Beyond Sight (Coastview Prophecies Book 2)

by Simone Pond

  “Use your powers!” Sibyl yelled at Marlo.

  “I am!” she cried, flashing out, but then reappearing seconds later.

  Another mangy demon dog launched through the bushes in an explosion of fire and pounced on Eli’s chest, biting his wrist. His shriek rang out. Sibyl continued hurling super-charged rocks at the other dog, clipping a hind leg, which was enough to slow him down. I ran over to stop the wrestling match between Eli and the other dog.

  He kicked at the scraggly beast, its eyes glaring red. “Get off me, you asshole!”

  I lunged forward and head butted the savage, knocking him senseless. Eli rolled away, holding his bleeding wrist. The dog jerked back up and came at me, teeth bared. He pounced at me and clamped his incisors deep into my neck. Nerve-splitting pain shocked through my limbs as I tried to release myself from his lockjaw grip. The pain burned through my muscles down to my bones. I had to get loose before he shook me to death. His guttural growl sounded like the welcome you’d hear at the gates of hell. He locked down harder, ready to shake me. I yelped.

  Thunk!

  The dog’s teeth let up. He dropped to the side, his fur on fire. Sibyl stood about ten feet away. The rock she had thrown split the dog’s skull straight down the middle. Dead as a stone.

  “You okay, buddy?” Sibyl squatted next to me, examining my neck. “He broke skin. You’re bleeding pretty bad.”

  Weak and dizzy, I collapsed the second I stood up.

  Woof …

  “You’ll be okay,” Sibyl said.

  Eli and Marlo came over. The metallic scent had dissipated. Marlo rubbed my head.

  “The other one ran off,” Marlo said.

  Woof.

  “I’d like to know where they’re coming from,” Sibyl said, then looked at Eli. “Are you okay?”

  Eli clenched his wrist. “I’ll be fine. But we should probably go to the hospital and get a tetanus shot. Just to be safe.”

  Was he worried about distemper? Weren’t we supernaturally protected from things like rabies? I didn’t want any shots!

  Woof!

  “Seriously, Vago?” Sibyl laughed.

  I needed a voice in this argument, so I shifted back into my human form. The fur retreated and my skin returned.

  “Vago!” Sibyl looked away.

  “Oh my,” Marlo said, giggling.

  “Sorry, but it’s hard to communicate with a limited vocab, you know? You really think we need shots?” I asked Eli.

  “Probably not a bad idea,” he said.

  Sibyl took off her cardigan and pressed it against my neck. “Can you heal this now?” she asked Eli.

  “I can try, but I’m feeling depleted after that fight. I used up a lot of lightning because I kept missing those bastards. They’re incredibly fast,” Eli said.

  “If you can’t heal him, then we’re definitely going to the hospital.”

  Eli sat down on the dirt next to me, getting close enough to whisper into my ear.

  “Dude, this is awkward,” I said.

  “If you want me to heal you, I have to whisper to the wounds. That’s the only way,” Eli said, laughing.

  Marlo and I turned away, trying not to laugh.

  “You know what, let’s just go to the hospital. You’re probably drained of energy,” I told them, jumping to my feet and using the cardigan to cover my man parts.

  “You’ll need to put on some clothes first,” Eli said, pressing his lips tight.

  “I’m glad you all think this is funny. That thing could’ve hit my jugular,” I said.

  Sibyl glanced over and smiled sweetly. “You’re right. We’re sorry. Let’s get back to the house and to the hospital before you lose any more blood.”

  We crossed back over the main road and walked up Eli’s driveway.

  “Where’d you run off to?” Eli asked.

  “Heard the call. Your grandmother was out there. Her spirit. Said the one leading the charge is a man hidden in plain sight and a professor of the obscure. Obviously, Whitmore. And she confirmed it’s happening this weekend during the Blood Moon.”

  “Did she say anything about where it’ll be?” Sibyl asked.

  “Nah. You know the rules … not too many details.”

  “So now all we need to do is figure out the secret location. Easy, right?” Sibyl jeered.

  Marlo laughed, following behind.

  I glanced over my shoulder. “You okay back there?”

  “I never noticed before, but you have a cute butt, Vago,” she said.

  “Please!” Sibyl said, trying to hold back a laugh.

  “Sorry,” Marlo said.

  “Thank you, Marlo. I’m glad someone appreciates my nudity,” I joked.

  Sibyl shook her head, changing the subject. “So what exactly happened, Marlo? How were you attacked?”

  “I was walking home. Then I turned around to come back to tell you guys I was sorry. That I was going to help regardless of my classes, and out of nowhere a dog comes charging at me in the middle of the road. I ran into the trees, which was stupid. I should’ve run toward the house, but I was freaking out. Anyway, he cornered me against some bushes. I tried teleporting, but I kept flashing right back in the same place. I was too nervous.”

  “We’re going to figure out your powers,” Sibyl promised.

  “And I won’t just walk off like that again. I’m with you guys. Sorry I was being such a baby,” Marlo said.

  Sibyl took Marlo’s hand. “Please. It’s not every day you find out you have supernatural abilities. Or that you’re supposed to stop blood sacrifices. It’s crazy. We get it.”

  “Took Sibby here a year,” I said.

  “Thanks for the reminder,” she said, smirking.

  Marlo reached around and hugged Sibyl. “I’m glad we’re in this together.”

  Eli moved in and wrapped his arms around for a group hug. I couldn’t resist the team spirit, so joined the huddle.

  All three pulled back and shouted, “Vago!”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Sibyl

  Eli dropped Marlo off at home on the way to Coastview Hospital. She needed to study for a tiny quantum physics exam.

  In the lobby of the hospital, I sat in a hard plastic chair while one of the night nurses with a gleaming white spirit escorted Eli and Vago down the hall. I reached into my bag and took out the leather-bound book Eli had given to me and opened to the first blank page. I glanced around for any nearby people, but the lobby was black and motionless. Holding my hands over the pages, I waited for the energy flow to begin. I waited some more. I flipped to some other pages and tried again, but nothing happened.

  “Come on,” I said to the blank pages.

  The book did nothing, taunting me like a heckler from the bleachers. It was the first book I’d been able to see in over a year, but it had no words. They were beyond sight. I continued staring at the pages, hoping to manifest the ink, but nothing materialized. Then I leaned my head against the wall, growing weary of the endeavor.

  Open your eyes …

  Esther’s voice whispered all around me. I shot out of my chair, dropping the book to the floor. The nurse at the information desk glanced over at me, her spirit a dim flicker. I reached down to pick up the book. Open your eyes. What did she mean? Look beyond the pages? See the words with my soul? I sat back down and opened the book again, closing my eyes and asking for guidance. When I opened them, the blank pages began to fill with lines of words. Glorious black letters, stringing into words and sentences, and forming full blocks of heavenly paragraphs.

  “Open your eyes,” I whispered.

  I only needed to believe the words were there to see them. I began to read the first chapter titled, The Story of the Sibyls. I savored each letter like a piece of chocolate melting on my tongue. The intricate curves and bold lines of the written language looked like artwork. I was so enthralled by the beauty of words on pages, everything around me faded away. The words became a meditation.

  When Eli and Vago re
turned to the lobby, I felt like I had traveled through time. I didn’t want to be in the lobby. I wanted to be back with the sibyls, learning my trade.

  “Hey,” Eli said, exhausted. He had some gauze around his wrist.

  “Everything okay?”

  “Yeah,” he said, rubbing his eyes.

  “Stitches,” Vago grumbled, pointing to the bandage stuck to his neck. “Fourteen to be exact.”

  The drive back to our house was quiet as I thumbed the corner edge of the book, excited to hurry up and get into my bedroom with my new treasure. Because it was so late when Eli dropped us off, I knew Aunt Ruthie was asleep, so Vago stayed in his human form to avoid any tearing out of stitches and tiptoed into his bedroom. I removed my clothes and hopped into bed with Esther’s book. For the first time in a very long time, I switched on the lamp sitting on my nightstand and began to read.

  ***

  Thursday morning, I awoke to a door slamming and Aunt Ruthie yelling, “Oh, my heavens!” Then she was shaking my shoulder. “Sibyl. Wake up.”

  “What is it?” I moaned, rolling over on my side.

  She shook me again and whispered harshly, “There’s a man sleeping in the guest room. And it isn’t Eli Townsend.”

  Dammit, Vago. He forgot to lock the door. Now I’d have to twist the truth for the hundredth time. For a split second, I considered telling her everything, but I knew that wouldn’t go over well. Aunt Ruthie was happiest skating on the surface of life. Why pierce it with a pickax and ruin her carefree attitude? I wasn’t sure she’d believe me anyway. Oh, that’s just Vago in his human form. Yeah, no.

  My eyes were sandpapered shut because I stayed up until four in the morning reading Esther’s book. I rubbed my heavy lids as I sat up, yawning. “What time is it?”

  “Six-thirty.” Aunt Ruthie’s pinkish lavender spirit was fizzy like champagne bubbles.

  “You’re up early,” I said, wondering how I’d survive on so little sleep.

  “Sibyl! Who is in that room and why?”

  I sat up and flung my feet off the bed into my slippers. Clearly, it was time to get up. The day was going to require buckets of coffee.

  “Oh, calm down,” I said, patting her shoulder. “It’s just Bruno. Eli’s cousin. We were studying late last night. He crashed here.”

  I meandered into the hallway and peered into Vago’s room. There he was—in human form—passed out in the bed, the bandage on his neck completely exposed. I pulled the door shut. He’d hear from me later.

  On the way to the kitchen, Aunt Ruthie went off like a machine gun. “Why didn’t he just stay at Eli’s house? What on God’s green earth happened to his neck? And I didn’t want to ask, but now I feel I must—you’re studying? You said you didn’t register for any classes. Is there something going on, Sibyl?”

  I chuckled under my breath as I opened the cabinets and pulled out two coffee mugs. Was there something going on? Just another blood sacrifice on the horizon that me and my supernatural friends need to stop …

  “What?” she asked.

  Did I say that out loud?

  “What?” I asked.

  “Why are you laughing? Is something funny? Are you on drugs?”

  Laughter belted out of me. “Are you serious? No! I’m laughing because … because I don’t know which question to answer first.”

  She walked over and took the mug from my hand and poured the coffee. The rich aroma prepped my brain for oncoming wake-up mode. She went over to the kitchen table and sat down in her spot.

  “Sorry. I’m just stressed out about work. We have a huge event. I’ve been working overtime,” she said.

  I joined her at the table and sipped the piping hot coffee, feeling the immediate effects of marvelous caffeine.

  “Well, to answer your questions, I’m not registered. I’m just doing some outside studies. Kind of prepping myself for the idea of jumping back in. You know? As for Bruno’s injury, he got bit by a dog.”

  Her spirit lit up. “Oh, dear! A dog? On his neck?!”

  “Yeah. Anyway, he crashed here because he lost his key and didn’t want to wake up Eli.” I drank from my mug, not sure if the bitter taste on my tongue was from the coffee or lying.

  She stood up and glanced around, her spirit whisking around her body. “Sibyl, honey, where’s Vago?”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Sibyl

  Aunt Ruthie walked over to the back door and called for Vago. Normally, by now he’d be begging for table scraps, or asking to go outside to do whatever he does out there that I prefer not to think about. But the kitchen was resoundingly silent without the tip-tapping of his paws scuttling about.

  “Where is he?” she asked.

  “Huh?” I mumbled into my coffee.

  “Vago!” she said.

  “I thought I saw him sleeping with Bruno.” I heard the words enter the atmosphere before I had a chance to reel them back in. It was too early for an inquisition. I was too sleep deprived.

  “What do you mean, you saw him?” she asked.

  Reason two-hundred and forty-three why I can’t stand lying. I’m not good at it. Now it was too late to backpedal. The tension thickened up like a pool of molasses. The last person I wanted to deceive was my dear Aunt Ruthie who had uprooted her entire life to move to Coastview and help me. I was about to blurt out the whole truth and nothing but, when a familiar tip-tapping entered the kitchen.

  Woof!

  “There you are!” Aunt Ruthie sang, bending down to pet Vago’s blue spirit that sparkled with her touch.

  I simultaneously wanted to hug and yell at the furball. I got up and kissed Aunt Ruthie’s cheek, mumbling something about taking a shower. I power-walked back to the guest room and quickly pulled the door shut. That was too close of a call with Aunt Ruthie. We’d have to be more diligent, or just tell her the truth. All the lying was weighing down on my soul.

  In the shower, I washed away the previous day’s ickiness from my long strands of hair and let the hot water beat down on my head. Meditating in the stream of warmth, I thought about Esther’s leather-bound book that I had read until four in the morning. It wasn’t only about the prophetic sibyls; the pages were filled with tons of supernatural stories. Almost like a training manual. A lot of the tales were cryptic and reminded me of the way Esther often spoke in allegorical terms, but there was one story in particular that resonated …

  The story took place during a battle. Three young warriors stood at the edge of a field, gazing toward the horizon. In the distance, an army of warriors marched in their direction—thousands, suited up in ancient armor. One of the men cried they were outnumbered and would surely die. Another of the men said they should turn and run. But the woman told them fret not. She waved her hands over their eyes, and suddenly, a veil was lifted. The men looked up to the skies. From the parting clouds swept down a legion of colossal, shimmering angels singing a thunderous war-cry. They weren’t outnumbered at all. The battle was fierce, but the legion annihilated the enemy. All three survived.

  A pounding on the bathroom door jerked me out of my ruminations.

  “You done in there?” Vago shouted.

  “Is she gone?” I asked, turning off the water.

  “Of course. And you’ve been in there for forty-five minutes,” he said.

  “Do I detect some animosity? Because if anyone should be pissed off, it should be me. You left the bedroom door open? So not smart!” I shouted through the door as I dried myself and put on my fluffy robe.

  “Yeah, that was lame. I think the pain meds made me groggy.”

  I flipped my wet hair up into the towel and opened the door. The bandage on Vago’s neck was gone, so I inspected his stitches. “Looks better, but you should clean it up and find a new bandage.”

  Vago brushed past me to get into the bathroom. “You think it’ll give me some street cred with Brooke?”

  “I think you need to forget about her for now and focus,” I said.

  He shut the door in my face
and said, “Eli and Marlo will be here in about twenty minutes.”

  ***

  On the drive to campus, we chatted about Whitmore’s invite-only book signing/blood sacrifice. We were running out of time.

  “Couldn’t we just follow him?” Eli asked.

  “His security is extremely tight,” Vago said.

  “We should assume it’s going to be even tighter based on the super secret nature of this elitist event,” I said. “And he’ll definitely want to keep the media away. Blood sacrifice rituals probably don’t go over well with the sycophants. Plus, I’d like to scope out the area beforehand.”

  Eli exhaled. “Got it. We need to get the location.”

  “I tried making an appointment so I could do some recon in his office, but he’s booked solid,” Vago said.

  “What about the girls in his class? Have you thought about asking any of them?” Marlo asked.

  “They won’t give me the time of day,” Vago said.

  “What about that assistant you’re crushing on?” Eli asked.

  “I sent a couple texts last night in my drug haze,” Vago said sheepishly. “Might’ve said some lame stuff. I’m hoping when she sees me, she forgives me. I can try to get some details out of her, but she’s pretty loyal to Whitmore.”

  “She’s not giving up anything,” I said. “I think we should just break into his office and poke around.”

  That’s when it hit me. We had the best way into Whitmore’s office undetected … The only problem was convincing said best way she could pull it off.

  “I have an idea.” I looked at Marlo.

  “Me?” Marlo’s timid voice was barely audible.

  “You can teleport into Whitmore’s office while he’s lecturing. Look around. Find his schedule. Or get into his computer.”

  Marlo’s spirit flickered in and out. Her turquoise hues got murky whenever she was nervous. “But I don’t know how to control my powers yet. You saw me last night with the dog. I couldn’t teleport to save my life—literally. Only quick flashes in and out. Maybe five to ten feet at a time …”