Leon gets her aroused by using the toys before he asks her if she still wants “the mark.” When Rae consents, Leon pierces her nipple. After both of Rae’s nipples are pierced, Leon holds her. She realizes that she “could let wickedness be [her] sanctuary, perversion be [her] therapy, and a monster be [her] lover” (392).

Leon cleans Rae’s new nipple piercings as they talk. Leon feels conflicted about how much he loves Rae. Rae and Leon take a shower and have sex again. Leon orders more food than Rae can eat just to make her happy.

As Rae is eating, Victoria calls and tells her that Kent is dead. She says that she is not even sad about it because it was necessary. Victoria congratulates Rae on surviving and then hangs up. Leon believes that Juniper or another human killed Kent because a demon would have a hard time killing him given his talisman. Rae is relieved, believing that she can go back to her regular life. Leon is more skeptical; he believes that Kent is dead but knows that the situation is not resolved. He wonders who will take over now that Kent is dead. Rae asks Leon if he believes they’re safe, and he says he doesn’t.

Leon tells her that she’s his and that he’s not leaving. Rae admits that she thinks about the deal that Leon offered every day but says it’s a big decision. Leon aches for her soul, but he knows she has to give it to him willingly. He tells her that he’ll take her home.

There is thick fog back in Abelaum, and Leon is still on high alert. Kent’s death has been reported as a suicide in the local paper. Rae picks up Cheesecake, and then they return to the cabin. Leon is still concerned because even with Kent dead, the Deep One still wants Rae as a sacrifice.

They go to the grocery store to get snacks, but Leon has Rae go in alone as he watches the door. While Rae is getting snacks, Jeremiah and another young man surround her. Jeremiah tells her that he’s exhausted pretending to mourn his father and that he should thank her for getting his father out of the way. Rae tries to run, but the checker, Tommy, has locked the security gate into place. Jeremiah tells her that everyone in Abelaum belongs to the Libiri and to him.

Leon tears at the security doors as Tommy asks what happened to the two other men sent to detain Leon. Jeremiah tells him that they’ll be dead by now. Leon rips apart the door and enters. When Jeremiah’s friend insults Rae, Leon decapitates him. When Jeremiah tells Leon that he’ll punish him, Leon attacks. However, Jeremiah is unexpectedly able to match Leon’s strength. After they break apart, Jeremiah coughs up thick, black goop. He states that he made two sacrifices and that the Deep One gave him a gift.

Leon and Rae exit, and Leon drives them away quickly. Rae asks how Jeremiah could be so strong. Leon explains that Jeremiah has given himself over to the Deep One, so his strength is actually the god’s.

Leon explains that mortal bodies are not meant to have strength like that and that Jeremiah will not survive forever. However, he’s still “a problem.” Rae and Leon speculate that Victoria must have been the second sacrifice since Jeremiah is still alive. Leon believes that with Victoria dead, Rae will get Jeremiah’s full attention. Rae hears sirens and sees on Facebook that the grocery store is on fire.

Rae is anxious, but Leon comforts her by telling her that she is his and that he will not let anyone take her from him. Rae decides that she wants to give Leon her soul, but just as she begins to speak, the house shudders. There is a howl, and it sounds like it comes from something much bigger than an Eld or a Gollum. Leon explains that Jeremiah must have summoned a Reaper.

Leon tells her to get Cheesecake and start driving. Animals are fleeing the woods, trying to escape the Reaper. Leon tells her to give him five minutes to make sure it’s distracted and then to start driving. Rae realizes that means that Leon does not intend to go with her. Leon gives her the sheet from the grimoire and tells her that when she’s far away, she can summon him to her. Despite this, Rae knows that Leon is saying goodbye and thinks he’ll die.

Rae apologizes, and Leon tells her not to. He tells her that she gave him part of her life and that saving her soul might be as good as owning it. He tells her he loves her and urges her to stay alive. Then, he leaves.