Irina Taylor, a girl who lives in the 1940s with the gift to see any human's soul, goes from a social outcast to a prophecy come true. But there is a realm that coexists with ours, invisible to the majority of mankind; only a select few can see thro...
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𝓜ʏᴇʏᴇꜱfluttered open, but I was still dizzy. My head throbbed, and my limbs were sprawled out on the floor. It took me a moment to pin my location to one of the elementary school classrooms. There were colorful drawings on the chalkboard and number lines pasted to the walls. My mind was scrambling to remember how I got there.
I propped my head up from the pale green and yellow tile. The first thing that I saw made me want to close my eyes again and return to my involuntary slumber. James Belcourt was sitting on top of one of the desks, watching me with curiosity.
I sat up and clutched my pounding forehead in both palms. I may have hit my head, but being in his presence gave me a headache, too. "Wha–what are you doing? What happened?"
He smirked and said, "You passed out in the gym after the Devil took that weird kid."
"Charlie," I growled in annoyance. Charlie. My heart grew more pained with every beat as the memories came flooding back.
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. They suspect you had something to do with his disappearance."
"What?" I scoffed. "Why?"
"I saw you talking to the Devil myself. So did a bunch of people. You two seemed awfully chummy."
My blood boiled at the insinuation that I was aligned with the Dark Shadow's captor. "That monster killed my friend!" I wasn't sure if Charlie was dead or if the captor just took him. But I refused to give up hope. If Charlie or his soul was with that winged monster, I could get him back. Hypothetically. Madam Lindholm said no one had ever come back from the other realm, which meant there was a way to get to it from our world. There was hope.
Hope is everything.
"Save it for when the priest does his exorcism on you, demon girl," James sneered. "That's why I'm here. To keep you from hightailing it out of town before the priest arrives. Then, they will probably send you to a looney bin. It's where you belong anyway. I always knew you were crazy. It's a shame. You're pretty. Maybe if you tried to fit in, you would have had a chance with me."
I sat in astonishment for a second, trying to understand if I heard him right. Then, I practically cackled in his face. "You? And me?" I laughed again. "I'd rather carve my eyes out with a spoon."
His face heated up, and he clenched his fists. "Insult me all you want. It won't save you from being locked up."
I began to stand up, and he eyed me suspiciously. "Don't try anything."
"Sorry, I didn't think I needed your permission to get off the floor," I scowled, rising the rest of the way with shaky knees. He grumbled but did not stop me.
I had to find a way to get out of here. James was partly trying to scare me, but he was also correct. People naturally fear the things they don't understand, and when fear starts making the decisions, innocents suffer. They would blame me for Charlie's disappearance and lock me away. I thought about today's events in more detail, and the puzzle pieces clicked together.
