Secrets and Sins

Chapter 37

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~Ava~

I lost Bea.

Ava was numb.

The Halo bearer had been sitting in the center of the room staring at the scorch mark on the carpet for hours. Bea's folded staff clenched tightly in her white knuckled grip. The sun had risen, its light just starting to creep in through the crack in the curtains.

I lost Bea.

“Ava? What…?”

Ava hadn’t even heard the door open; she was so lost in her own world.

I lost Bea.

“What happened? You're bleeding. Ava?” Mother Superior knelt down in front of her, tilting the Halo bearer’s chin up with her hand.
“Where’s Beatrice, she didn’t check in this morning?”

The mention of the sister warrior’s name shocked Ava out of her apathy, she wrenched herself away from the older woman and rushed to the bathroom, violently vomiting into the toilet. A single sob escaped her when she was done. Sweat dripping off her face, Ava breathed raggedly, the surge of emotion threatened to drown her. The nun, who had followed her into the ensuite, carefully pushed the Halo bearer's sweat soaked hair back from her face whilst gently rubbing her shoulder.

“Can you tell me what happened?” She asked after a moment.

Ava turned to meet the other woman’s eyes, trying to find the ability to speak. Mother Superior looked extremely concerned.

“It took her.” She finally choked out; a tear rolled down her cheek.

A crack of power sounded from out in the lounge and Lilith sauntered into the bedroom.

“Well, I do hope you guys had a fun little evening. Are we ready to actually take training ser…” The Queen of Hell trailed off when she noticed the destruction.
“Tarask.” The winged woman gasped, eyes falling to the scorch mark on the floor.

“Lilith, I need you to fetch the surgeon please.” Mother Superior requested, her hand still resting on Ava’s shoulder as she glanced at the blood stains on her torn pajamas.

The Halo bearer felt a cold swell of fear, “No!”

Both women looked at her in surprise.

“Can Cam just do it please? I have issues with other…since the Halo…”

Mother Superior nodded in understanding, squeezing her shoulder, “Okay, can you please fetch Sister Camilla, immediately. I will call the others to gather here.”

Lilith bobbed her head in agreement, a sympathetic expression on her face as she surveyed the state Ava was in. She disappeared in a crack of purple energy.

~

Camilla was unusually quiet while she treated Ava’s injuries. The Halo bearer was perched on the edge of the enormous bathtub wearing just her bra and underwear, not really thinking about anything again, letting numbness take the place of the emotional pain.

“Sorry.” Her friend murmured, removing yet another piece of the chest of drawers that had lodged itself in her side.

Ava just grunted in reply, staring at the tiled floor, she couldn’t really feel the pain. She knew it was there, but it was like she was observing it from outside of her body. Ava’s left side had taken the brunt of the impact when the tarask had thrown her across the room, shards of wood from the dresser were embedded sporadically from her waist down to her knee. The nun had been extracting the bits, paled faced, one at a time using long tweezers, thankfully she had determined that Ava didn’t have any broken bones despite the purple bruising beginning to materialize across her body.

The quiet hum of conversation could be heard just outside the door. Mother Superior had assembled the inner circle to hear the events that had transpired and come up with a plan. Camilla began cleaning and bandaging Ava’s wounds, apologizing profusely for the sting of rubbing alcohol even though the Halo bearer barely felt it. When the nun had finished and was happy with the dressings, she helped Ava pull on a shirt and track pants.

“We will get her back Ava.” Camilla whispered just before they left the bathroom to join the others, the nun sounded determined, Ava turned to her friend and nodded once trying to offer her what she hoped was a grateful smile.

~

“We can’t go after her, Ava.” Vincent said, holding her eye contact.

Ava stared back, arms crossed over her chest, a silent challenge. Nobody had spoken for a few long minutes after hearing the Halo bearer’s recount of the tarask attack. Everyone had just watched her with expressions of sympathy or, Ava noted with a jolt of anger, pity.

This was Bea they were talking about, Beatrice the sister warrior who had devoted herself to the OCS for so many years of her life, unquestioning, loyal, unwavering. Beautiful, loving Beatrice who had saved the lives of everyone in this room on multiple occasions. The Halo bearer felt flames of rage begin to burn in her chest.

“Not right now anyway.” He added.

Several voices spoke at once as the room erupted into argument. Ava was pleased to hear that Camilla, Lilith and Yasmine also wanted to launch a rescue party.

“We don’t know where she is. Or how to find her.” Vincent argued.

He had a point, Ava supposed, but she did have a method of locating the sister warrior.

“I know how to find her.” She countered, holding up her wrist, the cerulean bracelet catching the morning light.

All eyes shot to her, wary, “No Ava, it’s too dangerous.” Mother Superior refuted.
“Besides, Beatrice’s abduction is most certainly a trap. For you.”

“Don't you think I know that?” Ava snapped, her anger lashing out like a whip.
“It’s my fault she got taken, Reya wants me. I have to make this right.” She looked away from the nun’s gaze for a moment, weighing her next words.
“With or without the Order behind me.”

The room fell silent. The other’s eyes all jumped between the Halo bearer and the leader of the OCS, like they were watching a tennis match, waiting for the outcome of Ava's threat of going after Bea on her own. The younger woman paid them no mind, she knew that the older nun was the linchpin. Ava needed to convince her that she had no option but to go after the lost sister warrior with all of the might of the OCS, because if not the Halo bearer would go alone.

If protecting the Warrior Nun is really that important to her then she'll have to yield.

The seconds ticked by, both women refusing to back down. Mother Superior searched her face carefully, to Ava it felt like she was looking into her soul.

“Very well.” Mother Superior conceded, Ava concealed her sigh of relief.
“But we find another way to locate her, one that doesn’t involve you taking off the bracelet.”

Ava nodded; she would accept the terms, for now. Anything that got her a step closer to saving Bea.

The door to the penthouse banged open, an out of breath Dr Salvius staggering in.

“Jillian?” Mother Superior asked, concerned.

Shaking her head as she panted for breath, the doctor ran over to the large T.V screen, turning it on to the local news channel. A young journalist appeared on the screen talking rapidly in Spanish as they stood in front of what looked like the scene of a major car accident, ambulances and fire trucks parked haphazardly in the background, the first responders scurrying like ants. Ava’s Spanish wasn’t fluent enough to pick up exactly what the newscaster was saying, the headline in large white writing splashed across the bottom of the screen, ‘SUMIDERO EN MADRID’.

“What does it say?” Ava glancing around the room, everyone had pale faces and grim expressions.

The scene cut to helicopter footage of a typical street in Madrid, the camera roving around the road until it focused on a major intersection that had been swallowed up by the largest sinkhole Ava had ever seen.

Well, that's convenient.