Chapter 7
Abel and I talked for hours that first day together. It was shocking how different we really were, but why did I feel so close to him? The hole in my life that I’d felt for so long had finally been filled, and in the strangest way.
We also learned that we shared the same ability to heal our injuries quickly, as my leg and ribs were quickly mending. It’s funny, because outside of my healing, I’d never believed that I was different from anyone else. Rick had said the same many times to me. He said, “You’re a weird little girl, but nothing more.” Then he would call my mother bad names and tell me lies about her past. I knew he was lying, just trying to upset me, but it still hurt.
We both knew that Rick would do everything he could to get me back, but we had no idea how bad it was about to get.
Later that day, Abel turned the TV on to see how people were reacting to my disappearance. The only mention of me was a report that I would be absent from the show for a few days because of illness, followed by a prayer for me.
“I guess Rick didn’t want this getting out to the media,” I said. “The producers wouldn’t want it known that their ‘perfect child of God’ ran away, would they?”
“I guess not,” Abel shrugged. “It’s almost as if they-”
“They know where we are!” Solgrin interrupted. “We have to get out of here now!”
“Do you have enough magic left to get us out of here?” Abel asked.
She shook her head. “I only have the strength to take one of you, but then it will be a few hours before I can come back for the other. One of you have to run away on foot. But, we have to make a decision quickly, it won’t be long before they are here. I can sense that they are only a few minutes away and there are too many for us to fight off.”
“Take Jessica. Get her out of here! With any luck, they won’t know who I am.”
I wrapped my arms around Abel and started crying, “No, we have to stick together. I won’t go without you!”
He pushed me away and whispered something in Solgrin’s ear. Her eyes began to water and as fast as lightning she grabbed my arm and the hotel room became the Golden Gate bridge. Cars swerved to avoid us and Solgrin pulled me out of traffic.
“What are you doing? We have to go back! He’s going to-”
“Shut up!” Solgrin shouted. “Your brother is risking his life to save you. Would you rather have me taken him and left you there to get punished by Rick and then put back on TV to play ‘pretty pretty princess’ again? Have more confidence in Abel and trust him. He has a destiny far greater than either of us.”
I couldn’t stop myself from crying. The one good thing in my life was gone after only a few hours.
“What are we going to do now?” I asked after we crossed the bridge.
“We have to give you a disguise,” she said. “If anyone sees you, they’ll recognize who you are and we might have to make a run for it again. But first, we need to find a hotel.”
It wasn’t hard to find one. The entire area was full of big, beautiful hotels and resorts. Solgrin picked one called, “The 21st Century Gallant Resort”. It had sixteen swimming pools, a sports area, and rooms as large as most houses. She used the last of her eye magic (and a little feminine charm) on a man that drove a Jaguar.
She was able to make him forget he had ever seen her and was generous enough to hand over two thousand dollars in cash for our stay. The money paid for a full week at the resort, which also included free meals.
Before getting settled into the room, she went into the gift shop and bought a pink wig.
“When we go out, you need to wear this. I’ve heard that you don’t wear make up. Well, that changes too. You can not look anything like yourself.”
“Understood,” I agreed. “The producers of the show thought people would think less of me if I wore makeup, but I don’t have any problems with it.”
The room was beautiful. Two large beds in the bedroom, a big leather couch, with two reclining chairs, and a huge dining and kitchen area. I’d seen hotel rooms like this before, but I had always had a team of security with me, so I could never enjoy my stay.
At least once a year, Rick demanded that I travel the country to meet and greet “his people” to keep up ratings and boost book or movie sales whenever he or the producers needed a product advertised.
I sat in one of the reclining chairs and pushed myself back as far as it would allow. My feet hurt so bad from the walk to the hotel. “I’m worried about Abel. How soon will it be before you can use your magic again?”
She lowered her head and said, “I’m not going back for him.”
“What! But you said-”
“I know what I said!” she yelled back. “He told me that he wanted me to stay with you until he found us. He knows which hotel we’re in, so we just have to wait and trust that he knows what he’s doing.”
My heart dropped into my stomach. “He’s out there all alone and nobody is coming to his rescue?”
“Look, girl, I won’t be able to use magic for another few hours and by that time, I’ll only be able to use it once until it charges again. Then I’d have to wait another few hours to get us out of there, even more if I took you. That means I’d probably have to leave you here by yourself.
Think about it, if anyone recognized you or me, Rick Ridley’s people won’t be far behind and if I’m stuck with Abel, I won’t be able to save you in time.”
I hadn’t thought about it that way. “Why did you take me instead of Abel? Didn’t you want to kill me?”
“Look, I never wanted to kill you. My master, I mean, my former master wanted you dead for obvious reasons. You’re a threat to him and what he wants to accomplish. He ordered that Abel kill you and told me to help him get to you.”
“But why would you ever obey someone like him? He’s evil.”
“Why did you obey Rick Ridley? I heard you talking to Abel about him. He doesn’t sound much better.”
A storm of anger was about to hit Solgrin, but I held back.
“It’s not like I had a choice. My Aunt Regina married him and when she died, he took custody of me. Soon after, he began to hit me; sometimes out of anger, other times for some sick, twisted form of fun. I have lived in fear of him for as long as I can remember.”
Solgrin just laughed. “We have a lot in common, you know?”
The mood in the room became dark and even a little scary. Solgrin’s face was dripping tears into her lap, but when she spoke a terrible hatred came through her words.
“My earliest memory was of Satan holding me by my ankles. I couldn’t have been more than three or four years old. He said, ‘Like your mother, you are mine’ and then he had one of his demons beat me for hours and then when he got tired, he threw me into a dungeon cell. For six years, that same demon did unspeakable things to me until one day-”
She hesitated for a moment. “Until what?” I asked.
“He had entered my cell, wearing this stupid grin. I hated him in every way and something snapped inside of me. I discovered my magic through my rage and I burned the demon to ashes. After it happened, I cried for hours, knowing that Satan would be angry at me. But, when he finally came to check on the demon’s work, he just laughed and said, ‘Finally! Your mother only took a year to find her magic.’
He told me that I would take my mother’s place as a Head Hunter, which meant that I would kill for him when he had need for it and I’ve been living a life of fear since that day. When he sent me to find his son, he told me that I would be allowed to marry Abel as a reward. I was so
excited that I might actually be able to have a life and have someone that wanted and needed me.
“And when Abel refused to kill you, the fear of Satan’s anger hit me hard. Until he showed me his horns, I had already given in to the death that I knew would be coming for us.”
“Solgrin. ” I couldn’t find the right words to say to her.
“Jessica, Satan gave us seven days to kill you. Two of those days are gone already. Once the week is over, he’ll send his Head Hunters after us. There are only three of them, but trust me, they are all more powerful than I am.
It shouldn’t take more than a week or two for them to catch up to us even if we keep moving around the country. We have to prepare for them, otherwise saving you was for nothing. The only hope we have is that you and Abel tap into your own magic.”
Exciting.
