Breakfast that morning was spent at Golden Corral. The boys looked at me strangely when I brought three platefuls of food to the table, and ate them all. Even went back for dessert.
"What? Am I not allowed to eat?" I ask as Aaron and Jay stare at me. I see Billy and Aaron shake hands under the table. Zak isn't looking at me; smartly, he's looking at his food. Jay laughs and says,"No, you are. It's just..." He looks at the other guys for help. They all look like deer in the headlights. Zak's voice speaks up, saying,"We didn't expect someone as skinny as you to eat so much."
I stare at them, wondering what planet they came from. "I always eat this much. Have since I was a teenager. I have a high metabolism." Trying to avoid their gaze, I duck my head, pretending to have dropped my napkin on the floor. As I rise, I see the three guys looking at Zak. "What? Am I not allowed to be truthful?" Zak says irritably, stabbing his fork into a piece of lettuce. Ew. Rabbit food.
Aaron looks around at me, then back at Zak. "No, you are. It's just that you normally aren't. At least not this early in the morning." I see Billy and Jay smile, but notice the darkness in Zak's eyes, which reflect the stormy sky outside. "I'm always truthful. Tired or not," he says shortly, turning towards the window, clearly ending the conversation.
After breakfast we pile into the van. I have to sit in the very back with Jay. Billy drives while Zak sits in shotgun, staring out the window, deep in thought. Aaron tries to make jokes, but they all fall flat, so he stops.
We arrive at the hotel, where the rest of the GAC are staying. We grab some of the cameras to download the video onto Billy and Jay's laptops, then head inside.
The large lobby reflects the wealth of the owner. I ignore the huge crystal chandelier, and the glass sculptures dotted around the lobby, and even refuse to smell the real-life flowering plants in the corners. I grab my key from the receptionist, a handsome guy with dark hair and light brown eyes. He winks at me, but my tiredness makes me irritable. I glare back and march away towards the elevators. I sense his disappointment, and feel his eyes on my back.
We all drop off our cameras in Jay and Billy's room, then head off to find our own. I'm right next to Aaron and Zak, a fact Aaron pointed out. I roll my eyes and open my door with the keycard. "Remember, Saira. We meet up to review evidence at noon," Zak says. I nod to show him I understood, then enter my room and close the door.
I throw my keycard on the dresser, and collapse onto the bed. I sink into the soft blankets and comfy pillows, and am soon asleep.
My dreams plague me all morning as I sleep. Voices whisper out of the darkness of twisting hallways that never end. A horned beast with glowing eyes and sharp fangs hisses at me, saying in a language forgotten to man,"Try as you might, Saira. I will have a soul by the end of your journey." The beast disappears into scarlet smoke, and the dream is replaced with one of my all-to-familiar nightmares.
A bonfire roars behind me. Shadows dance around it, people being morons and goofing around. The smell of alcohol permits the air, making my nose crinkle up in annoyance. A cup of beer is in my hand, yet I don't drink it.
A guy stumbles up to me. His dark gray eyes and wavy black hair makes all the girls fall for him. But not me. And that's what made him walk up to me.
"Hey, Saira. You enjoying the party?" His words are slightly slurred, but I barely notice. I shake my head, saying,"No. It's boring." The boy smiles stupidly and says,"I can make it more interesting. And besides. Your parents aren't around to stop us from having some fun."
A shiver runs down my spine at the mention of my parents. I stand straight from leaning against the downed bed of my truck. "Take that back," I say, quietly. I don't think he hears me over the loud, obnoxious music, because he says,"I'm lucky that fire took them. Now, I can have you all to myself. No stupid dad trying to get in the way of my fun."
Anger surges through my veins. I reach into my pocket, fingering my knife. "Take it back, Chase," I say warningly. I see Chase's buddies behind him, cheering on two girls who are stripping. Disgust twists my features, and I turn back towards the handsome boy. "But why, baby doll? It's true. Now, why don't we leave this party? Maybe go to my place?" The image of this boy even sitting in my truck flashes through my mind, and I snarl,"Not a chance, buddy. Go play with your stupid friends like normal. Lose a few more brain cells and your liver."
Anger twists Chase's features. His hand lashes out faster than I could've imagined and latches onto my wrist. His nails cut into my skin, and I feel a slight drop of blood come out of the cut. I straighten in horror as Chase leans forward and whispers into my ear,"Your daddy and brother aren't around to protect you, Saira. So, I can do whatever I want to you, and you have no one to blab to."
Faster than thought, I'm out of Chase's grip, and hold a pistol in my hand. The barrel rests on Chase's forehead. The entire clearing quiets down immediately, everyone turning to watch this standoff.
Chase's eyes rise to try to find the point of the gun. I press the metal deeper into Chase's skin, and watch him flinch. "Take. It. Back," I snarl, pressing the point of the gun deeper into his skin with each word. He looks down at me, and growls,"Never. It's the truth, bitch. Accept it and everything will be over quicker." I smile, and say,"Yes. I accept the truth that you're a jackass. And it will be over much quicker than you deserve." I see Chase's gray eyes flash wide before the gunshot reverberates through my mind, shattering the dream.
I awake to knocking on my door. Blearily, I put on my glasses, which seemed to have migrated to the other end of my bed while I slept. I stand, wobbly on my sleep-ridden legs, and walk over to the door. I open it, and find Zak standing there.
"There's someone down in the lobby, waiting for you. She asked for you by name." I nod, then follow Zak downstairs. I rub my eyes in the elevator, trying to rid myself of sleep-mind. My hair, in its usual ponytail, is perfectly fine for my taste. And, since I never wore makeup, my face looked like it normally did. I clean my glasses on my shirt as the elevator descends, yawning as I do so. Zak, standing next to me, is silent.
We enter the lobby. People are around, which seems weird to me this early in the morning. Then, as I pass a clock hanging on the wall, I realize it's eleven forty-five.
Suddenly, I feel a pressure on my temples, like someone trying to hammer into my skull. I flinch, but keep walking, throwing up my mental shields as I do so. The ghostly figures of people that I saw when I fist entered through the gilded doors disappear as I block my view of them. I see one woman, whose eyes never leave mine, sitting at a table across the room.
I'm drawn towards her, not by some unknown force, but because I know that she's the cause of the pain in my head. I sense Zak follow me as I cross the lobby, but don't look back at him. Somehow, I know that if I do look back at him, then my mental walls will fall, and my mind will explode into pain.
I sit across from the woman, and glare at her. The pain in my temple becomes suddenly more insistent. Anger shoots through me like a fiery bolt of fire, and I direct the fire, along with my electric annoyance and icy pain, at the pain in my left temple. The pain leaves as quick as it came, and the woman across from me sits back with a sigh.
"You have great power, child. More than you know," she says in a wise old voice, yet she doesn't look that old. Her long black hair hangs loose down her back. Each of her wrists bear three black bracelets that seemed to be made of human hair. Her dark skin makes her light-colored clothes stand out. Clothed in a simple white shirt and pale blue cotton pants, the woman leans back in the leather chair with ease, as if at home.
"And you have great sight. Less than you believe," I reply calmly. The woman smiles, and holds out her hand to me across the table. "Alicin White, my dear. But you can call me Alice." I shudder at the name, and say shortly,"I'll stick with Alicin." Alicin smiles warmly, and gestures to another chair at a nearby table. "Sit, Zachary. I won't bite." Zak's face pinches up at the use of his real name, but he does as the woman says.
With Zak sitting next to me, I gaze at the woman. I see multiple spirits swirling around her in a blue-white mass, a little less than Zak, but still impressive. No black mars her huge halo, though, like it does Zak's. The woman smiles, and says,"You have noticed that there are no demons attached to me like your friend." It isn't a question, but I nod.
Alicin laughs lightly, and says,"But I see many demons swirling around you, child. Both of you." Her dark gray eyes flick to Zak, then back to me. "But that is not why I'm here today. No, I'm here to warn you. One of your group will die, in a few weeks' time." I glance at Zak, and see him looking at me with the same expression I could feel on my face. This woman was crazy.
But is she? You can see ghosts and demons, even communicate with them. How strange is it that she can see the future? A little voice in the back of my mind says. I narrow my eyes at the woman, thinking. "Can you see ghosts as well?" I ask her, and she smiles lightly. "Not exactly. I see positive and negative energy. My power lies in the future," she says, and I nod like I understand, yet my mind is still slightly clouded with sleep.
Alicin smiles as I open my mouth, but frowns at my question. "And how do you know of me? Besides you divination." I know that she could hear the skepticism in my voice, but I don't try to hide my disbelief. She leans forward, gazing at me intensely. "I know of you because the demons whisper of you." I look at her calmly, reflecting on my dream of the hulking red monster. Zak leans forward as well, elbows on the table.
"You commune with demons?" he asks sharply, as if it was a terrible crime to do so. Which, I guess, it was. But with my soul already sold, I didn't care about crimes anymore. Alicin blinks at him, and says,"Of course. You learn many interesting things from demons. Though, you must be able to control them. Or banish them." Her gaze flits towards me, then back towards Zak. Zak huffs and sits back, folding his arms across his chest.
"And what do these demons say?" I ask before Zak could get going with his argument. I could feel his anger at me for continuing to talk to this demon-talker, but I ignore him, focusing my gaze on the woman across from me. She tilts her head, looking at me, but not seeing me. "That a girl with fire for a mind and gold for a heart had appeared. And that she had already banished a demon. Had even controlled it." Alicin gives a small laugh, then continues. "They say that a man with black hair and blue halo was with her, walking through the red flames of Hell. They said that this girl was very powerful, even more powerful than I. I laughed at them, but then got a vision. It showed a girl wreathed in fire, with eyes as hard as emeralds. The girl walked across the shadow forms of the demons she had defeated, and could summon and speak to the white ghosts of our world at will. This girl had a strange mark on her throat, like a-"
"A pentagram," I murmur, unknowingly interrupting Alicin's thoughts. Zak looks at me sharply, and Alicin's eyes focus on mine again. "Yes," she says, awestruck,"A pentagram with a-" "Wolf head with emerald eyes," I finish, looking at my hands in my lap, which have white knuckles and little droplets of blood from the deep cuts my nails were making in my palms. I hear Zak stand and leave, but don't look up.
"One more thing, Saira Collings," Alicin says, and I flinch. "Broken glass can be mended. The demon also said that. That a soul with dark, shattered glass can still be mended, with just the right type of glue." I look up, and meet the seer's eyes. Anger rakes fiery fingers through me, and I snarl,"Not when the soul is broken into twenty-seven pieces." Not waiting for an answer, I stand and whip around, ready to leave. Even so, my acute ears still pick up Alicin's murmur of,"Twenty-seven, soon to be twenty-eight."