Angelic

Alec ~ 20

Even though I hadn't slept through the night for the past three days, I wasn't tired. In fact, I was avoiding sleep. I knew that it would only bring dreams of demons and screaming little girls and a warlock that would only talk to me in my dreams.

So instead I was in the training room even long after everyone had gone to bed. I didn't care what time it was. All I cared about was shooting an arrow through the target on the other side of the room, which seemed impossible.

I had just shot my fourth arrow when I heard something like a crash from outside the training room. I grabbed an arrow and put it through my bow, walking out into the hall. I kept the bow lowered and pointed to the ground, but ready to strike if I needed to.

Turning the corner, I was blinded by the bright glow of a witchlight illuminating the hallway. Before my eyes adjusted, all I could see was the blue haze of the light. I didn't know who held it, and instinctively I aimed my arrow towards the source of the light.

"Don't shoot." Said a slightly familiar voice with a European accent.

"Ev?" I wondered, right before my eyes adjusted to the bright light. She lowered the witchlight so it wasn't in my face and I took her in. She looked... awful. Her clothes were baggy on her, clothes that once fit her perfectly. The skin on her face looked like it was being sucked into a vacuum. Her arms were as small as her wrists, her fingers even thinner than before. And her legs... her ankles were wider than her thighs. It was a miracle she was able to stand up on her own.

"Ev, is that you?" I asked again, but she never responded. Her eyes had grown wide at the sight of me, but I watched as they glazed over, unable to do anything but stare as they rolled into the back of her head. I dropped my arrow, running over to her just as her legs gave out and she fell to the floor.

...

Half an hour later, I was standing in the doorway of the infirmary, watching as my mother stood with the Silent Brother, Brother Jeremiah. They stood beside the bed that Ev occupied, still unconscious. My mother talked in hushed whispers, and I couldn't hear Brother Jeremiah's response.

Once I had woken up my mother and told her about Ev--both her return to the institute and how sickly she looked right before she passed out in the corridor by the entryway--she had shot out of bed to go look for her. She called one of the Silent Brothers while I carried Ev's limp body to the infirmary. Once Brother Jeremiah arrived, I suddenly wasn't good enough to stick around, and my mother had kicked me out of the infirmary, telling me that there was no good in losing sleep over Ev and that I could find her in the morning. Of course she didn't know that A) I was avoiding sleep and B) though I still felt a strong hatred for Ev, she was a good enough excuse to stay awake, and so I was determined to stay here.

Now, standing in the doorway and watching the interaction between my mother and Brother Jeremiah, I couldn't help but notice the anxiety in my mother's posture. She probably was worried about Ev, thinking that if anything happened to her, my mother would only blame herself.

"What happened?" I hadn't noticed Jace until he was right beside me. His eyes were red. There were noticeable bags under his eyes and I wondered if I wasn't the only one experiencing sleepless nights.

"Ev's back." I explained.

His eyes widened. "What happened to her? Where did she go?"

I shrugged. "I never found out. As soon as I saw her come into the institute she passed out." I thought of how skinny she was, how sick she looked. "Wherever she went... it wasn't a good place."

Jace looked at me. "You're worried about her?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" I questioned.

"Izzy told me about how you hate her." He explained. "You don't normally worry about the people you hate."