THE KNIFE IN THE DARK, SHADOW OF LAS BRUJAS Soledad Inés Salazar

Dark Chicago    The Usual Suspects    People    Occultists      Soledad Salazar

Description

Tía Soledad walks like a whisper and cuts like a blade. Tall and gaunt with angular features, she wears black shawls and long skirts that sweep like smoke when she moves. Her skin is pale for someone raised under the same sun as the rest of Little Mexico—rumors say she gave it up in a ritual for sight in the Veil. Her voice is soft, nearly hypnotic, and her fingers are always stained—ink, ash, or blood. Of the three Salazar women, Soledad is the most feared by those who understand power.

Personality

Cold, analytical, and terrifyingly precise. Soledad believes magic must be wielded like a scalpel, not a torch. She has little patience for theatrics and even less for sentimentality. Her loyalty to the family is absolute, but her love is conditional—earned, not given. She expects Jesse to prove herself, or fail in the attempt.

Habits

Carries a charm blade carved from obsidian, hidden in her sleeve
Reads bones every morning before sunrise—her own pattern, no shared rite
Refuses to speak the names of the dead aloud—calls it “an invitation”
Wears a single copper ring, blackened with dried blood, that no one has ever seen her remove

Hooks & Angles

Executioner’s Hand: When the Brujas need something ended, it’s Soledad they send. Her spells bind, silence, sever.
Harsh Mentor: She’s harder on Jesse than anyone, not out of cruelty—but because she knows what’s coming.
Dark Dealings: Soledad keeps contact with other blood circles beyond Chicago—rival lines, ancient pacts. One of them may come calling.
Reluctant Ally: She’ll help the crew—if it serves Las Brujas. And she’ll never let them forget what they owe.

Year of Birth

1904 CE 49 Years old

Birthplace

San Luis Potosí, Mexico

Children

• Tina

Eyes

Gray with a faint violet tint under candlelight, like something looking back from the other side

Hair

Long, black, and always bound in a tight braid wrapped with raven feathers

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Pale and smooth, with fine ritual scars around the collarbones and down the arms

Height

5'10"

Weight

138 lbs.

Belief/Deity

Practicing bruja of a blood-based spiritual lineage—rejects Catholic symbols in her rites