Damnation (OLD AND DISCONTINUED, PLEASE READ NEWER VERSION)

CHAPTER 22

The entire trip was pitch black. I felt like we were going to die any minute. Ellie's voice kept on telling me to stay calm, but who could stay calm when he or she was falling down a pit?

When I thought we would continue on forever, a light shined below our feet. I felt a nudge on my shoulder. "We're here," Ellie stated. And as soon as she said so, it happened. We fell out of the ceiling and landed on the hard wooden floor. Well, Ellie landed while I plunged into it. She grabbed my arm and pulled me up.

"Thanks," I muttered. I dusted myself off before I looked around. "So where are we, anyway?" Scrolls upon scrolls upon scrolls were scattered around the place. Tall windows filled up a lot of the walls along with various abstract paintings of cats. We were in a gigantic antechamber that then divided into many hallways. I found myself ogling at the entire thing.

"This is my house," a voice softly murmured. I twirled around to see Ellie lying down on an antique sofa. Right above her was a large painting of a certain someone cradling a jewel that resembled of a cat's face. "What do you think?" I chuckled.

"I think if you and your house were to enter a beauty contest, there would be a tie," I commented. Ellie grinned, her lavender eyes dazzling as usual.

"That's nice to know," she replied. She sat up straight on the couch. "But let's just hope that you're safe here." I bit my lip.

Suddenly, I heard footsteps coming from one of the hallways. "Lady Jasper, I brought the ingredients that you wanted," a voice announced. The two of us turned towards the hallway as whoever was in there. Ellie stood up completely and stretched out her hands.

"Wonderful, Josephine. As always, you make a fantastic apprentice," she cooed. I knitted my eyebrows. Ellie had an apprentice? Instantly, memories of the Sophie girl I met in Zack's room popped in my head. I shook off the feeling; no way could it be the same person.

Just as I convinced myself it wasn't so, the inevitable happened. Sophie, who was the witch in training that punched me in the nose, walked up to Ellie with a huge plastic bag in her hand. While they chatted, I couldn't help but feel awkward. How long before she noticed me?

Soon enough, Sophie saw me from the corner of her eye. She turned to me immediately and made a smug face.

"Well. I guess someone couldn't take a clue the last time we met," she sneered. Offended, I took a step towards her.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I just have a bone to pick with the little girl who punched my nose," I retorted. Sophie stood up on her tip-toes.

"You wanna go, punk?"

"You're the punk around here. How old are you? Like, 2 years old?"

"Excuse you. I'll have you know I am 9 years old. That's only four years younger than you."

"Uh, four years can be the difference between a mature teenager like me and a complete baby like you."

"You take that back," Sophie grumbled. She clenched her fist as tight as she could.

"Too late. What's said has been said, and there are no—" Out of nowhere, she struck me right in the face. I stumbled backwards, my hand to my cheek. It started to bruise and it hurt like hell. My eyes instantly turned orange.

"You little—"

"Hey!" Ellie hollered. She stood in between Sophie and I, her hands outstretched. The two of us calmed down for the moment. Ellie waited for us to listen before she sighed. "Looks like you two already knew each other. But that doesn't mean you can go around, beating each other up." She turned to Sophie. "I brought Gina here because her own house wasn't safe. Joseph and his neo-lycans are after her, and it is my job as her guardian witch to protect her." Ellie then turned to me. "And you. Sophie's only a little kid. Rescuing you does not entitle you to be mean to my apprentice. Now I want to see you two make up."