Starting off small seemed like the best way to go about releasing souls. There were two that Sabrina had decided didn’t belong in the Forest of Torment, their sentences ridiculous, and she was intent on releasing into Vallo. Her hope was that the souls would simply fade into the ether that was Vallo, becoming one with the land as its own dead seemed to, and not be stuck in the Forest and tormented for an endless eternity. She wasn’t sure if that was what would happen. It had for Dan’s ghosts but these weren’t exactly the same, but hopefully the same thing would occur.
The forest looked as creepy as ever, though the creatures that haunted its shadows were giving her a wide berth as she headed through the area with Maze. None of them wanted to be on the receiving end of her wrath, sensing the blood and power that ran through her veins, giving her control of the forest and them.
It wasn’t as nauseating to see the blood running from the trees as birds pecked at the people trapped inside of them, their eyes and flesh regrowing every so often to give fresh meat for the animals that roamed the woods.
“We were able to research the sentences of a few of the souls so far. Six of them can rot in here for all I care--” People who murdered children in an attempt to get a few more decades of life were not souls she wanted to help out. “--but there’s two I want to release.”
Honestly, the forest was amazing. Maze was enjoying these outings with Sabrina probably more than she should, but there was something so dark and twisted about this place, and the teenager she was with really seemed to come alive within the woods. The overall effect was a rush, and in the days that followed each venture out in search of souls, Maze felt like she was coming down from a high.
Not that she told Sabrina that, though her enthusiasm for these trips was probably evident.
"If you want the forest to have assistance in torturing the six, I'm your demon," Maze stated, not for the first time offering her skills as a torturer to the souls damned within. Freeing the others was less enticing, but she was tagging along and willing to help anyway.
Should she tell Maze she could torture the souls? Sabrina considered it. They were in Hell for a reason, one that she’d deliberated on and thought had earned them a place in it. And demons were supposed to torture them...and Maze was a demon. So it probably made sense to let her dole out some more pain and suffering. It wasn’t like the people there had held back when they were doing so to their victims.
“It’s those first four trees over there.” She waved her hand indicating the ones. “And those two there.”
She needed to focus and find the two that she had come looking for.
Maze made a mental note of where they were, but she'd be able to find them again easily enough. There was something about tracking down mortal souls that came naturally to her, and now that she knew who she was free to torture, she would return alone.
Though to be safe, she marked in front of each tree, just in case.
"Alright, let's take care of the boring heroic bit," Maze said, rolling her eyes good naturedly. It definitely wasn't her thing, but she also wasn't about to go back on her word. And while it wasn't in her nature to press, there was something driving Sabrina in this. She'd noted it each time they'd been out in the forest. She didn't know what, wasn't sure she wanted to know or be that involved, but she wasn't about to abandon her now.
Sabrina hadn’t needed to research this soul. She’d known that he hadn’t belonged there the instant she’d stumbled across his name placing him in this particular circle of Hell. She hadn’t been sure how she was supposed to locate anyone inside of the forest, but it had been surprisingly easy to spot where this group of six was located once her and Maze had stepped into it.
She’d just known.
Robert Robertson. The first soul she’d ever collected.
He hadn’t killed or hurt anyone. Simply sold his soul in order to become the greatest chess player the world had ever seen.
Did that possibly bump someone else out of the running for that title? Maybe.
Did it mean he should be stuck getting his eyes pecked out of his head day in and day out for eternity? No. She didn’t think so.
Sabrina stepped up to the tree he was encased in and closed her eyes as she reached forward to place her hand against the bark. There wasn’t a spell to utter or anything for her to really say. She simply imagined the book of signatures and it appeared before her, pages turning of their own accord before falling open to where his name lay. She wiped her finger across his signature, burning it away before stepping back from the tree.
The tree spasmed, breaking open before a nearly blinding white light encompassed what had been Robert Robertson’s soul. It swept up into the air, breaking through the wards that Sabrina and others had put in place before scattering into stardust.
The forest shook, harpies screaming out their anger at a soul escaping but Sabrina gave them no mind, turning to look at Maze.
“I think that means it worked?”
"Yeah," Maze said curtly, punctuated with a nod. "It did."
Whatever the demon had been expecting, it had not been the heavy feeling of emptiness that resonated within her at the sight of a soul fleeing eternal torment. That knowing that she could never join those trapped within hell or those that may escape due to the lack of a soul of her own.
She felt hollow, staring up at the sky where the light had dissipated. And there was still one more to go.
"Let's go. Get the other one done," she said, her voice colder than normal.
Sabrina glanced over at Maze, not sure exactly what had happened but she’d noted the change in the demon’s voice. “You don’t have to stay. I can do this on my own and we’ve seen that they’re not going to attack me.”
"I said I was going with you," Maze answered, though she was tempted to leave. "To be safe." She was nothing, if not stubborn.
“Okay.” It was probably a good idea to simply try and get the second one over with.
Sabrina headed toward the tree encasing the other soul, repeating what she’d done before and watched as it was released upwards, stardust raining down on them. She turned back toward Maze. “We’re all done here. Thanks for coming.”
Maze watched the space where the light had been longer than she needed to. Then she nodded at Sabrina before doing her best to disappear quickly. If there were anymore souls in need of freeing, it seemed Sabrina could handle them on her own. Maze wasn't about to torture herself further.
Sabrina glanced back at where Maze had been, certain that something was off. She should probably reach out to her dad and let him know. After she let the others know that it had been a success, knowing they’d want to hear how it went. Then they could move forward with researching more.
Only at least two million more souls to sort through.