Hunted

Chapter 37

"Good god! Put that thing away!" Emilee awkwardly pushes aside the stake and looks fearfully into my eyes. I jump off her and sheathe my stake.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean-"

"Your irises went completely black. You kept mumbling about power and blood. And you wouldn't wake up!" Emilee cuts me off with a screeching little girl voice.

"Sorry. Bad dream." I mumble and pinch the bridge of my nose, a headache quickly forming.

"Bad dream? That's all you have to say?" Emilee asks, incredulous. Her girly features narrow in suspicion.

"It was Aiden. He's becoming even more powerful." I say and look at the clock. Crap. Three minutes until first period starts. "You need to get to first period."

"This isn't over. I'll tell your guy-friend, Isaac, about this." She crosses her arms over her chest stubbornly.

"I don't care. Tell him all you want." I snort.

Yes you do. Now stop acting like a two year old. Blaise's voice cuts through me like a knife. He's never shown me anything but kindness. This is serious. He could be tracking you.

He already knows where I am. He's just waiting to get more powerful.

Don't underestimate him, Lizzy. You never want to underestimate an enemy. Blaise jumps down from my bookshelf and narrows his eyes at me.

I know, it's just that he's got my blood in him, so I should be allowed to underestimate him right? I mean, he has my powers. I retort sharply.

No. He has more powers than you. If you underestimate him, you'll be the one to pay.

Maybe I am overestimating him, but not as much as you. I put my hands on my hips defiantly.

This isn't one of those times when you lower your expectations so you think better of the result. You need to overestimate so when you actually fight him, you win. If you don't, you'll lose and be surprised at how much powers he has. Blaise's voice goes cold.

You're right. I sigh and lay my hand on his furry head. Like always.

I know. Now go. You're already late. He purrs, his voice warming up.

Love you to. I bolt from the room and into Ms. Keefe's office.

"You're late." Ms. Keefe isn't at her desk as she normally is, she's sitting on the floor next to her huge bookshelf with books stacked all around her.

"Sorry, I was having a bad dream I couldn't wake up from." I quickly walk over to her.

"Oh." She doesn't seem to find the right words. "Can you sort through these by alphabetical order?" She moves a stack of books towards me and I sit down on the floor next to her. I pull out all the books that start with A's and give them a pile of their own.

Ms. Keefe stares at me as I work, her jaw clenching. Her brown-gray hair isn't pulled back in a perfect pony-tail like it typically is, it's in a messy bun as if she woke up late and just did what she could. Blue bags have appeared under her eyes, making her look ten years older. She looks tired.

"I'm sorry." She coughs the words out.

"For what?" I look up in surprise.

"I realize that I was exceptionally cruel yesterday. If you believe that a prophecy is going to destroy us all, then by all means, believe it. I'm not going to hold you back."

"It's alright. I'm becoming a little too obsessed with just a stupid poem I blurted out in my sleep." I shrug, but her confession warms my heart.

An awkward silence follows and we both alphabetize the books, working in harmony with each other, yet so far away. It's as if a void has torn apart the carefully treaded land we used to walk along.