Damned (Alastor x OC)

Ch 38

Alastor's POV

I stood near the entryway to the hotel with Charlotte. She was going over a list of things that she insisted we bring, even though I can conjure anything we need.

Tuning out her mindless babbling, I glanced off the the side towards Aria.

I watched as she stood with angel, wiping tears from her eyes here and there as they talked. The sight made an ache form in my chest.

She pulled him down into a hug, and angel retaliated by pulling her up off the ground, squeezing her.

A bit of nostalgia hit me, the moment she said goodbye to Eliot flashing through my mind.

"Alastor are you even listening to me?"

I snapped my attention back to the princess, a large smile on my face.

"Of course, of course!" I said with a nod, and she crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow at me.

I rolled my eyes and tapped my foot, glancing back towards Aria and Angel.

"No..." I admitted quietly with a sigh.

Charlie took a deep breath, and touched my arm slightly before pulling her hand back. I looked at her, and she was giving me a sympathetic look.

"I know...I know you're worried, Alastor..." she started, "we're worried, too..."

She looked towards Aria, and then sighed and looked back to me.

"We will find him. When we do...I don't care what it takes...if I have to I'll have my father come permanently erase him myself."

This surprised me. Little princess Charlotte...willing to kill one of her people? How strange.

"I thought you believed all could be better?" I hummed and raised an eyebrow, and she scoffed.

"He's barely a demon anymore," she said, and that piqued my interest.

"What do you mean?" I questioned her, and she looked up at me curiously.

"You haven't noticed...?" She questioned me back, and I shrugged, getting impatient.

"Noticed what, dear?" I asked, and she blinked.

"Alastor...he doesn't have a soul."

...

"Excuse me?" I said, wondering if I heard her correctly. She only nodded, and repeated herself.

"He does not have a soul. He has no soul...he has no heart...he is just an empty shell full of evil and malice."

Her words made perfect sense...the strength of his magic, the ruthlessness in the way he works.

There's just one problem.

"Do you know where his talisman is?" I asked her, and she tilted her head.

"His what now?" She asked, completely confused.

My eyelids fell and I should've expected that reaction, but I figured maybe she might know since she knew about his soul.

"Talisman...it's a sort of...cocoon, a holder of sorts. In voodoo, if you stray far enough into the darkness your "friends" become hellish. It happens to the weak willed...but unfortunately it makes them stupidly powerful." I sighed, "however, that power comes with a price...a sacrifice..." my brows furrowed as I thought.

Then I nearly gasped as it hit me, and I suddenly felt stupid for not realizing before.

"His eye!" I exclaimed, still keeping my voice down.