Immortal Bodies

Chapter 13--On Edge

Dylan was so angry with himself he could've screamed, shouted in fury. He almost did, too.

Why? Why didn't he do it when I had the chance? Why didn't he knock him unconcious?

Right when the officer was truly about to notice him, other doctors has gone in to get Annaliese for the lie detector test. Now an awful feeling lurched in his stomach, and not just butterflies. This was something more....intense.

Annaliese's only hope was Riley finding out whoever made that call and making them take it back.

***

They had put Annaliese in a room with yet more white walls, but in the middle there was a table where she was seated, and then a woman was sitting across from her. Her hair was packed tightly into a neat twisted bun, and she wore a doctor's coat, bright green eyes shining.

"Before we connect you to the test, I want to give you one more chance to tell us the truth," she said.

Annaliese leaned back in her seat, crossing her arms. "Who are you?"

"I am doctor Wentworth."

"Mind if I give you a little truth test of my own?" She really had no idea what she was going to say, but she needed to buy time. But, all in all, it came down to how much time she trully needed.

"Go ahead. I'm an open book."

"Are you?" Now she leaned forward, resting her clenched fists on the table. Her body pulsed with revolsion and anger, and her heart was slamming in her heart like a beating hammer. "Then tell me why you believed that person that called you about me. Has the thought ever crossed your mind that maybe they lied?"

"I don't understand your question, why would someone lie about--"

Just then, someone burst through the door, a man with a stubbly beard, and in another doctor's coat. "Don't give her the lie detector test, Lydia. You can't--We made a mistake."

Her eyes narrowed, but she didn't take them off of Annaliese. "Really? Why is that?"

"Because someone actually did call in and lied about her. We just got the confession from someone named Christian Hardy."

Doctor Wentworth stood up. "What?"

Relief flooded through Annaliese, and then sudden anger. Christian! She thought angrily.  "So I don't have to take the lie detector test?"

The man shook his head. "No, I guess not. But your Uncle's here and he's signing you out right now, so I'll take you to the front."

She nodded. "Thank you."

Annaliese and the man walked out of the white room, entering a long hallway, and doctor Wentworth's malevolent glare never left Annaliese until she was out of sight.

"I'm so sorry about the mistake, Miss Blake," he said.

"Okay," said Annaliese. She meant to make her voice come out stronger, but it didn't happen. Her throat contracted, and the word came out hoarse. She was tired, and the thought of her the letter she had discovered had made her mind spin even faster.

She had stuck the folder in her jacket, and now held it closed, for fear of someone discovering it. She had wanted to look at more letters when she got the chance.

When she was safe at home.

They made it to the front waiting area in silence, without another attempt at conversation. Her Uncle was at the desk, scribbling on a paper.

When he turned and saw her, he said, "Annaliese--I would've come sooner--but I had some buisness that I had to attend--I'm sorry!"

He embraced her.

"It's okay, I'm just glad that I'm okay." She felt the warmth of his embrace still as they released, and wondered why she felt a sudden trusting towards him. "Where's Dylan?"

He gestured towards the back of the room, where Dylan was standing.

Annaliese went over to him. "Thanks."

He narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

"For trying. I know you tried to help me. I'm just glad to be out of there--but I found something, and I want to show it to you when we get home, okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah, yeah, alright. I'll call Riley."

***

Annaliese watched as Riley scanned the letter with shaking hands. Dylan had already read it, but he watched her in silence.

Once Riley had put down the letter, Dylan cleared his throat. "What does this mean?"

"It means," Annaliese started, "That my dad is with the Gatekeeper right now."

Riley shivered, raking a hand through her glossy black hair. "This is horrible."

"We need to go after him," Annaliese said calmy, though after processing through the letter, she didn't know what calm was anymore.

They were in Dylan's room once more, after coming home from the Mental Facility. Riley was hasty to come over, and had told them the story of how it was Christian trying to get rid of Annaliese all along, and how he'd overheard them talking. Riley said she'd shrugged it off on him, but Annaliese wasn't so sure that Christian would stop digging.

Dylan shook his head. "No, absolutely not, not on our own!"

"Well then what are we supposed to do? I'll bet you anything this has to do with releasing the Immortal Bodies, and he needs my dad to do it!"

"Okay, but we can't just make some stupid decision right away! I mean, come on, how odd is it--"

"Guys," interrupted Riley, who was shuffling through the rest of the folder. "Did you see this?"

"I've been through that folder a hundred times since we got home, they're just a bunch of old letters and files, nothing important," said Annaliese.

"Are you sure?" Riley held up a thick looking piece of paper. "Because this looks pretty important."

Curious now, Annaliese took the paper from her outstretched hand. "It....It looks like a lot of ancient letters and symbols. How come I didn't see this before?"

Dylan looked at it, his eyes scanning over the thick, cream colored paper.

"This...This isn't just symbols, Annaliese," he whispered, shock touching his voice.

"Then what--"

"It's a prophecy." He took it from her and scanned it over several times. "I can read these!"

"You can't read them, they're in another language," Riley pointed out.

"No--Riley, when Tara told me about the Gatekeeper and the Immortal Bodies after I Turned, she practically taught me how to read the Prophecy Language--and this is it!" Dylan exclaimed, worry still tinging his voice.

"Okay, how bad is it?" Annaliese asked.

He started reading it aloud:

In the ancient laws of the Bound Gatekeeper, he can be Unbound from his ropes if the one with the Seeing and one with the Secrets spill blood onto the Holy Altar on the Sunclipse."

"Okay, I got none of that," said Annaliese.

Riley swallowed hard. "It means that if someone who can See demons and someone whose had to keep a secret spilled blood on the Holy Altar, on something called the Sunclipse, then he'd be Unbound."

Annaliese turned to Dylan, ready to ask another question, but his face had gone completely white, like a sheet. He was still looking at the prophecy.

"Dylan?" Riley said. "Dylan, what's wrong?"

"Riley," he whispered. "It says your name at the bottom of the scroll. It says Riley Carson. They're talking about you. You're the Seer in the prophecy."