Tainted Souls

Chapter 8 - Back

I was relieved to find it to be just after five in the morning when I was back in my room. My mom didn't even realize that I was gone. My adrenaline must have still been in my system, but I wasn't feeling tired just yet. It felt good to be in familiar surroundings after the events I just experienced.

Out of curiosity I looked through the rest of Caleb's bag and pulled out the journal from Tori's safe and the book that Caleb had showed me in the library. I decided to study them for a while as I sat in my sheets. The older book I had been shown earlier seemed to be an encyclopedia of supernatural beings and such, while the journal was pretty much just that. I didn't really look into it too much because it felt as if I was invading her personal space, even though she was dead.

After about an hour of looking through dozens of different descriptions and how to take neutralize said creature my adrenaline was wearing off big time. I moved the books to my nightstand next to my bed and as soon as my head hit the pillow I passed out.

When I woke up the early afternoon sunlight was hitting my eyes through the slits of my window blinds. I was feeling a bit groggy until I remember Caleb. I had to see him and make sure that he was home safe and sound. Hopefully whatever they did at the Grand Coven healed him enough so that his parents didn't catch onto the fact that he wasn't in his room last night.

I quickly tore off the clothes from the day before and replaced them with fresh smelling clothes. I rarely cared what specific clothes I wore and now wasn't an exception to that mentality.

I darted out of my house, but slow enough to say 'hi' and bye' to my mom. Had Caleb's front door not been locked I would have bolted into his house with the same speed. Instead I had to knock on the door. James answered it, I did my best to just stare in his eyes as he was not wearing a shirt, leaving his well-developed upper-body for anyone to see. I know he was the brother of my best friend, but it's hard to ignore attractiveness when it's that strong.

"Here to see your lover?" he teased. No way ever would Caleb and I date, we were best friends, plain and simple.

I just rolled my eyes and nudged myself inside and gave him a wave goodbye as I went up the stairs and was relieved that I wasn't tempted to look James' pecs. I didn't even care to knock on Caleb's door before barging in.

At the sound of his door opening Caleb jumped and was sitting straight up in his bed. I closed the door and rushed over to his bedside.

"Are you okay?" It felt like a thousand pounds had been lifted off my chest just from asking the question I had wanted the answer to for several hours now. I know Storm had said he was okay, but I needed to hear it directly from him.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I feel a bit fuzzy, but I feel fine," he told me. He pulled his hands out from under his sheets to look at them.

His one hand he had held the object in was lightly wrapped in a cloth.

"What did you even do last night?" I asked, looking his hand over, being careful not to undo the wrappings.

"I used the same crystal I showed you in the library earlier, except with a general protection incantation I learned from one of the other books I got," Caleb wasn't as concerned with the wrappings around his hand and tore them off to inspect the injury for himself. To both of our amazement there was little evidence of a major would. The only trace that was left was a small jagged scar on his palm.

"Well at least you don't have to explain that to anyone," I said, trying my best to try and get a smile out of him, but without any luck.

"Did you look at the letter?" he asked me, turning the attention away from his hand.

"Yeah, but it was just a blank piece of paper," I informed him.

He just fell back into his bed in frustration. "So we went through all that for nothing?"

"It seems so, whoever they are they really don't want us around that situation."

"Yeah, they made that abundantly clear to me before they sent me home," he sighed as he crossed his arms tightly. "They also took the books I had, I guess to make sure that I don't learn anything else about them."

"Well I still have your bag at my house and we still got the journal and the encyclopedia of everything supernatural."

I small smile cracked through his face at the news, we weren't out of the game yet.