Chapter 13 The Truth About Trials
Isolde's POV
"That's impossible," Cressida whispers, staring at the video. "Landry's in a coma. He can't "
"We need to check the hospital. Now." I'm already pulling up security feeds on my phone.
My hands shake as I hack into Mercy General's cameras. Landry's room appears on screen.
He's still there. Still unconscious. Machines beeping steadily.
"He never left," Cressida breathes. "Then who "
"Someone's framing you." I show her the timestamp. "This video was recorded while you were with me. Someone wants everyone to think you're the killer."
"Sable."
We run back to Mercy Church. My lungs burn, but I push harder. Five people are dead. Someone is using demon powers to kill. And we have four hours before Cressida transforms.
We burst through the church doors.
"Mara!" I shout. "We know you're here!"
Nothing.
"Please," Cressida adds. "We need help."
Mara materializes in front of the altar, looking annoyed. "I gave you four hours to rest. Why are you back?"
"Because someone just killed five people using demon powers!" I march up to her. "And they made it look like Cressida's brother did it!"
Mara's silver eyes narrow. "Show me."
I pull up the video. Mara watches without emotion.
"A mimic demon," she says finally. "They copy appearances and abilities. Sable must have sent one."
"Can you stop it?" Cressida asks.
"Not my job. I oversee trials, nothing else." Mara turns away. "If Sable is escalating, that's between you and her."
"That's it?" My voice rises. "Five people are dead and you don't care?"
"They were corrupt. The mimic simply chose appropriate targets." Mara's tone is ice-cold.
Rage explodes in my chest. "My mother made a deal like Cressida's. You gave her trials too, didn't you?"
Mara goes very still.
"Sarah Chen," I continue. "That was her name. She tried to save me from cancer. You offered her trials to break the contract."
"Yes," Mara says quietly.
"And she failed. Became a demon. Killed six people." My hands clench into fists. "I was five years old. I watched the hunters cut her down in our living room."
Cressida gasps. "Isolde..."
"So don't tell me you're just doing your job," I say. "You set my mother up to fail!"
"I did no such thing." Mara's voice stays calm. "Your mother failed because she loved you too much. The second trial required her to choose between saving you and maintaining her humanity. She chose you."
The words hit like a punch.
"What do you mean?"
Mara sighs. "The second trial is always the same: choose between your humanity and someone you love. Your mother could watch you die from cancer, or use her demon powers to heal you one last time. She chose to save you. The transformation accelerated. She had minutes before Stage Two completed."
My legs feel weak. "She saved me?"
"Yes. The cancer vanished. You lived. She became a demon." Mara's expression softens slightly. "She spent her final moments begging the hunters to kill her before she hurt you. They honored her request."
Tears blur my vision. All these years, I thought my mother became a monster. That she forgot about me.
But she chose to save me, knowing what it would cost.
"Most fail the second trial," Mara continues. "They choose love over survival."
Cressida's face has gone pale. "What will my second trial be?"
"I cannot tell you. But it will involve a choice." Mara looks at both of us. "That's why I give you rest time. To prepare."
"How many people have passed all three trials?" I ask.
"In the last hundred years? Seven."
"Seven?" Cressida breathes. "Out of how many?"
"Three hundred and forty-two." Mara's silver eyes hold no warmth. "Most become demons. Some die during the trials."
The numbers make me sick. Less than three percent survival rate.
"What happened to the seven who succeeded?" I press.
"They broke their contracts. Became human again." Mara pauses. "But the price was steep. One lost all memory of why she made the deal. Another lost her ability to feel joy. A third lost everyone she loved within a year."
"That's not fair," Cressida says.
"Fairness is a human concept. The supernatural world operates on balance." Mara moves toward the altar. "You have three hours and forty-seven minutes. I suggest you rest. Heal."
"Wait." I step forward. "You said some people died during the trials. How?"
"The trials are physically demanding. If you're already injured, exhausted..." Mara glances at Cressida's bleeding knuckles. "You might not survive."
I look at Cressida. She's covered in bruises. Her knuckles are split. She's been running on adrenaline for hours.
"We need to patch you up," I tell her.
"I'm fine."
"You're bleeding. Sit down."
I pull a first aid kit from my backpack. As I clean Cressida's wounds, Mara watches silently.
"Why do you do this?" I ask. "If most people fail, why offer trials at all?"
"Because some succeed. And those who do prove that humanity is worth saving." Mara's voice softens. "The trials exist to give people one final chance to prove they're more than their worst decisions."
I wrap bandages around Cressida's knuckles. "My mother didn't deserve to die."
"No. She didn't." Mara actually looks sad. "But she made her choice. She valued your life over her own soul. That's the most human thing anyone can do."
Cressida speaks up. "If I pass the second trial, what will the third one be?"
"I cannot say. But the third trial will ask you to sacrifice something you believe you cannot live without." Mara's eyes lock onto Cressida. "If you're not willing to make that sacrifice, you will fail."
Heavy silence fills the church.
I finish bandaging Cressida. "There. You should heal okay."
"Thanks." She flexes her fingers. "How long do we have?"
I check my phone. "Three hours and thirty-nine minutes."
My phone buzzes.
A text from an unknown number. A photo loads.
It shows a crowded nightclub. People dancing, laughing.
And in the corner, barely visible, is the mimic. Still wearing Landry's face. Eyes turning black.
The text reads: "Club Neon. Two hundred people inside. The mimic is hunting. Save them before the second trial begins in three hours. No powers allowed. Or let them die and rest for your trial. Choose wisely. Mara"
Cressida reads over my shoulder. "This is your trial?"
"The second trial already started," Mara says calmly. "Save two hundred innocents without powers, or rest and arrive fresh for what comes after. Your choice, Cressida."
We stare at each other in horror.
"We have to go," Cressida says. "Those people "
"Are bait," I finish. "Mara is testing if you'll sacrifice your own safety for strangers."
"I don't care." Cressida stands. "We're going."
We run for the door.
Behind us, Mara calls out: "Isolde Chen. Your mother's last words were 'tell Isolde I love her.' I thought you should know."
Tears stream down my face as we run into the night.
The club is fifteen blocks away.
We have three hours to save two hundred people.
And Cressida can't use a single demon power.