Secrets and Sins

Chapter 11

~Ava~

Ava gasped in a breath, her eyes flying open.

Where the fuck am I?

She was standing in a void, dark emptiness surrounding her. Ava looked down at her hands, she could see them and the rest of her body but there was nothing else.

Must be dreaming.

"Ava."

Ava nearly jumped out of her skin as a disembodied voice echoed around her. Light spilled out behind Ava as the Halo began to glow. Recognition shot through her, as well as anger, when she realized what was affecting the halo.

Reya.

"I told you. I refuse your offer." Ava spat into the darkness.

"You have no choice; it is your destiny." The voice replied.

Like fuck I don't.

The halo began to glow brighter and brighter, burning into her. Ava cried out.

"You will be my instrument on earth."

Stark white light flashed across her eyes.

Something was trying to hold her down, Ava struggled against it, heart pounding. She could hear someone talking to her, telling her to calm down, but panic consumed her. She wrenched herself from the grasp of the oppressive force, blinking in the brightly lit room.

Ava was standing on a small cot in a small room. Four people were in the room with her, two orderlies, a nurse and doctor, she recognized none of them.

"Miss Silva please just calm down." One of the women started, "We are trying to help you."

Ava, panting heavily, glanced at her. Confusion addled her brain; she didn't understand what was happening.

I want Bea.

Ava noticed something dangling from her arm, she lifted it up to inspect it. A brown leather cuff was done up tightly around her wrist, snapped from where it had attached to the bed.

I was trapped. They had tied me down.

The halo bearer felt more confusion and a surge of fear. She needed space. Ava could see the men had stepped closer while she had been distracted, one was holding a needle attached to a syringe containing a translucent yellow liquid.

"Get back." Ava threatened, jumping off the cot and pressing herself against the wall like a cornered animal.

She could feel the Halo humming in response to her emotion, the careful walls she had constructed around it had not just crumbled in the shopping center but had been completely destroyed.

"Please?" Ava begged; the orderlies continued to approach.

The halo went off, the hum reaching a distinct pitch before blasting everything around her.

~Beatrice~

Beatrice paced the length of the room, nervous energy pulsing through her veins. Mind racing, the sister warrior kept picturing the moment Ava turned towards her, glowing eyes looking through Beatrice as if she wasn’t there. She shivered.

After Ava collapsed, Beatrice had carried the Halo bearer back to the van and laid her beside Sister Camilla. Nobody spoke during the drive back to base. On their return both unconscious women had been moved to the medical wing, whilst the rest of the squad had been ordered to debrief.