Sacred

by Long, Samantha

  "Look at her! She's scarred. She wouldn't have wanted this. Not to be raped. And she wouldn't have gone to see that stupid demon on her own. I want to crush the person who sent her there." Sophie forced the words out.

  "That's something we all want. Someone is trying to hurt you and the others. Until Morgan wakes up, we have to figure it out on our own."

  "What the hell is my ability good for if I can't figure it out?" Sophie wiped her eyes. She hated crying, it made her feel weak. "I have such a headache."

  "Let me get you some hot tea. It'll help you relax."

  "Okay. Thanks."

  Sophie sat and stared out the window. She focused on the waves crashing on the shore. She couldn't sense any emotions from Morgan. Not hope, fear, or anger. Sophie would've accepted anger; anything to prove Morgan still felt something. It was lonely without her friend's emotions buffering her. She wouldn't have believed when she first met Morgan that she would come to love her like a sister, but it was there. A fierce love that was as strong as what she felt for Lilli. She couldn’t lose both of them.

  She'd had the vision, just not in time. Maybe if she hadn't been so wrapped up in Tristan, she would've noticed Cabariel's attack sooner.

  A few moments later, Allison returned with the hot tea. Sophie took small sips, her throat raw with emotion. The heat of the liquid did relax her a little. Tristan and Jackson stopped by to check on Morgan, Tristan giving her a quick kiss, before they went into a weapons training with Demetri. Ruth and Rory were working hard on finding who left Morgan the note, just like with who poisoned Tristan.

  It was late at night when Aidan returned. He looked remotely better now that he'd eaten a real meal, showered, and had some rest.

  Sophie took one look at him and said, "I'm so sorry. I had a vision minutes before this happened."

  Aidan stopped. "You knew?"

  Sophie nodded through her tears. "I'm so sorry. I was glad Tristan was alive after this awful vision, and I didn't realize about Morgan until it was too late."

  "Don't!" Aidan yelled. A small burst of flame erupted from his hands and Sophie jumped. He clenched his fists, the fire going to smoke. "How could you allow this to happen?!"

  Sophie raised her chin. His tone made the guilt sharper. "I didn't realize...." She reached for his hand, and he jerked away from her.

  "Don't touch me. Get away from her!" He pulled Sophie out of the chair. Shook her. "Get out of here."

  His unstable anger scared her. Sharp aches shot through her body. His fingers tightened on her arm. "You're hurting me," she said through a clenched jaw.

  Remorse tempered some of his anger. He let go of her arm and pointed toward the door. "Go."

  Sophie tried one more time to talk, but one look at Aidan’s face told her it would be pointless. He wouldn’t listen to her right now. She left and immediately collapsed against the door. Small remnants of Aidan's anger rushed through her blood like needles as Lena rushed over.

  "Page Allison now," Lena told the nurse at the desk.

  Sophie waved Lena away and tried to stand on her own. "Just get me away from him."

  Lena slung Sophie's arm around her shoulders and helped her out of the infirmary.

  When Sophie felt her legs were strong enough to hold her up, she thanked Lena and headed to the beach.

  The full moon lit the way to the shore and Sophie passed the barn and a few outhouses that the Society used for training. No one was really out this late, and she enjoyed the quiet of being alone after being surrounded by people. Her boots made running harder, so she slipped them off and carried them as she followed the trail to the beach. When she reached the shore, she plopped down in the sand and dug her toes in. The cold sand was refreshing, and the moonlight's silver color made the water a deep purple, soothing her as she watched it.

  Sophie sniffled and pulled her knees up. She couldn't fault Aidan's anger when she felt much the same herself. The fact that she knew what would happen to Morgan and didn't make it in time made her a terrible friend. She was supposed to be a Guardian.

  She wasn't worthy of helping people. What good had she done? Todd was dead, Lilli was missing, and Morgan had been brutally attacked by a demon. How could she help the people on earth when she couldn't protect the people closest to her?

  Even in her visions she failed. This couldn't be what God wanted. "What do you want from us?" Sophie yelled at the night sky. "I've lost my brother, my parents, my friends. I hate feeling like a failure."

  Her throat clogged with tears, and she fell back in the sand. No booming voice shouted from the heavens, no angels sung on high, nothing greeted her but the sound of the waves. She dug her fingers in the sand and let it filter through them.

  "Sophie."

  She sat up and looked behind her. Aidan stood a few feet away, hands in his pockets. His unhappiness slammed into her, and she forgot all about being upset with him. His bloodshot eyes were sad and his shoulders hunched. Even his tattoos seemed dull. How could she be mad at him? She patted the sand next to her and turned back to the ocean.

  A few seconds later, Aidan sat down. He expelled a deep breath. "I'm sorry."

  "Me, too. I wish I could've stopped it."

  Aidan took her hand and squeezed. "I'm not really mad at you. I'm mad at myself. I should've protected her. I should've been there. I think about what he did to her..." Aidan said, swallowing, "...and I’m furious."

  "I know." Sophie laid her head on his shoulder. "We've dealt with so much, lost so many people, lost touch with our families. So much pressure is on us. It's amazing that we haven't broken before now."

  "I want her to be okay,” he said and shoved a hand through his hair. “I finally got her to talk to me like a normal human being, and now she probably won’t want me near her.

  "We'll have to be patient with her, but we won't let her give up."

  "I love her, Sophie. I know she probably doesn't feel the same way about me, but I can't stop thinking about her. We're connected."

  "She has feelings for you, Aidan. I'm not sure how strong they are, but they're there. Just give her time. She'll come around. It might take longer now, but she will."

  "I'll be there when she does. I'm not going anywhere."

  ***

  Tristan and the others were in the waiting room when Sophie and Aidan returned. Sophie went into Tristan's open arms and rested her head on his shoulder.

  "Morgan woke up." Jackson told them. "Demetri and Ruth are questioning her now, and then we can see her."

  Aidan’s brow furrowed. “Why are they questioning her? She’s not a suspect, she’s the victim.”

  Sophie laid a hand on his arm. “They’re probably just asking her about what happened. They aren’t being mean. Remember, Allison said we have to be patient with her.”

  Aidan nodded, but his face didn’t clear.

  Demetri and Ruth came out a half-hour later, twin expressions of worry on their faces.

  "What is it?" Sophie asked.

  Ruth bit her lip and looked to Demetri. He rubbed his forehead. "Morgan doesn’t know who sent her the note."

  "The note told her to meet in Cabariel's interrogation chamber and that we would be waiting. That same someone had to have released Cabariel so that he could attack her,” Demetri said.

  Jackson frowned. “There has to be something missing. Something we’re not seeing. This person is getting too close to us.”

  "Whoever it is almost succeeded in killing two of you," Ruth put in. "They're covering their tracks well. And every one of the Society's members has strong mental walls so Sophie can't just walk around and dig in their heads so we can find out."

  Demetri scrubbed a hand down his face. "We have to figure it out, yes, but we also need to get Lilli back. The only way to defeat Akeldama is to get all of you together. That is our priority at the moment. I will get someone we trust to work on finding who the Betrayer is. Ruth, what did you find out about the name?"

  "Nothing yet. But my contacts are searching,
and Foster is looking, too. We should have something soon."

  "Tell them to work on it all day and night if they have to. We need to find Lilli soon. The longer it takes, the worse her fate could be."

  Jackson's glare had so much fire in it that it could've given Aidan a run for his money.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  SOPHIE STARED DOWN at the book in her hands. It was big, covered in old leather, and smelled a little of mildew. She was reading about the culture of the Society, and something stirred in the back of her mind. Was it because she’d lived in that culture on the original island or was a vision trying to break through?

  Nothing happened, so she focused on reading again. Tristan, Aidan, and Jackson were at the table with her, each studying their own texts. Her body was sore from the endless physical training, but she acknowledged that she was in the best shape of her life. She even saw the little ridges of abs forming on her stomach.

  Tristan winked at her when he looked up, and she blushed. The corner of his lips turned up and she thought about kissing him. She knew she couldn’t do that in the middle of the library, and wished that they were normal high school students. That they were studying math or regular history and that they could slip away to make-out.

  He cocked his head to the side, studying her. What is it?

  Just wishing we were back at the academy, normal students.

  We all wish that. Maybe we can go back to it one day.

  Sophie gave him a small smile and returned her attention to the book. One day seemed like a dead wish to her. Would they even be able to go back to their lives knowing what they did? Morgan would never be the same after the attack, and neither would Lilli, if they ever found her. The few times in the last week that Sophie had gone to see Morgan hadn’t gone well. Morgan had remained silent, staring at the ceiling and when Sophie tried to comfort her, she’d faced the wall.

  Morgan had also put up mental blocks against all of them, especially Aidan, and if she’d heard their telepathy toward her, she didn’t give any indication that she did. Whatever the Council had given to speed up her healing seemed to be working. Her wounds had already closed over into angry, red scars, and the bruises had all but faded away. She was still pale, but seemed to be recovering, physically at least. Seline had also been in a few times, wanting to make up for the way she’d treated them before.

  In the book Sophie read, she learned some more about how the original members of the Society had fled the island after learning that the Guardians were dead. They’d loaded up everything they could think of onto a few ships and sailed out into the great unknown. The journey had been fierce, and at times deadly, and they’d lost many along the way. The people didn’t give up and found the new island, building their manor and starting to plant crops. The first of the Council was born, and the Society began to morph into what it was now, branching out into the world and infiltrating other cultures, readying themselves for the coming war.

  A piece of Sophie was happy that after she and the others had died in their past lives, the Society had persevered, that they’d thrived. Another was sad that she and the others didn’t stop Akeldama then and spare everyone the misery and destruction the demoness visited on the earth.

  “Listen to this,” Jackson said. “Joan of Arc was a part of the French Society. She was visited by visions from the Light and tried to stop Akeldama in the 1400s. Akeldama ruined her of course and had her burned at the stake.”

  “Man, she doesn’t play around, does she?” Aidan shook his head. “It’s going to take a lot to stop her.”

  “I wonder how many other famous people in history were a part of the Society.” Tristan flipped through his book. “And how many people in power today are on either side of this war.”

  That thought gave Sophie a chill. “Do you think she has demons possessing people who control entire nations?”

  “I wouldn’t put it past her. She’s cunning and lethal. There’s no doubt that she’s got her hand in everything. She wants to rule the world,” Jackson said.

  Sophie swallowed. Was it really up to her to stop someone so powerful? That could turn the tide of the world with a single action? If Akeldama won, the entire world would be over. How was she supposed to beat her?

  ***

  A week later, Morgan had recovered enough to resume training. It wasn't what Demetri or the rest of the team wanted, but Allison assured them the physical work would only make her tired and help her deal with the things that happened to her. Her scars formed, mentally and physically. No matter how hard they tried to get her to share her feelings, Morgan flatly refused.

  Sophie sighed for the second time as Morgan limped by her, not making eye contact. "You can't ignore me forever."

  Morgan did just that while she packed a bag for Greece. Ruth's contacts had finally found out that Cassius was an upper level demon who lived in Athens and specialized in getting vamps whatever food source they wanted...virgins, whores, drug addicts, you name it. Morgan gazed past Sophie and grabbed a brush.

  "C'mon, Morgan. I've already apologized sixty times. I want things to be better between us." Sophie got off Morgan's bed, her anger overtaking her patience. She wanted Morgan to let out her anger, to quit being so numb. If she had to pressure her with anger, prod her into an outburst, then so be it. "I couldn't do anything else. I woke up when I realized it, but it was too late. What more do you want from me?"

  "You let me go!" Morgan stopped limping, eyes wide. She looked as surprised by her outburst as Sophie did. "You dreamed it and let me go. I was attacked, held down, and...." She choked on the words and shook her head. Tears ran down her face. She wiped them away angrily. "Now look at me." She gestured to the raw scars on her body. "I'm hideous. People look away from me. They don't talk to me, avoid me like I have the plague."

  Sophie's palm itched to slap her. "You are not hideous. You are the most beautiful person I have ever known."

  Morgan sneered. "Who will find me beautiful now?"

  "Aidan does!" Sophie took a deep breath and spoke calmly. "Aidan was so worried about you he could barely eat or sleep. I had to kick him out of your hospital room just so he would shower."

  Morgan stopped and looked at Sophie, her eyes full of wonder. "He did?"

  "Yes, he did. He still worries about you. He still has feelings for you." Sophie told her. She thought her words helped until Morgan turned back to her bag, her expression hardening.

  "He'll get over it. He can't possibly keep thinking I'm attractive with these scars."

  "He can and does." Sophie shook her head. "Stop being like this. Stop being so vain."

  "How can you say that? How would you be in this situation? Do you think you'd just forget what happened, forget about your disfigured face and just move on?"

  "No," Sophie sighed, her anger deflating. "I don't."

  "Good. So unless you go through what I did, keep your opinions to yourself. And don't mention Aidan's feelings to me again." Morgan pulled up the hood on her jacket, covering her face, and left Sophie standing in the room.

  Confused, Sophie watched her go. At least Morgan had gotten some of it off her chest, but had that really helped?

  Sophie stopped by her room, and grabbed hers and Tristan's bags. He, along with Jackson and Aidan, were helping Demetri and Ruth with last minute preparations.

  On the way downstairs, she passed several people who asked questions about the mission. According to Demetri, they were supposed to be silent in case the Betrayer was brave enough to approach them. So she shook her head politely, smiled sweetly, and kept going. When she reached the training bay, she set the bags next to the ramp of the jet. Her hand trailed down its bottom, feeling the sleek metal with her fingertips. This machine would take them to find Cassius and, hopefully, Lilli.

  All their hopes dangled on one nasty demon. If they could just get him to talk, they'd be able to find her. He knew the way; Sophie knew he did.

  "What are you thinking?"

  Sophie smiled and tur
ned to see Tristan leaning against the side of the jet. A small spot of grease dirtied his cheek. His answering smile caused her toes to curl. "Lilli. Wondering if Cassius is the one who will lead us to her."

  "It will be. You said you felt it was the truth. As long as I've known you, and I'm counting both lives, your gift has never been wrong." Tristan walked closer.

  Sophie's smile withered. She thought about her vision and their deaths, but she didn't want to discuss it with him. Didn’t want his faith in her shaken. "Morgan doesn't believe that."

  "She'll get over it. She's upset and a little off balance right now. We can't imagine the horror of what happened to her. It's hard for us to understand what she's going through, but we have to try."

  "I just want everything to be okay again."

  "It will be. We'll get Lilli, Morgan will come around, and we'll demolish Akeldama. Don't worry." He kissed her softly on the lips.

  Sophie responded to his kiss by wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing closer. His death shone in her mind again. If her embrace got desperate, he didn't mention it.

  "Get a room," Aidan laughed at them. He grabbed the bags at Sophie's feet and headed up the ramp. Demetri, his team, and Foster followed him.

  Sophie blushed and ran up the ramp.

  Rory sat in the pilot's seat. He ran the pre-flight check while the others settled in.

  Sophie dropped down next to Tristan and Jackson. Foster stumbled before sitting next to Demetri and Ruth. Aidan shook his head, a slight smile on his face, then sat across from Sophie. Morgan tossed her bag in with the others. She didn't look at Sophie and took a seat in the far corner. Anger and humiliation pulsed off of her.

  "To hell with this." Aidan stood and crossed to Morgan. He sat next to her, not touching but close enough.

  Casey and Seline joined them as Rory finished his check. Casey's large frame immediately made the jet feel smaller. He sat down with a thud and gestured for Seline to sit next to him. He grinned at the others, his gold tooth showing, and shot them a thumbs up.