Her Soul to Take

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death, sexual content, graphic violence, and substance use.

Kent Hadleigh, a cult leader, visits a demon named Leon to tell him that his god has been awoken. However, Leon has already sensed this and mocks Kent, trying to see how far he can push before Kent tortures him. Kent has Leon’s grimoire, which allows him to control Leon, and tells Leon to go to Westchurch Cemetery at midnight, find the grave of a sacrificed young man named Marcus Kynes, and then bring the body to White Pine, an abandoned mine.

Leon has been in the service of the Hadleigh family for over a century, and he notes that “no one else had ever managed to keep [him] in captivity for so long without losing their lives” (4). The Hadleighs’ success at imprisoning Leon can be attributed to the amulet that protects Kent from demonic attacks.

Leon goes to the cemetery and finds the grave. Sacrifices are supposed to be offered alive or immediately after being killed, so the fact that Marcus was buried seems like a bad sign. Nevertheless, Leon brings the body to White Pine, where Kent and his group—called the Libiri—wait, wearing white cloaks and stag masks.